Dear BKW Community,
Having turned the corner into the holiday season and colder weather, we are reminded how fragile and unpredictable life can be. Please take a moment in thought for our neighbors in Duanesburg as they deal with a tragic situation that, in an all too familiar way, seems to occur at this time of year. We grieve together with our friends as they seek to make sense of this tragic event. We are also reminded that in every community- rural, urban, suburban, large, or small schools are the crossroads in a community and are the point of stability for children, whether five years old or 17 years old. At BKW, we want to continually reaffirm with each of our families our commitment to taking care of children, and families, while also teaching them well. In a spirit of community, we are here to support, encourage, and find solutions necessary to grow students to healthy adulthood.
In the past week, I have been personally reminded of my own vulnerability. After 20 months of the pandemic, exercising every caution and shifting with every new protocol, managing internal procedures and directing operations as close to normal as possible, I found myself run down and prone to acute bronchitis. The last eight days have been a struggle to overcome the diagnosis and maintain my health. I found myself frustrated with the entire situation. At the same time, as I continued to receive updates and work with staff on the emerging wave of COVID cases this past week, I realized how committed our community is to one another, and how much anticipation our students, staff, and families have for returning to a full sense of normal. I share that anticipation with you with all my heart.
As we work through the next three weeks before the holiday break, experience tells us we will encounter more COVID cases and the associated quarantines and exclusions. We will make our attempts to keep students in school, host athletic activities and clubs, and engage students in innovative learning opportunities. I am sure there will be moments of challenge and emotion. It is part of the human condition. I had my own this past week. I also had a lightbulb go off in my head – I am not in control of everything. Close colleagues told me, “Let go and take care of your health. You are of no help if you are down.”
Although our human nature often brings forth our grit and determination, if we refocus it will also allow us to just be still. In that stillness, we gain stability. We come to realize the moment is just a moment, and it will pass. We find the opportunity embedded in that moment and we can use it for good. I want to take this moment to be still and encourage each of you to pause, breathe, settle, be kind to yourself, and be kind to others. Be reminded, we are all in this together. We have been since the beginning. It may not feel like it, but we are stronger as a community today than we were on March 13, 2020 because of this experience. Way stronger! We will overcome…
Let’s be listeners to each other. Let’s share in one another’s experiences and trust in our path together. Moments will come and go, emotions will wax and wane, and by listening and working together we grow stronger. Remember 321: Three towns, two schools, one community. Where we all belong. Thank you for being the community you are.
Dr. Timothy Mundell