Middle School Program

List of 3 items.

• In Partnership with Parents

  Advisors serve as the second point of contact for the students’ parents. Our advisors establish a partnership with the parent to support the students’ overall well-being. Middle School is a time of transition and exploration of the self. Students are often in the throes of redefining themselves, sometimes on a weekly basis. Advisory is a course that focuses on positive character development and long-range thinking. We truly believe our students’ success in life will be a function of their ability to produce extraordinary results while maintaining healthy and sustainable lifestyles.

• Inspiring Guides

  The Headwaters Middle School teaching staff is committed to both building relationships with their students and powerfully imparting their course-specific content. The strong sense of community that is created in the classrooms and all over campus is fostered by the supportive relationships that our guides form with their students. In our Middle School classrooms, one will find inspired and inspiring guides. Our guides, we call them guides, focus on scaffolding the learning process to help students prepare for a lifetime of learning. We spend time on both the content as well as methods for learning the content. Our guides truly care about the whole child. They take time to support content learning in addition to wellbeing.
  
  

  Headwaters Guides:
  

  • Model a lifelong love of learning
  • Listen for the hopes, dreams, and commitments of our students
  • Nurture compassion and love
  • Hold students to extraordinary academic and social standards
  • Honor students’ promises with support, reminders, and apology-free delivery of consequences

• Student Leadership

  Community Leaders
  The Community Leader (CLs) program is intended to empower dedicated students to develop their skills as leaders within the community. Community Leaders are chosen by their peers and teachers through a vote. They are bestowed with the responsibility to continually move Headwaters School in the direction of a student-run community. They work closely with the Head of Middle School in improving all aspects of the school.
  
  

  Community Leaders are held to high levels of accountability within the community. They serve as role models for students and represent the school to the larger community. As such, they make the following explicit agreements upon entering the program:
  

  • to maintain a GPA of 3.00 or higher
  • to attend weekly Community Leader meetings
  • to maintain an impeccable behavioral record

  Honor Council
  In the case of major transgressions, a student may be required to attend a hearing with the Honor Council, whose members are charged with providing an opportunity for the student to repair their commitment to the community by assigning uniquely-tailored consequences.
  
  

  Honor Council Members are held to high levels of accountability within the community. They serve as role models for students and represent the school to the larger community. As such, they make the following explicit agreements upon entering the program:
  

  • to attend Honor Council meetings, as they arise
  • to maintain an impeccable behavioral record
  • In the case of a major incident, the administration retains the right to suspend a student until the Honor Council convenes.

  Admissions Council
  Admissions Council is comprised of at least one staff member and up to ten students. Admissions Council enrolls students based on consensus. Students review the prospective student’s application, essay, and interviews to determine if Headwaters School is the right fit for the student. Admissions Council meetings are held once per week.
  
  Pitso
  Pitso is a Sesotho word (a dialect from Southern Africa), meaning meeting of the people. Traditionally, it was an opportunity for all of the people to gather and voice their opinions. At Headwaters, Pitsos are held weekly. And serve as a time to gather the Middle School for a specific topic of interest, performances, storytelling, and acknowledgements. Students work with administrators to partner in planning Pitso, too. Any and all members of the community, including parents and board members, can attend the Pitso. All students are required to attend Pitsos.