Opening Assembly - Our Summer Selves

My Notes from Opening Assembly Today:

We go away for summer and we learn things about our selves - we tried something new; we had an adventure; we learned something important about our self or someone else.

In short, for the last few months we developed our summer-self.

For me, that person is a little lighter (in many dimensions), a little quicker to laugh, a bit more eager to volunteer or to try something new . . . I like that summer-self; we like our summer selves – that person may feel like the best part of us.

So here’s a challenge to student and adult alike – let’s be fully here, fully present and engaged in our wonderful school, but let’s try to bring your summer selves to school for as long as we can.

I know we can do this because, in many ways, the school-year, is already well upon us and many of us have already come together in the last few weeks – both in celebration and in sadness.

But I love this moment – this all-school assembly - because it is the first time we come together in what I think of as our classroom for community.

Here, we meet weekly – 6^th grade thru 12^th grade and we live our mission and our values . . . the parts of our school that don’t change no matter the season.

But let me start with a few aspects of our school that have changed since we were together last:

I. What has Changed:

A. Who is new in the room - what has changed?

· Regina Assetta – 9^th & 10^th grade English

· John Bouton, Interim US Head -

· Darjee Gamtso, B&G, Custodial

· Richard Gaudreault, B&G, bus driver on Merrimack/Hollis route

· Jesse Kimball – 9^th & 10^th history

· Andrea Stevenson, MS Receptionist

· Alex Vazquez, our new Buildings & Grounds employee

· Rick White, New CFO

II. What has Not Changed

· Our mission

· Our core values: the way we put the mission in motion.

Families: We embrace the family’s role in the life of our day school, celebrating collaboration between home and school.

An example: 10 days from now will be September 11^th. We have a three-part plan:

· Meet on Friday, September 9^th in small groups, and discuss a few questions (to be provided) and respond to a few prompts.

· Consider these questions with your family over the weekend.

· Monday’s ASA – September 12^th – we will gather and listen to each other to see what we have learned.

Individuality: We encourage young people to grow as unique individuals through the discovery of new passions and a love for learning, self-knowledge, critical inquiry and reflection.

iPads: the faculty and staff are beta testing, and you are a part of the process. My hope is that this tool helps us discover new passions and stokes our love for learning.We will approach the process in different ways, as individuals, but we can be united in our desire to help each other discover ways the tool can transform our school.

The adults are learning about how these devices can make us better teachers, better communicators, and perhaps even save some money along the way, whether in e-books or less copying.

So talk to your teacher – offer your expertise and opinion, and let’s have this discussion beginning with our summer selves – the part of us that is open for a challenge, open to new ideas, open for an adventure.

Here’s a final thought from our value of Individuality:

It is the last word – reflection. We practice sitting together, giving ourselves time to think – time for gratitude, time to be aware of our friends and family, time to think of the possibilities of a new year in our remarkable school.

Please join me in a minute of quiet reflection before we move on . . .

Thriving in the New Economy

Many of you know that in the summer I get-away to a small cottage on a lake in Pennsylvania that has been in my wife’s family for decades. There, amidst the still water and unplugged silence, each day seems the revitalizing equivalent of three most anywhere else. Over the summer I wanted to do some thinking on the continuing economic stressors that are affecting independent schools, and just about everyone else.

I’ve been fortunate enough at Derryfield to be surrounded by many people who seem to be surfing – actually enjoying themselves - in these treacherous times, while so many others get disoriented from waves crashing over them. I wanted to spend some time describing the characteristics of people who are thriving in this environment. I talked about five characteristics at an opening administrative retreat, and the team helped me sharpen them further. Yesterday I talked about these characteristics at the opening faculty and staff meeting, and people seemed to appreciate the attempt – here are my notes:

1) Have a Joy strategy.

It is no longer enough to say “I get recharged with family time” or “working in education brings me satisfaction.” You should be able to answer the question “What am I doing, in my work life and my personal life, that specifically and consciously connects me to joy? Am I staying connected to the energy that brought me into this field in the first place?” Derryfield employees have heard me say that the best thing I learned when I ran the New York Marathon (besides that I am not a runner) is “If you wait until you are thirsty to drink it is too late.”

The recession has made working in education measurably more challenging. The world needs educators. You need a plan to keep at it over the long-term.

2) Find Energy in the Mission.

Can you say what it is about the mission of the school that is energizing? No doubt you can list things that have changed the last few years, but can you still identify what is eternal in the purpose, and what will never change as long as the place exists?

If you can’t answer this question, you are in danger of getting disoriented in the storm.

3) See Change as Revitalizing.

Folks have heard me say I find it exhilarating that the Supreme Court writes 5-4 decisions. Reasonable people can and do disagree. Unity is terrific, yet it is maddening to expect it. But do you accept the change and continue forward, bringing your best effort at all times?

Otherwise, you run the risk of marginalizing yourself and your talent as the institution moves on.

4) Work at Teamwork.

Do you enjoy, and are you sustained by, teamwork? If not, the new economy is likely to leave you behind as information flourishes, expectations of connectivity mushroom, and no one person can have all the answers. Teamwork acknowledges that we cannot survive alone and has the added benefit, in the field of education, of keeping us connected to our students.

5) Find Time to Reflect.

Thinking time – unplugged and “real” (not virtual) – is getting scarcer. If you don’t prioritize it, no one will.

How else to know if you are succeeding at the other four?

CNS

Graduation @ 2011 - My Welcoming Talk

Chairman Lockwood, Mr. Sanborn, Dr. Pook, Members of The Derryfield Board of Trustees, Esteemed Faculty & Staff, Derryfield Alumni . . . Parents, Grandparents and Family members of the class of 2011, and most importantly, our guests of honor, The Members of the Class of 2011, it is my pleasure to Greet all of you on this wonderful occasion of our 44^th commencement ceremony.

Thank you all for being here – and to those to my left (the graduating class of 2011), we are particularly pleased you are all here safe and sound, having successfully navigated ourconstruction project called the Gateway Building outside.

I have the privilege to offer my greetings this morning and set the stage for what promises to be a profoundly memorable and meaningful time together.

Many of you are steeped in our school traditions and have known us for a long, long time. In fact, at our Senior celebration just a few weeks ago we celebrated families who had spent dozens of years with us.

Some of you are new to our school – you may be here for the first time, although you have no doubt heard about the excellence that made our DNA so distinctive from our founding in 1964. But no matter the time of your connection with us you should know what is timeless about our school, and that is what we do - our mission.

Our school’s mission is to inspire bright, motivated young people to be their best, and we provide them with the skills and experiences needed to be valued, dynamic, confident, and purposeful members of any community.

If you know our school, you know that this is what the faculty and staff do here everyday . . but let me now tell you, the class of 2011 in particular (and certainly everyone else can listen) what makes today so special – absolutely unique in our school calendar and our school culture.

Today I get to say to this group to my left, on behalf of everyone in this room, that you – in fact - have inspired us . . . And you have done more than that – you have made us proud. Your accomplishments are numerous, your poise and good humor remarkable, and your kindness amongst yourselves and with others . . . well, I simply find it moving.

Let me give just one telling example. Just a few short days ago we had a closing assembly – on the brink of summer, our entire school community came together for the last time in 2011. I can tell you that, as a Head of School, it is the kind of assembly that can and does go off the rails at other schools. It is just awfully tempting to move into goofy summer mode a few hours too early.

And in that Assembly You cheered, as I thought you might, the wonderful anniversaries of your teachers here today – those who have been with us 15, 25, 30 and even 35 years.

But you did more than that – you gave a standing ovation to one of our custodians celebrating his 10^th anniversary. If that happened any other time of year I would have asked Mr. Powell for a few minutes with you, but instead I threw out what I was going to talk about today to say just a few more words –

Thank you. Thank you for noticing those who work hard, who bring their A game every day. Thank you for respecting all of the different kinds of work that goes into making a school as great as ours actually open and thrive every day. Thank you for caring about those who serve in a variety of ways. Thank you, in short, for your big hearts and minds that have inspired us. Thank you for being so worthy of our admiration – you truly have inspired us.

I am certain that Derryfield’s school culture has supported your compassion, your big-heartedness, but your teachers are humble enough to know it takes more. It takes great parenting. And so I’ll close with a thank-you to those in front of me now – thank you for all the caring, the time and the love that brought us to this moment. Today, and this moment, belongs to the class of 2011 – but they are already wise enough to know they would not be so worthy of celebration without you – those who have come today to support them.

So let’s proceed together in celebration of this class of inspiring young people, and to do that I’d like to introduce Mr. E. Charles Sanborn for our invovation.

A Green Derryfield Today - My Intro Letter

Dear Friends,

There’s a delicious parallel between designing a magazine with sustainable, “green” features and designing a building with this same vision and positive environmental impact. In this, our first-ever electronic-only edition of Derryfield Today, both the content and the way it gets delivered have a unified vision – let’s look into the future of our school and begin to practice habits consciously designed to create a better future for our children.

The foundation of our Gateway Building has been poured, and the wood framing is about to begin – thus, the visible daily progress will move ahead dramatically. The timing of this issue of Derryfield Today could not be better for reflecting on all of the integrated features throughout the design and construction process. Here are some examples that show our commitment to thinking about a sustainable future:

· * All the demolition and construction materials have been recycled off-site, and diverted from landfills. To date, we calculate that 83% of all materials created through the demolition process (that is, the remains of the Art House) have been recycled. This totals more than 39 tons of recycled material. This does not even count all of the rescued bits and pieces from the building – our community literally crawled around the Art House looking for items they could use elsewhere.

· * An estimated 20 tons of site materials, including stone and retaining wall systems, have been stored in order to be repurposed or reused on the site.

· * The building has been sighted to reduce lighting needs. The south-facing pitched roofs have been designed to accept solar panels, and we are working diligently to try to make solar energy a reality on the project.

· * The roof assembly exceeds the energy code requirements by 37%, achieving an R 40.1 value.

· * The exterior walls exceed energy code requirements by 45%, achieving and R 28.3 value.

* Low E glass will be used in all exterior glazing, exceeding Energy Star requirements. Low E glazing controls heat transfer through glass and reduces solar heat gain. The use of Low E glass typically reduces energy loss by 30-50%.

* 51% percent of the carpeting in the building comes from recycled content, and 100% of the carpeting is formaldehyde-free.

· * 20% of the countertop material is post-consumer recycled content.

Whether you are reading this issue on-line, on your laptop, or are fortunate enough to have procured an iPad, I hope you enjoy the experience of learning how Derryfield will lead in area that is so essential for our students, our community and our planet.

Now . . . Onward to a green spring!

Sincerely,

Craig N. Sellers

Head of School

The Derryfield School

Derryfield & Google

Dear Friends, When I first considered the Derryfield School four years ago a friend told me “If you are looking for a co-ed, non-denominational, independent day school in that part of the world, Derryfield is the best.” You might know that Derryfield is the only co-ed, non-denominational, independent day school in this part of the world (allow me the author’s license to define “world” as a reasonable driving radius). I see this fact as relevant in a few different ways:

First, I am reminded of the mantra at Google – “never settle for the best.” I have no doubt that Derryfield is the best school of its kind in the area, and I am equally convinced that our faculty and staff refuse, time and time again, to simply settle for the best. We push ourselves. We challenge ourselves. And we keep our students at the center of our deliberations as we seek to improve.

This attitude is essential to my second thought:

One of the central virtues of being an independent school is cultivating the habit of routine innovation. If we have a good idea for our students on Thursday, we can implement it on Friday. We are free, to a very high degree, of the constraints that come with working in a school that is not independent. And unless we actively leverage that freedom for the good of our students, we leave the inherent benefits of being an independent school at the front door. Several years ago Pat Bassett, the Executive Director of NAIS (The National Association of Independent Schools (the leading independent school organization representing more than 1400 independent schools) said “The No Child Left Behind law was one of the best things that ever happened to independent schools.” As I tested this assertion with friends in other schools I came to see the wisdom in Pat’s statement – Derryfield is blessedly free of restrictions and regulations, and we use this freedom to our student’s advantage every day.

A final thought on the notion of being an independent day school. Over the past few years several of Derryfield’s Founders have said to me “we wanted a great education for our children, and we wanted them home for dinner.” Their motivation captures the essence of the day school’s advantage. However, (not unlike the idea of being “independent”) to realize the full value of a day school parents need actually to take the time to have a meal, attend a game, or get to know their child’s teachers. Once again, I see the Derryfield community as being exceptional in this realm. Our parents our thoughtfully engaged in their child’s education, and this works to Derryfield’s advantage time and time again.

I hope this issue helps you reflect on what it means to be an independent day school, as well as how Derryfield combines these advantages in unique and remarkable ways.

Sincerely,

Craig N. Sellers

Head of School

HMUN @ 7:30a, 1/28/11

I’m in the lobby of 39 Dalton Street in Boston, the cavernous Sheraton Hotel, and while TV screens around me crawl with reminders of the space shuttle Challenger disaster (25 years ago today) and anti-government protesters clashing in Egypt (25 minutes ago today), the vast but sedate space is beginning to wake up with 3000 high school students from the 58^th Session of the Harvard Model United Nations.

For the last few months 15 Derryfield students have prepared for this moment. Specifically, beginning at noon on Thursday and going to Sunday afternoon, our students will represent Bosnia-Herzegovina.

At the opening session last night, keynote speaker Gillian Sorensen (senior advisor at the Model United Nations Foundation) said that since its inception, the United Nations has been a place where realism and idealism meet. Her insight reminded me of my favorite description of the best schools – a place that balances the world that is, and the world that ought to be.

Mrs Sorensen urged the students to embrace an increasingly intertwined world. “Globalization is a reality,” she said. We can’t turn back, and therefore we should lead.”

How relevant is the United Nations? At the moment, she said, it is sheltering over 35 million refugees. At the same time, the UN feeds on average 19 million hungry children every day. The numbers are truly staggering.

* * *

It is now 10am in the Sheraton lobby and well-dressed, focused teenagers using phrases like “unmoderated caucus” or “delegate decorum” walk by. Yesterday’s program ended at 11:45p, and the student’s curfew was 12:30a. Tonight (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday) the curfew will also be 12:30a. Our students will get on the bus Sunday with equal parts exhaustion and elation. Through their hard work, preparation and smart presence, they will have represented Derryfield very well.

My gratitude for the Derryfield adult advisors accompanying our students goes beyond words.

Onward to peaceful conflict resolution!

DADT on January 3rd 2011

You’ve heard me describe our All School Assemblies as Derryfield’s classroom for community. We’ve got fields for athletics, we’ve got lovely rooms for arts and academics. One of the essential activities we do in our Auditorium is to come together and consider what makes us a community.

This is our time to talk about a variety of big ideas that impact our school, our community or our planet. Today I want to talk about a big idea that affects our nation, and everyone in it.

I don’t expect that we always agree on how we come down about these big ideas, but I know that we need to discuss them to practice peaceful, respectful, disagreement. Earlier in the year Mrs. Jipson said that we needed provocative ideas to keep our school vital, exciting, alive, and I fully agree.

So here’s the thing, here’s my thoughts, through the lens of someone who studies, even reveres, the constitution of the United States: over break the Senate passed legislation to allow gay people to serve openly in the military, and I think this is a huge moment of progress – particularly for the younger people in the room.

And my hunch is that for many of you this is an old, tired issue that simply feels like a holdover from my generation, not yours – and I hope that you are right, but I still want to think about it with you for a moment.

I wasn’t around in 1954 when Brown V Board was decided – that Supreme Court case declared the separate but equal doctrine dead, and America moved forward in race relations.

I was five years old in 1967 when the Supreme Court ended race-based restrictions on marriage. Before Loving v. Virginia, states could prevent people from different races marrying – after it, they could not.

And over break – on December 22^nd - President Obama repealed Don’t Ask Don’t tell. Here’s a telling quote from the day: “Our people sacrifice a lot for their country -- including their lives. None of them should have to sacrifice their integrity as well."

Following this issue for the last several years I was struck by the idea that what seemed to be the most prevalent arguments against gay people serving were the same arguments again people of color serving . . . Vague concerns about morale and privacy that, to my mind, simply did a poor job of hiding the sense that people of color then, and gay people now, had been thought of as second class citizens.

In fact, every war America has had – whether on our soil or over seas – people of color served honorably. But it was not until 1948 that President Truman signed an executive order integrating the military and mandating equality.

Here’s another quote from December 22^nd 2010 – President Obama speaking:

"Your country needs you, your country wants you, and we will be honored to welcome you into the ranks of the finest military the world has ever known. We are not a nation that says 'Don't ask, don't tell.' We are one that says 'Out of many, one.' "

I think this works for our school, too – in particular as we lift up the values of Character and Community this year.

I’ll try that Obama quote again and just change a few words, as we think about Derryfield’s approach to equality – as we think about issues of race, sexual orientation, disability:

“Your school needs you, your school wants you, and we will be honored to welcome you into one of the finest schools the world knows. We are not a school that says 'Don't ask, don't tell.' We are a school that says 'Out of many, one.' "

Now when we think about these big ideas like equality or discrimination it is pretty easy to feel overwhelmed. What do I think? How do I feel about these issues? Where do I begin?

So I’ll just remind you as we start the new year about a few tools we have –

First – you’ve got family and friends. People who love and care for you.

Second – you’ve got great teachers and coaches. People who want to challenge you, to help you learn and to help you grow.

These big ideas come together to form a third big idea –

You’ve got this amazing experience called a Derryfield education. Everyone in this room has an extraordinary mind, and part of using it well is simply allowing yourself time to think. Think about what matters to you, and how you feel about a variety of big ideas.

So I have put a few big, even historic ideas out there for us this morning.

Before we move on to our Creative Arts Assembly and all the wonder that our alums and our Creative Arts Faculty have prepared for us, lets just take a minute to come together and use one of those tools – that is, the time to think. So let’s start this morning with a minute of silent reflection.

Thanks, and welcome back.