NEWS & EVENTS: SIA IN THE NEWS STORY DETAILS

WAR

Presented by Diane J. Hulse, Head of School to Middle and Upper School Assembly held on March 31, 2003.

I want to welcome you back to school. I hope that you had a relaxing vacation. This is the first time this year that we have gotten together as a Middle and Upper School student body, and I want you to know why.

Today is the first time that we have been back in school since the war in Iraq began. Because the war has been so much a part of our lives during the past two weeks, it is important for us to return to school with a beginning that we can share together.

I am going to start my comments by reading a paragraph to you that you may not know is very much a part of our school. It is called our Mission Statement, and it is what we the teachers, administration, and Board of Trustees believe defines our school. No other school in America, or the world for that matter, has a mission statement like this nor says this about itself.

“Beginning our second century as a co-educational college preparatory school, Staten Island Academy is committed to providing a child-centered education of superior quality. Enrolling students in pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade, our objective is educating the whole child, while fostering intellectual, creative, social and physical development. Within a collegial campus environment, in small classes, and through extracurricular activities, we encourage our students to participate actively in an educational community that promotes ethical leadership, self-reliance and critical thinking. Believing in the inherent strengths of a diverse citizenry, we celebrate the cultural differences, individual interests and personal talents of our student body.”

I think that the last several lines of this are so important that they bear repeating: “…We encourage our students to participate actively in an educational community that promotes ethical leadership, self-reliance and critical thinking. Believing in the inherent strengths of a diverse citizenry, we celebrate the cultural differences, individual interests and personal talents of our student body.”

There can be nothing more important for us to take pride in and protect during this time of war than critical thinking, the strengths of a diverse citizenry and the celebration of cultural differences.

Some people at SIA believe that the war is the right thing for our country to do. Other people think that it is wrong. Some people at SIA have loved ones who are in Iraq, some as American soldiers and others as Iraqi citizens. Some people at SIA are ignoring the war altogether, hoping that it will go away, and others cannot stop reading about and watching it.

All of these people and all others at SIA that I have not mentioned are entitled to their opinions and their feelings. There is no right opinion and no wrong opinion. As a school that promotes critical thinking in its diverse citizenry, we support the right of everyone to hold his or her own beliefs. That is one of our school’s great strengths. Another is that we have teachers who help students develop informed opinions. Staten Island Academy is a safe place for peoples’ ideas and beliefs just as it is a safe place to go to school at any time.

You may have noticed this morning that the red, white, and blue ribbons have been taken down from the fence overlooking the patio. Taking the ribbons down does not mean that we no longer remember September 11. Although the ribbons had gotten old, our feelings are still fresh.

The fence is a central place for us, and it now seems fitting to use it again to express our thoughts. Yellow ribbons are available at locations throughout campus for use by students, faculty and parents. These ribbons can symbolize whatever you would like them to symbolize.

They can symbolize a wish for peace and a wish that evil will end. They can symbolize our hope that our troops will be safe and that our loved ones will not be harmed. They can symbolize prayers, if you are a person who likes to say a prayer. The ribbons can stand for whatever you would like them to.

We will not have a big ceremony like we did last September, but you can tie a ribbon onto the fence whenever you want to.

Before I dismiss you, I want to thank you for your attention, your thoughtfulness, and your support of our school and of each other. These are difficult times, but, together, we will get through them. Thank you.

[The yellow ribbons projects was coordinated by SOS, the Student Organization for Service.]