Dear Saints,

The coming season is brief but full—performances and competitions, exams and projects, and the everyday rhythms of St. Andrew’s in spring. What a tragedy it would be if we were too distracted to experience, live, and remember this burgeoning season. Attention is one of the most valuable resources we have, and one of the most embattled. In a world shaped by constant digital distraction, where powerful forces compete relentlessly for our focus, the simple act of directing and protecting our attention becomes both difficult and deeply important. 

Over the break, while reading The Stone Yard Devotional, I was reminded of a striking idea from the philosopher Simone Weil, who wrote: “We have to try to cure our faults by attention and not by will … Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer. It presupposes faith and love. Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer. If we turn our mind towards the good, it is impossible that little by little the whole soul will not be attracted thereto in spite of itself.” 

How wonderful to think that when we release our will and give our full attention to something good—when we truly notice, examine, and invest ourselves in it—it shapes us. Our minds turn toward what is good, and, gradually, so do our lives. 

Paying attention maybe the greatest form of rebellion available to our students today. It prepares them for a rich and meaningful life. I spoke with an alumnus recently who reflected on how St. Andrew’s continues to matter in his life. He described three commitments he practiced here that sustain him: to pay attention, to be curious, and to be purposeful in community. These simple practices—fully engaging what is in front of us, caring enough to wonder, and believing in the power of shared effort—remain at the heart of a St. Andrew’s education. We create the conditions for connection, for noticing, and for thriving, leading us to what is good. 

We cannot forget the presence of suffering in our world. War, want, and conflict demand our attention and care. But it is also true that the way we notice the world—especially through our screens—can distort our understanding of it. When we live primarily in virtual spaces, we can begin to believe that we do not have much in common. But when we notice our neighborhoods, our schools, our daily lives, we see something more complete and more hopeful: decent people trying, however imperfectly, to build something good together. 

This is the constructive work of St. Andrew’s. It always has been. 

How quickly the time passes in this Easter season, a powerful reminder that the way we spend our ordinary days together defines the life we remember. (A sensibility felt acutely by sixth formers this time of year.) Years from now, what will we remember—and what will we wish we had given more of our attention? 

And so, the invitation we extend to our students is one we might all take to heart: 

• Pay attention. 
• Be curious.
• Be purposeful.
• Turn toward what is good. 

Thank you, as always, for your partnership in our work with our extraordinary students, and for the many ways you sustain and strengthen this school.