Skip to main content

Paperweights

It probably won’t surprise people to know this has been a busy time of year in the Head of School office. Clearly now is the time when we have the epic convergence of both admissions and hiring activity. There have been recent days where I have had so many meetings that I can easily forget I am at a school with children. That said, we have absolutely started to see some of these amazing spring like days start to explode with the glory of what lies ahead. Just a few days ago, I decided I had better get out of my office and take a walk outside to do a bit of centering.

As I was walking down the back stairs of BD, I was poring through my calendar for the day. I wondered how I would get to every meeting and every interview on time. I was weighing the relative strengths of a few candidates I had seen recently. I pushed open the back door of BD and noticed some of our Lower School students scrambling around the mini-turf blasting the soccer ball. But I didn’t have time for that. I was headed to the Middle School to check in on the students before they headed out for Gunstock. Heading down the paved path, looking at my trudging shoes, I started recalling the trustee committee meetings I needed to prepare for and a speech I had not started yet. It was just at that moment when I felt a tug at my sleeve.

“Mr. Schneider?” I looked down to see one of our amazing Lower School girls: bright blond hair and all smiles. “I made this for you.” She handed me a rock covered in green chalk. “I painted the top green.”

Suddenly two more girls were upon me with their creations. “These are for you,” the first girl said. “They’re paperweights,” the second one said.

With that, all three girls smiled and sprinted back to their tables and their projects, leaving me finally fixed in the present moment and not running through the rolodex of things to do in my head. I was disarmed yet filled with power; the endorphins surged as I could not hold back my smile.

Schools really are remarkable places. They are remarkable because children are remarkable. I don’t believe these moments just happen by accident. I believe children to be intuitive, empathetic, and kind at the root of their soul. My three paperweights, chalky and aligned on the mantle in my office, now remind me of this fact as February draws to a close. Let’s make sure that we all remain open to the power of the present moment. Hint: being around children really helps.


   

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Piercing the Bubble

This week we were so fortunate to have former NH Senator Kelly Ayotte address grades 7 – 11 in our theater about Civil Discourse in a time of Political Polarization. Senator Ayotte spoke to the need to take the high road in tough conversations and put an incredible primacy on building relationships with people who hold different opinions. She was able to speak to some of her own successes in working across the aisle to develop legislation to address the opioid crisis in New Hampshire as one powerful example of how this can be possible. Additionally, Senator Ayotte offered a strong reminder to our students of the need for more women in positions of leadership within our government, citing that she had only been the 53rd woman to serve in the US senate during her tenure. With a down-to-earth style and but an appropriately impassioned call to action, she challenged our students to become the leaders that they could be. Her call to action and example of service were powerful reminder...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arts Underground

One of Berwick’s great strengths is its arts culture, and I have always felt that there is both a public and private face of this culture. The public face includes our amazing concerts, our ambitious productions, and the various art shows we produce throughout the year. The private face tends to include things like private lessons, coffeehouses, assembly performances, murals painted on walls, and unexpected artistic expressions that emerge on campus throughout the year. One of the great traditions I will miss at Berwick will be the annual recital week in April. So many of our students hone their craft on private music lessons throughout the year in the hopes of having a public performance at this time. Simultaneously, we have a week of performances in the theater and in Chip Harding’s coffeehouse lair – the space he likes to refer to as his “smoldering ruins,” referring to the carnage left there after every Middle School electric guitar class. This year, for my second and final time, I...
Post a Comment
Read more

Senior Arts Night

We often say in the Admissions office that it is hard to truly bottle the Berwick experience for prospective families to understand. Senior Arts Night is one of those magical Berwick moments that is difficult to fully explain. One certainly feels the power of a PK-12 community when kids announce they will be playing the song they last played in the fourth grade talent show. When I spend time with these young adults, I feel such optimism for the future. Last night I was able to sit with some senior parents, some of whom I have known for over a decade. Whether it was hearing their own child sing or a peer sing, it did not take long for the tears to roll. What I have always loved about Senior Arts night is that it never fails to offer surprises – a voice I didn’t know about or an artist that had been working in the shadows. It is a night when I often most appreciate the value of the “whole child” education that we preach on this Hilltop. Beyond the reality that being able to play guitar ...
Post a Comment
Read more