After a well-deserved winter break, we are back to a snowy campus and ready to work. The faculty spent much of the day Monday sharing ideas and planning for the future. The students were back ready to start classes on Tuesday. One of the notable and fun changes is the number of the guys of all ages who are taking advantage of the winter-time window to grow mustaches and beards. Mrs. Blair is still mad at me for this change, but I keep reminding her that the facial hair will be gone as spring arrives!
A first time visitor to Winchendon this week might think that he or she is wandering the halls of the United Nations. Every student and teacher has been engaged in a broad range of discussions covering the nuclear question in Iran, the challenges in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the various sects of Islam throughout the region and the possibility of a two state solution in Israel. Yes, our ongoing journey has moved northeast from Africa and landed us in the Middle East for the next several months. Even the opening of the world's newest, tallest building has been included in the dialog. If the discussions the first couple of classes are any indication, it is going to be a very intriguing and informative semester for all. I will share more as the journey continues.
Beyond studies, based on popular demand we will continue with sleep-in Thursdays for all students and late lights for seniors and PG's through the quarter. There is talk about another winter carnival, and the big sledding hill is getting lots of use. And for those of us who love spring, the days are getting just a little bit longer each day! Until then, we will enjoy the cross country skiing on our golf course and the very stimulating discussions about the Middle East.
I realized today that I missed an important opportunity in the recent weeks. Skimming through the magazines, newspapers and websites, I had noticed a variety of top ten lists covering the last year and decade. Fall 2009 was a pretty remarkable time at The Winchendon School. After polling a couple of people, I came up with our own list for the fall semester:
