There is something almost achingly touching about the start to a new school year. New students with their smiles and eagerness to please betray a deep desire to find their place and figure out just how they fit in. Returning students with their easygoing, confident exteriors conceal a deeper-down curiosity as to what exactly this year is going to be like and who among these fresh faces might be a potential new friend. Brand new binders await filler paper which will soon be covered with research notes and ideas, poems and stories, and (perhaps?!) scrawled questions asking about weekend plans, pencils await sharpening, and coloured markers sit pristine in their original rainbow arrays.

During the opening meeting of the entire middle school, the students were asked to write down what one of their favourite foods is. They were then asked to explain why community is like their favourite food. Among their responses:

• Community is like pasta because it comes in all shapes and sizes and colors.
• Community is like mango because it's sweet.
• Community is like watermelon because the outside is hard and uniform, but inside, looking closer, is full of different personalities, like the seeds and flesh; it is more individual.
• Community is like pearl milk tea because we're all in this together.
• Community is like spaghetti because it makes you feel good and fulfilled.
• Community is like sashimi because it's raw but works out smoothly.
• Community is like pasta because it's warm just like the caring community.
• Community is like pasta because everyone is different but the same. Different kinds of pasta are different but they are all the same thing.
• Community is like chocolate peanut ice cream because chocolate peanut ice cream makes me feel relaxed.
• Community is like seafood because seafood includes all kinds of clams, shrimps, etc., and each has its own special taste. Like that, community is made up of all kinds of types of people who are special in their own way.
• Community is like pizza because everything on the pizza comes together and makes something great, just like when the community comes together, we make great things.

It is a given that the special individuals who make up this warm and caring community will indeed come together to make great things this year. Some of these may be anticipated – a gripping short story, a beautiful soccer move, an instrumental solo that causes us to lose ourselves in the moment, a smile that says all is right with the world. Others will catch us off guard, delighting us with their sheer energy and originality. There may be some rawness along the way, but with care and attention and communication, we can work to smooth things out. And if we all do our jobs right, at the end of the year we can look back and feel confident we have heeded Audrey Lewis's advice, dispensed during her Convocation speech on Tuesday, to make the most of every moment. Here's to a wonderful year!

On September 20-21, the middle school will be taking its annual overnight trip to Camp Becket-Chimney Corners. This is one weekend later than in the past, following student observations that, enjoyable though they have always found it, the weekend might be richer if they had an extra week to spend time together before the trip. We will leave the school at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, and return at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Camp staff are working with us to coordinate activities designed to promote self-knowledge, develop teamwork and leadership skills, and have fun. If you have any questions, please contact Bill Ivey .

Middle school research shows that one of the most fundamentally important, if too-often neglected, aspects of a quality middle school is a strong advisory program. For girls especially, a sense of connectedness to a trusted adult is fundamentally important to their being able to be their own best selves. Our advisory groups meet three times a week, with the mission to develop knowledge of oneself and one's peers, to carefully consider academic and other progress during the year, and to have fun. This program will work best if we truly function as a team, and we hope that you will feel free to contact us if you have a question or something important to share, just as we will not hesitate to contact you. Formal reports are mailed home at each midterm and at the end of each trimester, and these may be combined with ongoing conversations to create an atmosphere that supports your daughter's development. We look forward to working with you throughout the year!

On Tuesday, September 30, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the Blue Room, we will hold a short workshop for interested parents on adolescent development and how best to support these wonderful students socially and academically. We will follow up the workshop with a newsletter so that those who are unable to attend may also profit from the evening. If you are interested in attending, please contact Bill Ivey so that we may have an approximate idea of how many to expect. We look forward to seeing you!
 

In a recent "Middle School Journal," published by the National Middle School Association, authors Jennifer Wilson, Pamela Jewett and Michelle Vanderburg describe the benefits of a book-in-common program created at Hand Middle School in Columbia, South Carolina. Students reported that "learning to value multiple perspectives was one of their biggest areas of growth from the whole school read," teachers stated "how nice it was to have a touchstone text that everyone could relate to," and the school plans to involve parents in the process with future literature groups.

In the past, parents at Stoneleigh-Burnham Middle School have proposed a similar program, and we are pleased to report that we are providing the opportunity for parents, teachers and students to share a book in common. The book, The Jacket by Andrew Clements, details the events and thoughts which unfold when a middle school student sees another student wearing his jacket without his permission. It speaks to issues of diversity, acceptance, and growing awareness of oneself, the world, and one's place in the world. We will make time to discuss this book during Fall Family Weekend, and invite all of you to join in the conversation.