The Chapin community came together this week for our beloved Thanksgiving Gathering: A Celebration of Harvest and Gratitude. Each year, Lower School students prepare for this special event in their Homerooms by creating their own fruit crowns, adorned with colorful hand-drawn fruits and vegetables. The girls rehearse with their classmates and teachers and spend time in their music classes learning a medley of songs from a variety of cultures to share during a joyful Assembly for the community.
To begin this year’s Assembly — a tradition that holds a special place in the hearts of students, families, alumnae, faculty and staff — Head of School Suzanne Fogarty reflected on what she is grateful for, including several anecdotes from daily life at Chapin. She was followed by Head of Lower School Thérèse Cruite, who welcomed guests, expressed gratitude to the entire Chapin community for their hard work in preparing the Assembly and offered a brief preview of the program to come.
Kindergarten through Class 3 girls sang a beautiful arrangement of songs across three performances in the Assembly Room: one for Classes 4–12 and the Professional Community, one for Kindergarten–Class 1 parents and guardians, and a final performance for Class 2 and 3 parents and guardians. At each, three Lower School students carried on the decades-old tradition of walking down the aisle adorned in their fruit crowns, carrying their special fruit bowls, and presenting them to Upper School student leaders.
Parents, guardians and PC members beamed with pride and excitement as the girls confidently sang several songs — both as a full group and as a grade — showcasing their musical talents. Class 3 students also had the opportunity to lead specific parts of the Assembly, by introducing songs and their origins, or accompanying the piano by playing a cabasa and xylophones.
Between songs, Class 3 students shared a special “greetings and thanks” reflection, which concluded with, “To our teachers from all kinds reminding us to live in harmony, greetings and thanks. And for all the gifts of creation, for all the love around us, greetings and thanks.”
In addition to our wonderful Assemblies, students from Kindergarten through Class 12 participated in several projects to support the broader NYC community in honor of the season of giving. For this year’s Miss Chapin Project, Chapin partnered for the second year with Grassroots Grocery, an organization dedicated to combating food insecurity in New York. Students in K-Class 6, supported by Upper School student helpers and faculty members, prepared over 1,000 sandwich bags in the Lower Level Dining Room and Gordon Room. With help from our generous parents, we were able to deliver to seven locations, including Holmes Isaacs Coalition, NYCHA Carver Houses Community Fridge, NYCHA Clinton Houses, NYCHA James Weldon Johnson Houses, NYCHA Lehman Village, Ronald McDonald House NYC and the Gotham Food Pantry.
Chapin’s annual Thanksgiving Food Drive, held through the month of November, was also a huge success! Kindergarten through Class 11 students collected over 1,450 items including gravy packets, corn bread mix, boxed mashed potatoes, pasta, stuffing, cereal, oatmeal, canned cranberry sauce, canned corn, canned green beans, canned pie filling and canned sweet potatoes. Class 12 provided monetary donations that funded over 45 turkeys! We extend a heartfelt thank you to all those who donated or volunteered to deliver the food.
On behalf of all of us at Chapin, we send our best wishes and thanks to our entire community!
