RE Log - Fall 2020

FALL 2020 Ransom Everglades LOG 3 Google paideia (education) and you might come across the same ancient Greek depiction that we did. The scholar’s wax tablet (to the right) looks very much like a laptop. The cover of this magazine is a testament to the times; all our students received school-issued laptops with that distinctive RE sticker. In many ways, the last few months have brought out the best in our community, but they have indeed been difficult times. The Class of 2020 modeled optimism and resilience despite losing out on many senior traditions and the much- anticipated fun of their final weeks at RE. Don’t miss the emotional message on page 39 from Preston Edmunds ’20 , our student-body president, and the news story on our creative and adaptive celebrations of our senior class on page 40. While our nation battled COVID-19, we also grappled with a historic reckoning on racial injustice. Members of our Black alumni coalesced and formed reBa (Ransom Everglades Black Alumni). Their Juneteenth letter to the community reminded us that “diversity without inclusion is exclusion” and that racism, in all its forms, must be eradicated. Carla Hill, our Director of Inclusion and Community Engagement, shares on page 38 how Ransom Everglades and the Board of Trustees have responded. Finally, it is with great pride that we share a photographic tour of the new Constance & Miguel Fernandez STEM Center, which opened to students for the first time this fall. You can learn more about the RE families, beginning with trustee Constance Fernandez and her husband Mike Fernandez (see page 22), whose generosity helped us bring to life this important center of innovation. Your support, your letters, and your encouragement have energized us as we fight through what most likely will be one of the most – if not the most – challenging periods in Ransom Everglades’ 117-year history. We are grateful for the bedrock that supports us. I hope that the memories of the traditions, rituals, teachers and classmates that the Log invariably elicits call out to you in a way that is both comforting and inspiring. We are doing well at Ransom Everglades and wish the same for you. Penny Townsend Head of School Your support, your letters, and your encouragement have energized us as we fight through what most likely will be one of the most – if not the most – challenging periods in Ransom Everglades’ 117-year history.” “ Penny Townsend helps prepare the campus for the arrival of students.