Dear Friends of Storm King,

Season's greetings to you all! The campus is oddly quiet today; the students having just departed for their winter vacation. And as I write this letter from my office overlooking the now-empty campus, I am again struck by the suddenness with which this School-any school-"deflates" when the kids are gone. It's a bit like the brief pause after a deep exhalation. One hears one's own heartbeat for the first time in what seems like ages. Quiet afternoons like these are a luxury, of course, and they never last very long. Good. It's good to take a breath-to have a moment to recall and to process. But it's also good that in two short weeks our community will be together again. All over the campus I'll once again hear the kids' banter and laughter, see the bustle and the horseplay and be in the company of kids being kids. It's good. It's energizing. It's what we do.

These few hours of quiet have afforded me the opportunity to reflect upon all that we have accomplished these past months. In particular, following up on the strategic planning retreat of which I wrote in my last newsletter, much work has been done to finalize our new Strategic Plan. In this edition of "From the Head's Desk" I will outline the new Plan and explain some of the thinking that went into its creation. . .

To read the rest of Paul's letter, including the School's new mission statement and strategic plan, click here.