Cold and Snowy Start to Spring Semester
“Spring” semester began with a snow day at the School and plenty of ice and cold at the College.
We like to brag that our School boarders have an average commute of 1.5 minutes from the dorms to the academic building. This means very few snow days for our students—much to their dismay! But a 10-inch snowstorm at the end of the School’s Christmas break complicated boarders’ return to St. Louis, and another round of snow this week led to more cancelled classes on Tuesday.
Despite the cold and snowy start, both campuses are revving the engines and accelerating quickly into a new term. Upper School seniors have completed an inspiring round of Senior Speeches, sharing thought-provoking, and often humorous, life lessons from Ridgway stage. At last week’s winter convocation, four College students gave insightful talks on applying this year’s metaphysical theme (“Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true …” Science and Health, p. 261) to their own experience. Listen to a recording of convocation on Principia Internet Radio (PIR).
Following its USA Rugby 7s DII National Championship, the College rugby team continues to garner recognition. Four of our players were chosen as members of the USA Rugby All-Star team. (No other school had more players named to the team.) In addition, one of our juniors was named MVP of the National Championship, and a senior will play for the Iranian 7s national team after graduation, competing in the Asian Games. Pretty impressive for the smallest college on the playing field!
At the School, auditions for the spring production (Meet Me in St. Louis) are complete, and roles have been assigned. Come the first weekend of April, we will be treated to a terrific celebration of St. Louis’s 250th anniversary. Meanwhile, band students in Upper and Middle School are busy preparing for Saturday’s annual ABC Solo and Ensemble Music Festival, which will be hosted by Principia. It’s a wonderful opportunity for our students to let their lights shine through soaring voices and instruments.
I am excited about the remarkable lineup of speakers and events we have to offer this semester. It kicks off on Thursday, February 13, with Monitor Night Live. Christian Science Monitor Editor-at-large John Yemma will moderate this year’s program—“Politics 2014: Is There a Common Ground?”—with thought-provoking panel presentations by Monitor correspondents from around the country. They will explore the polarization of politics today as we anticipate the midterm elections.
This year’s Ernie and Lucha Vogel Moral Courage Speaker is author Mike Kim, speaking on Tuesday, February 25. In 2003, Kim sold everything and moved to the North Korea/China border, where he helped those escaping the North Korean regime. He will talk about enduring harrowing experiences including interrogation, house arrest, and being held at gunpoint. Kim’s book is Escaping North Korea: Defiance and Hope in the World’s Most Repressive Country.
Both of these events will be broadcast live on Principia Internet Radio at 7:30 p.m. (CT).
We have been privileged to have several world-class dancers on campus for the last few weeks. Prima ballerina Amanda McKerrow and choreographer John Gardner with the Antony Tudor Ballet Trust held a three-week intensive workshop at the College and came down to the School to share pointers with the Upper School dancers as well. In April, the College will premiere a new work choreographed by Gardner and starring McKerrow, both of whom are former American Ballet Theatre dancers.
If you are in the area, don’t miss the College’s spring theatre production. From Thursday, February 27, through Saturday, March 1, you can see Hush: An Interview with America, winner of an Outstanding International Plays for Young Audiences award.
Peeking ahead to March, we are thrilled to be welcoming America’s first woman Secretary of State, Dr. Madeleine Albright, as this year’s George A. Andrews Distinguished Speaker on Thursday, March 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Cox Auditorium.
Events such as these are important additions to the learning taking place in classes both on campus and on-site in the larger community. I have the privilege of teaching an upper-level management consulting course every other spring. This year I have eight students who are helping a local manufacturing firm tackle two projects related to strategic acquisitions and marketing through a new sales channel. I’m always impressed with our students’ ability to engage with these projects and contribute value.
At the same time, teaching is one of the most humbling of all activities. Principia founder Mary Kimball Morgan provided a remarkably modern definition of experiential education in 1932 when she asked: “What have I to teach another? Only what I myself have learned. My ability to impart will be in proportion to my own receptivity and utilization of that which is of value in my own experience” (Education at The Principia, p. 67). I love nothing more than considering these probing questions with our faculty and staff—and engaging with Principia’s remarkable students on a daily basis.