Head of School Letter: Coming Together as a Community
Source/Author: Nancy L. Spencer, Head of School
October 20, 2023
This past week has included all kinds of Homecoming festivities, enjoyable opportunities for our community to come together. Special days include fun themes and dress-up days, where students and teachers alike wear creative outfits. Throughout the week, Upper School grades compete to be crowned as the winners of Homecoming. There are community events including decorative Homecoming banners, dress-up days and class competitions.
Homecoming culminates in an all-school pep rally in Crisp Gym, with games, loud cheering and the awarding of the Homecoming Trophy. Of course there is the Friday night football game and Saturday night Upper School dance with “Very Haunted HoCo” as the theme.
Homecoming activities took a midweek break; Wednesday saw the annual administration of the PSAT for sophomores and juniors. Ninth graders, who will take their PSAT 8/9 later this spring, spent the day bonding together at an adventure ropes course. Seniors enjoyed the day together as a class, playing shuffleboard and preparing for their Powder Puff cheer routines.
As Director of Technology & Media Services, Dr. Anna Baralt points out this week is also recognized as Digital Citizenship Week. At Shorecrest we regularly focus on the importance of helping students navigate the complexity of the digital world in a safe, productive and healthy manner. As ever more potential misinformation or violent or inappropriate content can flood students’ social media, we encourage parents and guardians to engage in conversations with their children and monitor their social platforms. For more information, you can view Dr. Baralt’s recent parent presentation called “Parental Controls You Didn’t Know You Needed.”
This week has also provided an opportunity for conversation, connection and coming together as a community to support one another. Our faculty and staff have been working hard to help students cope with the challenges of world events and their unique impact on different individuals and groups. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher, advisor or School Division Head if you have specific concerns or questions. And of course, my door is always open to all members of the community.
All the best,
Nancy
