NFTH: May 18, 2020

From the Head of School Emeritus

Dear Saint Mary's Hall Community,

It has been more than five years since I have written a letter for News From the Hall, but because today is a very special day, I wanted to share one more time with our Saint Mary’s Hall community.

Today is Head of School Jonathan Eades Day! To celebrate and thank him for his energy, unwavering dedication, and strong leadership of our school, I have included a couple of videos with what I hope are insightful and fun stories about my time working with Jonathan.  One story deals with how we handled the rare, but sometimes “less fun” side of the job and the other is about how you almost never got the chance to meet Jonathan at all.

Over the past 13 years, it has been my privilege to watch what was a “new” division head become one of the very best heads of school in the country.  It has been all of our privilege to benefit from a highly-skilled, caring, and dynamic leader.  As I say in one of the clips below … “The one true way to judge the success of a leader is to ask if the school is better now than it was when they got there.”  That is a very easy question to answer.  In closing, I think schools that are truly blessed by God seem to always have the right leader in place to match the specific needs at a specific time in the history of the school.  Looking back over Jonathan’s time with us, we had the right person to match our needs.  

I invite you to watch these two clips by clicking the play buttons below. I hope you enjoy the stories as much as I enjoy sharing them.

I thank Jonathan for his friendship and leadership. From the point of view of someone who knows first-hand the challenges and sacrifices, I thank Elizabeth, his wife, for her support of our leader.

Enjoy Jonathan Eades Day!

Sincerely,

Bob Windham
Head of School Emeritus

All-School

Chapel Corner

Congrats again to the Class of 2020 on their graduation from Saint Mary’s Hall, which is a monumental achievement, and to each of our students, teachers, and parents for their impressive accomplishment of completing this year too! 

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

God bless,

Rev. Dr. Cameron Gunnin

All-School Chaplain

Healthy at the Hall

Dear Saint Mary’s Hall,

As our final message of the year, the Saint Mary’s Hall Wellness Team would like to encourage every member of our community to engage in reflection. Lower School Counselor Susan Moore-Sickmann shared the quote (on the right-hand side) with the Lower School. As Dr. Dewey teaches, we must reflect to learn from our experiences. Jennifer Porter, an executive coach writes in her article titled, Managing Yourself: Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It), the following:

 “At its simplest, reflection is about careful thought. But the kind of reflection that is really valuable to leaders is more nuanced than that. The most useful reflection involves the conscious consideration and analysis of beliefs and actions for the purpose of learning. Reflection gives the brain an opportunity to pause amidst the chaos, untangle and sort through observations and experiences, consider multiple possible interpretations, and create meaning. This meaning becomes learning, which can then inform future mindsets and actions. For leaders, this 'meaning making' is crucial to their ongoing growth and development.” 

Please pause to reflect on the last ten weeks. Where have you spent the majority of your time? With whom have you spent this time? Think through the sights, sounds, and smells of this time period. Try to relive it. As you ponder your experiences, please consider answering the following questions for yourselves:

• Who helped me through this trying time?
• Who did I support?
• What were the ways that I helped myself?
• What have I learned about myself?

Based on these reflections, what do I need to do to prepare for next academic year? Emotionally? Physically? Spiritually? Mentally? Socially? Occupationally?  

Write out your thoughts and plan for the coming months. Your future self will be appreciative of you taking the time to course correct and prepare yourself with flexibility and courage. Please encourage your children to do the same.  

Thank you for a wonderful year and we look forward to seeing you again soon. Stay well and rest.  

All my best,

Sandra L. Lopez-Morales, Ph.D.
Director of Wellness