From My View - Dr. Jim Wipke

Dennis Currier is not just a good friend—he’s a great friend, even though throughout our friendship, we’ve gone through a year or two without speaking. I know that might sound strange. How can you call someone a great friend when so much time passes without a call or check-in? I get it; I really do. But I’ve always known that if I ever needed anything, Dennis would drop everything to be there for me. And you know what? I’d do the same for him. I hope he knows that. Dennis would undoubtedly sit on my Board of Directors if my life were a company. I bet each of you reading this blog has a Dennis in your life. Dennis is a year older than me, and we went to high school together. Back then, he was a soccer star—one of those rare athletes who seemed destined for greatness. He played at the highest level and was often the top scorer on his select team. Meanwhile, I was your typical jack of all trades but master of none, dabbling in baseball, basketball, and soccer without standing out in any o...

Well…I bet that title grabbed your attention! Selfies – they seem to evoke strong opinions, don't they? People either love them or can’t stand them. For some, it’s like, "Oh no, here comes that guy again with the selfie!" But for others, it’s a rallying call, "Heck yeah, let's get a selfie!" So, what's all the fuss about? Why do people take them? And more importantly, why do I take them? For me, it's simple. I love selfies because they capture a moment in time that I want to remember. There’s no better way to freeze a memory than with a selfie. It's like hitting the "pause" button on life for just a second and being able to revisit that exact moment down the road – a year, five years, or even 20 years from now. A selfie allows you time to reflect and say, “I remember that day, and wow, it was a great one!” They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but a selfie? Well, that’s worth at least 100,000! Now, I want to take this a step fur...

It is hard to believe how quickly the summer snuck up on us. Each year feels like a sprint when I look back on it, one full of milestones and reasons to be proud of our students. Perhaps no milestone is bigger than Graduation, held this year on May 19. Row upon row of Ladue blue caps and gowns surrounded by their families and friends is an image I look forward to seeing each year. If you haven’t seen one of our graduation ceremonies in person, it always ends with the ringing of a bell, followed by 300 caps soaring skyward. The bell signifies the end of one journey and the start of another; after this moment, as our high school motto states, our seniors “go forth to share." This motto – “Enter to learn, go forth to share” – ties in with the message I shared with the Class of 2024 at their graduation. We encourage them to go forth, move forward out into the world, and create a legacy. I told our seniors that life from this day on will not be about only success and victories and that...