September's Strand

One thing I love about the opening weeks of school is that I make a point to get out of my office. I walk. I cruise through as many classes as I can, checking in on our new teachers while soaking in the energy and magic of our veteran teachers. I stand on the new seal next to the Commons to welcome families in the morning, and I lean against the black turf field fence to watch the setting sun shimmer amidst a soccer game in the late afternoon. I can just see the beginning of color in the trees, but mostly there is a ubiquitous sense of green. Things are alive.

First Day in the Upper School

When the students have been away for so long, it is easy to forget that a school is a living, breathing thing. I get focused on sidewalks, roof repairs, and landscaping – or even more abstract philosophical directions for the future. But for the first few weeks of school, one can’t help but be moved by the children. I am reminded of their innate curiosity, and they return from summer thirsting for more. Perhaps with just a slight sense of making up for lost time, there is an authentic urgency to the work that lies ahead of us. Tanks are full. Possibilities abound. Stories are unwritten.

Lower School Ice Cream Social

There are other moments in the rhythm and life of the school. Each month, in a way, has its own essential strand to add to our DNA. But September’s strand is laced with hope, optimism, and possibility. There is a communal energy that almost feels too big for the expansive campus we enjoy on this Hilltop. If you happen to be on campus in the next few weeks for a drop-off, pick-up, or general school event, take a moment to stop and soak September’s strand. It is an energy that has the power to make all of us young once again.

Picture Day

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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...

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Behind the scenes

I often like to use the word authenticity when talking about Berwick Academy. I have said that I feel more able to be myself at Berwick than any place I have worked to date; it truly is a gift to feel that way. For parents, we usually focus on the teachers and coaches who make our kids’ lives so dynamic, and we forget the people behind the scenes who make the Berwick experience possible: maintenance, custodial, food, transportation, and support staff, etc. Berwick could not deliver the program it delivers without such high quality yet largely unheralded work. The same could be said of the Head of School. I am quick to point out that being a father is far more humbling than being a Head of School. There is no way on earth that I could have possibly moved this school forward without the unquestioned support of my wife, Amy. I often marvel that, in addition to dealing with a husband who can be tired and grumpy at the end of long days, she somehow has managed to catalyze the amazing...

Berwick Academy Head of School

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