A letter from Mr. Larry Brown to CCA Alumni
My dear alums and former students,
I’m writing you from my 28th year of teaching at Cape Cod Academy. First, I just want to touch base with you – and also try to enlist your support for our annual fund. These days, I don’t just teach ancient history, I am ancient history. My hair is the color of aluminum; I walk a little slower (and sometimes more painfully than I used to) and I’m getting old. I’ve spent well over half my adult life in this place and have absolutely no interest in being anywhere else. Let me tell you why.
First of all, what made this place cool for me years ago when you were here – is because you were here. There is no better life than a life spent with young people. Now I’ve got new kids. Every year I get new kids – and they are amazing too. Last year, my daughter was fighting for her life with cancer. When my kids here learned about it, I started getting emails almost every night for months telling me they loved me, telling my daughter they were with her, praying for her, and that it would turn out OK. And it did. But long before the surgery and post-op was done, one of my 7th graders asked how old I was. “Oh, I said, I’m old... very old.” “No you’re not,” one of the kids shot back. “And besides, we won’t let you get old. We’re going to rub off on you.” And so they have... just as you once did when you were here. It’s not just me. It rubs off on all of us. The younger teachers just don’t know it yet.
You’ll be pleased to know that a bunch of the folks you remember are still here. Ric Bellamy is right next door to me, still teaching English, still doing plays. We got to see a play he’d written – and it was fantastic. He still teaches film history, something he loves, and consequently, there are kids who will never see movies the same way for the rest of their lives.
Carrie Christopher is still here, still keeping the place from running off the rails by knowing everything there is to know and then looking down modestly when anyone like me points that out.
Irene Santos is still hard as a brick and soft as a dove – and nobody would dare give her any lip for even a second. She also teaches life skills, sees kids (and life) sharply and loves them clear through.
OK, so you know what’s next. I’m gonna hit you up for a contribution to the CCA Annual Fund. As private schools go, we’re still relatively new... relatively small. Whatever you can do will make a real difference.
Here are some of the programs supported by the Annual Fund. It supports professional development for the faculty, including seminars and courses at Stanford and Columbia, plus sends folks to National Science and Math conferences. It supports curriculum review and helps fund new initiatives. CCA is committing to the creation of a Service Learning and Social Entrepreneurship program for which the faculty will receive training later this spring. Finally, your support helps provide financial aid for qualified applicants who will thrive here - if they can get help paying for it.
I think you’ll be proud of this place and what we do here, year after year. Nobody’s perfect, but kids are still safe here and every year we get to watch them bloom and grow. Every year, we get to send them off into a competitive world with a sense of what they were maybe born to do and equipped to do it. The coffee houses you remember are still going on. Each year, new kids are discovering their talents and finding joy and pride in supporting charities and good causes with the money they raise. We’ve upped the ante by staging annual Shelter from the Storm concerts, gathering the best singers, dancers and musicians from schools across the Cape to raise money for area veterans and the homeless. CCA kids have delivered over 1,500 bags of groceries to local food pantries; they raise thousands of dollars for breast cancer treatment for local women who can’t pay. With over $150,000 raised over the years, CCA – your little school – has become a major force for good on Cape Cod.
I love this place. I love what we do – and I’m proud to be a part of it. I’ll always hope you are too. Please support the good work any way you can, and always know we’d love to have you come see us and fill us in on your news.
All the best,
Mr. B.
Lawrence Brown
Humanities Faculty
Back
I’m writing you from my 28th year of teaching at Cape Cod Academy. First, I just want to touch base with you – and also try to enlist your support for our annual fund. These days, I don’t just teach ancient history, I am ancient history. My hair is the color of aluminum; I walk a little slower (and sometimes more painfully than I used to) and I’m getting old. I’ve spent well over half my adult life in this place and have absolutely no interest in being anywhere else. Let me tell you why.
First of all, what made this place cool for me years ago when you were here – is because you were here. There is no better life than a life spent with young people. Now I’ve got new kids. Every year I get new kids – and they are amazing too. Last year, my daughter was fighting for her life with cancer. When my kids here learned about it, I started getting emails almost every night for months telling me they loved me, telling my daughter they were with her, praying for her, and that it would turn out OK. And it did. But long before the surgery and post-op was done, one of my 7th graders asked how old I was. “Oh, I said, I’m old... very old.” “No you’re not,” one of the kids shot back. “And besides, we won’t let you get old. We’re going to rub off on you.” And so they have... just as you once did when you were here. It’s not just me. It rubs off on all of us. The younger teachers just don’t know it yet.
You’ll be pleased to know that a bunch of the folks you remember are still here. Ric Bellamy is right next door to me, still teaching English, still doing plays. We got to see a play he’d written – and it was fantastic. He still teaches film history, something he loves, and consequently, there are kids who will never see movies the same way for the rest of their lives.
Carrie Christopher is still here, still keeping the place from running off the rails by knowing everything there is to know and then looking down modestly when anyone like me points that out.
Irene Santos is still hard as a brick and soft as a dove – and nobody would dare give her any lip for even a second. She also teaches life skills, sees kids (and life) sharply and loves them clear through.
OK, so you know what’s next. I’m gonna hit you up for a contribution to the CCA Annual Fund. As private schools go, we’re still relatively new... relatively small. Whatever you can do will make a real difference.
Here are some of the programs supported by the Annual Fund. It supports professional development for the faculty, including seminars and courses at Stanford and Columbia, plus sends folks to National Science and Math conferences. It supports curriculum review and helps fund new initiatives. CCA is committing to the creation of a Service Learning and Social Entrepreneurship program for which the faculty will receive training later this spring. Finally, your support helps provide financial aid for qualified applicants who will thrive here - if they can get help paying for it.
I think you’ll be proud of this place and what we do here, year after year. Nobody’s perfect, but kids are still safe here and every year we get to watch them bloom and grow. Every year, we get to send them off into a competitive world with a sense of what they were maybe born to do and equipped to do it. The coffee houses you remember are still going on. Each year, new kids are discovering their talents and finding joy and pride in supporting charities and good causes with the money they raise. We’ve upped the ante by staging annual Shelter from the Storm concerts, gathering the best singers, dancers and musicians from schools across the Cape to raise money for area veterans and the homeless. CCA kids have delivered over 1,500 bags of groceries to local food pantries; they raise thousands of dollars for breast cancer treatment for local women who can’t pay. With over $150,000 raised over the years, CCA – your little school – has become a major force for good on Cape Cod.
I love this place. I love what we do – and I’m proud to be a part of it. I’ll always hope you are too. Please support the good work any way you can, and always know we’d love to have you come see us and fill us in on your news.
All the best,
Mr. B.
Lawrence Brown
Humanities Faculty
Cape Cod Academy is one of the only independent, co-educational, college preparatory schools serving students from kindergarten to grade 12 on Cape Cod.
©2022 Cape Cod Academy. All Rights Reserved.