So last Thursday we had our virtual Open House event in the Lower School, and with that last puzzle piece we successfully opened up the new school year. It’s surreal to think that we’ve been in school for almost a month, and in many ways it’s been a whirlwind of uncertainty, patience and flexibility. Mixed in with that however, has been a heavy dose of inspiration and purpose, as there seems to be an added sense of urgency this year with all that is going on in the world.
Honestly, I think setting the tone for a strong start was more important than ever this year, using that heavy dose of urgent purpose to set goals that are transformational not just for the kids and community, but for our world as well…and we’ve done just that. 2020 is throwing all that it can at us these days, and with the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg over the weekend, one of our world’s most incredible and inspiring humans, it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. There has never been a more important time to go beyond the regular and ordinary, and to use the events in our world to drive us all to action.
The world is changing right in front of our eyes on a daily basis, and deep within that change is hope, and promise, and beauty. We need to use these difficult times to engage our students and community in the things that really matter. Things like diversity, equity, and inclusion…things like environmental stewardship and positive change-making, and of course, things like community, relationship building, and student ownership.
Of course, setting these goals as a school and community is an important first step, but now comes the real work…the follow through, where we commit to this work each and every day. We’ve had a wonderful start, and just like Mark Twain says in the quote below, “the secret to getting ahead is getting started”. With the successful first month behind us it is time to keep this sense of urgency and purpose alive in our day to day interactions with our kids. Like I’ve been saying, we are super fortunate to be back face to face with our students, and we can’t for one day take that for granted.
You never know what 2020 will throw at us in the coming months so we need to do everything that we can while we can. I’ll leave you with some beautiful words from the Notorious RBG, as a reminder of what is really important in the world these days…”If you want to be a true professional, you will do something outside yourself. Something to repair tears in your community. Something to make life a little better for people less fortunate than you. That’s what I think a meaningful life is – Living not for oneself, but for one’s community”. Have a wonderful week everyone and remember to be great for our students and good to each other.
Quote of the Week…
The secret to getting ahead is getting started.
-Mark Twain
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