Below are the remarks made at the 2026-27 First Friday, a Waterford tradition for which the entire school—PreK to Class XII—gathers to celebrate the start of a new school year.

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REMARKS MADE BY HEAD OF SCHOOL, ANDREW MENKE: 

Good morning, everyone and happy First Friday!

It is a pleasure to welcome you all back to Waterford School and to the start of the 2026-27 school year, and to our First Friday celebration.

On behalf of your teachers and all of the staff here at Waterford thank you for a great first week! It’s so energizing to be back on campus with all of you. First Friday as many of you know is a tradition here at Waterford where we gather the entire school students in every grade level and all faculty and staff to celebrate the first week of school. It is a time to pause and reflect on our good fortune as a learning community as we enjoy this spectacular campus, exceptional teachers, inspiring class work, and enriching friendships. And to set the course for the year ahead.

As you may know we have undergone a few leadership shifts—this summer Dr. Bennett moved from his role as Associate Head and Head of Middle and Upper School to a strategic role, and Dr. Battistone from her role as Assistant Head and Head of Lower School to Associate Head of School. Ms. O’Malley from Director of Academics to Head of Middle and Upper School. We also welcomed Ms. Anderson as Head of Lower School. Ms. Poole began as the new Assistant Head of Middle and Upper School and Ms. Armenta to Assistant Head of Lower School. Please join me in welcoming these talented folks to these new roles!   

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REMARKS MADE BY ASSOCIATE HEAD OF SCHOOL, MELANIE BATTISTONE: 

Good morning everyone! What a great way to end our first week of school for the 26-27 school year! 

I love First Friday, because this is the time that the entire school—all of the faculty and staff, and ALL of the students Pre-K all the way up to the Seniors—are in one place together. As you look around you this morning, there is an important thing we have in common, and that is, we are part of the Waterford community. We are part of a school that values the liberal arts, and living lives of meaning and purpose. It’s what brought us together, and that is something very special.  

Our theme this year is Explore! What do you think of when you hear that word?  You might be thinking about an outdoor adventure, visiting a new place, or looking more closely into an idea or a concept and learning more about it. Maybe you want to understand how something works. You might even try it out by experimenting. There are lots of ways to explore.  

Recently, I learned about a book from Ms. O’Malley, our Head of Middle and Upper School—it’s called “How to be an Explorer of the World.”  The author, Keri Smith, has gathered 59 ideas for observing the world around you, as if you’d never seen it before. Kind of like if you were a space alien, and you just landed on earth. You would take notes, collect things, document what you find. Identify patterns. Focus on one thing at a time, and take notice of what you are drawn to.  

This kind of exploration is something that artists do every day—they study with their eyes or hands, and then they create art—just like Ms. Durst and Mr. Patteson. It’s also what scientists do—observe, collect, and journal, just like Ms. Andrach and Mr. Harris.  

Keri Smith’s “tips for an explorer” are quite intriguing. Here are a few: 

• Use ALL of your senses in your investigation
• Dialogue with your environment, talk to it
• Trace things back to their origins
• Observe for long durations, and short ones, and finally–
• Always be looking

As we begin this year, I encourage you to be an explorer of your world, the vibrant world of liberal arts here at Waterford. In fact, I would say that there’s no better time to explore. Be curious! Wonder aloud with a friend. Share your questions with your teachers. Talk to someone you don’t know well and learn something new about them. Observe as if you were a space alien. Take it in with all of your senses. Talk to the trees. Sing to the stars.  

I guess I’m saying…be a little weird and be ok with it. Exploration will stimulate your intellect, get the juices flowing. Exploration will ignite passion, helping you sift through all of the noise, and find the things that really matter to you. Exploration will shape your character, teaching you to persevere, to be open to surprise, to push beyond what you think are your limits. A commitment to exploration will make you a lifelong learner, ultimately leading you to a life of meaning and purpose.  

I can’t wait to hear about how you explore your world this year. 

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REMARKS MADE BY STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT, JERRY J. ’27: 

Good morning everyone. I’m Jerry, and I’m your Student Body President. Our theme this year is Explore. When we hear that word, we might picture traveling somewhere new, going on an adventure, or finding something we’ve never seen before. But I think Explore can mean a lot more than where we go. It can also be about how we experience where we already are.

For me, part of exploring is just being present. Our days can get pretty busy. There’s always something happening, something coming up, or something we’re thinking about next. It’s easy to go through an entire day focused on what comes after it. And sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with slowing down a little and actually enjoying where we are. Talking with friends, being outside, going to a game or performance, or just having fun doesn’t have to be time taken away from something more important. Those moments are part of our time here too.

Exploring is also about finding things we didn’t know were there. That doesn’t mean we need to go very far. There are people on this campus we haven’t met, activities we’ve never tried, things we’ve never learned about, and places we probably walk past every day without thinking about them. Sometimes all it takes is being a little more open to what’s around us. A normal day can turn into a really good one just because something happened that we weren’t expecting.

But I don’t think exploring is always supposed to be comfortable either. Sometimes it means doing something we’re unsure about. Trying something we might not be good at, talking to someone new, taking on something difficult, or putting ourselves in a situation where we don’t know exactly how it’s going to turn out. There’s always the chance that it doesn’t work. But there’s also the chance that we find something we never would have found by staying with what we already know.

I think that balance is what makes Explore such a good theme. It can mean going out and doing something completely new, but it can also mean appreciating something that has been right in front of us the whole time. It can mean pushing ourselves, but it can also mean knowing when to slow down. And it can mean looking forward to what’s next without being so focused on it that we miss what’s happening right now.

We spend a lot of time here together. A lot of it is going to be pretty normal. There will be regular weekdays, normal lunches, classes, practices, conversations in the hallway, and weekends with friends. Not every day is going to be some huge experience, and it doesn’t need to be. Sometimes the things that seem the most ordinary while they’re happening end up meaning a lot more later.

So I don’t think Explore needs one definition for everyone. For one person, exploring might mean trying something completely outside of their comfort zone. For someone else, it might mean meeting new people or finding something they really enjoy. And sometimes, it might just mean looking around, being present, and realizing that there’s already a lot here worth enjoying.

There will always be something ahead of us, and it’s easy to keep looking toward whatever comes next. But every once in a while, I think it’s worth looking around at where we already are. There’s a lot here we haven’t experienced yet, and probably even more that we haven’t noticed.

So this year, don’t be afraid to explore a little. I’m looking forward to working alongside all of you and serving you as your Student Body President along the way.