Dr. Palmer's Update: March 2013
Just two weeks ago, students on both campuses got a break from classes due to snow. Now, we are launching into spring break, and flowers will be sprouting across the campuses by the time classes resume.
Principians of all ages have been enjoying seasonal transitions. In athletics, students are moving from the indoor gyms and pools out to the track, courts, and fields to start the spring sports season. Flurries and a few patches of lingering packed snow haven’t slowed the student-athletes down.
In the arts, it’s been a fruitful month of performances and awards. Musicians from Lower through Upper School delivered award-winning performances at the annual ABC music festival, and the Upper School jazz band excelled at a regional competition. Before leaving for Vienna, Paris, and Zurich on the Performing Arts Abroad, the departing College students presented an inspiring concert of music and dance.
Meanwhile, we are introducing some new options for adult learners. The Principia Lifelong Learning program is pleased to announce a partnership with The Christian Science Monitor. Together, we have launched the Monitor Series—non-credit, online seminars taught by Monitor staff writers and editors covering topics ranging from cyberconflict to culinary history. Each four-week seminar meets live online once a week.
The March Monitor Series seminar begins this week along with a fully enrolled Bible Series seminar on Galatians. In April, Professor Mike Hamilton offers “Israel's Life with God—‘The Writings,’” the next seminar in our Bible Series. Enroll in this and other upcoming seminars here.
Adventurous learners will want to board the April cruise through Holland and Belgium. See spectacular carpets of colorful tulips in full bloom. View the works of great European painters, and study art history with former Upper School teacher Clark Beim-Esche. Check here for details on this and other upcoming trips.
Last weekend, the Principia Board of Trustees met on the School campus while the Alumni Association Board held its own meeting at the College. These dedicated volunteers are making a substantial contribution to the work of Principia, and we are grateful for their engagement and support.
The Trustees elected several new Board members who will begin serving in June: Chuck Lindahl, a consultant to higher education and other nonprofits who worked in the California State University System for 37 years, and Bob Macdonald (C’79), who has held senior marketing positions at a variety of high-tech companies. You can read the Trustees’ full update to the community here.
With the Trustees’ approval, we are grateful to be moving forward with the final phase of the renovation work in the Middle School—a new multipurpose room to be constructed this summer—and with plans to renovate the School’s Mesa soccer field. These are 100 percent donor-funded projects, and we appreciate the many individuals who have contributed in order to make these improvements possible.
In fact, the entire community, including the visiting Trustees, joined together to support Principia financially while having great fun at the Principia Parents Association’s Trivia Night and silent auction last Saturday. All proceeds from this event are going toward the Middle School renovation project. It was terrific fun to help move Principia forward while gaining some trivia facts in the process.