Message From Head of School - Jean Waller Brune
Each May I host several breakfast meetings with small groups of seniors in what I fondly refer to as “exit” interviews. It is always wonderful to spend time connecting with students in any Division, but I especially look forward to my time with our seniors. Their observations about their years spent at RPCS are meaningful and sometimes poignant. Each year seniors invariably comment on the welcoming atmosphere at RPCS and the many ways that the School supports them and they, in turn, support each other – their way of affirming our philosophy of a “friendly atmosphere of mutual trust inherent in an inclusive community.” Seniors also comment about the quality of the faculty, noting that the teachers truly care deeply for them while they also challenge and stretch them to reach new heights – just what I would hope a School that “is dedicated to the intellectual, aesthetic, physical and moral development of its students” – would do! This year I was deeply touched by two comments. One senior who entered in our 9th grade said that “if she had it all to do over again, she would wouldn’t change anything” – except that she would have enrolled sooner! Another noted that RPCS nurtured and encouraged students to advocate for themselves while providing a wide range of opportunities for each student to develop her own individual interests and talents.
Schools like RPCS where students can find their niche amongst a host of opportunities in academics, arts and athletics foster intellectual curiosity, lifelong learning and a deep understanding of the true sense of community. One man who made a difference in the world through his own belief in the power of education is Greg Mortenson, who recently spoke at Stevenson University. RPCS students from Grades 5 and 8 as well as several Upper School classes attended. In Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time, Greg Mortenson, and journalist David Oliver Relin, detail what led Mortenson from a failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, to successfully establish schools in some of the most remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. “By replacing guns with pencils, rhetoric with reading, Mortenson combines his unique background with his intimate knowledge of the third-world to promote peace with books, not bombs, and successfully bring education and hope to remote communities in central Asia.” All Lower School students learned about Pakistan in the fall, and our 5th Grade students read the young adult edition of Mortenson’s book and were inspired by his story and moved to action. The Lower School worked together all year to earn money for his Pennies for Peace program to support education, particularly of girls. The students have been counting the pennies for weeks along with the money they have earned through a 5th Grade fun fair, a 4th Grade bake sale and a 1st – 3rd Grade Read-a-Thon. The power of determined young women is amazing – the Lower School raised just over $3300 through these efforts! RPCS is moved to action not only to help children outside of our community to grow up with the benefits of a good education but also to help the natural world. RPCS launched an important initiative in April. The School has just begun to recycle biodegradable waste with Waste Neutral, and thus divert even more from landfills and Baltimore’s incinerator. This company picks up the biodegradable waste, including leftover food and used paper products, three times a week. The “compostables” are then taken to a Carroll County farm where they become compost. RPCS will earn “compost credits” and redeem them for compost to use in the student gardens. This sustainability initiative will cut the cost of trash disposal significantly and support the environment, our community and the economy. In the first week of collecting biodegradables for recycling, the weight of the trash from the dining hall was reduced by 87.5 pounds! This propelled RPCS to finish second in The Green Challenge, a month long activity to help us practice walking gently on the Earth - our home and the home of future generations. RPCS competed against other area independent schools to reduce trash, reduce energy use and recycle.
Providing additional opportunities to enhance environmental sustainability is important to RPCS.
We are excited that for the next academic year we will offer many Upper and Middle School textbooks as e-books. A physical book will still be an option but whenever available we will offer an e-book as well. These options will be included in the booklist that is posted online for Middle and Upper Schools.
In addition to new textbook options, RPCS will also be adding some new uniform items across Divisions. We will still be maintaining all of our current uniform selections. A new red crewneck sweatshirt will be available for all students in K-12 to add to their uniform. For our Middle and Upper School students a red uniform fleece will also be offered. In Upper School we will be offering an optional pleated kilt skirt. Final selection of kilt style and color is still pending. We will send more information about these new uniform options in the summer mailings. Upper School Head Joan Smith showed these uniform options to the Upper School students at one of their last morning meetings. To say that there was a lot of excitement and a lot of RPCS spirit about these new additions to the uniform would be an understatement!
I would like to extend a thank you to the Parents’ Association for taking a leadership role in creating new community standards for a safe morning carpool. I urge you to read carefully the new Carpool Pledge found on this page of the newsletter as well on each Divisional page. Along with the signers of the Safe Home pledge, designed for Middle and Upper School families, the parents who sign and endorse the new Car Pool Pledge – for all parents –will also be highlighted in the Red Book for next academic year.
American naturalist, photographer, and Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Edwin Way Teale said, “The world's favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.” Indeed, here at RPCS all things are possible every month but certainly in May and June as we watch each of our students blossom and shine in the many culminating activities and events that signal the end of an academic year. I hope to see you on campus between now and June 8th for our end-of-year celebrations!
~ J.W.B.