One of the most influential jobs a principal has is to set the tone for the school year, and on August 5th, Principal Kevin Banich did just that. Although the main focus was introducing new staff members, Banich took the initiative to connect with students and share an empowering message.

“I was really excited to get this opportunity to reach out to the whole school community,” Banich said. “I don’t get many opportunities to have a direct connection with students, so an opening school assembly was the perfect way for me to speak to students.”

To kick off the assembly, Mrs. Beth Reel, assistant principal for academic affairs, introduced the new faces that joined the staff. With fun facts about the new teachers, the Roncalli community was given the opportunity to grow in understanding of each other and welcome the new teachers in an entertaining environment.

 During the assembly, Banich showed two inspiring videos and hoped they had the same impact on students that they did on him.

 He wanted to plant a seed in students’ brains that opened their minds with the story of selfless love. Team Hoyte, which Banich had known about since his time in school, brought across the message of how many people we can get across the finish line if we turn the focus from ourselves to others. Despite his nervousness, Banich pushed through because of how valuable he viewed this lesson to be for the students and the Roncalli community as a whole. He wanted to encourage students to turn the focus from themselves in a very egocentric world and motivate them to grow into devoted and caring individuals.

Banich hopes this message of altruistic devotion will spread like wildfire throughout the Roncalli students and help them grow into caring and supportive people.