St. Luke’s Student Voice Since 1929
Inside this issue....
This Year in Timeline
Forget what happened in October? Flip to pages 4 and 5 for an awesomely laid out timeline of this school year.
St. Luke’s School
Ulrike’s Goodbye
Where Will Your Classmates Be?
Turn to page 3 to read a goodbye and thank you letter written by this year’s Assist student, Ulrike!
See page 3 to read all about the trips planned for the 2012 summer season.
377 North Wilton Road - New Canaan, CT - 06840
May 2012
Teacher Evalutions Move Online: Handwriting No Longer A Factor Nicole Bennett-Fite Editor
Mr. Gammill and Nils Berglund ‘14 participate in Upper school service day at the Stamford Nature Center
Big Changes At The Top:
The Search for a New Head of Upper-School Sebastian Bates Editor For as long as most St. Luke’s students can remember, the sight of Mr. Yavenditti sitting behind his desk in his cavernous office has been a fixture of school life. However, the time is fast approaching when there will be a new Head of Upper School sitting in the chair. Don’t worry - Mr. Yavenditti isn’t going anywhere: he is simply changing positions. As Mr. Davis, Head of School, announced to parents last week, Mr. Yavenditti will be taking up a new position as full-time Director of Studies in the 2013-2014 school year. The position of Director of Studies has been created because of the growing perception that Mr. Yavenditti and Mr. Bailey, Assistant Head for Teaching and Learning, have, in Mr. Davis’ words, “been doing the job of three people” between them. This new position will leave the incoming Head of Upper School free to focus on the executive side of running the ever-growing Upper School and Mr. Bailey with enough time to oversee his other areas of responsibility (for instance, faculty development). But what, one may ask, will the Director of Studies do, exactly? As Mr. Yavenditti ex-
This week in news.....
plained in an interview with the Sentinel, he will oversee a “pre-college counseling” program, working with Upper Schoolers and their parents to plot out their high school careers. In his new role, Mr. Yavenditti will work with rising ninth graders and new SLS students coming directly into the Upper School in order to facilitate their entrance into the rigorous and sometimes complicated high school curriculum. Indeed, he aims to meet with all new Upper Schoolers and their families at least once before the start of each school year. He will also be working with current Upper Schoolers (especially sophomores) to guide them through the process of plotting out their schedules. Helping students enter the so-called “Scholars Programs”- Global Scholars, STEM Scholars, and Classical Diplomates- will also be part of Mr. Yavenditti’s new job description. Overall, Mr. Yavenditti says that he hopes that by working with the College Counseling Office, the advisors, and Mr. Bailey, he can put together a “more robust academic advising team” to help students before Junior year, when college counseling starts in earnest. Indeed, he is confident cont. pg 3
- This just in, Seniors 2012 rule, rest of school drools - Seniors wreak havoc on the rest of school
The teacher evaluations that we have all grown so used to are about to undergo a renovation. The Academic Council, made up of department heads and miscellaneous administrators, has approved an additional evaluation in May (traditionally the evaluations are given in October and March.) The Council made the decision to give another evaluation in the spring because prior to this year, teachers never received feedback on their second semester curricula. However, not only will an additional evaluation be given in May, but, starting this year, all evaluations will be administered online via Survey Monkey. The format of the evaluation will be exactly the same as the paper version. In theory, when administered online, the results are much easier to compile, analyze, catalogue and compare. For students, this change will remedy the concern that written forms allow teachers to know which response belongs to which student. Often times, this concern prevents students from being totally honest in their responses, out of fear that a negative review will damage their relationship with a teacher. The online version offers an anonymous alternative, and for this reason the administration expects that responses will become more sincere. Many student may assume that this would worry teachers, as it is generally believed that negative feedback on a survey jeopardizes a teacher’s position. However, while excessive negative feedback does raise questions, generally speaking this is not the case. The surveys are a way for teachers to improve their classes, and to actively respond to the needs of their students. In fact, most teachers are less concerned about student responses, and more annoyed by the logistical difficulties of administering a digital survey during class time. St. Luke’s students are no strangers to “powerpoint lag,” the delay in class time that inevitably results from the use of technology. Therefore, students will be expected to complete the surveys either in class or at home. The issue then arises of making sure students complete the surveys. In class this is an easy task. Teachers simply allot the time, and students complete the surveys. Outside of class, teachers have no way of controlling whether or not students complete the survey, especially since they remain anonymous. Some kinks need to be worked out, but until then, students should normalize the idea of digital evaluations.
- Seniors graduate June 1st, be there or be square -It’s the week before Senior week