Notes from Cardigan (October, 1974)

Notes from

Cardigan

Nonprofit Organization

U.S. POST AGE PAID Canaan, N.H. Permit No. 1

Cardigan Mountpin School Canaan, New Hampshire 03741

Vo 1ume 3, Issue No. 2

October 1974

If your so n' s l etters have kept you curre nt on Exciting Things happening in October, you're probably wondering if we eve r ho ld classes. It wa s except iona l to have Parents• Weekend , Mountain Day, a Day at the Sandwich Fair, a nd Long Weeke nd a ll in the same mont h. Some boy s found time to organize their stud i es; for as th e mid - t erm ended, five boys were on the Honor Ro ll . That co in has a nother side , howeve r; on it are recorded the names of the 24 (!) boys who are now in superv i sed st udy hall because they are not passing two or more s ubject s .

The first Parents • Weekend of the yea r i s a lwa ys a happy occasion. Foliage wa s abo ut at it s peak and the weather cou l dn't ha ve been c l eare r or more beautiful - a photographer ' s dream come true. Saturday morning c l asses were c rowded with eager parents; some were remembering French verbs and Eng li s h grammar and others we re tryin g to remember a l gebra and American history. Whether or not the subject matter wa s fami li ar, most parents seemed. to be impressed with what was happeni ng in their son ' s classes. Our traditional rival, Eag l ebrook, was on hand for football and soccer games in the afternoon. What an afternoon it was - a ll three Cardigan teams won! The joy of winning i s never as sweet as when parents are watc hin g.

Headmaster Wake ly is a lways enthus i ast i c whe n it comes to sports, but occasiona lly his exhuberence gets out of ha nd. Last year a t Parents • Weekend, we l ost two games of three to Eaglebrook, and he was heard to remark to one parent that someday we would beat them roundly on Parents• Weekend , and when that day came the whole School would ce l ebrate.

Some fathers are enthusiastic and have good memories too, and one of them was here again this year. Having Mr . Wake ly 1 s promise st ill in mind, he reminded his son to ask what and when the ce l ebrat ion would be - and soon word had run through a ll three teams and what seemed 1 ike hundreds of boys were a ll asking: 11 When do we get our day off for beating Eaglebrook? 11 Thus it was that we came to go to the Sandw ich Fair. It is a typical New England country fair with hot dogs and prize pumpkins, cotton candy, horse drawing, pizza and handmade quiltsand much more. Three bus l oads of Cardigan boys trooped in the main gate about one o'c l ock on a drizz ly afternoon and promptly disappeared among severa l acres of exhibits, tents, booths and food stands. The weather dampened c l ot hes but no t spirits. Coming as a comp l ete surprise and a new experience to many boys, the afternoon was a great success. We a ll were tired when bedtime came .

In case you didn't have the opportunity on Parents' Weekend, we'd 1 ike you to meet ou r three new facu lty members. Mrs. Marie Hicks has been on campus since September 1972. With her husband Jeff, she has helped run Hayward Hall both Winter as well. as in the Summer when it is a gir l s dorm. This year the French program ha s been revised to include more at t ent ion to ora l instruction, and Marie is teaching this part of the co ur se. Since she i s a native Frenchwoman, o ur students are hearing the language as it i s really used. She is a fine add i tion to our faculty and we're delighted s he i s willing to he lp.

No strangers to this area are Mr. and Mrs . Ramos. Edi lberto and his wife Fe spent seven years at LaSallette Sem inary in neighboring Enfie l d. The Sem in ary c l osed its prep schoo l l ast June, and Eddie and Fe joined us in September. He brings fine experience in teaching math a nd in coaching soccer. They have taken over responsibility for the top floor of Brewster Ha ll with another new faculty coup l e - th e Edelmans. J eremy and Mar iann e moved here from Nort h Carolina

so that he could take over our wood shop program. His background incl_udes teaching manual training courses at the Junior High level. Jerry and Marianne have also joined the Canaan Players and will appear in leading roles in "Arsenic and Old Lace" next month. Acting either comes natural to a teacher, or it is just a good way to relieve tensions; for this forthcoming production by the Canaan Players will also include Hal Finkbeiner, Steve Heath, George Dunn and Debby Crowell.

Over a year's work has gone into planning and production of The Cardigan Chair. A fine, comfortable captain's chair made from seasoned hardwoods, it is finished in soft black with the Cardigan seal hand stenciled on the back rail. These will make a handsome gift for alumni, students or fathers. Priced roodestly at $50, they will be available to pick up at the School after Thanksgiving.

Cardigan is finally coming of age in terms of student legacies. This year we have two alumni sons here - Charlie Morrison and Steve Haskell. Now begins the tradition of "going to Cardigan like your father did". We are also maturing in another way. One of our current parents taught at Cardigan some years ago and one of her students was Mr. Peck who is now a teacher here himself. This year her son entered our seventh grade, and one of his teachers is Schuyler Peck. This all makes us feel that Cardigan is putting down roots and is here to stay.

For the first time we have three current parents on our Board of Trustees. Dr. Richard D. Morrison of Essex Junction, Vermont has been a Trustee since 1969. He was originally elected to represent alumni - and since his son Chari ie entered our 6th grade two years ago, he also represents the current parents viewpoint. Albert J. Mitchell, Sr. from Albert, New Mexico has been a Cardigan parent since 1971 when his oldest son Scooter entered our Summer Session.

Al has two sons currently at Cardigan so is well qualified to present the parents' side in Trustee discussions. He was elected to the Board last May and is already taking an active part in School affairs . The newest parent-Trustee is Daniel 0. Barry of Miami, Florida.

Dan has had sons at Cardigan since 1969 when Danny entered our Summer Session. His youngest son Bobby is currently in the 7th grade.

An interesting change in scheduling this year makes it possible for all the teachers in one department to be absent for a full day without having to make complicated arrangements to have classes covered. The English Department took advantage of this by spending a day at St. Paul's School in Concord recently. They compared 9th grade English programs and discussed with St. Paul's teachers the kind of preparation for 10th grade work that senior prep schools expect today. Other departments will be making similar visits as the year goes on.

Speaking of senior prep schoo ls, the appointment calendar in Jack Rich's office reads like "Who's Who in New England Prep Schools" there have been so many Admissions Directors visiting campus this month - sometimes two in one day. Our Seniors are much sought after and have a wide choice of excellent schools from which to choose.

"Notes from Cardigan" is published monthly by the Cardigan Mountain School.

Third Class postage paid at Canaan, New Hampshire 03741