Thursday, November 17, 2011

Giving Thanks



As we approach Thanksgiving week and a nice break in the rhythm of the fall semester, I am including in this blog a poem by a 19th century American writer, Ella Wheeler Wilcox.  Not often anthologized and seen as a sentimental poet, she occupies the same kind of place as Edna St. Vincent Millay or John Greenleaf Whittier.  Her most famous lines were: “Laugh and the world laughs with you;/ Weep and you weep alone.”  In the following simple and heartfelt poem she shares some thoughts about Thanksgiving that I think are worth remembering at this time of the year.  She asks us to be thankful not just for blessings but for hardships: “But he who has the faith and strength/ To thank his God for sorrow/ Has found a joy without alloy/ To gladden every morrow.”  As educators, we know these hardships are critical parts of the process of growth for the children we serve.  I hope that all of us can focus, too, on those blessings to which we do not often pay attention: “For blessings common in our sight/ We rarely offer praises.”  Hope the Thanksgiving holiday brings you and your family some “daily store/ Of pleasures sweet and tender.” 

“Thanksgiving” by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

We walk on starry fields of white
And do not see the daisies;
For blessings common in our sight
We rarely offer praises.
We sigh for some supreme delight
To crown our lives with splendor,
And quite ignore our daily store
Of pleasures sweet and tender.

Our cares are bold and push their way
Upon our thought and feeling.
They hang about us all the day,
Our time from pleasure stealing.
So unobtrusive many a joy
We pass by and forget it,
But worry strives to own our lives
And conquers if we let it.

There's not a day in all the year
But holds some hidden pleasure,
And looking back, joys oft appear
To brim the past's wide measure.

But blessings are like friends, I hold,
Who love and labor near us.
We ought to raise our notes of praise
While living hearts can hear us.

Full many a blessing wears the guise
Of worry or of trouble.
Farseeing is the soul and wise
Who knows the mask is double.
But he who has the faith and strength
To thank his God for sorrow
Has found a joy without alloy
To gladden every morrow.

We ought to make the moments notes
Of happy, glad Thanksgiving;
The hours and days a silent phrase
Of music we are living.
And so the theme should swell and grow
As weeks and months pass o'er us,
And rise sublime at this good time,
A grand Thanksgiving chorus.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Please don’t forget to remind your friends and neighbors about the BGA Open House on Sunday, December 4th, from 3:00-5:00 p.m.  We strongly encourage any current parents thinking about the transition to the next division or prospective families whom you think are a good fit for this community to visit with us during this exciting event.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Boys and Girls of Fall

     
              By the time this blog is posted, this weekend will have been a critical one for the Wildcats in the post-season.  As I write this I, like many of you, am trying to figure out the suspension of the laws of physics (or at least Chattanooga traffic) that will allow me to be in two places at once—Baylor for the semi-finals in soccer against St. Agnes and on campus for the 7:00 start of the McCallie match-up.  The soccer girls face a tough opponent in St. Agnes, which knocked our volleyball girls out of the quarter-finals and has lost only one soccer game this season.  The game against Briarcrest, with six goals in the second half and some great saves by Ansley Tomlin, demonstrated both our offensive and defensive strength, and I hope that the girls build on that momentum.  Coach Morrissey’s girls are always well prepared, and this year they benefit from one of the strongest groups of seniors in many years.  Several girls have already committed to Division-I programs—Kinsey Sessions at Samford University, Sydney Eddy at Ole Miss, and Cara Ledman at UK.  Mary Hannah Winstead (who is expecting to play basketball at the next level), Megan Kisling, and Kaitlin Davis round out the group of very talented seniors.  I hope that we will have a good turn-out to support them.  If the girls made it past St. Agnes, they will face the winner of the Baylor-Father Ryan game on Saturday evening.
            The football game against McCallie will also be hard-fought.  A large boys’ school with a long and storied athletic tradition, McCallie will bring a great running game and some talented athletes.  Similarly blessed with strong senior leadership, the boys (7-3) have already amassed a great record under Coach Batten and his staff.  Like the soccer squad, several football players already have offers; others have received interest as post-secondary players: C.J. Beathard at Ole Miss, Blake Thomson at Harvard, and Jordan Smith at the Air Force Academy (though he is looking at other options as well).  Jimmy Redovian, another outstanding senior, will be playing baseball at Wake Forrest, and Matt Martin, in the process of returning after a long injury, has had contact with several schools.  There are many other senior players who deserve special recognition for a great season.  Thanks to all our seniors for their leadership: Michael Smith, Reed Loeffel, Sam Wade, John Adgent, Bryce Poisson, Hayden Hickernell, Ty Ragsdale, Connor Mitchell, Corey Amos, Cole Aycock, Austin Davidson, and Chris Falgout.  A win would take the boys to Memphis to face perennially strong Memphis University School. 
           Finally, cross country will be in the state championships Saturday at the Steeplechase at Percy Warner Park.  The squad of just over twenty has been augmented by the addition of a middle schooler—Matthew Minor--who moved up after the end of his season (Matthew won the HVAC championships).  I wish all of our Wildcat athletes the best in the post-season and am excited about the contests still to come. 
I would be remiss if I did not mention another major event that I hope you will place on your calendars.  We are returning to a traditional open house model and are excited about introducing BGA to prospective families on Sunday, December 4th, at 3:00 P.M.  Please encourage your friends and neighbors to attend this fun event.  In addition to prospective families, we welcome our own families to join us.