October 2020: Silver Linings
Dear Members of the Archmere Community,
On Wednesday, October 21, we held a LEGO Serious Play Seminar for our freshmen, led by consultant David Kubacki, a 1992 Archmere alumnus. Students were given their own LEGO kits and asked to build various things based on a prompt. The last two of the five prompts were, “4. Build a model that is a metaphor for/tells a story about your worst Covid nightmare,” and “5. Build a model that is a metaphor for/tells a story about a ‘silver lining’ that Covid has created in your Archmere Experience.” The students’ number one response to their worst Covid nightmare was having to attend school virtually. Their silver linings were heartwarming and varied, including being able to spend more time with family, especially parents who have demanding jobs and are generally out of the house more often; more time with little siblings, and more time for outdoor activity. Many responded that Archmere and their time back on campus is the silver lining; the fact that we are back together and we have been for 9 weeks!
I am an avid LEGO fan, receiving my first set in the early 1960s. Building with LEGOS after homework was completed was an evening ritual of mine. It was a relaxing, creative, and now, in reflection, cathartic exercise. So, I decided to pull out my vintage LEGOS and respond to the fifth prompt. I built a house, because I believe that the silver lining I have experienced is the great sense of “home,” of community formed by the families associated with Archmere - families who value home and traditions and treating others generously and with sincere hospitality.
On Wednesday, October 21, we held a LEGO Serious Play Seminar for our freshmen, led by consultant David Kubacki, a 1992 Archmere alumnus. Students were given their own LEGO kits and asked to build various things based on a prompt. The last two of the five prompts were, “4. Build a model that is a metaphor for/tells a story about your worst Covid nightmare,” and “5. Build a model that is a metaphor for/tells a story about a ‘silver lining’ that Covid has created in your Archmere Experience.” The students’ number one response to their worst Covid nightmare was having to attend school virtually. Their silver linings were heartwarming and varied, including being able to spend more time with family, especially parents who have demanding jobs and are generally out of the house more often; more time with little siblings, and more time for outdoor activity. Many responded that Archmere and their time back on campus is the silver lining; the fact that we are back together and we have been for 9 weeks!
I am an avid LEGO fan, receiving my first set in the early 1960s. Building with LEGOS after homework was completed was an evening ritual of mine. It was a relaxing, creative, and now, in reflection, cathartic exercise. So, I decided to pull out my vintage LEGOS and respond to the fifth prompt. I built a house, because I believe that the silver lining I have experienced is the great sense of “home,” of community formed by the families associated with Archmere - families who value home and traditions and treating others generously and with sincere hospitality.
Our public discourse can be overwhelming each day with news about the virus, social unrest, and election news. I appreciate the collaborative spirit of our current families and students, in addition to faculty and staff, that is keeping us safe and functioning well during these pandemic days. Encouraging conversations are taking place among our students around the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, respecting individuals’ voices and differences of opinion and perspectives. This election year is emotionally polarizing among family members and friends, and it is important for us to underscore with our students the freedoms we enjoy; in particular, our right to vote and express our opinion, and that we must learn to accept the outcomes of our peaceful political process of determining the governance of our nation, states, and local communities. Archmere is not an “oasis” that protects all of us from the realities of our time, but it is a place that we make our “home,” meaning that it is a place where we should be able to express ourselves and respect each other as a person made in God’s image and likeness.
As we prepare to elect our government officials, let us entrust the voting processes and their outcomes to God, who, working through the hands and hearts of those committed to our constitutional freedoms and way of life, may be a source of peace and unity for all. We pray too, that the Holy Spirit may inspire the minds and touch the hearts of those elected, as we move together optimistically into the future. We make our prayer to God, our loving Creator and to Jesus Christ, our Savior, through the intercession of Mary of the Immaculate Conception, Patroness of the United States, our country and our home.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Marinelli, Ed.D. ‘76
Headmaster
Archmere Academy is a private, Catholic, college preparatory co-educational academy,
grades 9-12 founded in 1932 by the Norbertine Fathers.
grades 9-12 founded in 1932 by the Norbertine Fathers.
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