Hurricane Irene’s affects- especially flooding from New Jersey to Vermont- are ongoing and well documented.

Here’s a short video capturing the rise of the rain-swollen Stony Brook river as the Irene produced waters swallow The Hun School‘s (a co-ed boarding school in Princeton, NJ) athletic fields.

Mark Siegel, Delphian School

Delphian School Assistant Headmaster Mark Siegel keeps an interesting blog (Thinking About Education) where he shares articles, comments, and musings on the changing state of education.

It’s a light policy manifesto for eduction reform.

Siegel finds interesting articles, and angles, covering any, and all, topics on education- from parental control, to testing, to student/childhood development, to school choice. He’s big on experiential learning, mastery, and individualized development.

I haven’t read a post that’s left me without a follow-up question or sitting on the fence about the topic.

Alas, Siegel isn’t a regular, or, prolific poster- few can be living the daily life of a boarding school faculty member.

What’s interesting- and the reason to give him some copy- is that, even with his daily demands as assistant headmaster, Siegel stays interested on research, data, and policy that can affect and improve the experience and achievement of his students. He’s a big picture observer and thinker in a world that succeeds (and can sometimes be hamstrung by) an intense focus on the daily life of the school and its students.

It’s interesting to see an assistant head looking outward and broadly and thinking about the ways broad issues can affect his school and students.

Seniors Tenley and Ryan share Baylor School‘s campus and their student experiences. Strong opportunities drew both to Baylor.

Baylor in the mold of a great school has helped both students flourish in their areas of strength while stretching them to discover and broaden their talents in other areas. Tenley was drawn to Baylor on the strength of the school’s cross country program.

“It’s a great balance of athletics and academics here at Baylor,” Tenley explained.

Ryan and Tenley cover academics (small, engaged classes requiring lots of writing). The library offers help from faculty, research resources and quiet refuge from distractions.

“Our librarian…is just a genius when it comes to finding stuff,” Ryan brags about the library.

Beyond academics their tour takes viewers through weekend activities, athletics, the theater program, and the Honor Code.

Ryan presents the Honor Code as the strong foundation of the community.

“No lying. No cheating. No stealing.”

Of his Baylor experience Ryan said:

“It’s just been great. It’s opened my eyes to different parts of the world…lots of different cultures…it’s helped me figure out what I like to do…it’s really helped me find myself. Baylor’s a great place for that.”

We got a note a few days back calling our attention to “The Andover Song.” It’s an original song and music video that work to capture, and express, the notions that Andover is more than a school and more than the sum of its parts.

The production is slick and well done. The Phillips Andover students did a great job of involving faculty.

As much as I enjoyed the song, I found the comments- from prospective students to alumni- the most interesting part. It’s always fascinating to hear and see the ways alumni appreciate their boarding school experiences.

Tilton has created a dedicated social blog called The P.O.P. Zone designed to bring student and faculty thoughts, projects, and experiences directly to audiences.

Launched this past spring, The P.O.P. Zone currently features the voices of nine students and one administrator. The contributors share ideas, photos, and videos on life at Tilton, as well as life beyond the school.

Early topics range from the Doppler Effect in science class, reflections on induction to the National Honor Society, to summer in New Hampshire.

The P.O.P. Zone also allows views to ask contributors questions.

The new section of their site should make for an interesting read as the contributors find their voices as the school year begins this fall. Tilton is making a sage commitment to providing a forum to feature student voices.

No one voices a boarding school better than active engaged students.

Expedition Impossible competitor, and Gould Academy alumnus (2003), Eric Bach spends a few minutes with Peter talking about how one goes from Gould, and Bethel, Maine, to participating in a Mark Burnett produced reality television show in Morocco.

Expedition Impossible features thirteen teams of three, racing through ten epic stages, through the Moroccan Sahara; Bach is a member of “The Gypsies” team.

Bach talks about how the thread of his Gould experiences connect him to his Expedition Impossible participation and his future work. Gould’s experiential education gave a kid from Florida the opportunity to be in the mountains, and nature while living, working and learning with people from all over the globe.

Although he’s limited to what he can share regarding the show, Bach voiced special appreciation for the Berber people and the warmth and hospitality they showed to the contest cast and crew.

Bach, and The Gypsies, are working to parlay the reality television experiences into an adventure travel brand called The Modern Gypsies- dedicated to inspiring the compassionate adventurer in everyone. Their web site launches concurrently with the show: http://www.themoderngypsies.com/

They hope you’ll follow them on Twitter (@modern_gypsies) & Facebook as well.

The first episode of Expedition Impossible airs Thursday, June, 23 on ABC. Check your local listings for the showtime.

Delphian School (Sheridan, OR) rising senior Alison ’12 shares the insights, and high notes, of her school experience.

Throughout Delphian’s programs students are taught to practice independence and use good judgement.

Delphian programs teach independence, and personal responsibility through self direction. Academics and college counseling feature studentdirected pursuits shaped and guided by adults. Students work through developed programs with ‘check-sheets’ moving on to more difficult material after demonstrating mastery.

Adults guide and support students in their growth but students take much responsibility for their work and direction.

Afternoons at Delphian feature a combination of athletics and arts ranging from choir, to art, to wood shop, to athletics. Choir is a popular, strong program providing a special point of pride. The choir has competed with great success at the state level for 16 consecutive years.

2009 Perkiomen School alumnus J.J. takes viewers on a campus tour while sharing his school experiences and insights.

Two themes run throughout J.J.’s tour:

1. The opportunity to try and experience new things
2. Strong relationships- students-to-faculty and student-to-student

Perkiomen seems to have a place for both the novice and the experienced student in all parts of the school.

Whether on the athletic field/court with three teams in each sport, or, on the stage during one of the three annual productions, or, as a musician in a small chamber ensemble, there’s a place for every student who wants to be involved. Academically, J.J. highlights the ways that small classes provide personal attention and the opportunity to ask questions.

J.J., of course hits the physical plant highlights- Chapel in Kriebel Hall, classroom technology, Roberts Hall- Student Center, and Kehns Hall (fine and performing arts). But his comments always find their way back to relationships and opportunities.

J.J. found that Perkiomen prepared him well for college through a rich, larger experience featuring challenging academics, personal relationships, and a high level of involvement.

“If this is the way the younger generation are looking things up and are communicating, then this is the place to be,” Abbot Caedmon Holmes. (Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits, NYT)

The Portsmouth Abbey Monastery monks know they aren’t getting any younger and their ranks aren’t growing fast enough to keep the order vibrant.

So to some degree, what looks like a forward leap- adopting social media to spread the message- the Monks are turning back the clock and adopting the communication technologies of their day.

Now, instead of keeping libraries and transcribing, the Portsmouth Abbey monks use social media to spread the word.

They’ve even hired an ad agency.

Working with the Simmons Agency in Boston, the monks and account executives settled on web based strategy to promote the monastery, the monks, and the mission.

“Once at the planning table, cultural differences faded and the agency and abbey quickly agreed to focus their efforts on the Web. “We knew from the outset that this wasn’t going to be solved through traditional marketing,” he said.

Partners and Simons collaborated with BPI, a film production company, to create online videos of the monks. The interviews were the building blocks of the campaign, Mr. Simons said, focusing on how the monks heard the call, what monastic life is like and inviting newcomers to visit. The goal was to capture “their warmth, their sincerity, their gentleness,” he said.”(NYT)

Brother Havill, a Portsmouth Abbey School art teacher, is the subject of one of the campaign’s early profiles.

“Brother Havill’s story, which revolves around a pastrami and Swiss cheese sandwich, plays a prominent role in the campaign both in print and in video. One of the print ads tells the story of a day 10 years ago when, while waiting for his sandwich to warm up in the microwave, Brother Havill says he heard the call to ‘go to Portsmouth.’

Having dabbled in genealogy, Brother Havill thought the Portsmouth in question was the port in England that many of his ancestors had traveled through on their way to the United States. But when he woke up the next morning, he said, he realized the message was for the Benedictine monastery at Portsmouth Abby.

‘I didn’t have any plans to become a monk or anything like that,’ said Brother Havill, who at the time was an art teacher and sculptor living alone in Cromwell, Conn.” (NYT)

“‘If 500 years ago, blogging existed, the monks would have found a way to make use of it,’” Abbot Holmes told The New York Times.

Delphian School alumna Courtney Perkins ’04 talks about her early professional life and the ways that she continues using the lessons of her Delphian education.

She credits her time in Delphian’s photography and video labs along with Delphian college counselors as building blocks in her collegiate and professional work.

Delphian’s rigorous course work, the school’s lessons in reason and ethics, writing, and internships prepared her fulfill her responsibilities while stretching herself toward ever greater collegiate and professional goals.

“The campus at Delphi is breathtaking…You won’t find students being lectured…You find students actively engaged in their educations….Delphi is an amazing place.”