Graduation and all of the associated events came and went...in a flash. Mother nature provided a beautiful day, the speakers were terrific with especially thoughtful comments by Dajin Kim('09) and Tricia Harris (mother of Ryan '02), and it was a wonderful celebration. The day was made made even brighter by a great group of alumni and trustees who came back to celebrate. Photos of the event can be ordered through collages.net. If necessary, the user is "Winchendon09" and the password is "8291". The photographer got some great photos.
...and then the campus was quiet...for about 12 hours!
By Monday, we were in a series of meetings wrapping the year up. Much of the faculty and staff participated in strategic planning meetings on Tuesday, and so on. By Thursday, people were ready for some fun. The women faculty led by Pam Blair had planned a day of fun and reflection, which resulted in among other things some wonderful, expressive work by all under the direction of Joanna Draugsvold.
Not to be outdown, some of the guys felt that they needed their own reflective moment. Where better than to make great use of our own 18 green classroom golf-course. Along the way we did a lot of problem solving, used some creative geography and addition skills and even discussed such global challenges as piracy. Some of the intrepid golfers are pictured below:
While many of the guys reflected on the fairways, Dan Shattuck continued to nurture the crops in Winchendon's newest classroom, a greenhouse where science will be applied.
We will be eating this lab's produce this summer and fall!
Meanwhile, preparations are in full swing for both summer school, which starts June 28th, and the new year, which will start Saturday September 5th. Construction is already under way in the remodeling of the art building, and we are starting the permitting process for the new tennis courts. The plans for classroom and technology upgrades are being completed, and the Ford dorm improvements continue this summer. In the meantime, we have found time to plan for new arts offerings this fall and are finishing the design work on the new Global Dynamics course. The whole faculty will be back for a week of professional development at "Winch U." in late August.The students may be on a break, but things continue at a fast pace at Winchendon. Mr. Chretien has even been looking for Wapiti on line! How do people feel about a Wapiti trophy head on the wall in the dining hall?! As things get back to a more manageable pace, I will get back to more regular postings, although I hope that a couple of them will be from the coast of Maine as we get into July and August.
In the meantime, I hope that you are finding time to enjoy the summer.
