Events@E A Hirtle Summer Program Continues To Grow This summer, Episcopal Academy welcomed more
than 100 teachers from across 24 schools to its annual Hirtle Summer Program for Innovative Schools. The Hirtle Summer Program for Innovative Schools provides opportunities for teachers and school leaders to come together to explore ways to transform learning spaces into dynamic, interactive learning communities. Each year, the program offers a myriad of workshops for educators who are interested in growing their skills, connecting with colleagues who share the same passion for excellence in teaching, and exploring innovative educational topics. This year’s program offered four robust, multi-day workshops including: Best Practices of Writing Instruction, Exeter Mathematics Institute, EA Innovates, and Blended Learning. “Sometimes it can be difficult to find time to innovate in our classrooms and focus on really digging deeply into new ideas during the hustle and bustle of the school year,” says Dr. Catherine Hall, Episcopal’s assistant head of school. “We strive to offer the time and space in the summer for teachers to collaborate, exchange ideas, and explore ways of elevating our teaching practices and creating dynamic learning environments for our students.” EA is committed to further expanding course offerings in the future. A future goal is to also identify potential scholarship partners to help make the program available to educators whose schools may face budgetary constraints.
The Year of the Goat: EA Celebrates the Chinese New Year Draped with traditional red lanterns and colorful Chinese umbrellas and couplets, the Main Stage Theater in the Crawford Campus Center served as the perfect backdrop to ring in the Chinese New Year and The Year of the Goat. Dancers and musicians from the Philadelphia-area Chinese community wowed the crowd with colorful Chinese dance and traditional music. One of the highlights was a solo on a two-stringed Chinese instrument called an erhu. Middle and Upper School Mandarin students also participated in the first school-wide Chinese New Year celebration with songs, dance, storytelling, and two short plays. Genevieve McCormick ’15 and Brian Seam ’16 emceed the event. Seam was pleased for EA’s Chinese students to be in the spotlight saying, “It is great that we could establish a special event focusing on the Chinese program.” The event was organized by EA’s Chinese Club and teachers Dr. Wei Yang and Jie Cai. Dr. Yang looks forward to making the celebration of the Chinese New Year at EA an annual tradition saying, “The event gave our students a platform to demonstrate their linguistic, cultural, and musical talents.” People born in The Year of the Goat are generally thought to be gentile and mild-mannered. They also tend to be honest, creative, and have strong inner-resilience. Birth years include: 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, and 2003.
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