A Much Needed Break
To start with, we had a week of vacation, during which teachers and students were able to relax a bit and think about things other than school. Meanwhile, Jan, our tireless Building Manager, was able to take advantage of the calm to take care of some big building projects that will provide us with the best working conditions for the coming winter.
At the end of this needed week of rest, we learned of the barbaric assassination of one of our teaching colleagues in France. He was killed for simply having done his job. The news came as a shock for everyone, truly a sucker punch to the gut. We are still reeling from it a week later. In France, we talk about a “corps” enseignant or a “body” of teachers. It is this entire body, across all borders, that is suffering today. Whether we teach at a school in Manhattan, in Africa or in Conflans St. Honorine, where this horrible act occurred, we are all still teachers. We are all still driven by the same desire to give children the keys to a happy life by teaching them to think for themselves.
The students’ return to school on Monday came as a precious comfort in helping to assuage this painful news. They came with their smiles, their joie de vivre and their shouts. I had missed all of these sounds as I roamed the empty hallways the previous week. They helped take our mind off things: children have this power of filling up every minute of our time, which is as it should be.
Second Round of Pool Tests
Then, on Tuesday, we distributed the kits to carry out the second school-wide Covid test, and we eagerly waited for the results the following day. Those results came in Thursday evening, and as you know, they were all negative. I would like to thank Rachel and Emma, in particular, for the flawless organization of the test as well as all of you for your collaboration. Way back in September, we said that maintaining the health of our community and keeping the virus outside of the school would be a collective effort. Today, we can be really proud of these results. They allow us to smoothly and safely continue to offer all of our students in-person classes every day of the week. A huge bravo to all of you.
Some Happy News
Finally, since it seems that so much has happened this week, I would also like to congratulate our colleague Anne—who has the patience and talent to translate this weekly letter into English—on her marriage this past Saturday. Nietzsche said that marriage is the desire of two to become one. We wish both you and Carly much happiness and unparalleled joys.