COVER STORY debater—whospontaneouslystoodupinfrontof 200studentdelegatesandjustblewthemaway withanimpromptuspeech.Everyonepresentat thatconferencewillrememberthathewasfrom Saltus.Wehavesomeverystrongstudents;it’sa matterofinstillinginthemastheygooffintothe widerworldasenseofprideintheirschool. Are there similarities between Saltus and some of the schools you’ve worked at? ‘We’ve already taken a lot of time screening faculty for next year’ Yes.Whetheraschoolisall-boysorall-girls, boardingorday,itisallaboutexcellence,insideand outsidetheclassroom.Everyonehastobuyinto thisconcept.Mediocreisn’tgoodenough.Certainly ourstudentsareenthusiasticandeagertolearn.We wentthroughaweek-longprocessofinterviewing PrefectsforHeadBoy/Girlpositions.Hadyou beenaflyonthewall,youwouldhavebeen extremelyimpressed.Theywerearticulate.They werepoised.Theywereconfident.Andthatspeaks wellforthekindofschoolthatSaltusisifitcan developthosekindsofstudents.Interestingly, almosteveryoneofthosestudentshasbeenhere fortheduration—fromCavendishP1uptothe SecondarySchool—aproductofSaltus. Therearemoredifferences[betweenSaltus andpreviousschools]though.I’dsaythebiggest hasbeenthediversenatureofthepopulationon theIsland.IfyoudroveontothecampusesI’ve beenassociatedwithinthepast,you’regoingto runintoamuchdifferentsocio-economicgroup.I seeaveryinterestingblendofparentbackgrounds here—including,businessleaders,accountants, insuranceexecutives,constructionworkers,taxi operatorsandtruckdrivers.Ifinditfascinating thatalloftheseprofessionssupportSaltus,making thefinancialsacrificetosendtheirchildrenhere. How have you found the transition from Canada to Bermuda? IhadbeentoBermudaseveraltimes—coaching, recruiting[students]andmeetingalumnifor St.Andrew’s,soIwasfamiliarwithmostaspects oftheIsland.ItaughtmanyBermudianswhile IwasatTrinityCollegeSchool(TCS).Mostof themarebackontheIslandworkingandsending theirchildrentoSaltus.Thisisveryrewarding, butitmakesmefeelold! I’venoticedeveryoneimmersesthemselvesina multitudeofcausesandpursuitsinBermuda,and thereseemstobeaveryhealthylifestyle.Somany peoplearerunning,golfing,swimming,playing tennis—thereisatremendouswellnessculture here,whichismuchhealthierthanmostplaces. How do you see Saltus evolving over the next decade? Facility-wise,withtheeconomybeingwhatitis, Ithinkwewillbeinaholdingpatternforawhile. WewouldliketocontinuetoimprovetheSecondary building,particularlytheAssemblyHallandstay ontopofmaintenanceissuesonbothcampuses. TheSaltusFieldisanissue.Thestudentsuseit s  omuchthatwewouldlovetoinstallsyntheticturf. However,Idon’tseemytimeherebeingfocussed oncampusdevelopment. We’vealreadytakenalotoftimeinrecruiting andscreeningfacultyfornextyear.We’vesaid 22 S A LT U S M A G A Z I N E