“My son has started to sing when he gets home from school.” An MICDS mother told me this on Tuesday morning at a 7th and 8th grade parent coffee event that Ruth and I were hosting at the campus residence, and suddenly I worried she was in the wrong place. A thirteen-year-old after-school crooner? “So you must have a younger child at MICDS, too,” I said. “No, my seventh grade son. He never sang before, but now he sings. Happiest school in St. Louis.” What a wonderful way to begin the day.
If last week was memorable for the song of our laundry machine, this week was all the more memorable for this parent’s story of spontaneous adolescent singing in her home as well as the joy that I took in hearing the music of some of our Upper School band students at the MICDS Society Reception on Wednesday evening. One of their instructors, Josh Baumgartner, who is an exceptionally talented saxophonist, had asked me to accompany him on piano after the band performed, and we had a blast playing “Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?,” “Body and Soul” and “Fly Me to the Moon” – three jazz standards to continue the entertainment of our guests.
The music that evening was a celebration both of the generosity of our donors and of the talent of our student musicians and the faculty who lead them, including not only Josh but also Becky Long, who directed our students that evening as well. It was a wonderful event, and I am grateful to our Development Office for organizing and hosting it.
Ruth and I are traveling today to see our son, Jed, in Massachusetts for parents weekend at his school, Groton, where, as it happens, Ronald Beasley worked for several years before coming to Mary Institute. Jed is a senior now. How quickly it goes! As I have less time this morning for my letter to you than Friday mornings typically afford, I will be briefer than usual and look forward to connecting with you again in a week. May your own homes and hearts be full of song as we continue through the fall season. I wish you a joyful weekend.
Jay Rainey
Head of School