As Seattle’s dreary weather emerges, Michelle Wilson remarks on UCDS students’ extraordinary ability to make the most of the wet months of the school year. -Ed.

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I didn’t grow up in Seattle, so the rainy season is challenging for me. I find the shorter days and the constant precipitation to be a drain on my spirits.

This is not the case for our UCDS students. I have worked at the school for over a year now and I am consistently amazed by our student’s resilience in the face of inclement weather. It is very rare that our faculty calls for indoor recess; conditions have to really bad to force our kids inside. On a standard rainy day, you can look out on the playgrounds and see the children happily running around in their brightly colored raincoats and sturdy rubber boots.

Last spring, our early elementary students were investigating different play spaces around the Seattle area. On one of these expeditions, the EE classes spent an entire morning exploring a nearby playground. When the students arrived at school that morning, it was pouring buckets! However, our hardy team was not deterred. The field trip went on as planned and our youngest students returned that afternoon wet and tired, but smiling! This is a testament to our kids’ willingness to keep exploring even when conditions are less than ideal.

For these Seattle-born children, the rain is part of their beings. They embrace it like an old friend they haven’t seen in a long time. In fact, I think one of the more surprising conversations I have overheard in the hallways at UCDS was about the rain. After one of the wettest winters on record last season, we finally had our first days of sunshine in April. I was elated! However, not everyone felt the same. After returning from a sun-filled recess, I listened with amazement as one EE student said to another, “It’s too hot out there! I miss the rain.”