Seven Hills Spring 2016 Magazine

S P R I N G

The Driving Force: Stories that define our Seven Hills teachers

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THE

SEVEN

HILLS SCHOOL

Development Office 513.728.2430 alumni.news@7hills.org

Above photo: Four Seven Hills seniors signed in February 2016, to play sports for their respective schools: Alyssa Akiyama, Women’s Golf for Carleton College; Camille Williams, Women’s Soccer for Carnegie Mellon University; Matthew Marquardt, Men’s Swimming and Diving for Princeton University; and Olivia Silverman, Women’s Soccer for Saint Louis University.

Above photo: Two Seven Hills seniors signed in April 2016, to play sports for their respective schools: Kelly Pan, Women’s Tennis for Kenyon College; Tigar Cyr, Men’s Swimming and Diving for Princeton University.

7hills.org

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Contents Shaping New Educational Programs & Enhancing Facilities

By Head of School Christopher Garten

The Driving Force: Stories that Define Seven Hills Teachers

By Karla Dejean

School News Alumni News and Class Notes Upcoming Alumni Events

Front cover photo: Karla Balskus, Mimi Stricker, Cicely Knecht, Judith Neidlein-Dial, Bob Turansky, Ken Revell, Linda Wolfe, and Wynne Curry Read our story, The Driving Force: Stories that Define Seven Hills Teachers, about the early and present-day inspirations of eight Seven Hills educators (page 4).

Christopher P. Garten Head of School

Spring 2016

Margo Kirstein Director of Development

A special thanks to Keith Neu for his sports photography.

Seven Hills Magazine is a publication of The Seven Hills School. © 2016 The Seven Hills School

Chris Hedges Editor, Writer, Director of Marketing & Communications Sarah Ott Lautar ’05 Director of Alumni Engagement

Karla Dejean Writer & Project Manager, photographer Carol Brueggemeyer Graphic Designer

Thank you Ashley Ackerman ’05 Dobbs Ackermann Julie Albright Louise Knauft Allen H’54 Janet Allen-Reid ’76 Nupur Anand Lynette Andersen Libby Andrews Janet Fast Andress H’46 Dulany Anning Sydney & Bob Anning Beth Archibald Jo Arnold Steve Baggott Lesley Bailey Gay Seybolt Bain H’51 Priya Balan Lynette Barresi Michelle Baxter Barbara Beaver Andrew Berliant ’13 Jack Binkley Rose Bitsoff Heidi Black ’98 Helen Chatfield Black H’41 Josh Blatt Jane Bohinski Susan Bolton Abbie Brant Peter Briggs Aideen & Payson Briggs ’87 Lisa Binkley Briquet ’91 Logan Brookbank ’05 Bruce Brown Suzan Strait & Jenifer Brown Linda Buchert Sarah Mitchell Buller ’81 Cathy Smale Caldemeyer H’72 Karen Bidlingmeyer Callard ’80 Bret Caller Scott Carroll ’85

Shannon Kelly Carter H’67 Christine Cho Lalitha & Jaideep Chunduri Jennifer Clark Terry Clayton Elizabeth Coley Mike Collette Marilyn Collins Michael Coombe L’72 Dorothy Kim Corbett ’84 Ellen Coombe ’13 Deb Brown Cummins C’66 Theresa Curnow Jennifer Dauer Ron DeLyons Andrew DeWitt ’89 Tiffany Domet Jean Zimmerman Donaldson H’60 Kathy Donohoo Katie Donovan ’06 Sean Donovan ’86 Nancy Brucker Douglass H’68 Priscilla Dunn Anne Scherz Durket H’72 Nancy Hogan Dutton H’56 Colleen Dwight Tara Eaton Ted Egan ’86 David Ellis Jane Ellis Heather Elluru Lisa Eng Merry Ewing ’76 Phyllis Ewing Lissy Fabe H’71 Elaine Fluent Fening ’81 Libby Ferguson ’05 Meredith Edwards Ficks ’98 Mary Lou Fink Rachel Turansky Finn ’96 Marsha Firestein

The Seven Hills Development Office gratefully acknowledges and thanks the more than 250 volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that The Seven Hills School continues to provide the rich learning experience and tight-knit community that distinguish a Seven Hills education.

Ginny Fisher Marc Fisher Sarah Buzzee Flem ’91 Linda Ford Rachel Foster Renee Frankel Barbara Gasser Gee Porter Gaither C’64 Ingrid Handl & Walter Geiger Raji Ghosh Mimi Plattenburg Gilbert C’56 Ben Glassman ’93 Margot Good B. (Wiley ’75) & Abram Gordon Mary & John Graber Wendy Gradison ’71 Anne & Taylor Greenwald III Lanie Pauly Grever H’69 Brooke Guigui Frederick Hall ’05 Emily Hastie Schultz ’05 Ed Hatfield Mandy Hayes ’91 Louise Atkins Head H ’56 Mark Heiman Patti Heldman Carol Smith Hesser C’65 Debbie Hill Grace Allen Hill ’80 Melissa Holsinger Frank Huss L’45 Dianna Icenhower Judy Jackson Clay Jamison ’06 Pattie Scifres Jamison H’68 Rose Johnson Linda Jones Jacky Kalubi Elida Kamine ’99 Jessie Karthik Amy Bulger Kattman ’89

Katie Kauffeld Jan-Michele Kearney Susie Keller ’04 Helen Kemp Lair Kennedy Melanie Kern Jan & Tom Kiefhaber Sashi Kilaru Carol Wachs Kirby H’56 Peter Koenig Jacquie Kovach Libby Landen Krone ’77 Lisa Kuan Susan Steman Laffoon H’57 Emily Lambert ’13 Jane Slemmer Larsen H’56 Margaret Avril Lawson ’75 Lisa Lehner Laura Hoguet Leonard ’06 Peter Levin Sally Leyman Rica & Tony Ligeralde Laura Lindner-Sankey ’82 Sylvia Lotspeich Greene L’55 Carolyn Huwe Ludwig H’56 Jackie Mack Zola Makrauer Debbie Marquardt Mike Marrero Fayre Schweitzer Martin ’96 Kathy Robertson McCord H’69 Gretchen McCormick Robert McCoy Veronica McCreary-Hall Trish McDonald Jennifer McGrath Annette Meader Lois & Cliff Mentrup Lane Sikes Merten H’71 Karen Meyer Robbie Michelman

Maureen Miller Velma Morelli Francie Morrison Lilamae Mueller Harrison Mullin Sybil Behrens Mullin ’83 Kelly Myers ’91 Anne Ratliff Naberhaus C’66 Meg Nelson Steve Newman ’02 Sara & John Neyer Mary Nordlund Lisa Lee & Michael Nordlund Missy Kinne Norton H’66 Eric O’Driscoll Susan & Dennis Okin Jill Jeffers Olman ’95 Bill O’Neal Elizabeth Warrington Ott ’78 Jim Papakirk Lalitha Parameswaran Tory Woodhull Parlin H’63 Kyle Patel ’13 Sarah Pearce Phipps ’96 Yvonne Phillips Alex & Andrew Quinn Lisa Raimondo Alyssa Rammacher ’95 Susan Rauh Marielle Samaha Lynette Rosati Shim Connor Rouan ’14 Lynn Schweitzer Rush H’68 Sunny Bowman Saelinger C’61 Elizabeth Schiff Walker Schiff ’10 Dan Schimberg ’80 Kitty Hawley Schmidt H’66 Allison Schneider Anita Schneider John Schneider

Jim Shanahan Vasavi Shea Kathy Shepard Dennis Shiels Sarah Shim ’14 John Silverman Mary Jo & Bill Simpson Jo Sittenfeld ’98 Tiernan Sittenfeld ’92 Sandra Small Edie Smitson Jennifer Stein Mary Stewart Fran Stinnett Kim Takahashi Anne Drackett Thomas H’66 Mandee Thompson Lessa Trindle Gerri Avril Tully ’81 Benjamin van der Horst ’05 Gemini Vakil Anne Sheffield Vanoy C’73 Heather Zaring Vecellio ’92 Liza Martindale Weiner ’99 Barry Weinstein Kathy Oechler Whitbeck H’67 Jack White Russell White Jim Wiesmann Judy Wiesemann Susan Elliott Wilkening C’60 Ann Westheimer Williams C’66 Marsha Williams ’77 Rina Williams Ellie Wilson ’14 Winsome Wilson Lisa Collins Winick ’85 Nan Sikes Witten H’68 Susan Newkirk Wright H’63 Luke Wulsin ’10 Sharon Yosafat 3 Craig Young

THANK YOU F OR CONTINUING TO SUPPORT OUR AMBITIOUS STRATEGIC PLAN. AS WE GO FORWARD, I LOOK FORWARD TO KEEPING YOU APPRISED OF OUR ACHIEVEMENTS, I M P O R TA NT M I L E S TO N E S, A N D F U T U R E P L A N S .

S H A P I N G N E W E D U C A T I O N A L P R O G R A M S & E N H A N C I N G FA C I L I T I E S As many of you know, three years ago Seven Hills embarked on an ambitious strategic plan to prepare our students—and this institution—for the challenges of a rapidly changing world. I thought you might appreciate an update on our progress in achieving the goals we laid out in that plan. As you may recall, the purpose of the plan was to enhance the school’s educational program to meet the evolving needs of our students and their families. The strategic initiatives outlined in the plan focused on shaping new educational programs in all four divisions and on enhancing facilities that will allow our programs to flourish.

Since 2012, we have focused on enriching our programs in three critical areas: Global Awareness; Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM); and Experiential Learning. To support these critical programs, we have: • Increased the contemporary and global emphasis in our core survey classes and added several new electives; created a comprehensive Chinese language program; increased the conversational emphasis in Lower School Spanish; added a sixth grade “bridge year” to our Spanish program; and expanded travel and exchange programs.

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• Added an enrichment strand to Lotspeich’s math program and opened the Doherty Creation Studio; developed the Middle School Innovation Lab to teach design thinking; and launched several new Upper School science, technology, and computer science electives to enhance the STEM program.

• Expanded our after-school enrichment programs and summer camps; added instrumental music in the Lower School; developed an advisory curriculum and learning style inventory in the Middle School; started a four-year college counseling program; formalized the ninth grade advisory curriculum; and initiated an ambitious Experiential Learning program to create multiple opportunities for students to discover and nurture unique talents and interests.

To enhance our facilities, we have recently completed an $8 million fundraising effort to build new athletic fields and our new Nellie Leaman Taft Early Childhood Center. I hope you have had the chance to experience both of these new additions to our campus; we are so grateful to the generous donors who made them possible!

by Head of School Christopher P. Garten

With the hard work of the faculty and staff and the generous support of

members of the Seven Hills community to secure leadership gifts in support

our community, we have already accomplished many of the goals laid out

of these initiatives. As we continue to make progress, all school families who

in our strategic plan, but there is still more to accomplish. We have worked

are interested in participating in these projects will have an opportunity to do

hard to build on our exemplary fine and performing arts program and to

so. In the interim, I ask each of you to continue to support the school through

strengthen athletics in all four divisions. In order to support the expansion

our Annual Fund, which, year after year, underwrites all those programs that

of performing arts, we hope, now, to build a new multi-purpose Center

make a Seven Hills education so enriching. These contributions, too, are

for Arts and Leadership to provide additional classroom, rehearsal, and

critical to our success.

performance space. This new facility will also create a suitable venue for the planned extension of a speaker series and community-building activities, so critical to our Experiential Learning program. To strengthen athletics, we also hope to build a new three-court indoor field house, to accommodate the rapid expansion of participation on winter and spring athletic teams

Thank you for continuing to support our ambitious strategic plan. As we go forward, I look forward to keeping you apprised of our achievements, important milestones, and future plans.

Best,

(and get our student-athletes home earlier!). At the same time, we will modernize our tennis facility, in a new location, and, as space becomes available, add five additional tennis courts.

Chris Garten

These facilities enhancements will, of course, require a significant financial investment; accordingly, our Board has already begun engaging dedicated 5

THE DRIVING FORCE :

STORI ES THAT DEFI N E

S EVE N H I LLS TEACH ERS

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BY

KARLA DEJEAN

. . . . . . .

H E A D O F S C H O O L C H R I S G A R T E N : As I near the end of my 38th year of teaching and my seventh as Head of School, I’ve

. . . . .

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EVERY

been thinking a lot about what makes a great teacher. Obviously, here at Seven Hills, we seek teachers who are passionate about their disciplines and skilled at crafting learning experiences which provoke curiosity and sharpen cognitive skills. Many of our best teachers are, themselves, life-long learners, eager to seize opportunities to deepen their knowledge of their subject or to hone their pedagogical skills through professional training and by collaborative experimentation.

In the end, though, great teachers, like great human beings, are the sum of all their experiences, not just those in their professional lives. Great teaching is informed by one’s education and training , of course, but also by one’s larger experience as a husband or wife, as a parent, or as a citizen of a community or of the world-at-large. These life experiences breed the deep convictions that make great teachers eager to share ideas, perspectives, or passions with their students.

The article that follows examines how some of these experiences, formal and informal, have altered the course of eight teaching careers. Obviously, these are just eight stories of the countless others we could have told, but we hope this piece provides a window into how great schools like Seven Hills seek to nurture and celebrate the continuing evolution of the faculty and staff. Enjoy!

PROFILES

TEACHER

HAS

A

STORY

ABOUT

“ B E F O R E.”

Before they became a private school teacher; before they left Middle School to teach pre-kindergarten.

Before they knew they wanted to be a political activist … and teach. What happens after those stories is what we see today—an indescribable blushing energy when discussing French literature; a n e f f o r t l e s s p a t i e n c e t h a t w a r m l y e m b r a c e s f o u r- a n d - f i v e - y e a r- o l d s a s t h e y g r a s p f o u n d a t i o n a l concepts; a shared confidence that infuses students with the lifelong belief they are all artists.

In eight profiles, we offer a snapshot of the dreams, lessons, perspectives, and t o u g h d e c i s i o n s t h a t h a v e l e d u p t o t h e n o w, o f f e r i n g a g l i m p s e o f t h e p e o p l e who daily guide our students to and through their own rich discoveries at Seven Hills. From a pre-kindergarten teacher who has accomplished miles-long canoe portages since the age of 8, to a Middle School teacher who studies how to make chicken waste more accessible to farming and gardening industries, to an Upper School teacher who fed an insatiable desire to read while working in a N e w O r l e a n s i c e h o u s e , S e v e n H i l l s t e a c h e r s c o m e t o u s w i t h l i v e l y, r e w a r d i n g baggage, provocative histories, and a love of learning we truly could not do without.

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A T E ST O F T I M E : MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER

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Judith Neidlein-Dial A

rriving with 10 years as a high

PROFILES

importance of using every bit of her time to

rights, dehumanization, and responsible authority.

school educator under her professional belt,

establish relevance in curriculum that helps her

In another example, Neidlein-Dial introduced a

Judith Neidlein-Dial says her teaching career

students make meaningful, bold connections with

unit on the history of the Democratic Republic of

actually began when she stepped into her

Congo (DRC) being a colony of Leopold of

Middle School classroom at Seven Hills.

Belgium. After a discussion about the colonial history of Congo and whether there is a

Seven years ago, Neidlein-Dial shuttled through

connection to the strife of today, the students

seven-bell, one-planning period days as a German

came forward with an interest to raise money for

teacher at North College Hill junior and senior

an organization that builds wells in the DRC.

high schools. Her classrooms were seldom quiet, but she found a way to be heard and reach her

Known for teaching her students to detect the

students as much as she could. At one point,

echoes of history, Neidlein-Dial incorporates

Neidlein-Dial found herself standing between two

thoughtful ways to impress upon her students the

students in the middle of what was turning into a hallway fight. Somewhere

“When I began my Seven Hills career I realized I had years of experience but I had never had time to truly teach,” said Neidlein-Dial. “There is time at Seven Hills to do that, and there is a sense that I will be trusted to use that time wisely.”

in the moment, a fist flew by her ear as the spat escalated. Out of the need to bob and weave, literally and figuratively, around the

history. “When you are 13 or 14 years old, something that happened five years ago is a long

heft, depth, and eccentricities that embody history education.

time ago, and 50 years is ancient history,” said Neidlein-Dial, who was born and raised in the small German town of Weingarten. “I am guiding students to understand that things that took place 50 years ago have an impact on what happens today.”

pressures of an erratic, sometimes raucous

Determined to find ways to connect all of her

classroom scene, Neidlein-

students with the poignancy of history, Neidlein-

Dial became accustomed to

Dial has applied for and received five professional

staying the course, becoming the anchor of

development grants in her eight years at Seven

consistency she needed throughout the chaos.

Hills. One such grant—a workshop on teaching about power and the value of empathy in history,

While juggling as many as 30 students in her classrooms, she learned something that would be invaluable to her later in her teaching career: the

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led Neidlein-Dial to design, along with retired English teacher Linda Maupin, a cross-curricular study with the English department on human

Without doubt, Neidlein-Dial’s scholarly gifts reflect time well spent.

TH E D I RT O N S C I E N C E : MIDDLE SCHOOL PHYSICAL SCIENCE TEACHER

Ken Revell W

hen Ken Revell starts talking about

biochar, you are compelled to listen. He makes

of biochar because, as a Richmond native, he knew

biochar, that application of knowledge is paramount in

the problem wouldn’t fade.

the physics field, Revell gives his students their final

certain you know the main ingredient, which cuts

exam a month early so they are able to acquire

through the description on the bag found in most

A few minutes into the conversation, you are

gardening sections: chicken manure. He carefully

hooked. You learn biochar is said to sequester excess

explains how the Chesapeake Bay, in his home state

carbon dioxide from the environment and that today,

“The students work really hard to master the

of Virginia, is polluted with excess phosphorus

it is at the center of environmental/political debates.

content—then they’re gone for the summer,” said

found in the chicken manure, due to the area’s

Revell’s measured manner of explaining intricate

Revell. “The turbine project serves as a chance right

concepts and scientific theories goes hand-in-hand

after the final exam for them to apply everything

with his ability to deliver complex physics concepts

they’ve learned for the year in a long-term project

to his eighth grade students at Seven Hills. A

where they actually see how the concepts and skills

dedicated educator who wanted to be a scientist

apply in essentially a design challenge.”

“I find physics is the most fundamental science,” said Revell. “It defines all of the forces that govern our universe.

Once you have been a physicist, you always think like one.”

since his Middle School years and spent countless hours working on mechanical projects with his father and grandfather, Revell stands by a pedagogical cornerstone, no matter the subject: “I find physics is the most fundamental science,”

massive poultry

said Revell. “It defines all of the forces that govern

industry, and how

our universe. Once you have been a physicist, you

other areas of the

always think like one.”

country are deplete of phosphorus, a

Driven by this foundation, Revell’s lessons and labs

mineral key to

are grounded with undeniable laws of physics and

plant growth.

infused with the uncertainties of experimentation. In

Basically, Virginia’s

the breezy month of April, Revell and his students

problem is many

build and test wind turbines. Growing up as a child

other states’ goldmine. He tells you he wrote his

who built things from scratch, and learned from his

thesis on “fast pyrolysis,” a method of heating up

experiences, Revell used a summer grant to

the poultry litter in an oxygen-depleted environment

develop the turbine project, which runs from

to produce a silty, carbon-like mixture. Six years

mid-April until the end of the school year. Having

ago, Revell was intent on studying the science

learned, through his graduate school work with

knowledge through doing.

Revell’s background as an educator runs just as deep as it does wide. He has taught all levels of math and science, and to every age group, from a YMCA preschool for children with autism to the 125-year-old St. Catherine’s girls school in Richmond, Virginia.

Revell’s interpretation of science education is very much about sharing ways to improve the future quality of life. An avid square-foot gardener who still follows the development of the biochar debate, he embodies his beliefs daily, as he teaches his students how and why to move from the theoretical into the practical.

“The science I am passionate about is working

The fast pyrolysis unit, designed by Ken Revell’s graduate school advisor Foster Agblevor, heats up poultry litter in an oxygen-depleted environment, to create biochar.

alongside people and protecting food sources and resources,” said Revell. “I’m constantly trying to show my students that science leads us to knowledge and discoveries that allow us to better enjoy the world.”

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NEVER FAR FROM BAUDELAIRE: UPPER SCHOOL WORLD LANGUAGE TEACHER

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I

goes back to her years as an Upper School

realized her future. Her professional oeuvre spans

afternoon in Avignon, France, when Seven

student at Hillsdale, one of three schools that

38 years as a college counselor and French

Hills’ Upper School French students were on

merged to become Seven Hills.

teacher. With her knowledge that reading and

t was an unexpectedly cold, rainy

PROFILES

writing a language, alone, was not effective in

a daytime excursion. One Seven Hills student in particular was not dressed for the weather.

“During my junior and senior years, my

With thin cloth shoes and no socks on, the

teachers exposed us to French

girl’s feet were turning a little blue.

“I will never forget,” said Seven Hills senior Lauren Collette, smiling while speaking, in late January, about the 2015 exchange trip. “Madame took off her own scarf, wrapped my friend’s feet, and rubbed them together. She does things like this all the time. You see her in the hallway and she always says, ‘Ma petite, my dear one!’” said Collette. “Madame cares about your education and really wants to see you progress, not just in French, but in life.”

And this is how it goes, when one asks a Seven Hills student about Wynne Curry ’71. The stories bubble out with emotion, students bursting to share their own sunny slice of a memory with Madame Curry.

Indeed, Curry’s enchantment with French literature

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Wynne Curry

novels—Albert Camus and the Existentialists, Voltaire, Victor Hugo.

That is when something magical happened,” said Curry. “When I was able to read literature in this language, there was just something about the meaning of it all, the sound of it all, the beautiful words, and the syntax.”

Perhaps Curry is able to connect with her students on such an elevated level because she is quite aware of the moment, as a Kenyon College exchange student, when she began to understand the importance of the aesthetic in French poetry, while studying abroad for a year in France.

steps toward fluency and relevance, Curry pursued

“Back then we were reading and writing French.

ways she could immerse her students into the

We weren’t speaking it conversationally in class,”

French culture. It is one of the reasons why she is

said Curry. “When I lived in France for a year,

such a proponent of Seven Hills’ student

I realized I didn’t really know French.” Curry

exchange program, adding that just two weeks in

studied literature in France, and during that year,

France can bring students much further along on the fluency spectrum.

Always eager to learn more effective ways to teach

I knew that I never wanted to be very far from

want to be very far from Curry. Back in Madame’s

a foreign language, Curry said world language

Charles Baudelaire and Victor Hugo,” said Curry.

classroom, senior Palmer Kruzner tells a story that

education saw a big shift in 2010 when the

Curry does keep them close. And it could also be

effortlessly illustrates a moment that encapsulates

American Council on the Teaching of Foreign

said that Seven Hills French students don’t ever

Curry’s spirit. With his classmates nodding and

Languages adopted new guidelines. After taking an online course offered by University of Texas, Curry’s teaching style evolved to incorporate metacognition, a modality that encourages students to be personally

smiling broadly, he recounts a day in Paris when he

“When I was able to read literature in this language, there was just something about the meaning of it all, the sound of it all, the beautiful words, and the syntax.”

fell sick and Madame suggested he not tour the Eiffel Tower with the rest of his friends.

“Instead Madame and I went to a nearby café and talked about the future,” said Kruzner. “My fondest memory of her is just sipping lemon tea and looking up at the Eiffel Tower because we were really close to

connected to the content

it. I know it sounds cliché. But that’s just who

before and during the lesson.

Madame is.”

“Now,” said Curry, “we ask our students to talk about content in terms of something that relates to them. They begin to connect it to something important in their own lives. We’ve learned that you can’t just pick them up and throw them into the deep water and say, ‘Read this for tomorrow.’”

Throughout her French literature lessons, Curry also hones her students’ abilities to feel and understand the “extra layer” of revelation present when poetry and prose are read in the language of the original author, such as the specter of raindrops heard in the cadences of Verlaine’s Il pleure dans mon Coeur, or the somber linguistic beauty woven into Rimbaud’s Le Dormeur du Val. “Ever since I began teaching French years ago,

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ONE HUNDRED PATHS TO A HUNDRED LOTSPEICH FIFTH GRADE TEACHER

8

“Y

So instead of teaching Shakespeare, Balskus

in the early childhood program on the Lotspeich

experiences will make your life richer and

taught Head Start in Allentown, Pennsylvania, a

Campus, including strong relationships between

provide you with opportunities for growth.”

move she said offered her solid training and set a

students, parents, and teachers, project-based

Seven Hills fifth grade teacher Karla Balskus

valuable foundation for a career in early childhood

learning, student documentation, and copious

says this as she meanders through the paths

education. She later taught language arts to fifth

opportunities for children to share their

and sixth graders at a school in Bethlehem,

discoveries in creative ways. Balskus said her

Pennsylvania, before moving back to her

foundational training with Reggio Emilia has

hometown, Columbus, Ohio. The Balskus family

positioned her to implement and support

Balskus’ life as an educator began in eastern

eventually settled in Cincinnati, where she

project-based lessons throughout the curriculum,

Pennsylvania in 1976. With a new degree and

became a private tutor and earned a master’s

for students of all ages.

certification to teach high school English, Balskus

while staying at home with her four children,

found there were no job openings because of a spate

Emily, Ben, Tim, and Elizabeth, all of whom

ou never know how previous life

PROFILES

and experiences that have led to her classroom in the far corner of the Lotspeich building.

attended Seven Hills.

pre-kindergarten teacher in the

fruition,” said Balskus. “It’s one of the reasons I

early 1990’s, Balskus received

love our fifth grade Invention and Innovation

a professional development

project, where students are encouraged to ‘see a

grant to visit early childhood

need; fill a need.’”

which bears the namesake of its city of origin, focuses on the belief that children learn and express themselves in myriad ways, or “a hundred

she said. “If you were a teacher, you weren’t getting a job.”

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and are then empowered, with teacher support and guidance, to bring their creative ideas to

The educational philosophy,

“I couldn’t even get on a substitute teaching list,”

occurs when students are encouraged to question

After joining Seven Hills as a

schools in Reggio Emilia, Italy.

of harsh cuts in the neighboring school districts.

“I saw the great impact on student learning that

languages.” Balskus and her pre-kindergarten partner Colette Reenan incorporated an eclectic curriculum inspired by their experiences with the Reggio philosophy, much of which is still utilized

When a position for a fifth grade teacher became available at Lotspeich, Balskus’ experience in the Wuerfel building offered her a solid foundation.

“Much like pre-kindergarten students, fifth graders are undergoing a rich period of growth and transition. It is so rewarding to teach reading, writing, and social studies to students who are beginning to think more abstractly,” said Balskus.

“Fifth graders are fun-loving, social souls who love

LA N GUAGES:

Karla Balskus to learn. I think that’s why I have truly enjoyed

Balskus also holds dear the traditions handed to

has taken during her life, and her belief that all

teaching this age level for more than 15 years.”

her by her Lotspeich predecessors and colleagues,

children can learn if they have the right learning

“I want my students to know, ‘If you can think it, you can write it.’ If you believe each child is lovable and capable, there is no limit to what she or he can do.”

Lucille Blocksom, Bobbi Kuhn, and Kaye Riser,

language available to them. “I want my students to

who shaped and shared the rich, experiential

know, ‘If you can think it, you can write it.’ If you

fifth grade Colonial studies curriculum.

believe each child is lovable and capable, there is no limit to what she or he can do.”

Drawing again from her knowledge of Reggio, Balskus said she searches for learning opportunities that bring her fifth graders together, and allow them to thoughtfully observe each other, a key reason why she traveled to Indianapolis in 2014, to participate in a small teacher workshop on Socratic seminars. As an

Balskus said the time she spent in Italy long ago

example, last winter, fifth graders discussed the

stands as having the most profound impact on the

Columbian Exchange, without interruption, for 40

quality and direction of her teaching. Balskus also

minutes. Balskus said the respectful observation

attended the week-long Williamsburg Teacher

of ideas, measured rules of engagement, and

Institute, a professional development grant

historically-rich topics offered her fifth graders a

experience that both deepened her knowledge of

new way of communicating and existing—in

Colonial American history, and gave her tools to

essence, a new language.

Karla Balskus enjoys a spring break trip to Michigan with retired Seven Hills friends Pam Mackey and Kaye Riser, and Lotspeich administrative assistant Kitty Fischer.

make history come alive in her social studies classroom.

“We’re not always a civil society. With all of our electronic devices, people get stuck in parallel

“I learned how to craft student experiences that

play,” said Balskus. “Socratic seminars provide an

included: simulating a cross-Atlantic voyage,

opportunity for social-emotional growth. We want

learning how colonial clothing reflected a person’s

our students to grow up to be able to work together

place in society, and learning to lead students in

and respectfully discuss the big questions.”

revolutionary drilling with drum commands, which helps make our reading unit on Johnny Tremain come to life.”

After 25 years at Seven Hills, Balskus’ driving force in class harkens back to the many paths she

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A LI FELONG LOVE FOR LI TERATURE: DOHERTY TEACHER/LIBRARIAN

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Linda Wolfe W

hen Linda Wolfe was in her early years

at Miss Doherty’s Preparatory School for Girls, teachers ran off aromatic, purple-hued dittos;

PROFILES

photos of student activities weren’t available until a week after they were shot; and should a teacher need to research something for a lesson, she would just have to wait—the public library would be open in the evenings, which is where Wolfe often found herself, in the early 1980s.

“I would go to

“But that’s what I like about being an educator at Seven Hills, we don’t just jump into new things. We learn about them, think about the older ways, then we take what’s good, and combine them.”

the main library in Cincinnati and spend a lot of time in the stacks,” said Wolfe, Seven Hills’ Doherty Campus

librarian. “The city librarians would go down in what we called the cellar and bring up the copies I was looking for.”

Forty-four years, from microfiche, to MS-DOS and floppy disks, to the first time a teacher used her phone to take a picture in her classroom, doesn’t simply underscore Wolfe’s years spent at Seven Hills. Her presence is also a tribute to all

14

librarians who preserve, package, and present

books — 500 pages a day — for two years. She

information in uncommon, pertinent ways. One

was one of the first teachers to jump at the

of Seven Hills’ most social media-savvy teachers,

chance to take a computer class from then-

Wolfe enjoys looking back as much as she does

colleague David Abineri, when teachers were given

to anticipating the future of children’s books,

laptops for the first time in the `90s. Wolfe loves

the way children read, and the state of libraries,

to attend Alan November conferences, and

in general.

recently took an extensive Twitter course. Her prolific tweets have earned her responses from

Wolfe started out teaching fourth, fifth, and sixth

noted children’s book authors Mo Willems,

grades at Princeton schools, and later, taught

JonArno Lawson, and Ame Dyckman.

second, fourth, and first at Doherty. It was no wonder Head of Doherty Patti Guethlein asked

With generations of morphing technology trends in

Wolfe 11 years ago to become the librarian. To

her mental database, Wolfe is in constant search

prepare, she received a degree in Children’s

of information and ways to make that information

International Literature, reading more than 6,000

more accessible to each student on the Doherty

Campus. But now, instead of racing to the stacks

“Things are changing in education all the time,”

the library with curious eyes. They still gaze upon the

in the main library, Wolfe is taking deep dives way

said Wolfe. “But that’s what I like about being an

many shelves of books looming before them. Wolfe

beyond Google and other typical databases, such

educator at Seven Hills, we don’t just jump into

still shepherds her students through the meandering

as netTrekker. She frequently researches little-

new things. We learn about them, think about the

paths in the library while they forage curiously,

known national observances and builds on them,

older ways, then we take what’s good, and

flipping through pages. And the young students still

creating a meaningful framework into which

combine them.”

get a taste of a book they like, which makes it into

students are immersed in the subject at hand. To

their backpacks, and home, for a good read.

name just a few, she designed the Bridges religion

One thing that hasn’t changed over 44 years is

and culture program, a yearlong pen pal project

Wolfe’s fundamental mission to expose her

called Poetry Postcards, the literary Paddington

students to a really good book. Students still enter

Mission accomplished. Every time.

Bear parties, a summer reading program, and the Wolf Pack awards, which teaches students the intricate process involved in the American Library Association awards. She also takes stealth pictures of students in the library and emails them to parents, with a description of the students’ activities, a random act of kindness Wolfe calls “Smiles.”

Wolfe’s eclectic approach to education compliments the way she moves through her day. On any given day, she can be found dusting off 50-year-old classics to read to her students, searching for children’s book titles available on Kindle and Audible, or hand-writing her students personal notes on homemade postcards. Indeed, Wolfe is like a cherished family recipe for cookies being baked for happy customers at an Apple store.

15

W ITN ESSI NG TH E

B EAUTY OF ART:

DOHERTY ART TEACHER

8

Mimi Stricker

A

student strikes a Herculean pose at

the front of the art classroom in Doherty

PROFILES

Stricker’s love for the outdoors took her to

into her lessons. Every year, with students in third

Colorado, where she worked during high school

through fifth grade, she spearheads an

Campus’ Faran Hall. Sitting in a semi-circle

interdisciplinary art installation using recycled

formation of desks, his classmates’ eyes dart

materials which runs in coordination with Doherty’s

up, then down, scratching out a few sketch

Pancake Breakfast, an annual project-based event

lines, before looking up again.

that supports students and teachers in Guatemala and features the artwork of students in prekindergarten for 2-year-olds through fifth grade.

Taking steps to embark on the complex, new art form last winter, the students showed courage, patience, and confidence in their work, something

As an artist, she is drawn to what really is, and

Mimi Stricker models for all of her young artists in

she weaves this passion into a number of

kindergarten through fifth grade. Her nurturing

textured, meaningful art projects for her students.

encouragement often reminds her of her childhood and college at Challenge Aspen, a recreational

“I want my students to know there is joy in

when she was a lower

program for people with physical and cognitive

struggle, and freedom in taking risks. We are all

school student at

disabilities and differences. While she taught

called to witness the beauty of art, which is found

Ensworth School in

blind and physically disabled children how to ski,

in everyday life,” said Stricker. “And we are all

Nashville, Tennessee.

Stricker said she developed an appreciation for

called to create.”

“She said, ‘You’ve got

the straightforward and wonderfully raw nature of

something here, don’t ever

her relationships with the students at

lose this,’” said Stricker.

Challenge Aspen. She is attracted to the same

art teacher, Mrs. Pickel, who noticed her talent

“I want my students to know there is joy in struggle, and freedom in taking risks.

We are all called to witness the beauty of art, which is found in everyday life,” said Stricker. “And we are all called to create.”

type of clarity she finds in the work of her At the time, Stricker

favorite painters, Edouard Manet, Henri de

tucked away her teacher’s

Toulouse-Lautrec, and John Singer Sargent.

words of inspiration, every day enjoying a

Stricker said the emotion and presence found

childhood in rural Nashville that would have

in pieces like Toulouse-Lautrec’s The

inspired a Manet. Stricker spent her free time with

Laundress, and the iconic realism of Sargent’s

siblings and cousins, running across prairies,

portraits remain key benchmarks for her as a

riding horses, and swimming in ponds and rivers.

painter and art teacher. At every opportunity, Stricker incorporates her love for simplicity

16

TEACH I NG THE

SECRET OF NATURE:

PRE-KINDERGARTEN TEACHER

W

hen you have waded waist-deep through

Cicely Knecht

“Embracing adventure and attempting something

helps her students tap into their own sense of peace.

warm, turbid waters, pushing a canoe for hours in a

that is outside of my comfort zone always ends with

For example, during walks from class to specials,

mosquito-thick haze, slugging through 10-inch deep

happiness,” said Knecht. “As a canoe-tripper I

Knecht asks her students to

mud trails, tip-toeing over the occasional moose

have learned to welcome the unexpected challenges

observe the trees, sky, and

carcass, and hauling moldy garbage in your

just as much as the breathtaking views.”

sounds, teaching

backpack through 10-day, no-trace treks, your perspective on just about everything changes.

mindfulness along the way.

In fact, it was an unexpected turn that redirected Knecht, a Middle School social studies teaching

If you started doing this at age 8, it’s a different

candidate, to pursue a career in early childhood

story, altogether.

education. Knecht was headed to her first day of student teaching at a middle school in Scotland, during her senior year of college, when she was

Her wilderness perspective comes into play every day as she imparts foundational academic and social concepts to her four- and five-year-old students.

“Four-year-olds deal with daunting tasks, just like anyone else. I have learned that being close to nature gives us courage and perspective,” said Knecht. “And with that courage, our youngest students are able to attempt to accomplish daily greatness.”

mistakenly dropped off at an early childhood building. She ended up teaching there for a

“Four-year-olds deal with

semester. The Toledo native returned to the states

daunting tasks, just like anyone else. I have learned

with a new sense of direction. She joined the early

that being close to nature gives us courage and

childhood education team in the then Wuerfel

perspective,” said Knecht. “And with that courage,

building on the Hillsdale Campus in 2008.

our youngest students are able to attempt to accomplish daily greatness.”

Often leaning on the quote, “Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Knecht said she can always tell when her students just need to unplug, something she

A teenage Cicely Knecht stops for a quick photo during a 50-day canoe trip in 2000.

herself values so much that she and her husband This is pre-kindergarten teacher Cicely Knecht’s

regularly head outdoors sans cell phones and

story, having canoe-tripped across Canadian parks

laptops.

all her life. After being a camper herself, She began leading groups of children campers at 17

“I can’t imagine a summer spent away from the

and, to date, she has amassed more than 365 days

wilderness,” said Knecht. “ I spend as many weeks

of canoe-tripping.

as possible up north because it’s where I feel I am my best self.” Knecht’s calm nature and quiet tone

An 11-month-old Cicely Knecht in what may have been her first canoe trip in Algonquin Park in Ontario, Canada.

17

A NEVER-ENDING UPPER SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER

8

I

f History ever took on a

personification, Bob Turansky would tap him on the shoulder, invite him to step into the

PROFILES

ring, and stand in the opposite corner, just waiting for a chance to “duke it out.”

Taken from noted historian David Starkey’s contention that ‘history is an argument,’ Turansky weaves in and out of this imagery,

not because he wants to, but because he needs to.

Turansky, who started teaching in the history department at Seven Hills in 1986, was born to question, agitate, and buck. The son of a communist Russian Jew growing up in New Orleans in the race-torn, McCarthy `50s, Turansky lived

rights and the rights of others. Even at age 7,

in a home environment where societal ills were

Turansky knew it was all worth the fight.

faced head-on and pain and inequalities were transparent. As a very young boy, he saw newspaper clippings of his father, often tagged in headlines for being a “dangerous Communist agitator.” His father used to point out an occasional FBI car parked outside his house, and father and son often reprimanded people when they heard racial epithets hurled at their black friends.

“While other fathers of the time were telling their 7- and 8-year-old sons stories of cowboys and Indians, my father was telling me bedtime stories about the imperialist origins of WWI, or the origins of Jim Crow, and the nature of often referring to History as if it were sitting next to him with a smug look.

Turansky isn’t fazed. He is, after all, still teaching and sharing his truth with his students,

18

“History is not over,” he said. “It’s not something that happened to other people. There’s work to do.

You’re in it. Now.”

capitalist exploitation,” said Turansky. “Pretty heady stuff for a kid.”

“History comes to us in shades of gray. My quest was always to figure it out. I’m still doing that,” said Turansky. “That’s one of the reasons why I’m still teaching after 65. I feel like I need to teach the students something. It’s one thing to look back and condemn the atrocities of this country. That’s safe. But what do we choose today? What is history and what is the nature of human progress?”

Turansky, who identifies as a socialist, feminist, and humanist, to name a few, stresses to his students the importance of viewing history as a human relationship that stands to be judged.

While it is a difficult concept for most to understand, Turansky gets the point across to his students because he has lived many

His childhood was real but not ordinary, as his

interpretations of his life—a dizzying list of

parents continually fought for their human

occupations, detours, and defining moments

M ATC H :

Bob Turansky that play out like a page-turning historical

school at Cornell University in 1975, around

Appreciated by his students, Turansky said he has

novel: He graduated from Ben Franklin High

which time he also traveled to West and East

an idea that students respect him because he

School in New Orleans, in 1963. He worked at a

Germany to research political theories. During

teaches them to maintain “a bit of irreverence”

Kibbutz at 17. In 1968, he resigned from

his first teaching job at a prep school in Chicago

about institutions and societal structures. Owing

medical school to become politically active,

in 1985, he led a protest to oust the school’s

back to his life spectra, Turansky’s words and the

including joining Students for a Democratic

corrupt headmaster because, as Turansky says,

fashion in which he unpacks political concepts are

Society, a movement that came to be known as

“I hate bullies.” After leaving Chicago in 1986,

empowering to a group of students who, as young

the New Left. As a young political activist,

he and his then-wife moved to Cincinnati where,

adults, are scientifically and socially wired to

Turansky worked in an ice house, where he was

as Turansky describes it, he “lucked out” getting

question. Not a fan of the word “past,” his message

able to read more books at one time than he

a job at Seven Hills.

to his students is frequent, singular, and always

ever has since. In 1969, he was a social worker for the Louisiana state department. He drove a cab. Turansky got married, then attended grad

In no small way, Turansky’s life experiences have informed his 30 years of teaching at Seven Hills.

clear—History is a struggle.

Turansky often refers to “the struggle” when he teaches, two words that illustrate an ongoing state of mind and underscore his life’s quest. To further his point, he uses an Italian phrase that doubles as the name of a historic movement of young Italian radicalists —‘La Lotta Continua.’ The struggle continues.

“History is not over,” he said. “It’s not something that happened to other people. There’s work to do.

You’re in it. Now.” It is one more reason why, said Turansky, the boxing match with history will never end.

19

School News 2 0 1 6

M A T R I C

L I S T

Seven Hills Class of 2016 Matriculation List

Congratulations!

Congratulations to the Class of 2016! We wish you all the best.

Barnard College

Franciscan University

Belmont University - 2

Hamilton College

Bentley University

Hampshire College

Boston University

Indiana University

Brandeis University

Kenyon College - 2

Butler University Carleton College Carnegie Mellon University - 2 College of Wooster Colorado College Colorado State University Columbia University Cornell University - 3 Dartmouth College DePaul University - 2 Eckerd College Emerson College

20

Lafayette College Loyola Marymount Loyola University/Chicago Marquette University Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Parsons The New School for Design Pratt Institute Princeton University - 2 Purdue University Rhodes College Sarah Lawrence College Southern Methodist University Spelman College St. Louis University Tufts University - 2

Miami University

Tuskegee University

Middlebury College

University of Arizona - 2

Northeastern University

University of Cincinnati:

Northern Kentucky University

Arts & Sciences - 2 Business - 1

Ohio University

Design, Art, Architecture and

Otterbein University

Planning - 1 Education -1

Engineering - 2 Medical Sciences (College of Medicine) - 3 UC/Blue Ash - 1 University of Colorado/Boulder - 2 University of Dayton University of Illinois University of Kentucky - 3 University of Miami University of Missouri University of Pennsylvania University of Pittsburgh University of South Carolina - 2 University of Southern California Vanderbilt University - 2 Washington University in St. Louis - 3 Wright State University

School News

N A T I O N A L

M E R I T

&

P R E S I D E N T I A L

Seven Hills Congratulates National Merit Achievers

Bottom row - Kathy Wang, Kate Coley, Claire Stewart, Fatima Anwar Top row – Alex Jiang, Zachary Sorscher, Bennett Smith, Tigar Cyr

Seven Hills Congratulates National Merit Finalists

All eight of our National Merit Semifinalists were named National Merit Finalists in 2016. The National Merit Scholarship Program honors talented U.S. high school students each year for academic excellence. Approximately 1.5 million students from 22,000 high schools across the country enter the program each year. Of that number, 16,000 were named Semifinalists, and about 90 percent of the Semifinalists are named Finalists. Ultimately, less than one percent of the nation’s high school graduating seniors are honored as Finalists.

National Merit Commended Students

S C H O L A R S

Two Seniors Receive Exemplary Awards of Distinction Alex Jiang was recently named a National Merit Scholarship winner. Jiang will receive a $2,500 Scholarship from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

Additionally, Tigar Cyr was recently named a Presidential Scholar semifinalist. Cyr is one of 23 students in Ohio—and one of two in Cincinnati— to receive the recognition. He is the first Seven Hills student in at least a decade to be named a Presidential Scholar Semifinalist, which is selected by the U.S. Department of Education’s Commission on U.S. Presidential Scholars.

Congratulations to our National Merit Commended students: Abigail Clark, Ada Huang, Nicole Tiao, Camille Williams, Andrei Savu, Hayley Samson, Brandi Bryson, Maria Bobbitt Chertock, Mike Nazzaro, Matthew Clayton, Elliot Glum, James Coyle, Jai Williams, Kenneth Remaklus, Jake Lautman, Matthew Marquardt, and *Ben Nordmeyer. In the 2015 National Merit Program. National Merit Commended Students are among the top two-thirds of the country’s 50,000 highest scorers on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The National Merit Program awards Letters of Commendation to these students in recognition of their outstanding academic achievement.

Three Seven Hills Seniors Named 2016 Presidential Scholar Candidates Seven Hills Congratulates 2016 Presidential Scholar Candidates Tigar Cyr, Alex Jiang, and Bennett Smith. The Presidential Scholars Program is one of the nation’s highest honors for graduating high school seniors. Presidential Scholars are selected on the basis of academic achievement, personal characteristics, leadership, and service activities. *We dedicate this page of academic accomplishments in memory of Ben Nordmeyer (1997-2014).

21

H A U C K

scholarships

2016 Frederick A. Hauck Scholarship Winners

22

The Seven Hills School has awarded the 2016 Frederick A. Hauck Scholarships in Math and Science to sixth graders Robby Ligeralde, Naina Purushothaman, and Cristina Stancescu; seventh grader Christopher Maring; eighth grader Max Yuan; sophomore Matthew Maring; juniors Nina Fatuzzo and Daniel Grass; and freshman Varshini Upper School: Daniel Grass, Nina Fatuzzo, Matthew Maring, Varshini Odayar Odayar.

World-renowned nuclear scientist and philanthropist Frederick A. Hauck established the Hauck Scholarships at Seven Hills in 1983 to recognize students who Back row: Christina Stancescu, Naina Purushothaman Front row: Christopher Maring, Robby Ligeralde demonstrate outstanding achievement and commitment in math and/or science.

Winning students entering grades 9–12 receive a one-year scholarship of $1,000 to be applied to the 2016-17 tuition at Seven Hills Upper School. Winning students entering grades 7–8 receive a grant of $250 to be applied to tuition for an approved summer enrichment program.

School News

S C H O L A R S H I P

/

C U M

L A U D E

S O C I E T Y

Congratulations to new members of Cum Laude Society The Upper School honored its 16 new inductees in the Seven Hills chapter of the Cum Laude Society, a national honor society that Bennett Smith recognizes academic excellence, at the Cum Laude Dinner on April 13. New members are juniors: Samantha Chun, Nina Fatuzzo, Chase Gardner, Daniel Grass, Esther Bottom row: Kaylan Young, Tziporah Serota, Nina Fatuzzo, Esther Kim, Audrey Cathy Fang, Matisse Peppet, Piper Spooner Top row: Tigar Cyr, Lauren Kim, Jake Moses, Matisse Peppet, and Piper Ditty, Collette, Jake Moses, Daniel Grass, Chase Gardner, Camille Williams, Samantha Spooner; and seniors Lauren Collette, Tigar Chun (bold = seniors) Cyr, Audrey Ditty, Cathy Fang, Tziporah Serota, Bennett Smith, Camille Williams, and Kaylan Young. The event also honored the members who were inducted last year as juniors: Fatima Anwar, Maria Bobbitt Chertock, Kate Coley, Alex Jiang, Matthew Marquardt, Holly O’Neal, Nicole Tiao, and Kathy Wang. Guest speaker at the event was Brooke Richart ’04.

Head of School Chris Garten said, “Seven Hills is one of fewer than 400 high schools in the country, only 23 in the state of Ohio, who Bottom row: Anna Works-McKinney and Nate Gleiner Top row: Linda Ford, Lowell Wenger, and Wynne Curry have been granted a Cum Laude Society chapter, an academic honor society, modeled on Phi Beta Kappa. Each year we recognize students whose academic performance and habits of mind meet the highest possible standards for scholarship and good character.”

Richart shared her work as a teacher in Honduras and with Breakthrough Collaborative, a non-profit program that seeks to prepare underserved middle school students for academic success in high school and college. Richart encouraged the inductees to use their talents to help others, and shared that life is a meandering path that may take them in directions they never imagined. “Whatever your path ends up being, I urge you to use this pursuit of knowledge for the service of others,” said Richart. “Whatever form it takes, pursue your excellence in learning, not just for the sake of it, but for the ways it can serve our world.”

As part of the annual Cum Laude Society induction ceremony, it is tradition for faculty members of the Cum Laude Committee to address each new member with remarks compiled from quotes from the students’ teachers. For a direct link to the remarks, download a QR Code app to your smartphone and scan the code on this page.

School News T H E

S E V E N

H I L L S

A N N U A L

F U N D

Because of you… more is possible

The Annual Fund

“I give to the Annual Fund because Seven Hills gave me a strong academic foundation, a deep love of learning , and the courage to take risks. Most importantly, it gave me beautiful and lasting friendships. Nearly 20 years after I graduated and moved away, I still feel I’m part of the school community. The bonds I made at Seven Hills, both with my teachers and my friends, have truly stood the test of time. Giving to the Annual Fund is my way of saying thank you for all Seven Hills has provided me.”

Goal = $1,325,000

Questions To make your tax-deductible gift today, please visit www.7hills.org/annualfund or call the Development Office at 513.728.2430.

{

$1,175,000 raised $1,100,000

Y O U !

Join Us!

T H A N K

- Josephine Sittenfeld ’98

$150,000 to go

$1,000,000 $900,000 $800,000 $700,000 $600,000 $500,000 $400,000 $300,000

Questions? Please contact Andi Fischer Simon ’98, Director of Annual Giving, at 513.728.2436

Thank you!

EVERY GIFT MAKES A DIFFERENCE 23

School News T I T C O M B

M E M O R I A L

F U N D

titcomb

Miriam Titcomb Memorial Fund grants for enrichment

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Since 1978, the Miriam Titcomb Fund, an endowed enrichment fund established by alumnae, has made it possible for more than 100 Seven Hills faculty and staff to have meaningful travel and study experiences. These adventures are personally and professionally inspiring for our faculty and staff, and their increased scholarship and enthusiasm enriches the entire school community. The recipients for the 2015 Titcomb awards were Judy Arnold, Judy Davis, and Kim Walden.

LOTSPEICH SCHOOL COUNSELOR AND DIVER SIT Y C O O R D I N AT O R J U D Y A R N O L D Judy Arnold was awarded a Titcomb grant for her project, “The Great Work of Your Life, The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita.”

Last summer, Judy made a pilgrimage to the Kripalu Institute for

my unique role as a school counselor. Current brain research can now tell us why mindfulness practices have the ability to literally transform our brains and our lives, and that they are also beneficial to children.“ Judy continued, “My experience at Kripalu renewed my commitment to my own practice, as well as to incorporating mindfulness in my work with children to help them gain self-regulation, focus, resilience, and peace of mind.”

Extraordinary Living, located in Massachusetts, near Lenox. The workshop she participated in at Kripalu, entitled “The Great Work of Your Life,” encouraged one’s own exploration of dharma, which has to do with life purpose.

Describing her feelings about her experience at the Kripalu workshop, Judy said, “I gained clarity around the convergence between a personal passion and a gift I can share with others through

D O H E RT Y R E A D I N G S P E C I A L I S T J U DY D AV I S Judy Davis was awarded a Titcomb grant for her experience, “An Italian Dream.” Last summer Judy and her husband traveled to Italy to celebrate her lifelong Catholic faith, her 45 years of marriage to her husband Hank, and her 33 years of teaching at Seven Hills. Of the art, architecture, and winding paths, Judy said, “Italy is filled with art. The massive statues, fountains, and historic buildings were breathtaking—and every little corner seemed to be a work of art. We spent as much time wandering Italian streets, absorbing the culture and the people, as we did

School News T I T C O M B

made the trip with her husband, Shane, said, “The purpose of our journey was twofold. We wanted to learn more about Australian Aboriginal and New Zealand Maori cultures and also to visit Shane’s family, some of whom I had never met.”

in museums. Italy is a great place to ignore the map and get lost.”

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we learned about the Kuku Yalanji people, and how, for generations, the rainforest has provided for all of their needs. We traveled to both the North Island and the South Island, and were

In a brief travel log, Kim shared, “Our adventure began on the Gold Coast of Australia where I met three of Shane’s sisters and their families.

From there, we flew to Cairns and then drove to Cooktown, where we met a Nugal-warra elder

Determined to “do as Romans do,” Judy and Frank walked winding streets, crossed countless bridges, were awed by the beauty of St. Mark’s Square, and drifted in a gondola. “And,” she said, “we won’t soon forget the food!”

joyfully embraced by Shane’s rather large family throughout our journey! We visited several Maori marae (traditional meeting grounds) including the marae of my husband’s iwi (tribe).”

Reflecting on her experience, Judy said, “I feel fortunate and changed, and thank everyone who helped make my journey possible.”

LOTSPEICH THIRD GRADE T E A C H E R K I M WA L D E N Kim Walden was awarded a Titcomb grant for her five-week trip to Australia and New Zealand, entitled “A Wander Down Under.” Kim, who

M E M O R I A L

who led us on a tour of Aboriginal lands. From there we headed south to the oldest rainforest on the planet, the Daintree. With a guide to lead us,

Summing up, Kim said, “All in all it was a memorable, magical time. I am forever and profoundly grateful to the Titcomb committee for this trip of a lifetime.”

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School News P A S S I O N

P R O J E C T S

Diving Deep:

Doherty students frame learning with new Passion Projects Guided by their own interpretations of learning, students on the Doherty Campus are reflecting inward to explore their true interests, then using that interest to fuel multi-tiered pursuits.

Fourth grade hippophile Phoebe Rubenstein works on a display board that showcases little known facts about horses, as well as the commonalities between horse and human.

While universally known as a pet project that energizes those who often work in fields unrelated to their personal interests, passion projects are taking on a new iteration on the Doherty Campus at Seven Hills. The idea of asking students to identify what they love helps them to build a more substantive platform for guiding their academic experiences, said Tracy Hickenlooper, director of program development & technology at Doherty, and designer of the passion project initiative.

“We’re engaging those deepdiving, thought-provoking questions,” said Hickenlooper.

26

“We really want the students to have space to think about how they are going to learn more about their subject of interest.”

The passion projects are comprehensive and integrative. Each Unit II and III student is given 30 minutes per week to shift from class work to delve into his or her interest. The students usually meet with Hickenlooper in the Creation Studio, which serves as a work and concept space to bring to life creativity and innovation. The studio, stocked with copious supplies of working materials, such as buttons, sewing machines, dried flowers, and fabric, is available to all students in kindergarten through fifth grade.

Passion projects and the Creation Studio go hand-in-hand, said Hickenlooper.

“We’re engaging those deep-diving , thoughtprovoking questions. We really want the students to have space to think about how they are going to learn more about their subject of interest.” – Teacher Tracy Hickenlooper For example, a student whose passion is equestrian studies may use materials found in the studio to build a dream board about horses. Students interested in the history of architecture may use planks and disassembled picket fences to build their own unique structures.

Hickenlooper said students have taken great strides with their passion projects. And while the projects conclude at the end of each school year, the idea of burrowing down to find what they truly love will have an ongoing positive effect on each student’s life and learning experiences.

“They’re keeping journals on what works and researching their topics,” said Hickenlooper. “There is a lot of thinking about what comes next.”

Tracy Hickenlooper and Unit III students tackle various studentconceived woodworking projects.

School News

I N N O V A T I O N

L A B

S T U D E N T S ’

S E R V I C E

P R O J E C T

Go, Brysen, Go:

How Seven Hills Middle School students came together to change playtime for a toddler with cerebral palsy Seven Hills Middle School students made an

“Brysen is not able to use a foot pedal to

indelible mark through service and compassion

make the automated car go, so we rewired

this school year, with their efforts to modify an

the car to include a pedal on the steering

automated toy car for Brysen, a toddler patient

wheel,” said Upper School computer

with cerebral palsy at Cincinnati Children’s

programming teacher Brian Arnold.

Medical Center.

The project, fueled by the entire Middle

Ferrari, was completed in about a month, and was delivered this spring.

School with funds raised during a two-day

“We want our students to embrace someone else’s need and engineer a product as a solution. It’s all about developing empathy for others.” – Teacher Karen Glum

baked goods sale, launched in mid-January 2016. A few weeks later, a dozen students, along with Arnold, science department chair Karen Glum, and retired engineer Terry Fox, husband of Head of Lotspeich Carolyn Fox, used their lunchtime to work through the University of Delaware’s GoBabyGo design model in the Innovation Lab, a classroom and work space designated for Middle School students to conceptualize, build, and design. Brysen’s

The GoBabyGo team of teachers and Middle School students assembles for one of its first workshops on Brysen’s car.

Glum said the efforts to help Brysen illustrate one key mission of the Innovation Lab. “We want our students to embrace someone else’s need and engineer a product as a solution,” said Glum. “It’s all about developing empathy for others.”

Scan this QR Code to take a look at the reveal of Brysen’s modified toy car at a Middle School assembly in March.

toy car, a sharp red

Students watch as retired engineer Terry Fox rolls out Brysen’s new red Ferrari.

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Books for Lunch 2016 Presents Alexandra Fuller Drawing from her childhood growing up in Apartheid-era Rhodesia, Alexandra Fuller shared stories of her life—a blend of joy, irreverence, and ancient wisdom—with the Seven Hills community for Books for Lunch, in early February.

The outspoken Fuller, a New York Times Notable Book award winner and author of her latest memoir, Leaving Before the Rains Come, shared poignant excerpts from her memoirs, answered students’ questions, and left the school community feeling informed and enlightened. Growing up in the shadows of legalized racism, Fuller said she learned, firsthand, what the ills of a toxic society can do to generations of people, and decided to walk away from it all, solidify her views, and live by the truth of her conviction. “My whole self is not more important than the selves or the person I have become,” said Fuller. “It’s more important to train yourself to be yourself.”

Throughout her address to the school community, Fuller shared snippets from her life, including taking on oil companies in the state of Wyoming that were under fire for dangerous working conditions, sharing 28

lessons learned from an alcoholic mother, learning true peace from her father, and her ongoing love Books for Lunch co-chairs Colleen Dwight, left, and Victoria for her motherland, Karamanoukian, with Alexandra Fulle r Southern Africa. The eclectic memoirist concluded her two-day Cincinnati visit with a gritty tale about her life, freedom of speech, and selfpeace while speaking to a crowd of more than 300 at Xavier University’s Cintas Center.

Alexandra Fuller signs books for Seven Hills seniors Zoë Zelkind and Michael Heldman in the Young Family Library

Fuller’s message to Seven Hills students: Self-peace and quiet authority were concepts that echoed throughout Fuller’s address to Middle and Upper School students. With it, she encouraged students to truly know themselves and be comfortable with who they are. “If you are it, you don’t need to say it.”

Books for Lunch 2016 included a Lecture Luncheon and book signing at Xavier University’s Cintas Center, a dinner with Fuller at the home of Phillip and Sheila Cohen, an assembly with Upper School students, and meetings with students in the Young Family Library.

Books for Lunch 2016 dinner hosts Sheila and Phillip Cohen, with Alexandra Fuller

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Taste of Seven Hills Taste of Seven Hills, the annual Seven Hills school-wide event formerly known as the International Dinner, was a great success again this year!

The early March event included many cultural attractions, such as Irish dancing, an international fashion show, a recital featuring the Chinese instrument called a guzheng, crepe making, origami, sampling fresh-made beignets, and much more.

Congratulations to Nate Gleiner, English teacher and Equity and Justice Coordinator, and parent Rica Ligeralde, chair of the

planning committee, who organized the event, including the performances and activities for the young participants.

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personal challenge

Defining their Hearts, Engaging their Minds

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Personal Challenge is a required project that offers students the opportunity to explore something of interest at a deep and meaning ful level while experiencing the excitement of learning. As part of the venture, which is typically completed by students in their junior or senior year, Seven Hills students engage in activities that help them further explore their interests or stretch beyond their comfort zones. Students share their Personal Challenge projects with the school community, at one of two events during the school year.

A P R ACT I C A L J O U R N EY: ZACH SORSCHER Zach Sorscher has long-term, utilitarian plans for his Personal Challenge project—a longboard he motorized, upgraded, and reworked to become a viable vehicle, which can reach speeds up to 35 mph.

“It’s going to carry me across my college campus and I will use it even through some of my adulthood. It’s really useful and incredibly efficient,” said Sorscher, who recently installed

force sensors on the small vehicle, which runs an impressive 15 miles at a time. “I don’t think it will ever be perfect, so I will continue to improve it. I love doing this.”

Sorscher’s interest in moving boards was piqued about 10 years ago when he received his first skateboard at age 7. That fascination, along with foundational physics lessons at Seven Hills, later evolved into a vision to create a portable batteryoperated vehicle. The Seven Hills senior began laying out concrete plans for the longboard about two years ago, and worked through a number of prototypes before building the device. Sorscher painstakingly installed a drivetrain, 3D printed his battery case, and even used his experience as a hockey player to solve engineering roadblocks—he figured out that he could adhere two hockey pucks

Please scan this QR Code to view a short video produced by Sorscher, that demonstrates his motorized longboard.

near the axles to absorb shock and provide the space he needed to allow more movement around the wheels. While the first phase of Sorscher’s personal challenge took one day to assemble, it was just the beginning of a process that taught him as much about himself as it did the intricacies of coding for and building a digitally motorized device.

“Once I took more math and physics classes, I felt more confident about the work,” Sorscher said. “The most surprising thing is that I realize it was actually more fun to research and build the longboard, and do all of the calculations, than it is to ride it.”

As part of a promotional visual for his project, Sorscher produced a short video featuring himself on his longboard, soaring down a country road near his house. During the video, Sorscher lifts his arms as if in flight, then lowers them before he zooms down the road into the horizon, a glimpse of the drive and vision that will continue to power Sorscher’s ongoing pursuits.

Zach Sorscher and his motorized longboard at Personal Challenge

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LE A R N I N G T H E A RT O F CO M M U N I T Y: E M M A S ACCO When Emma Sacco sat down a year ago to plan a large-scale mural requested by the owner of a trendy local juicery, she had no idea how much of the work that loomed before her would have little to do with art.

that connect with Oakley’s green, pedestrianfriendly vibe. From the colors used to the overall execution of the piece, Sacco said her Personal Challenge project not only taught her the logistics of art production, but also introduced her to business pitches, city permits, and the dynamics of working with a client to produce commercial art within a neighborhood community.

“It’s such a process. I definitely learned to be more patient,” said Sacco, a self-proclaimed popculture artist who was recently accepted at Miami University’s highly selective College of Creative Arts. “The design went through a lot of versions and I completed three pieces before my clients were satisfied,” said Sacco. “Even though the most difficult thing was having to start over, I realized I liked collaborating with others to put together an art piece.”

Emma Sacco at Personal Challenge

Sacco’s finished product—an 8x20-foot mural— now graces the outside wall of Rooted Juicery & Kitchen in Oakley. She launched her Personal Challenge project by presenting a business plan to the owners of Rooted a year ago, and later attending an Oakley Community Council meeting where permissions to mount the sign were granted. Responding to her client’s specifications, Sacco produced a piece with clean, earthy tones

The unusual blend of experience, realizations, and acquired knowledge that Seven Hills students gain throughout their work is something unique to Personal Challenge. Said Director of Experiential Learning Nick Francis, “Learning the process of initiating a project, planning, troubleshooting, and seeing it through to completion is invaluable.”

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BUILDING UPON MISS L EO N A R D’S L EG A C Y: ALLIE ALLEN Seven Hills senior Allie Allen decided a year ago she wanted to build a bench for her Personal Challenge project. When she learned from retired English teacher Linda Maupin about the school’s desire to create a bench in remembrance of Beth Leonard, the Middle School physical education teacher who passed away in 2014, Allen was happy to make Miss Leonard’s memory the focus of her work.

Using raw silver maple timber found by her father, Allen worked with a carpenter and family friend who trained her in woodworking and offered her the use of his shop. Working from her vision to produce a product that would blend with the naturescape of the bird garden situated behind the Middle School, Allen used a variety of sanders, chainsaws, and weathering treatments to create the finished product, which includes a memorial placard.

While she spent about 60 hours on her Personal Challenge project, Allen, who will pursue a degree in Human Health Sciences at the University of Kentucky, said her project has made on her a lasting impression she hopes will touch others as well. “Miss Leonard always wanted the best for her students. Making the bench helped me realize how much I care about her legacy at Seven Hills.”

Allie Allen on her bench

“Miss Leonard always wanted the best for her students.

Making the bench helped me realize how much I care about her legacy at Seven Hills.”

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Creating Conversations speaker series The Seven Hills School’s Creating Conversations is a speaker series designed to engage as a community, with each other and with the help of experts in their fields, about raising bright, healthy, happy kids.

In the final of three Creating Conversations events for the 2015-16 school year, Hyde Park clinical psychologist Jessica Thiede delivered a powerful, engaging, and encouraging message to parents of teens, entitled, “When to Worry and What to Do.” The February presentation offered parents the opportunity to look at both the healthy and natural, as well as the problematic stressors pre-teens and teens encounter.

Among the many pieces of helpful insights, Thiede said, “When your teens question your authority, this is natural and healthy. They are preparing to think for themselves and make decisions.” Thiede also shared examples of warning signs, including when teenagers repeatedly express a strong dislike for their parents, if they stop being involved in an activity they once loved, and when their close friends stop visiting the house. Thiede walked parents through the scientific and social aspects of the teenage brain, and explained why children between 32

the ages of 13 and 18 are sometimes not as interested in communicating with their parents, as they were when they were younger.

Ultimately, said Thiede, parents should be as transparent as possible with school leaders regarding any mental health issues their child is having. Letting the appropriate people know their child is suffering from depression is an important and preventative step. “We have no problem telling the school that our child has asthma, but for some reason there is a stigma attached to telling them your child is depressed,” said Thiede. “Let your school counselors know what is going on.”

In the fall, Seven Hills’ Creating Conversations speaker series presented Dr. Eileen Kennedy-Moore, who offered parents ways to help their children overcome the struggle with perfectionism and find joy in their everyday lives.

Also this past fall, Seven Hills was visited by speaker

Shannon Jensen, who shared ways families and teachers can incorporate mindfulness and self-compassion into their everyday lives, and teach children to do the same.

The Seven Hills School Speaker Series

School News

M. Marquardt capped off his incredible high school swimming career with a long-sought individual championship in 100 Back (and set a state record in the process) and a 2nd place finish in the100 Butterfly. Junior Tim Hagemeister added a 2nd place finish in the 200 IM and a 3rd place finish in the 500 Free. Freshman Greg Kalin made his state meet debut finishing in 4th place in the 100 Back and 8th place in the 50 Free. Junior Henry Marquardt placed 6th in the 100 Butterfly and 7th in the 200 Free. Sophomores Tindar Cyr and Nick Purple each contributed 18 points in the 200 IM and 100 Breast. Tigar Cyr added three points in the 200 Free and sophomore Matthew Maring added a point in the 500 Free. M. Marquardt, who was honored with the Ohio State Swimmer of the

Matthew Marquardt

The Seven Hills boys bowling team finished their Miami Valley Conference regular season with a 16-5 record.

Senior Corey Wilson and sophomore Audrey Wilson both received MVC team awards.

The boys team finished 2nd in the MVC and 2nd at Sectionals.

Corey was the top bowler at Sectionals, bowling a 724 series and a near perfect 298 game.

The Seven Hills girls bowling team also advanced to Districts and Audrey earned a spot on the Southwest District All-Tournament Team and advanced to the State tournament.

The girls varsity basketball team finished 8-13 overall and 4-9 in the Miami Valley Conference, finishing 3rd in the conference. Congratulations to our MVC All League players, sophomore Maggie Kersting (1st team) sophomore Jessica Nordlund (2nd team) and

Varsity gymnastics carried out the season with dedication and sportsmanship. The gymnastics team will miss the leadership of their graduating seniors L.A. Zenezini, Juliana Yip-Ono, and Margaret Cox. Seven Hills cheerleader senior Marney Briggs was named to the MVC First Team for cheerleading.

The sixth grade girls basketball team went 15- 0 this season with the highest average offensive scoring record per game of any of the teams and the lowest earned points average for their opponents. Team members include Lea Berman, Caitlin Drew, Emma Firestein, Kamaia Hall, Rosalie Hoar, Ella Morris, Julia Moser, Meg Seshiah, and Aditi Sinha, as well as coaches Tim Drew and Charles Hall.

Tigar Cyr received the Miami Valley Conference Dick Snyder Sportsmanship Award for displaying integrity and good sportsmanship throughout the season.

Photos by Keith Neu

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The boys scored 58 more points than last year’s championship team and delivered an even broader margin of victory against even stronger competition, all while setting two Ohio state records. Led by cocaptains seniors Tigar Cyr and Matthew Marquardt, every member of the nine-person state meet delegation contributed to the winning point total. Seven Hills had three fast relays and a bounty of fast swimmers that enabled the student athletes to claim state titles in the 400 Free Relay and 200 Medley, as well as finish 7th in the 200 Free Relay.

Audrey Wilson

For detailed sports news, visit www.7hills.org/buzz.

in the winner’s circle—all the result of intentional, dedicated teamwork and the boys’ faith in each other.

Many young players on the varsity boys basketball team gained experience this year, in a rebuilding season. The team was led by seniors Brian Hills, James Coyle, Kevin Jarmusik, Jared Fisher, Mike Nazzaro and Hasani Harrigan.

Freshman Brice Hill was named to the second team All-MVC and Coyle and sophomore Tommy Robinson were All-MVC Honorable Mention selections.

Margaret Cox

Sophomore Lucy Callard staged a stirring victory in the 500 Free to become Seven Hills’ first female state swimming champ since Rachel Gustin won her last state title in 1992. In doing so, Callard helped lead the Seven Hills girls swim team to an 11th place finish in the state meet.

The team notched 60 points and finished only one point out from placing in the top 10, and only 10 points behind 7th place.

In addition to her victory in the 500, Lucy added a 3rd place finish in the 200 Free for a total of 36 points in the meet. Freshman sensation Emma Shuppert was the other individual point scorer for the girls, with an 8th place finish in the 100 Back and a 10th place finish in the 200 IM. Lucy and Emma were joined by senior Claire McDonald and freshman Dottie Callard on the 400 Free Relay that placed 14th overall. With such strong performances by an underclassmendominated team, the future is bright for Seven Hills Lucy Callard girls swimming.

honorable mention selections senior Catherine Bain and sophomore Alexis Tucker. Both Kersting and Nordlund were also voted as the Most Valuable Players.

Marney Briggs

Meet Award, also qualified to compete in the Summer Olympic trials in Omaha, Nebraska in June.

The Seven Hills boys swim team repeated as state champions, a feat that has inspired not only the Seven Hills athletic community, but also the school community as a whole. Seven Hills Athletic Director Brian Phelps said determination and bold strategy placed the team

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POSTC AR D PROJECT DELIVER S DEEP DIVE IN TO U. S. G EO G R A P H Y The idea of a class of about 65 students collectively receiving postcards from each of the 50 United States in a matter of a few months is staggering, but that is exactly what Doherty Unit III students achieved when the last postcard from Wyoming came in after the winter break.

In October, teachers Claire Laughlin and Julie Guminey launched the Great State Race, an Amazing Race-style endeavor with their students, which required them to receive at least one postcard from each of the 50 states. Laughlin and Guminey required all postcards to be postmarked from the corresponding state and include at least one social studies fact about the state written on the postcard, including climate, landforms, government, history, immigration, or economics. “Our students not only learned about U.S. geography and other social studies facts from all the 50 states, they also practiced their writing skills by writing letters and emails to family members and business owners to ask them to help us reach our goal,” said Laughlin.

“We received postcards from so many different people—from family members to national park rangers to museum curators!”

BUILDING BRIDGES IN UNIT I Using five sheets of paper, Unit I students each

designed ways to build a bridge, as part of Engineering is Elementary, a curriculum-based program developed by the Museum of Science in Boston, Massachusetts. “This project harnesses students’ natural curiosities about engineering and technology concepts,” said Doherty Unit I teacher Amy Kulhavik. “It integrates engineering with elementary science topics, with literacy, social studies, and mathematical connections as well.” Kulhavik said Unit I students have been testing the structural soundness of their bridges as part of the experiment.

Said Kulhavik, the project, new this year, allows students to discover and discuss the connections between the scientific concepts of force, balance, and stability, as well as better understand the field of civil engineering.

P R O J E C T M AT H I N F I R S T G R A D E Lotspeich first graders used project math to plan a raised garden bed outside of the first grade

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classrooms. “Students planned the dimensions of the bed and completed a survey to determine what herbs and vegetables would be grown,” said project math teacher Liz Lorenz. “They graphed the survey results, and created a square foot gardening plan for the bed, determining what fraction of the garden bed will be dedicated to each vegetable and how many plants are needed per square foot, and for the garden as a whole.” The first graders worked with two members of Seven Hills’ maintenance crew to build the garden bed and learned how tools, such as tape measures and squares, are used in building! In early spring, seeds were planted, and students monitored the progress of their gardens throughout the season.

FIFTH GR ADE CHE MISTRY UNIT When Lotspeich fifth graders began an extensive unit on chemistry, science teacher Natalie Williams asked them to think like early scientists, to help set the foundation for their knowledge of the complex subject. To launch their studies, Williams gave each student group samples of the elements aluminum, silicon, copper, iron, and zinc. Using the

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techniques of early chemists, the students determined the physical properties of different elements and categorized them by odor, color, malleability, whether the element was shiny or dull, and what they had in common. The lessons also included introduction to the Periodic Table.

S T U D E N T S E X C E L AT M AT H C O U N T S The Middle School MATHCOUNTS team placed eighth out of 42 teams in the Cincinnati Chapter MATHCOUNTS competition at the University of Cincinnati in late February. The students traveled with math teacher and coach Tom Betts. Top finisher was eighth grader Suraj Parikh, finishing in 30th place out of about 350 students. In addition, eighth grader Krish Gupta was the Seven Hills Middle School top scorer in the miniMATHCOUNTS event at St. Margaret of York in mid-February. Congratulations to all participants!

C O N J U G AT I N G S P A N I S H V E R B S Determined to help his sixth grade Spanish students grasp a solid understanding of common

Spanish verbs, Philip Thornberry designed a board game. Thornberry wrote the rules for the handdrawn board game, which resembles Chutes and Ladders. Using plastic animal figures as their game pieces, the students rolled dice to move through the game board and, in doing so, conjugated -ar, -er, and -ir verbs according to the numbers that they rolled, thus giving them ample practice to see the various present tense verb forms in Spanish.

Thornberry said the activity enables students to familiarize themselves with a significant chunk of useful, common verbs in Spanish, isolate them, and conjugate them in a manageable, ageappropriate way. “While the students are playing the board game, they must listen to what their group mates are saying and play the role of judge, in order to verify that the correct response is provided by each person,” said Thornberry. “They end up teaching and editing each other in small groups, which fortifies the verb conjugation learning process. It’s very much learner-centered in this way.”

MAGNIFIED GIVING As a part of the ninth grade advisory program’s community service curriculum, this semester the ninth graders continued the

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Upper School’s relationship with Magnified Giving. Magnified Giving is a local organization founded by businessman and philanthropist Roger Grein. Now in its eighth year, Magnified Giving works with 65 area high schools, including Seven Hills.

Magnified Giving helps support student learning about philanthropy and philanthropic giving. The organization provides student groups with $1,000 and challenges them to select a local non-profit organization to receive this money. The students researched community needs and service providers, invited organizations to apply for their grant money, and ultimately awarded their grant funding to the agency whose needs seemed most compelling.

FL A ME TESTS IN CHE MISTRY Upper School chemistry students fired up Bunsen burners and readied their lab journals to conduct flame tests to study the emission spectra of metallic ions in Jen Torline’s chemistry class. “They tested ionic salts in the Bunsen burner flame to observe the different colors that metallic ions produce,” said Torline.

“This lab is helpful in illustrating the many ways chemistry is used to detect seemingly hidden elements, such as is the case in forensic science and investigational purposes.”

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Doherty Teacher Speaks at Colonial Society Reception Doherty teacher Claire Laughlin presented her work on teaching Colonial studies to Ohio dignitaries at the University Club in mid-March at the annual reception of Ohio’s Society of Colonial Wars.

to the reception at the University Club in Cincinnati. Laughlin was one of two keynote speakers to present at the luncheon.

Last year, Laughlin was awarded a scholarship, funded by the Society, to attend the six-day Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute in Williamsburg, Virginia. “I had the opportunity to exchange ideas with historians, meet character interpreters and become part of the story in Williamsburg,” said Laughlin. “I learned interactive teaching techniques and developed instructional materials that allowed me to bring history to life in my classroom.” As part of her experience, Laughlin was invited by the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Ohio

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Summer at Seven Hills Make it an unforgettable summer!

Transform your child’s summer from uninspiring to UNFORGETTABLE! Choose from more than 100 programs for children ages 3-16.

To learn more plea

se visit 7hills.org/sum merprogram or call 513.7 28.2380

Weekly Summer Programs are open to all Greater Cincinnati children, with more than 100 half-day and full-day programs available! To learn more, visit 7hills.org/SummerProgram or call 513.728.2380.

Register for one week ‌ or all eight! (Weekly programs available, starting June 13.)

Early Care and After Care available.

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Seven Hills students travel to China the world famous Bund, and Tianzifang—a Seven Upper School students spent School March 16-30 travelingstudyshopping alley in the French Concession area.

Middle students through China, learning about Keys marine biology in Florida The Seven Hills group then went to meet the the culture, eating local foods, families that would be hosting them for a few visiting important landmarks, days while visiting the Shanghai Southwest attending school, and making Weiyu School. While there, the Seven Hills new friends with their host students attended English literature and families.

language classes; cultural classes such as calligraphy, paper cutting, and tai chi; physical education; and spent time with their host families. On their last day at the school, the Seven Hills students participated in many special events, and even participated in a talent show, where one of our students sang a solo in

Seven Hills students with their Weiyu School student hosts

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In a busy whirlwind of experiences, the group started their trip in Shanghai where they visited many sites, including Pearl Tower, the Shanghai History Museum,

Fun with replica terracotta solidiers

Chinese, and others sang a Chinese song called, 對不起，我的中文不好, which translates to “I’m sorry, my Chinese is bad.”

This special last evening in Shanghai ended with a farewell dinner attended by Weiyu School teachers and the principal, Seven Hills students, and their host families.

Terracotta Army

School News From Shanghai, the students headed to Xi’an where, among other experiences, they visited the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, an ancient building and holy place for Buddhists. The students then visited the site of the famed Terracotta Army, which was created to protect

From Xi’an, the group took the night train to Beijing where they toured the Forbidden City, explored the Great Wall of China, and wandered Tiananmen Square, among many other things.

T R AV E L B L O G Throughout their trip, the students kept family and friends updated through daily posts to their “China Trip” blog. The students’ China travels left them with wonderful memories and a yearning to return!

The beautiful buildings of Shanghai

The Great Wall of China

the tomb of China’s first emperor. Next, they explored the ancient City Wall, and then bartered for bargains on Muslim Street.

Yu Garden

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Stinger Madness & Seven Hills Day of Giving Seven Hills Day of Giving

For a week in March, Seven Hills was abuzz with two important events that supported The Seven Hills Annual Fund. In response to 100% of the faculty and staff participating in the Fund, ALL IN! was the theme for

both events, as we asked the entire community to join them in celebrating and supporting Seven Hills!

Stinger Madness The first event, Stinger Madness, was a weeklong event that brought together families of current Seven Hills students for a friendly competition to see which of the three divisional teams (Team Guethlein/ Fox for the Lower School divisions, Team 20 40

The second important annual event was our big 24-hour Seven Hills Day of Giving, during which friends of the school—alumni, grandparents, parents of alumni, and many others—made gifts to The Seven Hills Annual Fund via phone, fax, mail, email, and even text message!

Waskowitz for the Middle School division, and Team Bolton for the Upper School division) could get to the highest parent participation by the end of the week. Though the race was close right up to the final day of the event, Team Waskowitz won the coveted Stinger Madness trophy for 2016.

Thanks to encouragement from our Annual Fund Teams, we heard from many of you! In fact, more than 200 friends and families of Seven Hills supported The Fund during the week, adding $65,000 to the Annual Fund total over the course of this very busy week.

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Simply put, Seven Hills changed the trajectory of my life. There’s no question in my mind I wouldn’t be where I am today without the top-notch education that I received at Seven Hills. I recognize how unbelievably fortunate I am—at Seven Hills, I had hardworking, intelligent, grounded friends supported by loving parents, administrators who understood my potential and pushed me to exceed expectations, and teachers who—to this day—I see as family.

I owe a debt to Seven Hills that I know I can never truly repay.

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Our grateful thanks goes out to everyone who has supported The Seven Hills Annual Fund this year. Your gifts make possible the full richness of a Seven Hills education. Your gifts help us, every day, make learning come alive!

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Reminder: If you haven’t had the opportunity to make your Annual Fund gift for the 2015-16 school year, there is still plenty of time to make a difference as our fiscal year runs through June 30. Please visit www.7hills.org/annualfund to make your gift.

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Catching up with Ahmad Muhammad ’06 Now I feel that I am studying piano more passionately, more joyfully, and more seriously than I ever have. Chopin’s beautiful music also got me thinking about harmony, and that led me back to jazz, which is where I started.

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Alumni News Ahmad Muhammad

Where did your life and interests take you for the first few years after Seven Hills?

What were your goals after you completed your education?

Ahmad: When I graduated from Bowdoin,

Ahmad: After graduation from Seven Hills,

I wanted to really dive into practicing and

I migrated to Brunswick, Maine, where I

making music. That was all that I wanted to

attended Bowdoin College. I’ve had such a

do. I immediately made the half hour move

magical connection to Maine since first visiting

from Bowdoin to Portland to continue working

in my senior year at Seven Hills, and Bowdoin

with Jaw Gems and many other close musician

was a wonderful place for me. I had such an

friends I had in the area at that time. Having

intellectually invigorating experience there. I

no car quickly became a barrier, so that fall

took classes in music, physics, math, English,

I decided to return home to Cincinnati to live

and sociology—eventually settling into an

rent-free with family and work and save enough

English major in my sophomore year. I was

money to buy a car and get back to Portland

very conflicted, and I didn’t want to make a

as soon as I could. After seven or eight months,

choice. I just wanted to keep taking whatever

and with some help from my mom and sister, I

courses looked interesting to me. Throughout

had wheels about a year after graduating, and

my time at Bowdoin, I began to find more and

I made my way back to Portland.

more work as a keyboardist on the Portland music scene, and by the time I graduated, I’d joined a group that held a weekly residency in Portland playing neo-soul, souljazz, hip-hop covers. I’m still with that group today, and we write our own music under the name Jaw Gems.

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Tell us briefly about your work today?

Ahmad: My work changes significantly from day to day. For instance, on Tuesday

afternoons I give piano lessons at a teen homeless shelter in Portland. I set up my

it “piano group.” I’ve been leading it for about

keyboard in the lobby from 1-3 p.m., and any

a month and a half now, and absolutely love it.

of the teens that come through are welcome to

I have a revolving cast of students that show up

drop in to learn how to play the piano. We call

each week. Today I worked with two of them, on the chord structure and melody of “Say Something.”

I’ve been teaching them to play the songs that they know and love and using those songs to work on the basic mechanics of playing the piano. Since I don’t have

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jaw gems a lot of time with the teens each week, I try to

my life I’d recently discovered

make it so that they leave piano group being

and taken up a new instrument

able to play something that they can enjoy on

called the rhythm bones, and I

their own. Other than this, I’ll be practicing

was completely obsessed with

music for three hours today, which has been a

them, but I almost never practiced

daily practice for me for about a year and a

them because of how strongly I

half now. I devote half of that time to the rhythm

identified as a pianist. I found I

bones and the other half to the piano.

would always feel really guilty for not being more disciplined with

What have been the significant points in your career or life?

Ahmad: A few years ago, my mentor, whom I’ve known since ninth grade, gave me some life-changing advice. “You have to fall in love with practicing,” he said. He was also my first jazz piano teacher, and I’d been telling him about how difficult it was practicing jazz piano every day, how it was starting to feel like a chore to me, and that was very confusing to me because I identified as a jazz pianist, so why didn’t I love practicing the piano for hours upon hours every day? At that time in

practicing the piano, but whenever I practiced the bones, I felt so invigorated and inspired and I would lose all sense of time. Once I started to

and I instantly had the desire to learn it. Not

really process my mentor’s advice, I decided

being a great sight-reader had always been

to devote more time to the bones and step

my excuse for not learning beautiful classical

away from the piano. I realized that I wasn’t

piano pieces, so I decided to learn it by

in love with practicing the piano. After about

ear. Learning that piece over the next month

six months of focusing solely on the bones,

was so invigorating to me that it inspired me

and not playing the piano at all, and not

to learn his other nocturnes from the same

joyfully, and more seriously than I ever have.

being totally sure of what my future with the

opus … then one of his waltzes … now

Chopin’s beautiful music also got me thinking

piano would be, I heard Chopin’s famous

one of his preludes. And now I feel that I

about harmony, and that led me back to jazz,

Nocturne in E flat major nocturne on the radio

am studying piano more passionately, more

which is where I started.

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Alumni Holiday Party S A V E

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The annual Young Alumni Holiday Party was held at the downtown Skyline Chili on December 23, 2015. Alumni from the classes of 2005 to 2015 had a great time reconnecting and enjoyed Seven Hills trivia hosted by Upper School teacher and Dean of Students David Brott.

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Classes of 2005 and 2010 celebrated reunions! (photo at right)

The Class of 2005 celebrated their 10th reunion at MadTree Brewing on Saturday, November 28, 2015.

Frances Stilwell Elinor Adick Kline

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2005 Reunion Reps Benjamin van der Horst Frederick Hall Libby Ferguson

Ashley Ackerman Logan Brookbank

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The Class of 2010 celebrated their fifth reunion on the same day at Neons. Thank you to both classes’ Reunion Frances Stilwell Elinor Adick Kline Reps for helping to make these gatherings so successful!

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Shannon Kelly Carter ’67: A Great Cincinnatian

Hillsdale class of ’67 alumna, and Seven Hills trustee, Shannon Carter was honored at a ceremony on Feb. 18 as one of four people selected as Great Living Cincinnatians for 2016. The Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce has presented this prestigious award annually since 1967. The honorees are chosen for their service to the community; business and civic attainment on a local, state, national or international level; leadership; awareness of the needs of others; and distinctive accomplishments that have brought favorable attention to their community, institution or organization.

In a statement about the 2016 Great Living Cincinnatians recipients, Jill P. Meyer, President & CEO, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber said, “The actions and passions of these honorees have truly made Cincinnati USA a unique and enticing place to be. Their contributions have enhanced our region, calling attention to the creativity and tenacity of our citizens—and telegraphing the fact that ours is a region where people make a difference …

I’m humbled by their accomplishments and proud to express our gratitude by bestowing the designation of ‘Great Living Cincinnatian’ on these four leaders.”

This significant honor recognizes Shannon’s lifelong commitment to community service, leadership and volunteerism, all dedicated to making Cincinnati a better place.

Carter’s leadership and volunteer efforts date back to her time at Hillsdale and continue to the present. Perhaps most prominent among Carter’s great accomplishments is her involvement in the local nonprofit organization Crayons to Computers.

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As a member of Class 19 of Leadership Cincinnati in 1995-96, Carter and her project team decided to act on reports that teachers in schools serving low-income children regularly spent $500 a year of their personal money to buy supplies for their classroom. With Carter in the lead, this seven-member team developed the concept of a teacher’s “Free Store” aptly named Crayons to Computers.

Carter led Crayons to Computers as its volunteer executive director for 16 years, during which time the organization distributed more than $100 million in school supplies to local children and teachers. Not only does Crayons to Computers serve 600 schools in 16 local counties today, it inspired the creation of similar organizations in 42 other cities.

One of several programs developed through Crayons to Computers that has had an immense impact on Carter, and which she holds close to her heart, was the creation of Crafts with Conviction. Crafts with Conviction came about when Carter partnered with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction to allow prisoners to manufacture and assemble flash cards, book bags, notebooks, and other supplies for Crayons to Computers. Crafts with Conviction

has become one of the largest community service programs utilized by Ohio’s corrections system.

Crayons to Computers is just one of Shannon’s many volunteer undertakings; other organizations that have benefitted from Shannon’s drive and devotion over her lifelong commitment to Cincinnati include the Children’s Hospital Thrift Shop, the Fine Arts Fund (now known as ArtsWave), Cincinnati Antiques Festival, the Taft Museum of Art, the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, World Choir Games, and of course The Seven Hills School.

Shannon’s current project, her creation and publishing of “Living Artfully”, combines her philanthropic dedication with her love of tradition and family history. This coffee table book inspires others to collect, preserve, and display their own history and treasures, while also divulging a few family recipes.

As one might expect, all proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to the Taft Museum of Art in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Seven Hills community is proud to congratulate Shannon on this significant and well-deserved achievement and to call her one of our own.

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Ring in the new!

By Scott Carroll ’85, Seven Hills Alumni Association Board Chair C O N G R AT U L AT I O N S A N D WELCOME, CL A SS OF 2016!

As graduation approaches, I want to take this opportunity to send congratulations and a warm welcome to the Class of 2016!

Congratulations for your many accomplishments over your time at Seven Hills.

And, a warm welcome, as you enter life as the newest members of the Alumni Association.

Through your years at Seven Hills you have worked hard and played hard. You have had experiences that you will take with you and build upon for the rest of your lives. You have made deep and lasting friendships that will continue to live on in your hearts.

We, the Seven Hills alumni community, have watched your progress and feel great pride in your achievements. We wish you well as you move forward in life, and look forward to seeing you back on campus, around the country, and around the world at alumni events for years to come. Go Stingers!

SEVEN HILLS’ NE W DIRECTOR O F A L U M N I E N G A G E M E N T: S A R A H O T T L A U TA R ’ 0 5 !

I’m also very pleased to welcome the new Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Ott Lautar to Seven Hills’ Development Office.

Sarah is a “lifer” of the school, starting in kindergarten at Lotspeich in 1991 and graduating with the class of 2005. After Seven Hills, she did her undergraduate studies at Kenyon College and then law school at The Ohio State University. Since graduating from law school, Sarah had been living in Cleveland, Ohio, working for the law firm Zashin and Rich.

Sarah recently returned “home,” and in more ways than one. Not only did she move back “home” to Cincinnati from Cleveland, but she also came back “home” to Seven Hills, to join the school as the new Director of Alumni Engagement.

Sarah joined the Seven Hills Development Office in January, and immediately hit the ground running planning events, brainstorming ideas for alumni programs, and connecting with

old and new friends among the Seven Hills alumni community.

Please take a moment to send Sarah a quick hello, via email or on our alumni Facebook page.

And, don’t forget to send Sarah any news about births, marriages, new jobs and promotions, reunions with Seven Hills friends, or other exciting things happening in your lives! Sarah can be reached at sarah.lautar@7hills.org, or at 513.728.2432.

Seven Hills Alumni Association Board Chair Scott Carroll is a Seven Hills lifer who entered pre-kindergarten at Lotspeich in 1973 and is a 1985 Seven Hills graduate. Scott, his wife, Erin O’Grady, and their daughter, Grace, Seven Hills Class of 2015, live in Cincinnati. Scott is the Managing Partner and Litigation Manager of the Cincinnati and Dayton offices of Jackson Lewis P.C.

S TAY C O N N E C T E D !

Like • • • NEW Seven Hills School Alumni Page on Facebook Join • • • Seven Hills School Alumni group on Linked In Follow • • • Seven Hills on Instagram @sevenhillsalumni

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Washington, D.C.

Spring 2016 Alumni Gatherings NAPLES, FL ALUMNI G AT H E R I N G

Mary Reis Sullivan (C ’59), Debbie BankerWhite (H ’67), Sarah Johnson, and Mark Johnson.

On January 29, alumni and other members of the Seven Hills community gathered for a lunch

WA S H I N GTO N, D.C . A LU M N I G AT H E R I N G Nancy Hogan Dutton (H ’56) hosted a lovely evening of cocktails and dinner at her home in Washington, D.C. on March 21. Attendees received an update on the state of the school from Head of School Chris Garten and mingled with fellow Seven Hills alumni. Pictured from left to right in the photo, standing: Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Ott Lautar (’05), Carter McLeod (’05),

Naples, FL

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Judy Frieder Starrels (L ’56), Daryl Price (’85), Jason Goldman (’91), Lucky McCalmont Marmon (H ’56), Livezey Hickenlooper More (C ’61), Mark Hines (’02), Frenika Rivers Mudd (’01), Gabe Davis (’03), Hannah Bloch (’80), Joan Hinsch Searby (H ’54), Kate Blocher (’98), Head of School Chris Garten, Ramsey Reid (’03), Marc Shotten (’92), Valentina Castillo Hall, Nate Gilman (’06), Frederick Hall

hosted by Anne Drackett Thomas (H ’66) at the Royal Poinciana Golf Club in Naples, FL. Pictured from left to right: Thomas Mackelfresh (L ’41), Elinor Adick Kline (H ’58), Nancy Heffner Donovan, Head of School Chris Garten, Suzanne King Kountz (C ’57), Marjorie Wood Drackett (H ’40), Kathy Oechler Whitbeck (H ’67), Anne Drackett Thomas (H ’66), Kay Mitchell Pettengill (H ’41), Rita Lillard Picton (H ’66), Washington, D.C.

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Shauna Pinkett (’99), Francie Comey (’01), Monica Dealy (’99), Liza Martindale Weiner (’99), CeCe Gehrig (’01), Deborah Hinckley (C’65), Jan Fullgraf Golann (H ’67), and Steve Golann.

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(’05), Chris Wyant (’01); seated: Nancy Hogan Dutton (H ’56), Bill Marmon.

NE W YORK , NY ALUMNI G AT H E R I N G Jan Fulgraf Golann (H ’67), Sara Eisen (’02), and Bobby Marcus (’97) kindly hosted an event for our alumni in the New York City area on April 6, 2016. Alumni gathered at the Doubles Club at the Sherry Netherland for cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and the “state of the school” from Head of School Chris Garten. Pictured from left to right in the group photo: Alistair Motch (’07), Beth Krone (’05), Megan Rockwell

(’03), Joe Kraeutler (’96), Mary Wulsin (’05), Peter Wojda (’06), Bobby Marcus (’97), Ian Hayes (’03), Mary Taliaferro (’09), Abbey Gauger (’09), Henry Antenen (’08), Katherine Crone Kline (H’53), Peter Dumbadze (’06),

On Wednesday, January 27, 2016, Clover Brodhead Gowing (C’53) and Melinda Freedman Staveley (L’55) hosted several of our Southern California-based alumni for a luncheon at Stelle Mare’s Restaurant in Santa Barbara, CA. Ann Crocker Archer (H’50), Heather Brodhead (C’57), Mary Robertson Jennings (H ’50, and Arlene Schroeder Satterlee (H’55) were all in attendance.

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Alumni News Seven Hills Alumnus Named Director of Clinton’s Ohio Campaign “ It’s pretty exciting to be in a situation where we are potentially helping to elect the first female president of the United States.”

Chris’ senior picture

- Chris Wyant ’01

Seven Hills alumnus Chris

Washington, D.C., to Columbus. “As we turned the corner

Wyant ’01 recently took the

in 2016, and the election became more real, I realized how

helm as director of presidential

eager I was to come back to my home state because the

candidate Hillary Clinton’s

stakes of this election are so high and I’m a real believer in

Ohio campaign. Always true

what Hillary Clinton has to offer our country.”

to his Cincinnati roots, Wyant made his first media call to the

The Clinton campaign is a next natural step for Wyant, a

Cincinnati Enquirer in the late

political entity known for his mastery of President Barack

evening of May 3, shortly after

Obama’s general election campaign efforts in 2012. As

he officially accepted the offer to run the campaign in

soon as a day after his official hire, Wyant was on the phone

the country’s quintessential swing state. The news spread

to assemble an executive election staff that will engage,

quickly as Wyant fielded congratulatory calls and tweets

persuade, and motivate voters via a variety of means. “It’s

from friends, colleagues, and his Seven Hills family.

very much like starting a company,” said Wyant, whose sister Missy Wyant Smit ’94; brothers Jack ’92 and Tim

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“It’s pretty exciting to be in a situation where we are

Wyant ’96; mother Peg Wyant H’60, and aunt Nancy

potentially helping to elect the first female president of

Hogan Dutton H’56, all attended Seven Hills. Wyant said

the United States,” said Wyant, who recently moved from

he has vivid memories of several teachers he said helped

shape who he is today, from “memories of being a young student in Anne Vanoy’s class” and “great tennis victories with Tim Drew,” to distinct memories about (Bob) Turansky’s description of history being a “long and winding road” that changes relative to your age and life experience.

“I’m tremendously grateful for all Seven Hills has taught me,” said Wyant, a 15-year Seven Hills lifer. “Whatever success I have had, I attribute it to Seven Hills.”

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Alumna Diane Moffett CPS ’74 We recently caught up with Diane Moffett to ask her about her Legacy Society gift .

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Diane Moffett CPS ’74 attended Miss Doherty’s College Preparatory School for Girls from first through eighth grades, and felt so strongly about her experience at the school, that she generously included Seven Hills in her estate plans. Diane was the first generation in her family to attend CPS, though her siblings soon followed her. Education was always a priority in her family, so CPS was a terrific fit.

Diane credits small class sizes and stimulating teachers for her outstanding experience, noting, “There was no place to hide.” This kind of individualized attention—a hallmark of CPS— made all the difference, wherein she had plenty of personal attention, warm faculty interactions, thoughtful structure, and guided yet independent learning opportunities. Her teachers encouraged independence in their students, and Diane thrived with that method.

Diane recalls French being particularly demanding but equally rewarding. The watchful and thorough Mme Delory challenged her students to be better than each thought she could be. She was “classy

and ‘old school’ with a European demeanor,” Diane said. If a student happened to run into Mme Delory outside of school, she could count on an interchange in French, never English, even down to the youngest scholars!

Music also made an impression on Diane, who sang in the choir, and fondly remembers her class recording an album with music teacher Kenneth Boone.

Latin teacher Donald Bober was another teacher who made an impact on Diane’s experience.

He always expected more from his students, challenging and encouraging them to go beyond their own expectations for themselves. She recalls the silent classroom and the click, click, click of Mr. Bober’s metal heels as he moved through the classroom, to connect with each student individually. He inspired hard work, always emphasizing the importance of proper grammar, oral skills, and preparation for exam execution.

Diane credits CPS with her solid educational foundation and thanks the school for not only positioning her well for college, with strong study habits, but also inspiring a sense of curiosity that has led her to an interesting and rewarding life. She credits her father with his legacy of philanthropy. He taught her, by example, to thank those around her who had made an impact by giving back. This philanthropic lesson lives on

with Diane, who is proud to have made Seven Hills a priority in her estate plan and will.

If you would like information about becoming a member of The Seven Hills School Legacy Society, please contact Margo Kirstein, Director of Development, at 513.728.2437 or margo.kirstein@7hills.org.

We are pleased to honor CPS, Lotspeich, Hillsdale, and Seven Hills alumni and friends who remembered the school in their estate plans.

The Seven Hills School has a rich history, which, from 1974, has combined the traditions and standards Including The Seven Hills School of educational excellence of in your estate plans makes possible three well-known the full richness of the Seven Hills Cincinnati schools: Miss experience. Learn more about the Doherty’s College Legacy Society at Preparatory 7hills.org/giving/plannedgiving School for Girls (CPS); the Lotspeich School; and the Hillsdale School.

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Lotspeich classes of 1941, 1946, 1951, 1956, 1961, 1966, and 1971 Seven Hills classes of 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, and 2002 The classes of 2007 and 2012 will celebrate their reunions on Sat., Nov. 25, 2017.

All events are free of charge courtesy of your Alumni Association & the Development Office

Reunion reps are needed to help make this a special weekend for your class. Please contact Sarah Ott Lautar ’05 at sarah.lautar@7hills.org or 513.728.2432, if you are interested in helping.

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WE LOOK FORWARD TO WELCOMING YOU BACK TO CAMPUS!

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Reunion Representatives: Reunion reps are needed to help make this a special weekend for your class. While the schoolsponsored reunion events are for everyone to enjoy, each class organizes its own class-specific events. Please volunteer to help plan an event for your class. The more people from your class are able to attend, the better your reunion will be.

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Please co ntact Sara h Ott Lauta r ’05, Dir ector of Alumni E ngageme nt Sarah.la utar@7h ills.org 513.728 .2432

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Reunion Events 2016 Alumni came together on April 15 and 16 to celebrate and enjoy the beautiful weather during Reunion 2016. Alumni from the class of 1966 and above enjoyed the Classics Luncheon at Cincinnati Country Club, the CPS alumnae tour of Doherty Campus, tours of the Upper School, the new Early Childhood Center, and the Alumni Art Show on Friday. On Saturday, alumni returned to the Hillsdale Campus for Lifelong Learning classes taught by Upper School teachers, remarks on the state of the school from Head of School Chris Garten, and a BBQ picnic with food from Montgomery Inn and a visit from the Mister Softee truck.

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Barb Siegel Kubik C’66, Mimi Plattenburg Gilbert C’56, Evie Rusk Foulkes C’66, Director of Development Margo Kirstein

Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Ott Lautar ’05, Monnie Gores Peters H’66

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Martha Jones Landise H’46, Carolyn Eberle Caldwell H’37

Judy Allen Thompson H’56, Mimi Plattenburg Gilbert C’56 57

Reunion 2016 Classics Luncheon

April 15 & 16, 2016

Monnie Gores Peters H’66, Anne Drackett Thomas H’66

Martha Jones Landise H’46, Carolyn Eberle Caldwell H’37, Janet Fast Andress H’46, Emmy Gest Todd C’46

Natalie Plattenburg Hauck C’60, Mimi Plattenburg Gilbert C’56

Helen Chatfield Black H’41, Sudie Ernst Geier H’41, and Janet Hengstenberg Hauck H’46

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Joan Fankhauser Ireton C’51, Betsy Alexander Berry H’57

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Roberta Dunville Sprague H’56, Linda Lovett Crawford H’56, Judy Allen Thompson C’56, Mimi Plattenburg Gilbert C’56.

Sunny Bowman Saelinger C’61, Melanie Maddox Hunt C’61, Barbara Simpson Garner C’61, Carol Iannitto Euskirchen H’61

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Reunion 2016 Classics Luncheon

April 15 & 16, 2016

Nancy Hogan Dutton H’56, Ann McDowell Santen H’56, Louise Atkins Head H’56

Jane Slemmer Larsen H’56, Carolyn Huwe Ludwig H’56

Frank Huss L’45, Marilyn Miller Logan H’44, Ginny Wilkinson Brooks H

Director of Development Margo Kirstein, Penny Ferguson Griffith C’61, Joan Buttrick Lampert C’61, Nickie Adair Kuhn C’61 60

Sandy Hauck Elliott C’49, Joan Petzhold Baily H’52, Joan Fankhauser Ireton C’51

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Congratulations on your 50th Reunion, Class of 1966!

Bottom row: Monnie Gores Peters H’66, Anne Drackett Thomas H’66, Barb Siegel Kubik C’66, Annie Ratliff Naberhaus C’66.

Top row: Susan Lynn Saldin C’66, Debby Brown Cummins C’66, Margaret Ecker C’66, Evie Rusk Foulkes C’66, Cynthia Kuhn Beischel C’66, Kathy White Williamson C’66, Ann Westheimer Williams C’66

Bottom row: Randol Foote Haffner C’60, Katherine Nichols Sauter H’59, Betsy Alexander Berry H’57, Natalie Plattenburg Hauck C’60.

Top row: Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Ott Lautar ’05, Gee Porter Gaither C’64 Pat Landen H’50, Barbara Huenfeld LeBlond C’62

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On Saturday, April 16, alumni gathered for Lifelong Learning classes at the Upper School. Upper School History Department Chair Brian Wabler taught “The Transformation of China Since 1980” and Head of the Upper School Matt Bolton taught “The Next Great American Novel: What our Search for a Unifying Book Suggests About our Diverse Culture”. Head of School Chris Garten presented the state of the school to alumni in the Young Family Library before everyone enjoyed a BBQ picnic catered by Montgomery Inn, with a visit from the Mister Softee truck!

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Goodall Distinguished Alumna Award presented to Ann McDowell Santen H’56 Ann McDowell Santen H’56

still remember how in French class, when the rest of us were concerned about grammar, Ann was intent on telling us all about French history. She read a lot. She had an incredible enthusiasm and love for sharing with others.”

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The Seven Hills alumni community, family, and friends gathered during the Classics Luncheon to recognize Ann Santen H’56, recipient of the Goodall Distinguished Alumna/us Award. Seven Hills’ highest alumni honor, the Goodall Award acknowledges an individual “who has achieved distinction in a public or private career or activity bettering the lives of others.”

Santen’s significant and lasting contributions to Cincinnati’s cultural excellence and educational enrichment during the past six decades underscore her passion for learning and love for Cincinnati and The Seven Hills School, said award presenter Nancy Hogan Dutton H’56. “Ann was such a role model for every Hillsdale girl,” said Dutton. “I can

In a striking demonstration of how Santen’s early values shaped her at Hillsdale, and right up to the present day, Dutton shared the broad spectrum of achievements and experiences that have defined Santen’s life, as a result of her inquisitive personality and iconic pursuits.

Dutton highlighted just a few of Santen’s defining endeavors and accomplishments, including serving as General Manager and Music Director of the public radio station WGUC 90.0 FM, for two decades; chairing the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s 2011-2012 Music Director Search Committee; receiving the 2014 Martha and Artemis Joukowsky Distinguished Service Award from the Archeological Institute of America; and commissioning two dozen musical works from national and international composers. Among the greatest of achievements, said Dutton, is Santen’s partnership with her husband Harry Santen,

which spans almost six decades. Santen continues to be a passionate student of Greek history, art, architecture and literature; Roman archaeology; and ancient Egypt.

“Ann long ago sensed the importance of music to the human spirit and it has been primary in her endeavors. Her work for the celebrated Nancy Hogan Dutton H’56, Head of School Chris Garten, Cincinnati Art Ann McDowell Santen H’56, Harry Santen Museum fits. But who would have ever thought she would become a noted amateur archeologist?” said Dutton. “Whatever is next, you can count on Ann Santen’s giving 100 percent, and bringing us along for the ride.”

Ann McDowell Santen H’56, Harry Santen

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Reunion 2016

Individual Class Events H illsdale 1966 (photo at right) Bottom row: Melissa Kinne Norton, Christy Graf, Lane Carlee

CPS 1966 (photo below) Susan Lynn Saldin, Debby Brown Cummins, Debbie Colaw Peterson, Ann Westheimer Williams, Cynthia Kuhn Beischel,

Top row: Kitty Hawley Schmidt, Susan Hawley Kelly, Rita Lillard Picton, Anne Drackett Thomas, Joy Barrett Ford, Martha Goldsmith, Kathy Dowd Baumann, Monnie Gores Peters

Annie Ratliff Naberhaus, Evie Rusk Foulkes, Barb Siegel Kubik, Margaret Ecker, Kathy White Williamson

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CPS 1966 (photo at right) Cynthia Kuhn Beischel, Kathy White Williamson, Susan Lynn Saldin, Margaret Ecker, Annie Ratliff Naberhaus

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1966 Hillsdale 1971 (photo at right) Debbie Hill, Linda Heldman Greenberg, Nancy Maxwell Mullen, Wynne McCarthy Curry, Lissy Fabe, Lloyd Buhrman Ricci, Judy Pfingstag, Missy Keeler, Elizabeth March, Lane Sikes Merten, Margot Griffith Bean, Terri Rhoades,

1966

Donna Lenherr Kinney, Josie Graf Thayer, Ruth Sproull, Sally Elder Kamholtz, Amy Hauck-Hamilton, Wendy Gradison, Ridgely Trufant, Anne Warrington Wilson

HILLSDALE

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1971

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1976 (photo at right) Bottom row: Janet Allen Reid, Sarah Swanson, Clare Dupree Second row: Joy Stillpass Nadler, Grace Horwitz Betts, Mary Warrington Cassidy, Lawre Finn Bonekemper, Amy Betts Harten, Amanda Coleman Voss, Ann Harrison Rich, Cathi White, Christine Lowther Sayre Third row: Christie Evans, Lyneise Williams, Trudy McGraw Marcum, Francie Woodward Williams, Melissa Mechem Congdon, Marie Gordon Wiljanen, Merry Ewing, Carol Andress, Reed Minor Ebel, Marcy Wydman, Sandra Smythe, Lynne Wommack Espy Back row: Susan Scoville Deye, Allison Lett Essinger, Rona Davies

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1976 1981 (photo at left)

Front row: Ashley Hammond, Jay Clark, Elaine Fluent Fening, Diana “Gerri� Avril Tully Second row: Philip Meyers, Margaret Sullivan Moore, Susan Kaufmann Campbell, Sarah Mitchell Buller, Betsy Urban Third row: Steven Bryant, Linnea Bowling Nadel, Randi Hopmeier Chaiken

1981

Top row: Brad Potts, Scott Beall, Paul Callard, Karen Bidlingmeyer Callard, Jim Paulsen

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Reunion 2016

Individual Class Events 1986 (photo at left) David Arps Jamie Gleich Bryant

1986 (photo below) Sean Donovan Michael Ludwig Eric Hunter

1986 1986 (photo at right)

Jason Knarr Alexandria Charleville Chris Charleville

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Reunions

1986

1986 1986 (photo at right) Sean Donovan Julie Foster Bob Shaffer

1986

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Second row: Andrew Grever, Sean Donovan, Sarah Buzzee Flem, Chris Dearth, Jason Cohen,

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1991 (photo at right) Bottom row: Jason Goldman David Jett Kelly Myers Top row: Pete Matthews Jason Cohen Sarah Buzzee Flem Lisa Binkley Briquet Mandy Hayes

1991

1991

1996

Michael Lin, Scott Berning, Sarah Pearce Phipps, Gayle Coolidge Burt, Kim Howard, Andy Fox, Lisa Gilbert, Lucy Shortt Schulhoff, Rachel Turansky Finn, Amrita Mangat Sulzer, Karla Baker Schweer, Lauren Truman Freeland, Julie Kathman Kaddatz, Fayre Schweitzer Martin, Scott Varland, John Snyder, Sara Snyder, Andrew Cruse

1996

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Alumni Class Notes 1933

Jane Deupree Franz (H)(Piedmont, CA) died on January 9, 2016.

New job? Recently married?

Written a book? If you have stories to share, please don’t hesitate! Go to www.7hills.org/alumniupdates.

Drop us a line and send photos (jpeg format, please) to

sarah.lautar@7hills.org.

1935

J. Charles McCullough (L)(Sanibel, FL) died on May 27, 2015.

Orville Simpson (L) died on July 20, 2015.

and friends who lost loved ones as reported in this issue.

Caroline “Ki” Hackney Hribar (C)(New York, NY) writes, “On July 2 this year, we became grandparents of a healthy girl named Dylan Brodie Fitzpatrick.”

1961

1944

1964

Margaret “Peggy” Lillard Doepke (H)(Stamford, CT) died on February 29, 2016.

Mary Jane Reemelin Robinson (C)(Carlisle, PA) died on November 30, 2014.

1945

Linda “Tuckie” Bartlett Westfall (C)(Alexandria, VA) writes, “We sold our house and are almost finished building a summer home in Harpswell, Maine. We also celebrated my stepson’s wedding in June.”

1948

Mary Elizabeth “Bonnie” Crudginton Stephenson Mitsui (H) (Cincinnati) died on May 11, 2013.

Frankie Marvin Peirce (L and H)(Boca Raton, FL) died on January 3, 2016.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Chapman Hewitt (C)(Nelson, NH), who has recently written a book, which includes descriptions of her time at CPS from 1935 to 1936 and 1939 to 1948.

1949

Jean Schmidlapp Pauly Clipson (C) died on August 19, 2015.

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1960

1942

Mary Ellen “Mellie” Sprott Foster (C)(Boise, ID) died on October 17, 2015.

Our condolences to family

Dr. Suzanne “Susie” Armstrong Beutler (H) (Ann Arbor, MI) writes to us, “We still have a great group of 1949’ers.”

1972

Lisa Lillard Caldwell (H)(Santa Fe, NM) writes to us that she and her husband, Dave Caldwell, traveled to Switzerland in the fall, and that she continues to paint and stay fit by practicing chi gong and using an upright stationary bike. She and her husband also recently welcomed a new granddaughter, Grace Myers, in December 2015.

1973

Amrita Skye Blaine (H)(Sebastopol, CA) writes, “My memoir about raising my disabled son has been published. It’s called Bound to Love: A memoir of grit and gratitude.”

1984

Murray Monroe, Jr. (Cincinnati) writes to us, “For the past fifteen years, I have been an architect, project manager, and structural engineer at THP, Inc. in Cincinnati. These days, the renovation of Music Hall is my main focus. THP is the structural engineer for the project, which began construction in the spring of 2016. I’m also the lead planner and architect for the ongoing Central Riverfront Garage, the two-story, 5,000-car garage that forms the base for The Banks neighborhood downtown (and 2013 International Parking Institute national award winner).”

1996

Best wishes to Tim Wyant (Brooklyn, NY) on his recent marriage to Meeta Agrawal.

Congratulations to Katherine Zoepf (New York, NY), who has received excellent reviews in The New York Times and Oprah Magazine on her recently-published book Excellent Daughters: The secret lives of young women who are transforming the Arab world.

1998

Congratulations to Jay Ashmore and Pam Ashmore (Cincinnati) on the birth of their daughter, Molly, on January 14, 2016!

2004

Jenna Harris (Denver, CO) writes that she “graduated with highest honors from the University of Virginia School of Architecture – Master of Landscape Architecture” in 2015.

Best wishes to Samantha Buyniski Goldfeder and Vitaly Goldfeder (Chicago, IL), who married on June 20, 2015, in Cincinnati! Almost 20 fellow alumni were in attendance at the wedding, including members of the wedding party.

2003

Best wishes to Preston Comey (San Francisco, CA), who married Shannon Lawrence on May 24, 2014, in Cincinnati. Preston is a Vice President with Evercore Partners in Menlo Park, CA.

Best wishes to Frederick Hall (Washington, D.C.) who wrote to tell us about his recent marriage to Valentina Castillo Hall on August 29, 2015, in Atlanta, GA. The wedding party included Seven Hills alumni Benjamin van der Horst (’05), Christopher Warrington (’05), and Philip Hall (’01).

2006

On January 6, 2016, Ahmad Hussein Muhammad (Portland, ME) returned to campus with his band, Jaw Gems.

Jaw Gems, a self-described psychedelic soul band, played in the Hillsdale Commons throughout the day, playing and conducting music clinics for Middle and Upper School students. Jaw Gems is currently on tour.

INTERESTED IN BEING A REUNION REP FOR YOUR CLASS?

Please Contact Sarah Ott Lautar ‘05, Director of Alumni Engagement sarah.lautar@7hills.org 513.728.2432

2005

Congratulations to Hannah Wheatley McNeill and Kyle McNeill (’06) (Covington, KY), who married on June 27, 2015, in Cincinnati!

Other alumni in attendance included Emily Hastie Schultz (’05) and Dan Schultz (’05), Karen Moebius (’05), Peter Dumbadze (’06), Alexandra Hue (’05), Libby Ferguson (’05), Will Constable (’05), Sebastian Hue (’02), Cooper Sawyer (’06), Nate Gilman (’06), and Kathy Moebius (’07).

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INTERESTED IN BEING A REUNION REP FOR YOUR CLASS?

Please Contact Sarah Ott

Congratulations to Meredith Decker Truettner (San Fransisco, CA) on her marriage to Ryan Truettner. Meredith and Ryan were married on August 29, 2015. Other Seven Hills friends in the wedding party included Maid of Honor Caroline Decker (’02), Erin Harbaugh Reese (’06), Emily Weber (’07), Cole McIlwraith (’06), and Lisa Curry. Meredith is a Senior Manager at Pandora Internet Radio and Ryan is a freelance videographer.

Lautar ‘05, Director of Alumni Engagement sarah.lautar@7hills.org 513.728.2432

New job? Recently married?

Written a book? If you have stories to share, please don’t hesitate! Go to www.7hills.org/alumniupdates.

Drop us a line and send photos (jpeg format, please) to

sarah.lautar@7hills.org.

Congratulations to Erin Harbaugh Reese (Phoenix, AZ) on her marriage to Russell Reese on September 26, 2015, in Scottsdale, AZ. Liza Zimmerman (’06) served as a bridesmaid. Other Seven Hills friends in attendance are pictured in the photo on right (from left to right) Peter Carr, Nathan McNamara (’06), Susan Miller (’06), Emily Weber (’07), Leah Hoffheimer Broder (’06), Meredith Decker Truettner (’06), Liz Westendorf (’06), Cole McIlwraith (’06), and Riley Grimme (’06).

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Jermaine Onye (Detroit, MI) is working as a materials and coatings engineer for General Motors after completing his Master’s in Material

Engineering at Ohio State University and an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Ohio University.

2009

On January 15, 2016, alumnus Milan Vinks (Bozeman, MT) returned to campus to give a presentation to Linda Ford’s class on his work protecting carnivores in Zambia with the Zambian Carnivore Programme.

2010

Shannon Monnier (Rock Hill, SC) tells us that she is pursuing her Master’s in Food, Nutrition, and Culinary Sciences at Clemson University. She also recently started a new job as Event Coordinator at Plate 108 in Greer, SC, where she plans and executes children’s cooking classes.

2011

Congratulations to Elisse Hill (Toronto, ON) on her marriage to William Egi on December 31, 2015, in Chicago, IL!

Alumni News # T H R O W B A C K

#Throwback

Devon Drysdale Clausing (’73), Shailah Stewart (’73), and Susan Quinones (’74) competing on television for Hillsdale’s It’s Academic! team in 1973.

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Alumni Events S A V E

D A T E

T H E

E PLEAS

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B it e s a n d L it e

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Young Alumni Annual Holiday Gathering C L A S S E S 2 0 0 6 - 2 016 Thursday, December 22, 2016 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. Location: TBD

2016

016 21, 2

T H U R S D AY, D E C E M B E R

Please Join Us for

Alumni Basketball Games Sunday, December 18, 2016 Kalnow Gym, Hillsdale Campus Women’s game: 2 p.m.

Men’s game: 4 p.m.

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S A V E

T H E

D A T E

22, 2016

Alumni Events A U G U S T

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Volleyball: Soccer:* 3p.m.

Men:5p.m.

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Alumni Calendar

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Tennis (c 3p.m.

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nge r game to arra es before thei ut in m s.

30 er e l play ould arriv ovided for al All players sh irts will be pr positions. T-sh will be open.

Concessions please contact: you will play, ow kn us let 41, or to rmation and g, 513.728.24 For further info ps@7hills.or el or ph g, n. or ia s. br ill , lautar@7h Brian Phelps ar ’05, sarah.

Sarah Ott Laut 32 513.728.24

S O C C E R

•

B A L L V O L L E Y

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T E N N I S

* Alumna Soccer Players: We ask that alumna soccer players let us know if you will be playing in the game by Wednesday, July 27, 2016. As you may remember from your days as a player, there are a set number of scrimmages that the team is allowed to play. This alumnae game counts as a scrimmage. If we do not have enough alumnae players, the girls’ team plays itself and the game is essentially a practice and “wastes” a scrimmage opportunity. If we do not have enough players by Wednesday, July 27, we will cancel the women’s alumnae game. We love the alumnae game and hope to have you there!

Thursday . . . Cincinnati Alumni Happy Hour July 21, 2016 Taft’s Ale House 1429 Race Street 45202 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Saturday . . . Alumni Sports Day Aug. 6, 2016 Soccer: Women 3 p.m., Men 5 p.m.

Tennis (coed): 3 p.m Volleyball: 3 p.m Hillsdale Campus, Red Bank Rd. Friday . . . Homecoming: Sept. 23, 2016: Middle School Soccer games Family picnic: 5 p.m.

Sports clinics: 7-8 p.m.

Hillsdale Campus, Red Bank Rd. Saturday . . . Homecoming: Sept. 24, 2016 Upper School cross country: 10 a.m.

Upper School girls soccer: 1 p.m.; boys soccer 3 p.m Hillsdale Campus, Red Bank Rd. Saturday . . . 5th and 10th Reunions Nov. 26, 2016 for classes of 2006 and 2011 Volunteers needed! Please email sarah.lautar@7hills.org Sunday . . . Alumni Basketball Games Dec. 18, 2016 Women 2 p.m., Men 4 p.m.

Kalnow Gym, Hillsdale Campus Thursday . . . Young Alumni Holiday Party Dec. 22, 2016 5 - 7 p.m. Location: TBD Friday & Saturday . . . Reunion 2017 : Seven Hills, CPS, and April 7 & 8, 2017 Hillsdale classes: ’42, ’47, ’52, ’57, ’62, ’67, ’72, ’77, ’82, ’87, ’92, ’97, ’02 Lotspeich classes: ’41, ’46, ’51, ’56, ’61, ’66, ’71 Please email sarah.lautar@7hills.org to volunteer!

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Hillsdale Campus 5400 Red Bank Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45227 Intellectually vibrant, individually attuned, future-ready learning for students two years through grade 12.

The Seven Hills School 2013-14 Board of Trustees