Head of School Blog "Giving Thanks"
Dear Orchard Community,
This is the time of year when many of us take stock and give thanks for the best things in our lives. So, here is a list of things about Orchard that count as blessings;
- Thank you to teachers who are not afraid of new ideas, incorporate them into their practice along with what has been tried and true, and are committed to being the best at what they do. The iconoclastic musician John Cage wrote: “I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” Thank you to my colleagues who are embodying lifelong learning.
- Thank you to my tireless administrative team who keep their eyes on the long game and the strategic vision to continue to strengthen the school. This is particularly important during a time of change. They often toil unacknowledged in the vineyards. Thank you.
- The smiling blessing of joyful students is something we have in abundance. It is so easy to feel good about what we are about at Orchard when you watch the children going through their days taking risks in class, making friends, discovering, learning with joyful intentionality.
- Thank you to the many parents who understand and embrace our progressive mission. In a time when the country often seems divided and fractionalized, it is refreshing to encounter a community that understands and values the essential importance of exploring complex ideas and resisting reductive thinking, knows that providing opportunities for multiple perspectives to be voiced and heard is critical, and resists the race to nowhere by consenting to allow children the space and time to learn at their developmental timeclock. The students fortunate enough to attend Orchard graduate with curiosity intact, the right habits of mind and skills to explore sophisticated ideas, and the heart to care about their world and the motivation to help improve it. Thank you.
- Walking through this campus I am blessed by the fall colors of the trees. To paraphrase a Navajo Blessing: I walk in beauty before me and beauty behind. But beyond the outdoors, this is an exceptionally lovely school designed with the needs of the young learners in mind. One only has to visit the many schools that more closely resemble factories from the industrial age to consider Orchard blessed. An army of people, led by the maintenance staff, help keep the campus beautiful.
- We are about seven months into the still quiet, but not secret, phase of a five year, eleven-million-dollar capital campaign for Orchard. Thanks to generous donors, we are meeting our early benchmarks. I know that we all have many philanthropic causes that need our generosity but investing in children is the best futures market that I know of. I appreciate the many ways our community supports Orchard from volunteering time, supporting Annual Giving and supporting the Capital Campaign. Thank you.
- Thank you to the giants of teaching and education that founded the school, worked for years to create the culture of joyful learning that we enjoy today. We stand on the shoulders of so many dedicated people who went before and helped focus the vision on what a school could be, and should be, resulting in The Orchard School of today. If you are reading this, you know who you are, and we are grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Tom
