Head of School

To be “on fire” is to be achieving something extraordinary and important and to feel unstoppable in the process. At Hewitt, we are on a shared journey to give every girl opportunities to develop genuine excitement about something that will inspire her to perform at the very height of her abilities, to fan each girl’s inner sparks of possibility into full-blown flames of achievement.

I am pleased to introduce this morning’s Commencement speaker, for she is not only a former colleague of mine but also a dear friend. She is passionate. She is intense. She is a warm demander. She always seems to know what to say and when to say it. She is joyous. She is on the move. She is a force of nature. She is a leader. She is Courtney Banghart.

“Stressed out” is a tired expression in contemporary culture, and it can be easy to dismiss as a mundane complaint or mere conversation filler. But its overuse masks the real and troubling role that stress too often plays in school life today, particularly in the lives of high school students.

When people ask me what makes Hewitt so special, I often point to our long-held community value of being there for one another. This cultural value is deep in the school’s very roots and soil. At Hewitt, we show up for each other in caring and compassionate ways so that we can be the kind of people others can count on.

The Hewitt community is committed to the lifelong practice of preparing ourselves to connect meaningfully with others in order to make the world a better place. And when I see our community spread empathy to others, when I see us engage in civil discourse around difficult topics, when I see us learn about each other’s cultures and traditions, I see Hewitt at its best.

At Hewitt, we work day in and day out to ensure that our girls and young women access and use their voices, and it is well known that graduates of girls' schools are significantly more likely to run for student government on college campuses and beyond.

At Hewitt, we believe in the power of taking advantage of opportunities for girls and young women to engage in developmentally-appropriate discourse and to develop critical thinking skills. Hewitt faculty respond to genuine student inquiry and take advantage of teachable moments in a way that teaches students how to think, not what to think.

As we take the first steps into the school year together, let us all try to model living in the present, to do more learning and less judging, and to make the small, everyday moments count. Let us join with our girls and young women as they explore what it means to be fully present, mindful, and open in their pursuits and their relationships.