Dr. Palmer’s Update: August 2010

It’s been an eventful summer on the Elsah and St. Louis campuses—even without the students to liven things up.

I hope you are following the progress of our School renovation project through the series of short videos offering regular updates. By early 2011, the bookstore will be in an updated, more centralized space, the Lower/Middle School library will be renovated and relocated, and a new Lower/Middle School art room will be ready for action in a much-improved location.

At the College, we hosted several hundred Summer Sessioners last month. Whether studying Churchill, the apostle Paul, Lewis and Clark, or scientific inquiry, these adult students expressed an inspiring love of learning. They embodied the concept of a community of practice—interested students ready to share, learn from one another, and push each other “to think clearly, vigorously, fearlessly, tolerantly, unselfishly,” as Principia Policy 6 states.

In just two weeks, student-athletes will return to both campuses. High schoolers participating in fall sports camps will fill the dorms, playing fields, and gyms with activity. At the College, Writing Seminars will take place for all athletes, followed by sports camps and orientation.

Progressive steps continue here at Principia. We are looking forward to launching our first online College course this fall. Dr. Clint Staley, a visiting professor at Principia last year and current professor of computer science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, will be teaching an advanced course in computer science from California for students in Elsah. Stay tuned for more details on this test “online-in” course.

At the School, a current College professor and the School’s biology teacher are teaming up to offer a college-level course in zoology to Upper School students. You will be hearing more about these kinds of innovations and creative educational approaches as we implement Principia’s new strategic plan. In our work to extend Principia’s reach, we are thinking expansively and creatively about how to best serve a broader range of students.

In the fall of 1932, Principia founder Mary Kimball Morgan told her faculty and staff: “I wonder if the specific work for each of us this year may not be to grow in bigness of thought—and in grace” (Education at The Principia, p. 67). “Bigness of thought” has been an important element in the strategic-planning process taking place at Principia.

To learn more about the strategic plan, “Rising Higher, Reaching Further,” register for the last of three summer webcasts on Sunday, August 15,  at 8 p.m. CDT. These interactive sessions offer an opportunity to share our vision for Principia’s future and answer your questions. Background information about the 10-year strategic plan is available online.

I’m looking forward to welcoming the students back and particularly to introducing a new group of Principians to all we have to offer. In a community of practice, it’s great fun, of course, to see what our new students bring—what unique lessons they will share with the rest of the community.