As I finish my second year here at Thacher, I can not believe how fast time has flown by! It feels as if just yesterday I was a Freshmen stepping onto the Thacher campus and meeting all the teachers and upperclassman. Looking back on my two years at Thacher, I realize that I could not […]
Second Visits!
It is a spectacular Sunday in Ojai, very sunny and blue skies. Today our second crop of second-visitors arrive to spend the night and attend classes tomorrow. I still remember my second visit. I stayed with two sophomore girls in the Hill dorm. I think the second visit is what convinces many people to finally […]
March 31 Madness
I will not forget April 1, 2010- my freshman year. The dining hall was completely revamped with tables on roofs and hay in place of chairs. As I attended each class, I had no idea what would be behind the door, but I was full of excitement, eager to know how each classroom had been […]
Acts Outrageous
Thacher faculty members take weeklong turns serving as the teacher on active duty (TOAD), a role that includes making some remarks at the Monday morning Assembly. This week was my week, so I thought I’d also share my remarks here: Today is the last day of Women’s History Month. Last Wednesday was Gloria Steinem’s 80th birthday. I […]
Why Thacher?
A typical Thacher student’s spring break is composed of sleep, catching up with old friends and missing Thacher. This break, I found that in completing step 2 (meeting with old friends), I was constantly asked the following: “How is Thacher different from other high schools? What is Thacher about? Are you still happy with your […]
Spring Practice
Spring sports are far and away the most exciting and fun sports of all of the seasons. Granted, I play lacrosse, which takes place in the spring, but many other students voice their liking for spring sports. When the boys lacrosse team has practice on the Upper Field, practice is immediately made far more enjoyable. […]
It’s amazing what you can accomplish with 6 hands and a couple of hours
Before…
What a difference a coat of paint makes! Casey, Auden, and I headed down this bright and sunny Saturday morning to Ojai’s Community Assistance Program office (CAP is a division of HELP of Ojai). Our mission: paint their kitchen/storage room as part of their plan to convert the space and give it more professional look and feel. We arrived at around 9:00, got a tour of the facility and learned about some of the wonderful programs that office runs to support low-income and homeless residents of Ojai. The tour ended in the kitchen/storage room we were going to paint; once there, we set to work. Our first task was to prep the room, which entailed moving shelves, laying out tarps, and prepping the walls. (Who knew Auden could spackle like nobody’s business?) Soon, we tackled the walls and roof (Casey is a mad-woman with a paint roller!), and soon enough we transformed the mis-matched walls and white spackle spots into a far more inviting space. Our conversation was lively and spirits were high. The hours flew by, and by 12:30 we had pretty much wrapped up the process. We left, paint-speckled and a bit weary, but feeling very accomplished. A job well done! 
Decisions, decisions.
What arrested my attention at lunch today: Two freshman boys, both my English 1 students, tucking simultaneously into almost identical sandwiches, with gusto: white bread, what looked like American cheese, ham. Between the boys’ plates, the parenthesis of a single banana. I stopped at their table to tease them a little: “Really, guys? That’s lunch? […]
Full Circle
Yesterday, a student who I advised two years ago came in to tell me that she had decided to accept the prestigious Morehead-Cain Scholarship from the University of North Carolina – a program widely known as the “baby Rhodes.” While I wasn’t at Thacher when she applied here, I got to know her pretty quickly […]
Why I chose Thacher
People ask me all the time why I chose Thacher. The main reason I explain is because of the balance between academics, sports, community, teachers, not to mention the perfect weather! It’s hard to explain the reasons behind such an intangible feeling of why one loves a place, but when its fits, you just know. […]