Silvana's Suite

I take to heart this chance for reflection, with all that our community and the world navigated in 2021. Yet I am hopeful for the promise of a prosperous 2022 New Year, especially given the many 'fairy dust moments' here at PJS, where our students' sense of wonder and wisdom inspires us all. I am also incredibly proud of how our faculty, staff, and students have shown resilience and perseverance despite the constant and seemingly daily challenges presented, from the pandemic to severe weather and social unrest.

Welcome Back!  Never before have these words felt so good.  It is difficult to capture in a letter the positive vibe present in our School.   It gives me terrific pleasure to roam our classrooms and across our campus, both indoors and outdoors, observing our learning community at work and play! PJS is humming with school life.

I am looking forward to the start of an exciting and productive 2021-2022 school year, where we are all together once again on campus. I would like to take this opportunity to share with you a few important updates that are pertinent to our community’s return next week.

Princeton Junior School will open on September 8th, on campus and in person! We are fortunate that our small class size, spacious campus and access to the outdoors allow us to come together safely.The attached Opening Plan for 2021-2022 addresses frequently asked questions. 

We are all tapping into our reserves of energy and resilience after a year of repeated challenges. We endured an unsettling week, with a turn in the pandemic, we also witnessed the disturbing and unprecedented scenes of violence that played out in our nation's capital, leaving us all shaken and disheartened. We must keep hope strong, even in the face of adversity, no matter how devastating, together we can get through it. 

What Most American Schools Do Wrong

Early Social-Emotional Functioning and Public Health: The Relationship Between Kindergarten Social Competence and Future Wellness

By Anya Kamenetz, Cory Turner & Sylvie Douglis, NPR

By Anya Kamenetz & Cory Turner, NPR

Today's children and adolescents are facing greater challenges than ever, struggling to cope with COVID, climate change, societal conflicts and more. How can adults help? Dr. Lyubomirsky will discuss specific strategies to raise well-being, and will offer simple cognitive and behavioral strategies that have been found to reliably improve happiness for people across different age groups.

Wednesday, June 3 at 4:30 PM

Join Silvana and Bev Gallagher to discuss "A parent's role in a child's reading and writing life." We are looking forward to an exciting conversation. A list of read aloud books will be available. There will be a chance to ask questions and gather ideas.

RSVP needed by Monday, June 1st to bgallagher@princetonjuniorschool.org

Book Club: Wisdom at Play by Juliana McIntyre Fenn

Wednesdays at 4:30pm, May 6, 13, 29
Open to PJS parents, faculty, and adults outside our community.  RSVP required so that we can provide the Zoom Conference information.