Fay students have been celebrating the festive season with an intentional focus on gratitude. The community has been focusing on different social-emotional learning themes throughout the year. For November and December, students in all three divisions spent time in Morning Meetings, lunch, and community events reflecting on the people, places, and things they are grateful for. 

Expressing gratitude is especially rewarding because it benefits both the giver and the receiver of thanks. In fact, research has shown that expressing gratitude positively affects a person’s outlook on the world and their overall happiness. Director of Student Life Joe Buteau introduced “14 Days Of Gratitude” for the three weeks between Thanksgiving and Winter Break. Each day at lunch, students discussed a different prompt about gratitude at their lunch table. Topics ranged from “Name something that makes you happy” and “Name someone who helps you” to “What is your favorite thing to do with friends?”  For their last Morning Meeting in November, Primary School students met in community groups of mixed grades to write thank you letters to members of staff at Fay who help them every day by making delicious food in the kitchens, keeping them safe on campus, taking care of them when they don’t feel well, and making their afternoons in Extended Fay so much fun. 

In December, the school met by grade for a Community Monday event focused on gratitude. In homerooms and advisories, students and faculty discussed what it means to be grateful and why gratitude is important. Each student was given a red or white card, drew a picture of something they are grateful for on one side, and wrote about it on the other. The cards will be strung together to create a “Gratitude Garland” and displayed in Harlow Gymnasium for the Winter Concert.