Page 3 - Laguna Blanca Magazine Summer 2018

Dear Laguna Families, Alumni, and Friends,
If there is one word that sums up this past school year, it is resilience. Yes,
Laguna and the greater community suffe ed many losses due to the Thomas Fire and
Montecito mudslides. Yet, in every area of our community—parents, students, alumni,
staff, faculty—I have seen a collective rising and a renewed commitment to helping
one another and giving what we can to those who need it most. That “rising” can only
be attributed to our resilience.
In educational circles, there is a lot of talk about grit—the importance of giving
kids the chance to weather storms and adversity so that they can overcome similar
challenges later in life. In fact, research shows time and again that resilience is one of
the top determinants of success. Resilience is the diffe ence between, “I give up,” and
“I can figu e this out.” It’s not just about bouncing back, it’s about bouncing forward—
emerging from adversity smarter and stronger. That is what we’ve done this past year
as a community, and it is a skill we want our students to learn in every facet of their “I BELIEVE THE BEST
lives. THING WE CAN TEACH
In today’s world, I believe the best thing we can teach our kids is to be comfortable
in times of uncertainty—to have the inner strength to know that they can adapt and OUR KIDS IS TO BE
rise to the task, no matter what issue they are facing. To know that sometimes, one’s COMFORTABLE IN TIMES
willingness to meet a challenge is more important than how well they scored. Our OF UNCERTAINTY—
students’ resilience is the most remarkable takeaway from this past year. We can
be proud that they have emerged on the other side—and they have become better, TO HAVE THE INNER
stronger people because of it. STRENGTH TO KNOW
I want to thank our entire community, all of whom worked tirelessly to create THAT THEY CAN ADAPT
a sense of normalcy for our students this past year. I also want to thank the many
parents who remained committed to making the trip to Laguna every day to keep our AND RISE TO THE TASK.”
kids focused on what counts: a love of learning and one another. Despite the many
challenges, you rallied behind TEDxLagunaBlancaSchool, our spring benefit, sporting
events, and everything else that makes Laguna so special. You faced adversity and
dove back into life with a healthy spirit. You modeled resilience for your children and
students, giving them even greater strength in harnessing that skill themselves.
Laguna, if we can handle this, we can handle anything. Here’s to rising up to the
challenge and knowing good things await us all, together, in 2018-19. I look forward
to seeing you this fall.

Warm regards,

ROB HEREFORD
HEAD OF SCHOOL

SUMMER 2018

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