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Curriculum 2020 in Action


Last week I took my oldest daughter to Global Ex, and she told me she wished she had a chance to build something now rather than waiting for seventh grade. As she dropped marbles in various contraptions, she asked for deep explanations as to how all of the moving parts worked together. Perhaps more than any other indicator, her comment told me that our interdisciplinary revamp of our traditional science fair is working. Global Ex is now a long-term project that combines seventh grade World Cultures and Science, forcing students to collaborate, do research, consider social change, and quite simply - to build stuff. There was huge evidence of work that had been done in our fabrication studio, not to mention the coding, circuitry, and presentation skills all on display. Continuing with a long-standing tradition at this school, Berwick students were asked to put on a public display of what they had learned.

Earlier last week, I engaged a group of parents in a brainstorming session about the future of Berwick and the future of education in general. It was exciting to have a conversation about student-directed learning and to have tangible examples of Curriculum 2020 now in place at Berwick Academy. As a group, we concluded that collaboration, cross-cultural understanding, and emotional intelligence were all going to continue to be premium differentiators for our graduates in a global economy. I left the room feeling invigorated once again with the notion that Berwick must continue to support its faculty in creating a forward-thinking program that will engage our kids and develop the critical skills needed for future success.


Finally, on Friday morning, I had the best moment of all: a chance to rattle off a version of Blue Sky by the Allman Brothers with senior Jack McCraven. Given this is my favorite song of all time, it was a pinnacle moment of my year. I told the 300 Upper School students that it was the kind of song that just always put me in a good mood, and I hoped it would do the same for them. Once Jack and I had survived all of the intricate dueling guitar licks, I could certainly say that my mood simply could not be deflated. It takes more than a little rain to bring us down on this Hilltop. Can’t wait to see what this week will bring.

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