Our Wildwood, Summer 2017, Volume 41

g i v i n g v o i c e

Annie Barnes Colleen Pundyk

Q/ a

. ANNIE BARNES: You were one of the passionate pioneers who guided Wildwood’s expansion from K-6 to K-12, from one campus to two, so you have a great depth of understanding about Wildwood as an institution. As you look at Wildwood today, what are some of the essential structures in place that enable us to do the good work that happens here? COLLEEN PUNDYK: One of the fundamental structures that continue today is advisory, which was put in place from day one. One of the core principles of the school as a whole is to know children well. Advisory is key to this basic tenet. I believe everyone who came to Wildwood in those early days—from the guard in front of the school to the facilities team to office workers to teachers—while we may not all have been advisors, we all were committed to knowing these kids well. You still see that today. I think that kind of core principle is one of the things that allow a school to be different from the norm. ANNIE: One of the hallmarks of my experience as a teacher at Wildwood is a sense of community, and the commitment to know people well is a big part of building community. One of the pieces I think enables a community to happen is some core agreements, and it strikes me that the Habits of Mind and Heart are the core agreements that hold up the culture here. Can you talk about either your favorite Habit or describe a moment when the founders of the middle and upper school were considering the Habits. COLLEEN: There was a lot of study and research that went into creating the conceptual tapestry that would become the foundation of the program. When the Habits of Mind and Heart emerged through studying the principles developed by the Coalition of Essential Schools, we thought, “wow, this is architecture, this is a structure upon which we can build.” . It struck me when Landis talked at this year’s State . of the School about the Habit of Convention as an

A founding Wildwood parent and Board of Trustees member, Colleen Pundyk was the director of institutional advancement from 1998 until her retirement in 2015. Here in conversation with Annie Barnes, current 10th grade humanities teacher, Colleen reflects on her time at Wildwood.

Our Wildwood /Summer 2017 2/3

Colleen Pundyk

Annie Barnes