Got my knickers in a twist and sent this letter to the head of my former prep school today.
A justifiable rant, or am I off my rocker?
Dear Dan:
As an alumna and lifelong fan of Wheeler, I want to thank you for the great job you've done helping me feel connected to all that's happening at the school. I appreciate hearing about everything from curricular enrichment to campus development, how my donation dollars are being spent, and even being kept in the loop in times of tragedy. All these things have made me feel closer to the Wheeler community than I have in years. If I didn't live 3,000 miles away, I'd send my daughters to Wheeler in a heartbeat.
I'm sure it's in that same spirit of inclusion that somewhere along the line correspondence to me from the school started to be addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Mark McClusky." My husband has attended some Wheeler events with me, and even he commented on how odd it is that as a result my own name has dropped off all mail from the school.
I know this is likely is a matter of old-world etiquette. And in that vein, it makes me ponder whether Mary C. Wheeler herself was ever married. I don't believe she was, but I can't help but wonder if she had been--even back in 1889--whether she'd have named her progressive all-girls school something akin to The Mrs. John C. Smith School.
It appears that you are mindful about how you present your own name in school correspondence--sometimes signing with the familiar "Dan" rather than using your full name and title. I'll continue to look forward to receiving news from Wheeler. I just hope that going forward you'll be as thoughtful about how you address the envelopes as you are about their contents.
Best,
Kristen Bruno McClusky, '85
A justifiable rant, or am I off my rocker?
Dear Dan:
As an alumna and lifelong fan of Wheeler, I want to thank you for the great job you've done helping me feel connected to all that's happening at the school. I appreciate hearing about everything from curricular enrichment to campus development, how my donation dollars are being spent, and even being kept in the loop in times of tragedy. All these things have made me feel closer to the Wheeler community than I have in years. If I didn't live 3,000 miles away, I'd send my daughters to Wheeler in a heartbeat.
I'm sure it's in that same spirit of inclusion that somewhere along the line correspondence to me from the school started to be addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Mark McClusky." My husband has attended some Wheeler events with me, and even he commented on how odd it is that as a result my own name has dropped off all mail from the school.
I know this is likely is a matter of old-world etiquette. And in that vein, it makes me ponder whether Mary C. Wheeler herself was ever married. I don't believe she was, but I can't help but wonder if she had been--even back in 1889--whether she'd have named her progressive all-girls school something akin to The Mrs. John C. Smith School.
It appears that you are mindful about how you present your own name in school correspondence--sometimes signing with the familiar "Dan" rather than using your full name and title. I'll continue to look forward to receiving news from Wheeler. I just hope that going forward you'll be as thoughtful about how you address the envelopes as you are about their contents.
Best,
Kristen Bruno McClusky, '85
