In Head of School Len Miller's first chapel talk of the school year, he spoke about the importance of having a vision when making decisions. He shared with students about his summer adventure, hiking on a section of the Appalachian Trail in Massachusetts. During that hike, he passed a familiar highway, one he's traveled on multiple times throughout his lifetime. Seeing that from a different perspective brought back a flood of memories and reflection.
"Seeing that road from a completely different perspective caused me to think about a lot of the decisions I’ve made over the course of my life," said Mr. Miller. "It caused me to reflect on which decisions led to happiness, and which did not. In looking back over those life decisions, one thing I’ve come to appreciate is how important it is to have a vision for why you will make certain decisions, because decisions that begin with a vision are the ones that lead to fulfillment."
For students, he said, there had been many recent quizzes, tests, and homework assignments, and most probably worked hard to do well. They may not have given much thought to why they work hard and strive to do well, though. Many students make goals like “This is the year I’m going to do better in school,” “This is the year I want to get better grades,” or “I want to attend a great college.” For a lot of students, these feel like long-term goals – but as adults, we know that a lot of life happens after graduation. So the bigger questions might be, "What do you want to get out of college? What kind of experience do you want for four years? What do you want to learn and develop about yourself? Why?”
These deeper questions take time, and finding those answers is not always easy. However, it's important to remind students of these deeper questions because they are critical as they seek to know themselves.
Mr. Miller also discussed the tradition that our Upper School students celebrate during assembly—a minute-long countdown to the end of the year.
"It's a great reminder that our time here is finite, said Mr. Miller. "My wish for our students is that they learn the skills to make the most of that time. Each day goes really fast. Whether they’re looking back at the end of the day when they return home, or whether it’s at the end of the year, I hope their decisions here will be guided by their own vision, and the vision for our community that has already been set forth by our students earlier this year at Convocation."
He reminded students of Middle School Senate President Talia Reinsmith’s ’29 challenge to spend less time looking at our devices and more time looking up to each other. Looking up means noticing each other and learning from each other. He reminded students of Upper School Student Body President Evaristo Derby Elizondo ’25 powerful convocation message to Dream Big and run your own race. And he also reminded students of Lower School Convocation speaker Max Dreszer ’32 message of finding joy in the simplest things.
SMH students have articulated an ambitious vision for the year. Dream Big: Seek a big vision for the year. Find Joy: Approach each moment as if it’s part of a larger vision with all kinds of possibilities. Happiness is often what you make of each small moment. Look up- Happiness comes when we care for others as much as we care for ourselves.
At the end of his Chapel presentation, Mr. Miller gifted each student with a small notebook and challenged them to create a practice of writing and reflecting on things they’ve learned, always keeping their bigger vision in mind as they make the decisions that help define their paths in life.