A Hawk's Eye View: August 22, 2025

Dear Harding Community,

Walking into the Harding Middle School, you immediately feel a kind of energy—alive, fresh, unmistakably vibrant. It’s not just the towering tropical plants adorning the lobby entrance; it’s the students themselves. Middle schoolers are, in my opinion, one of nature’s most remarkable wonders. 

This sense of vitality doesn’t happen by accident. It’s cultivated—with care, with intention, and with a deep respect for what it means to be - and stay - young. The plants I’ve brought to live in the middle school are not just to dress up the place. I have gathered and grown them in the hope that they will help students feel connected to the natural world around us. Middle schoolers tend to be (as they are supposed to be at this time in their lives) self-centered; our little tropical garden is a gentle reminder that the world is bigger than it may currently seem, and it is full of things to inspire wonder. The plants are an invitation to all who enter the building to step outside of ourselves. My favorite way to do that is to step outside. 

Raised by a naturalist from the 60’s, I spent my childhood wandering the woods, creeks, and rivers of Nashville. I climbed trees, built fires and forts, caught fish and splashed in every inch of creek I could find. These moments—unstructured and unforgettable—are what instilled in me a profound sense of awe for the natural world. 

Now in my 13th year at Harding—shaped by years of working with adolescents and softened by motherhood, with a young Harding student of my own—I feel a calling to foster this sense of awe in our kids. I feel it as a call from the earth itself, asking us to help our children reconnect with the world beyond walls and screens. Parenting a lower school child while working with students in middle school has given me the opportunity to interact with students across a wide range of grade levels, and I believe all of our kids could use a little more time to play, to create, to get dirty, to explore. 

Take a look at our Fall After School Camp offerings and you’ll see opportunities for Harding kids - of ALL ages - to do just that. This year, we are offering many programs designed to nurture creativity, expand horizons beyond the classroom, and reconnect children with nature and with each other. After school camps offer space to explore passions, take risks, and discover new interests—all without the pressure of grades, performance, or competition.