After a Fall fraught with storms and the associated losses (much closer to home than we are used to),  this past week has been a time for family and friends and gratitude. I am so grateful for all the TPS grandparents and special friends who graced our campus last week for a joyful Grandparents’ Day. Morning breakfast and welcome remarks in the Middle School gym were followed by activities in every grade level in the classrooms and finally a spectacular Grandparents Day Concert in the Primary Gym. From Glee to prekindergarten and Kindergarten singers, all the way up to our Middle and Upper School combined choruses, the voices of children were a wonderful reminder of all that is right and good and fun at Tuxedo Park School. Yes, we take our academics and character building seriously and yes, we are competitive about Green and Gold and our Athletic teams, but we are also grateful for family and song, and this event was a great opportunity to reinforce those messages.

As we leave behind Thanksgiving and enter the hustle and bustle of the Holiday Season, I hope that all of our hearts will remain filled with gratitude, for each other, for the gift of this community and of this school. My challenge to all the adults in the community is to carry that spirit of gratitude all the way to our December 20 dismissal for the holidays. As our students sang last week, our words must match our actions: “Children will listen.”