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Qs with the HoS: October 2024

Qs with the HoS: October 2024




Qs with the HoS: October 2024
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Kingsley’s Head of School, Steve Farley, reflects on parent partnership, Moving Up, the election, & more


What are you reading in classrooms this month? 

 

What is so special, in your opinion, about the parent-school partnership model at Kingsley? 

One of my favorite Kingsley fall rituals is the invitation for each new family to join me for a “Welcome to Kingsley!” conversation in my office. Begun during the opening months of the pandemic, these conversations have evolved into an opportunity to learn from each family how our commitment to academic excellence, student empowerment, and kindhearted leadership resonates with them and to discuss the pivotal role that the parent-school partnership plays in the success of each child during time they spend in our Early Childhood and Elementary programs.

Though the thought of Sixth Grade graduation is often, understandably, far off in the distance for most families during their first months at Kingsley, it is nonetheless gratifying for me to be able to hear each family’s aspirations for their student and for me to share the intentionality of our ten-year program and the extraordinary, distinctive opportunities each child will have over the years to identify their passions, learn how to collaborate with others, and practice the skills necessary to lead with compassion and conviction.  

These conversations also serve as wonderful complements to the goal-setting conversations taking place today and tomorrow, and the progress report conferences that happen in January and June. Together, these exchanges of information, observations, and aspirations—from both school and family—serve as the bedrock underpinning the relationships which will ensure success over the three years a child will spend in a classroom. And, quite often, in the years after a child leaves a classroom when former teachers still find a way to check-in and mentor families.

 

Do you have any recollections of your own children’s “Moving Up” experiences?

In a departure from the Moving Up and other transitions many current Kingsley parents are experiencing and looking forward to, my most recent parenting milestones are some of the big ones: getting a license, studying overseas, graduating from college, moving away from home, and starting a first “real” job. Nonetheless, I am reminded often that the roots of self-advocacy, problem solving, and self-confidence in my children were ones that developed many years ago as each of my children navigated new school environments, took a chance to make new friends, and put themselves out there trying out for teams or a spot on the school newspaper. 

Interestingly, what I remember most about these efforts are not the successes (thankfully, there were some!)—but the moments of struggle. The kind guidance of trusted educators who encouraged my children to keep trying and to keep pursuing their passions made all the difference.

 

As our country heads into an election, are there any lessons that we, the adults, can learn from our Kingsley students?

The Montessori values of Grace and Courtesy are the bedrock of every student’s experience at Kingsley. Mornings begin with teachers and staff welcoming students into the building by name, and are followed by a morning circle in each classroom where we greet each other and share about the day to come. As I think about the many challenges of polarization that our country is navigating, I take comfort in these basic rituals that are grounded in respect and in knowing each other a little better. As my parents often urged my siblings or I when we would come home from school complaining that we “hated” somebody or that somebody “hated” us—“Maybe you should get to know them a little better.” When we know and recognize each other, when we extend Grace and Courtesy to others, our school, city, and global community can become a much warmer place to be.

 

Do you have Sixth Grade mentees, and if so, what have you learned from them so far?

I had the pleasure of enjoying my first advisee lunch of the year with my new Sixth Grade advisees, who I also sometimes refer to as my advisors, since they often have much advice to share. For the seventh year running (out of my seven years as Kingsley’s Head of School), my advisees have displayed genuine kindness and enthusiasm as they learn more about each other and me. 

While today’s topics of conversation were mostly catching up about summer and the beginning of the school year, I was unsurprised that we touched upon their excitement to begin their Montessori Model United Nations work. They are already thinking deeply about complex issues like women's rights and children’s educational needs, and I so look forward to seeing where their research takes them this year.

 

And the question on everyone's mind... What happened with the plumbing emergency? 

At the risk of being a bit cliché, I will say that a little rain must fall (or water must drip) before a rainbow can shine. While we would certainly have preferred not to have spent time chasing down a leak between the second and third floors of our Exeter building—and undertaking the repairs necessary to the ceiling after we had addressed the leak—the plumbing “emergency” did present several rainbows. 

I was most appreciative of the exceptional efforts our teachers undertook to keep our students free of the area and the dynamic and rapid response our administrative team undertook to remediate the situation. I have also taken quite a bit of pleasure in responding to the questions our students have asked as they viewed the structural underpinnings of the third floor. One student suggested we keep the wires and trusses exposed because it looked “cool”! 

And, perhaps most interestingly, the situation provided an opportunity for us to remind our Elementary students of the beauty of our “prepared environment,” and the obligation we all have to make sure that it remains well-maintained. (The plumbers suggested that the issue was likely caused by an overflowing toilet in one of our student bathrooms.)

 

Check back soon for another installment of "Qs with the HoS!"







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