Innovative classes in Lower, Middle, and Upper School

SPREADING KINDNESS IN LOWER SCHOOL

Pre-K Daisies Focus on Hockaday Community

Social Impact starts early at Hockaday. The youngest Daisies begin their journey through the Institute for Social Impact as soon as they step on campus. “So much of the Pre-K year is about learning social skills, so we are constantly incorporating the idea of making a social impact,” said Stephanie Snell Stone ’02, Pre-K teacher. “From being kind, helping friends, and showing each other respect, we want the girls to learn how to be good citizens.”

In Pre-K, the Social Impact theme is “Our Community.” Throughout the year, girls will learn about different members of the Hockaday community and spread kindness and gratitude for all the amazing helpers at the School. In September, they went on a special search for pictures of Ms. Ela Hockaday and learned about her special place in Hockaday’s history.

The class starts the year talking about the many communities they belong to by doing a “Me on the Map” activity, then focuses on the Hockaday community with activities such as making appreciation cards for faculty and staff and the extremely popular Valentine grams, in which faculty members send Pre-K students to sing love songs to other faculty and staff members on Valentine’s Day.

“Making an impact is only possible if you learn early social skills, so it is critical to teach these alongside the core academics,” said Ms. Stone. “It is such a treat to watch the girls learn how even small acts of kindness can have an impact on others. It is especially fun to see them learn about all the people that make our School function – and then to see them say hello and thank you regularly in the halls!”

Daisies go on a hunt to find photos of Ela Hockaday around campus.

“It is such a treat to watch the girls learn how even small acts of kindness can have an impact on others. It is especially fun to see them learn about all the people that make our School function – and then to see them say hello and thank you regularly in the halls!”

BUILDING EMPATHY THROUGH GEOGRAPHY

Fifth Graders Learn History and Culture

Fifth Grade World Geography is all about broadening horizons. Following courses in US and Texas History, World Geography aims to expand how students think about the world. “We ask the girls to go into the course with two questions,” said Renee Laffitte, Middle School History faculty. “How do we engage with the world, and how does the world shape us?”

That philosophy makes this course a perfect fit as a designated class within the Institute for Social Impact. “We really focus on empathy throughout our studies,” said Ms. Laffitte. “We understand who we are, but there is a big wide world out there. When we interact with people, how does that come across? We learn empathy through understanding choices other people make, and how their history and culture determine their choices.”

The year starts with girls learning to think independently. “Our girls are used to having the right answers, but I want them to begin to think beyond that,” said Ms. Laffitte. “We learn about how location can influence culture, food and language, and how the environment shapes us. We look for how we change the environment, and how we move around, and how that plays into what fuels we use.”

The girls participate in activities such as a balloon map, which teaches them about distortion and map projections, and a food review video with their family, where they try a different culture’s cuisine and describe it objectively.

The class also looks at current issues and learns how humans have come together to solve problems in the past. “I try to be positive and enable them to find solutions,” said Ms. Laffitte. “These are the girls who are going to be running the world someday! It’s important to walk away with an understanding of how to be a global citizen and understand someone else’s perspective.”

TAKING NOTICE

Middle School Social Impact Leaders took a “noticing” walk to build empathy, one of the core outcomes for the Institute for Social Impact. Students took the perspective of someone who had never been to Hockaday, or whose job is to take care of the campus, and then discussed how that changed their perspective.

MAKING AN IMPACT THROUGH MATH

Form I students in Christine Sigurdsson’s Integrated Math III Enriched class have the opportunity to make an impact through numbers by partnering with Thomas C. Marsh Middle School. At Marsh, Eighth Grade students take Algebra, and Hockaday Form I students help them on their math journey by creating activities that inspire students to find algebra in the real world, and practice these skills to deepen their knowledge and mastery of the material. “Using math to show how it is connected to the real world is game-changing,” said Laura Day, Executive Director of the Institute for Social Impact. “We are hoping to increase the connection and mastery of Alegbra, which is indicative of college readiness.”

This year, students will create games and challenges to help Marsh students learn about data and graphs, identifying functions, and rate of change. “Students are used to answering questions in math,” said Ms. Sigurdsson. “This pushes them to think about creating questions. It requires a different mindset.”

“I’m excited about this opportunity for our girls,” said Ms. Sigurdsson. “I think this will help them solidify some concepts, and at the same time, help teach it to others.”

POWER OF VOTING

Upper School students in Government, a Social Impactdesignated class, learned about the process of voting and why voting matters, and created a way to share that information with the greater community. Hockaday’s voter registration drive encouraged all eligible students to register to vote in upcoming elections, and make their voices heard!

SPREADING JOY THROUGH DANCE

Hockaday’s Upper School Dance Theater and Dance Lab classes are collaborating with Foster Elementary this fall to share the joy of dance in the Dallas Community.

Hockaday’s Upper School dancers are spreading their love of dance around the city. This fall, they headed to Foster Elementary to teach the students a short piece that they choreographed themselves. “It was so much fun,” said Alexandra Dassopoulos (Class of 2024). “The kids were so into it! They were a little shy the first day, but by the end of the day they had come out of their shells and were all working to perform the dance.”

Maddy Grace Sporl (Class of 2023) agreed. “It was such a joy to not only brighten their day, but to watch each student step out of their shell and just enjoy having fun,” she said.

“When we came back the second day, we got lots of hugs. We showed them how to do eight counts with splits and kicking, and the kids went nuts!”

The dancers started by choreographing combinations and a short dance, then working with the students at Foster during PE class. “Their PE coach said this would be a core memory for the kids,” said Alexandra. “When we came back the second day, we got lots of hugs. We showed them how to do eight counts with splits and kicking, and the kids went nuts!”

“The best thing was watching kids who started out shy and apprehensive realize how fun and fulfilling dance can be and end up having a great time,” said Jane Taten (Class of 2025).

Once the students learned the moves, the Hockaday classes created videos so they can continue practicing, and eventually perform for their friends and family at a school event. “It was amazing to see our student dancers teaching the skills they have learned at Hockaday to our school partner Foster Elementary,” said Laura Day, Executive Director of the Institute for Social Impact. “Our girls just made a fun and enriching couple of days for those kids.”