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A full tank

As we all head off into one last long weekend of true summer, I want everyone to know in the Berwick-sphere that my tank is full. More importantly, our community's tank is full. For me, summer is such an essential time to restore physically and emotionally from the school year, but it is also a chance to reflect on how lucky I am to work with young people and live in the Seacoast. As more challenges and problems continue to emerge on the geo-political landscape, I remain more convinced than ever that our work - alongside you, our Berwick families - will have transformational impact on our world over time. It is also really nice that we live near the beach.

This past week, our faculty and staff gathered together to hear multiple speakers and presentations on all we have to be excited about this coming year. Much focus was placed on continued progress towards the goals of Curriculum 2020, including the upcoming launch of our new Inspirations Commons by the end of September. Teachers travelled to the Port City Maker space to explore more deeply how we can connect various aspects of "making" into our curriculum. Our faculty heard a panel of Berwick students speak to their hopes for this new space....and then they provided professional development to all of us. I was so proud to see this paradigm shift, as I sat in on a session led by a senior about the ins and outs of 3D printing....something I plan to implement in my Ethics teaching this year. As we continue to work at being a student-driven school, we know how powerful it can be to learn from, and alongside with, our students. We also reflected together on the inclusive nature of our community. Certainly it was a week when I felt incredibly proud of our faculty and staff. Their teaching prowess and work ethic inspire me but their attention to empathy and the healthy development of young people is why my children go to school here.

While it has been an amazing week, I enter this tenth year at the helm more ready than ever to see your children. For while the Berwick tank is full, we still await the essential spark that gives our energy meaning and direction: the students. Perhaps what is most exciting at this time of year, as we lay out all of our shiny goals and plans for the future, is the knowledge that the students will steer the Berwick ship in directions we cannot fully anticipate. New ideas, achievements, failures, and relationships will emerge, and I am confident that I will once again find myself a changed (and tired) person next June. It is a truly healthy cycle of rebirth for me.


I hope that your family's tank is also brimming and that you are ready to hit the starting line next week. This is going to be a phenomenal year.

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