April Showers Bring May Flowers
April Showers Bring May Flowers
These words have echoed in my head a lot these last few weeks. The dream of flowers gets many of us through these tough April days when the rain and the gray seems to linger. This year the days have been especially difficult, as we are isolated from loved ones and that warmth that friendship brings. Still, the idea of May flowers gives me hope. Our days are getting lighter and brighter. The earth is filling up with color. Today more than ever, we must celebrate the coming of spring and the growing signs of summer.
There are many signs of hope in our school world, too. Though we may have been disappointed by the news that school campuses will not be reopening this year, there is a comfort in being able to plan. I have also found inspiration in the work our teachers have done, connecting with students in new ways, while continuing to offer a challenging and supportive educational program. Despite not being together, we’re finding ways to reinforce community and find strength in each other. Tomorrow, May Day, is yet another opportunity for us to connect and celebrate.
May Day is one of my favorite GUS traditions. Maybe it’s the music, or the students in their spring finery, or the charm of a homemade May day basket, but it all comes together as a beautiful symbol that spring is here! Even the year two 8th graders delivered baskets from my car in hurricane-like rain, I can’t help but smile and remember the feeling of a full heart. May Day always seems to come just in time. Just when we feel the need to leave the winter behind and begin again. It comes as we shake off hibernation, ready for sun! It makes the winter seem less harsh and less cold and allows us a thoughtful pause before the summer arrives. It represents the best of everything. We still have time together, but this time also brings a hopeful anticipation of new beginnings, that adds a magic that only springtime seems to have.
Continuing this important tradition in the face of difficulty is sharing the hope that May Day brings for us all. Tomorrow, a small group of us will be delivering baskets, complete with student-written poetry, to our GUS neighbors thanks to Lindsay Calef, current GUS staff member and a member of the class of 1999. She also put together a DIY May Day Basket Tutorial so that families can participate at home. How wonderful for us all to share a bit of May Day magic with our neighbors and friends. May it remind them, too, that brighter days are coming!
Another sign of hope, this week we announced the GUS Together Fund to offer financial assistance to GUS families in need, and to help alleviate additional hardships the community and the school are facing as a result of this health crisis. We are dedicated to working with all families and fully understand that this is a financially challenging time. We will share our process for applying for additional assistance in the next few weeks. This pandemic has taken too much from too many. We are committed to doing all we can to protect students’ opportunities for learning and growing. During a time when many of us feel helpless, the GUS Together Fund allows us the opportunity to do something for our community. May we all feel a sense of hope from being able to come together and do what we can for a community we love.
While we don’t know what the fall will bring, we have begun planning for different scenarios. We may not have all the information about what to expect, but we have enough to begin thinking. We will outline any potential changes to next year’s calendar and program before the end of the school year. In the meantime, we continue to applaud the efforts of our teachers and the flexibility of our students and families. We all have handled so much, which gives me hope that we will handle whatever happens next.
GUS is a resilient little school and it builds my spirit when I think of how amazing our community handles difficulty. It is a credit to the strength of our shared values, our togetherness, and our people. Thank you for being a part of this special place. Each and every person-each family, each student, each teacher, each staff member- makes a difference. I believe we all feel it too, especially on days like May Day, but also on all days. It’s with us at Friday morning meetings, when you wave out the window during a birthday drive by, or clap for our graduates as they depart. It’s the feeling you get seeing the lower school weeping cherry tree in full bloom every spring. GUS is a feeling that wraps you up and fills you up, during the dark days of April showers and the bright moments of May.
So celebrate May Day! Put on happy colors, bells if you’ve got them, dance outside, and share the joy! Spring is here! Hope is here! We are GUS and we are in this together, always.
Trust and go forward,
Gretchen Forsyth, P ’25, ’27
Head of School