Then and Now
By Eric Widmer '57, H'54,'06
As I look back on the events that led to my enrollment at Deerfield as a thirteen-year-old freshman in 1953, it is hard not to imagine that somehow the hand of destiny was busy tweaking what would otherwise be explained as entirely fortuitous. All I know is that in the spring of that year my mother was concerned about my prospective high schooling, and we happened to be in our old Studebaker, driving along Route 5 & 10 in western Massachusetts, when she saw the sign for Old Deerfield ... (read more)

Editorial: Moving Forward With the DPN
By the DPN Executive Steering Committee
Newton's First Law: "a body at rest will remain at rest... and a body in motion ... will remain in motion ..."
kinetic energy, n., the energy of a body or a system with respect to the motion of the body or of the particles in the system.

So too, with organizations.

The Deerfield Parents Network (DPN) was founded just under a year ago to create better linkages, communication, and partnering between the parents of Deerfield students and the school. (read more)

Deerfield, Character and the "10,000-hour Rule": Notes from Convocation
By Margarita Curtis H'57
You may have heard about the "10,000-hour rule?" It is simply the most recent interpretation of our grandmother's maxim, "practice makes perfect" put forth by Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers. Gladwell states that "the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play." It seems that the magical number to reach excellence in any endeavor hovers around 10,000 hours, but I am less interested in the specific number than ... (read more)

A Conversation with Peter Warsaw, Academic Dean
Interview by Julie Alexandre P'06,'08,'11,'13
Peter Warsaw has been the Academic Dean at Deerfield since the summer of 2007. He spent twenty-four years at Phillips Andover Academy where he was an instructor in Music and Chair of the Music Department. At Deerfield, he directs the Chamber Music Program and the Orchestra. Peter has a BA from Harvard University and a Masters in Music (MM) and a Doctorate in Musical Arts (DMA) from Eastman School of Music. He and his wife, Ada Fan, are the parents of two grown daughters. (read more)

Parent to Parent
Reported by Suzanne Huebsch P'11,'12; Darien, CT, in collaboration with Jim Alexandre P'06,'08,'11,'13; Haverford, PA, and Penny Ashford P'14; Wilmington, DE
With a child "away" for school, parents do not have the same opportunities to interact with each other that they might have with a child attending school in their home community. With that in mind, the DPN hosted a new event this past parents weekend: a Parent-to-Parent Panel. The event was well attended and participation in the Q&A lively. For those of you who could not attend, here is what happened: (read more)

"Ain't Misbehavin'": Deerfield's December Semi-Formal
By Julie Alexandre P'06,'08,'11,'13; Haverford, PA
On Saturday evening, December 3, a twelve-piece band will fill the Deerfield Dining Hall with the sounds of the 1920s. Under the lights from the Christmas tree, students will dance to jazz and Broadway classics like "Honeysuckle Rose," and "The Man I Love." They will hear lyrics that may have shaped their great grandparents’ romances, such as the opening lines from “Stardust”: (read more)

Primer for Parents: Ten Things We Wish We Knew After Drop-Off Day
By Kate Upson P'09, '13; New Canaan, CT
1. Home for the Holidays--Exhausted, Hungry, and "Independent." Expect one tired teenager with a ton of laundry to return for Thanksgiving break. Do not take it personally if your kid arrives home, greets the family pet, eats, takes a long nap, has dinner, and then settles in for a fourteen-hour night's sleep. He or she may alternately surprise you with an expanded palate ... (read more)

Homesick in the Valley
By Ralph Earle '75 P'10,'12; Concord, MA
"Why am I here?" sobbed our daughter over the phone. It was seven a.m. and we were three weeks into our first child's tenure at Deerfield. The same phone call had taken place every day since we had dropped her off. She was homesick, alone, and we were on the brink of calling it a day and going to pick her up ... (read more)

Winter Term Rx for Your Student's Health and Happiness
By the DPN Executive Steering Committee
The dreaded call is almost inevitable--the sad, small voice on the other end of the phone is overwhelmed with a killer cold, an avalanche of schoolwork, a new practice schedule, friend issues, long dark days and cold nights, a frozen windowsill, and a mean case of the mid-winter blues. This was not in the parenting playbook. So we turned to Kristin Loftus, Deerfield's health issues teacher, peer counselor supervisor, and a faculty resident, for expertise on how parents can best help ... (read more)

A Fundraising Overview from the Annual Fund Co-Chairs
By Marc Johnson '74, P'08,'11,'14; Greenwich, CT, and Scott Vallar '78, P'12,'14; Bedford, NY
Have you heard of “the gap?” The gap is the difference between the real cost of a Deerfield education, which is approximately $78,000 per student per year, and the actual tuition charged for each student, which is approximately $45,000. Deerfield Academy’s endowment provides a significant portion of the difference between this cost and tuition, but not all of it ... (read more)

Asbestos Abatement Notification
This news item is intended to fulfill an annual regulatory obligation. In compliance with state and federal regulations regarding the presence of asbestos on school properties, Deerfield Academy completed an asbestos survey of the campus in 1989 and, as required, re-inspects identified locations every three years. In addition, we perform a surveillance of each site on a semiannual basis ... (read more)

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Linda Whitton, Board of Trustees Liaison
Ralph Earle, Community Chair
Mike Solberg, First Link Chair
Katy Flato, Communications Chair
Phyllis Powers Philie and Kelly Pasciucco, Co-Chairs, Parents Weekend Service Projects
Jim Alexandre and Penny Ashford, Co-Chairs, Parents Weekend Parent Panels
Marc Johnson and Suzanne Hooper Huebsch, Co-Chairs, Parent Fundraising Committee Liaisons
Julie Johnson, Chair, Peer School Parent Programs Survey

STAFF LIAISONS & ADVISORS TO DPN
Margarita Curtis, Head of School
J. Tobin Emerson, Dean of Students
Patricia Gimbel, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid
David Thiel, Director of Communications
Danae DiNicola, Electronic Communications Specialist, Communications
Bill Barry, Director of Parent Programs, Alumni Office
Mimi Morsman, Director of Alumni Relations, Alumni Office
Denise Dwelley, Groundsperson, Physical Plant