The following letter from Dr. Campbell was sent out before school started to the families of old and new boys.

August 15, 2003

From the Headmaster,

Shortly after commencement this year, I received a letter from the mother of one of our graduates in which she wrote: “I can’t begin to adequately thank you and the many wonderful faculty members, staff and spouses for the tremendous experience [our son] had during his four years at Woodberry…. When I think of the little boy we dropped off at Woodberry in the fall of ’99, and witness the confident young man he is today, I am amazed. Without the dedication, love, support and guidance [he] received at Woodberry, he would not have matured into the person he is today…. All that he accomplished and all that he was exposed to could never have been possible had he stayed here at home. It was a tremendous sacrifice that few of my friends will ever understand, but when I see him standing beside many of his [hometown] peers, I quietly marvel at him and realize there is no comparison. The values that were instilled in him at Woodberry have made him a better person and that is the greatest gift any young person could ever receive.”

Among the things that makes Woodberry Forest distinctive is that we are an all-boarding school. The opportunities that a residential educational community affords its students cannot be compared with even the best local school. The range of students from all over the United States and the world, the exceptional faculty, the physical plant that rivals many colleges, the experiences in the dining room, the visiting speakers that regularly come to enrich our learning, and the opportunity to participate in activities that no day school can offer reaffirm our conviction that education in a residential community shapes students in a very special way. Moreover, I know that our honor system works because we are a boarding school. Keeping us all together allows us to live our daily life according to the honor system in a way that would not be possible if students left every afternoon. The learning that comes from relationships in the residence halls is invaluable.

I mention these things to confirm further your commitment to a boarding school. Your sons — and you —will be better for the experience. Woodberry’s reputation for leadership in the education of boys is spreading around the world in a time when this concern is particularly great. We are known for having a time-tested program to shape outstanding boys into fine, honorable young men who are creative and productive.

I look forward to welcoming you and your son to Woodberry Forest in just a few weeks. We have had a wonderful summer with excellent sessions of Sports Camp and the summer school, as well as basketball and lacrosse camps. Significant progress was made on two major building projects over the course of the summer. Our new dormitory, Terry House, is well under way and on schedule to be ready for occupancy a year from now. Terry House will house thirty students and provide two faculty residences. As part of the Terry House project, major landscaping work along Craigie Road will greatly enhance the beauty of the school.

Another project of importance to the academic program of the school and the life of the boys is the Dunnington Reading Room. This room, located in Walker Building just above the Reynolds Family Dining Room, was originally the school’s auditorium. After Bowman Gray Auditorium was completed, the old auditorium became a reading room for students and meeting room for the faculty, board and other groups. It was in poor condition, however, and several years ago we decided to do a major renovation and restoration of this beautiful historic space. After careful planning for historical and architectural integrity, we have done new heating, air conditioning, insulation, wiring, plumbing, windows and furnishings. The stunning new space will be used primarily for students to study. In addition, side rooms will house our offices of college counseling and there will be a conference room. I know you will be impressed when you see this space. The project has been an experiment in historic renovation of Walker Building, our magnificent building that has served as the heart of the school since l899.

The cool, wet summer has allowed us to have our beautiful campus in great shape. The playing fields are ready for the boys, who will soon be engaged in fall sports. I am reminded every day of the extent to which the school’s buildings and grounds serve the academic and residential priorities of Woodberry Forest.

We look forward to welcoming an impressive group of new boys on September 7 and our returning students on September 9. Opening Convocation will be the evening of September 9, and classes begin September 10. We have had another exceptional year in admissions. Our yield on offers of admission was 71%, and we had a strong waiting list of students hoping to come. We will open in September with a total of 385 students, the same number as last year, but slightly larger than we anticipated. The popularity of Woodberry has meant that we had to make some very hard decisions about admission. All of this is good news about the reputation of Woodberry Forest across the nation.

The academic program continues to offer our traditional excellence even as it moves in some new ways to be current with the best practices of secondary education. The record of college acceptances for last year’s sixth form class and the fine performance of our students on AP exams provide continuing evidence of the quality of our faculty and their teaching. Very few schools afford the range of academic offerings we provide.

We will welcome a number of new faculty members, who promise to broaden the total life of our community.

Nathaniel A. Ebel will be a member of the English department. Originally from Colorado, Mr. Ebel holds an undergraduate degree from Baylor University and a master’s degree in English from the University of Virginia. He will be an assistant varsity football coach and a basketball coach. Nate will serve as dorm master for A Dorm in Walker Building.

Colin B. Gay, a 1993 graduate of Woodberry Forest, returns to teach mathematics and coach football, wrestling and lacrosse. Mr. Gay holds both undergraduate and master’s degrees from the University of Virginia. He has taught and coached for Woodberry previously, and for the past three years, he taught at Langley High School in McLean, Virginia, where he also coached wrestling and lacrosse. Colin brings expertise in working with students who have diverse learning styles, and he will assist us in academic technology.

Matthew J. Gould, who joins us as assistant director of our Amici Fund, is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Trinity College (Hartford). For the last three years, he worked for Baring Asset Management in Boston. Mr. Gould has much boarding school experience because his father is associate headmaster of St. George’s School in Rhode Island. In addition to his duties for our development office, Matt will be dorm master for B-3 in Walker Building.

Andrew R. Handelsman joins the language department to teach Spanish. He is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Dartmouth College and holds a master’s degree from a language program based in Cholula, Mexico, sponsored by the University of Southern Mississippi. Mr. Handelsman has twelve years of teaching experience, including service at the Westridge School in Pasadena, California, and The Webb Schools, outstanding boarding schools in Claremont, California. He has directed Spanish language exchange programs, and he is an experienced coach for baseball, basketball and soccer. Andrew and his wife, Melanie, a Vanderbilt graduate, have a new baby boy named Tommy.

Aloysius A. Heil is appointed to the language department to teach German. Mr. Heil, a native of Koblenz, Germany, pursued graduate level academic programs in Aachen, Germany, as well as France and Luxemburg to prepare him to teach French and German. He taught for two years in Aachen and one year in Paris. He and his wife, Sylke, have two children, Sandra (11) and Rudy (9). They came to the United States in l989 when he became vice president of sales and marketing for Euro-Composites Corporation, a manufacturer of composite products for the aviation industry, based in Culpeper at the Industrial Airpark. Alwin left the company last year to pursue teaching, which he describes as his real love. He remains a director of the company, and his wife continues as its manager.

Andrew R. Hilgartner joins us as assistant director of admission and head varsity lacrosse coach. Mr. Hilgartner is an experienced educator who previously served for six years at Sewickley Academy in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, and for three years at St. Mary’s High School in Annapolis, Maryland. At Sewickley, he taught ethics and was co-dean of students for the upper school as well as head varsity lacrosse coach. He was named Midwest Coach of the Year in l997, and his team was the Western Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association champion in l997 and l998. At St. Mary’s, he was director of admissions and assistant principal responsible for all student affairs, as well as assistant varsity lacrosse coach in one of the nation’s most competitive programs. He is a graduate of Calvert Hall College High School in Towson, Maryland, and Michigan State University, where he was captain of the lacrosse team, its leading scorer and named its most valuable player. Andy will be master of Dowd Hall.

Nathaniel L. Hoopes will be a teaching intern in the history department and coach golf and basketball. Mr. Hoopes graduated from Princeton University this past June with a history major. He is also a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, where he received the Most Outstanding Four Year Athlete Award. At Princeton, he was captain of the varsity golf team. In 2000, he was Ivy League Individual Champion, and his Princeton team was Ivy League team champion the last four years. Nat has been an intern for the Christian Science Monitor and a research assistant at the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington, D.C. He will be a dorm master on Middle Taylor.

James T. Jenkins, Jr. joins the English department. Mr. Jenkins is a graduate of St. Andrew’s School of Delaware, where he was captain of the swimming team and received the Headmaster’s Award. He holds a B.A. in English from Davidson College and he also studied at Syracuse University’s Hong Kong Center and at Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico. James taught English in the Woodberry Forest Summer School two years ago and last year was assistant director of admission at St. Andrew’s. He will be a dorm master on Middle Taylor.

Charles B. Vaughters is appointed assistant director of admission. Mr. Vaughters is a l999 magna cum laude graduate of Woodberry Forest, after which he attended Rice University. At Woodberry, he was captain of the tennis team and a member of the all-state team for two years. In addition, he was captain of the cross country team. At Rice, Charlie majored in Spanish and economics and played on the lacrosse team. He also ran a tutoring company that made Rice undergraduates available to help students in the Houston area. His wife, Ann, who went to St. Catherine’s and Rice, is a first year medical student at UVA.

Gretchen R. Warner is appointed to the science department to teach chemistry. A graduate of Mercersburg Academy, Ms. Warner holds an undergraduate degree from Virginia Tech University and a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of Virginia. Gretchen, a champion swimmer at Mercersburg, which is known for its swimming program, will coach swimming at Woodberry. She will live in Orange.

During the fall term, Fred Jordan and Jennifer Hubbard will be on sabbatical leave and during the winter term Kelly Lonergan will be on leave. Caroline Cobb will join the art department for the winter trimester. Ms. Cobb is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, where she received honors in art history, and she holds an M.A. from the University of Virginia in modern and contemporary art.

I am very proud of this group of new faculty. The importance of the faculty in a boarding school cannot be overstated because these are the men and women who work with the students closely in the classrooms, on the playing fields, in the studios and theaters, and in the residence houses. They interact with the students constantly, and the values and commitments of the faculty are key to the experiences of the students. We have an outstanding faculty, and these new additions appear fully worthy to be among them.

Please devote some time this summer to serious reading of the Orange Book and the Blue Book. The Orange Book describes the history and thought behind our honor system. Your sons will live with the honor system and you need to understand it as well. The honor system is one of the most important defining characteristics of Woodberry Forest. Any alumnus will tell you that it shaped his life profoundly. It is a cherished tradition, but it is more importantly a living reality that forms our community. It is impossible for me to imagine Woodberry Forest as anything other than a boarding school, and the centrality of the honor system, which depends on the residential experience, offers a profound learning environment for our students.

Life in a closely-knit community requires clear expectations for all members. The Blue Book explains our rules and procedures. You will benefit from knowledge of these expectations. In addition, Woodberry has high standards regarding the use of technology, and especially the use of the Internet, computer games, DVD players, and the downloading of music. These are outlined in the Black Book. I strongly encourage you to talk about the honor system and all of our policies with your son. I will emphasize to the boys that we really have relatively few rules, and those that we have are there for safety and to enhance communal living. If they understand these things, they will find the expectations much easier.

We look to parents to help us with the financial needs of Woodberry Forest, and we are grateful for your support. Despite the current trying economic realities, the Amici Fund, our annual fund, raised over $2,250,000 in cash this year. Our total giving, which includes capital gifts, was $5,600,000, up 14% over last year. Over eighty-six percent of current parents contributed to the Amici Fund, and we want that commitment to continue and increase. Woodberry’s capital giving is strong; but we are seeking additional support for the endowment and for our physical plant in order to keep this institution among the very best in the world.

Another way parents help the school is by identifying prospective students who might benefit from the opportunity to be at Woodberry Forest. Please let our admissions office know of such students and we will be in touch with them. You can help us build for the future of Woodberry.

Please review the official school calendar for 2003-04 and mark the dates of official break periods, and the examination weeks. It has always been the policy of the school not to allow early departures before breaks or changes in the examination schedules. Please do not make travel arrangements that will necessitate special requests.

The Woodberry Forest web page is located at www.woodberry.org. It includes a host of interesting material about the school. Every day we post announcements, which include daily menus, scores from athletic contests, the schedule for the day and photos of campus activities.

I recommend email as the most efficient way to reach your son. Students check their email every day for messages from the school. All boys also have voice mail. Please do not expect your son to be in touch with you every day. It is best for them to have some space so that they can be integrated into the school. One of the distinctive features of a boarding school is that our students learn independence and responsibility.

I know that it is very early to think about Christmas, but I want to let you know now that, at the request of parents, we are going to do two candlelight services this year. On Monday night, December 15, the service will follow our traditional Christmas Dinner, and will be for the school. On Wednesday night, December 17, there will be a candlelight service for parents and friends. A reception at The Residence will follow. This will reduce crowding at the service, and offer a special occasion for parents, grandparents, and other guests. Christmas break begins after classes on Thursday morning, December 18.

Fifth and Sixth Form Parents’ Weekend is set for October 10 and 11. Third and Fourth Form Parents’ Weekend is set for October 24 and 25. Please plan to join us for these special events.

Leesa and I look forward to seeing you soon. We always enjoy hearing from you, and we will be pleased to confer with you about your son’s progress at any time.

Yours sincerely,

Dennis M. Campbell