Upper School Newsletter – Aug 21, 2024

I was walking into the building early last week, probably around 7:00 a.m. It was one of those last few mornings where the parking lot would be empty, and the only noise in the building was the gentle hum of the air conditioning system. On a normal school day, I would probably be thinking about four people that I needed to call, three tasks that I needed to complete, and a project that needed my attention. The cacophony of demands that fill my mind during my walk into school from September to June often reduce my ability to experience the environment around me. That is probably why, when I looked up last week at the building, I had a genuine moment of surprise when I saw the Core Values written on the front of the building. I had an authentic moment of “is that new, or have they always been there?” Upon asking a colleague, they gently reminded me that they have been posted for a while on the front of the building.

My forgetfulness (obliviousness?) aside, for some reason the “Imagine What’s Possible” value really hit me that morning. I was doggedly staring at it while walking from my car to the front door. Talking to myself, I quietly said “Imagine What’s Possible. I can’t even imagine what this year will hold for all of us!” Though every school year feels like there are changes afoot, this year feels especially unpredictable with a contentious election coming, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence in education and business, and the deep conversation regarding the appropriate role of technology in schools. I don’t know what January or June of 2025 will look like, but I feel confident that it won’t look like January or June of 2024.

Though I have always believed strongly in the values of “Imagine What’s Possible” and “Blaze The Trail,” they somehow hit me more deeply during that uniquely pensive walk last week. They spoke to me with a tone of encouraging students to be adaptive and flexible, traits that will be invaluable in a world where knowledge changes so quickly. That same morning, I had been listening to a podcast that had an extended interview with the president of Fordham University, Tania Tetlow. She mentioned that universities have reached a point where some of the content that they teach is outdated or obsolete by the time the students enter the workforce. Maybe that interview with Tania Tetlow is why I was so laser-focused on “Imagine What’s Possible” on that quiet morning.

So as we begin the year, I hope we all remember that we must “Imagine What’s Possible,” because we can be certain that change is coming. There are many people out there who are blazing trails leading to this change, so we better be ready. That being said, I’ll do my part to make sure that many of these trailblazers are our very own Huskies.