October 2, 2024
Dear LREI Families,
As there is no school tomorrow in observance of Rosh Hashanah, we are sending this week’s pushpage one day early.
As we approach the anniversary of the October 7th terror attack on Israel we are thinking about how to mark the day, how to support and care for those students who will feel the impact of the day and those that follow, and how to work with our students, in the aftermath of the anniversary, to create opportunities to speak about and learn about the larger picture of the ongoing conflict.
More specifically:
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Lower school teachers are prepared to respond if students ask questions or make a comment regarding the October 7th attack or the war in Gaza. I am confident that they will lead students in thoughtful and supportive conversations as the children show an interest or need some level of clarification, or simply want to check in and feel held by their teachers. This is more likely to happen in the upper lower-school grades, though the teachers are prepared to respond to comments in all grades.
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Middle school students will participate in an elongated conversation that will allow them to share support and care with those who feel the impact of the October 7 attack and the subsequent war in Gaza, to investigate the intersection of conflict, identity, and discourse in the Middle East and elsewhere. The students will have these conversations in a variety of groupings – some smaller and some larger.
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The high school will have three gatherings – we met today so that I could share an outline of our plans – to let the students know that we will have two additional conversations in the coming days and to have a sense of what is coming their way. On the seventh, the high school morning meeting will be a space for an observance of the attack a year before. It will begin with Allison Isbell speaking with the students about the ways communities remember people and events and support each other in these moments. We will hear from a few speakers including myself. The third gathering will be on Tuesday, October 8th during which we will have a similar program as we will on October 7th, though focused on the war in Gaza.
Both gatherings will be in service to being able to gather as a community, to offer our empathetic support, to make sure the students know that the school community cares for them and is here for them. After the gathering on October 8th, the high school students will spend time later in the day with a visitor to LREI learning about civil discourse. More on this below.
Finally, On both October 7th and 8th we will have spaces for high school students to move to if they need to collect their feelings and thoughts, find affinity, or speak to an adult.
Over the past weeks and months, the school’s administrative leadership team and I spent considerable time thinking about how, during this year, we can move from a place where we struggle to speak to each other about hard topics – sad, shocking, scary, and personal topics filled with conflict – to a place where we can share our thoughts and listen to those of others in return
Many of us find ourselves unable to even hear a point of view that challenges our own, or to explain our beliefs in a manner that invites conversation. I include myself in this group. I think that it is okay to be patient and work our way, over time, to a place when we can speak with each other. I know that this has been hard, again I count myself among those who have struggled to share feelings and to listen to those of others.
I have written a few times over the past weeks regarding our plans for developing the skills needed for us to truly speak to each other, to listen to each other. I am confident that our plans for the early days of October will aid us on this journey. The teachers, principals, Kalil, Allison, and I are here to support your children and to guide them as we embark on a journey towards a place where we can be together, listening to, sharing with, and supporting each other, even when we disagree and are feeling deeply.
We know that you are your children’s most important guide in developing these skills. For those who want to join us in learning more, below I have added the invitation that Kalil sent last week and that was in your weekend email from the Parents Association.
Tuesday, October 8, 8:45am, Sixth Avenue Cafeteria
You are invited to the first parent workshop of the school year. The topic of this community conversation is “Civil Discourse” and we are lucky to have educator and researcher Peter Horn as our guide for the session. Peter is an experienced and talented facilitator who has worked with many independent schools on topics related to civil discourse and student voice. In this session we’ll be looking specifically at issues that affect our children, and at civil discourse skills we’d like to help them cultivate. You can learn more about Peter here.
I hope to see you on October 8th. Please be in touch with questions.
Peace,
