Guest Blog from Meg Hill, 9th Grade Dean
Focus on the Freshmen
A few highlights from the first six weeks of the school year
If you had been a fly on the wall during the first half of this trimester, you probably would have
been very captivated by....
•The Town Hall gatherings in the theater and the intense silence during a moving and
memorable senior speech
•The class elections when ten courageous freshmen gave well-crafted speeches and
shared their community-organizing ideas
•The student-run club fair that promoted a wide-range of organizations and added many
new members to the rosters
•The informal Homecoming Dance with its “retro gym class” theme and most of the
student body showing off their moves on the dance floor
•The Community Leadership Team seniors engaging the freshmen in a variety of
discussions and activities during long advisory time
•The Global Perspectives guest speakers series in which freshmen have heard impactful
first-hand accounts from people who have lived and worked oversees in a variety of
regions
•Burgeoning scientists at Mt. Falcon noticing, wondering and hypothesizing while
enjoying the outdoors with classmates, fellow advisees and the CLT seniors
•A class meeting dedicated to social media and managing an online presence which
included a compelling presentation by our Director of Technology, Jared Katzman, and
an emotional segment from a Frontline series on cyberbullying
•The very recent long advisory when mid-trimester grade reports were distributed and
freshmen were asked to articulate, in writing, their game plan moving forward including
the highlights of school thus far
•The everyday business of showing up for each other, engaging in authentic ways inside
the classroom and out, making new friends, challenging and encouraging peers to do
the right thing, being grateful.
If you had been a fly on the wall during any of my admissions interviews over the last few
weeks, one of the final questions you would have heard me ask is, “How’s your visit going
so far and is it what you imagined?” You would have heard each visiting 8th-grader say
some variation of, “Everybody is so kind here and I that’s something that really surprised
me.” I would hope that we haven’t cornered the market on kindness here, yet this
unanimous observation points to a palpable reality: The class of 2020 has begun
establishing itself as an empathetic, hard-working and curious lot......captivating to watch
the journey unfold.
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