News - Administration

Sojourn at NAIS

04.18.12

By Marcel Gauthier, Assistant Head of School

Last month I attended the conference for the National Association of Independent Schools, the over-arching accrediting organization of which our own PNAIS (Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools) is an extension.

This annual event is an opportunity for independent school educators across the country to gather in one place, discuss issues common to us all, and hear what selected NAIS presenters suggest our priorities should be for the present and future.

The theme for this year was INNOVATION! with specific emphasis on technology, globalism, economic sustainability and increasing ethnic and economic diversity. The call for innovation, ironically, is not new for NAIS. In some form or other, the organization has been calling upon schools to think in “adaptive”, “revolutionary” or “cutting edge” ways for years.

Sue Mika Interview

04.18.12

Sue Mika is the mother of Jaklyn, Kirsten, Alek, Eric, Jacob, and Kyle. (Her oldest daughter, Stephanie , graduated from high school back in Boston before the Mikas moved here). Sue has been president of the Parents’ Association for three years now (that’s a long time!), and we took the opportunity, as her tenure draws to a close, to steal Sue from her VERY busy schedule and catch up with her for a few minutes about parenting, Waterford, sports, the antics of her kids, that endless commute from Alpine, and the other parents she’s worked with over the years. Following are excerpts from the interview.

So how did you hear about Waterford? Why did you choose it for your kids?
Well, when we moved here from Boston we were looking for the right school for our girls, who had been day students at a boarding school outside of Boston, and the girls chose Waterford. It was a good fit; the curriculum was like the curriculum at Dana Hall, the size was right (they found the size of public schools overwhelming), and they liked it when they visited the campus. We ended up settling in Alpine rather than Salt Lake because there’s more land down there, and Ron insisted on having a view of the mountains. Why live in Utah, he said, if you can’t even see the mountains? We still have boxes we haven’t unpacked.

Sharing the Waterford Experience

04.18.12

By Nancy Heuston, Head of School

Spring is the time when the efforts of the preceding months cohere into visible results. Not only are the younger students growing taller while their tunics and grey pants remain frozen in time, but they are restless for the next step that will bring them into Kindergarten or Middle School.

The older students are completing mid-term projects and preparing for the final weeks of the year. Continuing to balance games and competitions with concerts and performances, they are serving the School and the community — and growing intellectually as well as in their responsibility as citizens.

Although the Upper School years provide the clearest evidence of achievement, the child’s path is set in the early years. In the home and during the school day, our children begin to practice how to learn by responding to their teachers’ directions. Gradually, their measured, incremental steps turn into long, smooth strides as habits of learning take form. At this point, curiosity is given form in systematic inquiry and artistic expression. The life of the independent learner has begun.

Starting Out Right

02.22.12

By Deanna Williams, Lower Schools Director

When I was a young girl my mother would put the finishing touches on a tasty meal while she listened to me read. Her job was to create a well-balanced and delectable meal before 5:00. My job was to read as fluently as possible with great inflection. She wasn’t afraid to ask me to reread a passage several times to meet her criteria. At 5:00, like clockwork, the family would gather. It seems now like such an old-fashioned habit but we all loved sitting around the dinner table. We had interesting discussions, heated political conversations, and updates on the newest and latest traveling tips. We would be asked to share our school days, something valuable we had learned, and maybe even a difficulty we had encountered. I have the fondest memories of these conversations.

Our backyard was the neighborhood gathering spot for my friends. My mother and father had prize-winning roses and vegetable gardens in a small, quarantined area of the yard but beyond that fence line was a wonderland of opportunity. This vast arena was my favorite location, known simply as “the field,” where treasure hunts, pirate quests, and private journaling were common occurrences. As children we couldn’t wait to take large boxes, tarps, rope, and plenty of snacks to create the newest living spaces for our field. Parents didn’t venture into this wonderland unless invited to see our innovations. We were creators, imaginative and resourceful, with time on our hands to spend in pure unadulterated play.

February

02.21.12

By Nancy Heuston, Head of School

Many describe February as the grimmest of months. Instead, I choose to attribute a bit more weariness to flu symptoms, confident this condition will dissipate with the arrival of spring or our first cleansing snow storm — whichever comes first.

I enjoy this time of year when the days lengthen and the sun shoots through the crisp air with warmth and promise. We begin planning for the coming school year, we observe our students growing taller, and we resonate with our parents’ excitement as they attend their children’s activities. The community of Waterford is pulsing with energy. What a perfectly wonderful time, for us all.

The cornerstones that support this community have never been stronger: the academic and arts programs, the stretching of students as they grow, and the support for faculty as professional educators. Consonant with this is the effect of parents as they assume leadership among their friends and fellow parents. This latter condition, firmly in place, allows us to strengthen and sustain the former.