Lise's Lens: February 20, 2025

This week, I shared heartfelt remarks to students at assembly, finished the book Jacaranda by Gaël Faye, and immersed myself in the screen adaptation of Gabriel García Marquez’s Cien Años de Soledad.

WHAT I’M READING
 
  • Having an extra day added to the weekend allowed me to really settle into (and finally finish!) a book I’ve been reading, which is something I haven’t been able to do in quite a while! The novel is Jacaranda by Gaël Faye. It’s a story that takes place between France and Rwanda across four generations. It centers on the complexities of survival, as well as the atrocities that took place in Rwanda around multiple genocides, especially that which took place in 1994. The book explores complex questions, like, How does one survive and move forward from such atrocities? How does one forgive on an individual scale and nationally? What can nature bring as support or understanding? Exquisitely written and told, Jacaranda is a book and reading experience that I will remember for a long time.
     
WHAT I’M THINKING/TALKING ABOUT
 
  • Yesterday, at Assembly, I addressed the student body in hopes of providing clarity on the recent orders coming out of the White House and the ways these sweeping changes have the potential to affect us as individuals and as a community. I wanted to recognize the fact that there are members of our community who are feeling particularly vulnerable and fearful right now for themselves, or their loved ones. And while I don’t have all of the solutions, a summary of my advice is the following:

    1. Start with self care. We know we do our best thinking and our best actions when we are well. So, be good to yourself first!

    1. As humans, we tend to address things from an emotional standpoint or an intellectual standpoint, and while both perspectives are valid, it’s important to find balance. You should allow yourself to be comfortable and unapologetic.
 
WHAT I'M WATCHING/LISTENING TO
 
  • I have one episode left in the Netflix series Cien Años de Soledad by the Colombian author, Gabriel García Marquez.  There was so much talk last year about the recreation (and building) of the setting of the fictitious town of Macondo which is central to the novel. It likely had three or four different sets for the town as it evolved over time. During his lifetime, Garcia Marquez refused any requests to turn the novel into a film or a series so it was a bit of a surprise when it was announced that it would be adapted into a television series. Garcia Marquez is known for his magical realism and from the five episodes I’ve watched thus far, I believe they were able successfully incorporate that into the series.
WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE
 
On Wednesday we hosted an Ice Cream Sundae bar at lunch to celebrate CSW Athletics making history with both basketball teams winning their Championships on the same day on their home court! 
 
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CSW—a gender-inclusive day and boarding school for grades 9-12—is a national leader in progressive education. We live out our values of inquiry-based learning, student agency, and embracing diverse perspectives in every aspect of our student experience. Young people come to CSW to learn how to learn and then put what they learn into action—essential skills they carry into their futures as doers, makers, innovators, leaders, and exceptional humans who do meaningful work in the world.