SEVEN HILLS
January 26, 2012
The Buzz
A Brief Word from Chris Garten
Sonja Stratman shares experiences “growing up under the swastika”
Assemblies offer a wonderful window on school culture. At these frequent conclaves, I’m often struck by the warmth of our students’ support for one another. They cheer each other’s successes; they support one another’s events. They mark birthdays and milestones. Assemblies are run, here, by students, who recognize even much younger students by name.
The speaker had the eighth graders’ full attention as she described her youth, growing up in Hitler’s Germany. At age 10, Sonja Stratman was required to join the Hitler Youth, and it wasn’t until she was 14 that she learned the true nature of the Nazi regime.
I’m struck, too, by how much of what goes on at this school is orchestrated by our student leaders. The last week’s assemblies have included an ardent celebration of our boys basketball team’s last minute victory over CHCA, audition calls for Willie Wonka at Middle and Tess of the D’Urbervilles at Upper, solicitations for original poems and short stories for Paper Noise, organizational details for our hosting of the Certamen classics competition, and last minute preparations for this weekend’s Pinewood Derby. As always, there’s a lot going on! Chris Garten, Head of School
Lowell Wenger appointed to OAH committee Upper history teacher Lowell Wenger has been appointed to serve on the Organization of American Historians Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Teacher of the Year Award Committee. The committee presents an annual award recognizing contributions made by precollegiate teachers to improve history education. Mr. Wenger will serve on the committee from May 1, 2012, to April 30, 2015, and he will chair the committee for the last two years of his appointment.
The great-aunt of sophomore Kelsey and freshman Kristin Stratman, Sonja Stratman didn’t speak of her experiences for 58 years, then she decided it was important to share her story. She told the students, “Remember one thing. One ruthless minority can obtain power by intimidation and force if the majority lets them get away with it. It can happen easily. It’s up to you to stop it.” Commenting on the quantity and quality of the students’ questions, she said, “I am impressed by all of you. You are very interesting!” Quoting from Jessica Brown’s article in the January 20 Enquirer, “Stratman’s talk capped off a day of events tied to the students’ history and English lessons. The class was learning about World War II and the Holocaust in history and were reviewing Lord of the Flies
in English. The two teachers [history teacher Judith Neidlen-Dial and English teacher Linda Maupin] collaborated on the curriculum to draw out some of the deeper points about power struggles and how the lessons can relate to the students’ lives in terms of realworld issues like bullying. ... “Earlier, students visited Rockwern Academy...to hear from Conrad Weiner, who survived a concentration camp as a child. They toured ‘Mapping Our Tears,’ at the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education.”
Inside this Buzz Doherty & Lotspeich Spirit Night
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Upper School News
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Books for Lunch Info
Sonja Stratman, Judith Neidlen-Dial
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Middle School News
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Lotspeich News
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Doherty News
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