Berwick Academy Head of School

For years now I have championed our April recital week as one of the hidden gems of Berwick Academy. Whether in the theater or in the “smoldering ruins” of Chip Harding’s classroom, all of our students who participate in music lessons on campus are asked to put themselves out there and publicly display what they have learned. I have been through it enough times now, over a decade, to know that the quality of these events will always impress me. What never gets old, however, is seeing an unexpected student – someone pegged as an athlete, or someone who just took a trip to the Honor Committee, or even someone who is perceived to be introverted – find themselves out on these stages taking a risk. I work as hard as I can to keep boundaries in place between my role as a father and my role as a Head of School. My kids have opinions, they have strengths, and they certainly have flaws. But this week I had one of my true dreams come true, and I have to thank Berwick Academy for making it p...

On Saturday night, our community will gather for BPC’s annual spring benefit, and as per usual the amount of work and effort that has gone into it has been inspiring. It is pretty clear that we are teed up for an incredibly successful event that will allow our teachers to receive grant funding for all sorts of amazing ideas and plans for the future of the Berwick program. I also know that we are going to have some fun on Saturday night coming together and enjoying each other’s company during such incredibly busy times. I am under strict orders not to reveal too much about the video we have created to unveil our Fund A Need project to improve parking this year. But I just need to say that I had a chance to watch it a few days ago and simply laughed out loud. I mean by myself, sitting in front of my computer screen, laughing out loud. Whatever ultimately comes of the effort in terms of fundraising, it was a moment of seeing once again how much our parents and employees care. It was ...

Yesterday I spent the day dreaming big about Berwick. At our annual trustee retreat, we took the opportunity to consider the theme of “good to great,” and how we might continue our journey towards a vision of national excellence and seacoast values. I feel so lucky to work with a committed group of volunteers who will push me to think deeply about ten, twenty, and thirty years into our future on this Hilltop. Our work together was focused upon ensuring that all of the amazing progress we have made in the past decade will not only be preserved but also built upon as a foundation for new heights in the decades ahead. We were able to hear from our commencement speaker and Colby College president, David Greene, and his ambitions for his liberal arts college. Conversations centered on creating a culture of opportunity and the power of doing extraordinary things. It was pretty amazing. When I made it to work this morning, my first task was a critical rehearsal with a senior, as we have ...

I started my day in the Admin meeting on Thursday hearing about the newest iteration of Earth Day this year. Thanks to senior Quinn Santos and his Innovation Pursuit, we learned about the ways in which Earth Day will be a bit more hands on and active than it has in the past. Quinn has been a passionate environmentalist on campus and this year his IP project has focused on building out our Earth Day programming. As Head of School, it is pretty compelling to see one student mobilize an entire PK-12 school into action to clean up beaches and come to know our local wildlife. While we can sometimes worry about the amount of disruption and special schedules that these events create, it’s amazing that we have kids who care as much as Quinn does. His passion is authentic, and it goes well beyond any kind of grade motivation. He is off to Unity College next year to take this passion to the next level. I finished my day by enjoying the miracle that Lower School parents know as the Lower S...