WEB EXCLUSIVE Although last year’s virtual Ring Ceremony took place in the spring, seniors stopped by campus to pick up their class rings or waited at home for them to be hand-delivered. 

“I was going back and forth between the two options,” senior Grace O’ Reilly said. “Since I live out of the City now, I thought it would be best to have it delivered since the possibilities for going to school on those days didn’t work for my family.” 

A Google Survey sent to seniors on Sept. 8 allowed seniors to indicate whether they would prefer that their ring be delivered to their home or gave them the choice to pick up their ring between 3:30 pm and 5 pm on both Thursday and Friday on the Broadway Campus. Rings were kept at the front desk as students are currently not allowed on campus. 

“Mr. Pryor Lorentz brainstormed a little bit on how we could make this work for everybody because there are some people who live across the Bay, some people who just don’t want to come into the school so it can be hard,” administrative support Jeanne Asdourian said. “We didn’t want to put them in the mail because they’re too valuable.”

22 girls ordered a ring this year, down a considerable amount since Asdourian, an alumna, attended the school. At least 90% or more of her classmates ordered rings, according to Asdourian. 

“At the end of last year, we got some different options to customize the finish of the ring and the stone to go along with the predetermined Convent logo,” said junior Madeline Richardson. “I’m most excited to be given my ring and to wear the Navy sweater.”

During the Ring Ceremony, a senior and junior are paired together and the seniors gives a short speech about them. Seniors present the juniors with both a ring and a rose in honor of their completion of junior year.  

“I’ve been in places where out of nowhere someone will come up to me and grab my hand and look at my ring, and they’ll say, I’m an alumna of a different school, or I’m an alumna from that school,” Asdourian said. “I think it’s really cool just having that ring as a nonverbal signal to others that we are a sisterhood.”  

The rings, decorated with the symbol of the Society of the Sacred Heart— two hearts, one with a crown of thorns around it and the other pierced by a sword— are worn by juniors with the tip of the hearts facing inwards, symbolic of building Sacred Heart traditions and character. Seniors turn their rings outward during the ceremony as they go out into the world, according to Asdourian. 

“When the class of 2020 received their rings, my friend gave me her rose, and she told me that when I had my ring ceremony that she would say the speech about me,” O’Reilly said. “I ordered a class ring because, as I grow older, I want to show my family and friends that I went to Convent of the Sacred Heart High School.”