Year-end Appeal 2025
Dear Friends of Fairhaven, As the matriarch of the Four Butler Boys family, I was honored when I was asked by the Fairhaven School Donations Clerk to write this letter. Having three of my sons as Fairhaven alumni and one…
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Reconnecting With Our Curiosity
“There are no grades and no hard deadlines, just the pleasure and satisfaction of enriching your own mind.” “The enthusiasm around personal curriculums and independent learning might reflect modern-day anxieties. Faced with the noise of social media and endless demands…
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Back to School, Sudbury edition
The two core ideas of Fairhaven School- freedom and responsibility- have been on full display as we commence the 2025-2026 school year, our twenty-eighth. While we continue to explain our unique educational program in new and different ways, these two…
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A Letter to My Younger Self: Nora’s Fairhaven Graduation Speech
Join us as we share a unique and heartwarming graduation speech from Nora, Class of ’25. Framed as a letter to her first-year self, Nora reflects on four transformative years, from cultivating a garden to unexpected soccer games, and finding a true sense of belonging. Discover the impact of a Sudbury education through her honest and moving reflections on growth, friendship, and preparing for the future.
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Sports Corp’s New Goal
For the past year, students at Fairhaven have been playing pickup games of recreational soccer. It started as a mild interest, and folding chairs were sufficient for goal posts. Over time interest grew, and now soccer has surpassed basketball as…
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Montessori Schools vs Sudbury Schools: What’s the Difference?
Let’s look at some of the similarities and differences between Montessori and Sudbury schools, so you can make the best schooling decision for your child.
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Giving Letter 2023
Tuesday, November 28, 2023 Greetings Friend of Fairhaven School, I hope this letter finds you well. My name is Ben Umstead. I’m an alum of the school, and I’m here to tell you a story about play. On a recent episode…
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2022 Giving Letter: Education Outside of the Box
Greetings Friend of Fairhaven School, I hope my letter finds you and your family well. My son started at Fairhaven four years ago, and each day has been a great adventure encouraging autonomy, finding beauty in the natural world, and…
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Alumni Profile: Tucker Bane, Class of 2011
“It was really helpful to have grown up around artists at Fairhaven. As a game developer, you have to be able to work with people of all sorts of different disciplines. I need to work with streamers and artists, all these kinds of people with different skillsets and ways of looking at the world. I think my experiences at Fairhaven were really helpful with being able to communicate with all these people in their ‘native language’.
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A Letter of Love and Gratitude to Fairhaven
I’ll never forget the first time I drove down Queen Anne Road on my initial visit to Fairhaven. It was 2006, and accompanying me was my third child, Kieran. He was a newborn at the time, and Mark, the admissions…
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In Memoriam: Daniel Greenberg (1934-2021)
We write to share the passing of Sudbury Valley School founder Danny Greenberg. He was a mentor and colleague since the mid-nineties, when we first contacted Sudbury Valley and began the process of starting Fairhaven School. Brilliant, funny, and always direct, Danny often showed the way, whether writing one of his many books or working these many decades to keep Sudbury Valley going.
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Why We’re Happy for a Busy JC
We think of this as a healthy, normal part of the process. Fairhaven students are testing themselves and the school. What are my limits? What are the expectations of the school community? What can I get away with? How do I operate successfully in this place, doing the things I’m excited about without infringing on others? Answering these and similar questions are often the heavy lifting of a Fairhaven experience, and the input of a jury of one’s peers alongside reasonable consequences for one’s actions can be essential data.
