Launching a New Year of Learning
Although it’s still summer, our campuses have been buzzing with Summer Sessioners, Nike sports camps, and some exciting renovations. Before classes begin, the Middle School renovation project will be complete, unveiling a new multipurpose room and a more welcoming entrance. At the College, the store area in the Concourse is being transformed to incorporate a new central gathering spot and Student Center.
In just a few weeks, these fresh, upgraded spaces will welcome our 2013–14 students for a new academic year ripe with promise and expectation of good.
Each year, Principia adopts a metaphysical theme to guide activity and provide an inspirational focus for both the School and College. This year’s theme is “Hold thought steadfastly to the enduring, the good, and the true . . .” (Science and Health, p. 261). As the year progresses, the theme supports collective and individual progress and helps unify and strengthen our community of practice. Everyone is invited to join in exploring this theme throughout the year.
This coming academic year is one of significant transition. At the College, the dean of academics and dean of students positions are transitioning due to upcoming departures. At the School, a new athletic director is stepping in, and this will be the final academic year for Head of School Marilyn Wallace. Holding thought firmly to “the enduring, the good, and the true” is particularly helpful during times of leadership changes, and we welcome the opportunity to embrace the permanence of unlimited opportunities for students at all levels of Principia.
Next month we look forward to hosting Upper School Reunion on the School campus September 12–14, with 50th Reunioners arriving a day early. Past field hockey and football players from all generations will be gathering for special events and celebrations during the weekend. All Upper School alumni are encouraged to register. Spread the word; it will be a terrific weekend of celebrations and joyful reuniting.
As we all get into back-to-school mode, you can join the fun by signing up for a Principia Lifelong Learning online seminar this fall. Perhaps you’d like to participate in a four-week writing workshop to jumpstart your personal memoir. Or take Plug-In Cars 101 with Christian Science Monitor correspondent Mark Clayton to learn about the costs, advantages, pros, and cons of electric vehicles. October brings a Bible seminar on Galatians with Madelon Maupin and an opportunity to take Mary Baker Eddy and Her Households with Principia religion faculty member Mike Hamilton. Check out the details and register here.
If you are looking for an overseas educational adventure, my wife Sue and I would be delighted to have you join us on the Mekong River Cruise through Vietnam and Cambodia in December. We will visit religious sites and memorials while learning about the history of these remarkable countries from award-winning political science professor John Williams. Check out all upcoming Principia Lifelong Learning trips. Perhaps you would like to experience the arts and beauty of Florida’s Treasure Coast in February or explore the geology of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks with Dr. Janis Treworgy, Principia College professor of geology, next summer.
Meanwhile, I’m looking forward to welcoming our students back to school—from the smallest Preschool Acorners up through College seniors. While preparing to meet the new College freshman class, I’m reminded that this generation has grown up entirely in the Internet age. They rarely use a watch to tell time, almost never watch TV on a television, and can’t imagine listening to music on a car radio. This year’s typical college freshman was born in 1995—when a U.S. postage stamp cost 32 cents and a gallon of gas was $1.09. That was the year that DVDs, a new storage media format, were introduced.
It all makes you realize how quickly the world is changing around us. When it feels challenging to keep up, I find it helpful to remember the wisdom Principia founder Mary Kimball Morgan shared in her 1934 commencement address: “There is not one thing that men count desirable and good which may not fail at any moment, unless one’s hopes and aspirations are built upon divine Principle. Principle never changes—divine Love never fails” (Education at The Principia, p. 171).
So we launch into the excitement of a new academic year—standing on the firm foundation of divine Principle and leaning on the unfailing support of divine Love. Thank you, as always, for your support of Principia, the Christ-idea in education.