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Important Upcoming Dates
Friday, December 20
: Last Day of Fall Semester
Monday, December 23 - Monday, January 6
: Winter Break -- No School
Monday, January 6
: Student Holiday/Full Staff PD
Tuesday, January 7
: Students Return for Spring Semester
Elementary Spelling Bee, Creek Campus, 9-11 a.m.
Monday, January 20
: MLK Day - Student/Staff Holiday
Sunday, January 26-Wednesday, January 29
: ISAS Visit
Thursday, January 30: IB Information Night, River Studio, 6:30-8 p.m.
Visit Headwaters.org/calendar for more details and see Athletic Schedules. Learn how to export your calendars by visiting this link to the User Tutorial.
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Contents
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By Ted Graf, Head of School
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One of the qualities I love about our school is that the sense of wonder and curiosity we so value in our classrooms stretches across all the different groups of the school. And one of the great joys in my role is that many of you suggest books, films, music, destinations, and podcasts. I have taken many of you up on your suggestions and the most recent one is an inspiring podcast called "Finding Fred," suggested to me by Creek Campus Manager Jote Khalsa.
Here's the link to the podcast
created by writer Carvell Wallace (you can learn more about Wallace
here
).
In the podcast, Wallace, a parent of a young child, is trying to understand why there is such an outpouring of curiosity and nostalgia for Fred Rogers in films, books, and other media. He is also trying to come to grips with how to raise his child in a climate where hate speech, xenophobia, outright derision, and disrespect are so prevalent.
As I look ahead to 2020, I do so with great hope but also with some trepidation. I'm hopeful because when I think about the school, we're healthy; we're open to learning about how we function, and we're eager to improve; we're excited to welcome 16 visitors from schools across the southwest in late January. But like Carvell Wallace, I must admit I hold some anxiety going into 2020--how will we respond if there is blatant hateful speech as part of the presidential primaries? How will we hold space and talk about it with our children, our students? What happens if one of our students or one of us carries some of the vitriol and name-calling onto our campuses? How do we continue to create a learning environment that is open to divergent opinions but not discriminatory ones?
In the recent movie about Mr. Rogers, "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood," he explains in the context of one of his episodes, "If it's mentionable, it's manageable." In the context of his program and millions of kids he reached, I took that to mean, if we can talk about it (i.e. divorce, death, assassination, war), then we can manage ourselves in the face of it.
By Alex Penry, Sr. Director for Advancement and Strategy
Did you see our save the date email with events for the spring semester? We're excited to offer so many different ways for our community members to connect with each other. In case you need a refresher, here are some of the events we're planning for the spring:
Wednesday, March 4-Friday, March 6:
Amplify Austin Events
Thursday, April 2 and Friday, April 3
: Greats and Grands Day
Saturday, May 2
: Spring Fling Dinner and Auction
You may be asking yourself, "Why does Headwaters spend valuable resources throwing events and parties?" It might make sense to just send emails and letters, and to make phone calls to ask for gifts to our Annual Fund. However, we feel that Advancement is so much more than fundraising. We also
friendraise
(and we love cheesy puns and word play). These events support not only the financial needs of the school, but also our Purpose, Promise, and PACT--we bring people together with common interests to build a community--a community that supports each other, explores common interests (axe throwing, anyone?) and invites not only community members, but also local business partners to be a part of the Headwaters magic.
Hopefully you see something that excites you in our upcoming events, and we hope to see you and your friends at at least one of them this spring.
During this first semester, the Board has been engaged deeply in supporting the school in its work on finances, facilities, and school identity. Prior to sharing the details of that work, we want to inform the community that Heather Vickers has decided to step back from some of her Board leadership duties. During Heather's three years of remarkable and transformative leadership, the school has continued its path toward financial stability; we have answered some key questions about the school's future with the purchase of the River properties; and Heather's work with Ted on equitable faculty compensation has made a huge difference in the lives of our outstanding faculty. As the Board conducts a process to identify its next Board Chair, Jerry Aubin, as defined in his duties as Vice Chair, will serve as Acting Chair for the remainder of the academic year.
Here are some of the Board highlights from first semester:
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The Board first met as a whole in late August. At this meeting, we voted on the final budget for the school year. Board expectations were shared, including participation in the Annual Fund. By the time the Board met in September, the Board was at 100% participation in giving.
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Our September meeting welcomed our auditors from PMB. They completed our audit about a month prior and reviewed the necessary items. The Board voted and approved the Fiscal Year 2019 Audit.
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At our third meeting held in October, we held a very successful off-campus retreat with the Board and senior leadership. This retreat involved lots of forward-thinking and strategic aspirations for the future of Headwaters School.
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The Board committees have been working hard between meetings and reporting at each full Board meeting.
We look forward to hosting
Greats and Grands
to our campuses this spring! Previously called Grandparents and Special Friends' Day, this year we are planning two days of events on our campuses to celebrate the extra-special people in your child's life! We invite these special folks to join us Thursday, April 2 for Primary and YCC and then on Friday, April 3 for Elementary and Middle/High school.
If you would like for us to mail an invitation to a grandparent or special friend, please enter contact information by submitting a Nest form by Friday, January 31, 2020. The form is available when you log in to the Nest. Having trouble finding or filling out the form,
click here for a how-to
.
Please resubmit any contact information, even if you submitted last year's Grandparents and Special Friends' Day address request. Also, this form will be visible for each child, it only needs to be submitted once for your entire family.
Check out the newest tee in the Headwaters Store! We are so excited to offer our first official PACT t-shirt! We will have a limited run of locally printed shirts available on the school Store under "In-House Merchandise" until they sell out. If your size sells out, the shirt is also available on our on-demand printing shop Squad Locker. Happy shopping!
Stay tuned to this section all year for upcoming events and opportunities to meet other parents. Here are some January opportunities to connect with other Headwaters parents:
Friday, January 10 | Crema Bakery | 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Please join us for our monthly Creek parent-connection coffee! We will be at Crema Bakery from 8:30 to 9:30 AM.
Wednesday, January 15 | Springs Campus | 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Springs and Creek Parents: Save the Date! We are so thrilled to be welcoming
Carrie Contey, PhD to our school in January for a parenting workshop. Carrie is an amazing parenting resource and she's excited to be visiting Headwaters. We will send an invitation in the coming weeks, but for now please save the date! The event will take place at the Springs Campus.
The theme of Carrie's talk is "Parenting Triggers: Name, Tame, Tend, & Transcend Your Reactions." She says it will be most useful for parents of young children from birth to age 9 or so, though all are welcome.
Monday, January 20 | Creek Campus | 3-5 p.m.
Join us the afternoon of Martin Luther King. Jr. Day for a family service event with our friends from Generation Serve! Participate in several group projects on the Creek Campus and then learn about more ways that families and teenagers can be of service in the Austin area. ALL Headwaters families and ages welcome. We will have three projects in which families can participate. This event is for all ages!
Saturday, January 25 | Hatchet Alley | 5-7:30 p.m.
Gather with the Friends of the Fund for food, drinks and a little professional coaching as you learn to throw an axe. Possibly with a beer in your hand. Proceeds from this event support Headwaters School, helping us to cultivate identity formation, foster empathy, and embrace diversity to bring more peace to the world.
We consider every Headwaters parent to be a member of our volunteer community, and we have many opportunities throughout the year to help the school in big and small ways. Please fill out the
Parent Volunteer Interest form
and we'll help connect you with ways to help this school year!
Tis the season of gift giving for many of us! Check out these community member owned businesses to make gift-giving a breeze for this season and beyond!
Check out these retail businesses
:
We welcome you to add your business to the
Headwaters Community Business Directory
.
We love to support others in our community and this is your chance to spread the word about your business. Students may also list their businesses (babysitting, pet-sitting, etc.) with parent permission.
And look out for featured Headwaters business categories in future editions of the Current. Submit or edit your business today!
- AmazonSmile - Just search for Headwaters School in the charity list.
- Randall's - Head to customer service to complete a Good Neighbor card. Headwater's ID is #12529
- Box Tops For Education - Just clip them and drop them at the front desk at any campus.
- Office Depot: School ID #70224992
Here is your monthly visual trivia!
Take a look and name where this spot appears--the answer will be in the next month's Current!
Last month's photo is from the tire tower on the Springs Campus (see right).
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