School Year Opens with Message of Gratitude and Optimism

Excitement rippled through the Hamilton Chapel on Tuesday morning as Belmont Hill students and faculty reconnected after summer break and gathered together for the first time in the new school year.  

As is tradition, Greg Schneider, Ronald M. Druker ‘62 Head of School, welcomed the community back with an opening Chapel Talk. Setting an aspirational tone for the year ahead, Mr. Schneider used the opportunity to examine the qualities of character celebrated at Belmont Hill, with a particular focus on gratitude and optimism. “I want us thinking about gratitude and optimism in a new way – as true building blocks of our mission,” Mr. Schneider said. 

This focus was inspired by Mr. Schneider’s own experiences this summer and the research conducted alongside Dr. Joseph Nelson which identified the core components of good character and how they are embodied at the School. 

Mr. Schneider defined gratitude as “a way to make sure we maintain perspective throughout our year together. Energy might be high on day one, but we are all going to have days this year that feel less so. Reminding ourselves that we are grateful for our families, this community, and our friends is just so incredibly important.”

Mr. Schneider called the community to view optimism as a conscious choice. “We can choose to believe that good things are coming or headed our way,” Mr. Schneider said. “We can choose to believe that we deserve to have good things happen to us.”

Before sending the community off to their first full day of classes, practices, and extracurriculars, Mr. Schneider offered a goal for everyone to strive for. “I want our perspective this year to be grounded in gratitude and buoyed by optimism. Think about what this could mean in your life this year, as I am clearly thinking about what it means in mine.”