Looking Forward, Looking Back

Serving as the head of this outstanding School means my schedule often provides some sharp contrasts—often during the same day.

Take Tuesday, February 12, for example. The morning started with a Strategic Planning Steering Committee meeting. Our consultant, Ian Symmonds of Ian Symmonds & Associates, was back on campus for the fourth time.

We officially have moved on to the Phase IV "Formulating the Future" phase, and we are now forming subgroups to begin developing a set of strategic goals based on the research we have gathered over the past several months. It's a very exciting stage in the process as we look towards creating a plan that will ensure the continued success of USM. I'm confident this process will set the stage for a bright future. More information will follow shortly from Sangeeta Khanna and Andrew Petzold, the co-chairs of the Steering Committee.

Following the meeting, I made my way to Lower School, where our fourth-graders were culminating their study of the Civil War by engaging in an “Immersion Day.” Impeccably dressed in the style of the era, our students learned bugle calls, sang Civil War songs, listened to historically authentic speakers, and tasted traditional “Johnny cakes.” I joined them in the taste test—they were actually quite good!

Starting off my day by working with a group of volunteers and administrators dedicated to USM’s continued success, followed by sharing an innovative learning experience as our students’ studied this extraordinary time in our country’s history, made this day a particularly rewarding combination of both looking back in time and to the future.

Help! Where's the Instruction Manual?

When we buy a new coffee-maker, it comes neatly packaged with an easy-to-follow instruction manual. Unfortunately, there is no such help when the most precious items in our home, our children, arrive. As a parent, I have often wished for a step-by-step guide that would be easy to follow and resolve all family challenges before they ever arose. Of course, we all know that’s just pie in the sky, and so at USM, working closely with the Parents’ Association, we provide many opportunities for parent education that we hope will ease the path.

From time to time, we have the occasion to feature some well-known speakers, and I am delighted that Katie Koestner, a national expert on student safety and wellness, will be here on Tuesday, February 26, to share her knowledge with parents of students at all grade levels.

From 8:15-9:15 a.m. in the Theatre, Koestner will speak on “How healthy relationships are important for the ongoing emotional and social well-being of students and families.” In addition to speaking to parents in the morning, she will present to students from third grade and higher during her visit. Her topics will include bullying and cyber-bullying, as well as respect: what students should look for in-peer relationships to ensure they are healthy.

I hope you will plan to attend Koestner’s presentation and discover for yourself her powerful messages that have brought her appearances on the “Oprah Winfrey Show,” CNN, and NBC Nightly News, to name just a few. She presents regularly at schools throughout the country, ranging from Phillips Andover Academy to Brown University.

Reaching 100 Means it's Time to Celebrate!

Reaching 100 is always a cause for celebration and on Monday our senior kindergarteners took full advantage by coming together for an afternoon of activities to recognize the 100th day of school. Their fun learning projects included: 

• counting 100 steps from a certain location and seeing how far that takes them 
• trying to bounce a ball 100 times (while standing inside a hula-hoop) 
• recording how many words can be made from the letters that comprise the words "one hundred days" 
• decorating paper "100" eye glasses 
• putting 100 dots on special 100-day hats 
• making Fruit Loop necklaces with 100 loops 
• counting to 100 by ones, fives, and tens 
• finding 100 words hidden around the room 
• rolling dice and then racing to roll enough numbers to add up to 100.

As I look back over the first 100 days of school, I believe the Administration and Board have made solid and substantial progress in many areas, including a strong Strategic Planning process, our self-study work as part of our re-accreditation by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS), great momentum for our Annual Giving Program, and a thoughtful, energetic, and comprehensive review of our security protocols (more to follow on this important topic in the coming weeks). Our students are benefiting from the new outdoor athletic facilities and the 1:1 Program, among other innovations new this school year. Thank you to all the members of the USM community who play a key role in our work – perhaps we should all get a pair of those glasses!