Homecoming Week at North Shore has become a highlight for many throughout the School community. Raider spirit is high; the campus basked in purple and white, and our students and parents energized and enthusiastic to cheer on our teams. A sense of belonging and pride seem to carry the weeklong festivities.
In addition to our current students, parents, faculty and staff, we welcome back to campus alumni, parents of alumni and former faculty/staff. They, as a group, recapture their Raider Spirit, and find themselves, again, enthralled by what is North Shore.
This past weekend, we greeted 15 reunion classes ranging from the Class of ’39 to the Class of ’09. While at times sobering to greet a returning student who you remember as a young high school student and be introduced to their spouse (am I that old?), it is always a treat to reconnect. As I think back to the week and weekend, I have a wide range of memories but two stand out.
First, the awareness that: “Time marches on; people do evolve and grow; life is for living – not being stagnant or stuck in the past.” I had countless conversations that reinforced people and places don’t stay the same. Change occurs, challenges are met and while people’s character and values may not change, their life circumstances do. As a school, we clearly need to continue to develop in our students a sense of optimism, resilience and curiosity.
Second, our alumni’s North Shore experiences remain a critical part of their lives. Countless comments were made about how meaningful the education was — from the personal connections to the growth that the North Shore experience provided, all are valued. Seemingly, the further away from North Shore our graduates get, the more valued the experience becomes.
John Howard, Class of ’39 who has an undergrad degree from Princeton and a Ph.D. from Northwestern, looked me in the eye at Homecoming and said, out of all the educational experiences he has had North Shore has stayed with him the longest and served him the best. It doesn’t get any better than that.
North Shore Country Day is a private, college-prep school for high school, middle school and elementary school students in Winnetka, IL, a suburb of Chicago.
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