Grier is well-known for its many programs, with its incredible riding, dance, music, and art programs, as well as all of the various leadership opportunities, clubs, and student-led activities on campus. The school as a whole thrives not only because of its education, but because of the connections that students make in their time in and out of classes, and the strong communities and leaders that form within its halls. Throughout Grier’s history, there have been many programs specifically made and implemented to foster this integral part of boarding school life, but the 2025-2026 school year brought a few changes in how these programs were branded, implemented, and organized at Grier. This school year also saw the addition of some new traditions at Grier.
In Sweden, there is a popular family tradition called “fredagsmys.” This tradition is a dedicated time on Fridays to be spent with family, to bond and establish loving relationships with those closest to you. The tradition fosters a sense of community, belonging, and peace, as there is, of course, nothing better than being with loved ones. One of the rebranded programs is Fox and Kit, formerly big sister/little sister. It hopes to achieve that same sense of welcoming and belonging, according to Head of School, Kara Lawler. “We wanted something here on campus that devoted time to the building of our own community,” she said. “You have to carve out the time in our busy lives, our busy schedules [for] mentorship and sisterhood.” The new fox and kit rebrand hopes to build upon the big sister/little sister program and allow a renewed excitement for the program.
Similarly, the program formerly known as the ambassador program has been rebranded into “Gold Key,” to reflect how the members of Gold Key unlock the door for all of the Grier students and allow for its growth. According to Kara Majury, Student Success and Activities Director and one of the people spearheading these various initiatives, the Gold Keys have already been demonstrating this goal beautifully. “From the first event I attended, these girls were so attentive to the needs of our new students and did an amazing job at getting them involved,” Majury said. “[They] really showed what it means to be a Grier girl.”
The goal of many of these programs all tie back to leadership and community growth for all of the students on campus. One leadership program, the prefect program, has returned to Grier after many decades of being dissolved. This program was a formerly century-long tradition at Grier and has now made its grand re-entrance to the school. The prefect program places seniors in leadership positions on each hall where they support the other students and help the resident advisors make sure everything runs smoothly. “The girls, the prefects, are rising to the challenges, helping their resident advisors,” Lawler said.
A brand new initiative this year is the Women in Leadership Speaker Series. The Women in Leadership Series, which is part of the Sisters in Stewardship program, is a series of discussion panels held by women of all different careers in order to allow the students at Grier to interact with women who have led all different paths of life. The goal is to diversify the career options available to students, opening up new ideas on where they want to go once their time at the school has ended. It also gives students a great opportunity to practice life skills like networking, professional dress, and the bravery to talk to new people.
The first Women in Leadership event was September 19th, 2025, bringing Dr. Jolene Moyer, a podiatrist, and Mrs. Patti Bickley, a nurse, to discuss their experiences in the medical field. Mrs. Bickley, when asked about the impact of community support in her life, stated “As a whole, it all comes together[…] if you reach out, [people] will help you.”
Dr. Moyer agreed with this sentiment, stating that she feels as though her relationships with doctors and patients alike are what allowed her to progress with her career. “My connection with the people there and how I treated people is how I earned my spot[…] your experience speaks for itself.”
These women were only the first of many to come, according to Lawler, as she is hopeful for the growth of the project. “I think the sisters in stewardship program has a huge opportunity to become something even more. Over time, what we’re hoping is that we have a database of female leaders who can mentor, provide internships, come in, and work with different students to be able to show students the different career paths that are open to them.”
Sound Mind Sundays is the last new initiative the school rolled out at the beginning of the school year. It is a continuation of the health and wellness program that began in the 2023-2024 school year. The goal of the Sound Mind Sundays program is to directly reflect the Grier School motto—“Mens sana in corpore sano,” meaning “a sound mind in a sound body.” The program aims to reinforce a focus on mental health alongside physical activity. Mindfulness programs were already being implemented in the year prior, but with so many Grier students involved in countless extracurriculars, there often wasn’t time for students to take a moment to meditate and assess their mental standing. Sound Mind Sundays hope to combat these issues by creating a dedicated timeslot for just that.
Of course, it is extremely difficult to pull off so many initiatives. “One of the challenges that we’ve faced is just trying to implement so many new programs at the start of the year,” said Majury. “There’s a lot of moving pieces to make sure these programs can take off successfully, but I think everyone has done a wonderful job.”
However, this rebrand was years in the making. A team of faculty have been working diligently behind the scenes in order to ensure that this year’s activities had a strong start. “It’s a team […] the reason for doing that all right now is because we had the bandwidth to roll out a few new things, and had the excitement to do it,” Lawler explained. “[We’ve been] working on that for a few years now, with bringing back prefects, counselors-in-training at summer camp, [and] providing leadership opportunities.”
Lawler also added that expanding traditions and adding programs to work on social skills was one of the things she wanted to bring to Grier when she became the Head of School. “I [want], as a Head of School, to make a long lasting impact and give girls the tools that they need to be able to be leaders here and in other spaces.”
Even early in the year, it is clear that many of these programs have had a significant impact on the school. With so many great initiatives available for the Grier students, the school community and student leadership is sure to flourish, this year and beyond. As Lawler stated during a speech at the Women in Leadership panel, “The future of leadership is diverse, and it’s bright.”
