This week the Lower School welcomed members from the Joseph Maley Foundation to our Hilbert Center and Lower School. The Joseph Maley Foundation's mission is to "serve children of all abilities." On Monday, students from JK-grade 5 enjoyed shows presented by "Kids on the Block Puppets" with students from Christ the King. On Tuesday, kindergarten and first grade students welcomed speaker Kim Isakson, who presented "Everybody is Different," and the fourth and fifth graders learned about learning disabilities from mother and son speakers, Kristen and Sam Parmelee. Today, second and third grade students will hear from Dustin Hergert from JMF along with Katie, Matthias and Magnus Vescelus to learn about living with visual impairment.

All of the programming for the week is aimed at building acceptance, respect, and compassion for those who live with disabilities, both seen and unseen. Our Middle School has had a long-standing affiliation with the Maley Foundation and we are very excited about expanding this partnership and giving our Hilbert Center and Lower School students the opportunity to begin our school year focused on our core value of respect for all.