Dear Families,

I am pleased to report that our MCAS scores have returned full of positive news. Significant gains were made across the board, but the most significant were in the areas of math and science. This is excellent news for our school, both because it will help our case as we seek further expansion, and because it represents a recognition of the concerted effort we made to prepare our students for their best work.

Of course there have been so many gains that a test cannot measure. Through Expeditionary Learning students experience being scientists, authors, historians, and even sailors. They not only build the skills and knowledge of each discipline, they learn to put themselves in a new mindset and look at the world through different eyes. To measure this, one need only look at the wind-blown, sun-tanned faces of the fifth and sixth grade class as they took to the open sea on Monday to explore the Boston Harbor Islands on board the sailing ship Roseway. That day, their math lessons in cartography and compass work helped them to find their way home.

Through music they learn to embody their learning, to connect their hearts to their heads and to their hands. This has never been more evident than on the stage of the Strand Theatre last Sunday, when the Dudamel orchestra delivered an impassioned performance in collaboration with the dancers from BalletRox.

However we choose to measure it, our students are achieving. Together, we are shaping the future and preparing them for lives of beauty, service, and accomplishment.

Warmly,

Diana Lam

Head of School