Peck News Fall/Winter 2024: Upper School | Unlocked

As an educator, I love working with middle school students. I find them fun, introspective, endearing, and challenging in all the right ways—middle schoolers force educators (and parents!) to bring their “A” game.

Knowing that middle schoolers are experiencing the same ups and downs, the same vulnerabilities, and the same insecurities many of us experienced during our middle school years requires our empathy and reflection on what we needed as middle schoolers that we may not have received.

Peck middle schoolers need to know they’re valued and seen; they need to know they’re appreciated even as they navigate some of the most awkward years of their lives; they need to know they are competent and trusted; they need skilled educators and caring parents. They need these things to be successful.

Perhaps like yours, my middle school experience was a mixed bag, and over my past 10 years at Peck, I’ve frequently wished I could have had this middle school experience!

I remember all too vividly my own desperate attempts to fit in—whether through the clothes I was wearing or the friends I was keeping—as well as my academic insecurities and my growing awareness of how I stacked up against others.

I also remember the teachers who built me up and the magnitude of their impact.

If given a choice to return to the past, would I choose to revisit my middle school years? Absolutely not. But that’s part of our motivation today. How do we make Peck’s middle school experience enriching and enjoyable despite the difficulty of adolescence?

It starts with experienced, caring educators and a community and culture that values and celebrates all things middle school— or, in Peck’s case, the Upper School.

Everything we do at Peck is intentional; we work hard to craft an experience that honors our students, demonstrates we care, and prepares them to soar.

In this issue, you will read about our strategic approach to teaching middle schoolers. You’ll read about our intentional integration of student reflection in the kindergarten through eighth-grade curriculum to develop lifelong learners and risk-takers.

You’ll have the chance to take a remixed version of Sarah Chan’s infamous Comma Test, hear stories from Peck faculty about their own middle school experiences, and enjoy a visual take on the 16 best things about Peck’s middle school.

You’ll also learn of the accomplishments of Kobby AduDiawuo ’09, who began his Peck journey in middle school and is now thriving in the finance sector working as Vice President of Investments at HarbourView Equity Partners.

We also invite you to interact with this issue! You may remember doodling on your notebooks in class. We encourage you to doodle throughout the issue, and find the hidden pictures in Scott Beil’s intricate Peck-inspired doodle on the last page of this magazine.

Enjoy this issue highlighting the Peck middle-school experience. Go Pride!

Warmly,

Andrew C. Delinsky
Head of School