Winter 2009-2010 KnightTimes

ROBOKNIGHTS

KnightTimes WIN T ER 2 0 1 0

Pace Spirit BANNERS, SKITS, DANCEs, DECORATIONS —

the two craziest weeks at pace

KnightTimes Produced by Pace Academy Communications department

Fred Assaf h ead OF SCHO O L

Mike Gannon h ead of upper sc h ool

John Anderson HEAD OF MIDD LE SCH O O L

Anna Valerius HE AD OF LOWE R SCH O O L

Linda Smith Champion DIR E CT OR OF COMMUN I CAT I O N S

Jessica Tanner COMMUNICAT IONS ASSO CI AT E , G R AP HIC DE SIG N E R

OUR MISSION To create prepared, confident citizens of the world who honor the values of Pace Academy and who will preserve the legacy of our school for future generations.

PACE CARES Are you aware of a member of our community who is experiencing an illness or loss or is blessed with a new arrival? Pace Cares would love to help by delivering a home-cooked meal prepared by our dedicated volunteer cooks. Please call the Pace Cares hotline at 404-926-3727.

The Annual Pace Spring Auction

Saturday April 10, 2010 The Ritz-Carlton Buckhead For sponsorship information contact Kim Berry at kimaberry@earthlink.net or go to www.paceacademy.com, keyword search: auction.

2

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

966 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W. Atlanta, GA 30327 www.paceacademy.org To contribute ideas for the KnightTimes, please email Jessica Tanner at jtanner@paceacademy.org

LETTER FROM THE HEA D OF SC H O O L

School Pride Happy New Year! Our new year has been filled with spirit. First we had US Spirit Week, a wonderful tradition that builds community, pride and fellowship among our students – it is a testament to our students that they lead these wholesome activities that include every student. I can’t thank them enough for their leadership and good cheer in carrying off a successful spirit week.

Secondly, we had our MS and LS spirit nights which centered around our girls and boys basketball teams.

At Pace, our spirit is alive, and it is so enriching to see so many of our students both involved in athletics and cheering on their peers.

It is admissions season, so please take time to recommend good students and families to Pace. We are blessed to have an amazingly supportive parent community, and we benefit from your

Contents

10 16

referral of other families to Pace.

Next month is the Green Cup Challenge. For those new to the school, the Green Cup Challenge is a competition with other schools to help reduce our carbon footprint and raise awareness about creating a more sustainable future. Fun and helpful activities include dimming the lights at lunch, cold lunch Fridays and other habit-forming, energy-saving tricks.

Hopefully some of these habits will transfer to the home as well.

Finally, I want to thank everyone who participated in the Georgia Private School Tax Credit. Through this program we raised more than $600,000 for financial aid for Pace students. This is fantastic – thank you!

Fred Assaf Head of school

4 Announcements What you need to know 8 Around Pace A look into what is happening at Pace 10 spirit at pace Pace’s craziest two weeks 16 roboknights Engineering the future 20 Alumni Computers for a cause. Top professor.

22 Just For Fun A campus treasure hunt On the cover, third grader Davis Mathis cheers on the varsity girls basketball team at LS Spirit Day in Boyd Gym. KnightTimes | Winter 2010

3

e l b a T

A N N O U N C E M EN TS

Documenting Diversity

First event

e h t t a y t i s r e Div

Pace’s Diversity Program invites you to a series of events to benefit the Diversity Scholar’s Fund. This year’s fund will go to financial aid for Ron Clark Academy students to come to Pace.

Two Urban Licks Red Carpet Cocktail Reception

February 20 FOR MORE INFORMATION, contact Philip McAdoo at pmcadoo@paceacademy.org or 404-262-1345 x 678.

4

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

A SPECIAL RETURN SCREENING

The Pace Academy Diversity program will sponsor a special return screening of the documentary film, The Prep School Negro, on Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Center, as well as a discussion with the movie’s filmmaker Andre Robert Lee. Based on his years at Germantown Friends School in Pennsylvania, Lee went back into his own life experiences and turned what he discovered into a film about losing one’s way.

The Prep School Negro provides an opportunity for students and faculty/staff of color and their white peers to explore and discuss what it is like being them.

Join them as they continue the conversation about growing diversity at Pace Academy. ■

Pace earns Region 5A football awards

The Region 5A Coaches Choice Award is one of six major awards in the region and went to Pace junior quarterback Will Brewster. The All-Region Team awards went to Will Brewster, senior linebacker William Morse, junior wide receiver Alex Davis and junior wide receiver Billy Tutt. Honorable Mentions were earned by senior offensive lineman Sam Wiskind, junior defensive lineman Ben Hays and junior kicker Arthur Omilian. ■

Annual Fund Update

As of Dec. 31, the 2009-2010 Annual Fund total was $752,146. The Advancement office has raised 75% of its goal of $1 million. If you have not contributed, please consider a gift to help raise the remaining 25% and reach the goal of 100% parent participation. Every grade that reaches 100% will have a pizza party. ■

A NNOUN C EM ENT S

Head MS debaters sweeping the city Deck Pace MS debaters have taken three Atlanta middle school tournaments in a row, earning first place Deck in two divisions each time. Most recently Anshuman Parikh and Erik Howard won first place in the varsity division at the Dec. 5 tournament, where John Morrison placed eighth in varsity debating without a partner. Josh Rogers and Kyle Johnson were first place in JV, with Michael Sloman and Sam Rubenstein close behind them in third place JV. Josh received the individual top speaker award for the division.

At the Nov. 14 competition, Anshuman and Erik were first place in varsity, Jay Kumar and Michael Sloman took first place in JV, and Sam Rubenstein and Benton Crane placed fifth.

Kelliann Haidet and Jason Malik, debating for their first time ever, placed second in novice, where Kelliann was also named best individual speaker among more than 100 students in the division. ■

Sophomore a 20 under 20 student LOCAL NEWSPAPER HONORS UPPER SCHOOLER FOR GREEN EFFORTS

“If you believe that creativity is still going on, and there is purpose in all of human life, then the arts express that which is beautiful and intelligent and noble about being human.”

Sophomore Eric Estroff is featured in the January issue of Atlanta INtown in its annual “20 Under 20: Students Making a Difference” article. A reception was held for students,Caption parents and faculty on Jan 13. This feature can also be read at www.

Body copy paragraph style here. Body copy paragraph style AtlantaINtownPaper.com. here.

Body copy paragraph style here. Body paragraph The newspaper said of the students “eachcopy of these 20 style here.are Body copy great paragraph style copy and students making strides andhere. theirBody passions paragraph here. Body copy paragraph“As style here. Body we actions arestyle an inspiration.”

It continued, a newspaper, copy style here.we Body paragraph here. hopeparagraph by profiling them, willcopy encourage themstyle to continue reaching for their dreams.”

Eric was nominated by Jonathan Day, the US dean of students. Eric is the National Student Coordinator for The Green Schools Alliance and heads the Green Cup Challenge for Pace, which takes place Jan. 25-Feb. 22. Eric recently came back from a trip to New York City where he spoke about sustainability to a crowd which included Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Chevy Chase and MTV founder Bob Pittman. ■

Pace senior named 2009-2010 Posse Scholar Parents Club Officers Body copy paragraph style here.

Senior Victoria Wilson was recently named a Posse Scholar by the Posse Foundation. The nonprofit organization identifies, recruits and trains student leaders to form multicultural teams called “Posses” of 10 to 12 Posse Scholars. These teams are then prepared, through an intensive eight-month, precollegiate training program, for enrollment at top-tier universities nationwide to pursue their academics and to help promote cross-cultural communication on college campuses.

Victoria was admitted to Boston University and awarded a full scholarship for her accomplishments.

Last year Posse received more than 9,000 applications for 410 scholarships slots. ■

— Robert Shaw

Seventh graders bake to benefit a child fundraiser exceeds expectations Caroline Hall (left), Elizabeth Willis, Caillin Cooke and Annie Butler organized a bake sale on Dec. 16 in the MS Rotunda to benefit Brayden Martin, a 3-year-old boy with Medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer, who is receiving treatment at Scottish Rite. They raised more than $800 for Brayden’s Christmas presents.

Middle Schoolers were told that they could receive a dress-down day if they brought bake goods in for the sale. The results exceeded expectations. Faculty and staff, through e-mail, heard of what the girls were doing and gave money. Parents sent their kids to school with more than enough to buy a cookie or brownie to help the girls raise more.

“My mom gave me $40, so I bought some cookies and then gave the money out to any people who didn’t bring in money so that they could buy something,” said seventh grader Rebecca Husk.

For more information about Brayden, go to caringbridge.com and search ‘braydenmartin’ (all one word). ■ KnightTimes | Winter 2010

5

AROUND PACE

The Lights of Hanukkah and Christmas “It is a gift to our Pace family from the youngest children in the school,” said LS Head Anna In its 19th year, “Light One Candle” featured first-grade student actors and 311 LS student musicians and chorus members in its December production. The final scene of the holiday program also featured 23 seniors joining the character they once played as Pace first graders on stage. ■ Valerius.

She shoots

Pace junior Kaitlyn Dinkins tied the Georgia High School Association girls basketball state record for three-point baskets made in one game. Dinkins hit nine three-point shots in a game versus Cedar Shoals High School at the Thanksgiving Talon Tip-off in Commerce, Georgia.

Dinkins, who was named to the FirstTeam All-Tournament Team, scored a total of 31 points and grabbed six rebounds for the night, going 9 of 14 from the three-point line and 2 for 2 from the field. ■

Upper School Theatre presents 2010 Winter Musical

The It Girl J A N U A R Y 2 9 & 3 0 | 7 : 3 0 P. M .

J A N U A R Y 31 | 2 : 3 0 P. M .

FINE ARTS CENTER

6

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

A NNOUN C EM ENT S

Head makes our kids successful?

What Deck Parenting Connection is the part of the Parents Club charged with the development of strong Deck parent networks, and the provision of opportunities for parent education.

For seniors, and the parents of seniors, this is the time of year for college acceptances and commitments. Conventional thinking would suggest that the offer of college placement determines how well our children have done at school. At Pace we are lucky to be part of a school where each year’s graduating class can boast impressive success in terms of the quality of acceptances. While going to a ‘good’ college is no doubt central to the hopes and aspirations we have for our children, it is clearly only a small part of what our children will need to lead successful and fulfilling lives. So what are the attributes that are associated with long-term success? Or, to put this another way, what are the attributes that we as parents should be helping our children develop?

Here is a list of the qualities of a successful child/young adult based upon the ideas of various child psychologists and authors, including Dr. Kenneth Condrell, Dr. Robert Brooks and Dr. Sam Goldstein: · Independence: includes taking the initiative academically and socially without being prodded, reminded or organized. · Resiliency: includes inner strength to deal competently and successfully with challenges and setbacks such as stress, pressure, adversity and trauma. · Resourcefulness: includes developing clear and realistic personal goals, and having the confidence and motivation to address and solve problems.

Caption · Responsibility: includes follow-through and successful completion of jobs. · Sociability: includes making and nurturing friendships interacting with a wide varietystyle of Body copy paragraphand style here. Body copy paragraph ages and personality types. here. Body copy paragraph style here. Body copy paragraph · Compassion and tolerance: includes about others and openness to different ideas and styleconcern here. Body copy paragraph style here.

Body copy perspectives. paragraph style here. Body copy paragraph style here. Body For parents, this list is instructivecopy because we can style help here. or hinder development ourhere. child paragraph Bodythe copy paragraph of style in each of these areas. The development of these qualities in our children does not occur quickly but takes place over many years. For example, the development of academic independence can start in the early grades of Lower School if children are given the opportunity to work on projects independently, make their own mistakes and learn from them.

Most importantly, the list can be helpful in establishing a clear vision of the qualities we want our children to develop, or even to clarify the qualities that we stand for as a family. As Dr. Condrell explains “you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to raise great children, but you do need to formulate an idea of how you want your children to turn out. From this awareness, you can set up a parenting plan that will keep you focused on your goal of raising successful children.” With such a plan we can more accurately identify the behaviors we should follow, and the support we — Robert Shaw our children. Having a longer term view can help combat the might need, to nurture effectively temptation to achieve short-term results.

The appropriate parenting behaviors will depend on the child and the situation. Invariably we will be best placed to decide what will work for our children. But in developing our views it is always helpful to see what others are doing – whether the actions are successful or not. Dr. Condrell notes, “As a parent, you’re constantly exposed to other parents. This exposure is a definite advantage because you can see the results of various parenting styles. Observing other children— and the way their parents encourage these desirable qualities—can help you increase your own awareness about the goals you want to set for your children.”

The primary goal of Parenting Connection is to help parents stay informed and become connected with other parents in the Pace community. We hope you will take advantage of the many opportunities at Pace for parents to learn from each other, and as a result build stronger and more successful young adults. ■

“If you believe that creativity is still going on, and there is purpose in all of human life, then the arts express that which is beautiful and intelligent and noble about being human.”

—Kathy Herman, Elaine Levine, Gail Phillips, Richard Rushton and Lori Zwecker Your Parenting Connection Co-Chairs

Pace Night at the

2009-2010 Symphony Parents Club Officers

Body copy here.

Feb. 18paragraph | 8 style p.m.

Tickets must be purchased by Feb. 1

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra is extending a special group rate:

$12 per ticket for all Pace parents, faculty and staff.

Pace students are invited free of charge,

thanks to the generosity of the Garcia family.

Program includes Mozart, Prokofiev and Schubert with Roberto Abbado, conductor and Leila Josefowicz, violinist.

To reserve tickets, call Nellie Cummins

by Feb. 1 at 404-733-5278 or nellie.cummins@woodruffcenter.org.

Please mention Pace and Paul Garcia when ordering. Be prepared to give your credit card information.

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

7

AROUND PACE

Pace Dancers Ignite the FAC

In the spirit of giving

Mr. v’s upper and middle school dance classes perform

MS teacher Joey Villemez hosted the first Upper and Middle School Dance Concert in November to a crowded audience at the FAC. The concert featured 30 students performing 12 dance numbers ranging from ballet to hip-hop with music from Coldplay, Queen, Beyoncé and more.

Claire Ellender and Hayley Silverstein danced beautiful ballet solos, and the US dance group performed three numbers choreographed by Mr. V. The MS dance students danced several group numbers including the fast-paced “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray with original choreography from Jerry Mitchell of Broadway fame. The MS dancers also performed small group numbers they choreographed themselves.

US dancers include Sallie Boone, Chelsea Botts, Abeba Cherinet, Claire Ellender, Elizabeth Hill, Daisy Kim, Jackie Maize, Amy Pleasance, Nikki Rinow, Alex Seaman, Sophie Weiner and Victoria Wilson. MS dancers include Hallie Bedol, Kelly Brown, Christina Darland, Lauren Flick, Mary Stuart Gray, Rebecca Husk, Maggie Inman, Arielle Levin, Katie Lucke, Corinne Orr, Ashley Pace, Ella Phillips, Carolyn Propst, Payton Pulver, Hayley Silverstein, Andrea St. Paul, Katie Stonecipher and Quin Waldrop.

Mark your calendar for the Spring Dance Concert on April 8. ■

Latino Conference

Seven Pace students discovered new opportunities at the 10th Annual Latino Youth Leadership Conference in November at The Westminster Schools. The 6-12th grade students attended workshops and presentations encouraging youth to turn their dreams into reality.

Students who attended were sixth grader José Espinel; freshman Adrianna Urquleta; tenth graders Ricardo Goellnicht and Brandon Stoll; and seniors (pictured above, left to right) Jordan González, Lex Alvarez and Angela Seaman. ■

8

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

In mid-October Hallie Cross was making plans for Set Free, a summer camp she has worked with for two years. As she thought about the kids that the free camp helps each summer she began to feel gratitude. “I wanted to give back to all of these amazing children who have really changed my life,” said the Pace junior.

With Pace fostering many gift drives and service projects during the holiday season, Hallie decided to work on the project with friends, family and her church.

Hallie and her family, the Marcrum family, Claire Dillon, Morgan Kimbel, Jordan Peery and MacKenzie Barratt collected and wrapped gifts, cooked turkeys and other food donated by Publix, and provided Christmas gifts and dinner to 60 children. Gifts included bookbags filled with school supplies, uniforms, clothes, various toys, Leap Frog computers, CD players and more. “It was a long process but definitely well worth the hard work,” Hallie said. “I am just so grateful for all of those who helped and to get to experience this.” ■

Sounds of the Season Pace band, chorus and string ensembles were a great success in the Dec. 6th “Sounds of the Season” extravaganza. Each group helped set the tone for a festive and joyous holiday season. The Arts Alliance provided marvelous decorations and delightful treats for an ongoing reception.

The Middle and Upper School bands started the afternoon festivities performing upbeat pieces as individual and combined ensembles. In addition, they played a number of chamber pieces performed by Middle and Upper School soloists and ensembles. The MS chorus continued with characteristic clarity and ethereal sounds. Next up, the Middle and Upper School string orchestras performed some well-known holiday favorites as well as a few traditional folk arrangements. Both ensembles combined for a work called Hatikvah, featuring seventh grader, Lydia James on the harp. The US Chorus sang several holiday numbers earlier in the afternoon. They presented some Hanukkah songs by Stephen Schwartz, one with a soprano solo by Hannah Hoff; two a cappella favorites, one of which had an echo quartet with Catherine Lee, Victoria Wilson, Tony Papadopoulos, and Daniel Dodson; as well as a brilliant rendition of “Silver Bells,” with a harp solo by Meredith Bradshaw. Additionally, the Chorus, Knightingales, Troubadours and Octet performed for the Holiday Sing-along in the Inman Center Rotunda, and for Sing in the Season in the Castle for LS students. Finally, the US orchestra joined the Middle and Upper School chorus ensembles in the grand finale performance of Vivaldi’s Gloria. Several vocal soloists were featured including Amy Schettino, Larisa Bainton, Lauren Gold, Benjamin Harris and Sophie Weiner. ■

Eighth graders watch their language on field trips A day of many cultures

2010

n e e r g cup C Pace Goal: To reduce electricity usage by 15%

Eighth graders split into three groups for their first field trip of the year. Latin students attended Georgia Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar followed by a lunch of Lebanese food. Spanish students had a guest speaker from Venezuela who answered their questions in Spanish about Venezuela and life for an immigrant in Atlanta. They practiced their Spanish at a Colombian restaurant in Doraville and returned for a scavenger hunt about the MundoHispanico exhibit at the Atlanta History Center.

The Francophiles saw a production of the Atlanta-based Théâtre du Rêve called “Vive la Fontaine and practiced their French during a delicious déjeuner at Café Alsace in Decatur. They ended their day with a guided tour of the African art on display at the Carlos Museum. ■

New students leave their holiday mark on the Castle Reese Cleveland and Mira Solomon

What is your family’s goal?

H A L L E N G E

Turn off computers.

Turn off lights.

Close doors.

Don’t print.

Unplug electronics.

National student-driven inter-school energy challenge

At the annual Sing in the Season song fest in the Castle, the US chorus sang holiday songs as LS students new to Pace, including all pre-firsters, hung their personal ornaments on the giant Castle Christmas tree. ■

January 25February 22 KnightTimes | Winter 2010

9

Energy flows through all students at Pace

We’ve

Got Sp

pirit

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

11

A

After staying up all night painting their 200-foot banner, rehearsing their seven-minute dance and skit, and assembling all 94 costumes, this year’s graduating class passed out in the US library. Friday morning they woke up to the possibility that the product of all their hard work would have to wait until the next week to reveal itself.

Snow and ice blanketed Atlanta, making road conditions dangerous for students to get to school for the Spirit Week pep rally. After deliberating with Mr. Assaf, the seniors took the high road and decided that it was more important for everyone to make it safely to school than to have the 28-year-old Pace tradition unfold on time that afternoon.

“Everyone wanted to go to school,” said senior Melissa Dalis. “It was the only day we did not want a snow day.”

The following Monday Upper Schoolers and eighth graders gathered in the Inman Center dressed as cavemen, cats, jailbirds and Romans to start the annual pep rally. It culminated a week’s worth of competition among the classes for the best hallway decorations, most participation and the most overall spirit.

Coming back from winter break sets US students in motion frantically putting plans into action preparing for the spirit events that

take place that week. For the US faculty, the week after break is not the most productive.

“Spirit Week is the classic example of Freshman important learning happening outside the classroom,” said US Head Michael Gannon.

“Classes continue as scheduled and teachers try to push through their material, but student focus is usually elsewhere. That doesn’t mean learning doesn’t occur. How to organize 90 personaliites into a graceful and demure dance? How much wood is too much wood for a “front of the Castle” decoration? How does one actually erect a “front of the Castle” decoration? How many rolls of paper does it take to cover an Upper School hallway? All these, and many more questions get answered by our students during this week. They apply physics, mathematics, fine arts, and psychology repeatedly. All in all, it’s a great learning week.”

As the clock ran down in D period on Jan. 11, teachers found that the same sleepy students dressed in monkey pajamas and who could barely keep their eyes open in class the week before, were running around like toga-clad wild animals waiting for a chance to shake it — all in the name of class spirit.

Walking into the pep rally, the air was thick with a kind of energy unmatched by any other event. Kids are hustling to get their skits ready and parents fill the top five rows of the bleachers with cameras waiting to snap a picture of their children participating in an event that alumni say is one of their best memories of their time at Pace.

As the banners enter the Inman Center the audience is in awe of the obvious talent of Pace students — every class makes a great showing.

Having a great need for plenty of space, the seniors’ Beauty and the Beast-themed banner

Left: Sophomore and varsity basketball player, Claire Quintrell slaps hands at Lower School Spirit Day in Boyd Gym. 12

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

Eighth grade

Freshman

fell from the railing one floor above. All knew it was a winner.

“Probably my favorite part of Thursday night was hanging up that huge banner at 3 a.m.,” said senior Jack Harris. “It took the whole grade and much yelling and time to get it hung in the right place and unfolded and ‘perfect’.”

Eighth graders are allowed to participate in the Upper School’s pep rally, in addition to MS Spirit Night held on Jan. 13. While they don’t get to perform a skit, they are allowed to design a banner, watch the other classes and mentally prepare themselves to be next year’s freshman class. Their theme was The Incredibles.

“The Upper School pep rally was definitely

So

more intense [than MS],” said eighth grader Morgan Brewton-Johnson . “Because everyone worked so hard and for so long on the posters and especially the dancing, seeing them all put it together definitely made for a seriously hyped-up atmosphere!”

Probably the biggest surprise this year came early in the pep rally, when the freshman hit the floor. The ninth grade class’s dance, choreographed mainly by Kate Cunningham , Sara Mullaly, Audri Urquita , Maria Moraitakis , Caroline Smith , Annie Gaines Mathews and Lucy Wellborn drew a few surprised faces from the senior class.

“I thought they did really well, since they are

freshman and have never done a skit before, I don’t think anyone expected them to do that great,” said senior Julia Berger. “They really surprised us all in a good way. ” The dedication and the hard work put forth by the freshman could be attributed to the “death whistles” that were used to motivate them at practice by freshman class president Miles Sheft and freshman class secretary Jordan Epstein.

The freshman skit beat out the sophomores and the juniors for second place only to the senior class skit.

“The best part was probably the final performance, because after all the hard work and screaming and whistling, everybody was

1983

Juniors

1985

ophomores

1981

Spirit weeks of the past

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

13

1986 1989 1994 1999

14

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

Most likely I’ll never do the ‘Single Ladies’ dance on a platform with hundreds watching again! I’ll never forget the whole experience, and it tops my other favorite Pace experience - junior year Spirit Week.

—Jack Harris just so ecstatic to put on such a good show for everyone,” said Sheft.

The seniors spent almost two weeks rehearsing the dances for their skit led by choreographers Jon Allen, Sophie Weiner, Victoria Wilson, Claire Ellender, Karen Knight and Jackie Maize who spent three to four hours a day teaching the dances.

While the first week back is a whirlwind of activity and exhaustion for Upper Schoolers, Middle Schoolers and Lower Schoolers rise up in spirit the next week.

Pace Spirit events are held in the winter and therefore have historically revolved around Pace varsity basketball teams. While the US has changed to more class spirit and competition, the MS and LS events have remained traditional.

This year was no exception, as MS students gathered in the Inman Center to cheer for the MS basketball teams. They showed their support by staying for four games and five hours of basketball — seventh grade boys, seventh grade girls, eighth grade boys and eighth grade girls.

“We had flags, signs, and we were cheering like maniacs,” said seventh grader Jones Kolbinsky. “My voice is still hoarse. It was

incredible; way better than last year.”

The hightlight of this year’s MS spirit night was during the seventh grade boys’ game against Holy Innocents’. Pace was up the whole game, but the Bears came back and were able to tie it up with a three-pointer.

With 45 seconds left on the clock, sixth grader Waide Swain rebounded a missed shot.

With less than 30 seconds the crowd was on its feet shouting for Waide to shoot it. He threw a Hail-Mary shot from the three-point line and made the basket to win the game by 36-33.

The crowd leaped from the bleachers to rush the court and out of a swell of people, one sixth grader popped up and was carried on the shoulders of his peers.

“He ran in a huge circle around the court,” said Head of the MS John Anderson. “The entire [MS] student body pursued him, mobbed

Clockwise from top right: Colin Barham?, xxxxx; Sophomore girls having a dance-off with the sophomore boys; sixth graders Jacob Queller, Alex Rafeedie, Sean Murtaugh, Brad Rubin, Naved Matinfar and Ethan Freishtat waiting for Spirit Night to begin in the Inman Center.

Clockwise from upper left: The third graders with Mrs. Novy close by cheered as the buzzer ran low on the shootout between varsity girls and boys basketball teams; Victoria Wilson as Mrs. Potts, Jon Allen as Lumiere, Sophie Weiner as Belle and Jack Harris as the beast in the senior skit; Lower Schoolers showing their Pace spirit at LS Spirit Day; seventh graders Cal Pierce and Josh Blank painted their faces to show their support; Phillip Werner and Bo Jones making noise at MS Spirit Night.

him, and hoisted him onto their shoulders in triumph. We couldn’t have scripted a better MS Spirit Night.”

Two days later the Lower Schoolers filed into Boyd Gym decked out in Pace gear for their own Spirit Day. LS librarian Davis James was in charge, unofficially, of holding back the line of screaming children. In one section, Prefirsters mixed in with fourth graders who pushed closer and closer to the edge of the court, a boundary set for the Pace varsity basketball players.

As Coach Palmerton announced each player over the loudspeaker, the little hands of Lower Schoolers went up to touch the big hands of Upper Schoolers running along the perimeter of the court to make sure that every kid got their hand slapped.

The varsity cheerleaders brought the LS girls who participated in LS Junior Knights Camp

earlier in the year out onto the court. The girls showed off their moves for the audience with a cheer and dance that they had performed at a varsity football game.

There was a shoot-out between basketball teams. The girls team took one side of the court; the boys the other. The timer started and Boyd Gym erupted. Each grade’s students — the prefirsters haven’t figured it out quite yet — were on their feet jumping on the bleachers, waving their pom-poms and yelling for whichever team was closest to their grade’s section. In between baskets, the students watched with anticipation as each player tried to sink one in to gain a point for their team.

As all of these events came to an end, student pride in being a Pace Knight is unmistakable. With all the hard work, dedication and endless excitement, school spirit is alive and well at Pace Academy. ■ KnightTimes | Winter 2010

15

MS Rob otic s

pro gra m

m ov i

ng

the n ow d nts e d stu

path t h rig

FUTUR

ENGINE Using Lego Mindstorm software, the Pace MS robotics team is able to program a computer that directs a robot (that they built) to move along a mat, completely hands-free.

Icons representing turns and actions, and a grid to represent time makes it easy for Pace Middle Schoolers to learn the mechanics of programming. As they become more advanced and move into the US, they will transition to hand-coding using a program called Robot C. It was developed by Carnegie Mellon University and is a C programming language (the standard for professional programmers and engineers) with an easier-to-use environment that is essential for educational robots.

The MS and US robotics program is led by new Pace faculty member Mannie Lowe, who replaced the beloved Jo Ray Van Vliet, who relocated last year. Mannie has worked

16

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

in technology for years as a programmer, systems analyst, software engineer, as well as a software developer for, most recently, artificial intelligent systems for unmanned vehicles. He worked with many Atlanta-area school teams prior to coming to Pace.

The goal of Pace’s program is to give children the opportunity to work as a team, learn valuable skills for an in-demand field, as well as develop a feeder program to the US robotics team where scholarships are possible.

The MS robotics competition was sponsored

by FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Lego League or FLL for short. This year’s competition theme was “Smart Moves,” developed to find smarter and safer modes of transportation. Students develop a robot that can move across a mat, which is essentially an obstacle course, in which there are different destination spots and objects to navigate to get to the target spot. At one point, the robot must carry little Lego-people to and from a target without

RE

EERS KnightTimes | Winter 2010

17

toppling them over, thus insuring that the real-life passenger stays securely in his vehicle.

The MS program consists of 13 students who work on their robots during a robotics class they attend during the day, as well as biweekly practices after school. The students are expected to learn the software and the basic ideas of programming, work as a team to build a robot based on the competition theme and take the robot to competition.

The 13 students are broken up into two

18

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

groups, Team One and Team Two. While Team One had a rough season this year, Team Two placed third in robot design.

The students are scored by how well their robot moves along the mat (25%), how closely they adhere to the values set forth by the FLL (25%), their research project and presentation (25%) and the design and programming of their robot (25%).

Team Two did their research project on smarter GPS systems that could essentially speak with each other.

This semester Mr. Lowe will welcome James Floyd Kelly, a local programmer who wrote “Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 The King’s Treasure.” This program allows the students to work through an archaeological dig based around a story about a boy and his archaeologist uncle. The students will learn to program through a series of five robot builds while following along with the story.

Mr. Lowe hopes to bring the author in to critique the students’ work and speak about his experiences.

The US Robotics team will be attending one of two state qualifiers on Jan. 30. The state competition is Feb. 20. ■

FLL C O R E V A LU E S Following the First Lego League (FLL) Core Values counts as 25% of the final team score.

1. We are a team.

2. We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our coaches and mentors.

3. We honor the spirit of friendly competition.

4. What we discover is more important than what we win.

5. We share our experiences with others.

6. We display Gracious Professionalism in everything we do.

7. We have fun.

TOP, MANNIE LOWE HELPS SEVENTH GRADER CHRIS LALONE WITH HIS ROBOT; LEFT, THE ACTUAL MAT THAT ROBOTS MUST NAVIGATE.

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

19

Alumna named South Carolina Professor of the Year DR. ANGELA (Buzzett) SHIFLET WAS SELECTED FROM MORE THAN 300 TOP PROFESSORS IN THE COUNTRY

CALLING ALL GOLFERS —

You’re Invited The 19th Annual Knights Cup Golf Classic The Echelon Golf Club A Rees Jones Design 201 Traditions Dr. Alpharetta, GA 30004 Monday, April 26, 2010 8:30 a.m. registration 10:30 a.m. shotgun start $125 per person prior to April 1 $175 per person after April 1 $100 per person for graduates of Pace Academy classes of 2000-2009 (Includes green fees, cart fees, food and beverages) Hosted by the Pace Academy Alumni Association and principally benefiting Pace Faculty Enrichment *Complimentary entry fees for former and current faculty

Angela (Buzzett) Shiflet ‘65 was honored by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education as the 2009 South Carolina Professor of the Year. Shiflet is currently a professor of mathematics and computer science at Wofford College, where she also serves as the chair of the department of computer science and the director of computational science.

“Dr. Shiflet’s devotion to Wofford students is legendary, and she is the epitome of all things excellent and good about the concept of ‘teacher,’” says Dr. David S. Wood, dean of the college, in a press release. “Across our nation, and now the world, she is sharing what she has learned with others through the publication of her most recent textbook and through a myriad of papers, presentations, panels and conferences. Her enthusiasm and capacity for work are impressive. As a result, our students are afforded remarkable opportunities for learning experiences beyond the classroom, both here and around the world.”

Dr. Shiflet graduated from Furman University for her undergraduate degree, and then attended Clemson University and the University of South Carolina for her master’s and Vanderbilt University for her Ph.D. in mathematics. ■

Alumni Holiday Party

*Subject to availability.

For sponsorship information, contact Charley Brickley at charles.brickley@gmail.com or 404-819-5499.

20

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

Brian Becker ’02 (left), Collin Freer ’02, Josh Belinfante ’95, and Karina Khouri Belinfante ’95, were among 150 alumni at the Assaf’s for the Alumni Holiday Party in early December. Classes from the early 1970s through 2002 reunited for the much anticipated event.

A L U M NI

Another man’s treasure 2002 GRADUATE AND PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER ERIN CULP GETS pace’s old REFURBISHED LAPTOPS for her moldovan students

About five minutes before her class ended on a sunny day in October, Erin Culp ’02 found out she would be making a speech in Romanian (“yikes!”) to explain the arrival of some computers. “I can’t even begin to say how excited everyone in my school and indeed everyone in the community was about these laptops,” she said.

For the past year and a half Erin has served as a Peace Corps volunteer in a village of about 3,000 in the western part of the Republic of Moldova. She team-teaches English as a foreign language at the local high school some 20 miles from the border with Romania. “In addition to teaching English,” she said, “I am helping the English teachers at my school improve their spoken English and learn new methodologies of teaching.”

Erin arrived in Moldova with a laptop, and every time she took it to class students loved it.

Most had used computers to surf the Internet or play computer games but not in an educational setting. “Almost all Moldovans I have met are ‘hunt and peck’ typers and are fascinated by watching me with my computer,” she said. “My students enjoy dictating sentences to me to see how quickly I can type them.”

In early 2009 Pace Academy technology teacher Neil DeRosa contacted Erin with an offer. Pace wanted to donate some used laptops and thought Erin’s school could put them to good use. One of the goals of Peace Corps is to

“I have had to show teachers how to change the language of the keyboard, and how to see what Cyrillic letters they are typing.”

— Erin Culp increase the availability and use of technology in countries where they work. Even though Erin’s school has a computer lab, and the students take computer classes, most of the teachers are unfamiliar and uncomfortable with computers. There haven’t been enough to share.

“After much paperwork and jumping through hoops, we finally received the 10 laptops and gave one to the head of each department,” Erin said. “All of the teachers have access to them now and the students may use them at the discretion of the department head.”

Erin’s workload has mounted since the laptops arrived. “I train teachers several hours a week (and sometimes several hours each day) in how to use these laptops.” With easier access to computers, teacher interest in technology is increasing. “I showed the computer teacher how to hook up the laptops to the school’s network and access one of the shared drives on the desktops in the computer room,” Erin said. “The next day, a teacher came to me because the screen of the laptop was

too dark, and she couldn’t figure out how to make it brighter.” And of course, living in a country that speaks two different languages, written in two different alphabets (Russian and Romanian, written in Cyrillic and Latin) adds many challenges. “I have had to show teachers how to change the language of the keyboard, and how to see what Cyrillic letters they are typing.” Erin has worked with teachers using different programs to train them in typing, and hopes to hold workshops next semester to train them in various programs and ways to incorporate technology into the classroom.

But even now teachers are using the “new” laptops in their classrooms to listen to music or download images from the Internet. The computers are also bringing new organizational opportunities. Announcements and schedule changes which were hand written in the past are being typed, all exams must be typed, and all teachers must create a spreadsheet for calculating students’ semester grades rather than calculate them by hand as in the past.

The Moldovans in Erin’s school have never used technology as a tool for learning the way Erin was able to do at Pace. “Having these 10 laptops as teaching aids is a great opportunity to begin changing that,” she said. “I’m very grateful to be a part of that change, and I’m very thankful to Mr. DeRosa and the Pace community for the donation.” ■ KnightTimes | Winter 2010

21

J US T F O R F U N

5

Can you place

these pictures at Pace?

[Answers at bottom of page]

1

3

2 4

22

KnightTimes | Winter 2010

Answers: 1. Border on the wall in the Castle Boardroom. 2. Door to the Castle. 3. Ceiling of the breezeway. 4. Tapestry on stairwell in the Castle. 5. Inman Center rotunda. 6. Platform stairs in the LS Library. 7. Quilt in LS cafeteria. 8. Columns on the Randall House. 9. Millinium Cairn sculpture in front of the FAC. 10. Banister to the stairs in the Randall House.

9 8 10 7 6

966 W. Paces Ferry Road NW Atlanta, GA 30327 www.paceacademy.org

Can’t make it to the game?

Missed the school play?

Knightflix it!

Knightflix is the place for Pace Academy videos.

Watch short films and previous webcasts with the Knightflix Player or use Knightflix Live to stream real time events! And no worries if you’re away from your computer - Knightflix Mobile is available for the iPhone!

Visit Knightflix.PaceAcademy.org