A Thanksgiving Message from John Fixx, Head of School
Encouraging close relationships among students and teachers and cooperation between home and school, we foster a feeling of family.
—From The Country School Mission Statement
Many families come to embrace The Country School as their closest community, knowing more about each other than we know about our neighbors. And we raise each other's children, take them for overnights, feed them, and correct their manners.
I am reminded of this often, but yesterday, watching young alumni return for the Fall Alumni Reunion, it really hit home. Everywhere I turned I saw smiles and hugs and heard laughter and shrieks of joy as former students greeted former classmates and teachers or as current students were reunited with former Reading Buddies. The sounds of students cheering for their teachers – and for their clumsy Head of School, as some of us battled bravely alongside much younger competitors during the Alumni Day soccer game – will also echo for a long while, as might the sore muscles.
Above, greeting Reading Buddies. Below, greeting a former classmate.
Thanksgiving is a time to come together in our homes as close families, and I certainly look forward to gathering tomorrow with mine. But, as I do, I will also be giving thanks for my other “family” – The Country School community.
I will think of the group of parents and educators, who nearly 60 years ago, came together, determined to establish a school “dedicated to quality education” and capable of “providing an environment where children can develop their full potential.” I will think of the parents, students, alumni, teachers, and friends who, every year since, have carried on the mission of the Founders, so that children are still allowed and encouraged to develop their full potential.
I will think of our current families who, since school opened in September, have already spent thousands of volunteer hours working in support of that mission. I will think of our PTA and all it does to enhance our school – from our Community Welcome Day to the amazing Fall Festival. Stay tuned for the Owliday Workshop….
I will think of everyone who has helped share the news about the extraordinary opportunities available to children at The Country School. I will think of Minds in Motion, which brought bright, curious students and their families to campus from across Connecticut for a day of hands-on learning. I will think of the parents, teachers, and students who turned out to volunteer at our recent Open House or our STEAM Robotics Night. Exposing more families to all The Country School has to offer is everyone's responsibility, and we couldn’t be more grateful to all of our ambassadors.
I will toast the ever-enhancing Roost and those who have come together over the last year to give our school store a boost. The offerings have been juiced and goosed and much creativity let loose. If you have not been down there to shop and thank the volunteers, please do so on the deuce.
I will give thanks to everyone who attended the Harvest Gathering at Saddle Ranch Farms, and to the incredible team who made it happen. I offer a particular thanks to the Pacholyk family and to the many vendors who donated their services to generate some $10,000 for this year's Annual Fund, providing the margin of excellence that gives our children an academic advantage and so many other unique opportunities.
Our mission statement calls on our students to support not only the local community but the larger world, and last week, Dean of Students Beth Coyne drove 600 pairs of shoes down to New Jersey. Collected by students since early September, they will be shipped to the Odingoi Primary School in eastern Uganda, where, working with the nonprofit Call to Care Uganda, Country School students are raising funds to underwrite the digging of a well so that children there are able to spend their time in school, rather than walking miles each day to obtain clean drinking water for their families. To date, our students have raised $1,179 for the well project. They are working to raise a total of $8,000. Stay tuned….
As I sit down at the Thanksgiving table, I will give thanks for my colleagues, whose commitment to providing an education that lasts a lifetime is unwavering. It is both an honor and a joy to work alongside this amazing team, whether it is helping to shape curriculum or trying to score against athletes four decades younger on the soccer field.
I also give thanks for our Board of Trustees. Working quietly behind the scenes, they invest copious hours weekly to serve on productive committees and plan both for the short-term and long-term stability of this special school. The Trustees give of their funds, their emotions, their time, and their intellect. Truly, I am grateful.
Finally, I will give thanks for our students, who offer living proof that our efforts are absolutely worth it. There are so many examples I could share, but because today I am thinking specifically about community, here are two that spring to mind.
As many of you know, last weekend 12 Country School cross country runners competed at the Regional Junior Olympics in Maine. The runners spanned several grades – from 2nd through 8th – and the competition was fierce (although, on a very exciting side note, one of our 7th Grade runners, Robbie Cozean, won a gold medal and will be competing next month at Nationals; stay tuned !). After the race, Coach Coyne and I received a message from Karen Rosenthal, the mother of one of the 3rd Grade runners and a Country School graduate herself (Class of 1985). Thank you, Karen, for allowing us to share a vignette here:
I was taking pictures of Tessa near the finish line and in the craziness of the moment after she passed by me, I missed a couple of beats before I realized that she would be alone after coming through the end of the chute. I quickly started to make my way over there and when I finally spotted her, she was being walked to the tent by none other than Captain Joseph [an 8th Grader]. He had his arm around her and I heard him tell her excitedly what a good job she did and how awesome she was and I just hung back and watched Tessa, smiling hugely, revel in this big kid’s warmth. …
Please extend my gratitude to Joseph and let him know he embodies everything a captain should be! I have told this story a few times, and each time I can’t seem to get through it without tearing up. Watching these kids in the hotel pool, at the restaurant, and at the finish line, I am in awe of how they take care of and enjoy each other.
That is The Country School community in action.
And then one other quick vignette. In October, two alumni, Marina Sachs ’07 and Ben Ballard ’08, returned to campus to enlist participants from The Country School for TEDxYouthDay, an opportunity for Middle School students to deliver TED-style talks at Connecticut College. Six of our students participated and they were spectacular, although the vignette I share isn’t about our current students. Rather, it is about our alumni.
In speaking about the TEDx opportunity, Marina explained that the theme of the event was “Worlds Imagined.” She told students that one of her favorite words is paracosm, defined as “a prolonged fantasy world invented by children; it can have a definite geography and language and history.” As she and Ben spoke with students and teachers, revisiting classrooms and exploring spaces that are new since their days as students, Marina took a deep breath, exhaled, and announced, “The Country School is my favorite paracosm.” Coming from a young woman who organized the first-ever TEDx college forum for Middle School students, served as President of her class at Connecticut College, and researched and authored a chapter in a professor's book about presidential leadership, this is high praise indeed.
Below, Marina and Ben in Marina's favorite paracosm (aka the TCS art studio).
As I sit down to dinner with my family, I will keep those visions and words in mind. I hope you, too, will take a deep, soothing breath this Thursday while in the embrace of your family. We are all fortunate to have each other and we are fortunate to be able to give thanks for The Country School. Enjoy the long weekend, and thank you for all you do.
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