From The Ridge - The McCallie Blog

Story written by Henley Edge, Class of 2017  Editor’s note: McCallie senior Henley Edge aspires to a career in sportswriting. As an exercise, Henley decided to write a profile of 2016 graduate and McCallie baseball player Quinn Smith and his grandfather. A brief excerpt of the story was published in the Fall 2016 issue of McCallie Magazine. Here is Henley's complete story.

The frustrated expression that covered the eleven-year-old boy’s sweat-drenched face had set in long ago. It was a hot summer day and he was tired, but that was the last thing on his mind. All he wanted was to see that little white ball sail over the chain link fence that stood far behind his grandfather.  

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McCallie School opened the 2016-17 school year with the annual Convocation ceremony, this year held on the Spencer J. McCallie III Quadrangle. 

Headmaster Lee Burns '87 welcomed the students and faculty back to the Ridge with the following remarks. For the 112th time, boys, faculty and staff assemble to begin a school year at the McCallie School. I extend a warm welcome to each of you, and especially to the many of you who are new this year to our family. Read More

By Headmaster Lee Burns '87

Locked in a vault in Atlanta is the secret formula for Coca-Cola. Kentucky Fried Chicken likewise has its secret recipe of eleven herbs and spices to give their chicken its distinct flavor. From Apple’s code for its operating system to Google’s search algorithm, successful companies have carefully-guarded, proprietary information, processes and products that account for much of their success. In short, they each have a secret formula or recipe.

What’s McCallie’s secret recipe?

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Middle School Head Lynn Goss reflects on his career in education. This piece can be seen in the Fall/Winter 2015 issue of McCallie Magazine.

Where has the time gone?

Isn’t this the question we continue to ask ourselves as we grow older?

As our children begin their journey to adulthood, we continue to be amazed how quickly the time passes. One day they are starting school; the next they are graduating.

Retirement? Isn’t that something that we often talk about, but we think that it will never arrive?

We won’t ever be that old, will we? Last year, I heard a quote that rang true for me at this point in my life/career. “The days are long, but the years are short.” This statement from author Gretchen Rubin sums up how I feel at this point in my life.

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In March, Michael Lebovitz '82 graciously accepted the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus Award from McCallie School. The award is the highest honor the school can bestow upon one of its alumni, and only one award per year is given. After thanking the school, his family and friends, he offered the following thoughts.

I want to talk about three things as it relates to my experiences at McCallie: relationships and experiences, ego, and giving.

Relationships & Experiences

I believe most things in life revolve around relationships and experiences, and I know I learned the importance of relationships and experiences from my time at McCallie. The relationships that each of us established with our classmates and teachers endure to this day, and some of the experiences we will never forget (and some shouldn't be repeated).

First day at McCallie, September, 1976. I was a 13-year-old "pygmy" — what we inappropriately called seventh-graders back then — and in first period I had Coach Day. Can you imagine Coach Day’s teaching today? Wow, that would be interesting. Sort of like some of our Presidential candidates today – say everything you can that is NOT politically correct!

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