Welcome Back, Poly!

Today marks a new era in Poly’s history as our community welcomes its first woman and person of color to serve as Head of School, Dr. Noni Thomas López. Below is an uplifting letter from Dr. Thomas López to the Poly community following her first First Day of School address. Setting the tone for the 2025-26 school year, she prompted students to “presume you are welcome” at Poly, and to extend that welcome to others.

Dear Poly Community, 

Today, the 171st school year at Poly Prep began with the joy and anticipation that only a first day of school can bring. Each new year is a journey unto itself, offering its own discoveries, challenges, and opportunities for growth. This morning, we took the first step in a new journey together. We welcomed new students and professional community members who will go on to enrich our school with their talents, perspectives, and passions. After what I hope were summers of rest and renewal for all, we begin this year united in our shared work to inspire and guide our students on their journeys toward leadership and global citizenship. 

In my opening remarks (excerpts of the speech are included below) on the Dyker Heights campus this morning, I shared a phrase that I hope students will carry with them throughout their time at Poly: Presume you are welcome.

Belonging is something that should be extended as a routine way of being in a community. And when you presume you are welcome, you give yourself permission to show up fully, to be yourself, and to lean into the life of this incredible community. But there’s something else, too—when you presume you are welcome, you also take on the responsibility of making sure others feel welcome as well.

Imagine if “you’re welcome” is not just something we say after we hold open a door or do someone a favor, but it’s something that describes a way of life here at Poly. When we live as if everyone here can hear, “you’re welcome,” we create a community where gratitude flows in both directions. You feel grateful to be part of this place, and this place is grateful for you.

So when I say, “Presume you are welcome, I don’t just mean that you should assume you belong. I mean that this whole community is saying to you, every single day: “You are welcome here. Your presence makes us stronger. Your gifts make us richer. You matter here.”

In the time I have spent getting to know Poly, I have learned that Poly is not just a school where you come to take classes. It’s a community knit together by our diversity, our energy, our ideas, our traditions, and our care for one another. And in a community, we depend on one another. Your curiosity helps someone else learn. Your courage to try out for the play, or the debate team, or the soccer team gives someone else courage. Your kindness in the hallway may be the moment that changes someone’s whole day. 

It’s understandable to think and worry about only ourselves—my grades, my friends, my success. But when we remember our interdependence (think of any time you were a part of a team), we discover that we are stronger together.

Let’s make this a year where no one has to wonder if they belong, because our actions answer the question for them: Yes. You do. We are Poly. All of us. And Poly cannot be the best version of Poly unless everyone feels that they matter and they belong.