Category: Collaboration

Begin with the End

At our opening all-employee meeting today, I shared some thoughts about the start of a new school year and my entry into Cary Academy.

Beginning with the end in mind, I started with a recent graduation speech at Syracuse University by author George Saunders (who I was later told is a hit in some of our senior English classes). Saunders spoke about risk taking and regret, two great topics not only for a graduation speech but for all of us in a reflective mood as we start on the journey of a new school year.

What stood out in Saunder’s reflections was his choice of regret. Not the rotten jobs or athletic humiliation, but a missed opportunity to show kindness to a mistreated girl in 7th grade. Saunders shared with the graduates his belief that we have evolved as humans to see ourselves and our own story as central to the universe, and thus have great difficulty seeing past our own egos to show genuine interest and kindness in others.

Saunders went on to say that as we mature, we gain more control of our ego and develop our capacity to care for others. Kindness, he says, is an important element of success.

As we start a new school year, this is a wonderful message about the impact of seemingly small personal interactions and the power of a strong community.

Read his full speech here.

Welcome to 2013-2014

Dear Parents,

I am delighted to welcome you to the 2013-2014 school year. As many of you know, after a long search process, this letter marks my first official communication to families as the head of school at Cary Academy. I am thrilled to be on the job and honored to follow the legacy established by founding head Don Berger and built upon last year by interim head Mitch McGuigan.

This week I have been attending many of the orientation workshops held for our incoming employees, and I have been greatly impressed with the depth and quality of the on-boarding process. Cary Academy is a mission-driven organization, and this is clearly evident in the thoughtful way that our programs are developed and explained to new hires. At the end of each day, I shared with my new colleagues a growing level of excitement about the start of the year.

Last month, I had the good fortune of being a part of the 18-member team of Cary Academy faculty and students who traveled to the Lausanne Learning Institute in Memphis, TN, to accept the School Spotlight Award, given to one school each year for its leadership and innovation in the areas of laptop use and technology integration. Members of the CA team presented more than a dozen workshops to nearly 600 educators from independent schools around the world.

Here on campus, it has been a very busy summer. Once again, our Summer Quest program was a huge success and introduced Cary Academy to many younger students around the area. In the short window of time after the camps ended, our facilities team has been working tirelessly to ready the classrooms for the start of school. The planned renovation of the Dining Hall is nearing completion, and it should provide for brighter, more spacious environment. Additional sound proofing will enhance the dining experience, and new serving lines should cut down on wait times.

In less than two weeks, we expect to open school with roughly 750 students. Our team is carefully managing enrollment against the continued backdrop of very strong demand for a Cary Academy education. With the addition of an Ehrhardt child in each division of the school, you can count our family among those eagerly awaiting August 14th.

I look forward to meeting all our students at the handshake ceremony on the first day of school and all of you during many of the school’s opening events and activities.

Skip to toolbar