Sunday – June 11 2023
Sleep is always welcome after long distance travels, especially across time zones. We arrived in Kigali on Saturday evening, emerging from the crowded space into that soft velvety darkness that I always experience when arriving in Rwanda. After warm greetings by sister Janviere, we loaded our considerable luggage into the van and made our way (through pretty Boston expressway type traffic!) to Maranyundo. Sister Laetitia and her colleagues met us with grace and a delicious supper. So sleep came easily for us all.
I awoke at 7 this morning and could not wait to get outside to see the campus in the early morning light. Standing on the patio of the Guest Residence, the scenes before me seemed both familiar in a wonderful way and at the same time. I saw details that I felt like I was seeing for the very first time. I love watching the gardeners carefully tending to the plants around the walk ways and the buildings. These plants look so exotic to me. Some with their long velvety leaves. Some with amazing, strange blossoms. The only plants that look familiar to me are the geraniums on the residence patio. Yet even those have such vibrant colors compared to the East Coast plantings I am used to tending!
After breakfast, Sister told us that there would be a Mass on campus today in the all purpose meeting space. Kaelen, Joni and I walked over to the Hall with several students. It was delightful to hear Kaelen having conversations with the MGS Leadership girls. As the Mass unfolded, I was thinking about how I experience Mass at home as such a solemn occasion. Here, in the lovely, soaring space, Mass seemed so joyful. The magnificent voices of the MGS chorus, the clapping and swaying to the music at the consecration, the gratitude to Mother Mary, patron of the Benebikira Order, expressed in the final song gave me a sense that this liturgy is indeed a celebration of gratitude and hope…experienced among all these young women who are so passionate about their schooling and grateful for their opportunities here.
That gratitude was delightfully expressed as Mass ended and we stayed in the Hall. It was Sister Laetitia’s birthday! Students surprised her with a cake (compete with sparkler candle) flowers and song. It is clear that as Headmistress, she is beloved and respected by her students. It is a delight to see and there are many lessons to take away from the relationship that Sister has with her student body. So much has been written in education circles about the importance of school leadership and how that leadership impacts every aspect of life in a school. Yet with all that research in the US, we still experience a “crisis in leadership” in many school districts. We seem to be challenged to find the right balance between leadership that is strong in control and setting standards and leadership that is shared, responsive to student and family needs, able to both shape and be shaped by the relationships that are at the heart of effective education. Clearly, Sister Laetitia is a school leader who understands the nuances of that balance. She keeps the motto of MGS---Respect, Responsibility, Leadership---at the center of all she does and how what she does sets the example for her students, for all the school. Happy Birthday, Sister Laetitia; you are a blessing to the school!
Today is also Family Visiting Day! Families arrived at 2:00. There are number of demonstrations and activities for the girls and their families. It is a delight to see how the campus as been transformed. Chairs are brought from classrooms out to the campus and placed in small groups to give families a chance to sit outside and visit with their students. In the front of the STEM building, students ae demonstrating the work of the Maker Space Tinker Team and the award they won from robotics. They are also sharing their “recipe” (a chemistry experiment) for MGS liquid soap for the hands. It has a terrific fruity smell! There are other collections of art work and tinkering from the space. This monthly Family Visiting Day is another example of how schools can create community and connection among students and families from different place and backgrounds. Education, particularly as it plays out in each of our schools, can build bridges. I am sre each of us can remember friends who accompanied us through our school experiences. Some of those friendships may be with us throughout our lives beyond our schooling. The family groupings and student “teams” that are the hallmark of this lovely day should remind us all that schooling is at the heart of our growing up, of our experience of community. As so many of you have heard me say, my favorite education quote ifs from Debbie Meier. “School is where we learn how public life is lived.” May this day remind us that public life includes a chance for families and educators to come together as partners in raising our youth who will shape our future.
Linda V. Beardsley
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