Parent Newsletter December 15th, 2011

Dear Parents,

Happy Holidays!  Your children will shortly be arriving home, and some of you have not seen them since September.  Parents of day students see changes and growth so incrementally they sometimes don’t really notice it.  Parents who have not seen their children in a while often have the same experience that we have when students return after a summer away.   In three months teenagers can grow up a lot, or they can decide to try on a new self for size, or they can just get a really bad haircut.  In any case they are not quite the same kid they were three months ago, and we have to look carefully to welcome this new and older kid, not the one they left behind. . 

Depending on your child, and your own family dynamics, you may find that your child is delighted to revert to their younger self when they are home.  They will want their favorite childhood foods, to be sure their room is just as they left it (including the stuffed animals) and to do everything in the most traditional way for your family.  Others will find that fitting back into an old routine is more difficult.  They may not feel as connected to their friends at home, and perhaps have the sense that they can’t explain their world here to their world there.  Some students have far more freedom at home than they have here, and will revel in that. Others have more freedom here than they do at home, and will bristle at moving back into those restrictions.  

In any case, I hope that you can get them telling stories of their lives here, talking about the projects they just did, about the projects they saw other students working on, what they hope for the rest of the year.  Perhaps for seniors an agreed moratorium on talking about college is in order. Your children will want you to recognize their new maturity, even if it comes with a bad haircut (there are really not that many of those, I promise…) and to be seen as who they are at this moment.  My own daughter arrives home shortly, and I am eager to see how her first six months as a college graduate and working girl have shaped her.

Thank you very much indeed to all of our parents who made phone calls on behalf of Putney’s Annual Fund last week, and to all those who graciously answered those calls. We were able to contact over 100 parents in the course of the evening, and were gratified by everyone's positive response, and your generosity in supporting the school in this important way. 

All the best,

Emily