Thanks to everyone who attended our first-ever Grandfriends Day! More than fifty grandparents and friends joined us from as close as Beacon Hill and as far away as Israel. They were able to chat over coffee, hear from me, and interact with their grandchildren in classrooms. For those that missed them, my remarks follow.
HOS Remarks - Grandfriends Day 2024
Thank you for joining us on our inaugural Grandfriends Day! We are deeply grateful that your family has chosen Torit as the school to start your grandchild’s educational journey. Now in our 16th year, Torit students have gone on to top public and private schools in Boston and across New England.
Already this year, Torit students have met the mayor of Boston and the governor of Massachusetts and were filmed for a science documentary series that will be released in Asia and the United States. Torit students achieve amazing things, and for many of them, it starts in our infant, toddler, and preschool classrooms.
There, students learn to live our mission. It reads, “Torit fosters curiosity, independence, and an appreciation for knowledge along with the humility and awareness to value the ideas, support, and friendship of others.”
For children, Torit is the place where they exercise autonomy as well. They’re independent learners here. We’re on their turf, and they’re excited to share it with you. At Torit, they are learning to “own” their educations, to be self-directed and intrinsically motivated.
For an infant, that means they learn to sit up and explore the world around them under the watchful eyes of dedicated, caring teachers. For toddlers, it means they interact with other children and that their natural curiosity is fed. For preschoolers, they learn letters and reading and numbers and math, and they do so in a group where they have to share, use their words, and come to realize that they are not the center of attention at all times.
Did I mention that all of our students take lessons in Arabic, Mandarin, and Spanish every week? They are exposed to all three languages from the age of 3 months up to 12 year olds. If you speak any of these languages, try talking with the students you meet this morning. They may just reply in kind.
By the time Torit students are 1st graders, they are increasingly confident, eager, and energetic learners. They try new things with us even as they learn parts of speech or how to add and subtract. Lower Elementary students are a study in contrasts: sure and uncertain, bold and hesitant.
By the time those students enter 3rd grade with us, they are strong readers, writers, and mathematicians. They are absorbing information (and as fast as some of us are forgetting it!) and learning what they can do with their knowledge to improve the world.
My goal is that next year, we will add an inaugural middle school classroom, a hands-on, highly academic program that will prepare students for the most challenging secondary schools while using the resources of Boston as a springboard into authentic learning.
It takes a dedicated staff to make this all happen, and many of our teachers hold state licensure, Montessori certification, bachelors and masters degrees. They collectively have over 300 years of teaching experience. When you see them, please give them a pat on the back.
You’ll see students today from a broad range of backgrounds, students who both benefit from and add to our school. The Torit Foundation has supported students who were homeless or in supported housing, students who spoke no English at home, or came from homes where parents had no more than an elementary school education. Those students went on to be strong academic performers and rich additions to the cultural fabric of our community. We welcome your tax-deductible contributions to continue to provide a Torit education to children from all quarters. Please visit our website to learn about making a donation.
Again, we appreciate your attendance today and hope you enjoy seeing your grandchildren at work.
Onward,
David Liebmann
Head of School