TaborTalk Blog

“Senior Projects allow seniors in good academic standing to drop classes in the last seven weeks as necessary in order to pursue a project of their own creation.” This is how Senior Projects are described on the Tabor Academy website. One week into my project and that description doesn’t feel exactly right.

There is nothing more rewarding for language students than connecting with peers across linguistic and national borders. This year, Tabor’s French 4 students had the opportunity to experience this by partnering with a class at the Institut d’éducation motrice in Couzeix, a small town in central France. We first met their instructor Madame Stenger via an online forum. At the time we both had thirteen students eager to participate. Our primary goal was to communicate with francophone students in French. Most groups mostly want to practice English, which makes finding a good match challenging. Madame Stenger’s interest was cultural. She wanted her students to learn about America in their own language. It was a great fit. 

Our students will inherit a very different world than the one we know today, a point well illustrated in this viral video “Shift Happens.”  They will need to be able to navigate as adults in the 21st century. This broader sweep is punctuated with some jarring predictions and extrapolations: For instance, the learners in our schools right now will have anywhere from 10-14 job changes by the time they are 38. The complex issues before us today require a key set of problem-solving skills. How does Tabor Academy ensure our young men and women develop the curiosity and resilience to pursue and practice the skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication, metacognition, empathy and citizenship for transfer to novel scenarios, as well as have the applicable content knowledge they need for the world they will engage?

It’s 10:20 p.m. on a Wednesday night in Baxter House.  Dorm meeting is over, a yellow sheet cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles has been devoured, and six girls sit on the floor of the Common Room playing Bananagrams.  With midyear assessments behind them, the girls are more relaxed and cheerful -- back to their old selves.

In May 2016, James Caple and I are starting our quest to row across the North Atlantic Ocean from Cape Cod, MA to Ireland. This distance equates to approximately 2800 nautical miles through one of the most notoriously difficult oceans in the world. Just ask anyone who was on the Titanic! Upon successful completion of our row, we will be the first American pair, the first ever mixed pair, and for me, the first American Woman, to complete an ocean row across this challenging route.

The "R word" campaign to me is all about bringing awareness to our community here at Tabor. I hear the "R word" very often and never thought much of it. Now that I have been working with young athletes with intellectual impairments once a week, I see how capable they really are. The children improve on their skills every week, whether its shooting hoops or kicking a soccer ball they put their best effort into everything they do. Using the "R word" with a negative demeanor is hurtful. After seeing many "R word" campaigns online I thought it would be effective to make one here at Tabor. It truly was, hearing some of the personal stories was amazing and really helped to make the video more personal. I have already seen a huge impact in our Tabor community.

I graduated from Tabor in 2002, and this past summer, my husband and I moved to Marion. We purchased the Oliver Cobb House at 460 Front Street and opened the Silvershell Inn. Moving to Marion wasn’t an earth-shattering idea: I graduated from Tabor, my husband and I met at the Buzzard’s Bay Regatta in 2010, we got engaged on the dock at BYC, and we were married at St. Gabriel’s Church. But, the decision to buy a 216-year-old house was a leap into the deep end. We thought ourselves well-equipped—I was a technical theatre major and my husband worked construction during his summers in college.

There is no better reflection of the health of a school than the health of its student culture. What are Tabor students like when adults aren’t around? Do students feel safe to be themselves? What do students tolerate from one another and where do they draw the line? What are those unwritten student codes that guide decision-making on a daily basis on campus? What kinds of things are met with, “We don’t do that here.”? 

Everyone knows that Tabor’s winter musical is one of the largest drama productions of the year. But what goes into making such a large-scale production work by the time the first note is sung on opening night? Having gotten the chance to experience first hand what goes into the making of the musical let me tell you there’s a lot more than meets the eye.

by Rob Hurd and Erica Lunn '16

Again this year, Early Decision and Early Action college admissions were popular choices for the Senior class. Between Early Decision Round I and the various Early Action options, 82% of the Class of 2016 (113 out of 137 students) filed one or more applications. With additional students applying Early Decision Round 2, about 85 % of the class will have applied under one or more early program.

During my sophomore year I developed a passion for French that prompted me to apply for Tabor's Shattuck Grant. The Shattuck Grant is given annually to a student who displays excellence in a language and who would like to study abroad and pursue further immersion through a summer program. I was fortunate to use the grant money I received to assist with my trip over the summer to Paris for a 9-week immersion program through an organization called Education First.