At the beginning of a new school year, there is always change, and the beginning of this year brought the addition of many new Connelly transfers to the Royal community.

The Royal Reporter went around to a few of these transfers to ask a few questions about what they miss about Connelly and what they’re looking forward to this year at Rosary.

First up were two sophomores, Athena Mandi ‘23 and Karissa Garcia ‘23. Both Athena and Karissa had a fairly easy transition to Rosary and said that the Royal community has been very welcoming. Athena is looking forward to the many traditions and memories that she will get to be a part of at Rosary. She is really excited to be spending the rest of her high school experience at Rosary. A few things that Karissa misses about Connelly are the campus, all the traditions, how small the school was, and the energetic atmosphere.

Next up, the Royal Reporter talked to two juniors, Brooke Medina ‘22 and Emily Arceo ‘22. Emily said that the transition has so far been pretty smooth for her. She said that all the teachers have been super nice and have helped make the transition as smooth as possible. Something that Emily is looking forward to is the new hybrid schedule since she’ll get to be on campus as well as Rosary Day.

Brooke is looking forward to Red and Gold and getting to see how she’ll be able to contribute to it. Both Emily and Brooke really miss all of their Connelly friends and teachers who didn’t make the transition to Rosary. For Brooke, she really misses her former sarcastic bio teacher, who once made her cry but according to her “it’s all good now.” She also misses how close the entire school was and the energy she got when she stepped onto campus. Emily is going to miss the Connelly traditions but is excited to be able to experience Rosary’s traditions.

Lastly, the Royal Reporter went to a few of the Connelly teachers who also made the transition to Rosary. Mrs. Tran Ryan, Rosary’s new Director of Social and Emotional Learning, said that everyone has been incredibly supportive and that Rosary truly wants to support our Connelly girls. One thing that she misses about Connelly is the sense of family and how everyone knew each other really well. Ms. Torres, English and Social Studies, said that the transition was fairly easy since the Royal community has welcomed her with open arms and that she is really happy to now be a Royal. She said that Connelly’s true essence was made up of the students, faculty and staff, and Mother Connelly’s teachings. She also said that luckily it has been easy keeping in touch with students as well as Connelly’s faculty and staff.

Transitioning to a new school can be hard especially during a pandemic but Connelly transfers and teachers seem to be making the best of their situation. And, luckily the Royal community has been extremely welcoming making the transition so much easier. If you see any transfer around campus, Connelly or not, make sure to reach out and say hello.