Head of School Oct 20, 2023
On the Friday before the long weekend, I attended an Upper School assembly featuring Pablo Cartaya, an internationally acclaimed author, screenwriter, speaker, and educator. Mr. Cartaya is the author of several award-winning books, including: “The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora,” “Marcus Vega Doesn’t Speak Spanish,” and “The Last Beekeeper.”
It’s hard to describe what an engaging experience this was. Mr. Cartaya is a wonderful writer and an even more gifted public speaker. For 45 minutes, he enchanted the Upper School students with stories of his close relationship with his Cuban-American abuela and his deep sense of loss when, as she died, he lost, at least temporarily, his connection to the Spanish language and Cuban culture. He told a hilarious anecdote about his failed attempts, as an eighth grader, to woo a cheerleader on Valentine’s Day. And, perhaps most memorably, he described his nervous excitement when, while working as a backup dancer for a young Beyoncé Knowles, he was asked to bring her a bucket of ice and massage her aching feet.
This wonderful assembly, which was repeated for the Middle School students, is part of a continuing effort to expose our students to professional writers and artists. Each year, the Lower School librarians sponsor at least two author visits, one for grades six through 12 and another for the students at Doherty and Lotspeich. Each of the authors brings a different perspective and life experience, but in general, they read from their work, talk engagingly about the writing process, and answer students’ questions about the life of a writer and the joys and the challenges of the publishing world.
In the last several years, Lower School students have met with Grace Lin, Sandra Markle, Don Tate, Nancy Churnin, and Bruce Cameron, and the Middle and Upper School students with Kwame Alexander, Ayesha Saeed, Jasmine Warga, and Ellen Oh.
All of this, of course, supplements the robust Seven Hills tradition of Books for Lunch, which has brought to our campus, in just the last few years, such writers as Michael Cunningham, Jane Smiley, Jennifer Egan, and Min Jin Lee. This year’s author, Pulitzer-prize winner Andrew Sean Greer, will be here Feb. 2, 2024.
My sincere thanks to our librarians and to many other volunteers for providing these enriching opportunities for our students and their families.
Christopher Garten
Head of School
Key Dates & Events
November — Native American Heritage Month
Friday, Nov. 3 — Faculty Professional Development Day. No School.