Rockbridge Academy Blog
A Part of Our Rockbridge DNA: A Reflection on Faculty Morning Prayer
As students come into the building each morning, they hear a strange sound echoing throughout the hallways. It's an unfamiliar sound in schools and buildings to be happening at 7:30 in the morning: sometimes louder, sometimes softer, and sometimes a higher or lower pitch. And then it abruptly stops about three minutes later. The sound comes from Mrs. Kennedy's Physics classroom. But the students hear it every day, so they no longer raise their eyebrows and ears to figure out what it is. It's completely normal to them.
What the students hear each morning is the sound of their teachers singing a hymn a cappella. Since the door is left ajar, the sound travels. From the entrance of the school, you can just make out murmurs set to pitch; as students walk further into the building, the words become more recognizable. School hasn't started yet, so students are unloading book bags and already nibbling away at their lunches, casually hanging out with friends with heels up on their locker doors. To them, hearing adult men and women singing full voice is not strange to them. It's just what their teachers do.
#87: Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty! / Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee; / Holy, Holy, Holy, merciful and mighty! / God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Each morning the Rockbridge faculty and staff gather together to sing a hymn and pray together for our students, families, and alumni. This is absolutely one of my favorite things we do. Here's how we do it.
When the bell rings at 7:30, someone picks out a number from a blue Trinity Hymnal. We've all picked one up from a bookrack as we've entered, so we're ready. It's a bonus when we're accompanied by a piano or a flute, but we're normally a cappella. Some of us try to sing harmonies—others succeed. And if it’s one of those hymns with the extra verses written beneath the final music staff, we sing all the extras too.
The collection of blue Trinity Hymnals with a solitary gold cross on the front have been gifted to us from various churches as they have updated to the newer red hymnals of the same design. Inside the front cover are stamps of the names of the donating churches. That our hymnals which allow us to sing together do not all come from one church but from several reminds me of the fellowship of families which belong to a myriad of church congregations and denominations but come together to form one Rockbridge. The Trinity Hymnal has been a new hymnal to me, but it has nearly all of my favorites.
#122: O ye heights of heav'n, adore him; / Angel hosts, his praises sing; / All dominions, bow before him, / And extol our God and King.
That our hymnals which allow us to sing together do not all come from one church but from several reminds me of the fellowship of families which belong to a myriad of church congregations and denominations but come together to form one Rockbridge.
After singing, we pray for current Rockbridge families and for alumni, selecting about five or six families each day. There's even a binder labeled "STAFF MORNING PRAYER LIST" to make sure we don't miss anyone, moving alphabetically through a roster of family names throughout the year. If you are an alumni, please know that we still pray for you by name. Your teachers delight in remembering you. For current families, please know that we pray for your entire household by name. As an Upper School teacher, praying for Grammar School students is how I have come to know the students who will one day be in my classroom.
If you are an alumni, please know that we still pray for you by name. Your teachers delight in remembering you.
We also take prayer requests for the faculty and staff for the day. It is here that we have shared in some of the greatest joys in each other's lives while also lamenting the greatest of sorrows. In a way, to pray for someone is to truly know them because it is to properly see them, their joy, or their sorrow in relation to God's ever-present care. Similarly, to be prayed for is to be known. It has meant so much to me on the days when I have asked my colleagues to pray with and for me.
It is here that we have shared in some of the greatest joys in each other's lives while also lamenting the greatest of sorrows.
The hymn, the prayer requests, the fellowship of prayer. This all happens in about ten minutes. And I'm so glad it does. It would be so natural to start the day together but to do so merely for the sake of making announcements and reminders about the day. And while we do sometimes have those, the focus is on preparing our hearts for the people and the learning of that day. As the school begins to be filled with students, it is also filled with prayer asking God to guide, to protect, to nurture our students.
I wanted to know when this rhythm began and how it had evolved, so I went about asking those teachers who were starting school days fifteen, twenty, or twenty-nine (!) years ago. All of them said the same thing: it’s one of those things that everyone remembers doing but doesn’t remember when or how it started. It struck me that singing to God and praying to him are just a part of the DNA of Rockbridge. Just as we don't remember learning to brush our teeth or how to tie a knot, at Rockbridge we sing to God and pray to him because it is part of the fabric of who we are.
#492: Take my voice, and let me sing, / Always, only, for my King. / Take my lips, and let them be / Filled with messages from thee.
It struck me that singing to God and praying to him are just a part of the DNA of Rockbridge. Just as we don't remember learning to brush our teeth or how to tie a knot, at Rockbridge we sing to God and pray to him because it is part of the fabric of who we are.
How Working from a Place of Rest Led to Conference Time and Python
Student life dramatically changed when Rockbridge Academy implemented Conference Time at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year. Now, all students in grades seven through twelve enjoy a 30-minute period after the 20-minute lunch break and 15 minutes set aside for recess, mentoring, or service. Conference Time was designed for students to be used as a built-in study hall, an opportunity to make or attend clubs, and an ideal meeting time with teachers. In the past, students could only meet for clubs and with teachers during lunch, which would take away time that could be spent with friends, eating, or recharging for the upcoming classes. With the development of Conference Time, students can enjoy more freedom and opportunities to connect with others from different grades and stages of life.
According to Mandy Ball, Upper School Principal of Rockbridge Academy, one of the inspirations behind Conference Time was the idea of “working from a place of rest,” one of Rockridge Academy's core values. She went on to say that this designated time in the school day allows for students “to do things necessary for flourishing and not just surviving.” The administrators hope that Conference Time allows students to experience a break from the busy school day and the ability to expand their own areas of interest through clubs.
Students have the option to use Conference Time as a free period for taking a break during which they can decide for themselves the wisest way to manage their time. This could include using the time as a study hall, which was one of the main reasons for its implementation, so that students have the daily opportunity to relieve work from their busy schedules. The time can also be used to meet up with teachers, which I assure you can be very helpful when answering last-minute questions before a Chemistry test! In addition to using it for school related activities, it can be used to simply take a break by chatting with friends, drawing, or perusing the library. Conference Time gives students more freedom, yet also allows them to practice time regulation.
Conference Time has been instrumental in the growth of clubs which, in turn, allow students to grow themselves in ways that differ from their academics. Rockbridge now boasts over 15 unique clubs for students in the dialectic and rhetoric years (7-12). These clubs give students the opportunity to bond over hobbies and interests that might not otherwise be covered in the Rockbridge curriculum, allowing friendships to flourish regardless of age differences. These clubs span topics such as sports, food, art, and communal prayer time, all working to make Rockbridge a more well-rounded learning environment.
A new development for Conference Time this year is a secondary rhetoric Python programming elective which takes place during Tuesday and Thursday Conference Times. This rhetoric elective is open to students in the calculus math track and taught by upper school teacher, Daron Lawing. Mrs. Ball said that the school has been trying to include a secondary elective for some time now, but it was difficult because of the early dismissals for sports on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She stressed that this elective is a pilot intended to test whether students will be able to handle another elective in their busy schedules.
Many students were excited about the programming option and its reflection of the growing STEM programs at Rockbridge. Python was chosen because it shows the application of math to the real world and how the realms of math and language intersect. Mrs. Ball also made the important clarification that, just like all Rockbridge science classes, the goal of this program is “not STEM for STEM’s sake but for looking at all of God’s creation.” This elective gives students the chance to learn the basics of coding and to further explore the unique designs of our Creator.
The entire development of Conference Time has been a blessing to the Rockbridge community, allowing growth in every area of the school and providing the ability for students, as well as staff, to have a more communal and holistic school experience. Through these changes, Rockbridge students have benefited from the freedom to participate in clubs, new electives, and a quiet break from the day which allows for a healthier learning environment where students can truly work from a place of rest.
Sophia Berger (class of 2025) is in 11th grade and currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the school newspaper, The Rockbridge Reporter. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, playing the flute, and going on walks.