As we settle into a well-deserved rest after more than two months of hard work and only one occasion when we enjoyed consecutive days off, I suspect your sons and daughters have already done a lot of sleeping since arriving home on Saturday. I tend to think that Thanksgiving vacation is as important as any break in the school year due to the pace we keep once we get started in early September. This year has certainly been no exception. We have gotten a lot out of these 11 weeks, and this opportunity to pause and take stock of all that has been accomplished comes at just the right time.

 

Before taking a look back at the past couple of weeks and then a look ahead to what awaits us upon our return to school next week, I do want to share a few thoughts on the many conversations we have been having on campus subsequent to this year's presidential election. As the transition from the Obama administration to the Trump administration has taken hold, the range of emotion about the election's outcome and what is still to come has been varied. There is some fear and uncertainty, along with some satisfaction and excitement, and a lot of feeling that is somewhere in between. Our goal is to find ways to stay engaged in constructive conversations with one another, as we acknowledge that this presidential campaign, election, and transfer of power has been challenging for many.

 

On Monday of last week, I had the privilege of awarding endowed chairs to Randy Hesse and Dean Charpentier in Chapel. In preparing those remarks, I also spent some time thinking about the context we now find ourselves in on the other side of Mr. Trump's victory. While some of you have perhaps seen my talk on Facebook or YouTube, if you haven't, you can view it HERE. We anticipate that the weeks and months ahead will present additional challenges, and we will be doing all we can to stay our course, engage respectfully with one another, hold true to our values, and support and appreciate the rich differences that comprise our school community. If you have questions about my remarks or the school within this post-election context, please do let me know.

 

While the election has drawn significant attention of late, the past few weeks at school have been full of impressive accomplishments that are worthy of note. All of our fall athletic teams wrapped up their respective seasons in excellent form before we departed for break. Our cross-country teams performed very well at the 1st- and 2nd-team level at both the ISL and New England championships at the tail end of their seasons. While not always in the spotlight in ways that some teams are with night game opportunities and such, our runners worked hard all fall and should feel great about their accomplishments. Our field hockey team enjoyed a strong season and qualified for the New England tournament this past week. Our football team finished the regular season with a share of the ISL championship, and earned an invitation to a bowl game for the second time in three years. Our boys soccer team finished the regular season with just one loss and earned the Gummere Cup for winning the ISL championship. Finally, our 2nd and 3rd teams had terrific team experiences, won a number of games of their own, and always seemed to have a lot of fun along the way. A great fall on the fields!

 

The fall was also highly successful in the arts. We will return from break to a concert on Friday, December 2, at 7:30 p.m., in the auditorium, and then our Lessons and Carols service for the extended community on Sunday, December 11, at 4 p.m., in the Ashburn Chapel. The instrumental and vocal groups who will share their talents with us in December have been working hard to get to this point from the time school started in September. In addition to spending time with a visiting artist more recently, our visual artists had an opportunity to share their work in the Robert Lehman Art Center alongside Andy Warhol's work. We will look forward to seeing more of what our students are able to create through the year. Finally, the company of Wild Dust performed beautifully across three nights to bring their hard work on the fall play to a very successful finish on stage. With a new arts facility and theater coming into sharper focus all the time, it is exciting to contemplate how this good work in the arts will expand with a building that matches the quality of the program we are offering.  

 

Over the past week, we enjoyed the second annual Chipotle Challenge dinner on Tuesday night, and all of your sons and daughters were engaged in Winter Term course selections. In the case of the former, it was nice to finish the fall taking a look back at some great pictures of your kids amongst dozens of trees all over the campus. In the case of the latter, we will aim to match all students with courses of interest, and will share those assignments with them in December. We are all very excited about this sixth iteration of Winter Term, and we are looking forward to a great three weeks.

 

I was in New York between Wednesday and Friday of the past week for some meetings around our annual New York Reception held on Thursday night. We had a lot of fun that evening with well over 100 people in attendance spanning much of the school's history, including about a dozen current faculty members who were able to make the trip. This adds substantially to the evening for the alumni, alumnae, and parents who are eager to see former teachers, advisors, and mentors. It was fun to share some thoughts on the progress the school has made in The Campaign for Brooks, and to underline the good feeling we have about the school's direction.

 

Looking ahead, I trust that all of you received our invitation to Partners in Prevention, a parent education workshop run by FCD, and hosted at school on Monday, November 28, at 5:30 p.m. Our hope is that scheduling this at a time when you might be returning your son or daughter to campus will allow you to join this conversation aimed at sharing strategies we all need to have in mind about substance abuse prevention. FCD will remain on campus for a couple of weeks in December, working with students and faculty members in and out of classes. We are always better off as a result of FCD's counsel, and you can learn more about them at this website: www.fcd.org.

 

Finally, I want to thank all of you for your support of this year's Brooks Together effort. Your participation in and support of the school's annual giving program is essential to our success as a school each year, and we will look forward to continuing to earn your support as the year moves along. We would not be able to deliver the school we set out to deliver each fall without a strong Brooks Fund.

 

I hope that all of you enjoy some extended time with your daughters, sons, families, and friends this week, and we will look forward to getting the winter off to a great start next week. Have a great Thanksgiving.