SJA News——来自校长的信：Capstone Day美好感恩瞬间

Stage-Side Reflections of Gratitude on Capstone Day

Capstone Day美好感恩瞬间

It was about 4:45 on a Friday afternoon at the end of a long week, and I decided it was time to call it a day. As I walked home, I stopped by Fuller Hall; the lights were dimmed, and the stage lights were still on, so I went to the front of the hall and sat on the edge of the stage. About eight and a half hours earlier, 100 seniors had stood together in their spots in the front section of Fuller, representing the full range of interests, abilities, and backgrounds present in our student body. They had grasped the hands of those standing near them, raised them high and on the count of three, shouted, “Capstone!” as the rest of the auditorium erupted in applause. Bonnie Raitt was right when she called Fuller part living room, part church, but on this day, it was part team room, part dressing room, part arena, as these young people launched into one of the biggest days of their high school careers.

在结束了漫长的一周后，星期五下午4点45分左右，我决定结束今天的工作。当我走回家的时候，我在富勒大厅停了下来；灯光变暗了，舞台灯还亮着，所以我走到大厅前面，坐在舞台边上。大约八个半小时前，100名十二年级学生站在富勒大厅前面，充分展现出他们自己的兴趣、能力和背景。他们手牵手，举起来，数到三，喊道：“Capstone！”此时礼堂内爆发出热烈的掌声。邦妮·雷特称富勒为“一半客厅、一半教堂”是对的，但在这一天，这里是团队室、更衣室、竞技场，因为这些年轻人进入了他们高中生涯中最重要的一天。

Sitting on the edge of the stage and looking out at the now empty seats, I could see some of the remnants of the day: a spot where a water bottle had spilled, a piece of paper with evaluator notes on it, a wrapper from a throat lozenge, a tie left behind in celebration as the day ended. I thought back to what had happened on that stage, beginning with Konrad Tillman stepping out from behind the podium—as many of the 10 presenters in Fuller did—speaking with a lapel mic and using the whole stage. Sporting bright red sunglasses that matched his red pants that had a white stripe that matched his white shirt and jacket, he was a walking/talking embodiment of his topic: fashion as a statement of identity. The ensemble was completed by a pair of shoes that he had helped design.

坐在舞台边上，望着现在空空荡荡的座位，我可以看到一些当天遗留下来的东西：一个水瓶溅出污渍的地方，一张写着评委笔记的纸，一张喉片包装纸，一条在庆祝当天结束时落下的领带。我回想起在那个舞台上发生的事情，从康拉德·蒂尔曼从讲台后面走出来开始，和其他十位展示的同学一样，他们都戴着领夹麦克风在整个舞台上自由走动。他戴着一副鲜红色的太阳镜，配上他的红色裤子，裤子上有一条白色条纹，与他的白色衬衫和夹克衫相配，这些正好凸显了他的演讲主题：时尚是身份的一种表述。他还参与自己鞋子的设计，最后才完成了他那天的全套服装。

Konrad did more than talk about the psychology of fashion and its role in creating and expressing one’s identity; he educated us about the environmental and social justice aspects of the clothes we buy and wear, and he will continue this educational mission as he distributes posters around New York City later this year. He was not the only one who educated us on Friday:

康拉德不仅谈到了时尚心理学及其在创造和表达一个人身份方面的作用；他还教会我们购买和穿着的衣服在环境和社会公正方面的影响，他将在今年晚些时候在纽约市分发海报时继续这一宣传任务。他不是星期五唯一一个教育我们的人：

Emma Sestito taught us about Vermont’s impact on the Atlantic Ocean through the microplastics that travel through the Connecticut River watershed into Long Island Sound due to Vermonters improperly disposing of tires near and in our streams and rivers. She has designed an elementary-school learning plan to be used in local schools so that younger students are aware of the problem earlier in their education.

艾玛·塞斯蒂托向我们讲述了佛蒙特州对大西洋的影响，因为佛蒙特州人在我们的溪流和河流附近不恰当地处理轮胎，所以这些微型塑料通过康涅狄格河分水岭进入长岛海峡。她设计了一个小学学习计划，供当地学校使用，以便小学生在接受教育时更早地意识到这个问题。

Lane Freeto educated us on the effects of Vermont’s drinking age and of the reality that responsible behavior, not one’s age, is the key factor in reducing drunk driving.

莱恩·弗里托告诉我们了解佛蒙特州饮酒年龄和所需承担的责任，是减少酒后驾驶的关键因素，而不是一个人的年龄。

Alissa An taught us how various mindfulness techniques can help reduce stress and prevent burnout, and she even took us through a short activity that had audience members wanting more.

艾莉莎•安教会我们各种正念减压技巧如何帮助人们减轻压力和防止倦怠，她甚至带我们做了一个简短的活动，让听众想要了解更多。

Sophia Hendrick revealed the lack of women in career and technical education courses and in the trades in general, and she has set out to educate young women about the possible careers in the trades and STEM fields before they even get to high school.

索菲亚·亨德里克揭示了职业和技术教育课程以及一般行业中缺乏女性的问题，她已经着手在年轻女性上高中之前，对她们进行行业和STEM领域可能的职业教育。

And Ryan Egan ended the day by exposing the effects of solitary confinement and arguing that it could justifiably called a form of torture by current legal definitions.

瑞安·伊根在当天结束时揭露了单独监禁的影响，并辩称根据目前的法律定义，单独监禁可以被合理地称为一种酷刑。

Other presenters used their learning and research to make tangible changes to our community and communities around the world:

其他演讲者利用他们的学习和研究使得我们的社区和世界各地的社区做出了切实的改变：

Brette Stone is going to combat the decline in the bee population by working bee-friendly flowers for the gardens and banks around campus.

布雷特·斯通打算在校园周围的花园和河岸种植适合蜜蜂生长的花朵来对抗蜜蜂数量的下降。

Liz Dauscher has created a Go Fund Me site to raise money for Doctors Without Borders so they can more effectively provide treatment for rural and impoverished South Africans suffering from the co-occurring illnesses of tuberculosis and HIV infection.

利兹·多舍尔创建了一个Go Fund Me网站，为无国界医生筹集资金，以便他们能够更有效地为患有结核病和艾滋病毒感染的农村和贫困南非人提供治疗。

Sadie Chapman has created Peace Corners at the Good Shepherd Catholic School so that younger students have spaces in which they can safely learn how to self-regulate their emotions.

萨迪·查普曼在Good Shepherd Catholic School创建了和平角社团，让年轻学生有空间学习如何自我调节情绪。

And Patrick Fox has successfully taken the first steps to launch our first SJA Mountain Biking Team, which will compete in its first season next fall.

帕特里克·福克斯已经成功地迈出了第一步，成立了我们的第一支SJA山地自行车队，明年秋季他们将参加第一个赛季的比赛。

As I sat there remembering all of the presentations and the performances of these students in answering an array of questions from their audiences, I was filled with pride for them and their families. Not only had they survived a high-stakes, high-stress demonstration of their thinking, speaking, and research abilities, but they had shown brightly under those lights on Fuller Hall stage. As I told Olivia Robinson and Mike McQuillan that afternoon, when they interviewed me for film project they were doing for their Media class, one of the things I love most about Capstone Day is that so many students get to hear praise and applause for showing their abilities publicly. Athletes and performing artists get this kind of affirmation more often, and it is heartening to see students of all types appreciated for what they know and can do in a field about which they care deeply.

当我坐在那里回忆这些学生在回答听众的一系列问题时的陈述和表现时，我为他们和他们的家人感到骄傲。他们不仅经受住了高风险、高压力的思考、演讲和研究能力的展示，而且在富勒大厅的舞台上，他们在聚光灯下表现得非常出色。那天下午，当奥利维亚·罗宾逊和迈克·麦克奎兰采访我作为他们的媒体课项目时，我说我最喜欢Capstone Day的一件事是，很多学生都能够获得赞扬和掌声，因为他们公开展示了自己的能力。运动员和表演艺术家更经常得到这种肯定，看到各个领域的学生在他们深为感兴趣的领域受到赞赏，是令人振奋的一件事。

My pride went beyond the skill of these individual presenters however. I was also proud of their intellectual humility, admitting when they didn’t know something or hadn’t considered an approach to the problem. The same virtue was shown when they put their message ahead of their pride as they overcame technical difficulties or occasional stumbles and still made sure that the truth of their findings was first in the minds of their audiences. Their poise under fire, especially in the spontaneous Q and A portions, was impressive. I was equally impressed by their commitment to keep learning and working in their various fields of interest; they left their audiences inspired to learn more, and they modeled that intellectual virtue themselves as they pointed to future plans.

然而，我的自豪感超出了这些演讲者们表现出的能力。我也为他们在知识上的谦逊感到骄傲，因为他们坦承自己不了解的领域或没有考虑到解决问题的方法。在他们克服技术上的困难或偶尔的困境时，把他们要传达的信息放在尊严前面，并且仍然确保其研究结果的真实性在观众心目中也排在第一位，这时也体现了同样的美德。他们的泰然自若，尤其是在随机的问答环节，令人印象深刻。他们致力于在自己感兴趣的各个领域不断学习和工作，这给我留下了同样深刻的印象；他们的演讲激励听众想要了解更多，他们在谈到未来规划时，也塑造了这种智力美德。

As I got down from my stage-side seat and stood at the front of the hall, I was struck by a wave of other strong emotions. I thought of the joy of the friends and family members of these presenters who enthusiastically embraced them after a job well done. I thought of the pride and relief of the Capstone teachers who had coached these young people and who had spent the day balanced between nervousness, excitement, hopes, fears, and finally satisfaction and celebration of a job well done. I thought of the genuine engagement of the students in the audience who asked good questions and continued to talk about the topics even after the presentations were over.   I thought of the goodness and thoughtfulness of the 62 guests evaluators who gave up an evening and a whole day to provide a community perspective in our assessment of student learning and outcomes.

当我从舞台边的座位上下来，站在大厅的前面时，我被其他强烈的情感所打动。我想到了这些演讲者的朋友和家人的喜悦，他们在演讲者结束出色的表现后热情地拥抱了他们。我想到了为这些年轻人执教的顶尖教师的骄傲和宽慰，他们一整天都在紧张、兴奋、期望、恐惧以及最后的满足和庆祝中度过。我想到了听众中那些提出好问题并在演讲结束后继续谈论话题的学生的真正参与。我想到了62位客座评委的善良和体贴，他们贡献了一个晚上和一整天的时间，以一种社区视角为我们学生的学习和成果做评估。

Turning to walk out of Fuller, I thought how blessed I have been to experience days like this—and how blessed I am that I get to facilitate one more day like this in May. I was grateful that I had taken the time to sit on the stage and reflect on the power and goodness of Capstone Day while I still had one more chance to experience it up close. Yes, I was grateful for that and more.

当我转身走出富勒大厅时，我想，我是多么的幸运能够经历这样的日子，我是多么的幸运，我在五月份还有机会经历这样的一天。我很感激自己抽出时间坐在舞台上，在我还有机会近距离体验的时候，回顾Capstone Day所展现的力量和美好。是的，我很感激。

I encouraged students on Monday to end their semesters graciously, gracefully, and especially gratefully, saying thank you to the teachers and classmates who have helped them, taught them, and inspired them this semester, so in that same spirit—to the Capstone students, their families and friends, their teachers and schoolmates, the staff that handled all the logistics and set up, and the community members who volunteered their time to support academic excellence—I say thank you.

我在周一鼓励学生们优雅、感激地结束他们的学期，感谢这学期帮助他们、教导他们、激励他们的老师和同学们，所以怀揣着同样的感情，我也要感谢Capstone学生、他们的家人和朋友、他们的老师和同学们，负责所有后勤的工作人员，以及自愿花时间支持学术卓越的社区成员——我在这里向他们表示感谢。

Let’s do it one more time in May!

让我们一同期待五月份再一次的美好体验吧！

12月16日

数学考试，上午8点

12月17日

语言考试，上午8点

12月18日

科学考试，上午8点

假期音乐会，南教堂，下午7点

Junior Mate Koszo presented a plaque from his native Hungary to the school last week during Chapel. The plaque and its message brings blessing, peace and love to a home, or to a community. Mate and his family, who were present in Chapel, selected the plaque because the values represented by the plaque are very similar to those of SJA. Accepting the plaque is Beth Choiniere, Assistant Headmaster for Campus Life.

上星期，十一年级学生马特科索在教堂向学校赠送了一块来自匈牙利的牌匾。牌匾以及上面的信息是为家庭或社区带来祝福、和平和爱。马特和他的家人一起选的牌匾，因为牌匾所代表的价值观与SJA非常相似。接受这一牌匾的是贝丝·乔尼尔，负责校园生活的助理校长。

The Class of 2023 wrote letters to themselves, to be opened at their Senior Breakfast. In Chapel last week they made sure their letters were securely saved until then.

2023届毕业生给自己写信，准备在他们的十二年级早餐会上再打开。上周在礼堂，他们确保他们的信在那之前都被安全地保存了下来。

The Math Team advanced to the Elite Eight with a win before break. In their next match they tied the Deep Run School from Glen Allen, Virginia, but lost the tiebreaker.

数学团队在休息前以一场胜利晋级精英八强。在他们接下来的一场比赛中，他们与来自弗吉尼亚州格伦艾伦的Deep Run School打成平手，但却输掉了平分决胜比赛。

We had a fantastic Capstone Day on Friday. View photos from the day here.

我们度过了一个精彩的Capstone Day。

The basketball teams held a scrimmage on Saturday versus Hanover High School.

篮球队星期六与汉诺威高中进行了一场激烈的比赛。

On Saturday, SJA's basketball teams scrimmaged Hanover High School in their annual fund-raiser for the Norris-Cotton Cancer Center. All proceeds from ticket sales and concession sales went to the event. Additionally, the officials working the games donated their fees to the cause. Jordan Cady '15, representing the Sullycat Foundation, presented a check to Athletic Director David McGinn to support the event.

星期六，SJA的篮球队在为诺里斯棉花癌症中心举行的年度募捐活动中与汉诺威高中进行了一场比赛。门票销售和特许权销售的所有收入都捐给了这次活动。此外，工作人员把他们的费用捐给了这项事业。乔丹·卡迪15日代表苏利卡特基金会向体育总监大卫·麦金递交了一份支票，以支持这项活动。

Students working towards their Biomedical and Health Services Certificate have been working in the Fairbanks Museum's STEM lab. The certificate is one of SJA's Signature Programs.

为获得生物医学和健康服务证书而努力的学生一直在费尔班克斯博物馆的STEM实验室工作。该证书是SJA的特色项目之一。

Students displayed their tables in Streeter Hall last week.

上周学生们在斯特里特大厅布置桌子。