August 27, 2021, marks the first time the entire community came together and participated in the Gray Bee Olympics during a pandemic. We started off the day with Convocation as a community on the Lower Field. 

Although it was scorching hot, students managed to get through what many considered a fun, competitive and productive day. 

The games included in this year’s Gray Bee Olympics consisted of the following: Dodgeball, flag tag, flag football, volleyball, trivia, and much more. According to Ahmaad Walker SY who reffed Dodgeball, “Reffing at the Olympics was pretty fun. The groups were passionate about it, even when they chose to argue with me.” 

Today not only marked the first Gray Bee Olympics during a global pandemic but it  also marked the first time that the Girls Division participated in Gray Bee Olympics. The girls were looking forward to an especially competitive dodgeball competition. And it was.

According to Eviana Eguez FY, “My first Gray Bee Olympics was very fun actually. It was very competitive as well. Dodgeball and Flag Tag were competitive because all the girls were cheering their group on.”

Things often became heated between groups in the Girl’s Division. Many said their focus during each game was to earn points for their group. 

In Garnet Section there are three groups: Katherine Thorton, Betty Edelen, and Pearl Coleman. In Black Section there are also three groups: Rosemary Anderson, Regina Blackwell, and Mary Downey. 

Dodgeball caused overlapping debates about who won each game, creating a chaotic competitive mood and arguments that escalated between groups. There were loud cheers, leaders telling their ladies to throw the ball or to catch it, and ladies just sitting down enjoying the game. It’s safe to say that Dodgeball was the most popular and competitive game in the Girl’s Division. 

Many said that the Gray Bee Olympics fostered the importance of coming together as a community and getting away from distractions. The Girl’s Division hopes to participate in many more Gray Bee Olympics in the future. Senior Group Leader Marie Rosa Jeudy said it best: “My first Gray Bee Olympics was very competitive. It was a great experience being with the community.”

At the end of the day the results were:

Garnet section- Betty Edelen won with ten points

Black Section- Rosemary Anderson won with ten points

On the last day of summer phase, the community gathered for Convocation. Anticipation and eagerness to compete in the Gray Bee Olympics made it difficult for the Senior leaders to commence Convocation.  Something that was planned on such short notice by Amari Thompson (SY) and Craig Lampert (SY) turned out to be a major success for the community.  To close off the first in-person Summer Phase since the start of the pandemic, this Olympics brought the Boys’ Prep, Girls’ Prep and Middle Divisions together.  After Convocation, games quickly began as each section went to its assigned locations.

Up first, Blue section started off with an exhilarating game of dodgeball. As the games grew intense,  the thrilling emotions the game brought up had teachers eager to get involved. The two faculty members that participated were Mr. Mauldin, music teacher, and Mr. Moncur 15’, Freshman math teacher and alumni. As the games concluded, Mr. Moncur was interviewed to capture his emotions after those electrifying games he participated in. “After coming home from a pandemic, we just want to make sure that everyone is coming together as a community” Mr. Moncur said.

The winners of that event were the members of Fr. Valerian. As competitions went on throughout the day in the scorching 93-degree heat, the race for number 1 in the school was merely a two-group race between Fr. Valerian and Prof. Blood. These two groups dominated their sections, staying hand in hand. When final games were ready to be played, the tensions grew high within the two groups as they were at a slim deficit of each other. Fr. Valerian’s last two events were flag football and handball while Prof. Blood ended their runs off with trivia and flag football. They all played as if they had something to prove, striving to win bragging rights. Fr. Valerian and Prof. Blood dominated their respective events and it came down to the final count. Prof. Blood took the number 1 spot in the school with a lead of 1 point defeating Fr. Valerian of Blue section with a score of 30-29.  

At the end of the day, during full school Convocation, the students were eager to find out the final scores. Chatter rang throughout the Maroon and Blue sections. Geovanni Lopez (SY) Group leader of Fr. Valerian, spoke with pure emotion, “Although the result of first place was questionable, I am proud of my group for breaking the stigma of just being an academic group and showing that we can be the best of both worlds.” 

His words were backed by Jermaine Price (SY) who said, “To be honest I underestimated Fr. Valerian by not even putting them in the conversation of being number 1.” 

The event, unique to St. Benedict’s, planted smiles on faces.

“To ref these games, it’s just exciting. Seeing the students go crazy when a play goes on, it’s just awesome,” said Jordan Comesanas (SY). Though the referees had a different experience from the participants, the emotions were unvaried.

 “This was not the original plan coming into Summer Phase. However this is something that the student leaders decided was a very needed day for the reconnection of the community,”  said Joseph Jumbo, Maroon Section Leader (SY).