As we come to the end of the fall trimester, I feel very fortunate to be at Colorado Academy. I am frequently reminded about what distinguishes our school and our students, and I hope you’ll agree that this has been a very positive launch of the 2011-2012 school year. Here are some highlights:
 

Our new schedule, aimed at promoting deeper learning and supporting the well-being of our students, has been a positive change. As a teacher, I can see impact. My senior history students report an academic life that is paced more effectively for learning. And as a teacher, I’ve been able to increase the depth of subject matter for my classes.
 

The programming that provides an enriched school environment at CA continues to be innovative and dynamic. We have a robotics program now serving students of all grades in the Lower School. In the Middle School, a new course on creativity began this year with positive results and students who are very enthusiastic about the “challenges” they get to solve. High school teachers, inspired by a professional workshop in Design Thinking, are currently planning a design and innovation course to be implemented next year using technology as its base.
 

I am reminded of how strong our arts program is at Colorado Academy. With more than half of our students involved in our lessons program, we provide some 14,000 music lessons per year. The students who take part in this program become adept at reading and playing music, performing in front of an audience, and learning some fundamental life skills about the value of hard work. This week’s assemblies featured students representing all divisions, and they performed at an impressive level. How often do students get to play (or listen to for that matter) Rachmaninoff!
 

Thanks to our parents, we continue to maintain a positive and healthy school community. Parents, teachers, and administrators are all working together to support our children, and we rally around the mission of the school. We’ve brought some wonderful speakers in to share their insights about parenting and teaching, like psychologist Dr. Ron Taffel, attorney-turned-entrepreneur Warren Brown, College Coach Bill Tierney, and coming up, we’ll hear from Oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, and author Wendy Mogul.
 

Our athletic teams have done some great things this fall. In the Upper School, nearly every team made it to post-season play. Students in all of our sports have bonded with their teammates. They’ve made important friendships, and their athletic experiences have given all of the students something of which to be proud. It’s more than school spirit – it is a recognition that each player is contributing to something larger than himself or herself.
  

Speaking of giving back, we’ve seen the start of the CA Student Philanthropy Council this fall. Students from each division are working to shape this new endeavor, and the Council will support the service learning and outreach of all students. It is an exciting program, and it builds upon a long tradition of CA students caring about the world around them in meaningful ways.
  

It is the richness of these collective experiences that make Colorado Academy a dynamic and exciting place to be, each and every day.