Dear Beaver Families,
I’d like to officially welcome you to the 2024-25 school year at Beaver!
Seeing new and returning students coming to campus last week to participate in pre-season athletics, advisor meetings, and BVR Connects activities was terrific. Each year, I especially look forward to the unbridled enthusiasm that takes over in the Middle School as new students get matched to their instruments and become familiar with spaces and people during the campus scavenger hunt—a hallmark of orientation. Their enthusiasm for the start of school fills my heart with joy!
With the official start of the year underway this week, I’ve seen so many incredible moments of Middle and Upper School students excitedly reconnecting with each other and their teachers and connecting with new faces on campus (students and teachers)! These interactions and the relationships they form are the basis of becoming a community where all our members feel they belong. This type of community is where engagement and deeper learning thrive, and I’m so excited to see where this year takes us!
The pictures above—and the content on our Instagram and blog—give you a glimpse of the joy on our campus! (I particularly enjoyed this video.)
Over the summer, I spent time thinking about Beaver’s vision of Expanding the Nature of School and what that looks like, day to day. So, before I head out to join in on the festivities of First Friday—from TreeTop Adventures to 9th-grade boat races—I’ll share a bit more below about my thinking and my hopes and dreams for this year—and how we will get there. I’ve also included a few links so you can read more about a topic if you’d like!
A peek at what’s in store for the 24-25 school year at Beaver…
DEEPER LEARNING EXPERIENCES
School should be a hub for deeper learning experiences—the kind students remember forever because they are rooted in their natural curiosity, connection to each other and their teachers, and exposure to the community beyond campus boundaries. As educators, we know that if we prioritize students’ emotional and physical health, they will be free to explore new things and find passion projects that shape who they are and their impact on the world. We want our students to flourish in an ever-evolving world. As a result, their experiences at Beaver must build flexibility, resilience, and willingness to take risks. All of this means learning at Beaver looks and feels different. I am confident you will see evidence of this through your children’s eyes as they experience school reimagined by Beaver faculty and staff!
HEART.INTELLECT.ACTION.
Last year, we began a Heart.Intellect.Action initiative, which focused on navigating difficult conversations in challenging times. So much is happening in the world all the time, and social media algorithms surround people with echo chambers that limit (or manipulate) information and contribute to polarization, diminishing our capacity for managing disagreement and discomfort. We want our students to understand the difference between problems, which have clear solutions, and dilemmas, which involve tough choices and lack a “correct” answer. Recognizing this encourages respectful discussion. Over the last year, we’ve invited speakers and professional facilitators to campus under the umbrella of this Heart.Intellect.Action initiatives, including:
- Jill Walsh, an educator about positive technology use, shared her research and expertise with faculty and staff, parents, and students;
- Facing History and Ourselves, a community partner that uses intellect, empathy, and ethics to stand up to bigotry and hate, did a faculty training;
- Meg Bolger joined us for a third time last week at an opening faculty meeting. Meg focuses on how teachers can intentionally design classes to support open dialogue, including multiple perspectives on polarizing topics.
We are committed to building Beaver students’ skills for engaging in respectful and informed disagreement (intellect), as we foster their ability to have and extend empathy (heart), because we are confident that doing so will lead them to have a positive impact on the world (action).
BELONGING
This year, you will see that we are highly focused on creating a strong sense of belonging in our students. Research shows that, as humans, our brain chemistry drives our need to belong, and meeting that need is foundational to many of the higher-level goals we have at Beaver. Students who don’t feel a sense of belonging are likely to fear social exclusion. This understandably limits their ability to develop their passions in unique ways, share an opposing point of view, and engage fully in their Beaver education. I invite you to partner with us this fall as we encourage your children to invite new interactions with other students and jump into activities and experiences that could lead to making new connections.
As the year begins, please remember that Beaver students have a wonderful network of adults who care about them. This network starts with their advisor and extends to their teachers and the administrative teams in each division. We hope you will unabashedly engage with your child’s advisor as you have questions or concerns because it gives us a chance to engage members of that network, thereby making the Beaver experience the best possible for you and your family!
Wishing you the best in the year ahead,
— Kim Samson