Out of Office is a series from Head of School Kim Samson that highlights/focuses on time spent outside of her office: in the BVR hallways, classrooms, stages, fields, and beyond.

Last week, I had a great time attending two different evening events.

On Tuesday, I went to the Upper School Instrumental Concert. The ensemble performances were so impressive—showcasing different cultures and evoking emotion throughout. The final piece kicked off by the group clapping out an incredible rhythm that is a favorite during the Ponce Carnival in Puerto Rico each February; it was awesome to feel the energy of our students as if they were there!

On Wednesday, I joined parents and caregivers of seniors for a festive evening in the Front Circle. Fire pits kept us warm while we talked about all of their wonderful memories of the Class of 2022. The air was thick with nostalgia as the students enter their final term at Beaver. We are so excited for them to have a wonderful spring on campus, filled with celebration for everything they’ve accomplished!

Also on Wednesday, Girls Varsity Basketball won against Ethel Walker in the first round of NEPSAC competitions. This team, undefeated in the regular season, plays aggressively and communicates instinctively. It was a fantastic game filled with some intense moments. Our girls played hard and deserved the win, for sure!

Last week was the end of the term in the Upper School. I was, as always, so impressed with the work our students and faculty accomplish together in my visit to a showcase in the R+D center highlighting different ways work is assessed. You can see more about that here. “The Art of Code” was a really cool stop on my tour; students took the basics of code they learned as a group in the first half of the term and applied those to individual projects that displayed an impressive array of different outputs. They were proud of their own successful problem-solving and iteration to make a program work the way they had envisioned!