DEERFIELD — Bement School opened its doors to students for the first time in the 2016-2017 school year on Thursday, a start that is ushering in a few changes.
This year marks the inaugural year for Bement’s new head of school, Christopher Wilson, who stepped into his tenure with the school earlier this year following the departure of Shelley Borror Jackson, who left to start another school, the New York International School, at the end of the 2014-2015 school year.
Before Wilson’s hiring, Frank Henry, former president of the school’s board of trustees, served as interim head.
Previously, Wilson served as head of Esperanza Academy in Lawrence.
Wilson isn’t the only new face on the school’s faculty — Emily Lent Hemingway has replaced Carole Pennock as lower school head. According to a news release from the school, Pennock “retired in June after more than 30 years at Bement.”
Also in June, Dean Fusto, upper school head, left after nine years at the school. Amie M. Keddy, who has been with Bement since 2002, took over Fusto’s position.
As far as what has changed in the curriculum, the school will offer a ninth-grade week-long service trip to the Dominican Republic to help build a house in partnership with Cambiando Vidas.
This year, the school has enrolled 208 students from countries other than the USA and Canada that include Zimbabewe, Chile, Mexico, Iran, China and Korea. Of that number, more than 40 students will board through the school year.