Head of School Sep 8, 2023
This weekend brings the long-awaited start of our Lower School athletic season, with a host of soccer and volleyball games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. This follows quickly on the heels of last week’s fabulous Lower School Spirit Night, when our legions of Lower School athletes streamed onto the Lower Field through a cheering cordon of varsity athletes.
The fall season in Lower School involves more than 200 student athletes in grades one through five. In soccer alone, there are four levels of competition: grades one and two (eight teams), grades three and four (four teams), and grades five and six (three teams). And in volleyball, there are three levels, one team each in grades three and four, grade five, and grade six.
In addition, as part of a new venture this year, the Kindergarten Kickers, 32 kindergarten students from Doherty and Lotspeich, will gather over four Saturdays this fall when our varsity head soccer coaches, Kristen Bowman and Mike Combs, assisted by many of their varsity players, will host four weekend clinics to introduce our kindergarten students to the game.
Overall, our Lower School athletic program provides a wonderful opportunity for our Lower School students to have a first competitive team experience and begin a commitment which, in many cases, will last throughout their high school careers.
This is, as I’m sure you understand, an ambitious undertaking, involving not only our school staff but an army of volunteer parent coaches. Year after year, these volunteers (36 in the fall season alone) devote hours of time to provide this invaluable growth experience for our students. Working with these young athletes, many of whom begin with little or no previous athletic experience, is a true labor of love, requiring not only a considerable investment of time and energy, but boundless reserves of patience and enthusiasm. On behalf of our entire school community, I want to thank these selfless volunteers for all they do to enrich the lives of our students.
Thanks, too, to Lower School Athletic Coordinators Marty Gerhardt and Abbey Sir Louis, who provide equipment, training, and logistical support and, of course, to Athletic Director Scott Willard and Assistant Athletic Director Roger Schnirring, who, along with Amy Ilg and Brandon Williams, provide so much guidance to all of our coaches and athletes.
I hope the new Lower School season gets off to a great start. Go Stingers!!
Christopher P. Garten
Head of School
Be sure to scroll down for key dates.
Key Dates & Events
Friday, Sept. 15 — Rosh Hashana Begins at Sundown
Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 16-17 — Rosh Hashana
Friday-Saturday, Sept. 22-23 — Homecoming, Hillsdale Campus
Friday, Sept. 22 — All School Family Picnic, 5-7 p.m., Hillsdale Campus
Sunday, Sept. 24 — Yom Kippur Begins at Sundown
Monday, Sept. 25 — Yom Kippur