Lessons from the Field

It has been several weeks since I last shared my thoughts in this format, as the last school year drew to a close and I spent some time enjoying my summer.  The majority of that time was spent with my daughter traveling throughout the northeast for her lacrosse events.  For the better part of the past decade or so, I have spent significant amounts of time in rinks, on sidelines, and in dugouts supporting my children’s participation in all sorts of athletic endeavors.  In that time, I have learned several lessons, many of which are applicable far beyond the microcosm of youth sports.

One unsavory thing that I have witnessed through the years is the desire of parents to become “insiders,” using access to information and people to gain advantage.  From finding out the “right” team or program to play for, to knowing which coach to befriend, I have watched as a small minority of people worked hard to gather information and network in hopes of giving their child access to things that other families did not.  On one level, it is good that parents take an active interest in their children’s lives, and it is good that they perform due diligence when paying, in some cases, thousands of dollars to join certain teams.  When, however, information and access seem to flow unfairly, the outcomes can be quite negative. Having witnessed the negative impacts of even the perception of insider or privileged information and access in youth sports, I have come to believe that transparency and open access are critical in any organization. 

As The Beech Hill School is gearing up for the new school year, I aspire to make the flow of information and the pathways to access for our families very clear.  For example, I hope that our families will come to find that the most dependable and reliable source for regular information about the school will come weekly in The Update.  In the coming weeks, I will work hard to help our families to learn the most effective communication pathways.  For example, if a child will be absent, families should email Office Administrator, Liz Fortier.  Likewise, if an 8th grade parent has a question about their child’s experience at BHS, they should email their child’s advisor.

At The Beech Hill School we work hard to make sure that information and access is open and transparent for all families.  Throughout the year, I hope to make you all “insiders,” so everyone can have access to all that they need to thrive at BHS!

Founders Day

Birthday celebrations at The Beech Hill School are kind of a big deal.  From time to time, students will bring in some food to share on their birthday – like cookies or cupcakes.  One student used to bring in a grill and make hot dogs for the entire school to celebrate his birthday.  But even those that don’t bring in anything still get recognition.  During Community, the celebrant stands in front of the whole school, while the students and faculty serenade them with the traditional “Happy Birthday.”

This Friday, we celebrated another year of The Beech Hill School, with a day that we call Founders Day.  The day begins like any other Friday – Community, Classes, a suspension of the dress code – nothing out of the ordinary. But at 12:30, the celebration begins.

The school first started celebrating Founders Day in 2021.  Ten years earlier, in early June of 2011, The Board of Directors of The Beech Hill School met for the first time.  At that time, there was no Head of School, no faculty, no students, no classes – just an idea.  There was an idea that there should be an independent middle school, focused entirely on the middle school experience, and small enough to make sure that all students were able to connect with one another and the faculty.  The idea was fairly straightforward, however, when one surveys the educational landscape, they find that a stand-alone, day school, serving exclusively grades 5-8 is extremely rare.  Due to that condition of rarity, it could be easy to conclude that there are not more schools like this because they are unsustainable.

Emily Ricard, and the Founding Board of Directors, fortunately, believed that this model makes sense and could work.  While it was not always easy to actualize the vision of the founders,  the school was fortunate to attract families and faculty members believed.   Now, 12 years after the Founding Board Meeting, the idea that students would thrive at The Beech Hill School has become a reality.  Throughout the afternoon, students, faculty, and families ate well, played together, and enjoyed their time recreating and chatting.  On Founders Day, we not only celebrated another birthday since the founding of the school, but we also celebrated the affirmation of a founding dream!

Happy Founders Day BHS Community!

Time

“Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day”

Friday, we held the spring version of the all-school road race.  Since we started holding all school road races over a decade ago, the challenge remained the same.  Any student that beats me gets an ice cream at The Beech Hill Ice Cream Barn.  While I knew that it would be a tough race because of the heat and humidity, I felt good that I had been doing Peloton and lifting some weights as of late.  I thought I might just run a decent race.

“And then one day you find ten years have got behind you”

I did not run a decent race.  More students beat me than did not.  I ran slowly, walking on occasion – it was pathetic.  What had happened?  I used to run marathons!  After the race, I heard one student with older siblings tell her friends, “It used to be really hard to beat Mr. J – when my brother was here, hardly anyone beat him.”  What was unsaid was – now it is not so hard to beat him!

“The sun is the same in a relative way but you're older”

Time is funny that way.  A decade has passed, and I am nearing 50.   The last ten years have taught me a great deal, and I am better at being Head of School now than I was a decade ago.  That experience has made me better, sharper.  However, time ticks on, and some things are just harder to do as we age.  While I may get in a little better shape before the next all-school road race, it seems that the challenge of beating Mr. Johnson will never be what it was.

“You are young and life is long, and there is time to kill today”

Fortunately, time is not so cruel for our students.  They have much to look forward to, and they are just starting to run the race that is their life.  However, even our students are not immune to the challenges of time.  Our 8th Graders are about to graduate in just two weeks.  They will be off to new schools and new adventures.  They are ready and I am confident that they will find great success, but it is hard to imagine that their time at BHS is ending.

I look forward to taking the students that beat me for ice cream this week.  I wish that I made it more of a challenge for them, and perhaps next year, if I can get in a little better shape, it might be a little tougher. Or, perhaps they can just tell tales of a time when it was hard to beat Mr. J….

“The time is gone, the song is over, thought I'd something more to say”

Memorial Day

As I write this from a hotel room in Raleigh, North Carolina, I realize Memorial Day has become synonymous with lacrosse for me, as my daughter has played in a tournament on this weekend for several years now.  For others, this weekend has become connected to a number of things – family cookouts, the start of summer, and much more.  It is important, however, to not lose sight of the fact, that Monday is a day to recognize and remember those that have given their lives in serving in the United States Armed Services.  As I have shared before, this is something very personal for me, for I am the namesake of my uncle, Richard Johnson, Uncle Dickie, who at 19 years of age, gave his life at Mutter’s Ridge in Quang Tri Province, Vietnam on August 10, 1969 – 4 years to the day before I was born.  While I often wonder what it would have been like to known him, I always take a moment on Memorial Day to think of him and those who gave their lives so that I could enjoy mine.  I hope that you will also take a moment on Monday to remember those who have given it all for us to do things like play lacrosse and enjoy the start of summer.

Welcome Back, Keiner.

This past Thursday, The Beech Hill School welcomed former history teacher, Paul Keiner, and his musical group, The Klassic Kokes for a 45-minute concert. The Klassic Kokes is a an acapella group comprised of Mr. Keiner and a collection of Kenyon College alumni.  While at Kenyon, Mr. Keiner and his mates were members of the Koko Singers, one of the school’s acapella groups.  Mr. Keiner and his friends continued to sing together, long after they graduated from Kenyon. 

In the four years that Mr. Keiner taught history at BHS, he shared his passion for singing with his students, leading a chorus, and helping Mr. Arruda with musicals.  While at BHS, Mr. Keiner invited his group to the school and they made a huge impact on our students, as several BHS alums that went on to sing in high school and college attribute their influence as important in their lives.

So, when Mr. Keiner and the Kokes sang for the students this past Thursday, it was an opportunity to renew a long-favored activity that COVID interrupted.  Our students were fully engaged and listened with genuine appreciation to the beautiful blends and harmonies of this group.  Following the concert, several of the students stuck around to converse with the group, as they were so enthralled.

Of all the activities that I had tried to reinstate following COVID, I had not thought to reach out to Mr. Keiner, so when he contacted me to see if the school would be interested in hosting his group, I was thrilled.  Once again, I find myself wondering what else we lost in those years of the pandemic and what more we can rediscover.