Saturday, April 21 -- Parent and teacher conferences concluded at noon today. College Counseling Dean Laura Duffy, along with College Counselor Bill Lee, held an informative meeting for juniors and their parents to help navigate them on their way through the college selection and admission process. The day before all parents were invited to attend a College Panel with seasoned representatives from a college and two universities who offered their insights from within the college and university admission offices.

Saturday also included the official unveiling and ribbon cutting for the new indoor crew tank. Coach Mark DeNitto shared how the initiative began with a conversation among team members on how advantageous an indoor tank could be to the program, especially given what is often the late arrival of spring in northern New England. From here, team members got families involved as well as alumni rowers and a successful fund raising effort took over. DeNitto gave special thanks to Ernie Whitehouse (Spencer '09) and Bob Simoneau (James '07) for leading this effort. Following remarks and the ribbon cutting, members of the crew team offered a demonstration of the tank before taking to the real waters of Wolfeboro Bay.(Read more about the ceremony.)

The afternoon included numerous sporting events before students departed for a three-day break.

Friday, April 20 -- It's a warm and sunny day on campus. While parents were arriving on campus this morning, athletic practices got underway. The crew team enjoyed the calm of the morning water while a light breeze afforded our sailors some good practice conditions.

In light of the tragic events earlier in the week at Virginia Tech, Dr. Cooper opened up the parent address this morning by talking about school safety and how the Brewster community responded to ensure that students had an opportunity to express their concerns about the tragedy and their own thoughts of feeling safe within the Brewster community. He then fielded questions from parents before turning over the address to Lynne Palmer, director of admission.

Palmer offered parents a preview of Brewster's new viewbook (the school catalog) that will be mailed to prospective families later this summer. She spoke about the importance of current parent and student involvement with this project to learn what really mattered to them -- the main audience for this important promotional piece.

Cooper then concluded with an overview on campus initiatives in the areas of facilities and curriculum. A few of the projects in the school's near future include construction of a new arts facility, renovations to Anderson Hall to enhance the Hall for the performing arts, and building tennis court. He also mentioned the recently acquired indoor rowing tank (which will be unveiled on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.). The rowing tank, which the crew team has been using since January, came about thanks to the initiative of Brewster crew families, both current and alumni. In the curriculum realm, Cooper pointed out that beautiful facilities are of course an asset, but on the curriculum front we will continue to ensure that the Brewster program successfully meets the needs of our students in college. "We know we are good, but we want to be great," he reminded the audience.

Parent and teacher conferences took place throughout the afternoon and will continue on Saturday morning. Athletic contests, a reception for parents, and a performance by Brewster's Improv group, The DOWN, are also on today's schedule.