Why Community Comes First at All Saints’

This morning, I visited a fifth-grade advisory, and they were playing an icebreaker game where you had to stand up if the statement described you. We were all laughing as we shared details about cats, camping trips, playing the recorder, and books we had read. One thing you may not know about me is that I’m a big fan of icebreaker activities. My team teases me that I’ve already broken all the ice there is, since I like to start most meetings with one. But I’ve always believed that taking a little time to get to know each other makes working (and learning) together so much better. I love getting to know our kids. 

Our teachers feel the same way. At the start of the school year, community-building is at the heart of what we do. We spend a lot of time working on connection. That’s why our very first Tiger Topic of the year was community.

If you’re new to All Saints’, Tiger Topics are monthly themes we focus on as a school. They give us shared language and experiences that help all of us grow as people. Through the guidance of our counselors, Mrs. Ashleigh Miller and Ms. Kylie Vosler, we weave these themes into morning meetings, WIN Time, chapel, assemblies, and activities across grade levels.

In August, every grade spent time exploring what makes a strong community and what makes the All Saints’ community so special. Here are a few highlights that I saw across campus:

• Pre-K (Mrs. Benjamin’s Class): Students learned names and built belonging through music and play, passing songs around the circle. Everyone in Pre-K loves a good song. 
• Kindergarten (Ms. Tamer’s Class): Classes toured the campus and met the people who help our community every day, from Nurse Mary, to Mr. Donnie, to Mrs. Jacobo in the front office. 
• Fourth Grade (Mrs. Brown’s Class): Students created a classroom charter that they committed to by joining hands, and worked through daily team challenges, like a blindfolded puzzle and a silent birthday line-up.
• Fifth Grade (Mrs. Mueller’s Advisory): Each student designed a superhero character to represent their strengths and dreams, then shared it with the group. They are still working on my superhero name.

We pack a lot in at the beginning of the year. We also continued a special tradition: signing The All Saints’ Way as a whole school. This moment, led by our youngest and oldest students (along with NJHS, Builders Club, and Student Council leaders), is our way of committing to live out our values together.

This year’s chapel was made even more meaningful by a guest speaker—a former NJHS president who’s now a senior at Brophy. He shared how The All Saints’ Way still guides his choices and calls him to “serve a world in need.”

During my years at All Saints’, I learned that responsibility doesn’t stop when we leave campus at the end of the day. It’s not just about grades, assignments, or achievements. It’s about the way we live our lives—the choices we make,  the way we treat people, and the example we set for others. All Saints’ has taught me that we are all responsible for the kind of world we create. If we want a world that is kinder, more respectful, and more understanding, then it starts with us, right here, right now, in the way we treat one another.

I’d love for you to carry this conversation home, too. Ask your child about the community-building activities they’ve done so far, or try one of these questions:

• What does community mean to you?
• What kind of people do you value in your community?
• Have you ever moved from one community to another? What helped you feel included?
• What do you love about the All Saints’ community—and how do you help make it great?

Thank you for being such an important part of All Saints’. And if you think of any icebreakers, please let me know. I am always gathering ideas.