Questions from Jesse Fortier for the Derryfield Lamplighter
1) What is your favorite part of a day at DS?
You are starting with a hard one – let me just tell you about a bunch of favorite parts.
If I get in before 7:30a, I usually see Mr. Holland at the US Front Desk, and he usually looks up from the newspaper and says good morning. If DS is in a newspaper article or photo, he will tell me, and offer a sentence or two of commentary. It is a brief interaction, but like most simple rituals, it reminds me that the world is in order and that the day has begun with a measure of predictability.
If I get in after 7:30a, I am usually met with Mrs. Wall’s cheery “good morning” and – as I have often told her – that greeting is better than coffee. Her vibrant voice starts the day with an energetic, uplifting trajectory, and makes me smile right from the moment I walk in the door.
If it is a day we have All School Assembly, my favorite part hands-down is standing at the door and greeting or just watching our community go by. I like to see the differences in body language, hear the variety of conversational snippets, and get a broad sense of the mood of our school. I enjoy the creativity, talent and courage on display at Assembly, and I like knowing that Mr. Bouton has created a thoughtful package for our community to experience each week. I enjoy listening to the texture – the quality of the quiet - of our minute of reflection.
Since Thanksgiving the favorite part of my day is helping Mr. Whitmore coach middle school boys basketball. Prior to working with him in this way I had no idea what a talented coach he is, and I have been very impressed with the talent on the team. At the same time, we are having lots of fun. And it gets me up, moving, and burning some calories.
Lastly, the best part of my day is if I am looking forward to a faculty, staff or student party. We don’t do this all the time, but I always love the gatherings – recent examples might be Mr. Barnard’s gathering of seniors for breakfast, the championship soccer team and their parents having a potluck in the evening, the faculty/staff at Shortys before Thanksgiving, or the Holiday party at my house this Friday that will include the family of faculty and staff. I love the laughter, the sense of community, and the implicit understanding that we are very, very fortunate people with a great deal to be thankful for.
2) What is the hardest part of your day?
Another challenging question – I’ll admit I haven’t really thought in terms of “hardest” but one of the things that jumps to mind is often not having time (or forgetting) to eat lunch, which usually makes me sleepy, cranky, or just plain foggy in the early afternoon. This does not happen often, but enough for me (and Mrs Dollard) to know that it is something I need to watch. I think my wife tells people in the Main Office to watch for it, too.
Another hard part could be wanting to spend time with someone who has just “dropped by,” but having a meeting scheduled at the same time. You don’t want to be rude either way - to the person who made the appointment with you, or to the person who had a nice, spontaneous idea or conversation to share in the moment. Most of the time the better, understandable decision is to spend time with the person who made the appointment, but it still echoes with a bit of dissatisfaction when I look back at the day. I also recognize the blessing in the decision, because the larger concern would be if no one wanted to talk with me at all.
3) Does your schedule change on a daily basis?
Pretty much – yes. My school day usually starts between 7 and 7:30a, and goes to about the same time in the evening – unless we have an event at night. For the rest of December the consistent parts will be helping with basketball in the afternoon, but otherwise I have a variety of meetings of different lengths with different purposes throughout the day.
My daughter is going to Shaker Road School in Concord and I am also trying (but, alas, usually failing) to pick her up from school once a week. I really love that car ride for the conversation time that parents talk about – otherwise, living less than two miles from school, there is not a lot of time for connection.
Here are some examples of meetings I will have for the week of December 14th – Annual Fund Committee; Safety Committee; Governance Committee; School Council Meeting; Executive Committee; Talk with architects about a new administrative building that will replace the Art House; Finance Committee; “Stand Up;” Meeting with Mr. Powell, Mr. Blaisdell and Mrs. Carter.
4) Why do you like your job at DS?
Have you ever had a job that really did not feel like you, or did not align with what you think matters in life? I don’t mean every job you do has to be bursting with profound meaning – by the end of high school, I had been a tennis instructor, a dishwasher, a beach raker, a fast food worker, a ticket-taker at a movie theater, a car mechanic’s apprentice, and probably a bunch of other things I have forgotten. Most of the time I just needed to make money, and I was happy to be doing that. But as I got older, I wanted to do something that felt more connected to things that mattered to me.
At Derryfield I get to spend my days surrounded by people who – and I know this sounds a bit over the top, but it really is the way I think – are heroes to me. Obviously not every person at every moment, but people who spend their life trying to make the world a better place by teaching young people just inspire me. It does not feel at all exaggerated or fake to me – great teachers and great schools changed my life, and I know that dynamic is real. I want to be a part of doing that for someone else, and being at Derryfield gives me that chance.
Anyway, how can you go wrong when you are greeted by Mr. Holland or Mrs Wall each morning?
CNS
