What Did You Do on Your Summer Vacation?

A recent New Yorker cartoon pictures a boy in front of his traditional grade school class, standing beside the imposing teacher’s desk with the conventionally dressed teacher behind it. The caption reads: “Anyone following me on Twitter already knows what I did this past summer.”

On many different levels, this cartoon speaks volumes about the educational world students these days. They really do “tweet” or Facebook-post, or blog about their summer experiences, especially when these experiences happen far afield and they wish to share and remain in touch with family and friends.

The “show and tell” moments that some of us remember from our own elementary school days are now as archaic as a rotary telephone (pull one out if you have one and show it to a teenager to see how they react if you don’t believe me).

Williston students, as I have discovered with delight these days during their return to campus, have been all over the globe and the U.S. during the summer months. They have undertaken service learning projects, family holidays, internships, camps, jobs, you name it.

We live in a time of highly energized, motivated, and idealistic teenagers who embody our newly adopted mission statement:

The Williston Northampton School inspires students to live with purpose, passion, and integrity.

Our students’ purposeful pursuit of an interest or passion during the summer months energizes the Williston community upon their return, and I, for one, cannot wait to get things started in earnest over the course of the coming days.

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Proctors and new students stopped by my house during registration and filled me in on their summer activities.

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