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L O W E R S C H O O L Trevor Translates: The "Breakfast Club" and Other Community-Building Traditions by Andy Wilson, Director of Lower School "Hold on," I said, "You're telling me that all the students and their parents gather to eat breakfast? All together? At 7:30 am?" I had never heard of anything like that at a school. Back-to-school nights? Sure. Parents Association events? Definitely. But a morning meal with everyone in attendance? I was in. They had me at French toast sticks. These monthly communal gatherings, enhanced by freshly cooked pancakes, eggs, and hash browns, still hold a symbolic place in my heart. They're representative of what I see as Trevor's uniquely supportive, collaborative, and communal nature. They embody the many ways in which Trevorians (a real term) come together, not only to support our school's mission of educating our students but to eat together, talk together, learn together, grow together, succeed (and sometimes fail) together, and ultimately, branch out to spread Trevor's spirit and ethos to the wider world. I found it right away in our Family Conferences, in which our students (seated with their team of teachers and family) come to experience and appreciate their own values, roles, and insights while they determine attainable goals and roadmaps for their next steps. It's front and center at our all-school gatherings, with families and students cheering on the soccer and volleyball teams at Homecoming, taking those first steps (or falls) on ice skates at the Parents Association Skating Party, and in parents' smiles as they run the various booths and activities at the Spring Fair. And it's in the smaller moments, as you watch a classroom About eight years ago, during one of my first visits to Trevor's Lower School, the welcoming team explained some of the school's best-loved traditions. Maybe I arrived hungry, but Community Breakfast immediately got my attention. 34 / TREVOR MAGAZINE SPRING 2024–25

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