Message from the Head of School

PCDS Community,

Each August, we launch the school year with an internal celebration referred to as First Friday. Trustees, faculty, staff, and the full student body convene in the Najafi Gymnasium to commemorate the initiation of a new academic cycle. The program gets kicked off by a member of the Board of Trustees, and the keynote addresses come from the students—one from each division. The topic is typically “New Beginnings.”

Due to lingering COVID-19 disruptions, the 2021-22 celebration was delayed until April, the first Friday after Spring Break. Delightfully, when the day finally arrived, the energy in the gym was the same as always: brimming with anticipation and excitement. But instead of our traditional theme, the speakers each emphasized a more timely notion: Perseverance.

Each in our own way, we have been confronted over the last two-and-a-half years with challenges presented by the global pandemic. For some of us, the obstacles were obvious and extreme; for others, the struggle was more subtle but often no less damaging. Either way, we had a decision to make: let the experience take us down, or fight for what we hold most dear. At PCDS, we never shy away when the going gets tough. We stand up and battle against whatever threatens to hold us back. We persevere. And there’s no doubt that we find the greatest success when we all band together.

From the outset, even way back in the spring of 2020, we expressed our certainty that not only would we successfully work ourselves through this difficult time, but we would emerge even stronger than before. As I looked out at the audience during our modified First Friday, I knew that our forecast was on point. I couldn’t be more proud to serve this intrepid community and look forward to many more First Friday celebrations together.

Andrew M. Rodin P’19, ’19, ’25 Head of School Gay Firestone Wray Chair for Leadership