May 18, 2018

Happy (Belated) Teacher Appreciation Week!

May 7-11 was Teacher Appreciation Week, but since Middle School Teachers were venturing to the far corners of the world (or, at least, to California, the Southwest, and Costa Rica), we didn't have the time to properly acknowledge this talented and committed group of educators. Over the course of the Fall and Winter, this blog hosted brief profiles of our faculty, offering a chance to get to know them "beyond the classroom" and possible capture a glimpse of the people and experiences that shaped them. Looking back at these profiles, it's clear that our team brings a broad and deep range of experiences to their work and to our students every day.
On our website, the school articulates five standards for our teachers. These are principles that inform the recruiting and hiring process, and they echo the daily experience of our students and families. The Annie Wright Schools Teacher Standards include:

• Teachers work continuously to know their students. 
• Teachers set and communicate high expectations. 
• Teachers demonstrate initiative.
• Teachers incorporate the IB Learner Profile into the Classroom. 
• Teachers involve themselves in the life of the community. 

Knowing this team of teachers, we could tweak this language slightly. Our teachers strive not only to know students, set high expectations, and incorporate the Learner Profile - they strive to model these things with deep commitment and care. The Journeys provide a distinct example of this. Months of planning goes into these trips, and while Journey coordinators integrate coursework into the itineraries, teachers look for opportunities to integrate aspects of the trips into class. While the Journeys are rooted in the academic program, we know that the biggest impact of the trips is the time spent with classmates and chaperones. Each Journey influences the "personality" of the group, inspiring memories and sparking or deepening friendships that last for years. Anticipating this, teachers hold high standards not only for academic work but for how students interact with each other, whether a friend or a stranger. Teachers place a high premium on authentic, direct interactions and communication, and in this they model and help students to develop a key skill for living.

Many of our colleagues identified their favorite or most impactful teachers in their profiles. Sometimes, we readily remember the content of courses and information that our teachers delivered, but more often we remember the relationships, the times when a teacher stood up for us or created a safe space for us, or when a teacher modeled the way to get through a challenge. Our most impactful teachers may not have been our favorite teachers at the time, but then and now, they deserve our respect and our gratitude. Please join us in thanking - frequently and continuously - our teachers for the relationships they model, the passion with which they approach their work, and the community they inspire. 

May Day 

May Day, originally celebrated as Field Day in 1912, is Annie Wright’s most treasured tradition. From 1924, when the school moved to its current site, the May Queen, chosen for her beauty and grace, processed regally to her “throne,” in the cloisters (now the Bamford Commons), flanked by satin-clad pages and flower girls. After her coronation by a junior Maid of Honor, younger students treated the court to entertainment including various types of dancing and acrobatics and a traditional Maypole dance.
Today we are proud to celebrate many of the rituals of this more than 100-year tradition. The May Court includes the May Queen, Maid of Honor, United States Flag Bearer and Annie Wright Schools Flag Bearer. The seniors still process to their position of honor before the school community, and the maid of honor still crowns the May Queen. Entertainment includes choir and orchestra performances as well as the Maypole dance, performed by Grade 5. The ceremony now takes place in front of the school on North Tacoma Avenue, where the occasional car horn signals congratulations and celebration of this most special event. Faculty and students vote for a May Queen who is caring, engaged and a strong part of the Upper School community.
May Day festivities on the front lawn are open for all members of the Annie Wright community, and students are dismissed after the ice cream social at the end of the event.