Written by Reagan Lankford and Jonah Thomson
Have you ever dreamed about attending Hogwarts? With the new Bishop Kelly house system, we can all experience the magic of Harry Potter in our own unique way. The new house system is a way for upperclassmen to connect with lowerclassmen, to form a stronger sense of community, and develop relationships. The house system combines fun with faith to help create opportunities for students to interact with each other while also strengthening their relationships with Christ.
The principle of Bishop Kelly, Dr. Quilici, describes the house system as “a way of grouping students together to facilitate a sense of belonging.” The house system creates many meaningful opportunities for people to meet others and grow the community of Bishop Kelly. Community is vital in schools because it fosters a supportive, positive, and uplifting environment, which plays enormous roles on both staff and students wellbeing. The impacts of the house system are already apparent on Bishop Kelly, such as the Gaudium house’s stickers that show their house spirit and establishment of community.
There are eight different houses that are composed of eight different families. The eight houses are named after different virtues in Latin, while each family is named after a saint, such as St. Philip Neri. Over the course of the year, there is a big competition and each house has many opportunities to earn points, such as attending a BK partnership mass or competing in house competitions. The house with the most points at the end of the year will receive a prize.
Ms. Nichols, Bishop Kelly’s vice president of academic affairs, describes the idea of the house system as “Harry Potter meets Campus Ministry.” One example of how the house system creates a community through Christ is how the houses start off class every Thursday by praying together with their families. Every day, the house system encourages students and staff to build and strengthen their faith. It is magnificent to observe the sense of belonging that the house system creates, while helping students see how they can live out Christ in their everyday lives.
The Bishop Kelly Newspaper 