Dear SDS Learning Community,

This time next week we will be enjoying the first hours of winter break. Polar Express, faculty cookie making, decorations, ugly sweaters, Middle and Upper School students at their holiday band and chorus concert, and this morning our 3s and 4s students performed at their holiday concert. The season has officially begun!

For our older students it also means exams and end-of-semester projects. As we develop our students to live a life well lived, we shape their experience so that they can manage their time, approach a deadline with a plan, and feel prepared for the “big” moments in their life. Yes, there is the academic necessity of the summative assessments, but there is also everything else that comes around that, which, when done in a community of trust, helps foster a superior educational experience. 

For our older students, seeing the 3s and 4s come out of their concert in their dapper holiday garb, reminds them how far they have come and that the holiday spirit is all around them. I am sure it gives them a little boost as they dive back into their studies of gerunds or geopolitics or genus. 

Have a wonderful weekend, and we will see you all on Monday. 

Sincerely,

Dave