Spreading Kindness and Nourishment!
At Washington Episcopal School, we know that teaching values to young people involves both words and actions. That is why our teachers — led by the WES Office of Spiritual and Cultural Learning — guide students through activities that show them how to help others throughout the year. For example, the holiday season featured a canned food drive spearheaded by the student government, and students were busy helping to clean up Little Falls Parkway this past fall.
Yesterday morning, I witnessed a partnership between older students, their younger student buddies, and Nourishing Bethesda, which provides healthy meals to thousands of local families suffering from food insecurity. The students were decorating snack bags, writing personal notes, and filling the bags to be distributed to young people — using healthy snacks that you, our WES families, donated.
The event was fun and meaningful. I witnessed older students learning to take responsibility as they worked with their buddies, and I saw the glow in the eyes of our younger Dragons as they worked to benefit others in partnership with peers they admire. I heard our older Dragons say “Great job!,” “That’s beautiful,” and “Let me help” over and over as the buddies worked on their bags in classrooms. Then the students traveled to our auxiliary gym where the Student Government Association had arranged the donated snacks on tables. Quite often, Middle School students boosted our youngest to help them reach the piles of healthy food.
It is wonderful to know that all the students are connecting this work to an even larger community and purpose. This WES project celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The federal holiday commemorating Rev. King is the only one designated as a National Day of Service.
Thank you for your partnership and participation in this vital component of a WES education.
Danny Vogelman
Head of School
