At ISW, we have a tradition of listing our favorite things about the school year. Our Head of School, Claire McDonald, reads them at our closing ceremonies, which we held last night. Here’s the 2012-13 rendition:
A is for Alejandro, Armando, Andrew, Anise, Art, and filming the Aeneid.
B is for Ben, Bob, Bill, Beth, Brendan, Ms. Becky, someone whose initials spell Birdy, the fabulous Butler boys, Black Friars, and, my personal favorite, being here with everyone.
C is for Celia, Ms. Chantal, Ms. Christy, Ms. Claire, Camp Paddy Run, CATs, Cooking, and Camera—specifically Ming’s, which is everywhere.
D is for Ms. Diane, two Mr. Daves, Dr. Bryan, Dr. Page, and DI.
E is for Ellen, Elizabeth, Emerson, two Erins (Gilbert and Sullivan), and electricity.
F is for “Focus!” It’s also for field trips, free dress days, Faith, 4H, fish tank, and frindles.
G is for Gerry, Gayle, two Graces, and a new garden.
H is for Havana, Ms. Heather, hikes, hermit crabs, Habitat for Humanity Art Show (which we have won two out of three years), and the hotel where we stayed for DI States.
I is for the Italian dinner for the Ks and, of course, for the “independent” in ISW.
J is for two Jameses, two Johns, two Josephs, Jack, Javier, and Jazzercise—a favorite hangout for both students and teachers.
K is for Kerry, Kurt, Kate, and Kay.
L is for Liana, Lilah, Lenore, laptops, Leif Ericson, Lords and Ladies, and Landers—small, medium and large.
M is for Mary Joanna Ming McDonald, Mavis Murdock, a Mariana and a Mariana (with the same birthdays), Ms. Meghan, Ms. Mary, Ms. Meredith, Mr. Matt, Mr. Mark, Mr. Mike, McDeath the Musical, Metal-detecting, Medal-winning (and we did a lot of that!), Math, Music, Mediaspace, and Monday Morning Meeting.
N is for Nula, Nature, and Mr. Neil.
O is for “Oh, no, I forgot my homework!”
P is for the Powerhouse Powell boys, Performing Arts, and of course Poetry Panel.
R is for Ms. Rebecca, Ms. Rosemary, and the return of Ms. Erin.
Q is for quiet, which is in short supply at ISW.
S is for Sadie, Sydney, Ms. Susan, Scott “Safety is my middle name” Shoup, Spanish, Safari Park, Spring Fest, Select, Starbase, and Summer.
T is for Mr. Tony, Mr. Tom, Ms. Tracy, Mr.Todd, Thanksgiving, and Two Cities (as in A Tale of).
U is for U make me LOL.
V is for Ms. Victoria, Valentine’s Day, and Mr. Todd’s Volcano.
W is for a Wayside Christmas and working together.
X is for the x-axis and 10 (but only if you read Roman numerals).
Y is for our inaugural yearbook and four letter words that start with Y and end with A, like Yona and Yoga.
Z is for Azzy, Zoo, Ziplines, and my wish that all of you take on this summer with Zeal!