Notes from Cardigan (December, 1972)

Notes

Nonprofit

Organization

from

U.S. FOST AGE

PAID Canaan, N.H. Permit No. 1

Cardigan Cardigan Mountain School Canaan, New Hampshire 03741

Issue No. 2

December 1972

Since there are only two and one-half weeks of school between the Thanksgiving and Christmas vacations, you might think activity on campus would be confined to academics and athletics; but such is hardly the case. We have made notes of a few of the extra things that have taken place during this time. On each of the last two Sundays a bus full of boys went over to Waterville Valley to ski. Early December weather can be erratic, and last Sunday they left in a snow storm which shortly turned to rain. The slopes were in spots icy, slushy and rocky, but the boys had a great day in the fresh air despite less than ideal conditions. There have been two Saturday evening trips to use the Dartmouth pool always a popular activity. On Nov. 30th a group of students were guests of the Drama Dept. at LaSalette Seminary to see their production of"Twelve Angry Men 11 • To see a real play with live actors - even student actors - is much more exciting than even a fine show on TV. And it really tops off the evening when you 1 re invited for cocoa and cider after the show and have a chance to meet the actors you 1 ve just seen. As a special treat, Floor Leaders and boys holding elective positions went to Hanover one evening to see the new Movie 11 A Separate Peace••.

So much for off-campus affairs.

Remember the old fashioned spelling bee? They 1 re still just as exciting and nerve wracking as they were, and the tradition is very much alive here.

It starts in each English class with a spell-down to find the top speller in the class. For round two, a spelling bee to pick the top three in each grade.

Finally the real thing - in the auditorium with an official scorekeeper and a live audience, including the Headmaster, some faculty and a group of enthusiastic supporters - all pledged to silence. Top speller in this first round was Paul Chamberlain. His name will be inscribed on the trophy and if he should win one more time this year (rounds two and three in February and May} it will be his to keep. Second prize to Bob Chartener - like Chamberlain a ninth grader.

Third prize was taken by a seventh -grader - Dave Killary. (What happened to the eighth grade?).

One of the reasons we invested in a small computer of our own this year was to see if more boys would use it when not restricted by a schedule of time-sharing. The results so far certainly justify the expense; for our computer is being used two or three times the number of hours we used the Dartmouth computer last year. And more boys are involved, too. It makes quite a difference to have it available all the time - afternoons, evenings and weekends.

The only drawback is the 1 imited memory storage capability. We see the need to add an additional memory unit and will do so as soon as funds are available.

At the end of the first marking period thirteen boys earned Honor Roll status. They deserve to be recognized here for their fine work. Grade 6: Hugh Covert; Grade 7: Charlie Hickox and lain Morse: Grade 8: Bill Barry, Matt Bronfman, Charles Chandler, Tom Crowell, Charlie Gallagher, Mark Melvin; Grade 9: Hugh Auchincloss, Bob Chartener, Brian Kenning, Todd Obenschain.

Of this group, two boys have the distinction of earning Honors in all of their subjects - this means grades of 85 or higher: Bill Barry and Bob Chartener.

In addition to public recognition, Honor Roll students this year have the privilege of room study during free periods in the morning, and are also excused from having to be in their rooms during evening study hall. They are free at that time to be in the 1 ibrary if they choose, and there will sometimes be skating or skiing in the evening just for them. These new privileges are making honor roll status more desirable and really worth working for.

Interwoven into this tapestry of usual and unusual activities are rehearsals for the Christmas pageant involving actors, 1 ighting and scenery crews, and the glee club. The Christmas spirit comes to Cardigan early. The center of campus tree was 1 ighted on December 4th and within a few days, indoor trees were being set up in dorm common rooms and there was a bustle of activity as plans began to shape up for dorm door decorations . Mrs. Wakely and her crew of helpers filled the picture windows in the dining hall with giant wreaths, and every lamp post on campus is garlanded with holly. Isn't it interesting to see how much can go on in two and a half weeks! (All this on top of a full academic and activity schedule). Behind, beside, in the midst of, and in front of all these activities are members of our multi-faceted faculty, whose duties and interests seem never to end. You might think this would be enough to keep them busy, but note some of these additional projects they have been involved in this Fall: Bob Fahrner and Alden Burt finished work on their masters degrees in the MALS program at Dartmouth.

Bob Searles attended the U.S. Eastern Amateur Ski Association conference at Killington.

Steve Heath took part in the Nordic Ski Coaches training program at Watervi 1 le.

Ben Woods went to a ski jumping coaches clinic at Middlebury.

Bob Fahrner - in his third year as Chairman of the local district School Board - was elected to the N.H. State School Board Association Executive Council and was appointed to the nine member Joint Council on Education of the State of New Hampshire.

Sam Coes and Dick Rearick are serv ing as elected Trustees of Trust Funds of the Town of Canaan .

Debbie McNeish is continuing her studies at Plymouth State College.

Harold Finkbeiner starred in the Canaan Players production of "Plaza Suite".

Carol Shelton serves as an elected Trustee of the Canaan Library.

Alden Burt i s President of the Lebanon Art and Crafts Association which i s currently running an arts and crafts exhibit in the Lebanon Mall.

During the first week in Decembe r we were delighted to have John Coffin as a full-time guest on campus. Mr. Coffin, one of our Trustees, is Chairman of the Long Range Planning Committee. He wanted to have a complete picture of Cardigan as it is today to aid h i s committee in planning where we should be heading in the future. He ~as up every morning for breakfast with the boys, attended classes with a different boy each day, sat in on conference periods, did some cross country skiing, helped set up the hockey boards and took part in whatever evening activities were scheduled - including the Saturday night movie . This is the first time a Trustee has spent this much time with us, and we hope his observations will help pinpoint those areas needing their ear ly attention.

Right after Thanksgiving, the first Wilderness Encounter at Cardigan wound up their activities with a 5-day exped ition. This has been such an interesting and different program for us that it wouldn 't be fair to condense their story into one paragraph. We'll devote our next issue to this adventure.

Have a very happy holiday with your son! return on January third.

We'll be looking forward to his

Notes from Cardigan is published monthly by Cardigan Mountain School.

Second class postage paid at Canaan, N.H. 03741