New (again!)

“But—I’m not new!”

A returning student recently offered that quip at our student orientation. It’s a sentiment that might need some context. Each year, the class size at Dana Hall doubles after eighth grade. As the students begin in the Upper School, we invite our ninth graders rising from the Middle School to take part in student orientation activities alongside classmates who are completely new to the school. In our view, this practice intentionally welcomes our ninth-grade Upper School students together—whether a student attended the Dana Hall Middle School or came from a different one—and provides opportunities for peer learning, common experiences, and a shared understanding of expectations and routines in the year ahead.

One of the best parts about working in schools is that everyone is “new” each year. Even those students returning to Dana Hall bring fresh perspectives and personal growth to the community. The same is true for faculty and staff who engage in professional development opportunities and experience moments of personal learning and reflection during the summer months. At Dana Hall, offering adolescents and adults the license to refine or reinvent themselves each year in order to become “new” is a powerful gift.

Being new can be exciting, exhilarating even. For others, it may feel disorienting or daunting. In either case, there is excitement in being who you are, but also in what you might become. 

For students and adults alike, it is important to emphasize that being new isn’t really about leaving the past, but embarking on a fresh beginning that is abundant with opportunity.

Of course, some faculty and staff are truly “new” and have different needs for support and guidance as they enter our dynamic school environment. Each year, we invite these adults to campus for an orientation program designed specifically for that cohort; we welcome them to the school and provide resources that will help them adapt to the teaching and learning setting at Dana Hall. 

Many new adults have the same questions as our new students: Where do I sit in the Dining Hall? Is she in my department? What should I wear? The questions range from the practical (Which room is it?) to the philosophical (What does academic success look like at Dana Hall?). These inaugural experiences create connections between student and teacher that are formative and enduring. Again, this is intentional—we are a refreshed community embarking on a “new” journey together.

So, we embrace the new! We invite and welcome this newness into our collective experience and know that through it, we adapt, we explore, and we thrive.