As the lights of the Lower Right dining hall in Paresky Commons dimmed last Thursday, Head of School Barbara Chase emerged on a stepladder and raised her blue field hockey stick to announce Head of School Day 2012.
Cheers erupted from the student crowd, as some jumped on tables and chairs in order to see Chase make the last Head of School Day announcement of her time at Andover. Students began dancing to the music that blasted during Chase’s entrance.
Head of School Day 2012 fell on a Friday, which gave students two consecutive three-day weekends.
“Since it is her last year as headmaster, it only felt right for Mrs. Chase to do something big for her last announcement,” said Neil Evans, Web Content Editor in the Office of Communications, who contributed to the brainstorm for the reveal.
Tracy Sweet, Director of Communications, said, “This being Mrs. Chase’s final opportunity to raise the stick, we wanted to make it memorable and over-the-top celebratory.”
According to Evans, students in the past have crowded around Chase in the lobby of Commons before she has had the chance to enter the dining hall. To make this year’s announcement special, Evans planned to sneak Chase into Commons through a back door.
Evans said, “We really wanted to catch the students off-guard. Once we decided to go for the surprise, the bar kept going up with staging, lighting, music and the ladder to really create a rock star and concert-like atmosphere in order for it to be a fun and cool moment.”
According to Evans, members of the administration contributing to this year’s Head of School Day plans quickly organized the music and staging details. They discussed ways to make Chase’s final announcement unique.
According to Sweet, every year, Rebecca Sykes, Associate Head of School, Paul Murphy, Dean of Students, and members of the Office of Communications are involved to ensure that Head of School Day presents the least interruption to class work and midterm assessments. They also have to take into consideration Chase’s travel schedule.
Sweet said, “In past years Mrs. Sykes has served as an able and courageous surrogate. But for this special finale, we needed Mrs. Chase live in person.” Two years ago, Sykes filled in for Chase and walked into Commons bearing Chase’s field hockey stick.
According to Sweet, once Chase retires, Chase’s iconic field hockey stick will be housed in the school archives in the Oliver Wendell Holmes Library.
Students reported that they were caught off guard with the over-the-top announcement.
Amanda Simard ’13 said, “When the lights turned off, I knew it was going to be Head of School Day, but I didn’t anticipate such an elaborate celebration. The music and surprise affect really made it special and fun for everyone.”