The Good News March | 2011
In This Issue: 1
From the Headmaster
2
Board of Trustees Lenten Prayer
3
From Fr. Tom
4, 5 Campus Clips 6
7
Development Update Literary Week From the Headmaster (cont’d) CESPA News Art at the Park -2011
From the Headmaster...
ON TRUST
Note: The following is an excerpt from Mr. Morvant’s talk on Episcopal School Sunday at Christ Church on Sunday, January 30.
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arly in the school year, shortly after I had assumed the position of Headmaster, I had a brief conversation in car line one day with a young kindergarten student, named Conner, who proved to be a wonderful conversationalist. Toward the end of our discussion, Conner asked me if I knew his older brother Hal, a third grader. I had not yet met Hal, and Conner suggested I might want to meet him. Oh, and by the way, he told me, “Hal hates you.” I was taken aback, of course, and didn’t have enough time to even ask Conner why Hal would hate me, but I knew that I now had my first important project. So I made a point of finding Hal, got to know him a bit, exchanged high fives and fist bumps when I would encounter him on campus, and I was fairly confident that Hal now liked me. About two months later, I was bold enough to speak with Conner again, and of course, I had to ask the question: Does Hal like me now? I was quite relieved when Conner allowed that, yes, Hal likes you now. Connor’s next words, however, stunned me, and will probably stay with me for the rest of my time at CES. Sure, Mr. Morvant, Hal likes you now. “But he doesn’t trust you.”
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Mark Your Calendars! AATP 2011 will host a “Fais Do Do” April 15 th & 16 th, 2011. See page 7 for more information.
f I have learned anything during my long career in education it is this: Always listen to the children. Hal’s reluctance to trust inspired me to think about the importance that trust plays in our lives. Certainly, our most meaningful personal relationships are fully grounded in trust. And in a school, of course, trust is paramount. In fact, the whole system of education in this country is based fundamentally on trust. Just consider that every school day, 180 days a year, parents leave their children, their most precious possession, in the hands of a group of adults, many of whom are unknown to the parents. The expectation is that the school will provide a safe environment in which the children will learn the skills needed to succeed in life. At a school like CES, the added expectation is that we will teach Christian values. Our operating principles, which call on us to act justly, instill peace, and imitate Christ, are not just suggestions: they are mandates. So our parents trust us to do those things daily, and it is only because our teachers have earned that trust, that the desks at Christ School are filled today, and that we dare to expand our program to the upper grades.
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e are certainly not a perfect institution, and I am quiet often asked to help resolve issues that arise between students and teachers, sometimes between parents and teachers. In almost every case, the difficulty was created because somewhere along the line, TRUST had broken down. And after listening to both sides and trying to develop a strategy to address whatever issue had been raised, the plan for resolution invariably ends with my saying these words: “Trust us.” We care about you, and we care even more deeply about your child. You must trust us to act, in every case, in his or her best interest. It really is all about trust.
cont’d on pg. 6