The population of students applying for admission swelled significantly in the early 1980s, and the tide has continued to flood. The strength of the applicant pool is not a reflection of blind marketing about "excellence" and "relationships." It is, rather, the product of a market position that the school claimed with legitimacy....a niche that proved irresistable to appropriate applicants. We open this school year with 58 ninth graders, a large freshman class that rocks.

The faculty likes this crowd, which is good, given the fact that we will be working with them until 2011. One teacher observes that they are "naive, wiggly, silly, fun, funny..serious, honest, concerned...with a sense of justice and wonder... not sure who to be or what path to follow...open to anything....".

Another contributes, "My kids are bright, focused, and energetic. I love their youth, openness, and eagerness. They aren't afraid to jump right in to participate, and they aren't too self-conscious yet which adds to a spontenaity in class that is exciting. Ninth graders are my favorites."

What do they have to say about the adjustment to a new school? "I love it," "there's too much homework," and "people here are cool" are the three most common responses. These girls are real players on junior varsity soccer:

In October, 1995, the parent of a ninth grader asked me, "How does the year seem to be starting?" Knowing this gentleman--already (through a relative)--I answered with the greatest honesty, "I don't think that the community is coming together as fast as usual." Today, the community seems to be tighter than ever before, at such an early stage. Ninth graders on defense for JV Field Hockey:

Apologies to dance, woods team, cross-country, kayaking and all of the activities with ninth graders that were not represented here. Here are just a few of the niners on the football team:

Now this is ninth grade life. Dinner at Pizza Chef....

Thanks to Madi Cryan for the real-world photo!