I have always felt an obligation to educate our students about New Hampton School’s history—how far we have come, yet how present our founding principles of access and equity remain. I talk about our history because I want our students to understand and appreciate the impact this institution has had on thousands of students before them and the unique bond shared in the network of Huskies around the world. In fulfilling our mission to develop active global citizens, we want our students to understand their responsibility to shepherd this community forward and to represent New Hampton School in positive ways.
To celebrate and move forward
As we begin our bicentennial year, we will honor our history with an equal emphasis placed on this year’s theme, Our Story, as we begin the next 200 years for New Hampton School.
It has become a ritual, and a process, to select an annual school theme. Student Council works closely with members of the senior administration each spring to discuss options for the coming year. Student leadership in this area is critical as they are the ones who must have the energy and commitment to honor and uphold the theme–using it as a common language to keep our community both focused and aligned. The theme celebrates the unique nature of the year our students are in while connecting that year to the larger history and future of the school.
Our Story is a significant and appropriate selection, not simply because of our Bicentennial. It is significant because of the opportunity I believe it conveys to our community. An opportunity to tell a meaningful story of what we stand for and have achieved in a spectrum of areas. The world is a very uncertain place right now. We don’t know where COVID-19 will take us, what the next event will be that strains race relations, or what the presidential elections will yield for our country.
To be better and commit
We can educate and have a healthy discussion about current events, but it is up to each student to conclude their own position on the issues of the day and what matters most to them. We can and should be better than what we see playing out across the country. We encourage our students to model our mission and urge them to lead at a time when their generation is needed most.
While asking our students to reflect on these national and international issues, we will focus on telling Our Story—that of a school able to provide a safe and secure place for students, of a student population from different backgrounds and socially diverse communities, and of a community willing to have hard conversations and eye-opening discussions. These stories come together to make up the tight-knit and ever-connected community of New Hampton School—this is Our Story.
I hope you will follow us and witness Our Story being told during this historic year.
Well written and meaningful