A Letter from the Lower School Headmaster
Dear Lower School Families,

We have some important announcements for you as we move into the first week of May:

  • Kindergarten Preview Night has been postponed until late July/early August.
  • Academic Notices have been emailed to the parents of any student performing below grade level.
  • 5th Grade House Sorting will take place the week of May 25th! (More details are forthcoming.)
Teacher Appreciation Week

Our wonderful PSO is excited to recognize our teachers during Teacher Appreciation Week, which will be celebrated May 18th through 22nd. PSO has arranged to send each teacher an Amazon Gift Card as a token of our community's gratitude for the incredible work they have done all year, and especially in light of these challenging times.

We would also like to encourage you to send your child’s teachers a special note, email, picture, or video message that week as well. Simple gestures such as these will touch the hearts of our teachers and make them feel loved and appreciated.
Re-enrollment

Re-enrollment has resumed in a new, fully-online process and will continue through May 31st. If you did not return your re-enrollment packet either in person or digitally prior to May 4th, you will need to complete the re-enrollment process by e-signing the packet online. Click here for more details, and feel free to email Erik.Jones@GreatHeartsIrving.org if you have any further questions.
Update on Great Hearts Summer Programs

In order to ensure the continued safety of our students and teachers, Great Hearts Summer Camp, Kinder Readiness, and Summer School programs will not be running this June. This is a difficult decision because of the impact it has on our families. However, we do not feel that we can run a safe and fun program for our scholars while practicing social distancing. We will provide full refunds to any families who have already registered for a summer program. Those refunds will begin being processed on Monday, May 13th. If you have any questions specifically related to refunds, please reach out to Verona Labrador at Programs@GreatHeartsTX.org.

Preparation for Fall 2020 Athenaeum is underway and we look forward to having an exciting year with our scholars. Registration for 2020-21 begins May 12th for Athenaeum and Homework Club.

Free Virtual Athenaeum YouTube videos will continue to be available to all families. Click here to access.

From the Athenaeum team: We really miss our students and families, and we hope that you are all staying safe and healthy!
New Artwork for Our Halls!
We are so pleased to announce that our new art has arrived and now decks the halls throughout our school with beauty and grandeur. All those who visit the campus are filled with joy to walk the halls and gaze upon their beauty. We look forward with hope to the day when our students will be able to experience that joy as well.

Each grade level's hallway features artwork that has been carefully selected to match the curriculum the students learn about in that grade:

  • When walking down the Kindergarten wing, we can view The Country School by Winslow Homer as an example of the "sweetness and light" that Charlotte Mason said we should provide our youngest students.
  • The First Grade wing displays Noah’s Ark by Jacopo Bassano and shows how we might live together harmoniously in nature.
  • The Second Grade wing has the painting The Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull, representing the principles for which the Revolutionary War was fought and which remain fundamental to this nation.
  • The Third Grade wing has Horatius Cocles Defending the Bridge by Charles Le Brun, depicting a defining moment in Roman History in which an impossibly-strong enemy is faced and vanquished through courage and cleverness.
  • In the Fourth Grade hallway there is a painting of Dawn at the Alamo by Henry Arthur McArdle, commemorating the origins of this Great State.
  • And in the Fifth Grade wing we find Delivery of the Keys by Pietro Perugino, one of the most important paintings of the Renaissance and an example of the new principles of visual artistry developed in that period.

Plutarch said, “Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is a painting that speaks.” These are just a few of the many examples in which our new artwork illustrates and reinforces the curriculum of which we are so proud and will, when we are able to return to school, bring that curriculum to life for our students as part of their day-to-day experience. Click here for fuller descriptions of a few more pieces, authored by our own Ms. Fox.

We had hoped to have an opportunity to share that experience with our parents and showcase these amazing pieces with a Gallery Night this spring. We would still like to host this event as soon as the present crisis will allow us to do so safely, and we will be sure to communicate any details as soon as we know them.

Stay safe, and be well.
Marcy Finn
Headmaster, Lower School
Great Hearts Irving