Orientation at St. Stephen’s is more than a matter of schedules and introductions. Before classes begin, it gives students an opportunity to reconnect with their grade, welcome new classmates, and establish the sense of community that will carry them through the year.
For Grade 9, that was especially important. As the newest students began their St. Stephen’s experience, they spent part of Orientation on the Appian Way, where team-building activities with Gruppo Storico Romano brought students together against the backdrop of ancient Rome.
It was a fitting introduction to a school where the city itself regularly becomes part of the learning experience—and a chance for new classmates to get to know one another away from desks and classrooms.
Grade 10 students headed in a different direction, traveling to Parco Avventura Fregene for a day of outdoor team building. Through activities that required cooperation, communication, and a willingness to take on challenges, students had the opportunity to strengthen relationships within their grade before returning to the academic routine.
Grade 11 traveled farther afield to Subiaco for activities with Vivere L’Aniene. As students enter the first year of the IB Diploma Programme and take on greater academic responsibility, the day offered time to reconnect and work together before the pace of Grade 11 begins in earnest.
For Grade 12, the emphasis shifted from introduction to preparation.
With their final year at St. Stephen’s ahead of them, seniors participated in sessions addressing the many dimensions of the year to come. Meetings on student life and senior privileges were accompanied by advisor meetings, an IB session, wellness programming, Extended Essay meetings, and college counseling. There was also time deliberately set aside for lunch, conversation, and fun—a reminder that the senior year is as much about enjoying the final chapter of the St. Stephen’s experience as preparing for what comes next.
Across all four grades, the activities varied because the students themselves are at different points in their journeys. Grade 9 students are beginning to find their place; Grade 10 students are building on their first year; Grade 11 students are stepping into greater academic independence; and Grade 12 students are preparing simultaneously for graduation and life beyond St. Stephen’s.
What connected the experiences was the opportunity to begin together.
After a summer apart, Orientation brought students back into the life of the School through shared experiences, conversation, challenge, and plenty of fun. When the first bell rings and classes get underway, students will have already begun doing one of the things that defines a St. Stephen’s education: learning with and from one another.
