What is the legacy of the High Meadows experience?
At last night's annual Alumni Night, twelve panelists ranging from freshmen to mid-career professionals answered that question eloquently and passionately. Despite having diverse backgrounds and school careers, their answers shared clear, powerful themes.
- High Meadows graduates know themselves. They have a stronger sense of their preferences, strengths, and challenges than their peers.
- They were extraordinarily prepared academically (one even said he was "over-prepared"). They felt that the critical thinking and creative problem-solving skills they acquired at High Meadows were transformational for them.
- Graduates know how to build and sustain strong relationships with teachers, professors, peers, and colleagues. They have the empathy and communication skills to endear themselves to others and to navigate human complexities.
- They all agree that they have become fearless self-advocates. While most students leave class hurriedly when the bell rings, the High Meadows graduate approaches her teachers to gain a deeper understanding of concepts and to ask how she can continue to grow as a student.
- High Meadows graduates look for opportunities to get involved, whether it's joining the cross country team or leading a group of friends to teach a music appreciation class.
- Our alums credit our school with launching them into happy, confident lives. For that, they feel a deep and abiding gratitude and connection to to High Meadows.
Not surprisingly,
these themes are at the core of a great 21st century education--one that equips students with the competencies to be successful in today's uncertain and fast-changing world. We are honored to have played a critical role in guiding hundreds of alumni to be fearless, passionate, and compassionate world-changers.
Take care,
Jay Underwood
Head of School
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Don't miss these great opportunities to join us at High Meadows!
Admissions: Open House
Sunday, January 24 2:00-4:00 pm
Community Center
Do you have friends who would like to know more about High Meadows School? Invite them to our Open House for an introduction to High Meadows presented by our administration, faculty, parents and student ambassadors. To register, click below, or on the school website, www.highmeadows.org, under the Admissions tab.
Admissions: Preschool Preview
Thursday, February 4 10:00-11:00 am
Followed by a campus tour from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm
Preschool Building
This event allows parents to spend time exploring our preschool classrooms, and to observe preschoolers in action! Stop by for a quick visit, or stay for a full campus tour.
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Slippery Snakes Writers Workshop
By Kindergarten Teachers Rebecca Drage and Jessica Mayotte
The Drage/Mayotte Slippery Snakes Kindergarten class recently began a new unit in Writers Workshop: an author study focusing on one of our favorite authors, Mo Willems. We are exploring his books and learning about the different techniques he uses that make his books so engaging and interesting to read. For instance, we have looked at speech bubbles, dialogue using quotation marks, and thinking bubbles. We have already read a variety of Mo Willems' books, including the Piggy and Gerald series, Knufflebunny and Don't Let the Pigeon... books. After exploring Willems' techniques, we will try some of them out in our own stories! At the end of our author study, the entire Kindergarten will be going on a field trip to the Cobb Energy Center to see Elephant and Piggie's We Are in a Play!
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| Students in the Slippery Snakes class enjoy their author study of Mo Willems. |
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#AwesomeTedTalks!
By 4/5 Teachers Trinidad Murray and Rebecca Poyatt
In December, the #Awesomeness class took on TED Talks as part of our communication unit of inquiry. We challenged ourselves to find an issue worth talking about and write a speech in the TED Talk fashion (with a headset and everything!). We spent two weeks researching everything from the mistreatment of animals to the true statistics of internet bullying. We watched other inspirational TED Talks from kids like us and even a few "very bad" speeches to learn the most effective ways of communicating our message. In the end, we spoke about taking a stand and challenged not only our audience, but truly, ourselves to stand up and do something to help support these issues of social justice that are near and dear. We did a #awesome job presenting our speeches in the barn theater to all of our classmates and family members with the idea of #MakeADifference!
Excerpt from speech on bullying:
To try and help it I want to join an anti-bullying program and help. I think that will reduce it and change bullying. And want to know another reason why I was bullied? I was bullied because not only my looks, but because of who I am. I was so mad that I was becoming a bully myself, and I thought getting revenge was a GOOD idea, but it wasn't. Now I know that there are programs for bullying, I hope that they keep going and make a difference and maybe YOU can join and make a difference out of bullying.
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Becoming the Ally I Thought I Already Was
By Theatre Arts Teacher Shannon Lindsay
"Lean in to the uncomfortable." That was the message I heard at the opening session of the National Association of Independent Schools People of Color Conference (PoCC) and Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) that I was fortunate enough to attend this past December. I had no idea how hard that would be or how much I would learn.
I spent my first morning in workshops and headed to my "Affinity Group" in the afternoon. Sixteen different groups were listed, but only one that I identified with: "White European heritage, European American Women." After our facilitator welcomed us, she reminded all of us that we were guests at the conference. It was not for us. Wait...what? We should not speak up too often in our workshops and instead allow the people of color to be the first to speak. If we were feeling upset, the Affinity Group room was the place for us to share those emotions, not the workshops: "They don't want to see your White Tears!"
I was stunned. I was furious. How dare they tell me that I was not allowed to be myself! How dare they tell me that my opinions are not among the ones that should be heard! How dare they suggest that my tears are any less than a well-intentioned and sincere regret for the pain that people have to feel at the hands of the ignorant or thoughtless! We were asked to break into small groups and discuss times that we had said or done something racist. Excuse me? I am NOT a racist! When a member of our group stood on a chair to snap a photo, she said, "There I go with my White Privilege thinking I could just stand on a chair!" Are you kidding? It may not have been the most polite thing to do, but "White Privilege"?! Give me a break!
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High Meadows Hoops
By Middle Years Teacher & Head Basketball Coach Andy Stephens
The High Meadows hoops team showed that basketball is about more than listening to tasty Space Jam soundtracks and looking good in Jordans. It's about posting up, kissing glass, posterizing, and all day splash fests. From October through February, we can now refer to the Community Center as the Highlight Factory.
Captains Noah Finley and Pedro Vargas-Prada led the team to a 4-2 season in the program's second year. We will be closing out the season with a Green vs. White scrimmage Thursday, January 21, at 4:00 pm in the Community Center. Spectators are welcome. Coaches are currently scouting elementary talent and looking forward to another awesome season next year!
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Great Gatsby Gala
April 30, 2016
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Auction Items Needed
In order to make the Great Gatsby Gala a "Great" success, we rely on donations from the community to auction off during the event!
We need your help procuring donations. Below are a few documents that you can print and bring with as you approach business owners with a request for an auction item. Remember, all donations are tax deductible.
Please contact Development Coordinator
Angela Lockard with any questions.
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Spring 2016
After-school Enrichment Registration
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Please click the link above for program descriptions and the registration form.
Classes begin soon, but we still have space in most courses (the Equestrian class is full). To register, please complete the last page of this document and return, with payment, to Chad Brinker
in the camp office.
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Apply Now for the 2016-17 School Year
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Planning to submit an admission application for the 2016-17 school year? Now is the time to get started! To apply,
CLICK HERE
and follow the directions to set up your application account.
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2016 Camp Registration
Now Open
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Registration for summer camp is underway. Spots are filling quickly so register soon! Visit
www.highmeadowscamp.org for programming and registration details.
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Martin Luther
King, Jr. Holiday
No School
Monday, Jan. 18
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Sixth-Grade Trip Parent Meeting
Tuesday, Jan. 19
6:00-7:00 pm
Middle Years Commons
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Green vs. White Basketball Scrimmage
Thursday, Jan. 21
4:00 pm
Community Center
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Open House (Admissions)
Sunday, Jan. 24
2:00-4:00 pm
Community Center
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Rising Sixth-Grade Parent Meeting
Tuesday, Jan. 26
8:45-9:45 am
Middle Years Commons
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Multiage Classroom Conversation with Margaret Jones
Thursday, Jan. 28
6:00-7:30 pm
Early Years Commons
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SHARE Meeting
Monday, Feb. 1
8:45-9:45 am
Library
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Sixth-Grade Trip to Jekyll Island
Monday, Feb. 1 - Friday, Feb. 5
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Preschool Preview
Thursday, Feb. 4
10:00-11:00 am
Optional Campus Tour
11:00 am-12:00 pm
Preschool Classrooms
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HMS will be starting a food co-op with Fresh Harvest starting tomorrow! They are offering 50% off the first produce basket ordered to people that sign up before 2 pm on Friday, January 15th.
- Choose a weekly or every-other weekly delivery. Delivery day is Thursday, no later than 12:00 pm.
- Every basket is customizable within your on-line account at no additional charge.
- If 15 or more people sign up, everyone receives a 10% discount.
- Choose High Meadows School as your pickup location.
- Skip deliveries anytime, cancel anytime, no delivery fees.
- Perishable items are boxed with ice packs so no additional refrigeration is required.
- Learn more and sign up at freshharvestga.com or watch this video for extra information.
- Pick up/drop off food containers in the Community Center.
- If food is not picked up by Friday at 12:00 pm, it will be offered to teachers for cooking activities or donated to the local food bank.
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The High Meadows Class of 2011--who graduated from their high schools in Spring 2015--included 2 high school valedictorians and 2 salutatorians. They are now attending Stanford, Tulane, Rice, and UGA.
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Ever wonder how our children would be impacted if we removed all violent imagery from our verbal metaphors?
CLICK HERE to read Jay's latest blog post, "The Vocabulary of Violence."
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