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MaryEllen
Mary Ellen Christy, Headmistress

                    Notes from the Headmistress for March 2010

 The private school world has its own “March Madness” but it does not involve basketball.   March is the month in which contracts for enrollment are sent.   Families anxiously await the mail looking to see if the envelopes are thin or fat. A fat envelope will contain either, a welcoming letter offering enrollment and the coveted contract form or, a letter stating that your child is on the waiting list and a form you must complete to retain your spot on the waiting list.   A thin envelope will contain a polite but direct and somewhat final letter expressing thanks for your interest in their school and all best wishes for your future success in some other institution.

No doubt this is reminiscent of when you waited to hear from colleges and universities, graduate schools of business, medical schools and law schools.  We all need to remember that we are talking about the admission of four and five year old children to kindergarten programs.   In a city of this size, there exists a multiplicity of programs for children, public, private and parochial; including a quite superior one in this school.

Frequently at this time of year, newspapers and magazines do a cover story that purports to be an insider’s guide to the admissions process.  Most often these articles are full of half-truths and innuendo which rather than providing relevant and useful information only seek to sensationalize the process.  In the February 8th issue of New York Magazine there is a well thought out and insightful article entitled “The Myth of the Gifted Child” by Jennifer Senior.  The article is worth reading because it presents a number of differing points of view and concludes that despite the best intentions of all persons involved, it draws the conclusion that the results derived from testing your children are often quite unreliable, that an IQ is a moving target, and that the minds of children as young as three or four are “too raw to be judged”.  It also points out, in my opinion quite correctly, regardless of the criteria on which you decide to evaluate and sort any group of people you will end up with a bell curve.  It is important to note that the first formalized testing of intelligence was the army alpha just prior to WWI; so before that for thousands of years, people’s intelligence was based on personal performance and not a subjective test. So be of good cheer because there are many options for school placement and all of your children can look forward to bright and successful futures. 

The Pressured Child, by Michael Thompson speaks eloquently to the consequences of early pressuring of children.  He states that by the age of ten most grade school children have determined and resigned themselves to accepting their place within the group.  A very sad commentary when you consider that the average life expectancy for these children is eighty five years and many will live to be one hundred.  If you remember the fable of the tortoise and the hare, you will recall that the race is not always to the swift but to those who persevere.  Parents and educators may do well to remember the tortoise.  Dr. Thompson also wrote Raising Cain, an excellent book for those raising boys.

What is most difficult about the entire process is the inappropriately deleterious effect it sometimes has on parents when they personalize the results.  Let’s not forget that this is largely a numbers game and it is an inherently flawed process that sometimes yields happy results and sometimes does not.  It is in no way a reflection of your merit or your child’s.

Having watched this process at close range for many years and participating in it with the selection of the students that will attend our school, I assure you that in the end there is placement for everyone and everyone will be attending a school in the fall.  In the end most people are quite satisfied with their placement because these are all very good schools.

In March, we too will be sending our contracts and the finance committee of our Advisory Board has approved a modest increase in tuition, keeping in mind the general state of the economy and our desire to continue to pay our talented teachers well and  to have the necessary resources for a superior program.  It is not lost on me that we are able to keep our tuitions within a reasonable range largely because of the hard work of a dedicated and talented group of staff and volunteers and generous donors who remain loyal to our school.

This month the children will be focusing on March weather, Dinosaurs and Saint Patrick’s Day in the Fours and JK classes.  They will make dioramas of dinosaurs in a prehistoric landscape and examine fossils, including a replica of Sue’s (the T Rex at the Field Museum) tooth.   At the end of two weeks they will be veritable dinosaur experts; able to name and identify all of them.   Some excellent books on Dinosaurs are : A Dinosaur Named Sue – The Story of a Colossal Fossil by Pat Relf,  Dinosaur Questions by Bernard Most,  I Wanna Iguana by Karen Kaufman Orloff and How Do Dinosaurs Go to School, by Jane Yolan and Mark Teague.  All young children are fascinated by dinosaurs because the love leaning about scary things that are no longer around to scare them.

The Preschool will be studying outer space and Saint Patrick’s Day.   The children will learn that March can “come in like a lion or like a lamb”.   We will talk about Leprechauns, rainbows, shamrocks and pots of gold.  Saint Patrick’s Day books are not so easy to find but a few good ones are:  Leprechauns Never Lie by Lorna Balian and Jamie O’Rourke and the Pooka and Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato – both are by Tomie De Paola and are hilarious.  Jamie O’Rourke is reputed to be the laziest man in all of Ireland.

On Thursday, March 4th, I will be speaking on the topic of Fatherhood: Why Fathers Matter at the Racquet Club at 11:30.  This is an Alumni Luncheon Event.  Alumni who have not yet responded may call the office at 312-642-3422 and speak to Stacey to make a reservation

 Wednesday, March 10th will be a busy day at school.  The Women of Saint Chrysostom’s will host a Lenten Breakfast at 9 AM in the Guild Room. The Rev. Terri Stanford, former associate Rector of Saint Chrysostom’s Church will offer meditations.  At 11:45 we will have our monthly chapel in the sanctuary followed by lunch in the gymnasium.  That evening parents of currently enrolled children are invited for Margaritas, Mexican Food and the game of Hearts. Call the office at 312-642-3422 and speak to Jeanouche to make a reservation.

School will be closed at the end of the school day Friday, March 12th and reopen Monday, March 29th for our annual Spring Break.  I will remain in town and be available to any of our currently enrolled parents who have concerns about next year’s enrollment.

Mary Ellen