All Saints’ News

After several years of playground improvements, we are excited to announce that All Saints’ Episcopal Day School has received official certification from Nature Explore for our Outdoor Classroom. Nature Explore is leading a movement to bring the benefits of learning with nature to all children. We are delighted to meet their research-based requirements for outdoor classroom design and align perfectly with their mission to inspire joy and wonder in children, educators, and communities with a heart centered approach to early education. The latest educational research shows the benefits of outdoor learning. When children play outside, they learn about STEM (science,…

Getting teens excited can be a challenge, but when it comes to camp, that has not been true in my family. My fourteen-year-old son, Wesley, attends Camp Capers, an Episcopal camp in the Hill Country. When he returns home, he is feeling like his best self. He beams with joy, talking non-stop, and singing camp songs all the way home. My daughter, Hazel, also loved camp. She attended RockyRiver Ranch, an all-girls camp in Wimberly. Camp was transformative for her as well. I barely recognized the child I picked up. She glowed with happiness, and she was thrilled to share…

I don’t want to give away my age, but I was born right after the counterculture movement of the late 60’s. My mom and dad were high school sweethearts. My dad was a star football player, and my mom was on the drill team and into fashion. They evolved quickly with the times and ended up married and at Woodstock just a few years later. I was given the name Gurugian. Growing up with a name that is unusual and hard to pronounce was challenging. I was a shy child and it felt excruciating to be set apart as different.…

My daughter, Hazel, is graduating from high school. Where does the time go? It seems like yesterday that she was a student at All Saints’. My memory of her graduation from the Orange Room is one that lives on in my heart and mind. From the sound of her ringing the church bell to singing “I Am a Promise” with her class- mates, then as now, there were feelings of overwhelming joy and sadness. A children’s book called The Blur describes this feeling perfectly. The child is born, and the sleepless early days are a blur. At moments, like when…

The All Saints Episcopal Day School Board of Trustees recently formed an ad hoc committee focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). The ASEDS DEI Committee exists to advance the values of social justice, equity, and inclusion at our school. The Committee understands the following functions and actions as critical to supporting this mission: Reviewing and structuring our admissions process with the aspiration toward a membership that is proportionately demographically representative of Austin with respect to race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and disability Ensuring that ASEDS community culture is welcoming and as safe as possible to current and prospective members…

When I look back at my favorite family memories, nature’s soothing effects are often involved. My newborn daughter’s crying in the evenings turned to calm when we walked outside. My toddler son’s delight as he creatively piled leaves on the very patient cat who lived next door. Both kids dancing and singing in the rain. Overnight camping where the bickering stopped, and everyone was happy and entertained without the use of screens. Trips to the river where joyous hours slipped by while tubing, swimming, and observing frogs, birds, and fish. The latest educational research shows the benefits of outdoor learning…