May 8, 2025
from Paul Errickson, Middle School director
Mark Your Calendars
- Friday, May 9: MS G5/6 Service Day, 8-11:30 AM, Off Campus
- Friday, May 9: MS G8 Field Trip, 9 AM-1:30 PM, Off Campus
- Friday, May 9: MS Robotics Gathering, 3:30-5:30 PM, Family Commons
- Monday, May 12-Friday, May 16: MS G5/8 MAP Testing
- Wednesday, May 14: MS G7/8 Affinity Group Meeting, 2:30-3 PM, Panther Center
- Thursday, May 15: MS/US Band Concert, 7-8:30 PM, Nicholson Center
- Friday, May 16: MS G5/6 Student Council Event, 3:30-5 PM, Family Commons
- Monday, May 19-Friday, May 23: MS G7 Washington DC Trip
- Friday, May 23: US Senior Walk, 1-1:45 PM, MPA Campus
- Monday, May 26: No Classes, Memorial Day
- Wednesday, May 28: MS Field Day, 12:30-3 PM, Varsity Field
- Thursday, May 29: MS Field Day (Rain Day), 12:30-3 PM, Varsity Field
As we enter our final month of school and trade our headlights for sunglasses on the commute into school in the morning, I’m reminded just how hard spring can be for many of our students. Students are balancing end-of-year performances and athletic matches and meets with the change of seasons and routines as they prepare for summer and the possibility of moving into a new grade or division. There’s a lot of outward joy and laughter in our hallways, but that can hide inner uncertainty and anxiety around change.
Recently, Dr. Hudson reminded our faculty to share grace, space, and kindness with each other. “People need grace most when they appear to need it least,” he shared. He talked about how grace looks like leading with patience and forgiveness, flexibility, and compassion. Space is needed for growth to take root, and it looks like giving each other (and our students) the emotional breathing room needed for this growth to occur. And that kindness and forgiveness are gifts that give back to yourself when you offer them to others. He reminded us to lead with curiosity and empathy and to consider treating others not how we want to be treated, but how they want to be treated.
The month of May brings with it so much joy and so much emotion. Leaning into these coming days with grace, space, and kindness will help all of us share in the joys of the end of the school year together.
This week, a lot of our middle schoolers have participated in a brilliant way to spread kindness developed by our Middle School counselor, Mrs. Cooper—Secret Buddy Week. Students were asked to sign up if they wanted to participate, and they were each given a secret buddy–someone to secretly practice random acts of kindness for this week. We’ve seen notes of affirmation on lockers and small anonymous gifts like Madlibs and some candy being stealthily placed in lockers. Sometimes it’s the little things we can do for others that help us feel better about ourselves, and the kindness that this has promoted in the Middle School has helped us enter May with a bit more grace.
Thank you to everyone who joined us for our fifth and final Students and Screens of the year. On Monday, we hosted over 50 guests to hear Dr. James Densley unpack the manosphere’s echo chambers, body‑image “hacks,” AI deepfakes, gaming cultures, emoji‑shorthand, and the performance of violence online. Parents and students left with clear and practical takeaways, including how to build digital literacy, bolster emotional resilience, and foster healthy offline connections in an always‑on social media landscape.
Dr. Densley’s advice to parents was to normalize open dialogue about social media use and to make sure that you don’t blame your child if they come to you with a mistake or issue. He suggested that parents should build their media literacy skills by learning about filters, deepfakes, and the darker corners of the internet. And he reminded us of the importance of self-care for ourselves and our children, cultivating offline hobbies and self-worth, and looking for ways to take digital fasts during the week or on vacations. We recorded Dr. Densley’s presentation, and I am happy to share it with you if you would like to learn more.
