The end of the year is fast approaching, and the top 10 best-of-everything lists are everywhere. Today, it’s my turn to share my perfectly subjective top 10 with you – my top 10 best memories of 2023 (in no particular order!)

  • Not bad for a first try! The first Elementary & Middle School End-of-Year Assembly at Baruch with everyone in person – awards, graduates, applause & a victory for the White House. It was a wonderful experience, repeated in September for Back to School and to be repeated again next week with our first-ever Winter Assembly.

  • I shed a  tear (or ten) in June during the Kindergarten graduation–those kids have a special place in my heart, as we all started at The École together bang in the middle of the pandemic. They are now thriving in 1st Grade right beside my office!

  • I woke up in the middle of the night to bid “Bon voyage !” to our students traveling to Costa Rica and Quebec–our first overnight trips since the pandemic–it was pure joy to see the kids so excited and enthusiastic about their upcoming adventures. A memory-making machine if ever there was one.

  • Something I never tire of: watching our students dance together to Cha Cha Slide during the Middle School Dances. Cha Cha now, Y’all!

  • Seeing Andria and her iconic red bike on the Maternelle Winter Wonderland display created by Rebecaa, Aileen, Lucie, and Marie-Jo.

  • Our first-ever International Festival at the end of September to celebrate that you come from over 70 different countries and that you all know how to cook! I’ve been on a strict diet ever since.

  • Our first French Heritage Night at Madison Square Garden and this anecdote, but more importantly, all of the memories created for our Falcons when so many members of The École community came out to cheer them on and spend an excellent evening together.

  • Our first Nuit du c0de, and the impression that I had come full circle professionally speaking after founding the event when I lived and worked on the other side of the world. It was an opportunity for me to get back in touch with my accomplices from back then and to create an association with the support of the French Ministry of Education so that more students can take part every year.

  • Most recently, the Holiday Party on Tuesday night at Spin–a phenomenal success. I was a bit nervous at the prospect of the dank, smelly ping pong club until I discovered that the venue was, in fact, really cool, which suited us down to the ground!

As Camille and Carl put it so well today during their SLAM performance, “I work at The École / J’ai vraiment du bol.”