MONTFORT TRADITIONS
Traditions are what unite a community of common belief, common experience, and common goals and ambitions. Tradition is what allows the present to be connected to the past and the future to be connected to the present. Tradition is the transmission of customs from one age to the next. Below are just a few of our most cherished traditions that unite Montfort Knights no matter where in the word they are or no matter what era they are from! DURING THE PANDEMIC, MONTFORT MAINTAINED EVERY ONE OF OUR TRADITIONS!
CONVOCATION, THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL
The entire faculty processes into the Church, led by the Academy’s Ceremonial Mace. The President then thumps his hand-carved wooden cane capped in blue and gold enamel on the floor of the Church three times to officially inaugurate the new school year. After the Convocation Address, a speech to open the new year, the whole school sings the Alma Mater and takes the Oath of the Montfort Knight.
Convocation Address 2020 for Freshmen: The Vocation of a Montfort Knight
Convocation Address 2020 for the entire school: What Anchors You?
September 11th Commemoration
Every year for 21 years, The Montfort Academy has commemorated the September 11th attacks on America on Patriots Day. Our ceremony is simple: we retire the American flag that was raised on the prior September 11th. The new flag we raise is always a gift of the most recent graduating class.
Swing Dancing
Montfort Knights know how to swing and have fun! Swing dancing at Montfort was inspired by a massive Swing Dance in Milan, Italy in an old jai-alai court, attended by thousands of people, in 2011. Since then, Montfort Knights have “swung” at the annual gala, the Snow Ball, the Halloween Masquerade Party, and at dedicated Swing Nights.
International Night
Montfort is ranked the #1 most diverse private high school in Westchester County. With students from more than 40 ethnicities, it is no wonder why. At International Night, students and families enjoy food, desserts, and entertainment from all these rich backgrounds, along with various ethnic entertainment, including Irish bagpipes by our very own Mr. O’Sullivan and Ukrainian Folk Dancing.
Halloween Masquerade Party
On All Saints Day, students can dress up as a saint! But on Halloween, they dance in costumes of their choice. The Masquerade Ball is one of the most popular social evenings at The Montfort Academy.
Thanksgiving Breakfast
Montfort Knights understand the importance of giving thanks to Almighty God for all that he has given us. Our annual Thanksgiving breakfast is the time when the entire student body and families learn to serve one another and give thanks together to God for our great nation of the United States. At the Thanksgiving Breakfast, the entire student body gathers for a breakfast prepared and made by the Montfort Parent Association.
Advent Vespers
Our schola cantorum (our choir) is a highlight of our Masses and Holy Hours. Each year the schola and the school say thank you in song to our donors and benefactors with an Evening of Advent Vespers, echoing the words widely attributed to St. Augustine: He who sings prays twice.
The Snow Ball
One of the most beloved traditions at Montfort, the Snow Ball is the winter formal which takes place right before Christmas.
Open Mic Night
What fun for our students just to show up and sing, recite some lines, perform a comedy routine in front of candle-lit tables full of Montfort Knights. This is uniquely Montfort.
Ring Ceremony
Each year after Christmas vacation students return to the annual Epiphany party, celebrating the arrival of the three Magi to Bethlehem. The same evening serves as the ring ceremony for the Juniors during which they answer the questions “Serviesne” “Will you serve?” with their pledge, “Serviam,” “I will serve.”
March for Life
For 20 years Montfort has sent up to two busses full of students to the annual March for Life in Washington, DC. It is great way for Montfort Knights to express their deeply held beliefs about the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. Even after the overturn of Roe v. Rade, The Montfort Academy will continue to march in this parade in support of all human life.
Spirit Week
Great Montfort Knight spirit abounds during Spirit Week, when all the classes compete for the best decorated hallway and the most class spirit. The week culminates with a series of Olympic games at the end of each day and on Friday of Spirit Week.
Annual Trip to Italy
For nearly 20 years Montfort Juniors and Seniors travel to Italy. This trip has taken students to Sicily, Calabria, Naples, Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi, Rome, Montecassino, Norcia, and Assisi. Students have participated in archeological excavations, performed dramas in amphitheaters, picked bergamots in orchards, made ricotta cheese straight from milk, and more. Four years of their classical curriculum come alive.
Dinner Theater
Our principal annual fundraiser is a Dinner Theater. The school is transformed to host sumptuous Cocktail Hour and Dinner, followed by our Spring Musical. Dinner Theaters have included Guys & Dolls and The Sound of Music. See our Theater Page for video clips of our Theater Performances.
Commencement
Finally, Commencement, with the pageantry of a centuries old, storied institution. We may be young still, but our traditions reach way back in time.
Our commencement features not only the pageantry of an academic procession of caps and gowns, not only Valedictory and Salutatorian Addresses, but also an Oration in Classical Latin and a Rhapsody in Ancient Greek. The speeches are followed by the annual reading of college placement and the conferring of diplomas.