COVER STORY Saltus.Thatexperiencedidn’tseemtomatter, however,duringmyfirstfewweekshere.The communitywaseagerforanswersandIdidn’thave them.Therewascertainlynohoneymoonperiod usuallygrantedanewHeadmaster.The“Hurricane Slayton”articleinThe Royal Gazette duringmyfirst weekdidn’thelp!Asmyfirstyearnearsanend,I thinkIseesomelightattheendofthetunnel. What would you like the Bermuda and School community to know about you and the way you tackle issues? ‘I’ve always been driven by what’s best for the students’ thosearetwoconstituentgroupssatisfied.The constituentgroupthatalwaysisthemostdifficult toswayisthefaculty.Inmypastschools,staffhas alwayscomearoundtomywayofthinkingbecause, overtime,they’verecognisedandappreciatedhow muchpassionIhaveforimprovingtheschool.As aHead,yourtimeisrelativelylimited;youhaveto makeasmuchheadwayasyoucanandsometimes youcan’taskeverybodywhattheirviewis—you simplyhavetomakedecisions. You have said the essence of a good school is what’s going on in the minds of its students. What do you like to feel in a strong school community? I’vealwaysbeendrivenbywhat’sbestforthe students.Whywouldonebeinthisjob,ifyou weren’t?It’spureandsimple:allinitiativesshould befocussedonthechildren.Inmyopinion,ifyou catertoanyoftheothergroupsbeforethestudents, youhaveyourprioritieswrong.I’vealwaysgone fromthepremisethatifyoucareaboutthestudents andtrytoexplaintotheparentswhyyou’redoing ‘X,’thenultimatelyyouwinovertheparents,so StudentsatSaltushavetremendousprideintheir school.noteverybodyhastheopportunityto attendschoolslikethis.It’softenthekidswho haveasomewhatcavalierapproach.Twoparentsin Bermudamaybeworkingveryhardattwoorthree jobstosendtheirchildrenhere.Grandparents mightbeinvolved.So,itisaprivilegetoattenda schoollikeSaltus,notaright.I’vealwaysspent timeharpingonthat—I’vetoldstudents,‘Look, youcouldbeataninstitutionwherethereare30 or40inaclass,whereteachersdon’tcare,where therearenoextracurricularactivities,whereit’s notsafeorsecureonthecampus,whereacademic achievementisn’tafocalpoint.’Thesignofagood schooliswhereyoucanrandomlyaskanystudent aboutthekeyaspectsoftheirschool,andtheycan tellyouwhattheyare. How do you encourage that kind of pride? Byinculcatinginouryoungeststudentsthevalues andtraditionsoftheSchool.Thisishappeningat Cavendish.A122-year-oldinstitutionlikeSaltus shouldreallyemphasiseitsstrongtraditions.Atthe entrancewayoftheSecondarySchool,you’llseea numberofRhodesScholarshipboards.Itisaclear indicationthattheSchool’srootswerebasedon highacademicachievement;that’soneofourgoals. Forthefirsttimeever,wesentourHeadBoy andHeadGirltotheCanadianAssociationof IndependentSchools’StudentLeadership conferenceinCalgary,Alberta.Wesenttwo fabulousrepresentatives,oneofthemaworld-class 20 S A LT U S M A G A Z I N E