A Letter from the Head of School

Dear Hopkins Community,

Many of you have heard me speak one of my father’s favorite adages:

“If a task has once begun, never leave it until it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it right or not at all.”

Over the past year, my trust in this maxim has deepened. It’s also a sentiment seemingly shared by colleagues and students alike, whose collective commitment to the task and labor of operating a school during a pandemic, while simultaneously working to create a more equitable community at Hopkins, is nothing short of remarkable. Their actions exude hope and inspiration—stories of which you’ll read in the next few pages. Our faculty and staff continue to gracefully demonstrate an incredible care for and commitment to our students. Even though circumstances have dramatically altered plans for teaching, they have shared a unified wisdom, working swiftly and tirelessly to reimagine this place called school. Their efforts have been extraordinarily meaningful to our students, who, themselves, have shown the resilience and courage to live and think as distinct individuals and embrace their responsibilities in the larger world. While the work has been hard at times, I’m constantly reminded that our students create a sense of hope, spirit, and energy. Look no further than the cover of this magazine for proof. When it became apparent that the senior class photo, a long standing tradition, would not be captured in similar fashion to past years—friends standing shoulder to shoulder on risers as a photographer solicits smiles—our yearbook team, class advisers, and students adapted. Through a complex scheduling between cohorts and agreeable weather, the use of a drone camera and some editing, we persevered. The full aerial composite can be found on the first two pages. You’ll also see in this magazine how we reinvented our school for this pandemic year—from the launch of a hybrid learning model to evolving some of our traditions, such as commencement. Back In 2018, during his commencement speech, Dylan Sloan ‘18 cited the proverb at the beginning of this letter, and adapted a stanza of his own. He contributed,

“But stop and think along the way, be in the present every day. Embrace the path as much as the goal. Labor not just with effort, but also with soul.”

After the year we’ve experienced, I believe it’s high time to add another:

“And when obstacles appear in our path, we pause and pivot, we do the math. For our hope at Hopkins will carry us through; we rise to the challenge and are revived anew.”

Thank you to all for rising together to guide our community through the challenges during this past year.

Sincerely, Dr. Kai Bynum Head of School