Berwick Academy Head of School

Watching our new Inspiration Commons grow and evolve this fall has been incredibly rewarding. Whether it has been watching a number of great presentations from Mr. Fletcher’s sixties class, holding events for parents, or seeing Middle School students scurry around while drawing on walls – I have been inspired. This is particularly exciting as our anonymous lead donor was entirely focused on creating a space that was not merely about new technology or toys for kids to play with: the vision was a community nexus in which we might share ideas and collaborate with one another. One subplot in all of this has been the exhibition of student work, which is starting to build as well. Recently I have even tried to make a small contribution with some Ethics projects from my eighth grade students. However, one of the biggest highlights has been the fourth grade tree house projects. Spearheaded by Mr. Summers and Mrs. Witherbee and led by local craftsman Al Lofgren , our fourth graders have ha...

Perhaps the one thing America can agree upon is that we are generally happy the election is over. After many months of divisiveness, we are now at a period where there is some healing – or at least a willingness - to move forward. On Wednesday morning, I felt compelled to make a few comments to our Upper School assembly, and I thought I would share the cliff note version in my blog this week. First, after any election there are elated people and disappointed people. My expectation was that the range of emotions on our campus was probably quite similar to the range across the country. As we processed the results as a community, I reminded the faculty and students that our focus needed to be on dialogue rather than debate, and inquiry and listening that came from a place of curiosity rather than hostility. In a year when many would agree our candidates were flawed, we should gain perspective knowing that there will be many smart and committed people steering our government through a...