Messenger Newsletter Archives

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 in the middle school 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. 

As the seasons change and we head into colder weather, we are also experiencing some Middle School milestones. Next week we look forward to welcoming parents and guardians into conferences with teachers. Our goal as a Middle School is always to offer opportunities to learn with a growth mindset, whether that is in social or academic settings. That growth mindset allows students to see that their learning is part of a larger trajectory of understanding. 

We started off this week with a wonderful cross-divisional conversation about The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt. Using guided Circles, parents shared their observations about how they have responded to technology in their parenting and the impact technology has had on their children in every aspect of their lives. Parents shared strategies that have worked for their families, wonderings about how to steer these conversations with their children, and pride in how their children have navigated such a complicated digital world.