Dear SDS Learning Community,

It has been wonderful to get back into the swing of the school year. This week marked the true beginning of the work that makes up the SDS experience. The cast of Sleepy Hollow was announced and practices began, we had seven teams in action last night, the first assessments were given and the Blue Homework folders had something to keep at home last night. 

I am particularly excited to be teaching again - well, co-teaching with Assistant Upper School Head Amanda McGrath. We are co-teaching AP Human Geography which is a course about how the human experience is influenced by geography and how our surroundings shape how we evolve. It is a fascinating course that takes our conversations in all sorts of interesting directions. In a lot of ways, it helps to crystallize for us all - students and teachers - how learning is lived. I am experiencing (and loving!) engaged, excited learners who are empowered to explore their own interests and encouraged to dive deeply into new concepts and questions. This is, of course, the case in all of our classrooms throughout campus - whether it is the 2nd graders reading to the 2K students, our 4th grade Spanish students outside with Sra. Sosa, or our Algebra II students demonstrating agency in their own learning. When we share extraordinary experiences and encounter new people, places, and ideas together, we form a community of trust that prepares students to take risks, learn from missteps, and seize opportunities.

In a world that is changing by the hour, knowing our children will benefit in this kind of learning environment is affirming.It also requires some rest and relaxation every once in a while! So please enjoy this long weekend and we will get back to our deep dives on Tuesday. 

Go Griffins,