Head of School’s Notebook: Senior Small Things

February 4, 2022

At a boys basketball game last night, a cheer started late in the first half. “We want John! We want John!” Cate was winning by a large margin at the time, but John had not yet been on the floor. A lover of sport and a senior, John Endres is the guy we all want on our teams, even if his stats aren’t likely to make headlines.

John heard the cheer. Everybody heard the cheer.

John smiled and waved to the crowd and then his coach leaned over to talk with him. Before too long, the crowd got their wish. John jogged onto the court trying to take no notice of the warm response of his peers. When he launched his only shot of the game – a three pointer that didn’t quite fall – the students were on their feet.

On the previous night, our girls basketball team played their final home game of the season.  The Cate team has one senior this year, Imani, whose skill on the court is remarkable; only matched, in fact, by her grace off it. Around the gym the students held up signs and other tributes to Imani throughout the game. When the game ended, students rushed the court and surrounded the team. We didn’t win, but it didn’t matter. The kids were there to celebrate contribution and camaraderie, not the score.

The same pattern played out in the pool on Wednesday. The loudest cheers were for Alekha, a senior water polo player who has been with the program since she arrived at Cate. “Alekha! Alekha! Alekha!” boomed the fans. When she scored a goal to seal the victory in the fourth quarter, the crowd was euphoric. Alekha smiled and waved.

That same afternoon all the seniors on the girls varsity soccer team wore pink sashes and tiaras given to them by their teammates. Covered in dirt and sweat after 90 minutes of hard work, our athletes looked a bit strange in their gifted adornments, but that was probably the idea. We celebrate each other in so many different ways.

That is what this week was about, what each of these moments was about: celebration – acknowledging effort and contribution, commitment and care. Such things are not exclusive to athletics, but rarely do we get a chance in most other settings to join together and collectively (and loudly!) cheer on another. We should do it more often, candidly, in every area of endeavor.  So much of our confidence in ourselves is propelled by the belief that others have in us. And what better way to know of that support than to hear it shared aloud.

We can’t put spectators in classrooms to cheer on particularly powerful problem solving, but we can be mindful that such things – actually so many things – are worthy of the very applause and support we saw all week on sidelines or on the pool deck.

And we can appreciate the eagerness of our students to affirm their peers, to give voice to their belief in each other, and to find their own joy in that very expression. As Ben Meyer, our senior Servons Speaker this week noted in his talk, “It is the small things we do every day that make the biggest difference.” Sometimes those seemingly small things, like an energetic cheer, aren’t so small at all. Sometimes, they make all the difference.