RE Log Spring 2022

2 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2022 From the Pagoda I will never forget arriving to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital just over six years ago to visit an RE student who was critically ill with encephalitis. During that visit, her parents informed me that another Ransom Everglades student had also been admitted to the hospital and was on the floor above. I made my way up there and found Raquel Coronell Uribe ’18 , who had just been diagnosed with leukemia. A tiny bruise on her nose and unusual fatigue at tennis practice upended her high school career. The student with encephalitis made a full recovery in time for the opening of school, but Raquel’s illness and treatment had just begun. Raquel faced cancer with optimism, courage and resilience, at first trying to balance school and her chemotherapy appointments. By the end of 2015-16, her intensive treatment schedule forced her to withdraw from her classes. The following year, with the cancer in remission, she returned to RE, repeating her junior year. She said her Ransom Everglades teachers welcomed her with “compassion, patience and grace.” You can learn more about Raquel’s journey by reading her column on page 22. Raquel went on to Harvard, where this past year she was named the first Latinx president of the 148-year-old Harvard Crimson student newspaper. As I watched Raquel navigate the most difficult year of her adolescence, and as I see her excelling in college today, I am reminded of the importance of a holistic approach to educating our students. As this current generation of students confronts a world that none of us was really prepared for, there are certain costs. All tweens and teens are dealing with physical, mental, social or emotional health challenges on some level – those challenges might not be as obvious as Raquel’s battle with leukemia, but they require the same care, concern and thoughtful approach to teaching and learning, an approach that considers the whole child. Since emerging from the pandemic, we’ve been ramping up many elements of school life at RE. Our curriculum is growing and evolving in exciting ways; new courses focus more on collaboration, interdisciplinary connections, hands-on work and thinking outside the box. We’ve also invested in our wellness facilities, curriculum and practitioners, to ensure our students have access to knowledgeable professionals and campus support. We are excited about a new partnership with Nancy Easton ’84 , whose work with Wellness in the Schools has helped change the nutritional landscape for public schools in New York City and Washington, D.C. (See page 6.) This spring, she began sharing her expertise with Ransom Everglades to help us amplify our nutritional education. As we fully engage with the all-school midday break that we began during the pandemic and re-envision dining services at RE, Nancy’s work is essential. Educating the Whole Child COVID-19 reminded us how fragile good health is, and how central it is to student success.We push our students, we challenge our students, and we also take care of them. The whole child matters to us.” “