Dear High School Families,

 

Welcome to the 2017-18 school year!

 

The first days of school in the high school are busy! They are about building community and setting the stage for a year of discovery and diving deep.

 

It’s an act of bravery to spend your first three days of high school away – for students and for parents. We are grateful for the trust placed in our hands, and we cherish the tradition that is the ninth grade orientation trip. The ninth grade was whisked away to go upstate to Ramapo for bonding, and coming together as a grade. The rain couldn’t spoil their first day. They spent their time playing team building games and challenges, climbing an indoor high ropes course, and getting to know their classmates, peer leaders, and advisors. Today was the famous Sunshine Tower, a multi-person, high ropes challenge, as well as boating and hiking. Tonight is the annual talent show – an event that highlights one of the 4 C’s that is the foundation of our academic program -  Courage!

 

The tenth grade was off at the crack of dawn – and had a fun-filled day at the amazing Mystic Seaport: The Museum of America and the Sea, as they traveled to Massachusetts for three days of togetherness and a closer look at life in early America. They learned about whaling and threw harpoons, explored whaling boats, and sang sea shanties. There was a lot to see at America’s largest maritime museum! Today’s adventure included a walking tour of the Freedom Trail in Boston and a ride on Boston Harbor Cruises to Salem for a walking tour that focused on the witch trials and the impact it had on the Salem community. They return home tomorrow after a contemplative tour of Walden Pond!

 

For our juniors, this marks the official launch of the 2017-18 Junior Class Trip. They spent the first day of their trip lab exploring the myriad of social and political issues that seem to have bubbled to the surface all at once this past year while imagining ways in which these issues could serve as the basis for their place-based research trips in the spring. Today, students led workshops on 17 different topics that arose out of the generative process and explored them in more depth, as they begin to narrow their focus down to the five topics they will ultimately pursue as part of a yearlong inquiry, culminating with the trip in the spring. 

 

Ths slideshow shows some of what the 9th, 10th, and 11th grades have been up to!