Len's Letter from News From The Hall

G.K. Chesterton wrote that “coincidences are spiritual puns,” meaning that there’s no such thing as a coincidence but that things happen for a reason.  I thought of Chesterton’s quote the other day after Form 5 student Saanvi Goyal spelled out the winning word in the Lower School Spelling Bee last Friday.  “S-O-L-I-D-A-R-I-T-Y…solidarity,” to which Ms. Angie Veale, the judge, replied, “that is correct.”  What followed was an auditorium filled with applause, for Saanvi and for all the contestants for their skill, hard work, and courage.  Even in a competition of individuals, our school community reinforced the values that bound everyone together that day.  
 
If you’ve ever been to a spelling bee, you know that the contestants can ask for a definition before they attempt to spell out the word.  One dictionary defines solidarity as “unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group.”  If you haven’t yet had a chance to view the video we sent out last week featuring Matthew Leonard ’19, he shares a compelling testimony to some of the experiences that have bound our SMH students in solidarity over our long history.  Particularly notable is how aware he became of the excellence of his SMH experience by comparing his skills and dispositions to peers who hadn’t had the same preparation.  Matthew shares that one of the most important qualities he developed at SMH was his curiosity, his ability to “delight in simple things,” something unique even at MIT where he is currently a senior.    
 
While solidarity is an important goal in and of itself, I would argue that it is also important because it helps us to achieve excellence.  Last week was full of stories of excellence.  We saw both our Middle School Girls’ and Varsity Womens' basketball teams win district championships.  For our middle school team, it was a hard-earned cap to an undefeated season.  And for our varsity team, it was their first district championship in our School’s history.  Our faculty and students sponsored our annual STEAM night, to the “delight” of so many lower schoolers (and parents, too)!  On Friday, Form 1 students presented their Penguin projects to their parents during our annual Penguin Palooza event, and Madison Feik ’23 directed her Senior Direct play, The Odd Couple.    

Excellence flourishes on our campus countless times every day and in different ways, all made possible by solidarity around a vision to be the very best school that we can be. As we coach our students towards a fulfilling life, we are teaching them all to experience delight in their own individual ways, whether they are in—or out—of the classroom, the court, or the theater.