A Month Filled with Gratitude
November is always a special time at Curtis. It is the month when our students explore the life skill of Gratitude in the classroom, in Life Skills assemblies led by our division heads, and in their community service groups, the Seedlings (DK-2), Buds (grades 3-4), and Roots & Shoots (grades 5-6).
November is always a special time at Curtis. It is the month when our students explore the life skill of Gratitude in the classroom, in Life Skills assemblies led by our division heads, and in their community service groups, the Seedlings (DK-2), Buds (grades 3-4), and Roots & Shoots (grades 5-6). Leading up to Thanksgiving and beyond, our students were busy with some very special activities intended to express gratitude and caring for others whose work, service and dedication contribute to our students’ own well being.
Seedlings and Buds were guided by our Parents Association’s Enrichment committees to find and decorate rocks with colorful designs and words expressing thanks to their teachers. These will be collected to create a special Gratitude rock garden on our campus, dedicated to our amazing faculty who make learning engaging and joyful, whether students are on campus or remote. Roots & Shoots students encouraged all students to write notes of gratitude and deliver them to the essential workers who are providing the security and services we all need for for day to day living, especially during the pandemic. Roots & Shoots looked inside our community as well and asked students to write messages of gratitude for the contributions of anyone at Curtis, to be read at flag assemblies by our Head of School, Dr. Meera Ratnesar.
Our deeply dedicated Roots & Shoots mentors, teachers Debbie Taus-Kahn and Debra Cohen, added to the joy of the Thanksgiving holiday season by sharing out the recipe for pumpkin bread that has been used by thousands of Curtis students for the past 20+ years to bake loaves for St. Joseph Center, a local non-profit that provides a range of services to homeless and low-income individuals and families. Last year, with help from teachers and parents, our students baked 650 loaves for St Joseph Center’s Thanksgiving food distribution. This year, because of the pandemic, our students were unable to participate in this heartwarming effort. To keep the tradition alive, Ms. Taus-Kahn and Mrs. Cohen encouraged us all to “bake 3 - share 2” with others.
Our students’ enthusiastic engagement in these thoughtful voluntary service activities tells us that their Curtis compassionate hearts continue to beat strongly through these challenging times.
Our students’ enthusiastic engagement in these thoughtful voluntary service activities tells us that their Curtis compassionate hearts continue to beat strongly through these challenging times.
