Lise's Lens: February 13, 2025
This week I am reading an essay by Tara Westover, cheering on our varsity basketball teams (the championship games are tonight!), and feeling really grateful to be at CSW. I also learned a fun little factoid about the school's former summer camp...
WHAT I’M READING
- I was very surprised to open my New Yorker online newsletter and to see on the top line an essay by Tara Westover. For those of you who need a refresher, or an introduction, Westover is the author of one of my favorite books ever, Educated. I read that book so fast the first time that I had to reread it soon after my first read. It was also an all-faculty read here at CSW. In any case, the essay title is “A Visit to Madam Bedi,” and the subtitle reads: I was estranged from my own mother, so a friend tried to lend me his. As New Yorker essays go, it is really not too long, and worth the read. It’s a reminder to me about how unresolved issues, no matter what our successes are, can still haunt you or nag at you, and Westover takes us through one of her journeys in exploring how best to work through those things.
WHAT I’M THINKING/TALKING ABOUT
- There is so much going in the world right now. It’s a lot to process, and while I feel it is important to stay informed and engaged, I would be lying if I said it didn’t feel good sometimes to tune out the noise and focus entirely on the day-to-day here at CSW. Work has been a balm for my soul lately, and I notice myself feeling grateful for my overbooked days and busy administrative work. Interestingly, this time constraint has helped me decipher what is most important right now — the care of people, first for those in my circle of influence and second, those in my circle of concern. This, of course, is a privilege, and I know I am very lucky to be able to work with young people (and amazing adults), who have beautiful minds, hopes, and dreams. CSW is also fortunate in that we have a very strong mission and values; we know who we are and what we stand for. And thanks to past and present philanthropy, we are not dependent upon government funding. This means we have the freedom and flexibility to continue carrying out our beautiful mission together. So let us continue to stay engaged in all that is happening around us, while also leaning into the solace of this community.
WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO
- By the time you are reading this, our Girls Varsity Basketball team will already be playing for their league title, at home in the Fit, with the Boys to follow shortly thereafter. I am all geared up for this evening and can’t wait to cheer on our kids.I think Coach Ted (Dorm Parent and Athletics Associate) said it best in his email to the community:…come for your bestie, your calculus classmate or student, your dorm parent, your advisee or just because you like a good excuse to yell and clap. With great appreciation for everything else you all have going on, please consider coming out and enjoying a great atmosphere! These opportunities don't come around all the time and we'd love to share this core memory with as many people as possible!These teams have worked their tails off all season to earn the right for our community to host these championships! Tomorrow is our chance to show them how proud we are of them for their achievements and, more importantly, for representing our school with class and dignity. This is not only a chance for them to make history, it's an opportunity for us as a community to come together and show how proud we are to be Gryphons!GO GRYPHONS!
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
You have probably seen that CSW is launching a new summer camp this year. But did you also know that we had a camp many years ago? And that Sandra Boynton designed a logo? How cool is this?
More News from CSW
List of 5 news stories.
CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.