Faculty Blog

The fields, courts, trails, and rinks of Fenn’s sports program are extensions of the classroom. They are additional learning laboratories for the boys whose care we are entrusted. Sportsmanship, skills development, and character building make up the curriculum taught on that canvas. As Bob Star so eloquently reminds us, “You tell us nothing about yourself whenever your team wins, but when you lose, that is where your character is revealed.” Such character building experiences are prevalent as the lessons of the extended classroom are revealed, but the sports program also …

On the way to The District with the Fenn 7^th Graders

Well, we're in Maryland rolling down I-95 on our way to Washington, D.C. -- the epic "7th Grade D.C. Trip" which has made every yearbook as a cherished memory for decades. The boys are playing cards (one is learning solitaire from his buddy); they are sharing music, the are reading books and they are watching "Hoosiers" on bus video screens. They are hanging out and having fun.  We have already stopped at two food courts -- one for the boys to refuel, and one for the buses to.

Our next stop is to meet our guide at Country Hill ……

We are just finishing up the Explorer Project with presentations in my sixth grade Integrated Studies class.  The project is a long running one where students choose an Explorer from throughout history and spend several classes doing research in various note taking categories (i.e. early life experience, personal characteristics, challenges encountered, reason for exploration, etc.).  From there they construct journal entries written from the perspective of their chosen Explorer and create a map depicting her/his area of exploration.  To create the journal entries (of which ……

This past June, I had the opportunity to attend an Ed Tech workshop on creating iMovies on the iPad. As a social studies teacher in the sixth and eighth grades, It’s been a goal of mine to incorporate more video into my classroom, so I was excited to head to Cambridge and learn from another humanities teacher. Attending a professional workshop is always a good reminder of what it means to be student again. I try to prepare myself for getting into the zone of learning, which translates to mean that I will be confused before I have the big picture of how my …

It has been an amazing fall season for the Middle School soccer program.  This year we had one of the largest soccer groups ever at Fenn. Every afternoon 66 boys from sixth and seventh grade come running to the soccer field ready to play “The Beautiful Game.” From the first minute, in true Fenn fashion, the boys look for a leadership opportunity, each vying to lead the warm up run and stretches drill. The boys work on refining their skills and look forward to playing games a s part of a vying team.

The display of sportsmanship is impressive. Coaches who play the role of …

The bus is eerily quiet as we make our way home. These seventh grade Fenn boys are exhausted, and they should be; we have had an eventful few days. They have had a chance to walk all over D.C. They have been inquisitive, informative, impulsive, empathic, and exhilarated (and some even a little homesick), so they have come by these "bus naps" honestly and earnestly.  

They have asked questions about and offered impromptu presentations on the monuments, museums, and memorials that came about through some class work research and mini-presentations. In fact, our tour guide, Tracy, …

September brings us back to the business of school days and their accompanying mix of work and play. Boys are, at once, excited to be back among school buddies even if it does mean learning to manage the dreaded homework load that summer had made a distant memory. Middle school is a joyous time filled with energy and excitement. It is a time for challenge, triumph and even failure. As we head into the year, there are some things that I mentioned at Back to School Night that bear reiterating.

Middle schoolers are continually trying on new things as they undertake the main “job” of …