Message From Matt Byrnes

Dear Wooster Alumni Community,

Entering our last trimester of the year, we begin to measure the passage time via events: Don Quixote Day, Junior Moving Up, Senior Send Off, Arts and Letters, assorted other concerts and awards celebrations, then, of course, our Commencement week. This is when the seniors, who are fired up for Senior Independent Study, also begin to realize that this really is it. The end of their time as a student at Wooster School is nigh. They’ve all been prepared for what comes next, but the reality of it all can sometimes be bigger than expected.  

I often joke that we too are ready for them to leave, but now is when the reality also sets in for faculty and staff. Those faces, those personalities, those quirks and habits – these young people that we’ve spent so many days with – will soon become a part of our memory, and the legacy of Wooster School. We are immensely gratified and deeply saddened at the same time.  How lucky are we to be blessed with this work? I hope that you take a moment to think back to your final weeks here, and your complete experience. Maybe reach out today to that person – teacher, classmate, friend – who you’ve been meaning to reconnect with but haven’t.

This year’s ending is particularly bittersweet for me and my wife Madyn as the last of our four children will graduate this year. Next year, our twelfth here at Wooster, will be the first in which I am not simultaneously Head of School and current parent. While it has not always been easy or smooth for Madyn, myself, or our children (and you’d need to speak with them to get the full perspective!) I consider all of us blessed to have stepped onto campus all those years ago. What a gift it has been.

Thank you so much for reading, sharing your stories, and for your support through the years.

Be well,

Matt Byrnes
Head of School