Fall 2017 Postscript

To the Great Class of 1969:

Shortly after I hit the send button last Sunday, two issues of The Scroll appeared online. Some of the more newsworthy items from the Fall Term included the following:

Head of School Margarita Curtis began the school year by announcing plans to construct the "Jay and Mimi Morsman Tennis Pavilion" in recognition of their 99 years of combined service to the Academy. The structure will cover six of the 18 courts and will feature a roof, radiant heat and walls that can be raised and lowered to allow for year-round play. The facility will be completed in time for the 2018 season.

To their disappointment, returning students learned that a healthy lifestyle doesn't come cheaply and that a smoothie in the Greer would cost them more this year. Prices were raised modestly for the first time in five years and reflect, in part, the shift to healthier ingredients and improved selections.

A Facebook post in October by a 2016 alumna sparked a lively discussion about the various ways racial discrimination was experienced by minority students on campus and how to recognize more nuanced ways it is exhibited.

Deerfield's Center for Service and Global Citizenship announced nine faculty-led trips to such far off places as Panama, Oaxaca, the Dominican Republic, Tanzania, China, the United Kingdom, the Bahamas, Jordan and, somewhat incongruously, South Dakota.

The Debate Team represented Deerfield at the International Independent Schools' Public Speaking Competition in Winnipeg where it was judged the best American School team. One member of the team qualified for the World Individual Debating and Public Speaking Championships in South Africa next April by winning awards as both Top American Speaker and Top Persuasive Speaker.

This fall, 35 juniors and seniors elected "athletic concentrations" as their extracurricular afternoon activity. In lieu of participating in one of the seasonal sports, these athletically-minded students were allowed to focus their energy on preparing for winter or spring sports and taking their skills to a new level. In order to be eligible for an athletic concentration, a student must participate in interscholastic sports in both other terms.

In October, the Reed Student Art Center opened on the first floor of the Hess Center in the Memorial Building in the hopes of promoting the student arts program. The gallery - which displays work by students in the studio art, architecture and photography program - is the first space on campus dedicated to student art.

As a reminder, classes resume on Tuesday, and this term you may substitute sweaters for sports jackets and turtlenecks for shirts and ties. No official word yet on whether cocoa and cookies will be served again in the lobby of the Main School Building on dress down Fridays but expectations run high.

DWS