Westerly Stories

Happy almost-Thanksgiving! I want to send out a heartfelt "Thank you!" to all the Westerly community members - teachers, students, parents, and grand-parents - who made last Friday so overwhelmingly special and powerful. Every classroom and learning space I walked into was filled with gratitude, food, and lots of love and nurturing. From the classroom feasts at which students presented their well-written reflections, to the amphitheater where sixth grade mentors and first graders collaborated on a musical number (after eating pie of course), to the costume-filled ocean unit presentations in Ms. Cherin's classroom; it was a day of meaningful moments and communal celebrations for all that makes us so very grateful. 

As always, I have an educational plea to make to all the families reading this: take some time with your children this week to read together. Even for an hour, put away your phones, close up the laptops, switch off the TV, and power-off the video game console. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, let's all be tremendously thankful for the power we have to read - unparalleled in its vitality to discover new ideas, venture to new places, expand the imagination, and envision the future we can create. Just watch what this young man has to say about reading...