Notes from Cardigan
Nonprofit
Organization U.S. POST AGE PAID Canaan, N.H. Permit No. 1
Cardigan Mountain School Canaan, New Hampshire 03741
Volume 3, Issue No. 6
Apri 1 1975
Spring will no doubt have arrived before this issue reaches you because we are on the verge of it even this far North. Here where · rce . and snow are a normal and natural part of our habitat, we do seem to spend a lot of effort with ice~- indoor ice in the hockey rink, that is. In December, we start flooding the hockey rink -- layer after layer until all the asphalt is covered with ice thick enough to support the Zamboni. Then after the Spring vacation exodus in March, the job starts of removing the ice which has been so laboriously built up. Using heaters and some hot water an~ a lot of effort, it is coaxed out of existence-literally down the drain. When it is finally all gone and the indoor tennis courts are dry enough to use, we know the rest of the world must be well into Spring. There are some other unmistakable signs too -- ·robins return and bicycles come 6ut of storage. Mount Cardigan is still snow capped -- that's such a lovely sight from Campus -- but only in very shady areas are there any traces of Winter still remaining. Gardens are started, too. 'The Greenhouse is filled with flats and pots sprouting with small green vegitation -- promises ' of wonderful things to come. The tennis team won their opening match, while the rest of our Spring athletes were still warming up. B~seball and lacrosse games are imminent, but the sailing team is still unable to have any real practice while waiting for the ice to go out of the lake. Early in April Mr. and Mrs. Rearick, who have been working all year with an eager and talented group of boys in the Drama Club, took 13 of them to the High School Drama Festival in Portsmouth. In the course of one Friday they saw eight one-act plays performed by students from ·all over ·the state. These ranged from comedy to melodrama; to the highly dramatic, and from excellent to only fair perf6rmances. It was a fascinating experience and the boys were exposed to a great variety of theatre in a short space of time. Two boys have become so interested in dramati~s this year that they will be attending a theatre camp this Summer. Unfortunately, both are Seniors so won't be . returning to Cardigan with their improved talents. · Honor Roll for the second term, which erided before Spring vacation, was announced upon the boys' return. Sixteen boys were on the list at the end of the first term in November, and this increased to twenty-two for the second term. The Ninth grade had the largest increase; from five to nine ,boys. They, of course, have more incentive than the lower grades sinee applications were pending at Senior Prep Schools all during this time. There's no question that their efforts have patd off. Conversely, the number of boys on academic Supervised Study Hall has dropped from 22 at the end of the first term to only 16 at present. We'll let you draw your own conclusions as to the significance of these figures. At any rate, it shows things are changing here and something is happening. Whatever sort of leisurely pace we might have enjoyed through the Fall and Winter disappears after Spring vacation. · Looking at what's ahead of us before Commencement, May 31st, is enough to make even steady heads grow dizzy. There are 12 varsity baseball games, 12 tennis matches, 12 lacrosse games and 8 sailing meets. Mid-term grades and comments are in the mail, so there is only one-half a term left to finish the remaining academic work in each course. Final pictures are being taken for the yearbook, and the staff is hard
-2at work putting the finishing touches on this year's edition. The Seniors enjoyed a night out at the movies last week, preceded by a delicious meal at McDonald's. The seventh grade is off to Boston to visit all the historic sites on the Freedom Tra i l. There's one more long weekend to look forward to starting the first of May. The Glee Club will be performing at the Hanover Rotary Club the end of this month. The annual meeting of lncorporators and Trustees will be held in Boston on May 9th . All faculty advisors are thinking of one more party for their advisees; dormitories are making their party plans, also. In addition to these i tems, and with plans for Commencement always in the background, we're looking forward to Grandparents' Weekend on May 17-18. This annual event is always such a pleasure. The grandparents aren't here to worry about grades or comments or prep school admissions, but just to enjoy visiting their grandsons at School. The relationship between grandparents and grandsons is often very unique and close, and this weekend is set aside for their pleasure . The program will include visits to classes, a variety of athletic events, some songs by the Glee . Club, two plays by the Drama Club, a reception at the Headmaster's House, mea l s in the dining room and opportunity for some time together off-campus. It's something very special for all of us to look forward to. Many School activities are constantly in the limelight; we hear about athletic teams, the Glee Club, academics and off-campus trips. One of the less-heralded programs working steadily away in a corner of the Ovila barn is the auto mechanics club. Mr. George Randall started this activity three years ago. About ten boys are interested enough to devote their spare time on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons to this type of work. In the course of the past three years, they sectioned off one portion of the barn for their shop , insulated and re-wired this area, set up a bench, laid out Mr. Randall 1 s extensive collection of tools and went to work. Fortunately for the club, Mr. Randall has a ready source of vehicles that need attention. He spends his summers at Camp ldlewild on Lake Winnipesaukee . The camp owns a number of motor vehicles -- mostly old -- and there are a lways one or t wo that need extensive attention in order to survive another Summer. This year the boys have been working on a Chevy pick-up truck. They disassembled the entire engine and analyzed its operation. As it turned out, the old engine was beyond repair. Mr . Randall brought over a rebuilt engine from another of their vehicles, and this was installed i n the pick-up. As the rebuilt engine was not the same model year as the one they removed, there were a number of challenging problems to be solved until all the parts were compatable and working properly. Currently they are working on a 1961 Jeep station wagon. This o l d veteran has had its engine tuned up, body repaired, a new floor, new brakes and a gas line. By the end of the year, auto club members are not guaranteed to be qualified mechan i cs (please use some caution before turning your sonToose to operate on your new car), but they have been exposed to a variety of vehicles, have learned someth i ng about the operation of an internal combustion engine, and have seen what is involved i n tuning engines , repairing brakes and doing body work. This is another of the many facets of a Cardigan education. If your son is graduating this year, he might very much appreciate a "Cardigan Chair" to take to his next School . Let us know if you want one so it can be reserved for him.
"Notes from Card i gan" is published monthly by the Cardigan Mountain School. Third Class postage paid at Canaan, New Hampshire 03741