From Mr. David’s Desk

Our annual Elementary historical drama went up a week ago. The students worked hard on the production and on the history and significance of themes underlying the production. We regret that during the final days of assembling props into the area of the gym that was closed for play production and practice, a pile of cardboard crafted knives and a more realistic looking gun were left outside the gym near Preprimary extended day cubbies. A parent brought to our attention the fact that more than one Preprimary child saw the weaponry, including the replica gun, intended for use in the small part of the historical production dealing with battles between the colonists and native Americans. While all students involved in the production had the benefit of discussions about the human cost of conflict and whether or not there are potential justifications, the Preprimary students who saw the imitation weapons do not have any context for what they might have seen.

Please come speak with me if you have concerns about anything your Extended Day Preprimary child may have seen or said to you or if you want to talk in general about the discussions with Elementary students regarding questions about conflict, historical or modern.

Torit also is reiterating our long-held position against making violence or weaponry a game of any sort in our Anti-Violence Policy, formalized for our Parent Handbook on page 15 of the linked document, as well as in our Personnel Manual.

As always, if any topic is on your mind, I encourage you to speak with me informally at drop off or pick up or make an appointment to Zoom or meet in person. In our small community, I hope everyone feels comfortable discussing whatever concerns or questions are on your mind in the spirit of partnership. We’ll do our best to respond in a thoughtful and timely way. Our next Monthly Parent Coffee is Tuesday at 8:15 AM. Feel free to join me.

Sincerely,

David Liebmann