Sometimes, there are simply no words; the singular response to some things in life is resolve; resolve to work harder, to give more, and to live well.

The news events of this week, from the Boston Marathon Bombings to ricin-laced letters in D.C. and the devastating explosion in West, Texas that killed, among others, our brave first responders, are just those kinds of events. This is a time to remind our children and ourselves that the antidote for such events cannot come from retaliation or revenge but from living lives with meaning.

This week, the Upper School students in my Leadership and Ethics course completed a project that showed leadership at its finest. Using the Upper School’s new Innovation Lab, they worked together to design and build a custom desk for fellow student, Casey Myers, who is just in third grade.

Casey has paralysis below the knees and gets around by wheelchair. When my students discovered that our desks are the wrong size for Casey and that he cannot put his knees and legs under the writing surface, they went to work.

With the help of our Director of Operations Jesse Schumacher, they fired up the table saw and drills in the lab and built just what Casey needed. Then, they carried it across campus in the snow and mud to deliver Casey his new desk. Resolve is what we must have. This is our real work as educators -- to create leaders – no matter how quiet or how strong; to create meaning in life for themselves and others; and to live by that old adage that living well is the best revenge. Click here for a photo gallery of the students’ project, and their presentation to Casey.