Voyager 2014 by Kent Place School

KENT PLACE SCHOOL

Voyager 2 014

Mind and Body Connection at Kent Place: Building Stronger Learners By Julie Gentile, Director of Studies

“If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man’s future. For what is the use of transmitting knowledge if the individual’s total development lags behind?” —Maria Montessori

t Kent Place, we keep in mind Montessori’s priority on “the individual’s total development” as we focus on what have been termed “21stcentury skills” in the core academic subjects. Within that context and beyond, we want our young women to be healthy masters of what they learn so that they become nimble navigators of the dynamic world in which we live. “The Wellness Impact: Enhancing Academic Success Through Healthy School Environments,” a report issued by the GENYOUth Foundation early in 2013, confirmed what many parents and educators already knew: Healthy students are better learners. The study, which highlighted the “learning connection” between the body and the mind, uncovered some powerful facts. For example, “Brain imaging shows that children experience improved cognitive function and higher academic achievement after just 20 minutes of physical activity,” writes Dr. Charles Hillman, of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, the goal for learners is that they be critical thinkers, problem solvers, communicators, technologically and financially literate, innovative and creative, globally competent, flexible and adaptable.

Our faculty are inspired to guide students to reach their individual potential, and we develop the curriculum to create unparalleled opportunities for acquiring knowledge. From our Preschool through the Upper School, students learn self-care skills. These skills become habits that enable them to thrive as they mature. The focus of this Voyager is to explain how the atmosphere and curriculum at Kent Place intentionally foster the mind–body connection. The Physical Education and the Health and Wellness Departments work together, with many other departments across the school, to offer students developmentally

appropriate instruction in the following areas:

• • • • • • •

identity development and self-esteem relationship building nutrition time management the importance of sleep healthy decision making

• •

personal safety

• • •

human development and sexuality

media literacy and critical thinking about positive and negative stereotypes anti-bullying and safe resources self-advocacy

healthy body image

The list is long, but this curriculum is crafted with the intent to support students emotionally and socially at developmentally optimal and appropriate ages. It’s the successful engagement with the content of this curriculum that enables our students to excel with confidence and balance in all of their academic and cocurricular pursuits.

Primary School students Rhyan Brown, Clara Piervincenzi and Riya Soni take part in the Feelin’ Good Mileage Club.

Kent Place students also benefit from their very environment. Our campus offers inherent advantages that sometimes go unnoticed. Our LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) -certified buildings and their environmentally thoughtful details combine with our organized outdoor areas, such as the garden, the archaeology dig site, the playgrounds and the athletic fields, along with the open green spaces on campus and in Summit, to give students ample opportunity to benefit from the natural spaces that surround them.

We are 14 percent of the way through the 21st century. The skills the Kent Place faculty want to instill will prepare our girls for their future, even if we don’t know exactly what that future will look like or what technology not yet imagined will be the must-have device of, say, 2050. What’s important about our learning community is that we value the health of our students above all else. We’re fortunate that pedagogical strategies in effect today are sustainable for a student to take advantage of from early-childhood education through her senior year, from university-level studies to her career. Let’s discuss some of those strategies.

Flipping the Classroom One strategy that’s been getting a lot of attention recently is flipping the classroom. For years teachers have been creating student-centered learning activities: The twist — the “flip” — is to provide easy access to technology, particularly video. The idea behind the flipped classroom is that students absorb content and facts at home, often via video lecture or clip, then use classroom time to enhance their understanding of a concept (continued on page 2)

Mind and Body Connection at Kent Place: Building Stronger Learners (continued from page 1) serve her well in any professional field. When reflection is a valued part of the learning process, students gain confidence in their learning abilities, too.

Confidence Matters When we refer to the mind–body connection, part of the conversation must focus on confidence. Self-assurance increases when we understand our strengths, our weaknesses and our ability to overcome obstacles and anxiety. In Conquering the SAT: How Parents Can Help Teens Overcome the Pressure and Succeed, experts write, “The ability to think creatively and apply what you know is the most useful skill any student can bring to bear on the test, and that is impossible to do if that student doesn’t have confidence to take a shot” (Johnson and Eskelsen, 184).

Tenth grader Catherine Serratelli gives a presentation on sleep deprivation in Health and Wellness.

they learned “for homework.” The flipped classroom provides a constant atmosphere of student-centered learning at school. In a history class, for example, a homework assignment might be to listen to a brief audio lecture, read several primary-source documents found online and generate questions based on those documents to ask in class the next day. The outcome of the lesson is student inquiry, synthesis and critical thinking. Let’s see how flipping works in a math or science class. The homework assignment could be a video lesson of a new concept or a lab overview; during the next session, students engage with the problem, experience the trial-and-error of the lab and have more time to be hands-on in the presence of a faculty member who knows how to promote learning with scaffolded, essential questions.

This applies to other standardized tests as well, but it goes further: This advice is relevant to daily challenges a student might encounter. At Kent Place, we develop lessons and experiences that build confidence. Our teachers create curricular and cocurricular opportunities in which students experience common difficulties they’re able to work through and learn from. When a student reflects on the various aspects of a challenge and understands what skills it takes to overcome it and then succeeds, the next time an obstacle arises, she will recall those skills and follow the path to achievement. “In mathematics classes, students at Kent Place are often asked to record their steps as they work through a task,” says Mathematics Department Chair Ralph Pantozzi. “Steps in math are a record of thinking, not just a set of instructions. As students become accustomed to recording their thinking, they make the connection between their thoughts and their actions — they become self-aware math thinkers.” He elaborates: “They learn how to initiate their own questions, how to communicate about their areas of strength and challenge, and in so doing develop confidence in solving unfamiliar problems.”

In a flipped classroom, there’s more time for experiential- and/or inquirybased learning, and that learning is often collaborative. In fact, both students and teachers benefit. Here, our girls work through problems in the presence of teachers who, when an obstacle arises, can assist them or respond with guiding questions. Teachers can observe a challenge one of the girls has and have the time to bolster specific skills, one on one, as soon as someone encounters confusion. Increasingly, teachers across the nation are using the flipped classroom to enhance student-centered learning. The MyKPS online-class pages offer an outstanding platform from which to use the model. In a thoughtfully planned flipped classroom, a student may actually have homework that maximizes both the learner’s and the teacher’s time and effort.

Reflection Strengthens Understanding Justifiably, technology is often blamed for the fast pace in which we live. Interestingly, though, the use of technological tools is also one of the most successful ways to encourage students to think, to ponder about what they’re learning, for a more profound understanding of content and even of their own learning process. At Kent Place, faculty build reflection time into daily pedagogy. When students respond to a discussion post on the Topics page of MyKPS, submit a voice or video thread to comment on their learning after a research activity, develop a digital portfolio, debrief after a Project Adventure activity or create a collage of images as they finish a themed unit, they’re reflecting on their learning process. “We use reflection as part of student lab reports,” says Upper School science teacher Rose Chaffee-Cohen. “They’re asked not only what their results demonstrate or support, but also to explain how they would design their experiment differently if they were to attempt it again, what other experiments they might be interested in that build off their observations in the lab and what further questions they have about the topic they’d want to explore. This type of reflection emphasizes that the end of the lab should be considered a jumping-off point for future investigation, which is consistent with the nature of scientific curiosity and discovery.” As parents and educators, we must all encourage our girls to ask those questions. When we commit to reflection time in our classrooms, in our outdoor activities and in our homes, we give them the opportunity to understand material, to become familiar with their own strengths and weaknesses, to think critically, to take risks, to ask questions. This guided time to think deeply creates a strong student and individual who not only has learned the content at hand, but has also developed a lifetime habit of metacognition that will

Page 2

Middle Schoolers Bethany Frith and Cameron Bentley work together during the Pipeline activity in Physical Education class.

The competencies developed in math class are 21st-century life skills that help our students excel today and thrive as problem-solving adults tomorrow.

Safe Spaces Ultimately, sustainable strategies such as flipping the classroom, reflection and lessons to build confidence are most effective in an environment in which students feel safe physically, emotionally and academically. Decisions regarding content and setting always have behind them the desire for an optimal environment (indoors and outdoors) for our children and young adults to learn. Ironically, it’s when students feel safe that they take reasonable risks and practice those invaluable 21st-century skills. The physical spaces in which our girls learn are varied, and their framework, in combination with students’ curiosity and trust and our teachers’ pedagogical expertise and enthusiasm, create endless opportunities for mental stretching. When students feel safe, when they trust the adults around them, when they’re encouraged to take reasonable risks, when they have time to reflect on their own learning, when they use all the resources available to them, then we, as the adults in their world,(continued should feel on confipage 3)

Innovative and Motivated Minds: Connecting Our Faculty and Staff By Sue Bosland, Head of School

ostering a strong sense of community, promoting health and wellness and having a “growth mindset,” as Carol Dweck calls it, are important components of Kent Place as a work environment. To achieve those goals means collaborating and empowering our staff and faculty to implement and participate in various initiatives across the campus. In the fall, just before the start of school, during opening meetings as faculty and staff, I asked everyone to think about what “element” she or he could bring to the school community as we addressed our four reaccreditation goals: Academic Visioning, Strategic Planning, Professional Learning Community and One School. Bringing innovative and motivated minds to the broader school discussions and to individual departments and classrooms creates an active and vibrant educational community and an atmosphere that stimulates outstanding teaching and learning. Excellent questions emerged as our discussions spread across campus. How do we encourage a student who is good at something she doesn’t enjoy? How do we bolster a student’s weaknesses in a subject area she enjoys but struggles with in the classroom? How do we utilize our outdoor campus environment to enhance learning? What do we need in the plans for the design lab? What are some ideas for “one-school” events?

A healthy work environment inspires teaching and learning and provides a place where employees feel safe, comfortable and enthusiastic about work. substantive and meaningful answers drive a school forward and keep the students and the school’s mission at the forefront of decision making. Our annual summer community read is a tradition that stimulates dialogue and intellectual pursuit as a school. All faculty and staff receive the same book, in late spring, to read during school vacation. They then discuss it with their colleagues and incorporate what they learn into their work. This year we read Finding Your Element, by Sir Ken Robinson. This is an application of theories he expounded on in his first book: that is, a how-to on ways in which we can find our “element,” which he earlier defined (in The Element) as “the place where the things we love to do and the things we are good at come together.” When we examine health and wellness in all areas of our lives, taking time to consider such practices as mindfulness and transforming our future, we come to understand that everything we do involves both the body and the mind. With that knowledge, what can we do to ensure that this connection is positive and healthy? We have a number of faculty/staff committees, such as the Community Life Task Force (fostering positive morale), Walk the Walk (sustainability practices), SEEDS (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity), Wellness (health and wellness initiatives) and several affinity groups that focus on various components of campus life. On any given day, you may see faculty and staff in a walking or running group before or after school, planning an event to encourage recycling, meeting to discuss a relevant topic or gathering to celebrate a colleague’s milestone. These activities are in addition to their commitment to their jobs and the associated committees and ongoing development in their areas of expertise.

Head of School Sue Bosland leads the Trustee and Faculty and Staff Processional during Commencement.

A healthy work environment inspires teaching and learning and provides a place where employees feel safe, comfortable and enthusiastic about work.

We then address these questions in Department Chair meetings and divisional curricular discussions and during administrative strategic-planning sessions and Board presentations. Asking probing and relevant questions and seeking

All of these initiatives build and sustain a vibrant educational community, one that is excited to imbue Kent Place School’s mission with authenticity and vision. 

Mind and Body Connection at Kent Place: Building Stronger Learners (continued from page 2) dent that we’ve honored the mind–body connection that will help them navigate the demands the 21st century will make. They’ll be able to sail with confidence into waters as yet uncharted.

Welcome to Voyager Some people might suggest that there’s an inherent tension between 21st-century skills and a healthy lifestyle: the rapid pace of our daily lives is often attributed to pervasive technology and an overload of information. Certainly, there’s the potential to feel overwhelmed. In the educational context, however, when paired with an innovative and good habit–forming Physical Education and Health and Wellness curriculum, 21st-century skills, internalized by students, embraced by teachers and supported by parents, will produce healthy, mindful students who are able to manage and maximize the mind–body connection. In this issue of Voyager, we explore the ways in which Kent Place students benefit from an environment and instruction that create space for desirable challenges, efficient and stimulating work and joyful play. 

Pre-K student Charles (CJ) Sorrentino uses multisensory tools to become familiar with the alphabet.

Resources and Recommended Reading

Johnson, N., and E. W. Eskelsen. Conquering the SAT: How Parents Can Help Teens Overcome the Pressure and Succeed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.

“The Wellness Impact: Enhancing Academic Success Through Healthy School Environments.” http:// www.genyouthfoundation.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/02/The_Wellness_Impact_Report.pdf.

Kellert, S. R. Building for Life: Designing and Understanding the Human–Nature Connection. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2005.

Page 3

Multisensory Literacy Begins in Preschool By Brandalyn Gabel, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher

ix children sit around the art table. Spread out before them are papers, markers and crayons. These Pre-K students are involved in a lively discussion about “the book.” They’ve been working on it, a story about six children who live in a school, for weeks. Each morning they meet to share information they’ve researched. Today a girl is explaining that her car holds only five people, so they’ll have to use another form of transportation in their story. A teacher asks a Chloë Poole uses modeling clay to form the letter H. question about the latest pages. The students brainstorm. They draw and write. During outside play later in the day, they act out their story so far.

We trace sandpaper letters. We roll modeling clay to form letters. In the writing center, wooden pieces fit together like a puzzle to make letters. In art we might fill a table with shaving cream and practice writing letters in it. On the floor we may set up letter mats to resemble a computer keyboard; students then jump from letter to letter to spell out their names. We arrange small objects for students to pick up, feel and sort by beginning sound. Activities such as these link what children feel with what they see and hear, and lay the foundation for reading. This exciting path of discovery, which takes root in Kent Place’s Junior PreKindergarten, is amplified and emphasized in Pre-Kindergarten. The journey leads to reading and writing skills throughout our students’ academic careers and, we hope, extends to a lifelong love of reading and writing. 

Our early-education teachers recognize the individuality of each child as well as different learning styles. Our early-education teachers recognize the individuality of each child as well as different learning styles. Words and reading are at the heart of the classrooms. There are centers, games and other opportunities to assist students in linking written language (letters) and the sounds they make. Visual aids stand out: an alphabet chart, classroom labels, job charts, word lists.

Skylar Taketa hunts for a letter match during Choice Time.

These students are engaging all of their senses as they explore literacy in the world around them. This kind of experience is vital to motivating students by keeping them interested in an ongoing project. At Kent Place Pre-School, teachers understand the importance of multisensory learning, which involves incorporating activities that are visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile. Printed words surround our students. Through their daily routines, they become familiar with letters and words and go on to make connections between those they know and unfamiliar text. One child notices that s-u-n is in the words Sunday and sunny. Another realizes that each day of the week ends with the letter combination d-a-y. These are exciting breakthroughs, and you can see and feel the pleasure the children experience.

Lucy Devlin enjoys an active game with our alphabet activity mats.

Colton Castelli uses an iPad app for extra letter/sound practice.

kent place summer camp

For Open House & registration information, visit our website!

Maeve Wall practices retelling “Five Little Pumpkins.”

Learning involves, too, an auditory component. An adult reading words or saying the letter sounds is not enough for young learners. They thrive when we incorporate songs, rhymes and chants. We play with sounds, building word families, changing the beginning sounds of words (bat, cat, hat, splat). As a teacher models writing, she may ask students to supply the letter name for a particular sound. During Choice Time, children might decide to listen to an audio story or practice retelling a favorite tale with a felt board. If you’re familiar with any 4- or 5-year-olds, you know they’re extremely active. At Kent Place School, we understand that young children learn best through play, by engaging their entire selves in discovery. For our kinesthetic and tactile learners, we have a range of activities. Let’s look at introducing the alphabet.

Page 4

• June 9–August 22 • Coed, Ages 3–15 • June and August Mini-Camps • Extended Care and Afternoon Clinics • Creative Arts Workshop • Day Camps • Preschool Camps • Summer Academy • CIT Programs • New! Teen Travel Camp

Summit, NJ • (908) 273-0900, ext. 297 Please visit www.kentplace.org/summercamp for more information or call (908) 273-0900, ext. 297. Like us on Facebook

at www.fb.com/kentplacesummer

Not Just Child’s Play: Primary School Physical Education By Elisabeth Benthien, Physical Education & Athletics

hen your child goes to physical education in the Primary School, perhaps you think she’s simply running around and playing, maybe doing some exercises. Here at Kent Place, of course these are significant, but having the children understand the importance of being physically active is a big component of the Physical Education Department’s philosophy.

moving, at the same time preparing her brain for an afternoon of learning. There are two playgrounds for our Primary children to explore. The Natural Playground offers open space in a natural setting where the children can make up their own games and activities; the Challenge Playground is just that: physically demanding. Among other movement activities during recess are optional dance classes, like Tap for second graders, and the Feelin’ Good Mileage Club, which began more than a decade ago. This voluntary walking program enables students and faculty to walk or run with their friends around the Graduation Green. As miles accumulate, the children earn small Toe Tokens, which they tie to their shoelaces. Last year 117 students participated in the club and walked a total of 415 miles through all kinds of weather. These midday physical activities, along with just playing outside during recess, help to reawaken a child’s brain for the rest of the day.

Primary School students Megan Altier, Jasmine Algarin, Katrina Lee and Gabriella Braccetti proudly show off their Toe Tokens.

We’re dedicated to providing a program that excites children to be “movers” and to derive pleasure from being physically active. The children participate in appropriately presented physical and sport activities that help them to develop a strong foundation in both gross locomotor and non-locomotor skills, as well as manipulative skills. Cross-curricular concepts are integrated into movement activities along with such concepts as healthy eating and the benefits of physical activity for the body and the brain, with the emphasis on developing the whole child. Recent research shows that physical activity cues the building blocks of learning and improves the brain’s ability to process, store and retrieve information. The foundation for this mind–body connection begins in our Primary School, where building self-esteem and a strong relationship between the body and the mind is evident in the classes taught daily by physical education specialists. Their goal is to provide maximum benefits as children participate in cardiovascular activities, conquer specific skill-building tasks, acquire fitness skills and become familiar with concepts that explain the value of physical activity to their overall well-being.

What research conducted by Dr. Charles Hillman, an associate professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, found, simplified, is that “physical activity will help kids learn better” and that school time spent in physical activity will improve fitness and boost academic performance. To follow up on this point, the theme of a recent assembly presented by the PE Department was “Exercise Grows Brain Cells!” The entire Primary community performed movement activities called Peanut Butter Jelly Time and Tooty Ta Ta. Not only were heart rates increased and brains better prepared to learn but there was also a smile on all faces as children and teachers went off to their classes. Hand in hand with providing opportunities for physical activity is our mandate to develop a child’s knowledge of healthful eating. The Primary physical education curriculum pays attention to the importance of good, nutritional food for optimal brain function, and early in the fall semester, PE teachers implement lessons from ChooseMyPlate.gov, a site that gives outstanding information about the value of each of the five food groups as well as the benefits of physical activity. Daily we monitor students’ food choices in the dining hall and sit with the girls during lunch to encourage balanced eating. In fact, the theme for last year’s Primary School Field Day was based on everything our girls had learned in their Nutrition units throughout the year. They participated in activities such as An Apple a Day; Water, the Source of Life; The Wobbly Egg Relay; and Eat to Compete — all of which helped to reinforce the healthful-eating concepts in a really fun way.

Even the youngest children discover that their heart beats very quickly during a movement activity and learn the job of the heart: to move the oxygen-carrying red blood cells throughout the body, which in turn enables both body and brain to function at their best for the rest of the day. We develop this concept as the children move through the Primary School; by the time they’re in fifth grade, the girls are comfortable taking a manual pulse check and understand the relationship between exertion and improving their fitness level. There is a lot of learning that goes well beyond how to throw a ball. Dr. John Ratey, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, writes: “[R]egular physical activity is the single most important tool you have to optimize your brain function.” What this means is that as children are learning how to chase and flee or how to strike a ball with accuracy, they’re also learning how physical activity can help to strengthen their body as well as prepare their brain for learning. At Kent Place, the Primary children have many opportunities to participate in movement activities. In addition to the physical education or dance class that a young girl attends, daily recess provides an excellent way for her to get

Mrs. Benthien serves Katrina Lee vegetables.

Second graders Lucy Bashforth, Grace Fernicola and Annalisa Abbate perform “Mission Nutrition.”

The bottom line is that the activities in which our children engage during physical education class, dance and recess not only strengthen them physically, but also create an environment in which the brain is ready, willing and able to learn once they return to the academic classroom. Our physical education classes strive to improve the spirit, mind and body of each child. And you thought your child was just “playing”! 

Adventures with Sock Monkey After completing the unit on the importance of physical activity, the Primary School Physical Education teachers rolled out “The Exercise Adventures of Sock Monkey.” Each girl in Grades 1–5 had an opportunity to take Sock Monkey home for one week. The girls hold on to Sock Monkey when they’re physically active and then write about their “adventures” in a journal.

Page 5

Exercise Is Brain Food: Middle School Physical Education By Phil Wolstenholme, Physical Education & Athletics

s President John F. Kennedy recognized many years ago, “Physical fitness is not only one of the most important keys to a healthy body, it is the basis of dynamic and creative intellectual activity.” Now we’re getting proof of another benefit: enhancement of cognitive development. In other words, an appropriately structured physical education program has a significant bearing on how efficiently students learn in the classroom. The most current scientific research shows an important connection between mind and body. Exercise reinforces the brain by actually growing cells and strengthening the circuitry that makes learning permanent. With a strong physical education program at Kent Place, beginning in the Primary School, our students enter the classroom primed to succeed. Xenia Schmitz, Catherine Pothier and Grace Morris practice cricket skills.

During a recent visit, JoAnn Deak, PhD, the distinguished author of Girls Will Be Girls, spoke insightfully about Kiley Parker practices volleyball skills. how vital the formative years are for cognitive growth and neuroplasticity. As she addressed several aspects of effective teaching, Deak examined the importance physical education holds in enhancing academic learning. She emphasized that exercise is not simply a tool to improve a student’s health and fitness; there is also a strong exercise–cognition interaction. Movement stimulates the brain to send more oxygen-saturated blood through it, Deak told us, thus readying it for work. Moreover, exercise increases brain neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, that facilitate the processing of higher information and increase the speed of cognitive learning. In the Middle School physical education program, students work on their aerobic fitness even as they learn skills and new games. Traditional sports give students exposure and confidence for competitive team play in subsequent years. In addition, we introduce cricket, rugby and rounders during a World Sports unit. The girls enjoy these activities because they’re new and fun, but they also benefit cognitively. We teach following the whole-part-whole method: With the help of technology, students can visualize how a game is played via YouTube and teacher demonstrations. They then practice basic, individual skills until they’re ready to play a modified game. Although a sport may be unfamiliar on one level, there are usually some parallels to others. Playing cricket, for example, enables students to tap in to existing neural pathways because of its similarities to softball and baseball, thus strengthening those pathways by connecting them to things they know. In addition, the brain establishes new pathways, growing brain cells as it departmentalizes the cognition.

WHAT IS

…

Much of learning is kinesthetic, visual and social. Effective learning is a total package. We incorporate team-building games into the Middle School physi-

The Pipeline activity calls for students to work together to move a ball down segments of a half pipe to a target bucket without dropping the ball. Students are also challenged with an interdisciplinary test. A team member randomly Stacey Espiritu and Maya Vuchic perform the Pipeline activity. selects from a bucket a ball with a word written on it.The team then decides which part of speech — adjective, noun, verb, e.g. — the word falls under and then “pipeline” the ball in the direction of the corresponding bucket some distance away. Team-building exercises require students to collaborate, and enhance learning in that way. A short period of moderate to vigorous physical activity raises the brain metabolism (alertness and focus), which brings another benefit when students return to the classroom. Dr. John J. Ratey, the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, writes, “[A]fter exercising at high intensity, blood flow shifts back to the prefrontal cortex almost immediately and this is the perfect time to focus on a project that demands sharp thinking and complex analysis.” And that’s why we do what we do at KPS! 

The Student Advisory Program

By Michelle Murphy, Upper School Dean of

The Advisory Program is the hallmark of a Kent Place School education. It reflects a student’s developmental milestones, diversity of learning styles, school resources and mission statement. We believe so strongly in the benefits of this dynamic program that we build it into the school schedule.

years. The program centers on the group interactions as well as those between the adult and individuals. Here they meet weekly as a group for conversations and activities regarding academics; school values, such as leadership, honor, service, diversity and technology; and current issues.

As children move within the KPS community, we adapt the Advisory Program to their growth. When they enter the Primary School, they benefit from small-group and one-on-one interactions with experienced teachers, specialists and the support team. As students move into the Middle School, we place them in small groups of about ten girls and a grade-specific advisor. Each group meets several times a week to participate in discussions, to complete service projects and for grade-appropriate activities. Every year Middle School students receive a new advisor and are assigned to a new advisory group to foster new relationships, character development and life skills.

Each Middle and Upper School girl and her advisor also meet individually during the year to discuss academic strengths and challenges and to find ways that will lead the student to achieve her potential as a scholar. The advisor distributes comments and grades and serves as an avenue of communication between parents and the school in matters of performance. If a student has concerns, the advisor guides her to the appropriate resources.

When they reach the Upper School, each student has an advisor who will nurture relationships within her small group for all four

Page 6

cal education curriculum to challenge students in problem solving. These games require learning with the entire body and emphasize decision making, coordination, communication and teamwork.

The advisor plays an integral role in helping her students plan their academic profile, and encourages them to become flourishing members of the community through participation in clubs, activities and leadership opportunities.

The New Paradigm: Upper School Physical Education Integration By Michelle Stevenson, Chair of the Physical Education Department

hall we start by stating the obvious? Building a strong learner is a process that encompasses not only the mind but also the body. Intuitively, one might think physical education involves learning from the perspective of the body; some may argue, however, that this has nothing to do with the connection to the mind or to academic performance. Now imagine bringing together these areas — body and brain — in a synergistic experience that supports the development of a strong learner.

Junior Madison Mastrangelo performs her dynamic stretch warm-up at the beginning of class.

Senior Veronica Child participates in Zumba Fitness during “Zero Period.”

At Kent Place, the goal of physical education is to provide students with the knowledge, skills and confidence to participate in a variety of healthful activities. Let’s take a walk down memory lane. If you’re not currently a student, you probably took “gym” and have some not-so-fond memories of balls flying at your head (remember dodgeball?), of being the last player chosen for a particular game or activity. The class may have taken place a couple of times a week in the cafeteria or another multiuse space.

To keep the body in good health is a duty . . . otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear. —Buddha

If you feel yourself breaking out in a cold sweat, let me put your mind at ease: We no longer call it “gym” and those aforementioned scenarios are not part of the physical education experience at Kent Place. Our physical education program, Upper School PE, now falls under a category known as the “New PE,” and has elements of personal accountability and leadership, group dynamics and cultural-competency training presented through games, activities and lab workshops.Yes, classes still include sports, such as tennis, golf, badminton and volleyball, but physical education doesn’t stop there.

Students participate in Zumba Fitness during Zero Period.

Throughout the year, students attend lab workshops in which they receive hands-on experience on the subjects of kinetic chain assessments (how parts of the body interact to enable movement), injury prevention, stress management and yoga, all of which provide the tools to create an individual exercise plan with customized workouts designed to strengthen areas of imbalance. But how do we develop physically educated individuals in a vigorous academic environment in which time is a commodity?

Efficiency Honing the mind’s ability to focus and assimilate new information more efficiently brings about a greater rate of production. Recent research shows

that as little as 20 minutes of vigorous exercise before academic classes can promote “significant improvement in processing speed and cognitive flexibility” (Dr. John J. Ratey). Cognitive flexibility is a high-level function that reflects the ability to shift thinking and produce a steady flow of creative thoughts and answers, as opposed to regurgitating the usual responses. In 2010, inspired by research by the Suzuki Laboratory for the study of learning, memory and cognition at NYU (http://www.wendysuzuki.com/), we put what we learned into practice and in the Upper School operated two pilot programs, both centering on preparing the body to learn in the academic classroom. Zero Period (Zumba Fitness®) and AP-PE (A Positive Physical Experience), offered 7:30–8:00 a.m. two days per week, provided an opportunity for an alternative to the traditional midday PE. The Zero Period class, which was voluntary, allowed students to drop their daytime physical education class and use that time as a study period. The response was overwhelming: More than half of the students signed up for Zumba. According to information in Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain (Ratey and Hagerman, 2008), this type of morning exercise “sparks” biological changes that encourage brain cells to bind to one another. These connections are crucial, as they provide unparalleled stimulation in the brain, preparing it to receive information.

Mindfulness Training Does this sound familiar? “I studied hard and I knew the information but when I sat down for the test, I couldn’t remember anything . . .” What do you think was happening? As a response to a stressful situation, the body recalls Juniors Madeleine (Maddie) Vance, Madison Mastrangelo and when running from animals Jocelyn Rego and senior Brianna Barrett perform yoga during and other dangers meant life a mindfulness-training unit. or death. That fight-or-flight response triggers several powerful hormones as well as neurochemicals that alert the amygdala — an almond-shaped mass, part of the limbic system — which is involved in many of our emotions, particularly those related to survival. For some students, taking a test sets off this fight-or-flight chain reaction, resulting in the destabilization of the body’s natural equilibrium. When these physiological changes occur, significantly increasing levels of cortisol and epinephrine, also known as adrenaline, are present. In Cortisol and the Stress Connection, Dr. John R. Lee writes that chronic stress leads to chronically high levels of cortisol. This concentration of cortisol is toxic to brain cells and can impair and even cause the loss of short-term memory. A lifetime of high cortisol levels may be a primary contributor to Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of senile dementia (Aeron Biotechnology research, 2010). When a student feels stressed, she simply can’t function at an optimal level, which affects her ability to perform well in the classroom. In physical education, one of the ways we mitigate this situation is with strategically planned adrenaline-state-training units, which enable students to strengthen the infrastructure of nerve cells. Some of the activities are Prepare, a five-session comprehensive violence-prevention program; cup stacking; and visualization training with distraction. Training benefits happen on a cellular level in what is called a stress-and-recovery dynamic. We also teach coping strategies, among them mindfulness meditation, diaphragmatic breathing and yoga, in classes leading up to exams, the PSATs and other perceived stressful times throughout the academic year. These are just a few examples of the research-based programs we offer in our Upper School physical education program. We will continue to emphasize the importance of the mind–body connection, because building stronger learners is our priority. 

New to PE The Upper School has introduced Fitnessgram, an online assessment tool that gives students unique reports to develop their personal exercise portfolios and track workout data.

Page 7

Enhancing Learning through Mindfulness Practices: A Wellness Perspective By Sara E. Every, LCSW, Middle/Upper School Counselor; Chair of the Health and Wellness for Young Women Department

n our efforts to build stronger learners, we must intentionally address the relationship of neuroscience and the architecture of the brain to knowledge acquisition and the more abstract concepts of emotional wellness and self-esteem. At Kent Place, we design the curriculum and culture to complement these concepts. Current research is focusing on neuroplasticity, the idea that when we change the mind, we can change the brain. There are a wide range of mindfulness practices that have been demonstrated to promote neuroplasticity. Shifting perception, attitudes and focus, for example, can result in the reorganization of mental and cognitive structures. People who routinely practice mindfulness meditation develop thicker layers of neurons in the insula, or insular cortex — the region of the brain that activates when you tune in to your body and your feelings — and in the parts of the prefrontal cortex that control attention (Lazar, et al., 2005). When we nurture a present brain/mind and quiet its reactive and self-critical aspects, we prime the brain for learning. Practices that emphasize mindfulness are one mechanism by which to cultivate this shift. We know that the chronic experience of stress and anxiety can interfere with a student’s ability to focus, engage, problem-solve and take risks. What happens is that the brain goes into a mode in which more-primitive structures activate survival responses. This state inhibits the functioning of the more-evolved areas of the brain, those responsible for critical thinking, attaching and perhaps resiliency.

The curriculum in Women’s Health and Wellness integrates these concepts by introducing practices aimed at reducing stress, enhancing self-advocacy, focusing on the positive and creating community.

Tenth graders Monica McGavin and Halle O’Hern listen to a student-generated research presentation on nutrition for athletes in Health and Wellness.

to restore and refuel. They’re also encouraged to use journaling and physical movement to increase focus and enhance problem solving. The goal is for students to utilize these skills in, for example, test taking, athletics, managing challenging tasks and using their voice. Mindfulness plays a pivotal role in their ability not only to feel empowered in both mind and body, but also to be fully engaged in the classroom, their relationships and the greater community.  Resources and Recommended Reading http://www.wisebrain.org Hanson, R. The Practical Neuroscience of Buddha’s Brain. Oakland: New Harbinger Publications, 2009. Lazar, S., C. R. Kerr, J. Wasserman, et al. “Meditation Experience Is Associated With Increased Cortical Thickness.” In NeuroReport 16:1893–97, 2005. Stein, D. J., V. Ives-Deliperi, and K. G. F. Thomas. “Psychology of Mindfulness.” In CNS Spectrum 13:752–56, 2008.

The curriculum in Women’s Health and Wellness integrates these concepts by introducing practices aimed at reducing stress, enhancing self-advocacy, focusing on the positive and creating community. The themes of personal safety and fostering healthy relationships are evident from the Primary School through the Upper School. Ultimately, students are encouraged to “trust their instincts” in the areas of healthy decision making, using trusted resources and examining issues of leadership, diversity and gender. When students develop the ability to be still and present in themselves, they can make important shifts between being reactive and being responsive. Practicing mindfulness increases activation of the prefrontal cortex and thus lifts mood and also decreases the activation of the amygdala, the alarm bell of the brain (Stein, Ives-Deliperi and Thomas, 2008). This experience actually creates an equilibrium in the mind/body, and that balance prepares the mind to learn.

Tenth graders participate in a Project Adventure activity.

Our students participate in activities such as guided visualization and breathing to reduce stress and anxiety. We invite them to create detailed images in their mind and to focus their attention on their breathing and various sensations within the body. They often request to do these activities, and some share how restorative and useful they are in relation to the classroom. Students create “Self-Care” plans that may integrate themes involving nutrition, sleep, time management and exercise. They set goals that enable them Page 8

have a vision take risks “The Girls’ Leadership Institute was a great opportunity to make friends, take risks and learn how to make good decisions and possibly shape the future of others.”

make decisions get organized resolve conflicts set goals

19th Annual Girls’ Leadership Institute

JULy 14–JULy 25, 2014

The Girls’ Leadership Institute (GLI) is a unique summer program for girls entering seventh or eighth grade to explore their leadership potential and strengthen their confidence and self-esteem. Each girl will discover and develop her own unique leadership style through a broad range of hands-on activities. The Institute, a two-week summer enrichment program, takes place Monday through Friday on the centrally located campus of Kent Place School in Summit, NJ. Each day begins at 8:30 a.m. and concludes at 4:00 p.m. Please visit www.kentplace.org/gli for more information or call (908) 273-0900, ext. 303. Join the conversation using the hashtag #GLI14.

Self-Aware Athletes: Using the Functional Movement Screen By Wendy O’Neal, Director of Athletics

ave you ever been out strolling and noticed that the people around you walk differently? Some stride purposefully, some favor one side, others are hunched, still others bounce. We all have an individual, unique way of moving. At times, though, our patterns are the result of an imbalance. Here at KPS, it’s of paramount importance for our young athletes to perform in a safe and efficient way. To help ensure that their experiences are sound while participating in sports, we use the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) to evaluate certain movements. The goals of the program are to eliminate an individual’s and the team’s disparities of movement, to improve skills and, most important, to reduce the risks of injury.

The FMS is based on the work of Gray Cook, an orthopedic surgeon, and comprises seven fundamental movement patterns: • Deep Squat • Active Straight-Leg Raise • Hurdle Step • Trunk Stability Push-Up • In-Line Lunge • Rotary Stability • Shoulder Mobility An imbalance will be noticeable if a person cannot demonstrate a certain level of stability in any of these patterns. It is common for someone to be proficient in one area but exhibit a weakness in another. Each test is designed to isolate a specific movement pattern and eliminate an athlete’s ability to compensate for a deficiency with dominantly trained muscle groups. Consistent imbalances in any area may lead to poor biomechanics, and predispose a young athlete to injury. Last year we introduced FMS to our athletes during preseason and to physical education students in their lab workshops. Here at Kent Place, all ninth-grade and new Upper School athletes are evaluated through the FMS. We repeat the test with each girl when she enters the 11th grade. Our athletic director, athletic trainer or fitness trainer administers the FMS. Girls are rated, on a scale of 0 to 3, in all seven areas. A zero is recorded if the individual experiences pain at any point while performing an exercise. Once the test scores are recorded and the data have been evaluated, we generate reports that will go to the girls’ coaches. In them, the patterns of the

Fueling through Food

Trainer Brittany Howell tests the Active Straight-Leg Raise (left) and In-Line Lunge (right).

team’s strengths and weaknesses are highlighted so coaches can develop exercises and training sessions that target the imbalances. “I used a lot of the data to drive preseason,” says Brendan Tennant, head soccer and track coach. “Seeing some weaknesses in leg movements, we were able to design sessions with rubber-band exercises to strengthen those areas. I was also able to use the FMS to develop agility drills to strengthen muscles around the girls’ knees to support and protect their ACL [a ligament in the knee].” Since the inception of the program, we’ve seen a significant decrease in softtissue injuries. Most important, we’ve seen an improvement in the athletes’ overall self-awareness. Girls are now cognizant of how their body moves during sport, and what they can do to reduce the risk of injury. The program offers an overview of improvements for each sport team, but also an individualized snapshot for each athlete. FMS advances our athletic program by improving the strength of each team and keeping our athletes healthy. 

By the Staff of AVI Fresh Prominent signage in the dining hall indicates what on the day’s menu comes from the campus garden.

Behind the doors of the McDermott-Wight Dining Hall is more than just your average cafeteria. Each day the nine-person staff of our vendor, AVI Fresh, serve more than 700 people during three lunch periods. Mornings offer grab-and-go selections of breakfast bars, cereals and oatmeal; lunchtime choices range from hot entrées and soups, to deli and salad bars, to fruit and yogurt. Within that vast array of options, there’s a lot more involved than serving up foods pleasing to the palate.

It’s important that we support our local farmers too. This fall and then in the spring we purchase produce from Cassidy Farms, ARC Greenhouses and Dan Graiff Farms, all located in New Jersey. Following are some of the healthful components of our daily

• • • • •

Whole-grain pastas Whole-grain breads Black Angus burgers All fresh vegetables Homemade dressings for the salad bar • Zero-trans-fat oils • No sodium added

• No carbonated sodas • All soups, stocks and sauces made from scratch • Fresh beef, chicken and fish, never frozen • Gluten-free options: rolls, sliced breads, pasta, pizza crust; Boar’s Head gluten-free deli meats and cheeses

VI Fresh works closely with Kent Place to improve the school lunch experience and provide the fuel students, faculty and staff need in order to learn and teach at their highest levels.

menu:

Campus Nutrition

Allergen Alert!

There are gluten-free options as well as a variety of vegetarian dishes. AVI Fresh offers a weekly menu, so our diners can even plan their meals. To ensure safe choices, everything comes with an allergen card. And fresh and local are in the forefront: We get all our produce from area farmers and the campus garden.

We work diligently to provide delicious and healthful meals, but safety must be the number one concern. For example, KPS maintains a tree nut–free dining facility.

Jane Patterson Memorial Garden This is our third year featuring the Jane Patterson Memorial Garden as part of our sustainability efforts. This fall we made use of the abundant kale, Swiss chard, tomatoes and basil. Along with the many health benefits of this fresh produce, students learn how their vegetables get “from farm to table”: they see the seedlings, the mature plants and then the harvest on their plates.

Because It is imperative that we be aware of any food allergies suffered by students, faculty and staff, we have established a protocol to make sure we address each individual’s need. Anyone who has a food allergy should contact the Resident Director of Dining Services directly, at (908) 273-0900, ext. 246. We review every single situation and create individual meal plans. This may also entail helping someone identify those foods that present even a potential problem.

Page 9

Knowing Her “Place”: The Journey By Elizabeth Woodall, Director of the Upper School

The mission of Kent Place School asks that each girl focus on the integrity of her own academic and cocurricular journey and on the integrity of her understanding of others. But how does this connect to wellness?

“well” student is one who can focus on her personal journey as multifaceted, who recognizes her impact on other individuals and on the world as a whole. Our Upper School encourages personal accountability on the journey through planned and unplanned, formal and informal, big and little experiences in every girl’s classes, in her activities and in her social interactions.

ensure that each girl follows her own, unique path based on her own experiences, interests and passions.

By way of these avenues, we expose our scholar-leaders to new content and new skills in many disciplines. This exposure to and the subsequent grappling with issues develops analytical thinking, helps students clarify their values and guides them through work on the ever-present questions of adolescence: Who am I? What do I believe in? Whether it’s taking the required English course or an elective in computer science, whether it’s trying a new sport or joining a new club, the scholarleader must see these experiences as part of the quest to become her best self, a self that is not yet fully or authentically defined. Many girls want a clear path to a clear destination that simply requires following prescribed steps. Engaging in the tension of learning and pushing out of one’s comfort zone can be frightening.The risks, says the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) presenter and author Sir Ken Robinson, “all involve opportunities, and you can’t foresee all of those . . . You can only set a direction and take the first steps.You then need to stay open to risks and possibilities and be willing to respond to both” (Finding Your Element, 238). Easier said than done for many, but eminently possible with the support of family, friends and mentors who help construct relevance, acceptance and values to the various paths. Not knowing the answer right away is the point. A growth mind-set about our human ability will actually provide for more valuable experiences because our girls develop self-awareness, allow themselves to face challenges, listen openly to others’ viewpoints and recognize their own ability to have an impact. Within our academic framework and graduation requirements, we

Page 10

Our scholar-leaders get the most from the Kent Place mission and from the Upper School by filling their days with various classes, time allotted for internal and external activities and time with friends or their “tribe” (Finding Your Element, 188). Being tired, having a sense of frustration along with one of joy, seeking help from a teacher or schoolmate, writing essays on interesting or not-so-interesting topics, listening to a teacher or classmate extol her hobby — all of these are key to helping adolescents find meaning in life.

We use the Four Pillars... Pursue Passion, Model Integrity, Live Respect, Think Community . . . to help each girl We use the Four Pillars — Pursue Passion, Model Integrity, Live Respect, Think Community — as a means to help each girl live the Kent Place mission. The pillars frame the journey and build strong female leaders. “Meaning is the motivation in your life. It’s finding what engages you, what makes your heart beat faster, what gives you energy and creates passion,” writes Joanna Barsh. “Meaning enables you to push yourself to the limits of your capabilities — and beyond” (How Remarkable Women Lead, 22). In the Upper School, we want to build personal meaning beyond the transcript, beyond the résumé. It’s about the human being. Everyone brings buckets on her journey. How many, the size of each, how they’re filled: All depend on the individual. The Upper School aims to let each girl determine her buckets. That’s the goal propelling everything we do. 

Learning for the Brain and Mind By Linda Ormont, Middle/Upper School Learning Specialist

or a learning specialist and educator like me, this is the perfect time to be alive. In the 21st century, biology has joined with psychology to unravel the mysteries of the human mind. Our rapidly expanding understanding of how we perceive, learn, remember, feel and behave is transforming the way we teach and learn at Kent Place School. The “new science of mind” starts with the principle that brain and mind are inseparable, writes Eric Kandel, winner of the Nobel Prize for his work on learning and memory. To nurture a healthy brain, we must eat healthy

foods, drink water to hydrate, exercise to oxygenate (at least an hour a day for children and a half hour for adults) and get enough sleep. Exercise has a significant, positive impact on cognitive development and learning. At KPS, movement training Illustration by Alana Schreiber starts with our preschoolers KPS alumnae with careers in math inspire students. and culminates with Power Hours and Boot Camps for faculty and staff. Our Upper School students energize for the day with early-morning Tabata, which is intensive interval training, and Zumba, Latininspired cardio classes, as part of the new A Positive Physical Experience (AP-PE) initiative. Learning how to control and manage stress from an early age is the

most important thing we can teach out children, Sam Wang, a neuroscientist at Princeton, told a roomful of educators at a recent Learning and the Brain conference. A little stress activates the brain and optimizes learning and test performance, but too much interferes with thinking and learning. Having the tools to self-regulate is key.

scored higher on math tests after listening to a passage about a famous female mathematician. As part of our intentional curriculum and school culture, our students examine the impact of gender stereotypes and encounter positive female role models. In the first months of this academic year, our girls were inspired, via video, by Mireya Mayor, a former NFL cheerleader, now Illustration by Alana Schreiber a primatologist, who shatters Getting ready for a test stereotypes about both cheerleaders and scientists; Billie Jean King, a champion of Title IX and equal access in athletics; and Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani who bravely speaks out for the right of girls to get an education. At KPS, students approach learning with a growth mind-set. For their first homework assignment in Advanced Algebra, students read an excerpt from Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers and from it discover, to their surprise, that math is a skill they can develop and master, not an innate, fixed ability. The message is that we get better at the things we spend time doing. Remember: Mind and brain are inseparable. Our learning experiences — mind — create neural pathways and strengthen old ones — brain — so learning plays a major role in who we are and who we become. We support learning with effective, brain-based strategies. For example, cognitive science tells us that spacing out study sessions, engaging in retrieval tasks as opposed to simple recognition, and interleaving (doing a mix of problems instead of practicing one skill at a time) all lead to long-term learning. I share these strategies with faculty and students in an iMovie that I created called Learning That Lasts, and they’re becoming part of our everyday practice.

We introduce our youngest students to yoga our eighth graders take time in math classes for deep breathing and meditation before final exams and our oldest students carry with them affirmations from Health and Wellness and mantras from AP-PE.

At Kent Place School the conversation about how we teach and learn is animated and ongoing. We welcome the insights into the human mind that the 21st century will bring. 

Identifying with a positive stereotype before an exam can have a

Aamodt, S., and Sam Wang, Welcome to Your Child’s Brain. New York: Bloomsbury, 2011.

direct effect on performance, studies show. Girls who believe that girls are as good at math as boys do better on math tests than girls who believe the stereotype that boys are better at math. In a similar way, young women

STAMINA

Resources and Recommended Reading Dweck, C. S., Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine Books, 2008. Gladwell, M., Outliers. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2008. Kandel, E. R., In Search of Memory. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2006.

By Bob Pridham, Chair of the Drama Department

very year I get the same question: Why can’t we be excused from physical education when we’re doing a play? After all, varsity athletes are excused from their PE requirement. Why should a tough game on the soccer field differ from mastering nine complex dances for Zombie Prom and then rehearsing them over and over and over until we’re so tired we can barely stand up?

and must maintain the energy needed to sustain a performance from start to finish. Professionally, they must learn to do this night after night, or to be ready to produce this energy on film at the drop of a hat. Moreover, although words tell us much, every actor knows that a simple twist of the wrist or a certain stance may be all it takes to communicate the eccentricities of a lifetime in the space of seconds. Think of Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, then as Julia Child, then as the manipulative Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada . . . and you see the point. Middle School, The Little Mermaid

A visit to the current Broadway productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III will likely teach you all you need to know about the physical demands today’s performers face; featured actor Mark Rylance provides a vivid lesson in how actors must take full advantage of their physical capabilities in order to meet the challenges posed by their work. Similarly, if you’ve seen Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, Matilda, Chicago, Pippin, Newsies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, any number of recent high-energy dramas or even the Metropolitan Opera’s production of the Ring cycle, you’ve seen performers meet and surpass physical challenges that might test the mettle of an Olympic athlete. Mind–body alignment is critical to success on the stage. The ability to communicate the thoughts and intentions of a character has as much to do with physical aptitude as it does with vocal skill. Actors must become engines of flexibility, clarity and versatility when it comes to gesture and movement,

Some years ago, a very gifted young actor was performing the title role in Hamlet. When asked to define the one thing an actor really needs to succeed in the role, he didn’t resort to the usual blather about dramatic imagination and intuition and depth of soul and fire on the brain. His answer came down to one word: stamina. So let those weary athletes slog to the bench at the end of their game and call it a day. But for actors, the curtain is just another cue to hit the gym — because when actors aren’t taking class, rehearsing or performing, that’s most likely where you’ll find them. 

Upper School, Zombie Prom

Page 11

Reducing Identity-Related Stress through Self-Awareness and Mindfulness By Henaz Bhatt, Director of Diversity

ach of us consists of multiple social identifiers that we inherit without our control: age, ability status, ethnicity, gender, race, sexual identity, religion, and socioeconomic status, to name a few. When these identifiers are called into question or threatened, especially by someone from whom one feels most isolated or different, some of the deepest feelings of stress can occur. These encounters result in what we call an emotional “trigger.” More often than not, our strongest triggers are related to social identity.

you any clues to where you may have been experiencing stress in your body during the situation you are examining? When you become more aware of your body’s response to a stressor such that you can pinpoint where you’re experiencing it, you’re on a journey of mindfulness and self-care.You can use this knowledge to modify your behaviors during encounters and self-regulate through relaxation during conflict. This consistent practice, through storytelling, journaling, mindfulness, breathwork, knowledge and research, will lead to a healthier stress-management plan for identity-related encounters.

The human desire to belong or be seen and validated is a powerful one, enough to result in segregation by identity, just think about who sits together in the lunch room — from high school to the workplace. All individuals Here at Kent Place, we work to embody our Conversation Norms in respond to triggers differently: from anger to avoidance and from sadness to order to support healthy responses to stressful situations. The norms call denial, the range of responses seems endless. Regardless of how reactions on our community members to “lean into discomfort” rather than avoid manifest, it is certain that when stress becomes consuming, the mind’s capacit and to remember that “you are the owner of your own experience and ity to be present and attentive is the expert of you.” With these and compromised. A student who is other guidelines in mind, the KPS “. . . recognizing our triggers and managing community is invited to engage in undergoing an identity-related emotional trigger because of an our responses are crucial to creating a more conversations about identity in an encounter is likely unable to learn open and honest way. From cultural inclusive, just and equitable world — or absorb information well. That intelligence training to experiential is why recognizing our triggers workshops and classes, individuals starting with our classrooms.” and managing our responses are are encouraged to share their stories crucial to creating a more incluand listen to those who seem most sive, just and equitable world — starting with our classrooms. different from them. And when the territory gets murky, the norms remind us to “practice purity of motive” and to share our pain and Stress is a relatively simple problem to help our students solve, especially educate others about its source, especially when their perceptions or when compared to the pervasive and seemingly insurmountable issues assumptions are incorrect or hurtful. of racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and other forms of oppression. Professor of education and Africana studies in the Graduate School of When someone is feeling anxiety or stress to an identity-related Education at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Howard C. Stevenson has encounter, she has not only my office to come to, but also the students done significant research about the stress of racial conflicts and encounters of the Diversity Council, an Upper School club that leads school-wide in particular. He suggests that instead of focusing on dismantling racism, we and small-group discussions on diversity and inclusion; Peer Mediators focus on dismantling the stress of racial encounters. He recommends these in the Middle School; and Kaleidoscopes, a mentorship program for PS, few steps: MS, and US students of color and their allies on campus, to name a few. The educators who are on the Equity Team and participants in our 1. Observe that you’re having a stress-provoking encounter: storytelling SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Seminar are trained to see curriculum as window and mirror — by providing students opportu2. Recognize and face the stress in the room: journaling nities to feel at once reflected in the classroom and challenged to see beyond themselves through windows into others’ worlds. This compre3. Practice self-care in the wake of stress; develop helpful attitudes and hensive effort is needed to decrease the occurrence of emotional behaviors: mindfulness and relaxation during the encounter triggers for our school community. Only then can true and equitable 4. Address the situation head on: dialogue and debate learning take place. 5. Resolve the problem in some way: role play and practice Many philosophies call on us to embrace the emotions within as the first These steps may seem difficult to put into practice, but a simple start is selfstep in healing ourselves. Beyond that, recognizing our reactions to idenreflection. Think back to a moment when you experienced an emotional tity-related stress is the first step in dismantling oppression. This awareness trigger around some aspect of your identity. Now bring that moment further enables us, as individuals, to wade into waters we would normally stay into consciousness by answering these questions: Where are you? Who is with away from but for healthy self-esteem are necessary to cross! Developing you? What is happening? How do you feel? resiliency and comfort in increasingly global situations depends on this practice. To put an end to sexism, racism, classism, homophobia and all When the picture becomes more three-dimensional, answer the next two the other oppressions that affect people all over the world, we must questions and share your responses with a friend, partner or colleague: How begin with mindfulness and minimizing stress in our own lives, classrooms do you feel? Where in your body do you feel it? and society. Consider these expressions: “I feel sick to my stomach,” “You’re a pain in the neck,” “I went weak in the knees,” and “My shoulders slumped.” Do they give

90° South: An Antarctic Adventure! Join us for Spring Fling 2014 Featuring the return of our Live Auction! Saturday, April 26 6:30–11:00 p.m. • KPS Field House

Save the date for the COOLEST Spring Fling ever! Page 12

Come with me on this journey of mindfulness and self-care. 

To follow Spring Fling, please snap the QR code with your smartphone or visit https://www.501auctions.com/kps

Safety FIRST: Security Measures on KPS Campus By Dr. Adunni Anderson, Director of the Primary School

t the most basic level, the need for safety is fundamental for human growth and development (Maslow, 1943). Just as with a sense of security at home, feeling safe within the school environment correlates to student achievement and emotional well-being.

proven knowledge of what to do and how to respond in the event of an emergency. Consistent with state requirements, we conduct two practice drills monthly. The type of the drill varies to enable us to practice what we can do in any number of emergencies and potentially hazardous situations.

Seventy years after Maslow posited his Hierarchy of Needs, we find ourselves in a world in which the prioritization of safety must be foremost in our schools; a result of the shock, sadness, fear and outrage experienced in the aftermath of the massacres at Columbine High School, Colorado; Virginia Tech; Newtown, Connecticut; and Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, we can never be too cautious, too concerned or too proactive.

Although we can neither predict nor prevent all frightening or dangerous events, we can be prepared with a safety and security plan, sufficient training and regular practice. No matter our age, our fundamental human need is to feel safe and secure. Students, from the youngest to the oldest, will always look first to their parents to make them feel safe. The American Psychological Association recommends several strategies to assist parents with coping and managing their children’s stress or trauma following a crisis. According to the APA Help Center (2011):

At Kent Place School, the safety of our students, faculty and staff and the security of our campus are paramount, and inextricably tied to a productive educational experience. Last spring the Kent Place administrative team, in consultation with the Campus Police, the Facilities Department and local law enforcement, engaged the services of a private security firm to review and update our emergency procedures. A cross-functional, campus-wide, basement-torooftop assessment then determined how best to prevent, minimize and abate risks, and, in turn, to bolster the safety and security of the entire campus with additional access controls, identification protocols and communication systems. Training for all personnel in the use of best practices and mechanisms for responding to emergency situations and mitigating crises has also been provided, and security measures underwent upgrades. In order to foster a safer learning environment, cooperation from among all stakeholders — administration, faculty, staff, parents and children alike — is critical. To that end, what may appear as inconveniences (e.g., mandatory identification tags, limited access, new sign-in procedures) are in reality measures and changes designed to ensure a safer learning environment for everyone within the school community.

WHAT IS

…

Just as important as the written School Emergency Management Plan and Quick Reference Guide are our heightened sense of awareness and the

• Talk with your children using age- or grade-appropriate language. Be sensitive to their feelings, listen to their thoughts and concerns and give them a reassuring hug.

• Keep home a safe, predictable and comfortable place. Find time for favorite family games, gatherings or activities.

• Monitor and watch for signs of anxiety, fear and stress. Take note of changes in attitude, behavior or sleeping patterns, and consult a professional if any occur.

• Limit media access by taking a break from the news on TV, on the Internet and in newspapers. Unplug and engage in other

familiar, enjoyable activities.

• Take care of yourself to be able to take care of your children. Maintain routines and schedules, modeling normalcy.

Head of School Susan Bosland has invited everyone — students, faculty, staff and parents — to play an active role in helping to foster a secure Kent Place campus. She has empowered the entire school community with this reminder: If you see something, say something! With the assistance of everyone, we will all feel safer and better able to productively engage in the teaching and learning experience. 

Baseline Concussion Screening

By Brittany Howell, Athletic Trainer; Assistant to the Athletics Director

The mind–body connection is strong but delicate, like a spiderweb. It’s the framework that makes us who we are, but it can be disrupted with just a minor bump or shake. It has been ingrained in the mind of an athlete, however, that the game must go on, that complaining is a mark of weakness. When an athlete hides symptoms in an attempt to continue participating, she puts that mind–body connection in extreme jeopardy. A concussion, however, is more than a minor bump. It’s the result of a chemical imbalance caused by the hit and can affect memory, comprehension and attention span, among countless other things, and if left untreated can cause changes in personality, depression and even death. How can a health-care provider detect the effects of a blow to the head if an athlete doesn’t report any symptoms? Baseline tests give an objective view of the status of an athlete, as they eliminate the possibility of her trying to push through the pain. Each person is an individual; therefore, when comparing results after an injury to an assessment of a “normal” population, we’re not getting a precise or personalized view of the extent of the injury. Baseline testing enables health-care providers to see how an athlete operates when she’s healthy and to get an idea of her reaction time, concentration and memory. When there’s suspicion of a concussion, for example, the nurse or doctor compares the scores of a post-injury test to the baseline scores and can thus establish whether there is, in fact, an injury and then gauge its extent. The baseline score can also be used as a benchmark to help determine whether after treatment the injured athlete has returned to her normal level of functioning. If she’s still struggling with certain tasks, the medical provider knows to continue treatment.

Kent Place School uses a software program, ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing), developed by experts in the field, to make sure that every girl we put out onto the courts, tracks and fields and into the pool has a baseline test on file and available to our medical team. This is a computer-based test that consists of a series of games an athlete will go through at her own pace. Each of these games challenges a different area of the brain, such as remembering a series of letters and shapes at the end of the test that were shown at the beginning or trying to locate and click numbers in order from 25 to 1 as quickly as possible. We test all our freshman and junior Upper School athletes, and have begun testing of our seventh graders as well, to ensure that participants at every age will receive the same level of care. Though there are many components involved in diagnosing a possible head injury, baseline testing is an invaluable tool, and is the first step in making sure we’re fostering an environment that protects our athletes.

Page 13

Kent Place for Life: How Team Sports Enhance the Lives of Our Alumnae Scholar-Athletes Beginning in the seventh grade, we provide numerous opportunities for girls to become involved in competitive athletics and encourage participation in a variety of sports. We asked some of our young alumnae to share stories of their athletic experiences at Kent Place and to tell us how continuing to be active through sports or another physical activity

Katherine O’Donnell ’06 I was fortunate enough to be introduced to squash by my father, and fell in love with the sport. I played throughout middle school and high school and at the collegiate level. As I reflect on my squash career, two things jump out at me that I learned on and off the court that continue to influence me today: leadership and management and my health and well-being. As an officer in the Navy, I’ve often been responsible for the safety of 300 sailors, as I’m charged with navigating and maneuvering a billion-dollar warship, all at the age of 22. I couldn’t do this successfully without the leadership and management lessons I learned starting at Kent Place, balancing my demanding squash Official Navy Photo schedule with my challenging academic load. It may seem odd that KPS and the Navy could be connected in this way, but my transition from Kent Place, to Harvard, to the Navy would not have been as smooth without the foundation in leadership and time management that I learned as a young adolescent at KPS. The habits I formed in my early teens of taking care of my body and mind through exercise continue today. In college, I’d often wake up early in the morning, go to practice, attend a full day of classes and then practice again before sitting down to my academic work. In the Navy, I come back from a day of work (or finished standing watch during my last seven-month deployment onboard a ship) and take time to myself to exercise even if it’s only for 15 minutes. I learned over the years that the little time I set aside to invest in my physical health and well-being pays huge dividends for my mental health, clarity and overall productivity.

had to work within a tight timeline. I was a three-season varsity athlete for my four years of high school at Kent Place, where I won the White Blazer award at graduation, and went on to play goalie for the University of Pennsylvania field hockey team for my four years of college, so I know it can be done! Beyond time management, collegiate athletics teaches you leadership and teamwork skills that often translate to the workplace. When I was a junior at UPenn, I entered and won the UBS Women’s Leadership Essay contest and was invited to attend the organization’s Annual Penn Athletics Women’s Leadership Conference, which introduced me to top female executives at UBS [a global financial firm]. To win this contest, I wrote about how playing field hockey taught me that leadership in the face of temporary failure takes strength and determination and forces you to rally yourself and your team to continue to fight and win the next game by focusing on teamwork. This drive to succeed and the ability to lead and work within a team structure are invaluable skills you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life, and are some of the great takeaways of participating in sports. Alanna graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a major in economics and a minor in art history. She was an NCAA scholar-athlete during all four years of college. She received her master’s degree in art business from Sotheby’s Institute of Art, in New York City, and is currently working in the city as an art appraiser for O’Toole-Ewald Art Associates.

Hannah Benn ’11 I’m a member of the varsity swim team at Johns Hopkins. Being part of a sports team has defined my college experience in such a positive way. Varsity athletics takes up a huge amount of time — with practices, lifting and traveling — so it has taught me to manage my time well. School can be very stressful, and practices allow me to step back from studying and clear my mind for a bit. In that sense, swimming helps my academic life because I’m able to use it as a “de-stressing” activity.

These are just two examples of what squash has given me in my life, not to mention the countless hours I was able to spend with my father during practice and on trips to tournaments, as well as the social network I’ve developed through the sport. Even across the world, now in Singapore, I have a family through squash. Katherine graduated from Harvard University with an AB in history of science in 2010. That year she was captain of the Ivy League and NCAA National Championship Varsity Women’s Squash Team. She is a lieutenant junior grade in the US Navy.

Alanna Butera ’05 Being a student athlete in college is a big challenge to take on, but the opportunities for success and life-changing experiences are well worth the hard work and long hours. You want to succeed not only at school but also on the playing field. Between classes, study sessions, practice and traveling for games, time is at a premium, so good time management is the crucial ingredient for success. The ability to juggle a dynamic schedule is the critical skill to learn. In middle school and high school, I had already learned that I was able to accomplish more in my classes and my athletics when time was short and I

Page 14

Being a member of a team is also a huge part of my academic life. The whole team wants everyone else to do well, so we all help one another however we can, such as studying for exams together or sharing class notes. Johns Hopkins Athletics

Hannah, a junior at Johns Hopkins, is majoring in behavioral biology. She was on the varsity swim team at Kent Place for four years and served as captain for two. 

“The Sophomore Experience” Is an Adventure By Sheila Dunne, Physical Education & Athletics

or our girls at KPS, when they’re freshmen, school is brand new and adjustment takes a little time; as juniors, they’re thinking about the SAT and other tests; as seniors, they’re applying to colleges and getting ready to go out into the world. But what’s special about being in the tenth grade?

Project Adventure helps our girls focus on develop-

ing those tools. Like compartments in a toolbox, Project Adventure separates the three distinct areas, or zones, that comprise the program. These zones are comfort, stretch and panic.

Sophomore year is actually a pivotal year. It’s when we begin to demystify the Upper School process and help the girls figure out what systems work best for them. During this journey, three elements establish the foundation for the work and skills that will lead to successful navigation of the junior and senior years. We present the programs in a five-session series that rotates each trimester. Like spokes on a wheel, these programs provide sophomores the stability and structure that result in efficient and effective forward movement. The spokes represent the three parts of our sophomore program. In a wheel, the breakdown of any component would cause it to wobble, and that analogy is apt Full Value Contract for the three sophomore programs we’ll be talking about here. All levels of the Upper School, like gears, work together to help make the sophomore experience the foundation for the junior and senior years, and beyond.

The comfort zone is the state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance. To step out of the comfort zone into the stretch (growth) zone raises the anxiety level, thus engendering a stress response, the result of which is an enhanced level of concentration and focus (White, 2009). Beyond that point, performance deteriorates as the person experiences higher levels of anxiety and moves into the panic zone. Here the level of discomfort and anxiety stifles the learning process. Developing a safe environment is paramount as students step out of their comfort zone into their stretch/growth zone — and avoid the panic zone.

Prepare. KPS Getting Ready . . . Project Adventure. These are the three key programmatic elements offered during the sophomore year. Let’s review Prepare and KPS Getting Ready . . . and then go into detail about Project Adventure. Prepare is a violence-prevention program designed to expose students to

adrenaline-state training. In it they learn both verbal and nonverbal strategies to defend and protect themselves. Here’s what some of our students have said about it.

During Prepare, I learned that even in the worst of times, I could be strong. —Veronica Child ’14

The most rewarding part of Prepare was the realization that I could use my knowledge to protect myself. —Katherine Naylor ’14

KPS Getting Ready. . . helps students

map out the remainder of the Upper School years with sessions that provide the skills necessary for them to stay physically and mentally healthy. In a society that is ever changing and poses many obstacles, students need strategies to problem-solve and must learn to collaborate to achieve common goals. Given the constant pressures students endure, we want to give them the tools they can use to stay on a positive track.

Amara Balan participates in the high-element climbing experience during Sophomore Special.

At the beginning of the school year, sophomores go on an overnight field trip to Camp Speers-Eljabar and begin their journey as a group. Here they participate in trust activities to introduce them to what’s called the highelement climbing experience. As they progress through the high-element course, they face self-doubt, issues of trust and fear of failure. As they complete each challenge, the cheers, hugs and tears of their classmates support them physically, emotionally and socially. In the end, students learn how to break down barriers, preconceived or internalized, in order to attain a higher level of performance and to bond as a group. Then, for the year to be one of growth and maturing, students collaborate to formulate the norms and values that will serve as the framework for how the group will function and communicate throughout tenth grade. The result is the Full-Value Contract. Just as the floors, walls and ceilings of a house provide the framework for a family to function, the Full-Value Contract takes on the symbolic shape of a home to provide the foundational elements, from the ground up, for creating behavioral norms that everyone in the sophomore “family” agrees to follow. In a sense, the girls put their hopes, wishes and dreams for the class onto puzzle pieces that fit inside the house, fortifying it and deeding ownership to the sophomore community.

Project Adventure helped me collaborate more efficiently with my peers and get to know them better. —Elizabeth Fournier ’15

This is how one of our students summed up the experience: It’s our goal that our girls graduate with a well-stocked toolbox of collaborative, cooperative strategies and techniques that will help them navigate as young women out in the world. That’s what we provide with valuable programs: Prepare, KPS Getting Ready . . . and Project Adventure — and that’s what’s so special about sophomore year at Kent Place.  Students participate in drunk-and-texting-while-driving simulations during Getting Ready . . .

Resources and Recommended Reading Page 15

Sleep: It Does a Body Good

How Much Sleep Do You Really Need? Age

By Karen Gerini, CSN, Nursing Team Leader

Sleep Needs

Newborns (0–2 months) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12–18 hours

f you spend any time in our Middle and Upper School Health Office, you’re bound to hear this student complaint: “I’m so tired. Can I just lie down?”

Infants (3–11 months) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11–15 hours Toddlers (1–3 years) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12–14 hours

This situation is not unique to our adolescent population here at KPS. According to research conducted by the National Sleep Foundation and the UCLA Sleep Disorder Center, teens across the nation don’t get the sleep they need. Most adolescents require eight to nine hours of sleep at night to function optimally the next day. A teen’s circadian rhythm, her internal biological clock, functions differently from that of a young child or an adult. Melatonin — a hormone linked to promoting sleep when darkness falls — is produced later at night in an adolescent’s brain, thereby making it more difficult for her to fall asleep early enough. Her natural rhythm actually signals her body to stay up later at night and wake up later in the morning. As this change in the production of melatonin occurs when a girl enters her teen years, the timing coincides with a life full of activities: Our KPS students are involved in rigorous academics, demanding athletic sessions, extracurricular pursuits and active social commitments. This busy schedule combined with the body’s natural tendency to stay awake later may contribute to a sleep deficit.

Preschoolers (3–5 years) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11–13 hours School-age children (5–10 years) . . . . . . . . . . . . .10–11 hours Teens (10–17 years) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.5–9.25 hours Adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7–9 hours Source: National Sleep Foundation

When a student presents in the Health Office complaining that she’s tired, we immediately review her sleep habits. Invariably, she’s tired because she’s not getting enough sleep. These are some of our recommendations:

• Set a regular bedtime. Avoid binge sleeping on weekends. • Exercise regularly. Complete strenuous exercise about three hours before bedtime.

• Keep away from stimulants. In addition to their well-known harmful effects, stimulants can interrupt sleep patterns.

• Relax the mind. Try not to watch television or do any heavy reading immediately before bedtime.

• Avoid excessive napping. Daytime sleep makes it difficult to get a full night’s rest.

• Create a comfortable, quiet, dark sleeping environment. Turn off the cell phone, computer, tablet and any other electronic equipment; a backlit device can stimulate the brain.

• Avoid all-night study sessions. Reschedule heavy studying for

earlier in the day. Just after dinner is a good plan; you then have time to unwind before bed.

Adolescents are at an important stage of growth and development, and a nightly good sleep is essential for optimal learning, memory function, mental and physical performance and normal growth and development. For further information, please contact your health-care provider. And now, wishing you a goodnight . . . 

Carskadon, M. “When Worlds Collide: Adolescent Need for Sleep Versus Societal Demands, Adolescent Sleep Needs and School Starting Times.” www.sleepforscience.org, 1999, accessed September 22, 2013. “Common Sleep Disorders in Teens.” www.webmd.com Health Tools, March 2013, accessed September 23, 2013. “Inside the Teenage Brain.” www.pbs.org, Frontline, n.d., accessed September 23, 2013.

history community

values integrity

values 120 years of... courage opportunity

accomplishment

learning

vision achievement Page 16

creativity

thinking outside the box

These are just some of the powerful words used to describe Kent Place over the past 120 years. KPS’s blend of strong academics and innovative programs make our community unique, and its success is due to the many people who have supported Kent Place through the Annual Fund over time. Consistent Annual Fund support allows KPS to plan for the future with confidence.

character

Every gift, whatever its size, is important and greatly appreciated. For more information and to give online, please visit www.kentplace.org/give_online.org.

impact

generosity

support

individualism

motivation

growth

discovery

leadership inspiration

participation

commitment

Resources and Recommended Reading

talent

sisterhood

excellence

tradition

Lack of adequate sleep can affect a teen’s academic and athletic performance and social demeanor. Slowed responses, memory difficulties, dulled concentration and a short attention span (and in some cases mood changes and even depression, both of which we take very seriously) may be signals that more sleep is required. Although the brain tries to overcome sleep deprivation, a person suffering from not enough sleep simply can’t perform either mental or physical tasks as well as can an individual who is well rested.

ANNUAL FUND 2 013-2 014

Five Unique Campus Spots to Come Together Kent Place’s 26-acre campus provides numerous spaces where people and ideas come together. Well known for its beautiful landscape and unique Tudor architecture, our physical environment is designed to accommodate expanding programs, curricular initiatives and new technologies. Yet there are hidden jewels that are often overlooked even though we pass them every day, and they offer places for our community to connect, inspire and celebrate one another. They also stimulate imagination and

Jane Patterson Community Garden

Log Cabin

The Jane Patterson Memorial Garden contains established plants that attract pollinators and birds during their migrations. Primary School science classes use the fenced-in garden for observing life cycles of the various flora; in addition, they plant the annual second-into-third-grade Three Sisters Garden. Students also grow herbs, lettuce and spinach for the Dining Hall. The Community Garden serves as the location of the 5th- and 6th-Grade

Only one of two buildings from the late 1800s still stands on the Kent Place campus, but the Log Cabin has been in almost continuous use, as a place to play and learn, for more than 100 years. The log cabin went through a historical restoration in 2008. The original stone fireplace remains intact; only the roof and molding around the windows and doors are new. Alumnae of all ages remember playing in the Log Cabin, and today our Primary School students use it during recess for imaginative recreation. Picnic, during which fifth graders hear about the Middle School years. And you’ll often see Upper School studio art classes drawing the flowers and the surrounding landscape.

Norwood House The Norwood House was donated to Kent Place, in 1965, to be used as the home and social space for former head of school Macdonald Halsey. Sue Bosland is the sixth head of school to live in the Norwood House, and she continues the tradition of opening the space to the KPS community. For example, it’s the setting for the 50th reunion class dinner; for welcoming our new faculty and staff; for honoring the senior parents; for congratulating the Parents’ Association volunteers; for a meeting space for various committees; and for commemorating the sophomore class’s yearlong work on Project Adventure. This year, the Norwood House will undergo renovations to correct code issues and to improve the space in order to accommodate even more community events.

Upper School Class Lounges

Graduation Lawn

With a swirl of backpacks, student decorations, laughter and excited conversation, the class lounges offer each grade in the Upper School a space to call its own. During free periods and at the start and end of each day, girls gather here to catch up with friends, continue a debate that started in class or just relax. “As each grade progresses through the Upper School, we enter into a different space, symbolizing our growth and new position within our school,” says senior and Student Ambassador Co-President Natalie Kwan. “The lounges definitely foster a sense of community, and we take responsibility for them, ensuring that they’re always clean and well decorated during Spirit Week.”

At the heart of the campus is a large patch of grass, almost two acres. One day you might witness the participants of the Primary School Feelin’ Good Mileage Club, now in its 11th year at KPS, walking or running the perimeter of the lawn to earn a colorful token for every three miles they complete. On another day Middle Schoolers gather to socialize in small groups after lunch. The traditional Sweatshirt Photo, team-building exercises, class lectures and reunion events have all been held on the Graduation Lawn. And, of course, it’s here where all graduating seniors walk through the junior-led Daisy Chain, the culmination of the Kent Place experience, as the lawn serves as the final campus event their class will attend as a whole. 

Page 17

News & Views Bioethics Project 2013–2014 By Karen Rezach, Director of the Ethics Institute and Director of the Middle School

here are very few events in the life of a high school–aged student that compare with being old enough for a driver’s license. In New Jersey, in filling out the application, the young woman looking forward to the sense of freedom and independence driving represents must make perhaps her first ethical decision in response to this biomedical question: Do you want to be an organ donor? Building on the success of the groundbreaking Bioethics Project 2012, the Ethics Institute at Kent Place School, in partnership with The Hastings Center for Biomedical Research, has provided nine Upper School students the opportunity to further explore the question “Donor: What Is the Value of the Human Body?” This encompasses ethical issues associated with the sale, donation and transplantation of organs, tissues and other biological materials. Throughout the four-week summer internship and during the first two trimesters of this school year, each budding “ethics scholar” worked with her Hastings Institute mentor and conducted in-depth research on a donorrelated topic: for example, face transplants, commodification of kidney markets and prisoners as transplant recipients.

Page 18

In December, the students presented their research at the Project Meeting at The Hastings Center. They continued to hone their papers, created a website (http://blogs.kentplace.org/bioethicsproject) to share their collective body of research, and then presented to the greater community at the Bioethics Symposium on Friday, February 14. Congratulations to this year’s Bioethics Project scholars. Michaila Kaufman ’16 Every year there are 12,000 fetuses diagnosed with a missing brain and parts of their skull, a birth defect known as anencephaly. Two thousand of those are brought to term, none of which will survive more than a few days. Current laws prohibit the families of the infants from donating their organs. I discussed the ethical issues revolving anencephalic organ donation by exploring ethical principles and the true meaning of human life.

Carolyn Bailey ’16 Currently in the United States, there are more than 400,000 frozen embryos. After people successfully go through in-vitro fertilization treatments, they may have leftover embryos they no longer have use for. I explored the options for the unused frozen embryos, including embryo donation for adoption.

Alison Nestle ’14 A person identifies another person by looking at her face. Is it acceptable, then, to be able to receive a face transplant and alter a person’s identity? My topic regarding face transplants questioned the idea of what makes you who you are and what role society plays in that answer.

Amanda Donoghue ’16 Is donating blood a right or a privilege? More than 62 percent of the US population doesn't qualify to donate blood due to strict guidelines put in place to protect both donors and recipients. My project focused on the fairness of these qualifications and the role society plays in a donor’s psychological mind-set. I also discussed the appropriate risk that donors and recipients must accept.

Kristen Plate ’15 A Californian prisoner in 2002 received a heart transplant that cost the state approximately $1 million. My project focused on whether social status should be a criterion in the allocation of organs, who should pay for inmate medical care, what is considered a good use of an organ, and the chance of success involved in organ transplantation of prisoners.

Alexa Girasole ’16 Does a human have the right to kill an animal for its organs because of her own failing organs? Xenotransplantation is the transplantation of nonhuman organs, tendons and tissues to a human recipient. Some issues are effectiveness and nonmaleficence [not doing harm] because the nonhuman organs reject very quickly and you are doing harm when an animal is dying solely for its organs. Should animals have the right to life even if their organs can help a human?

Noelle Rosa ’15 Do people have the right to sell extraneous parts of their bodies? The shortage in the kidney supply across the globe has become a major issue due to the rising demand for transplantations. One potential solution is the commodification of kidneys: the legalization of a kidney market. I focused on supply and demand, the black market for kidney distribution, effectiveness, autonomy and the principle of utilitarianism.

Alyssa Hwang ’16 In a society marked by the restriction of resources, it is pertinent that we rank different aspects of life according to our needs. Is comfort one of them? My paper, under the context of comparing organ donations from humans and nonhuman animals, explored the necessity of comfort, an often neglected value, through the views of respect and safety.

Laura Whelan ’16 Should those with Down syndrome have equal access to kidneys? Although it is illegal to deny someone a kidney transplant based on a disability, these laws are hard to enforce. Most doctors would rather have a scarce organ go to a child without a disability than to a child with one. Is this reasoning justified, or is it, rather, discrimination?

The Kent Place School Strategic Plan

ent Place is a recognized leader in educational excellence among independent schools. As we strive to maintain that standard and continue to align our mission with our vision, the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff have worked together to identify and prioritize needs over the next three years. Four specific priorities were identified:

Diligent Financial Stewardship. Financial governance is all encompassing

and consists of prioritizing, maximizing and ensuring the prudent use of funds; exploring alternative sources of revenue; building the endowment and fundraising — all with the goal of remaining strong, accessible and sustainable into the distant future. Professional Leadership. Expertise among our faculty is essential for a

strong educational program. Kent Place School will be recognized as an international leader with a talented faculty and staff, capable of building a world-class program.

presents

Ethics Leadership in Business • How do you define success? Who will you be as a leader in your company? • What will your business contribute to society? • During this co-educational summer program for students who will be in grades 10–12, participants explore values in business and entrepreneurship. They also examine crucial issues in 21st-century American business ethics and develop the leadership skills needed to achieve values-driven success in their career.

International Reputation. Kent Place School will continually evaluate its

outstanding program. We will make adjustments to improve and enhance curricular and cocurricular programs and services, with the ultimate goal of graduating ethical leaders, scholars and innovators of tomorrow.

PART 1: June 16–19 | PART 1I: June 23–26 “This program is very informative and unique. It has changed the way that I think about success.”

Facility Excellence. Our facilities support the day-to-day operation of the

school and help promote program excellence. We will be committed to restoring, renovating and expanding our physical plant; we want our facilities to match the excellence of our educational program and optimize our learning environment.

—Bruce Davis ’16, St. Benedict’s Preparatory School

For enrollment information, visit www.kentplace.org/ethics/leadinbusiness.

@ethicsinstitute www.fb.com/ethicsinstitute www.kentplace.org/ethics

As we work on the Strategic Plan, please watch for future communications from our Head of School’s Office. Address any questions regarding the plan to Sue Bosland, at boslands@kentplace.org. 

Spotlight on Technology: Programming Across Divisions at KPS By Sue Tracy, Primary School Technology Coordinator

e’re all surrounded by technology. Students are adept at using it, but they’re not always aware of how the technology was created or why it actually works. Kent Place School’s technology coordinators, Sue Tracy (Primary School), Marni Endlich (Middle School) and Judy Bianco (Upper School), saw the need for students to have a better understanding of what happens behind the scenes, so together they wrote a proposal for a Halsey Grant. The purpose of the grant was to evaluate how we are currently teaching computer programming across all three divisions as well as identify common language such as the programming design process, plan areas of expansion and detail the sequence of curriculum K-12. The grant was studied by the school’s Grant Review Committee and accepted. Students in kindergarten through second grade will use the app Daisy the Dinosaur to become familiar with programming. Third- through fifth-grade students will use Scratch Software, developed by the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at the MIT Media Lab, to learn how to program. Fifth graders will

Meet VGo For the first few weeks of school we had a special visitor on campus, an innovative robot called VGo. A Middle School student, now in remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma and back on campus, was able to be “present” at school while she was recovering from treatments. The student, who could control VGo from her home, participated in school classes, discussions and interactions with friends. Philip’s Academy Charter School, in Newark, loaned VGo to Kent Place and provided the training to operate it. VGo recently welcomed participants at a New Jersey Association of Independent Schools STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) conference held on campus and led by KPS Head of School Sue Bosland. Seeing VGo in the hallways certainly sparked the girls’ interest in innovation and invention: seeing a need and finding a solution.

then extend their programming knowledge to include Lego WeDo Robotics, with which they’ll build and program their own Lego models.

Leigh Whitehorn ’16, US Digital Design Club member, created the programming logo.

Our Middle School students will continue to explore Scratch programming by creating a project that addresses Digital Citizenship, and then begin to create apps using App Inventor. The Robotics Engineering elective offered in the Middle School will continue to expand student experiences in building and programming using Lego NXT Robots. Upper School students will break down problems into data and processes to design algorithms. Ninth graders will use Scratch and the Python language in an introductory programming unit offered within a seminar. In programming electives, students will apply problem-solving strategies and algorithms in greater depth during a revised unit using Python. Our hope is to teach girls that programming can be fun and that it fosters valuable skills such as how to break down a complex problem into smaller parts, how to collaborate, how to be persistent and persevere when things aren’t working, how to troubleshoot by debugging and how to express their creativity using technology. We’d also like to encourage girls to explore computer programming and engineering as possible careers. According to the US Department of Labor, more than 1.4 million computer jobs will be in demand by 2020 but only 400,000 students will study computer science in college and only a small percentage of them will be women. We want to give our girls the opportunity to explore programming in a safe environment that encourages risk taking and challenges them to think critically when solving problems.  Resources App Inventor: http://appinventor.mit.edu/ Lego Education: http://www.legoeducation.us/ Python: http://www.codecademy.com/tracks/python?jump_to=4fd55e66b280710003045fb5 Scratch: http://scratch.mit.edu/

Page 19

Our Lady of Route 52: Upper School Fall Play I

n early November, Kent Place Upper School students presented their fall performance of the premiere of Kate Aspengren’s new play Our Lady of Route 52. The play was performed in the Hyde and Watson Theatre on campus and directed by Theater Department Chair Bob Pridham. In Our Lady of Route 52, Sarah Fletcher and Phoebe McMasters are looking for trouble. All they want is a chance to cut class, break a few rules and avoid the notice of their school principal and the police. But when a mysterious woman appears at their afterschool hangout, confusion erupts, tempers flare and friendships are tested. The theater program at Kent Place is committed to the production of musical and

The Cast of Our Lady of Route 52

“For me, the best part about being in the play was being given the opportunity to work with Mr. Pridham and my peers. They’re all very talented and passionate about theater and pushed me to do my best work on the stage. I also enjoyed the content of the play. It’s a very moving and thought-provoking show. My character, Meg, was often difficult to understand but

Katie Moore-Gillon ’15 and Molly Gump ’16

Natalie Rathgeber ’14 and Bronwyn Olstein ’16

“Finding strong, interesting, age-appropriate plays for young women is not always an easy task. History is against us — in the Western theatrical tradition, from the plays of the ancient Greeks to the dramas of the Renaissance, women were not even permitted to appear on a stage until the 17th century. Of course, gender-blind casting is always an option, and one we have taken up on many occasions — if it was good enough for Shakespeare, it’s certainly good enough for us. But our students also deserve the chance to wrestle with characters and situations that are immediate and real to them. So the struggle to find plays that feature women in challenging roles is always on. And when we have the good fortune to discover a play that places young

Linden Clarke ’14

Kent Place Goes Global Four trips have been planned for Middle and Upper School students this year. Our trip to France, which took place during the first week of Spring Break, has returned and detailed their experience on our school blog, at blogs.kentplace.org/global. Please follow their adventures as well as our upcoming June trips.

Upper School students and eighth graders traveled to Paris, Brittany and Normandy to experience French language and culture. In addition to exploring, sightseeing and museum visits, students took French cooking classes and a drawing class. The program was in French and English. March 6–14

Seventh- and eighth-graders will take an interdisciplinary trip focusing on the science, geography, literature and culture of Iceland. Known as the “land of fire and ice,” Iceland is a living laboratory, with unique geographic and cultural features. June 12–18

Kent Place Singers and Chamber Singers will again travel to study and perform in Europe, this time to Vienna and Salzburg. June 23–30 Students in grades 9–12 will once again travel with the World Leadership School, this time to Peru on a language, culture and service–learning trip. The group will fly into Cusco via Lima and transfer to Ollantaytambo, where they’ll experience contemporary Peruvian and Incan cultures as well as complete a service–learning project at a local school. They’ll also take a day trip to Machu Picchu. June 9–19

Page 20

For more information about our Global Trips, please snap this QR code or visit blogs.kentplace.org/global.

Kent Place School Upper School Academic Achievements

2013–2014 Advanced Placement Scholars National AP Scholars Emily Bridges ’13 Anna Fountain ’13 Olivia Lima ’13 Caroline Vaters ’13 AP Scholars with Distinction Gabriela Arias ’13 Emily Bridges ’13 Jordan Cobb ’13 Amanda Corey ’13 Lilli DeBode ’13 Alana DiSabatino ’13 Mariana Do Carmo ’13 Kelsey Evenson ’13 Anna Fountain ’13 Amy Garcia ’13 Shayna Gleason ’13

Kai Holder ’13 Aleena Karim ’13 Madeline Ketley ’13 Elizabeth Klein ’13 Elizabeth Kowalik ’13 Erica Lee ’13 Olivia Lima ’13 Jordyn Myers ’13 Madeline Pensiero ’13 Margaret Robbins ’13 Elizabeth Robillard ’13 Colleen Sheridan ’13 Alana Tartaro ’13 Victoria Taylor ’13 Caroline Vaters ’13 Allison Berger ’14 Ivana Kohut ’14 AP Scholars with Honor

Janeen Browne ’13 Anna Doherty ’13 Annie McMullan ’13 Lauren Miller ’13 Juliette Norrmén-Smith ’13 Edith Page ’13 Israa Saber ’13 Michele Wiesen ’13 Katja Yacker ’13 Margaret Bonnet ’14 Shayla Harris ’14 Natalie Kwan ’14 Caroline Rosen ’14 Victoria Sanzo ’14 Ashley Shields ’14 AP Scholars Paige Altrui ’13 Lauren Appleby ’13 Alexa Baglione ’13

2014 National Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalists Allison Berger ’14 Natalie Kwan ’14

Commended Students Claire Crispo ’14 Victoria Gilberti ’14

Kendra Jain ’14 Olivia Mastrangelo ’14 Bela Parekh ’14 Meredith Tulloch ’14

Natalie Camponovo ’13 Erika Charnley ’13 Katelizabeth Chin ’13 Martha Coacher ’13 Kristen Cotter ’13 Julie Flanagan ’13 Paxton Higgins ’13 Caroline Irvin ’13 Jordan Johnson ’13 Joanna Massa ’13 Julia Pressler ’13 Libby Sanna ’13 Virginia Saylor ’13 Anna Spellman ’13 Julia Toohey ’13 Brianna Barrett ’14 Veronica Child ’14 Sophie DeBode ’14 Emily Deombeleg ’14

Ashley Gapusan ’14 Victoria Gilberti ’14 Kathryn Hammond ’14 Alexandra Huff ’14 Emily Jeffries ’14 Claire Lynch ’14 Margaret MacCowatt ’14 Olivia Mastrangelo ’14 Mackenzie Mooney ’14 Amanda Moskowitz ’14 Emily Obaditch ’14 Grace O’Connor ’14 Bela Parekh ’14 Brianna Pastro ’14 Melina Santoro ’14 Annie Sher ’14 Emily Taylor ’14 Meredith Tulloch ’14 Katherine Uhlman ’14 Mia Wright ’14

2014 National Achievement Outstanding Participants Brianna Barrett ’14 Asha Fradkin ’14

Shayla Harris ’14 Denver Hinton ’14

Notes from New Jersey Governor’s School Scholars Kent Place is proud that two of our students were selected as New Jersey Governor’s School Scholars for 2013. Two highly competitive, tuition-free residential programs are offered to gifted and talented students in the summer between their junior and senior years. Each participant is immersed in a comprehensive, challenging and intensive program. eering

the Sciences in l o o ch S s r’ o rn New Jersey Gove r ’14 By Allison Berge

nor’s ew Jersey Gover I attended the N e re iences, held for th School in the Sc th 83 wi g on Al . ty iversi weeks at Drew Un re co e re s, I took th other rising senior ecial Sp r; gy and Cance courses: Cell Biolo at NJGSS d ry lab partners lers, Compasses an organic chemist Relativity; and Ru Allison and her ities. Famous Impossibil develop rned these may help us and Cancer, I lea gy olo Bi w understanding ho d In Cell an els lev onic l and genet dynamic and passi r at the biologica or was incredibly ess of pr my what causes cance ss; vorite core cla . My last core lativity was my fa lated to relativity a cure. Special Re nced concepts re va ad d an ction of a new ing with the constru and I loved learn ncerned primarily co s ate about physics, wa es, iti bil es and comImpossi nometric identiti asses and Famous ber theory, trigo num d class, Rulers, Comp nce va ad sk involving very difficult ta 17-gon, which is a of Governor’s favorite aspects ich was one of my plex equations. wh , lab ry ist matograem h as paper chro in an organic ch new techniques, suc I also participated ing tic ac pr d an time uipment w reading under using different eq y team studied ho M e. enc School. I enjoyed sci at ve iti ct in cogn s. We learned th leted a team proje and eye movement on nsi he re mp phy. Finally, I comp co s ed tests, impact , time pressure to on standardiz hension. However pressure, similar decrease compre t no es do r nne . ma ses comprehension quick, but logical nificantly decrea skim reading in a sig ich wh y, e-week all ratic ays that “a thre panic and read er of one of my ess end e th causes readers to at nderote hool, I wr us students is a wo to Governor’s Sc erested, and curio int d, When I applied ate dic de r the three weeks ent with othe to science and sp be! I really enjoyed uld wo it l fu er nd program devoted reer in science, then just how wo interested in a ca Little did I know iends. As someone fr ful opportunity.” new t ea gr g d makin experimenting an I spent learning, my summer. ic way to spend st nta was a fa Governor’s School

ool of Engin ch S s r’ o rn e v o G New Jersey gelo ’14 y Olivia Mastran B y g lo o n ch and Te Jersey Governor’s weeks at the New

to spend four vernor’s scholars selected . While at the Go I was one of 88 Rutgers University at ld he , gy engiolo ring and Techn various areas of classes exploring School of Enginee ive ct ele e re th ke gineering, opportunity to ta in Science and En School, I had the tional Methods uta mp Co : gy olo d techn neering, science an Printing. rn roduction to 3D rned about mode gineering and Int En l ica s. In Physics, we lea Pharmaceut tic bo Ro d an cs d ysi use Ph we re classes, ies. In Robotics, I also took two co her recent discover ot d an n so bo s s. In addition, I including the Higg orm various task physics research, m robots to perf ra og pr d an aration of ild to bu rch project, “Sep Lego Mindstorms group on a resea all sm a in s ent ud o other st nets.” worked with tw Model Using Mag te preses: A Macroscale vic De dic lui of icr and gave a 20-minu Mixtures in M research paper c ifi ent sci ge que pa wrote a 10hnology was a uni For our project, we gineering and Tec En of ol ho Sc r’s verno o will last for al symposium. Go made friends wh entation at the fin m I’ve ever done. I ra og pr r me sum s the best experience, and it’ for engineering. I found my passion d an , years to come

Olivia and some of her GSET classmates celebrate y renewable energ rby posing at a ca n tio sta ing charg ck on their way ba . ss cla m fro

Page 21

Grandparents & Special Friends Day & Primary Book Fair

Pre-Kindergartner Abigail Baldwin with grandmother Susan Lucarelli

Second grader Anika Sinha with her grandmother Upendra Sinha

Fourth grader Leah Cohn with her grandparents Elaine and Len Cohn

Thanksgiving Assembly student speakers eighth grader Rose Chrin, fifth grader Madeline Estey and senior Katherine Naylor with Head of School Sue Bosland

Kindergartner Ella Peterson with her grandmother Anne Peterson

Third grader Maria Grouev with her special friend Medha Shah

Page 22

Second grader Megan Altier with her grandfather Robert Jackson

Upper School Chamber Dancers perform during the Thanksgiving Assembly.

Second grader Julienne Kwan with her grandfather Phil Zecca

Sixth grader Stacey Espiritu with her grandparents Patty and Tony Espiritu

Kindergartner Tessa Vuchic at the Book Fair with her grandfather Vukan Vuchic

Fifth grader Jenna Smith with her grandmother Elzina Barron

Junior Pre-Kindergartner Charlotte Lee with grandparents Ling-Ling and Steven Lee

Seventh grader Jenna Brancatella with her grandmother Maria Brancatella

Kindergartner Lillian (Lilly) White with her grandmother Judith White

First grader Lauren Pence with her grandfather Ivan Sabel

Ninth grader Madeleine Boyer with her grandmother and Kent Place alumna Marian Dehmel Boyer â&#x20AC;&#x2122;61

Third grader Madison Moore with her grandmother Rosalind Pruett

Ninth grader Maris Zammataro with her grandmother Emily Zammataro

The Star 2013

Handbell Choir members

Catherine Owen ’15

Alexis Kim ’15 and Samantha Silverstein ’17

Walkway with luminaries

Reagan McRae ’17 and Leigh Whitehorn ’16

Director of Studies Julie Gentile (left) with alumnae, Class of 2013

US Orchestra and Chorus

Megan Ganning ’14

US Orchestra and Chorus

Primary & Middle School Winter Concerts

Sonali Soni ’19, Ayana Leelasena ’18 and Riley Kaufman ’18

Stewart Hughes ’18

Third grade singers

Kindergarten bell ringers

PS Ensemble members and fifth graders Samara Grannum and Madeline O’Connor

Middle School GirlChoir

Page 23

2014

Voyager Kent Place School 42 Norwood Avenue Summit, NJ 07902-0308 www.kentplace.org

Voyager Credits Editor Rachel Naggar

Professional Photography Contributors Design Vinny Carchietta Julie Gentile Abbie Moore Design Alex Cena Aimee Singer Printing Gene Parciascepe, Jr. Sara Sultanik Graphic Concepts Rich Schultz Doris Troy Direct comments about Voyager to the editor at (908) 273-0900, ext. 217, or naggarr@kentplace.org.

Like us on Facebook www.fb.com/kentplaceschool Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/kentplaceschool

Printed with 100% Renewable Energy and Vegetable/Soy based Inks

Alumnae! Like us here too! www.fb.com/kentplacealumnae