Parent Newsletter January 18, 2012

Dear Parents,

Last weekend we had a terrific visit from 16 students and two teachers from the Manhattan Comprehensive Night and Day High School.  This school is primarily for immigrant students who need to work while they finish high school, or are too old for a traditional program.  The group that came was on the ‘green track’ and spent a lot of time with our sustainability squad kids.  By the end of three days new friendships had been forged as well as new understandings of the diversity of cultures.  On Monday, we celebrated Martin Luther King day with a special program designed to have students talk together about race, class, religion, stereotypes, how to have difficult conversations, and other topics which will help them to become more culturally fluent.  We define cultural fluency as the ability to move among cultures with ease and grace, and we know that it is learnable, rather than innate.  I am impressed by the wisdom of many of our students, and their willingness to listen and learn from each other.

At the beginning of the winter term I gave our students some unsolicited advice, as I often do.  I told them that for the most part they had done a really impressive job of looking after themselves in the fall – getting enough sleep, getting exercise, eating reasonably well  -  all the things that go into making people happy and able to be productive.  And I told them that if the fall was the learning stage, the test is whether they can do it in the winter.  Winter at Putney is fast and busy, and also cold.  We amuse ourselves by having Dorm Olympics, which involves silly contests of all sorts, from dorm songs and hula hoops to spelling bees and haiku. We have the Green Cup Challenge, in which dorms compete to see which one can lower their electricity use per person the most.  We ski and skate and sled and make bonfires in the snow.  We are working on preparations for celebrating Chinese New Year on January 23rd, and will have fireworks.  There is plenty to do, and it’s good for the kids to stay active and resist the temptation to hibernate and look at their computer screens for hours on end.  If you get the sense that your child is doing less well than they were in the fall, please encourage them to think about these things.

A reminder that mid-winter break is February 9-12.  Students are free to leave after their last commitment on Wednesday the 8th, and should be back by 7:00 pm on Sunday the 12th.   This is a really good time for families whose children are coming home to include one or more international students.  Many thanks to all of you who are regular or sometimes hosts – the students love you!

All the best to all of you,

Emily