Christmas is one of the only holidays for which we speak of there being an entire season imbued with a particular spirit. If the spirit that breathes life into Christmas is charity, it is a good thing that we lengthen it from a day to a month or more.

A remarkable holiday is now before us, and it is one that speaks to our sense of American exceptionalism in a way few holidays do.

November 11, 2019 is Veterans Day – the 100th since President Wilson brought it into being as Armistice Day in 1919. It is interesting to note that in acknowledging this day there are no calls for students to be released from the schools as there are for other holidays.

Whether it was with seasoned veterans or newcomers, the Turkey Shoot has proven to be a welcoming venue for all members of our community. There is a hot chili meal in the clubhouse, a petting zoo, and an abundance of games for our youngest Hoplites.

That homework at Ridgeview has long been contentious is to say little more than that homework has long been contentious. The debate about homework is decades, if not centuries, old.

This time of year makes it remarkably clear how fortunate we are to live in Colorful Colorado. It also makes it much easier as a school to exhibit a life lived in harmony with the seasons.

In our current age, we tend to be especially cognizant of our rights as citizens, but less inquisitive about our duties.

We can promote our own growth by learning from one another. As a result of this growth, we can be better proponents of that kind of life that is marked by curiosity and intelligence and that we hope our children will aspire to emulate.

While considerable time might be spent examining the merits of classroom observations, the benefits of outdoor education, or the advantages of numerous extracurricular activities that involve a substantial proportion of our student body, the activity most integral to Ridgeview is reading, and one is unlikely to find any school at which reading is taken more seriously than Ridgeview.  

Now begins a new year, though before proceeding to what will be, we should review briefly what has been, as this past summer has not been without event. Many of us have had the opportunity to spend time getting to know our students in some fairly unconventional settings. We have learned to orienteer using a compass and map, watched students prepare camp meals together, hike fourteeners, and explore caves. There is a lot of conversation along the way. Some of it is perfunctory, some of it is more considered and erudite, all of it is revelatory in some way.

Ridgeview’s unabridged Latin credo is neque popularitati neque utilitati at veritati virtutique dedicatum. Translated into English, this means, “Dedicated not to popularity or utility, but to truth and virtue.” Herein, ‘dedicated’ does not have a commemorative sense. Instead, it expresses what individuals working and studying at Ridgeview are dedicating their lives to.

If we have done our work rightly, you have been supported and challenged. More to the point, you will not have all experienced the same journey.