Nearly every conversation I have had with staff or parents in the past week has started with “I know you are really busy right now,” or “I know you have a lot on your plate.” It is true that as the year “winds down” it speeds up like crazy!
The final weeks of school are filled with some very exciting events, along with some necessary, but not so exciting events. The CLT exams might fall in the “not exciting” camp if you ask the students, but if you were to ask the Academic Dean, she would say they are important!
Field trips are planned to take full advantage of the nicer weather May (usually) brings, and in the same vein lunch moves outside.
The kindergarten and preschool students had a ceremony this week to celebrate the completion of their school year, marked by songs and awards, and many adorable smiles.
The junior high Day of Beauty was, well, beautiful! Students had the opportunity to connect the topics they study at school with activities at the stunning John M. Hay Estate in Newbury. Art, science, and history were all studied in a fresh air, real world setting.
The poignancy of these moments is palpable, particularly for our seniors. I mention to anyone who will listen how impressive it is to attend their thesis presentations. For weeks, I have listened to them agonize over writing the longest paper of their high school career and express their fears and anxiety about presenting their paper in front of the junior high and high school students. And the staff, mostly the staff. Then, when the day comes, they rise to the occasion masterfully, with poise, confidence, and intellectual prowess on display. It is truly the pinnacle of their high school education and I feel blessed each year to be able to witness this transformation.
I love the term “commencement” versus “graduation.” Commencement implies the beginning of something new; a fresh chapter, full of hope and promise. We never graduate from the act of learning and should consider ourselves lifelong learners of one sort or another.
In these last few days of the school year, we are immersed in bittersweet moments. There will be joy at seeing the improvement a struggling student has made over the course of the year. There will be sadness as we conclude a course or class we have particularly enjoyed. But, for every “last” time, there is a fresh, unique experience waiting on the horizon. As Dr. Seuss is reported to have said, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
The following verse from Ecclesiastes seems very appropriate for this time of year:
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
a time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
What gain has the worker from his toil?
I have seen the business that God has given to the sons of men to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time; also he has put eternity into man’s mind, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live; also that it is God’s gift to man that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil. – Ecclesiastes 3:1-13
Until June 5th, we will take pleasure in our toil, embrace the “last” moments, and anticipate with joy the “commencement of new moments.” On June 6th it will be time for rest and rejuvenation, and a potentially long nap.
Thank you for your support in helping to make this year fruitful and productive! Please continue to pray for all of us, especially our seniors and they step out in trust to fulfill their purpose in Him. God bless us all. - Mrs. Lisa Sweet, Academic Dean