Fall 2009

Dear CRLS Students and Families,

Just as it is difficult to determine when Cambridge’s first true high school was established, it is equally difficult to determine where the first school building
was located and what it was like. We do know that “the first schools of Cambridge and other fledgling villages were for the most part flimsy wooden shacks that doubled as dwellings and meetinghouses and were often set in the middle of ox pastures or on the edge of marshland” (Langone, J., The Cambridge Rindge and Latin School: Yesterday and Today, Cambridge, MA, The Cambridge Historical Society, 1998). Today, as CRLS undergoes a major renovation, it is clear that the wooden shack school of the long-ago past will be superseded by a state-of-the-art, technologically advanced, green facility that will serve our community well.

As we live through the renovation of our campus, including the temporary ninth grade campus relocation, it is important to remember that these inconveniences will ultimately reap great rewards. At the same time, we know that buildings are only structures in which we come together to do the hard work that is high school: it is the community that we build together, the work that we embrace, and the achievements that we make that matter the most.

This year, I ask that you help us become an even stronger community given our challenges. I invite you to get more deeply involved in the many ways that you can make a difference by your participation in school governance, activities, clubs, athletics, co-curriculars, and all the other opportunities we offer. I invite you to share your energy, ideas and enthusiasm with us as we
plan an event calendar for the year that is student-driven, and that showcases diversity and opportunities to learn more about and from one another.

Finally, I ask that you wrap your hearts and minds around your academics. In our increasingly sophisticated global economy, it is critical that you acquire the intellectual skills and habits that will serve you well when you leave CRLS.

Your future success depends on your willingness to take advantage of the excellent instruction and wide range of courses that we provide. Spend some thinking about how your courses and other experiences at CRLS will prepare you for what you will later need: technological competency, the need to know how to think analytically, communicate eff ectively, solve diffi cult and complex problems, and the ability to work cooperatively with a range of diverse people. There’s a lot to do and learn here!

Have a terrific school year!

Sincerely,
Christopher Saheed
Principal

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Last updated March 8, 2010.