Building Community: The Success of Gael Time at MSJ

If you were to ask an average high school student how they feel about the school day, you’d likely expect an “it’s alright,” “pretty stressful,” or “kinda boring,” right? Not here at Mount Saint Joseph High School. Where other schools devote every second of the day to classroom time, MSJ has chosen to spend time on unique student life initiatives to strengthen morale and build community.

Over the past few years, the current administration at MSJ has introduced many new and diverse initiatives to support and uplift the student body. At the onset of the 2023-24 school year, Dr. Joe Walker, a counselor at the school, introduced the “Big Brother Program”. Meant to connect upperclassmen and new students, the Big Brother Program was one of the first student life initiatives, paving the way for many more to follow.

The idea of collaboration between classes proved successful in strengthening the “brotherhood” at MSJ, and as a result, Dr. Walker’s program would be integrated into many other activities to come. Not all initiatives are directly impacted by this, though, with a prime example of this being the faculty’s latest idea: Gael time.

A man wearing a purple shirt uses tongs to serve food at a grill while a woman in a blue sweatshirt assists nearby, with students gathered around them. — Mr. Vicchio and Ms. White leading grilling for Gael Time. Photo credit: Justice Grey

Gael time is an additional class period added to our schedule once a month, providing students with more opportunities to engage in the MSJ community and extracurricular activities. As the most recent instance of the ever-increasing number of student life opportunities, I figured it was worth discussing Gael time with its primary organizer, Mr. Jason Ader.

As I went into my interview with Mr. Ader, I had a few pressing questions on my mind. What could have prompted the staff to implement this idea? What was the desired outcome, and was there any pushback from teachers? I was very curious to learn, but the answers I received were not at all what I expected.

When asked what inspired this particular plan, Mr. Ader explained to me that when the staff met to discuss the schedule, substantial focus was put on community building at the Mount. According to Mr. Ader, “We want our students to be involved in the daily life of the school and the extracurriculars and the athletics because our students are happier, there’s more community, and they do better when they’re more involved.”

Two students engaged in a game of chess at a table in a library, with one player focused on the game while the other adjusts the pieces on their board. — Students participating in a game of chess in the library. Photo credit: Justice Grey

The scheduling committee realized that, due to rigid transport schedules and the early departure times of buses from the school, some students were physically unable to participate in sports or extracurricular activities. In order to provide these students with a fairer shot at integrating into the school culture and community, the committee decided to introduce these activities and opportunities into the school schedule, similarly to how a school Mass or assembly might be integrated. They were a massive success.

Students such as Tim Arthur found Gael time to be a welcome diversion from their everyday school routines. In my interview with Tim, he explained to me that “This is a very good thing for MSJ because not everybody does sports, not everybody does clubs, and especially for a freshman, an incoming freshman, this is going to be a great way to introduce them to whatever clubs we have.”

Hearing students echo Mr. Ader’s idea that this is an excellent community-building opportunity is a great indicator of the success of this activity. Knowing that this activity would take time away from classroom time, I was curious to know if there was any pushback from the teachers. I posed this question to Mr. Ader, and he assured me that, seeing as Gael time only takes five minutes from each class once a month, there was no discernible discontent with this idea amongst the staff. “Could some teachers have been upset? It’s always possible, but I heard no pushback.”

Two students participating in a cornhole game on a sports field during a school event, with other students in the background. — Intense game of cornhole on Plevyak field. Photo credit: Justice Grey

While students widely applauded the first Gael time, they all seemed to echo one criticism. Thirty-five minutes for some of these activities simply isn’t enough time. Tim Arthur, while very much in support of Gael time, was slightly disappointed to see that instead of a sizeable 45 minutes to an hour, Gael Time only lasted 35 minutes. For many activities, including his own, this ended up “making things a little short.” After bringing these concerns to Mr. Ader, I was assured that, following the successful first session and considering this criticism, the staff will investigate further (though no promises were made) and are excited to build on this idea.

The success of Gael time and other student life activities is a good sign that the ongoing community-building effort is heading in the right direction. With both student and staff approval of these ideas, it’s safe to say that we can likely expect many more fun events and initiatives continuing on into the future.