这是一个感恩的季节, 但是在成长过程中, 我的家人每天都在计算和庆祝十大彩票网赌平台的祝福. 我的母亲, 谁是二年级的老师, made sure my younger sister and I took nothing for granted and took notice of how good we had it. I grew up in such a loving family with so many privileges that it was easy for me to be grateful and joyful.

我母亲每天的快乐是有感染力的. She loved to sing and dance and made up songs each morning as we were getting ready for school. Whether her songs were about the good food we had to eat or that her favorite song was playing on the radio, 传递的信息是一样的:快乐地活着.

My extended family embraces my mom’s joyous gratitude and loves to find any reason to  celebrate. 他们教会我在任何情况下都要寻找快乐. It’s the foundation of groundedness in the people and places I encounter every day. 

去年春天, 当我参加十大彩票网赌平台总裁职位的最后一轮面试时, 我很兴奋, 有点紧张, 感激, 准备好体验快乐. What I was not ready for was what met me when I pulled into the parking lot and walked to the Castle

学生们在城堡外排成双排，就像灵魂列车一样. 音乐震耳欲聋. 到处都是彩球和标语. 女孩们向我挥手，为我欢呼. 我被他们的欢乐精神和对决赛选手的热情所震撼. 每位候选人都受到了类似的接待, and I am pretty sure it was the first time any of us had ever experienced this at a job interview.

我立刻有了家的感觉. 我立刻与十大彩票网赌平台的精神产生了共鸣:快乐存在于平凡之中. 快乐、庆祝、感恩取决于十大彩票网赌平台自己的选择. 如果十大彩票网赌平台停下来，让自己去做，机会总是在那里的. 

尽管我只是来面试的, 那时我想, 这是女孩们庆祝的好理由, 来庆祝他们的学校, 让未来的总统, 不管那个时候是谁, 要知道(学生们)是如此热爱他们的学校. They clearly cared about who was coming next and wanted each candidate to see that 十大最大的网络彩票平台 mattered to them and to see how the students function as a community.

那一天，我明白了快乐是十大彩票网赌平台的重要组成部分. And it’s something I get to celebrate – and be deeply, genuinely grateful for – every day since. 在十大彩票网赌平台的“遇见十大彩票网赌平台”招生活动中, the students give the same exuberant greeting to our guests as soon as they turn off Falls Road. 十大彩票网赌平台的女孩用气球和绒球欢呼, holding signs emblazoned with different words that express their love for their school: Learn; Lead; 服务; Succeed; Equity; Collaboration; Diversity.  

我的成长经历让我对自己拥有的一切有着敏锐的意识, 有形和无形, has given me a heightened awareness of my position in the world and of my responsibilities and blessings, 是什么激发了我回馈社会的欲望. 我在感恩中生活，在感恩中行走，这是一种快乐的状态. When I come across people in places that also aren't shy about expressing that gratitude and joy, 这真的让我很兴奋, 我感觉到一种联系. 这就是我对十大彩票网赌平台的感受.

我每天都在学校看到快乐和感激, 当我和学生交谈时, 在课堂上观察他们, 看看十大彩票网赌平台的一位优秀教师，他显然受到了一堂课的启发, 并见证十大彩票网赌平台的工作人员对美丽校园的呵护.

今年秋天早些时候, 我在高中俱乐部的集市上走了一圈, 看着女孩们宣传她们的俱乐部. They were enthusiastic, determined, clearly competent, eloquent, and extremely impressive. That was definitely a moment when I felt very grateful about my opportunity to lead a girls’ school where all types of girls, 所有的背景, 不同的形状，大小和能力水平, 不害怕领导. 在俱乐部的博览会上，他们非常自信，对自己的激情感到很自在.  

The moment also  underscored the gratitude I feel as a woman who is continuing to develop and grow on a journey that  never ends. 这是我的希望——我的快乐——十大彩票网赌平台的学生可以把我当作一个榜样, 看到的不仅仅是美好的事物，也许还有我的挣扎和错误. We need our girls to be able to learn from challenges and understand that  experiencing life’s whole process has value and purpose.

当我想到我第一年及以后的目标时, I want to help girls better understand how important their health and wellness are. I know how a daily habit of gratitude and joy is essential to  our self-care and mental health and to our connections with others. My family taught me that being 感激 is a muscle that we can and should work every day in big and small ways. 我非常感激我能成为十大彩票网赌平台欢乐的一部分.

感恩节快乐!

从我入学的第一天起，人们就一直在告诉我Candy Cane Social. “你会喜欢的!他们说. “戴上耳塞，吃止痛片，”其他一些人建议.

当星期五, 12月15日, 今年的Candy Cane Social的日期, 在滚, 我的期待和学生们的一样明显. 我已经等了好几个月，想体验一下这个十大彩票网赌平台的节日传统.

在上午的第一部分，中学生观看 冷冻2他们还一起吃了节日小吃. 高中是顾问团, 制作装饰品，为彼此的友谊写感谢信, 善良, 和支持. 有很多卡拉ok和跳舞, 这预示着那天早上晚些时候十大彩票网赌平台在一起的时间. 十大彩票网赌平台还为年轻的校友准备了特别的早餐，欢迎他们回家. 

While I had hoped to spend the entire morning enjoying the activities, duty called. I met with the outside chair of 十大最大的网络彩票平台’s upcoming AIMS accreditation process in fall 2024. 在十大彩票网赌平台开会的时候，十大彩票网赌平台无意中听到了他们的喜悦. We heard the girls singing Christmas carols and hitting the high notes with Mariah Carey. It was wonderful (and a great way to introduce the accreditation chair to the 十大最大的网络彩票平台 spirit.)

在我开会之后, I stopped by the Young 女校友 Breakfast to greet graduates from the past five years. These women were so excited to return to campus and see friends and faculty members. 就在我觉得《十大最大的网络彩票平台》的乐趣再强不过的时候, 到了剧院社区活动的时间了.

杰西卡Randisi, 学生生活和社区活动主管/学生事务主任, 在十大彩票网赌平台学校合作创建了一个令人难忘的项目. We opened with a lovely prayer and skit about Jesus’ birth led by the 1804 students, 十大彩票网赌平台的校园事工学生领导团队. 十大彩票网赌平台的合唱团, 由丽莎·潘塔诺执导, 音乐总监, 用西班牙语和意大利语演唱了几首歌曲. 几个高年级学生和马克·里丁, 学生生活主任, 表演“精灵定向”,这是迪尔德丽·麦卡利斯特(Deirdre McAllister)创作的滑稽短剧, 表演艺术系系主任. The audience members were the actors or elves being trained on how to be appropriate elves for Christmas, 支持圣, 要善待彼此.

卢皮Bobadilla, 十大彩票网赌平台的包容和归属感总监, 分享了一个关于世界各地不同节日传统的视频. 最后他说:“世界需要你们所有人. 你们每一个人.”

然后，一个坐满了学生的500个座位的剧院里传来了声音, 女校友, 教职工们扯着嗓子唱着流行节日歌曲, 在过道里跳舞, 与朋友牵手, 拥抱, 把圣诞老人的帽子扔向空中. 

这是庆祝节日和开启圣诞假期的绝佳方式. But as I sang and watched the girls clearly loving every single second and every note, 我知道它远不止这些. Candy Cane Social庆祝在秋天建立的关系. 我可以清楚地看到(和听到)十大彩票网赌平台的新学生真的觉得自己是事情的一部分. 对于十大彩票网赌平台这些新手来说, the morning marked the end of the beginning and a joyous recognition that we are truly one 十大最大的网络彩票平台. 

My remarks in the theater that morning were inspired by the Feast wishes that the 6^th 这周早些时候，评分员离开了我的办公室. Each student wrote a wish on a strip of paper like “Connect with loved ones that you may have lost along the way,或“和家人一起享受圣诞节。,和“永远不要失去信念。.” Each wish included the Bible verse, “For nothing will be impossible for God,” Luke 1:37.

At Candy Cane Social, I shared some of these wishes and my Feast wish for our school. 我希望整个十大彩票网赌平台社区都能成为世界上一股向善的力量. 我希望十大彩票网赌平台的学生在他们的探索中不屈不挠, 善良，善解人意，平和, and to stand strong on the face of anything that is trying to move them away from the joy and peace that has been promised to them.

As I looked around the theater, the comments from my first week in July came flooding back. Candy Cane Social was very much an incredible (and incredibly loud) experience – and I loved every second.

这是一个快乐的早晨, 玩得开心, 笑, 但这也是一个反思和感谢上帝所有仁慈的时刻.   

圣诞快乐，新年快乐! 继续传播十大最大的网络彩票平台的快乐!