With Winter Term behind us and two full weeks of the second semester complete, we are closing in on a lot that will culminate before we break for spring vacation in about one month. We continue to get good work done in and out of the classroom in 2017, and it will be fun to see athletes and artists finish strongly over the next few weeks. With what follows, I would like to highlight some of what we have been doing since I was last in touch, and look ahead to what we will be up to as we move into the second half of February.

 

I want to start by thanking fifth-form parents for joining us to kick off the college counseling weekend at the end of January. I continue to be struck by the fact that this station in my life has arrived, but I found the workshop itself to be incredibly helpful while wearing both my head of school and parent hat. The process ahead for our daughter feels a bit less daunting than it did before the workshop, although I still cannot fathom how quickly this juncture in life has arrived!

 

It was nice to see a number of you at the Boston Reception this past Thursday evening. We had a terrific turnout. This was particularly true for those who graduated in the 2000s, and this high level of participation and engagement with the school bodes well for the attention and care it will receive from this growing cohort over time. At this reception, I was able to say a bit about sources of excitement, pride, and challenge that were on my mind the night before our winter trustee meetings were scheduled to get underway. It was great fun to catch up with so many who care so much about the school.

 

As for the trustee meetings themselves, I am thrilled to report to all of you that construction of our arts facility and center campus project was approved and will commence as soon as school ends in early June. We will look forward to sharing more detail with you about this building and project, our effort to continue earning support for it and for The Campaign for Brooks, and the difference it will make for the school when completed in the fall of 2018. This is the most comprehensive capital building project the school has taken on in a long time, and we would not be where we are without the extraordinary support of our trustees, alumni, alumnae, parents, and friends.

 

In addition to this project, we are going to move forward on a complete renovation and expansion of our student center, which is located beneath the Wilder Dining Hall and next to the school store. While we have not yet determined exactly when we will begin work on this project, it would be no later than this coming summer, and we are confident that this will help address a couple of concerns that have been on our minds:

 

First, we have had conversations about ways we might create more inviting common spaces for day students who we love having on campus morning, noon, and night. Yet, finding non-academic places to park for a little while between classes, practices, club meetings, etc., has not always gone as well as we would like. While not a space that will be exclusive to day students, we do hope this adds to the library, science center atrium, and athletic center lobby where many day students tend to congregate now.

 

Second, the revitalization of the snack shop this year has started us in a direction of making better use of the current student center. In so doing, we have been reminded of the compartmentalized and somewhat tired feel of the space. The renovation that we are planning will take down a few walls, bring more light into the expanded space, replace furniture and games, and draw students to it for a variety of social, recreational, and even academic purposes. The fact that this space will be adjacent to a new quad and engaging outdoor space that is part of the arts facility and center campus project gives us even more confidence about how it will be used.

 

We also set tuition, financial aid, and compensation levels for the 2017-2018 school year at these trustee meetings, and we will be getting electronic access to re-enrollment contracts prepared for all of you who have third-, fourth-, and fifth-form students returning for another year. The admission office is hard at work reviewing this year's applicants, and we will be making those decisions by the March 10 mailing date. As we head into a stretch aimed at appreciating all the Class of 2017 has given to Brooks, we are also excited to be engaged in building the student community for the coming year.

 

Finally, we spent some time discussing the dress code with our trustees. There is a substantial amount of frustration with the current state of the dress code amongst students and faculty members, and we would like to try to find our way to a less dissatisfied state moving forward. With this in mind, we are going to try two different dress codes during the three weeks leading up to spring vacation. One version will be a slightly modified gender-neutral approach. This version will not distinguish between boys and girls dress, but will instead offer a range of options to choose from that are all within current student wardrobes. The second version will identify 6-8 specific types of clothing that cannot be worn during the school day. In this case, students may wear anything that is not explicitly prohibited. I want to be clear that we are not making a commitment to changing the current dress code. We are engaging in this step intent on learning from the experience, soliciting feedback from the community after the trial period ends, and then making a final determination about any changes we want to implement moving from this school year to the next. I am well aware of the range of opinions on this subject, and would be glad to talk about any questions you might have.

 

I also want to note the terrific work a number of current parents of this year's wrestling team did to appropriately recognize the end of Alex Konovalchik's 24-year tenure as head coach. The number of former wrestlers who returned to campus to pay tribute to Coach K was testament to the difference he has made in their lives and in the lives of so many others who were certainly here in spirit. When I think about achieving a mission aimed at delivering meaning to students in ways that hold over time, the sentiment expressed at the reception held in Alex's honor served as a prime example of where we hope to finish with our students. It was an honor to be there with so many who care so much about him.

 

Looking ahead and with the arts in mind, I want to add that this year's winter musical, Cabaret, will run from Thursday, February 16, through Saturday, February 18, with the first two shows beginning at 8 p.m. The final show will start at 6:30 p.m., and will be followed by a reception for the company and all who are able to attend in the Frick Dining Hall. Our hope is to mark the occasion appropriately, given the fact that this will be the final theater performance in a space that has been central to the incredible work students and faculty members have done on stage going all the way back to the 1940s. We hope you will be able to attend and be part of this historic Brooks School moment -- while also enjoying a terrific show the company has worked hard to share with all of us.

 

With yet another New England Patriots Super Bowl in hand, I find myself gliding around campus with relative ease! I will hope to see you as February moves along.