Blanchet tradition week is one of the many beloved rituals put on yearly by the brave community. Many tradition week events have been passed down from year to year from as long as the community can remember.

Chuck Bocian, the current vice principal of student activities at Blanchet, attended the college prep school, graduating in year 1973. He has been a part of the Blanchet community for a large part of his life and has experienced the many traditions that came with it.

“To the school community, tradition week is a way to build comradery that a lot schools don’t have. Even when we compete against each other we do it in a spirit of fun and sportsmanship. It’s about the seniors taking care of the freshman even when the freshmen are trying to beat them.”  Said, Bocian

When Bocian was a student, tradition week was referred to as Olympic week. Olympic week was put on by the Language department, separating those who studied Latin, German, Spanish, and French and competing against one another.

The event soon flourished and evolved into what is now known as tradition week, incorporating all students and faculty into the events. As the tradition changed, so did many of the original events. The student faculty volleyball game primarily started out as a student faculty basketball game. Each home room class would have the chance to compete in a tournament to conclude who would be competing against the faculty.

“My Senior year, my homeroom basketball team won the tournament and got to play the faculty team. I remember playing in that and playing against some of the teachers that I admired the most because I knew how much they cared about the tradition like we did,” said Bocian.

The search for the “B” is one of Bocian’s favorite current tradition week events as well as the big assembly at the end of the week, bringing the whole community together.

“Tradition week is the continuation of traditions that started before I got here as a freshman in 1969, It’s about remembering and celebrating the great history of the Bishop Blanchet Braves,” said Bocian.

As Bocian said, tradition week is all about coming together as a community. Participate in as many tradition week events as you can because it creates many fond memories that you will remember for the rest of your life just as Chuck Bocian does.