A Message from the Head of School

FALL 2022

The Bement Bulletin is published yearly by the communications office for current and past parents, alumni, grandparents, and friends of The Bement School.

MANAGING EDITOR

Megan Tady FR

DESIGNER

Penny Michalak P’14

WRITERS

Marcia Bernard FA Cate Dembkowski PF Alice Gearhart FA Shelley Borror Jackson FHS, P’00 Katie MacCallum P’29, FA Megan Tady FR

EDITORS

Sara Becton Ardrey P’22 ’24, FA Katie MacCallum P’29, FA Emily Mikolayunas Rich P’24 ’28, FA Jamie Nan Thaman FR

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Sara Becton Ardrey P’22 ’24, FA Alex Bartlett ’87, FA Dave Belcher P’07, FA Anna Casey FA Katie MacCallum P’29, FA David Michalak P’14 Jeffrey Pilgrim FA Matt Plager ’12, FA Emily Mikolayunas Rich P’24 ’28, FA Ana Rueda-Hernandez FA Maddie Sabelawski ’24 Sarah Schatz P’23 ’25 ’29 Terry Shields P’19 ’21 ’25, FA Brad Walker P’24 ’27 Eliza Wilmerding P’25 Tim Young ’61, PF

CONSTITUENCY CODES

’GB Alumna/us from Grace Bement era (1925–1947) ’00 Alumna/us Class Year TT Trustee PTT Past Trustee HOS Head of School FHS Former Head of School P Parent GP Grandparent FA Current Faculty or Staff PF Past Faculty or Staff FR Friend of Bement

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There’s Always Someone Faster

In my previous life as a track coach, I used to regularly share with my athletes a coaching adage passed down to me from my collegiate mentor: “There’s always someone faster.” As a young athlete, I heard this as a warning to stay humble and maintain perspective. But in my coaching days, I off ered it as much to keep my athletes grounded as to remind them of the potential of embracing continual challenge. The thought that the value of a particular accomplishment or progress diminishes quickly if dwelled on for too long was a meaningful one for me as an athlete, as well as later in my professional life. Seeking challenge as an impetus for healthy growth is a mindset that drives excellence everywhere, especially when thinking about the evolution of a school.

Learning and growth that come when outside one’s comfort zone have long been woven into the fabric of the Bement experience. From their earliest days in kindergarten, our students step onto the Barn stage to perform, developing a sense of voice and agency right out of the gate. It’s no surprise, then, when our oldest students wow their families with their commencement speeches and musical performances or, as they did during this past academic year, advocate articulately for their peers around issues like Bement’s dress code or current events. My hope as head of school is that they learn these vital leadership skills from their teachers, advisors, and dorm parents, as well as from living and learning together in a community that models the same mindset.

Institutional humility and the quest for progress has led us to undertake thorough examinations of Bement’s practices, policies, and traditions through the lenses of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, which you will read about in the pages ahead, as well as undertake a comprehensive strategic planning process to chart a course for Bement’s second century. Those parallel conversations have engaged community members in deep and powerful ways, and posed challenging, exhilarating questions about Bement’s identity and future.

“There’s always someone faster” is essentially a lesson in resilience, one of Bement’s core values. How we respond to the challenge of serving the next generation of energized, insightful students will demonstrate that resilience and continue to model the humility, optimism, and commitment to continuous improvement that we hope to inspire in all members of Bement’s extended family. inspire in all members of Bement’s extended family.

MIKE SCHLOAT P’24 ’26

Head of School