Dear Friends,
I hope this message finds you and your family well as we continue our social distancing journey in an effort to keep our community healthy and safe. I know we all look forward to the day we can come together again, and most importantly, that our children can gather once more at the home we call St. Philip’s.
My mind has often gone back to the evening of March 7th. That was the last time we as parents, faculty, and friends gathered together at our gorgeous Gala. How quickly the world has changed since then, but how fortunate we were to be able to come together on that evening to celebrate our community. Our time apart really makes, “If I knew then what I know now,” take on a whole new meaning. To start, I would have stayed for one more dance.
As is the case with most stages of grief, I’ve transitioned out of the disbelief phase about what’s happened to our world. I now find myself in the attempting to stay sane while trying to best move forward portion of our program.
As we look ahead to a new chapter for our community and our school, it’s new beginnings for the School Home Association as well. In just a few weeks, our school year will be over and my time as your SHA President will come to a close. Come August, our hope is that the gates to our beloved St. Philip’s Episcopal School will open once more, and when they do, our parent volunteers will be ready to bring to life all of the special traditions and events that bond us. Now more than ever, the power of your participation matters as we regroup and re-energize to celebrate the relentless spirit of this community.
Attached you will find the proposed 2020/2021 SHA slate for your review. An SHA meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 20th, at 7 PM via Zoom to vote on the slate. The meeting ID and link can be found below.
Service and leadership are lessons I learned from my own mom. I remember how excited I was at the sight of her serving pizza on a Friday or chaperoning the class field trip. Her enthusiasm and involvement has inspired me to do the same for my own children, and I’m so grateful we are part of a community that welcomes our participation as parents. On this most special of days honoring Mother’s everywhere, I reflect on how my mom taught me to try and leave things better than I found them. While I can’t say I’ve done that for sure, I know for certain I am better because of each of you. I’m forever grateful to our special school for bringing us together. Serving as your School Home Association President has been a true honor and privilege. Thank you for your friendships, the laughs, the lessons learned, the cocktails and conversations, and most importantly, thank you for entrusting me these last two years. It’s been quite a ride.
Cheers,
Ellie Rodriguez
SHA President
