I collect coffee mugs and recently received one that tells the "Cooperation" story: The great redwoods of California are one of the beautiful natural wonders of North America. These giant evergreens can grow to a towering 300 feet tall and live for hundreds of years. For all their magnificence, one would think the redwoods would require a deep root system to keep them upright. Instead, they have roots that spread out along the surface of the forest floor to capture all the moisture possible, intertwining with the roots of other redwoods in the grove. The interlocking roots securely support and sustain these giant sequoias when storms strike and fierce winds blow. The trees’ survival depends on the combined support of one another. When we stand together...support one another...encourage one another...we become strong together, and like the giant redwoods, we keep growing taller.
A cooperative, resilient spirit is a hallmark of the RPCS philosophy and like the redwoods our community grows stronger because of our supportive environment. I am reminded of this most especially when we host a foreign exchange on our Chestnutwood campus. This week, students and two members of the faculty of Landrat-Lucas Gymnasium (LLG) in Leverkusen, Germany arrived at RPCS for a two week stay. This exchange, although not intended for language immersion, provides an intellectual and cultural experience. It is a time of learning for both our students and their counterparts from Germany as well as a time of cooperation as our German students become acclimated to the Unites States and to RPCS. Whether it is helping with technology, working together to find a solution to a difficult equation or simply finding something good to eat in Baltimore, our students are using their cooperative skills to engage our guests and I am very proud of the hospitality they are showing.
Cooperation was also the key to the construction of the sukkah on the Front Lawn. On a beautiful Sunday this month, sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers joined together on the RPCS campus to honor the Jewish holiday Sukkot, sometimes called the Festival of Booths. This week-long harvest holiday during which Jewish people recall their time in the desert after liberation from slavery in Egypt is also reminiscent of the biblical fall harvest, and the tradition of living out in the fields to ease the burden of traveling to and from the fields each day of the harvest. To celebrate the holiday, Jews traditionally build sukkot (singular: sukkah), temporary huts. The Sukkah is a place of gathering, celebration and learning. In this all school effort, every RPCS grade level (classes, advisories, homerooms) was able to visit and participate.
Cooperation and partnership with parents is vitally important to the life of RPCS and we are pleased to introduce the second annual Robinson Health Colloquium. Generously funded by former Trustee and parent James G. Robinson, who believes that parents must be fully engaged in the lives of their daughters, the Robinson Health Colloquium will focus this year on Cyber-Bullying. Katie Koestner, Executive Director of Campus Outreach Services and Take Back the Night Foundation, is a national expert on student safety and wellness who will address the community in a number of assemblies in each Divisions, faculty professional development and parent programs. There will be two opportunities for parents to attend Cyber Smarts for Parents. On Monday October 18 from 7:30 – 9:00pm in the Sinex Theater, Katie and Nancy Conrad, partner in the Commercial Litigation Practice Group with White and Williams LLP in Allentown, PA, will discuss Cyber-Bullying and Legal Issues. On Tuesday, October 19 from 7:45 – 9:00am in the Faissler Library Coffee and Continued Discussion with Katie. I hope that you will able to attend one of the sessions.
In addition, the following week, Dr. JoAnn Deak will be returning to RPCS as the Sarah Crane Cohen Crane Visiting Scholar in the Humanities and will address the community at the Crane Lecture on Monday, October 25 at 7:30pm in the Sinex Theater. JoAnn Deak’s updated edition of How Girls Thrive, which was one of our employee summer reading books, is particularly compelling and relevant as it discusses social networks and cyber-bullying. Dr. Deak will also hold a parent coffee on Tuesday morning, October 26th from 8:00 – 9:00 am in the Lower School Multipurpose Room. These will be two different presentations; I urge you to attend the evening presentation and return for the morning coffee where there will be opportunities for more personal and informal interaction.
I hope to see you on campus several times this month!
~J.W.B.