An 8-Year Overdue Library Book and All the Emotions This Week!

There are very few things that make me as emotional as Flint Hill.

 These last few days weren’t any different. On Friday, the Lower School welcomed fourth and sixth grade parents to Open Classroom. These visits give a first-hand glimpse into the adventures of learning. I heard from parents that got to tour a student-created animal museum, attend art class, and listen to their child’s personal narrative in language arts.  

I have such a fondness for Open Classrooms; I am not sure I fully appreciated how special they were at the time. It is so special that we have a school that offers this type of parent experience, and I’m grateful I made the time to participate.

 Friday was also Senior Day. Michelle Stanciu P’19 ’22 and I opened the Igloo. We heard a few of the seniors give their traditional speeches as their farewell tribute to Flint Hill. It was very emotional! Both Michelle and I were touched by the gratitude that the Class of 2022 has for one another, their families and their school.  

 On Sunday, my in-laws arrived from Turkey in preparation for graduation. My mother-in-law is my best helper, and when she comes to town, she always organizes my house! I really needed her, as I have misplaced my son’s fourth-grade memory box! It is a Flint Hill tradition that the fourth graders make a memory box. They include things that are important to them at that moment: a letter to their future self, a letter from their parents and a letter from their teacher. At the end of senior year your child is given this box and then students come together with their teachers, close to graduation, to open them as a class.

 Yesterday, I started getting texts and photos from my friends who also have seniors who were once fourth grade Flint Hill students. This is really special to me, so I have put my mother-in-law on the case! If anyone can find it, she will! As she began looking yesterday, she didn’t find it, but she did find a library book that my son checked out in 2013! I immediately contacted Michelle Plaut, Lower School librarian, to ask if she still wanted it after all these years. Her answer: “Yes, that is one of my favorites!” I’m happy to report that “Traction Man is Here” will finally return home to the library!

 I get emotional when I think about these moments and the love that our teachers have for their students. What an amazing gift we give our children and ourselves as part of the Flint Hill family: joy.

 I know there will be others who have parents who won’t be able to find their child’s fourth grade memory box, and there are seniors who weren’t at Flint Hill for fourth grade. So, if you have any advice for our Class of 2022, please send them my way, as we continue to celebrate this wonderful group of students! And if you find any library books, no matter how overdue … send those back in too!

 Go Huskies!

Sibel Unsal P’22
Parents’ Association President