News

The Hockaday Dance Department hosted guest artist, Kevin Jenkins, last week. In addition to teaching a master classes for all Upper School dance students, Mr. Jenkins staged a work to be performed by students in Hockaday Dance Theater in the spring dance concert and at ISAS Fine Arts Festival 2019. As a master class teacher and choreographer, his work was praised by Dance Magazine as “riveting” and has choreographed for State Street Ballet, St. Louis Ballet, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Dallas, Bellingham Repertory Dance and School of Ballet Arizona among others. His choreography has also been performed on the Inside/Out Series at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and at West Wave Dance Festival in San Francisco.

Stay connected to Hockaday and to your classmates through the secure online Alumnae Community that is accessible by clicking on the LOGIN button located in the upper right-hand corner of Hockaday’s website. You may contact the Alumnae Office if you do not know your personal login ID and password. Stay in touch with the School all year long by following us on Instagram and Facebook, and join the Alumnae LinkedIn group for professional networking opportunities.

Please join us as we celebrate this holiday season through song and dance!  NorthPark Mall (Show Choir and Dance): Hockaday Show Choir and Hockaday Dance will perform on Tuesday, December 4, at NorthPark Center at 12:30 pm. Upper School Choir Performance:  Upper School Choir will perform its winter concert on Wednesday, December 12, at 7pm in The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Theater. NorthPark Mall (Choir):  Upper School Choir will perform on Thursday, December 13, at NorthPark Center near Dillard’s at noon.

Hockaday Dance Fall Concert Wednesday, November 14 at 7:00 pm The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Theater The Hockaday Dance Department presents Cinderella, choreographed by Beth Wortley and Christie Sullivan, and featuring five Hockadance companies and more than 50 dancers.  Experience a special evening of movement and beauty, this ballet is a must-see.  Free general admission and perfect for all ages.

Nominations for the 2019-20 HPA Executive Committee and Benefit Chair will be open Wednesday, October 3 through 5:00 p.m. Friday, October 19. Available executive committee positions include: President-Elect, Vice President-Elect, Treasurer-Elect, Recording and Corresponding Secretaries, Communications Liaison, Volunteer Coordinator, and Volunteer Coordinator-Elect.  Self-nominate or nominate a peer on the HPA volunteer site, Executive Committee Nominations, for one of the positions under the leadership of 2019-2020 HPA President Jenna Woodberry.  Your insight is invaluable to secure our future parent leaders! Questions? Please contact HPA Parliamentarian  Anna McPhail.  A slate for the open positions on the 2019-20 Executive Committee will be presented by the Nominating Committee for election by the HPA General Membership at the Joint Hockaday/St. Mark's Parents' Associations meeting in January 2019.  For more information on the nominations process, including a brief job description of each available position, please click here.

Hockaday Senior Sara Doward and Junior Isabel Schaffer have placed several times in the Texas State Fair Ceramics Junior Category. Sara won first place for the Juniors Underglaze and Crochet and Isabel won first place in Ceramics Hand Modeling.

Mrs. Gray’s Hockaday Theater Company (Advanced Acting Class) will perform Jack Hilton Cunningham’s one act play Women and War about the effects of war on generations of American women. The play spans 1914-2018. We have been enjoying researching the politics, social mores, music, clothes and more of each different time period. Performances will be held on Tuesday, October 30 from 4:30 – 5:30 pm and Thursday, November 1 from 7:00 – 8:00 pm.

Upper School Musical auditions for Once Upon a Mattress will be held in The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Theater. Students ONLY need to attend ONE of the two auditions (Monday, October 8 from 4:15–6:15 pm or Tuesday, October 9 from 6:15–8:15 pm).  Students will be notified if they receive a call back which will be held on Wednesday, October 10 from 6:15–8:15 pm. Songs and Scenes will be available on Wednesday, October 3rd outside Mrs. Gray’s office (FA244). Please choose at least one song in your range and one scene of a character of your choice.

The Hockaday Film Festival will be Monday, May 7 from 7 – 9 pm at the Studio Movie Grill on Spring Valley.  The event is free.   The following films were accepted to Dallas International Film Festival High School Shorts Showcase: “Gaia” by Maisy Crow; “Ukiyo” by Sophie Gilmour; and “Sight, Thoughts, Feelings” by Shelby Schultz. Joy Gao’s film, “Side by Side” is a finalist at the Media Arts Festival sponsored by UNT. Sophie Gilmour’s short film, “Ukiyo” was accepted into the West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival sponsored by West Virginia University. Sophie’s film will screen with films from 20 countries including Australia, Iran, Japan, Poland, Russian Federation, Switzerland, and Turkey.  “Ukiyo” won Best Student Experimental in the Central Film Fest in Springfield, Missouri, and was accepted to the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival. The North Texas High School Students Shorts Showcase at the Dallas International Film Festival will be Sunday, May 6 at The Studio Movie Grill, Spring Valley. Shelby Schultz’s film screens in the noon showcase, and Maisy Crow’s film and Sophie Gilmour’s film screen in the 2:30pm showcase.

We have two fun family events coming up on campus - father/daughter soccer and mother/daughter yoga. But if you're looking for a parents' night out, join us May 5th for a Cinco de Mayo party featuring fantastic food and drinks, musicians, and fun surprises! We hope you can join us!  A huge "Thank you" to our Special Occasions committee and event hosts. There are dozens of people who contribute their time and talents, open their homes and hearts, and share their passions and purpose in order to create unique experiences for the Hockaday community. Now we want to hear from you! Is there an event you'd like to host next school year or do you have an idea for an experience? Contact Special Occasions Chair, Heather Hays  and click here to see our Special Occasions offerings

Congratulations to Pre-K, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, Form I, and Form III for meeting the Benefit Underwriting Incentive for DISCO THE HALLS! They will enjoy a Free Dress Day on Friday, March 23, to celebrate the Benefit. We hope that all the grades will be able to participate!   The opportunity to purchase underwriting-level tickets and earn the Free Dress Day for your grade has been extended until Thursday, March 1. Each grade level that purchases a minimum of 20 underwriting tickets to the Benefit will receive a FREE DRESS DAY for DISCO THE HALLS on March 23.  The remaining classes are getting very close, help your class meet the challenge!  Underwriting tickets begin at $600 for 2 tickets. Also available, are general tickets which are $200 each. All tickets to the Club 1913 on March 24th can be purchased online by clicking here or by visiting the Benefit page of the Hockaday website.    Join us for a fabulous evening from the open bars in the Club Lounge with the spinning beats of DJ Poizon Ivy (Hockaday parent and alumna!) to the stunning setting of the seated dinner provided by the Food Company, to the glittering dance floor with the Jordan Kahn Band. We anticipate a sold-out event with parents, faculty, staff, and friends! We will dazzle you with spectacular Silent Auction offerings and an action-packed Live Auction!  Get your groove on and join the party!

There are still plenty of chances to get you and your Daisy involved in one of our amazing Special Occasions events! Tomorrow (February 9th) is Flashback Friday for 3rd and 4th grade Daisies for a very special Rotunda Rocks before school with Ms. Kessee! While the Lower School Daisies sing and dance in the morning, our 7th and 8th grade Middle Schoolers will dance away the afternoon tomorrow (February 9th) at a Zumba party with Coach AD! There's still time for your Daisy to join us. Just contact Special Occasions Chair, Heather Hays. Since those events are only for Daisies, we have something else, just for parents! Please join us Saturday night at the home of Middle School mom, Lisa Blue Baron. She is hosting Upper School teacher, Tracy Walder, who will share her very personal knowledge of current events and terrorism in our world today. Tracy is a former member of the CIA and FBI and has incredible stories to share! There's something for everyone in Hockaday's Special Occasions. We hope to see you at one of our events. Check out the link for more details!

Hockaday is thrilled to host the 51st ISAS Fine Arts Festival, April 12-14, 2018! Since its inception 50 years ago, The ISAS Fine Arts Festival has grown to be the nation’s premiere annual regional arts festival among independent schools with more than 3,000 students from more than 40 schools participating in 20 different performance opportunities. Please view Ed Long’s welcome message to participating schools here.   A festival of this size requires an army of volunteers.  Volunteering for ISAS 2018 will be fun and rewarding, and it is your ticket into this special event!  Security is Hockaday’s top concern; therefore, only volunteers who are registered in advance may come to the festival.  The artistic community of students and faculty from over 40 schools will be forever grateful for your help.  Register here to volunteer for the festival.  Mandatory training sessions will be offered in early April.  Please contact the ISAS volunteer liaisons Randi Hofmann and Judi Stewart with any questions.

Nominations for the 2018-19 HPA Board of Directors close tomorrow!  Click here to view Lower, Middle, Upper, and all-school opportunities. Nominating yourself or another parent for one of these important roles is easy. Simply log onto the Hockaday Parent Portal, click on "The Volunteer Site", then "Nominate Leadership", then "Add Nomination". On the "Add Nomination" page, scroll to choose your name if self-nominating or the name of any person you wish to nominate, then scroll to choose the desired Position. Once you've designated a Nominee and a Position, be sure to press "Save" and that's all there is to it! Nominations will close on Friday, February 9.  Questions, contact Rajani Kapu.

The performance dates of the upcoming musical are Friday, February 9 at 7pm, Saturday, February 10 at 7pm and Sunday, February 11 at 2pm in The Nancy A. Nasher and David J. Haemisegger Family Theater. Click Here to purchase your tickets. Purchased tickets will be available for pick-up at the will-call table 30 minutes prior to the show start. Tickets will also be available for purchase at the door, CASH or CHECK only. Online ticket sales will end 24 hours prior to the show start.  Please be advised some of the humor in this show is of a mature nature, and therefore we recommend appropriate audience age of 10 years old and above. “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a hilarious musical comedy set in the 1920s, and an homage to American musicals of the Jazz Age, examines the effect musicals have on the fans who adore them. The "Woman" in the Chair, a mousy, agoraphobic Broadway fanatic, seeking to cure her "non-specific sadness", listens to a recording of a fictional 1928 musical comedy, The Drowsy Chaperone. As she listens to this rare recording, she is transported directly into the musical. The characters appear in her dingy apartment, and it is transformed into an impressive Broadway set with all the glitz and glamour! Come celebrate and join us for the show!

It is time to nominate for the 2018-19 HPA Board of Directors! Nominate others or self-nominate for a variety of volunteer opportunities. Click here to view opportunities in Lower, Middle, Upper and All School. Nominating yourself or another parent for one of these important roles is easy. Simply log onto the Hockaday Parent Portal, click on "The Volunteer Site", then "Nominate Leadership", then "Add Nomination". On the "Add Nomination" page, scroll to choose your name if self-nominating or the name of any person you wish to nominate, then scroll to choose the desired Position. Once you've designated a Nominee and a Position, be sure to press "Save" and that's all there is to it! Nominations will open Wednesday, January 17 and close on Friday, February 9.  Questions, contact Rajani Kapu.