Teacher Margaret's "View From My Window" - September 4th

Dear Westfield,

Welcome to the 2025-2026 School Year. Today is the first day all of our students are here. This week is all about friendships and establishing routines. Both are central to successful learning within our community.

“The View From My Window” is an opportunity for me to show you glimpses of what happens across the entire school, reflect on the ways our Quaker School mission shapes the context for your children’s learning, and share topics of interest to all of us blessed with helping children become caring, independent human beings. I also include announcements and book recommendations from our library and classrooms.

In our opening of school meetings, the faculty agreed that our work with our students (your children) is focused on learning in community, honing collaboration skills, and experiencing joy. And, we know that each child is on their own educational journey, has their own strengths and weaknesses to develop, and that struggle is part of the process.

This week, we will come together in PreK through Eighth grades for our first community event - our assembly with author Andrea Rogers. Looking ahead, we will have monthly service projects where we work in our cross-age groups. Our first service will be in support of the Walking For Betty Foundation. You will hear more about that soon.

Last year, we successfully operated as a smart-device-free school for students. Other schools are choosing to begin the year with this practice in place. Jon Haidt has a very good, research-informed SubStack, “After Babel”. The most recent post included an excerpt from Jean Twenge’s New Book: 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-Tech World. This excerpt focuses on basic phones as an alternative to smartphones for pre-high-school children.

I look forward to seeing you at our Back-to-School Nights.

If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions, please let me know.

In the Light,

Margaret

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