Beginning of the End

It is surprising how quickly it happens, but the long ending of the school year has started. Signaled by the first lower school potluck earlier this week, or maybe it was the middle school Performing Arts Showcase last week (a great new event), and culminating with the school’s 65th commencement exercises in June, the end is beginning.  Between now and then, when the ending ends, we will host 14 lower school potlucks, the middle school musical (tomorrow evening, Saturday afternoon and evening), senior project presentations, the senior banquet, MS and HS awards ceremonies, the fourth grade immigration play, the Spring Concert, field day, Stir the Pot (buy your tickets now) and the Afterschool share and instrumental concert, among others.  I encourage you to make time not only for your child’s events but also for events that sound interesting, maybe featuring students in another division.  This is a great way to see what is going on at LREI.

One event that took place this week and that was a very big deal in the life of the School was this past Monday’s High School Ribbon Cutting—a small ceremony for the high school students and faculty inaugurating our newly enlarged high school campus. After some thoughtful words from Ruth Jurgensen, high school principal, and Michael Patrick ’71, Board Chair, the ribbon was cut and the students streamed into our newly expanded facility.  They were so excited!  Maybe it was the beautiful cake provided by the PA, but I like to think that it was the new classrooms, the student lounge and the courtyard.  A very exciting morning indeed.  However, I think that the next day may have been even more exciting.   The hoopla was over and, from the student lounge to the new seminar room, the students had made the building their own.   In one day we went from brand new to well used.  Fantastic!  Stay tuned for information about an all LREI Ribbon Cutting event—coming soon!

As with the new high school spaces, in the midst of all of the big events of the season, I encourage you to keep your eye on the day-to-day, the “regular.”  While the big moments are exciting, and I surely don’t want to minimize their importance, the day-to-day learning, hard work, struggle and success continue to be our main focus.  So, while you are finding time to be with children at big moments be sure to ask them about the journey that took them there.  These will truly be things of which to be proud.