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The wonders of nature at Berwick

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 School production. This year, the Lower School also pursued a theme of nature and the environment, exploring the wonders of plant and animal life on their own unique magic school bus ride. One of the Schneider girls even had the chance to play a turtle – Dad’s favorite animal. Each year I am amazed at the amount of teamwork and collaboration this event requires. This year, the kids created all of the art, costumes, choreography, and even most of the content…once again revealing that student-directed learning can be achievable at all grades.




While Earth Day reminds me each year of our obligation to work hard to sustain our planet, this year it has also revealed to me the amazing quality of our students – from the Lower School right on up to our seniors. I am grateful that Berwick continues to be so willing to take the kinds of risks I was able to witness yesterday. Even when the schedule does not always seem perfect, the learning is powerful.

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