New Beginnings: Stronger Together
The new year is in full swing. Students and teachers are finding the rhythm in their school lives. The temperatures outside are cooling, ever so slightly.
Yokohama Christian School has a school theme that helps shape and define the focus of our school year. This year, the theme is “Stronger Together: Two are better than one… a cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12”. What does it mean to be stronger together?
I think that having the ability to gather and be together has more meaning to all of us after the Covid-19 pandemic. The messaging of the pandemic concentrated on keeping others safe, however in keeping others safe we lost the togetherness that we took for granted.
Over the pandemic years, we were told many things. Form a family bubble to keep people safe. Wear a mask. Stay home. Learn online. Separate from others by 2 meters. We are in it together, but from separate locations. The list goes on. The idea was that we were stronger by doing our part, but it was hard to feel like we were stronger together because there was, in reality, a lot of separation.
The pandemic is “over” and Covid-19 is now endemic, like the flu. We can come together again, at last. One of the easiest times to see this togetherness at YCS is at lunch. For 2 years, preschool and elementary school classes ate lunches separately. This year, everyone is eating lunch together. Older children are role models and (sometimes) helpers to their younger friends. A community of students coming together to break bread and mingle together is stronger together. The bonds of friendship are built over these meals. Names are remembered and personal details are shared.
Behind our students are parents that are committed to their children and this community. This year we had sign-ups for many ways to get involved in the YCS community and not a single sign-up was left blank. From parking attendants to library helpers, parents are excited to support YCS.
Let us continue to grow together as a community – parents, teachers, students – to become stronger together in this school year and beyond.
