School News

A Thoughtful December Reflection

12/4/2025

Kim Ridley, Head of School

December is the time of year when I can finally slow down just enough to take stock of how the year is unfolding, reflect on what the past few months have taught me, and consider how those lessons will shape the arc of the rest of the school year. Usually, these reflections arrive during winter break, when I’ve had at least one nap and a cup of tea that I actually finished. But this year, the thoughts seem determined to show up early, perhaps because there is simply so much that is on my mind.

adrienne maree brown writes in Emergent Strategy that “transformation doesn’t happen in a linear way. It happens in cycles, convergences, and explosions. If we release the framework of failure, we can realize the iterative cycles, and we can keep asking ourselves, How do I learn from this?”

If you’ve spent even ten minutes in our hallways recently, you know: Fayerweather is currently mid-convergence, mid-explosion, and mid-iteration, sometimes all before lunch!

Over the past three months, our school has been a lively ecosystem of curriculum nights, classroom projects, ASMs, field trips, trips to Fresh Pond, book discussions, joyful chaos, and the occasional logistical miracle. Teachers and caregivers have engaged in meaningful conversations about equity and belonging, while others have participated in workshops on ADHD, met with prospective and current families, and navigated behavioral challenges with patience and creativity. We’ve held PCA meetings, parent-teacher conferences, and, for the brave at heart, Grandparents and Special Friends Day, which somehow always manages to be both heartwarming and mildly overwhelming in equal measure.

Behind the scenes, equally important work is happening. We are reviewing our writing and science scope and sequence, while asking the hard but critical questions: What standards, data, and research ground our work? Where are the gaps and overlaps? What outcomes do we expect of students by the end of each year? Our specialists are digging into the narratives and intentions behind their programs. Scot is transforming the 8th-grade math experience to better meet students where they are and challenge them in a meaningful way. And, aligned with our strategic goals, we sent one administrator and three teachers to a Project-Based Learning (PBL Works) training, which is an investment that strengthens our commitment to robust, experiential, place-based learning at FSS.

This is the invisible labor of a school year: the constant refining, questioning, building, and rebuilding that occur throughout the year. It is slow work disguised within the fast pace of daily school life. It rarely makes it into the car-ride home summary (“What did you do today?” “Nothing.”). Yet, it is the reason your children learn with curiosity, confidence, and joy.

Why This Matters – and Why You Chose Fayerweather

If we peel back the layers of all these meetings, projects, reviews, and reflective practices, a clear narrative emerges: Fayerweather is a school that chooses transformation over stagnation. We choose curiosity over complacency. We choose community over convenience. And above all, we choose children, our students, in all their complexity, brilliance, unpredictability, and potential.

Parents often tell us they chose FSS because they wanted a school where their child would be known, challenged, and cared for. What they may not realize is just how much intentional, courageous work goes into making that promise real every day. What you see on the surface - the kindness, confidence, creativity, and growth in your children - is a direct result of this behind-the-scenes labor and our commitment to learning as an evolving, communal practice.

In summary:

We are reflecting because reflection sharpens our purpose.
We are iterating because learning is a cyclical process, not a linear one.
We are asking hard questions because excellence requires discomfort.
We are strengthening programs because your children deserve the best.
We are building a more inclusive, experiential, and joyous school because that is what our mission and the world require.

All of this is the work of Fayerweather: the visible moments, the invisible labor, the humor that keeps us moving, and the seriousness that grounds our purpose. Thank you for entrusting us with your children and for being partners in this ongoing, ever-evolving process of transformation. Let us breathe deeply over the next few weeks as we continue to learn together.

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