The Penultimate Week

We are beginning our penultimate week of the 2009-2010 school year, and it is actually the final five-day week. It is a busy week, indeed, with the following activities on the docket: Pilot and Sixth Age new student/parent orientation; "Moving Up" Day for the Lower School (students visit the classrooms and teachers they will have in 2010-2011); Track and Field Day; the final Board of Trustees meeting of the academic year; and the Pilot Class Father's Day Coffee. We are trying something new at Track and Field Day. Before the students begin their activities and races, the faculty and staff will compete, in teams, against each other in a variety of games. It should be lots of fun, but I hope that the adults aren't too sore to supervise the students afterwards! Look out for my team--Team 5--to run away with first place! Given last year's rain out, students, teachers, and parents are all looking forward to Wednesday's Track and Field Day festivities.

It is Official: I am a "Doctor"!

Yesterday, I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education, completing a very rigorous, stimulating, and challenging three-year program. I am now the proud owner of a doctor of education degree in educational and organizational leadership. The program in which I was enrolled was a mid-career, cohort model in which educational leaders from across the country came together on weekends and in the summer to study and to discuss issues of both theory and practice. My dissertation, which focused on the experiences of parents of color at Calvert, is entitled Moving from Diversity to Community: Listening to Parents of Color at Calvert School. I am pleased to have "caught up" on the degree front to our Lower School Head, Dr. Ed Trusty!

Snapshots from a Busy Week

It is mid- May, which means the calendar is full and exciting. Last week, there were a plethora of events on campus, including the Seventh Age Play, a Ninth Age Crow-Canary kickball game, multiple Middle School athletic contests, and Alumni Weekend and the Calvert Day Fair! Off campus, we celebrated the 25th, 50th, and 75th (yes, 75th!) Calvert Reunions. Both Calvert Day and the reunions were very spirited and well-attended. Calvert students, parents, and alumni are passionate, indeed. Below, I have included pictures from a puppet show in which Tenth Agers entertained a Pilot Class audience, as well as a picture of the ten Eighth Grade members of the girls' lacrosse team. The girls received flowers from the coaches after the final home game of the season, a hard-fought 13-10 victory over Cathedral. Congratulations, girls!

Flu, Blizzards, and...a Power Outage!

To say that it has been an interesting school year would be an understatement! We have actually had an outstanding school year, with several "curveballs" thrown at us from outside the campus: the flu in October, the blizzards in February, and...a power outage last Thursday! Yes, at approximately 12:30 P.M. on May 6, the power went out on campus. Fortunately, the weather was very favorable: a bright, sunny day which gave us ample light in many classrooms and allowed us to play outside comfortably. The teachers and students took the power outage in stride. Everyone was extremely flexible and cooperative! We started an optional early dismissal at 1:15 PM, and approximately half of the students had been picked up by 2:45 P.M. We started getting nervous about Friday's classes, however, because BGE kept moving back the estimated repair time. It turns out a special BGE team was needed to repair a damaged underground cable (off campus). Our friends at BGE came through and we had power again at 2:45 A.M. on Friday morning, giving us ample time to be ready for the start of school on Friday. I greatly appreciate BGE's diligence and the teamwork of the faculty, staff, students, and parents. The outage was a rare event, indeed: Mr. Coady, who has been teaching at Calvert since 1968, told me he cannot remember a similar outage during his 42 year career!

Shaving Cream at Calvert--You Bet!

Last week, I had the true pleasure of spending a period with Mrs. Delorbe's Pilot Class reading group. The boys and girls did an excellent job practicing their upper and lower case Ks! A fun and productive method for children to learn to write letters is to write them in shaving cream. Not only did I observe the class, but I joined them in the shaving cream activity! See below for my handiwork. Mrs. Delorbe gave my letters her seal of approval, but truth be told, it took me two times to get my upper case K correct. At Calvert, we value corrected work, whether you are in Pilot Class or the Head Master's office!

Gettysburg with "General" Jim Coady

Friday was a special day: Jim Coady’s final trip to Gettysburg as a member of the Calvert faculty. Three teachers, four parent chaperones, two busloads of 10th Agers, and I got to spend a wonderful day in Gettysburg with “General” Coady. The students rose to the occasion: one of the guides told us that we were the best group she has had in over 25 years. Lest we be too melancholy, Mr. Coady has tentatively agreed to attend future trips to Gettysburg with us, which is great news. After organizing 42 trips, he can simply hop on the bus at 8:30, or stay at home if it is raining! After the students recited the Gettysburg Address in unison a few paces from where President Lincoln gave his remarkable speech 147 years ago, Mr. Coady joined the students for a group picture, which you can see below. Thank you, Mr. Coady, for 42 wonderful years!