Good morning, Founders!
You are truly a spectacular sight. A beautiful assembly of strong and shining owls!
Last night, Mr. Meissner, Mr. Phillips, and Mr. Dick planted this young Live Oak tree, a mere sapling. How many of you know what a mature Live Oak looks like? They are beautiful tall trees, with thick trunks and branches that twist and bend to the ground. And those branches are so strong that they can hold dozens of children climbing and playing on them—as many of you did when we met last February at the Main City Park.
Today beneath the tender branches of this young oak, we will sink a time capsule filled with artifacts from this remarkable year. The capsule includes letters and narratives of the events that shaped our year, such as the pandemic and winter storm Uri. It also includes gifts from our partners and neighbors, such as the City of Live Oak, and the Mira Loma Apartments which share our street and fence, and our wonderful parent community. Honored guests, thank you for joining us today!
Students, decades from now, when this Live Oak is a strong and stately tree with branches sturdy enough to shelter a family of owls, some of you will return to this spot and help unearth this capsule. And when you do, you will recall the tale of a community that would not settle for anything less than the formation of a thriving academy.
On July 1st, almost a year ago, your teachers were scattered across the United States as they started planning remote instruction for students they had never met, in a building that was not complete, and with colleagues that they knew only through Zoom calls. It was hard work, but we were very determined. During our morning meetings, we started playing Simple Gifts as a reminder that we needed to focus on the most important things if we were to give you the school year you deserved. And the most important thing, the simplest thing, was our relationship with you—our students. You are why we are here.
We made our relationship with you our highest priority, and working together with your parents in trust, respect, and friendship, we completed a VERY full year of school. Despite starting remotely, we participated in the Scrips National Spelling Bee, our basketball team emerged as champions, and our soccer team proved their mettle game after game. Together we planted a garden, played chess, knitted, crafted, and took to the stage. Together we have learned to write in cursive, greet each other in Spanish and Latin, diagram complex sentences, compose skillful drawings in linear perspective, and sing in harmony. We have started the long journey of becoming mathematicians, scientists, authors, historians, and leaders. But more importantly, this community of owls has learned to inhabit the same nest as we strive individually and as a group for the excellence that will make us truly happy and free. And this is no small thing, because as human beings, we were created to live together in communities, because it is only through partnership with others that we are able to pursue the hard things, the worthy things, the truly excellent things.
And it is this that I hope you will remember, years from now when you return to this tree and dig up this old, moldy capsule, that in doing the simple thing—in placing others first—we also did the most important thing: Together we built an enduring community dedicated to nothing less than the passionate pursuit of what it means to be fully human and truly free. And perhaps you will be able to say to yourself, “In May of 2021, at Great Hearts Live Oak, I found myself in the place just right.”
Thank you, Owls! Thank you for an unforgettable year. Know that you are dearly loved, and that we can’t wait to greet you again in August!
