Panther Nation, we all love a long weekend, and the Labor Day holiday on Monday reminded us all to pause and savor that summer feeling in this beautiful place we call home. Art projects in the courtyard, speakers bumping, inviting impromptu karaoke at sunset, and super soaker blasts at the pool embody SD’s early September energy.
As our panthers returned last Friday from their class retreats, they shared some highlights. From the Freshman improv class, Jaxon D. ’28 described “...a game where one person started out being a tree and then people came up in groups of two and had to become different things each time, and create a story out of it.” From the Sophomore kayaking trip, Gary W. ’27 remarked, “Kayaking was easy to figure out, and the view was nice, lots of trees and mountains to see.” From the Junior whitewater rafting trip, Stephen S. ’26 exclaimed “It was awesome! I jumped into the boat and then pulled my friend from the water!” And from the Senior class trip to Marin Headlands, Sierra N. ’25 shared “We got bracelets that we had to tie onto each other, you can’t put them on by yourself, and it was symbolic of the bonding experience.”
On Saturday, our prefects and staff of our Garden of Hope introduced compost bins into the dorms as part of a new boarding sustainability initiative. Rosie S. ’25 inspired students on each floor to educate themselves on proper disposal of food scraps, food soiled paper, and plant trimmings via signs with QR codes, and to “utilize these resources to make our community a better place!” SD boarding is also implementing reusable bags for student shopping trips, and encouraging new habits of mindfulness and group clean up efforts in our community, so that we may take more environmentally friendly actions into our lives outside of school. This included a trip to Stinson Beach on Monday, where students left no trace but smiles and footprints in the sand. The waves were calling, and Stella S. ’26 purchased boogie boards for everyone to try. “It was such a fun day,” Yeva K. ’28 beamed walking back to the van, saying “I loved trying the board for the first time!”
Heading back into the blue and green school week, we in boarding hope every panther feels refreshed and ready for the stretch towards Homecoming on September 28th!
– Rachel Greenmyer, Resident Faculty