November Update from the Head of School

November 19, 2018

Dear GFS Parents,

I guess last week answered the students' question about whether the new guy from Minnesota would ever call a snow day! Hopefully the fact that we had to call a snow day before the middle of November isn't a sign of what's coming this winter…

Last Friday was one of those days when I really get to appreciate the scope of a program that runs from Preschool through Upper School. I started the day celebrating with the families of the five Senior student-athletes who signed their national letters of intent to play Division I athletics for their chosen universities, rewarding years of hard work and dedication for the students - and years of driving, cheering, and sideline-sitting for the parents! I then hurried over to the Lower School to catch the end of their morning meeting - and got there just in time to be invited up front to celebrate the birthday song with that week's birthday girls (and thank goodness I've learned the words to the birthday song). Later that day, I was back with the Lower School as they enjoyed their wonderful Thanksgiving Feast, with the theme of "Be Compassionate." I ended the day with the older students again, with the culmination of the Upper School's Ring Week as the juniors received their school rings and found their ring sisters; Farida and I even dropped in on the Ring Dance that weekend to see the end of the week's festivities. To be able to spend time celebrating these great events with students ranging from Kindergarten to Seniors, and see the themes of connection and community so clearly expressed at both ends of our range, made for a truly magical day!

On campus in the past month, programs in every division have also focused on opportunities for students to understand and connect with the world around them. In the Lower School, the 4th Grade launched their financial literacy program. Partnering with M&T Bank for the fifth straight year, the 4th Graders began the program by teaching their peers about the value of saving money in a morning meeting. The class then hosts a "Banking Day" every month in which they serve as tellers to the rest of the Lower School, giving their peers the opportunity to deposit money into their savings accounts. Forbes Magazine recently quoted a FINRA study estimating that nearly two-thirds of Americans couldn't pass a basic financial literacy test, so allowing our girls the opportunity to learn these concepts early, in a hands-on way, is an important and impactful program. In the Middle School, the 8th Graders began their Globalization of Chocolate project. While Forbes might not publish a study expressing the need for greater education on chocolate, I think we all appreciate the value of understanding the concepts of global markets, economies of scale and fair trade practices. In the Upper School, students in grades 8 through 12 enjoyed a series of presentations from peers who spent part of last summer as "Jenkins Fellows." Nine GFS students spent time on service projects across the globe: this year, we had projects in China, Sri Lanka, Costa Rica and Bolivia. These projects are funded by the Elsie "Muffie" Foster Jenkins '53 Community Service Endowment, and they give selected students the opportunity to engage in powerful service-learning experiences that match their passions and expand their horizons. The presentations to the students were informative and inspirational, and I know students throughout the audience were envisioning themselves as the next group of Jenkins Fellows. Please follow the links below to read more about each program.

All of these programs highlight the fact that we know that students learn best when they are deeply and personally engaged in the learning process, and that elements that are hands-on and experiential make for lessons that have significant impact on our students. Lessons that help them understand the world around them and find their place in it serve to augment and enhance the content and skills that students work through in their classes at every level of school, and they serve to make their years at Garrison Forest both memorable and compelling.

As we head into our Thanksgiving Break, I want to share that I am so very thankful for this community and for the warm and wonderful welcome that my family and I received and continue to enjoy. I wish you all a happy and healthy Thanksgiving break, and I look forward to the opportunities to connect in the coming weeks.

Best wishes to you all,

Chris Hughes
Head of School