Flashback: On the first day of school, students gathered for an assembly where they were reminded of Loyola’s RIPLOC values and how they can live them out.
Now, students make their way to the Performing Arts Center during their flex on the first Tuesday of every month. In these meetings, they dive deeper into a letter of RIPLOC.
RIPLOC stands for Religious, Intellectual, Physically and Socially-Emotionally Fit, Loving, Open to Growth and Committed to Doing Justice. From the very beginning of freshman year at Loyola, students are taught these six values. The goal is that by the time they graduate, they will have grown in all of the areas.
These new monthly RIPLOC meetings help remind the students of the values and make sure they are on track with them.
Mr. Penna is one of the many staff members that spoke to students at these meetings. He said that although he knows many students may not want to spend their flex doing this, he sees it as “a collective effort to have intentional opportunities to live into our shared RIPLOC goals.”
So far, there have been two meetings with each grade level.
At the first meeting, the focus was on the L, which stands for loving. Students were reminded about the importance of kindness and being there for each other.
The second meeting took place last week on Oct. 1, 2024.
The theme for this meeting was the letter I. This letter is focused on the academic side of a Loyola student, standing for intellectual.
In order to promote this value, students in each grade were given some different lessons.
Freshman had the opportunity to hear from seniors about their experience with this letter of RIPLOC and how they feel they can live it at Loyola.
They were taught about the importance of reaching out to teachers when they need help, having a time to take a break from school, and not letting other people stress them out.
“They told us to know our freshman year does matter, but it’s ok to not have 100s all the time,” freshman Nora Gunnill said. “It was really helpful.”
Sophomores also heard from seniors and were given a similar message, as many of them might still be adjusting to high school.
“We learned a lot about time management,” sophomore Maggie Tarjan said. “I thought that was nice.”
For the juniors and seniors, the focus was on college and the application process. Both grades were given advice on the next steps to take. Seniors need to start, continue, or finish their applications and juniors can look forward to meeting their college counselors in the winter.
Gaby Hughes, a representative from Santa Clara, was given the opportunity to speak as well. She talked about what Santa Clara is like and what they look for in applicants, but she also offered general advice on the admissions process.
“That was super helpful,” senior Claire Tibshrany said, “to hear from someone that actually reads applications.”
Additionally, an optional meeting for parents was held the night of Oct. 1, 2024, where they were given a similar message to the one their children heard that day. Parents were able to learn more about what RIPLOC means and what their children are encouraged to be doing at Loyola.
Looking forward: the next meeting will fall on Nov. 5, 2024 and a new letter will be focused on with new lessons and messages.
