News - April 2011 Archives
04.13.11
By Marcel Gauthier, Assistant Head of School
As I write this, the end of March is just days away. The weather is feigning spring, teams on the fields are kicking up mud, and our senior class is poised to hear from colleges, most of which send out the bulk of their decisions right about now.
This is an anxious time for the Class of 2011. It is the climax of a process that began last spring, when Sari Rauscher and Judy Rasetti, our college counselors, began guiding the students through weekly meetings focused on the college search. The process intensified with individual conferences to arrive at an appropriate list of target schools, visits to campuses, further shepherding (and sometimes prodding) through the essay-writing and application process in the fall . . . with a respite arriving only at the start of the new year, final applications having been completed over the winter holiday.
And so the moment of “truth” has arrived, and frankly, like I always do, I have mixed feelings.
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04.13.11
Jan Van Arsdell, frequently referred to as JVA by his students, is a much-beloved, veteran history and English teacher at Waterford. In commemoration of Waterford’s twenty-fifth anniversary five years ago, Jan wrote a book about the history of Waterford (copies of which are still available to interested parents). Recently we sat down with Jan, discussing teaching, parenting Waterford students (he is the father of Hannah ’06 and Willa ’10), how Waterford has developed over the years, what has held steady at the school, and JVA Bingo. Following are excerpts of our conversation.
So how long have you been teaching at Waterford?
Since September of 1986.
And what was your background before you came here?
I went to Dartmouth as an undergraduate, and spent five years in graduate study at University of Utah (after being a Little Cottonwood Canyon ski bum for a few years).
Tell me about making the decision to come to Waterford instead of finishing your PhD.
Well, my final interview with Nancy [Heuston] down at the Waterford Provo school was weirdly symbolic. I had an old Peugot, and after I was offered the position, in my dazed state I left my briefcase and wallet on the top of the car in the school parking lot and headed back up to the Avenues where I lived. My briefcase contained all of my graduate school reading lists, laboriously compiled with my Committee members, twenty-five to thirty books in each of five areas, both typed and on floppy discs – every copy. On the trip home from Provo on I-15, somewhere around the Lehi rest stop, I saw a glimpse of something blurry in my rearview mirror, but didn’t think anything of it. A truck driver saw everything blow off and returned my wallet to me, but I never got the papers back, even though I drove back to Lehi and looked for them in the scrubby grass alongside the highway – I found bits and pieces… It was an omen. At that point, I had a Masters Degree and three years of PhD work done, but that was the end of it.
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04.13.11
By Lynn Lonsdale, Waterford Archivist
The Waterford School Archives was established in September 2008. After 27 years of existence, there was a clear need for storing and preserving precious and important materials from the history of the School. Before this, these materials sat in boxes, drawers and folders in the homes and offices of long-time faculty and staff. So an Archival program was instituted, space identified, and an archivist recruited from the ranks of retired librarians. Today the Archive office is located inside room 711 in the Visual Arts Building and a storage location is in the basement of the Performing Arts Building. The purpose of the Waterford School Archives is to identify, preserve, and make available records that document the origins, development, programs, activities and policies of the School. These records and materials being collected define the history of the School and have enduring value to the School community.
So, what is being collected? Yearbooks were an obvious place to start, and we have many of them beginning with the early years in Provo. We are building a collection of the Class Day gifts given to students each fall, the yearly theme buttons handed out in Assembly in September, invitations, programs, photos, film, DVDs, handbooks, posters, mugs, blazers, kilts, sweaters, t-shirts and newsletters. These precious items, and others too numerous to mention, mark the passing of time in Waterford’s history. Less obvious, but equally important are the documents: correspondence, department notes, financial statements, building documentation, program expansions, emails, and more. Individually each is a unique piece, and collectively they are our institutional history.
{see the full article for lots of great images from the Archives}
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04.13.11
By Nancy Heuston, Head of School
There is a stream of compassion that flows across campus and out to the homes of Waterford families. Atypically, however, this stream then flows back to campus, from west to east, continuing its infinite loop.
The response to the Bake Sale for Japan was stunning as students and parents baked and wrapped, sold and purchased — all as a way to reach out and hold up the weary hands that hang down. Even knowing that the need far outstrips our ability to assist, students of all ages were energetically supported by parents in doing their part.
Ignited by a common purpose, we raised $6,000.00 for the people of Japan. And in so doing, we learned from one another what it means to care deeply and give more than is comfortable or convenient.
Thank you, for teaching indelibly through participating generously.
04.13.11
We are proud to announce that Waterford senior John Powers has been selected as a recipient of the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, the nation’s first and most prestigious merit award program. Waterford is currently the only school in Utah invited to nominate students for this honor.
You can read the press release below:
John Powers, a senior at the Waterford School, was recently selected as a recipient of the Morehead-Cain Scholarship, the nation’s first and most prestigious merit award program.
Among the largest and most competitive scholarship programs in the United States, the Morehead-Cain pays all expenses for four years of undergraduate study at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, including the cost of a laptop computer and four summer enrichment and internship experiences. Additional funding is provided for educational and experiential opportunities during the academic years. The value of the scholarship is about $170,000 for an out-of-state student.
As set out in the program’s founding documents, selection criteria for the Morehead-Cain are leadership, academic achievement, moral force of character and physical vigor. Morehead-Cain recipients are chosen solely on the basis of merit and accomplishment, not financial need. Scholars are expected to make a commitment to lifelong personal growth through hard work, discipline, humility, and compassion.
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04.13.11
A blustery but beautiful morning for the Spring Birding Trip. Photo: Lee Bromley
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