If you’re a student, teacher or parent in the upper school, the name Mr. Forrester definitely rings a bell.  As the new Upper School Director, Forrester plays an integral part in the organization of every student’s day-to-day.

Sitting in Mr. Forrester’s office, I nervously tapped my finger in anticipation of meeting the new Upper School head.  He strolled into his office cooly, and invited me to sit down at the conference table in the corner of the room. Coming into the interview, I, along with most of my fellow classmates, knew very little about the new Upper School director. However, I quickly learned all about his background, sense of humor and excitement to be at Saint Stephens. I discovered the myriad of roles he played at Admiral Farragut, such as being an English teacher, television production instructor, dorm parent, director of college placement and assistant head of the high school.  We sat down and talked about life, education and all things Saint Stephen’s.

Katie: Who is your favorite Beatle?

Mr. Forrester: Well, Paul McCartney is my favorite Beatle because he actually lives close to where I grew up, and his daughter Stella McCartney went to art college with one of my friends.

Katie: Which country do you prefer, England or America?

Mr. Forrester: I like both countries for different reasons.  I am very happy that when I met an American to marry; she was from St. Petersburg Florida.  If you say you live in St. Pete everybody says “When can I book my flight to come visit you?” Whereas in England I like the fact that you walk a lot more. Springtime in England is one of the best times to be there when everything’s blooming. The people in America are much friendlier.

Katie: What’s the biggest difference between Saint Stephen’s and Admiral Farragut?

Mr. Forrester: (Hesitantly) You see I don’t want to say anything mean about Admiral Farragut.  It is a wonderful school. Some of the big differences are the expectations. What is expected out of you here is very different and of course there’s no boarding here. When I get here in the morning, I open all the doors and turn on all the lights and it’s one of the happiest times of my day because at Admiral Farragut, when I got to work there was already a line of children outside my office at 6:00 in the morning. There was a military component so when we had assemblies we would start by saying attention. When I stood in front of the group of students and said “Good morning,” they would say “Good morning sir,” in unison.

Katie: Did they have uniforms there?

Mr. Forrester: Yes, I had to wear a uniform too.  The students had to wear black trousers and a black polyester shirt with a name tag every day.  The girls had to have their hair in a bun.

Katie: We heard you recently had twins.  Tell us a little bit about that.

Mr. Forrester: It’s tiring. I have a boy and a girl, Phillipa and Benedict but we call them Pippa and Bennet and they are eight-and-a-half months old. They are crawling in different directions, but they’re a lot of fun. My oldest son Oliver, is six. Then I have a four year old son, Henry, and then the twins.

Katie: What is the funniest thing that’s happened to you since you started working here?

Mr. Forrester: One of the funniest things for me was on the first morning of school I was very excited to meet everybody, so on opening day everybody starts to arrive and there’s a really happy atmosphere and then I saw Mr. Whelan, who was happier and more excited then any other person in the whole building.

Katie: What has been the biggest surprise about Saint Stephen’s?

Mr. Forrester: The biggest surprise is how there are so many things happening all the time that I don’t know how anybody keeps up with all of it. And of course I have never ever seen a school so devoted to cookies as Saint Stephens. I think if we just put cookies in every classroom it would be the dream for everybody.

Katie: If you could be any animal what would you be?

Mr. Forrester: [Responding immediately] A penguin.  If you had to be an animal you don’t want to be a lion or anything because it’s a very demanding role, but being a penguin you just get to slide around on ice all day and waddle.  I mean that’s a pretty good life.

Katie: Describe yourself in 3 words.

Mr. Forrester:  I am an athletic-supporter, because I have no athletic ability.  I really enjoy watching, supporting, and cheering. I have zero fun participating. I like to challenge people in a fun way, and that’s the other thing I just enjoy having fun. If I can have a good time and laugh every day than that’s pretty much the best day ever, and if I don’t get to laugh here, I get to go home and laugh at my children.

Katie: What’s the coolest place you’ve ever visited?

Mr. Forrester: Avignon, in the south of France.

Katie: What are your hopes for Saint Stephen’s over the next few years?

Mr. Forrester: My hope for Saint Stephen’s is that everybody works hard, but has fun working hard, and has a fresh look at some of the things that they’ve done for years.  I think a lot of schools can get stuck in some of the things they’ve been doing.  And just keep thinking all the time about what makes Saint Stephen’s amazing and how you can keep celebrating that with new students every year.

Often seen cheering on the football team on Friday nights, or popping into classes, Mr. Forrester has seamlessly integrated into the Saint Stephen’s family.  Hopefully, this behind-the-scenes look has given you an insight into the real Mr.Forrester.