September/October 2023 Student Spotlight: Staff Spotlight

To start the school year, Upper Elementary Phoenix Guides Guadalupe Cepeda and Lalo Martinez asked their 4th and 5th graders to answer a simple prompt: “Where I’m From.” What came next was a beautiful, engaging lesson on how we all have different backgrounds, stories, families, and more––and a celebration of these differences and similarities. Students started with a written response to the prompt that has been hung up outside their classroom door. The class also hosted student presentations to learn more about each other. What a wonderful way to start the school year! 

On Saturday, September 23, Headwaters Model United Nations Club attended its first conference of the year at Austin High School. Students from schools all across Texas came to engage in discourse and problem-solving surrounding contemporary and historical global issues. Headwaters delegates made their presence known and engaged in fierce debate. Topics included The Berlin Conference, The Ethical Repatriation of Artifacts, and Animal Testing. Congratulations to new delegates Anjali Natarajan ‘27, Nathaniel Rostvold ‘27, Blaise Barry ‘26, Delia Greer ’26, August Floyd ‘27, and George VanWart ‘27 on attending their first Model UN conference!

We'd like to commend these delegates for earning the following awards: Uszee McKoy '25 (Best Delegate Award), Eli Floyd '24 (Best Public Speaker Award), and Jenna Evans '25 (Most Diplomatic Award). 

We'd also like to thank Lei Alor, our new Model UN sponsor. Attending this conference would not have been possible without him, and we look forward to many more!

From a chance conversation about film photography with Noah Fournier, the photo lab manager, IB photography students were invited to develop their own film in the lab at Precision Camera. His generosity towards students interested in photography and spirit of experimentation extended to connecting us to their in-store studio and Headwaters' parent Brendan Maloney, who then organized a workshop led by professional sports photographer Robert Backman. It was amazing! Students had a lovely time, understood more about the process, and appreciated using pro equipment. And, it was all time given freely in support of our students' learning. See more photos from this experience here!