HYLIGHTER
JANUARY 2026
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” — Desmond Tutu
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“RIGHT NOW, THE THING THAT IS HELPING THE MOST IS MICRODOSING HOPE. I HAVE NO ACCESS TO BIG HOPE RIGHT NOW… DOING THE SMALLEST NEXT RIGHT THING IS HARD, BUT SOMETIMES IT’S ALL WE’VE GOT.”- BRENÉ BROWN
Dear Hyla Parents and Guardians,
Like many of you, I imagine I have been moving through the past weeks carrying heartache and concern in response to the violence and tragedy unfolding across our country It can feel heavy to hold alongside the rhythms of daily life.
As I was preparing this Hylighter, I came across a reflection from Brené Brown that has stayed with me:
“Right now, the thing that is helping the most is micro-dosing hope. I have no access to big hope right now… Doing the smallest next right thing is hard, but sometimes it’s all we’ve got.”
That idea has felt especially relevant. When big hope feels out of reach, we look for the small, tangible ways it is still being practiced around us
At Hyla, I see those micro-doses of hope everywhere.
You’ll see it in MaryKate Hopper’s reflections in Rising Voices, when she says she hopes to “make the world a little bit better,” and imagines people walking through cities using donations to help someone having a hard day have a better one. That instinct to notice, to respond, and to care is hope made practical.
You’ll see it in the Upper School Panorama in Vietnam, where students spend long days working alongside community members to build a road that matters to daily life there Their work may feel small in the scope of the world, but it is meaningful, and our local partners describe our students’ spirit and work ethic with pride.
You’ll see it in everyday moments across campus. In the upper school, students don’t simply welcome a prospective student visitor They take the time to get to know them, share honest, spirited, and heartfelt reflections about their own experiences at Hyla, and, just as importantly, ask thoughtful questions about the visitor and their interests In the middle school, you hear it during Midweek Meeting appreciations, when students name what they notice, what they care about, and what they feel is important to recognize in one another and at our school. These moments may seem small, but they reflect habits of attention, empathy, and care for community
And you’ll see it in classrooms, through the voices of educators like David Maron, who names the most important lesson he hopes every student takes with them as simply this: that it’s important to care about people.
Hope also lives in the work of our teachers.
You see it in teachers who sleep over at school for an eighth grade, student-designed Lock-In. In the traditions they build around Middle School Clean Crew and Upper School Class Meetings, complete with treats and shared rituals In the weeks they spend traveling internationally with students, caring for them around the clock while continuing to teach, guide, and support them.
And yet, between the lines, beneath the surface, and surrounding each article in this Hylighter are many more examples of that hope in action. They are found in the choices teachers make each day and the relationships they build over time; in the many hats they wear as trail builders, musicians, confidence builders, perspective shapers, careful listeners, and master differentiators In the steady, often unseen work of creating classrooms and experiences where students feel known, supported, and challenged to grow.
And you see this in how well Hyla teachers know our students No matter how long I’ve been at Hyla, I am continually struck by that. They check in about a tournament, a performance, a game, a family visit, a trip, or how a beloved pet is doing These are the daily acts that make school a place where students feel seen.
James Baldwin once wrote, “The place in which I fit does not exist until I make it ” At Hyla, that place is made every day through small, steady acts of care, responsibility, and courage. It is made by students, teachers, and families together
Thank you for being part of a community that continues to practice hope, even when the world feels unsettled
Warmly, Suzanne
Education with a Purpose
SNAPSHOT: MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY
BY: DAVID
In the later fall, during the months surrounding November’s election cycle, the 8th graders embark on an exploration of the U.S. Constitution. Though the cycle itself is predictable, each year brings its own sense of intrigue and urgency as the political winds of our democracy shift. Our governing system is both orderly and deeply messy at times inspiring, and at other moments demoralizing One politician projects confidence in the future, another predicts decline, while voting adults (and the students in my classroom) attempt to sort out the best path forward
The 8th graders, who cannot yet vote and may not feel an immediate personal stake, are tasked with understanding why both citizens and non-citizens have fought so hard to shape the nation’s future often through elections and, at times, by altering the nation’s founding document itself through constitutional amendments. This year, we focused our energies on that very process, which we titled “Fight for the Right ”
Read more on our blog
SNAPSHOT: UPPER SCHOOL PANORAMA
BORDERLANDS: PUERTO RICO
BY: TOM & ERIK
Greetings Hyla community! We are excited to deliver you our travel dispatch from the Borderlands: Puerto Rico panorama. After spending five full days preparing for our trip, we arrived in San Juan late Tuesday night We were greeted by the sound of Puerto Rico’s coquí frogs, and an evening rainstorm, as we pulled into our hostel. After a short night’s rest, we awoke the next morning, jumped into vans, and headed into old San Juan, the heart of Puerto Rico’s vibrant capital. In San Juan we toured El Morro, the fortress built by the Spanish to protect their Atlantic trade routes in colonial times We walked into the heart of the old town for a Puerto Rican lunch, ate paletas overlooking the ocean, and toured the Santurce neighborhood and its impressive array of large scale murals We finished the day with a swim in the river next to Casa Coral, a well-needed and well-earned respite from the tropical heat
Read more on our blog
SNAPSHOT: UPPER SCHOOL
PANORAMA: VIETNAM
BY: CAROLINE & KNA
Our group has had very full days We leave our home stay (picture small lodge) at 8 in the morning and return around 8 in the evening. While in the village, we have been working alongside the community to build a road - mixing, transporting and spreading concrete. Our Vietnamese trip leaders have been really impressed with what they describe as our students “spirit and work ethic” Indeed, two days in we have already worked through the load of cement they ordered and they have had to restock. Each day we walk paved trails from the main road to the village community hub, and we appreciate how what we are doing, while small, is important to daily life.
When our students aren’t working, they are playing hard with the kids from the community: soccer, football, badminton, hand games It is beautiful to see
.Read more on our blog
SNAPSHOT: MIDDLE SCHOOL
ENGLISH
BY: JAMIE
Whenever I talk with families about the books we ’ re planning to read over the course of a school year, inevitably a handful of them ask why I’m still teaching old books when there are so many worthy contemporary novels that are surely of higher interest for students than “the classics.”
Fair enough. After all, eighth graders at Hyla have already read Julius Caesar, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, and To Kill a Mockingbird this year all literature squarely in the classic realm and all written many decades (centuries even!) before our students were born Still, the human struggles they explore are eternal ones: the battle between conformity and conscience, the dangers of mobs and mass hysteria, the courage it takes to lead others or take a stand alone, and the difficulty of finding truth in a rapidly changing society These themes and the characters wrestling with them are timeless, which is why these books have so organically opened us to countless meaningful and timely conversations Read more on our blog
