Lifelong Learner Alert!
Dear Friends,
Lifelong learner alert! Three events of the last 10 days have enriched my Head of School practice in ways that I know will enrich the school too. As I write this I wonder what connections will emerge between them. They are QUITE divergent, I am sure you'll agree. The first was hosting the first ever Alumni Mixer for the Center School. Dancing Primes dad and Board Member, Jarad Weeks, also class of '04, was a co-host. He had this to say about the event:
On Saturday May 4th (May the 4th Be With You) I helped organize the Center School’s first official Alumni-Mixer. It was a lovely and joyous occasion that warmed my heart to be a part of. With over 30 alumni in attendance, we all shared where we are in the world and what the Center School meant to us. There were so many highlights from the evening but seeing everyone gather in one large circle to sing a few old Center School classics brought tears to many eyes, mine included!. Getting to see alumni react when they arrived at our beautiful new campus was wonderful. “Modern but still holding the values and principles of our humble beginnings” was the general consensus I heard amongst the alumni who had not witnessed our new building in person. I look forward to more of these events in the near future so stay tuned!
Personally, I was blown away to see some of the adorable Mups I taught in 2008 arrive at the mixer in a gaggle with hugs ready; three just graduated, or were about to, from Brandeis, Wesleyan, and UMass Amherst, and just as smart, inquisitive and verbal as ever. I caught up with alumni who are also current Center School parents, alumni who live locally but had lost touch, and others who had been following us on social media and via this Bulletin for years. All had in common a warmth and connection that I think we can give the Center School some credit for. I look forward to doing this again next year and meeting even more Center School citizens.
The very next day, Sunday, I packed my bags into my car and drove to Worcester to chair an accrediting team for an AISNE (our accrediting body) school, spending 4 days observing, interviewing, and writing about this interesting, suburban preschool-6th grade Montessori school, vastly different from my own. The process of self-study and accreditation is one that all AISNE schools go through every ten years. We will begin our reaccreditation cycle next year with a fine-tuning of our policies, curriculum, and pedagogy and so being there for another school offers excellent insights ahead of that. I left the visit with a huge appreciation for schools in general, and very excited to get back here to the place I've called home for 17 years. I missed you. Leaving for a bit gave me a new perspective on what is special about the Center School in comparison to other schools. What really stood out to me upon my return on Friday morning were our truly joyful children at All School. They were singing and sharing and listening with gusto. They seemed to OWN the place. That's unique.
Finally, today I was the greeter and witness to Holocaust Survivor Henny Lewin, a local hero, legend, miracle in human form, who came to talk to the 7th and 8th graders. She told her story (you will read about the details here next week, when the Uppers write about her), which rendered the students, and their adults, perfectly still for 90 minutes straight. Ms Lewin broke down crying several times as she narrated the terrors and wonders of her breathtaking life. We cried right along with her. Forever, and ever, changed.
Looking back over my week's marvelous events, I'm thinking the theme is witnessing. I witnessed in all of it, people going out of their way to share their vulnerability, to learn new things from each other, and to appreciate one another's diverse experiences, with curiosity, with connection, with generosity.
And send it into the world,
Charlie Spencer, Head of School