What is Investiture?
This is a question you likely heard being asked around and were probably asking yourself in the days leading up to the Thursday of Week 4. The answer, as it turns out, goes beyond “nothing more than another whole-school assembly”. Investiture is a celebration of school leadership, a recognition of individual and collective achievements, and a reminder of the year that’s passed as well as the year that’s to come. Essentially, it’s the formal kick-off to the next phase of our respective QACI journeys - and yet, it also shows us that our IB journey is an interconnected one, where we have to work to support and celebrate each other and our school.
“It was really heart-warming to see how leadership roles were celebrated during Investiture, especially the new Connect Mentors and House Managers!”
– Lola Hamilton, Year 12.
In truth, maybe the most genuine show of real connection I saw at Investiture was the consistent tie and blazer switching - a real show of creativity and solidarity from our senior cohort especially. And although yes, proper formal uniform is an integral part of school pride (as Mr. Leigh would say: “Elegance!”), there was a much more honest and passionate sense of pride present during Investiture. The enthusiastic cheers of every audience member as we celebrated our Connect Mentors, House Managers, ICT, Media and Tech Teams, Student Directors, and Year 12 cohort really highlighted this. Not to mention the incredible talent of alumni Luke Harrison, who found his way back to QACI to deliver one more performance. Even post-QACI, it’s clear we all maintain a place in our hearts for this school, its people, its culture, and the lessons it taught us, both the academic and the personal.
This was something I felt was communicated really distinctly in Asha Metcalfe and Henry Wang’s speeches (2023 International Baccalaureate Diploma Duxes). In fact, we could all feel how grateful they were for their experiences at QACI, from the advice of their teachers to the support of their friends and classmates. The small anecdotes they told demonstrated how important the memories they’ve created here still are and reminded us to cherish every moment we have here at QACI. These are some of the most important years of our life, and for us 12s, what pretty much all of our lives have been leading up to. They’re years we are going to remember for decades, and though they’re the end of an era, they’re also the start of something completely, terrifyingly new: adulthood. But it’s clear that Asha and Henry are overjoyed to be entering this new phase of post-QACI existence, and of course, we wish them all the best.
Overall, Investiture is pretty great! It’s an important moment in the school year that gives the leaders of our community the recognition they deserve. More importantly, it reminds us of how much love we have in our community, and how much support we can find even in people who we’ve never talked to.
Article written by Rian Castilla Franco, Year 12