The third annual signing ceremony April 10 welcomed the class of 2022, which includes girls from 25 grade schools, 35 zip codes and 65 students.

“Once they sign their contract, the ceremony is an official welcome to the school,” assistant principal for curriculum and instruction Ellen Carmody said. “It’s meant to parallel signing for college.”

The ceremony featured speeches by Senior Director of Enrollment Management Valeri Reynolds, Principal Natalie McDonough and senior class president Carolyn Dickey. Following awards, the eighth graders and their parents visited tables for sports, booster clubs, and other activities and could purchase uniforms and spirit wear. Approximately 60 girls were in attendance, according to Reynolds.

“If you look at the history of Sion, small classes are our norm,” Carmody said. “We saw a really significant increase from the late 90’s to the Great Recession of 2008.”

The typical class size for the past few years has been about 100, but the junior class is an exception with only 85. Historically, 15 to 20 girls are added from the time of the signing ceremony to the start of school, mostly from public schools, so next year’s freshman class could be about the same size as next year’s senior class.

“If you come from a Catholic school, you know the time frame for applying to high school,” Reynolds said. “But public school students don’t. In the summer we’ll start to get more inquiring families from public schools.”

To recruit more eighth graders, student ambassadors have planned a tailgate for the upcoming soccer game against St. Teresa’s Academy to get more eighth graders on campus, and they are interacting with prospective students on social media to help recruit as well.

“Our most important tool now is current students,” Reynolds said. “We are now using students to reach out to eighth graders more now than before.”

Eighth graders who know other girls attending the school or who have sisters or a mother who attended are more likely to enroll, according to Reynolds.

“My mom went to Sion and I really liked the school when I shadowed,” Sacred Heart eighth grader Juliana Vergara said. “It just felt right.”

One reason that numbers are down this year is increased competition from other schools, including the new St. Michael the Archangel Catholic High School. The Blue Valley and Shawnee Mission districts are ranked first and third respectively in Kansas, according to Niche, and are also drawing students away.

“We are doing informational meetings geared toward specific areas,” Reynolds said. “This weekend we are doing one for students who would attend Blue Valley schools.”

No decisions are final yet, but changes could come next year due to decreased enrollment, according to Carmody. For example, certain upper-level AP classes might be offered online.

“We are still trying to move stuff around so that we can still provide every student the best education,” Carmody said.