Moments of: The Blog
The View From Here: Ch-ch-Changes
The View From Here: Ch.. ch… changes
Every year at this time, we start to feel the momentum of the year building to its final crescendo, though this year clearly has a different rhythm and not all of the notes feel in tune. Nevertheless, the end of the school year is in sight; we are beginning to wrap up and prepare for the period of refreshment and rejuvenation that each summer brings. We are also busy preparing for the new school year in the ways we describe in the Strategic Agenda, and really hoping that we will be starting next year on campus all together (and some current trends make us optimistic). Though we long to return to a sense of normalcy, there is comfort to be found in the typical school year rhythm.
Incoming Head of School Tucker Foehl and I are wrapping up our respective school years in different ways than we might normally; but as you know, and you’ve heard me say many times, we grow stronger through times of crisis and Tucker joins this community at a time when--despite the difference--we are knit together in other ways. As a community, no one is holding back; in fact our entire staffulty is having conversations about how we might do things differently next year -- how Open House will look and how we will welcome our new students, for example. We are all focused on what is most important about what we do at Sonoma Academy and how to deliver our core promises no matter what the conditions of next year dictate.
I had so much fun interviewing Tucker for Community Meeting and I’ve heard from students and staffulty that it was nice to begin to see Tucker’s personality and all the ways in which he is a great fit at Sonoma Academy. Spending my days recently in the Eurovan (my “east office”), I feel like I’m readying myself for new adventures and new vistas. Tucker, too, is readying himself for what is bound to be an adventure of a lifetime for him and his family. He has this to share with you about his transition/preparation:
I have always embraced and celebrated transitions, even from a young age, and our upcoming transition and move to Sonoma Academy is definitely the biggest and most exciting that we have taken on as a family. When Angela and I moved back to California in 2014, our son Matteo was entering Kindergarten and our daughter Ruby was literally turning two on the flight to Sacramento (probably not her top birthday party, but we made the most of it). We were filled with the deep sense of optimism that has driven the imagination of so many who have moved west to California but, for us, it was also an emotional return home to our beloved and adopted home of Northern California.
Although it is hard to be saying goodbye to our community at Sacramento Country Day School where we have developed enduring friendships over the past six years, we are finding great solace in this transition knowing that we are going to a wonderful place and an inspiring school that has already stolen so much of our hearts. From the moment I met the board members and staffulty that comprised the Head Search Committee I have been all-in on Sonoma Academy. Those feelings of excitement, connection, and inspiration have only grown in the ensuing months as I have connected with the SA community in various ways: from meeting the entire staffulty last summer to my frequent conversations with Janet and recent work with the admin team, to watching last spring’s performance of Elektra and watching the Coyote basketball games, from live streams of Shop Talk, Story Hour with Brandon, and Community Meeting to my excitement about my first days on campus (hopefully) in person with staffulty and eventually all of you. Our time navigating our last days in Sacramento and preparing to move to Sonoma County are fueled by imagining our new life as members of this amazing, resilient, connected Sonoma Academy community. We already feel like we’ve found our home with you all. I am certain that as I get to know each and every one of you this feeling will only grow.
The past few months have been filled with so many challenges and uncertainties for all of us but, as Janet mentioned above and as she and I have discussed in our many calls together, these are the moments when we truly discover new things about ourselves and when we have enormous potential to grow stronger together as a community. Sonoma Academy’s culture of creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship are what has made SA such an incredible success in the world of education over the past twenty years. These strengths and values will not only carry us through these current challenges and temporary obstacles, it will be our North Star as we honor the past by charting an audacious, creative, and visionary course for SA’s next twenty years of inspiration and accomplishment.
Sonoma Academy Is...
...the only private, independent, college preparatory high school in Sonoma County. On our beautiful campus nestled at the base of Taylor Mountain in Southeastern Santa Rosa, our students are able to explore their interests and passions in a rigorous and inspiring environment that develops a lifelong love of learning and prepares them for college and beyond.
Sonoma Academy admits students of any race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability, to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and tuition assistance programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
