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Happy New Year
Looking Forward with Head of School Peter Becker '95
Head of School Peter Becker '95 delivered his inaugural Convocation address to the Taft community Thursday morning. In it he identified three shifts each student should embrace during their time at Taft: a shift from xenophobia to philoxenia; from serving self to serving others; and from drive to healthy drive. Each, he notes, requires "intention and conscious work," which may be facilitated by five "moves" or mindset shifts: learning how to learn; developing tools and skills to manage stress; unlocking the wisdom or our community; using screens and technology well; and taking good risks.
Watch Mr. Becker’s full Convocation address in the video below.
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Community Connections with Mr. LaCasse
With an office at the head of Main Hall, Assistant Head of School for Student Life Jeremy LaCasse is a visible, accessible, and approachable resource in our community. A regular contributor to our monthly Taft in 10 newsletters, Mr. LaCasse offers parents, students, and families insights and strategies to help them navigate life at Taft, and get the most out of the Taft experience.
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We're Here for You
The Taft community is built on connections. Each member of our community wears many hats and fills a variety of roles, all of them equally vital. Often, parents aren't sure exactly who to connect with about certain issues. We've got you covered.
Class Deans: Each grade is assigned two Class Deans, faculty members who get to know each student in their assigned grade, while serving as an important resource for them. Class Deans are available to talk to, guide, and support students individually as they navigate their journey at Taft. Class Deans also help organize and create group bonding activities for their class. If you have questions or concerns about your student’s academic or social experiences at Taft, their Class Dean is usually the best first contact.
Advisors: Each new student is assigned a temporary advisor at the start of the school year. After three weeks, students may switch to a new advisor. Advisors are considered an extra faculty touchpoint for each student.
Student Mentors: Returning students serve as student mentors for new students, helping them navigate Taft's 226-acre campus and myriad hallways and passageways, learn about Taftisms and community culture, answer student life questions, and be a familiar and friendly face in what can feel like a very big crowd during the first few weeks of school.
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We're Here for Students and Families: In the Dorms
Dorm Parents: Have questions about your student’s adjustment in the dorm? Please reach out to their dorm parent. If you have general questions about Residential Life, please reach out to Erin Duffy, Taft’s director of residential life.
2023-24 Dorm Heads
Dorm Monitors: Each floor on each dorm is home to students who have been trained to serve as dormitory monitors. They work alongside dorm faculty to help make the transition to dorm life smooth and successful, while offering friendship, guidance, and peer support.
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We're Here for Students: In the Classroom
Academics lie at the heart of the Taft School mission. A Taft education is built on academic rigor, driven by intellectual curiosity, and supported by an ever-evolving and innovative curriculum—a curriculum delivered by passionate, compassionate, and exceptional faculty whose experience and accomplishments extend well beyond the classroom: video production students learn from an Emmy-winning director and producer; Global Studies and Service scholars may be mentored by a teacher who, as an educator in South Africa, built a democracy training curriculum connecting student service projects with local NGOs; several of our science teachers have traveled to the Amazon rainforest to work with a group of indigenous people whose understanding of ecosystem adaptation allows them to survive; vocal artists are taught by the baritone easily recognized from Disney soundtracks like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Mulan. In short, our faculty not only bring a world of academic experience to our classrooms, they bring their experience in the world. Find Taft's full faculty and staff directory, which contains bios, phone numbers, and live email links, here.
Meet the Arts Team
Our English Department Faculty
Global Studies and Service
History Department Faculty
Mathematics
The Science Team
World Language Teachers
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Keeping Up With Your Taftie
Don't Forget to Write!
Who doesn't love mail from home? The school post office is located just under the dining halls on the lower floor of Mortara. Each student is assigned a PO box for regular mail. They can also receive packages in the same location. Mail comes daily except Sundays and holidays. The post office is open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturday. The school bookstore sells stamps. Send your student's mail to: First Name, Last Name, The Taft School, 110 Woodbury Road, Watertown, CT, 06795.
Special Occasion? We've Got You Covered!
Aramark, Taft's Food Service contractor, will make a 9" birthday cake for your child's special day. Cakes are $25, and need to be ordered at least 48 hours in advance; they also offer cupcakes in a variety of flavors. To place an order, simply complete this form. You can also order care packages through a third-party vendor using the care package link in the red block at the bottom of Taft Dining Services web page.
When You Just Want to Hear Their Voice
Taft students are allowed to have cell phones, though service may be spotty with some carriers and in some locations on campus. It is important that you know your child's full schedule--from classes and afternoon activities to meals and study halls--and call at times outside of their daily commitments.
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Keeping Up with All Things Taft: Bookmark it!
Campus Photos: Taft is fortunate to have a talented photography team on campus, led by career professional photographer Robert "Bob" Falcetti. Mr. Falcetti and his team work to capture candid, "slice of life" moments across campus, from athletic events and theater productions to classroom experiences and downtime around the pond, in the dining hall, and across our stunning campus. Photos are usually available to the community within a few days of each event. You'll find them at TaftPhotos.com
Social Media: Taft maintains "official" Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. We're @TaftSchool on Instagram and @TheTaftSchool on Facebook. Those accounts are active, informative, and filled with fantastic content. Our athletics department also maintains accounts dedicated solely to athletics on the same platforms; their handle is @taftrhinos; many individual teams and clubs also maintain their own accounts. Don't use social media but want to stay informed? Check out the social media mash-up page on our website.
Athletics: Interscholastic competitions typically take place on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. Families are welcome to attend games in person. When it is logistically feasible, games are also live-streamed here. You can always find athletics schedules, scores, team rosters, athletics news and more on Taft's athletics website and social media channels (see above).
The Arts: Taft mounts three theater productions each year, plays or musicals in the fall and spring in Bingham Auditorium, and a winter play in the Woodward "Black Box" Theater. Events are featured in the news section of our website (see below), and on social media. You can also access the Arts calendar here.
News and Updates: The Taft community is filled with active, accomplished students and alumni. We often share their stories in the news section of our website. You'll find it on our home page at TaftSchool.org. A full catalog of student and alumni stories lives in the Taft Voices section of our website.
Taft in 10: Every few weeks Taft's Communications Department will curate a collection of "good-to-know" stories, videos, and updates and package it into a Taft in 10 digital newsletter, just like this one. You can find past Taft in 10 newsletters here.
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Afternoon Program
Taft students are required to participate in an afternoon activity, or “ex,” in each of three seasons: fall, winter, and spring. Some students opt to play team sports, while others commit to service-oriented programs, experiential learning, or opportunities in the arts. The wide range of offerings—and the requirement that all Taft students participate in activities that enrich their experience outside of the classroom—effectively reflects Taft’s founding mission to educate the whole student, and the important role collaboration plays in fostering and promoting a strong sense of community.
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Snapshot: Exceptional Faculty
It has been five years since Science Teacher Michael McAloon first traveled to the Peruvian Amazon. McAloon, along with Science Department Head Dr. Amanda Benedict, made the journey in 2018 as part of a pilot program for science educators. For 10 days, McAloon and Benedict were students in a hands-on, experiential classroom without walls, learning from the Maijuna people, a group indigenous to Peru’s forest region along the Sucusari River, who shared what they had learned about conservation by living in one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems in the world.
This summer, McAloon returned to the Peruvian Amazon with fellow Taft Science Teacher Maddie Beitler. McAloon and Beitler participated in two of the primary research projects currently being led by the Amazon Research Initiative for Educators program. The program, conducted by The Morpho Institute, an international nonprofit dedicated to protecting the Amazon— its forests, rivers, biodiversity, and people—as a vital global resource through education and conservation. McAloon served as the primary investigator for a molecular study on pollen collected by native stingless bees.
Beitler and McAloon also conducted fieldwork with Dr. Robert Naczi, a longtime Taft education partner and Arthur J. Cronquist Curator of North American Botany, Institute of Systematic Botany at The New York Botanical Garden.
Learn more about the work McAloon and Beitler engaged in over the summer through a photo essay, accessed below:
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Everything You Need to Know
We've used this edition of the Taft in 10 digital newsletter to highlight information that answers some of the most common questions parents raise. But there is so much more to know! Fortunately, we've tucked it all into one easy-to-access page on the Taft School website. You'll find information about the health center, laundry services, Business Office contacts and services, the Parents' Fund, the student handbook, upcoming events, and much, much more; it's all right here on our parents' page.
And speaking of events, several parent gatherings are already on the calendar. You can find all the details as well as registration links in the parents' page "events" dropdown menu. There will be gatherings in Burlingame, CA, Greenwich, CT, Litchfield, CT, and New York, NY, in the coming weeks. Check back often for new additions!
Taft's school calendar is both full and dynamic. To keep up with current and upcoming school events, bookmark and visit the calendar page of our website regularly.