Dear GHNO Families,

I am excited to welcome back our returning families and extend a warm welcome to our new families joining the Great Hearts Northern Oaks community! As we begin our 12th year, I want to take a moment to reflect on the heart of our mission and the work we are privileged to do together.

Our faculty and staff have been working diligently for the past several weeks! Our newest faculty members began their training in mid-July, and our returning faculty have gathered for professional development the last few weeks. Our teachers have been learning, planning, collaborating, and preparing their classrooms and hearts to welcome your children.

This summer, our faculty spent time studying the first chapter of C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man. Lewis challenges us to consider what it means to educate the whole person—to cultivate hearts and minds. 

This is at the very heart of what we seek to do at Great Hearts Northern Oaks.



We do not educate merely for achievement. We educate our students to know what is true, to recognize what is good, and to love what is beautiful. We want our scholars to develop strong minds along with the character, courage, humility, perseverance, and wisdom necessary to use those minds well.

Lewis reminds us that “without the aid of trained emotions, the intellect is powerless against the animal organism.” His words are a powerful reminder that knowledge alone is not enough. Our students need more than facts and skills; they need their affections trained to help them see that some things are worth pursuing, some things are worth sacrificing for, and some things are worth loving simply because they are true, good, and beautiful.

As we begin this new school year, I am grateful for the partnership of our families and deeply grateful for the teachers who have chosen to pour their time, talent, love and goodwill into the lives of our scholars. Together, we have the opportunity to build an intentional community of learners who are not only prepared to succeed but prepared to live lives of wisdom and virtue.

Thank you for entrusting your children to us. We are excited to welcome them back, to learn alongside them, to challenge them, to encourage them, and to help them grow into young men and women who love what is true, good, and beautiful.

I hope you enjoyed meeting your teacher and we look forward to seeing all our Griffins on Tuesday, August 11th, our first day of school! 

Joyfully,

Marcy Mitchel

Headmaster Lower School

As we get ready for the first day, here are a few reminders to help your student start strong!

• Uniforms: Double-check the Uniform Guide to make sure haircuts, socks, clothing, and all-white or all-black shoes meet our standards.
• Smartwatches & Fitbits: Please leave them at home.
• Water Bottles: Only leak-proof bottles with closeable lids are allowed. No straw tops that can spill.

Though small, these details help build the focused, distraction-free environment we value—where students grow in truth, goodness, and beauty.

• Remember, our Academy is a pop-culture-free zone—no pop-culture images on backpacks, lunch bags, or accessories.
• If you didn’t order an EduKit, it’s time to go supply shopping.
• Purchase your Classics to Keep.. Teachers will let you know when to bring each one.
• Review information about our meal program and how to utilize it.
• 6th graders: If you are a returning 6th grader, make sure House patches are on uniforms
• 5th graders and new 6th graders will receive their house assignments during the House Naming Ceremony.
• Grab your GHNO Spirit Wear—Lower School spirit shirt days are the last Friday of each month.