March 2008

As we begin the new spring and last activity term of the 2007-2008 school, we also enter the annual time of transitions as once distant horizons become more defined, more certain and inevitable. Seniors have been receiving college news since December, and now, for those who have been waiting, are set to get the final decisions from colleges – and then, with some or all acceptances in hand, the decision-making shifts to the Class of 2008. Juniors are well into that process for next year and focused on the necessary testing, college visits and so forth, while the underclassmen are much more involved with choosing a spring sport or activity (if they have not already done so), reviewing their March exams for clues on how best to prepare for the significant year-end exam period, and thinking about roommates and summer plans. The end of the year, once so far away, seems suddenly to rush at the community with each passing day of spring.

Spring has wonderful pleasures. Outdoors again, the afternoons are filled with activity, which often stretch through dinner right up to study hall, and eventually the faculty and I give in to the sunshine and rising temperatures of the season and sweaters give way to now-permissible Bermuda shorts. Still, April weather is unpredictable. There is still much work to do, so we try to hold back time and the season, letting seasonal pleasures into the community in steady measures, not a torrent of freedoms. At first seniors bemoan the spring continuation of four years of structure, but, in the end, most cling with nostalgic feelings to it: the last formal dinner, the last Chapel, school meeting, and so on.

The Class of 2008 has much to be pleased about, both as a group and as individuals. The final college list is not set, of course, but early decisions went quite well. And as we left for spring break, we learned that four-year senior Todd Lewis was offered the Morehead-Cain Scholarship from the University of North Carolina, the oldest and generally considered the most prestigious of all merit scholarships. Blair has only been part of the national competition for the scholarship for six years, yet we have had two seniors offered it during that time. Meanwhile, our own admissions continues to set records, as we have experienced another double-digit percentage rise in applications, breaking our previous totals for applications numbers. We now await the decisions of those accepted to Blair, and we anticipate a very strong and vibrant group of new students next year.

Finally, this is the spring of our big construction push, the time bridging the completion of outdoor construction of new playing fields, tennis courts, a new track, a new golf hole, and a campus loop road with the interior spaces that are scheduled to be completed early next school year. These spaces include athletic/recreational space, along with a new campus center combining many aspects of our community from the school store to the college counseling offices to a new canteen which allow students to dine, socialize and study in a college-like environment (though with boarding school oversight). In sum, this latest building initiative will complement our still-new library, performing arts center, dining hall and dormitory expansion—all completed within the last 10 years. While there is no question but that this exciting work will create more noise and disturbance than usual this spring, Blair is committed to meeting the requirements of our outstanding students and faculty, and the new construction is all about doing so.

T. Chandler Hardwick
Headmaster

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