Thanksgiving and The Powerful Benefits of Gratitude

By LCS faculty member Libby Dalrymple, from her Chapel Address, October 7, 2020 I’d like to take a moment this morning to think about two words. The first word is Thanksgiving. It’s a two-part, compound word that implies action: Giving …..Thanks. That is what our upcoming holiday is all about - taking time in our lives to GIVE THANKS. It’s wonderful that we have a special holiday devoted to this concept but, as we all know, it’s important to give thanks more than once a year. Ideally, we try to do so daily. This brings me to the second word: Gratitude. In the field of Positive Psychology, there are psychologists who research many aspects of Gratitude, including a man named Bob Emmons. Even though it’s only one word, he talks about gratitude as being conceptually made up of two parts: “it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are…

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All types are needed in boarding

I was asked today at lunch, "What type of students do you attract?" I answered, "no one particular type". The person asking wasn't asking about personality type but it got me thinking again... I have been a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) practitioner since 1993 and love that it can be applied to almost every interaction I have with people. Some of the most interesting have been observing my colleagues speak about students I know or have interviewed myself. The interaction almost always goes better when the interviewer and student share similar 'type' and have had an easy time establishing rapport. So much so, that I was inspired to offer an MBTI session at the SSATB Annual Meeting a couple of years ago to help admission professionals explore their own type to ensure that there wasn't any personality type bias in their interviewing and admission processes overall. The danger simply is…

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A matter of size – “the right size” school for every student

School size can be a key factor in school selection. It can also be a defining characteristic of a school, so much so that in LCS's case, the Trustees have decreed that the school shall not have a student body of more than 365. Sometimes we end up at 366 when the dust settles at the end of our offer period, but to end up with 367 we have to get Board Chair approval. We don't bother asking about 368 as we know that is out of the question. Why is size so closely guarded? It can matter in so many ways when choosing the right school. Overall School Size Overall school size limits what classes can be offered. It is great to have a high school of over 400 or 500 when offering the IB as you need more students to ideally and affordably offer everything at the higher…

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