Wednesday morning, Casady held its first ever Chapel service for the first through twelfth grades. Interim Head of School Nathan Sheldon discussed the Casady Crest and what it means. In an email sent to all of the Casady Community, Mr. Sheldon encouraged everyone to act faithfully and bravely and to always remember "who we are and what we represent."
Mr. Sheldon's Chapel talk is printed here so that you understand the School's focus and the words that appear on the Casady Crest:
"I would like to talk with you today about something that is very important to me and to Casady School. I doubt many of us have ever paid attention to our School’s Crest, let alone to stop and think that it is what helps define who we are. Our Crest contains a shield with the words Fideliter et Fortiter. These two Latin words, that originate from the words Fidelis and Fortis, serve as a foundation to our School’s identity.
Fideliter means faithfully and with reliance on God. This idea is not exclusively one of religious faith but also one that welcomes all faiths not just our own. It doesn’t matter that some of us worship daily, weekly, or even less frequently. What matters is that we recognize the importance of coming together as a community for a time of stillness and reflection in the presence of something greater than ourselves. We live in an environment where we don’t all share the same faith, but we recognize the importance to understand our differences and to celebrate our similarities. This allows us to be more accepting of each other and serves as the foundation of what it means to be a part of the Casady School Community.
Faithfulness also includes the idea of having faith in yourself as well the idea of having faith in others. Faith in your classmates, teachers, priests, coaches, administrators, alumni, and parents. We may not always agree with them, but we should have faith knowing that they are acting in our best interest.
Fortiter means bravely or boldly. We must have courage to admit that we don’t know everything. When we recognize this simple fact, we are taking the first step towards knowledge and strength. It takes bravery to acknowledge this simple truth, and as we do, we become stronger. This act of bravery opens us up to new ideas and to act differently from what the world defines as 'cool'. You see, being brave and strong is not always the easy way. You show bravery when; given the opportunity to look at a neighbor’s paper during a test, you don’t; or when you see someone being mean to another fellow student, you step in and befriend them; or when you find something of value on the ground and instead of saying 'finders keepers, losers weepers' you take it to a teacher to be returned.
You see, whether it is football or physics; orchestra or Latin, you will face many new challenges this year, but because you are part of the Casady Community you can remember the words on the Crest and know that you have been called to respond to those challenges faithfully and bravely.
I am really looking forward to this being a great year… remember you are Casady. You are faithful, loyal, strong, and brave. Always, remember who you are and what you represent in everything you do."
Mr. Sheldon continued in his email to the community, "This idea is not only for Casady's students but for the faculty, staff, board members, alumni, grandparents, and parents as well. Once we join the Casady Community we are forever connected to Fideliter et Fortiter. Casady's Community, which dates back to the School's founding year in 1947, is large and stands the test of time because of faith and courage. We will always be part of the Casady Community and as a result we must always remember who we are and what we represent," he said.
The Chapel service concluded with the first through twelfth grades, faculty and staff singing the Casady Hymn together.Article by Communication Director, Betty Jane Garrett
During UD Chapel, STuCO President Marshall L. welcomed the student body, set the tone of caring and respectful collaboration and trust with an inspirational speech and an engaging video presentation.
Words of STuCO President, Marshall L,
"Good Morning. It feels great to be back, I hope you guys are as excited to be here as I am. But that being said I have two things to do today, one is to speak a little bit more about what Dr.Powell talked about yesterday and two is to show you a back to school video which Student Council put together.
So first off, as you can see this is going to be a year of newness. Both in the sense that literally there lots of new faces, buildings and rules and also in the sense that we are reviving lots of previous traditions that have faded in recent years.
Now all of you who have been at Casady remember some of the great traditions of Casady such as the Walk-A-Thon and the days when the Book Fair doubled as a massive carnival with the mechanical bull, dunk tanks and all. Shocktober Fest or Fall Fest which included more dunk tanks and also hay rides around campus. Now I know that these things just seem like an excuse to dunk teachers into water and ride mechanical bulls but in reality these are very important to our school because things like fall fest bring the Casady community together during football season and make the entire school come support. Also, the book fair had a much much more successful outcome when kids and parents were encouraged and excited to attend. Lastly the Walk-a-Thon was also a very very successful fundraiser for many many years at Casady and one of our most notable and lovable traditions. All of these plans, and these are only some of many, are aimed to bring the Casady community together in order to up attendance at sporting and other school events, raise more money for The Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, and to help Casady affirm our prestigious reputation. Because as Dr.Powell said this year, Casady is getting back to its ways. And as another very wise man once said “I was a cold dude, I’m getting back to my ways.”
All of this being said, none of these things can get accomplished without a mutual respects amongst teachers, students, and administrators. To reach that mutual respect which will allow the faculty to trust us with so many more fun ideas, we must show them that we deserve to be trusted. We can this by being mature, respectful and dedicated in everything that we do. We can also do this by treating all of our buildings with respect by keeping them clean and organized, not being too loud, and not tipping any lockers over. For you freshman and sophomores who may not know, this year is very big because we are looking to up our streak to 2 consecutive years with no lockers tipped.
So think about it like this: carry yourselves in a way in which you shouldn’t be paranoid of what might possibly happen when your grandma comes to visit on grandparent’s day. Be respectful. Be kind. And remember that our school has such a wonderful reputation for a reason, and another year means another chance to uphold that reputation. Have a great day, and welcome back to school."
