Happy 2025, Belmont Day!
The new calendar year is upon us, and in just a few short days, it is clear that there is boundless energy in our halls and classrooms. To start the year, I have had the great pleasure of being invited into those classrooms for morning greetings. Ask a kindergartener about the “sea turtle greeting,” it’s fantastic! The joy and vibrancy of a new year are alive and well here on the hill.
A new year also provides an opportunity for reflection, a chance to grow, to take on something new, or to renew a commitment to a goal you’ve had in the past. Yes, the new year is an excellent opportunity to take stock and imagine something better for the days ahead.
As we open our new calendars with hopeful joy here on campus, my heart has also been in Los Angeles and Southern California this week. For all of the frigid days and nights we’ve been experiencing here in the Boston area, thousands of people in communities throughout Southern California have evacuated their homes to escape wildfires burning through their neighborhoods.
I recently learned that two PK-8 schools, whose heads are fellow members of ESHA (Elementary School Heads Association), have lost their schools to the fires, and several more have students and families in their communities who have lost their homes. I suspect that no emergency plan or handbook could have adequately prepared those schools for the scope of this unprecedented devastation. As these school leaders search for answers, schools like ours, thousands of miles away, can consider how we might help.
I am working with heads around the country to offer assistance. We are considering clothing or toy drives for displaced students, offering virtual classes (math works the same no matter which state you’re in), a national design challenge to mitigate climate change, and more. In moments like these, the best resolution is to lean into our agency to do anything that might help those in need.
Some of our community members have family or friends directly impacted by the fires, and I send them love, strength, and support. If any of the loyal Scoop readership has ideas or knows of organizations doing good work supporting the victims of the wildfires, please reach out to me. In its effort to empower meaningful contributions, Belmont Day is eager to participate.
So, in 2025, perhaps our collective resolution might be to serve others rather than to be served, to care for those who we may not witness experiencing our care, and to make Belmont Day a better place by ensuring that schools on the other side of the country can safely welcome their students and families back to communities of learning.
