AIS Magazine Spring 2012 by The Agnes Irwin School

Spring 2012

Opening in Fall 2013â&#x20AC;¦

4HE !GNES )RWIN 3CHOOL IS UNDERGOING A SIGNIlCANT EXPANSION TO ITS 2OSEMONT CAMPUS UNDER ITS #AMPUS )MPROVEMENTS 0ROJECT WHICH WILL PROVIDE NEW FACILITIES FOR ATHLETICS STUDENT LIFE AND ACADEMIC PROGRAMS s .EW SQUARE FOOT ATHLETIC CENTER

INCLUDING SQUASH COURTS ROWING TANKS lTNESS CENTER TRAINING ROOM AND COMPETITION SIZED BASKETBALL COURT

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s NEW STUDENT LIFE CENTER PROVIDING AN EXPANDED DINING FACILITY WITH AMPLE SEATING FOR EACH DIVISION

s SUSTAINABLE DESIGN INCLUDING ENERGY SAVING BUILDING SYSTEMS AND A GREEN ROOF

s 4HE STUDENT STREET AN INTERIOR THOROUGHFARE DESIGNED TO CONNECT THE !THLETIC #ENTER AND 3TUDENT ,IFE #ENTER WITH EXISTING SCHOOL BUILDINGS s REMODELED ASSEMBLY ROOM A LARGE MULTIPURPOSE TEACHING AND LEARNING SPACE WITH STATE OF THE ART TECHNOLOGY

Visit

The Campus Improvements Project will be funded in its entirety by philanthropic gifts.

www.agnesirwin.org for regular updates and detailed information about the Campus Improvements Project

Contents Reaching Back and Pushing Forward 14

¡Que Viva El Español! 24

Spring 2012 Editor Wanda Motley Odom Director of Marketing and Communications Contributors Andrew Connally MS/US History Teacher Megan Boyle Flinn ’87 Director of Stewardship Anna Heleniak Communications Specialist

8th Grade Drama Quarterly 26

Clare Luzuriaga Communications Manager Michelle Trenholm Senior Communications Specialist Maxine Zhang ’01 Member, National Alumnae Advisory Council Photography Pete Bannan, Katya Chilingiri, Anna Heleniak, Clare Luzuriaga, Robert Moss-Vreeland, Michelle Trenholm Design Proof Design

Ithan Avenue and Conestoga Road Rosemont, PA 19010-1042 Grades PreK-4 Tel 610.525.7600 Fax 610.526.1875 Grades 5-12 Tel 610.525.8400 Fax 610.525.8908 www.agnesirwin.org The Agnes Irwin School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin in administration of its admission and educational practices, financial aid program, athletic and other school-administered programs. Sophomore Jenna Roland, a Media Arts student, took on the assignment of putting an “Agnes Irwin” imprint on the United States and reflecting where AIS alumnae live across the nation and around the world. The cover art is an illustration for our feature story on the newly formed AIS National Alumnae Advisory Council. (Page 14)

Features Scholarly Pursuits Enliven the Classroom.............................................. 10 Reaching Back and Pushing Forward National Alumnae Advisory Council Takes Flight................................. 14 On Their Own, Exploring Science Students Follow Passions in Independent Research Projects......................................................................................... 20 ¡Que Viva El Español! Lower School Wades into Second-Language Acquisition................... 24 8th Grade Drama Quarterly..................................................................... 26 A Record-Setting Year................................................................................. 28

Departments Around Campus.............................................................................................. 3 Faculty News................................................................................................. 13

All photos are captioned left to right and front to back unless otherwise indicated.

AIS Athletics................................................................................................. 30

C Printed on recycled paper

Class Notes................................................................................................... 32

From the Head of School

It should come as no surprise that the accomplishments of Agnes Irwin graduates run deep and wide within and across an array of fields and professions. And is it any wonder? The girls and young women who enter our doors each day are some of the most talented students in the Philadelphia area. They receive a rich and vibrant education from a skilled and committed faculty, in a supportive environment that reinforces the message that our girls – Agnes Irwin girls – can achieve any goals their hearts desire. For decades, alumnae and students alike have lived out the meaning of our school motto, Se Dio ti ‘asci, lettor, prender frutto di tua lezione, which loosely translated from Italian to English says that “if you have the ability to read, reap the fruit of your lesson.” The formation of the National Alumnae Advisory Council (NAAC) reflects our maxim. This group of alumnae will serve as a think tank of sorts, providing perspectives and opinions about the real-life impact of an all-girls’ education on their futures and bringing their expertise and influence to bear on the lives of current students. More than half of the group returned to campus in November for their inaugural meeting. They are physicians, lawyers, media executives and financial leaders. Many had never met. But they came with a common agenda, to help craft an initiative that would bring the knowledge and experiences of all alumnae together as resources for the school and AIS girls. Our feature article in this spring issue sheds light on their weekend gathering and offers a taste of the great efforts that are sure to come from their work. No great student body exists without great teachers, and one such faculty member at Agnes Irwin is Dr. Ellen Wayland-Smith, an Upper School English teacher. Her scholarship in French and English literature has been recognized by her peers through the publication of her writings in several academic journals – which means her students benefit from her keen intellect and her demonstration of her craft in the classroom. This issue also

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

includes great news about other faculty, from sabbatical trips to art exhibitions. Our curriculum is the heart and soul of “the Agnes Irwin experience,” and at every division there is remarkable teaching and learning taking place. Our Lower School has embarked on a shift in World Languages, with the goal of developing fluency at the younger grades through a focus on daily Spanish instruction. Research shows that the earlier a child acquires a second language, the greater the likelihood of success in fluency across multiple languages. The Middle School is in its third year of the 8th Grade Drama Quarterly, a redesigned curriculum that puts play-writing skills and not simply performance skills at the forefront. Our Independent Science Research Program continues to grow, with students designing and participating in imaginative studies that truly demonstrate their passion for science. And exceptional achievement doesn’t rest only in the classroom at Agnes Irwin. Varsity basketball captain Emily Wetz ’12 thrilled us all with her nail-biting drive to reach 1,000 points in her scoring career. The crowd went wild at the January game where she hit the basket that put her into our athletic record books. We, and she, will always remember that prideful day! Other athletic records were set this year, and you can read about them in the pages that follow. Even before my first days as Head of School, I remarked about what a special place Agnes Irwin is. Not simply for its stellar history or academic and athletic achievements … but also for the caring spirit and generosity of giving demonstrated by parents, students, alumnae, faculty and staff. Our alumnae have taken a new step in supporting their alma mater, and we are truly grateful. Warmest regards,

Mary Seppala Head of School

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AIS Lower School:

worm composting Third grade science classes dug into critterfilled bins in February as the Upper School Ecology Club guided them through the first steps of worm composting. Thanks to a generous grant from The Dominion Foundation, the project will reduce waste produced by the school. Seniors Victoria Hammarskjold (left) and Niki Warden helped third grader Naya Summy with the project.

kilah Visit A Allen Kazarwa (front) and Noella Abijuru, college students from The Akilah Institute for Women in Kigali, Rwanda, enjoyed a sing-along with third and fourth graders during a music class in November. The women, survivors of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, visited on the last leg of a trip to the United States. They were guests of the Upper School’s Akilah Club, which educates members of the AIS community about the East African nation and helps raise funds to support the school.

Sensory Garden The Upper School Ecology Club teamed up with the kindergarteners to teach them about cultivating and caring for the Earth as they planted the school’s first Sensory Garden in October. Shown: Kindergartener Anna Altman (left, squatting) and ninth grader Amber Dai.

MLK Day of Service First graders Abigail Blejwas (left), Michelle Yu and Bailey McQuaid participated in the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service in January by making fleece blankets for Project LINUS, an organization that provides blankets to children and babies in need.

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Around Campus AIS Lower School:

Instrumental Strings Expo In January, third grade cellists debuted at the first-ever Winter Instrumental Music Expo. Organized by instrumental music teacher Ben Vaughan, the performance combined the talents of the Lower School strings program with the Middle and Upper School instrumental ensembles. Shown from left: Marion Reidenbach, Camryn Aronsky, Ashton Odiorne, Elinor Morrisey and Sydney Brooks.

Halloween Dressed as their favorite storybook characters, fourth graders Avery Niedland (left), Christina Lowther and Katherine Glaser headed over to the Middle/Upper School for the annual Halloween Parade through the hallways.

Flag Dedication Raquel Coren â&#x20AC;&#x2122;21, daughter of U.S. Marine Corps Officer Derek Coren, and Head of Lower School Donna Lindner showed off a display box containing American and Afghan flags dedicated to The Agnes Irwin School. The flags, which once flew in Afghanistan, were given to the school by Raquelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father. They were presented at the Lower School Veterans Day assembly in November.

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

Around Campus AIS Middle School:

Culture Fair Seventh graders presented their interdisciplinary projects exploring six major ecosystems – desert, island, lake, rainforest, taiga and tundra – at November’s Culture Fair. Shown from left: Alyssa Negron-Samonte, Xiomara Lozano-Torres, Brooke Bekkedam, Kerry Hanrahan and Charlotte Meltzer.

Rebecca Walker Rebecca Walker, influential American author and co-founder of the Third Wave Foundation, spoke to the Middle School in November about her five foundational elements of leadership and emphasized the importance of maintaining resilience.

A Passion for Fashion Eighth grader Caroline Mosimann (left) shared her passion for fashion with her classmates during a Middle School assembly as fellow students modeled her artistic creations inspired by different historical periods. She researched, designed and stitched each costume herself!

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Around Campus AIS Middle School:

Serving the Community At the winter bake sale, Middle School students raised nearly $600 for six charitable organizations – Water Wells for Africa, The Kelly Rooney Foundation, Marine Mammal Stranding Center, PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society), HEADstrong Foundation and the Bryn Mawr Hospital Comprehensive Breast Center. Shown from left: seventh graders Riley Flick, Cordelia Hare, Sabina Smith, Sara Wada and Skyla Segel, with a Bryn Mawr Hospital representative.

Big Sister/Little Sister Fifth and eighth grade students competed in the fall at the Big Sister/Little Sister Games. The Big Sister/ Little Sister program creates a one-to-one mentoring relationship between a fifth grade student and eighth grade student throughout the academic year.

Robotics Team Advances Members of the Lego Robotics Club Blue and Gold teams took home trophies in two categories and qualified for the Champion’s Tournament at the FIRST LEGO League competition in December. Gold Team members (top photo) shown from left: Gillian Diebold, Anisha Mittal, Déjà Lewis-Nwalipenja, Hunter Sessa and Olivia Caroy. Blue Team members (above) shown from left: Madeline Warner, Joanna Wickersham, Alyssa Negron-Samante and Lydia Somani.

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

Around Campus AIS Middle School:

Immigration Stories Eighth graders researched, wrote and performed compelling dramatic scenes set during “The New Immigration” period in the United States as part of their study of American history. The period stretched from 1880 to 1920, when huge waves of European immigrants arrived at Ellis Island in New York.

Mark your calendars!

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME Awards Ceremony Saturday, November 10, 2012 Laura Thomas Buck ’49 Pavilion Celebrating the fifth Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee Class, outstanding athletes who excelled on the sports fields and courts of Agnes Irwin and carried their passion for athletic excellence into the rest of their lives.

Around Campus AIS Upper School: Cowboy Poet Violinist Diane Monroe In February, acclaimed violinist Diane Monroe celebrated Black History Month by playing a mixture of African-American spirituals and other familiar songs with a twist for students.

Award-winning poet Paul Zarzyski, a host of the Big Timber Roundup arts excursion in Montana attended by juniors and seniors each year, shared his approach to writing and the spoken word with students during a campus visit in January.

Kudos for Shakespeare! The AIS Repertory Company presented The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged)! as the drama selection in January. The quick-witted, fast-paced dialogue and surprises in rhyme, energy and satirical repartee kept audience members heartily laughing.

Global Girls Cinema

In partnership with the Girls Scouts of Eastern Pennsylvania, the Center for the Advancement of Girls (CAG) inaugurated a Global Girls Cinema Series, a collection of documentary films that address issues affecting girls and women around the world. The program is a Global Citizenship initiative of the Center. CAG has shown two of three films scheduled in this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s series.

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

Around Campus AIS Upper School:

Half the Sky Studio Art and Art History students received a private tour of the exhibition “Half the Sky: Women in the New Art of China,” co-curated by the National Art Museum of China and the Leonard Pearlstein Gallery of Drexel University.

Firoozeh Dumas – One Book Agnes Irwin The One Book Agnes Irwin program hosted Firoozeh Dumas, author of national bestseller Funny in Farsi, on campus in January. Dumas recounted her personal stories about immigrating to the United States from Iran at the age of seven. One Book Agnes Irwin is a community-wide reading project.

Setting the Record Straight

Sophomore Day: In the above photo, Jaylyn Harris (left) was incorrectly identified in the fall 2011 issue of the magazine.

In the fall 2011 magazine, the caption for the above photo should have read: 1971 Classmates Pam Brewer Smyth (left) and Gail Evans Guthridge (right) visited Nini Nalle Wolitarsky (center) in Lake George, NY this summer. Pam’s daughter Sara Smyth is pictured behind.

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Faculty Spotlight

Scholarly Pursuits Enliven the Classroom By Anna Heleniak

:: Dr. Ellen Wayland-Smith

cholarship at The Agnes Irwin School is not simply a degree of excellence for which students strive; it is a trait exemplified by the instructors who shape their learning experiences each day. Like many faculty members, Dr. Ellen Wayland-Smith is not just an educator. She is a life-long learner with a passion for advancing the disciplines of English and French literature. She is among 75 teachers on staff who have attained a degree at the master’s level or higher. Such academic achievement demonstrates to students that their instructors are seizing every opportunity to learn and are working alongside their pupils to improve their craft. In addition to raising a family, teaching five English classes and conducting research for peer-reviewed

journals, Wayland-Smith is currently working on a book entitled Detecting the Telegraph: Technology and Modernism in Henry James, Mallarmé, and Claude Monet. The book examines how the advent of the telegraph in the middle 19th century influenced these three artists’ theories on perception. She has already published three articles in academic periodicals, two of which relate to her dissertation and another that was inspired by a family sabbatical in Florence, Italy. The University of Pennsylvania’s French Forum will print her fourth piece, “Mallarmé, Technology, and the Poet-Engineer,” in their upcoming summer issue. She also is writing an article on F. Scott Fitzgerald, celebrity culture and advertising that emerged from a discussion of his works in her Advanced Placement (AP) classes.

A couple of years ago, WaylandSmith had a group of students who were particularly interested in the use of images of magic and enchantment in Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Although she had been teaching the novel for 10 years, she recalled, “I had never really picked up on this aspect of the story before, and I started researching it on my own. It led me to investigating the birth of advertising in the early part of the 20th century in America. I was struck by the way language in advertisements from that period (which promised to ‘magically’ transform people into beautiful, youthful, alluring beings if they only use certain products) is echoed in Fitzgerald’s text.” Now, her 11th grade AP English course includes a unit on advertising in which the classes assess how Fitzgerald, who worked for an ad agency before becoming a writer, was influenced by the emerging consumer culture of the 1920s. She has also developed a dynamic curriculum for her ninth grade English sections and 12th grade Craft of Writing course. She continually draws inspiration from her students and values their insights. Although she majored in English at Amherst College, Wayland-Smith was intrigued by the French ideas of existentialism and structuralism and found a way to incorporate several philosophy classes into her studies. When a friend invited her to move to France for a year after graduation, she eagerly accepted the opportunity. She immersed herself in the culture there,

studying French and attending classes at a local university. The next fall, she moved home and entered a master’s degree program at Princeton University. After completing her courses, she received a scholarship from the French government to return to France for her dissertation. One year abroad turned into two. She met her husband there, who was also an American studying in Paris. In 1999, she earned her doctorate in Comparative Literature, specifically French and English 19th century literature, from Princeton. During her post-doctoral fellowship, she conducted research for a book project that investigated parallels between technology and written texts in the 1800s. Wayland-Smith feels most at home when in the classroom, so becoming an educator like her father and grandmother was always a part of her plan. She began working at Agnes Irwin in 2002; when she started to have children the following year, she put her post-doctorate research aside to focus on her family. After six years away from her academic project, a seemingly typical day in the classroom sparked her interest in pursuing this topic once again. She was teaching Henry James’s novella Daisy Miller in her American literature class. James describes the interactions between his characters in terms that parallel the telegraphic sending and receiving of messages. Dr. Wayland-Smith was immediately reminded of her study on technology and the telegraph in literature. She started reading all of the works by James that she could find to confirm her hypothesis that face-

Travelogue: On Sabbatical By Andrew Connally

In spring 2010, I received the greatest honor of my 25-year career as a history teacher. I was awarded a six-month sabbatical to research my father’s ancestry in Ireland. I flew to Dublin in early May 2011 and stayed in the Irish capital for a week, conducting genealogical research and seeing the sites. Despite my best efforts and the assistance of experts at the National Archives and the National Library, I found no records pertaining to my dad’s ancestors. That did not prevent me from enjoying a great historical walking tour of Dublin and a wonderful production of George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion at the Abbey Theater. I spent Week Two on Ireland’s west coast in Galway, the Connally ancestral home. I did even more long but fruitless hours of research and wonderful sightseeing. I also took day trips to Connemara, the Cliffs of Moher, the Burren and Inishmore in the Aran Islands. It was an awesome two weeks on the beautiful “Emerald Isle” with Ireland’s warm, hospitable and hilarious people. I then flew from Dublin to Bosnia-Herzegovina, where I spent four days in Sarajevo and Mostar and saw how well those two beautiful cities have recovered from the Yugoslav Civil War in the 1990s. I went next to Serbia, where I spent four days in Belgrade and Novi Sad, the cultural capital of the north. Next came Croatia, where I spent two days in its stately capital of Zagreb and two days in amazing Pula, the site of a huge Roman amphitheater AND the boyhood home of Captain von Trapp of The Sound of Music fame! I crossed into Slovenia to spend three days in its stunning capital, Ljubljana, which reminded me of Prague in its beauty. Then I headed to Italy for two days in sunny Trieste, in the northeast of the country. Afterward, I headed to Padua to spend a couple of days gawking at the city’s art treasures, including Giotto’s breathtaking frescos in the Scrovegni Chapel. I also took a day trip to Venice. From Venice, I embarked on a seven-day cruise of the Adriatic and Aegean Seas. We visited Dubrovnik and Split (ancient cities built originally by Italians but now firmly in Croatia), Athens and Izmir in western Turkey, from whence I took a guided tour of the incredible ruins of the great Greco-Roman city of Ephesus. I finished my trip with a stay in one of my favorite cities, Istanbul, the former Constantinople, soaking up the architectural glories and history of the former capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. To stand under the massive dome of 1,500-year-old Hagia Sophia or to gaze in awe at the exquisite tile work in the Blue Mosque is my kind of heaven! After all that, I flew to Munich, changed planes, and flew on to my beloved Philadelphia. It was a mindexpanding six-week journey that I will never forget.

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Faculty Spotlight

“I teach a lot of the same texts year to year, but each time is a different experience; each time, I learn something new about literature or about myself.” to-face communication is modeled on electric messaging in his fiction. This resulted in the development of an article that she published in the spring 2011 edition of The Henry James Review entitled “Conductors and Revealers: Henry James’s electric messengers in The Ambassadors.” “My prior research had always been centered on 19th century French literature because my degree had directed my academic path. Teaching American literature and discussing it with a group of lively, intelligent students gave me an opportunity to expand my field into English-language texts that I would never have gotten a chance to explore if I hadn’t been teaching at Agnes Irwin,” she said. Balancing her work, family and various writing pursuits definitely remains a challenge for Wayland-Smith, but it is one that she manages with

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

care. She usually wakes up at four in the morning and works until six, before helping her two daughters, Sophia ’19 and Lydia ’23, get ready for school. “When I have classes to prepare or papers to correct, I do that. When my schoolwork is done, I turn to my own writing. One of the joys of teaching is that you never know what is going to set your mind on fire. I teach a lot of the same texts year to year, but each time is a different experience; each time, I learn something new about literature or about myself. One year, Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying appears as a grotesquely comic novel to me. The next year, I am moved by its tragic enormity. I try to convey both perspectives to my students, as well as teach them that multiple viewpoints – infinite depths – are what make great literature great.” She finds helping students discover their own voices and become confident

By the Numbers (75 percent of AIS faculty have advanced degrees) ❚ 6 faculty members hold J.D.s, including one with a Ph.D. ❚ 9 faculty members hold Ph.D.s, including one with a J.D. ❚ 60 faculty members hold master’s degrees, five with two and one with three

writers and thinkers to be very fulfilling. She tries to take the “fearfactor and the drudge-factor” out of writing so that students can “own” their work as expressions of their individuality. “I love to see students, who see themselves primarily as analytical or academic writers, free themselves up to write from their guts, from their own personal experiences. I do a lot of ‘stream of consciousness’ workshops in which they just empty out onto the page whatever words, images or feelings happen to be crossing their minds at that particular moment. Then, we use this material and refine it and refine it again until it becomes poetry,” said Wayland-Smith.

:: Faculty News in brief :: Middle/Upper School Spanish teacher Jennifer Kakuk spent last summer exploring Colombia and visiting an allgirls’ school in suburban Bogota, the capital city. She visited an eighth grade English class and interviewed three Upper School students about their school life. Kakuk spent time in the Andean mountainside near Cali and the Caribbean coastal city of Cartagena, known as the best-preserved colonial city in Latin America. She has used photographs and videos from her experiences with Colombian and Latin American culture in her classroom teaching.

essays published on Newsworks.org, the online news source for WHYY-FM, the National Public Radio affiliate station in Philadelphia. She is a regular contributor. She also has an upcoming essay in the April issue of Main Line Today magazine.

Third grade teacher Kimberly Walker attended the annual International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Conference in Philadelphia. The highlight for her was an interactive workshop for Pixie 3 – the latest creativity software from Tech4Learning, Inc. Walker learned how students can create works of art that include audio recordings, images and text. She is excited about having her students create electronic portfolios that include visual, audio and digital representations of their work across all subjects.

Lower School art teacher Trish Siembora mounted an exhibition of her fabric works in January at The Gallery at St Asaph’s Church. The show was a mix of older and new quilt-like art that use photographs printed onto fabric.

her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership

Upper School history teacher Susan Kahn and Lower School’s Siembora joined area independent school teachers to hike, rock climb and camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina as a catalyst to transform their classrooms. They were immersed in a collaborative environment where firsthand experiences, hands-on learning, and individual and group reflection fostered professional growth and personal transformation. This year, the pair joined a network of like-minded colleagues to focus on how to incorporate experiential education into their classrooms.

Independent Curriculum Group’s National

Jennifer Hoffman, who teaches eighth grade science and 12th grade Advanced Placement Environmental Science, has been selected as an inaugural member of the Pennsylvania Earth Science Teachers Association Teacher Advisory Committee. PAESTA is a nonprofit

West Philadelphia. This small inner-city

First grade teacher Marisa Peterson attended a week-long course at a writing institute at Columbia University’s Teachers College. In small and large grade-specific groups, they examined various components of the writing process. The highlights of the course were the hour-long keynote talks given by experts in the field – Lucy Calkins, Carl Anderson, Colleen Cruz and noted children’s book authors Kevin Henkes and Georgia Heard. Middle School English teacher and essayist Kathy Stevenson has had three

educational organization committed to the advancement, extension, improvement and coordination of Earth science education across all levels. Hoffman, along with Lower School science teacher Cassie Woestman, also received a grant from the Dominion Foundation to begin a wormcomposting project with students. Lower School learning specialist Elizabeth “Liz” McCaffrey and Lower School reading specialist Elizabeth “Biz” Sands both have successfully defended their dissertations. McCaffrey received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Chestnut Hill College and Sands received and Administration from Immaculata University. Congratulations to them both! Anne Weeks, Director of Upper School, has organized the Greater Philadelphia Independent Schools’ participation in The Assessment Project. Agnes Irwin, Haverford, Shipley, Westtown and Tower Hill in Wilmington, DE, are sharing cutting-edge classroom assessments that will be further developed to add to a national assessment database open to all schools for curricular enrichment. There are independent school groups working on this project in five major cities in the United States. Dr. Cara Latham, Middle School music teacher, volunteered on Saturdays throughout the fall to produce and direct the play Godspell Jr. at the St. Rose of Lima Elementary School in school has no art or music program. She enlisted the help of senior Alicen Davis, sophomore Paige Davis and eighth grader Elizabeth Latham. The play raised more than $5,000 for the school to support an after-school music program.

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Reaching Back and Pushing Forward

National Alumnae Advisory Council Takes Flight By Megan Boyle Flinn â&#x20AC;&#x2122;87 with Anna Heleniak

On a brisk day in November, a group of accomplished women from across the country eagerly gathered on the Agnes Irwin campus for the inaugural meeting of the National Alumnae Advisory Council (NAAC). As physicians, lawyers, media executives and financial leaders, they met, many for the first time, with a common goal to craft an initiative that would bring the knowledge and experiences of all alumnae together as resources for the school and its students.

Continued on page 16

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

:: S usan Hirtle McEvoy â&#x20AC;&#x2122;00 giving her perspective

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Reaching Back and Pushing Forward

Conversations about forming a committee of alumnae representatives have been in the works for several years. More than 30 women were nominated by fellow alumnae and agreed to serve on the new Council. Many of them had previously expressed an interest in getting involved with their alma mater, but they were not sure how to have an impact if

LEADERSHIP ABOUNDS The Agnes Irwin Alumnae Association has been led by the Alumnae Board, also known as the Executive Board, since the association’s establishment in 1898. The Alumnae Board is a partner in enriching the cultural life of AIS and fosters alumnae interaction and participation in the school community.

they were no longer living in the Philadelphia area. Ann Laupheimer Sonnenfeld ’77, Chair of the Board of Trustees, was among the first to recognize the alumnae’s enthusiasm to share their experiences and support for the school and quickly seized the opportunity to tap into their expertise. Along with the Offices of Development and Alumnae Relations, Sonnenfeld helped form the Council in hopes of boosting alumnae involvement with the school community and expanding the alumnae network’s reach. Representing six decades of Agnes Irwin history, various geographic regions and diverse career paths, the Council members bring distinct perspectives but remain unified in their commitment to the success of the school. The Council will serve in an advisory role, assisting the Board of Trustees, the Head of School and the Alumnae Board by providing advice and service on important matters. They recognize the school’s accomplishments and see its limitless potential for growth. Eighteen members of the Council traveled back to Agnes Irwin for the first meeting to reacquaint themselves with the school, visit classes and host discussions with Upper School students. Whether it had been months or years since they had been on campus, each Council member acknowledged how attending Agnes Irwin had a profound impact on her life. They all expressed a sense of gratitude for the confidence, self-discipline and independence fostered within

:: T welve members of the Alumnae Board pose for a photograph after a January meeting. Seated: Annie Casey Milligan ’95; First Row: Pam Brown Russell ’69, Lisa A. Howell ’83, Laura Wheeler Golding ’64; Middle Row: Lindsey Marshall Pierce ’89, Chardi Zeising Smith ’63, Elizabeth Farrell Van der Waag ’95; Top Row: Elizabeth Cuckler Odiorne ’93, Alumnae Association President; Anne Dillon Fisher ’90, Katheryne Kerr Ferguson Rogers ’57 (in black turtleneck), Lisa A. McQuiston ’90 and Anastasia T. Dorrance ’03. Not pictured are Alumnae Board members Middy Dorrance ’67, Devon Kennedy Nickel ’95, Mary Catherine O’Reilly-Ginhardt ’08 and Deborah Boas Pakradooni ’65.

them during their time as AIS students. “The skill set you learn at Irwin’s is the skill set you’ll need to succeed in life,” said Maxine Zhang ’01 (see sidebar), an associate in corporate brand management for The Walt Disney Company. Publisher of InStyle magazine Connie

Anastasia Dorrance '03

Anne Phillips ’83 recalled that, after receiving an education

Middy Dorrance '67

Elizabeth Cuckler Odiorne '93 President

Anne Dillon Fisher '90

Mary Catherine O'Reilly-Ginhardt '08

however, that this was not the reality in many places. The

Laura Wheeler Golding '64

Deborah Boas Pakradooni '65

surprising revelation did not stop her or her classmates from

Lisa Howell '83 Vice President

Lindsey Marshall Pierce '89

Elizabeth McQuiston '90

Pam Brown Russell '69

Annie Casey Milligan '95

Chandi Ziesing Smith '63

Devon Kennedy Nickel '95

Elizabeth Farrell Van der Waag '95

at Agnes Irwin, she assumed that women would be in leadership roles wherever she went. She soon discovered,

pursuing their dreams. At the opening luncheon, alumnae greeted one another and former teachers with smiles, hugs and joyful remarks about coming home to Agnes Irwin. Their visit was highly anticipated by faculty, particularly those who taught the

Alumnae Association Executive Board

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

Katheryne Kerr Ferguson Rogers '57

Reaching Back and Pushing Forward

alumnae, and current students, who read the professional profiles of the visitors and admired their accomplishments. The Council enjoyed lively discussions with Head of School Dr. Mary F. Seppala and Sonnenfeld about what it means to be a leader. They also shared their views on a variety of topics, from current curriculum and the Center for the Advancement of Girls (CAG) to the variables that make alumnae feel connected to the school. They listened intently as Dr. Darin Katz, Chair of the Science Department, explained his philosophy of teaching science in the ways that girls learn it best, with plenty of practical yet sophisticated lab experiments. After explaining that more than 90 percent of each year’s senior class elects to take one or even two optional science courses, Katz discussed the importance of the school’s Independent Science Research Program. He invited alumnae to assist him in increasing offcampus research opportunities for the girls as they seek to explore the professional world.

“The skill set you learn at Irwin’s is the skill set you’ll need to succeed in life.” Senior Evelyn “Fifi” Yeung explained the gene therapy research that she conducted at the University of Pennsylvania last summer as a part of the program. She spoke with ease, proudly sporting the quirky tie-dyed shirt of the stage crew for the Upper School’s production of Xanadu! She discussed the complexities of her project and the incredible experiences she had working alongside her mentors and professors in the lab. She also mentioned her interest in robotics and hopes of attending medical school one day. Continued on next page

National Alumnae Advisory Council Members Theresa Bailey Baker ’75 Rochester Hills, MI

Elizabeth Buck King ’77 Greenwich, CT

Clare Putnam Pozos ’00 Washington, DC

L. Lee Brown ’94 San Francisco, CA

Antoinette Knorr ’69 Mill Valley, CA

Lindsey Wilkins Press ’01 New York, NY

Mia Thompson Brown ’83 Northeast Harbor, ME

Adrienne Lucier ’90 New York, NY

Connie Anne Phillips ’83 New York, NY

Virginia Rulon-Miller Caldwell ’64 Sausalito, CA

Kelly Malloy, M.D. ’93 Philadelphia, PA

Barbara Johnson Riley ’84 Bethesda, MD

Gwendolyn Campbell ’87 Menlo Park, CA

Elizabeth Marshall ’91 New York, NY

Sarah Roth ’94 Dallas, TX

Patricia Richards Cosgrave ’59 Haverford, PA

Susan Hirtle McEvoy ’00 New York, NY

Robin Scullin ’83 Alexandria, VA

Courtney Leimkuhler De Segundo ’97 New York, NY

Mary Patterson McPherson, Ph.D. ’53 Bryn Mawr, PA

Min Suh Son ’89 Washington, DC

Courtney Fretz ’98 Houston, TX

Kristin Heim Mowry ’88 Chevy Chase, MD

Ann Laupheimer Sonnenfeld ’77** Haverford, PA

Stephanie Haldy D.M.D. ’00 New York, NY

Elizabeth Cuckler Odiorne ’93** Bryn Mawr, PA

Amy West ’78 New York, NY

Margaret Henry ’87 Houston, TX

Christine Wheeler Patton ’65 Key Largo, FL

Averel Roberts Wilson ’73 San Francisco, CA

Hads Ogden Holmgren ’98 Alexandria, VA

Joan E. Pew ’80 Ellsworth, ME

Maxine Zhang ’01 Los Angeles, CA

Lisa Howell ’83** Chesterbrook, PA

Maggie Poulos ’95 New York, NY

** Ex Officio

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Reaching Back and Pushing Forward

systems. Such interaction provides opportunities for students to learn from the experiences of alumnae; it also gives realworld relevance to classroom lessons. The Council also was treated to presentations by Rebecca Kamens ’13 and Emilie Melvin ’12, who shared stories about their Special Students Program (SSP) opportunities in the medical field. Kamens worked in a neonatal intensive care unit, and Melvin shadowed a Boston physician. Council members reminisced about their own SSP experiences and the topics they chose for their Senior Assemblies. They were intrigued when told that the curriculum is now intentionally shaped to build on the elements of a Senior Assembly throughout the girls’ entire education – beginning with “show and tell” projects in Lower School and advancing to public-speaking classes in Middle School and outstanding presentations during senior year.

:: C ourtney Leimkuhler de Segundo ’97 (left) and Connie Ann Phillips ’83 listen during a roundtable discussion.

:: ( From left to right) Maxine Zhang ’01, Min Suh Son ’89 and Hads Ogden Holmgren ’98 enjoy a reception during an alumnae gathering.

After her presentation, Yeung delved into conversation with Council member Dr. Kelly Malloy ’93, Assistant Professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. They continued to have a lengthy discussion about robotic surgery and tactile feedback

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

“I am incredibly proud to be an Irwin’s alumna and am grateful for all that the school has given me: a great education, amazing friendships and exceptional opportunities in my professional and community life.” The Council’s weekend included thoughtful discussions on the relevance of an AIS education in the workplace and what guidance alumnae would impart to students who may be planning for their future careers. The women shared ideas about how to engage alumnae who may be very busy but still point to their Agnes Irwin experience as one of the most important in their lives. After participating in discussions and brainstorming sessions with the Council, one alumna said, “I am incredibly proud to be an Irwin’s alumna and am grateful for all that the school has given me: a great education, amazing friendships and exceptional opportunities in my professional and community life. I am so impressed with the National Alumnae Advisory Council, not just because of all that they have accomplished, but also because of their passion,

Reaching Back and Pushing Forward

dedication and creativity. The support of these women and their commitment to the success of Agnes Irwin is meaningful and unwavering. This weekend has inspired me to do more.” As the governance committee works on the vision and by-laws of the Council, the members look forward to increasing their presence in the school community. Robin Scullin ’83, Director of Communications at the YWCA USA, wrote on Facebook after leaving the gathering, “Just wrapped up a great two days at Irwin’s. What an amazing group of smart, ambitious and articulate women...I feel so lucky to have spent my twelve formative years there. Two centuries later, Agnes and Sophie would be amazed at our progress.” The Council members spent the weekend in true

celebration of the Agnes Irwin spirit. Over the years, as the school has continued to grow and people have moved further away, the number of active alumnae has mushroomed. Currently, Agnes Irwin has more than 3,000 alumnae living, working and making a difference in nearly every state and several countries around the world. All alumnae are invited to take advantage of the developing opportunities to be role models for current students and strengthen the AIS network. Agnes Irwin graduates remain an incredible resource to the school. With their influence and capacity to network, the Council, in concert with the local Alumnae Board, hopes to be instrumental in helping the school continue to lead the way in all-girls’ education.

One Alumna’s Reflection By Maxine Zhang ’01

“First and foremost, it was just heart-warming to be on campus and to see how well the school is doing. The new spaces look incredible, and the old and familiar places (are) just as I remembered. I was struck by the great job AIS does with recruiting and retaining talent — I remember when Dr. Katz started, and it is incredible to see how much his role has expanded since that time. At the university level, I know it is increasingly a challenge to attract and retain talented educators, so it is great to see AIS getting it right. Since we know that community is what differentiates AIS from other schools, it naturally follows that having and keeping the best educators is crucial to the culture of the school. It is only in retrospect that one can fully realize the impact a teacher has had on one’s life — it was very emotional to realize today, now, how much all my teachers still remembered about me, to feel again how much they truly cared about my success and well-being. I think I only just realized how special it is to be surrounded by teachers like the ones I had. I feel so lucky to be part of the AIS community and so happy that there is an opportunity for me to give back. Yes, AIS did indeed give me all the tools I’ve needed to succeed, and on top of that, attitude and confidence. College was easy

after Agnes Irwin — to this day, I always ask people about their secondary school experiences, because I know every success I have had since AIS was built on the foundation set at AIS.”

:: N AAC Member Maxine Zhang ’01 receives a hug from her niece, Sydney Rong, a member of the Class of 2023

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The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

On Their Own, Exploring Science Students Follow Passions in Independent Research Projects By Michelle Trenholm

Today, more and more women are working in biomedical, engineering and technology careers, breaking the institutional and societal barriers that once kept the ranks of women in these fields very small. Continued on next page

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On Their Own, Exploring Science

The growth of women scientists, engineers and mathematicians has been linked to an increasing curricular focus popularly known as STEM (for science, technology, engineering and mathematics), which seeks to educate girls to succeed in traditionally maledominated disciplines. Independent science research plays an important role in the STEM programming at Agnes Irwin. Mentored by Dr. Darin Katz, Chair of the Science Department, Upper School students with a passion for a particular area of science conduct their own research projects. Students can be assigned to research units at local colleges and universities to experience higher-level lab work through projects that have the potential for realworld application, or they can develop original projects of their own. This school year, junior Phoebe Smukler designed a research project to determine the effect of a good night’s sleep on how teenage girls performed when they were given a verbal memory test. She administered the tests to approximately 70 AIS students; 7.5 hours of sleep was the marker of a good night’s rest. Freshman Lauren Schafrank developed a study to examine a person’s ability to identify a genuine smile, known as a Duchenne smile, versus a feigned one. Roughly 60 people, including Agnes Irwin students, some adults and some boys,

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

“The goal of the experience, as with any research-based program, is to expose our girls to higher-level lab work and to see if the field of science research might be something they want to pursue in college and/or careers.”

participated in her online test. She then analyzed the responses based on four perspectives: gender, age, level of optimism and which physical feature the participant found most important. Last summer, sisters Kui and Chiru Murage, both Class of 2012, spent time on the Naboisho Conservancy in Kenya. Chiru researched the effect of the conservancy on the African lion population and the Maasai community, while Kui conducted a similar project focused on African elephants. The conservancy, four hours from the capital of Nairobi, is located just north of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Gene therapy – a technique for correcting defective genes responsible for the development of disease – captured the interest of seniors Miji Ryu and Fifi Yeung. In the summer of 2011, Ryu and Yeung had the opportunity to investigate different aspects of the biochemistry of adenoassociated viruses at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine. The two seniors conducted sophisticated

research work in the lab of Dr. James Wilson, Director of the Gene Therapy Program at Penn. Yeung’s first task was to create a biological affinity column – an apparatus used in biology and biochemistry labs – to draw specific antibodies from blood containing adeno-associated viruses. She then worked with Dr. Wilson’s staff to determine the effectiveness of the affinity column, which works in similar fashion to the filtration of minerals from water. “Basically, gene therapy uses viruses to deliver DNA. For example, if your liver isn’t making certain enzymes, the idea is to send DNA to encode into those cells to make the enzymes,” explained Yeung. “However, the body’s immune system attacks the viruses so they can’t deliver the DNA. The biological affinity column I was making filters out the antibodies attacking the viral vectors so they can deliver the DNA more efficiently (and the effects of the DNA will last longer).”

For Yeung, it was the technical handson work that she enjoyed the most. “I gained confidence and independence in the lab. In school, we are typically given a set of instructions to follow, and we collect data. In Dr. Wilson’s lab, my mentor and I devised our own protocol, and there was no ‘right’ answer. It was simply an answer. This experience really reinforced my love for science.” Ryu was equally thrilled by the experience. “Nothing was more rewarding than walking through University City after a seven-hour workday at the lab, nibbling on a Magic

Schafrank ’11 and Katarina Mattila ’11. According to Katz, the projects taking place at Dr. Wilson’s lab and other research-based practices are some of the most advanced that he has seen in years. “The goal of the experience, as with any research-based program, is to expose our girls to higher-level lab work and to see if the field of science research might be something they want to pursue in college and/or careers,” said Katz. “For those girls with a passion and talent for science, this provides them with opportunities beyond what we can provide here at AIS.”

receive co-authorship on the resulting research paper. “Projects like these prepare students for college-level science courses as well as give them an advantage when applying for research positions as undergraduate students,” noted Katz. “By the end of this process, each student has a journal-style research paper that can be used to show a potential research mentor what she was able to accomplish as a high school student.” The opportunity to work in the Penn Medicine lab as a high school student was the chance of a lifetime for Yeung,

Carpet’s falafel and wondering which assay (a biochemical test) would be waiting for me at my desk the next day,” she recalled. For the past two summers, Dr. Wilson, father of Lilly Wilson ’13, has generously offered internships in his lab to two rising seniors who are interested in conducting research in a university setting. The first Agnes Irwin students to work in Dr. Wilson’s lab were Samantha

Since the summer of 2010, Avery Crits-Cristoph ’12 has teamed up with Dr. Karin V. Rhodes, Director of the Division of Health Policy Research at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, to examine the relationship between alcohol and intimate-partner violence. She helped collect data from Emergency Room patients and conducted follow-up statistical analysis on the data. She will

and she believes any rising AIS senior should consider it. “I would definitely recommend this program,” said Yeung. “This is a very unique (opportunity) where you can get hands-on experience in a worldrenowned lab. Even if you are only curious about science, this is a program to consider because you apply what you learn in the classroom to solve medical problems.”

A Few Independent Science Research Projects Since 2002 “Effect of Maternal Prenatal Care on Immunization Rates of Newborns” M. Guinan ’02, conducted with Dr. Evaline Alessandrini, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia “Stellar Evolution” D. Marchetto ’03, conducted with Dr. Rex Saffer, Astronomy Department, Villanova University “Decorative Arts Conservation for Collections: A Scientific Perspective” H. Meadway ’04, conducted with the Bryn Mawr College Collections Department “Do Development and Aging Affect Facial Processing?” S. Kelly ’05, conducted with Janet Heed, The Haverford School “Transgenic Mouse Models: Procedures and Applications” J. Kovalski ’06 conducted with Dr. Janet Sawicki, Lankenau Institute for Medical Research

“Genetics of Fragile X Syndrome” M. Samant ’07, conducted with Dr. Anita Pepper ’91, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine “Involvement of Host Cellular Proteins in Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) DNA replication,” E. Yun ’09, conducted with Dr. Yan Yuan, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine “Characteristics of Breast Cancer Molecular Subtypes” C. DeCamp ’10, conducted with Dr. Hallgeir Rui, Department of Cancer Biology, Thomas Jefferson University “Developing Molecular Markers for the Diagnosis of Lupoid Dermatosis in Canines” G. Lin ’11, conducted with Dr. Ping Wang, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine

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¡Que viva

El Español! Lower School Dives into Second-Language Acquisition

By Clare Luzuriaga

From the moment she walks into the classroom, Montserrat Nomdedeu (known to Lower School students as Señorita Montse) speaks in her native language – Spanish. She uses lots of hand gestures to help convey meaning. Students are expected to ask questions in Spanish. If they don’t, they aren’t likely to get a quick response. “This was difficult at first for the girls, but it has now become second nature to them – they don’t question it,” said Nomdedeu, who joined the Agnes Irwin community this school year to help implement a bold shift in the Lower School’s approach to the study of foreign languages. The Lower School has long boasted a strong world language program, the goal of which, explained Head of Lower School Donna Lindner, “has been to expose girls to various cultures through lessons in Spanish, French, American Sign Language and Chinese. In reviewing current trends in early language instruction, we decided to shift our goal to having the girls become as fluent in one language as they could possibly be before moving to the Middle School.”

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

Spanish was the obvious choice. Global demographics indicate that Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It also is increasingly prevalent in the United States. For many native English speakers, a second language can be merely an academic subject studied briefly in school, the rudiments of which recede in adulthood. The traditional approach to the study of foreign languages in American education has not focused on achieving fluency at an early age. Without a particular affinity for language acquisition, many people never experience a second language truly coming to life. Agnes Irwin has an innovative Modern Language Department, driven by a dynamic and talented faculty at all grade levels. The new focus on Spanish in the Lower School takes into account current understanding of the natural aptitude children under age six have for language acquisition. Lindner described the Spanish program as a work in progress. “The plan is to grow the program one year at a time, with Spanish as the primary language taught throughout the Lower School in the next four years.” Adjustments will be made as necessary. “For example, we have shifted the PreK classes from 30 minutes a day to

:: Señorita Montse, as students fondly call her, places tokens on a table for the start of a game of Bingo!

20 minutes a day to match the stamina of the students,” Lindner explained. She encourages feedback from parents as the program progresses. Lindner sought a native Spanish speaker to help lead the effort and welcomed Nomdedeu to the faculty last September. Nomdedeu was born in Castellón, the northernmost province of Valencia, Spain. For the past 18 years, she has lived in the United States, where she has worked as a medical/legal interpreter and taught Spanish to children and adults. To reinforce the concept that Spanish is not just a class in school, Nomdedeu occasionally shows video clips of her daughters on vacation in Spain, speaking fluent Spanish. This has been a big hit with the students, who love to see other children speaking Spanish. PreK and Kindergarten have Spanish daily, with a focus on basic vocabulary – colors, numbers, weather, animals and days of the week. Using a variety of games, singing and even the occasional cartoon in Spanish, she aims to have the youngest classes absorb the fundamentals so that

they have the foundation to tackle the more academic aspects of the language as they move into the upper grades. “I try to transmit my knowledge and passion for something that is so much a part of me, hoping they will be able to use it some day in real life,” explained Nomdedeu. She is thrilled by how proud the students are of themselves when they greet her with an “Hola, Señorita Montse!” in the playground or hallway, and they realize they are actually speaking another language with ease, even if it is only to exchange basic conversation. Lindner hears similar stories from PreK and Kindergarten parents, who have noticed their children speaking Spanish at home and who have reported that their girls “love Spanish and adore Montse.” In the few months that she has been at Agnes Irwin, “Señorita Montse” has clearly had a positive impact and has succeeded in bringing Spanish to life for the Lower School girls, who will progress to Middle School, equipped with the confidence and aptitude to become truly fluent in a foreign language.

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8th Grade Drama Quarterly Students Learn the Craft of Playwriting By Wanda M. Odom

The theater is dark and the setting is bare, except for the drawn curtain and the 17 black-clad girls neatly seated in a row that spans the width of the West-Wike stage. Four girls step forward with scripts in hand to the music stands that hug the edge of the deck downstage and begin reading stage directions and dialogue about friendship, drugs, peer pressure and family dysfunction.

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

:: Students participate in a reading – complete with stage directions – of a script written by a fellow eighth grader.

This is 8th Grade Drama Quarterly, the capstone of the theater arts program in Middle School and a new approach to the curriculum that puts students through the paces of writing the script for a stage play. “The basis of all theater is text, and the one piece of theater we had not (covered) was text,” said Middle School theater teacher Ann Ramsey. Throughout Middle School, the girls study character building, stage-craft, public speaking, movement and voice – the full palette of what happens in the craft of theater. But, until a few years ago, creating the language of the stage had not been tackled. Ramsey worked with award-winning former Mum Puppettheatre Director Robert Smythe, as part of his studentteaching program, to develop a curriculum that would bring playwriting into the Middle School theater program. This is the third year of the new curriculum, which once focused primarily on performance skills. Together, Ramsey and Smythe wrote 10 lesson plans that can be stretched over the course of 11 to 12 weeks of theater class. In a stepped fashion, the girls create three scenes with dialogue as well as stage directions. They write the climax first, then the ending and, lastly, the beginning of their plays. This sort of zigzag approach allows students to envision and map out how to get from one point to another in their plots. There is a lot of creative writing and journaling involved as students attempt to work through their ideas and give voice to

their stories. Ramsey gets the girls started by requiring them to write a monologue from a “prompt,” asking students to describe what has just happened in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph. About one-third of the grade ends up using their monologues as the basis for their plays. Ramsey also requires the students to practice writing dialogue in the ancient Greek form known as stichomythia, a style of dialogue in which single lines are uttered by alternate speakers. In addition, students must write a five-minute piece consisting only of stage direction. The goal is to depict the main character having a private moment. All of the required writing steps culminate in a 10-minute play penned by each eighth grader, on topics ranging from bullying and suicide to friendship, betrayal and gender identity. Once each play is written, it is read to the class for critique, and the writers use the feedback to hone their final scripts. The entire grade votes on which plays are the most performance-ready; these plays end up being read before the entire Middle School. It takes about six classes to give every play a reading and two to three classes to rehearse the scripts selected for presentation to the Middle School. “The most important piece of this is the process,” said Ramsey, noting that there is no censorship and the girls often expound on tensions and issues rooted in real-life stories. “(But) what I love … is that the girls tend to choose the best writers (when they decide which plays should be staged). They are recognizing good writing when they hear it.”

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AIS ATHLETICS

:: W etz is all smiles with AIS Athletic Director Sheila Pauley and Varsity Basketball Coach John Novarina (above left). A point guard, she was known for driving hard to the basket and going up for the rebound.

A Record-Setting Year

Varsity basketball captain scores 1,000th point and beyond

ith a packed gymnasium of students, faculty, family and friends, senior Emily Wetz accomplished what few high school or collegiate basketball players do. Wetz entered the record books at the January 26 game by becoming only the second player in Agnes Irwin

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

basketball history to score 1,000 points. Three games later, she ended her fourth Varsity season having put 1,074 points, her high school career total, on the board for The Owls! The only other AIS basketball player to surpass the 1,000-point mark was Megan Pauley ’08, whose career total reached 1,032 points.

Pauley went on to become captain of the women’s basketball team at Franklin & Marshall College. In the hard-fought January game against the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, Wetz scored 10 points overall and went down to the wire in her effort to claim a place among Agnes Irwin’s elite athletes.

:: Wetz enjoys the media spotlight after surpassing the 1,000-point mark. At right, she celebrates with her parents, Deb and Bob Wetz.

“I’ve been training for this moment since my freshman year,” said Wetz. “It was both nerve-wracking and exciting!” As the game clock started, the Varsity captain was only nine points shy of hitting the milestone. In the first half, she pulled within four points but had a scoring drought until the final five minutes of the game. She exceeded the mark with a hard-won basket under the goal with 1 minute, 40 seconds to go. The Owls lost the game 54-33, but scores of students flooded the floor when Wetz sank the two-point basket that put her career score at 1,001. “I’ve been training for this moment since my freshman year,” said Wetz. “It was both nerve-wracking and exciting!” Wetz joined Agnes Irwin in ninth grade after finishing St. Anastasia School in Newtown Square. She was recruited to the basketball program through the Carter A. Mannion ’81 Student-Athlete Scholarship. The scholarship is available annually to incoming Upper School (9-12) applicants who play two sports. Wetz also plays field hockey. In her freshman year, Wetz earned a valuable position on the Varsity squad as a starter, clocking a significant amount of playing time.

She led the Owls with an average of 12.6 points per game in her final season. In addition, she led the team in steals per game (3.5) and assists per game (2.4). “Scoring 1,000 points is a huge milestone for any high school player,” said John Novarina, Varsity basketball coach at Agnes Irwin. “It says so many things…not just that she can score but that she was good enough to play at a young age and that she had the endurance to play at a high level for many years. The fact that she is Agnes Irwin’s second 1000-point scorer tells you how difficult an accomplishment this is.” Wetz, who in the fall was a captain for the Varsity field hockey team, reflected on how she has advanced athletically over the years. “Without coming to AIS, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. Many people have shaped me into who I am. My coaches have been invaluable, helping me learn the skills I needed to become a better basketball player. Without them, I would not have been able to succeed as a player.”

In college, Wetz, a highly sought-after player, will play Division III women’s basketball at Franklin and Marshall. Wetz is active as head of the Athletic Association Board at AIS, making honor roll and relishing the intense and introspective discussions she and her classmates have during their bio-ethics class. “Agnes Irwin has shaped me into a strong and independent woman. I have learned many leadership skills and also how to be a team player. In short, I have become a better person because of this school.”

Other Records Set this winter Swimming: 50 Yard Free: Catherine Miller ’12 25.38 200 Yard Free Relay: Catherine Miller, Morgan Pergolini ’14, Lauren Fox ’13, Vivien Hastings ’12 - 1:45.06 Diving: 6 Dives: Marin Bloise ’15 - 247.60 11 Dives: Marin Bloise - 429.60

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AIS ATHLETICS We Are Champions! The Varsity volleyball team was named Inter-Ac League Champions in October with an exciting 3-1 victory over the Academy of Notre Dame de Namur. They also raised more than $3,000 for the Side-Out Foundation at their annual â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dig Pinkâ&#x20AC;? event. Shown front row: (l-r) Mackenzie Lucas, Victoria Hammarskjold, Kate Tocci, Camille Flint; back row (l-r): Katharine Boris, Victoria Joughin, Madeline Yoh, Martine White, Emma Joughin, Elizabeth Hollander, Anne Mentzinger, Alexandra Hammarskjold and Meridith Pollie

AIS/EA Day Photo Roundup School spirit filled the air as community members cheered on the tennis, cross-country, field hockey and soccer teams at the 2011 AIS/EA Day games held November 11 at The Episcopal Academy.

The Agnes Irwin School Magazine :: Spring 2012

AIS ATHLETICS Agnes Irwin Cross Country Personal Bests – Top 20* | 2003 – Present

:: V arsity Lacrosse captain Campbell Crochiere ’12, with her parents, signed a National Letter of Intent in November to play Division I women’s lacrosse at the University of Richmond in Virginia.

Basketball Legend Cathy Rush

:: H all of Fame Basketball Coach Cathy Rush visited in October for a special pre-screening of “The Mighty Macs,” a film inspired by her life story as a pioneer in women’s collegiate sports. As head coach of women’s basketball at Immaculata College, she led her team to three consecutive national basketball championship titles from 1972-1974.

Name Time

Date

Event/Course

1. Courtenay Devlin