With Gratitude and Gratefulness: A Thanksgiving Message

A Thanksgiving Message from Head of School Jon McGee

Dear Parents and Saint John’s Prep Families,

As our students look forward to the five-day Thanksgiving break this week and the rush to Christmas that will commence when they return, it’s important to take a moment to reflect on the deeper meaning of Thanksgiving and the Advent season that will begin on Sunday.

More than feast, football, and frenzy, Thanksgiving and Advent provide us with an opportunity to reflect on gratitude and gratefulness. The word eucharist comes from the Greek “eukharistia,” which means thanksgiving. Its use dates to the earliest days of the Christian church, commemorating Christ’s Last Supper with thanks and gratefulness.

We have much to be grateful for at Saint John’s Prep. First and foremost, I am grateful for our students and the curiosity, joy, and energy they bring to school each day. It is an extraordinary privilege to be an educator. Our work lives at the intersection of aspiration, inspiration and opportunity; a place that comes with a sense of wonder and awe at all that can be. We are privileged to get such an early glimpse of the future.

I’m thankful as well for our marvelous faculty and staff who create remarkable educational experiences for our students. They combine their professional gifts and talents with an abiding and enduring sense of care for the young women and men they teach and mentor each day.

Finally, I’m deeply thankful for you: the parents, family and friends who support our students and the school. There is no precise definition of parenting. It is the ultimate on-the-job experience; we learn as we go. It’s complex work but work that is defined by deep love. We are grateful for the trust you have placed in us while your children are in our care.

It takes a village to educate each of our students. It also takes a village to create and sustain a community. Our students are indeed shaped by the many people who nurture, support, and guide them. In this season of thanksgiving and gratitude, we are deeply grateful for this entire community.

Blessings for a wonderful Thanksgiving and Advent!

Jon McGee
Head of School
Saint John’s Preparatory School
JMCGEE@SJPREP.NET