May 28th 2010
We are here today to honor the extraordinary accomplishments of many, many of our students. And when we gather in these ceremonial occasions we take a moment to honor the mission, the values, and the philosophies that got us here to this lovely auditorium filled with bright, motivated teachers, faculty, students and parents.
Specifically, our Statement of Philosophy on Awards provides the framework for our time together in the same way it guided the faculty in selecting the recipients. Quoting from the Statement now: “The granting of awards at Derryfield should inspire our students to be their best, reinforce the school’s core values, and provide learning opportunities for both award winners and those who did not win.”
It goes on, but I’ll summarize – we seek to reward individual students for living the school’s values while acknowledging that everyone whose name is called today has a village of supportive family, teachers and friends who helped to get them to this place and time.
Because I think this philosophy does such a good job of capturing an essential truth about our school, I want to begin with gratitude - reflecting on our own village - and saying simply “thank you – we could not be here without you.”
Thank you, Mrs. Flagg and Mrs. Keefe-Hancock for the way you have shaped this gathering with attention to detail and caring for everyone involved. Thank you.
To the parents who are here today – thank you. Many of you, as I understand it, are here with a certain mystery in the air. Welcome - You honor us with your presence, and you illustrate our belief that our school is at its best when we collaborate on this exploration called education. And besides, the world needs a little more fun-filled mysteries with happy endings.
To the faculty and staff – you have created an environment where students seek to excel, where it is cool to be smart, and then proceed to the field, the stage or out into the community and continue that level of excellence. I have observed in the past that we don’t really have a similar awards day for faculty & staff, but I believe that for every award presented today a Derryfield faculty or staff member – more likely, several – took a chance on a shy student, stood by a struggling student, or supported a student in a time of need. The students we will hear about today are award worthy in part because of the extraordinary effort, intelligence and compassion of the adults in the Derryfield community.
I want to make sure to give everyone here today an opportunity to say thank you to the faculty and staff at Derryfield who inspired you, and to ask our students to join me in leading that thank you. Thank you, Derryfield faculty & staff.
Finally, to our students – I may risk losing a few of you with this description, which is certainly not my intention - but this is the kind of fun you can have when you are Head of School . . .
Did you see Rajon Rondo dive for that ball in game 3 (I am not talking about game 4 or 5)? In many ways I think that is the kind of performance we are here to honor today. In a group of 10 gifted people on the floor, Rondo’s extra effort made the difference between really good, and something truly outstanding.
And then, did you see what that effort did for his team? The whole team – I think the whole Garden, really - rose-up to a new level and played with a kind of heart and intensity that was nothing short of exceptional.
I think that feeling – that reminder of what exceptional looks like – is what Awards Day does for our community. So I want to thank you for diving for that ball, singing beautifully when it did not come easy, serving others when you may have had other things on your mind, studying for that test when you got back late from practice. I know you have learned a lot along the way. What I want you, our students, to be certain of is that you inspired us – your teachers, parents, and friends – and that your extra effort has lifted up our entire school to a new level of what it means to be a joyful community celebrating accomplishments with each other.
Thank you.
