Floodwaters are receding at Proctor Pond. Still, it is raining, and the forecast is grim.

When we speak of "community service" as a structured program, with dedicated time periods and mandatory attendence, we run into trouble. There doesn't seem to be enough time; the service sometimes seems gratuitous; students may whine. When an emergency occured, as it did Saturday night when the pond spilled over its banks and kept rising, students response was spontaneous, genuine and spirited. This was the focus of Mike's opening remarks in today's Earth Day assembly: the character the school exhibited when an unexpected crisis appeared. Our keynote speaker was Jim Merkel, author of Radical Simplicity. Jim had us envision sustainability, and demonstrated his success at minimizing the ecological footprint he is leaving on our finite planet.

Then, we broke into workshops that had to be amended due to the lack of classrooms (Shirley Hall is off limits due to flood damage) and the inability of many teachers and students to get here. This group is tearing computers apart to recycle specific components and parts.

Advisees met advisors at lunch to plan service or "stewardship" projects for the afternoon. Most of the originally planned activities were washed out by 10 inches of rain, but new needs are evident. Math classrooms are a mess, and a damage assessment is still impossible.

But several advisee groups jumped into action, removing tables, chairs and anything else that may be salvaged.

Meanwhile, dozens of other students reported to Buildings & Grounds to prepare a major sand bagging operation in East Andover, where several homes and a dam are threatened by still-rising water at Highland Lake.

This is not easy work. On Sunday evening, the electronic email bulletin board we call NEWS served as a virtual chatroom for students debating the value of Earth Day when so many other students were away. Some comments suggested that Earth Day is a hassle rather than fun opportunity to do something that's right. Yet today's participation or "buy-in" was encouraging, affirming the notion that our values are in the right place.