June 11, 2024
Dear LGA Community,
The school building is nearly silent right now–even the phone isn’t ringing! All I hear is the faint laughter of the teachers, rustling of my papers, and the birds outside. But the walls seem to still vibrate with a fantastic academic year and the memorable final week: class trips and mini-celebrations, the graduation, the final assembly, and the post-assembly carnival. Many times, over the course of my first year at LGA, I found myself surprised and delighted–up until the very end! I’d like to share with you what I found so surprising about the final day of the school year, which was last Friday. I would also like to share our new mission statement, and some very exciting staffing announcements. As usual, I am sending this to you as an email and a video for everyone’s convenience and accessibility.
Here’s what surprised me on the final day of our academic year: I’ve never met students who were less enthusiastic about the summer break. I did not hear much about vacations or camps, and instead, I observed big feelings – about missing their teachers and friends. It was endearing and moving. It is so very clear that to these children, school is not a chore or an obligation but a joyful, nourishing space. This, I think, is what education is meant to be, and I am profoundly grateful to our educators and staff, parents and community members, and of course, our students, for this incredible environment.
Also, last Friday, we introduced LGA’s new mission statement. The mission statement articulates the school’s identity, and serves as the compass for our decision-making, enrollment, fundraising, staffing, curricular choices, and much more. Most importantly, our mission statement was not written by a single person, but contains within it voices of many – parents, grandparents, alumni families, students, teachers, community members and everyone who came to tell us their LGA stories and dreams. When a text holds voices of the whole community, it can become sacred. I would like to thank everybody who worked on this mission statement, with special thanks Sara Luria, who guided us tirelessly through this project. It is a crucially important achievement of the year. Our new mission statement exists in three versions: as a text, as a painting, and as a song.
Text:
Rooted in Jewish rhythm, wisdom and ritual
we cultivate a joyful community of curious, creative, and caring learners
in pursuit of wholeness for ourselves and the world
Image:
Much like our students, I, too, have big feelings about this year coming to an end. At the same time, I am looking forward to much-needed quality quiet time with my family. I am also looking forward to two immersive weeks at the Day School Leadership Training Institute, and everything that I am going to learn there. Wishing you all a spectacular summer, filled with positivity, rest, joy, and, always, great reading. In the meantime, please join me in welcoming these new members of our team! Have a wonderful break!
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