Full of Hope | Ben Courchesne

full of hope

"What a year. I can't believe you moved here with your family during the pandemic. How are you managing that?" "I'm so sorry this has been your introduction to St. Andrew's. We are usually such a fun and connected community." "Just wait until we get back to normal. You'll see what St. Andrew's is really like." These sympathetic and somewhat apologetic comments were a kind of refrain during my first year at St. Andrew's. My wife Audrey and I heard them often and in many contexts since joining the school in June of 2020 when I assumed the Head of Upper School role, and we became parents of a rising 1st and 4th- grader at the SAS Lower School. I heard it over Zoom during 1:1 parent meetings, at lunch with veteran teachers at the Upper School, from the lacrosse dads after practice, or when making small talk with the trustees before a meeting. We heard them between bites of crudité at the Kindergarten parent social, at 3rd-grade birthday parties, and WAYA soccer games. Parents and students sent scores of supportive emails wishing us luck as we managed the challenge of keeping school when all the rules seemed to be in flux. I welcomed the sympathy and well wishes and understand these comments as gestures of welcome and support. But out of politeness or because there isn't enough time to get into it, I rarely said what I wished to say, which is that I feel lucky and grateful to have experienced the challenge of this past year at and with St. Andrew's. The truth is, the pandemic year turned out to be an excellent time to join St. Andrew's. Challenging? For sure. Filled with opportunity? Yes. It has been a crash course in figuring out the strengths of and potentials for St. Andrew's. Often during this year, I've recalled my middle school ice hockey coach who was fond of repeating the oft-quoted line from novelist James

BEN COURCHESNE

Lane Allen, "Adversity doesn't build character; it reveals it." The pandemic year revealed the strength of our four-pillar model: the resilience of our performers who delivered two outstanding musicals, the toughness of our athletes who played through shifting rules and uncertain schedules, the adaptability of our students who experimented with multiple ways of learning, and the generosity of our community who continues to lead and serve with their time, talent, and treasure. You never really understand a community until times of turbulence. In that respect, the pandemic year was an ideal time to be new, to observe, and to learn what makes St. Andrew's special. This past year was by no means a "lost" year for our school, and when we are dealing with educating our youth, nurturing their growth, and launching them as capable young adults into our society, we can't afford for any year to be. The benefactors of St. Andrew's clearly understand that, as exemplified in these pages.

I want to take this opportunity to say what I wish I had the time to say whenever I hear the sympathetic refrain about having joined St. Andrew's during the pandemic, which is: Thank you for inviting me into this worthy project and for your ongoing partnership on behalf of our students. The future is bright at St. Andrew's because our community is strong and because of supporters like you. Be sturdy and full of hope,

Ben Courchesne

Head of Upper School Parent to Ronan '30 and Elle '33