Susanna Waters, Head of School Welcome | Fay School, Southborough, MA

November 11, 2024: JBSA, AISNE, TABS, 1911

Ms. Waters and I sure have been busy! First, we attended the Junior Boarding Schools Association retreat at the Loomis Chaffee School in Windsor, CT in early October. I had never been to “the island” before, and I enjoyed a tour of the campus with some terrific student guides. I then got to attend the Association of Independent Schools of New England Diversity, Equity & Inclusion conference with over a dozen Fay faculty and staff members. I found the closing keynote by Jason Craige Harris on preparing for the election to be particularly interesting. Did you know that in Primary School, the students voted on a book for me to read to gain more insight into Fay values and community life? I’m so excited to read Perfectly Imperfectly Mira! Next, I traveled down to Washington, D.C. to attend The Association of Boarding Schools conference–you can see me here with Ms. Anthony, the Director of Equity and Inclusion. My favorite session was on “Turning Climate Despair into Climate Repair,” because I know we’re doing a lot of planning about environmental sustainability at Fay right now. That’s really important to me because I am a moose and live outdoors in nature. Finally, I journeyed to Princeton, New Jersey, for the The 1911 Group conference to learn from interesting speakers with other heads of school. I got a tour of the beautiful Princeton University campus, and discovered that their mascot is a tiger–yikes!

September 27, 2024: Southborough, MA

Usually I only write when I venture out from my home at 48 Main Street, but today was too special a day not to include in my journal. Today, after a dozen years of being the unofficial mascot of Fay School, Ms. Waters had three special ceremonies at division morning meetings to formally acknowledge me as the official mascot of Fay! This makes so much sense with this year’s school theme, “Seeing and Being Seen.” I do really feel seen by this community that I love so much!

I got dressed up in a special Fay School tshirt and official sash, and I was able to run out on stage and show everyone my dance moves. All the students, faculty and staff were cheering for me, and they even did moose antlers with their hands on their heads to show their support! Then, tonight, I was invited to attend Friday Night Lights to cheer on the varsity field hockey and boys’ soccer teams. I ran out with each team, and then walked around the sidelines where I took lots of pictures with students and families. I will remember this day for the rest of my life.

September 19, 2024: Tuftonboro, NH

I rode shotgun with Ms. Waters in the dark up to New Hampshire on Wednesday night so that we could wake up and greet the morning with the sixth graders first thing at Merrowvista on Thursday morning. It was well worth the adventure of getting there to be greeted by so many eager 11 year-olds who were up and at ‘em, ready to go on waterfall hikes, do yoga, and play basketball all before breakfast was even served!

I felt right at home in the woods and was ready to climb a mountain, but then I learned that in fact the climbing I would be doing involved a harness, rope, and going straight up in the air! Fortunately, a really nice student named Renee tucked me into her pocket so that I could enjoy the experience from a safe spot as she tackled an obstacle course far above the ground. If you look closely at the picture, you can see my head poking out.

Some of the other things I enjoyed about Merrowvista included singing camp songs at lunchtime and taking part in the meal clean-up. It’s nice to do dishes with your friends if you have some good tunes blaring and everyone is helping out! I also liked hearing the students shout out their peers for embodying FSQs (Fay School Qualities). It gave me the warm and (extra) fuzzies!

August 5-10, 2024: Hong Kong and Seoul

As a moose, albeit a small one, I wasn’t sure how I felt about airplanes - especially a fifteen-hour flight over the Arctic Circle. But I thought to myself, if students at Fay can do this, so can I! You can if you will.

Thank goodness I seized the opportunity because wow, was I in for an incredible adventure to Hong Kong and Seoul! In Hong Kong, I climbed to the top of Victoria Peak to take in a magnificent vista, enjoyed a little shopping in a local marketplace, and visited a beautiful beach. I tried new foods and learned that I really like abalone! Most of all, I felt lucky to attend a reception where I met a great group of Fay parents and alumni.

I flew on to Seoul, where I visited the Gyeongbokgung Palace amidst visitors wearing hanbok to observe the changing of the guard. Mr. Sumner, Ms. Waters and I escaped the heat with ice cream at Baekmidang before heading to the Leeum Samsung Museum of Modern Art. I tried Korean barbecue, which I loved! I also drank lots of tea. My favorite part was feeling like a special guest at the Korean Parents’ Association dinner honoring all of the students graduating from Fay, and also entering into Fay as new students. It was a highly memorable day that provided a window into the amazing history and culture of a beautiful nation.

I am really looking forward to my next international adventures to Mexico City, Taipei, Shanghai and Beijing coming up in November and December!

July 24-25, 2024: Ashland, Massachusetts

This week I was on the move and landed at the Warren Center in Ashland, MA. Ms. Waters told me she and the other members of the senior leadership team at Fay were having a “retreat.” She put me at the front of the room under the projection screen where I could listen to them work on team building and planning for the year ahead. Personally, I was a big fan of the snacks. Did you know that mooses are herbivores? Ms. Waters had trail mix, but I stuffed my furry face with some delicious bark!

July 13-19, 2024: Atlanta, Georgia

Ms. Waters and I attended the NAIS Institute for New Heads in Atlanta, Georgia this week. There were 70 first-time heads of school in attendance, from all over the country, including Hawaii! Mooses are good swimmers but Hawaii is too far out to sea for me to visit. We participated in sessions focused on strategic thinking, governance, finance, diversity, equity, inclusion, and more. That’s a bunch of fancy words that mean Ms. Waters was learning how to take good care of Fay. I was very excited to meet Mr. Scoville, who is the head of school of The Fay School in Houston, Texas. Their mascot is Ernie the Alligator. Mr. Scoville and Ms. Waters said that maybe primary and lower school students can help us write letters to each other this year. I would really like that!

Mortimer on the Move!