Head of School

As most of you know, we did not celebrate this past Thanksgiving in the traditional fashion by taking a break, having the students and faculty scatter hither and yon to spend time with their families. Instead, we dusted off an ancient South Kent tradition and celebrated the day on the Hillside with our SKS family. Our remarkable kitchen crew prepared a delicious Thanksgiving feast, we organized several disc golf tournaments on campus, as well as a regular golf tournament, and the evening meals over the weekend were catered by El Camion Tacos and Burritos and Fire King BBQ food trucks.

Of course, we all have a great deal to be thankful for through these new and strange and often difficult times. Allow me to share with you just some of the things for which I am thankful in 2020.

I am thankful that despite abnormal conditions we have been able to live into our mission on campus as diligently and vibrantly as ever: “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.” While our lives are more disjointed and different than campus lives have been in the past, we are taking advantage of our small size and creating opportunities for our boys to experience close relationships that parallel those appreciated by generations of South Kent students in more “normal” times. 

I am thankful for our medical staff who have administered more than 1900 COVID tests this fall with a .004% positivity rate, and safely dealt with the few positive cases that popped up, in addition to all of their regular work. I am thankful that we have the ability to perform and read antigen and PCR tests regularly on campus by which we are able to monitor the health and safety of our community. 

I am thankful for the fact that we have been able to honor our commitment to resume on-campus activities and welcomed 145 boys back to campus in late August, hitting our targeted admissions numbers. The protocols that we spent the summer developing ensured that we are meeting or exceeding all state and local requirements, guidelines and suggestions. 

I am thankful for the many advantages for reopening our campus that other schools and programs cannot provide: 

• Small and personal by design, our community and advising system continues to provide a highly supportive environment for our students. 
• Our small size enables us to adjust quickly to new health protocols and to offer the most current and best programs possible. 
• We opened the school year with 145 students - 123 boarding, 22 day (living on campus), and allocated $3.375 million of financial aid. 
• We celebrate wide geographical, cultural, and ethnic diversity with students from 22 states and 19 countries. 
• We bought twenty picnic tables that are scattered around campus for the “grab-and-go” meals we are serving and are still used daily despite the colder temperatures. 
• While assemblies are virtual, and the boys each attend two of the ten chapel services Fr. Klots offers every week, we continue to provide an on-campus experience in these important, traditional, and communal ways. 

I am thankful that we had already planned to make significant enhancements to our academic program, so implementing them this fall was more seamless than it otherwise might have been. Not only have these changes been beneficial during the pandemic, but also they have been very popular with students, teachers, and parents:

• We now utilize a block schedule in which students take one intensive interdisciplinary course each quarter. This innovative form of learning provides students with opportunities for deeper interactions with topics of instruction than is available with traditional class schedules. 
• Consistent with the importance of relationships as a critical element of a South Kent education, our students have experienced increased intimacy and support which are features of staying in cohorts, or “learning communities” for class hours every day. 
• These classes are concentrated, eight-week courses in either Humanities (English and History), or in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). 
• The school year is divided into four quarters, with students receiving a half a credit for each of these block courses. Students end the year with a Humanities credit that covers English and History and a STEM credit that covers Mathematics and Science. 
• Students also can take up to two additional electives in art or foreign language. 
• Those students who will be assisted with academic support or English as a Second Language (ESL) have these sessions included in their schedule. 

 
I am thankful that every hockey team was able to play approximately twenty games as did the soccer team, with the golf and basketball teams also seeing limited competition before the State of Connecticut banned all athletic competition until at least January 19, 2021. I am also thankful for the fact that we own our own facilities that we can monitor and control, have an Athletic Department which prioritizes student safety while promoting their physical growth and well-being, and a superb coaching and training staff who work diligently to make all of this happen. When we were allowed to compete, all visiting teams were screened and required to meet all our protocols; spectators and other campus visitors were limited. 

Most importantly, I am thankful for our remarkable faculty and staff who have made all of this happen. From the teachers who overhauled the curriculum and inspire the boys every single day, to the maintenance crew which works so hard to keep the place running, to the kitchen crew for their four star offerings and service, to the office staff who support the operations, to our Health Services staff for their expertise and extra love - this group of individuals has led us through these tough times with courage, empathy, dedication and talent, and always, always with a positive attitude. We, the school community, owe them a sincere, respectful, and deep “THANK YOU!”

As always, please be in touch should you have any questions or observations. This comes with my very best wishes to you all for the coming holiday season.

Lawrence A. Smith '73
Head of School

Books I am reading and recommend:

Humankind: A Hopeful History
by Rutger Bregman

At a time when it is almost impossible to avoid disagreements, conflicts and finger pointing in our world, Humankind reminds us of the good that is inherent in our species, and how goodness and kindness came to be so common. This belief is well illustrated throughout history and supported by science, and Bergman shows how it can even be applied to today’s divided world.

A Most Beautiful Thing
by Arshay Cooper

“I came from the West Side [of Chicago].  At fourteen years old in my neighborhood, kids had experienced what most soldiers witnessed in war. At fifteen, I had already run for my life, had bullets fly straight past my head, skipped over pools of blood, and witnessed dead bodies in the street….It’s hard to believe in the American Dream when you walk home through streets of abandoned buildings scattered with baggies of drugs.  It was like God existed everywhere but here.” Arshay Cooper then started the all white sport of rowing and with the support of coaches and sponsors he and his teammates worked their way out of this environment. This is an amazing story.
Watch the trailer for the documentary “A Most Beautiful Thing”

South Kent School is thankful for:

SKS has a tradition during our Thanksgiving meals of community members standing up and sharing what they are thankful for. This year we maintained that tradition via a Zoom meeting. Please enjoy this recording with accompanying photos of many of the fantastic things that have happened so far this school year.