Students and teachers return from their long winter break with renewed resolve to do their best in each course. As homework piles atop homework, and projects bump together inside each boarder's room, the grunts of mental labor become almost audible. Several of the most demanding sports also make their homes in our rainy winter. Calculus make the weary turn for their second mile of the day. Wrestlers, preparing to be lawyers in the Napoleon trial, stagger to their feet for one more takedown.
Soccer players run whistle sprints while visualizing the plots of stories for creative writing.
After sports, after five classes, scores of HPA thespians prepare their spring musical. Quilting, singing, and a thousand other activities also beckon. Incredibly, some faculty and many students participate in several of these events every day. Having just watched our two soccer teams compete for the league title and our wrestlers and swimmers prepare for the BIIF championships against several of the island powerhouses, I had time to wonder why our kids succeed so often against such great odds. The answer can be found in Jay Wilder's Napoleon trials and Ms. Moore's rehearsals of Pippin.