Charles Cahn III
Head of School
February 16, 2023
Dear Suffield Families,
As the final weeks of the winter term unfold, I wanted to send some news from Suffield. We have several culminating events on the calendar including our winter dance performances (February 23 and 24), various New England sports tournaments, and a telethon in support of Help Hope Live, the charity our students chose to support this year.
Our senior class has done a nice job leading the student body while focusing on their college searches and their many obligations on campus. Fifty-six percent of our seniors submitted binding early decision college applications (81 ED 1 or ED 2 applications from 66 students). Nearly half were accepted at colleges and universities including Babson, Bates (2), Boston College, Boston University, Connecticut College, Colby, Cornell, Emory, Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg (2), Loyola Marymount, Merrimack, Miami, Mount Holyoke, NYU (3), Northeastern (2), Penn, Santa Clara (2), Trinity, Tufts, Richmond, UVA, and Villanova. Students have also been accepted to a wide collection of colleges and universities through early action and rolling admissions programs. We will send along additional information about college choices in the spring.
You have likely heard from volunteers and staff members helping with our two annual fundraising initiatives—the Suffield Annual Fund and our Parents’ Association Auction. We ask parents to participate at any financial level as a symbol of our community strength. Thanks in advance for your help, and thanks to those who have already contributed.
I am also pleased to write that demand for Suffield is stronger than ever. Nearly 1100 students have already applied for our 120 available openings. While many factors have led to the immense interest in our school, I consistently hear about the appeal of our shared community values. As I told our students at chapel earlier this week, a large part of why Suffield succeeds is we simultaneously reach backward and look forward. While campus programs evolve, we remain steadfast about our core concepts: combining academic rigor and high standards of conduct with a great faculty, immaculate facilities, and an overarching emphasis on kindness and community life.
In the current operating environment we are emphasizing essential principles more than ever. These include using technology and social media in productive rather than hurtful ways, producing our own work in the face of pervasive artificial intelligence, and fundamentally living by higher standards of conduct than many adolescents now are. We are also closely focused on the mental health of our community members, consistently allocating time and resources to address this crucially important topic. Suffield has fully emerged from the pandemic with travel restrictions eased around the world and all of our programs fully unfolding on campus. Yet the lingering impact of this sad period will take more time to recede, as our lives as students, parents, and educators were altered in some ways that run counter to our emphasis on being interconnected and intensely immersed in community life. Your help in reinforcing our collective expectations of strong conduct is greatly appreciated.
It will be very enjoyable to see many parents on campus during the final weeks of the winter term and in the spring. Thank you for your partnership in our work with your children, and all best wishes from Suffield.
Charles Cahn III
Head of School