Yesterday we marked the end of Ramadan with the feast day of Eid. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to all of the families in our community who celebrated Eid yesterday and to thank Fawzia who delighted us on Wednesday with delicacies prepared especially for the occasion. We are proud to be able to use our academic calendar to highlight the importance and respect we have for the diversity that is intrinsic to our school community (for our Catholic families, yesterday was also ascension day).
Those of you who, like me, grew up in France surely remember not going to school on Wednesdays (in my village, we had classes on Saturday mornings instead–I am not sure if that was common practice everywhere). For those of you who are a little older than me–there can’t be many out there!–Thursday was the day off (until 1972). Not having school yesterday reminded me of the Wednesdays I used to spend at my grandma’s house as a child building elaborate Playmobil constructions, demolishing orange Pims (my favorite cookies), and watching cartoons (especially The Mysterious Cities of Gold, which was pretty popular with our own second graders sat the start of the year).
I got an extra kick out of yesterday’s day off because Thursday is usually my longest working day. I meet with Philippe, Laurence, and Christophe at 4 pm for our weekly “Executive Committee” discussion. We tackle the important areas of interest for the school, but also the smaller details, we put forward ideas, dissect each other’s suggestions, analyze situations, and speculate, basically, we put the world to rights. At the beginning of the year, we penciled the meeting in from 4 to 6 pm, but soon started running over by a few minutes here, a half an hour there, then we were running an hour over. Nowadays we do our utmost to be done by no later than 8 pm…8:15 pm at the very latest.
It’s just that there is so much going on in this school; there are so many great ideas and so many exciting and demanding projects to pull off. These weekly meetings are crucial for me: they allow me to take stock, to let things sink in, and they give me pause for thought. They have also allowed me to see just how important The École is for Philippe and Laurence and to appreciate how much time and energy they are willing to dedicate to our school. It is such a pleasure to spend my Thursday evenings with them: Philippe has a new idea every minute (and often an especially good one at exactly 7:55 pm); Laurence keeps the best interest of the children at the heart of everything we do and ensures that all decisions made are fair ones; as for Christophe, his pertinent and pragmatic advice and suggestions ensure we keep our feet on the ground and remain within the realm of reason at (almost) all times. Their talent and generosity also mean that they know how to listen and that they knew how to give me the space I needed to grow into my role as head of The École.
Each week a more refined, improved vision of our school emanates from the Executive Committee meeting, accompanied by a lot of joy and pleasure. It is a joy to collaborate on a project that we all hold so dear. It is a pleasure to develop and construct the future of The École. It is a joy and a pleasure to meet each week and to spend time together.
So this week, I must confess, I kind of missed our weekly meeting. Especially the tray of Orange Pims that Laurence always sets at the center of the table; Pims that I demolish while thinking of the Wednesdays I used to spend at my grandma’s house as a child.