Hello St. E’s Community,
It was both a joy and moment of pride to have walked with our community in the 38th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Marade, demonstrating our ability to be agents of change, something we often discuss on our campus.
Though the holiday has passed, it is always important to reflect on and celebrate the life, work, and wisdom of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Many of us are most familiar with Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream,” speech, which focused on equality especially as it relates to civil and economic rights.
Dr. King was an extremely intelligent man, one who chose his words very carefully. To use the phrase “I have a dream,” says a lot about the type of future he thought possible. In our dreams we can be anything—the possibilities are endless. Why? Well, because so many of the obstacles and limitations we face in real life are no longer in our way. We have a particular freedom in our dreams that we don’t see elsewhere; we are not held back by the constraints of society or physics or anything! That freedom often provides some amazing inspiration.
While there are a few things we can’t necessarily achieve that we could in our dreams (like having supernatural abilities), there are so many things that we can make happen in our real lives. All we have to do is identify whatever is holding us back and work to break it down. Then, we can dream as big as we like!
Breaking down barriers is something we strive to do every day at St. Elizabeth’s in order for our students to feel empowered and confident enough to achieve their wildest dreams. There is actually data that supports the idea that the bigger kids dream, the more successful they become; encouraging children to reach for the stars in what they want to be and do has shown an increase in ambition, motivation, and overall success in academia and extracurriculars, too.
However, a huge part of being able to encourage that kind of big dreaming is an active and constant effort to eliminate existing roadblocks of all kinds that can undermine our sense of belonging. That means kicking down barriers by offering a way for everyone in our community to be here, or knocking away any apprehension about learning with our unique curriculum methods and learning support programs.
At St. E’s, we understand that simply saying, “Dream big!” is not enough. We have to help forge the path and create equitable space for our students to do the dreaming without any worry of being limited somehow. And when times seem tough and the obstacles seem too big, we know that we can rely on our incredibly supportive community—all of our students, staculty, and beyond—to help us chip away at them until our path is once again clear.
So, as you settle into 2023, remember the words of Dr. King: “We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.” And don’t forget to DREAM BIG!
Best foot forward,
Adriana Murphy
Head of School
