Through the Doors
New Faculty Faces SPA welcomed nine new faculty and academic staff across all three divisions in the fall of 2012. The new additions are: Kate Brooks is the new Middle and Upper School Librarian. Brooks holds an M.L.S., an M.A., and a B.A. from Indiana University. She comes to SPA from the University of Minnesota, where she served as the librarian for Digital Arts and Humanities, Comparative Literature, Film Studies, and Cultural Studies.
Greg Helgeson
Carl Corcoran joins the Upper School math department. He is a recent graduate of Macalester College, where he was a math and political science double major. Carl served as a preceptor in Macalester’s mathematics department for multiple math classes. Darren Donaldson teaches Middle School math. He comes to SPA from schools in Houston, London, and Saskatchewan, Canada, where he taught math and physical education. He holds a B.Ed. from the University of Saskatchewan. Claire Flom-Staab ’13 (left) and Helen Derechin ’14 (center), members of the Summit Singers, and Ibad Jafri ’13 (right) of the Academy Chorale are three of the students who will travel to New York in February 2013 to perform at Carnegie Hall.
SPA choirs to perform at Carnegie Hall Two Upper School choirs, The Summit Singers and Academy Chorale, have been selected to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City on February 17, 2013. The students will perform Schubert’s “Mass in G” under the direction of guest conductor Dr. Paul Nesheim, along with other selected choirs from around the nation. In addition, the choirs have also been chosen to perform in their own 30-minute solo spot during the program. Choir director Anne Klus will prepare the students for the concert and accompany them on their trip to New York. “This truly is an opportunity of a lifetime that these students will never forget,” Klus says. The last time an SPA choir performed at Carnegie Hall was in 2009, when the Summit Singers and Academy Chorale performed “Lux Aerterna” with three other high school choirs. 6
SPA | Fall 2012 | Winter 2013
Chris Keimig joins the Upper School English department. He has served as a Graduate Instructor of Creative Writing at the University of Minnesota. Keimig holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in English language and literature from the University of Maryland. Sophie Kerman teaches Upper School French and holds an M.A. in French from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in sociology and anthropology from Carleton College. She served as a Graduate Instructor of French at the University of Minnesota prior to joining SPA. Lauren Mellick is the Assistant Director of College Counseling. Mellick joins us from Wake Forest University, where she served as Assistant Dean of Undergraduate Admission. Mellick is also a graduate of Wake Forest. Mallory Schmidt teaches Upper School science. Prior to joining SPA, she taught organic chemistry at the University of St. Thomas. She holds an M.S. in organic chemistry from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in chemistry from Gustavus Adolphus College. Amy Utecht is a new homeroom teacher in grades 1/2. Prior to SPA Utecht taught at the Berlin Metropolitan School in Berlin, Germany and coordinated the school’s math program. She holds a B.A. in sociology from the University of Minnesota. Tian Wang teaches Chinese in the Upper School. Prior to SPA Wang served as a Chinese teacher at Achieve Language Academy. She holds a B.A. from Hubei College of Education in Hubei, China.