Stay-At-Home Mandate Cancels a Beloved School Tradition, But Not the Students' Spirit

The junior class of St. Joseph’s Academy, a private all-girls school in St. Louis, was the first class in history to not have a Junior Ring ceremony, but some were able to celebrate from afar last week. Junior Ring Day is awaited by the girls who attend St. Joe for years. It is a day in which the students carry out the long held tradition of receiving their junior class rings and then attend a dance that night. 

As schools have moved to remote learning and the government continues to mandate quarantine, high school events like Junior Ring, prom, and even commencement ceremonies have been postponed until further notice. The young women of St. Joe missed out on the tradition, and have to wait until next school year to receive the cherished ring that is a symbol of their school and the work they have put in to earn it. However, many of the St. Joe Angels honored the special day from home. The faculty and staff of  the school placed signs in each junior’s yard to celebrate the class and the school’s spirit. The front of the sign said “St. Joseph’s Academy loves our Class of 2021” and the back was decorated in the ironically fitting quote that the juniors elected to have as the theme of their classes’ ceremony, “Side by side or miles apart, we are sisters connected by heart” along with the hashtag #21ringdayforever. Some girls celebrated with flowers, ring pops, putting their dresses on, or singing the school song. 

St. Joe junior, Mary Clare Krippene, said “It is kind of sad because Junior Ring is such a big deal at St. Joe, and to miss out on something you’ve been looking forward to your whole junior year, you know, it puts you down.” Krippene said that although they do have to wait, they will still get a ceremony. The juniors will be able to have the first ever “Senior Ring Day” in the fall.