Thanksgiving and Day of Mourning

Dear Friends,

And just like that, it's already Progress Report and Conference time! Reading what teachers write about their students always reminds me just what a special place this is. They truly see and hear their students and they take time to reflect this in a narrative that is personal, caring, direct, and supportive of the student. "Progress" means both how the student's been doing and what they're moving toward at the same time. Center School teachers really understand this concept. Afterall, "progress" is baked into our identity as a "progressive school." Next, our teachers will take this rich reflection, the writing and the conferencing, and facilitate its direct impact on how they proceed- as soon as this coming Monday, and for the months to come, until we do this again in March!

I wonder if you still hold onto something a teacher said or wrote about you. I know I do. Teachers have so much power, don't they? Here at the Center School, I believe teachers are humbled by this fact and wear the mantle with gentleness, great insight, and care. And this care and insight were on full display not just in their progress report writing (or student notes written by the preschool teachers) but in our staff meeting last week, where we planned a teach-in about Thanksgiving and the Day of Mourning for All School. Here's what we ended up planning in our afternoon collab:

• Owen, one of our Uppers All School leaders, expertly read our Land Acknowledgement for the Peace Candle: "The Center School resides and operates on the traditional and ancestral land of the Pocumtuc peoples. We also recognize the Nipmuc, Abenaki, Wampanoag, and Mohican peoples, our neighboring indigenous nations. The Center School accepts that this acknowledgement is just a tiny step in the journey to reckon with the effects of the colonial past in this region, and is not a substitute for authentic and meaningful dialogue with indigenous communities. We remain committed to learning more of our past, and being an active accomplice/ally in the present."

• Vanessa showed a video about Social Justice and then gave an explanation about our recent switch from doing Social Justice birthdays to Social Justice sharings: You may have noticed that Social Justice Birthdays have been missing from All School. Many of the adults here at school have talked about it and decided that our community will try a new approach to sharing and talking about social justice. This change is driven by a desire to further engage and include people of all ages while creating a deeply meaningful learning experience. You can expect social justice sharings from staff and students throughout the school year during All School. For our first student-led Social Justice Sharing, we have Iya, Maren, and Tim coming up to show you their project about how people’s brains work in different ways.

• Synphany led a conversation about the local indigenous tribes' perspective on Thanksgiving and Day of Mourning. She began with a reading of this wonderful picture book.

• Rebecca and Matt's Mups Lit Groups introduced the Thanksgiving Prayer: A traditional Iroquois celebration of the beauty and spirit of Mother Earth, as told by a contemporary Mohawk chief.

• Andy led our singing of 1492:

In fourteen hundred ninety-two
Columbus sailed the ocean blue,
It was a courageous thing to do
But someone was already here.

Columbus knew the world was round
So he looked for the East while westward bound,
But he didn’t find what he thought he found
And someone was already here.

Chorus:
The Inuit (pronounced In-u-ee) and Cherokee,
The Aztec and Menominee,
The Onondaga and the Cree;
Columbus sailed across the sea,
But someone was already here.

It isn't like it was empty space,
Tainos met him face to face.
Could anyone discover the place
When someone was already here?

So tell me, who discovered what?

He thought he was in a different spot.

Columbus was lost, the Tainos were not;
They were already here.

Feeling thankful. Every. Single. Day. For this place and for this community,

Charlie

Charlie Spencer, Head of School