Beaver Country Day School | |
|
Hello, Beaver community.
Happy end of August! I hope your summer was filled with what you and your family needed to rest, rejuvenate, and refresh.
As we prepare for fall, I want to catch you up on what I've been up to these last couple of months and what's been happening on campus.
With our new faculty and staff starting last week—and all faculty and staff returning to campus today—there's a buzz and energy here; a lot of excitement and eagerness for the return of students and the start of school!
I look forward to catching up with you in person soon, until then here are a few updates and introductions.
| |
|
My wife Folly and I kicked the summer off with a trip to Barbados, where we scuba dived (something I took up pre-pandemic), soaked up the sun, and just rested.
We then hit the road!
| |
As you may recall, Folly and I (more Folly than I, if I’m being honest) recently finished building out a Ford Transit camper van. Back in March, we drove it from Whistler to San Diego; this summer, we took the camper on three more journeys—Grand Isle, Vermont, in June; Cleveland, Ohio, in July; and Nova Scotia in August—where we camped, explored, biked, and ate a lot of ice cream (we’ve made it a bit of a tradition to find the best ice cream spots along our routes!). Folly and I had a wonderful time; on the flip side, our dog, Riley, spent the trips wondering why we keep sleeping in a car versus our house. | |
|
🎧📚 My summer reading & listening list
I consumed a lot of fantastic content this summer that was inspirational and educational—and, in some cases, simply fun. Click here to check out my full summer reading & listening list. Included in it is a book co-authored by Beaver parent and Board member Wendy Fischman, and Howard Gardner, The Real World of College: What Higher Education Is and What It Can Be. The book delves into college, the college process, and the mental health of teenagers. I highly recommend giving it a read. You’ll hear me reference some of the data in it throughout the year, and possibly see some parent events featuring more details of the content.
| | | |
|
As I mentioned above, last year was spent doing some exciting, big-picture work with my leadership team; being able to take the time to step back and reflect is important for any organization.
You may remember The BVR Priorities from the end of the year the strategic framework I presented. These priorities will inform our work of expanding the nature of school.
As a refresher:
| |
Beaver will focus on expanding the nature of school by (1) developing deeper learning through (2) evolving next practices in education, (3) supported by a healthy community culture with a (4) future-focused approach. | |
|
You can read more in-depth about what each means on our website. These priorities have led to the formation of several working groups that are taking up specific initiatives within the school. I look forward to sharing this community work with you, along with the positive impact it will have on current and future Beaver students as it takes place over the next several months.
When the Leadership Team convened for a summer retreat, I was able to share the link between these Beaver Priorities and so many things I’ve grown to embrace, love, and protect fiercely in our community. I shared these with our faculty and staff this morning at our opening meeting, and I realize it's important to share them with you as well because all together, we are what Beaver can be:
| |
{Click the image to see what I mean} | |
Taking a break and creating space made room for me to get super excited for the year and everything we have coming up! | |
Last week, our new faculty and staff joined us for a three-day BVR orientation, where they heard from different members of the community, got to know their division directors and department heads even better, explored campus, and began their Beaver experience. Instructional Design Coaches, Academic Support Staff, members of the Hiatt Center, the R+D Team, were all incorporated so that—right from the start—new employees can see how educational programs outside of traditional disciplines are woven into student academic and extracurricular experiences. The program was signature Beaver, designed with a playfulness that lived alongside the hard work of learning everything new. It was wonderful to see them embrace the culture here with enthusiasm. Many reported feeling they have found their 'work home.' It was great to get to know everyone and spend time together, and I’m so excited to see them in action with the rest of our amazing faculty and staff. | |
|
More about new faculty & staff
We interviewed the newest members of our community and posted their answers to our blog. Click here to learn all the important things about them (like where they are joining us from, and if they prefer coffee or tea).
| | | |
|
Our Athletics Department has been hard at work over the summer (as we shared here and here). Some highlights include:
- A revamp of our weight room with four new bikes, new squat racks, new weights and dumbells, and lots of other new equipment!
- A new Veo 2 camera that will allow us to film and Livestream from the turf and at off-campus games. We'll share details of how and where to watch once games start.
- Gym A has new game day sideline chairs and in Gym B we are working on adding a new volleyball net system.
-
COMING SOON: A new athletics website that will be more dynamic, informative, and user-friendly. We're in the process of building it now and we are so excited to share more information late this fall!
| |
|
You'll notice emails from Beaver will start ramping up this week as we settle in and prepare to welcome you back. I very much look forward to seeing parents, caregivers, and students on campus—whether that’s at Upper School Preseason (which starts today!), the Middle School Welcome on Wednesday, or at Upper School conferences on Thursday. (All the details of these events can be found here).
As a reminder (not the first, nor will it be the last) the first day of class is Tuesday, September 6.
And with that, welcome to the 2022-2033 school year, it’s going to be a good one!
I'm so happy you're here,
Kim Samson
Head of School
| | | | | |
