In our early childhood program, reflecting on peace means thinking about how to use our words and actions to promote the peaceful resolution of conflict, on the playground and beyond. In the elementary grades, students consider how peace feels and how we can help ourselves and one another connect with that crucial inner feeling. In middle school, discussions of peace are inextricable from discussions of justice, and our students begin to recognize that their own words and actions can become part of a larger movement.
As I continue to work with students on telling the story of what it means to attend Friends School Haverford, my hope is to draw clearer connections between the feeling of inner peace and the value of silence that we experience during Meeting for Worship on Thursday mornings to the power and importance of the actions like the ones they participated in last week. We learn to speak up for ourselves and others and our beliefs when given the time and space to reflect inwardly and think deeply about ourselves and the world.
I wish you all a great week and invite you to join us for Meeting for Worship on any Thursday at 9:15 am in the Meetinghouse.