Madrona Matters

On Monday, we were treated to a special performance by NTFT following a wonderful assembly led by Ms. Carcha’s class.  The NTFT group that performed for us consisted of 4 young adults who had a message about neurodiversity, bullying, and perseverance.  For 45 minutes the group performed, presented, and held the attention of all the students, from Grade 1 to Grade 8.  Live entertainment is such a treat and the students (and adults) loved it!  

What stood out most to me, though, was how much these young performers reminded me of our own Madrona students, simply ten years older.

At one point, one of the performers spoke about how he wished that there was a school like Madrona for him when he was growing up.  He said so with tears in his eyes.  For him, school was extremely stressful and a place where he was constantly bullied for being different.  And in the short time the performers were with us they could sense what kind of community we have here at Madrona.  Life at Madrona is not without its challenges, including interpersonal ones between students, but we as a community do our level best to wrap ourselves around the problem and strive to find a way forward that involves growth for everyone involved.  In short, we care a great deal.

When I thanked the performers afterward, I found myself getting emotional too. We truly have something special here, and I couldn’t help but think how different life might have been for each of those young adults if they’d had the chance to experience even a little Madrona Magic when they were younger.