Cary Academy has long been committed to providing a holistic learning experience that puts student wellness front and center, one that addresses social and emotional health in addition to academics. That’s why, when the Center for Community Engagement began brainstorming themes for dialogues this year, it seemed like a no-brainer to use this powerful method to dive deeper into ongoing community conversations around social and emotional health.   Why dialogue? I’ll let one of our student leaders, junior Clay Thornton […]

Members of the Upper School’s Indian Subcontinent Affinity Group (ISAG) teach Bollywood dance in the Middle School during Ubuntu 2019. As the great Nelson Mandela says, “In Africa, there is a concept known as ‘Ubuntu’—the profound sense that we are human only through the humanity of others; that if we are to accomplish anything in […]

On January 14, the tenth grade tackled questions of how to navigate social media with positivity, integrity, and responsibility, in partnership with The Social Institute. Instagram. Snapchat. Tik Tok. Finsta. VSCO. YouTube. Reddit. Twitch. Kik. Tumblr. Houseparty. Whisper. And, even, the old (person) standby (dinosaur?) – Facebook. The list of active social media platforms goes […]

The road to discovery is often full of unexpected twists and turns. When an opportunity to build upon his Spring 2019 Discovery Term course arose, rather than pump the brakes, Upper School math teacher Shelton Shepherd put his students in the driver's seat.

As the Director of Equity and Community Engagement, I have the privilege of working with students in a variety of capacities. Whether it’s supporting students who are doing a coat drive for local migrants, getting excited about what prototypes our students are creating for the Conrad Entrepreneurship Challenge, or working with students through dialogue, our […]

The junior was standing in front of U126. Twenty students had scattered themselves about the classroom, slouching in chairs, sprawling across the couch, or propping their elbows on tables. They were chatting and surreptitiously scanning their phones and trying to ignore my presence. I had walked in, a few moments late. “Ok,” the junior said, […]

I arrived in our nation’s capital after a sleepy five-hour bus ride with the junior class. As I stepped off the bus on to The George Washington University’s campus, I looked around at the many students, food trucks, and scooters. The energy palpable, I was struck by GW’s intimate campus environment despite its location in […]