By JOHN BAKER, HYLA ALUMNUS. “Lose not yourself in a far off time, seize the moment that is thine.” — Friedrich Schiller. Christina Goessman was a beloved former student at Hyla who tragically passed away on April 25th, 2021 at the age of twenty-four due to a brain aneurysm. As someone who knew her rather well during our time at this school, I wanted to write something about my dear friend so that parents, teachers, alumni, and current students alike could learn more about this incredible woman who meant so much to so many people. Christina…

7TH GRADE SCIENCE: “Chemistry is everywhere!” says middle school science teacher Alex with her bright-eyed enthusiasm. “Even when it’s not observable, chemical reactions happen all around us.” One of her favorite parts about teaching chemistry is that she gets to show students that “there is a lot going on in our world that’s invisible to us unless we run experiments to see results.” Case in point: the Taj Mahal. Having used molecular models to investigate how atoms of starting substances rearrange to form new substances when a chemical reaction occurs, Alex asked students a question from…

High School American History: “Navigating our way through vast amounts of information to arrive at a new understanding is an essential skill,” says teacher KNA, “and it is one we’ll be practicing a lot in our social studies classes.” Beginning the year with Indigenous America, students returned to familiar ground. “Like many topics, this is one where students bring a wide range of background and knowledge and varying levels of expertise,” KNA shares. But by returning to familiar ground with new skills, students discover just how much is unfamiliar, just how much of history is untold. As they…

8th Grade HyLab: “What would our cities look like if human health and well-being were at the very center of all decisions about how we live together?” This question launched the 8th grade HyLab unit on Global Health that culminates in the Future City Expo. As students worked in teams to design a city centered on specific health priorities, they worked their way through mini-projects that require them to seek input from peers, refine their own thinking, articulate their design rationale, and even persuade others – through collaborative group work, discussion, video proposals, posters, written assignments,…

9th Grade English Class: “To examine the Hero’s Journey, I chose a book that’s as resistant as possible to analyzing that framework,” Gardner explains. “The House on Mango Street is not a traditional hero’s journey – it’s really more a series of vignettes. And while it’s not an unusual book to read in high school English, we are taking an usual approach to it. I wanted to see what students could extract from the text. And they’re loving it.”  Alongside the individual journey of the main character, students discover the hero’s journey as a universal structure…

9th GRADE MATH: The limits of algebraic models and the possibilities they inspire. Erik will tell you that sometimes the most exciting thing about a new math skill is not necessarily that students learn where and how it can be applied, but that they learn where and how it cannot. Case in point: finding the best-fit line in algebra class. Students analyze a data sample from a set window of time, find the slope, solve for the y-intercept, and voila: they now have an equation/model they can use to accurately predict results both within and outside of the original…

STUDENT LEADERSHIP & IDENTITY IN HIGH SCHOOL CLUBS At first glance, you see that high school clubs are about astronomy, a literary magazine, hiking, gardening, cinema, and Disc Golf & Ultimate. Go a layer deeper and you see that students are conducting interviews and managing production deadlines; calling local nonprofits to propose a partnership based in citizen science; building cardio strength and endurance in fresh air; and debating procedures and methods for Cinema Club. Ask Spanish Teacher Tom Neal and he’ll tell you to go a layer deeper to get at the real purpose of Hyla’s…

Our Middle School Campus: No matter what window you look out, you’ll see students outside getting fresh air. They’re on the sport court, in the Gaga pit, climbing trees, reading on steps, playing ping pong, and working on assignments under trees. By design, students get a burst of fresh air after every class thanks to covered porches (not indoor hallways) as they pass from one class to the next. During breaks and lunch, they are outside again and can choose from a wide range of spaces to explore. Teachers take advantage of our wide campus for…

6th MATH: What’s a great way to give yourself a fresh, clean start to a new year of math? Bath bombs! Beyond the obvious fun, making bath bombs in math class involved many essential elements of math at Hyla: positivity, real-life application, and hands-on activities. With the intentional goal of making sure math is “not scary,” Cindy started the year off with a series of activities that involve math review, assessment, and student self-reflection. In their “math biographies” students were asked to take responsibility for themselves as learners and advocate for their needs as they shared…

Launch Week at Hyla High: Concentric Circles of Learning & Impact As a deep learning program, Hyla High attracted a founding group of students who share a clear and common rallying cry: “I want an education within community.” Launch Week gave them community as an experience, but also as a mindset, a critical thinking tool, and an academic method. During Launch Week, the practice of community also activated student engagement, leadership, inquiry, and co-creation – all essential and interconnected elements of deep and purposeful learning.  We began by introducing the high school “campus” as an expansive learning environment…