Convocation Kicks Off a Fairytale Year

On Tuesday morning, “I got the magic in me” blared through the sound system of the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Theater. To mark the beginning of the 140th school year, seniors made their grand entrance to “Magic” by B.o.B featuring Rivers Cuomo (more on the senior theme below). The annual all-school convocation places faculty and staff on stage as the assembled students in Class I through Class VIII hear remarks from school leaders. 

Head of School Meredith Legg introduced new faculty and staff, who stood and waved from their seats on stage. In a nod to the senior theme, Ms. Legg brandished a flashing wand topped with a star and quoted Cinderella, saying, “I can’t wait to go on this ‘bibbidi-bobbidi-boo’ journey with all of you.”

After explaining the role of the corporation to students, Ms. Legg introduced President of the Winsor Corporation Allison Kaneb Pellegrino ’89, P’21, ’22 who offered reflections from her own Winsor journey. She told students, “You stand on the threshold of a chapter of limitless possibilities.”

President of COLLECT Hannah Minn ’26 addressed the first day jitters that everyone feels and quoted Winsor field hockey coach Euan Brown who wisely tells athletes, “nerves and excitement are essentially the same.” 

Following in the footsteps of previous COLLECT presidents, Hannah shared advice for each class. “Welcome the new student joining you with open arms,” she told Class II. For Class IV, she joked about how many times they’ll hear, “You’re the leaders of the Lower School” and encouraged them to take some risks. Hannah reminded Class VI not to procrastinate making the banner and that freshman year isn’t the only time to try new things. For Class VII she urged students to listen to family and friends when they tell you, “sleep is important.”

In closing, Hannah told students, “Winsor is a place where you get out what you put in,” and urged them to, “be a kind and generous friend to everyone around you.”

Senior Class President Liana Min ’26 introduced the senior theme: Once Upon a Time. Sharing her own fairy tale, which started in Class I—“Once upon a time a little girl arrived on Pilgrim Road”—she pointed out that Winsor students are uniquely positioned. “We don’t need a fairy godmother to give us our magic, we have it in each other,” she said. 

Liana reminded students that the phrase “once upon a time” often marks the start of a magical adventure and encouraged students to lean into all the exciting experiences this school year will bring. For parting advice, she quoted Cinderella, challenging each person in the auditorium to “have courage and be kind, and always believe in a little bit of magic.”

“We advise everyone to keep an open and enthusiastic mind to new activities and experiences,” said Lower School Council Heads Dani Peskin ’30 and Carys Musto ’30. Whether that new experience is trying a meal in the dining room—pierogis received a shout out—or going out for a sport or play, they urged students to try new things. They added, “We hope you all have a really great year full of new friends, interesting classes, and lots of Winsor spirit!”

Finally Ms. Legg offered remarks, and admitted to students that they aren’t the only ones assigned summer reading. Faculty, staff, and event parents were invited to read What the Eyes Don’t See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City, by Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha. In honor of the seniors, Ms. Legg framed the story as a fairy tale. “Once upon a time there was an Iraqi American doctor who lived and worked in Flint, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, where she and her family lived their entire lives after they immigrated to the United States. Our fair princess’s name is Dr. Mona,” she began. 

Winsor families will have the opportunity to meet with Dr. Mona during a virtual community event on Thursday, October 9 to hear firsthand about her incredible story of perseverance and resilience that ultimately gave the city of Flint lead-free drinking water.

Calling Dr. Mona a “real life hero” and “the definition of excellence,” Ms. Legg didn’t focus on the villain in the story, or the fairy tale ending. What struck her about Dr. Mona was her insistence on telling the whole story “warts and all” from personal setbacks and mistakes to feelings of embarrassment. 

From traditional fairy tale tropes to messages on social media, stories we encounter are often distilled down to the highlights—the magical princess made all the right moves to get the results she wanted. Ms. Legg cautioned, “When we are surrounded by stories of perfection, we begin to think we should expect perfection from ourselves.”

Employing her voice and personal convocation, Dr. Mona saved lives and changed the future for a whole community of children. “She did something excellent. But my friends, she was not perfect,” said. Ms. Legg, who went on to explain the difference between the two.

“Excellence is a practice. It is a mindset. It’s a philosophy. It is approaching school, sports, music, theatre, and art with conviction, with the ability to make mistakes, and with the ability to learn. Knowing that staying open to growth is how you will get better and better. It is how you will be excellent. Perfection is doing everything right all the time. Perfection is an impossible, unattainable standard. Perfection is a fiction.”

Citing her one wish for Winsor students this year, Ms. Legg asked that everyone commit themselves to excellence, and let go of perfection. “Let us all embrace our practice of excellence, lean into our mistakes and imperfections, and live this year happily ever after,” she said.

Convocation closed with everyone on their feet. Students Advocating School Spirit (SASS), had the gathered assembly stomping and clapping along to two classic school chants—“Red Hot” and “Hey All You Winsor Fans”—while Head of Performing Arts Felicia Brady-Lopez and Choral Director Andrew Marshall led everyone in singing “Jerusalem” by C. Hubert Parry.

To officially start the school year, Lower School Council Heads Dani and Carys rang Miss Winsor’s bell. The gentle chime has opened and closed each school year since 1910.