Campion News – Loveland, Colorado … Students and staff of Campion Academy in Loveland, Colorado, brought their energy and enthusiasm to the annual handshake event as they ushered in the new school year on August 10.

Hyping up the crowd and dressed as superheroes, the Campion Student Association (SA) officers led the event by introducing the theme for the school year: “Look Up.” After singing some classic camp songs, Spiritual vice president Shane Hart shared a worship thought on what it means to look to Jesus through whatever challenges one faces in life.

The event was moved inside due to thunderstorms, but the rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the staff and students. Julia Paez, returning sophomore student, commented, “I enjoyed how SA introduced themselves and the worship we had together. Seeing all the new students got me excited for the school year.”

Classmates connected over friendly competitions before finally getting in line to greet each member of the Campion family. With many new faces, the staff and students took their time to introduce themselves to each other in the traditional handshake line.

A new freshman student, Donna Ortiz, recalled her experience greeting each person: “It made me a little bit excited, but I was also kind of scared to meet all the people that I would start to see every day. But I looked around, and I saw a bunch of nice faces and thought, ‘I’d like to become friends with them,’ and I did!”

For senior students, the handshake event marks the beginning of their last year of high school. Marc Winokan, a four-year senior student, mentioned that seeing all the new freshmen and other students made him reflect. “I was once in their position, and now I’m the one that’s gonna be there for them and lead them, which is pretty cool,” he stated.

Campion Academy is starting the school year with 118 students, with a predicted decrease in enrollment after graduating a class of 50 students. However, community interest continues to grow, and Campion expects to continue to gain more students throughout the school year.

Campion has maintained its positive reputation internationally, and this year welcomes 28 international students from Brazil, China, Japan, Mexico, and Germany.

Additionally, the number of community or village students has increased to 43, a number that is likely the largest percentage of village students in Campion’s history.

—Camion News Team. Photos supplied.