From the Head of School: Finding a Rhythm

View of Bubble Pond, Acadia National Park. Photo courtesy of Jeff Burroughs

I got a chance to spend a couple days biking in Acadia National Park this weekend. As a first-time visitor to the park the carriage roads sounded a lot gentler than they were in practice, but the places they took us were incredible. It’s hard to focus on the landscape when you are riding along some of the most incredible stonework you are likely to see in a national park. The beauty of a fall in New England was in full splendor, and it is easy to see why so many people flock to Acadia each summer. I was once again reminded of how lucky we are to live in a place where there is so much access to the out-of-doors.

This past holiday weekend was circled on many Heads-of-School calendars as a high-water marker of sorts. In August, it seemed impossible to imagine making it to October in person. And while there continues to be nothing normal about trying to navigate a school community through a pandemic, there is a lot that is recognizable about our in-person school days. I think most all of us–teachers, students and staff–would say we have entered a rhythm and find our daily interactions comforting. Smiles and laughter, pencil and paper, and bustling down hallways to get to the next class: it’s beginning to feel like Lincoln again. Seniors are asking for letters of recommendation, athletes are awaiting their first competition, and our performing artists are creating beautiful music, even if it is under a huge tent.

Today in my Algebra II class we took some time to catch up and take a breather to ensure students were caught up on assignments, could ask questions and take stock in our progress. Masks aside, it felt pretty normal, and even the fading of those brilliant fall colors won’t change that feeling. These young people and our faculty have done incredible work adapting to these new circumstances, and bringing normalcy back to campus safely and enthusiastically.

In just over five weeks it will be Thanksgiving, I now believe we will be in-person longer than most of us had dared hope. Every day we count more moments of normalcy, as we move towards the completion of the first trimester of this school year.

Be well and stay safe.

Jeffrey S. Burroughs