The end of any school year does not go without a flurry of celebration – particularly one at Hamden Hall and even more so in the Lower School. This year was no exception as our Lower Schoolers masterfully took to the stage for the Spring Concerts, enthusiastically participated in our day at the fields, and lovingly wished each other and their teachers a happy summer on the last day of school. All of these will remain fond and fitting memories of the last days of school for me, but my most telling image of the end of this school year didn’t take place on campus.
Every year our sixth grade takes an overnight camping trip, and every year it is an overwhelmingly positive experience that leaves the class that much closer, albeit a little sleepy. After dinner on the first night the faculty chaperones and I got a chance to sit back and watch as the counselors at Camp Sloane led our sixth graders through a series of “new games” designed to stretch comfort zones and get the laughter flowing. The mission was accomplished and then some.
There is a terrific trust game in which a group gets in a very tight circle and then sits. The idea is that the group will collectively support the weight and everyone will be comfortably and securely seated. This is good challenge to make a point and really good for a few laughs. This game was one that was introduced to our sixth graders that evening, and, as expected, the first attempt was a complete failure resulting in a heap of laughing sixth graders. (please see our LS News video gallery for evidence of this first attempt)
It was this laughter that showed me what the group was made of, and made me proud of our division. Learning takes place with risk taking, and risk only takes place when there is a challenge and comfort in the learning process. This comfort comes through years of teachers and coaches setting the bar high and then giving the students the support to reach just beyond. This comfort comes from years of falling, laughing, and getting up with good spirits and a strong determination to try again. These sixth graders had this, and it showed. One by one they picked themselves and each other off the grass and, with smiles, got back in the circle to give it another try.
This is a love of learning. It is what the learning process demands and what a Lower School must engender in its students. Thank you, sixth grade for showing me what it looks like.
awniblock 