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September 2021 Newsletter

September 2nd, 2021

Our planned opening of school on Sunday, August 22, was delayed by Tropical Storm Henri, which fortunately turned out to be a non-event. Our young men arrived on Wednesday morning and registration was a seamless affair despite near record breaking heat. We officially opened the school year on Wednesday afternoon where I delivered the message, below, to the student body assembled for the first time in the Chapel. 

Classes started on Thursday, August 26th, and Year 98 is underway!

Good afternoon, boys! I have waited a long time to be able to greet you that way, in person, here in St. Michaels Chapel.

Normally, a Head of School starts the year by telling the students what to do, and perhaps imparting a few suggestions on how to achieve success in the coming months. I am going to go in the other direction and tell you what not to do in order to have a successful year. 

To do this, as I have done at the start of every year since I became Head of School, I would like to read a prayer that is attributed to Sir Francis Drake, 16th century English explorer and privateer. It is a prayer about both new beginnings as well as about endings, and for this reason you will also hear it from Fr. Klots in May at the conclusion of this year. 

Prayer of Sir Francis Drake 

Disturb us, Lord, when 
We are too well pleased with ourselves, 
When our dreams have come true 
Because we have dreamed too little, 
When we arrived safely 
Because we sailed too close to the shore. 

Disturb us, Lord, when 
With the abundance of things we possess 
We have lost our thirst 
For the waters of life; 
Having fallen in love with life, 
We have ceased to dream of eternity 
And in our efforts to build a new earth, 
We have allowed our vision 
Of the new Heaven to dim. 

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, 
To venture on wider seas 
Where storms will show your mastery; 
Where losing sight of land, 
We shall find the stars. 
We ask You to push back 
The horizons of our hopes; 
And to push into the future 
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

We should put this prayer into the context of Drake’s time. Transoceanic voyages in the 16th century were high risk affairs, something akin to riding a roller coaster today under construction, with a blindfold on in a thunderstorm, without seat restraints. While you may emerge unscathed, the odds are not overwhelmingly in your favor.

Drake’s ship, the Golden Hind, carried a crew of 80 and was a little over 120 feet long and 20 feet wide. You could fit over 30 of them inside the touch lines of this soccer pitch, roughly the distance from me to the red soccer bench, and between Mr. Garcia and Mr. Russell.

Top sailing speed was a sluggish eight knots, or a little over nine miles per hour. What is a five hour airplane flight today would take the Golden Hind two weeks to complete, assuming that for its entire journey, the wind was steady and strong enough (but not too strong) and at your back, and it encountered no currents in directions other than with you. 

If you were lucky, for food you would get a pound of salted or dried meat or fish, a pound of ship’s biscuits, and a gallon of beer a day. Without electricity or refrigeration, however, the food often became rancid before it was consumed, which was why they drank beer as it has a longer shelf life than stored water.

To complicate matters further, Sir Francis Drake and the English were at war with Spain so there was the constant threat of bloody, terrifying, close-quarter battles with enemy ships. 

Finally, with only the stars to guide them, ship captains such as Drake used the method of intentional error to navigate. If you tried to sail directly to your target, you would not know exactly where you were when you hit land necessarily and would have to guess which way you should go up or down the coast. For example, if your final port of call was due east, you would first head several degrees south and then, when you saw shoreline, you would turn north so that you could reach your intended destination. 

For all of these reasons, perhaps it is no surprise that the expected mortality rate on such voyages was 25- to 30% of a ship’s crew. 

Despite all of the dangers and hardships, in his prayer Drake is not asking for God’s assistance or protection but rather asking God to disturb him should he and his crew become too complacent, or overconfident, or too pleased with themselves. This is what makes Drake’s prayer so remarkable.

My very best regards,

Lawrence A. Smith '73
Head of School

New Staff Spotlight:

Anne Arent

Director, Academic Resource Center (ARC)
Anne has joined South Kent School as the new Director of the Academic Resource Center (ARC). Anne comes to us after serving as the Assistant Director for Bard College’s Early College program in Dutchess County, NY. Previously, she worked as a faculty member and as the Director of the Institute of Collegiate and Career Studies at Maplebrook School. She is currently pursuing her Ed.D. in Transformative Leadership from the University of New England. 

Anne will also serve as a College Counselor.

Matthew Beck

16U Hockey Assistant Coach, Director of Goaltending Development

Matt, from Westport, CT, was a four-year goaltender for the University of Vermont Catamounts at the Division I level. Matt’s hockey career started at the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport, CT, before going to Fairfield Prep High School, where he helped his team win three State Championships. He began his coaching career with Procrease Goaltending, coaching camps and clinics and offering private lessons for the last 7 years.

Ryan Bliss

18U Hockey Assistant Coach

Ryan, a 2018 Cornell University graduate, comes to South Kent School from UMass Amherst, where he volunteered as an assistant coach for the last two seasons. Prior to transitioning to coaching, he was a graduate transfer to UMass during the 2018-19 season.  

Connor Court

15O Hockey Assistant Coach

Connor spent the 2020-2021 season with the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, serving as director of hockey operations where he oversaw team video and travel logistics. The Swansea, IL native, served as an assistant coach in the Neponset Valley River Rats organization.

From 2015-2019, he played NCAA Division III hockey at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

Connor earned multiple All-Academic team awards, including being named an All-American scholar in 2017.

Denise Crlenjak

Teaching Faculty - Humanities

A native of California, Denise has over 15 years’ experience in education. Her previous teaching roles include: Composition and Literature, English and American Literature, Technology Integrator and Academic Advisor. She also taught IB English Literature, Theory of Knowledge and served as the English department chair at the International School of Panama.

After Panama, she spent three years in Dubai as the IB English teacher and co-chair of the Literacy Review Committee. Denise served as a college academic advisor at the George Mason University and as a Digital Technology Specialist for DC Public Schools.

Denise also coached basketball and volleyball in previous schools.

Todd D'Alessandro

Director of Summer Programs, ESL Teacher, Assistant Soccer Coach

Todd comes to South Kent School, after an eight-year career at the Ethel Walker School. As a faculty member, Todd held several positions including: Director of Summer Programs, Spanish Teacher, World Languages department and Residential Life dorm parent. He was also Soccer Coach, where he led the school to the 2017 NEPSAC Class C quarterfinals, for the first time in 10 years.

Todd holds a MA,Teaching Leadership from Mount Holyoke College, and a US Soccer Federation National C license. 

Carrie DePuy

Chief Financial Officer

Carrie DePuy has joined South Kent School as our Chief Financial Officer.  Carrie comes to us most recently from the Sherman Public School where she was the Director of Finance and Operations. She served in a similar function at the Mizzentop Day School in Pawling, NY.  Carrie has a strong record of team building, facility and staff management, and balancing the many tasks that are required in her role as CFO.

Carolina Elosua

Teaching Faculty - STEM

After 20 years of Biotech and Pharma industry experience in Spain, Carolina will join South Kent School and apply her knowledge and ability to hold a room, build rapport with the students, along with her desire to make a difference.
 
She holds a BSc./MSc. in Biology (Major in Genetics), along with a master´s degree in Project Management and a postgraduate certification in Secondary Education.

Elijah Gore

Associate Head Basketball Coach

Elijah, an Oxon Hill, Maryland native, played for two years at Seminole State College in Oklahoma, before transferring to Salisbury University, helping Salisbury’s 2012-2013 team to 19 wins and a CAC Tournament semifinal appearance.

He served as Salisbury’s assistant basketball coach under Josh Merkel, helping them win their first conference in 20 years. Previous roles also include: Video and Academic Coordinator, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Assistant Coach at Georgetown Preparatory School for Boys, Assistant coach and Administrator for the DC Blue Devils. During that time, he coached over 15 Division 1 players.

Elijah earned a BA in Communications and a MA in Post-Secondary Education from Salisbury University.

Scott Myrick

Head Athletic Trainer

Scott Myrick has worked as an athletic trainer with athletes at pediatric, high school, collegiate and professional levels.  Some of Scott’s work has been with division 1 and mixed martial arts athletes. 

He is the author of several peer-reviewed publications and multiple book chapters. Scott earned an MBA from the University of New Haven, and a Bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training and Exercise Science from the University of New England. Additionally, Scott earned certifications from The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) as a Performance Enhancement Specialist (PES) and as a Corrective Exercise Specialist (CES). 

He also holds certification in the management of soft tissue injuries. 

Video Updates:


Hillside Update Season 2, Registration Day

The boys are back! We are excited to kick off South Kent School 98th Academic Year with 145 outstanding young men from 15 Countries and 17 States.