Rituals & Traditions

Houses

About our Houses

The young men of Eagle Academy are engaged in a year-long healthy competition known as the House Competition.  Scholars earn points for their houses for performing community service, being exemplary models for their peers, and excelling in their academics.  Scholars earn their house assignments at the end of Summer Bridge, their introductory course to being Eagle scholars.  The Eagle faculty is divided into house advisors for each of the four houses.  The four houses honor exemplary Black and Latino men throughout our history:

House Standings

Scholars can monitor their house points in the cafeteria and near the elevators on the 3rd and 4th floors.  Check with your Scholar Life Director for more information.

Invictus

Each morning, our high school scholars end Town Hall with a recitation of Invictus by William Ernest Henley.  The powerful words in this poem exemplify how our young men take charge of their lives and their destinies.

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.

-William Ernest Henley

Town Hall

Each morning, the young men of Eagle Academy attend Town Hall.  Town Hall is an opportunity for students to pour libation, hear important announcements for the day, and have an opportunity to discuss current events impacting the community.  Town Hall starts at 8:05am for all scholars and is mandatory.

Libation

Each morning at Town Hall, and at the start of all special events and faculty meetings, anyone in attendance has the opportunity to honor a person or persons, past or present, in their lives or not, though pouring of libation.  The pouring of libation involves adding water to the tree of life our young men maintain through this morning powerful ritual.

Giving of Thanks

About the Giving of Thanks

Each fall, on the day before Thanksgiving, Eagle Academy hosts the Giving of Thanks celebration.  This celebration is essentially a collective "pot luck" with over 600 staff, scholars, alumni, and families providing a dish and families assisting in serving the food.  Food is also collected for shelters.  House competitions are ongoing in the classrooms as well as game rooms, open gym, and various other activities.

Donating to the Giving of Thanks

Each fall, a variety of staff work together to coordinate all of the food donations into our celebration.  For more information, contact our parent coordinator Ms. Estrada at EEstrada4@schools.nyc.gov or by phone at (718) 466-8726.

 

Special Event Days

Eagle Days

Multiple times per year we suspend classes for what we call "Eagle Days".  These days are geared towards educating our young men about themselves, their futures, and their place in life.  Some of our Eagle Days have covered the following areas:

All-Male College Fair

Each fall, representatives from colleges across the northeast come to the Bronx specifically talk to our young men, from all campuses across the Eagle network.

Career Days

We gather over forty professionals from the NYC area to speak to our young men about the possibilities for them.