AUTUMN VIEWS Head of School Newsletter, Feb. 2021
Thank you to everyone who voted on the newsletter name. "Autumn Views" won! 1
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IN THIS ISSUE
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From the Desk of Dr. Autumn A. Graves
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One School, Many Voices - Raise We Our Voices Podcast
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The PA Spreads The Love - Parent Association Update
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Motivation and Engagement Survey Results
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We Heard You! Lunch Improvements
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Alumni Aspiration with NASA Engineer Chloe Sackier ?14 [placeholder] Connect With Us
FROM THE DESK OF DR. AUTUMN A. GRAVES DEAR ST. ANNE?S-BELFIELD COMMUNITY:
I want to hear about your "good trouble." Share your story on our social media.
In my first Head of School quarterly newsletter, I stated that I would use this space to discuss different themes as they relate to the School. Fittingly for the month of February, home to Valentine?s Day, this month?s theme is love.
communities, and families. And our environment has been ravaged by out-of-control greed and ignorance that will forever change our food supply, the water we drink, and the air we breathe.
I spend a lot of time thinking about love. Not the kind that makes you flush or creates butterflies in your stomach. Love that prompts actions to improve lives for others. Love that drives the work to bring equity and inclusion to all people. I believe that practicing love, and upholding the dignity of all humans, are foundational to making our communities better and to our mission at St. Anne?s-Belfield.
There is a tidal wave of pain so many people are experiencing right now. We must disrupt the hate and replace it with love. The former president of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee and U.S. Congressman, John Lewis, guided those who want to get into "good trouble? with these words:
When I taught U.S. History, I spent a good deal of energy trying to convince my students that anyone can be a hero. We encountered countless men and women of different backgrounds, and my students would identify characteristics that made them effective leaders. What we learned is that the great heroes and sheroes of U.S. History were not extraordinary humans; they simply had extraordinary love for humankind, which led them to do extraordinary acts. We have come to a point in our nation?s journey where we must find the extraordinary love within each of us. Over 490,000 people have been killed by COVID. That is more than three times the number of people who live in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. There was a literal attempt to disrupt the democratic process with an attempted siege of the National Capitol on Jan. 6. Almost every week, we read about black and brown people being murdered because of assumptions about their intent to be violent. Racist violence against Asian Americans has increased exponentially, perpetrated by those looking for an "other" to blame for the coronavirus disease. We have detention centers filled with toddlers and small children, who were stripped from their mothers?arms, because of an irrational fear of people who come from other countries. People who don?t align with traditional identity concepts suffer to find ways to belong in their schools,
You are a light. You are the light. Never let anyone ? any person or any force ? dampen, dim, or diminish your light. Release the need to hate, to harbor division, and the enticement of revenge. Release all bitterness. Hold only love, only peace in your heart, knowing that the battle of good to overcome evil is already won. I believe our students ? each of them ? will become exemplary citizens and visionary leaders. The kind of citizens and leaders who will right social wrongs. They can and will solve environmental, social, political, and economic problems with human-centered solutions developed and delivered with love. They will become their generation?s John Lewis or Amanda Gorman or Elizabeth Cady Stanton or Harvey Milk or Dennis Banks or Cesar Chavez or Greta Thunberg. All I ask is that they get into "good trouble" in the name of love.
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Dr. Autumn A. Graves Head of School
ONE SCHOOL, MANY VOICES I recently sat down to record my first "Autumn Views" episode for Raise We Our Voices, the new School podcast. Appropriate for the month of February, it?s all about love. Click the images below to listen to other podcast episodes.
Autumn Views: Radical love
Behind the Saints: Sports Recruitment with Lucas Pillar ?21
The Belfield Banter: Reflections on Interviewing Ibram X. Kendi with Ellie Powell ?21and Cheryl Oppan ?21
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It?s Going to Be Okay: Parent Gift-Buying Guide with Kathy Carpenter
THE PA SPREADS THE LOVE The Parents?Association (PA) has been busy! See the ways they help build a stronger School community. For questions, email Maia Pearson Bannan ?93, PA president and mom to Casner ?26: maia_bannan@yahoo.com Diversity Programming. Partnering
Monthly Appreciation.
with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Team, the PA creates programming and content for parents to engage in these important topics. PA board members are currently piloting a parent DEI book club with "Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People" by Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald, with hopes of rolling out the book club this spring.
From apples to pies to books, the PA is proud to support locally-owned businesses, including alumni-owned businesses, with monthly appreciation gifts for faculty and staff.
Wellness Wednesday. With the School Counseling Team, the PA provides parent enrichment hosted by experts on topics relating to the mental health of our School community and age-specific topics for our children. Re-watch the webinars, such as the one with Dr. Lisa Damour, a thought leader in combating anxiety in children.
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Saints?Closet. Saints?Closet continues to be open after school and by-appointment the last Thursday each month. This is the PA?s main source of fundraising; thank you for shopping Saints?Closet and for donating and consigning uniforms. 100%of your support goes directly back into our School community.
STUDENT DIVERSITY MOTIVATION
& ENGAGEMENT SURVEY
Autonomy
Belonging Scale: 1-5 | Benchmark: 3.99 | Our students: 4.08
Scale: 1-5 | Benchmark: 3.66 | Our students: 3.75
Competence In November and December, faculty, staff, and students grades 6-12 completed a Motivation & Engagement survey. Based on self-determination theory, the survey is a snapshot of how our community stands on the three main dimensions that motivate humans to grow and change: Autonomy, Belonging, and Competence. While we are still analyzing results, here is a glimpse at our student results.
Scale: 1-5 | Benchmark: 3.91 | Our students: 3.99
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*Note: The survey was not administered to 5th graders as the survey was not designed for that grade level.
WE HEARD YOU! LUNCH IMPROVEMENTS Highlights - 4 Options Available Every Day - Main - Vegetarian - Salad Entree - Sandwich Entree - Hot Meals Are Back - On Monday and Thursday for Lower, Middle and Upper School Over the last couple months, Chef Holt and our culinary team have been implementing improvements based on feedback we received from parents and students in the fall.
- Reusable Lunch Boxes - Cleaned and Sanitized Daily
To do this, Chef Holt worked with a culinary consultant and visited other schools. He found that with proper cleaning and spacing, it is possible to serve lunch safely to students in the Upper School dining hall.
- Additional Grab-and-Go Snack Items Available
Chef Holt also worked with Middle School students to test COVID-safe lunch options. At the Learning Village campus, parents continue to use an online order form to make sure that there is not only enough food but also to accommodate students 8 with allergies and other dietary restrictions.
- US students released by grade level to limit the number of students in the dining hall at one time
RE-WATCH: ALUMNI ASPIRATIONS CHLOE SACKIER ?14, NASA ENGINEER From NASA: After nearly 300 million miles, NASA?s Perseverance rover completes its journey to Mars on Feb. 18, 2021. But, to reach the surface of the Red Planet, it has to survive the harrowing final phase known as Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL). It?s the job of St. Anne?s-Belfield alum Chloe Sackier ?14 job to ensure the Perseverance touches down safely. On Feb. 8, 2021as the countdown to the rover landing was nearing its end, the NASA Engineer joined us virtually via Zoom for an interview and audience Q&A with her former science teacher, Dr. Bob Troy. Sackier discussed the future of the Mars 2020 program, her experience as a member of the mission, how she became a NASA engineer, and answered questions from the audience. This event was a part of a new webinar series entitled Alumni Aspirations which features alums in conversation with current teachers and students about their achievements since graduating from St. Anne?s-Belfield School. We hope this series will be aspiration for students and help them discover their own potential.
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Did you know the Perseverance can play music on Mars? We know now, thanks to Chloe! Watch the webinar above.
What You Had To Say
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