"When I came to GA, I was painfully shy, like afraid of my own shadow shy. In first grade, I was blessed to have three of GA’s iconic teachers, of course back then they were just earning their stripes. Sally Wolf, Charlie Muir and Nancy Jones welcomed us with loving arms every morning. Our classrooms were still in McLean Hall, and in my memories, the sun streamed in through those windows every morning, filling the rooms with warmth and light. What I realize now is that the warmth and light came as much from inside. It came from Sally, Charlie and Nancy, and it all began with our morning ritual.

"Charlie would sit down at the classroom piano and call us to gather with an upbeat staccato tune “come to the brown rug, right now”. Once we were all together and had settled in, he would begin the soft melodic notes of “Morning Has Broken”. We would softly sing with him, welcome in the morning and begin our day. It was the most soothing, gentle way for this shy first grader to ease into all that lay ahead. I can play that memory over and over again in my head, and each time I am transported right back to that brown rug. A feeling of warmth and security and love comes over me. As I grew older, I came to realize that Cat Stevens sang a beautiful rendition of ‘Mr. Muir’s song’, but to this day, I still believe Charlie sang it better."

- Sam Jordan '88