Dear SUA Community,

As we near the conclusion of the December Minimester, I am filled with gratitude for the rich, experiential learning these days have brought to our school community.  The minimester courses have created space for deeper focus, meaningful exploration, and hands-on learning.  I am so impressed by the exceptional faculty and staff who thoughtfully designed and supported these learning opportunities, as well as by our students, who have embraced this new structure with enthusiasm and openness.  It has been an absolute pleasure to see our students fully engaged in new ways of learning and discovery.

Last week, we held a brief debrief with our Department Chairs to reflect on the minimester experience. I thought you might enjoy hearing some of their early observations:

• Students are engaged in deeper, more thoughtful discussions.
  
• Students are open to taking risks and trying new approaches to learning.
  
• Teachers have expressed great respect for the quality of the planning and lesson design of their colleagues, with many sharing that they would love to take these courses themselves.
  
• Students are thinking about topics in new and creative ways.
  
• Students are forming connections across grade levels, grounded in shared interests.
  
• Above all, there is a noticeable level of engagement and genuine enjoyment in learning.
  

Thursday will be an especially exciting and meaningful day as we wrap up this historic first minimester.  We will gather as a school community for a Demonstration of Learning, during which each minimester course will showcase its learning in a gallery walk format.  Students will share projects, presentations, performances, and other demonstrations of their work, while also visiting other courses to learn from their peers.  We will conclude the day with a prayer of gratitude for the time we shared in these courses, followed by a Christmas blessing.

Lelia and I would like to wish all of you a most blessed Christmas.  During Advent, I have been listening to a program that offered a reflection that has stayed with me.  Popular culture and music often portray the Nativity as calm and serene, as in the familiar image of “all is calm, all is bright.”  In reality, the birth of Jesus was filled with uncertainty and unexpected circumstances, much like many moments in our own lives.  The calm came not from the absence of chaos, but from Mary and Joseph saying “yes” to God’s call and placing their full trust in Him.  Their circumstances did not suddenly become easy, but God gifted them peace and joy as they walked forward in faith. 

Christmas holds many blessings, and among the greatest is the reminder that we have a loving God who is truly with us.  May peace, joy, and comfort fill your days this holiday season and into the New Year.

Merry Christmas!

Kathy

This Week at SUA: Reminders and Tips to Help Your Bulldog

• Thursday, December 18 is the final day of the December Minimester.  Christmas Break will continue until Tuesday, January 6, when classes resume for the Spring Semester.
  
• Students submitted their minimester requests for the 2026–27 school year on Tuesday, December 16.  We begin this process in December so that students are aware of their minimester courses before building their semester schedules.  This timing supports students in creating a thoughtful and balanced schedule for the coming year.  Additional details about the scheduling process will be shared in January and February 2026.