A Season of Growth
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by Tyler Tarnowicz, Associate Director of Community Life, Equity, and Inclusion For those who may not be aware, my office has a window that overlooks the Roof Yard on 13th Street. On most days, I have the pleasure of watching some of our youngest students work with their outdoor blocks, build community over the course of the year, and plant herbs and wildflowers to watch them grow.
These XIIs are not the only ones counting down the days until a well-deserved summer break. Groups have completed their shares for Culture Day, designed murals for Spring Fair, and engineered clever games for Games Day. In the classrooms, students bring closure to a year’s worth of learning with final trips, builds, and research projects. And, similar to the Yards, there is always time dedicated to pick up meetings. As we find ourselves “picking up” this school year, we celebrate all that has made it special – the excitement, the challenges, the learning. As a former XIIIs Teacher, I am well aware of all that awaits these soon-to-be XIIIs in their final year. And while this year’s graduating XIIIs prepare for what’s next, we are eager to witness the continued curiosity, creativity, and community that will unfold in every group in the year to come. As always, we’re grateful to the teachers and families who make it all possible – who, like the Roof Yard, provide the structure and space for our children to grow.
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Similar to the plants, our children, too, have grown. As I write this update, I see a different group – the XIIs – having their final Block Workshop on the Roof, a right of passage as they bring a close to their XIIs/IVs Job and prepare to enter their final year at C&C. For a number of them, it wasn’t so long ago that they themselves were on the Roof Yard as IVs, with XIIs of their own who they (literally and figuratively) looked up to. 
