With this week of shows coming to an end, and only the 5th graders left to perform next week when they return from the AEFE-UNSS sports tournament, a chapter is also closing. When I arrived in 2020, the corridors were still humming with the rapturous applause from the end-of-year shows orchestrated by Julien Budrino and Vincent Pauchon. For a long time after, people sang the praises of the children’s talent, the beauty of the choreography, and the wonderful things they had seen. COVID brought all of that to a halt. In 2021, after a year of teaching in rotating small groups (who remembers the pods?), Julien made the perfectly understandable decision to focus on teaching his Kindergarten class, and Vincent booked a one-way ticket to France (I wrote about that here).
We therefore had to rebuild the department from scratch. For me, there was no question of compromising; it’s an area I am passionate about, which brings so much to the children. I was determined to create an artistic program that would shine a spotlight on The École and its students. I relied on two talented artists to make it happen: Rémy for drama, and Rudolph for music. They were joined by first Danielle and then Nathalie in fine arts–creating a truly comprehensive artistic pathway for our students (Nathalie joined us in the midst of a summer of musical chairs that I can smile about now, but was pretty stressed about at the time. She accepted the position of fine arts teacher that I had initially offered to Adeline (who became our 4th Grade French teacher) and then Bridget (who became our STEAM teacher)!
Expectations naturally changed as the program took shape and the school grew. Rémy, Rudolph, and Nathalie’s roles shifted. They became not only artists but also fully-fledged teachers, who had to manage classes of 20 1st graders, create lesson plans, post classwork on SeeSaw, attend meetings and professional development sessions, complete report cards, identify competencies, etc. In short, every year we asked more of them, and while they always answered the call, it was often at the expense of their own artistic pursuits, which they frequently had to put on hold.
The shows remained top-class–we laughed at Rémy’s slapstick humor, we cried to Rudolph’s choruses, and even if she wasn’t directly involved in the end-of year-shows (although last year the middle schoolers created their props in art class and this year the 4th graders did the same), all year long, we delighted in Nathalie’s students’ artworks displayed on every floor of the Elementary & Middle School Building. Her displays regularly receive compliments from prospective parents because it’s not every school that places such an emphasis on art. We are extremely proud of our students’ artistic opportunities, and I would like to thank those who have, for several years, embodied that ambition at The École. After Rudolph leaving us last year, this year it’s Rémy and Nathalie’s turn to leave us and return to their first love–artistic creation rather than transmission.
We are obviously very sad to say goodbye to them both, but we know the new chapter will also be beautiful. The artistic pathway we put in place will continue in the same format. Ryan has already brought his enthusiasm and energy to reach new heights with our music program. There will not be less art at The École because, as our students have shown us all week, they have incredible artistic talent and an irresistible desire to share it with us. Sophie warned me that she cries a lot at these kinds of events, and this week we both cried in our seats in the dark, forgetting about pedagogy, logistics, and emails for a moment, swept away by the magic of a school that amazes us a little more each day.
Wishing you all an excellent weekend!