September/October 2022 Edition |
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Thursday, October 20-Friday October 21: Conferences (No School)
Friday, October 28:
Monday, October 31:
Wednesday, November 9: Early Dismissal
Saturday, November 12, 2022
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Ted Talks: Becoming Good Ancestors |
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By Ted Graf, Head of School
In many ways, the story of our school is simple, inspiring, and elegant–two different groups of teachers gathered separately to start two different schools committed to peace–one (The Khabele School) served grades 6-12 and the other (Primavera Montessori) served children ages 2-5. In 2016 we took a big step to bring our community together by renaming the school and asking all community members to think of the students as our community’s headwaters and to care for them in such a way that each can follow their own course.
During that time, our school developed much the way start-ups do–by iterating, stretching, failing, growing, contracting, and doing it all over again. This evolution would not have taken place if it weren’t for the moxie, generosity, commitment, pragmatism, and vision of its guides, staff, students, trustees, and parents.
In addition to this list of remarkable attributes, it’s time to add two new attributes: deep stewardship and long-term thinking. Last year, the Board of Trustees, senior leaders, and I spent some time thinking about how our school can prepare for our next era. It’s now time for all of us to think long term and imagine how we might steward Headwaters into the future.
Later in October (click here for dates, times, and locations), I’ll be reviving Tacos with Ted for parents, so I can share our ideas, hear your questions and suggestions, and show you our major initiatives for the year. These sessions will be conversational and designed to familiarize you with our thinking and to build habits that will help us all imagine how Headwaters might prepare itself for the future.
Read more about these strategic priorities and get the dates for Tacos with Ted at this link.
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Student Spotlights: Spring 2022 |
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USA Softball All-American Caitlin Patterson
Caitlin Patterson '27 had a big summer and was chosen to represent Texas at this year's USA Softball All-American games. "Designation to a USA Softball All-American team is the highest honor a player can receive and instantly brands the player as one of the top athletes in the United States. Only 360 girls Nationwide will have the opportunity to wear the USA Softball Jersey at this elite event."
Caitlin has been playing softball since kindergarten, a sport that has provided fun and many life-long friends. We're so proud of her hard work and can't wait to see what's next for her.
Your Headwaters community is always cheering you on, Caitlin! Congrats again!
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National Merit Semifinalist Zoya Dhedhi ‘23
Our heartfelt congratulations on Zoya Dhedhi (‘23) for being named a National Merit Semifinalist (scroll to page 4)! For those who are unaware, to be considered, students must take the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in their junior year. The highest-scoring students in each state are named semifinalists, and the number from each state is proportional to the state’s percentage of all graduating students nationwide. Well done, Zoya!
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Founding Day Fling Is This Weekend! |
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Thank you to everyone who purchased their tickets for the Founding Day Fling! We can’t wait to see you tomorrow evening at The Eleanor from 7-10 p.m.! We still have some last-minute tickets available if you would like to join us! Even if you can’t attend, you can still buy a raffle ticket for a chance to win a summer get-away to Park City.
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Staff Spotlight: Shuja Uddin |
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Meet Shuja Uddin, our Middle and High School Film Guide! Shuja joined Headwaters in August 2021 and has been working hard with our film students on the River Campus. Born and raised in Karachi, Pakistan, Shuja is a screenwriter, filmmaker, and stand up comedian who graduated from Boston University with an MFA in Screenwriting. Shuja has previously worked for the Austin Film Society and Indie Meme Film Festival. His writings have been published in the Times of India, The Wire, and The Express Tribune. We’re so fortunate to have Shuja on our teaching team!
Last winter break, Shuja visited his home town Karachi, Pakistan as part of The University of Texas at Austin South Asia Institute’s official ambassador to the University of Karachi Department of Visual Studies (KU DOVS), in conjunction with the United States Consulate Karachi. The purpose of the trip was to develop capacity-building sessions with the faculty and students at KU DOVS through UT Austin South Asia Institute’s (UT SAI) exchange program.
Click here to learn more about Shuja’s trip and about Shuja himself!
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Living Out Our Purpose, Promise, and PACT |
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Our school's foundation is grounded in the concept of personal agency and active peacemaking, and we work to provide educational experiences for our students to help them grow as individuals in order to actively bring more peace to the world. We have formed an advisory group composed of faculty, administrators, and parents from all three campuses to help us move forward in our work on diversity, equity, inclusivity, and belonging.
The Headwaters School Equity & Inclusion Advisory Group will work to ensure that all of our community members (of all races, ethnicities, religions, ages, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities) feel a sense of belonging and purpose, and can recognize and cultivate their personal agency in pursuit of a more just and equitable society. Amy Nylund and Leslie Hirsch are co-leading the group in partnership with Nichole Franks, our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) consultant this year.
The group will meet several times each semester, and will focus their work this year on the areas of Admissions & Outreach, Faculty/Staff Recruitment & Retention, and Parent/Community Education. These areas align and connect with each part of our Strategic Priority work, which aims to have DEI progress woven into each initiative (Community & Culture, Talent & People, Programs, Operations, and Finance & Development).
We will report to the community in the spring on our progress, as well as when there are opportunities for engagement and education.
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Check out this section for a featured term that we use at Headwaters and its definition.
Pitso noun
Peet-so
Definition of Pitso
Pitso is a Sesotho word meaning “meeting of the people.” At our River Campus, Pitsos are held weekly, and all students attend. Performance Pitsos, during which students and staff members share their talents with the group, are some of the most memorable events of the year. We hold Parent Pitso gatherings across all campuses–parent education nights, meetings with the head of school, and more.
Learn more Headwaters terms in our A-Z Glossary at this link.
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Here is the latest visual trivia to familiarize you with new spots or share memorable places on our three campuses. Take a look and name where this spot appears—the answer will be in the next Current!
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Last time, we shared a photo from the Springs Primary Playground’s new play car.
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Shop at any of the places below and the companies will donate a portion of the sale to Headwaters! Need more details, click here.
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Just search for Headwaters School in the charity list.
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Randall's
Head to customer service to complete a Good Neighbor card. Headwater's ID is #12529
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Before you checkout, be sure to click "Support a Fundraiser" and search Headwaters School.
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Office Depot
Mention the Back to Schools program and our ID# 70204864.
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No need to clip! Use the app to scan your receipt.
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Search and support by using Microsoft's Bing search engine.
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Headwaters Business Directory |
We also recommend checking out the Headwaters School Community Business Directory to shop within our community. See businesses organized by category and even add your own! Click here to visit the directory.
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