From the Head of School

Dear EHS Family,

Much has changed since the pandemic began, but even more has stayed the same. We began this school year, our third year with COVID‑19, emphasizing that which has not changed since our founding: our Episcopal identity, our faith, and our mission. What has changed is how we live the mission each day. For instance, when we gathered for Chapel on opening day, fully half of the students present—400 of them—had never been together as a community in Chapel. We needed to adapt creatively to onboard a group this size, we did just that, and we did it well. We evolved to meet the needs of the moment as we have done since our very first day.

The evolution of the Episcopal High School mascot, featured in the article beginning on page 34, is a wonderful metaphor for the School’s ongoing evolution, preserving the essence while remaining flexible to meet the needs of the moment. Our mission, and our founders’ vision, remain constant even as the expression of that mission changes from one generation of students to the next. Our commitment to the School’s mission and pattern of excellence and innovation continues unabated today.

Read on page 43, how Gilbert Sosa ’16, already an accomplished producer and director while at EHS, recently started StoryHouze, a content collaborative dedicated to storytelling and philanthropy. Gilbert and his team focus on acts of kindness in vulnerable communities and use their collective efforts to produce inspiring content. Gilbert’s content has been viewed by more than one billion people across his several social media platforms, and he credits his time at EHS—he was involved with the Acolyte Program, Students of Service, Student Government, EHS Onstage, and ETV—for his start. The details may change but the essence remains the same.

Alternately, look at the article on page 11 describing how the Entrepreneurship Club took home the win in the recent Microsoft Innovation Challenge with their proposal to add to the Microsoft Stack to help solve the hybrid work paradox. Or read about the vision for Elevate, our newly formed dance competition team, in which our dancers collaborate as they compete. We continue to help our students find their inner genius and they continue to stand out in new and different ways. None of this would happen for students like Quinn Charlton ’22 and KitKat Kwiatkowski ’22 (featured on pages 20 and 23 respectively) without the strong positive influence of teachers like, Andy Clack, Kristina Burgess, and Julius Michael (featured on pages 31, 32, and 33 respectively).

As we continue this year to build on our 38 years of EHS tradition and excellence, we remain grateful for all who have come before. Thank you for the part you have played, and please stay involved in whatever way you are able. We look forward to it!

Go Knights,

Ned Smith