News Detail
A Letter from Randal Rhodus
Dear Lower School Parents,
We are so excited to have you and your daughters return to school, and for our new families to join our Lower School community. School does not feel the same without our students in our classrooms, hallways, and playgrounds. I have missed hearing the giggles, giving and receiving hugs, and opening carpool doors in the morning – truly the best way to start a day! Before school begins next week, I want to make sure you are aware of some new events and programs for the upcoming school year.
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In July, we welcomed Dr. Karen Coleman as Hockaday’s 13th Head of School. Dr. Coleman has already spent a lot of time visiting Lower School classes this past spring, and she is looking forward to getting to know you and your daughters. This fall, we will officially celebrate Dr. Coleman during her installation on Sunday, October 15 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm. All 1-12 Grade students will be participating in this installation, and all parents are encouraged to attend. We also hope that our prekindergarten, kindergarten, and primer students join us for this special event with their parents in the audience. More information about the installation will be shared with you when school begins, but in the meantime, please add this important event to your calendars!
This fall, we are thrilled to launch our mindfulness program for all Lower School students. For the last two years, our Lower School counselor, Susie Hawthorne, has been teaching the girls in every homeroom techniques and tools to strengthen their social and emotional skills and improve their ability to self-regulate their emotions and manage their worries and anxiety. We are excited to introduce a formal mindfulness program this year that will impact every classroom in Lower School so that students will come to their classes feeling calm and ready to learn. This past spring, every Lower School faculty member participated in four mindfulness sessions and will continue with this professional development into the upcoming school year. To learn more about our new mindfulness program, please join us for our Parent Education Program, Mindfulness and Social Emotional Learning at Hockaday, on Thursday, September 14 from 8:00 – 9:30 am. During this session, Daniel Sunshine, director of Dallas Yoga Center’s Mindfulness for Schools Initiative, and other mindfulness and SEL experts will share information about what mindfulness and social and emotional learning are and their proven benefits in a school setting. You will also learn the details of the Lower School program and will be introduced to mindfulness tools including mindful breathing and listening. We hope you will join us for this parent program.
In addition to our mindfulness initiative, we will be introducing a new math program, Math Expressions, in every Lower School math classroom. Math Expressions is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and trainers from the program have been working with our entire Lower School math faculty this week to implement this program into each grade-level’s math curriculum. Our Lower School teachers are very excited about this new program! You will receive more information about Math Expressions during the upcoming weeks and during Parents’ Night.
We look forward to seeing you on Monday, August 21 for Lower School Drop-In from 10:00 – 11:30 am and for New Family Conferences. If you have any questions between now and the beginning of school, please do not hesitate to call or email me. We hope the beginning of school is a smooth transition for both you and your daughter.
Sincerely,
Randal Rhodus
The Hockaday School
Within the private school community, The Hockaday School is an independent college-preparatory day school for girls from grades PK–12 located in Dallas, Texas. Students realize their limitless potential through challenging academic curricula, arts, athletics, and extracurricular programs so that they are inspired to lead lives of purpose and impact.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.
The Hockaday School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, sexual orientation, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational, admissions, financial aid, athletic, and other policies and programs.