Akin Common buzzed with sounds of excitement from students and faculty alike, eager to begin a new school year. Convocation, one of two events during each school year where grades K-12 are all present, officially kicked off the 2019-2020 academic year on Wednesday, September 4, 2019. 

The festivities opened with a singing of the “Hackley Alma Mater” from both the Lower and Upper School choruses before transitioning to speeches from Community Council president, Taylor Robin, and Headmaster Mr. Wirtz. In keeping with the precedent he has set for his Convocation speeches over the past few years, Mr. Wirtz referenced a children’s book to supplement his message. This year, he selected the story Linus the Little Yellow Pencil by Scott Magoon, which details the adventures of Linus the pencil and Ernie the eraser. The story stresses the importance of maintaining the balance exhibited by a pencil and eraser, a theme that Mr. Wirtz labeled as a crucial mindset for the upcoming year. 

President Taylor Robin also referenced the balance between humility and confidence that she learned through her experience working with Hackley third-graders in her English class last spring. Taylor added that while she began the experience working under the impression that she would be doing all the teaching, she realized by the end that she learned a number of lessons from the lower schoolers as well. And, of course, in keeping with Hackley tradition, students across all three schools concluded the Convocation festivities with a resounding cheer  of “Go Hack!”