Here's an example of a very positive update to the faculty & staff that reflects the last few weeks:
Friends,
I’ve been in the amazing position the last few weeks of getting more accolades for our faculty staff than I can pass on in a timely manner. It started with Grandparents and Special Friends Day – we simply inspired and uplifted so many people. My In Box was full, and I shared the commendations with many of you individually.
The following, with slight editing, are two of the many pieces I have received since then:
"Mr. Sellers - I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to you and all the staff at Derryfield. Way too often, we only hear things which are negative in nature. I felt like maybe it would be nice to end the week with a positive note!
Our son in high school is new to Derryfield, and he comes home daily and speaks about his experiences for an hour or more. We often have to push him to finish up his conversations about the day so that he can eat dinner and tackle homework, etc. Comparing this to his previous academic experiences where we had to drag information out of him, this is an amazing transformation. Recently, when his grade on a writing assignment was not where he wanted it to be, there was a note from the teacher on the assignment requesting a meeting to work on his skills.
Wow! So amazing to know that our child is being taught and educated. He now understands how to improve his writing skills, not an easy process but a skill which is essential for future success.
Thanks again for all you are doing and thanks for making the first month an incredible experience for our son. He actually looks forward to school - can you imagine??"
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"Mr. Sellers,
Our daughter came home today with a story about her day at school that shows an aspect of how Derryfield is different.
She was eating lunch in the cafeteria. After she was done, she emptied her tray into the trash. After lunch she realized that her new glasses had been on her lunch tray and were now buried at the bottom of the trash barrel under the leftovers of dozens of middle school lunches.
She explained the situation to a MS teacher, and she got our daughter some gloves to wear while picking through the trash. Initially she was assisted just by her friend. Then the friend brought over the other trash can and together they started transferring the trash from one can to the other in search of the glasses.
At my middle school retrieving one's glasses from the bottom of a lunchroom trash barrel would have been an unpleasant and lonely task. The best one could expect would be to be aided by perhaps one close friend while enduring the taunts of classmates who would be greatly entertained by observing and commenting on your misfortune.
But that's not what happened.
One by one, other students saw what was going on and came over to help. In the end, over a half dozen students volunteered their help and spent their recess period sifting through the contents of the trash barrel. Some didn't wait for gloves to arrive and used paper towels to protect their hands; improvising an alternate safe method to help. The glasses were found. Then everyone cleaned up and headed off to class.
The students who volunteered took the opportunity to support the standards of the school. They treated a fellow classmate in need with care and respect. They volunteered for a fairly distasteful chore to help a classmate and through their actions helped build a sense of community and maintained the good nature of the school.
Thank you (and your students) for making Derryfield a special place. Parents"
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I’ve had a terrific trip to Dallas, and spent an exuberant evening with alumni on Friday. More on that later – for now, I hope you are enjoying your weekend knowing we are part of a remarkable school.
CNS
