Head of School

Greetings from the Hillside - 

As I write this we are finishing our sixth week of classes. While the schedule is ever-evolving because of the shifting health and safety concerns, we are certainly settling into a rhythm, albeit it a new and different rhythm. We all appreciate and enjoy the new block schedule and the increased intimacy and support which are features of staying in one cohort, or “learning community” for class hours every day. There are twenty picnic tables scattered around campus for the “grab-and-go” meals we are serving. Assemblies are virtual and the boys each attend two of the ten chapel services every week.

Some silver linings to our new COVID practice are the prayers that Fr. Klots composes each week for morning chapel. This one was for the first week of school in the first week of September.

Gracious God,

Already the first signs are upon us that the fall is drawing near—even with our early start to the school year. The meadows and roadsides have grown into the riotous colors of late summer: the shocking yellow of goldenrod, the comical purple of loosestrife, and the first hints of red in the swamp maples. In the afternoon, the shadows are now longer. The crickets trill their song from beneath the brush, and the mourning dove, sitting alone on a solitary branch, coos its lament for summer’s end. Even the geese, honking out the days until it’s time to fly south, have begun to circle anxiously above at dusk.

We give you thanks, dear Lord, for the beauty of this time of the year, and for the normalcy of it—for this, at a time when so much else is changed, is as it should be. These are a sign that life has gone on and will go on, even as we struggle from day to day to make sense of our world. Indeed, in the midst of change, these are a sign of your unchanging love for us. And we ask now, dear Lord, that we too might be a sign to this broken world of your unchanging love. May we as a school point to a different way of living life—a way that is different from the cynicism, rancor, disappointment, prejudice, one-upmanship, and despair that seem to define our age—a way that is defined by your grace. May we, despite the strange circumstances of learning in the age of COVID, be a community of brotherhood, of understanding, of patience, of mercy, of mutual support and encouragement. May we, like the unchanging pattern of the seasons, hold onto those gifts from you that never change: love, sacrifice, humility, grit, and courage.

All this we pray in the Name of the Lord of all creation, your Son Jesus Christ. - Amen

Several ideas struck me as I listened to Fr. Klots’ prayer from the balcony of St. Michael’s: first, the beauty of his words and his ability to capture so perfectly this moment in the School’s life. Second, Fr. Klots’ prayer reminded me of a discussion in Doc Whittemore’s US history class about the word “normalcy.” I believe, though I could have created this memory, that our textbook even had a heading - “Return to Normalcy” - preceding some paragraphs describing the country in 1920, a country reeling from the 1918 influenza pandemic and World War I, and mired in an ugly presidential election. Critics attacked presidential candidate Warren G. Harding for the use of the word “normalcy” instead of the far more commonly used “normality,” (though the Oxford English Dictionary traces origins of the word back to 1857). Candidate Harding won by the largest margin of percent of population ever, due largely to this promise of returning the country to a previous, more serene and bucolic time. Father Klots’ prayer also made me wonder - What does “normalcy” even mean today? (And finally, I wondered how future textbooks will describe the content, tone, word choices and vocabulary of our current politicians?)

Looking backwards in considering “normalcy,” it used to be normal for people to think of how they could serve, though more often today they think about what they deserve. Normalcy no longer seems to be “what can I do for you?” but rather “what can you do for me?” I do not want to return to a normalcy defined by selfishness, bigotry or self-absorption. I do not want to return to a condition of normalcy if that means political groups are only united by hate and being against a group of people or an idea rather than for the support of others and a communal ideology, wherever this falls on the political spectrum. I do not want to return to a normalcy where we supply all the answers and do not teach the boys how to think and question. None of this has ever been normal at SKS, nor will it. 

If normalcy means getting back to the days of not wearing masks, and gathering daily as a full school in multiple ways, I am all for it. But there are many parts of life here that we are currently doing very well and we should not change. I am very pleased with the improvements we have made to our academic program with increased hours, block scheduling and learning by cohort. We are finding the means to compete athletically, at first just with individual skills, then full team practices, and now edging towards outside competitions in very controlled ways. And in all spaces and places on the Hillside, most specifically in our Saturday morning “Thrive” sessions, we continue to discuss and address critical values and social issues.

Our mission - “South Kent School prepares young men to succeed in college and thrive as thoughtful and engaged citizens in a rapidly changing and intensely competitive world” - charges us to teach the abilities to listen, to empathize and to accept. In this regard we have never left a state of “normalcy,” even though the pandemic has forced us to change many routines, and our practices are not necessarily found widely beyond our community.

We all look forward to returning to a time when we do not need to don Personal Protective Equipment as we get dressed in the morning, and gathering in the chapel and the dining hall as a full community. But, as Fr. Klots prays, let us not return to other aspects of the modern, generally accepted normal world: “May we as a school point to a different way of living life—a way that is different from the cynicism, rancor, disappointment, prejudice, one-upmanship, and despair that seem to define our age…. May we...hold onto those gifts from you that never change: love, sacrifice, humility, grit, and courage.”

My very best regards to you all. Please get in touch if you have questions or concerns.

Lawrence A. Smith '73
Head of School

Books I am reading and recommend:

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History
by John M. Barry

Part of me wishes I had read this before the COVID-19 pandemic, while another part of me is grateful that I didn’t. This book is chilling, relevant and eye-opening, and predicted with fact-based logic the COVID-19 pandemic and what our reaction to it would be. “The book, which reads like a novel, is not only a terrific - and terrifying - history of the 1918-19 pandemic, but also is a history of the development of medical science in the US.. [Nobody] reading this book will fail to grasp the seriousness of our current national experience, and of the need to be led by science rather than by politics.” B.D. Colen ‘66

The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life
by David Brooks

This is one of the most thought provoking books I have read in a long time. I delayed reading it because I don’t usually read self-help type books, but this is anything but that. David Brooks writes so well that he can clearly explain the chaos of the modern world and offers relatively simple ways not only to stay healthy and sane, but also to improve our communities.

Video updates:

Cardinal Corner Episode 3 • Welcoming Coach Raphael Chillious

SKS 20-21 Hillside Update Week 3

SKS 20-21 Hillside Update Week 4

SKS 20-21 Hillside Update Week 5

SKS 20-21 Hillside Update Week 6

New Coaching Staff Spotlight

Jamie Russell

Director of Hockey Operations and Head Coach of the 18U team

Coach Russell has extensive experience over the last 25 years as a coach, director, and manager at the NCAA Division I and in pro hockey, most recently as General Manager and Head Coach of the Worcester Railers Hockey Club. Before starting his coaching career, Coach Russell played collegiate hockey at Michigan Tech where he was assistant captain, winner of the Outstanding Leadership Award, and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He played professionally in both the ECHL and AHL after his NCAA career and has also earned a Master of Business Administration from Lake Superior State University. Coach Russell, his wife, and their three sons are excited to become part of the South Kent School community. 
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Mark Naclerio

15O Head Coach and Director of Camps and Clinics

Coach Naclerio had an impressive career as a player, playing four years at Avon Old Farms, and at Brown University where he was a two time captain and earned multiple All-Academic Team and All-League awards from both the ECAC and Ivy Leagues. Professionally, Coach Naclerio, has experience playing for the AHL affiliate of the Boston Bruins and the ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers as well as a year each playing in the top leagues of both Austria and Italy, finishing his playing career in the spring of 2019. Naclerio comes to the Hillside with his wife Paige, our new ESL teacher, and is grateful for the opportunity to use his experience to contribute to the development of SKSA, and assist young men in becoming their best academically, athletically, and personally.
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Brennen McHugh

SKSA Associate Coach

Brennen comes to us with collegiate experience as the video coach at St. Lawrence University, as the Director of Hockey Operations at Cornell University, and, most recently, on the staff at the University of Massachusetts. This past season he moved on from the college ranks when he became the head coach of the New York City Cyclones 16U team. Coach McHugh has had the great experience of working with the two reigning Spencer Penrose Award winners (NCAA Division I Coach of the Year) Greg Carvel in 2019 and Mike Schafer, co-winner in 2020. Brennen looks forward to working with the staff and all of our student-athletes within the South Kent Selects Academy program to represent South Kent well on and off the ice.
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Raphael Chillious

Director of Basketball and Prep Basketball Head Coach

During Coach Chillious’ first term at sks, ’03-’08, he was the driving force behind its rise to national prominence,, reaching as high as #4 in ‘03-’04, and to a NEPSAC Championship appearance in ‘04-’05. Raphael coached SKS alumni NBA players Jack McClinton ’04, Dorell Wright ’04, Andre Blatche ’05, Isaiah Thomas ’08, and Dion Waiters '10. After his first stint at SKS Chillious coached at several high profile schools including the University of Washington, Villanova, the University of Connecticut, and East Carolina University. Raphael is glad to be back on the Hillside with his family, and looks forward to developing excellent student-athletes with high character, that have a commitment to excellence.
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Gilbert Brown ‘06

Prep Basketball Assistant Coach

Brown is SKS Prep's all-time leading scorer with 1,157 points, and was named a Top-100 McDonald's All-American finalist. As a junior, he helped guide South Kent School to a 32-9 record and No. 4 national ranking, and helped lead the team to the NEPSAC final. After SKS, Brown attended the University of Pittsburgh, playing a key role in many of his teams achievements. After graduating from Pitt with a sociology degree and minor in economics, he had great success playing professionally, with a brief stint with the Boston Celtics, a stop in the NBA D league, and in some of the best international leagues in the world. Brown is excited to come back to the place where he learned the value of hard work and how to be disciplined and resilient. 
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Evan Edwards

Equipment Manager, Assistant Prep Basketball Coach

Evan joins us as the school's new equipment manager, Assistant Prep Basketball Coach, and dorm parent in McCoun. Evan comes to SKS from East Carolina University, where he served as a Graduate Assistant Coach for the Men's Basketball Team. A graduate of the University of North Carolina Wilmington with a BA in Communication Studies, Evan is passionate about building relationships and impacting student athletes' lives through the game of basketball. He is looking forward to rejoining Coach Raphael Chillious as the two were on staff together last season at ECU. Evan is happy to be living on campus with his dog D-Mac, and is excited to be living up north for the first time in his life!