The Waterloo Blog

Portrait of a Graduate: Emotional Intelligence

By Bryce Carlisle / August 4, 2023

Traditional high schools are really good at teaching academics, but what about the other skills teenagers need to thrive in the real world? What about emotional intelligence? It’s the kind of thing you might expect to hear about in a commencement address… along with “forks in the road” or “oh, the places we’ll go.” But…

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Waterloo’s Border Experience

By Craig Doerksen / May 15, 2023

Have you ever been on a class trip? Where did you go? What did you do? Plenty of schools embark on class trips to unique cultural destinations to explore and expand young minds – some turn them into mission trips building local relationships and engaging in acts of service. At Waterloo, we’ve taken many of…

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What is Project-Based Learning?

By Waterloo School / April 24, 2023

Education at Waterloo School is inspired by several different learning models. One of those is well known by some and a bit of a mystery to others: Project-Based Learning (known by those familiar with it as ‘PBL.’) Just what is project-based learning? How does it work? And what does it look like in practice? What…

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Announcing Waterloo’s 2022-2023 Big Cheese Campaign!

By Waterloo School / November 29, 2022

It’s Big Cheese time! Welcome to our annual (lighthearted) campaign that helps us lead our amazing, ambitious high school students reach their potential. We’re investing in people The Big Cheese is not just about raising money — it’s about making a real impact. But how do we do that? Earlier this fall, our families hosted…

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Designing a School for Growth

By Craig Doerksen / September 29, 2022

What’s the purpose of school? What words do teenagers often use to describe learning at school? For many students, the school experience checks way too many of those boxes.  Ever wonder why that is? Is it just inevitable? The rise of achievement-oriented education We think the problem has to do with what we’ve come to…

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What does senior year look like at Waterloo?

By Craig Doerksen / August 25, 2022

Your senior year is a great time to be in high school! Will you coast through the finish line, or will you make the most of the time you have left? Dr. Christina Swan (admissions, sciences) and Craig Doerksen (director, humanities) recently had a chat about how Waterloo empowers seniors to get a head start…

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Is Waterloo a “Rigorous” High School?

By Waterloo School / July 28, 2022

Academic rigor in high school is often touted as a selling point for families and an indicator of future success for students. But what does a rigorous curriculum really mean? Is an “academically rigorous” curriculum really the best way to help students succeed? To help unpack this idea, we captured a conversation between Dr. Christina…

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Success at Austin Energy Science Fair!

By Waterloo School / March 9, 2022

Exciting news from Waterloo School! We had a great time at this year’s Regional Austin Energy State Science Fair, bringing home some big wins. Elizabeth Everston won 1st in her category, Engineering Mechanics. We also have a 5th place winner in an alternate category, Cordelia Bryant! Please join us in congratulating our students. We are so…

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2022 Junior Projects (VIDEO)

By Waterloo School / March 4, 2022

Are you curious about what it’s like to experience the capstone Junior Project here at Waterloo School? In their third year, Waterloo students take on the exciting task of completing a Junior Project. This is a project that showcases each student’s unique interests and skills developed during their time at Waterloo and helps colleges see…

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Inaugural Mock Trial team goes to competition!

By Rachel Kubitz / January 28, 2022

This week I watched our students argue in court over 100 million dollars worth of stolen artwork and a museum’s allegedly fraudulent insurance claim. The judge was a real Texas judge. The courtroom was a real (Zoom) courtroom. But it wasn’t a real trial. In fact, it was a Mock Trial, and the students in…

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