NEWS AT OLIVERIAN SCHOOL

September 2007

9.25.2007
PSAT / SAT / ACT Schedules Announced
Peter Stevens, Dean of Academics and Director of College Counseling has announced that, in preparation of SAT testing later this year, selected students will be taking PSATs on October 17. Mindy Barth, Clifford House dorm parent and our web manager, will also be providing interested students with a SAT preparation program during the first quarter. The fall SAT registration deadline is October 2, for the test to be held on November 3. Additional SAT preparation opportunities will be offered for the spring tests, scheduled for March 1 (January 29 registration deadline) and May 3 (April 1 registration deadline). Oliverian students can also take the ACT test on October 22 and April 12.


9.20.2007
East Campus Path & Moody Bridge Complete
On Wednesday afternoon, with a final pull of wire and load of gravel, the connection of our East and main campus was completed! Students can now traverse on foot between the two campuses via a lighted path on a former rail line. The path is scenic and at Moody’s Bridge, it overlooks the West Branch of the Oliverian Brook. Special thanks to the Riggie Electric and Ted Boutin Escavation teams for their quality workmanship and timely efforts. Remember Evan, no fishing from the bridge or you will have to spend a day with Mr. Moody!


9.18.2007
“Inward” Bound
With the support of Brian Sullivan, Director of Programs, and Outward Bound’s Thompson Island team, our fall orientation commenced as students embarked on adventures in the waters of Boston Harbor and the mountains of New Hampshire. Most students and faculty spent three days (and nights) on board a 30 foot “pull” boat. Others began the year with an extended hike in the White Mountains to the summit of 4,800 foot Mount Moosilauke. By beginning the year with a small group adventure, our students have the opportunity to focus on themselves as part of a larger community. It is an opportunity for peers and faculty to get to know one another, especially in situations where they need to support one another as they face the challenge of Mother Nature (who was not in a good mood in the Boston area – perhaps due to the Red Sox September struggles?).


9.17.2007
Message from Barclay Mackinnon, Jr., Head of School
Our students returned from their Outward Bound trips last week and classes have gotten off to a great start. I can’t tell you enough how pleased I am with our students. Oliverian is a genuinely caring community, and we are working with a group of bright and creative young men and woman who are open and receptive to a faculty that is eager to work with them. Already I’ve had a number of 1:1 meetings with students that have given me unique and personal insights into who they are and how they learn. Jack Bostian had me in stitches yesterday as he was sorting out for himself “why everyone seems so happy?” As he left my office and headed off with several of his new friends, the smile on his face was a clear indication to me that he was beginning to figure it out. Alexander Ishikawa, a new student from Japan & New York, came away from his meeting with Greg Vogel with the realization that they both had a mutual interest in Danish football (soccer), in particular a connection to the Danish Dynamos. Chris Campion and Willow Rubin-Davis could be seen confidently slaloming their way down the hill from the new Student Union on their skateboards. The two of them, as well as several other students, are going to be working with faculty member Rick Gaukel in the design of our new course. Bessa Axelrod, now our full-time Art Director was working with a dozen or more students on painting, drawing and throwing pottery. I am very pleased with both our art and music studios. So many of ours students find an outlet for their creativity in artistic self expression, and I’m confident that our new spaces will provide them ample opportunity to follow their muse. Our students have joined us with an energy and enthusiasm that’s palpable. That’s not to say that there isn’t also some anxiety about transitioning to something new; I’m sure even our veteran students are feeling it, but it’s terrific to see students smiling, hugging each other (and teachers), and ready to learn.


9.9.2007
Oliverian Partners with Center for School Success
Barclay Mackinnon, Head of School, is pleased to announce that Oliverian will continue and expand its relationship with the Center for School Success (CSS). CSS has provided professional development and learning assessment services to Oliverian for the past two years. Building upon the groundbreaking research of Mel Levine, M.D., CSS will continue its ongoing work to help our faculty and students understand and manage specific breakdowns in learning. CSS services help shift focus from what individual students can’t do, to what they can do. Utilizing this strength-based approach, CSS provides strategies to promote self-advocacy and school success. Elizabeth Reed, M.Ed., CSS Senior Learning Specialist, is scheduled to be on campus weekly throughout the school year, offering on-site support for students and staff. In addition five selected students will receive comprehensive learning assessments by the CSS clinical team in West Lebanon, NH. Ms. Reed will then meet with these students on a regular basis at Oliverian to monitor progress. Peter Stevens, Dean of Academics and college counselor, is pleased to note that CSS offers a unique level of professional development and student support customized specifically to the needs of Oliverian.


9.8.2007
Counseling Team Takes Shape
Lauren Estebanell, Director of Counseling, is pleased to announce the addition of Abby Jacobson to the Oliverian counseling team, which will have a new home at the Counseling Center located on the East Campus. Educated in private schools and as a mother of a high school age boy, Ms. Jacobson is a certified drug and alcohol counselor with many years of clinical experience. In addition to her counseling duties, Ms. Jacobson will reside and serve as a dorm parent in the new Bixby residence on our East Campus. She joins Lauren Estebanell, our School Nurse Darleen Ball, and John Doyle, our Dean of Students, on our counseling team. Together they will spearhead our counseling and mentor program to ensure that Oliverian students have avenues to receive daily and ongoing guidance. We welcome Abby to our team and look forward to our new space!


9.5.2007
Campus Expansion Includes Award Winning Wildlife Preserve
One highlight to our recent campus expansion is easy access to the award winning Oliverian Valley Wildlife Preserve from our East Campus. Established by the late John J. Wolter, the Preserve is recognized as a demonstration project by the State of New Hampshire and is a past winner of the Annual New Hampshire Stewardship Award. The Preserve demonstrates a multi-purpose approach to land management practices incorporating timber management, wildlife diversity, aesthetics, mixed agriculture and leisure activities such as camping on several primitive campsites, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking and mountain biking. It offers panoramic views of the Green and White Mountains, Owls Head cliffs and the west side of 4,800 foot Mount Moosilauke. We urge faculty, visitors and students alike to explore this unique property.

9.4.2007 Harvest Time Fast Approaching One of the highlights of the Oliverian experience is the consumption of organic and natural food raised onsite, including beef and vegetables from one of our several gardens. This summer, students in our summer school program helped raise a variety of vegetables, including varieties of lettuce, spinach and chard, beets, varieties of squash and tomatoes, peppers, corn, garlic, cukes, potatoes, pumpkins, turnips and carrots. With the support of our chef, Jay Destroismaisons, much of this crop has been frozen, dried, and consumed. Fear not, fall students, there is still work to be done. Ben Churchill, Director of Stewardship, can’t wait for his new “crop” of students!