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Middle School Hours for the 2024-25 School Year
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- 8:45 a.m.–3:15 p.m. Wednesdays Only
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A Message from the Division Head
by Ann Sulzer
Dear Middle School Families,
As Michael Spencer mentioned in his note earlier this week, in the days and weeks leading up to the election we have been thinking carefully about how to prepare our students for this moment. We want our students to consider the many layers that come with politics in the United States. We want to frame the historical importance and systems of presidential and local elections, understand how to be critical thinkers as we consume information, and even more so, in an increasingly polarized world, we want to empower our students to uphold the dignity of others and care for each other.
On Monday I spoke with the students in Gathering about how it can be hard to be in Middle School and at times feel like much of what happens in the world is beyond your control. So what is within our control or our influence? We know that we can always control our words, our actions, and how we treat others. So that is what we do. Even when we see unkindness or disrespect in the world, we hold ourselves and our community to the highest standard of respect. We also know that people in our community are all holding different perspectives regarding the election, and we need to be empathetic with each other to honor those differences.
We then invited students to respond to a prompt to create a mural of their ideas in the Commons: “What can you commit to that will help create a kind and inclusive community that upholds everyone’s dignity? Consider the actions you can take to create the community, country, and would you hope for.” Some of the responses included:
- Stand up for people.
- Thank someone.
- Be good to the environment.
- Learn from mistakes.
- Listen to others’ ideas and don’t judge them.
- Try to step into other peoples’ shoes.
- Be a good sport.
- Make people feel safe.
If you ever need a dose of hope in the world, spend some time with Middle Schoolers. For all they are navigating, they have deep wisdom. These words, combined with our Diwali Chapel this week, spread light and joy into every corner of the Middle School.