California
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July 22, 2022
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Students admire artworks posted on the pillars of the arcade

We have reached the point in the California High School Summer Program when people begin to speak of “lasts.” On Thursday night we had the last dance class and the last study hall; and today we have the last class, the last lunch, the last nighttime consecration.

Yet no one is getting too wistful just yet. At the conclusion of Thursday afternoon’s classes, students were delighted to find the art works they have made over the last two weeks now on display in the arcade between St. Bernardine of Siena Library and St. Gladys Hall.

Art Show
  • Two admire a work in colored pencil
  • Three examine some photography
  • A student points out features of a piece
  • Two before a collection of sunset/nighttime photos
  • A student presents highlights of their photography collection
  • Students walk down the arcade admiring the works; on the left, two portraits in charcoal
  • Dr. Strader admires a piece depicting sunset on the beach
  • A student examines three photographs
  • A student poses with her artwork, which depicts a woman surrounded by floral reds
  • A student beside four of their photographs

After admiring their art, students and prefects (plus ringer Fr. Sebastian) clashed with ferocious intensity in the Summer Program Basketball Tournament. It was a hot afternoon, but that didn’t seem to slow anyone down. Both the women’s and men’s games were hard-fought affairs, with the prefects claiming both victories. The competitors all exchanged congratulations and high fives when the games were done, then raced over to the pool to cool off!

Basketball
  • The women's teams pray pre-game
  • Women's basketball in play
  • A student progresses with the ball
  • Mid-action: a student prepares to pass
  • Students cheer from the sidelines
  • Basketball: an attempted steal!
  • A student takes a shot
  • Students mid-play
  • A student prepares to pass, while heavily guarded
  • A student shoots for the hoop
  • A student attempts to evade blocking
  • A student receives a pass
  • Fr. Walshe leads the men's teams in prayer
  • A student takes a shot, while Fr. Walshe attempts to block
  • A pass, in mid-air
  • A student dribbles the ball
  • Students applaud from the sidelines
  • More students applauding
  • A student takes a shot
  • Members of both teams running full tilt
  • A student leaps into the air to take a shot
  • A student takes a shot
  • Students cheer
  • Students cheer

Dinner immediately followed, but for about 20 programmers, it was a quick meal. Longing for a little  more philosophy — and one more great conversation — a group returned to the classroom, where head men’s prefect Dillon Raum (’21) led a seminar on Plato’s “Apology.” That, too, had to be brief, because only half an hour later, it was time for study hall. Students made the most of the opportunity, prepping themselves for Friday’s final classes by giving a close reading to Flannery O’Connor’s “Everything That Rises Must Converge,” then practicing the next round of Euclidean propositions.

Study Hall
  • Two students practice their props at the board
  • Four studying Euclid at one corner of a classroom table
  • Two smile for the camera amid their study
  • A student practices prop 16 at the board
  • Four watch a practice demonstration
  • Two students practice a prop at the board together
  • Two students discuss the props
  • Four students walking single file from one classroom building to the other
  • Two at the board smile for the camera
  • A student studying smiles for the camera
  • Two students practice at the board
  • Two students study together
  • Three practice props at the board together
  • A row of studying students

Following study hall, the group gathered to pray the Rosary in Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity Chapel, and then reassembled in St. Cecilia Hall for one last dance class. The Summer Program’s famed dance instructor — TAC’s college & career counselor, Daniel Selmeczy (’08) — is out of town for a wedding, so prefect newlyweds Mikaela and Dillon Raum (both ’21) ably took his place. The programmers have made remarkable progress over the last two weeks, and they look to be in great shape for Friday’s Farewell Banquet!

Dance Class
  • Two students dance a waltz
  • Two other students dancing
  • Another two students dancing
  • Two students dancing
  • Dillon and Mikaela Raum lead the dance
  • Two students dancing
  • Two students swing dancing
  • Two students dancing
  • Two students chatting and dancing
  • Two students dancing amid the crowded dance floor
  • The dancefloor, full of students
  • Two smile for the camera
  • Three girls hug and smile for the camera
  • Couples on the dancefloor
  • The students, paired up, in rows across the dancefloor

By the time dance class came to an end, it was getting late, but everyone wanted one last trip to the coffee shop, where root beer and ice-cream sandwiches awaited. They then made their way back to the residence halls, where prefects greeted them with a fabulous late-night snack of pancakes and sundry toppings! Over in St. Monica’s, the prefects hosted “Prefects on Tap,” an impromptu Q&A session about college life, spirituality, relationships, and anything else the programmers could ask! In St. Peter and St. Paul’s, the men prepared for the night’s next big adventure …

While the ladies of St. Monica’s were wrapping up their “On Tap” session, they heard a clamor outside. When they looked out their windows, they saw the men, dressed in their Sunday best. The men then proceeded singing “Wild Mountain Thyme,” “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and “I Want it That Way.” The serenade, accompanied flowers and chocolates, made such an impression that it was the subject of conversation at breakfast this morning!

Prefects on Tap & Serenade
  • Students relax on the dorm patio
  • Long shot of the women in the dorm courtyard
  • Students laugh and chat
  • Students gather around the prefects, who are seated on a couch
  • Students by the fountain listen to the prefects
  • Another view of students by the fountain
  • Students seated on couches
  • Roses and guitars in hand, the male students serenade the women
  • In suits and ties and with roses, the men sing to the women
  • The women listen to the serenade
  • A shot of the serenade, with both men's and women's sides visible
  • The men sing to the women

We now enter the final day of the program, with classes on Euclid and O’Connor, plus one last lunch, recreation period, and Rosary — as well as the farewell banquet and dance — still to come.  We will post photos and more tomorrow morning!