In the Scottish tradition, it is customary at important celebrations to don your family tartan, celebrations including the winter solstice.

We talk often about the symbolism of the GUS tartan, of how each member of our community is woven into the fabric that makes GUS so very GUS. Each individual is a vibrant strand in a complex design, held firmly together by shared experiences, common values, and belief in the power of a GUS education. 

Today more than ever, and during this time of year especially, we are grateful for the warmth and comfort that comes from the tartan that is the living, breathing GUS community. As we live and learn together, we are bonded to one another by important moments, some big and full of tradition, but we are also connected by countless smaller moments. With every laugh or smile, hug or high five, shared joy pulls us close. Also, by times when we get encouragement and work together to overcome challenges and when we get comfort, as together, we divide grief and disappointment, each moment connecting us all, drawing us close together. Every interaction, each shared experience, whether big or small, weave a community that is taut and firm. A community that is strong, where a teacher’s legacy continues long after the graduation bagpipes have gone quiet, where minds and character are shaped by every interaction and by every effort to do better and be better. This is a place where the ties that bind lead to friendships, not just between students, but between teacher and student, between colleagues, between families, between us all, friendships that truly last a lifetime. So this year, as we celebrate solstice, we pull the GUS tartan around us tightly and gather strength. May the GUS community and our shared memories and experiences offer a special warmth this holiday season, a warmth that will sustain us during this shortest day and all the days beyond. 

Happy Holidays from all of us at the Glen Urquhart School.

Gretchen Forsyth
Head of School