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Why We (Still) Celebrate May Day
As Head of School of Girls Preparatory School, I have the opportunity to talk to lots of people in Chattanooga and beyond about our wonderful school. Sometimes they have broader questions about single-sex education, or what it’s like to live and work on a campus of 600 girls.
Often I am asked directly or indirectly a question that ties to our commitment to May Day: How do you lead an institution that still upholds a tradition like May Day?
I understand this question and the valid concerns behind it. After all, at GPS, we strive to educate the whole girl--mentally, physically, and spiritually--to be a leader in the modern era. Folks who question the tradition of May Day may doubt the alignment of this supposed springtime ritual of beauty with our mission as a school.
I understand this question and the valid concerns behind it. After all, at GPS, we strive to educate the whole girl--mentally, physically, and spiritually--to be a leader in the modern era. Folks who question the tradition of May Day may doubt the alignment of this supposed springtime ritual of beauty with our mission as a school.
Yet, nothing could be truer to our mission than May Day, where each year I see our mission statement living and breathing, smiling and dancing, in 600 girls. Our mission statement reads: GPS inspires each girl to lead a life of integrity and purpose by engaging her mind, cultivating her strengths, and nurturing her self-confidence and respect for others.
Our traditions and ceremonies should reflect our mission. Thus, just as our mission evolves to stay relevant, our traditions must do so accordingly. There was a time when the role of May Queen, for example, defaulted to the girl with the longest hair (who could braid her hair into a crown).
On May Day 2017, however, we honor our senior class who has chosen a girl who best represents goodness to her peers. The seniors, along with younger students, family and friends, selflessly celebrate the girl, elected May Queen, who is the purest embodiment of the qualities we hold dear at GPS: integrity, strength, self-confidence, and respect for others.
This tradition is not only a refreshing departure from the everyday business of being a student. It is a refreshing break from a world that tells girls that they are the sum total of their Instagram followers, their AP exam scores, their soccer goals.
As I explain the reasons we celebrate May Day, I am always grateful when a GPS alumna in the crowd approaches me afterwards and says, “Thank you. You get it.” This is so much more than a cherished tradition. It is a reflection of the values we embrace on our campus every day of the school year.
So to the question of why we celebrate May Day, it is because it celebrates the goodness that is so needed in our world today. I hope you will join me, whether on campus or streaming live, on May Day: the day when goodness wins. 
