“We have learned that we cannot live alone, at peace; that our own well-being is dependent on the well-being of other nations, far away.  We have learned that we must live as men, not as ostriches, or as dogs in the manger.  We have learned to be citizens of the world, members of the human community.”                                                                           

Franklin D. Roosevelt

I thought I’d take an opportunity to write about The MacDuffie School and the international perspective.  While Roosevelt was comfortable with America’s place on the world stage many years ago, I humbly submit that the learning suggested above is an ongoing process.

There are many ways that we work to engender an international perspective in our students.  It all starts in the classroom.  One of the great benefits of being at a school with an international population is the opportunity to learn from other cultures.  Our courses can only benefit from having a multitude of perspectives.  We’re doing a lot of thinking about how to draw the perspectives of all of our students into our teaching practices.  Our students recognize that they can learn from each other.

Our curriculum is a rich resource for global perspectives.  Courses like Peace Studies, Current Affairs, and History encourage a global perspective by design.  There are some areas of

our curriculum that transcend language, such  as the arts and athletics.  I’ve enjoyed watching students from different cultures interact in these areas.  In the future, we will add curricular opportunities for our students, from World Languages to Economics, because our curricular choices help to shape the perspectives of our students.

In addition to the work that we are doing within our walls, we are making an ongoing commitment to international trips.  From last year’s trip to Spain, to this year’s planned trips to China and Germany (and maybe even Canada!), we are looking to provide meaningful international experiences to supplement our regular program.  We not only value the international experience, but we also value the fact that we can provide a shared experience with other students from MacDuffie.

This emphasis on the global perspective means that we are actively seeking day and boarding students who recognize the value of a geographically diverse school.  It is my hope that prospective families will recognize and value an international perspective as part of a MacDuffie education.

I also want to take a brief moment to address the storm and the resulting power outage that occurred this past weekend.  Western Massachusetts Electric characterized the storm as the worst autumn disaster that they have ever had to deal with.  The storm certainly showed us how dependent we are on technology for communication, when our internet connection, phone lines, and email server all went down due to power outages. 

Fabian Dominguez of Sage anticipated the power outage by pre-cooking pasta and having butane burners available so we could provide warm meals to the students on Sunday.  In addition, the staff worked with local authorities to keep our school high on the priority list for electrical service.  This storm affected nearly three million New England residents, and we were fortunate that MacDuffie was among the first to get power restored.  All of these efforts allowed MacDuffie to get back up and running quickly during this major storm.  While many local schools have called school off for three and four days, only one day of classes was lost to our students.

The boarding students showed remarkable resiliency during the 24 hours that the power was out.  This  is not the worst disaster that MacDuffie students have weathered, but it is not to be discounted, either.     I am proud of our students and staff for the way they handled themselves during this natural disaster, and I am proud of their efforts to return to school on November 1st.  Many of these people were still without power, but they showed remarkable “MacDuffie spirit” in working to get things back to normal despite the external circumstances.

On a lighter note
Lockers:  This may be the last time you hear from me regarding lockers!  In Friday’s morning meeting, I promised students that if they did not have lockers by Friday, November 4th, that I would receive a cream pie to the face.  Grades 6 through 11 now have access to lockers, and the Seniors (and their lounge) are nearly ready.

“Movember”:  Each November, men all over the world commit to growing a moustache for a full month to raise money and awareness about prostate cancer.  The MacDuffie School has a team called “The     Mo-MacDuffie School”.  To support the cause, go to [ https://www.movember.com/us/donate/your-details/team_id/284672 ]https://www.movember.com/us/donate/your-details/team_id/284672.  You’ll be seeing some frankly, frightening pictures of our team in the coming month.
Regards,