Fall Family Weekend 2019

After eight weeks apart, students and their families enthusiastically anticipated their time together over Fall Family Weekend. For three days, students shared their accomplishments from the first two months of School, parents savored their time with their kids, and... it all started with a meal.

The Thacher kitchen staff worked hard to make the first meal of the weekend a true celebration. There, students and their families gathered in and around Mulligan Hall to catch up, and enjoy the meal.

Head of School Blossom Beatty Pidduck CdeP 1992 opened the weekend by welcoming parents and families to campus. She assured them, “Your kids are happy to see you! This is one of the less lauded, but essential advantages of boarding school. A little distance really does make the heart grow fonder—especially when it comes to adolescents.” 

Students in performing arts ensembles shared a bit of what they’ve been working on, entertaining and sometimes surprising parents. The program drew from a range of musical genres. The Jazz Ensemble performed an R&B hit by Stevie Wonder along with jazz by Miles Davis, while the Chamber Trio played a classical piece by Piazzolla. Three vocal groups,  Freshman Chorus, Chamber Ensemble, and Chamber Singers, were included in the evening and the eight dancers in the Dance Ensemble performed a piece choreographed by Ms Vickery, called Heartbeat.

After the Performing Arts Sampler everyone gathered for dessert on the Pergola.

Visual arts pieces—pencil drawings, photography, paintings, and three dimensional art were on display in the Commons throughout the weekend. 

Saturday classes? Only during Fall Family Weekend. A special, abbreviated schedule of 15-minute classes gave parents a taste of a day in the life of a Thacher student. As he often does, Mr. Coyle performed an experiment in the field—this time on the Pergola, where freshmen science students were studying forces involved in a pulley system. He set up a 7:1 block and tackle system, which meant 190 lbs could be lifted by exerting only 27 lbs of force. Students enthusiastically hoisted their parents off the ground, to see for themselves how the pulley increased their lifting force. 

The warm, sunny day with only light winds made for an enjoyable trapshooting contest. Eighteen two-person teams shot in this traditional competition, alternating shooters for a total of 25 trap targets per team. Steve Kanaly and Chris Van Son CdeP 2016 were the range masters with Peter Kong CdeP 1985 assisting. Two teams tied for the lead. Congratulations to Jackson Hollins ’20 and his father Bayard CdeP 1984; and Dylan Jin-Ngo ’22 and Tony Ngo!

Often, on Saturday nights, the Pidducks open the Head of School’s Home for two or three hours so students can drop in to visit, snack, and play. At Friday’s Assembly, Ms. Pidduck had encouraged students to take their parents with them to Saturday’s Open House, “You can drop them off with me.” At Monday’s Assembly, she thanked the students who took her up on that invitation, “even if it did make you uncomfortable to have them there.” 

At 6 a.m. Sunday morning, 35 hearty souls arrived at the Gymkhana Field for the rocket launch that the Hale family (Tom, Karen, and Julia ’21) had offered at last year’s Parents Auction. Ten families had donated for the privilege of naming and launching a rocket for the entertainment of the gathered crowd. After each launch, siblings and faculty kids tracked the parachutes’ descent and dashed off to retrieve the spent rockets.

Former board member and current parent Cindy Castañeda CdeP 1988 (Tomás ’20) was the honored speaker at this year’s Chapel Service. She spoke about being actively grateful—acting in a way that is in alignment with our gratitude. Sunday’s service also included musical performances and two readings. “It's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright) sunshiny day,” lyrics from the closing song, I Can See Clearly Now, perfectly forecast the day ahead. 

The Environmental Action Committee (EAC) runs sustainability-related programs across the School and in the Ojai area. On campus, they care for the pigs, chickens, and bees, and manage the electric bike loaner program. In their demonstrations, EAC members shared information about these programs and offered guided tours of the solar field and the composting area. Younger siblings had a great time feeding the pigs and test-driving the eBikes.

Jameson Rock is the center of the rock climbing program at Thacher. There, students develop and hone their bouldering skills, learning to climb on small rock formations without ropes or harnesses. Nineteen of the 25 students in the rock climbing program demonstrated these bouldering techniques for visiting families Sunday morning.

The Riding Exhibition is, for many freshmen, the highlight of Fall Family Weekend. For eight weeks, they have awakened early to muck stalls and feed and groom their horses. Then, during afternoon riding, they have surprised themselves over and over by mastering new skills and most importantly, they have developed deep connections with their equine partners. Sunday afternoon, 10 riding groups wound their way down the hillside to the Gymkhana Field as some parents dabbed at overflowing eyes. (It must have been the dust.) The riders performed synchronized routines to cheers and standing ovations, and 2019 Fall Family Weekend came to an end.

Farewells were a bit easier than in September, because the Thanksgiving break is just four weeks away. 

We all owe a big thank you to those who planned and supported this community weekend: Facilities, kitchen, tech, development, Horse, Fine and Performing Arts, administration, the faculty, and, of course, the new riders.