Beyond Resolutions

Dear FPCNS Families & Friends,

I am delighted to welcome all of you back after the Winter Break and to this new year. Once again, the children seem taller and more confident. I also expect that some may appear to be tentative as they navigate the reality of returning to school after a lengthy break with parents and extended family members. The Administrative Team and Staff look forward to the amazing developmental leaps our students will experience in the coming months. As we move from Winter to Spring, you will see tremendous and exciting growth.

As you may have noticed by now, we have already taken some leaps of our own.

As we approached the launch of our new logo and website today, we did in fact engage in the process of renewal and restoration. We reimagined who we are as a school and community of professionals who are charged with caring for children and families both here and “beyond.” The name of our blog space is intentional: we are in the village, literally but we certainly are a village, figuratively.

We will use this space to engage readers to think, to learn and to ask questions. Most of the time you will see posts from me, but I will also invite other administrators and staff members to share their inspirations with the community. In the future, you may even see someone outside of the school share their reflections or expertise on a particular topic.

Take a moment to look closely at our new logo. Our tree is a true symbol of growth with strong roots that started back in 1952. I hope you have noticed the bird, perched on top ready to take off and explore on its own, as all of your children will do once they have transitioned out of FPCNS.

Lastly, I can’t help but address one final word in my opening statement: resolutions. I truly admire those who are able to follow through with them! I tend to be far too ambitious with mine and find myself falling short. The beauty of a typical school year is the multiple opportunities to start again. September, January, and April are the more obvious starting points. However, educators are constantly looking for starting points. The project based work of the Reggio process, emergent curriculum and children’s queries provide such opportunities on an ongoing basis. What a gift!

So I ask all of you, will you give yourself that “gift” as well? The children are always watching and listening. If we are willing to fall, get up, start again, ask questions and think “beyond,” they will do the same.

I hope you will take some time to explore the new website. As usual, please be in touch with your thoughts, ideas and questions should you have any. I’m looking forward to continued, wonderful conversations with all of you.

Best,