Temperatures have dropped, the first snows have come, and students are bringing their snow pants, hats, boots, and gloves with them to school so that they can go out and play during recess despite the chill in the air – Michigan’s winter season is upon us. But even with the best outdoor gear, we can only stay outside for so long before our need for warmth draws us back indoors.
In October of this school year, Summers-Knoll hosted their annual spaghetti dinner, and we had a great turn out. In November, we held our first quarter parent/teacher/student conferences with 100% participation. (Thank you, SK parents!) Today (Friday, December 1st), we will host a movie night where SK students and parents will come together to watch Pixar’s Ratatouille. Then on Tuesday, December 19th, every student in the school will perform in our Winter Concert.
Regular opportunities for meeting and socializing enable us, as a community, to get to know and appreciate one another as people, beyond the roles that define us or our work. It has become easy, once again, to take such opportunities for granted, but not long ago, gathering together posed serious risks.
When the COVID-19 pandemic ensued in March of 2020 and everyone around the world was forced into isolation for months, being with other people in public places posed a serious health risk. As vaccinations were developed and rolled out starting in the spring of 2021, the risk lessened. During the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, Summers-Knoll classes were “podded” to reduce the chances of the virus spreading if, in fact, someone contracted COVID. Social events that had traditionally brought the school community together, such as our Friday morning meetings (aka Dragon Time), were held remotely; people came together via digital devices from their respective isolated spaces. Starting in fall of 2022, Summers-Knoll classes were no longer podded. Cross-grade buddies, multi-grade lunch/recess, and in-person, whole school events began again.
Conflict resolution and dialogue facilitator, Priya Parker, sheds light on how to make gatherings more meaningful. In her work, she talks about the importance of purpose when we gather together and how to leverage a clearly defined purpose to inform what we do when we spend time together.
In her talk, How We Meet and Why It Matters, Parker states, “Having a purpose for your gathering need not make your gathering formal. When you are wanting to have a more meaningful gathering, there are ways to increase the level of meaning and that’s to increase the level of focus.” Her work amplifies the value of gathering and how we, as hosts, can create a shared experience that engenders a sense of belonging, connectedness, and renewal. She suggests to give our gatherings a purpose, a name, and a rule. Parker poses the question: What is a need we have right now around which we can gather to create something new together? Given our relatively recent emergence back into in-person gatherings, perhaps it is fair to say that some of our needs, and our children’s needs, are to (re)connect, strengthen our sense of community, and just enjoy one another’s company.
It’s a chilly, cloudy, wintery, rainy day in Ann Arbor, Michigan today. I’m really looking forward to the warmth of our SK movie night this evening where we can delight in the joy of children being together, watching a movie together, snacking on popcorn together. It’s simple and uncomplicated, and yet we know, all too well, being able to be together is truly precious.