Head of School's Blog

Wow, what a start to the school year! This has been one of the best school openings I have ever experienced. The senior class has provided outstanding leadership, and our faculty and staff are working together very collaboratively. We had an excellent professional development session with Liza Talusan, a very popular presenter and author of The Identity Conscious Educator. Dr. Talusan helped us discuss approaches to helping our students land in our community and experience a sense of belonging.

 

I had a blast on my camping trip in Stowe, Vermont. We played hours of cards, ate way too many s’mores, and proved to ourselves that we could hike a very steep trail and summit the highest mountain in Vermont! For some of our students, this was their first-ever hiking experience and first-ever camping experience. They were courageous to lean into this experience, and I believe many of them came away from the trip changed.

 

Our Dean of Students and Belonging, Lisa Munoz, worked with presenter Adar Cohen to create an excellent workshop on how to have difficult and important conversations. The students worked through some robust case studies and developed listening and speaking skills. One faculty member told me this morning that he witnessed a potentially difficult discussion in his dormitory common room last night, and it went very smoothly. I love that our students are learning these skills and habits of mind as part of our student life curriculum.

 

I am personally loving coaching the girls’ soccer team again this year. They are such a supportive and positive group! And I am proud to say that I know the names of all 280 members of our community–not bad for an old guy! Here we go!