Mr. Faus' Blog 2020-2021

April 23, 2021

This week I had the pleasure of attending my first Distinguished Alumni awards ceremony in honor of Greg Norman Jr. ‘04. Norman was honored for his entrepreneurial spirit and the great work he has done through the creation of Shark Wake Parks. Like Alumni Council President Paul Lawler ‘02 said during his opening remarks, Norman has created an opportunity for members of our community who might not otherwise have the ability to enjoy watersports. 

While the ceremony was certainly a testament to Greg’s impressive career, it was also a reflection of the type of community Benjamin is and the quality of citizens it graduates. As a new member of the TBS family, I’ve quickly realized that both our students and graduates move through the world anchored and guided by our 12 Benjamin Values. It has become self-evident that each member of our community strives to embody these noble character traits in everything they pursue. 

Greg expressed his gratitude for the mentors and friends he made during his time as a Buccaneer and for the solid foundation the school provided. I emphatically agree with him that the sky's the limit for a Benjamin graduate.

While graduation is just on the horizon for some of our students, and a decade away for others, I hope all of our students and their families know that they can always return to their Benjamin home. Once a Buccaneer, always a Buccaneer!

March 9, 2021

This week, I visited Mr. Oster’s accelerated STEM class where I was offered a first-hand glimpse into the Middle School’s STEM curriculum. Eager students were hard at work in the Maglio Family STEM Center, a truly impressive and unique learning environment which serves as a creative space for our Lower and Middle School students. On this particular day, students were researching, designing, drawing to scale, and constructing bridges as part of an engineering challenge. I was so impressed with how these students worked together as a team to construct their bridges without much teacher-led instruction beyond material and length requirements. 

Mr. Oster brought the true essence of STEM exploration to life as he quietly supervised the small groups but actively refrained from giving advice on how to travel from point A (raw materials) to point B (a functional bridge).

One excited student raised his hand and offered to explain how the class would determine who won the challenge. 

This first-hand experience was just a tiny glimpse into the STEM curriculum at Benjamin, which begins with our youngest learners in the WOW program and continues through high school graduation. Upon graduation, students have engineered bridges, coded robots, and created GMOs. They have had the opportunity to join the Benjineers engineering team and pursue the Benjamin Engineering Certificate Program. It’s no wonder many of our students wind up continuing their studies in these fields at the collegiate level. Many have reported back to former TBS mentors that they felt well-equipped and confident walking into their first college courses. 

Not only am I impressed by the breadth and depth of the STEM program at Benjamin, I am equally moved by the genuine excitement I see in the eyes of our learners of all ages. Seeing bright young students engaged and excited about hands-on problem solving was the highlight of my week. 

February 12, 2021

Each school has a unique culture, and while it is often hard to distill this ethos into a single moment or event, the Lower School Olympics offers the perfect glimpse at the Benjamin experience. 

For over 30 years, each first through fifth grade classroom has adopted a country to represent at our Olympic games. Students spend the year learning the history, geography, culture, and customs of their assigned country. Classrooms are filled with activity all year long as teachers integrate the study of their country into all aspects of the curriculum. In Ms. Canese’s first grade class representing Thailand, students enjoyed many hands-on experiences - from learning Muay Thai martial arts to building and flying traditional Thai kites. In Ms. Kaufman’s class, students took a virtual visit to the Blarney Stone as they learned more about Ireland. 

The beloved tradition of the Olympics provides a multifaceted educational experience for our lower school students. Not only does it serve as a multicultural study that includes the exploration of foreign cultures and customs, it also provides our students a day of exhilarating competition, physical education, and above all else a chance to display good sportsmanship.

There are so many hallmarks of a Benjamin education woven into this annual event. 

I am proud of my colleagues, including Head of Lower School Dr. Kristen Sheehan and physical education teachers Coach Bailey and Cheatham who deftly managed to continue this tradition while adhering to COVID-19 protocols. 

It was such a joy to see the excitement on our students’ faces as they were able to participate in this uniquely Benjamin right of passage despite the challenges of this year. 

January 20, 2021

Last week, our upper school students enjoyed a special assembly to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. One of my favorite elements of the program was listening to students Kaleb and Emma’s rendition of “Hero,” and hearing from fellow classmates how pleasantly surprised they were to see Kaleb taking on a singing role. I don’t think anyone listening to the duet would realize that “singer” was not a role he had previously embodied. 

I think this willingness to try new things without the fear of judgement or failure is a testament to what type of community we are here at Benjamin and what sets us apart. It certainly takes a tremendous amount of courage to try something new in front of your entire high school peer group, and I am proud that TBS is a community where academic and artistic risk taking is encouraged in a supportive environment. 

Students broke out in small groups following the virtual assembly to discuss diversity, equity, and how we can continue to make Benjamin an inclusive community for all students.  

I was honored to be invited to listen to two of the student groups and encouraged by the open dialogue, honesty, and thoughtfulness of our young people at the upper school. The experience was a great example of our DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging) initiative at work, and I am grateful to be part of a school community that has made this initiative a priority.

Their candid testimonials set the stage for an implicit bias discussion among faculty members. The breakout sessions opened the door for honest dialogue and the opportunity for faculty to identify areas in which they may harbor an implicit bias. I am incredibly proud of our teachers for embracing this initiative on a personal and professional level and for joining the School in our mission to create a safe and nurturing environment for a diverse student body. We want every Benjamin student to feel that they matter, that they have a voice, and that they belong.