The Season of Growth
Dear Villa,
Signs of spring are all around us as we forge ahead into this last chapter of the academic year. From stunning, Technicolor flowers popping up all over, to on again/off again rain showers punctuating our days, we are immersed in the change of seasons. Our students are feeling this change, too, as they move through their academic lives. Spring in a school is a very busy season, with lots of “extra” happenings that keep us all on our toes. The rhythm of the school year accelerates as we approach the last laps around the 2023-24 “track.” Suddenly, field trips, projects, and special activities are springing up like tulips; inquiry-based favorites such as the 2nd grade’s Economics Carnival, 3rd Grade’s upcoming “Bird Day,” and 4th Grade’s Stone Market project later prepare our older students for the tasks ahead. Did you know that each 7th grader composes an original novella as their culminating English/Language Arts project? Or that 8th graders present year-long social justice research projects before a panel of adult reviewers prior to receiving their diplomas? These, too, are signs of spring at Villa Academy.
Leading us forward on this seemingly accelerating ride, Villa faculty are also thinking about the passage of time . . . specifically how we use time here at school. For the past months, we have been engaging with LEARNS Collaborative, “a think tank of relationship builders,” in reviewing our schedule, asking critical questions regarding how we organize our minutes, hours, and days. We’ve pondered questions such as “What is it that we want from time?” and “What can we do to ensure that the time we spend with students is always held with intention?” We are dedicated to ensuring that Villa’s Monday-Friday schedule maximizes student learning and best serves our inquiry-based program. While no school believes it has the “perfect schedule,” we have an opportunity to reflect, review, and fine-tune how we organize time to support learning outcomes. As we continue to engage in these conversations next year, families need not worry . . . drop off and pick up times will remain unchanged!
Celebrating the unfolding beauty all around us while looking ahead to the future–that is what this season is all about. Over the past weeks, we have welcomed a number of finalists for the open Director roles here at Villa, and we look forward to announcing those appointments soon. We have received a great deal of feedback from the various surveys shared–AIM (Assessment of Inclusivity and Multiculturalism), the mascot initiative, and Student Information Sharing–all in support of building and sustaining a fantastic future for Villa. Thank you for engaging in all of these; even when feedback is challenging, it always indicates investment and care. We look forward to sharing exciting results in the very near future! Thank you for being part of this remarkable season of growth.
All my best,
Villa Academy Head of School