New Beginnings

On a bright, clear opening-of-school morning, after seeing all our students eagerly return to school, Ms. Fried addressed Middle and Upper School students about the upcoming year. She welcomed new members of our community and reminded students to be flexible and kind this year, knowing that living and learning through a pandemic has presented unique challenges to every member of our community. She closed her remarks with the following: 

My hope for you at Brearley 

To learn among kindred adventurous intellects

To nurture lifelong friendships in which you celebrate your similarities and differences 

To share values of honesty, kindness, respect, responsibility, fortitude, inclusion and hard work  

To seek truth and acknowledge mistakes

To listen actively, speak thoughtfully and engage with compassion  

To ask for help and offer it to others

To find joy in discovering new interests and putting forth your best effort 

To appreciate the beauty in a diversity of voices and modes of expression

To question ideas you thought you knew for sure 

To acknowledge injustice and work toward solutions 

To strengthen your collaboration skills so that you and your peers may work together to solve complex problems  

To lead in ways that feel authentic to you 

To take risks that help you grow as a student and person

To feel at home on this campus on the East River and see the city as an extension of the classroom

To have fun, laugh and dream

To discover who you are and take care of your physical and mental health

To strive for increasing independence in thought and deed

To expand your notion of community and reduce your environmental footprint 

To understand the privilege of a Brearley education and put it to use in your own lives and for the common good  

This is what I hope for all of you. Let’s have a wonderful year.