August 15, 2003

As part of their orientation before the beginning of the new school year, all freshmen and all students new to Episcopal High School attended honor assembly with their parents. They took the honor pledge and signed the code as students have done in previous years. The assembly was part of an orientation program that included sessions on technology, academics, and community service. The afternoon was designed by Episcopal High School’s new Head of Upper School, Mr. David Zielinski. He was assisted by Fr. Hancock, Dr. Houghton, a number of other high school teachers and members of the student leadership.

At the honor assembly, Fr. Hancock shared his thoughts about honor at Episcopal. You can also see the prayer which Dr. Houghton said before the assembly which his based upon a West Point prayer.

OPENING PRAYER
O God, our Father, the Searcher of human hearts, help us to draw near to you in sincerity and truth. Strengthen and increase our admiration for honest dealing, and do not suffer our hatred of hypocrisy and pretence ever to diminish. Encourage us in our endeavor to live above the common level of life. Make us to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, and never to be content with a half truth when the whole can be won. Endow us with courage that is born on loyalty to all that is noble and worthy, that scorns to compromise with vice and injustice, that knows no fear when truth and right are in jeopardy. Guard us against flippancy and irreverence in the sacred things of life. Grant us new ties of friendship and new opportunity of service. Kindle our hearts in fellowship with those of a cheerful countenance, and soften our hearts with sympathy for those who sorrow and suffer. Help us to maintain the honor of the school untarnished and unsullied and to show forth its ideals in our lives in doing our duty to you and to our country, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is the way, the truth and the life. Amen.

FRESHMAN ORIENTATION
HONOR ASSEMBLY
This assembly is a change that we put in place 2 years ago. In the past, our Honor Assembly had been on a regular school day. The idea was that you signed the pledge in the presence of other students who had already done the same thing. The disadvantage was that your parents were not part of this and they should be. You are signing a commitment. This is a solemn promise. It’s a vow. And parents should be witnesses to the vow because we hope that they will support you and encourage you in this very important promise that you make about your character.

We have a number of rules and regulations at Episcopal. Most communities have rules and regulations. Certainly, when you get into the life of work, you will find rules and regulations. Some rules are there so that this is an orderly place where we can get our work done—these are rules like those that govern attendance and promptness. Some rules are there to remove unfortunate kinds of competition and distractions. I see uniforms in that category. Some rules are there for safety—rules about parking and traffic and the closed campus. Some rules are there as an institutional statement about health and compliance with the laws of the land. Those would be our rules about drugs and alcohol. All those rules have their place and they are important. If ever you come across a rule that does not appear to have a place, come and talk to us. We don’t want to have rules just for rules sake.

All of these rules, however, are not part of what we are talking about when we talk about honor. Honor is about quality of our character. It’s something that we guard inwardly and because we all agree to guard it inwardly, our school itself becomes a finer place. The pledges we make are that we will respect each other, that we will be truthful to each other, that we won’t take unfair advantage over each other by mispresenting other peoples’ work as being our own, and that we will reassure each other that we can feel safe about our property. People long to live in communities just like that—respectful, honest, fair and safe. I can’t impose that kind of community. With all his height, Mr. Zielinski can’t impose that kind of community, the teachers all working together can’t impose that kind of community, but we can be that kind of community if we all pledge on our honor that we will do our individual part to make it that kind of community. Living by honor is a choice that we make and when all make it, the life of the community is trusting and comfortable, empowering and safe.

We will slip and others will slip. We know that. There will be failures and with the failures there will be consequences. The Student Life Council is here to decide those consequences. Hopefully, we will rarely reach the point at which we have to say that the consequence must be permanent separation from this community—but that does happen. It happened last year. Usually when someone fails, if they confront their failure honestly and do not compound the failure with deceit, a consequence is served and we move on. Hopefully, stronger and committed not to slip again.

You know what I think is most important about honor? It’s that it becomes a habit for life. Respectful, truthful, fair—those are qualities that we hope become so engrained in your character that they stay with you guiding you in everything you do.

Welcome to Episcopal’s high school. Thank you for your commitment and your pledge to be people of honor. Trust me. By your pledge you set a foundation for the kind of community you want to live in during your high school years.