Winter Review

ARTSReview Visual and Performing

Contributed by: Scott Lambert, Director of Performing and Visual Arts

Before Kinkaid closed due to the pandemic, Kinkaid Visual and Performing Arts produced two major musicals. In January, the entire 8th grade joined together to tell the story of transformation, love, and tolerance in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jr. A special Friday performance of the show was presented to 8th grade grandparents and special friends. It was a magical time for our students to share with their family members. Th last weekend of February brought the Upper School’s production of the 1944 musical On the Town. Telling the story of three sailors on a twenty-four hour leave and the three women they fall in love with, the show brought the rousing music of Leonard Bernstein to life. Earning two Tommy Tunes nominations for Supporting Actor for Andrew Linhart ’20 and Martín Ibarra ’21, the show was a colorful, energetic, feast for the senses.

Although we were unable to continue Arts classes and performances in the spring, Kinkaid’s Visual and Performing Arts faculty continued to make the Arts available to our students. Some pandemic highlights included:

The design of 232 asynchronous lessons and masterclasses for our Middle and Upper School students. Ranging from “Nail Polish Marbling” to “How to Paint Using Coffee” and from Learning the Harlem Shuffleo Tongue Twister Competitions, there were plenty of opportunities for our students to explore and experience. Six weeks of synchronous courses offered on Arts Wednesdays. Classes included learning a dance combination to the music from Broadway’s Hamilton, a course in using Adobe Premiere for filmmaking, a Theatre Games Class and Virtual Open Studio Hours for our visual artists to work together on projects. A Virtual Coffee House performance by our upper school students that was “attended” by almost 100 viewers. See box on page 10. The creation of a virtual version of the annual Senioritis Art Show featuring visual art creations by senior students, including original works of photography, paintings and sculptures. The creation of a Virtual Community Choir performance of “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” from Pixar’s Toy Story featuring students, faculty, staff, administrators and parents. The creation of several fun videos by faculty, staff, administrators, and students including Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” featuring faculty working from home, “It’s a Hard Knock Life” reminding us to wash our hands, and a cooking class where Chef Harris and friends taught us all how to recreate the Dining and Learning Center’s famous Waffleednesday in our homes! VPA faculty and students have further adapted by moving to virtual auditions for this fall’s line-up of performances. The show must go on!

DearKinkaidcommunity,

Despite the unusual circumstances that surround us, it has been a great pleasure to meet many of you already, and I am truly looking forward to meeting with, learning from and working alongside you in the months and years ahead. My wife Lacy and I have been married for more than 20 years and have spent the better part of our lives in the Lone Star state. Also an educator, Lacy and I have two daughters, Michaela (19) and Katherine (13), and one son, James (17). The latter two will be students at The Kinkaid School in 8th and 11th grades, respectively. We are also guardians of Andrew Jung (17), who has lived with us and will move to Houston with us, and formerly of, Eryn Li (25) who lives in Chicago. We consider these two young people to be a part of our family, and we are honored to have them in our lives, thanks to independent schools where we’ve been in the past. Finally, we have two dogs, a Great Dane named Griffey and a bird dog named Jackie. The Rush family is moving from College Station, Texas where I most recently served as head of school at Allen Academy for the past six years. Prior to that, I served as assistant head of school and head of middle school at Cannon School (Concord, NC). I have also been head of middle school at Harding Academy (Nashville, TN) and North Cross School (Roanoke, VA). I started my teaching career at my alma mater, Greenhill School (Addison, TX), where I taught English and coached football and baseball. While academics, diversity, equity and inclusion work, and leadership initiatives are my passions professionally, I am also unabashedly a huge sports fan. I have coached girls volleyball, 4th grade basketball and varsity golf, but my favorite sports are and always have been football and baseball. I’ve had incredible opportunities to coach

baseball at the collegiate and Olympic levels, as well as to be a part of an SPC Championship football coaching staff. My appreciation and affection for this community continues to grow, and I am humbled to have the opportunity to be involved in the next chapter of the School’s nearly 120-yearold history. Thoughout the weeks and months ahead, I look forward to meeting with each of you to deepen that appreciation and invite you to help me understand our school’s strengths, history and opportunities for excellence. Even amid the uncertainties surrounding us, I am galvanized to do the critical and important work ahead. I look forward to a year in which I will get to know you and your children better, and I am eager to partner with you. I am always available by email (matt.rush@kinkaid.org), so feel free to contact me if you have questions, or if you’d like to introduce yourself.

Sincerely, Matt Rush Assistant Head of School

Welcome.

Iam honored to begin serving as the sixth head of school of Th Kinkaid School. Last spring I concluded 13 years of service to Saint Mary’s Hall in San Antonio, and it is the nationally recognized excellence of

Kinkaid that motivated me to pursue this special leadership opportunity. I was especially drawn to our school’s mission to “promote educational excellence, personal responsibility, and balanced growth, and thereby to help students discover and develop their talents and fulfil their best potential.”

Our mission, in tandem with our four core values of honesty, respect, responsibility and kindness, greatly appeals to me as an educator but especially as a new Kinkaid parent.

I am deeply devoted to education as a life passion. An independent school product, I attended Fort Worth Country

Day from kindergarten through graduation. A graduate of

Williams College with a B.A. in history, I began my career in education at the Harley School in Rochester, NY, teaching history and coaching. Longing for my home state of Texas,

I assumed a teaching, coaching and administrative position with Episcopal High School here in Houston for eight years.

Prior to leaving EHS, I completed a master of arts degree in education with a concentration in private school leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University. Aftr two years as head of upper school at Wichita Collegiate School in Kansas, I was pleased to return to Texas once more. I served as assistant head of school and head of upper school at Saint Mary’s Hall from 2007-2011, and served as Head of

School from 2011-2020.

Th Eades family is delighted to become members of the

Kinkaid community and return to Houston after a 15 year absence. My wife Elizabeth is a native Houstonian and graduate of St. John’s School, UT-Austin and Rice University.

When I’m not on campus, you will find me spending meaningful time with Elizabeth, Oliver (15, incoming freshman),

Lilla (13, 8th grade), George (10, 5th grade), and our dogs

Mae, June and Augie. Our passions as a family include reading, travel, hiking, fishing and fiecely supporting multiple sports teams from the state of Texas (I won’t share which ones so that I remain in your good graces!). It has admittedly been a challenging time to transition, but every interaction - even physically distanced ones - that I have had with members of the Falcon community affirms the wonderful decision to join Kinkaid. Our community will soon learn that I am a relational leader, deeply devoted to being present, accessible and a good communicator. I highly value my relationships with all constituencies that make up a school community. I entered the fild of education 26 years ago as a teacher and coach because of my heart for working with students. As my administrative career developed, I discovered that I also have a passion for supporting teachers and staff and working with parents, grandparents, alumni and trustees. You will discover that I will communicate frequently and directly with you, and that I want to lift up all voices at Kinkaid. In closing, in only a few months at Kinkaid, I have learned what makes Th Kinkaid School distinctive is the strong sense of community. A talented student body is taught and mentored by premier faculty and staff who are national experts in their filds, all of whom share a passion for developing scholars, artists, athletes, and above all, good citizens. And like our students, our school possesses a growth mindset. We are driven to continuously strengthen our position as one of the premier schools in the country. I am eager for the journey ahead.

Sincerely, Jonathan Eades Head of School