by Stephen Sagarin, Faculty Chair
Our school year is off to an auspicious start, despite the weather, with a great Orientation at Camp Hi-Rock from Wednesday, September 7, to Friday, September 9. We arrived in rain, unpacked into a boys’ cabin and a girls’ cabin, and then hiked a few miles to Sage’s Ravine and back on the Appalachian Trail. The woods were full of more mushrooms than I’ve ever seen—large, colorful, varied. Trampled down to create low spots, the trail was under water much of the time, and flowing like a small stream in many places. For the first 15 minutes or so, we tried to skirt the wettest spots and preserve our shoes and feet. Then, one by one, we gave up and sloshed on. A stream from the camp to Bear Rock Falls, usually a muddy spot we can step across to get a view from the escarpment that overlooks the Housatonic Valley, was knee deep and rushing. Adults stood in the middle to make sure everyone crossed safely. The stream in Sage’s Ravine was roaring and impassable. Students complained and questioned the sanity of those who organized the hike, but persisted nonetheless, and, by the next day, remembered the silent beauty of the damp, green woods, the rushing water, and the carpet of mushrooms.
That evening we gathered around a fireplace indoors, ranks of sneakers and boots drying in front, and played a couple of “ice breaker” games, getting to know each other’s names and where we had come from. Then we played an extended version of charades called “Celebrity,” and the team that named itself the Papier Mache Sharks (after a large papier mache shark that hung from the ceiling of the room in which we had our fire) beat Gryffindor 39-29. Back in our cabins, we could hear drenching rain all night, and worried for those of you stuck in the valleys without an Ark.
The next morning, however, the rain had abated, and we divided into two groups to complete group dynamic exercises and challenges. One group got all members over a slick 14 foot wall; the other got all members across the “peanut butter pit” by swinging on a rope and standing on a small island. By that afternoon, the sun could almost be located behind the clouds, and we spent hours at the waterfront, playing beach soccer, volleyball, swimming, sailing, and kayaking. It’s clear we’ll have our best soccer team ever this year, and possibly for several years to come. All four freshman boys are accomplished players, as are several older students.
Thursday evening we gathered first in the Dining Hall to write letters to our future selves, expressing our ambitions, goals, and wishes for the year. We sealed these and will open them next June. Then we walked, finally, to an outdoor bonfire by the waterfront to roast s’mores and talk about the school. Each year, we ask older students to reflect on their high school years and offer advice to younger students. What do you know now that you wish you had known then? What has helped you succeed in meeting your goals in high school? After this talk, some of us stayed to talk and stare into the fire while others took off to play “Manhunt” in the dark. Their flashlights arced through the mist around us like lunatic fireflies.
We spent a beautiful Friday morning at the high ropes course, and, for the first time in the eight years of Orientation, every student completed at least part of the course, climbing a giant’s ladder of logs spaced 2-3 feet apart 35 feet into the air to walk across cables and ride the zip line back to earth. After lunch, we packed, cleaned the cabins in record time, and spent a last sunny hour on the beach. A half dozen of us hiked out to North Rock to sit in silence for ten minutes or so, listening to birds, crickets, and frogs, watching fish feed near the surface, and letting the wind on the waters echo our thoughts. Then we drove back to family, school, and civilization.
Thanks to Mrs. Lombardi, fire-tender and girls’ chaperone for Wednesday night and most of Thursday, to Ms. Robbins, for Thursday night and Friday morning, and to Mr. Oelhaf, for driving us up on Wednesday and back on Friday. Thanks to Ben Havens and the staff at Camp Hi-Rock: Jenna, Brooke, Aaron, Daniel, Tom, Julian, and Colin. We had a great time.