Head of School Message

Dear Members of the Westminster Community,

It was just before study hall on a Wednesday night this fall when I headed to meet some Sixth Formers, but was distracted by the lights of a police car at Pettee Gym. My heart was in my throat as I fumbled with the door handle and hurried onto the floor of the gym to see several students and adults, including a police officer and nurse, huddled around a Third Form student.

Don’t worry — the story ends well. Henry is fine. He endured a trip to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, some tests, an evaluation and a tremendous headache; he is playing basketball and burning off steam in Pettee before study hall with his buddies once again. This accident has become a story in their Third Form lore, destined to be one of many stories that gets dusted off, and embellished, for reunions. “Do you remember when Henry crashed into Dillon and somersaulted over the backboard in Pettee?” The stuff of legends, right?

Here is the story that will not get told: When the collision happened and Henry was upended and crashed hard, very hard, onto the gym floor, his friends sprung into action. They called security and an advisor. They assessed the situation and supported his head and neck. They crouched by his side and promised him that he would be OK. And even after the professionals had taken over his care, his friends gathered up his belongings, gave his wallet and phone to adults, and took the remainder back to Henry’s room. They spent study hall worrying about him, and as Henry made his way back to school and recovered from his concussion, they laughed off their worry by retelling the story and beginning its embellishment.

I do not worry that this other side of the story will not be told. It does not need to be because it is the very fabric of our expectations for students at Westminster; it is this type of care and kindness that builds our community and gives us the strength to endure challenges, explore new interests, hone skills and define ourselves. It is the story that does not get told — quite literally the story of “I’ve got your back (and neck)” — that creates the narrative of what it means to be a Westminster student.

I have been seeing that story play itself out this fall as I settle in on Williams Hill, and it is a story that never gets old or tired. I see it in the Sixth Formers as they shoulder the mantle of their responsibilities and set the example for the underformers. Even as they juggle challenging classes, write college applications and squeeze in visits, they still focus on caring about the community. They are on the sidelines cheering on other athletes, they are tutoring fellow Martlets in the library, they are volunteering at the elementary school or a lacrosse clinic or Loaves and Fishes, and they are by the side of the crying, homesick student in the dormitory.

It matters that we take care of one another. That lesson is, and should be, at the heart of everything we do at Westminster. It is not a lesson easily learned, especially by adolescents whose natural inclination is to turn inward and who struggle just to take care of themselves, and it is a lesson that is constantly undermined by the deluge of information and pictures in the media and on social media. Our job as educators is to reinforce that lesson implicitly and explicitly in the classroom, on the field and stage, and in the dormitory and the dining hall. Every. Single. Day. And we do. The staff and faculty at Westminster are committed to creating community, nurturing students, and building kindness and empathy. Even with my limited lens and time on the Hill, I see that commitment. Every. Single. Day.

It should not surprise me, and it does not, that Henry’s friends acted with such swiftness and care. They are Martlets, after all, and they have had, even in their short time here, some very good teachers.

With Grit & Grace,

Elaine White Head of School