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Warm greetings Griffin families,
Your children's teachers have been busy this week, preparing to welcome your children into our classrooms! We've been recommitting ourselves, as we do each year, to our mission of cultivating the hearts and minds of students through the pursuit of Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.
We invite students in our classes to explore the richness of human experience—from the wisdom of great literature and history to the beauty of math, science, art, music, and poetry. Our goal is not only to teach students to think and speak well but to inspire them to live with high purpose. We help every student to achieve his or her best by providing a structured learning environment, a challenging curriculum, and the guidance of dedicated teachers who care about both academic and character growth.
Our coaches are preparing for the upcoming athletic seasons as well, as they aim to help student-athletes develop character through the triumphs, adversities and striving athletics provides!
Northern Oaks Athletic Field: Enjoy the newly installed athletic field– with a few more touches on the way! Our field rehaul will be ready by early September. We are using your generous donations from the Griffin Gala to overhaul the athletic field, along with ensuring the survival of all the shade trees that currently line the field. In addition to preparing the necessary foundations, our vendor is installing superior quality grass, which is a blend specifically engineered to be drought tolerant, use less water, and to recover well from heavy use. We are also implementing an annual maintenance plan, a zoned use plan, and meeting with our landscaper to discuss best practices and recommended mowing schedules. These improvements are about much more than the facilities themselves. The long-term impact of being able to gather comfortably together for wholesome athletic competition can't be overstated. We are deeply grateful for the generosity of our families who made this vision a reality. Their generosity is an investment not only in our campus, but in every student, family, and future season that will be celebrated on our athletic field.
Updated Upper School Family Handbook: Please review our newly revised 2026-2027 Upper School Family Handbook. This version represents the most comprehensive revision of the handbook since the founding of Great Hearts Texas. During the 2025-2026 school year, the handbook was reviewed section by section to improve legal compliance, strengthen alignment with current Texas law, reduce duplication, and better reflect the mission of Great Hearts Texas. Drafts were developed collaboratively with district departments and campus leaders before being distributed to Headmasters for review in May 2026.
Following campus feedback, additional revisions were made and the final handbook was approved by the Board of Directors in June 2026.
While the handbook has been reorganized into a more logical chapter structure, the most significant improvements are substantive rather than organizational. Here is a summary list of the most substantiative changes.
This handbook is significantly easier for families to navigate and for campus leaders to administer. Classical liberal arts philosophy is intentionally integrated throughout the handbook rather than confined to introductory sections. Among the changes to note, academic integrity expectations have been strengthened to address artificial intelligence and evolving technology. Legal compliance has been brought current through updated state and federal requirements while reducing unnecessary procedural detail. Finally, our local campus procedures are now in Chapter 2, organized into the four sections: Academics and Accountability, General Information, Safety and Security, and Code of Conduct. Please read the updated handbook and review appropriate sections with your children.
We look forward to accompanying your family on the adventure of this new year!
We can't wait to see you on Tuesday, August 11 for our first day of school!
With devotion,
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