Dear Parents and Students,
Greetings! I hope that you are well, and that you are able to continue enjoying some leisure time ahead of the coming academic year. During the past few weeks my wife, children, and I have finished our move from St. Louis, and we are happily settling down in Parker. We look forward to setting down roots in the area and investing in the Ascent community. I am especially excited to get to know each of you in the coming months! I aim to attend school gatherings during the coming months to begin meeting you and building relationships with your families. I am eager to build a firm foundation from which we can continue to grow and strive for excellence, as a community, in the coming years.
I have been working alongside our staff to complete our Upper School hiring searches for the coming year. I am pleased to say that, in addition to our excellent and dedicated returning staff, we are hiring accomplished and energetic faculty and staff who believe strongly in the mission and vision of our school. With these strong additions to our team, we are building on existing strengths, fortifying our existing curricular offerings and student services, and laying the foundations for sustainable success in the future. I look forward to keeping a foot in the classroom myself, and am elated to be teaching moral and political philosophy – courses I have taught at the university level – to our juniors and seniors.
I am also excited to work closely with our House leaders and our students to strengthen the House system. Our House system affords us unique cultural opportunities that are not available in other schools. The Houses are natural avenues for fostering school spirit and culture, forming community, and growing in knowledge and the virtues. I hope that in the coming year, our Houses will not only afford opportunities for growth, but also opportunities for leisure and play, which are integral aspects of a classical (and therefore free) education.
I firmly believe that by supporting our teachers as they provide a transformative education of the whole person for our students, and by offering our students the means to grow within and outside the classroom, we will continue to grow and set a course for our school to shine as a top-tier school. I am excited to work with you, and I am honored by the trust you place in our staff to educate your students. I will work diligently to honor that trust.
Yours truly,
Mr. Sparks
