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Wakefield Thought Leaders
Welcome to Wakefield Thought Leaders, a dynamic collection of articles showcasing the expertise and innovation within our community. Written by our talented educators and respected voices beyond Wakefield, these insightful pieces cover a wide range of topics. From mental health and wellbeing to pioneering in education, athletics, the arts, and global citizenship, each article reflects the thought leadership, passion, and unique experiences that shape our students into engaged citizens.
Now viewing articles in the category Haymarket-Gainesville Lifestyle.
Wakefield’s Senior Kayak Trip: A Tradition of Reflection, Unity, and Stewardship
November 1st, 2025
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - November 2025, p. 10 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - November 2025, p. 8
Each fall, Wakefield School’s Senior Kayak Trip launches the graduating class into their final year with intention and heart. Blending reflection, friendship, and environmental stewardship, the multi-day journey on the Shenandoah River invites students to step into leadership and adulthood with gratitude and unity. Through letter-writing, shared storytelling, and time on the water, seniors deepen their connections to each other and to the world around them. The tradition—rooted in two decades of care and community—remains a defining Wakefield experience that sets a mindful tone for the year ahead.
AI in Education: The Wakefield Way
October 1st, 2025
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - October 2025, p. 10 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - October 2025, p. 8
"Students are preparing for a world where AI is as common as calculators, search engines, or word processors. To thrive, they must know not only how to use these tools but also how to question them, verify them, and avoid leaning on them as crutches."
Artificial Intelligence (AI) sits at the crossroads of opportunity and challenge. Its ability to explain concepts, provide instant feedback, and generate ideas makes it a powerful tool for students. Yet, used improperly, it can undermine independent thought and erode academic honesty. Wakefield has taken a deliberate approach to AI, one that prepares students for the future while safeguarding the timeless values that define the school’s culture.
From Curiosity to Confidence: How Wakefield's Inquiry-Based Learning Shapes Lifelong Thinkers
September 1st, 2025
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - September 2025, p. 10 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - September 2025, p. 10
"At Wakefield, curiosity is not a phase to be outgrown but a skill to be nurtured for college, career, and a meaningful life."
Whether it’s a kindergartener asking why the seasons change, a middle-schooler exploring the ethics of artificial intelligence, or an upper school student designing a self-directed capstone project, curiosity is the driving force behind the Wakefield experience. An inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning fosters confident, capable thinkers prepared not only for college but for life.
Fun in the Sun: A Summer of Discovery at Wakefield School
May 1st, 2025
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - May 2025, p. 8 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - May 2025, p. 10
Wakefield’s small, connected community gives its camps a special edge. With a 12:1 camper-to-counselor ratio and educators who bring engaging lesson plans to life, every child receives thoughtful attention. “That sense of community really shines through.” —Katie Vanderveldt
The end of the school year doesn't mean the end of learning—or fun—at Wakefield School in The Plains. Each summer, Wakefield transforms into a vibrant hub of creativity and adventure, offering a wide range of thoughtfully curated summer camp experiences.
On STEM… and Stems: The beautiful and beneficial intersection of STEM, creativity, and the natural world
April 1st, 2025
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - April 2025, p. 10 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - April 2025, p. 10
“Children all need to be sparked and to be recognized as being creative. Sometimes people think that is only through art, and it’s not–there’s so much more!” —Tiffany Navin
At Wakefield School in The Plains, veteran kindergarten teachers Michelle Redabaugh and Tiffany Navin mine that most precious of all educational resources–curiosity–to ensure that their students get swept up on a daily basis by the mystery, the excitement, the creativity, and the pure fun of inquiry-based learning and investigation–which of course are the underpinnings of all things STEM.
Posted in: Haymarket-Gainesville Lifestyle, Warrenton LifestyleImagination Cast Through Creativity: Wakefield School Visual Arts
December 1st, 2024
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - December 2024, pg. 10 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - December 2024, p. 8
“A day without art is a day of lost potential.” —Gary Genther
The Visual Arts stand as a pillar of academic excellence at Wakefield School, deeply intertwined with the school’s mission of fostering “character, curiosity, and clear voices.” Upper School Fine Arts teacher Gary Genther, a monumental presence at Wakefield since 1986, has been instrumental in shaping this program. “A day without art is a day of lost potential,” he emphasizes, underscoring his belief that every student possesses an “artistic personality” worth developing.
On Building—On Stage and Off: Tethering the Joys of Performance Arts to the Joys of Self-Confidence
November 1st, 2024
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - November 2024, pg. 12 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - November 2024, p. 10
“Sixth graders built functional stairs for our Addams Family set. Were they perfectly square? No. But they were square and plumb enough…and after the show, those sixth graders brought their parents on stage and said, ‘Dad, I built this!’” —Michael “Jonz” Jones
Wakefield School in The Plains has a long history of celebrating the performing arts and their invaluable role in education, but for many years, one of the key lessons was, Hey, who needs a fancy facility? Great theater can be made ANYWHERE!...
With the completion nearly three years ago of its new state-of-the-art theater and auditorium, though, Wakefield has had the opportunity to expand the experiences it can offer its students...
Playing by Ear: How the Freedom to Explore Grows Confident Musicians–and Confident Kids
November 1st, 2024
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - November 2024, pg. 14 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - November 2024, p. 12
“If I asked the faculty to come in my classroom and do even half of what I ask the kids to do, they’d fight me all day! But the kids? They just come in and do it!” —Bess Putnam
Bess Putnam, the second-year Lower School music teacher at Wakefield School who was named Lower School Educator of the Year last spring, has designed a classroom environment so inviting as to make anyone want to start singing, dancing, and playing some music–all of which her students are invited to do each class period. Gazing around her room filled with color, texture, soft light, and especially, musical instruments, she says, “Most children are ready to jump in!”
Global Citizenship: World Language Study as a Pathway to Broad Horizons
October 1st, 2024
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - October 2024, pg. 10 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - October 2024, p. 8
“The most important thing that we do is offer two languages, starting at age four! The earlier you start, the easier it is to learn a language—and not just learn, but develop a love and connection to language and to what it opens up for them.” —Connie Lalonde
Many were shocked last year when some universities began to announce the slashing or even the elimination of their world languages departments—but the trend is broader than just those headlines...
At Wakefield School, a mission-based commitment to the cultivation of global citizens drives a robust and vibrant World Languages (WL) Department that begins at the beginning: JK students enjoy twice-weekly world languages experience in both Spanish and French, continuing through Grade 7. In Grade 8, students choose either Spanish, French, or Latin for their required Upper School studies—two years of the same language required, four years recommended.
Mental Health and Wellbeing in the School Setting
September 1st, 2024
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - September 2024, p. 12 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - September 2024, p. 10
“We can all help our students develop the skills and tools that help them become well-rounded, warm-hearted adults.” —Dr. Amrit Daryanani
Schools are associated first and foremost with academic preparation—but in both schools and families, an increasingly examined subject today is how we balance the changing world, a college-prep academic program, and the mental and emotional wellbeing of our students. Where and how does student wellbeing intersect with other components of a contemporary and whole education?
For Dr. Amrit Daryanani, Director of Student Services and Wellness at Wakefield School in The Plains and known there as “Dr. D,” the role for wellbeing is not to intersect with other components, but to surround them.
“Leave Those Kids Alone”: Trusting in the Power of Curiosity-Driven, Self-Directed Learning
May 1st, 2024
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - May 2024, p. 10 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - May 2024, p. 14
“While I don’t plan on going into a career focused on my independent-study topic, I have thoroughly enjoyed this process and I hope to bring this work into my future interests.” —Wakefield Junior Hayden Faulkner
High school students, it turns out, can be not so very different from pre-schoolers in this wonderful way. In other words, fill a school with the right environment, the right tools and resources, and the opportunity to explore, and you will quickly see that high schoolers, too, want to know! Often the best thing we adults can do is get out of their way, too. And the perfect opportunity to see this phenomenon at work is for a school to make a robust independent study option available to its high school students.
The People’s Choice: Student Interest Brings Niche High School Sports into the Mainstream
April 1st, 2024
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - April 2024, p. 18 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - April 2024, p. 18
In keeping with the value Wakefield places on student voice and initiative, it was student and prospective-student interest that provided the initial push towards both sports [Squash & Equestrian]...
Just as student voice and agency brought these two off-the-beaten-path varsity sports to Wakefield, student passion now keeps them thriving, to the benefit not only of experienced athletes pleased to find them available, but also of the many who have discovered them as beginners and never left.
Purpose-Driven Travel: Expanding Students' Access to the World
March 1st, 2024
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - March 2024, p. 14 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - March 2024, p. 10
“The idea [is] not just traveling to be a tourist, but traveling to say, ‘What can we learn about this? and What can we learn about our world around us?’” —Casey Carter
According to Casey Carter, faculty member and international studies leader at Wakefield School in The Plains, one of the many changes to which schools have had to adjust in a post-COVID world is the drop in international students seeking to attend secondary school abroad. And that, he says, has an effect on students here: How to ensure that our students continue to “have the opportunity to interact with other cultures, other parts of the world, other perspectives?”
As is often the case, his search for solutions is yielding ideas for Wakefield that go well beyond the previous status quo.
"Try Something New!": The Surprising Rewards of "No-Cuts" Athletics
December 1st, 2023
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - December 2023, p. 10 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - December 2023, p. 10
Wakefield’s mission is “to foster the character, curiosity, and clear voices the world needs.” The bold sense of adventure involved in confidently trying out a new sport, and knowing you will be supported, is an integral part of the Wakefield Way.
At Wakefield School in The Plains, learning to take risks in an environment of safety and support is a core element of becoming capable, confident, and independent—in the classroom and beyond. This belief underpins the “Try something new!” ethos of Wakefield’s Middle School athletics program, in which every student participates in a sport each season of 6th, 7th, and 8th grades.
"Hands On the Book": Parent Support for Early Literacy
November 1st, 2023
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - November 2023, p. 16 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - November 2023, p. 18
“Put down the electronics and go old-fashioned: read a book together and have a conversation! I want us to not lose the beauty of connection that can happen when you have hands on the book in front of you, on the couch, with your child.” —Mrs. Sabrina Finn
According to Mrs. Sabrina Finn, one of two first-grade teachers at Wakefield School in The Plains, Virginia, “We don’t call them ‘sight words’ anymore—we don’t want students to look at a word and try to memorize what it is. We are breaking down the sounds!”
Like her fellow first-grade teacher Ms. Kathryn Mullett, Mrs. Finn spends a lot of time talking about and playing with sounds as part of her students’ earliest literacy lessons.
Literacy Begins At Birth: Supporting Early Literacy
October 1st, 2023
Published in: Warrenton Lifestyle Magazine - October 2023, p. 12 & Haymarket Gainesville Lifestyle Magazine - October 2023, p. 12
“What we want in the end is for students to, first, develop curiosity; then to know how to find out more on what they want to know about; and then to be able to do something meaningful with what they’ve learned. This is not just for Wakefield—this is for everyone. And what a beautiful world it will be when every kid has that chance!” —Kathryn Mullett
Decades of research show that a child’s earliest experiences with books and language are predictive of future reading and learning successes. While formally instructing ever-younger children in reading is not developmentally appropriate, Ms. Mullett says the teaching of “early literacy” should begin at birth.
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