6.3.22

A week before your children returned to school last fall, I spoke to the faculty and staff about a labyrinth. I shared it because I saw it as a symbol for the 2021-2022 school year. A labyrinth is an ancient symbol that relates to wholeness. With the combination of the circle and the spiral, a labyrinth presents us with a meandering but purposeful path. I went on to quote author Alex Pattakos, from his essay "Life and the Labyrinth of Meaning":

Along the path we sometimes move forward with ease and confidence: sometimes we creep ahead cautiously, sometimes we find the need to stop and reflect, and sometimes we even feel the urge to retreat. The center is there but our path takes us through countless twists and turns. We are never really lost, but we can never quite see where we are going. A labyrinth is not a maze or a puzzle to be solved but a path of meaning to be experienced.

These words rang true as we progressed through this school year. Things changed rapidly. Sometimes it may have felt like we were losing sight of where we were going. But at every turn along the way, the obstacles were not our undoing. Our core as a school and as a community was always there. And when we could not see around the bend, we had to slow down, regroup, and then keep moving together. We allowed ourselves to let hope and relentless optimism lead us forward.

At last we are coming out of the labyrinth, emerging into the bright possibilities of summer. May we replenish the reserves of energy and optimism that were depleted over these many months. May we connect with family and friends, get out in nature, tap into joy wherever we can find it. May we return in the fall ready to head into the labyrinth again, eager to learn what meaning the path will hold for us in the new year.

In Peace,

Angela

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Located in College Park, MD, Friends Community School is a progressive Quaker K-8 day school, founded on the belief that every child is a valued member of our community. We offer a challenging curriculum imbued with strong values of equality, integrity, community, environmental stewardship, simplicity and peaceful conflict resolution, rooted in our Quaker heritage.

Friends Community School
5901 Westchester Park Drive
College Park, Maryland 20740
301-441-2100