Jane's Pocket Change: Generosity

When you are deeply involved in the life of a school as I am, you get to smile a lot. It’s easy when you see the generosity and warmth that make our community work and thrive. 
 When you are deeply involved in the life of a school as I am, you get to smile a lot. It’s easy when you see the generosity and warmth that make our community work and thrive. 

Take this week, for example. After a lovely Thanksgiving break, some rest and relaxation and good food, we asked our broader community to consider an annual fund gift to CSW as part of “Giving Tuesday.” Buoyed by an offer from a generous family who pledged to donate up to $25,000 in matching gifts, we enthusiastically welcomed “Giving Tuesday” even before the school day had started. And what happened? 87 current parents gave. 35 parents of alumni/ae gave. 28 faculty and staff gave. 96 alumni/ae gave. A total of 256 donors, including the matching gift donor, gave $137,492 to CSW on “Giving Tuesday!”

So spirits were riding high later that day as we gathered in the new Health & Fitness Center’s dance lab for our first event as part of our focus on health and wellness programming, hosted by the Parents’ Association. Chris Willard, a psychotherapist and educational consultant in the field of mindfulness, led us in an engaging conversation (and some meditation practice) around adolescent mental health issues.

How wonderful it was to end this Tuesday together in our beautiful new building which, of course, was made possible thanks to generous gifts from our alumni/ae, current parents, parents of alumni/ae and faculty and staff.

And then yesterday, Wednesday, some icing on our proverbial cake – both our girls and boys varsity basketball teams took to the new gym court for their opening season scrimmages and both won by considerable margins. What a joy it was to cheer them on, and to do so from our new bleacher seats!

There is always a great deal to make us feel gratitude for the sustained generosity of so many here at CSW. 

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Pocket Change is a web diary written by Jane Moulding, head of school.


The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive high school for day and boarding students in grades 9–12 and PG. CSW's mission is to provide a progressive education that emphasizes deep learning, meaningful relationships, and a dynamic program that inspires students to discover who they are and what their contribution is to their school, their community and the world.