I love this school and our students.
They are thoughtful and diverse, interested and interesting.
They have spirit and creativity.
I have a fabulous job. I get to hang out with kids of all ages. One day last spring I spent time with students in every division. It started with the 6th grade discussing the beginning of Animal Farm; I could tell the whole "this is about the Russian Revolution" thing was going to blow them away. Then I stopped by a 2nd grade classroom. Second graders are wonderfully wild and have no personal boundaries. It turned out they wanted to learn exactly everything I was thinking and to share exactly everything they were thinking. Some wanted to shake hands, some wanted to hug, and others made eye contact and expressed their thoughts about life.
That afternoon I watched Senior Night for the women's varsity basketball team. They won, which was awesome, sure - but even better was how much they had improved over the course of the year. They passed like the cast of Hoosiers and played D like the '89 Pistons. From there I attended the Senior Play, a beloved tradition that brings the entire senior class together to put their own twist on Shakespeare. Everyone participates, whether as an actor, set designer and builder, or by learning to run the lightboard. (I didn't realize there were so many pop songs in "Twelfth Night," let alone full dance numbers.)
This was based on one random day at Head‑Royce. The course of a year is many times more complicated and infinitely more fun, as well.
I love this school and our students.
They are thoughtful and diverse, interested and interesting. They have spirit and creativity. They put wheels onto furniture (and motors, too, which makes me nervous). They dress up for “rhyme without reason” day. (Jayhawk and Cornstalk…that kind of thing.) And our students love their school.
I tell parents all the time, choose this school because of the academic excellence. But then I think, no, choose Head‑Royce because of the Center for Community Engagement. And then that feels wrong, and I say, choose for the diversity, for the athletics, for the fact that our production of "Hadestown" was professional quality. Ultimately, though, I hope you choose us for our community in every way.
I hope you will want to experience that joy, too.
Sincerely,
Ricky Lapidus
Interim Head of School
‑RoyceExplore the people, places, and experiences that bring our K–12 community to life, then come walk the campus and imagine your own family becoming part of it.
