Enrichment
BEYONd the classroom
The goal of the Joan Beauregard Endowment for Discovery and Enrichment is to create memorable and enriching experiences for students while exposing them to life-changing cultural, historic, civic, artistic, and scientific thinking. When budgets become tight, enrichment experiences are often the first to be put on hold. This endowment ensures these vital programs continue to enhance the HRS educational program for students.
Discovery and Enrichment guests educate and inspire students by introducing possibilities for the future. Many speakers have dyslexia or another learning difference and share how this challenge helped them find success in their careers, while others simply offer fascinating insight into careers and arts students may not have encountered before. Experiences feature musicians, architects, scientists, filmmakers, dancers, actors, authors, and more.
Enrichment Program
2023 Programming
Athletics
Jewell Loyd | WNBA player
October 30, 2023
Lower School + Middle School Assembly
Jewell Loyd, Seattle Storm Guard, is a two-time WNBA Champion, two-time All-WNBA selection, and five-time All-Star. During the 2023 season, Loyd made a single-season scoring record, hitting 743 points by her 31st game, in addition to a franchise record of 111 three-pointers during the season.
Law
Michael Fox | Retired Judge
October 11, 2023
Level 7 Social Studies Classes
Michael Fox, now a retired King County Superior Court judge, was a young and idealistic lawyer in the early 1970s when he got involved in the legal struggle for farmworkers' rights in Eastern Washington. He continued working for the UFW until 1988, when he became a King County Superior Court Judge. On the bench, Fox called attention to the treatment of minorities in the legal system, particularly related to drug sentencing.
writing
Polly Holyoke | Author
October 9, 2023
Lower School Assembly
Polly Holyoke is the author of the award-winning Neptune Trilogy (Disney/Hyperion) and Skyriders (Viking Children’s Books). She grew up in Colorado and wrote her first book with her best friend in fifth grade. A former seventh grade teacher, Polly has visited over 300 schools and loves getting students excited about writing. She believes kids need to read, write, unplug from their gadgets and spend more time… daydreaming!
2022 Programming
writing
Brooke Anderson-Collie | AuthorSeptember 30, 2022
Brooke Anderson-Collie is a professional School Counselor, educator, wife and life enthusiast. After earning a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL, Brooke went on to obtain her master’s degree in School Counseling from Southern University, TN.
Brooke is an alumna of Hamlin Robinson School. With personal experience navigating her dyslexia, Brooke's book highlights a positive way of looking at learning differences.
Sculpture
Richard Rhodes | Sculptor, Stonemason, Scholar October 13, 2022
A Seattle, Washington-based sculptor, stonemason, entrepreneur, and scholar of stonework world-wide, Richard Rhodes apprenticed as a stonemason in Siena, Italy after graduate studies at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. As the first non-Italian admitted into Siena’s ancient masonic guild in 726 years (operative branch of the Freemason’s, heirs to the cathedral builders of Europe), he is known throughout the sculpture and stone community as the “last apprentice.” Though now branching into other media such as cast bronze, Rhodes credits his guild training as the major influence in his sculptural practice.
Theatre
Seattle Shakespeare CompanyApril 2023 (multiple dates)
Seattle Shakespeare Company is the Puget Sound region’s year-round, professional, classical theatre. The company’s growing success stems from a deep belief in the power and vibrancy of the time-tested words and ideas of Shakespeare and other classical playwrights along with a commitment to artistic excellence on stage. The results have been provocative performances that both challenge and delight audiences while fostering an appreciation for great stage works.
SCIENCE
Science on Wheels - Pacific Science CenterApril 27, 2023
Science on Wheels travels across the Pacific Northwest to build excitement for science, math, and engineering through engaging, interactive learning experiences.
Middle school students will take part in interactive classroom programs and a whole school assembly from the Space Odyssey program.
2021 Programming
writing and illustration
Martha Brockenbrough | AuthorJulia Kuo | Illustrator
December 14, 2021
Martha Brockenbrough (rhymes with broken toe) is the author of two books for adults and numerous books for young readers (with several others on the way), including YA fiction and nonfiction, picture books, and a forthcoming chapter book series. A faculty member at Vermont College of Fine Arts, she's also the founder of National Grammar Day (every March 4), and she's written game questions for Cranium and Trivial Pursuit.
Julia Kuo is a Taiwanese-American illustrator based out of Seattle. She has taught illustration courses at Columbia College Chicago and at her alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis. Julia was the visual arm of Chicago’s 2017 March for Science and has had the honor of being an artist-in-residence at Banff Centre for the Arts in 2014 and in 2017. She is currently the recipient of a 2019-2021 Gray Center Mellon Collaborative Fellowship at the University of Chicago.
Poetry
Janet Wong | Author, Poet, Publisher
March 28, 2022
Janet Wong, celebrated author and winner of the 2021 NCTE Excellence in Poetry for Children Award, will meet with lower and intermediate students at Hamlin Robinson School on Monday, March 28. She will share a selection of her works encompassing expression, movement, and more – perfectly timed with the levels’ annual poetry unit.
Janet started her career as a lawyer, transitioning to a writer, and even has her own publishing company. She speaks to students all over the world and shares her written work in ways that connect with students at their level.
“I love to share the story of my transition from lawyer to author to publisher. I’m told that my keynotes, assemblies, and workshops are inspiring, which warms my heart. It is my hope that you will hear my stories and get going to make your own dreams happen for you.”
2020 Programming
PERFORMANCE ARTS
Lida Winfield | DancerJanuary 30, 2020
Lida Winfield is a professor of dance at Middlebury College. She is an innovative and accomplished dancer, choreographer, spoken word artist and educator. She creates original solo, duet and group work; merging storytelling, dance and visual art. She was able to visit our school as a part of the Joan Beauregard Endowment for Discovery and Enrichment, spending the entire day with our students and faculty. After sharing her story, she guided workshops with some of our middle school students and teachers.
ENTERTAINMENT
John Curley | FilmmakerDecember 17, 2019
John Curley is a Seattle radio and television institution. He was the former host of King 5 TV's Evening Magazine, the highest-rated regionally produced TV show in the country, for 15 years. He has been honored with numerous regional Emmy Awards and the Edward R. Morrow Award for excellence in Journalism. John also struggled with Dyslexia and has a passion to help youth come to terms with their learning differences and using them as an asset in life. John shared his story with our students to inspire them.
2019 Programming
MUSIC
Kate KayaianCellist
October 26, 2018
Renowned cellist and Director of Chamber Music for the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Kate Kayaian came to HRS to perform for students and share her story as a person with dyslexia. Students were encouraged to engage their imaginations while listening to music from many different periods and styles.
FILM
Krista WeltneFilmmaker
November 30, 2018
Award-winning filmmaker Krista Weltner showed her stop-motion film, "Partially Compensated," inspired by her own experience with dyslexia. Through the course of the film, Violet must learn to embrace her differences and so doing finds that there are advantages to thinking differently. Krista is also an aspiring author, illustrator, and artist.
ARCHITECTURE
John SavoArchitect
February 8, 2019
John Savo and his architectural firm designed the famous Amazon Spheres, conservatories that serve as an employee lounge and workspace. The domes house 40,000 plants, along with meeting and retail space. Savo shared the story of the Spheres from the initial design process to their construction on the Amazon campus. A weekend tour for HRS families followed.
THEATER
The OdysseyBook-It Repertory TheaterMarch 20, 2019
Book-It Repertory Theater performed The Odyssey for the Middle School, to connect their knowledge of Ancient Greece to the larger literary experiences in different cultures. Book-It is widely respected for the consistent artistic excellence of its work.
FILM
Johnathon SchaechActor
March 22, 2019
Actor Johnathon Schaech visited HRS from Los Angeles to meet students and see our school. Johnathon has been in more than 100 films and TV shows and, as an actor with dyslexia, is on the board of NoticeAbility, a Harvard University accredited nonprofit dedicated to helping students with brain-based differences identify their unique strengths and build their self-esteem.
THEATER
New Shoes
Book-It Repertory Theater
March 27, 2019
Book-It Theater performed New Shoes for the Lower School, a story about a young African-American girl in the Jim Crow-era south. This story reminds us, when students are free to be themselves, they will be accepted. Book-It is widely respected for the consistent artistic excellence of its work.