Dear Hill Country Families,

Happy first day of school! What a tremendous joy it was to welcome all of your students—and so many of you—back to campus today. While a quiet campus during the summer months is great for productivity, it simply can’t match the energy, purpose, and life that y’all bring with you. What a gift to see everyone today!

Speaking of first days, we are so glad to have our entire Hill Country family back together. At the same time, we know that when school starts, the busyness kicks into high gear right alongside it.

Knowing that we’re filling up your calendar, I thought we should start the school year by giving you something a little unexpected: permission to say no to things that might crowd out your family’s most important commitments.

Over the summer, I re-read a book called Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. (If you haven’t read it yet, put it on your list—it’s well worth the read!)

In the book, McKeown challenges the idea that “more is always better” and asserts that living “less, but better” is a much more fulfilling way to live. He also calls bluff on the notion that we can do it all without tradeoffs.

Our instinct is often: if some is good, more must be better! But we often fail to realize that with every yes we give, we automatically say no to three or four other things.

Why bring this up on the very first day of school? Because we recognize that by opening our doors, we just handed you a full schedule for the coming year. We didn’t want to load up your calendar without also giving you explicit permission to protect your family’s time. (I know—a little unusual coming from a school, right?)

Here is what I’m really getting at:
We want your family to enjoy all the rich opportunities Hill Country offers, but we want you to prioritize what matters most even more.

Here are a few examples:

• Youth Group: We love seeing your sons and daughters plugged into their faith communities. This falls firmly into the “more important” category.
• Family Dinners: Sitting down together for a meal is essential family time.
• Sunday Rest: If school commitments ever start creeping into your Sundays, please let us know! We want you to be able to give that day to the Lord and to your family.

In closing, we can’t wait to jump into this school year with y’all! We are excited for everything ahead and hope you can preserve the moments that truly matter most to your home.

Join us in trying to keep a healthy, peaceful balance this school year!

Welcome back!

Eric DeVries, Head of School and High School Principal