Immaculate Heart’s Welcome Day Tradition Makes a Triumphant Return



“Little Sister” sixth grader Southerly Selwyn and “Big Sister” Regan Sweeney in eighth grade show off the notebooks they made for each other during Immaculate Heart Middle School’s Welcome Day.

Immaculate Heart High School & Middle School has roared back to life with the recent return of not only students but the annual tradition known as Welcome Day, which honors the newest members of the school community.

Immaculate Heart Middle School capped its Welcome Day celebration with popsicles for the students to enjoy together with their friends, like these sixth graders (L-R) Matilda Johnston, Yael Lilly, Sydney Dervin, Avery Cox, Malina Mayer and Makaela Munzon.

After so much time apart during the pandemic, students have relished the company of classmates since the start of the school year on August 12. Being able to celebrate longtime traditions like Welcome Day now makes the return to in-person schooling that much more meaningful.

At Immaculate Heart High School’s Welcome Day, freshmen (L-RO Camila Garcia, Alessandra Andalon and Valentina Chavez Gomez received gifts welcoming them into the school community from all the class years, including these popcorn containers with a friendship message from the Superstar Sophomores.

Welcome Day is one of Immaculate Heart’s oldest traditions, dating back to the school’s founding in 1906. Although the event was observed by students at home in a video format last year, the school community has eagerly prepared for this year’s live version for the past few weeks.

As “Superstar Sophomores,” tenth graders (L-R) Delilah Douglas, Ava Gold, Emma Young, Khai Ly Hayslip and Kiera Haigh showed off the glitz and glam of showbiz with the class song “Welcome Day of Fun,” a re-written take on La La Land’s “Another Day of Fun.”

During last Friday’s Welcome Day, Immaculate Heart High School students gathered in the decorated auditorium to cheer on 107 freshmen and 11 transfer students. By tradition, each class year chose a theme, which they used to create class costumes and a poster, as well as a performance featuring a skit, song and dance, as they formally welcomed the Class of 2025.

Immaculate Heart High School’s eleventh grade became the Jack Sparrow Juniors and sailed through Welcome Day with an energetic dance routine featuring (L-R) Karina Konstantinavicius, Joirdan Armstrong and Madeline Garcia.

For example, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air Freshmen” took the school back to the ’90s; the “Superstar Sophomores” showcased their Hollywood star power; the “Jack Sparrow Juniors” showed their classmates a swashbuckling time; and the “School of Rock Seniors” rocked out in honor of their last Welcome Day.

The School of Rock Seniors rocked their last Welcome Day at Immaculate Heart High School with a high-energy song and dance routine with a “band” made up of (L-R) Mia Banham, Lucy Parker, Daniela Salazar, Addison Alaimo and Vivian Kim.

At its Welcome Day, Immaculate Heart Middle School honored 71 sixth graders, as well as 11 transfer students with festivities featuring “Big, Middle, Little Sister” groups, made up of students in eighth, seventh and sixth grades. These groups got to know each other through games and decorated notebooks for recording their memories of the day. In bigger Red, Blue and Purple Teams, students composed a team cheer and competed in spirit games. The day’s activities ended with popsicles enjoyed outside with friends.

Not only is the academic school year officially under way, traditions like Welcome Day remind Immaculate Heart students of the importance of friendship and community spirit as part of campus life.

About Immaculate Heart

Founded in 1906, Immaculate Heart High School & Middle School educates and empowers young women in sixth through 12th grades from its central location in the Los Feliz foothills near Griffith Park. The school has a long and distinguished history, with more than 11,000 graduates. Today’s student body of more than 700 young women is both geographically and ethnically diverse, drawing on students from throughout Los Angeles County. Last year, virtually 100 percent of Immaculate Heart graduates matriculated to colleges, including the most prestigious schools in the country.

 

 

 

 

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