The post below was shared with families at April's Annual Meeting as opening remarks, setting the tone for an evening of reflection and gratitude for the 2025-2026 school year and the numerous volunteers—especially Parents Group officers, Board of Trustees members and chairs of key fundraisers—who contribute to the successes of the school and its widely felt sense of community.

My husband Kevin and I have two children here, Hays in 5th grade and Miles in 3rd grade. This year has flown by! Highlights for us this year have included our 5th grader beginning and adjusting to Middle School, which was honestly one of the greatest phases we have witnessed as parents.

Watching our son step out of his comfort zone, time after time this year, trying flag football, competing in Robotics and pushing himself to the end with Cottonwood Oratory Festival...well, it’s been nothing short of incredible. And if you haven’t
attended a 3rd grade basketball game, then you are completely missing out! It is genuinely one of the most entertaining, hilarious, edge-of-your-seat pastimes.

We are so proud of these kids, and I want to be sure to share our thanks to the teachers and coaches who guide them daily. You truly are all building what matters most, every day.

When Dr. K shared that theme for the Annual Meeting was "Building What Matters Most," my mind immediately went back to when I was in elementary school, when one of my favorite shows from the 1980’s, "Fraggle Rock," was on air. Anyone remember "Fraggle Rock?"

"Fraggle Rock" was the most completely original puppet world; there were these tiny, green and quite adorable underground creatures called Doozers. They wore little hard hats. And they never stopped building these towers. Elaborate constructions, all day, every day. And I mean, they LOVED to build. The much larger Fraggles would come along and eat the towers, because the building blocks were made of the Fraggles’ favorite food. And the Doozers? They would just… start again. No bitterness. No burnout. Just: “We build, because building is what we love, and what we do for our Fraggles.”

As it turned out, if the Fraggles didn’t eat the towers, then there would be no more room to build. They had a system, they relied on one another. There was this poetic ecology to the whole thing. I couldn’t shake comparing our school to the Fraggles and Doozers. Because when I look at everything this community has built together, I see Doozers everywhere. (And if you haven’t figured it out, the Fraggles are our kids, trashing the place!)

"Building What Matters Most:" The Doozers understood that better than anyone. They didn’t build for glory. They built because they loved it, and it mattered. I want to stop, look at what our Doozers build day after day, and say, "Thank you."

An emphatic THANK YOU to our Parents Group and admin team for producing beautiful events. Thank you so much! Our Parents Group? Pure Doozers, every single one of them. Tiffany Dickerson lead us through first semester with so much heart and energy, and Sarah Godoy picked up the hard hat and ran with it through second. Tiffany, Sarah: You are Doozers of the highest order. Simply, wow.

Our Booster Club chairs, Rick Pardo and Phil Yockey: Doozers. Helmets on, and grill fired up, you never stopped.

You all produced incredible, signature events for us throughout the year, and I’m still in awe of what you pulled off with our lead volunteers (Carly Roy, Megan Cox, Jessica Kraker and Tiffany Dickerson) for the Mardi Gras Sidewalk Fundraiser. Doozers!

And our Casino Night Soirée was amazing this year. Jessica Chandamuri and Tiffany Sonoram… Doozers! It was my favorite soiree ever, and I heard that over and over. To each of you in our Parents Group, our Booster Club and the countless volunteers and class captains who make these events possible and give us such a sense of community and belonging: thank you. You are Doozers, and we see you.

I want to thank our Board of Trustees, our executive committee and our committee members — for your continued commitment to the school. It’s not particularly glamorous behind the scenes, but you all truly show up. From governance and financial stewardship; to planning renovations and navigating tax credits; to brand messaging and fundraising — our committees are incredibly devoted, focused and actionable. Your work reflects our continued commitment to building an inspiring environment for our students.

Thank you to our committee chairs, trustees, and the members who joined them in Finance, Facilities & Master Planning, Development, Marketing & Admission, JEDI and Head of School Evaluation. We are grateful for your time, energy and expertise — and you are Doozers through and through. (I’m starting to realize how much “Doozers” sounds like “Doers” the more I say it, and it’s true!)

Joe & Admin: thanks! Joe, if there is a Head Doozer at St. George’s, it is you. Our school is so fortunate to be entrusted to your care. The perseverance and integrity you bring to the job sets the tone for everything. It has been the honor of my tenure to work alongside you, and on behalf of the Board of Trustees, we are grateful to build together.

Day in and day out, with compassion at the center of everything you do, you show up for our children and our families in ways that are impossible to fully quantify. Your leadership inside and outside the classroom sets the standard for what it means to build what matters most. We see your dedication, we respect it deeply and we are so grateful for you. StG is a place where educational excellence exceeds expectations, where our children are known and where each child’s unique needs are met.

As your Chair, I am incredibly grateful to you for believing in our mission, for your investment in this community and your commitment to this school. Together, we are shaping young leaders and building a remarkable legacy for our children.

I’ll leave you with one final thought as we look to the future. The Doozers never stopped. Not because someone told them to. But because the building mattered. What we build here — the relationships, the community, the education, the legacy — it matters. And as long as it matters, we keep building.

Thank you, St. George’s. Hard hats on. Let’s go.