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Teacher Appreciation Week
As we close the week where we acknowledge and honor our incredible teachers, our Head of School Ingrid Tucker offered some wise words. Click heading above to read more.
Greetings and happy spring CMS families!
I hope that you are healthy, well rested, and joyful. That is my wish for all of you, but especially for our beloved faculty and staff today. This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. I would be remiss if I did not reflect upon how remarkable our faculty is, and the role they play in providing your children with an exceptional learning experience always, but during the height of this pandemic in particular. Who would ever have imagined last summer that we would have reopened in-person successfully for the whole school year? I’m not a betting woman but the odds were certainly against us. It is indeed worthy of reflection.
911: Is this an emergency? Yes. May I have your location please? Yes, Cambridge Montessori School. What is your emergency? I have a wonderful staff that shows up to work every day, eager to teach, inspire, and encourage their students. They come to school with health and safety barriers to keep themselves and their students safe. Meanwhile, they are restricted from the personal connections that our community is so accustomed to: social gatherings, community meetings, concerts, presentations, and visiting friends in other buildings. Our teachers have become experts at creating outdoor classrooms, and are our first responders who have mastered the art of pivoting. They do their best to meet their students’ needs while addressing parental concerns and the increasing demands of their profession. I am concerned about their overall physical and mental health.
Although they do not complain, I want to acknowledge that outside of CMS, they have their own families, many are parents of school-aged children themselves, have grandchildren, or have elderly parents. They have highlights and challenges, have suffered losses, some have navigated health challenges, and all are trying to balance their personal and professional lives to the best of their ability. They are also grappling with the ills of society that are boldly splashed upon a canvas for the world to see: injustice, insurrection, insensitivity, senseless murders, gender violence, death, racism, xenophobia, systemic oppression, global warming, political unrest (and the list continues). And yet, still they rise every day in the classrooms, ready to give their best with a smile and an extra pep in their step that allows them to show up and show out (vernacularly speaking, perform). I believe they need CPR: Care, Peace and Restoration. Can you please help?
In a recent virtual parent meeting where the conversation was intense, a parent asked me how are we as a school doing? After a brief pause, my eyes began to well. Overall, we are doing well. However, we have been going non-stop since last March. Although we are proud of what we have been able to accomplish during COVID, I want to give a gentle reminder that we all need grace, especially the teachers. Behind those smiles are people whose struggles may mirror yours. Please join me in providing them with CPR. Handle them with care. Extend them an olive branch for peace during difficult conversations. When they are absent, hope that they are getting the rest they deserve so that their minds, bodies and souls can be restored. We are truly blessed to have such dedicated teachers. “A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind and touches a heart”. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to our AMAZING TEACHERS!! Thank you for all that you do!
Warm regards,
Ingrid
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Located in the heart of Cambridge, MA, CMS is a private school serving children eighteen months through grade 8 in four distinct programs: Toddler, Primary, Elementary and Middle School. CMS educates the whole child, applying the Montessori philosophy in a joyful learning environment.
info@cambridgemontessori.org
info@cambridgemontessori.org
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