PLACEMENT DAY
Future Eagles get their first taste of Shaw student life
by Mr. Alex Cormier
Every Spring semester, prospective students hopeful to become Shaw Eagles take a placement test to evaluate their skills and needs. For anyone familiar with the Catholic school system, it’s one of those standard things you have to do to move on to the next phase.
Ms. Nicole Giambelluca, Director of Admissions, wanted it to be so much more than test-taking.
“We wanted it to be an opportunity for the 8th graders to see who will be in their graduating class,” remarks Ms. Giambelluca. “We extended the break time to allow for some play because that is a huge component of the Salesian Mission: providing a playground”.
That playground, in the vision of Saint John Bosco, is all in service to the Preventive system that provides a spiritual toolbox for young people to avoid sin and grow in holiness.
Students had an opportunity during the middle of the day to get a taste of what it's like to be a Shaw Eagle: in addition to working hard, they play hard. Pick-up games of soccer and football filled the fields (where Mr. Brandon Surrency, Assistant Head of Institutional Advancement, and Fr. Steve Ryan, Head of School, got to show off their own athleticism).
"The Salesian Spirituality pervades every aspect of our presence here. We wanted that to be clear from day one”, reflects Fr. Ryan. Students had the opportunity to hear from him about the school's patron Saint John Bosco and her core mission as a Salesian school. "Joy, hard work, kindness, faith and fun are essential for a Shaw Eagle.”
“Shaw is unique…we understand how important it is to develop the whole person: spiritually, academically, mentally and physically," agrees Mr. Surrency, who adds that "while academics are important, so is socialization and the ability to be able to smile and enjoy each other's company.”
For Ms. Giambelluca, all of these components together transform just another step in the process to the first of many treasured memories.
“We want every "admissions" event to have a component of both formation and play since that is an integral part of a Salesian environment… That gives them their first stories as a class!”
To the Class of 2027: get ready to take flight.
Mr. Alex Cormier is the Theology I educator at Archbishop Shaw. He attended Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA receiving a Bachelor of Arts in English and a certification in Philosophy from Saint Joseph Seminary College in Covington, LA.