Highlights of Fall 2021

ON CAMPUS

THE NEW JK VILLAGE OPENS DOORS TO MORE CONNECTIONS

Our youngest Cougars in Junior Kindergarten joined the Collegiate School community at the beginning of the year in a brand new JK Village.

The Village, which was designed with the guidance of teachers and constructed over the summer, creates a space for JK students to gather in an environment conducive to learning and exploring. “Seven years ago, when our JK program began, the teachers were eager to find more ways to bring together all of the classes,” explains Debbie Miller, Head of the Lower School. “Now, with the JK Village, there’s this little world where the children can learn, play and get to know each other.”

That little world now features classrooms with new furniture, carpeting, storage and educational equipment, and part of the Village involves a rotunda where the JK classes can join together for morning meetings, play time, group reading lessons and group projects. Positioned near the south end of Nunnally Hall, the Village incorporates the cherished JK meadow and playground, where students enjoy discovering and connecting with nature and the outdoors. A new central carpool drop-off and pickup unique only to parents with JK students has also been incorporated into the design. “What we’ve added keeps the classrooms fluid to accommodate all the activities the students do,” Mrs. Miller says. “It makes for a great learning environment, and it will lend itself to lots of community building and interaction with teachers and children.”

With the new Village, students are able to explore the avenues of their interests with peers from all JK classes. “We have an amazing space here,” says Tia Owen, a JK Teacher. “It’s a home, and we all treat it like a home.”

THE MUSIC OF A COMMUNITY

Excellent teachers are always learning and developing their craft.

Each summer, music teachers from around the country gather at Collegiate School’s campus to learn techniques of music education by studying one of the three levels the Orff methodology, a music education method, named after the German composer Carl Orff, that integrates music with movement, drama, speech and play.

The two-week program, which is offered through a unique collaboration with Virginia Commonwealth University, gives music instructors a broad network of peers, a fundamental understanding of how to fully engage students in music education and lays the foundation for future intellectual growth.

Teachers who complete the third level of training are recognized by the American Orff-Schulwerk Association as certified Orff instructors. Four Collegiate music department faculty members — Sarah Aman, Connie Tuttle, Christine Hoffman and Ryan Blevins — have achieved that distinction.

Mike Boyd, Collegiate’s Director of the Arts, who experienced the Orff program while in graduate school at VCU, says that the technique elevates the classroom curriculum. “If you go into one of Sarah Aman’s classrooms, for example, you’ll see that this way of teaching keeps the students invested and attentive,” Mr. Boyd says. “You see that it’s fun, that it’s challenging and that students are learning.”

What the Orff technique trains instructors to understand is that students learn music best when they incorporate their entire bodies into the education. The more present a student can be in a classroom, the more engrossed and active they become. “Orff teaches a more thorough concept of melody — singing, demonstrating, movement and dance,” says Mr. Boyd, who serves as Course Director for the Orff program at Collegiate. “Students learn how to sing and then, on top of that, add instruments that require fine motor skills.”

Collegiate has hosted the program since 2014, making an impact on teachers and students across our region and beyond. Following the completion of each Orff level, teachers are asked to incorporate what they’ve learned into their classrooms. “Teachers get so excited and so energised about this program, and they’re building a community,” Mr. Boyd says. “There are very few schools around here that do teacher training at the college level at their school, and that’s something to be proud of.”

MUSIC INSTRUCTORS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY GATHER AT COLLEGIATE SCHOOL TO STUDY THE ORFF APPROACH.

Mike Boyd

JOINS THE ADMINISTRATIVE TEAM AS DIRECTOR OF THE ARTS

Mike Boyd, who has been with Collegiate School since 2007, was appointed to Director of the Arts this summer, joining the Administrative Team, where he will work with faculty JK-12 to enhance paths for students to pursue their creative passions in all forms of the performing, visual and media arts. Mr. Boyd says he will also continue to extend the thriving Collegiate arts program into the broader Richmond community. “I want to share what we have on this campus,” Mr. Boyd says, “I want to include and engage as much of the community as possible in what we do here.”

GROWTH THROUGH CONNECTIONS

RISING SENIORS IN THE RICHMOND AREA COLLABORATE WITH BUSINESS PROFESSIONALS DURING THE COCHRANE SUMMER ECONOMIC INSTITUTE PROGRAM.

You’re never too young to advance your professional learning journey.

This is, in essence, the founding principle of the Cochrane Summer Economic Institute (CSEI), a summer program for rising high school Seniors in the Richmond area designed to strengthen their knowledge of economics and sharpen their entrepreneurial skills through collaboration with both local and global business professionals.

Beginning in early July, 25 students from nine area high schools gathered at Collegiate School to take part in the program, which is administered by Collegiate’s Powell Institute for Responsible Citizenship. The atmosphere was one of spirited student interest and enthusiasm for the opportunity to connect what they have learned in the classroom to the larger professional world. “I felt really inspired,” one student says of the program. “It’s exciting to spend your summer productively, meeting people, building up skills and having engaging experiences.”

Over the course of the four weeks, students are grouped in teams and assigned to a respective company partner. The CSEI 2021 partners — Midas of Richmond, Dominion Payroll, LeapIT, Naborforce, eNASCAR, and Outdoor Access — serve as mentors to the teams, providing students with insights into the professional world by sharing the intricacies of their company. Students then define challenges and propose solutions meant to address systemic concerns uncovered through research. After completing their research, students leveraged ArcGIS to identify and share data that supported their logic and highlighted their findings using Story Maps, a valuable tool that combines creative storytelling and data analysis.

The team that partnered with Outdoor Access, co-founded by Jamie Christensen, a Collegiate parent, explored how they could further facilitate access to private land for recreational activities. The solution the group designed for Mr. Christensen and his team was an interactive activity site where users can explore the various outdoor adventures available around the state of Virginia.

“One of the great things about the program is that it simulates the real world, and working with Mr. Christensen was a valuable part of that work,” says Cindy Xie, a student at The Center for Leadership, Government and Global Economics at Douglas S. Freeman High School and a member of the Outdoor Access team. One benefit of CSEI is the professional connections the program provides the students, giving them the chance to establish themselves in a business setting before they attend college. Throughout the course of the program, students work directly with their company mentor and collaborate and learn from guest speakers, all of whom add unique perspectives to the possibilities of the professional world. “Having all the background that the speakers have given us — of looking into entrepreneurship and economics and just the way a business is set up — really helps us make connections,” says Chris-Ann Nelson, who is a student at Meadowbrook Academy for Developing Entrepreneurs (M.A.D.E) at Meadowbrook High School.

This year’s guest speakers included: Collegiate alumna Beth Appel '98, Vice President of Finance and Infrastructure at Aptiv; Jamie Christensen, President of Outdoor Access; John Dau, Collegiate’s Global Scholar-in-Residence and founder of the John Dau Foundation; John Failla, founder and CEO at Trilogy Mentors; Shiv Govindan, Principal at the Helios Companies; Lucy Meade, Director of Economic Development and Community Relations for Venture Richmond; and Ben Terry, Executive Director, Corporate Partnerships for the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Listening to the speakers, students were compelled forward in their own projects. The discussions not only helped them prepare for the professional world, but also stimulated students’ interest in their education. “There are lessons that I’ve learned through this that I will definitely take with me into my future studies and my future career,” says Chloe Schneider, a student from The Steward School.

CSEI also establishes valuable connections between students, giving them the chance to collaborate with peers from different communities. “A lot of us go to different schools,” explains John Woodfin, a Collegiate student. “But I consider us all great friends now. Getting to work together in groups and socialize is a great experience.”

Some students felt that, because of CSEI, their understanding of what was possible in their careers instantly expanded. Roman Chenoweth, who attends Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, says the experience was invaluable and insightful. “Listening to the experts broadened my perspective,” he says. “And hearing about how these people work is fascinating.”

The seeds of that fascination are sown during CSEI, but now, having seen that career possibilities are boundless, students can expand their curiosity, pushing it forward into their educational pursuits, entrepreneurial endeavors and professional life.

COLLEGIATE FACULTY PURSUE SUMMER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Our learning journeys are endless. After the school year ended, a number of faculty members embarked on projects that kept them engaged in discovery. These professional development opportunities are made possible by philanthropic support, including the named endowments below.

ALUMNI GRANT FOR FACULTY EXCELLENCE

ALLIE ALBRIGHT and KAREN ALBRIGHT focused on creating a more natural and cohesive transition for students moving from Intro Algebra in 8th Grade to Algebra I in 9th Grade, with a targeted focus on the skills needed for Algebra II.

SARAH AMAN finished her final level of the Kodaly music education method by virtually attending the Kodaly Teacher Institute at NYU.

MIKE BOYD, KAREN CRIBBS, JEFF DUNNINGTON, MEG EVANS, RIVES FLEMING,

CAROLYN LAMONTAGNE, AMY BECKER-LEIBOWITZ, ASHER ROLFE and CHRISTINE WALDRON collaborated with FLETCHER COLLINS, LINDSEY MELVIN and TUNG TRINH to build stronger student agency by reviewing their feedback and reporting systems.

TERESA COLEMAN, BRAD COOKE, JENNY LINDNER, MARY MARGARET RYAN,

WENDI MOSS, NICK SBERNA, CAROLYN VILLANUEVA and CHRISTINE WALDRON collaborated with SARA BOISVERT, SUZANNE FLEMING and TUNG TRINH to build a signature experience in the 6th Grade that directly connects with the goals of Responsible Citizenship.

TARA CONNOR, RIVES FLEMING and MIKE PETERS updated and enhanced the 5th Grade math curriculum by investigating the vertical alignment of 4th through 7th Grade.

STACY DUDLEY and ANDY STONE combined their experiences and expertise in dance, wrestling and physical education to create a new dynamic warm-up curriculum for Middle School.

ANNE HOGGE and KELSEY FELTON developed suicide prevention programming, suicide prevention and intervention training and a formalized procedure for intervention when identifying and supporting students in crisis.

WENDI MOSS and ASHER ROLFE developed a day-long program for Middle School students and faculty/staff to engage with current issues that advance equity and justice within the Middle School community.

PAM SUTHERLAND researched and develop a new semester-long elective for the Upper School visual arts curriculum tentatively called The Sewn World, which will examine sewing as both a medium and content.

SALLY WILLIAMS attended The Gardner Carney Leadership Institute (gcLi) at the Fountain Valley School of Colorado in June.

ARTHUR BRINKLEY GRANT FOR FACULTY EXCELLENCE

TARA CONNOR and CHRISTEN STRICKLER identified overlapping content in the 6th Grade math and science curriculums and looked for opportunities to connect the two disciplines and to provide continuity across the two subjects.

SUZANNE FLEMING and CAROLYN VILLANUEVA analyzed and further developed the Middle School civil dialogue curriculum.

DANIELA GUZMAN redesigned her Spanish curriculum with a focus on ensuring vertical alignment of the Middle School Spanish curriculum. She also curated and created additional resources in order to provide greater differentiation of instruction for students.

DAISY HU and YU XIAO redesigned the Middle School Chinese curriculum, implementing a more proficiency-based approach with an emphasis on authentic communicative tasks and activities to help ensure that students build the confidence to use their budding language skills and newly acquired cultural knowledge of China in the real world.

SANDRA MARR developed a Sustainability Science elective series and designed a mountain summer travel experience for students to work as scientists in the field.

JULIA A. WILLIAMS FUND FOR FACULTY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

BEN LAMB attended the Introduction to Audiovisual Archives Management through the University of Virginia’s Rare Book School.

AMY BECKER-LEIBOWITZ and MONICA MELTON met with colleagues to explore the JK-12 world languages program and to gain clarity around course options. They also researched best practices in world languages programs at other INDEX schools.

Please note: There was no international travel this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

SUMMER QUEST CAMPS ENRICH STUDENTS

Collegiate School hosted more than 175 Summer Quest camps for more than 1,400 participants over the summer. Camp activities included fitness and nutrition, archery, robotics, study skills, as well as traditional favorites such as sports, ropes course, reading and art. Enrichment opportunities featured the College Application Jumpstart workshop offered to rising Collegiate Seniors and the Hooked on Books camp for elementary-age children from across the Richmond community.

The Strength of Summer

SPORTS PERFORMANCE TRAINS STUDENTS FOR FUTURE ATHLETIC COMPETITIONS AND HEALTHY LIFESTYLES.

For Chris Peoples and his diligent group of student-athletes that gathered daily in the gym at Robins Campus, the summer off-season was a time of refinement. Collegiate School students trained with a focus on fundamentals, with a steady eye on the athletics seasons that were to come.

“We treated this like an off-season,” says Mr. Peoples, Head Sports Performance Coach at the School. “We had time to focus on being efficient — on doing things the right way — and that helps us be successful down the road and will help us with our strength and resilience to injury.”

Collegiate’s student-athletes met that opportunity for improvement with enthusiasm. Students could sign up for daily workout times — Upper School training sessions went from 9:15 to 10:30 every weekday morning and Middle School sessions began at 10:45 a.m. — and entered the gym with an alacrity to accept the day’s challenge that Mr. Peoples and Justin Brown, Collegiate’s new Sports Performance Coach, had planned for them.

“The students enjoy coming here,” Mr. Brown says. “They see it not only as a time to be with their friends and teammates, but also as a fun activity to do something else that they can take with them for life.” The training helps to establish sound athletic mechanics, which, once instilled in students, gives them the ability to lead healthy and active lifestyles both on and off the field. “Working on these foundational movements sets us up for success and allows athletes to progress and achieve goals, while also giving them the tools to live a healthy life down the road,” Mr. Peoples says.

Students began their training sessions with speed and agility training, followed by a session of power and strength training. It was intense and vigorous, and there was shared sense of competitive camaraderie among the students, each of whom challenged their peers to personal excellence.

With any workout, though, the Sports Performance program places an emphasis on building the framework of a wellrounded athlete. That begins with simple movements and safety protocols. “We teach the basic movements of the body — how to hinge, how to lunge, how to squat, how to pull, how to push,” Mr. Peoples says. “Only then, after we’ve established stability, do we go through a typical strength session with the students and let them have a little bit more freedom to learn with their bodies.” Collegiate’s Sports Performance program is about both training with anticipation for future athletics competitions and conditioning to live a healthy lifestyle in the present moment. “We want to build a foundation,” Mr. Brown says. “That foundation sets students up for really any sport they want to play and sets them up for a lifetime of fitness.”

Welcome New Faculty and Staff

Front row (from left):

Christine Mingus Heather Sauls Hallie Balcomb Alice Fruth Courtney Martin Elly Bacigalupo Jack McCarthy Keller Craig Amy Verdi Jill Mountcastle

Second row (from left):

Cameron Rogers Kate Railsback Emily Bryant Pia Orbezo Robin Riva Anne Price Kelsey Smither Kelsey Watson Amy Miller Andy Santalla

Third row (from left):

Shannon Castelo Sarah Redmond Nicole (Barr) Weber Nisha Sanjay Asalah El-Fakhri Deborah Lewis Michelle Robey Betsy Wilder Clara Gaul Lillian Hazelton Erin Gray Zack Schroeder

Back row (from left):

Liz Haske Chris Berry Jack Hale Rachel Rachau Susanna Payne Justin Brown Isi Keener Michael Blair Andrew Petrus Shawn Moorer Not Pictured: Sarah Leonardelli, Ryan Blevins, Karl von Klein, Sheamus Coleman

WELCOME NEW COUGAR FAMILIES

From our youngest Cougars joining us in Junior Kindergarten and Kindergarten to our new students joining us in Grades 1-12, we are so excited to welcome our tremendous group of new Cougars and their families. “The Admission Office saw a robust interest for 202122 at all grade levels, reflecting the strength of our faculty and their focus on developing inquisitive thinkers, responsible citizens and compassionate leaders,” says Scott Smith, Director of Admission and Enrollment Management. With more than 35 years of experience in leading independent schools, Mr. Smith, who joined Collegiate last year, speaks highly of our community and its newest members. “The new students bring a myriad of interests, talents and personalities to the campus, and I know they will enhance the daily School experience for all.” Collegiate hosted new family gatherings for those joining in 2020-21 as well as 2021-22, making for joyful in-person connections to start the school year. Welcome, new Cougars!