The Beginning of the End

With the completion of today’s classes, we have just about reached the end of the 2019 New England High School Summer Program! As you can see from the photo above, the goodbyes began last night. During study hall Maggie Dillon announced throughout the library that her friend and fellow prefect Meg Murphy would soon be leaving. “Come say goodbye!” Students quickly came from all corners. “The first tears were shed,” reports Admissions Director Jon Daly, “even by Sweet Meg.”

There are many more tears still to be shed, but those will likely come tonight and tomorrow. Meanwhile, the students had one more day to complete. This morning’s class was the last on Euclid. Having grown confident over the last few days, the students handily demonstrated Book I, Propositions 16, 29, and 32 for their classmates.

Then, in his homily at the midday Mass, Chaplain Rev. Greg Markey spoke of St. Edith Stein, whose feast we celebrate today, as a model of love for the truth. “Fr. Markey’s homily was so powerful,” one student reflects, “a great overview of a beautiful soul.”

After lunch, when students arrived at their second and final class, they found — waiting for them by their spots at the table — some gifts from the Summer Program staff: a TAC book bag, pen, and water bottle; photos of their sections and the whole Summer Program student body; and a giftwrapped copy of C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters. They then discussed Flannery O’Connor’s Everything That Rises Must Converge, focusing on how well one’s subjective view of the world matches with objective reality. When it does not, how can we be shaken from that view? What does it take to change?

This afternoon students have been busy with more fun on the slip-n-slide, a campus-wide game of Capture the Flag, and preparing for tonight’s farewell gala. Be sure to check in tomorrow for photos from the dance … as well as Saturday morning’s early goodbyes.