Weekend Distractions

It is hard to believe that the first week is behind us, and all seems to be going well. Mrs. Blair has been busy making course adjustments to make sure that all are well placed, and students are getting through their first weekend of homework, fun and rest. I have seen several students and teachers playing through on the golf course on a beautiful September afternoon. I have also heard lots of excitement about the new Global Dynamics - Africa expedition that the whole school is involved in.

The Men's Varsity Soccer team has had a good weekend, playing in a tournament on Friday at Berkshire, and then regrouping on Saturday morning to travel to Rhode Island to St. Georges for another tournament. The ten hours or so of travel didn't seem to daunt them to much as they came away with two wins at each tournament and a combined 4-1-1 record for the weekend. Further details can be found at the soccer team page at winchendon.org.

I will admit that if I had my actual druthers, I would be holed away upstairs immersed in my current book "Strength in What Remains" by Tracy Kidder. Kidder, who brought us "Among School Children", "House", "Mountains Beyond Mountains" and "The Soul of A New Machine" chronicles the amazing journey of Deogratias, a young med student who was caught in the middle of the tragedies in both Burundi and Rwanda in the early 1990's. A variety of people show wonderful human spirit in helping Deo rebuild his life and get an American education. Mid-book, Deo is back in Burundi building a clinic. As is so often the case, Kidder is captivating, and I look forward to getting back to the book.

Coincidentally, Marily and I were doing a little channel surfing on Friday evening, and happened on a terrific new documentary on recent successes in treating infectious diseases in Rwanda - "Africa: House Calls and Health Care". The entire 23 minute segment is viewable on the PBS site. Too often these documentaries focus on the challenges or bad news, but this segment highlights some very positive developments in the treatment of malaria, TB and AIDs. My guess is that our students may see some of the in Global Dynamics in the coming weeks.

Well, now it is back to getting ready for week #2 and the adventures that lie ahead. Have a good week!