The SCHool, Winter 2014

THE SCHOOL NEWS FROM SPRINGSIDE CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY

MAKING BRAINS BLOOM SCH Academy’s Math Curriculum Provides Fertile Soil for Curious Minds | PAGE 2

DESTINATION DISCOVERY Six Upper School Students Share Their Most Compelling Foreign Travel Experiences PAGE 6

ALUMNI PROFILES Rachel Fisher ’87 Joshua Pearson ’82 PAGE 20

WINTER

ISSUE

2014

THE SCHOOL WINTER 2014 The SCHool is a biannual publication of Springside Chestnut Hill Academy’s Office of External Affairs President Dr. Priscilla G. Sands ha Head of School Francis P. Steel Jr. ’77 Director of External Affairs Katherine Disston Noel ’97 DEVELOPMENT Director of Alumni Relations Thomas G. Evans ’87 Interim Director of Alumnae Relations Melissa Brown ’87 Director of Annual Funds Diane Drinker Director of Development Jennifer James McHugh ’84 Director of Planned Giving Ellen Nalle Hass ’77 Foundations and Stewardship Coordinator Pepper Johnson Rexford ’92 Special Events Manager Kelly Gross COMMUNICATIONS Director of Digital Communications Karen Tracy ha Director of Publications Deidra A. Lyngard Associate Director of Communications Melissa Fisher Editor at Large Elizabeth Sanders ha Communications Assistant Heather DelGrande Cover In their 6th grade math class, girls strengthen their geometry skills by estimating the size of an angle drawn by their partner, then measuring the angle with a protractor to see how close they came.

Printing by Garrison Printing

Dear SCH Community, There is something exciting about the interaction of old and new—the convergence of the familiar and unfamiliar—that stimulates creativity and engenders new perspectives.

The curriculum at SCH Academy represents just such a mix. An SCH education offers a strong college preparatory core, enlivened by new teaching methods and connections to the real world, infused with 21st century skills, and expanded by opportunities for independent learning.

This fusion of a rigorous curriculum with the latest best practices in teaching for our changing and increasingly complex world is embodied in this issue of SCHool by our two feature articles: the first focuses on our comprehensive math curriculum, the other on three international travel experiences designed by and for our students. These articles embrace the full spectrum of learning that is taking place at SCH Academy, which has garnered so much positive attention in the past two years from educational colleagues and national leaders.

Recently, I had the pleasure of presenting on our educational innovation efforts at the 2014 South by Southwest Education Conference (SXSWedu) in Austin, Texas, where I described the challenges and opportunities of introducing and scaling up our Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. A paper that I wrote on the same subject was also included in the proceedings of INTED2014, the International Technology, Education, and Development Conference, held this year in Valencia, Spain, which attracted educators from over 75 countries. There is incredible buzz about the work we are doing at SCH and I could not be more proud of such an exciting educational initiative.

Ambitious efforts such as curricular change require patience, commitment, and community support. This year’s Annual Fund theme, “Because of you…,” affirms the central role that you—our parents, alumni, and friends—play in enabling us to preserve the best components of our educational program while always striving to grow and meet the ever-changing needs of our students. If you have not yet given to the Annual Fund, I hope you will consider making a donation to keep our vision and practice strong. Your money goes directly to program, which is at the heart of all that we do.

Warmly,

Dr. Priscilla G. Sands President

CONTENTS

2 6 18 23 24

MAKING BRAINS BLOOM

SCH Academy’s Math Curriculum Provides Fertile Soil for Curious Minds......................................................... 2

DESTINATION DISCOVERY

Six Upper School Students Share Their Most Compelling Foreign Travel Experiences.......................................... 6

SCHOOLYARD

News and Highlights from around Campus............... 10

BOOK REPORT

Reading Recommendations from SCH Academy Faculty and Staff......................................................... 14

SCH SCOREBOARD

Athletic Highlights from the Past Season.................. 16

SCH PORTFOLIO

An Interview with Kevin Engleman, Lower School for Boys Music Faculty..................................................... 18

ALUMNI STORIES

Joshua Pearson ’82 and Rachel Fisher ’87................ 20

SCH DEVELOPMENTS

Update from the Development Office......................... 22

FUTURE READY

Student Views: Poem by James Meadows ’14........... 23

MYSTERY PHOTOS

Can You Tell Us about These Pictures?...................... 24

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MAKING BRAINS BLOOM SCH Academy’s Math Curriculum Provides Fertile Soil for Curious Minds

Walk down the Lower School hallway in the old Wissahickon Inn and before you get to Room A-28 you hear it: the excited claims and counterclaims of energetic debate. What is being argued is not the disappointing performance of the Broncos in this year’s Superbowl but the best approach to solving a math word problem.

In the room, a dozen highly charged, enthusiastic members of the Lower School boys’ Math Olympiad team are deeply invested in trying to convince each other that their approach to the answer is the best one. Kept in line by a patient but discipline-savvy Sally Johnson, the Lower School math enrichment specialist, the boys go up to the SMART Board and illustrate for the others how they derived their answer.

Unlike the “old days” when rote memorization was the primary method for learning math, today’s SCH students are privileged to be learning in an educational climate that encourages exploration and discovery and values the importance of student engagement with their subjects. Today’s math faculty at SCH Academy still demand accuracy and a solid grasp of mechanics and processes, but they also strive to make mathematics a meaningful and enjoyable part of their students’ lives.

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In the Math Olympiad class, Lower School boys debate the best approach to answering a problem.

MAKING IT FUN

terim chair of SCH Academy’s Math Department.

In Middle School, SCH math teachers are being encouraged to move away from using only textbooks, which tend to be focused more on mechanics, and to create their own materials and activities that more directly relate mathematical This Pre-K student thinks she’s building principles to students’ exwith blocks but she’s actually learning early math concepts related to shape, perience. Getting students size relationships, measurement, and to appreciate math’s releweight. vance is particularly important as the processes become more complex and students are introduced to geometry, statistics, and algebra. “It’s not just simple arithmetic anymore,” says Josh Budde, head of Middle School for Boys. “As numbers and processes become more abstract, it’s important to relate them back as much as we can to real life. We want to take the world we live in and turn it into math language.” So when students study geometry, they pretend they’re architects and calculate what happens to the area of a room in a house when they double its length and width. (Answer: It’s not just twice as large; it’s four times larger.) And when they study quadratic equations in algebra, they go out to the playground and throw a ball as far as they can, then calculate the ball’s speed based on its trajectory.

“No one’s going to say that math is their least favorite subject if we can help it,” says Charlie Grogan, Lower School math coordinator. Indeed, the Lower School math curriculum at SCH has undergone an exciting transformation in recent years with the introduction of Everyday Math, a system that encourages questioning and problem solving, incorporates fun activities, and offers alternative approaches (algorithms) to basic math operations to address different learning styles.

“What we’re aiming for in the earliest stages of math learning is for students to get the basic concepts, computational skills, and number facts,” explains Grogan. “We also want students to build a good relationship with numbers, so there’s no anxiety.” Everyday Math, which is aligned with the Common Core standards, offers students a flexible and supportive way to begin exploring the world of numeracy. “We like to think of our approach as a kind of spiral, where new learning is constantly building on what came before,” says Laine Jacoby, head of Lower School for Girls. “In this way concepts and practices are always being reinforced, and students’ sense of mastery builds gradually, according to their comfort level.”

“Math is a life skill, like reading road

Making math physical and visual are key aspects to enticing young students to math.

“If their bodies are engaged, their brains are engaged,” says Janet Giovinazzo, interim head of Lower School for Boys. There’s a lot of handson work in Lower School math. “We count the number of seeds in our Halloween pumpkins and batch them by 10s when we’re learning about base 10; we cut up cookies and pies when we’re studying fractions, and we measure and graph how far we can spit watermelon seeds when we’re learning statistics. It’s all serious fun,” says Giovinazzo, “but it also reinforces that math is a way to talk about and make sense of our world.”

signs. You have to

“Word problems are a great way to contextualize math in terms the students understand,” says Marilyn Tinari, head of Middle School for Girls. “They put more emphasis on analyzing and problem solving and less on processing speed.”

Girls, especially, tend to see math as a measure of intelligence, explains Tinari. If they’re slower at calculating, they tend to feel they’re not smart. Keeping the focus on finding solutions helps reduce this tendency while underscoring that there can be multiple paths to the same answer.

know how many cups

to put in your food.”

Merritt Wurts ’21

OFFERING OPTIONS AND SUPPORT “In 10th grade we offer four levels of Algebra, in 11th, four levels of Pre-Calculus, and in 12th, four levels of Calculus,” says Andrew Wolf. The goal of offering so many options is to “up the rigor” while keeping students’ confidence high. “We want to keep our students challenged but also be sure they are working at the level most appropriate for them,” says Wolf. The impressive array of math courses available in Upper School is a response to several fac-

KEEPING IT REAL

One of students’ age-old complaints about math is that it bears no relation to their everyday lives. “We’re all about helping kids see the relevance,” explains Andrew Wolf, in-

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The point of all this variety is to meet kids where they are. “No matter what their level,” says Wolf, “we want our students to feel competent, comfortable, and appropriately challenged.

Being numerate is too important in these days of big data and technology not to feel confident and prepared.”

tors: the more advanced level of SCH Middle School students entering 9th grade; the new requirement that students take four years of math in Upper School; the differing skill levels of students coming to SCH from other schools; and, lastly, the increasing interest in math itself. “The popularity of our robotics and engineering program has sparked a related interest in higher-level math,” says Wolf. The same goes for statistics, which is gaining greater attention because of its emphasis within the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership curriculum. “We’re seeing more and more students taking six rather than five courses each semester, so we’ve added options to meet the demand,” says Wolf. “This year, more than 50 students enrolled in some level of statistics course.”

HONORING THE SEARCH AS WELL AS THE ANSWER One of the tenets of the overall SCH curriculum is that it’s okay to take risks and make mistakes as part of the learning process. In math, where right answers are important, making mistakes can be seen by students as something to be avoided at all costs. This can often discourage students from exploring and taking intellectual risks. Yes, students need to be proficient in the mechanics of math, but that’s not where the true excitement and challenge lies, says Wolf. “It’s in finding a path that leads you to the solution.”

And for the really motivated, there are electives such as Discrete Math, Linear Algebra, AP Statistics, and Vector Calculus. “You can save some courses for college if you want, but you don’t have to,” notes Wolf.

There are lots of options for younger learners as well. Both Middle Schools use a flexible sectioning system to ensure that students are working at their optimum level, with opportunities to move between sections as skills increase.

Math enrichment opportunities, such as the Math Olympiad and MATHCOUNTS programs, provide opportunities for students to exercise their math knowledge in more competitive contexts while having fun. Two SCH Middle School students, a boy and a girl, were among the top 10 finishers at the recent Philadelphia-area MATHCOUNTS competition. And, across all divisions, there’s an abundance of supplemental learning resources and activities to support individual exploration, from small math challenge groups and online game-based math programs to the extracurricular Upper School Math Club.

Solutions, however, rarely come without trial and error.

The best scientists and mathematicians are intimately familiar with the phrase, “This didn’t turn out the way I expected.” “That’s why geometry is such a great system for teaching students about process and problem solving,” explains Budde. “Euclid has given us all the answers; our job is to figure out how to get there.”

In Wolf’s classes, student homework is graded on effort, not on correct answers. “The right answer is important,” says Wolf, “but it’s more important to acknowledge that they used the right approach. It’s okay to make mistakes, but I always have my students go back and correct their errors so they can see where they went astray.”

On the support side, both Middle and Upper Schools offer regular teacher access during scheduled times when students can seek extra help. “We see students in SAS (Upper School help time) every day,” says Wolf.

“Faculty have built a culture in which students want to get a better understanding and feel comfortable asking for help.” Help even gets down to the micro level with individual accommodations. One 6th grade boy, for example, is taking 7th grade math, and one 6th grade girl is getting special advanced tutoring with Josh Budde, who also teaches math.

Math is really just another language in which we problem solve. It assumes there’s a solution and our task is to find it. “That’s an attitude we want our students to bring to every challenge they face,” says Marilyn Tinari, ”both in our classrooms and beyond.”

The boys in Room A-28 would enthusiastically agree.

When asked why they like math, one 5th grader answers, “It’s like a game. It’s fun, but it teaches you lots of different ways to problem solve.”

Another more poetically inclined student explains his interest with a mixed but eloquent metaphor: “I don’t know why I like it; I just do. It wakes up my brain. It makes my brain bloom.”

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DESTINATION

DISCOVERY As part of their global immersion studies, SCH students have been traveling the globe to learn more about other cultures. Three of these trips­—to Cambodia, Russia, and Ethiopia—were designed and organized by the students themselves. In their own words, six of our students share their impressions and discoveries.

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s I walked on the dirt road of Takeo Province to the homestay, miles of beautiful green rice fields lay on both sides of me, and beyond them, the outlines of monumental mountains complemented the dark blue Cambodian sky. The sun began to sink and several questions started to rise up in my mind about our upcoming homestay. What are the people going to be like? Will they be nice? Will the kids be excited to see us? Will we be able to connect with them? Will their lives be similar to ours? Will I get eaten to death by bugs?!

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the Cambodian students we taught. The best part about a sponge is that it carries with it what it has drawn up. Every day I think of the children we saw on the roadsides, and in the schools and parks, and I remind myself of the stories that each of them have. I will always carry with me in my thoughts and subconscious what I experienced in Cambodia.

With my curiosity swarming like the bugs, I kept walking and soon started to hear the faint chatter of teenagers from the Hope for Happiness school. As our group slowly strolled by, we couldn’t help but smile and wave. Even though there was such a divide between our lives, we were filled with exAakanksha Sharma ’16 hilaration and curiosity but also timidity.

By the end of our short stay there, you would not believe how close we had gotten with those same kids. It genuinely felt like I was back in Lower School having fun with my friends playing games like tag, ninja, epic battles of arm wrestling, and of course new games we had learned. It felt so normal. Sadly, like all visits, this one had to come to an end as well. We spent an hour with our goodbyes, taking several photos, adding each other on Facebook, and of course promising to meet again soon. I can still remember one of the girls getting on her scooter and looking so sad she had to leave. I ran over to her and gave her a hug and assured her that we will see each other again one day. Neither I nor anyone else on the Cambodia trip will ever forget all the new friendships we made.

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hen you travel, you always want to see the big sights. You want to see the place whose photo is on the front of your guidebook, the sight everyone says you just have to see. I’ve known about Cambodia for years; I’ve read every guidebook there is, and I came to this country prepared Matthew Miller ’15 to see the Angkor temples, the Royal Palace—all the sites I had read about. But what I found is that my strongest memories from the trip are from the experiences I didn’t plan for, like slipping into a rice paddy when playing tag on the narrow trails through rice fields with kids in rural Cambodia, or finding the rags and tooth of a person killed at the Killing “IT HAS TAUGHT ME Fields still lying on the ground, unearthed by recent rains. ExperiTO GO INTO NEW ences like everyone shrieking at us on the bus when we were trying EXPERIENCES WITH to eat the deep-fried tarantulas we bought at a roadside market or AN OPEN MIND teaching English to a class of 12th graders, making everyone laugh AND, WHO KNOWS, and learn with my animated enunciations of the words “departure” YOU MIGHT BE and “arrival.” Traveling to Cambodia was an amazing experience, and the Angkor temples really are PLEASANTLY as breathtaking as everyone says, but the best memories were from SURPRISED WITH the times I ventured off the beaten path and discovered a piece of WHAT YOU FIND.” Cambodia for myself.

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t our first meal in Cambodia I promised myself that I would be a cultural sponge. I was not quite sure what I was up for; all I knew was that I was ready. I thought it would be simple—all I would have to do was be open and aware of what was happening around me and be in the moRachael Carter ’14 ment. But I would be wrong in my assumption when in the next 24 hours I would be faced with 90-degree weather and 70-percent humidity from sunrise to sunset. I would climb four ancient temples, meet and talk with locals, and feel sticky and sweaty all day. It turns out I was a sponge in more ways than one, soaking up humidity as well as culture! By absorbing what was right in front of me, I learned so much more about myself and what I am grateful for. Cambodia tested my physical, emotional, and mental thresholds as I learned about the country’s history, endured the heat, and heard stories about how people survive. The strength and will of the students and people I met along the way inspired me to treasure the small things that we take for granted. I heard survivor stories from the Khmer Rouge and the day-to-day lives of

Molly Dugan ’14

Opposite: Aakanksha Sharma, right, and Reed Momjian taking the slow ride to Beng Mealea Temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia.

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nlike visiting many countries, if you tell someone that you’re going to Russia for a week, you can be sure to get their opinion on your travels. The responses I got ranged from, “I hope your plane doesn’t crash” to “Don’t get kidnapped like that girl in the movie with Liam Neeson beMolly Dugan ’14 cause I won’t be able to rescue you like he did” and “You know, in Soviet Russia, bears hunt you.” People, especially from the U.S., have preconceived opinions of Russia that stem from Cold War stereotypes still existing today.

Despite a full year of AP European history in which I studied the rich history that Russia has to offer, I still had my own reservations about going on the trip. I was expecting rude people, lifethreatening dangers around every corner, and an overall nonhospitable vibe. What I got instead was the sweetest babushka tour guide who always had a story to tell and protected us like we were her own children, the most gorgeous architecture I’ve ever seen, and a shockingly American consumerist society. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. The Winter Palace, the Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral, the Nevsky Prospect, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood, the Red Square, and the Kremlin are now places engraved in my mind. These magnificent buildings and places of worship are some of the most spectacular architectural feats I’ve seen with my own two eyes. These were buildings not adorned with, but rather built with gold. Then there were the art museums. I almost couldn’t believe it when I saw paintings and statues I had analyzed in my AP European class last year. It’s one thing to see artworks sized down onto a piece of paper, but it’s a completely different experience to see them in person.

Only then was I able to appreciate the vibrant colors and the close attention to detail that can’t be shown on a piece of paper. My appreciation for the country’s art and history increased. To sum it up: my experience in Russia was life changing. It has taught

me to go into new experiences with an open mind and, who knows, you might be pleasantly surprised with what you find.

y most memorable experience in Russia is not one single isolated occurrence, but actually a conglomerate of multiple interactions and connections I made with the people there. My parents are originally from the former Soviet Union, and, growing up, I naturally learned their native lanJay Regam ’15 guage, Russian. Exposed to a foreign tongue and culture early in life, I was able to gain a worldly understanding of the current events and incidents transpiring around me. Visiting Russia was a dream come true; it allowed me to practice something I had been developing since my childhood. Many people visit at least one distant country in their lifetimes in hope of discovering a new world, of seeing a completely unknown place and encountering a wildly distinct lifestyle and society. However, many of these travelers are not given the privilege of knowing the local language, of unlocking an entire world underneath the surface they personally fall upon. This is exactly what I was able to see in my visit to Russia: an original community of people that introduced me to a prominent culture the ordinary tourist would not be aware of. For example, while staying in St. Petersburg, my friends and I encountered a school group from another part of Russia lodging in our hotel. Acting as an interpreter, I was able to discuss a variety of subjects and mediate conversation between my English-speaking friends and them. What ensued was the creation of multiple lasting

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Top left: Faith Brown celebrates reaching the top of the mountain near the community of Yetebon, Ethiopia, where she stayed.

Bottom left: Jay Regam, center, and classmates Henry Vogt, Joe Torsella, Jared Welsch, and Will Tasman in front of St. Isaac’s Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Russia.

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n my first visit to Ethiopia since 2010, I was shocked to see how much it had changed. The country has experienced so much growth and constant development in its effort to become something better than it was before. One day, during our stay in the southern countryside, our group decided to hike to a waterfall about Faith Brown ’17 three and a half miles up a mountain. Although at first I was reluctant to start hiking because of my fear of heights, my brother, Cole, convinced me to go. As it turns out, I learned more about the country and myself as a result of that hike than I ever expected. We walked through the backyards of many small grass huts, past cows and sheep, and encountered many families with eight-year-old kids taking care of three-year-olds. I was shocked to see how happy they were considering they were living in such poverty. The echoing sound of hellos from different families filled the mountains and helped me on my hike upwards.

Children cheered us on and, despite the many times I wanted to give up and go back, I knew I couldn’t. At one point I became separated from the group and thought I might have to return alone to the village. As I looked out on a postcard view of the prettiest mountains in Ethiopia, I seriously worried that I would miss this opportunity to see the waterfall. But I pushed through this moment of doubt and continued on. Soon I began to hear water rushing loudly and clearly. When I made it to the top of the waterfall that day, I not only surprised everyone in the group, but I also surprised myself. I had no clue what I was capable of and never would have experienced this if my brother hadn’t pushed me to break outside of my comfort zone and try something new.

Top left: Molly Dugan, left, with Brett Gallagher and Sydney Weiss in the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Top right: Rachael Carter, center, with Melissa Moxey and Devon McCallister at Bayon Temple in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Bottom: Matthew Miller with students from Moy Sophea High School, Takéo Province, Cambodia.

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Russian photos by Brett Gallagher ’14; Cambodia photos by Scott Burnett (Pacific Discovery) and Michael Ferrier; Ethiopia photos by Jenn Vermillion.

friendships between two culturally distinct groups of individuals that still last today through the Internet. From ordering food at a restaurant to discussing world affairs with the average citizen to chatting about America with local teenagers, my ability to directly meet, interact with, and comprehend the people that inhabit a country on the other side of the Earth made my visit to Russia memorable.

SCHOO

News and Highlights from arou

Turning Compassion into Action | Sixth graders Carlo and Sante Filippini and Alex Johnson turned their compassion for suffering circus animals into action in an unusual and compelling way. After hearing the story of 29 rescued circus lions from humane educator Gigi Glendinning ’85 (22reasons.org), the boys decided to raise awareness—and money—to help with their care. On a parent conference day in November, when there was lots of traffic through the lobby of the Wissahickon Inn, the boys installed a large cage in which they stayed for four hours without the benefit of books or game devices (“because animals don’t have any entertainment”). Their cage and signage drew a lot of attention and provided an opportunity for the boys to educate passersby. By the end of the day, they had raised $200 and gathered dozens of signatures on a petition against the use of wild animals in circuses. In March, the boys took their awareness campaign to the next level when they presented their petition and made their case to the board of supervisors of a nearby township where for many years a local organization has hosted a circus involving caged wild animals. After presenting their research on the dangerous conditions of traveling circuses and the suffering of the animals, the boys asked the supervisors to pass an ordinance restricting the use of wild animals in traveling circuses within township boundaries.

Sixth grade boys use an innovative approach to educate the SCH Academy community about the plight of circus animals.

Wrestler Desmond Johnson Does Program Proud | On February 22, the last day of wrestling season, junior Desmond Johnson placed fifth in the National Prep Wrestling Championships, a two-day tournament held annually at Lehigh University. Winning five of seven matches, including three by pin, this 195-pounder and team co-captain became just the second wrestler in program history (along with Justin Heller ’09) to place more than once in the event. Last year Desmond placed seventh at the same weight. To qualify for National Preps, wrestlers in our region must place sixth or better in the state tournament (PAISWT). Desmond took third this year and is now a three-time state placer. He finished the season with a record of 32-6 and 16 pins. Desmond is up to 98 career varsity wins; two more and he’ll join six Blue Devil alumni in the 100-win club. In addition to winning the GA, SCH, VFMA, and DCCS Invitationals this season, Desmond took eighth in the highly regarded Beast of the East. He is one of only two Blue Devil wrestlers (again with Heller) to accomplish that feat. “It felt good to place at the Beast,” says Desmond about the December event. “Having a tournament of that magnitude at the beginning of the season was a godsend, as it showed me what I’d have to do to be competitive against the very best wrestlers in the country.”

With one more season to go, Desmond is poised to distinguish himself further both on the mat and in the record book.

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Student-designed Playground Opens | This fall, 5th grade girls cut the ribbon on a new natural playscape tucked into the Wissahickon Watershed on the edge of the Cherokee Campus. The concept and design for the playground grew out of a design-thinking project initiated in 2013 by Lower School science teachers Carie Szalay and Marianne Maloy and addressing the question,“What if we could design a teaching space for exploration and recreation using the wonderful woodland just beyond the Lower School?” Last school year, with guidance from their 4th grade homeroom teachers, the girls interviewed fellow students, observed their play, visited other natural play spaces, and then created their prototypes.

These were presented to a representative from the McLean Contributionship, which later funded construction of the project. The playscape, which serves as both recreational space and outdoor environmental education classroom, features a seated amphitheater, a bird blind, and a natural playground comprising vertical logs of different heights for climbing and a giant drainage tube for scaling, hiding in, and crawling through.

A surprise element of the installation was revealed just prior to the dedication: A stone carving with the warning “UNLESS” greets visitors to the space and hearkens to an important line in Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax—a permanent reminder to all visitors that “unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”

The renovated Chapel.

Renovated Epiphany Chapel Shines | Usually facelifts are not a topic of public conversation, but in the case of SCH Academy’s newly restored Epiphany Chapel, the school wanted everyone to know. On October 18, the school held an open house and invited the school community to see the transformation. Guests were treated to a brief musical performance by the Chamber Singers (featuring our two a cappella ensembles, the Hilltones and Laurelei). The group performed “Behold in the Latter Day,” composed for the 150th anniversary of CHA by SCH Music Director Roland Woehr h’07 and based on the words from scripture that embellish the Chapel’s organ pipes: “Your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions.” The Chapel renovation, which was funded by proceeds from the sesquicentennial event, took all summer to complete.

Work encompassed restoration of the flooring, pews, wood paneling, and beams; moisture proofing of the space below the Chapel; new electrical and audio/video systems, cleaning of the stained glass windows, painting, and installation of new warm red carpeting. The Chapel, whose varied uses over the years include both ballroom and basketball court, will continue to serve the school in many capacities, as performance and lecture space, home of the Lower and Middle School boys’ weekly assemblies, and architectural touchstone for many CHA alumni who will always remember giving their senior speeches at its podium.

Cutting the ribbon on SCH Academy’s new student-designed natural playscape.

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SCHOO

News and Highlights from arou

SCH Students Collaborate on Public Arts Project |

SCHVI committee members listen to a student’s presentation.

SCH’s First Venture Incubator Cohort | Students are full of bright ideas and many of them were on display in late February when SCH launched its Venture Incubator (SCHVI) program with a daylong marathon of idea pitching from more than 50 entrepreneurially minded students from all divisions. SCHVI is the latest component of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and designed to serve as a resource for students interested in gaining hands-on experience in developing their for-profit and nonprofit ideas.

Over the next eight weeks this first cohort of young entrepreneurs will work with SCHVI board members/mentors, comprising business and social entrepreneurs, consultants, and corporate executives, to flesh out their ideas and prepare them for presentation to potential investors. While SCHVI is intended primarily as a learning and skill-building experience for students, there is always the possibility that a venture may take off and receive actual funding.

The proposals presented by this first cohort reflected an impressive degree of creativity and range of interests, from an international student-led environmental conference to a car device that alerts drivers to deep puddles ahead, and from an app to help improve student study habits to a video awards program celebrating the “coolest and funniest videos” produced by kids. Even the very youngest members of the cohort were eager to share their ideas, including one ambitious first grader who confidently proposed a Rube Goldberg-like device to end military conflict.

In January, SCH students gave a presentation on an innovative music project to a large group of faculty, students, artists, and technology professionals at Drexel University’s ExCITe Center.

The center, which promotes collaboration between the arts and technology, holds a TED-style forum every third Thursday (T3) of the month where emerging ideas and interesting collaborative projects are shared. The student project, Remix InterACTIVE, is an ambitious public arts and technology initiative involving students from SCH, Boys Latin Charter School, and Play on Philly, a local music education program. “Presenting at Drexel’s monthly T3 was a fabulous experience,” says sophomore Samira Baird. “The best part of our presentation was the audience’s response. They did not think of it as a cute little high school project (in comparison to the professional presentations) but rather as a valid, interesting, and multi-faceted endeavor.” At the core of the project is a piece of music— “Mambo”— from West Side Story. The students have excerpted parts of this piece and “remixed” it using Logic Pro, a music composition software. The remixed portions will be combined into a score and played along with the original piece at a concert in April at WHYY’s World Cafe Live, as part of the annual Franklin Institute Science Festival. Also accompanying the musical performance will be a mobile app lightshow, designed

by SCH students using Xcode. “The opportunity to work with others is a great gift,” says junior Olivia Byron. “We worked really well with the students from Boys Latin. Our fortes blended together nicely, and I’m certain the finished product is going to be great.”

SCH and Boys Latin students present their music project at Drexel ExCITe Center’s T3 forum.

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Recent Student Achievements | At the FIRST Robotics SCH Academy District Competition, Team 1218 Vulcan Robotics took 2nd place in the competition and also won the Imagery Award celebrating attractiveness in engineering and outstanding visual aesthetic integration of machine and team appearance. Earlier in the season, the team won its fourth Chairman’s Award, the most prestigious award given by the FIRST program.

Fifth grade girls demonstrate how to make rainbow bracelets to the Kindergarten boys.

The SCH girls’ sprint medley relay team of Terri Turner ’17, Brooklyn Broadwater ’16, Bridget Lipp ’15, and Julia Reeves ’16 placed 1st in the Scholastic New Balance Indoor Track and Field Nationals in New York City. With a time of 4:03, they shattered the Emerging Elite record held since 2005 by five seconds!

Kindergartners’ Bracelet Project Earns Funds for CHOP | Earlier this winter, SCH Kindergarten boys presented Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) with a $250 check, money they raised by making woven jewelry. The boys had planned to use the popular Rainbow Looms to make their bracelets, but when they discovered the looms were too expensive, they used their ingenuity and came up with a more cost-efficient production method—a clothespin! Before starting production, the boys had the foresight to ask the 5thgrade girls to work with them to figure out which bracelets would sell the best. The girls conducted a schoolwide survey to find out which patterns and colors would be the most popular. The boys sold their necklaces, bracelets, and rings for $1 each at the Homecoming Fair this past fall. Following a class discussion, the class decided to give the money they raised to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at CHOP. The donation will be used for baby supplies, books, blankets, and formula. “I was very proud of the boys because they truly embraced the CEL spirit,” said SCH Kindergarten teacher Ellen Funchion. “When the boys discovered that the looms were too expensive, they put their heads together and decided to use a simple, everyday clothespin, which worked beautifully.

They showed great initiative, flexibility, and perseverance.”

With an impressive legacy dating back to 1923, the Scholastic Art Awards are the longest running, most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the U.S. and the nation’s largest source of scholarships for creative young artists. Our students submitted work in a number of media and earned a total of 19 awards!

An outstanding 16 of 18 SCH Academy students received honors at the George Washington Carver Science Fair this year. SCH scientists won 1st place medals in five of the nine categories that they entered, winning almost half of the possible medals in those categories, a variety of specialty awards, and, for the fourth time in eight years, Best of Fair, won by Jessica Saunders.

The SCH girls’ sprint medley relay team.

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Book Report Reading Recommendations from SCH Academy Faculty and Staff The Falconer: What We Wish We Had Learned in School Grant Lichtman, iUniverse, 2010 Review by Vincent Day, Assistant Director of Digital Campus This summer, as a part of a summer reading initiative between SCH Academy and The Trinity School in Atlanta, I had the opportunity to read The Falconer by Grant Litchman. I was fascinated with his focus on real-world paradigms where skills are embedded on finding new questions—not on predetermined answers previously found by way of a simple Google search. The art of questioning is a key contributing theme in The Falconer. Litchman suggests that questions are the waypoints to the path of wisdom—not answers.

Answers can be dead ends, where questions often lead to more questions with the potential of discovery, understanding, or creation. As educators at SCH, we are continually questioning ourselves to that end. Am I doing my very best to help students learn and progress, to create and innovate, to become the individuals they each aspire to be? Individualized learning has been and continues to be a buzz phrase easily read about and heard in educational communities. For SCH, this does not mean simply putting laptops or iPads in the hands of students and expecting them to achieve a personalized culture of learning. Litchman suggests that the answer is quite the contrary, as we have found to be true. We have to cultivate safe educational environments where students develop a personal stake in their learning by presenting problems that they intently want to solve—making challenges interesting. Litchman’s book reinforced for me what is central to the educational process at SCH. Give it a try!

The Call of Service: A Witness to Idealism

Robert Coles, Houghton Mifflin, 1993 Review by Michael Ferrier, Teacher and Advisor, English Department This November, I had the privilege of going to Cambodia for 10 days with a group of 15 Upper Schoolers.

The trip was a partnership between SCH’s Global Innovations course and Pacific Discovery. Its aim was to introduce students to diverse cultures and environments; to develop their awareness of issues around poverty, development, globalization, and sustainability; and to involve them in meaningful service-learning opportunities with local communities. In our student workshops before the trip and in our reflections during our time in Cambodia, my colleague Liz O’Flanagan and I emphasized to students the centrality of the service-learning experiences on our journey (in our case, building a well for a local family and practicing English with Cambodian high schoolers), and the need for our service to be transformational and reciprocal for both students and community members, not transactional or exploitative. Notably, we discussed selections from The Call of Service: A Witness to Idealism by the eminent Harvard psychiatrist and gifted storyteller Robert Coles, which examines young people’s motivations for engaging in service-learning, as well as the many obstacles and challenges for students working for social justice around the world. Coles writes that the ultimate success of any service-learning partnership is “how a particular person manages to connect with those others being in some way taught or healed or advised or assisted: the chemistry of giving and receiving as it works back and forth between individuals in one or another situation” (65). There is no question that global service-learning opportunities at SCH Academy have enormous transformative potential. We are thrilled about the opportunity to build off the tremendous success of our Cambodia trip, and to continue to grow and nurture the most equitable and highest quality global travel program possible.

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Marilyn Tinari: An Appreciation head of middle school for girls 1993-2014

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fter 24 years at Springside School and SCH Academy, Marilyn Tinari has announced she will retire at the end of the 2013-2014 school year. If ever anyone deserved to do so, it would be she. Aside from her many accomplishments, Marilyn will be best remembered for her absolute love and devotion to hundreds of girls. No student could pass through our Middle School doors without Marilyn’s literal and figurative arms around her. Her devotion to the girls and her commitment to creating a community that supports their intellectual and social growth are unparalleled.

Marilyn w ill also be remembered as a lifelong learner. She proudly tells of her father who was so excited to see his only child not only earn a college degree but also a master’s. How proud he would have been to see Dr. Tinari graduate from Penn’s doctoral program where she continues to work with students as a professor in the graduate program. Marilyn loves ideas, seeks new avenues into learning, and is highly involved in the work we have been doing to engage every student in creating a rigorous path of passion.

We will sorely miss her, but wish her well as she enjoys some well-deserved time for herself and her family.

- Dr. Priscilla G. Sands

“No offense, Mom, but I’d much rather talk about this with Mrs. T.” In the decades since my daughter first said this to me, I’ve heard countless other girls express the same idea. They want to talk to Marilyn Tinari.

That’s because the girls know, when they talk to Dr. T, she will listen carefully to their concerns and respect them for speaking up. She will help a girl envision herself as a different kind of student, or find words for her muddled and powerful feelings, or articulate an injustice. A girl in Marilyn’s office will get a sympathetic ear, but more significantly, she will leave with a plan about how to effect change.

When the person in charge models humanitarian values, it permeates the entire division. The girls’ Middle School has benefited all these years from Marilyn’s sense of emphasizing the right choice over the expedient one. She always has her core values to guide her—and therefore her faculty’s—decisions.

Marilyn invariably approaches her faculty with enormous respect, and she has made collaboration a seamless part of our culture. Because she brings such a tremendous level of good humor, energy, and commitment into the school each morning, maintaining the same pace deep into the evening, she has helped inspire us to develop our own best selves.

Finally, what makes Marilyn so extraordinary is the sheer pleasure she gets out of being surrounded by middle schoolers. Each and every day, she watches a parade of girls’ behavior: their uncontrollable laughter, their highly dramatic reactions, their jaw-dropping moments of brilliance, their small, local complaints and large, global concerns, their essential, unvarnished selves. Day in and day out she relishes it.

All those years ago, when my 5th grader told me she preferred to talk to Mrs. Tinari, I may have felt a brief pang, but once I came to work in the Middle School, I realized that my daughter was right. I, too, delight in mulling over significant things with Marilyn, as she has more purity of vision than anyone I’ve ever known.

- Alison McFall ha, English teacher, Middle School for Girls

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FALL

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SCH : SCO BOYS VARSITY ATHLETICS Cross Country Led by sophomore Will Concannon, the varsity cross country team had a solid season. They were running on a new course spread across the campus, and Will placed in the top five for all but one of our home dual meets. He placed in the top 20 at the Inter-Ac Championships and looks to lead the team again next year.

Football The varsity football team bounced back from last year with a great effort and is building for the future. They finished with a 5–5 record, including a great league win over Haverford and a classic end-ofseason game against Malvern Prep, falling 63-50 in a fierce battle to the Friars. In that game, First Team All-Inter-Ac quarterback Paul Dooley passed for over 500 yards and seven touchdowns.

First Team All-Inter-Ac senior receiver Owen McAdoo and Second Team All-Inter-Ac junior flanker Dylan Parsons were his favorite receivers all year. A great core group returns next year, and the team is looking to rise to the top of the league in 2014.

Golf The varsity golf team, led by senior First Team All-Inter-Ac senior Jack Grasso and First Team All-Inter-Ac sophomore Chris Dalglish, had an excellent season. Jack became the first golfer from our school to win the Inter-Ac golf championship, held at Merion East, the same course as the 2013 U.S. Open. He shot two over par, chipping in for birdie on the final hole.

Soccer The varsity soccer team, led by First Team All-Inter-Ac sophomore goalie Sam McDowell and First Team All-Inter-Ac senior midfielders Alec Greenhalgh and Anthony Liddy, had a fantastic fall, finishing 2nd in the league and making it to the state semifinals where they lost in an incredible game to Haverford, whom they had beaten earlier in the season. The soccer program has returned in force, and with a fantastic JV program and strength in the Middle School as well, the future of the program is solid.

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RE : BOARD GIRLS VARSITY ATHLETICS Cross Country Cross Country had a great season, finishing 2nd in the Inter-Ac Championship by three points and taking four of the top 10 places.

The team finished 4th in the Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association (PAISAA) championship. Jamie Costarino and Terri Turner finished in the top 10 in States. We are happy to say that all of our strongest runners are returning next season.

Field Hockey Field hockey was affected by the loss of Mikaela Watson, top player for most of the season, and finished 5th in the league. Despite a tough season, the team steadily improved as the season progressed and this bodes well for next year.

Soccer Soccer finished 6th in the league as it struggled to overcome the loss of key players due to an unusual amount of injuries. The team played without All-Inter-Ac Meghan McCool for most of the season.

Tennis The tennis team was thrilled to play on the beautiful new courts and enjoy the new sports pavilion and tennis complex. The team finished 4-7 for the season and looks forward to next year, when all of its stronger players will be returning.

Volleyball Volleyball finished strong with a record of 13-10, and a 4th place in the league. The team made it to the 2nd round of the PAISAA tournament.

On the college recruitment scene, sophomore Meghan McCool (soccer) has verbally committed to the University of Virginia, which is ranked 1st in the country. Three seniors are being recruited (one in squash, two in crew) and five juniors (two in lacrosse, one in volleyball, two in track/cross country). Eight sophomores are either in the recruiting process or will be beginning soon, (one in field hockey, one in soccer, one in basketball, two in lacrosse, two in track, and one in softball).

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AN INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN ENGLEMAN, LOWER SCHOOL FOR BOYS MUSIC TEACHER

What are your greatest satisfactions in teaching young children?

I first started teaching Middle School music in a public school in central Pennsylvania. After being in the position for a few months I realized that my desire was to teach in an elementary setting. To my delight, I had a meeting with the district superintendent that spring at which he told me I would be teaching 1st and 3rd grades.

I was more than happy to accept. I have been working with young children since then and have enjoyed seeing their skills develop and their ability to become appreciative of all kinds of music and cultures. I greatly enjoy their sense of humor, eagerness to please, and resiliency in learning from failure. Here at SCH I have had an amazing 16 years in which I’ve watched boys grow from Kindergartners taking their first step into the Jordan Building to seniors

sitting on the stage in the courtyard as they accept the diplomas they have worked so hard to earn. I have enjoyed seeing and hearing their musical skills and appreciation develop and become more comprehensive and mature. The 2nd and 3rd Grade Chorus has been one of the many highlights of my tenure here at SCH. Listening to the boys sing with joy and exuberance is a gift that brightens my day and warms the heart of anyone who hears it. The boys and the music they make are a daily reward beyond comprehension.

What skills, either music specific or life skills, do you think are learned through the study of music?

The boys’ study of music is comprehensive in that it not only includes music theory and playing skills but also interpersonal, ensemble, and community skills. Musically, the boys begin with internalizing and responding to music through movement and song, then progress to using symbols for rhythm and melody concepts. The

boys work extensively with the pentatonic (five-note) scale, which enables them to play and create accompaniments and to sing with proficiency and accuracy. As they progress through Lower School, they add more notes to their melody repertoire and incorporate elements of beat subdivision to create more intricate rhythm compositions and accompaniments. The boys become familiar with the solfege scale for singing and how to read melodies on the treble clef through the study of recorder and piano keyboard.

The addition of laptops for 5th grade and iPads for Kindergarten through 4th grade helps the boys learn music theory concepts, create accompaniments, and compose music through the use of game apps and GarageBand. Through the use of non-western instruments and different styles of singing and performance, my students learn that different cultures allow us to experience music in new and unique ways. It is important, especially for the younger boys, to understand that, while music from other cultures may seem different, it does not mean that it is “funny.” I work with them to understand what they will hear and see before the experience so they can better appreciate the music. I try to use authentic instrumentation and visual experiences so the boys can fully appreciate what is unique to a culture and what the similarities may be to their own experiences. Both per-

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formance and audience etiquette are integral elements of each and every class as well. It is vital that the boys learn to be appreciative and receptive audience members as well as successful and expressive performers.

Every class holds opportunities for my students to perform in both large and small groups as well as solo and independent situations.

“LISTENING TO THE BOYS SING WITH JOY AND EXUBER ANCE IS A GIFT THAT BRIGHTENS MY DAY AND WARMS THE HEART OF ANYONE WHO HEARS IT.“ What do you hope the boys will take away from their music experiences in Lower School?

It is my hope that my students will exit Lower School with a solid foundation of musical concepts and structure that will allow them to be lifelong music makers.

Comfort and confidence in performing are skills that will enhance their future musical endeavors and allow them to explore new and challenging opportunities

to share their creativity and talents with others. I work carefully and consistently, with high expectations of what is appropriate when being a supportive and invested audience member.

Since all boys make music in some form of organized ensemble fashion, an important lesson for them all to learn is that making music is for everyone; it isn’t just for those with obvious talents and self-realized interest. This philosophy applies throughout all divisions. My students can look forward to being music makers after Lower School in very immediate and practical ways.

and iPads in 1st through 4th grades has opened many other doors to music. Today, there are many apps and programs available to help students learn theory concepts and composition and to perform. I am always discovering new apps and Internet sites that help students develop their musical skills and expression. Not all of them are game based, but the game apps certainly are quite popular.

Are you incorporating any technologies into your music ed program?

Having taught in both coed and single-sex situations, I find that an all-boys environment does have an influence on how students learn and experience music. Without the presence of girls, boys are more uninhibited and can express themselves musically without giving a thought as to what is a “boy” activity or a “girl” activity.

They are comfortable using their bodies, streamers, and scarves to move with grace, fluidity, and responsiveness to the music. To them, these activities and situations are just part of their regular class. They are not embarrassed to show the expressive qualities of a piece of music by playing, singing, and moving. In fact, allmale music creates a kind of team-sport mentality that the boys carry into their later ensemble singing, such as Boychoir. They see the

We are very fortunate here at SCH to have so much technology at our disposal.

Often we assume that other schools all do and have the same, but more often than not this is not the case. The SMART Boards we have in every classroom are a prime example. It seems as though we’ve had them forever. I know that the addition of the board to my classroom changed my teaching style fundamentally. I have gotten used to it in my day-today teaching and rely on it for many technology-based activities. Having easy access to video to show reallife musical examples that allow students to experience performances with authentic instrumentation and performance practice is invaluable. The recent addition of laptops in 5th grade

Engleman works with the boys’ 2nd and 3rd Grade Chorus.

Hilltones as young men who love making music together, so the whole culture of male music making is something that they can join in and feel good about as they envision their own futures. They also learn what it takes to care for classroom instruments as a team. Like their sports equipment, they learn to take care of their instruments and to appreciate their financial as well as musical value. I can proudly say that our impressive array of Orff instruments is in pristine condition thanks to the care that our students lavish on their equipment.

How is music teaching and learning affected by the single-sex environment of Lower School for Boys?

What is your favorite thing to teach and why?

The 2nd and 3rd Grade Chorus is a highlight for me within a very diverse and active music program. Through practice, the boys take ownership as they become more comfortable with the words and music. When I hear them sing the first phrase of a song for the first time, I can already foresee how quickly they will learn the song.

They are eager to please and respond quickly to musi-

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cal directions for dynamics and tempo. As we progress through the fall semester, their investment and output becomes stronger and more productive. Two of my favorite musical moments were hearing them perform “O Danny Boy“ and “How Can I Keep From Singing.” These two songs in particular have exemplified their passion for singing. The spring brings them even closer together as they rehearse for their musical. Once the music is memorized, they begin stage directions and then join the elements of music and staging together. Watching their stage presence develop and mature is an integral process in forging the theatrical path to their first performance. It is a gift in every rehearsal to hear them join together in one voice to motivate and inspire others through song.

ALUMNI STORIES JOSHUA PEARSON ’82 Born in Philadelphia, I attended CHA, graduating in 1982, and then made my way to Providence, Rhode Island, to attend Rhode Island School of Design. After graduating with a BA in painting, I settled in Providence and embarked on an unexpected career path that began with painting oil canvases (and houses, both exterior and interior), led to video editing, performance art, a touring “art band” with a recording contract, and brought me to my current job as a documentary film editor. an influential person/experience(s) at school that shaped your journey Josh with producer-director Ron Howard.

CHA art teacher Barbara Crawford probably directed the course of my life as a creative person. The experience of hanging out and freely expressing myself as a “cellar rat” was enor-

mously satisfying to me, yet I also learned from her to always be curious and to strive to learn about and see the world in new and unusual ways. Art period was certainly not a time to just freely goof off; she actually directed me and my fellow rats in subtle ways to work with a purpose and to self-motivate. professional accomplishment(s) of which you are most proud

I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to create an electronic multimedia band, Emergency Broadcast Network (EBN), which was signed to TVT Records and operated from about 1990 to 1998. In the days well before YouTube mashups, we created what we called “video music,” which we would perform live in clubs such as Limelight and The Palladium in NYC, culminating in a national tour in 1996 and a performance at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. We also collaborated with the rock group U2 on their Zoo TV and Zooropa tours, and released a music video remix of their song “Numb.” Many of our videos can now be seen on YouTube. But, being somewhat ahead of our time, we couldn’t make a living as a band and EBN split up in about 1998. I became a documentary and commercial editor at RadicalMedia, a production and post-production company in NYC, and recently finished a film called Whitey: United States of America v James J. Bulger, directed by Joe Berlinger, about notorious Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. The film premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival (my second Sundance film) and will air on CNN in the spring. what opportunities/challenges/trends are occurring in your field right now?

In the world of documentary television and film, I have seen programming budgets shrink drastically over the years. This has resulted in shorter and shorter schedules, which we the editors must bear the brunt of. I had to watch approximately 200 hours of footage (in double time) and edit the Whitey film in 16 weeks because of budget constraints. But there are fantastic opportunities in digital media creation right now. Obviously, because of the massive proliferation of channels (both television and Internet), which are growing ever closer into one thing, I have seen the need for video “content” grow as fast as budgets have shrunk, ironically. Every major brand and corporation wants video on their website or wants to sponsor programming of some kind. Costs of post-production are getting lower as software and hard drive storage get cheaper. The possibilities and potential for creating moving pictures expands ever faster.

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RACHEL FISHER ’87* After graduating from the University of Rochester in 1991, Rachel traveled in Israel, then came home to Philadelphia and worked at Giovanni’s Room bookstore. She attended graduate school at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she earned a Ph.D. in Religious Studies, focusing on Modern Jewish Thought. At Santa Barbara, Rachel met Dan Fisher and they married in 1996. After moving to New York, Rachel became the founding director of the Genealogy Institute at the Center for Jewish History. She also formed a creative partnership with her friend Rachel Pasternak, and together they produced Remembering Oswiecim, a 15-minute film that is shown daily at the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim, Poland. Rachel stopped working outside the home when her first child, Nate, was one year old, and she and her family soon moved to Maplewood, NJ. She had her second child, Adam, in 2005. In 2009, Rachel Fisher and Rachel Pasternak formed R Squared Productions and began to work on Joachim Prinz: I Shall Not Be Silent. The hour-long documentary film premiered at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in November 2013. an influential person/experience(s) at school that shaped your journey

At Springside, Deborah Dempsey, Bob McMahon, Lynn Bendann, and Helen Grady influenced me most. Mr. McMahon taught me to be intellectually honest. Mrs. Dempsey taught me to express myself with feeling and precision. Ms. Bendann taught me to be faithful to the truth, and how to manage information to maximize accuracy. Mrs. Grady demonstrated how to develop a personal relationship to the past. All of these skills are critical to the work of interpreting history, which I view as my job. professional accomplishment(s) of which you are most proud

I am most proud of creating the Samberg Family History Program at the Center for Jewish History, a program that gave high school students an opportunity to work with primary sources to reconstruct their family histories, and of the documentary film I Shall Not Be Silent. what opportunities/challenges/trends are occurring in your field right now?

In the field of documentary film, the greatest opportunities are presented by the explosion of cable channels and online streaming services, which allow for a greater variety in the subjects and styles of films that can be seen by a large audience.

The primary challenge is finding funding, because it is still very expensive to produce a high-quality film, particularly a historical film that utilizes archival footage. The audience is there, but there are few funding sources for producing, especially for new producers of film .

* Rachel will be the 2014 SCH Academy Deborah Beeler ’64 Fund speaker.

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SCHOOL DEVELOPMENTS NEWS FROM THE SCH DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

GIVE TO THE 2013-2014 ANNUAL FUND

Smart Giving through a Gift of Securities Making a gift of stock to Springside Chestnut Hill Acadejy remains at the top of the list as an effective way to support the school while also helping reduce your taxable income.

“Tax-wise” reasons for making a gift of securities: 1. Avoid paying capital gains tax on the increased value of the stock.

Because of you.

2. Receive an income-tax deduction for the full fair-market value of the stock at the time of the gift and claim up to 30 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI) in the year the gift is made with up to five years to absorb the full deduction under the AGI ceiling.

3. Remove the value of the securities from your taxable estate.

BECAUSE OF YOU, our students are benefiting from an educational experience beyond the expected. SCH Academy students are not only receiving a sound foundation in the humanities, sciences, arts, and math, they are also developing the skills and attitudes essential for success in today’s world: leadership, resiliency, creative and independent thinking, and the ability to communicate across a wide spectrum of media.

With a gift to the Annual Fund, you are helping to support this strong and vibrant educational experience. Thank you for being a critical part of our success.

John S. Detweiler, Sr. ’91, Annual Fund Chair • Elizabeth Pearson, Leadership Chair Ann Marie Mendlow and Mims M. Zabriskie, Honorary Leadership Chairs Jeffrey Rexford, Parent Chair It is not too late to add your name to the list of donors for 2013-2014. Send in the enclosed Annual Fund gift envelope or go to www.sch.org/giving to show your support.

The 2013-2014 Annual Fund ends on June 30th.

Please make your gift today.

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4. Give a gift equal to the market value of the securities to Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.

How to make your gift: It’s easy! Ask your broker to transfer the shares to SCH. The transfer should be encoded as follows: DTC Participant #: 221 Springside Chestnut Hill Academy Account #: VQ-1866 Tax ID #: 23-2003194 Brokerage Firm: UBS/Paine Webber Contact: Valerie Seyler 800-240-0340, ext. 3054 CONTACT: Ellen Nalle Hass ’77 ehass@sch.org | 215-247-7151

futureREADY STUDENT VIEWS AND VOICES

For the final assignment of Intermediate Creative Writing, I asked students to push the boundaries of their poetic technique and experiment with content, styles, and techniques that made them uncomfortable. James took up this challenge handily and created a poem that not only expresses remarkable vulnerability but also explored a very experimental form of poetry, called concrete poetry (a poem that forms a picture of the topic), and in doing so reinforced the complexity of the emotions at stake in the poem. - Iain Pollock, Upper School English teacher

Balancing Act

by James Meadows ’14 When I was a little boy I used to play hopscotch With girls.

I liked it.

Not a big deal.

They came and they laughed.

Smudged my chalk lines.

Scuffed my new shoes.

But one day, the boys Who lived down the street Thought otherwise.

Apparently, It is a big deal.

But I didn’t care.

I drew them again.

Eventually, chalk runs out, And you grow tired.

Why buy more?

But they kept coming back, and My lines never stayed straight.

Always smeared.

To them, It was a game.

Not a big deal.

To them, I was a circus freak: Bearded and lobster clawed.

Walking on a thin tightrope.

I fell off, and Refused to get back up.

I was tired of playing.

But it wasn’t a game.

It was a balancing act, That has less to do with pain, And more to do with beauty.

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James Meadows ‘14 reading his poem “Balancing Act” during an Upper School poetry reading organized by English teacher and poet Iain Pollock.

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DO YOU KNOW THEM?

BE THE FIRST TO SUBMIT YOUR ANSWER AND WIN AN ALUMNA/ALUMNUS GIFT! Here’s what we need to know: Who’s in it? What are they doing? When did it happen? Send your responses to Deidra Lyngard at dlyngard@sch.org or call 215-754-1616 and we’ll publish your reminiscences in our next issue.

Previous Mystery Photos From Darin Klein ‘81, Jenny Klein Morrison ‘82, Melissa Klein ‘86, and Erica Klein Erignac ’88: This picture includes our dad, Dr. William M. Klein, who was director of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania from 1977 to 1991. We’re guessing that this picture was taken either in the late 70s or early 80s and most likely involved one of his famous tours of the Arboretum! Our guess is that the “Orient Express” may be referring to a tour of Asiatic specimens within the Arboretum, but it could also refer to something educational. Above all, our dad believed in the educational mission of the Arboretum. He liked to say that they were “in the business of growing people, not trees” and you can see some of that in this picture. When we lived in Philadelphia, I often had the experience of opening up the paper, especially the Chestnut Hill Local, or even turning on the news, and there he would be—somewhat unexpected and yet expected at the same time! It’s been many years since we’ve seen our dad pop up in any new photos, but this was certainly a most welcome surprise!

From Scott McCurdy ’81: The boys in the motorcycle photo are from my class of 1981. The photo is from 1973 when we were in 4th grade. This pic was titled Evil Knievel’s Children and there was a second half of the class leaning on a convertible. I remember being jealous because my half of the class got the car and we wanted the bikes! I’m not sure where the bikes came from but the car belonged to one of my brother’s friends. They were seniors. My brother’s name is James McCurdy. I was on top of the car with blond hair next to my best friend John Banner.

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No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. - Proverb

THE SCHOOL

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID LANGHORNE, PA PERMIT NO. 118

NEWS FROM SPRINGSIDE CHESTNUT HILL ACADEMY

celebrating frank Join us for these Reunion Weekend events when we will honor Frank Steel ’77.

CHA Alumni Association Annual Meeting

Friday, May 9, 5:00 pm Epiphany Chapel, Willow Grove Campus All CHA alumni are invited to hear Dr. Priscilla Sands’ remarks on the state of the school followed by recognition of this year’s alumni honorees, including a special recognition award for Frank Steel ’77.

All-Alumni Cocktail Party and Special Dedication Friday, May 9, 6:00 pm Courtyard, Willow Grove Campus

Reunion and non-reunion alumni over 21 years old are invited to join us for our reunion weekend opening event when we will honor departing head of school Frank Steel ’77 by dedicating the school’s new sports pavilion and tennis complex in his name.

REUNIONS & A L U M N I

W E E K E N D

see you there! may 9 & 10, 2014

500 West Willow Grove Avenue • Philadelphia, PA 19118-4198

sch.org