Holderness News

It’s no secret that amazing teachers, coaches, and dorm parents are an integral part of the Holderness experience. With the retirement of four long-serving and tremendously impactful faculty members, Dean of Faculty Kristen Fischer knew she had to find an equally committed and accomplished group of new faculty members to start the year. Her search began in January with visits to recruiting fairs and countless interviews and tours on campus. By early summer, her diligent attention to finding the right candidates for Holderness paid off; we are excited to welcome this new crew of Holderness Bulls to campus.

Kicking off its 141st year, Holderness School welcomed new students to campus on September 5th.  Under blue skies and surrounded by the cheers of joyful Senior Leaders, 114 new students eagerly joined the Holderness School community.  The day was filled with smiles as new students and families unpacked their cars and turned dorm rooms into a home away from home.

In the Fall 2017 issue of HST, we wrote about Brette Harrington’s passion for climbing  that began at Holderness on the Rumney Cliffs just west of campus. A recent award from the American Climbing Club demonstrates just how far that passion has taken her.

Holderness School is a hive of activity this summer.  With the Gordon Research Conferences on campus to share some of the latest findings and advancements in science and construction well underway on the new academic facility, it might be easy to miss an equally important project: the replacement of a dormitory.

A month ago the Holderness Fund completed another successful year of fundraising. It is with gratitude and humility that we thank all those who donated both financial resources and time to Holderness School.

“The magic is in the process, the excellence of the everyday, those moments that are the most authentic expression of Holderness and its beliefs,” wrote one of the candidates for the Director of Strategic Marketing and Communications in his cover letter. His understanding of the position for which he was applying was clear; moments of celebration and accomplishment at Holderness are often the focus, the points at which we acknowledge our pride in Holderness. But there is so much that has to happen behind the scenes, in the process, in the everyday. There are countless individuals at Holderness who work behind the scenes and labor tirelessly to make the school run efficiently and effectively.

Following the successful completion of the Elevating Academics Campaign, Holderness School has begun a historic project that will see the construction of a new academic building as well as renovations to existing academic spaces.  Driven by the guiding principles of innovation, collaboration, and flexibility, this project will have a lasting impact on Holderness School’s ability to deliver a transformational education.

The usual celebratory cheers roaring from the Holderness fields, courts and rink have been replaced by an ambient calm as the Holderness community enjoys its well-deserved summer break.  A few Holderness faculty members take advantage of this free time and the unoccupied Holderness athletic facilities to lead their own athletic camps.

What does it mean to "know" a child? How does technology change that relationship? What should Holderness be doing to monitor or limit the time students spend online? These are just some of the questions faculty pondered during Holderness Symposium in June.

From novels about World War II to science fiction action thrillers about a zombie apocalypse, the All-School Read is always a summer adventure. This year's pick, selected from over 25 submissions by the Secret and August Committee, is Educated by Tara Westover. Last week, we caught up with Dean of Academics Peter Durnan and several other members of the community who have already finished the assignment. Here's what they had to say!

Holderness School has taken on countless building projects this summer, including the construction of both a new dormitory and academic building! While Trinity Chapel is not on our list, it does play an important role in the history of Holderness School and we're excited to see the preservation efforts of the Trinity Churchyard Cemetery Association taking place just down the road!

What's it like to visit our Holderness families from China in their own homes? What does it mean to return to one's birth country after 17 years? What does authentic gnocchi and gelato taste like? Many of our students are finding out during trips to China and Europe! Find out more below in their first-hand accounts!

The Honor Roll recognizes and commends outstanding achievement and effort in the academic program. Holderness School recognizes that each student's growth and progress is complex. Quarterly comments written by faculty better reflect the unique path traveled by each student, and the Honor Roll and Effort Honor Roll are simplified but significant markers of the engagement of our students in the most recent marking interval.


Honor Roll
Effort Honor Roll

Henri Matisse once said, “Creativity takes courage.” If that is the case, there is plenty of courage spilling out of the classrooms and into the hallways of Carpenter Arts Center. As the spring semester drew to a close in May, students’ art projects came together and were on display throughout the art building and beyond; ceramics, graphic design projects, photographs, and paintings all revealed the creativity and hard work—and courage—of our artists. Below are just some of their final pieces.

The following article is a summary of what some of our spring athletes accomplished. To view pictures from the awards ceremony, click here. 

Despite Mother Nature’s best efforts to disrupt the spring athletic season, Holderness coaches and athletes powered through the heavy rain and even a few snowstorms to cap off a successful athletic year.

There is no one who knows our graduates as well as their parents. That's why on the eve of Commencement, Dean of Students John Lin enlisted their help in sharing words of wisdom. Some are simple, some are quirky, some are ages old but will stand the test of time. In the following video, we've captured their nuggets of advice. Best wishes to our graduates as they begin their new adventures!

The Commencement diploma sentences for each student in the class of 2019 can be found below:

The day before commencement, the student body gathered one final time for the presentation of awards known as "Prize Day". During the ceremony, awards were given to select members of the student body who have performed in exemplary fashion in the classroom and in the community. Read below for the list of this year's winners.

Holderness School celebrated the 140th commencement on May 20th. This celebration was the culmination of several concluding events that included Senior Thesis presentations, musical performances, final spring athletic contests, Prize Day and the senior dinner. Long-time Holderness educator Janice Pedrin-Nielson shared in this commencement speech that graduation is actually marking the beginning. Ms. Nielson also takes the opportunity to share what makes one's life successful. In her words, "We send you off today, the day of this beginning, to continue to be successful and to remember that being other-centered is what will make you happy in your life."

Perhaps central New Hampshire isn't the best place to start a crew team, since the lakes are frozen until mid-April, but seven hardy souls, along with Dean of Students John Lin, are determined to make a go of it. Here's a report from Max Paro on their first season on Squam Lake!

Assistant Director of Admission and Alumnus Lily Ford '12 addressed the class of 2019 at the Alumni Pinning Ceremony. Read her speech below:

It's hard to believe it is already time for our seniors to graduate! It seems like just yesterday they arrived, and now we have to say goodbye. Commencement is not just a time of celebration but a time to pause and remember all the moments we have shared--the challenges, the celebration, the laughter, and the tears. Congratulations, seniors; we wish you all the best!

Wednesday 5/18

President-elect Abby Vieira and Vice President-elect Macy Arsenault share their first speeches to the Holderness community

Rev. Rich Weymouth shares his reflections on his time at Holderness in his last Chapel Talk or "last raps" before entering into retirement. 

Each year departing seniors arrive for one last service at Outdoor Chapel. Each student brings with them a decorated stone to add to the collection of stones of seniors before them. This year at stones chapel, Franz Nicolay spoke to the seniors about the significance of their stones.

Holderness School is pleased to announce that long-time faculty member Janice Pedrin-Nielson will deliver the school’s 140th Commencement address.

Monday 5/13

Every year our seniors engage in a capstone program known as Senior Thesis. This is a year long learning adventure examining a topic of their choice and is required of all students. They conduct research, write a literature review, engage in an experiential investigation regarding their topic, and present a TED-style talk to the community at the end of the year.

Wednesday 5/8

It’s unusual these days to have an employee who remains in the same job for 50 years. Joseph has not only remained at Holderness for all these years but very rarely has he even missed a day of work. We are grateful for his hard work, his positive energy, and most of all his friendship.

The cold and wet early May weather did not daunt joyful spirits as Holderness held a special groundbreaking assembly to mark the start of a new academic chapter in the school's history. The entire school gathered inside Hagerman along with the Board of Trustees and special guests to initiate the new academic building. Board Chair Bob Hall, Head of School Phil Peck, School President Dylan DeVries '19 and STEMinist Carolyn Fernandes '20 offered remarks in honor of the occasion. Plenty of singing marked the event featuring former Music Director Dave Lockwood and the HolderNotes directed by current Music Director Alec Sisco. Outside at the new building site and in torrential rain, various representatives with shovels and hard hats formally broke ground! Read below for the remarks shared by Phil Peck and Carolyn Fernandes' 20.

We often “catch up” with long-term faculty members in our magazine, Holderness School Today, and thought spending some time with English teacher and Director of Senior Thesis, Sarah Barton would also be enjoyable for our digital readers especially after sharing what many of this year's seniors have done for the March Experiences, part of the Senior Thesis endeavor. Sarah Barton MA, MEd  joined the faculty in September 1993. She and her husband, Bruce (Director of College Counseling), live on the Hill and are both vitally involved with the school. They also are the parents of alumni Jake '13 and Maggie '16.

Holderness School charted a bold course for our teaching and learning program when we publicly launched the Elevating Academics Capital Campaign in 2018. After two and a half years of strategic planning and fundraising, Holderness is proud to announce that the campaign has achieved its goal of raising over $27.2 million!  

Monday 5/6

Saturday 5/4

At Holderness, we see leadership differently. We see it as a behavior and work to intentionally integrate leadership and service into all aspects of our educational program. Every year, student leaders are chosen by the entire community based not on their popularity, but on their conduct and character —a longstanding tradition that celebrates fairness, initiative, dependability, and empathy. Our motto, “For God and Humankind,” calls us to lead by serving, and to see a true leader as a servant of others. At Holderness, there is a tradition of seeing leadership as ultimately about the empowerment of others.

Head of School Phil Peck delivers a leadership Chapel Talk:

Monday 4/29

Saturday 4/27

A short video of the annual Holderness Road Race from campus to Waterville Valley. Thanks to Neal Frei '03 for the drone footage at the Campton Dam!

While most Holderness students were competing on the freshly thawed playing fields, some had unfinished business in their winter sports and hit the rink and slopes one last time to compete for national championships.  

An Easter Homily given by Bishop A. Robert Hirschfeld

Monday 4/22

Friday 4/19

Friday 4/19

There have been over 25 submissions for the All-School Read from students, faculty, staff, and parents. Not all can become All-School Reads, but the submissions make for an excellent reading list of any kind.

Wednesday 4/17

As the snow seems to finally be exiting the Holderness campus, the college admissions season too is coming to a close. For some members of the class of 2019, this has meant deciding where they will continue their athletic careers in the coming years. This year, three Holderness seniors (Connor Androlewicz ‘19, Beckham Bayreuther ‘19 and KC Carter ‘19) have committed to play Division I athletics at the next level.

Saturday, 4/13

Easter is a moveable feast. Unlike Christmas, which is always Dec 25 or All Saints Day which is always November 1, Easter’s date is determined by the moon. Specifically, it is the first Sunday after the first full moon after the Spring Equinox. This year, Spring Equinox was on the same day as a full moon. But you can’t double dip. So we had to wait a full moon cycle after March 21 for the next full moon. Which is April 19th. And then the first Sunday after that is April 21. Easter. Why am I telling you this?  So now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

We enjoyed meeting our prospective students and their families during revisit days. As our Director of Admission David Flynn '96 stated, we are biased but we think you should come to Holderness. Our current students also have some thoughts about why you should say #YesToHolderness in the video created by communications intern Max Paro '17. We look forward to getting to know you next year!

Watch this video on why our students think you should come to Holderness!

BVL 8 - Phillips Exeter 6

It was a great winter for Holderness athletics; even now many snow sports athletes continue to compete in post-season events! We had a chance to recognize a few individual achievements of our winter athletes during our Winter Sports Assembly in March. Below are short write-ups on the student-athletes who were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments! Photos of individuals receiving their awards can be found in the Holderness Smugmug Gallery! 

While the majority of the Holderness student body was relaxing and enjoying their spring break, the Eastern Alpine Ski team was hard at work preparing for and competing in their largest races of the season.

When prospective families visit the Holderness campus, some of them feel it. Our students know it. Our alumni might refer to it as that Holderness feeling. While completing his tour of New England boarding schools, one Oregon alumnus discontinued the remainder of his school visits once he saw Holderness. Both he and his family knew he had found his home. His four years as a student only reinforced that first impression.

With the guidance of Director of Equity and Inclusion Director Jini Sparkman, this winter the school embarked upon a multi-week learning and habit changing exploration. In a letter to the entire school community and alumni, Head of School Phil Peck and Jini Sparkman quoted from social justice educators Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., Debby Irving, and Dr. Marguerite Penick-Parks:

The Honor Roll recognizes and commends outstanding achievement and effort in the academic program. Holderness School recognizes that each student's growth and progress is complex. Quarterly comments written by faculty better reflect the unique path traveled by each student, and the Honor Roll and Effort Honor Roll are simplified but significant markers of the engagement of our students in the most recent marking interval.

Honor Roll
Effort Honor Roll

Coach Joe Arsenault put together a highlight reel of the girls varsity basketball NEPSAC Championship game vs. Vermont Academy. Relive all the highlights here!

Head of School Phil Peck reflects on the ten day special program period with students and parents before they embark on their spring break:

Project Outreach, Artward Bound, and Out Back ended on Thursday! Fortunately, we had a great crew of photographers out and about with the students and we've put together of slideshow of all their adventures. This article begins with reflections from Associate Director of Communications and Marketing Emily Magnus that she read in the Thursday Chapel service, officially ending special programs and marking the beginning of spring break!

The junior class descended upon Bear Notch on Thursday as they prepared for their three-day solo adventure. Approaching the halfway point of Out Back, the groups have been graced with great weather, bar a few inches of snow. The trend looks to continue as the forecast predicts above freezing temperatures for the remainder of the trip. 

Holderness School's Artward Bound program gives tenth graders an opportunity to dig deep and listen to their creative voices. This year artists-in-residence introduced students to pewter casting, improv, songwriting, dancing, drumming, graphic design, painting, and ceramics. While we could tell you all about their amazing creations, their final pieces do a much better job showing the students' passion, effort, and amazing creativity! Take a look through this mash-up to view just some of the projects the tenth graders finished in the first week.

Imagine being a high school senior in the press box with CBS, CNN, and the major media outlets while Senator Kamala Harris, candidate for the Democratic nomination, is feet away providing her stump speech to a gathered crowd in a New Hampshire venue. This is an unlikely place to find the co-editor-in-chief of Holderness’ Picador. A high school journalist with press credentials? How did that happen?

This winter season showed levels of athletic play that have been exceptional. We had four teams contending for tournament play and two teams who extended the season in an exciting and Bull-fashioned display of well-coached moves, athletic prowess, and grit. We salute all of our teams and take special pride in the postseason success of the boys varsity hockey team and the girls varsity basketball team. It has been a great winter to be a Bull.

If you were around this fall, then you heard about the newest club on campus, the Holdernotes. The Holdernotes, Holderness School’s first ever a capella group, debuted at the fall concert, ramping up the energy in Hagerman and bringing the performance to a whole new level. Fortunately for us, they’ve continued to pursue their love of music throughout the winter and just last month performed in the quarter-final round of the International Competition of High School A Capella (ICHSA).

Holderness will have two teams representing the school in the NEPSAC playoffs this week, the boys’ varsity hockey team and the girls’ varsity basketball team. The girls are the #2 seed in the Class D Bracket and the boys are the #7 seed in the Small School Bracket. With the playoffs beginning on Wednesday, both teams prepare to make a deep run and cap their respective seasons off with a championship.

The Picador  defines itself as a publication that serves to inform the Holderness School community and stimulate discourse through the thoughtful and respectful exchange of ideas, featuring the dynamic and insightful voice of the Holderness student body. Below are brief excerpts from some recent articles posted on The Picador’s website. There are two opinion pieces discussing the use of technology, an article about paper use on campus, plus a not-to-be missed outside the bubble report on participating via a press pass in Politics & Eggs.

Friday 2/22

Wednesday 2/20

The return from Winter Parents Weekend coincided this year with the Lunar New Year (a.k.a. Spring Festival in China and Tet in Vietnam), the most important holiday in the home cultures of many of our Asian students. On that February 5, we kicked off nearly two weeks of celebrating the diverse cultures of Holderness with food, festivities, and the beautiful sound of our many voices.

Friday 2/15

Monday 2/11

Holderness prides itself on safe risk-taking. The school works to create an environment where you can try something new, possibly fail, possibly succeed, and definitely learn. Holderness has teams and athletes who reach the highest levels of competition and we also have teams and students who are learning how to compete, even learning how to play a sport. Such is the case with Quang Minh Do '19. He didn't even know how to skate when he arrived on-campus two years ago. He started managing the boys JV hockey team but an opportunity presented itself and Quang rose to the challenge.

Saturday 2/9

Friday 2/8

This year's Day of Giving is on Tuesday, February 12th. Money raised on the Day of Giving (DoG) goes to the Holderness Fund. The Holderness Fund pays for 10% of the school’s operating costs.

Wednesday 2/6

Nordic in New England. With icicles hanging from their noses and their eyelashes covered in frost, Nordic skiers are known for going out in any weather and relishing steep climbs and gnarly downhills. With Head Coach Pat Casey leading the way, the Holderness School Nordic skiers are no different; with their special blend of competitive drive and playful energy, they are at the core of the growing Nordic community in the Plymouth area.

Friday 2/1

Tom Phillips ‘75 has enjoyed a forty-year relationship with Holderness. He first stepped on campus as a middle-school youngster from Bedford, NY conducting a prep school tour. He saw five or six other schools, mostly in the Lakes Region, and when he visited the Holderness campus, he knew Holderness was the school for him.

Bruce Barton shares a chapel talk about the amygdala; a part of the mid brain about the size of an almond that is the home to our emotions, our fears and our “fight or flight” instinct. In his talk, he describes Neuroscientist, James Doty's belief that acts of empathy and compassion actually help us shrink the FEAR center of our brain (the amygdala) and open us up to new ways of seeing and understanding and ultimately experiencing happiness in our lives. 

Nordic Coach Pat Casey gives an update on both the boys and girls Nordic season.

We often “catch up” with long-term faculty members in our magazine, Holderness School Today, but thought spending some time with our new faculty would also be enjoyable for our readers. Carlos Villafane, PhD joined the faculty in September 2018. He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Webster. Carlos teaches both Spanish and History and is currently coaching Boys JV Basketball. He has just had an article published in an academic journal so we also salute his good efforts!

This year, as a part of our Equity and Inclusion curriculum, students are engaging in conversations about race and ethnicity.  For the next three weeks they will also participate in a 21-Day Racial Equity Learning Challenge.

Saturday 1/26

The Lamp, an online Holderness publication, is a forum for ideas, experiences, and stories. Intended to “generate critical reflection” and “stoke our creative fires” this post, originally featured on The Lamp’s website earlier this month, is Academic Dean Peter Durnan’s reflection on his recent experience visiting alumni families in China.

With a focus on technology for the academic year, Director of Teaching and Learning Kelsey Berry uses discussion forums, films, readings, and shared perspectives to enlighten thinking and consider policy implications. Read about her approach and one of those offerings: Screenagers, a film to be shown for the wider community during Winter Parents Weekend.

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at Holderness started with Dr. Eddie Moore, Jr., the founder and director of the White Privilege Conference (WPC), a leading social justice conference. Dr. Moore with a PhD in Educational Leadership provides workshops in leadership, diversity, and privilege. He is also the founder of the Privilege Institute, a non-profit which seeks to engage people through relationships and learning. The Institute offers research, education, and other resources including a peer reviewed journal, “Understanding and Dismantling Privilege.” Dr. Moore spent the day visiting classes and engaging with students culminating in a presentation that is detailed in this post and that allowed students to follow-up with questions about affirmative action, what their roles as young people looks like in action, language in rap music, and what to do when they hear people say racist things.

The Honor Roll recognizes and commends outstanding achievement and effort in the academic program. Holderness School recognizes that each student's growth and progress is complex. Quarterly comments written by faculty better reflect the unique path traveled by each student, and the Honor Roll and Effort Honor Roll are simplified but significant markers of the engagement of our students in the most recent marking interval.

Honor Roll
Effort Honor Roll

Coach Alan Smarse has been on the slopes with Holderness students for over two decades. He has helped the Holderness Freeski and Snowboarding program evolve over the years with the coaching philosophy that our mission is to support our student-athletes to the highest level achievable, while setting them up to gain entry into the colleges of their choice. Simply stated, our coaching philosophy is to be better today then we were yesterday. Read on for some history and for the latest evolution.

Building community is complicated. Diversity makes a community richer and more resilient. But in order for everyone to work toward a common goal, some assimilation is necessary. What’s the best balance? What’s the best way to support a diverse community and help all to feel known and respected? At Holderness, affinity groups might be the answer.

Cig Harvey’s photographs are the focus of the next Edwards Art Gallery exhibit at Holderness School. The opening reception for “Cig Harvey: A Simple Grace” will be held on Friday, January 11, from 6:00 PM-7:30 PM.