Mrs. Jamieson's Opening Homily

Good morning. Welcome back. We have missed you this summer, but trust that you have both enjoyed and refreshed yourselves.

Thank you, trustees, for your leadership and support; parents, for your presence here today and your loving support of your daughters. Faculty, thank you for the good work of the summer, particularly our opening days of faculty meetings, when we welcomed our new colleagues and reaffirmed our mission on behalf of the students of the National Cathedral School for Girls. Thank you, in advance, for all you will do for our young women in the coming months.

The luxury of the past few weeks in our comfortable planning sessions stands in stark contrast to the experience of our fellow citizens in the southeastern states of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Our concerns about classroom assignments, textbook deliveries, meeting schedules, and parking pale in the face of the human suffering we now witness each hour on television.

Today we will take up a collection to support rescue and restoration efforts. Tomorrow we will take the next step in organizing the NCS response to our fellow Americans’ plight.

News reports of late have been punctuated by accusations of irresponsibility and blame in the face of an inadequate emergency response. The reports we hear seem impossible. How could it be that families were without food and water--that they were stranded on rooftops? I found myself thinking of each possible layer of responsibility and imagining who could have done what to ensure a different outcome. Ultimately, it came back to me. I thought of our community and how we might look at ourselves in the context of this national natural disaster.

At National Cathedral School, we have a multigenerational team of faculty and parents working on the moral and academic education of young women. We have 578 girls who are talented and motivated to learn and to excel. Girls, you are free to pursue your schoolwork with little interruption or distraction. Together, we comprise a powerful force dedicated to the future. And whether we prepare for an emergency or for the everyday, there are lessons to learn from what we have been watching on television this past week.

We know that the troubles of New Orleans are not limited to delayed rescue efforts. We know that the poor, the disabled, and the elderly were vulnerable long before the hurricane blew into the bayou. Just as Scientific American’s Mark Fischetti predicted in 2001 in The Drowning of New Orleans that the levees that held the water back would bust loose, we can predict that unacceptable levels of education, poverty, and inadequate healthcare in our country create great risk for innocent people—innocent children.

Girls, the work that you do in school this year is so much more than the fourth grade curriculum, or the seventh grade curriculum, or the eleventh grade curriculum; your peer group leadership is more than supporting ninth graders through a high school transition, your editorials for The Discus are far reaching; your leadership of Student Government is just the beginning.

All of it is exercise. It is practice. Practice doing the right things with a good team led by magnificent teachers. Through your efforts you will develop the muscle memory to respond as needed, no matter what the requirement. You will know how to work hard, how to engage the minds and hearts of people of all backgrounds and points of view, how to communicate well, how to set priorities, and how to voice your opinion with courage and conviction. You will do your best only when you share what you learn.

Consider the skills needed to support those suffering in New Orleans. Those who appeared on the scene and could speak a second language were critically helpful. Those who knew technology helped set up systems of communication for stranded and isolated family members. Those who were experienced writers could quickly and effectively make the case for better and faster assistance; they inspired many of us to send money and supplies. Those with leadership skills made decisions and hired experts to expedite progress.

You are the next generation of physicians and journalists and engineers and ministers who will run to the rescue for those in need. You are also the next generation of politicians, and lawyers, environmentalists and emergency workers who will plan against human devastation. Your education has a purpose far beyond your own personal fulfillment. Whatever your chosen field, it will be blessed by your time here, among this faculty, and within the grace of this Cathedral, where each of you offers your gifts from God. And, as the gospel of John advises “[we] are commissioned to go out and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” Here, we aspire to generous service to others, participation on “the team”—however that may define itself over the years.

Four hundred displaced people will take shelter in the DC Armory this week. We will support them in every way we can. Together with St. Albans, Beauvoir, the Cathedral College, and the Cathedral we will enlist the energies of our families and share our resources to help heal the pain and loss of Hurricane Katrina.

Our emergency preparedness begins right here—with daily attention and support of one another, as you work to fulfill your potential to have enormous, positive impact on a world that is sorely in need of well-educated and devoted citizens who care deeply about the safety, health, and well-being of all our people—everyday, not just for emergencies.

Your teachers and I eagerly welcome you to the 2005-2006 academic year. We are grateful for the privilege of teaching you at such an important time in your lives and in our history.

God bless you and your families.