Bobcat Stories

One of the wonderful things about being new in any school, especially as a school leader, is the initial time window in which one can ask many “what” and “why” questions (without judgment) about everything from day-to-day logistics to long-standing traditions or larger philosophical approaches. As my excitement grew for my official start this past summer, I reached out to all of our middle school staffulty to schedule time to get to know them and hear what they value most about Bosque School. After starting on July 1, I was able to pack my first three weeks with individual meetings with each Bosque Middle School staffulty member. During this time, I learned so much about our exceptional community while also hearing many hopes for the future. 

All that I had already come to understand about our amazing school from the interview process was affirmed and broadened: 

• Our teachers are highly relational and prioritize creating safe and inclusive learning environments so each student can discover and become the very best version of themselves.
• Students regularly experience meaningful and authentic learning opportunities centered in inquiry and grounded in connection to place, whether in people and cultures from the past and present or in the natural environment of New Mexico.
• Students have so many opportunities to find and foster their passions across disciplines and sometimes disparate interests without judgment and with total support from our staffulty and their peers. 

As expected, some themes emerged around what is most important to our community and also what might be improved to provide an even more meaningful experience for our students. One consistent theme that piqued my interest centered on one of our principal routines — Morning Meeting. I heard it over and over again and began to see for myself the importance of grounding us each day in a sense of community and connection, as a reminder that we all — students and adults — contribute to something greater than ourselves. Many of our staffulty commented that the Middle School Morning Meeting has historically centered on adults presenting to students on a variety of topics and school-related expectations. In reflecting on this notion, I began to have a vision for capitalizing on this growth edge as a way to deepen our ability to provide more meaningful and authentic leadership opportunities for our students. 

As adults in schools, we talk frequently to students about the importance of “being leaders.” In middle schools, we usually center this notion on 8th-graders with comments like, “You’re the leaders of the middle school now!” “It’s time to step up!” “The 6th and 7th graders are watching you!” These are, of course, important reminders, but students also need real opportunities to be out front, taking the lead, to truly develop the requisite skillsets to meaningfully lead others, especially their direct peers. Additionally, many times, the typical leadership activities are left to those students who already feel comfortable being in front of others. 

As I began to think about how this notion might connect specifically to Morning Meeting, I also learned that our Middle School Dean of Students, Anne Gegg, was planning an infusion of leadership training as a rotation in our 8th-grade WELLBEING course. Anne and I began to confer, and it made sense to align her plan with our Morning Meeting format by giving our 8th graders the reins during this important time. Our 8th-grade students received this new idea with a bit of trepidation at first, but as they began to sign up on our Morning Meeting schedule, they started to develop ideas about what kinds of activities or conversations they might lead. 

So far this year, many of them have focused on fun group activities and games that build community while also facilitating the daily announcements. Others have chosen topics of interest or passion to share with their middle school peers, including information about Dungeons and Dragons (with a pitch for our middle school D&D club) and a presentation on the Greco-Italian War. Eighth-grade students now lead two to three of our weekly Middle School Morning Meetings, and as we look to next semester, their topics will shift to educating the community about an important personal value. By the end of the year, each 8th grader will have led two Morning Meetings. Our hope is that this new approach to the Morning Meeting routine will not only continue to enhance the experience itself but also provide meaningful growth for our students as they develop as leaders in all aspects of their lives.