Segments

Growing up, I was involved in many different activities.  I was most active in sports, playing everything from football and wrestling to tennis and racquetball.  Fortunately, I was able to participate widely, and was also active in many other arenas, playing the trombone, singing in chorus, and acting in a variety of productions.  Common to all these different activities is the idea that within the game, production, or concert, there were always shorter segments – halves, acts, sets, and so on. 

Similarly, I have come to find that school years are broken into segments in much the same way.  There are the obvious segmentations of a school calendar – semesters, trimesters, or marking periods.  The school year, however, is also divided into less formal segments.  For example, we have just completed the first informal segment of the school year, which has spanned from Orientation to Fall Long Weekend.

In this segment, the overarching goal is acclimation and acculturation. In this segment, students and parents alike are introduced to the general expectations that guide the community for the remainder of the year.  In class and through all school meetings, we discuss the ways in which the Foundations of Community guide our school culture.  Students are trained how to use the planner, Google Classroom, and individual teachers spend time with students making sure that notebooks, binders, and the like are set up correctly.  Likewise, we have invited parents and guardians to join us so that they too can understand both institutional and class specific guidelines.

In just over a month, we have accomplished much, communicated expectations, and began in earnest the challenging work of learning and growth.  I hope that this weekend, you and your family are enjoying a well-earned and needed rest.  Though some of our 8th Graders will be busy with secondary school preparation, our goal is to allow the students to take a breather as this first segment draws to a close.  The next segment, which spans from Fall Long Weekend to Thanksgiving is one of the longest uninterrupted segments in the school year.  It is usually the time when the novelty of a new year has worn off, and the work requires a little more attention and effort.  Thus, the need for a 4-day weekend, to recharge for the upcoming challenges.

Overall, it has been a great start to the year, and we should feel good about a successful culmination of the first unofficial segment of the year - enjoy the break!

Mountain Day 2022

We are incredibly fortunate to have such a beautiful campus at The Beech Hill School.  Most mornings, as I walk from my car to the front door, I try to linger for a second or two to take in its natural beauty.  Soon, however, my day begins, and I tend to see things like my computer screen or a piece of paper and my mind moves from nature’s splendor to the myriad things that are happening at BHS.  Those moments in the morning, however, help to reset my mind and spirit each day.

Likewise, we ask the students to take a moment to pause and set their daily intention when we gather every morning for community.  This year, with few exceptions, we have gathered for community on The Knoll.  In the quiet that surrounds us during our moment of intention, it is not uncommon to hear the cry of a hawk, the moan of a cow, or the wind in the trees.  Our morning communion in our serene surroundings helps the entire community to start the day well.

On Friday, we traveled to Bald Peak for a longer sojourn in nature, our annual mountain day trek.  Mountain Day is the oldest tradition at The Beech Hill School, and one that I hope will live well beyond my time at BHS.  Mountain Day provides our students an opportunity to physically, accomplish a task – climb a mountain – and to spend time with the community in the beauty of New England.  While I scurried about taking pictures for the school’s social media outlets, the students were noticeably untethered from electronics and connected to their surroundings and one another.

Henry David Thoreau wrote that he “took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees.”  Watching our kids as they sat on the exposed peak of Bald Knob, it was easy to see that this walk in the woods had elevated them as well.  As they enjoyed one another’s company and gazed over Lake Winnipesaukee and beyond, one could see the power of time in nature and the great value of our cherished Mountain Day tradition.

No, Not Again!

Last Monday morning, my alarm sounded at 4:03 – a little over an hour earlier than I typically rise, but I had a big day in front of me, and I wanted to make the most of the week.  As the day progressed, I was getting a lot done, but I felt off.  I was sure that it was just because of when I awoke.  When the class day ended, I convened our weekly faculty meeting.  As the meeting progressed, I felt good about all that we were doing, but thought it crazy that getting up early was making me so tired.  We wrapped the meeting, and I packed up my stuff to head home.  Just as I passed Concord High, I started to feel chills – and that is when my second bout with COVID kicked into high gear.

My first run in with COVID came rather early in the pandemic.  Having lost a few relatives and listened to my younger cousin’s travails in the ICU on oxygen, fear was the primary emotion present when I first encountered this virus.  This time around, because I witnessed so many family members, friends, colleagues, and students safely return from a positive test, my response this time was frustration.  I could not believe that I had to isolate – and on the week that we had Parents’ Night and Mountain Day.  I suppose it speaks volumes to where we have come in the last few years, in that my second positive could be so different from my first.

The pandemic will continue to pose problems for individuals and for the community, and it is important that we continue to be open to new solutions to these new challenges.  Last week, in my blog, I asked that we practice patience in allowing students time to develop and this week, I was served a very real reminder of the patience that is required to deal with those things that we cannot control.  What I learned this week, is that it is easier to be patient when you trust that those around you are doing all they can to support you in your absence.  I am incredibly grateful for all that the faculty did this week, the way that students stayed engaged in class, and for all that our families did in managing unexpected schedule changes. 

There was a time when I was petrified to think that a member of the community might contract COVID.  Now, I have come to know that it is a likelihood that many members of our community will contract the virus.  This week, I have learned through experience that if one tests positive for COVID, they need not worry about school.  The BHS community will be there to support them in their absence and in their return.

I never cease to be amazed by the generosity of spirit of The Beech Hill School Community – thank you!

No Vine Before its Time...

For many years I worked with a colleague that had a story for every scenario related to students.  Whenever I would start to speak impatiently about one of my students; he would take a deep breath and say, “well Rick, have you ever tried to grow tomatoes?”  The first few times he started down this road, I would hesitantly tell him no, and wonder where this was going.  In time, I realized it did not matter whether I answered yes or no, he was going to use the metaphor of growing tomatoes to teach me a lesson.

The lesson went like this; essentially when one grows tomatoes, there are only so many variables that are within control of the grower.  One could prepare the soil, one could water the plant, one could try to regulate the amount of sun the plant received; but no matter how talented a farmer, no individual that raises a tomato can make the tomato grow or ripen on command.  Quite simply, it takes time for the tomato to grow and ripen when it is ready.  The farmer can create optimal conditions, but in the end, the tomato will become ripe when it is ready.

After a few years of working with this colleague, I knew when the story was coming and the point he was trying to make.  Teaching students was akin to growing tomatoes, and that at best, I could only control the growing conditions.  It took time and patience to allow the student to reach their full potential.

This Thursday, I hope that you will be joining us for Parents’ Night, when we will share what we do in your child’s classes.  We will make clear our practices for creating optimal conditions of growth, and our expectations.  In the end, however, we know that it will require patience and communication to monitor just what each one of our students will need to reach their full potential.  In time, each of our students will grow a great deal at BHS, and just like a garden full of tomato plants, blossom and grow in their own way and in their own time.  Like any good farmer (or teacher), we will monitor that progress regularly and take the steps necessary for optimal growth.

I look forward to seeing you all later this week.

An Impressive Reign

The 8th Grade Social Studies class is called “Our Modern World’” and throughout the year the students in that class will trace the roots of the present through the 20th Century.  Students in that class are often asked to offer personal reflections that typically lead to robust conversations about the world in which we live.  To start the year, students were asked to reflect on their first memory of a major world event.  As an example, I share mine, which to them is like ancient history.  My earliest memory of a world event was the Iran Hostage Crisis.  I recall watching the evening news with my father, and each day a counter registered the number of days that the hostages had been in captivity.

It just so happens that as we discussed the 8th Graders reflections, a major world event occurred, in the passing of Queen Elizabeth II.  I would imagine that for many, the Queen’s passing will register as their first memory of a world event, as her impact is internationally significant.  In fact, when discussing her reign, I noted that the Queen had a front row seat for many of the formative historic events that impact our modern world.

In the coming days, it is entirely likely that the media will inundate us with news related to the British monarchy and such, but there is certainly something noteworthy about the incredible longevity of Queen Elizabeth’s rule and how much the world has changed since her coronation in 1953.