The Scoop Winter 2023 Edition

IN THIS ISSUE

03 Grands Day 04

Middle School Grand Opening

06

Top Chef Competitor

Luke Kolpin

07 Set Sail!

In my winter letter last year, I wrote about the status of the construction of our new middle school. Seattle was in the midst of a months-long cement driver strike and our project, like all others, was impacted. It was equal parts frustrating knowing this was causing a delay mixed with compassion for the drivers who were seeking a balanced contract.

MISSION To ignite the academic and creative potential of students with dyslexia and other languagebased learning differences.

VISION The world class educational program at HRS is a catalyst for students to discover the joy of learning within a rich, comprehensive school experience.

CORE VALUES

Respect, Responsibility, Purpose, Perseverance

The Scoop is a publication of the HRS Advancement Office and is mailed quarterly.

All that drama seems like such a long time ago now, as our faculty, staff, students, and community are exploring, learning, enjoying, and teaching in this new space every day since the end of November. On Thursday, December 1, we invited our community to join us for the grand opening celebration. Guests were given the opportunity to take self-guided tours of the space to experience it for themselves. Watching everyone and hearing their comments will be a memory I won’t soon forget.

What is most remarkable, is thinking about the ripple effect of this building. Every person who enters the space has the possibility of impacting others. Every teacher who is trained, every student who learns to read, every community member who is educated. The

influence of Hamlin Robinson School has increased exponentially. We are making a difference. In mid-December, we hosted our HRS Middle School preview event to showcase the program for current Level 5 families who were the first to see the new middle school in action during the school day. From the conference center to the classrooms, to the music, art, PE, and drama spaces, the program is growing and thriving in profound ways. Finally, we hope you can join us for our 2023 auction gala as we pull up anchor and prepare to Set Sail! The Hamlin Robinson School auction will be an in-person event on Saturday, March 18 at 6pm at the Seattle Design Center. More details about how to purchase tickets and support the auction are included on page seven.

With 2023 upon us, HRS is prepared to meet and greet the future. Emboldened by the strength and support of our community, we are poised to continue our momentum and growth. Thank you for joining us on this journey, for investing in our program, and for helping us support the students and families who define our mission.

Stacy Turner Head of School

It’s amazing how much change can happen in one year.

Back at Last!

For the first time in three years, Grands Day was back in person at HRS!

Hosted by grade level and stretched over three days, grandparents and grand friends were invited to come to campus for a sneak peek of the HRS experience.

Students were proud to show their work, their classrooms, and their lockers to their grandparents and grand friends. Each event started with a presentation by Head of School, Stacy Turner, focusing on the unique structure of the HRS program and helping guests understand learning styles in a new way.

Afterwards, students performed a musical medley guided by specialist teachers Mr. Fox and Mr. Levin. Then, everyone moved to classrooms for a lesson demonstrating multisensory teaching techniques and for grands to see the HRS program in action for themselves. Thank you to everyone who was able to attend. •

ON THURSDAY, December 1, Hamlin Robinson School took the historic step of opening our new middle school building. With over 600 RSVPs, we welcomed current students and parents, alumni, current faculty and staff, former faculty and staff, members of our construction team, along with neighbors and friends of the school. Guests had the opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the space and explore the incredible rooms and unique learning environment.

This event was the culmination of many years of work from so many in our community.

The building will allow for growth of our core programs, in addition to providing resources to a wider audience.

Every inch is carefully planned to create an ideal learning environment for our students. It

Middle School Grand Opening

is designed to engage and inspire young minds. The makerspace is a collaborative area for making, learning, and exploring, using both high-tech and low-tech tools. The building includes a video production studio, stateof-the-art science labs, a drama room, workout space, and more. A dedicated fiber connection and interactive projectors with voice lift in every classroom provide teachers with advanced technology tools. Common areas and gathering spaces foster and enable team building.

The new building also benefits students in the lower school by increasing enrollment spots to 275 students as we expand into the spaces formerly occupied by middle school students. The fourth floor Learning Center includes a beautiful event venue, an attached meeting room, and expanded tutoring area, enabling HRS to provide services and programs

to local, regional, and national community members, most of whom have no direct relationship with the school. This will allow us to grow engagement and continue to position the school as a leader in literacy education. To everyone who had a hand in making this possible: Thank you! •

Photo by Ben Benschneider

464

585

4.9M

pounds of concrete

328

square feet of carpet

93

25,245 days of construction total rooms

windows total stairs

Cooking Up Success with Luke Kolpin

HAMLIN ROBINSON SCHOOL

alumnus, renowned chef, and learning differences advocate, Luke Kolpin returned to HRS this year for the first time since graduating in 1998. Luke was flooded with memories. Although the school is now in a different location, he was surprised by the emotional

response he felt. He recognized and saw his younger self in the current students and remembered what it was like to finally feel like he belonged.

For Luke, HRS was a place where he didn’t have to worry about fitting in; a place where he could just be his most authentic self.

Like so many HRS students, Luke enrolled at Hamlin Robinson after struggling in a school without supports in place to successfully teach students with learning differences. He spent a lot of time in a classroom with only four other students trying to read into cassette tapes, with the expectation that playing the tapes back and

listening to himself read would fix his dyslexia; it did not.

“Before HRS, I would run from reading, I would run from books, and I struggled. And then when I started at Hamlin Robinson, it »

» completely changed me. I felt like I could read by the end of the first week,” Luke reflects. One of his most vivid memories from that very first week was opening his textbook. Using the instructional tools provided by the teacher, he began to read for what felt like the first time. In this moment Luke’s confidence grew, and he enjoyed school for the first time.

During his three years at HRS, Luke developed core literacy skills and self-confidence, helping propel him forward, starting with St. John in Greenwood for middle school, and then Roosevelt High School. Middle and high school were not without

difficulty, and there were times when Luke struggled. During his senior year of high school, he made the conscious choice to put school first. It was this determination and self-discipline that helped Luke earn his diploma and taught him he could achieve anything he wanted if he put his mind to it.

After high school, Luke took classes at Shoreline Community College. Everything changed one afternoon when his best friend suggested he go to culinary school. It was a perfect fit. Finally, Luke was able to meld his exceptional work ethic, creativity, and love of food into a career that has taken him to some of the best kitchens in the world, including as a sous-chef at award-winning restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, Denmark.

else, giving him an edge on his competition.

When asked what piece of advice he would like to share with HRS students, he said, “When you are in classrooms after HRS, you might feel like an outsider and want desperately to fit in with everyone else, trying to be part of the same system. But thinking differently is what sets us apart and makes you unique. I want to tell all the students at HRS, do not change who you are; learn what you like about yourself and what you enjoy doing and really focus on it.”

His dyslexia was once an unknown and frustrating obstacle. Now he realizes his learning difference is a skill that allows him to think differently from everyone

SET SAIL & RSVP TODAY!

Join us on Saturday, March 18 at 6:00pm at the Seattle Design Center for the Hamlin Robinson School 2023 auction gala as we prepare to Set Sail. The auction is a special time each year when we gather with our community for an evening of cocktails, dinner, and spirited live bidding. Your support will help ensure our school program remains innovative and transformative. Let’s eat, drink, and seas the day!

Learn more + register: www.hamlinrobinson.org/auction

In partnership with HRS, Luke is donating a custom micro-dining experience at this year’s auction gala. Funds from this special experience will be used to establish a scholarship to expand accessibility for families who need the support and tools HRS provides - a project close to Luke’s heart. With his culinary talents and wealth of industry connections, it’s a one-ofa-kind event your taste buds won’t soon forget. •

Online Silent Auction: March 10-19

Bid from anywhere!

Live Auction Gala: Saturday, March 18 at 6pm Seattle Design Center

Most recently, Luke is recognized for his time on Top Chef, the televised national cooking competition.

1701

206.763.1167 www.hamlinrobinson.org

UPCOMING

EVENTS:

March 18, 2023

Auction Gala: Set Sail!

March 23, 2023

Speaker Series

May 18, 2023

Artsfest

May 31, 2023