Gentle Folk

In this episode, Headmaster Heaton discusses how to prepare young children to be ready for a Grammar School environment. His guests are Grammar School Principal, Bridges Spiva, and veteran kindergarten teacher, Julie Haley who has taught young children for nearly 30 years.  Their insights are worth listening to regardless of the ages of your children because they discuss not only what children nee...

Episode 12:  “Into the Fold-A Review of the Odyssey.”  Students at New Covenant Schools first encounter this poem in grade 3 and read the entire book in grade 9.  As you know, the epic was brought to the screen in Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster movie, so Mr. Heaton sat down with Nick Olson (Camden-10 and Harvey-7th), who taught English at Liberty University for 13 years.  They will be join...

The are several factors that makes New Covenant unique among schools.  We could point to the classical, Christian tradition from which the curriculum has been deeply shaped.  While that is a key factor, it doesn’t completely explain the culture of the school.  There are two other things that should be considered.  Our consultants at Independent School Management (ISM) have conducted longitudinal r...

Speech, both oral and written, is a distinguishing feature of human beings.  Yet learning to write is an arduous task that requires attention to rules and lots of practice.  Not surprisingly, the classical tradition provides a time-tested method of developing this skill.  A student at New Covenant begins to acquire this skill from the threshold of literacy on the first day of school to the complet...

This month’s episode of “Gentle Folk” features a discussion on leisure and learning.  Our guest is Dr. Erin Uminn, Principal of the School of Rhetoric, who earned a PhD in education, and whose dissertation was an extended treatment of what the Greeks called “schole” (pronounced SKO-lay).  If that word looks somewhat familiar, it should; it’s the word from which we get “school,” but its original me...

In this Episode, Headmaster Heaton interviews Derek Brooks of Benedictus Art and discusses the pursuit of beauty and its necessity within the school context 

Headmaster Heaton joins faculty members Lukas Stock, Jacob Webb, and Jonathan Hart in a thoughtful discussion on the Book of Common Prayer and the ways in which it forms and nourishes the worship and daily rhythms of our school community.

In this episode of Gentle Folk Podcast, Headmaster Heaton sits down with Alumni parent and board member, Nancy Hall, and the school's Director of Development, Dayna Renalds, to discuss how living a generous lifestyle creates unexpected happiness and unity. 

Headmaster Heaton's recent Convocation address highlights the idea that everyone has come from different backgrounds to walk the same path together at New Covenant Schools.

In this episode, Headmaster Heaton sits down with Middle School Principal Kathryn Martin to discuss the characteristics of a middle school student and how parents can navigate through these early teenage years. 

In this episode Mr. Heaton speaks with guest speaker, Alex Julian with Arcadia Education, about five practices that are "divergent" from what education ought to be within the classical world. 

In this episode, Headmaster Heaton sits down with Amee Newsome, Director of Student Support at New Covenant, to discuss how best to support non-traditional learners within a classical education classroom.

This is a special edition of the Gentle Folk podcast.  In it, our Headmaster shares two stories you might not have heard about his childhood and about coming of age.  There are several lessons he offers to the class of 2025 which might also be an encouragement to you. 

Is classical education a mode, a method or a way of life? 

This podcast explores the ideas of how to think, how to learn, what to love and how to live.   

In this episode, the heads of school dive into the pedagogy, literature, and virtue of Classical Education.