While students traveled back from Thanksgiving break, the faculty met to have a professional development day. There were two items on the agenda. The first half of the day was all about understanding how to help teenagers with mental health challenges, anxiety, perfectionism, and other issues that all young people face. Both Hyde's school counselor, Rebecca Cannon, and the professionals from the National Alliance on Mental Illness shared important tools and resources to help our team support and challenge our students with empathy and accountability.
The second part of the day was about the adults. Just as we ask the students to go through a process of self-discovery, we ask our adults to do the same. Faculty paired up to do a trust walk and then shared their goals for the trimester. It was another reminder that character development is as important for the adults as it is for the students.
After a rigorous fall where we experienced a great deal of individual and community growth, winter is a time to learn more about each other. For many years, the theme of the winter trimester has been Synergy: the idea that we are stronger together and we can connect to our individual best through the help of others. We work on being more vulnerable, learning about our differences, and learning what connects us. Some of the experiences for building synergy this term include:
- Mindfulness workshops
- Discovery Groups working on acts of kindness
- Performing Arts auditions
- Athletic contests where school spirit is in full force
- Winter sports teams
- Public Speaking getting more personal
- Academic group presentations
- The Big Brothers/Big Sisters program
- The Salvation Army Holiday gathering for local children
- Beginning our PACE (People Are Created Equal) winter theme
Hyde is a close-knit community and the winter term is always a special time to get even closer and be there for each other. On a personal note, Malcolm faced some health issues this past break, and the overwhelming support from both the students and the adults in our community filled us both with the strength to move forward and persevere. With much gratitude,
Laura D. Gauld '76