“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” — William Faulkner
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HEAD’S HIGHLIGHTS
Dear Hyla Families and Friends,
“THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO PEOPLE IS A STORY.” – PATTI DIGH
We are so excited to share with you the first edition of Hyla’s new monthly magazine, The Hylighter Every day at Hyla is filled with stories stories of learning and growth, accomplishment and joy As Patti Digh reminds us, “the shortest distance between two people is a story.” Our hope is that The Hylighter will bring you closer to Hyla by sharing those stories in a way that helps you see, feel, and celebrate what your children experience here. Each day, I am in awe of the work of Hyla’s educators, who create extraordinary learning experiences for our students What our students learn is undeniably impressive whether they are taking a University of Washington Calculus class with Erik at the Upper School or unraveling the complexity of Shakespearean English, but it is how they learn that amazes me most.
At Hyla, learning is active. Our students learn by doing. They engage in building, questioning, perspective-seeking, experimenting, and problem-solving whether through service learning and cultural immersion on Panorama in Vietnam, designing and fabricating a device that uses Martian regolith simulant to filter water, building ziplines for action figures to explore slope, or constructing a tiny home They learn with purpose, by asking why it matters, what it means for them, and how they might take action as result. And they learn in community. Our middle schoolers are practicing attentive listening, not just to teachers but to one another, while our upper school students are transferring their skills to teach others, lead conversations, and become informed, thoughtful citizens My hope is that when this magazine arrives in your inbox each month, you’ll carve out a quiet moment, maybe with your favorite cup of coffee or tea, to enjoy the Hyla stories within Share them with your children, their grandparents, and your friends. Use them to spark conversation, to deepen understanding, and to connect to your child’s story at Hyla and within themselves.
Warm regards, Suzanne
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Education with a Purpose
I think a great deal about “challenge” when it comes to teaching social studies and to life in general. In fact, I would argue that the central purpose of school is to help young people build life and thinking skills in a safe, lower-risk environment We gather together, set a focus, and then ask students to step up and do their best. At its heart, school is an intellectual challenge
Of course, it’s not that simple The realities of social and emotional development complicate that singular focus. Middle school is a muddied mix of challenges, both academic and personal Each day, each class period feels different, with countless factors affecting a student’s readiness to push themselves. A student might be hungry, replaying a conversation with a friend, worrying about a parent’s expectations, or stressing over an afternoon practice These thoughts and feelings inevitably shape their willingness or ability to take on academic challenges. Read more on our blog
SNAPSHOT: MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY
SNAPSHOT: UPPER SCHOOL ENGLISH
Story Slams are slam dunks for building connection, empathy, and belonging in English class at the upper school. Let me tell you why.
This summer I had the honor of studying in The Moth Teacher Institute, a storytelling workshop for teachers (If you are unfamiliar with The Moth, check out themoth.org to learn about events, radio, and the podcast. In class at Hyla last week, we particularly loved Christian Garland’s story “My Grandfather’s Shoes” In July, I dedicated a week to learning alongside teachers across the country how to best craft and tell stories. Storytelling, while not actual writing or reading (which are the objectives of English courses), gets to the heart of what makes writers write and readers keep reading. Storytelling is about bravely sharing stories of vulnerability and challenge and triumph, and arguably, it is also essential to teaching and learning for students.
Read more on our blog
SNAPSHOT: MIDDLE SCHOOL SCIENCE
Prior to 1830 there were no scientists There were plenty of alchemists, doctors, philosophers, and mathematicians, but the word “scientist” didn’t exist until it was coined by a privileged group of truth seeking white males at London’s Royal Society The systems constructed by those men have guided countless important discoveries. Those systems have also dominated curricula since With the help of YouTuber, Hank Green, all Hyla middle school students began this year with a challenge to step out of their “knowledge worlds” and into a universe rich with diverse perspectives and truths By learning about the history of science, students should be able to think critically about the ways in which values and ethics can shape the truth. We finished the miniunit publicly celebrating the achievements of non-western and female scientists, many of whom have been hidden for far too long.
Read more on our blog
SNAPSHOT: UPPER SCHOOL- SOUTH EAST ASIAN APERTURE
Southeast Asia is one of the most diverse and fascinating regions of the world and yet it is often overlooked in most World History courses This aperture is a great way to explore this region through a variety of methods: from watching documentaries, preparing traditional dishes, to conducting research and also reading literature written by SE Asian authors
For the first unit, we looked at the physical geography and general demographic trends across the eleven countries that comprise SE Asia Just looking at a map raises all kinds of fascinating questions about borders, political geography and history from Timor Leste to what is the best name to use for Myanmar/Burma.
Our first country case study is Indonesia: the world's third largest democracy spanning over 17,000 islands! The Netflix Street Food Asia episode on Yogyakarta taught us about the connection between history and food as they showcased legendary street food chefs such as Mbah Santiem’s jajan pasar
Read more on our blog
WHAT’S A GOAL YOU’RE WORKING TOWARD — BIG OR SMALL?
At the moment I’m trying to get better at watercolor. I am trying to find more time for my hobbies in my schedule, especially as things get busy Working toward college can get overwhelming quickly and finding things to do that have nothing to do with the applications is very grounding.
WHAT’S YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT AS A STUDENT SO FAR?
Last year Hyla offered the UW course Global Health. It was probably one of the hardest classes I have ever taken It was an incredibly dense and complicated subject with a lot of writing and research involved. It was a challenge but I am very proud to be on the other side of it, and grateful for the opportunity to take that class
WHAT’S ONE THING YOU LOVE LEARNING — INSIDE OR OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM?
FAVORITE QUOTE OR MOTTO YOU LIVE BY?
“Today I will put my toes in the dirt, and strawberries on my pancakes”
This quote is from a comic created by artist Anna-Laura Sullivan I think it really exemplifies beauty in the mundane. I like to read it in the morning to remember why I love life.
I really love learning history. I really enjoy Roman history, and Napoleonic French history, but really I love to learn any history There are so many stories from the past that are so interesting and entertaining, and so many lessons from the past that I think we would benefit from listening to History is also a crucial context to our world, it really shows you exactly why the world is how it is, and what had to be done to get it here.
WHAT ARE YOUR DREAMS FOR THE FUTURE?
I would love to be an author or a poet. I would love to write a novel (hopefully several) someday, and become a published poet It would also be very interesting to pursue Latin and maybe translate Latin texts. 6
MATH 9-12
What’s one lesson (academic or life) you hope every student takes from your class?
Grappling with new content and struggling with a word problem is the most important part of learning Nothing worth doing comes easily
What’s one thing you do differently than most teachers?
Every student has their own unique journey with math, and I can meet each student where they are at and guide them to where they’d like to go in the discipline.
If you could invite any historical figure to your class, who would it be and what would you teach them?
Charles Darwin - I’d teach him about our modern understanding of the genetic code, the molecular mechanisms of evolution and the novel field of epigenetics
What does student success look like to you?
The ability to persevere through the initial discomfort of not knowing how to start a problem by having confidence in the many mathematical tools/methods in their toolbox.
If your class had a theme song, what would it be and why?
Taking Care of Business - Bauchman
Turner Overdrive because a lot of problems get solved in my math and science classrooms
LEARNING TOGETHER
RECOMMENDATIONS AND RESOURCES THAT ARE CURRENTLY INSPIRING HYLA
Resources from Suzanne
Lighthouse Parents Have More Confident Kids
Cellphones and Devices: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers
Basic Phone Guides for Parents
Inspiring Brenda
I am reading Sun House by David James Duncan which is a beautiful novel with the most compelling characters and rich high-mountain settings
Inspiring KNA
I am revisiting Robert Putnam's revised and updated (2020) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community which examines social change and behavior patterns in American history over the past 100 years. In particular, I am reflecting on how contradictory values and ideals in American society (communal participation and individualism) play out in broader society as well as in my own decisions
Inspiring David
I read a number of books this summer, and several of them seemed to be about people balancing their commitments to others (mostly family), while also living a life consistent with their own needs and priorities, often with significant generational/historical circumstances Two books that I enjoyed, which are quite different, with elements of this dynamic are So Far Gone by Jess Walter and A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki
