>> THROUGH THE DOORS
SPA Bids Farewell
Bill Ross
Alex Loveland
Mary Kay Orman
Affinity group for students of color collaborates with Penumbra Theater
Penumbra’s H. Adam Harris (center) with the members of Common Ground. Anne Marie Shimkus
Kate Yenni
This spring, SPA will bid farewell to four faculty members. Between them, Mary Kay Orman (MS Drama), Bill Ross (M/US Physical Education), Anne Marie Shimkus (US Math), and Kate Yenni (LS Reading Specialist), have 112 years of service to the school. The four were celebrated at divisional retirement parties and the annual end-of-year gathering for faculty and staff.
For the fourth year, Common Ground, SPA’s students of color affinity group, collaborated with the Penumbra Theatre Company to engage the SPA community in conversations about race and diversity. This year’s project was a collaboration between Common Ground, the Intercultural Club, and the Muslim Student Alliance. The students worked with H. Adam Harris, the Associate Director of Program at Penumbra Theatre Company, to present an assembly that examined the nature of community. In shaping the assembly and discussion, the panel of students shared results from a community survey which highlighted people and places identified as important to the SPA community, as well as some common “myths” about SPA. Students were also challenged to think about what changes they would make to SPA and how they, individually and collectively, can continue to cultivate a vibrant and welcoming community for all.
Science Olympiad Team Places First in Minnesota Among Small Schools at State Competition On Saturday, March 4, SPA’s Upper School Science Olympiad team had its best showing ever at the Minnesota State Science Olympiad Competition, held at Bethel University in St. Paul. The Spartan team placed first in the “Small School” category, beating rival Blake and all other small schools, and eleventh overall. In addition to the team’s success, three SPA pairs medaled in individual events (medals indicate finish across schools of all sizes): Ben Konstan ’18 and Terry Cheney ’18 won third place in the Experimental Design event; Sammy Ries ’19 and Adnan Askari ’18 won fourth place in the Invasive Species event; and Libby Woodson ’18 and Larry Chen ’18 won fourth place in the Wind Power event. The Science Olympiad is a national science-knowledge competition in which teams are tested in twenty scientific categories. The SPA team is coached by US science faculty Beth Seibel-Hunt and Ned Heckman. “The top teams are usually big schools that do Science Olympiad as a course for credit,” says Heckman, “so it is a real accomplishment for our students to have won the championship for small schools and placed so high overall.”
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Summer 2017
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