Upper School Principal Archives | Colorado Academy News

Advice to live by: ‘Get a dog’ and ‘cultivate our lilies’

Dr. Jon VogelsNovember 20, 2020

“What can we do to manage our children’s crazy busy lives?” That is one of the many questions Dr. Ned Hallowell answered during his Colorado Academy SPEAK prese...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal93 views

Why teaching world literature matters

Dr. Jon VogelsOctober 30, 2020

Many years ago, while teaching an AP English class at another independent school, I realized that my knowledge of great texts from around the globe was too limi...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal53 views

Appreciating the great outdoors

Dr. Jon VogelsSeptember 28, 2020

In my last article for On CAmpus, I mentioned that adversity brings out some unexpected opportunities. I noted that even in the midst of COVID-19, a number of p...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal54 views

How we’re responding to unprecedented times

Dr. Jon VogelsSeptember 2, 2020

Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year at Colorado Academy, one that will undoubtedly live on in our memories long after the dust has settled. So many adjectives ...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal105 views

Dr. Jon Vogels’ parting words to the Class of 2020

Dr. Jon VogelsJune 4, 2020

Editor’s Note: This is the Commencement speech for the Colorado Academy Class of 2020 by Upper School Principal Dr. Jon Vogels. My approach to...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper SchoolUpper School Principal442 views

The more things change…

Dr. Jon VogelsApril 28, 2020

We all know how the rest of that saying goes, and I’m pleased to say it is proving true, now that we have shifted to remote learning in the Colorado Academy Upp...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal178 views

Finding the perfect schedule

Dr. Jon VogelsMarch 31, 2020

The COVID-19 crisis has hit all of us at Colorado Academy hard in the past few weeks. Amidst so many new developments and adjustments, one big question has carr...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal105 views

How College Admission has changed in the past 20 years

Dr. Jon VogelsJanuary 27, 2020

More than twenty years ago I transitioned from a history department chair position to a job in college counseling and entered into a new and challenging role. F...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal107 views

Breadth vs. depth: What’s the best way to learn?

Dr. Jon VogelsDecember 18, 2019

An inch deep and a mile wide? Or a mile deep and an inch wide? One of the ongoing debates in education revolves around the question of breadth versus depth. ...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal967 views

The Mastery Transcript Consortium

Dr. Jon VogelsDecember 17, 2019

You may have already heard about the Mastery Transcript Consortium (MTC). With recent media coverage in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Boston Globe, Washing...

Upper School Principal58 views

Helping students remember more

Dr. Jon VogelsNovember 21, 2019

“Now class, this novel refers to a famous event in American history from the 1930s. Can you tell me what you remember from your U.S. history class about this er...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal86 views

How can we best handle VUCA?

Dr. Jon VogelsSeptember 24, 2019

Volatility, Uncertainty. Complexity. Ambiguity. Collectively gathered into the acronym VUCA, these four words have come to define our age. Introduced in the 198...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal64 views

Senior leaders bond at 10,000 feet

Dr. Jon VogelsAugust 29, 2019

Over the mid-summer weekend of August 9-11, 23 eager soon-to-be Colorado Academy Seniors went to the High Mountain Institute in Leadville to take part in a lead...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper SchoolUpper School Principal108 views

Fostering student agency

Dr. Jon VogelsJune 4, 2019

Student agency is an oft-used phrase in educational circles these days. More and more educational leaders are promoting the idea that students, especially in hi...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal16 views

Hundreds of CA students volunteer for the annual Students H.O.P.E. holiday event

The value of extracurricular activities

Dr. Jon VogelsFebruary 27, 2019

Most of us recall fondly our participation in high school extracurriculars. We may even think about our involvement in theater, or the school newspaper, or athl...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal228 views

This is why I like Admission season

Dr. Jon VogelsJanuary 25, 2019

Now that the calendar has turned to 2019, I am happy to find myself deeply involved in the admission process for next year’s applicants to Colorado Academy's Up...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal289 views

Why CA encourages students to try new things

Dr. Jon VogelsNovember 29, 2018

Every fall Parent Preview provides Colorado Academy with two wonderful opportunities to showcase our whole school to prospective parents. My favorite part of th...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal83 views

Going global at CA

Dr. Jon VogelsOctober 29, 2018

The last few years have been particularly exciting for Colorado Academy’s ambitious Global Travel Program. Thanks in large part to the efforts of Daniel Lopez, ...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal123 views

CA Seniors greet freshmen on the first day of school.

Getting off to a running start

Dr. Jon VogelsAugust 30, 2018

Over the last couple of weeks, faculty have been busily getting ready for the beginning of school at Colorado Academy. Of course, that means...

Faculty/StaffOn CAmpus NewsletterUpper School Principal189 views

The truly authentic Class of 2018

Dr. Jon VogelsJune 6, 2018

One aspect of this year’s class stood out to me as several of us were crafting the tributes that we read at Commencement. I noticed how often we were ...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper SchoolUpper School Principal180 views

Positive collaboration—one of the 6 C’s in action

Dr. Jon VogelsMarch 16, 2018

At Colorado Academy, one of the “6 C’s” that provides focus for our Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 program is Collaboration. While we all have a good sense o...

On CAmpus NewsletterUpper SchoolUpper School Principal84 views