Turtles!

Did you know that a few turtles live at Calvert School? Visitors and students will see several turtles residing in the interior courtyards in our Lower School. Mr. Kevin Lloyd from the maintenance department takes excellent care of the turtles. Here are a few pictures of one of our shelled friends eating:

The President's Speech

This is a hopefully "better late than never" post on the President's speech to the nation's schoolchildren on Tuesday. Calvert 10th Agers saw the speech live, and many of our Middle Schoolers saw it later it in the afternoon. The White House was smart to release the text of the speech a day early, but it was sad, in my opinion, that they had to do so. The critics of the speech missed a key point: even if the speech did deliver a partisan message--which it did not--it would have been a great learning opportunity for our students and students across the country! In fact, one might argue that students could have learned more from a partisan speech (regardless of the party) than from a middle of the road speech. The post-speech discussions in class would have been much richer. It is important for students to understand politics, to analyze what politicians (and authors, other speakers, etc) say or write, and to digest that information and then make an informed opinion about what they themselves believe. This is obviously a process and cannot be fully achieved when a child is 10 or 11, but we can start that education now.

A New Lower School Schedule

This spring, we overhauled the Lower School schedule. We emerged from the grueling process with a schedule for 2009-10 that better suits students' needs and better utilizes our facility and faculty resources. One change allowed us to separate 9th and 10th Age physical education classes, which had previously been (mostly) together. To do so, we moved 10th Age PE to the morning, which the students seem to truly enjoy already. One remarked with pride, "We are the first 10th Agers in Calvert history to have PE in the morning!" The pictures below were taken at about 9:30 this morning, under cool, beautiful blue skies. Longtime PE teacher Jane Sewell commented, "The schedule change is the best thing that has happened in years." You will note that I also included a picture of some very happy 8th Age boys in the library for good measure!

First Day of School!

We had an incredible, special first day of school! The weather was spectacular, the students were eager and enthusiastic, and the faculty and staff were fully prepared and ready to go! Highlights: shaking hands in the Lower School, assisted by new Lower School Head, Dr. Ed Trusty; walking around the entire school, seeing 550 students already engaged in lessons and activities; an All-School Assembly; the first lunch for the Sixth Age; and a Fifth Grade Scavenger Hunt! I am already looking forward to shaking hands in the morning! Please enjoy the following photos from the day.

Almost the First Day!

The excitement is palpable on campus. The new faculty arrived on August 19, and the returning teachers came back on August 25. We were treated to an outstanding day of professional development on Thursday, when Dr. JoAnn Deak, author of Girls Will Be Girls, spoke to the faculty about gender issues. She was excellent and received rave reviews from the teachers and administrators.

On Monday, we wrap up faculty meetings in the morning and then welcome Pilot Class and 6th Age students in the afternoon for a Popsicle Party. The weather is going to be gorgeous, and the party should be a blast!

The first day of school is Tuesday, September 1! Keep checking back for multiple updates this week...

Graduate School and Calvert Update

I am back to Baltimore after a week of doctoral graduate classes at the University of Pennsylvania. It was my last week of summer classes, which is exciting. I have had time to reconnect with classmates, meet with my dissertation advisor, and attend classes on Testing and Assessment, Educational Law and Policy, and Data Analysis and Reporting. I am completing my dissertation on the experiences of parents of color at Calvert. How do they feel regarding community membership? What suggestions do they have for how Calvert can better support parents of color in the future? I look forward to answering those questions in the academic year ahead.

On the Calvert front, we have had a busy summer. I never let readers know that we decided to go outside for Graduation in early June...and the rain held off! The ceremony was held under cool, cloudy skies, which was actually perfect. Congrats again to the Class of '09!

Other Calvert notes from the summer...summer camps and programs, including the Middle Grades Partnership with Baltimore City Public Schools; renovations, office moves, and maintenance work; fire and security upgrades; and demolition (in progress) of the former fraternity house located at 3906 Canterbury Road. In the short term, we will stabilize the site; long-terms plans for the property call for a Lower School addition to be built.

Summer also afford the time to have extended meetings with colleagues. Just today, we held an all-day retreat of the academic administrators, in which we discussed individual and group goals, faculty meeting agendas, technology, and strategies for classroom observations. There is excitement for the academic year ahead!

School is (Almost) Over!

We completed the final day of classes today and also celebrated Lower School Closing Exercises. Although it was a half-day of school, it was action packed! Tonight, we have the 5th Annual Dixon Dinner for 8th graders and their parents, and tomorrow is Graduation. Unfortunately, we have another tough weather decision to make. There is a 30-50% chance of showers in the morning! If the weather cooperates--and everyone hopes that it does--we will be on the Castalia Lawn. If not, we will be in the Middle School Gym. In either case, it will be a special day for the Class of 2009!

7th Ager and 8th graders Having Fun in the Sun

As many of you know, Track and Field Day was cancelled due to rain. However, we were able to get in many of the events and activities during the last week. Yesterday, the 7th Agers played a variety of games, assisted by the 8th graders. You can enjoy the pictures below!