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Monday 6/28 - Monday, July 5: School Offices Closed
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Thursday, July 15: Virtual Meet & Greet with Elementary Director Paige Whitney, Zoom, 12-12:45 p.m.
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Tuesday, July 20: Virtual Meet & Greet with Elementary Director Paige Whitney, Zoom, 6-6:45 p.m
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Saturday, August 14: Headwaters 101 for New River Families, 10:30 a.m. - 12 p.m.
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Tuesday, August 17: Upper Elementary (4th/5th Grade) Parent Orientation, 6-7:30 p.m.
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Wednesday, August 18: Early Elementary (2nd/3rd Grade) Parent Orientation, 6-7:30 p.m.
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Thursday, August 19: Middle & High School New Student Orientation, 9:00-11:30 a.m.
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Friday, August 20: K-1 Parent Orientation, 6-7:30 p.m.
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Saturday, August 21:
- Headwaters 101 for New Springs Families, 9-10:30 a.m.
- Headwaters 101 for New Creek Families, 1-2:30 p.m
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Tuesday, August 24:
- River and Creek Campuses First Day of School
- Springs Phase-In Schedule Begins
- Springs Class Orientations, evening
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Thursday, August 26: River Campus Back to School Night, 6:30-8 p.m.
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Monday, September 6: Labor Day (Student & Staff Holiday)
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Ted Talks: Rejoice All Ye Who Pass Through These Gates |
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By Ted Graf, Head of School
After a year of separation and isolation due to COVID, it was delightful to gather for an array of celebrations and to honor our students from every level in many different ways. As an extrovert, I was thrilled to see so many people again and to reconnect. And for those of us who tend to be more introverted, I know it was a lot. It will be important to remember those differences when we come back together in August. Whether it was Gates of Life Car Parades on Creek and Springs, 5th Grade in-person Gates of Life ceremonies, 8th Grade Graduation, and High School Commencement, we celebrated each special event with the Gates of Life; a ritual invented when we were still Primavera Montessori. So whether it was your first, last, or one of many end-of-year celebrations with us, we thank each and every one of you for rejoicing with us.
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Student Spotlights: Class of 2021 Valedictorian & Salutatorian |
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Congratulations to our Class of 2021 Co-Valedictorians Julia Quilici and Ananya Salem and our Co-Salutatorians Isabella Prescott and Donovan Taggart. In an extra-special Commencement evening on Friday, May 29, 2021, the Class of 2021 and their families were celebrated. Part of this ceremony included Director of Studies Paul Cronin announcing our Valedictorian and Salutatorian, and this year both honors were awarded to co-winners. Our Co-Valedictorians spoke to the crowd about why they picked Headwaters.
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Dear Headwaters Parents, Faculty, Staff, Students, and Friends --
As we close the 2020-2021 year and look forward to the start of a new school year, the Board of Trustees thanks each and every student, parent, guide, and staff member in our community for their ongoing support of Headwaters School. We are looking forward to our 20th anniversary this fall as a time to reflect on our growth, accomplishments, and successes over the past two decades. I hope you will join us in these celebrations this year.
Throughout the challenges of the past school year, the Board continued their active oversight of all aspects of governance at Headwaters through monthly meetings and committee work, which included the Executive Committee, Finance Committee, Facilities Committee, and the Committee on Trustees. As the school continued to adapt and respond to the pandemic, the Board served as advisors with an eye on the present and the future of the school. Please join us in also thanking the community volunteers on our Health Advisory Group (Erin Moffitt, Laurie Seremetis, Vy Ngo, and Sarah Mayes). They provided invaluable counsel and support to the school throughout this unprecedented year.
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Each summer, our faculty and staff are invited to read from a selection of books. We do this to build community and in August, when we gather, we’ll separate into book groups to explore these texts and how they connect to our work. Last year, we invited the parent community to join us. Our 2021 Summer Reading choices are listed below. Community members are welcome to read one (or all) of these books. If you’d like, we even set up a special digital storefront with local, independent bookseller Black Pearl Books' online bookshop for you to purchase these titles at this link.
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The Sword and the Shield: The Revolutionary Lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr., by Dr. Peniel E. Joseph. Dr. Joseph was our keynote speaker on Civil Rights Day on the River Campus back in January. To most Americans, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. represent contrasting ideals: self-defense vs. nonviolence, black power vs. civil rights, the sword vs. the shield. The struggle for black freedom is wrought with the same contrasts. Dr. Joseph’s book is a dual biography in which he details how the two men’s lives intersected and how they influenced each other’s work.
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Permission to Feel by Marc Brackett, Ph.D. combines rigor, science, passion, and inspiration in equal parts to lay out a case for understanding and mastering our emotions. If you like this book, check out his app called Mood Meter that helps us acquire a granular understanding of our own emotions. For those who might be interested, the book describes a school-based program that helps children self-regulate.
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Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng. You may be familiar with this novel from the award-winning series on Hulu. If you were moved by the series, please consider reading this novel, set in the Cleveland area. It touches on themes of race, class, privilege, and access. It’s a page turner.
If you are interested in continuing the conversation with other parents on one or more of these books, please fill out this form and we will organize it if we have interest. Don't forget to tag #HWreads if you post on social media!
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Guide Spotlight: Doug Matus |
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Doug Matus rejoined us in the fall of 2021 as a High School English Guide. We say rejoined because Doug was with the school from 2005-2009 teaching humanities and eventually serving as the Director of Curriculum.
Doug splits his time between Austin and Marfa and continues his writing career as he teaches. Holding a BA in English from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MFA in Creative Writing from CalArts in Los Angeles, is thrilled to have returned to the classroom. When thinking about teaching at Headwaters in the early days, he “reveled in the freedom afforded the staff to create original curriculum, and led classes on everything from Dante's Inferno, to Mexican literature, the Beats, Civil Rights literature, Dostoevsky, western philosophy, Bob Dylan, and much more.”
After leaving to pursue his MFA in Los Angeles, he traveled and worked as a freelance writer. For eleven years Doug’s professional writing career developed with magazine work, web development, web journalism, and online curriculum. He also was able to focus on novels and non-fiction work on a range of topics.
But he said how much he still loved teaching, and knew he’d be back. “The opportunity to impact the lives of others is a rare gift,” Doug wrote. So, he came back to the classroom to, in his words, “shar[e] [his] love of language and literature with a whole new generation of students.” We are so glad you are back, Doug!
What Brought You Back to Headwaters:
"Headwaters allows for a rare level of intellectual freedom. In addition to granting teachers the flexibility to craft original curriculum, this encourages an inspiring level of curiosity among the student community. I wouldn't teach anywhere else."
Fun Facts About Doug:
- I've seen every single episode of the X-Files (every. single. one.) and watched Twin Peaks in its entirety five times.
- I've recorded close to 200 original songs.
- My dog once saved me from a pack of wild hogs.
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Support Headwaters and Austin FC this Season! |
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Headwaters is raising money for the school by running concessions at Austin FC home games this inaugural season! Each game, Headwaters receives 10% of our sales in donations. Over the course of the season, this will be over $20,000 to support the Annual Fund!
Keep Austin Verde!
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In celebration of our 20th year in 2021-2022, we are putting together a Headwaters School Community Cookbook! We want any and all recipes that are special to your families. We'll have sections for starters/appetizers, main dishes, side dishes, soups, salads, and desserts. Use this form to submit your recipe along with a photo of you and/or the finished dish. Reach out to Amy Nylund with any questions at a.nylund@headwaters.org.
We'll send more information in the coming months about how to order a cookbook. In the meantime, happy cooking and bon appétit!
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Our Parent Volunteer Community (PVC) is made up of all Headwaters parents! We want every parent to find a way to contribute to the school in a way that feels meaningful to you. We rely on your support to realize our school's purpose and promise while keeping costs down, and we really appreciate your participation. Volunteering is a great way to meet other parents, learn more about the school, and contribute to our community’s success. Fill out this form to indicate what areas you might be interested in volunteering to support during the coming school year. If you have any questions, please reach out to Amy Nylund at a.nylund@headwaters.org.
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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 Current's photo featured Caleb playing guitar in the Yurt on the Creek Campus
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Who doesn't love giving a little something extra while checking things off your to-do list?
We recommend checking out the Headwaters School Community Business Directory to shop with the community. See businesses organized by category and even add your own! Click here to visit the directory.
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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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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