Our return to school in late March, while over eight weeks ago, seems in our collective consciousness to be about two or so weeks ago. But that is in keeping with the distorted sense of time's passage that each school year brings as the vitality, richness, and pace of school life absorbs all of us. What can be stated with certainty is that the surge of energy that is inherent to the spring at Fenn has carried us forward in a wave of impressive accomplishments for Fenn boys and memorable occasions for our school community. In short, life has been ever-full and vibrant at Fenn in this season that leads us to summer.

So we now look with some amazement to the imminent approach of the close of the 2016-2017 school year at Fenn with graduation exercises occurring on June ninth, our final school day at Fenn before summer vacation. I offer in the pages that follow an update on our faculty, highlights of school events and student achievements during the spring, a preview of the school's schedule leading to graduation, an update on some upcoming key initiatives for Fenn, a progress report on our school's reaccreditation process, and some closing thoughts at year-end.  

Faculty and Staff Transitions
 
As is the case in most years at Fenn, members of the faculty and staff, with varying degrees of Fenn tenure in full- or part-time positions, will be departing our school for other opportunities. With lasting appreciation for their service to Fenn boys and the School, we will bid the following faculty members good-bye at our upcoming graduation exercises:

Lisa Francine, who served as Fenn's Head Librarian from 2002 through 2015 and in recent time as Fenn's Assistant Librarian, leaves Fenn after fifteen years of dedicated service. During Lisa's tenure, the school's library relocated to the new Fenn Library, an extensive process in which Lisa was instrumental as she contributed to the conception and design phases and coordinated the final transfer of books and resources to the new location. With Lisa's leadership, the Fenn library program advanced in significant dimensions, integrating technology in deeper and more meaningful ways, promoting the importance of reading, and enhancing library use in the curriculum. Seeking a new direction in her career, Lisa will soon serve in a Reader's Advisory position in the Chelmsford Public Library.   

Michelle Heaton, who joined Fenn's Science Department six years ago to teach in the Middle and Upper Schools, is now departing Fenn to relocate to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with her family where she spent an earlier chapter in her educational career. She expects to teach science and continue some administrative work in an independent school in the Jackson Hole region. A deeply knowledgeable and successful teacher in her field of science and an able administrator, Michelle also invested her talents while at Fenn in transitioning our community service program to the model of service learning and, during this past year, served as a co-director of Fenn's self-study process in preparation for our school's reaccreditation review by the Association of Independent Schools in New England. 

Fenn's Diversity Intern Osa Osagie who has taught, directed the student diversity committees, and collaborated with colleagues in supporting a number of diversity program components, including Respecting Differences Day, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Assembly, and the Cultural Arts Festival will leave Fenn after making a great impact on Fenn boys and our community in just a short time. Able, talented, and personable, Osa leaves Fenn for the Carroll School to serve as its first Director of Diversity.

With great gratitude for their dedication and efforts at Fenn and with Fenn boys, we wish Lisa, Michelle, and Osa the very best in the next chapter of their careers as talented educators.

In my opening letter to parents at the start of the next school year in September, I will introduce the new members of our faculty and staff who will assume the duties of these departing members of the Fenn faculty.

Some Highlights of School Life in This Spring Season

Lower School

Our fourth grade boys are certainly not new boys any more as they've settled fully into their school having done so with contagious energy, enthusiasm, and pride. Now acculturated to the ways of Sua Sponte and seeing themselves fully as Fenn boys, with only their now assigned Blue or Gold team designations separating them, our fourth grade boys have melded impressively as a class and are proud to call themselves the Fenn Class of 2022. And one step ahead of them, of course, are the boys of the Class of 2021 who have their sights set on joining the Middle School at Fenn in a few short months, prepared and ready as they are to make the transition to their next Fenn chapter.

In this spring there were many daily triumphs and accomplishments by Lower School boys. The following are just a few of them:

• Our fourth and fifth grade budding thespians completed their year in drama with the staging this week of the last set of Lower School plays, with each student having taken on an acting role this year.
• The fourth and fifth grade senators fulfilled their campaign promise to offer school-based movie nights for their respective grades, which provide the opportunity for classmates to deepen their connections with each other and to raise money for the senate-sponsored charities.
• The fifth grade has capped its year and time in the Lower School with the expedition north to Camp Merrowvista which unfortunately occurred during cloudy and misty weather but, nonetheless, did not dampen the spirits of the members of the Class of 2021 as they engaged with each other in bonding exercises and looked to their shared Fenn future.

Middle School

Our sixth and seventh grade boys have made a successful transition into the robust program of the Middle School with its increased number of classmates, wider scope of teachers, disbursement of classes across campus, and opportunities for a sampling of interscholastic athletic events. Middle School life has in constructive ways demanded an increase in Sua Sponte for most Fenn boys while their supportive advisors kept a close eye on their progress. As our sixth and seventh graders took further steps in their maturation, they experienced both challenges and triumphs this year.

Below are just a few of the notable moments in Middle School life for our Fenn students.

• The Washington, DC, seventh grade trip directly before March break brought a rich educational experience for the members of the Class of 2019, that included a visit to the newly opened National African American Museum and a class bonding experience that will not be forgotten by these Fenn boys.
• The sixth grade social studies classes engaged in extensive study of the economics, agriculture, governmental regulation, and working conditions of the world chocolate trade that is based in Africa and completed their unit with chocolate-making project using fair trade chocolate.
• The Cultural Heritage Project and Fair occurred in April and early May as seventh grade students researched the history of a family member and his/her intersection with national or international events of the time, culminating in student presentations complemented by poster displays and final research papers which they delivered in class and then in the gym immediately before and during Grandparents' Day.

Upper School

This year our school leaders—our Fenn boys in grades eight and nine—set an exemplary tone for the boys of the Middle and Lower School divisions who literally and figuratively looked up to them as role models. Not only do the eighth and ninth grade boys serve as "big brothers" to the fourth grade boys in our Big Brother Program, but they also demonstrate in important ways what it means to be a leader at Fenn and to engage school life with a higher degree of Sua Sponte and independence. All of our 22 ninth grade seniors will soon receive their Fenn diplomas to begin secondary school, as will 38 of our 68 eighth grade boys who will graduate in two weeks' time.

As our Upper School students close out this year of growth and leadership, the highlights of this spring season were many, with several noted below.

• The ninth grade students in Fenn's Global Studies course have been immersed in the study of China and are completing the unit with research papers and projects on specific political, economic, and societal issues, with culminating oral presentations with visual accompaniments which the students are in the process of presenting to an audience of classmates and parents in the Fenn Library.
• Three teams of eighth grade students who are returning to Fenn next year mounted school-wide campaigns for president and vice-president, offering lively and creative speeches before the School and participating in an open-question candidates' forum that preceded the casting of votes by all Fenn students, which resulted in the election of Jacob Chui as president and Nathan Edwards-Roseney as vice-president.
• Our eighth and ninth grade students are currently finishing their academic work for the spring term with the important exercise of reviewing the scope of their learning for the year in preparation for final exams which serve the function of both reinforcing their learning as well as preparing them for similar comprehensive assessments in secondary school.

• Living a full Fenn life, our Upper School students engaged in a broad array of spring activities that saw an undefeated varsity tennis team, an exceptionally strong track and field team, and competitive baseball and lacrosse teams, while a number of students took to the stage in the Upper School's sparkling spring comedy, The Seventh Book of Jane, and closed out their service learning in the Youth in Philanthropy and Students in Action programs, for which the latter received a gold medal award from the sponsoring organization.

Envisioning and Realizing Fenn's Future

This year saw the continued effort to ensure that Fenn will remain the strong and vital school that it is by taking important steps forward in the area of our educational program, support of our faculty, sustained enrollment of a talented and diverse student body, and the enhancement of our campus facilities. During this past week, Fenn hosted a morning and an evening briefing session, to which all current and incoming parents were invited, that focused on strategic initiatives that Fenn is currently or soon will be undertaking to strengthen further the quality of education that every Fenn boy receives. As Headmaster, I reviewed the progress that Fenn has made to date in the implementation of its road map for the future, i.e. The Fenn Strategic Plan, and the imminent steps that the School will be taking in the shorter term.

The most notable of these initiatives are the following:

• Enhancement of the School's financial aid program through building our endowment to ensure that families across the socio-economic spectrum, including middle class families, will continue to consider and afford a Fenn education for their talented sons.
• Creation of a campus center that would incorporate the Connolly Dining Hall and extend into a new addition taking the place of the Summer Fenn building and wood shop.  This project would include the expansion of the seating capacity in the Connolly Dining Hall; the much needed rebuilding and expansion of the kitchen facility; the creation of a new and expansive innovation lab/makerspace on the ground floor of the expanded building that will serve the burgeoning interest of our students and the integration of design thinking into our curriculum; the creation of four academic classrooms/meeting spaces on a new third floor to the dining hall—in total a vital and versatile project that could begin this summer, contingent upon gift funding over the next few months, to be completed by the beginning of the 2018-19 academic year.
• Advancement of Fenn's professional development program and support for faculty, allowing for additional funding of graduate work, curriculum development, and innovative teaching practices through the targeted growth of our endowment.
• Enhancement of the academic program through the creation of new faculty positions in design thinking, technology integration, and—in the longer term—service learning, and support of the academic department heads for their added mentoring and leading of faculty, all of which would be supported through deepening the endowment.

Fenn will be communicating further about our ongoing efforts in planning and fundraising over the next few months and as we begin the coming school year. In the interim, please feel free to be in touch with me with questions or any perspective you might wish to share.

The Fenn Reaccreditation Process by the Association of Independent Schools in New England

While separate from our strategic initiatives, the School completed this year the required preparation for Fenn's reaccreditation assessment by the Association of Independent Schools in New England. In an intensive self-assessment process involving scores of hours of meetings and writing by involved faculty, staff, administrators, trustees, and parents, the School created the required Self-Study, a document of close to several hundred pages that will be submitted to AISNE this summer for subsequent review and reference by the Association and the assigned members of the AISNE Visiting Team who will arrive at Fenn for three days of intensive assessment at the beginning of November 2017.

The process of self-study has been one of extremely helpful critical assessment across all dimensions of school life and has resulted in Fenn's identification of our clear strengths, grounded in the clarity of our mission of educating elementary and middle school boys, and our areas of challenge as we strive to be the best possible school in educating boys.

As we move into the 2017-2018 school year, we will provide further updates about the reaccreditation process, which we expect will be successful for Fenn as it has been over the decades.

End of the School Year Schedule: Late May and Early June 2017

Below is an explanation of the schedule for the closing days of the school year with accompanying instructions. For veteran Fenn parents, this text that appears below is familiar. In an efficient form of recycling of my writing, this summary is excerpted from my year-end letters of prior years. (Sometimes repetition is appropriate!) Please be assured that the noted dates reflect this year's updated calendar. 

Overview

In these last two weeks of the school year, as noted above, we will conduct final academic, arts, and sports classes and engage our annual year-end special events. These special endeavors are comprised of final exams for the Middle and Upper Schools (Thursday, June 1st, through Monday, June 5th), Field Day for the entire school (Monday, June 5th), the Celebration of the Eighth Grade Class of 2018 (Tuesday, June 6th), Prize Day (Wednesday, June 7th), eighth and ninth grade class trips and the Ninth Grade Dinner (Thursday, June 8th), and finally, Graduation Day (Friday, June 9th). The 2016-2017 Fenn School academic year ends at the close of graduation exercises on Friday, June 9th. Summer vacation—replete with summer reading—will then begin.

Monday, June 5th—Field Day:  The Meeting of the Blue and Gold

The Blue and Gold Teams, equally intent upon winning this year's trophy, will take to the fields of Fenn to participate in the longstanding tradition of Field Day. With every Fenn School student assigned to either the Blue Team or the Gold Team for his Fenn career, the sides are aligned and ready!

Blue and Gold team members will compete in traditional track and field events and creative contests that test their speed, agility, strength, and teamwork. As always, Field Day Commissioner Bob Starensier is using his influence to secure optimal weather conditions for competing in and viewing the games. Students should remember and will be encouraged to wear sunscreen under what we hope will be sunny skies next Monday.

Field Day begins at 12:00 noon on Monday, June 5th, and will conclude at 3:30 p.m. By most everyone's account, the highlight of Field Day is the Blue versus Gold relay race, which will be run at approximately 2:00 p.m. The race is an inspiring event to witness, providing a great thrill for both the runners and parent spectators. To compete in Field Day, boys should bring to school athletic shorts, a tee shirt that is preferably blue or gold (shirts should have sleeves; no cut-off shirts are allowed!), and athletic socks and shoes. Regular dress code is required for morning classes preceding Field Day events. Parents are welcome to attend all or part of Field Day to watch their sons and their schoolmates enjoy spirited competition and sportsmanship and their traditional popsicles at the closing ribbon presentation ceremonies.

Tuesday, June 6th—Final Day of Classes, Alumni Association Breakfast, Regular Tuesday Dismissal, Graduation Rehearsal, Celebration of the Eighth Grade Class of 2018
 

Tuesday, June 6th, is indeed a busy day at Fenn. Lower School students will complete their last day of classes as scheduled. Middle and Upper School students will follow a special class schedule that allows them to meet with their advisors and all of their academic teachers to bring closure to the year. Dismissal will follow at the usual Tuesday pick-up time of 12:50.

On Tuesday morning, all graduating eighth and ninth graders will gather in the Connolly Dining Hall by 8:15 a.m. for a breakfast with members of the Fenn Alumni Council. Each soon-to-be graduating boy will be presented with an alumni tie. A dress shirt is required; a sport coat is optional.

For graduating eighth grade students, all ninth graders, and Concert Band members, graduation rehearsal will be held at 12:45 p.m. on Tuesday, June 6th, in the New Gym. This rehearsal is an absolute requirement for all graduating eighth and ninth graders and Concert Band members. The rehearsal will conclude around 2:00 p.m., at which time students will be available for pick-up by their parents. 

As previously mentioned, on Tuesday evening, June 6th, at 7:00 p.m. in Ward Hall, the Celebration of the Class of 2018 in honor of Fenn's present eighth grade will be held for all eighth grade students, parents, invited relatives, and faculty. This longstanding Fenn tradition is an opportunity for the students of the entire eighth grade class to bring to a close their time together during these past five years. As Headmaster, I will offer on behalf of the faculty a reflection about each eighth grade boy who is graduating this year to complement the diploma that each boy will receive at Graduation on the following Friday. A sport coat and tie and long pants (no shorts) are the required dress for all boys at this Tuesday evening celebration. We will present a school gift to each eighth grade boy. Prior information has previously been sent home regarding this evening event for all eighth grade families.

Wednesday, June 7th—Prize Day and Early Dismissal

The entire school gathers for Prize Day on Wednesday, June 7th, to recognize the achievement and work of students for the year in virtually all realms of Fenn school life, including academics, arts, athletics, community service, and student government. All students are required to be present for Prize Day and should be dressed in long pants (no shorts), a sport coat, dress shirt, and tie given the importance of the event in our school year. Fenn boys should arrive at school on Prize Day at the usual time on Wednesday morning and report after their advisor meetings to Ward Hall at 8:30 a.m., at which time part one of Prize Day will begin. 

The first portion of Prize Day, from 8:30 to 9:45 a.m., is less formal and is similar to an extended All School Meeting. This first session provides the opportunity for faculty to recognize students in a variety of ways for their year-long efforts by offering citations and other forms of acknowledgment that vary from year to year. The second and more formal portion of Prize Day includes the presentation of traditional prizes that have been awarded across the years, including the Citizenship Prize, the Austen Fox Riggs Award, and the Travers Prize for Creative Writing.  The second part of the Prize Day program begins at approximately 10:15 a.m. in the New Gym and includes the recognition of students who have achieved the distinction of Fenn Scholar and Sua Sponte Scholar. Other special prizes will also be presented at that time. Those few boys in grades four through seven who are departing from Fenn this year will receive their Fenn School certificates of attendance.

In addition, the ninth-grade recipients of the P.G. Lee Award will be recognized. Parents of students receiving awards in the formal second portion of Prize Day will be contacted in advance by Fenn to receive our special invitation to attend the ceremony. Given the dynamic nature of the Prize Day program, it is not possible to predict the exact time that each prize will be presented.

Dismissal after Prize Day will be at the conclusion of the program, approximately 12:30 p.m. Extended Day service will not be available on Wednesday afternoon and all students outside of those who ride a private Bedford Charter bus or GO Boston van will need to be picked up at this time.

Thursday, June 8th—School Is Not In Session

On Thursday, June 8th, faculty, administrators, and support staff will make final preparations for Graduation Day and the close of the year. School is not in session for students on Thursday, June 8th.  Ninth grade students will depart for their class trip to Six Flags New England at approximately 8:30 a.m.  Eighth grade students will depart for their class trip to Canobie Lake Park at approximately 9:00 a.m. The ninth grade graduating class and their parents are invited to a dinner in the Connolly Dining Hall at 6:30 p.m. on this evening before Graduation Day.

Friday, June 9th—Graduation Day and Early Dismissal

The entire school will gather for graduation exercises honoring graduating eighth grade boys and all ninth grade boys. Graduation exercises will begin promptly at 9:30 a.m. All non-graduating students must be in their seats in the New Gym no later than 9:15 a.m. Attendance at graduation is required for all Fenn boys. Any exceptions must be granted by the School. If your son has an exceptional circumstance that requires his absence from graduation, please contact me via email or phone at my office.

We expect that graduation exercises on Friday will conclude around 11:45 a.m., at which time all boys outside of those who ride a private Bedford Charter bus or GO Boston van must receive their rides home. There will not be any Extended Day service available.   Summer vacation begins immediately after dismissal from graduation.

Again, please be certain that your son wears long pants (no shorts), a dress shirt, a sport coat, and a tie of his own choice to graduation exercises and Prize Day. Neat and formal dress is the order of both days to give full respect to the events, which are the ceremonial high points of the Fenn school year. Graduating eighth graders and all of our ninth graders must wear their Fenn alumni tie, white dress shirt, blue blazer, white pants, socks, and footwear appropriate for such an event, as explained in our earlier letters to parents from graduation coordinator Pat Hall. However, eighth graders who are not graduating may wear a sport coat, tie, and pants of their own choosing.

Should you have any questions about the close of school schedule or any of the events that are noted above, please call the Front Office or the Headmaster's Office to inquire.

A Reflection at Year's End

The close of every school year evokes my deep feelings about what Fenn is and what it can be in the lives of boys. In reflection, I am always struck and inspired by the irrepressible energy of our Lower School boys in the first phase of their Fenn education, the gradual and sometimes uneven growth of our Middle School boys who have their feet firmly planted in boyhood and youthful manhood, and the arrival of our Upper School boys at the threshold of maturity as they leave Fenn as emerging young men to enter their secondary school years.

In their ascending sweep and trajectory, the Fenn years for boys are truly transformative ones, prompted in part by nature, in part by the love and support of each boy's parents, and in part by the nurturance of a caring school community and our rich educational program. While not perfect, Fenn is a school that is dedicated to boys, all of whom, while treading the sometimes uneven path of these middle school years, hold infinite promise to lead fulfilling and responsible lives as men. The very foundation of Fenn's fulfillment of its mission is our abiding care and love for these boys and our unshakeable belief in the promise of their future.

On a personal note, I experienced this year in the deepest of ways the care and love of the Fenn community as my wife, Lorraine, entered her final days in her extended battle with cancer and then passed away in early March, as all of you know. As Lorraine often stated in our time together at Fenn, and I will reiterate here, Fenn is a beloved community for boys and all of us who are fortunate to be among its members. In closing my 24th year at Fenn, and now looking toward my 25th and final year, my faith in and appreciation of the power of this beloved and personal community and all that it can be in a boy's life and in an educator's life has never been greater.  I am forever grateful to all of you as parents for your faith in and support of Fenn, your partnership with Fenn in raising and educating your fine sons, and the deep care and love you've shown for Lorraine, my family, and me this year.        

I wish you and your family the very best of summers and look forward to realizing with your support the many and rich opportunities that the coming school year holds.

Sincerely,

Jerry Ward

Headmaster