Gray Matters, September 2024
Welcome to the New School Year!
Happy end of summer! With the anticipation of the start of a new school year, I assume households are swirling with a mixture of emotions. Even as I prepare for my thirtieth year as an educator, I have the same bittersweet feelings that I have navigated throughout my career at the end of each summer.
I love summer… long days, warm weather, family vacations, swimming in the ocean. As much as I’ve enjoyed these wonderful moments in July and August, I’m also filled with excitement as we approach the start of the school year. I look forward to reconnecting with colleagues, adding more routine and structure to my days, and welcoming students back to class. While I’ll miss summer, I’m eager for the wonderful opportunities and inspiring moments that await us as we return to school on Tuesday.
As a professional community, we have been back on campus since August 22. Our opening days, a period we call JumpStart, is our time to prepare for the start of the new school year. Much of our days are spent finalizing schedules, coordinating calendars, and setting up classrooms. We also take advantage of the luxury of the time to more deeply engage in our work as educators.
This year we jumped into it with a morning facilitated by StoryCorps’ Director of Learning and Engagement, Emily Janssen. Using the StoryCorps model we interviewed each other and shared our personal reflections using prompts:
Tell me about your most memorable teacher.
Tell me about a time you felt proud to do what you do.
Tell me about a time when teaching made you feel hopeful.
Describe a moment you “failed” in the classroom and what you learned from that experience.
What are your hopes for this school year? For your students? Your school? For you?
The opportunity to listen to colleagues tell their stories was energizing and proved to be a wonderful way to launch our year. And, as I wrote earlier this summer, to also turn our reflective lens inward and begin a process of critically examining how we can continue striving to be the best version of ourselves.
We are now more than ready and super excited to welcome new and returning students on Tuesday. Here’s to another fantastic year!
