April 12, 2016
 
Dear Parents,
 
While last week's snow did not inspire great confidence about the coming of spring, we are just now beginning to see signs that some more pleasant and less soggy weather lies ahead. April never warms up quite as quickly as we would like, but the campus will begin to bloom over the weeks ahead as temperatures gradually rise. Regardless of the weather, the spring always moves faster than any other stretch in our year. Prize Day will be here in the blink of an eye!
 
Our return from spring vacation this year has been especially full and fulfilling. We have had a lot on our plates with Unity Day, visiting speakers, admission revisit days, and the beginning of the spring season all fitting into the past two weeks. In taking a look back at all we have managed to compress into this window of time, I would like to reflect a bit on what we have been up to before turning my attention to what lies ahead as we approach April's midpoint.
 
For starters, I want to thank all of you who contributed so generously to the employee appreciation lunch we enjoyed when we returned from spring vacation. As always, the food was superb and I don't know that there were many employees who limited themselves to just one plate. Beyond that, we have lots of happy raffle winners on campus these days, and your generosity with so many prizes was overwhelming. Above all, the time you take to thank all of the school's employees in this way means an enormous amount. Thank you.
 
After a full day of classes following the employee appreciation lunch, we moved into this year's Unity Day, planned and executed beautifully by Shaunielle McDonald, Julie Mavity Maddalena, and a wide range of faculty members and students who led different parts of the day. As I noted before spring vacation, we centered this year's program on a film a number of us have seen at different points over the past couple of years. "I'm Not Racist . . . Am I?" has been used by a wide range of schools to help generate some conversation about race and privilege in the United States. We started the day by viewing the film together as a whole school in the Ashburn Chapel and then moved into some affinity group conversations and workshops. The highlight for me was hearing from students who were invited to stand up in the Chapel immediately after seeing the film to share words that came to mind as we all began to process what we had seen. There was a lot of courage on display in that stretch, as the points of view shared in the film challenged all of us in different ways. The discussion groups I was a part of were equally compelling, and we finished the day with a few adults and students offering reflections on the time we had spent together. While there was no effort or desire to compel acceptance or rejection of the points of view shared in the film itself, there was a hope that we would learn from the experience the group of high school students featured in the film had together. I believe that objective was achieved, and I was extremely proud of the way we listened to one another through the day. These issues are challenging for all of us, and we will stay engaged in constructive thought and conversation as we move forward.
 
On Tuesday and Friday of this past week, we held our second visit days for roughly 140 admitted students and their families. The hope on these days is to do our best to share all that we feel proud of at Brooks, and we could not do that well without the support of parents. The time and attention so many of you share with prospective families throughout the admission season makes an enormous difference. With all decisions now in, we are incredibly excited about the group that will be joining us in the fall. Thank you all for the work you have done to help us get to this point.
 
In the short break between second visit days, we welcomed Kevin Pearce to campus last Wednesday for a talk he and his brother, Adam, gave in the Chapel. I would be surprised if you have not heard about Kevin's talk from your son or daughter, because there is still a buzz about it here on campus. For those who do not know, Kevin Pearce was a world-class snowboarder on his way to the 2010 Winter Olympics when he suffered a traumatic brain injury. This injury changed his life in ways that continue to evolve, and led Kevin and Adam to create the Love Your Brain Foundation. This foundation aims to support those affected by brain injuries, while educating others on prevention and recovery. Aside from the fact that Kevin was an especially engaging speaker who won the crowd over in record time, his message about taking care of oneself in an age when we are learning more about concussions all the time resonated. I would recommend making some time to see "The Crash Reel," documenting Kevin's injury and the earlier stages of his recovery, if you have not already seen it. His story is amazing, and we were all inspired to have him with us. You can learn more about his foundation at www.loveyourbrain.com.
 
Last Thursday night, the current exhibit in the Robert Lehman Art Center opened. Julia Talcott is a printmaker and spent last week working with students in all sorts of visual art classes. Her work is impressive and it was fun to enjoy it with students and faculty members throughout the evening. Amy Graham continues to attract some lovely artists to our school, and we have been privileged to work with them in the classroom while they visit our campus. I hope you will have time to duck into the Lehman to have a look for yourself.
 
To begin this week, we welcomed Chelsey Feole '06 to campus to be this year's Kippy Liddle Day speaker. Kippy Liddle was a former faculty member who died in a tragic accident on the Schuylkill River while coaching our crew team during a spring trip training session in 1984. We had her family back to campus last spring and honor her memory each year by inviting an alumna or current or former faculty member to speak. Chelsey was an exceptional three-sport athlete while at Brooks in field hockey, basketball, and softball, and she is an even better person. By virtue of running a field hockey club in this area, she is known to a number of students and to some of you. Chelsey suffered a stroke earlier in this school year and has been recovering ever since. She spoke about her recovery in compelling and moving ways that grabbed the entire community. The message she shared about challenge, courage, and perseverance was extraordinary.
 
I am in New York as this letter makes its way to you, and I will be in Washington later in the week for some trustee meetings, visits with alumni and alumnae, and a reception in Washington on Thursday night. I will be back in time for Grandparents Day on Saturday, which I thoroughly enjoy. This has always been a fun day for us, and we hope that some of your parents and special friends will be able to join your daughter or son for the day. Kim and I will be hosting a reception in our home that afternoon for all who are able to make it. Our fingers are crossed for some nice weather and lots of opportunities to enjoy the color on campus beginning to come to life.
 
Looking a bit further out, we will be hosting sixth-form parents for dinner and a slideshow on Thursday evening of next week in the Frick Dining Hall. In certain respects, it is hard to believe that the Class of 2016 has arrived at this point, but the group will be graduating from Brooks just six weeks from this coming Monday. We hope to see you there. This year's Prom will be held just three days later on Sunday, April 24, at the Ipswich Country Club. A lot of time and energy has gone into pulling this annual spring event together, and it should be a lot of fun. The advanced placement exams that begin on Monday, May 2, will likely be a bit less fun, but teachers and students are hard at work crossing T's and dotting I's in order to have everyone ready to go.
 
I look forward to being in touch again at the end of the month. In the meantime, please do be in touch with questions, thoughts, and anything else I can be helpful with. 

Best,
 
John R. Packard
Head of School
 

Brooks School
1160 Great Pond Road, North Andover, MA 01845
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