Friday, January 30, 2009

Facebook Williams and Become A Fan!

Social networking has become one of the most wildly popular ways for adults, young and old, to communicate via the Internet. This week, our Development Office launched a Williams Facebook page to enhance communication with alumni and become part of the online conversation among alumni, current parents and students. This is one part of our current strategic plan to increase alumni connectivity with the school. 

Recently, members of the Class of 2008 hosted a gathering at the home of Molly Patterson. Class agents Nat Duncan and Molly Patterson were able to upload photos of the event and share them on Williams' Facebook page. Within a day, our “fan” base tripled in size! It is our hope that all of our fans (i.e. Williams community) will continue to stay in close contact with each other and in turn, with all of us here at Williams.

While institutional pages are a relatively new phenomenon on Facebook, this is where so many community members "live" online that is already is a very effective venue for staying in close contact with our alumni. This will be invaluable in our continued efforts to locate and reconnect with graduates.

We will continue to do everything we can to celebrate our successes in keeping our alumni, parents, and parents of alumni connected to each other and the school. The glimpse of the Williams community on Facebook offers a great sense of our community.

I invite you to become a Facebook fan of Williams today. Log on to Facebook and key in The Williams School.

Stay tuned. Enjoy your weekend!

Friday, January 23, 2009

“Inauguration Day”

Tuesday was an exciting day locally, nationally, and even internationally. Here at Williams, we began our day with an impressive assembly honoring the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wholly presented by our Multicultural Club. As our community entered the PAC, Blair Smith ’09 and Danielle Briggs ’10 sang a beautiful rendition of “Amazing Grace” with musical accompniment from Mr. Peter Emanuel and Taylor Bickford ’10. Joining the Multicultural Club were members of Mr. Emanuel’s Pursuit of Freedom Class. Together the group read poems and presented a slide show that honored not only Dr. King but other historic and trailblazing African-American figures including Langston Hughes, James Derham, Madame CJ Walker, Michael Jordan, and appropriately, Barack Obama.

During the middle of the day, students, faculty and staff came together as a community to view the historic inauguration of our 44^th president.  During Lower Lunch, we used our new Student Center as a meeting place to watch a live feed of the swearing-in ceremony and parade. In the Williams Room, another large group gathered to watch the events on television. [It was interesting to note that, nationally; many more people viewed the Inauguration on the Internet versus television – just another indication of this new technological trend which we mirrored here as well.] What impressed me the most was the utter silence that filled both rooms during the swearing-in and speech. Normally, silence in a crowded Student Center during lunch is virtually impossible, but during this ceremony respect for everyone and the historic moment “ruled the day.” It was also noteworthy to see veteran faculty members share their thoughts on President Obama’s speech with middle school students as they were finishing their dessert! 

In keeping with our mission to foster all of our students for a lifetime of learning, Tuesday’s inauguration was a moment that provided the momentous occasion and fodder for our students to understand the ideals of leadership, democracy and citizenship. I look forward to the many ways our students and faculty will evaluate this day in history.

Stay tuned.  Enjoy your weekend!

Friday, January 16, 2009

“Café Williams”

When we began discussing the many uses of the Weissman Student Center, I envisioned using our beautiful new dining facility as a space for students, faculty and staff to gather at various times during the day. During the school day, the Student Center serves as quiet Study Hall for students in grades seven through ten and it is primarily used for what many feel is their favorite and most sacred times—snack and lunch! 

As the year has progressed, more students are gathering after school in the Student Center during the end of ninth period while waiting for the early bus or the commencement of sports practices and rehearsals. Every Wednesday, this period of time is extended due to a shorter schedule allowing for our athletic travel commitments. 

Beginning in November, students going on the trip to France, led by Madame Davis, decided to host a fundraising bake sale to help defray the trip costs. Using the Student Center as the venue for students to gather, eat, and socialize every Wednesday made perfect sense! Café Williams was born, the name stuck, and a new tradition was born.

Every Wednesday, various clubs sign up to host “Café Williams” by providing a bake sale to the entire school community. Delicious homemade bakery items are for sale and music is often played for ambiance. Students now gather to unwind, socialize, and support various clubs and classes. Spanish class students going on the trip to Puerto Rico, and Latin class students going to Washington, DC have hosted our most recent Cafés.

Parents are most welcome to come and join us at Café Williams every Wednesday at 2:30!

Stay tuned, stay warm, and enjoy your weekend!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Alumni Gathering at Williams

For the past few years, the Development Office has used the longer college vacation to encourage recent graduates who are back home to return formally to campus to see other members of their classes and reconnect with their teachers, coaches and advisors. [You should know that members of the most recent classes start returning in mid-October during their schools’ Fall Breaks to roam the halls and come in for their free lunch. Chickwich Day tends to be the most popular for our young alumni!]

On Tuesday afternoon, over thirty graduates mostly from the classes of 2004-2008 came back to the Williams Room to reconnect with old friends and former teachers.  It was fun to watch them ogle over the new Student Center and check out the White Board for all the various service and athletic events which were currently happening. 

The wonderful spirit that our young alumni bring back to Williams and the strong bonds they created with fellow classmates, teachers and coaches, always strikes me.  Clearly, the sense of community never leaves when our graduates depart in June and head off to college and beyond. Our alumni repeatedly comment on the relative ease of transition, both academically and socially, that they have during their first year of college. Moreover, our students comment that they quickly become actively involved in service organizations, school publications, the arts and athletics at their institutions of higher learning. I feel that we have fulfilled our mission (to prepare our students for college, a lifetime of learning, and active participation in a changing society) when they report this to me.

I would like to note that we did have “not-so recent” alumni also make an appearance at this event. Carol Plimpton, class of ’67, happened to be in town from Toledo, Ohio visiting with classmate Barbara Olds, ’67, who lives in the area and wanted to come back and see Williams. It was great to see the students interact with Barbara and Carol and share a common adoration for their alma mater. I charged everyone to keep coming back, staying in touch, and continuing their support for all things Williams.

If any alumni are reading this blog, remember to mark your calendars for Thursday, February 5 for our alumni reception in Boston at the Union Oyster Bar!  Hope to see a full restaurant that evening!

Stay tuned.  Enjoy your weekend!

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