News
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Simple Greetings Can Create Complex Benefits
When I was preparing for our recent parent book group centered on When You Wonder, You’re Learning, I rediscovered this passage: ”In 2018 a group of researchers studied the effects of greeting middle school students at the classroom door. This seemingly minor gesture yielded stunning benefits. Student engagement increased by 20%, while disruptions decreased by nearly…
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Extra! Extra!: Gratitude is Front Page News!
Each Thursday evening I eagerly go online to read The Wind, the simple newsletter from Vinalhaven, the island 15 miles off the coast of Maine that we visit each summer. Twelve hundred hearty souls live there year round, making it Maine’s largest permanent off shore community. While there are many reasons I so anticipate settling down…
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The Talk about Intensive Parenting
You have probably heard about a recent report entitled “Parents Under Pressure: The U.S. Surgeon General Advisory on the Mental Health & Well-Being of Parents” that warns “intensive parenting” has created an urgent public health crisis in our country. An insightful discussion of the report was the subject of the October 9th edition of The Daily podcast.…
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“A Poignant Moment”
True story from the front door the other day… “Mr. Mufson, I brought you a sticker,” and with that an enthusiastic first grader handed me a brightly colored sticker that said, “Yay!” Then she excitedly added, “And that’s the way I feel when I come to Primary Day!”
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Keeping Wonder Alive
Wide, bright eyes and exuberant hellos. Smiles, laughter, and a palpable sense of joy. Energy that literally leaned toward the doors behind me so as to gain entry to all that is inside. Anticipation, laughter, and, frankly, some tears and nervousness. These are some of the snapshots that greeted me the first day of school as…
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Parents as Mangroves
We have so much to celebrate, be in awe of, and savor as we come to the end of what has been a wonderfully successful school year for Primary Day, its students, and our school as a community. Our teachers have given their best to nurture the growth of our young friends; and we know…
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What Makes for a Well-Balanced Child?
Last month I tuned in to a webcast specifically aimed at Parents of PK-2nd graders entitled “The Well-Balanced Child” given by Stanford University’s Challenge Success program. The presenters, two child development and psychology researchers at the center, posited that in our desire to raise children who possess a high degree of well-being, belonging, and engagement,…
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Determination
Primary Thoughts Neil Mufson, Head of School “Do your best always.” Years ago, while I was Head at my former school, I saw these simple but powerful words emblazoned on the gates of another school, one with which we did long distance cooperative projects. Located in the poorest neighborhood of Nairobi, the school –…
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Instilling Responsibility
Primary Thoughts Neil Mufson, Head of School I still remember that telescope — the first thing I saved up for on my own — and the outing my father and I took to Boston to purchase it once I had stashed enough of my allowance and birthday money into an old Christmas card box. I…