I know you will join Donna, Colleen, and me in prayer as we launch this newest “year” of Ministry Connections. May the stories therein offer hope and encouragement, knowing that along with the tender reality of world crises, amazingly wonder-filled activity is happening around the country because of the Society’s vision, financial support, and your prayers. Once again, we are pleased to send this newest edition of Ministry Connections. As always, if you have suggestions to make these newsletters more relevant, please do not hesitate to let us know. For now, enjoy some good news from our partners in ministry. Blessings, Cynthia, shcj

Last school year, the Washington School for Girls (WSG) revived its partnership with the Young Playwrights Theatre (YPT), an arts organization that inspires young people to realize the power of their voices through playwriting and theater workshops.

YPT worked with our middle school students in their Reading/Language Arts classes to develop original plays throughout the year. Students conceptualized, outlined, and wrote scenes individually to develop their writing skills for the stage. Once students were familiar with the process, they collaborated to write a full one-act play with their classmates. At the end of the year, students performed a staged read-through of each play for the school community. 

The 6th-grade play, “The Mysteries of the Park,” follows a group of friends whose friend goes missing at an amusement park and explores the themes of friendship and how to treat each other with kindness and respect.

The 7th-grade play “A Zombie Saga” described a zombie outbreak at WSG initiated by a contaminated school lunch. The characters had to work together to save their classmates and turn them back into humans using a special formula they concocted in the science lab. Lastly, the 8th-grade play “Once Upon a Girls Trip” featured a vacation gone wrong due to interpersonal conflicts in the group.

Students learned how to develop dramatic tension, show characters’ motivations through dialogue and on-stage action, and incorporate core themes throughout their plays. YPT will offer a weekly club for students interested in continuing playwriting this year.

On September 4th, Hope Partnership School welcomed students and staff back for the first day of the 2024-25 Academic Year! Spirits were high, and the excitement of reuniting with friends and teachers after a long summer was contagious. Our students started their morning with breakfast from our new school food partner, Cousins Mike School Lunch, before moving to our first community meeting.

During the morning community meeting, Mr. Taylor Harris, Head of School, set the tone with an engaging and motivating presentation. Mr. Harris is encouraging students to enter Hope with a Growth Mindset this year. One student, Mayanna, explains to her peers that a growth mindset is "when you can learn and grow from your mistakes by changing your actions and the way you think." Students participated in icebreaker activities, shared summer highlights, and welcomed our five new 5th graders to the Hope family.

As we usher in this new academic year, Hope Partnership School is prioritizing student-led activities to ensure that our students’ voices are at the forefront of our vision. Hope encourages students to share their opinions and perspectives openly. Mr. Harris also shared that each month will follow a theme that aids in the socio-emotional development of our students while also creating a joy-filled environment for our Hope community. Student engagement takes form through weekly student broadcasts, a Rabbit Care Group for our school bunny, Hopper, and an Honors Luncheon for students that exceed Hope's values and goals. Here’s to another great and memorable academic year!