Words from the Head of School
Dear Families,
On the eve of our 2022 LFSF back to school day for most students, I am charged with positive energy!
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been meeting and working with new or returning faculty and staff members who have been finding their way back to campus. Now fully rested from their summer, they are filled with enthusiasm, new projects and ideas that they can’t wait to share with you and your children. I also met with our new students, on our three campuses and was, as I often am, galvanized by their joy to be back together at school, charmed by their appetite to explore and learn, and simply impressed by their young minds.
Together, we are ready to embark on a new school year, and after two complicated years, we savor the privilege to share this experience in this beautiful school that is the LFSF. Together, strong of the programs that make our reputation, we will cultivate the curiosity that is so essential to learning. “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing”, said Albert Einstein. At LFSF, we value and cultivate curiosity as, like Einstein, we know that asking questions and developing critical thinking paves the path to education, and inspires all students to give the best of themselves by making them actors of their learnings.
This new school year, we will expand our curiosity in new directions.
We will deepen our work on DEIJ (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice). Alejandra NAVARRO, our new DEIJ Director, will inspire much of this work that will take many forms and invite all, - students, parents, and staff-, to come together to make our community inclusive and representative of us all. The three year, large-scale DEIJ project that we are calling Actions Beyond Words supported by the generous grant of the Edward E. Ford Foundation and our matching community fundraising, will continue to illustrate this objective set by our school and the LFSF Board of Directors to make DEIJ a focus.
We will also give our students permission to make noise and rock our world! As I already shared last year, music will be another important LFSF project this year. Of course, music was and is part of our curriculum, but now, we will give ourselves the means to go further, encouraging school bands and choirs, and organizing musical events or opportunities that in turn will inspire students to either explore their own talents, or share them at school. In this adventure, we initiated a partnership with the Conservatory of Music of San Francisco. Our Ortega campus used to be their home before it became ours, and we are imagining ways for our organizations to collaborate for the benefit of our students. I will of course share more as our conversations progress.
Finally, we will practice curiosity outside of the classroom, by taking our students to new learning destinations thanks to our Global learning program that will offer a trip per grade (from Gr 4 to Gr 12 with projects for the younger ones currently being investigated), directly in line with their curriculum. Traveling with purpose!
In light of so many good things to come, this new school year will most certainly be extraordinary. As prospective families, you are at the beginning of your journey, still exploring the many local excellent choices that are yours. When meeting our admissions team, or touring our campuses, as you learn about our international school and its programs, I hope you will feel the power of the LFSF choice, and the warmth of our community that looks forward to welcoming you home, at LFSF!
Stay well and take good care,
Emmanuel TEXIER, Head of School
