Reflections on Curriculum Night

By Janice Gladstone, Principal

This year marks the start of my third year at Linden, and I was particularly looking forward to Curriculum Night. I was looking forward to showcasing all the wonderful things happening for our students inside and outside the classroom and lauding the talent, effort, and dedication of Linden’s faculty and staff, without whom none of this would be happening. I was looking forward to sharing delicious food with Linden families. And, I was thinking about how nice it is to create events where families can connect.

The evening didn't disappoint. We had a full house of parents and guardians eager to meet with their daughters' teachers and discuss all of the unique aspects of our curriculum. Curriculum Night is also when you can see our mission in action: The Linden School is a socially progressive community where innovative best practices in girls’ education promote and strengthen student voice, well-being, academic excellence, and global engagement.

It's also an evening where parents can see evidence of our values in each of the teacher presentations:

Inclusivity: You are encouraged to look for places where student voice is represented in classrooms and curriculum planning. We support a genuinely student-driven culture; students are empowered to actively seize leadership opportunities and confidently contribute to the making of our academic and social community.

Diversity: You will frequently hear how our teachers use an anti-oppression framework by approaching the curriculum from multiple perspectives; our academic inquiry includes equity and social justice issues from feminist and anti-racist viewpoints.

Intellectual Risk: When you hear your daughter describe her classroom experience, it will be evident that we support respectful dissent and encourage an enthusiasm for inquiry and interdisciplinary exploration; we challenge ourselves and others through independent thinking, well-informed opinions, and critical debate.

We all know these are the qualities that make Linden unique. What you should also know is that these are the very things that help Linden students stand out when it comes to applying to universities. If you come to our University Information Night on October 12, you will hear more about how admission officers are looking for authentic experiences that differentiate top students from the rest. At Linden, students can explore a wider range of interests through their curricular and co-curricular activities. Whether it’s the Social Justice Data Fair, the Science Fair, an art, drama, club or technology project, our students can explore topics that they truly care about, and expand their knowledge and skills accordingly. Every day, our girls are exposed to an enriched curriculum that promotes cross-disciplinary thinking to solve complex issues. This is how Linden challenges students to become thinkers, creators, problem-solvers, and change makers. And this is what our alumnae repeatedly tell us helps differentiate Linden students from their peers at university and beyond.

At Curriculum Night I also had the opportunity to check-in with our new families. Every new parent that faculty and I spoke with told us that their girls are thriving—they're happy and excited when they go home, they feel accepted, and that they are grateful to be part of our community.

Here is a sampling of some of the positive comments we received:

"I don't have to wake her up to go to school. She now wakes me up."

"My daughter is transformed."

"My daughter is not only loving math, but she is also helping others with math. I would NEVER have believed this."

"My shy daughter has already joined three clubs."

"My daughter has already made friends and found the confidence to join a sports team."

"Linden is everything you told us it would be and more."

Thank you to our faculty, staff and our many volunteers for your hard work and contributions for making the event such a success!