Gray Matters, June 2022
Happy Summer
We are in the homestretch, only 5 more weekday wake-ups before the end of this year. We’ve done it—we’ve navigated another year affected by the pandemic, and done so with grace, trust, empathy, and a lot of great learning and teaching. As this year began, I put forward three commitments to our community: a year full of joy and togetherness; a year grounded in certainty and consistency; a year enriched with challenging and creative learning. While not always flawless, I believe we have measured up well against these commitments, and can end our year feeling very proud of all that we’ve accomplished. Here are some of my highlights:
A year full of joy and togetherness
Back to School Picnic
Common Threads
Welcoming parents onto campus for Back to School Night
The Dot Assembly
Halloween Parade
Welcoming alums back to campus
Buddy partnerships (check out this art installation that buddies recently worked on)
Parent Community Meeting (watch this video on connection shared that evening)
Spring Fundraiser
Upper Grades Musical “Annie, Jr.” at Atlas Theater
Graduation (join us this Friday!)
A year grounded in certainty and consistency
In person learning all year long
Regular day-to-day schedules
The return of long-standing traditions, many listed above
A year enriched with challenging and creative learning
Return to Field Education
EC studies of birds, fungus, weather, and much more
1st Grade Festival that highlighted their many areas of focus this year
2nd Grade study of Capitol Hill
3rd Grade heart maps
4th Grade trip to New York City
5th Grade “Journeyer Award”
6th Grade Model UN
7th Grade “Year End Projects”
8th Grade concept webs
EC and Elementary Social Emotional Learning sessions
The lists go on. I’m sure you and your family have your own highlights that could be added.
While in many ways this year felt like a return to some form of “normalcy,” I acknowledge that the challenges we face resulting from the pandemic and the pervasive societal unease continue to be very real and unsettling. There are no more poignant illustrations of this than the horrific events at Edmund Burke and in Buffalo and Uvalde. Annually, it is our practice to use time in the summer to closely examine crisis protocols along with our health protocols.
As we take a collective breath and head into a summer of relaxation and rejuvenation, I look forward to the continued joy, consistency, and creative and challenging learning that will follow us into the 2022-23 school year. Have a happy summer!
