From the Desk of of the Head of School - February 16, 2018

We celebrate this week the achievement of over 200 students as they put on another wonderful musical. The Wizard of Oz was an incredible spectacle of a performance with colorful sets, detailed and unique costumes, innovative choreography and blocking, and then, of course, flying witches and monkeys and a real live Toto. It is simply delightful.

The best moments, as far as our mission is concerned, happen in everything that leads up to that opening night performance. In her book, Unselfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World, Michele Borba focuses on three advantages empathetic children have as they go out into our world - they can keep their cool, they practice kindness, and they think “us” over “them”. Over the course of the last three-plus months the 44% of our student body from grades 1 to 8 have benefitted from the musical as a framework in which to practice these three characteristics.

Just how clearly this embodies our mission was made clear at the final dress rehearsal leading up to last night’s performance. It can be a nerve-wracking environment, especially as it is the last opportunity to practice and we invite our prospective parents and students to catch the rehearsal. At one point during the rehearsal, there was a major fail involving a complicated collection of technical, stage, and musical components. Instead of crumbling or quitting or crying, our kids,lled by Dr. Bell, problem solved together how to do it better. They did all of this, mind you, in front of our guests and without worry. They kept their cool, practiced kindness, and certainly chose “us” over “them”.

It was a powerful teaching moment. It was a #HardingMoment.