It’s Thanksgiving season and this year, there are so many reasons to be thankful.

We had an amazing Open House where dozens and dozens of people turned out in the pouring rain to learn more about Brookstone.

We had an incredible Bring a Friend to School Day with over 100 FRIENDS visiting!  It was awesome!

We’ve had a wonderful interim Headmaster, Dr. Frank Brown, who has even stepped in as a substitute teacher on occasion!

We celebrated a softball team who made it to the Elite 8 and whose coach, Nate McConnell, was named region coach of the year!

We celebrated two students signing to play baseball and softball at the next level! We’re so proud of you, Drew and Helen!

We had an incredible Cross Country season and senior William Jenkins finished 11^th in the state!

We celebrated a volleyball team who made it to state! Proud of you girls!

Our Equestrian team rode to their hearts content!

Our Cheerleaders won 2nd in state!

And tonight, our football team played in the first round of the state playoffs! We did not win, but win or lose, it was an amazing season.  As a football parent, I can’t tell you how much I love these boys and their coaches. You guys are the real deal.

We celebrated the return of one of our students after she had a life-saving liver transplant!

We celebrated with our Middle Schoolers as they pulled off an incredible musical production of Peter Pan, Jr. It was one of my all time favorite shows here at Brookstone!

We were one of the top 100 finishers in a national video competition competition!

We made a MOVIE!

We celebrated the arts!

We celebrated Veterans Day with the utmost gratitude for our military.

We traveled back in time to the Pioneer Days at Camp Read S’more.

Our kids LOVE to read!

Our kids LOVE science!

We had another successful Fall Festival. One of the most fun days of the year!

And it was made all the more special because our sophomores shared the morning with our friends from Easter Seals.

We marked the 10^th Anniversary of the Upper School Day of Service, where our US students spent the day working with 17 different local projects.

We had intermediate students who asked to pray for Paris.

As a school and as individuals, we have so much to be grateful for. But this is by no means an exhaustive list of reasons to be thankful or a complete summary of all the great things that happened to school this fall.  There are far too many to even count!

But perhaps our 2^nd graders summed it up best at the end of their Thanksgiving play this morning. As the microphone was passed from child to child, they each shared what they were grateful for. It was simple. It was profound. And it brought me to tears.

I am grateful for my family.

I am grateful for my teachers.

I am grateful for my brother, David.

I am grateful for God.

I am grateful for football.

I am grateful for the military.

I am grateful for soccer.

I am grateful for Jesus.

I am grateful for water.

I am grateful for air.

I am grateful for my sisters.

I am grateful for my new friends at Brookstone.

I am grateful for Brookstone.

So am I. I am so very grateful.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!

And Go Cougars!