By all accounts, we’ve had a fabulous start to the school year. During our opening assembly, we welcomed the class of 2025 and asked the class of 2022 to lead the way, as we reset our cultural norms for all-school in-person learning. The hallways are buzzing with eager students, and teachers are excited to have students back in the classroom.

In addition to new students, CA is also welcoming several new faculty members this year.

Ms. Sydney Finkbohner is not new to CA, but after serving as a leave replacement last year, will be joining the Science Department as a permanent member. Mr. Kyle Gillette will be joining our Computer Science and Engineering Department; Mr. Randall Martínez will be joining our Social Studies department; Mr. Michael McLaughlin will be joining our Computer Science and Engineering Department and Science Department; Dr. Leo Procise will be joining our Science Department; and Ms. Abby Page will be joining our English Department as a leave replacement.

While still fresh to the community, each new faculty member has already embraced their roles here. As advisors, teachers, and even coaches, it’s a joy to see these new CA faculty members weaving through the building and starting to connect with students in the classroom.

Connection is, of course, something we want to give special attention to this year.

After a year that was characterized by distance learning, hybrid modalities, and pandemic-driven necessities that separated classmates, we will spend much of this year talking about how we could rebuild community at the Upper School. While much of this work will take place in our halls, and on our campus, we know that next week’s CA Connects will give families, students, and advisors a unique opportunity to extend this spirit of connecting outward. We hope you’ll take advantage of this time to either meet—or rekindle—the special bond between advisors and family that CA takes such pride in.

At the close of our first assembly, I reminded the Upper School students that the class of 2035 had just begun their first day of Pre-Kindergarten at the Lower School.

By the time our youngest classmates join the Upper School in eleven years, the rituals, practices, and innovations that Upper Schoolers adopt this year will be considered cherished traditions. I told the Upper School students that the ways they choose to rebuild community—here and now—will change the school that the class of 2035 will inherit.

As we head into this year of rebuilding—which we know will still be marked by levels of uncertainty—it will be important for all of us to bring something of ourselves forward while keeping in mind the larger goal: we want an Upper School community that’s a reflection of all the voices, new and returning, while remaining true to the culture we’ve inherited from those before us.