Patterns - Winter 2021

Page 38

PRESCHOOL THROUGH 8TH GRADE

b y TO N Y S H A F F E R , MI DD L E S C H O O L P R I N C I PA L

Middle School students at St. Martin's are free to enjoy the last years of their childhood, running out to play on the "little kid" playground without any worries about a disapproving chorus of upper grades students.

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WINTER 2021 | ST. MARTIN’S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

A

s a middle school guy for nearly my whole career, I often share the most common, immediate reaction I get when I tell somebody what I do for a living. Following the statement, "I'm a middle school principal," I get a look of pity and some commiserating, comforting statement along the lines of, "God bless you!" While I'm certainly grateful for the blessing, the sentiment makes no sense to me because I think I have one of the very best gigs in the world. This reaction tells me that most people are thinking back to their junior high experiences, making their response perfectly understandable. Now, my definition of junior high may be strictly my own. Yet, it's based on my time as a 7th and 8th grader, supported by a couple of decades of experience and education around what it means to educate young adolescents and support them during this important transitional period.

Photo - 2019

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