The high school’s new Renaissance Club hosted a rally recognizing students, staff and faculty Thursday, Oct. 15.
Assistant Principal Kristen Kearns, the club’s founder and adviser, said she first heard about Renaissance when she worked at Jefferson Local Schools. The curriculum is offered for free by a yearbook company called Jostens, she added.
“I watched this program work really well in my last district,” she said. “It’s about building a climate of inclusivity and positivity for everybody … we want everyone to enjoy coming in every day.”
The rally had opportunities for student and staff engagement. Seniors beat the other grades in a Family Feud bracket, the office staff beat the maintenance team at the Cup game, and veteran staff competed against new staff to define modern slang. Additionally, students had the opportunity to win Starbucks gift cards if they had zero tardies.
The rally also included a presentation featuring the achievements of fall sport teams and students who participate in music, theater and visual arts. Each group of student athletes and artists were encouraged to stand and received a round of applause.
The goal of events like the rally and the Renaissance program in general, Kearns said, is to show people that they are seen, heard and appreciated.
“This whole thing is about recognition, thanking people for the things that they do around the building that maybe go unseen or not as noticed as athletics, for example,” she explained.
Junior and Renaissance Club member Collin Zupnick said the club has planned many initiatives in addition to the rally. One of the things the club has done to make the school more connected was to make gift baskets for new teachers.
“It was a ding-dong-ditch for new teachers,” he explained. “We sent out baskets with supplies and then we knocked on the door and ran away.”
Kearns said the rallies are also intended to replace clapouts, which have been discontinued. She explained clapouts cause a disruption– especially for the band students– they were reserved only for athletic achievement, students would regularly use them as an opportunity to leave early, and they felt superficial.
The club also wants to recognize the students who tend to be ignored in favor of focusing on a wide range of students, Zupnick explained.
Kearns said the assembly was inspired by a Renaissance conference she attended over the summer, where students, teachers and administrators from schools with a Renaissance curriculum gathered to share insight and experiences with each other, including talking about rallies their schools put on.
“They will put ours to shame, I’ll be honest,” she said. “They are just so high-energy, and the student participation is off the wall.”
Sophomore Ja’veiona Bell said she enjoyed competing in Family Feud, even though the sophomore team didn’t win.
“It was very competitive, but it was a lot of fun,” she said. “This whole assembly was a lot of fun.”
Sophomore Damiah Milner, another member of the sophomore team in Family Feud, explained the contestants were given froyo coupons for their participation.
Kearns said it took a few years for students to take initiative to plan activities themselves at her previous district, and she hopes Bexley can get to that point too.
“The hard part right now is student buy-in,” she said. “I want the students to get excited about these rallies.”
Published and digitized November 2025.
