News
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The Balm of Empathy
Primary Thoughts Neil Mufson, Head of School As I have thought over time about the many divisions that exist in our country, I have come to believe there is something we parents and educators must and can do for the sake of our children and the future of our world: a better job of teaching empathy…
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The Unending Human Cost of School Shooting
Primary Thoughts Neil Mufson, Head of School Earlier this week I wrote to you about some of the steps we have taken and are considering at Primary Day to make the campus as safe as possible from intruders. What those steps don’t account for, though, is the human toll of the 129 mass shootings…
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Responsibility & the Dream Remote
Primary Thoughts Neil Mufson, Head of School As I have been thinking about responsibility, the PDS value for March, and the children’s amazing responses to my question “What is responsibility and what does it look like?” at the recent Beakos, I thought of The New Yorker cartoon from about 10 years ago by Roz Chast…
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The AIMS Accreditation Process
Primary Thoughts Neil Mufson, Head of School Next week I will be away from school through Wednesday chairing an accreditation team for the Association of Independent Maryland & DC Schools. Every ten years independent schools undergo an exceedingly thorough, two-year, inclusive self-study during which time every aspect of a school’s operations is examined – from curriculum…
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Respect
Respect Neil Mufson, Head of School If you’ve seen the brilliant, glowing bulletin board just inside our front door, you know for sure that this month’s Primary Day value is RESPECT. The board makes this keystone practice very concrete by noting some simple ways our young friends can RADIATE RESPECT: Follow Beako’s Golden Rule. Think…
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Is Cooperation a Lost Art?
Is Cooperation a Lost Art? Neil Mufson, Head of School Given our nation’s evermore frayed political climate, the world’s seemingly countless, intractable conflicts, and our planet’s perilous, much-neglected state, it can feel futile to talk with our children about cooperation, The Primary Day value for January. Perhaps, though, it is more important than at any…
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“Kind World”
“Kind World” Neil Mufson, Head of School As we begin a new calendar year, I’d like to return us to the Primary Day value with which we began this academic year: kindness. World events and daily life remind us that there is never a shortage of situations in which kindness is important and potentially transformational.…
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What Patience Can Bring at This Time of Year
What Patience Can Bring at This Time of Year Neil Mufson, Head of School Each year at about this time, I re-read and re-savor my favorite winter holiday story, Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory. One of the things that makes for great literature is a text’s ability to say something timeless yet new each time it…
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Supporting the Development of Healthy Friendships
Neil Mufson Even though Primary Day’s children are only between the ages of 4 and 8, my eye was drawn this summer to a Washington Post article entitled, “Adults Undervalue Teen Friendships.” While the piece pointed to guidelines for helping parents support their teen’s friendships, the article actually pointed towards “the PDS years” in…