In Community, There is Hope.

Grade 1 Annual Trip to the Butterfly Place

As we watch our students skipping into school every morning, we can almost forget these are extraordinary times.

Our days are feeling more “normal” and we can almost forget that we have been through trauma and are still experiencing the effects of an unprecedented global event. Hard to believe it’s been over half a year. I can vividly remember coming to school to pick up some things last spring. I walked the halls of the upper and lower school buildings. Snow pants, perhaps not needed over spring break as families traveled to warm climates, strewn on the benches and popping out of cubbies, rubber boots still caked with a bit of mud, and a few forgotten lunch boxes all marked a quick getaway with no sense of what was coming. Little did we know that two weeks in March would turn into months. Lost belongings, lost trips, lost celebrations, it was a hard spring. Yet, we took comfort in zoom morning meetings that almost felt like our regular Friday gatherings. As we emerged from isolation and gathered for chariot races and graduation, though different, the heart of GUS was beating strong. Every step forward was healing and hopeful.

At the start of the school year, we were faced with many unknowns. Armed with a plan, we took steps forward, and as every day passes we have felt the GUS experience more fully. The togetherness, the shared sense of purpose, this is what has sustained us through struggle, what keeps us going, and what gives us confidence that we can truly get through anything, together. We still don’t know what tomorrow may bring, but we know GUS will move forward as always.

Our teachers have been true heroes. Putting aside personal concerns, they trusted our plan and bravely headed into the unknown. They have shown amazing dedication and an ability to reach their students, whatever may come. They teach in person, they teach online, sometimes both. They teach in modified and appropriately spaced classrooms, sometimes many different classrooms, but more often, as is the GUS way, they take to the outdoors. In some ways, we will be changed for the better, but regardless of what happens next, we are confident that the GUS experience endures and thrives. How healing this return to campus has been, and how special it is to know that the GUS curriculum is as relevant and adaptable as ever.

Despite all the new challenges, our faculty’s passionate pursuit of the GUS mission gives me great hope and fills me with pride. As our country faces extreme political divisiveness and social unrest, we take hope from the work. Our entire faculty, and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion task force specifically, continue to demonstrate our commitment to educating our students for a brighter tomorrow. The desire to 'do better’ is also both healing and hopeful. While we still have a long way to go, we are coming together to not only model our mission, as we question, imagine, and work to be our best, but to also further our mission by working to responsibly prepare our students for life beyond GUS. Once again, we tackle challenges with open hearts and open minds, taking comfort in our shared sense of community and responsibility.

We also take comfort in connecting with the larger GUS community in important and meaningful ways. We launched our annual fund last week and already we are feeling the GUS love. Every donation makes a difference and allows us to continue to offer an amazing GUS experience, even with the constraints of a pandemic. Financial aid, teacher salaries, technology needs, and so much more are funded by your generous gifts to the annual fund. Now, more than ever, we look to the GUS community to help raise our small school up. Regardless of amount, each gift is a sign of support and a statement of community as we come together to ensure our school’s future. What is more healing and hopeful than that?

It is a crazy time to be a head of school, but I am so grateful for the opportunity to be here for the community I love. I am inspired and humbled by the love and dedication every facet of our school community has shown towards this school, our special green and shady place. In all ways, the GUS community has embodied our trust and go forward motto in spirit and in action. Together, we continue to march on, and with every step, we feel stronger and braver. Tomorrow will be a better day, for GUS and for the world, because of the strength of our community. There is truly no community as loyal and true. I thank each and everyone of you for lifting us up in your own way. Today, I am more than hopeful, I am confident we can get through anything together.

Trust and Go Forward,