A team of students and faculty from Loomis Chaffee completed the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K race in support of breast cancer awareness and research on June 3.
Norton Family Center for the Common Good
Exploring and practicing "the best self and the common good."
The Norton Family Center for the Common Good encourages in students an expanded understanding of their roles as citizens in a diverse democracy and fosters an active, engaged approach to citizenship in our global society. Providing programs, resources and support in classroom and extra-curricular experiences, the Center inspires students to identify, create, and sustain ideas and actions on behalf of the common good in local-to-global contexts. The Center’s curricular and community activities support the school’s mission which exhorts Loomis Chaffee students to serve “the best self and the common good.”
Throughout the year, freshmen participate in the Freshman Seminars, often co-facilitated by upperclassmen. School-wide Dialogues in the Common Good center on themes drawn from school, local, national, or world issues, personal narratives or position statements which illuminate the theme of “the common good.”
The Norton Center also actively supports and collaborates with Community Service, the Community Work Program, and the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies.
- Meet the Directors
- Freshman Seminars in the Common Good
- Dialogues in the Common Good
- Special Projects and Student-Led Initiatives
- Collaboration with Other Departments
- Collaboration with the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies
Meet the Directors
Eric LaForest
Director
Eric joined the Loomis Chaffee community in 2012 as a history teacher and Associate Director of the Norton Center. From 2008 to 2012 he was a member of the faculty of Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School in Waltham, Mass. A native Floridian and an alumnus of Davidson College and Boston College, Eric’s teaching interests include the interdisciplinary study of social responsibility, American cultural and social history, and the American Civil War. Along with his work in the Norton Center, he currently teaches AP US History, coaches JV baseball, and advises Student Council. Eric was named "Teacher of the Year" by the Loomis Chaffee Student Council in 2014. Outside of school, he enjoys following the Atlanta Braves, hiking with his dog, a Spinone Italiano, reading, and brewing fine coffee. He lives on campus with his wife and son.
Molly Pond
Associate Director
Molly joined the faculty of Loomis Chaffee in 1997. Having earned her bachelor’s degree from Yale University and her master’s degree at Teachers College – Columbia University, she has taught in both the History and Music Departments during her tenure. From 2010 through 2014, Molly served as Head of the History and Social Science Department. While on sabbatical during the 2014-15 academic year, Molly studied the history, economics, and politics of South Asia, traveling to India as part of Loomis Chaffee’s International Education Program. In addition to her work with the Norton Center, she teaches American Civilization and works as an affiliate in Kravis Hall, where she lives with her husband, two daughters and their Siberian Husky.
Freshman Seminars in the Common Good
The Freshman Seminar in the Common Good seeks to establish among our freshmen the relationship between the individual self and the common good. Framed by the connection of essential social themes with national and world events, these weekly seminars foster the critical thinking and committed engagement necessary for responsible citizenship. This foundational freshman experience cultivates both the idea and practice of discovering “our best selves” through service to “the common good.”
Dialogues in the Common Good
In the interest of enabling students and faculty to freely engage in conversation about social issues or world events, the Norton Center periodically hosts evening Dialogues in the Common Good, open to the entire school community. Dialoguetopics range from specific world or national events, such as the tragedy of Ferguson and its context, to the role of social media in augmenting or threatening our relationships and quality of life. Students often facilitate these rich and respectful conversations on topics that they have raised, practicing the art of the “town hall meeting” while they explore their own opinions, beliefs, and their world.
Special Projects and Student-Led Initiatives
The Norton Center is a gathering space for students interested in leading and realizing their own initiatives. The center has co-sponsored teams of students working on a diverse set of projects. Examples include: planning a Special Olympics event; conversations and curricula development around issues concerning sexual violence, divestment, and sustainability programs; and participation in events in support of Amnesty International and other humanitarian organizations. The Norton Center's relationship with the Student Council facilitates support for student-led projects. Each year brings many new opportunities and projects for consideration on and beyond the Loomis Chaffee campus.
Collaboration with Other Departments
The Norton Center has enjoyed the privilege of teaming up with numerous departments and constituencies around campus. Examples of collaboration include: planning of a community service “un-conference," student volunteer training sessions, partnership with the Agriculture program, participation on the Climate and Inclusion Committee, co-sponsorship of SEEDS professional development training, advising with the Senior Projects program, guidance of the Hubbard Speaker Series, and shared initiatives with the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies.
Collaboration with the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies
The relationship between the Island and the world has been compared to the relationship between the "best self" and the "common good." Therefore, the Norton Center and the Alvord Center for Global & Environmental Studies enjoy frequent and substantive opportunities for collaboration. These include programming for international travel experiences that allows students the time, space, and appetite for deeper reflection about their travels abroad. The Norton and Alvord Centers also collaborate to bring speakers and films to campus and encourage student discussions about their themes.
Norton Center News
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Eight students selected for this year's Norton Fellowship Program will embark upon their summer community engagement projects when classes end this month.
Sophomore Molly Henderson organized a six-week ballet course this spring for children in Windsor schools as part of Loomis Chaffee's Community Service Program.
On Saturday, May 13, the final Pelican Day for the 2016–17 school year, freshmen and sophomores took part in a "service stroll" around the Loop Road while seniors participated in information sessions about college transition, and juniors caught up on other work.
Guest speaker Rabbi Philip Lazowski shared his personal experience as a Holocaust survivor at Loomis Chaffee on May 10, 2017.
The Loomis Chaffee community hosted the Northern Connecticut Time Trials for the Special Olympics for the fourth consecutive year on Sunday, May 7.
Loomis Chaffee's Pelican Eagle students engaged in a language enrichment workshop for local elementary school students in grades two through five on April 27.
Loomis Chaffee community members joined in a Color Run organized by students in the PSO and Girls International to benefit Fabindia School on April 28.
More than 35 Loomis Chaffee students participated in the annual Day of Silence on Friday, April 21,
The LC Instrumental Music Club presented a recital at the River Street School, a Bloomfield, Conn., school that serves developmentally disabled young people.