Dr. Daniel Siegel, a Harvard-trained psychiatrist who was developing mindfulness in the context of child development theory. In 2012, McEnroe and Brennan attended Bridging the Hearts & Minds of Youth Conference in San Diego, California. While there, they attended workshops on various mindfulness programs and selected from the group Mindful Schools to integrate into the OES curriculum. Tey realized mindfulness was a great way for both students and teachers to cultivate self- awareness and equanimity. McEnroe recalls, “We realized the benefit of mindfulness practice in helping with focus and helping us to be clear about the decisions we were making, managing emotions that come up that might otherwise cloud our ability to keep balanced and grounded.” Research confirms mindfulness allows students to increase their capacity for empathy, a quality essential for many of the topics explored in the Middle School: diversity and inclusion, social justice, compassionate action, and service. In addition to Quiet Space, there is Room
to Breathe, a room available all week to students for reflection and quiet. Some come to take a test or do concentrated work. On Fridays, Brennan opens Room to Breathe during lunch for students to take a break from their fast-paced and busy days to relax, breathe, and sit in quiet. Students also receive 13 sessions of mindfulness training through their Health and Wellness classes. Several teachers are trained in Yoga Calm, a child- centered program that uses yoga, mindfulness activities, and counseling techniques to integrate the heart, mind, and body. Ann Sulzer is no stranger to mindfulness. A long-time yoga practitioner, she strives to integrate self-awareness and inquiry in her work. Sulzer starts each faculty meeting with a moment of mindfulness and then a time for appreciations. Her thoughtful approach has earned her the respect of her colleagues. McEnroe appreciates Sulzer’s leadership: “Ann is unusual in her ability to work really well with faculty, students, and families. Tose are very different skill sets. Te kids have great affection and respect for her. She’s lively, exciting, clear. She helps kids grow intellectually in the classroom. She knows how to talk with students in a way that she’ll be heard and create a connection. She knows how to talk with families, with parents, in such a way that supports the development of a partnership between school and home.” Sulzer began her tenure as head of the
Middle School in the fall of 2015. Of the almost 20 years she has been teaching, 12 of those have been at OES as an English and humanities teacher. She received a BA in English with a Secondary Education certification from Northwestern University and her Masters of English Literature from Middlebury College Bread Loaf School of English. Under her leadership, the Middle School continues to provide students with opportunities for deep inquiry and meaningful engagement in the community. In February, a group of 10 middle school students and faculty members attended the annual Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS) Student Diversity Leadership Retreat in Seattle. Inspired by their discussions on diversity and social justice, two seventh-graders, Kate Bloom and Campbell Ray, took their passion for equality beyond the classroom and presented a proposal for gender-neutral
bathrooms to both Lower
School and Middle School faculty, and to the Parent Association Link (PAL). Teir approach to this current and
controversial topic is one example of how OES teaches its students to be lifelong learners who will use their power for good. Trough critical thinking, students evaluate a topic that is meaningful to them; then they are encouraged take their ideas one step further. Bloom reflects, “We tried to give an idea to the Lower School about unisex bathrooms for the children who decide that they want to be
themselves around other people. Tey want to be able to express their individuality without having to hide or become something else because they should be who they are. And as this open community, we should allow them to be that.”
Each meeting with the adults began with a moment of mindfulness. Bloom expounds on her and Ray’s path towards action, “As we went to the diversity conference, they taught us many different things about identity and stereotype. With the diversity group at our side and with the initiative they gave us, to tell us that we should make a change, we thought, ‘Well, why not? We should try. If you don’t try, you’re not making a difference.’ ” It is quite a testament to the quality of an OES education when students who are in perhaps the most risk-averse time of their lives (pre-adolescence) take such an enormous risk. Tis risk would not have been possible without the support of faculty, administration, and the mindfulness program. What is the guiding principle behind all that the OES Middle School does? McEnroe sums it up perfectly: “It’s that always and forever as far as I can tell, we’re always going to think about what is best for the kids first. Tat comes ahead of how many books they read, how many essays they write, how fast they can run. It is the top priority.” You can’t go wrong with that.
Summer 2016 19
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