A quieter event that occurs in parallel, and often quietly is an ending- the retirement of a faculty member. I’ll write my annual ‘thank the faculty’ post in a few days.

Yesterday- with a prompt from The Star Beacon (Ashtabula, OH), I’d like to call attention and begin the appreciation thoughts of long-time dedicated faculty.

In “Retiring Educator Has A Passion for the Written Word,” columnist Tony Householder chronicles retiring English department chair Bob Archer’s Grand River Academy contributions and his school life.

Archer is wrapping-up 22 years at Grand River having worn several hats- history and literature teacher, coach, and advisor. Archer loves his students; loves teaching. He challenges his students and pushes them to grow. His students respect him and his work.

“My favorite part of this job is knowing that by educating young men, I am turning their lives around,” Archer told Householder.(SB)

But, he’s more than a teacher and I’m convinced that this is what can make some boarding school teachers special. Archer is also a researcher and writer with wide interests.

“He [Archer] has a fascination with anything involving railroads, even publishing a book in 1977 called “Lehigh Valley Railroad: The Route of the Black Diamond.”

‘I’ve been exploring some old railroad stations. I believe I have another book in me.’ he said with a smile.’”(SB)

I find that these sorts of varied interests into places and areas far beyond the routines of daily boarding school life do several things for students who see teachers model this kind of work.

Students see the odd places and small niches into which ones education can lead. Students see that their niche interests may one day take them somewhere. And, students see a faculty member as a professional practitioner.

Practicing what one teaches certainly helps when “why are we learning this?” flies forth from a challenged sixteen year-old.

Make sure you thank your teachers as the end of the year approaches. Especially those who connected you to their subjects or those who showed you the potential of their subjects in the “real world.”

I guess I got to my ‘thank your teachers’ post sooner than I expected.

Katie Isaacson talks about the role that Midland School’s organic garden plays in the school community.

Midland (a coed boarding school in Los Olivos, CA) cultivates 10 acres for both production and education. The school eats seasonally from the farm bounty putting-up by freezing or canning the surplus. A chalk board in the dining hall charts produce seasonal availability. Livestock are also part of the Midland farm production. The farm raises eight pigs and 10 steers annually for school consumption.

Students are involved in the farm daily in activities ranging from food harvesting, to composting, to livestock husbandry. Students interested learning and exploring the farm in-depth can elect farming as their afternoon sport/activity which puts them working on the farm four afternoons weekly.

The AHSTF is part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival- the world’s largest and most prestigious arts festival. It’s an all-encompassing event with shows produced throughout the city during August- in settings ranging from tradition to open air.

St. Andrew’s-Sewanee head Rev. John Thomas is understandably proud of the theater program:

“Our community is well aware of the outstanding productions that Robie Jackson and her colleagues [John Holleman, and Katherine Anderson] have created with and for our students…We are delighted that our students will have the opportunity to take their talents to the next level by performing for an international audience.”

Selection and participation in the AHSTF comes through nomination and application.

This year marks the second nomination for the SAS theater program and the program’s first application. High school programs are identified and chosen based on their most recent bodies of work, awards, community involvement, philosophies, and recommendations.

Congratulations to SAS!

Stevenson School junior J.J. shares his insights into the strengths of a Stevenson education. The school’s a coed boarding school in Pebble Beach, California.

Academics at Stevenson (www.stevenson.org) are second-to-none with multiple advanced, and Advanced Placement, classes in all subjects. Tennis, golf, swimming, water polo, volleyball, soccer and track are the strong athletic programs. Music features band, jazz band, orchestra, and choir.

Opportunity, freedom, trust and responsibility are the themes that surface again and again throughout the tour. Whether it’s practicing one’s instrument, signing out to go on a trip, taking an off campus class, or, going into Monterey, Stevenson requires a great deal of responsibility and good judgement from its students.

As J.J. relates, Stevenson is a cornucopia of opportunities and it is the Stevenson students job to grab those opportunities and take them as far as they can. J.J. is an athlete, prefect, violinist, and outdoor education leader- in short, a Stevenson student.

The intallments feature students, and teachers, talking about their programs and, often, the benefits of a small interconnected community.

Dixson’s reports show Marvelwood students engaged in experiences ranging from the service oriented caring and training of future service dogs, to the artistic pursuit of jewelry making, to athletic rock climbing.

Each story offers a window into, not only what Marvelwood students experience, but also how Marvelwood faculty work, as well as the things that the greater Marvelwood community holds important and valuable. The high level of connection and individual pursuit is classic small school.

Marvelwood School: Cool for Puppies

Marvelwood School: Cool for Jewelry

Marvelwood School: Cool for Critters

Marvelwood School: Cool for Rock Climbing

To watch the reports go to: http://www.wfsb.com/category/211215/cool-schools

The entire Cool Schools series is kept on a single page. You’ll find the Marvelwood reports individually available in the past reports bar below the main video viewer window.

Time simply becomes of the essence toward the end of the year. And, as final exams and due dates approach, we’ve all looked to the overnight space in our calendar and said, “I’ll stay-up all night and get that done.”

It sounds so easy and seems like such a good idea at the time. But, all-nighters come with consequences that you need to weigh before choosing to pull one. Yes, we’ve all pulled an all-nighter and perhaps it worked out. But planning and working steadily over time might have been a better idea.

Our colleagues over at Online Colleges have published an infographic titled the The Anatomy of an All-Nighter in which they lay out the case that “pulling and all-nighter now and then to finish a project or to study may do more harm than you think.”

Via: Online Colleges Guide

A Gould Academy student share her insights into what it’s like to be a student at Gould. Two programs that she shares will strike viewers as setting Gould apart.

The first is Gould’s On Snow program. Adjacent to Sunday River ski area, Gould encourages and designs its programs so that students make maximum use of their ‘backyard’ outdoor opportunities. On Snow program puts as many students as possible on snow during the winter in capacities that allow students to grow in a variety of directions- as ski racers, as ski instructors for children.

During the winter, Gould ‘flips’ two days a week with students hitting the mountain first thing in the morning, then, returning to campus for classes in the evening.

Viewers will also be struck by Gould’s Farm and Forest Program.

In place of a traditional afternoon athletic requirement, students can gain first hand experience in working on and running the school’s farm. Animals and crops from the farm make into the school’s dining hall and the farm uses school waste in composting.

Gould features strong small class, discussion driven academics shaped by an engaged faculty. A strong arts program that offers another uniquely Gould class- blacksmithing.

Evenings feature traditional study hall and library hours.

Weekend are highlighted by activities ranging from relaxing to intense- shopping to ice climbing.

The teams won the U18 Tier 1 National Championship for second straight year marking their fourth championship out of the last six.

Played in Buffalo, NY, the S-SM boys beat the LA Jr. Kings 2-1.

Whether it’s the governing body’s insistence in some faux notion of amateurism that never existed; to a student first, athlete second assertion (when anyone who’s ever been around a division 1 revenue sport knows that the time required by the sport is tantamount, or more, to a full time job); to the NCAA’s, and its members, willingness to function as a minor league program for in this case the NBA.

Which brings me to two recent articles on basketball talent Nerlens Noel. (Boston Globe’s Noel Pushing Forward, but Feels the Pull & The New York Times’ Everybody Wants a Piece of Nerlens Noel).

Noel’s supremely talented on the court while at the same time a high school kid. So talented, watched, and followed, is the 6’10″ Noel that he has almost 19,000 twitter followers.( BG)

He chose to leave his hometown high school and team to attend Tilton School. (Tilton plays some the best prep school basketball in the country.)

You’d think that heading off to Tilton would take some pressure of Noel- freeing him a bit- taking him away from those who project their beliefs and desires on him and those who want a piece of him- the well meaning and those who see him as cash cow.

As Boston basketball luminary Leo Papile told the Boston Globe’s Julian Benbow:

“It’s like a lottery ticket…Like somebody dropped one on the ground that’s worth $10 million and everyone’s scurrying around like, ‘Where’d the wind blow it?’ Every character in the world is saying, ‘Let me get in there.’ ’’(BG)

Alas, Noel doesn’t seem to have found peace in moving up to the Lakes Region. Everyone still wants a piece him. He’s still a great basketball talent.

The original plan was for Noel to spend two years at Tilton and, then, most likely to be selected in the 2013 NBA draft. Noel changed his mind and now will graduate from Tilton this year and, most likely, become one of the current breed of great players who spend one year on college team before heading off to the NBA.

The change of plan is where the guts, and gross, of the recruiting and cultivation of a seventeen year old major basketball player come into play. So many people seem to want to get their tenterhooks into him. Mostly, it seems, for selfish reasons.

It’s hard to maintain distance and perspective as an 18 year old. But, I’d like to see Noel play for himself and do what makes him happy. And, I’d like to see adult hangers on and coaches leave him alone.

Noel will announce his college choice tonight at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU.

I wish for him that he puts himself first in the decision making process…I hope it works out for him.

Northfield Mount-Hermon scored a huge upset win in boys class AAA tournament. NMH beat Brewster- handing them their only loss of the season- in the semifinal round. NMH then went on to defeat, St. Thomas Moore in the championship game.

St. Mark’s and Tilton played for the class AA title. St. Mark’s took the title 59-53.

Salisbury took the class A title beating Choate.

Hyde (ME) defeated Hebron Academy for the class C title.

And, in class D Hoosac, beat MacDuffie, 64-57.

For your video distraction, click on the image for  the YouTube “nepsac basketball 2012” search. If you’re a basketball fan, this search can keep you away from your work for a good while.