Kicking Off the Year Focused on Community
“We’re all in this together!”
This observation from a parent attending New Parent Orientation sums up the intentional sense of family and community that is infusing activities and programs throughout the School at the start of the new academic year.
Principal Travis Brantingham (US'94, C'98) feels strongly that instilling a deeper sense of unity and common purpose across all levels—among students, faculty, staff, and parents—will contribute to the success of our learning community. With the arrival of nearly 25 new faculty and staff, the enrollment of students from 56 families that are brand new to Principia, ongoing infrastructure renovations, and current and planned programmatic restructuring, it is essential that every member of the community be aware of and feel invested in the direction the School is headed, he says.
“It was exciting to expand our New Parent Orientation activities this year to include parents at all levels, from Acorn to Upper School,” says Jill McClelland of the Admissions Office. The Saturday event was attended by nearly 90 parents, many of whom “shared their heartfelt gratitude for the love they felt throughout the weekend and within the Principia community,” McClelland reports.
Faculty Collaboration
This same inclusivity is also increasingly evident among faculty, both longtime and new hires, who spent two weeks before the start of school engaged in intensive professional development and preparation for the coming year. On- and off-campus morning group walks and occasional breaks during the work sessions helped teachers share freely and bond—while being productive.
Dean of Innovation and Academics Peter Dry, who is leading the professional development process, is pleased “to hear the depth of conversation school faculty are continuing to have” around key issues such as curriculum, lesson design, instruction, and assessment. “Teachers are supporting each other to improve practice and make classes more relevant and challenging," he notes. "Why does this matter? Because it will have a positive impact on our students!”
Faculty, in turn, appreciate Dry’s focus—as well as his sense of fun: several teachers mentioned enjoying the few occasions during the August sessions when he turned up the volume on his phone and had everyone take a wake-up “dance break” to the sounds of Earth, Wind, and Fire!
“We are laughing a lot more at professional development meetings, and we all see more of each other on a regular basis than we used to,” remarks Choir Director Holly Barber (C'05). “Thank you to Travis and Peter, in particular, for helping to facilitate this increased sense of community.”
Student Connections
Of course, it’s not just parents and teachers who feel the warmth. The Upper School’s Icebreaker event, prepared and presented by the senior class, was commended for being one of the most inclusive ever. And in Middle School, students have gotten to know each other and their teachers by participating in orientation activities and friendly competition in their Blue, Gold, and Black “houses”—which include students from all three grades (6–8).
And, as you’ll see in this month’s Principia News video—which highlights the new learning spaces and playground renovations at the Lower School—even our youngest students are buoyed by the sense of togetherness and unity. With the Lower School’s move to multi-age classes, each group of students now has a name that identifies the entire class.
The idea of naming each group after a bird—Robins (Pre-K), Hummingbirds (K/1), Eagles (2/3), and Owls (4/5)—grew out of best practice observed at other multilevel schools and was proposed by the teaching team of Heather Tibbetts and Denise Mouser (US'85, C'89). They were also inspired by the idea of “brother birds” (from Mary Baker Eddy’s poem that begins, “Brood o’er us with Thy shelt’ring wing,” found in Miscellaneous Writings 1883–1896).
“Birds take flight and soar. They are graceful, wise, watchful, diverse, social, and cheerful—all great qualities we felt we could bring out in our students this year,” says Tibbetts. “We pitched the idea to the other teachers to see if they liked it, and they did!”
The mother of one “Hummingbird” remarks that her son feels more involved in the larger Principia community now that the preschool classes have moved into the Lower School building. In short, Principians are taking flight together, collaborating across grade levels, roles, and areas of responsibility—reinforcing the “unity” in community.