“Does anyone want to tell a joke?”
Wednesday morning, somewhere around 8:25 am, I will ask that question, and dozens of hands will immediately spring into the air. If previous experience is any indicator, I won’t even have to get the full sentence out before children start gesticulating and clamoring to be picked.
It is one of the school’s beloved traditions, the telling of jokes at the end of Flag. Generations of children have stood in front of the entire community, introduced themselves, “Hello, my name is ________”, and then launched into their joke. Many of the jokes are classics, others are somewhat more original, and a few, particularly early in the year with some of our youngest students, don’t necessarily make a lot of sense. Regardless, every joke teller gets a loud clap and appreciative cheers, and returns to their place in the amphitheater proud that they have taken a risk and told a joke in front of a crowd of 400+ people.
Jokes say something about Hillbrook’s culture and community. It reminds us of the importance of joy and laughter, a quality that is at the core of the Hillbrook experience. It emphasizes the high value we place on taking risks. Indeed, telling a joke is one of the hardest things to do in front of an audience. And it creates a space each and every week to highlight children and have them share something with the community.
We start every year with Flag. That also tells us something about our culture. It tells us that being together is important, that seeing each other and being seen is significant, that community matters.
There is something magical about the first Flag. The grass in the amphitheater seems a bit more groomed, children’s uniforms a bit brighter, shouts of “hello” a bit more spirited. There is a palpable sense of excitement mixed with a healthy and predictable sense of anxiety. In my experience, it doesn’t matter whether it is your first year or your twentieth, whether you are the youngest child on campus or the most experienced teacher at the school, everyone enters that first Flag with butterflies in their stomach. I certainly know I do.
This year, we welcome 383 students to campus, the largest enrollment in our history. This includes 87 new students, including a cohort of 16 new 6th graders, as we enter the second year of our planned 3-year expansion of our Middle School. Reflecting our commitment to creating an intentionally diverse community, we are enrolling our most diverse student body ever, with more than 44% percent of our students identifying as students of color and just under 25 percent of our families receiving flexible tuition grants. Several dynamic new teachers also join our talented team, all prepared to carry on Hillbrook’s 83-year commitment to inspiring children to achieve their dreams and reach beyond themselves to make a difference in the world.
As people walk down the hill toward the amphitheater this year, they will undoubtedly notice the construction fences. As they peer past the historic tower, they can see the construction site where the Hub is just starting to emerge. Yes, after several years of planning, funding, and permitting, we are thrilled that we have begun construction on this transformative learning space. A heartfelt thank you to the many families who supported “Be Your Best,” the Campaign for Hillbrook. The more than $6.2 million we have raised to date has enabled us to complete several projects in previous years, including the JK-2 playground, the amphitheater, and the new science center, and ensured we were able to start construction on the Hub this year.
Less visible, but no less significant, the entire school will be operating on a new daily schedule this year. This was one of the main strategic initiatives identified as part of Vision 2020, and was part of our broader effort to reimagine the student experience to ensure we are providing an education that truly meets the needs of today’s students.
Designed by a team of faculty and administrators over a two-year period, the schedule prioritized two key principles – more effectively individualizing the student experience and creating opportunities for students to reach beyond campus and make a difference in the world. The result is a schedule that uniquely meets the needs of Hillbrook students.
In the Lower School, the new schedule includes more opportunities for both teacher collaboration and flexible groupings of students within the same pod. The schedule includes a significant increase in times when all students within the pod are in homeroom, allowing space for cross-grade level projects, skill-building, and/or student choice. In the Middle School, the schedule strikes a balance between dedicated skill building in math, English and world language and flexible opportunities for interdisciplinary, collaborative teaching and learning in our newly designed integrated studies history and science blocks. Across the school, all students will participate in weekly Reach Beyond Blocks (RBB), perhaps the most innovative piece of the new schedule. These weekly blocks create a space where every student and teacher in the Middle School (Tuesdays) or the Lower School (Thursdays) is engaged in activities that transfer the skills and content learned from the other areas of their school experience to reach beyond themselves and make a difference in their world. Inspired by last year’s highly successful Reach Beyond Week and several years of pilot programs, including ICE, ACE, and independent study times, RBB promises to become a signature part of our program.
A couple of years ago, I made a wooden name tag using the Laser Cutter in the iLab. Under my name, instead of my “official” title, it reads, “Facilitator of Jokes.” It is, in all reality, the role that many children, especially younger children, most identify for me. After all, one of my great joys is having children stop me during the week to share the joke they want to tell at the following week’s Flag. “Don’t forget to call on me, Mr. Silver!” they always add at the end.
Clearly, I cannot call on every child each week, and yet I always reassure children – and parents – that I will do my best to call on every child who wants to tell a joke over the course of the year. Of course, whether they are up there telling a joke or joining in the laughter and applause at the end, the larger lesson is less about the joke itself and more about the joy and laughter that makes up each and every day at Hillbrook.
“Why did the chicken cross the road?” To get to Hillbrook School, of course. See you on Wednesday.