Part 5 – Activism and Moving Forward

Ingrained in all of the teaching and learning around anti-racism at Nueva—in programs and projects built over the years, as well as new ones introduced this year—is a message of hope: hope for this next generation of young people, hope for the future of Nueva, and hope in creating a more anti-racist community at Nueva and within our broader communities. 

November is Native American Heritage Month, a fact that often gets overlooked in the midst of parent-teacher conferences and Thanksgiving holiday planning. This year at Nueva, we wanted to focus more intently on Native American history and, specifically, our relationship to the land that Nueva rests upon and our responsibility as an institution to bear witness to the history of this soil.

The story had all the makings of a Hollywood movie: a secret mission, an interview with the KGB, and the successful rescue of more than 2 million persecuted people. This was the true story shared by Adele and Joel Sandberg at an upper school Judaism Club event on the last Friday in October.

Joyful and vigorous study is at the heart of the Nueva experience. We sat down with 12th grade dean, upper school history teacher, and Nueva alumnus ’05 Brian Cropper for a conversation about the inspiration for his newest class and his role as 12th grade dean. Brian also shares how his students and colleagues inspire him every day.

Part 3 – Science and Math

Examining data is another tangible way for students to understand and talk about racial and social justice issues.

Mavericks Making Waves is our latest roundup of exceptional student and faculty accomplishments and activities happening beyond Nueva's walls.

Part 2 – Literature

Books are oftentimes one of the best ways to introduce students to the themes of identity, social justice, and anti-racism. They also help facilitate conversations, build empathy, and provide a launching point for important and difficult conversations.

One of the goals Andrew Alexander has for himself when he teaches his upper-school mathematics courses is to bring joy into the classroom. To launch the geometry unit in his Math 1 class, Andrew came up with a creative way to infuse joy and wonder into the learning: he constructed a six-foot tall compass and an accompanying 12-foot long straight edge.

After school on Thursday, October 21, about 40 students and teachers gathered on Zoom to enrich and extend their current interdisciplinary study of the Silk Road. They were participating in a noodle-making workshop by author and restauranteur Jennifer Lin-Liu that covered centuries of history and was generations of cross-continental journeys in the making. Organized by Jennifer Paull in conjunction with the seventh- and eighth-grade humanities teachers, this event is one of many the new Humanities Center will showcase in the years to come.