Our first two weeks of the new year have been great; the transition from vacation has appeared to be largely seamless. The children have jumped back into the school routine, are participating eagerly in class and generally enjoying being back together.  

           
January, February and March are traditionally wonderful learning months. The kids are in rhythm, they know their teachers well and are familiar with the expectations of each class. Perhaps the cold temperatures and the shorter days remove the distraction that beautiful weather sometimes provides, allowing students to settle in to study routines. We use this stretch to extend expectations a bit asking children to rise to the challenge of producing consistently high quality work.

           
We have a great SPEAK series event coming at the end of the month. Phan Thi Kim Phuc will present, “Family, A Celebration of Humanity” on Friday, January 27, from 8:30 – 9:45 am in Knowles Lecture Hall in the Upper School. I have put a full description below. Before the presentation, we will have an informal coffee together. The location of the coffee has not been announced, but I will get that to you as soon as it lands. I hope to see you there.

I would also like to continue to encourage open communication between home and school by offering another Open Door Morning. As always, please feel free to give Fran a call to set up a time for us to get together on Friday, February 3rd. If there is a pressing matter, please feel free to set something up earlier. My door is often literally, but always figuratively open.

           

Finally, today is the half-way point in the second trimester. In about a week, trimester updates from teachers will be available on the website. These will provide a current grade and category averages. Children scoring a C or below will also receive a brief comment. Our hope is to give you an opportunity to check in with your son/daughter about progress being made. With five weeks remaining in the term, there is plenty of time to refocus and take steps to reach end of term goals.

If there is any way I can be helpful, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best,

Bill

The Vietnam War knows many tragedies, some more familiar than others. A photograph of a young girl running naked down a road, her skin on fire with napalm, changed the way the world looked at the Vietnam War, and at all wars. The photograph was transmitted around the world and later won a Pulitzer Prize. The girl in the picture is Kim Phuc. Her incredible story was turned into a book called The Girl in the Picture and a documentary called Kim’s Story: The Road from Vietnam. Badly burned and not expected to live, she finally returned to her village and her family to begin rebuilding their lives. Now living in Canada, she established a foundation committed to healing children in war-torn areas of the world. Don’t miss her talk about her experiences, her forgiveness