Hyla Stories
Look what we did together: community generosity at Hyla
To the whole, wide Hyla community:
Today we write to the entire Hyla community to thank you for the resounding, collective YES you brought to Hyla through your generosity! A healthy Annual Fund is always something to celebrate, and a successful Capital Campaign is a milestone accomplishment in the life of any organization; but when both happen in a pandemic year, it is breathtaking. We are profoundly humbled by your support, encouragement, and enthusiasm for the important work that happens at Hyla.
Our students, the children in our care, are our purpose. They are the reason we are here and the reason we keep going, even with tents, masks, and temperature checks. They are also our reward. As we work to bring YES to them – into their minds, hearts, and habits – we continually receive all the YES they shine right back onto us with their boundless energy and wonder.
When the world feels heavy, we turn to Hyla. What happens here is both poultice and promise, it is both healing and hope. During an extraordinary experience that will define their generation, Hyla students show us again and again that they are brave, hard-working, and caring. That is rich soil for a lifetime of YES. Thank you for nurturing it.
This post shares a glimpse of all that you make happen at Hyla through your generosity.
In gratitude and solidarity,
Suzanne Messinger, Head of School
Karen Rice, Board President
Katherine Johns, Director of Advancement
The Annual Fund
Your generosity supports daily YES at Hyla
Already this year, we have had school outside in tents, at home via distance learning, and then back on campus in classrooms, masked and distanced with windows and doors open to maximize air flow. These pivots are evidence of flexibility, creativity, care, and resilience. Through it all, your generosity sustains learning, community, and joy at Hyla – take a look!
The Capital Campaign
Your generosity ensures years of YES at Hyla
We did it! Thank you for investing in Hyla’s future to ensure years of student-centered, experiential learning at Hyla. Your gift to the Capital Campaign made so much possible for Hyla: historic preservation, expanded classrooms, reduced energy use across campus, and a beautiful new community hall complete with a stage and a teaching kitchen. We are deeply grateful for what your generosity provides for students. Far beyond buildings, the Capital Campaign is about what we build in students, and the YES they take with them into the world.
Community Hall Update:
The building is up, the stage is built, and the kitchen is getting its final touches! The new sound and lighting system is also being installed. In the new kitchen, there is a large window that looks out over the new garden and toward the historic barn. Outside the community hall, there is a rain garden, landscaping, and a beautiful interior courtyard. Already blossoms are pushing through to remind us of a new season ahead and a time when we can once again gather together to celebrate student voice and community. We can’t wait to invite you inside!
Recognizing Donors at Hyla:
We will recognize donors with a new labyrinth being built in the garden just outside the community hall. Lined with stones engraved with donor names, the labyrinth path will invite a mindful walk that circles around to the historic pond. The labyrinth represents the path of every Hyla student: it follows a guided pattern, surrounded by supportive adults, to arrive at the center, the true self, symbolized by reflection in the water. Students, families, and visitors will be able to walk toward the center and back out again, signifying the internal work of self-awareness and the external gifts made possible through that internal work. We look forward to inviting you to walk the path!