Hearing

August 18, 2023

Parent Community,

Greetings at the end of an inspiring week!

As I shared with you in my letter last week, and as we discussed at our all-school assembly on Monday morning, this year we will focus on the importance of building and sustaining a strong sense of community – “a sense of belonging that makes each and all of us feel known, seen, heard, and celebrated.” Our capacity for listening will play an essential part in pursuing this aspiration, and for that reason, I called our students’ attention to the last of our Community Norms:

Listen, listen, listen, and speak.

I then noted for our students that the barn owl – the embodiment of our Barnstormer spirit – has uncanny auditory powers. With a concave face and asymmetrically positioned ears that work together to enable pinpoint accuracy in sound location, the barn owl can detect from astonishing distances the heartbeat of a field mouse hiding in the grass or even under the snow. This nocturnal hunter listens, listens, and listens before releasing its predatory screech. It listens to survive, to find nourishment, to care for its nestlings.

Like our mascot, we too must listen for nourishment. Only by listening, really listening, to the stories, questions, hopes, fears, and joys of others can we reap the full benefit of our diverse school community. In that spirit, we offer our parents and guardians this menu of events and opportunities to meet Thaden faculty and administrative staff, formally and informally, so that we can come together as partners in the growth and learning of our students throughout the year. We look forward to hearing from you.

Together we listen, listen, listen, and screech!

Clayton K. Marsh
Founding Head of School