Students of the Term
Our first term of the year, Michaelmas, has been a rather remarkable one. As I reiterated at our assembly this past Friday, we have witnessed dramatic progress in relation to several initiatives, and the vigor and industriousness of our students merits recognition.
When the physical education standards were recently revised, they were met with skepticism from some within our community. Some seemed intent to take up the mindset of preliminary defeatism, and less helpfully, to project that mindset onto others. Yet, thanks to the good work and cheerfulness of Mr. Schohl, Miss Grace, Mrs. Carvalho, and a handful of others, both the benchmark physical fitness assessments and the end-of-term assessments were a success. It was not only the faculty and staff, but also the students who cheered one another on and gave their earnest best. Regardless of their improvement over the course of the term, nearly all students involved discovered that what was regarded as beyond their reach at the outset was, in fact, within their reach. A program that began in order to spark improved physical fitness and mental health resulted in something that has revealed to individual students what they are capable of and given them the fundamentals to further improve themselves upon their own initiative.
Furthermore, we saw improvements in our student athletes, particularly with respect to girls’ basketball. While many will note this or that play, or one game or another, my own memory of these girls’ efforts lies in smaller and less obvious details. Like any kind of greatness, it is not the product of a single moment. It is the product of sustained, conscientious, deliberate effort towards a goal over time. It is an accumulation of small sacrifices in exchange for a larger, but more distant, outcome. Watching the time spent in practices getting in repetitions or eating snacks while studying for a test on the sidelines before a game—the preparation for a thing often goes unnoticed, but it should be as much appreciated as the execution of the thing.
It is not just physical prowess or athleticism that we have to celebrate. More of our students have participated in the outdoor program than ever before. There is more to this program than the “mountain as metaphor,” or training future recreators. Such a thing would be both indulgent and insipid, but training people to overcome challenges, whether they be steep and indifferent mountains, or sub-zero temperatures, or a fear of heights—persuading them that their freedom, their self-reliance, resilience, and independence are qualities to be cultivated, this is the broader purpose of our outdoor program. We are fortunate enough to get to see students not only do things they previously thought themselves incapable of, but to hear students around a campfire express their cravings for bigger and more difficult adventures.
Amidst this push for “school” to be about more than classrooms, tests, and submission to political dictates, Ridgeview has not cheapened itself with regards to those things it has always prized. We remain an institution of genuine learning: we are an academically rigorous school offering a classical, liberal arts education. We teach students how to learn. We teach them how to think. As a result, they are more likely to think clearly, read carefully, and write well. They do not have fewer options at a school like Ridgeview, they have more. More important, however, than the numeracy of opportunities is the tremendous talent and courage students are given an opportunity to exhibit. In many ways, in no place has this been more evident in the last term than the students who have worked tirelessly on crew and participated in Ridgeview’s performing arts program. To work at something for months, and then to take the stage and showcase it for everyone to see (and potentially critique), is a triumph that I am glad our students get to know.
If I could persuade our students of just one thing, it would be this: life is happening right now. This is it. It is not all preparation for the next thing—whatever that might be. Do the things that challenge you, the things that scare you, that stretch you. If you are not failing, you are not pressing hard enough. Now is the time in life in which failure will be of lowest consequence so long as the habits you build in trying serve you well your whole life through.
The search for students who seem to recognize this is a mainstay of what we are seeking in our students of the term. There is an abiding fear that we will get it wrong and that the name of some unworthy will grace a plaque in the lobby for as long as the school stands. We are circumspect because we have gotten it wrong from time to time. Unfortunately, in our zeal we have sometimes commended the excellent student for being excellent in some obvious way, while turning a blind eye to the fact that they chiefly served themselves—not others. We took up their academic merits, but disregarded their moral dimension. They may have attended Ridgeview, but they did not make themselves a part of our community. They read the books, but for the grades rather than any genuine curiosity or ardor. About academics, they were mercenary and transactional; about life more generally, apathetic or vain.
In times when it is hard to do things, and to believe in things, when the principles are right, but the circumstances are hard and dispiriting, a student of the term should reflect our highest values and most ardent ideals.
Our middle-school Student of the Term has been described by his teachers as level-headed and trustworthy. He is a quiet leader with a good sense of humor. His work in classes is excellent, as are his study skills and organization. He is polite, respectful, and genial. He is comfortable speaking up even when he is the youngest person in the room. Our middle-school Student of the Term is Gabriel O’Loughlin.
Our high-school Student of the Term always has a smile, and she seems willing to help people regardless of the situation. She is curious, has strong study habits, constant self-analysis, and an astute awareness of others. She is mature beyond her years, an informed citizen, and a natural leader. One of her teachers accurately described her as “omnicompetent yet modest about it. A quick thinker yet a deep one. Her essays are superb.” Our Student of the Term is Sophie Harrison.
Congratulations to these two wonderful students, and congratulations to the many students who have made our first term a remarkable one.
D. Anderson
Headmaster