Brookstone Mother of Four Talks About Brookstone

Why I love Brookstone  

I have a long history with Brookstone School.  I have been a student, a graduate and now, a parent. I have seen the school through multiple lenses and over the course of decades.  And since I have two Upper School students, one Middle School student and a kindergartener, I get to see how Brookstone works from top to bottom and in between.  And I love every part of it.

I’m not alone.  My kids love school.  They love their friends and they love their teachers and I’m not just saying that.  As we were all gathered in the kitchen last night doing homework, one of them piped up about how much he enjoys all of his classes.  No one asked him this - he simply volunteered this information.  He said he’d been nervous at the start of the year, but now he honestly enjoys them.  Enjoys them.  Wow.  That’s saying something.

There’s also something pretty cool about hearing my boys talk to each other about school.  To overhear one say to the other - Oh, you will love that class – you should definitely take that next year.  Or, He is such an awesome teacher and y’all will really do some cool things in there.  Hearing comments like that make a mom’s heart full.  High school can be difficult, and some days are easier than others, but my kids love it.  They really do.

And I don’t think that just happens naturally.  The faculty and administration do an amazing job at making these kids feel like one big community – like a family.  The freshman retreat, Link Crew, and the grade chairs – these are designed to build bonds among our kids and to remind them that they are being looked after.  We should never take these things for granted because other schools simply don’t have them.

The middle school is no different.  And middle school is HARD - some would say harder than high school!  But when you walk through those halls – there is joy and laughter and a sense of camaraderie amongst the students and the faculty that I KNOW wasn’t there when I was in middle school.  My kids feel safe.  And when my 7^th grader comes home and I ask him how his day was, and he says, Awesome – well, that’s simply remarkable.  Even if he can’t (or won’t :) elaborate further, that one word is all I needed to hear.  Awesome, indeed.

Then there is my big kindergartener - who has such an enthusiasm for school that it is surely contagious.  He bounds into school and bounds back into the car and he is always grinning ear to ear.  What more could you want!?  And the new uniforms?  He calls those his “special costumes.”  Love it.

But before you jump to the conclusion that Brookstone is my only school experience, let me assure you it’s not.

My children have attended private school, public school, Christian school, Catholic school and Montessori school.  We’ve pretty much done it all.  I’ve seen and experienced first hand a variety of schools in size, style and demographic.  And let me tell you, there is no place I would rather be than Brookstone.  I am so very grateful for what it has meant in my life and in the lives of my children.  I just can’t say it enough.

Community doesn’t just exist everywhere.  Kids don’t automatically feel comfortable or safe at school.  Parents often don’t know each other and certainly don’t know all the other kids.  Teachers don’t communicate with parents as a matter of practice.  Coaches don’t often have any involvement with their athletes off of the playing field.  These things matter.  And they are part of what make Brookstone different and so very special.

No school is perfect.  We know that.  No school experience is without its bumps in the road, rough spots or personality conflicts.  That is part of life.  But I am grateful to be at a school where I truly feel every teacher and administrator is FOR my kids and FOR my family.  That is a unique and wonderful thing and we should not take it for granted. 

So thank you, Brookstone.  Thank you for all you built into my husband and me as students and thank you for what you are building into our children now.  Thank you for the memories and friendships that have lasted through generations and for the amazing new families you bring into our lives each year.  Thank you for being visionary enough to change, but holding fast to things that have made you strong.  Thank you for teaching us that we lead as we serve.

Thank you, Brookstone.

And since it is the height of football season, perhaps it is only fitting to end with a cheer!  Do you recall these words shouted on the sidelines for years and years?  Maybe even saying them will conjure up a specific memory of who was with you at the time…what the uniforms looked like…what sounds were going on around you.  Just think about it…

I said, it’s great to be a Brookstone Cougar!  Yes, it’s great to be a Brookstone Cougar! 

Well, it is indeed.  And I wouldn’t have it any other way.