NEWS
March 21, 2012
Seniors Celebrate Mother-Daughter Tea Tradition
and interesting facts about themselves, including crazy experiences from freshman year of college and a wide variety of unknown talents. The video won the praise of many seniors because it showed special mother-daughter moments. “My favorite part was definitely watching the video, made by Mrs. Cutler [mother of Alexis Cutler ’12],” Alexandra Michaels ’12 said. “It featured a photo montage of mothers and daughters and a hilarious segment filled with miscellaneous facts about our mothers that very few people (or no one!) knew before.” Another special component of the Tea gave the mothers and their girls a chance to write letters to each other, an assignment that proved challenging.
“The seniors and their mothers were all given blank Holton stationery and envelopes,” Michaels explained. “The members of 2012 were asked to write a letter to their moms, and mothers were asked to do the same for their daughters. The seniors were told a few weeks before that the letters would be mailed to our moms in one year’s time [when we’re at college]. We received no prompt. I think that was definitely the hardest part: trying to think of what to write to my mom. Of anyone, my mom is the person with whom I am closest, and even so I had no idea how to start.” Each of the traditions celebrated the seniors’ journey through Holton as the girls embark on their next adventures in college.
tored significantly into several of the decisions for next year. For years Holton students have had to take AP Psychology as a consortium course or through the Online School for Girls, but for the first time next year, they will have the chance to take the class at Holton. “There have always been a few students who’ve been motivated enough to ask” for their own AP class, Psychology teacher Yolanda Keener said. Student appeals also inspired the new AP Chemistry class. “A lot of girls are super excited,” said Chemistry teacher Xu Duan, who views the AP class as “an opportunity for many girls to do more in science and [to pursue] Chemistry in their college careers.” Other additions to the Pure and Applied Science Department include the semester options of Earth and Space Science. In addition, in the Science Research Program students are now required to take two semester courses in order to learn the lab skills required for summer internships. Depending on their choice of a physical science or biomedical internship, students enroll in either Computer Programming and Robotics or Molecular and Microbiology, respectively. Kayla Moffett ’14 is espe-
ronment. Another one of the unique Mini-Mester options was “U Street Rhythms.” In this course, students investigated the history of Washington, D.C’s U Street Corridor through its music. U Street was a center of AfricanAmerican culture, especially during the Civil Rights Movement. Students had the chance to listen to live jazz music and create some of their own jazz tunes. The Middle Schoolers also volunteered at Martha’s Table, an organization located near U Street. “[I] had such a fun time learning about jazz artists who lived there and really getting into the culture of the U Street neighborhood,” Dara Odunubi ’16 said of last year’s Mini-Mester. The “Mind Find” course studied the workings of the brain and the variety of learning styles. The course used hands-on labs and featured a cooking activity. Nikki Reynolds, middle school health teacher and co-
teacher of “Mind Find,” hoped students left “the course with a toolbox of techniques that they can use to enhance the alertness and functioning of their brains.” Each of the ten choices for Mini-Mester provided students with the chance to delve deeply into new topics in a unique way. As middle school art teacher Barbara Mandel, who co-taught the “U Street Rhythms” course, said, “[Mini-Mester] offered an experiential, interdisciplinary experience…[and] gave students the opportunity to pursue a concentrated area of study.” The teachers worked hard to make Mini-Mester a success. Several of the middle school faculty members created each course. As Science teacher Tiffany Reddinger, who co-taught “Cryptography: The Science of Coded Writing,” explained, “There is so much preparation [the teachers] must do to make sure the girls are learning and engaged those four days!”
In “Cryptography,” for example, students learned how to decipher messages using a variety of codes, including Caesar ciphers, Vigenere ciphers, Dancing Men, and PigPen. The girls also watched the film Sherlock Holmes and visited the Spy Museum. “In this digital age,” Reddinger explained, “I think it’s awesome for the girls to learn how all of their information is secured as it is transmitted through cyberspace!” Mini-Mester was a four-day course for all middle school students that presented them with a unique opportunity to venture outside of their normal learning environments. As Winston explained, “[Mini-mester] is totally different than most academic classes because of the field trips and projects we did.” The course allowed students to “engage with experiences and people outside the confines of the classroom,” she continued.
By Zahra Husain
On Sunday, March 4, the Class of 2012 celebrated one of the first of many second semester traditions for the graduating class: the Mother-Daughter tea. The event was put together by senior mothers, led by Melissa Carey (mom of Ellen Carey ’12). During the week leading up to the Tea, the mothers displayed baby pictures of all of the seniors on the walls in the Adalman Gallery, much to the delight and enjoyment of the Holton community. On the day of the event, the seniors and their mothers showed up in perfect tea-time attire and came to partake in the special afternoon. Senior Amanda Lee noted, “I thought the Mother-Daughter Tea was adorable this year, and I always love seeing everyone all dressed up.” “The Mother-Daughter tea was fabulous!” Mimi Lynham ’12 said. “I think that every motherdaughter pair there had a wonderful time. Mrs. Carey and all of the other mothers made it so special for us with the baby pictures, the set-up, the teas and treats, and the slideshow of all of our pictures and our moms’ secrets. Everything was absolutely perfect! I could not have asked for any better way to spend time with my mom.” As part of the slideshow, many mothers submitted funny
From Mini-Mester page 1
own educational videos for the fourth graders. In “Sustainable Living,” students focused on the environment by taking field trips to the Montgomery County Recycling center and an organic farm. The girls also participated in several projects, including fashioning solar ovens, creating vegan meals, and building hydroelectric cars. Instrumental music conductor and co-instructor Dr. Sarah Winston explained, “We’re hoping that the girls will get a better understanding of how their daily choices impact the environment as well as learn some methods to be more environmentally conscious in their lives.” Another course with an environmental focus was “Ecosystems and Art.” Students studied ecological terms and also spent time in nature composing poems and drawing pictures that honor and celebrate our envi-
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Photo Courtesy Caitlin Montgomery
Caitlin Montgomery ’12 (left) and her mother Charlene Yu (right) wrote each other letters to be mailed when Montgomery’s in college. All of the other mothers and daughters took part in the tradition as well.
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cially interested in Molecular and Microbiology, which she hopes will “open the way for potential work in an actual scientific lab.” The Mathematics Department has expanded its options to include Introduction to Differential Calculus and Statistics and a semester-long Statistical Thinking course. Math teacher David Weis said he hopes “to give students more of an opportunity to take Statistics at a high school level because many will end up taking it in college.” Other changes to the curriculum include Spanish 3 Honors, a semester-long Figure and Portrait Drawing Minor, and Photography Major, now a fullyear course. Most students approve of the changes. Katie Kirk ’13 said the single semester options “cater to a variety of interests” and “allow people to get a taste for the subject matter.” Along with these changes is a pilot iPad program in the fifth grade that will decide what technology the lower school girls will receive next year. In the Lower School, about fifteen iPads have been circulating the fifth grade homerooms as part of the Technology Department’s test run of the Apple tablet. Director of Technology David Rossell said that, depending on teacher and student reactions, the device may replace Lenovo Tablet PCs for next year’s fifth and sixth graders. Rossell noticed the iPad during the “annual review of choices” available to students. “The curriculum has to drive the choice of device,” he said, “and the product had matured enough that we envisioned it could be used for school work.” If its Holton users rate the iPad poorly, Lenovo Tablets will remain the standard. Although he sees the potential for the iPad to work well in a classroom setting, Rossell remains skeptical that the technology will be used in Upper School. “A lot of high-school level programs aren’t available,” he said. “I don’t know [if] you could write a 20-page paper with footnotes on an iPad.” Course selection forms for students were due mid-March after discussion with family and teachers for juniors and sophomores especially. The final schedules will come out in Au-