Letter from the Head of School

LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL

GLOBAL VIEWS

I’ve always loved jigsaw puzzles, and one that I recently completed was a wonderfully hard map of the world in intricately shaped pieces, each one unique. There were no distinguishing marks or labels for countries; land masses and bodies of water, clouds and polar ice were shown in rich natural colors, as if from space. The box’s picture was intentionally incomplete. And the toughest part? There were no edge pieces, no “straight lines” by which to easily navigate. To complete the puzzle, one had to fi rst connect pieces in small groups built from recognizable features, and then work to see patterns in those groups that could be built into the continents and oceans. Along the way to completion, I became aware that I needed to have a view of the entire world in my mind, even as I tried to connect small and nearly indistinguishable pieces together. Life in a boarding school like StoneleighBurnham, even one with many day students and staff, shares some qualities of this puzzle. We live together for months at a time, intensely focused on supporting each other, our learning, our teaching, and our shared mission. This is a beautiful and special way to live, but the last two years have consistently reminded us that we are inseparably connected to the larger community outside of campus and indeed to the rest of the world. Having a “global view” is a part of our mission. We specifi cally state that we are a school that “fosters an international perspective.” Moreover, the voices of our current student body and many from our broad community of supportive alumnae speak about their belief that engagement with the larger world is essential to living a life that brings both individual success and positive change through service to a cause.

However, a global view is far more than an international perspective. It is, fundamentally, our ability to lift our vision from our intense day-today efforts and see in all directions, including the past, present and future. We work within a larger, shifting, and complicated context: a world wide pandemic, the need for authentic social justice and equity, the opportunities and consequences brought about by changes in technology, the effects of climate change and its human causes, and social and political polarization. Every day we are helping our students prepare for success and positive contribution in the complex, changing world that they will enter when they move on to college and careers, and to do so we need a vision for our school that honors our rich and diverse past and also prepares us for decades to come.

In this issue of the bulletin, you will fi nd some of the pieces of Stoneleigh-Burnham’s global view. The everyday individual achievements of the students and adults in our community are uplifting and fascinating, but it is the ways in which they are connected to each other, and to the larger world, that is truly special. the larger world, that is truly special.

Stephanie Luebbers

Head of School