Head of School

Happy Holidays from the Hillside. We recently received a blanket of snow, and the campus looked peaceful after a very busy term. There are still eleven international students on campus who cannot return home for the holidays, seven of whom have been here since January 2020. Gonzo and Patty Garcia installed a Christmas tree in the dorm and made stockings for the boys in the spirit of generations of faculty opening their hearts and homes to students in difficult situations. 

I am proud to report that we did it; 16 weeks of residential learning this fall are complete. While it was not without some tough moments, we delivered what few other schools were able to do, and for that I am immensely proud. We are not yet done, having another 16 weeks to complete before June 30, but we are halfway there. Our tentative plan is for the students to return on Jan. 18, keep everyone quarantined on campus for a week, and then finish the year in mid-May. Our stated objective is to do everything possible to provide 32 weeks of residential education between September 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021, and we are halfway there.

None of this could have been possible without the talent and commitment of our faculty and staff. Every person and all parts of our operation have been challenged this year, and yet as a group they continue to rise to every “opportunity” and come back for more the next day, always with a positive and enthusiastic sense of dedication that I have never seen anywhere else.

Rather than explain all that transpired this past month it seemed to be both appropriate and illuminating to share the remote Christmas Service Fr. Klots hosted. I think I am correct in saying that SKS has had a Nativity Play every year that the School has been open, since the inaugural evening event on December 19, 1923. Because of the pandemic restrictions, we had to forego the customary service with candlelight, incense, and Three King solos. Fr. Klots instead combined the traditions of the Service of Lessons and Carols with the Nativity Play and hosted a remote service that was emblematic of our year so far: creative, adaptive, a little bit seat-of-the-pants, yet still joyfully full of wonder and every bit a Pigtail Production.

I have every confidence that 2021 will be a great one for South Kent School; I trust that the same will be true for you and those you hold dear.

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 year.

Lawrence A. Smith '73
Head of School

Video Updates:

SKS 20-21 Hillside Update Week 11/12

SKS 20-21 Hillside Update Week 13

SKS 20-21 Hillside Update Week 14

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SKS 20-21 Hillside Update Week 16

SKS 20-21 Hillside Update Week 17