:: Faculty News in brief :: Stockton College in Galloway, NJ, screened the documentary, Hommage aux Justes de France (Homage to the Righteous of France), produced by French teacher Barbara Barnett and alumna Alexandra Pew ’13 on April 22. The documentary film, which was produced entirely in French with sub-titles, was the result of a year-long independent study between Barnett and Pew, honoring the Christian rescuers who sheltered Jews in the French countryside to prevent their deportation to concentration camps. Barnett also gave a presentation in French on the “Collaboration and Resistance in Vichy France” at the Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association’s immersion workshop held on March 1 at Chestnut Hill College. PreK assistant Candy Neely and Director of Lower School Donna Lindner presented the Lower School leadership program, L3, at the PAIS Early Childhood Educators’ Roundtable on January 9 in Plymouth Meeting, PA. The audience consisted of early childhood teachers and administrators from member schools in the local area and as far away as Harrisburg. Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs Charesse Ford published a book review in the April 2014 edition of the International Journal of Multicultural Education. She was selected to review Dr. Sonia Nieto’s new book, Finding Joy in Teaching Students of Diverse Backgrounds: Culturally Responsive and Just Practices, which can be found on Amazon. Second grade teacher Ashley Kaufmann received her Master of Arts in Education from Gratz College in May. Her concentration was in the differentiated classroom. Middle and Upper School French teacher Rita Davis presented a one-day College Board workshop on March 1 at Robbinsville High School in New Jersey on the newly implemented, thematically organized 2014 AP French Language and Culture exam. Participants discussed instructional design for the AP course that integrates cultural content into language lessons and connects the modes of communication in meaningful ways. The workshop was an opportunity for participants to review and interpret the assessment performance by evaluating the student samples from the 2013 exam. Athletic Trainer and Wellness/Transitions teacher Aimee Shelton and Middle and Upper School Learning Specialist Courtney Dougherty presented “The Evolution of a Concussion Management Plan” at the National Conference on Girls’ Education in Philadelphia on February 8. Also in attendance were Center for the Advancement of Girls Director Mariandl Hufford and Rachel Hansen ’14, presenting on the development and creation of the Leading for Change Conference, which was hosted at AIS in September 2013.
Middle and Upper School Spanish teacher Ariadna Fink and Lower School Technology Integration Specialist/Lower and Upper School Community Service Coordinator Sarah Kinder participated in the 2013/14 cohort of the Outward Bound Educators Initiative Program. In July, they completed their field experience in the Pisgah National Forest of North Carolina. Throughout the year they have worked with 35 other educators from the east coast on experiential education practices. The Dream Flags Project, in partnership with the National Constitution Center, sponsored a series of six webinars in February 2014. Workshops, led by sixth grade English teacher and cofounder of The Dream Flag Project Jeff Harlan, second grade teacher Ashley Kaufmann, second grade teacher Michelle (Shelley) Esposito, Lower School art teacher Patricia (Trish) Siembora, and Lower School Technology Integration Specialist/ Lower and Upper School Community Service Coordinator Sarah Kinder, reached participants all over the globe and created new possibilities for connection and collaboration.
Weaver/Notebook Keeper
Sandra Brownlee Wins Governor General’s Award Former Lower School art teacher Sandra Brownlee was among eight artists to receive the 2014 Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts, granted annually by the Canada Council for the Arts. The $25,000 prize recognizes distinguished artists for their remarkable careers in the contemporary visual and media arts industry. Brownlee, who considers her artistic medium of weaving and writing to be “low-tech and calming,” worked at Agnes Irwin from 1996-2005. An “improvisational weaver” and notebook keeper who studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD), Brownlee now teaches textiles part-time at her alma mater. She has said her teaching experience at AIS “touched me deeply. It was a great outlet for the sense of wonder I had as a child but didn’t have a way to manifest.”
www.agnesirwin.org
9