2021 Orientation is a Joyous Event
How wonderful it was to have students back on campus after a year of remote and hybrid learning. The pandemic is not over yet, but we are so grateful to be able to have our entire school on our campuses for Orientation, almost like a normal year. Yes, masks indoors are still mandatory, but at least we are together, building community in TSA’s unique way.
On Tuesday, August 31, the 9th grade had their own day of orientation (without any other grades present at the high school) with a program
2021 HS Orientation Committee
created in large measure by a team of returning TSA students. Seniors Riley Eastman, Daniel Henderson, Alix Livingston, and Ever Tofel; Juniors Freya Abbey, Jack Doris, Avery Swett, and Phoebe Quackenbos; and Sophomore Maple Moore worked diligently and conscientiously, and demonstrated incredibly positive leadership, to plan and facilitate a truly successful day. Their goal was for the new students of our entering 9th grade to feel more comfortable with each other, with faculty and staff, and with the school.
Organizing Notebooks
In the meantime, at the Middle School, students were greeted by the teachers with games to introduce them to each other and activities to orient them to their lockers and other key logistics. 8th graders were reminded of their leadership role within the community while 7th graders were encouraged to look to them for guidance. Students went to their block classes to prepare for the beginning of classes by organizing their notebooks and learning more about each other.
Throughout the day, fun activities were combined with purpose. An example of this was the team-building “Blue Cheese” activity, in which a group has to work together to manipulate a tennis ball across a tarp full of holes without ever touching the tennis ball. The tarp represents the community and the holes are the stresses on that community. As the students consider remedies for the stresses the ideas are written on pieces of tape; the tape is then applied to the tarp to block the holes, making it easier to get the ball safely across the tarp. The game thus serves as a metaphor for communication and cooperation in a community.
2021 HS Orientation
The entire high school showed up on Wednesday, September 1. Head of School Mary Newman opened events with words about how the year will be new for everyone, whether students are coming from a different school, or returning students are learning about the new schedule and Deeper Learning.
One thing that returning high school students did remember from prior years was the Teacher Mix-up game. Teachers had prepared unexpected facts about themselves and held placards with facts that weren’t theirs. Grades competed to rearrange the placards and make the most correct matches. Seniors usually win this game of luck, strategy, deductive thinking, and familiarity and this year was no exception. The Class of 2022 made four correct matches, while the sophomores and juniors tied with two correct matches. As with the games at the middle school, this “silly” game has many meaningful purposes. Importantly, it helps students learn about their teachers as people with varied backgrounds and experiences. Students then learned about electives, policies, and rules, but in an interactive and engaging way that is typical of TSA, and which is the backbone of deeper learning.
The middle schoolers engaged in a human scavenger hunt before launching into their summer reading discussion groups. Activities followed to continue to learn about each other, reflect on goals for the year, and discuss ways to support each other and the middle school community.
For the final day on Thursday, September 2, the middle schoolers participated in a tradition of burning an art piece of a phoenix created by last year’s students. They then discussed goals for this year’s middle school community and wrote them on paper feathers to create a new phoenix for the year. Next year, this will be burned in a ceremony for the new year.
2021 MS Orientation-Dragon Tail Tag
After a game of dragon tail tag, students played a game to get to know the faculty. Middle School Director Andrew Lane shared an interesting story about teachers Marcy Innes, Kyle Paquette, Janice Stumpf, and Clare Smith. The students had to guess which person experienced which story by asking each of the teachers questions about the stories. It’s not easy to figure out the truth when the teachers are so good at owning every story! In the afternoon, students grouped up to build and launch soda bottle rockets.
Back at the high school, students did a dress rehearsal for their daily schedule for Module 1 in the morning, and spent the afternoon discussing their summer reading. The day ended with a community-building activity around defining deeper learning that had an artistic component as well. The result will be a mural that will be displayed in the hall near the lobby.
After a year of relative isolation, being together again is a skill that many will have to relearn. The rewards, however, are immeasurable and important. We look forward to the first day of classes after Labor Day and to the whole year of community, learning, and personal growth.