Citadel Life: Building Character, Camaraderie, and Tradition

I’d like to share an update on one of this year’s most exciting new traditions at Cincinnati Classical Academy: Citadel Life. What began as a vision for building community and character in our Upper School has come to life in ways that have exceeded our hopes, and we want you to know just how much your students have already made it their own.

Last week, we hosted our second Citadel Life Days of the year, and the energy in our hallways and our new gymnasium was something to behold. Upper School students from all four citadels — Carcassonne, York, Siena, and Valletta — came together in spirited, joyful competition. The boys took to the hardwood for an intra-citadel basketball tournament, while the girls competed in a volleyball tournament that showcased both athleticism and sportsmanship in equal measure. The gym was loud with cheers, the benches were packed with supporters, and the smiles were everywhere. This is fun the way fun ought to be: uplifting, wholesome, and rooted in genuine camaraderie.

Those who were with us last quarter may remember the very different spirit of our first Citadel Days, which featured a Shakespearean monologue recital competition along with an art identification scavenger hunt. Students stood before their peers and delivered passages from the Bard with poise and passion — a true witness to the classical education they are receiving and the confidence that Citadel Life is helping cultivate. From the athletic court to the rhetorical stage, Citadel Life is designed to challenge the whole student. Looking ahead, our next Citadel Days will center on service projects, where each citadel will have the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to our community and demonstrate that virtue, not just victory, is at the heart of what we are building here.

What has perhaps been most inspiring to witness is the organic ownership that students have taken over their citadel identities. The Yorkies, the Carkies, the Senesis, and the Letties are not just names assigned by a faculty committee. They are identities that students are living out with creativity and pride. Students have composed their own citadel cheers, ringing through the halls before competitions. They have designed their own pins, worn as small but meaningful emblems of belonging. They have even organized fundraising efforts to support citadel activities. And citadel fun-nights are already a thing: Carcassonne has an upcoming skating party on the horizon, a night of laughter and fellowship entirely student-driven. This is school spirit of the best kind — grown from the ground up.

We also want to highlight one of the most cherished traditions we are building into the rhythm of Citadel Life: the annual “Posting” of our sixth graders. Each year, during the fourth quarter Citadel Life Days, our current sixth-grade students will be formally assigned — or “posted” — to their citadel and welcomed by their new citadel family with fanfare and celebration. It is a rite of passage, a moment of belonging, and a bridge between the Middle and Upper School experience. We believe it will become one of those memories that graduates carry with them long after they leave our halls.

Citadel Life is still young, and yet it already feels like it has always been part of who we are. That is the mark of a tradition worth keeping. Each citadel, guided by its faculty provost and animated by the mottos that define them — Strength in Unity, Truth Conquers All, To the Stars Through Wisdom, Wisdom and Virtue — is becoming a real home for our students within the larger CLASSICAL family.

Torches Up!