Returning to school after the December holiday break is never easy. Re-adjusting to waking up before 8:00 AM, packing lunch boxes, combing hair, and finding missing sneakers can challenge our mental capacity following our relaxing, unscheduled “routines” during the winter vacation.

But, I can speak for our entire faculty when I say that returning to school in January is almost as exciting as coming back after the summer recess. It’s a fresh start – a new year, a clean slate, a breath of fresh (and freezing cold) air. It’s a time for our students to kick off new classes, begin new projects, embrace new challenges, and engage in different extracurricular activities.

The Winter season at Shaker Road School is always full of new opportunities that push our students to their academic, social, and physical limits. In 2018, we will host our school-wide Science Fair in which all students engage in experiments, research, and projects to spark their enthusiasm and interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). Please see Mr. Hicks’s recent blog for a full description of this year’s Science Fair. Our actors, musicians, dancers, and directors are busy with rehearsals for the lower school and middle school drama productions, dance performances, and Spring Fling will ramp up quickly.

Our rock climbing and indoor soccer teams will compete in warm climates, while our Nordic skiing athletes will venture outdoors to brave the chilly temperatures. The alpine ski and snowboard program kicks off in January to test our students’ willingness to take risks and improve their skills on the mountain peaks of Sunapee and Loon.

And, I encourage EVERYONE – parents, students, teachers, and alumni to participate in our First Annual Jack Frost Challenge. Instead of hiding inside during these chilly winter months, embrace the deep freeze, participate in our 2017-2018 schoolwide theme of health and fitness, and commit to running or walking one mile outside every day during the month of January! We will keep track of the status of our running/walking community on Facebook and bulletin boards located throughout the school. It’s not too late to start.

This is an amazing time of year at SRS – the weeks fly by between now and the end of the year. Take some time to embrace the chilly weather, get outside, and talk to our students about everything new that they are working on at school – you will be amazed at what they accomplish in the coming weeks!

WARM Regards,

Matt Hicks
Matt Hicks, Principal