FA L L 2 01 9
PERSPECTIVES THE MAGAZINE OF ASHLEY HALL
—INSIDE—
J OY
THE OF ASHLEY HALL: FOSTERING E X P E R I E N T I A L P L AY
AS H L E Y HALL BOA R D O F TRUST EES 2 01 9 –2 02 0 O F F IC ERS Artie I. Richards | Chair Kenneth W. Harrell | Vice Chair Heidi Ward Ravenel ’74 | Secretary Hugh C. Lane, Jr. | Treasurer Brett Hildebrand | Past Chair M E M B E R S-AT- L A R G E Anne Frances Bleecker ’76 Emmie Aichele Dawson ’70 Sara E. DeWolf Mark C. Fava Mela Thompson Haklisch ’67 Susan J. Herdina Philip L. Horn, Jr. Laurie Arnold Host ’73 Lenna S. Kirchner Kevin W. Mooney Rhett Ramsay Outten ’82 Karen Jenkins Phillips ’79 Eric Strickland TRUSTEES EMERITI Mary Agnes Burnham Hood Martha Rivers Ingram ’53 Patricia T. Kirkland Elizabeth Rivers Lewine ’54 J. Conrad Zimmerman, Jr. HEAD OF SCHOOL Jill Swisher Muti MARKETING & C O M M U N I CAT I O N S O F F I C E Paula Edwards Harrell | Director of Strategic Marketing & Communications Jennifer Turner | Editor & Institutional Writer Anne-Davis Shaw | Graphic Designer Meredith Adkins Frazier | Digital Communications Manager Betsy Sidebottom | Campus Communications Manager Please forward any address changes to Ashley Hall Institutional Advancement Office, 172 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston, South Carolina 29403
| FA L L 2 01 9
PERSPECTIVES
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Front Matter
02 |
Headlines
Building a Foundation
04
The Joy of Ashley Hall: Fostering Experiential Play
Becoming Agents of Change 21 |
The Call to Serve Internationally: Esther Hoshall Beaumont ’53
26 |
“What Do You Plan to Do for the Rest of Humanity?”: Carolyn Forché and the Power of Witness
28 |
Coming Full Circle: Anne Frances Bleecker ’76
Harnessing Synergy
42 46 |
A Room with a View: Envisioning New Perspectives
The Splendor of Learning:
Creating an Interdisciplinary Spectrum
54 |
Educating the Whole Child: We Are the Lower School
Making a Place a Home
08 |
The Age of Early Adolescence:
Shaping a Place Where Girls Flourish
30
A Day at Ashley Hall: October 8, 2019
Around the Shell House
60 |
12 |
A Commitment to Excellence: Pursuing Transformative Faculty Professional Development
Life on Campus
Parting Shots
66 |
Messages of Memories and Love: The Christmas Play Telegram Tradition
38 |
Feels Like Home: Stories from the International Boarding Program
68 |
The Measure of a Man: Remembering Thomas Edwin Thornhill (1928-2019)
| On Front Cover: L-R: Naisy Marko, Edie Libaire, and Ellison Wooten, Class of 2033, laugh with pure joy while playing in the Early Education Center’s new three-tiered waterway. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography | www.kellygracephotography.com | On Back Cover: L-R: Eden Harper and Gracen Smith, Class of 2035, have fun controlling the water flow in the three-tiered waterway. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography | Above, L-R: Rebecca Paton ’33 building with Outlast Blocks. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography | Palmer Laurence ’32 sketching flowers at MUSC’s Urban Garden. Photo by Jennifer Turner | Visual Arts faculty member Cindy Andrews studies an Audubon Birds of America elephant portfolio with Jania Smalls ’23. Photo by Jennifer Turner | Opposite, from bottom: Riley Kerr ’21, Davis Murrell ’23, and Ellie Barham ’22 learn the ropes of a tall ship during the annual Offshore Leadership Voyage in October. Photo by Upper School faculty member and voyage co-leader Allison Bowden
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| HEADLINES
E
ach day, as I traverse Ashley Hall’s walkways, I always take a minute to slow down and observe. Doing so reminds me that while my pressing destination is important, the joy of our School is often tucked away in everyday moments and unassuming places. The pleasure of always encountering something wonderful reminds me that the strength of our community lies in how well we love and appreciate one another.
This fall, we opened two new spaces for learning, and both have already become favorite locations on campus. The new Early Education Playcenter is the perfect place for our youngest children to imagine big dreams and then practice the skills they need to one day make those dreams a reality. Introducing concepts from engineering to physics, the specialized learning stations entice students to experiment, problemsolve, and have fun! Seeing their genuine happiness in this space always makes me smile. The new Intermediate Program Building offers stunning spaces to fully support our fifth and sixth graders in their comprehensive development. The STEAM suite provides plenty of room for immersive labs and handson explorations, and I know our girls will create prototypes and test their own designs and inventions in the fabrication design lab, due to launch this semester. The outdoor spaces that surround the building—the covered porches, sloping green areas, and the long, inviting benches—create an irresistible hub for the entire campus. One of my favorite things is to slip into classrooms and watch our outstanding faculty members at work. Talented and passionate, their devotion to our students is inspiring, as is their commitment to professional development and personal growth. The willingness to reflect, assess, develop, and renew—these are traits our faculty members tirelessly and fearlessly pursue in their calling as educators. Sitting in the back of a classroom, I am always inspired by the breadth of interdisciplinary collaborations on display. Our Lower School’s emphasis on mathematics, literacy, and wellness exhibits the power of an integrated core curriculum, and across divisions, faculty members reach out to help and learn from one another. From our visual artists, scientists, mathematicians, and technologists creating intersections among their work to our humanities faculty members leveraging new connections to expand students’ perceptions of the world, our School is a nexus of deep and meaningful learning. At the end of my day, I again take a moment to reflect on all the goodness I have witnessed and to appreciate the genuine expressions of joy that fill our campus. It never fails to remind me that this place, and more importantly, this community, is indeed our home.
With kind regards,
Jill Muti Head of School
| Opposite: Intermediate Program girls gather during recess to talk and swap snacks on the lawn outside their new building. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography | Above: Photo by Julia Lynn
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J OY the
of Ashley Hall: Fostering Experiential Play BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
| B U I L D I N G A F O U N D AT I O N
When Ashley Hall’s youngest children returned to campus this fall, they discovered a magical new world had sprouted seemingly overnight outside the Ross Early Education Center (EEC). Nestled among an inviting green expanse, the new EEC Playcenter has become a place of joy as children indulge their curiosities, tinker with their own inventions, and simply let their imaginations run wild, all under the guise of play.
O
n any given school day, walk the red brick path past the Sports Court and chances are high a bevy of laughing, running children will tumble into view. The new EEC Playcenter quickly has become a favorite place on campus, with pre-
primary through pre-kindergarten classes happily sharing the space and its inviting specialized learning stations that are perfect for child-sized explorations. “This past year, a generous donation to the EEC was directed toward STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) initiatives,” said Betsy Quirin, Director of the EEC. “We discussed as a team what STEM looks like on our level and ultimately came up with three objectives that we wanted to accomplish with this gift.” Desiring to be intentional in the creation of the new Playcenter, faculty members determined their first goal was to choose materials that support exploratory learning, a hallmark of the EEC’s Reggio Emilia philosophy. Second, faculty members sought items classified as developmentally appropriate for a wide range of ages to benefit not only EEC students but also older students on campus. Finally, an emphasis on experiential learning was essential. “We want our students to learn through reflection on doing,” noted Quirin. “This allows them to make connections and develop their own theories.” In addition to stocking the new Playcenter with the standard joy makers of childhood—swings, a climbing tower complete with slide and monkey bars, and a sandbox—faculty members settled on three specialized learning stations that directly reflected their planning objectives. Transformative in fostering experiential play, each station has brought Ashley Hall’s students numerous hours of enjoyment.
T H R E E -T I E R E D WAT E R WAY What child is not fascinated by the experience of swirling, dipping, splashing, and trickling water through eager tiny hands? A three-tiered waterway was the perfect inducement for little ones to engage in experiential learning. “I love flooding the water and watching it rush into the other container,” exclaimed Patrick McCarty ’33. “We say, ‘Whoa!!!’” Donning miniature smocks, the children relish diving right in. “The water table is filled up with water, and there are amazing toys there and boats,” smiled Charlie Sullivan ’34. “It’s filled with lots of water up to the top, and then the boats come down and jump in! The water splashes you and gets the whole playground wet.” Wet and laughing, Naisy Marko ’33 agreed. “I get to control how fast the water pours out and can block it too,” she explained. While the three-tiered waterway has inspired many joyful moments of play, something even more significant lies just under the surface. “There is a great amount of research on the benefits of water play in ages one through five, and we are able to accomplish many hidden objectives,” said Quirin. “For example: sensory play and bringing in the idea of touch; experimenting with velocity and speed as well as flow and motion; enclosure making, blocking, and bridging; concepts of sinking and floating; and water displacement exploration.” It is a win-win situation for teachers and children alike.
| Opposite, L-R: Lottie Daniel, Penny Hodgson, and Ford Riley, Class of 2035, hop, skip, and slide on the new EEC Playcenter equipment. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography
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M AG N E T I C WA L L
O U T L A S T B LO C KS
Seeking a learning station that would involve problem-
A final wish for the new Playcenter was a learning station
solving and encourage trial and error play, faculty members
that would engage children’s minds and bodies in significant
soon landed on a large, long magnetic wall that could be
ways. “We knew we wanted an activity that promoted open-
adapted for numerous uses. “The magnetic wall seems like a
ended play as well as something appropriately heavy to
simple concept, but already we have seen huge success with
work on our children’s muscle tone and build strength in
communication and teamwork, goal setting and problem-
their upper bodies,” emphasized Quirin. “These brown,
solving of how to get there, critical thinking and futuristic
wood-like Outlast Blocks accomplish so much, including
planning, use of prepositional words (on/off, out/in, beside,
upper body strengthening; sequence, balance, size and
inside, under, above), spatial reasoning, coordination, and
weight comparison; machine functioning with ramps and
timing skills,” Quirin pointed out.
levers; and stability, bracing, and supporting skills.”
Currently, the magnetic wall supports a system of ramps
Providing children with a sky’s-the-limit mentality, Outlast
and tunnels that can easily slide into different maze-like
Blocks just might be the most innovative and popular
configurations to convey wooden balls downward. To build
material on the playground. “They are never bored with
bigger and better mazes, children quickly have learned the
anything on the playground and sometimes do not even
value of working together. “While playing, children build
have enough time to play with everything they would like,”
their social-emotional skills by learning to use their words
said EEC faculty member Batey Self. “We tell them to
to resolve conflicts, to take turns and share materials, and
make a plan for tomorrow to play with whatever they did
to practice teamwork and collaboration with others,” said
not get a chance with today. By providing the opportunity
EEC faculty member Katie Paulson. “This new playground
for children to interact with peers and participate in both
equipment is an awesome addition to our campus, especially
structured and open-ended play, children develop social-
for the pre-primary students.” Working together at the wall,
emotional skills that are the foundation of the learning
Lottie Daniel ’35 and Catherine Nickol ’35 busily arranged
process.”
and rearranged the slides and tunnels to create different
and translated a number of inventive daydreams into
effects. “I like to roll the balls down the slides and see them
make-believe reality, as budding engineers and architects
fall,” laughed Lottie. “I changed the ramps so the balls
construct car washes, skyscrapers, gas stations, airplanes,
can go down right. It’s not hard to do if you keep trying.”
and even pirate ships. “I make buildings and castles that
Catherine readily agreed: “These balls are my favorite. I’m
go so, so high!” declared Edie Libaire ’33. “It’s really fun
going to roll them back down again!”
planning them. I might do that when I grow up.”
Outlast Blocks have sparked imaginations
| B U I L D I N G A F O U N D AT I O N
T H E VA L U E A N D J OY O F P L AY In envisioning a new Playcenter for EEC children, faculty members hoped to enhance the joy of their students while leveraging the crucial benefits of play. “The most important job for children at this age is to learn how to be a part of society, and free play allows children to understand their role in our world,” said EEC faculty member Kathleen Ricker. “Free play allows ample opportunity to enrich social and problem-solving skills as well as build relationships.” Self agreed: “The children use teamwork to make a slide for the wooden balls on the magnetic wall, problem-solve to get the water in the three-tiered waterway to flow from one trough to another, and take turns using the leveler to make a balance beam with the Outlast Blocks. Each new item has a creative purpose that promotes cognitive, physical, and social-emotional development.” This focus on enriching children through their own sphere has added a truly special place to campus. “To say we are thrilled to have these new experiences for our students would be an understatement,” smiled Quirin. “Each area is used daily, and it has been a joy for us to watch our students communicate, problem-solve, and create. We are so confident that we have widened the range of possibilities for our students, and we cannot wait to see how they are challenged, motivated, and inspired.” If the children’s laughter of pure delight is any indication, this dream already has been fully realized.
| Opposite, L-R: The new Playcenter offers students the perfect place to invent and dream. | L-R: Pre-kindergartners use teamwork and Outlast Blocks to build their very own airplane. | Above: Primary students collaborate to arrange ramps and tunnels in just the right configuration on the new magnetic wall. Photos by Kelly Grace Photography
7
The Age of Early Adolescence: Shaping a Place Where Girls
BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
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| B U I L D I N G A F O U N D AT I O N
ow in its second decade,
the Intermediate Program was conceived as a comprehensive initiative within the Lower School to support the mental, emotional, and physical development of girls during their critical early adolescent years. With the opening of Ashley Hall’s new Intermediate Program Building in August, fifth and sixth graders moved into a custom-built space suited to their needs and in the process have become immersed in an environment that elevates an already outstanding curriculum to a new level.
How Girls Learn Best
The first thing one notices when entering the new Intermediate Program Building is the natural light that creates a soft, diffused glow throughout the space. From the atrium and stairwells to classrooms and study nooks, it is the light that turns everything golden. “The girls thrive from having light as part of their learning environment,” said Mary Schweers, Intermediate Program Coordinator. “With large windows on both floors, this building is filled with light, which helps enhance the joy in a learning environment. Research shows that girls, especially, respond well to natural lighting.” It is a thoughtful and meaningful detail, one of many taken into account in designing a building meant to support early adolescent girls in every way possible on their educational journey. “The layout of the building has such a good flow, and the dynamic is open,” continued Schweers. “We are not as confined.” The Intermediate Program Building is a model of a seamless educational environment. Inside, the open configuration and internal windows expand the line of sight, allowing faculty members to better interact with students, and each grade uses a different staircase to promote efficient traffic flow. The openness is accentuated with study rooms and nooks where girls work quietly, both individually and in small groups. “They like the freedom of using the entire building to meet their needs for collaboration, conferring, planning, and studying,” noted Intermediate Program faculty member Melanie Gibson. “The building is more like a house where all the rooms are used for different purposes.”
“I feel like I’m part of a supportive community. I can go to anyone if I need anything.” -Rheagan Miller ’27
That seamlessness extends outside, with girls flocking to several dynamic spaces, including two porch areas, a communal bench fronting the Sports Court, and a gently sloping hill area perfect for interacting with students from other divisions. “The outside spaces, and especially the porch areas, are where the girls like to gather, such as during breaks, before morning meeting, and after lunch, and the cement bench has been an incredible gathering place for all students and faculty,” said Schweers. “These are places for our girls to sit and talk. Since they learn collaboratively, girls like to be together, communicate, and work through things, and it is important to provide them with gathering spaces that promote that.”
Assuring Well-being
Because of the transformative nature of early adolescence, the Intermediate Program purposely addresses each girl’s well-being as a whole. A key part in achieving this goal is individualized attention, supported by a faculty committed to collaborative instruction. “We have such an incredibly talented, passionate team of teachers, and that makes a huge difference for the students,” said Schweers. “We are very in tune with our students and with each other. Every Monday morning, we set aside planning time as a team to collaborate and share information about activities, students, and issues, so we model what we want the students to be doing.” Helping to manifest that planning, the new building gives
| Opposite, L-R: Ava Martin, Vanna Pennington, Diana Street, and Alston Tobias, Class of 2026, have a spirited discussion about an assignment while sitting on the porch of the new Intermediate Program Building. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography
9
faculty members dedicated space for their goals. “I love my cozy office
cultivating emotional and social health. “I like the sense of belonging
space,” said Learning Specialist Ginger Black. “It is a perfect place for
that I see the girls having in this building,” said Schweers. “It helps them
quiet individual instruction, and the girls like coming in to ask for help
to own their own learning.”
or to finish up a task that requires just a little more time.” The Intermediate Program’s social and emotional initiatives are
Student Voice and Choice
A guiding principle throughout the design and construction phase
embedded throughout the curriculum. “This group very intentionally
of the new Intermediate Program Building was to inspire students’
thinks about the whole child in designing and implementing everything,
engagement in their own learning process, especially via several
from study skills classes to advisory-run assemblies,” said Lower
showcase areas that support interdisciplinary, project-based learning.
School Counselor Jennifer Vaughan, whose weekly wellness class
“Ashley Hall is maximizing students’ voices and choices in the way
supports students with age-appropriate health information and
they learn,” noted Director of Innovation Ed Dougherty. “The 1,800
weaves in practical applications of Ashley Hall’s seven Hallmarks:
square foot STEAM [Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and
Worldly,
Mathematics] suite sparks creativity,
Creative, Collaborative, Purposeful, and
collaboration, and critical thinking, and
Discerning.
“The curriculum spirals in
the state-of-the-art fabrication design
wellness as it does in other subjects, so
lab with 3D printers and laser cutters
the girls get a higher level of topics that
helps students prototype new ideas and
we have discussed in the past.
Compassionate,
Intelligent,
Some
bring their visions to life.” Featuring
topics we tackle yearly, such as emotional
a moveable wall, the second floor
regulation, mindfulness, social problem
STEAM suite runs nearly the length
solving, resilience and growth mindset, and
of the building and can open up to
communication skills, including advocacy
accommodate the entire Intermediate
and conflict resolution.”
Program population. For Intermediate Program
faculty
members
Kiki
Vaughan also focuses on the skills needed
Sweigart and Holly Blair, who in the
to navigate the digital world, which is
past had to search for space to conduct
reinforced in the advisory program, a
some experiments, the opportunities
dedicated time set aside each day for girls to
have been endless.
interact with their faculty advisor and a small group of peers. “In advisory, we are using the
“The space lends itself beautifully to
Social Institute’s tools to learn about how to
discovery and facilitates experiences
become responsible users of technology and
that we want the students to take
social media,” said Intermediate Program
ownership in,” said Blair. “There is
faculty member Katie Pérez-Phillips. “This
truly a configuration for every type of
is vital for this age
investigation, which promotes a feeling
“The seats have places for your stuff, and there are options so you can sit how you prefer. The chairs are cozy, making it easier to learn.” -Quinley Winters ’27
group, and while technology can facilitate
of autonomy yet also of community. Students are rising to the occasion
collaborative learning, it is just as important
and taking responsibility for their own learning.” Sweigart concurred.
for our students to know when to be ‘eyes
“My favorite part of this new space is the flexibility of moving tables and
up’ throughout the learning experience.”
chairs for a wide-open space,” she noted. “One of its greatest advantages
The new Intermediate Program Building
is having enough room for a large group STEAM project.”
has made advisory time more meaningful, with flexible seating and open space being
Indeed, the new mobile classroom furniture has helped to increase
conducive to a time of sharing and reflection.
focus and productivity. “I love the seating options,” said Intermediate
In addition, the space has energized a
Program faculty member Kelly Brinson. “The ability to easily and
teambuilding initiative that groups fifth
quickly change the configuration of the room is helpful for small group
and sixth graders into Team Houses to
instruction, math centers, and group work. The smaller soft seating
promote
through
has been great for small group instruction.” Such creative options
exciting activities. It is just one more way of
directly support the innovative nature of the Intermediate Program
good
sportsmanship
| Above: Elyse Lang ’26 works on a writing assignment in Intermediate Program faculty member Melanie Gibson’s Humanities class | Opposite: Fifth graders conduct research on their Chromebooks in the new STEAM suite. Photos by Kelly Grace Photography
| B U I L D I N G A F O U N D AT I O N
curriculum. “We can reconfigure the rooms depending on what we are
able to share documents in project groups, not to mention while using
teaching and how we are teaching, which allows for a lot of diversity,”
less paper,” emphasized Gibson. “This learning tool is limitless and
noted Schweers. “The girls love the choices as well and are further
now part of our everyday learning for humanities classes, especially
encouraged to be active in their own learning.”
for writing and editing.” Brinson agreed. “I am able to do more differentiation and small group instruction. Having a Chromebook
Technology with Purpose
for each student makes technology more
classroom. “The Promethean boards have allowed me to become a
has quickly become home to its faculty
more efficient teacher, from using the timer on a daily basis to accessing
and students. “The girls’ excitement was
Google Drive directly on the board,” said Pérez-Phillips. “The girls are
palpable on day one, and it has been so
more inspired and enjoy participating in language activities, such as
great to see them out on the Sports Court
identifying the Spanish-speaking countries on
practicing in the morning, chatting on
Google Maps and even sharing their written
the front patio, energetically hashing out
“We’ve all bonded like a family. Being here is really fun, and we are all really good friends.”
work with classmates.”
group projects in the study rooms, and just
- Lily Sloan ’26
To match the new Intermediate Program Building’s design benefits, faculty members also requested technology that was complementary to the new space as well as appropriate to their students’ needs. For example, a Promethean interactive white board is standard in each
“Everyone in the IP building is so kind and supportive. When you learn a new skill, everyone makes you feel good.” -Kate Craig ’26
accessible.”
We are Family
The new Intermediate Program Building
showing off our newly updated space,” said Another intentional technology choice by
Intermediate Program faculty member Olivia Hipp. “Everything
faculty members is to provide each girl with
excites them, from the touch-screen Promethean boards to the water-
a Chromebook that provides easy access to
bottle filling fountain, and it is a joy to see them so energized!” That
the Google Platform, a robust software suite.
energy is indicative of a place where girls truly flourish. “While I am
Intended for in-school use, the laptops are
excited about all of the innovative design and technology, I always go
not only critical in supporting the curriculum
back to the light,” smiled Schweers. “This place is lit from the outside,
but also in making student workstations
and metaphorically, the girls have their own kind of inner light. Here,
and individualized learning possible.
there is light, love, and a true joy of learning.”
“The
Chromebooks are a great way for students to be 11
A Commitment to Excellence:
Pursuing Transformative Faculty Professional Development BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
For nearly fifteen years, Ashley Hall has invested in its faculty members by advocating for transformative professional development experiences. Through reflective inquiry, deep investigation, and personal growth, faculty members gain enrichment for both themselves and their students.
A
t Ashley Hall, faculty professional development always
colleagues to observe classes, provide insight, and write assessment
begins with its most essential component: self-reflection.
pieces. While over the years some of Ashley Hall’s signature
“It is designed to be something deeply personal that helps the
programs have developed from ideas explored during Banding
faculty member to become a better teacher,” noted Academic
Projects (the Reggio Emilia teaching method, Senior Thesis, Oral
Program Coordinator Carolyn Newton. Originating in 2005, the
Proficiency Interview, and Oral Defense Project), the enrichment
current professional development process was conceived in part as
of faculty members remains the foundation of the process.
a rejection of formulaic continuing education requirements. “In my past experience, professional development consisted of a very narrow set of things,” remarked Upper School faculty member Nick Bozanic, who last year retired as Assistant to the Head of School for Academic Affairs. “It was given to you with no personal involvement. When I was hired in 2005, I was mandated by Head of School Jill Muti to form a faculty committee to devise a professional
In 2018, a faculty committee revisited professional development and streamlined milestones. “They ultimately arrived at a system that acknowledges the beauty of the Banding Project while allowing for more perspective and investment,” stated Newton. In addition to continuing to pursue yearly professional development, faculty members will complete every five years a Foundation Review to
development plan that would foster lifelong learning.”
chart their teaching journeys and map where they want to go next.
Meeting for over a year, the committee decided to make faculty
opportunities for immersive enrichment and reflection.
members accountable for their own professional growth. “Professional development at Ashley Hall is from the faculty up, rather than from the administration down,” emphasized Bozanic. “We are giving permission to faculty members to explore and think about what it is they want to accomplish. From the beginning, I felt strongly that in order to foster personal and professional growth, you have to be open-minded.” With that freedom of vision, however, comes responsibility.
A member of the original committee,
Upper School faculty member Roscoe Davis still recognizes the importance of that duality. “We crafted entirely new guidelines for professional development that left it up to the individual to determine how he or she might grow,” he declared. “Everyone was to have a goal that would make him or her a more active and engaged individual, a person always learning.” A core component of Ashley Hall’s professional development process has been the Banding Project, a rigorous exploration that each faculty member undertakes beginning in his or her fourth year. “Every Banding Project starts with a deep reflective piece about how you came to be a teacher and continue to work on your craft,” explained Newton. “You also devise a deep focus, something that you want to work on in the classroom and are committed to exploring.” Each faculty member establishes a committee of two
Moreover, the Banding Project will be phased out in favor of more
While all faculty members hired by fall 2019 will eventually complete a Banding Project, they also will have the option to pursue two voluntary special investigations: an Amethyst Project after ten years at Ashley Hall and a Pearl Project after twenty years. “The idea is that these big, deep dives need to start at ten years, when the faculty member has become invested in Ashley Hall and has a richer field of experience from which to work,” revealed Newton. “You must have a passion about some idea and the commitment to undertake a substantial investigation and reflection that will ultimately benefit students,” Davis emphasized. By investing in its faculty members, Ashley Hall empowers them to think deeply about what it means to be a teacher and then provides them with the encouragement and resources to grow into that vision. “The esprit de corps on campus arises in large measure from our collective participation in professional development,” acknowledged Bozanic. “The faculty member now has a vested personal interest in what happens on campus. There is a tremendous sense of common cause, and individual plans become integrated into the life of the School. It feels good as a faculty member to know you are being heard.”
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A selection of Banding Projects completed over the last year, the following profiles highlight the diversity, creativity, and ingenuity of faculty professional development at Ashley Hall.
Chris Frisby
Upper School | History
A
s a historian, Chris Frisby is inspired by the personal narrative’s power to encourage self-reflection and spark meaningful impact. “I have spent my Banding year working to assess and implement civics education and civic engagement in my classroom by using self-reflection as a tool,” he remarked. “Placing students at the center of their own story reminds them of the centrality of their places in history. They respond well and learn effectively when the theoretical or hypothetical is made personal.” Teaching United States history and American government and politics, Frisby draws on a wealth of themes and subjects to encourage students’ interests in civic engagement, public service, historic preservation, and social justice. Utilizing journaling, the Harkness method, and creative collaboration, he upholds personal reflection as the gateway to a deeper historical analysis. “I have helped students come to terms with their definitions of the American Dream and to begin to trace their families’ relationship to that dream,” he said. “I have asked students to place themselves in the past, present, and future by reinterpreting events from the American Revolution, crafting their own inaugural address as the first female President, and writing their own State of the Union speeches. I want students to see how their historical studies, at root, are really an exercise in tracing the events that have led up to, and resulted in, their very lives.” As a result of his research, Frisby hopes to pursue two projects to enrich students: a future summer travel experience exploring Civil War capitals, battlefields, and monuments to investigate historical landscapes, preservation, and memory; and a new elective course revolving around the writings of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Both proposals are underpinned by Frisby’s deep belief in history’s power. “It can be said that understanding history is a fundamental human pursuit that reflects our need to tell stories about ourselves,” he noted. “A good understanding of history can cut through the abundant landscape of false narratives, platitudes, and strata of myth built up over time and put one in a place to reckon more forthrightly with the past.”
| Surrounded by historical memorabilia, Frisby prepares for the day in his Warren Street House office. All Banding faculty portraits by Kelly Grace Photography 13
Claire Christensen, Ph.D. Upper School | Physics & Mathematics
W
ith a passion for physics, Claire Christensen, Ph.D., gravitated toward a Banding Project that would allow her to share her love for the field and perhaps inspire the next generation of physicists. “In addition to designing and implementing the curriculum for an advanced high school physics course, I was interested in comparing different methodologies commonly used to teach physics at the high school and undergraduate levels,” Christensen said. “My hope was to bring to Ashley Hall a unique, rigorous, and engaging college-level course that would give students the mathematical tools and techniques and the precise conceptual understanding of physical concepts that I—as a physicist—know to be necessary for success in physics and engineering courses at the college level and beyond.” Now in its second year, Honors Physics II continues to change and grow under Christensen’s adept hand. “I have a complete curriculum with associated problem sets, notes, activities, labs, assessments, and more covering a variety of topics from basic kinematics to introductory quantum mechanics and special relativity,” she revealed. “Last year, the course was taught from an algebra-based perspective, but this year, I introduced a ‘Calculus bootcamp’ that has enabled us to use a Calculus-based approach for many topics.” One of Christensen’s goals was to support students’ foundational acquisition of basic physical science concepts in preparation for the Honors Physics II curriculum. “I have enjoyed working with my colleagues to expand and change our program to make sure that we have the most rigorous physical sciences curriculum to best serve students interested in pursuing degrees in physics, chemistry, or engineering,” she noted. “I think, ultimately, our program will be much stronger as a result.” For Christensen, teaching Honors Physics II has become a meaningful undertaking for both her and her students. “Physics is unique among subjects in terms of its ability to thoroughly and precisely—through the language of mathematics—provide us with a glimpse of the inner workings of our universe,” she said. “It has been an enriching experience for me to learn to see the world around us through my students’ eyes—to try to understand how each student thinks and learns and to try to help her discover for herself a bit of what I find so beautiful about physics.”
| It’s Electric! Christensen demonstrates the properties of a Van de Graaff generator in a Jenkins Hall science laboratory.
| B U I L D I N G A F O U N D AT I O N
Allison Bischoff
Lower School | Kindergarten
L
oving to watch her kindergarten students grow, Allison Bischoff found the perfect place to nurture their learning: their very own garden. “I have always loved to garden, and my family has fun with it at home,” she smiled. “Bringing this hobby to my students was a way to extend this passion and cultivate their interest. It never gets dull watching the growth of tiny seeds into blooming plants.” Gaining permission to revive the four medicinal garden beds near Ashley Hall’s Health Center, Bischoff intentionally involved her students in all aspects of the undertaking, including preparing the beds, choosing the seeds to plant, and decorating the area. Most importantly, she wanted to connect classroom lessons to outdoor investigations. “School gardens have been shown to enhance academic achievement, a healthy lifestyle, environmental stewardship, and community and social development,” she said. “I really wanted to create an outdoor classroom. The garden integrates multiple disciplines, including reading, writing, math, science, and nutrition in a hands-on, fun way. Children learn the meaning of hard work and patience, while enriching their capacities for observation and thinking.” To enhance students’ experiences, Bischoff makes connections to the Charleston community, including field trips to local gardens and visits by farmer Casey Price of Jeremiah Farm and Goat Dairy, who serves as gardener-in-residence and leads special sessions with students.
Over the course of the last year, kindergartners have filled their garden with vegetables, herbs, berries, and special plants to attract bees, butterflies, and one other enchanted thing with wings: fairies. “The girls love our fairy garden, and I enjoy seeing their creativity,” emphasized Bischoff. “We collect natural materials found on campus and decorate terracotta pots to make into fairy houses.” It is one more thoughtful element that makes the garden such a magical place, one where her kindergartners thrive. “They love watching the slow progression of the plant growth, especially when they bear fruit,” she enthused. “When we start plants from seeds, they exclaim with joy once the little green shoots come up from the soil. The most rewarding part of this project is their excitement.”
| With a little fairy magic and help from Mother Nature, Allison Bischoff tends her gardens for young learners near Ashley Hall’s Health Center. 15
Katie Harvard
Early Education Center | Pre-Kindergarten
F
or Katie Harvard, playing is serious business. Throughout her fifteen years of working at Ashley Hall, she has seen first-hand how play serves as one of the most important factors in a child’s education. “I wanted to focus on the brain development behind why play is so important in our lives and the lives of children,” Harvard explained. “Children learn how to interact with peers when engaged in play activities while also building on important schemas about the real world. Children of all ages spend many hours participating in play activities because play supports their understanding of their social environment, facilitates their efforts to build a realistic sense of self, and strengthens their understanding of various roles and social interactions. Perhaps most importantly, play is an enjoyable experience for all children.” To investigate the idea of play for her banding project, Harvard analyzed the Reggio Emilia philosophy that emphasizes visual documentation and influences the daily activities of her classroom. She decided to curate a scrapbook to convey her current research, feature the project-based learning in her classroom, and reflect on her teaching experience in both pre-kindergarten and third grade. “When I was brainstorming how I would portray my growth and reflection pieces, a puzzle came to mind,” she said. “Then as I was walking across campus, I happened upon a sole wooden Jenga piece, waiting to be put back with the other pieces of the stacking puzzle to make it complete. Then it dawned on me: Jenga could model an all-encompassing structure of play that requires both physical and mental skills.” Embracing her puzzle model, Harvard appreciates how the banding process highlighted her continual growth as an educator. “This project has helped me to become a better teacher, mother, and parent,” she acknowledged. “I put my attention on the whole child and what I need to do to instruct in a way that allows my students to think for themselves, be playful, and first and foremost, find joy in what and how they are learning.”
| Always in the middle of the action with her students, Harvard has fun at the new Early Education Center Playcenter.
| B U I L D I N G A F O U N D AT I O N
Anna Brock Performing Arts
B
y pursuing National Piano Teacher Certification through the National Association of Music Teachers, Anna Brock chose a Banding Project directly tied to her lifelong quest to become a better artist and teacher. As part of the certification requirements, she articulated her teaching philosophy and meticulously documented her work with students. “I completed a number of projects, including presenting my teaching by submitting videos of my playing and of three lessons as well as adjudication sheets from student piano events,” Brock explained. “I also analyzed four teaching pieces and shared information about the tools I use in my teaching environment, including two pianos, a computer, a video camera, and percussion instruments.”
In addition to obtaining national certification, Brock created an expansive portfolio to capture the growth she has experienced during her years at Ashley Hall. The collection presents a rich accounting of her commitment to professional excellence. In particular, Brock’s portfolio traces her integral role in cultivating Ashley Hall’s involvement with The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM), one of the most prestigious music education institutions in North America. In 2014, Brock and fellow piano teacher Dr. Elsa Dixon took online pedagogy lessons in order to introduce the RCM curriculum and exams to Ashley Hall. “We learned how to prepare students for RCM exams, which were offered for the first time in South Carolina in May 2015,” said Brock. “Starting in 2016, I took the online Intermediate Piano Teacher certification course through RCM and passed with Honors. I had already achieved RCM Elementary certification because I had entered the required number of students in Elementary exams. I now have two of the three levels of certification.” A crowning achievement for Brock was spearheading the RCM examination weekend at Ashley Hall in May 2019, which was the first time RCM Certificate Program assessments were offered in Charleston. Of the nineteen students who took the offered exams in piano and voice, thirteen were Ashley Hall students. This impressive achievement is a fitting testament to Brock’s commitment to professional growth, both for herself and her students.
| Feeling right at home, Brock is poised for performance in the Sottile-Thompson Recital Hall in McBee House. 17
David Czernecki
Upper School | Mathematics
D
avid Czernecki’s choice of Banding Project reveals an interest that lies close to his heart: helping his students to succeed and feel positive about the process. “The focus of my project is the use of cumulative assessment as a learning tool,” Czernecki stated. “I initially used traditional assessments for my AP Calculus students, and the first few years of AP scores were not terrible but also not great. I did not feel that my students’ AP scores were an accurate reflection of their knowledge, so I began to consider what we did and how we could potentially make the situation better.” Czernecki’s detailed analysis revealed a potential solution. “I kept thinking about the style of assessment used for the AP exam, which is cumulative, randomized, and constructed with certain problems requiring students to make connections between concepts,” Czernecki revealed. “I felt that if we could model this style, but within our eighty-minute class periods, our students would be more successful on the AP exam.” The results speak for themselves: Each year since 2015-2016, when cumulative assessment in AP Calculus was introduced at Ashley Hall, students’ scores have been significantly higher than the global average. Based on these outcomes, cumulative assessment has been adopted in a majority of courses in Ashley Hall’s Math, Science, and Technology Department. “The cumulative assessment was developed as a way of helping our students to prepare better, connect concepts within problem solving, and retain material from one assessment to the next, hopefully culminating in a successful AP Calculus exam score,” Czernecki reasoned. “I believe the data shows a positive correlation between the use of cumulative assessment and student learning.” As Czernecki readily admits, his investigation began long before he settled on a focus for his Banding Project. Foremost, the motivation for conducting his research has always been to see his students excel. “Eighty-four percent of students who replied to a survey believe cumulative assessment had a positive impact on their learning experience,” iterated Czernecki. “Every time I consider something new, I ask myself, ‘Will this make me a better teacher or is this better for the students?’ This has led to the development of my teaching philosophy: To provide students an opportunity to learn.”
| Prepared to coach, advise, and inspire students, Czernecki stands ready in the Math, Science, and Technology Lab in Jenkins Hall.
| B U I L D I N G A F O U N D AT I O N
Desiree Landry Bonetto Upper School | Classics
W
hen Desiree Landry Bonetto set out to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail in July for her Banding Project, her inspiration ran deeper than merely her love of nature and adventure. “I wanted to undertake a journey in two parts: a physical journey on the Appalachian Trail and a mental journey through further research on the mythology of the wild,” she said. A lover of structure and plans, she also wanted to venture beyond her comfort zone in a way that could be applied to her teaching. “I kept returning to words like flexibility, adaptability, and improvisation,” Bonetto noted. “I found myself frustrated when plans changed or students responded differently than expected. I wanted to build the confidence and adaptability to bend with the wind and respond, rather than react, to whatever challenges came my way.” After months of careful planning to hike for two weeks, Bonetto began her solitary trek in northern Georgia. “I was carrying everything I needed to sleep, eat, filter water, and walk for days on end,” she explained. However, circumstances, including a rainstorm, conspired against Bonetto. Hiking twentyeight miles in three days in wet socks and boots, she developed horrible blisters and the beginning of trench foot. “My reality did not live up to the fantasy; yet, in a small way, I found what I was looking for,” she said. “I went out in search of a challenge that could help me to relax into my teaching style, to meet the girls where they are, and to remember how difficult it is to try something completely new. To take a journey into the wild is a test of resilience and one’s ability to meet the uncontrollable.”
Having to think on her feet as her plans unraveled, Bonetto now applies her new knowledge to her classroom. “Being on the trail reminded me of the frustration and discomfort of learning something new,” she affirmed. “I am finding more empathy with our students, who are constantly in a state of learning something new and working through those challenges. It is helpful to remember how difficult it is to take risks, make mistakes, and persevere, and it is equally important to remember the joy of overcoming each obstacle along the way.”
| Standing by the Bear Cave near McBee House, Bonetto is suited up in her hiking gear and ready for her next adventure. 19
Each year, Ashley Hall faculty members pursue professional development experiences that promote their growth as teachers and enhance their students’ learning. Reflecting faculty members’ passions and goals, these projects allow in-depth opportunities to refine teaching methods and learn new skills.
IN HIS OWN WORDS: THE TEACHER BECOMES THE STUDENT PURSUING THE INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE CERTIFICATE IN TEACHING AND LEARNING Devoted to the craft of teaching, Upper School faculty member Andrea Muti chose for his annual professional development to seek out and examine global best practices in education. Pursuing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Certificate in Teaching and Learning through Bethel University, Muti once again became a student, a role that helped him to think critically about what practices work best to engage a learner. The twenty-week program required reflection, discussion, and collaboration around three main courses on curriculum processes, assessment and learning, and teaching and learning. A final capstone project completed the extensive endeavor. Finding the IB’s emphasis on student-directed learning complements Ashley Hall’s inquiry-based curriculum, Muti has already taken steps to apply what he learned to his Upper School classes.
“I
n a world that is continuously changing, the idea behind the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) is that faculty members teach students to take responsibility, to be internationally-minded, and to take action. The ultimate goal of the IB program is not only to help students develop academic skills and efficient study methods, but also to allow them to see connections between the local and the global community, and to get involved in service by actively applying what they are learning in class. Using the constructivist approach, the IB program focuses on extending the zone of proximal development, where teachers and students come together to build knowledge through scaffolding, resulting in enhanced learning that would not have been possible without this collaboration. By allowing students to proceed at their own pace and to follow their interests, the IB program enables them to become critical thinkers and inquirers. As faculty members, we should never forget that while we are in control of what we teach, we are unable to control what each student learns. When adequately applied, this problem-solving approach empowers students to think
deeply about a specific issue and to create a solution that is functional for the twenty-fi rst century. An IB aspect I am currently focusing on is the strategy of preassessment, which helps teachers create a bridge, a connection between what they are teaching and what students already know about a specific argument. The pre-assessment is a powerful instrument because it helps teachers understand what is going to spark students’ interests, or what roadblocks they must overcome, and use this acquired knowledge to shape their lessons. My students not only will have the ability to think critically about what they are studying but also will be able to formulate solutions to fi x specific problems. Moreover, the IB program offers a specific perspective to strategize my lessons and measure what I am teaching. Through a combination of different assessments (individual and group projects, individual research, oral presentations, and written assignments), students are evaluated in ways that they can express their knowledge and skills best. This increases the validity of the assessment itself because I can be certain that the fi nal grade is a reflection of what they know and what they can do. It takes patience and time to plan and to create a course around these parameters, but once I have the system, I am in control of what I am doing and know the direction instead of improvising. It is a very methodical and specific approach. The most rewarding part of becoming certified as an IB Educator is being validated that it is not the amount of content that I am teaching that makes the difference but rather the quality with which I do it. The IB program reminds instructors that they should not rush through lessons just looking at the surface, but rather strive to go more indepth and give a voice to different perspectives. This semester, I have adopted the IB assessment methodology for the chapter on the United Nations in my Human Rights and International Law class, and I am already planning to transform and translate more of the things that I do in my classes into an IB approach. Everything that I teach must have a reason, a purpose, a relevance, and a connection with something that I want to accomplish with my students.”
| A committed educator always looking to enhance the experiences of his students, Muti surveys campus from the second-floor porch of the Rivers Library. Photo by Meredith Adkins Frazier
| BECOMING AGENTS OF CHANGE
The Call to Serve Internationally: Esther Hoshall Beaumont ’53 BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
Dateline: Windhoek, Namibia, November 1989 Esther Hoshall Beaumont, Class of 1953, arrived just as elections for the newly independent nation had gotten underway. As the United States Information Agency regional information resource officer for southern Africa, she was there to oversee the opening of a new American library. Watching as hundreds of United Nation vehicles patrolled crowded streets teeming with energy, she was resolute in her mission: bringing the story of America to the world. It was just the latest milestone in a lifetime committed to the pursuit of international service. | Above: During a May 1986 seminar in the Philippines, Beaumont has an engrossing conversation with Filipino library professionals. Photo courtesy Esther Hoshall Beaumont ’53
21
— The Travel Bug —
had conducted research in Pakistan as a Ford
Growing up in Charleston, South Carolina, Beaumont from a
Foundation fellow and who had written a
young age yearned to expand her horizons. “I always wanted to
book about the country’s political, social,
travel abroad,” she recalled. “I was curious about other places.”
and religious clashes. “As students, we were
Beaumont’s intrepidness found a welcoming home at Ashley Hall,
invited to his house, where he served us curry
where she attended first through twelfth grades and earned the
dinners, and I saw all the beautiful copperware
distinction of being a twelve-year girl. “Ashley Hall supported
that he had brought back from Pakistan,” she remarked. “Once I
people who were individualists, and I’m a little bombastic,” she
finally got to Pakistan, I had one of the most amazing coincidences
smiled. “I think my days at the School made me very confident at
of life. Walking down the street in Lahore one day, I saw Dr.
speaking my mind and not being afraid to say to someone, ‘This is
Abbott coming toward me, and my jaw dropped. I said, ‘I have
the truth!’” A lover of history, Beaumont particularly connected
come to your country,’ and he just laughed! This was four years
with faculty member and future Head of School Caroline Pardue,
since I graduated, and he had no idea I would be there or what
whose passionate way of teaching seemed to open up the world
had happened to me. He was updating his book with new data, so
to her students. “My father said, ‘Do you want a debut or a year
I offered to introduce him to some interesting Pakistani lawyers
abroad?’ and planning ahead, I chose travel, which was definitely
I had met.” Beaumont was just hitting her international stride
unique during that time!” she noted. After graduation in 1953,
when disaster struck: contracting hepatitis, she was hospitalized
Beaumont headed to Tufts University in Massachusetts to major
and eventually sent back to the States to recover. “That cut my
in history. Soon, her travels would extend far beyond Boston.
Foreign Service career short,” she acknowledged. “I had planned to return to the States by going around the world and getting to see Asia, but instead I came back home very quickly.”
— A Taste for Adventure — In 1957, a year after graduating from college and after a stint in Washington, D.C., Beaumont was living in Tangier, Morocco, and
— The Library’s the Thing —
working as an embassy clerk for the United States Foreign Service.
Back home and extremely frustrated, Beaumont resigned her
It was there that she first encountered a United States Information
position and found her way to California, where she stayed at a
Agency (USIA) library, one of many libraries destined to shape
friend’s house and strategized her next move. “I got bored and
the course of her life. “There was an American library on the main
realized I was twenty-three with a life to live,” she said. “I started
street, and the cultural affairs officer at the consulate asked me, as
thinking about long-range future jobs and didn’t really know what
a native speaker of English, if I would be willing to teach a small
I wanted to do with the rest of my life, so I figured I would get
group with Spanish speakers, French speakers, and a little Arabic-
expert opinions.” At the University of California, Berkeley, she
speaking boy,” she said. “I had never been a teacher, but I was told
took a battery of vocational tests and received a surprising result—
to just use the provided books.” Beaumont enjoyed getting to know
librarian. “I’d never thought about it, but growing up, I loved the
the group but was frustrated because the language texts made
Charleston Library right across from my father’s medical office
American references, like hamburgers, something her students
at 95 Rutledge Avenue,” she mused. “I thought, ‘If I get a library
had never encountered. “So, I got permission from the cultural
degree, I can get a job with USIA and live abroad. That would be
affairs officer to invite them over, and I served them the food we
wonderful!’ I still wanted to travel around the world.”
were talking about!” she laughed. “It was a very successful lesson! Even better, through that experience, I discovered that there was
In 1962, fresh from earning her library degree from the University
a USIA program for people to work at American libraries around
of Oklahoma, she eagerly sent off her application to be a USIA
the world.”
librarian and waited for the call to pack her bags. “How naïve could I be!” she laughed. “Of course, they didn’t want a freshly minted
Having studied Middle Eastern history at Tufts and being very
librarian, so they politely rejected me. I needed to get seasoned.
interested in pursuing a career in the field, Beaumont applied
That door slammed in my face, but I discovered the Army had
and was selected for a position in Lahore, Pakistan. She had often
overseas libraries anywhere there were American military
dreamed of visiting the country after being inspired by Freeland
troops, so I applied to special services through the Department
K. Abbott, Ph.D., a Tufts Middle Eastern history professor who
of the Army and was accepted.” Even with a guaranteed ticket
| BECOMING AGENTS OF CHANGE
to international travel, Beaumont still held out for a posting
of the executive branch of the United States government. Created
that would satisfy her thirst for cultural immersion. “The Army
during the Cold War era, a time of considerable anti-American,
offered me a position in Okinawa, but I didn’t want to go to a big
Soviet propaganda, the agency’s mission was “to understand,
military base,” she said. “I wanted something more exotic. I held
inform, and influence foreign publics in promotion of the U.S.
out for Korea and got it. I just loved it there. It’s where I met my
national interest, and to broaden the dialogue between Americans
future husband, who was an Army officer.”
and U.S. institutions and their counterparts abroad.” The USIA had multiple channels and means of diplomacy, including the building of publicly accessible English language libraries to
— In Medias Res —
transmit aspects of American society, such as institutions, politics,
Following postings in Korea and Heidelberg, Germany, Beaumont
government, and education. “These libraries were reflecting
settled in the Washington, D.C. area with her husband after he left
American life, with books written by Americans in English,”
the army for health reasons. Working for the library systems in
declared Beaumont.
Arlington and Baltimore Counties, she eventually progressed
started in Latin America during World War II to combat Nazi
from being Fairfax County’s assistant to the head librarian at the
intrusion into those countries. When the USIA was initiated in
main branch to serving as the director of technical processes. Her
1953 as the Cold War was raging, we were reaching out across the
husband’s death in 1977 motivated her to take stock of her life and
world intellectually.”
“Pre-USIA, American libraries abroad
resolve to chart a new course. “I found out the USIA had a new mid-level management program for women and minorities, so I
After receiving Portuguese language training, Beaumont
applied since I was fully qualified to be a mid-level manager,” she
was posted in February 1982 to Brazil as the regional library
explained. “I decided I should stop being a librarian, and since I
consultant, a title that during her years of service saw several
was getting a master’s degree in public administration, I thought
manifestations, including regional library officer and regional
I would spread my wings a little bit wider as an executive officer.”
information resource officer.
The position meant she was
entrusted with considerable oversight. “I was the professional The USIA did indeed call, but in a twist of irony, they saw
consultant, so I received policy from Washington and
Beaumont’s background file and wanted her not as a mid-level
implemented it,” she explained. “I would talk about how policy
manager but instead as a librarian, the same career field from
changes for the American libraries were to be handled, and if they
which they had rejected her over a decade prior. “At that point,
were to stop pushing this or that. As the figurehead for American
I had been a qualified librarian since 1962 and had attained a
libraries, I was taken to meet the head librarians of a country’s
high level in library administration,” she said. “They saw I was
universities and its national library. If I decided a person would
a very experienced librarian, offered me a job, and told me to
benefit from a tour of American libraries and some time at the
come in immediately to begin the process before the November
Library of Congress, I would submit a nomination. There were
1979 elections.” It seemed like Beaumont would finally get
people I nominated who did get to go, and they would tour around
the position she had dreamed of years prior, but not long after,
the United States, stay in four major cities and Washington, D.C.,
President Ronald Reagan took office and instituted a retroactive
and see different types of libraries. The best part about being a
freeze that locked her out for two years. Finally, in 1981, with bags
regional consultant was that I had a vast number of posts that
again packed and passport in hand, she was ready for the next
I would visit. When I was in Brazil, I got to travel widely in my
chapter. “I thought I wanted to stop being a librarian, but by being
professional role.”
a librarian with USIA, I was basically a foreign service officer first, and a librarian second,” she revealed. “I got to travel all around
It was in Brazil that Beaumont drew on her ingrained conviction
the world.”
that truth was absolutely critical in reaching and influencing others.
She headed a well-trained library staff who would
annotate articles from American news magazines available in
— A Second Chance to Go Around the World —
the library. Selecting the best blurbs, she edited a publication
Established in 1953, the same year Beaumont graduated from
to interested parties, including foreign journalists. Before the
Ashley Hall, the USIA was an independent foreign affairs agency
advent of digital technology, it was a valuable service and method
that highlighted the articles and offered full-text photocopies
23
of building relationships. “You have to be honest and show your
After Brazil, she headed to Jakarta, Indonesia, a nation whose
society, warts and all,” she declared. “Frankly, American public
cultural complexity and fascinating history, not to mention its
education was not very good, and there was a very critical article
thousands of inhabitable islands, intrigued her, and that was
about how America was losing the intellectual race. I included
only the beginning. “My territory started in Kuala Lumpur
that annotation, and the ambassador, a political appointee, saw
in Malaysia, went through Singapore to three posts in the
it and called the public affairs officer to say, ‘What is this heresy?
Philippines, with three posts in Indonesia that I would visit, then
Your head librarian is putting this out? I won’t have it!’ But I held
four posts in Australia, three in New Zealand, and even a stop in
my ground. How do we have credibility if we only show the good
Papua, New Guinea,” she revealed. “These were places I was to
things about us? The fact that we were willing to admit our flaws
visit periodically; for example, every six months I would go out
gave us credibility.”
to Australia and New Zealand, which is a fairly long flight from Java.” During her travels, whenever Beaumont encountered someone astonished by the extent of America’s libraries, she was
— Into the Brink —
quick to credit their ultimate source: the American people. “If
Working for USIA from 1981 until 1999, Beaumont’s postings
someone said, ‘Your libraries are so good; you are so fortunate,’
covered a considerable number of countries around the world.
I would always reply, ‘It is because American citizens lobby for
| BECOMING AGENTS OF CHANGE
public libraries. Our taxpayers want them and are willing to
Jordan, Syria, and Yemen), the federal government announced
pay. Americans vote for bills for libraries, but citizens also do
plans to disband the USIA and integrate its divisions into the
fundraising, lobby politicians, and start grassroots endeavors.
Department of State on October 1, 1999. For both the agency and
The power is in the people.’”
Beaumont, it was the end of an era. “The USIA came to life to fight the Soviet Union,” she declared. “They never liked to say that
Assigned next to cover a region encompassing a wide expanse of
this was America’s propaganda agency, but those nasty Soviets
Southern Africa, Beaumont was thrilled not to be called home for
were telling lies about America, and we had to fight back. That is
a stateside assignment. “Normally with USIA, you would have
how they came up with this great network of American libraries
two overseas assignments and then an assignment to Washington,
around the globe. We took America’s message to the world. When
D.C, but I was a specialist and could stay out longer, and I was
the Soviet Union fell, our reason for existence was gone.”
delighted that I never had to come back to Washington until it was announced that the agency was going to be dissolved,” she said.
Beaumont returned to Washington, D.C. and, amid demoralized
She was also pleased that because of apartheid, the American
colleagues, decided to retire before the agency ceased to exist.
ambassador did not want any more regional positions assigned to
She had to watch as one by one, the libraries she had helped to
South Africa, so her home base was moved to Zimbabwe. “The
establish and nurture were handed over wholesale. “It was like
personnel office asked if I still wanted the job since they transferred
waving a wand. They closed down the libraries and turned over the
the post, and of course I did, as it was much more interesting living
hard materials, as we had already given the electronic materials
in Zimbabwe than South Africa!” she exclaimed. “I would still be
to the foreign universities,” she said. “We had to figure out who
traveling to South Africa anyway since we had libraries in Cape
would make the best use of the materials and turned over shop so
Town, Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Soweto. I also visited
there was no such thing as an American library overseas. It was
Swaziland, Mozambique, Malawi, Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia,
very sad because USIA had set up some really good libraries at
and Namibia, together a big hunk of the southern part of the
the fall of the Soviet Union, and when the new eastern European
African continent.”
countries got their independence, they had very active USIA library programs. What a waste; those new libraries did not last
It was in the midst of Namibia’s first free elections when Beaumont
ten years.”
arrived to help set up USIA’s library in Windhoek. “We had not yet secured a physical library space,” she said. “Great masses of books started arriving, and I had to go over to a garage acting as a library
— And the Beat Goes On —
warehouse to open all the boxes of books and check the manifest.
Looking back on the legacy of the USIA, Beaumont still values
I got them sorted into categories by the Dewey Decimal System
both the mission of the organization and its indelible mark on
for ease of transport. It was a hands-on job, physically setting
her life’s work. “The career I had was wonderful because I did
them up, but it was a whole new country getting its independence,
get to travel all around the world,” she acknowledged. “However,
and we were opening doors.” In Harare, the USIA library offered
I’m most proud of the fact that people could see us up close and
daily news feeds, and Beaumont remembers young Zimbabwe
personal. Reading books and seeing TV, they thought they knew
men punctually arriving to see the American nightly news. “They
something, but the person-to-person level was required to really
wanted to find out about what was going on in the world because
understand. Maybe I was a maverick, but at least they could say
so many societies were restrictive of the news,” she explained. “It
they knew an American who would stand for the truth. I got to
was a way of reaching out to the people of a country.”
interact with people, and it was so much fun!” A seasoned world traveler, Beaumont cannot choose a favorite among the countries and cities she has visited, since the many different places create a
— End of an Era —
richness interwoven throughout her life spent in service to others.
During Beaumont’s post to North Africa (including the Maghreb:
“The motto for USIA was telling America’s story to the world,” she
Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia) and the Middle East (Egypt, Israel,
emphasized. “Our libraries were a part of telling that story.”
| Opposite: Preparing to leave Brazil in May 1985, Beaumont and the Honorable Diego Asencio, United States Ambassador to Brazil, attend a farewell party featuring a troupe of Brazilian dancers and musicians from Maranhão. Photo courtesy Esther Hoshall Beaumont ’53
25
“What Do You Plan to Do for the Rest of Humanity?” Carolyn Forché and the Power of Witness BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
As part of Ashley Hall’s Fall Writers Series, acclaimed author and human rights advocate Carolyn Forché visited campus in November to engage with students and read selections from her 2019 National Book Award finalist memoir, What You Have Heard Is True, a work of devastating suffering as well as redeeming humanity that lends credibility to the power of witness. When she was twenty-seven years old, Carolyn Forché
A professor of English at Georgetown University, Forché inspired
made a decision that would forever change her life’s trajectory.
students in Upper School faculty member Andrea Muti’s Human
Leonel Gomez Vides, a friend’s cousin, urged Forché to use her gifts as
Rights and International Law class as well as students in Bozanic’s
a poet to record the heightening incidents of brutality in El Salvador
AP English Language and American Literature class. The following
so that others would know the truth of the events she witnessed.
transcription of her conversation with students has been edited for
Despite friends’ advice not to go, she went anyway and embarked on
clarity and space.
a harrowing odyssey into El Salvador, a nation on the brink of war. The atrocities she witnessed have stayed with her a lifetime and have
The Question that Changed Her Life
forever informed both her art and her life’s work.
“I was twenty-seven years old and home alone, not expecting
“Forché’s stunning memoir is an account of her involvement in events
my driveway and almost didn’t open my door because I didn’t know
leading up to El Salvador’s civil war in the mid-1970s and of the ways in which her experience there transformed her life,” noted Upper School faculty member Nick Bozanic. “Personally, I found it impossible to read this account without noting how the author, a very young woman at the time of the events recounted, emerges, through confronting her fears and illusions, as a person who—coincidentally—represents all of our Hallmarks, someone who embodies those qualities we expect of all Ashley Hall graduates – a woman who is ‘educated, independent, ethically responsible, and prepared to meet the challenges of society with confidence.’ Given Forché’s achievements as a poet, a translator, and a human rights activist in El Salvador, Beirut, South Africa, the United States, and elsewhere, she has much to offer our students.”
anyone. My roommate was away for a few days. I heard a vehicle in the person. I thought, ‘I’ll hide, and he’ll go away.’ The vehicle had El Salvador license plates. I didn’t know anyone who lived in that country. Then two little girls got out, so I eventually opened the door. What I’ve realized in my life, as I go back through the things that have happened to me, is that they were little decisions that truly mattered. There was a crucial thing that Leonel [Gomez Vides] said to me, as he was doing his whole three-day marathon with his drawings and stories. Finally, when he asked me to come to El Salvador, he asked me a question that nobody else had ever asked me: ‘What do you plan in your life to do for the rest of humanity?’ No one had ever asked me that question, and I didn’t have an answer. I said, ‘I don’t know; I hope something.’ And he said, ‘OK, I’m offering you an invitation, and maybe this will lead to something.’”
| BECOMING AGENTS OF CHANGE
Witnessing and Experiencing Trauma “Our culture has a lot of pressure around closure, but there is no such thing. We don’t live after things happen. We live in their aftermath. We live with our experiences, not after them. So, you go forward, and your experiences become a part of you, and you’re changed by them. I left for El Salvador and never came back. Another person came back, who was the person changed by El Salvador. I resist the cultural expectation that we are going to get over things or come to closure. That is unrealistic. For me, even the harshest experiences enriched my life. Some of it was really hard, but hard things also educate your soul. For me, the best remedy for things that have been really difficult has always been doing something. Volunteering, helping people, giving, that is what cures you.”
think
ultimately,
because
damaged. So I wanted to tell the story of
but I can also read Spanish and French. If
what happens when you’re young and you
you really want to equip yourself with
say ‘yes’ to something. That ‘yes’ has all
something, get yourself another language—
kinds of consequences.”
not just to travel abroad, but so you can
Wanting a Poet Instead of a Journalist “I
from other countries. Mostly in translation,
Latin
Americans love poets and poetry, Leonel thought I could write a kind of language that would touch hearts rather than analytical minds, and he believed that people change their minds by changing their hearts. He believed that changing people’s inner sense of something was the most important thing to do. If your inner sense is not moved, no amount of fact is going to influence you all that much.”
Being Labeled a Political Poet “I resisted the label, and I thought, ‘Wait a minute, I wrote the poems as I have always written them, there is nothing different, the poems aren’t intended to be propaganda, there’s no sullying of the poetic art.’ So I first had to figure out what was going on, and then I wanted to open a space for a kind of work that bears witness to what is going on in the world. I learned by reading poets
think in two spheres of language—so that
Taking a Moral Stand
you will have another self, and you will have
“Your generation is a really important
her with you all your life.”
one. You are coming of age in exactly the
Writing with Purpose
moment when it is going to be decided whether the Earth is going to support life in
“Assembling was going to be a theme of the
the future. No pressure, but that’s your job.
book. Assembling pieces from memory,
It’s not going to be easy fighting for that and
putting a puzzle together, trying to solve
the preservation and sustainability of the
puzzles, trying to figure out what was
Earth for future generations.”
happening. I wrote the book so the reader never would know more than I knew at any
Packing for the Future
given moment. The reader goes through
“I suggest you pack your rucksack, which
this with me; that’s what I wanted. So that
is everything you read, study, the skills
somebody who wasn’t there could feel as
you acquire, every conversation you have,
though they were. And I was hoping that if
and every language you learn—everything
they came with me on this journey through
is going into this metaphorical rucksack.
this book, they would have the education
You are packing it right now, so you pack
I had, without having to go through all
it really full, pick up as many skills as you
that. They would get it. I wrote it for
can, read as much as you can. Think of
your generation. For Salvadoran kids who
your education as packing for a big journey,
would come to my classes over the years to
because that is what you are doing, and that
ask me to tell them about the war because
journey is not going to be predictable, not
their parents wouldn’t talk about it and for
like the past, and probably your journey is
you who must go out into the world and
going to be difficult, and you don’t know
repair it because the world is profoundly
what you’ll need so take everything.”
| Opposite: Forché’s 2019 National Book Award finalist memoir, What You Have Heard Is True. Photo provided | Above: Forché speaks with students during her visit to campus. Photo by Paula Harrell
27
in m o
ir lC c
g
Ful
ANNE FRANCES BLEECKER ’76
le C
BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
Known throughout the Charleston community for her dedication to helping others, Anne Frances Bleecker ’76 reserves a special place in her heart for Ashley Hall. Student, alumna, parent, and now board member—she has come full circle at a place that not only continues to enrich her life but also inspires her to invest in the next generation. “Anne Frances Bleecker is one of the most dedicated and civic-minded people I have ever known. Her service as a member of Charleston City Council greatly enhanced the livability of our city and its collective commitment to racial progress.” —Former Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.
“Anne Frances excelled in leadership positions during her years at Ashley Hall, foreshadowing her groundbreaking work as an attorney. The class of 1976 is united in support of Anne Frances for her numerous contributions to the Ashley Hall community and to Charleston as a whole. She continues not only to persevere, but also to thrive, as she enriches the lives of those around her.” —Mary Webb ’76, Upper School faculty member
A
nne Frances Bleecker ’76 has many happy memories of the twelve years she spent as a student at Ashley Hall. Those memories have continued to grow through her active involvement in the Alumnae Association and through her own daughter, Annie B. Vangilder ’09, who followed in her mother’s footsteps and attended the School for sixteen years. Bleecker’s appointment last year as an Ashley Hall Board of Trustees member was the latest example of her dedication to serving a community she credits with shaping her life. “The teachers who I had were just wonderful, caring people,” she affirmed. “Miss Keith and Miss Pardue were passionate about their teaching and our learning. I was very lucky to spend the 1960s and 1970s in a place that was insulated to a degree but also forward thinking. I was active on campus and loved it.” President of the drama club and very involved in student leadership, Bleecker decided to continue in an all-women’s academic environment by attending Smith College. As a government major, she was already feeling the pull toward practicing law. “I come from a family of lawyers and judges,” she noted. “I was always passionate about the law, so I always thought I would be a lawyer, but I took a circuitous route.” After graduating from Smith and working at a law firm in Washington, D.C., for a year, she earned a Merit Fellowship to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Texas at Austin. For Bleecker, it was an enjoyable experience, as was returning to Washington, D.C., to work for a congressman and as a lobbyist, but something was lacking. “There was always a piece missing in my puzzle,” she said. “Once I went to law school, I was fulfilled.” Working in Columbia for a few years after receiving her law degree from the University of South Carolina, Bleecker was drawn back to Charleston for a number of reasons, foremost among them the desire for her daughter to have the best education possible. “When Annie Brooks turned two, I wanted her to go to Ashley Hall, so we moved back to Charleston,” she acknowledged. “It has been the best career for me to be an attorney in Charleston and be a part of this amazing community.” It was also in Charleston that Bleecker found her life’s calling: helping others through the practice of family law. “I enjoy the close connection to my clients that I have in practicing family “There is one word that law,” she revealed. “People will comes to mind when often ask, ‘How do you deal with I think about Anne so much stress?’ but it is nice Frances—unstoppable. to have people who need you She has met many and whom you can help. The challenges over the years ultimate result of my cases is that I help people through some of the and has yet to let them most difficult challenges of their deter her from devoting lives.” Bleecker has served on her life to her family, the Charleston City Council and friends, community, the Charleston County Pro Bono profession, and her Legal Services Board. A devout beloved Ashley Hall.” Catholic who attends St. Mary —Julianne Hurst ’76 of the Annunciation Church,
| BECOMING AGENTS OF CHANGE
she is particularly passionate about her work with the Our Lady of Mercy Community Outreach Board, which runs a Johns Island Outreach Center offering free medical, dental, and educational care, as well as the Neighborhood House on America Street, which provides a free lunch program and food pantry. Her willingness to serve shows how fully she is committed to giving back to her community. “Public service is its own reward,” she smiled. “There is always more you can do.”
“Working with Anne Frances is a gift. With both intelligence and compassion, she offers unique perspectives on situations and easily places issues within the context of the bigger picture. She does this, of course, all while lighting up the room with her signature warmth and wit.” —Artie Richards, Chair of the Board of Trustees
When her daughter enrolled, Bleecker became more active with Ashley Hall, both as a parent and an alumna. “It was a more modern, engaged, growing Ashley Hall!” she enthused. Her excitement has only increased over the years, along with her connection to the School. “Everything that has evolved with the development of the campus has really been extraordinary,” she said. “The LoDome, the Intermediate Program Building, the Elizabeth House, the Jenkins Hall science labs, Warren Street House, and so much more. It makes me want to do it all over again. I love walking through campus and just watching the girls playing on the Sports Court and being so happy. It is a joyous place.” Bleecker also recognizes the need to invest in the School, something that she tirelessly advocates for today. “To be passionate about Ashley Hall is to want to give back and preserve it,” she emphasized. “Ashley Hall as an institution is strong, but it can be stronger if we all invest in the School and the wonderful gift that it is to all of us. As Ashley Hall’s living legacy, the alumnae are its heart and soul, and we must commit our time, talent, and treasure. There are many ways to give back; I’ve been very privileged to return many times and speak to students. It is a living relationship.” One way Bleecker shows her support is through the McBee Society, which recognizes those who have included the School in their estate plans. “I have designated Ashley Hall as a beneficiary in my will because it has truly meant that much to me,” she said. “It is a beautiful way of honoring not only past memories but also hopes for the future. I wouldn’t be who I am today without Ashley Hall.” For Bleecker, that commitment is a tangible way to stay connected to a place that has formed who she is today. “Ashley Hall has always been there for me, and I stay very closely tied to its community,” she emphasized. “I get back way more by giving. I’m always looking for ways to be a better person, a better citizen, and a better giver. I’ve been very blessed with a wonderful education, wonderful children, and a wonderful life. I count my blessings.”
| Opposite: Anne Frances Bleecker ’76 during a recent visit to campus. Photo by Meredith Adkins Frazier
29
A D AY AT ASHLEY HALL: OCTOBER 8, 2019 STORY & PHOTOGRAPHS BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
SOTTILE-THOMPSON RECITAL HALL, MCBEE HOUSE Directed by Performing Arts
Slowly spreading over Senior Lawn, the sun’s rays touch McBee House and wash the Shell House in a pink glow that reflects in the wet grass. It is early morning on October 8, Founder’s Week, and the campus still slumbers under the pressing humidity of a lingering summer. On this day, like every other school day, students, faculty, and staff soon will stream through Ashley Hall’s wrought iron gates to begin again the earnest work of living and learning in community.
faculty member Katie Clarkson, the Swing Choir is awake and moving to the infectious beat of ABBA. The singing and dancing performance group listens intently to instructor Alex Kosarko, who often shares her passion for dance when not working as the Early Education Center (EEC) division assistant. Performing Arts faculty member and accompanist Anna Brock keeps everyone in time with the beat. Since it is a non-uniform day, students are dressed in their best purple and white spirit
Here is what happened next. | Illustrations by SDCO Partners | www.sdcopartners.com
wear for the upcoming pep rally.
7:16 A.M.
| MAKING A PL ACE A HOME
SECOND FLOOR, WARREN STREET HOUSE In their Honors American History Through Film: How DAVIES AUDITORIUM, JENKINS HALL
the Movies Have Portrayed
PARDUE HALL Crafting, building, drawing,
With student body president
seniors make a few last-
and planning—imaginations
Waverly Kremer ’20 and vice
minute preparations and
run wild as the Early
president Margaret O’Kelley
begin to present their group
Morning Makerspace is
’20 leading everyone in
projects on film portrayals
buzzing with activity before
separate songs for the Purples
of the American space
classes begin. Lower School
and the Whites, Upper School
program. With Upper
faculty member Henslee
Morning Meeting has more
School faculty member
Elliott spearheads efforts
than its usual pep, and the
Chris Frisby evaluating each
each morning to turn the
resulting cheers are deafening.
presentation, they touch
LoDome into a creation
Students laugh appreciatively
on a wide-range of themes,
factory, complete with a
at the archival athletics photos
including the Cold War,
makerspace cart and FabLab
that Upper School librarian
diversity and democracy, the
upstairs (read more on page
Emily Davis shares in honor of
frontier and wilderness, and
61).
Founder’s Week.
the American dream.
LODOME,
SMITH STREET Like clockwork, the Lower School morning carpool is running smoothly, with faculty members offering warm smiles to start the day off right. Upper School faculty member Alison Parks gives Ellie Murphy ’32 a warm hello as she steps out of the car to begin her day.
the American Past class,
7:37 A.M. 7:40 A.M. 7:50 A.M. 8:07 A.M. 31
RIVERS LIBRARY, SECOND FLOOR, PARDUE HALL
ATELIER, PARDUE HALL
SECOND FLOOR,
Third graders are writing
EEC faculty member Amy
PARDUE HALL
to Flat Ashley, an unofficial
Kuenzel and her primary
Working in a small group
Lower School mascot, about
class are fully immersed in
at a table outside their
why Ashley Hall is special
atelierista Wendy Robbins’
classroom, Hazel Smith and
to them. Isabella Smith and
studio. From clay and
Pensy Liberatos, Class of
Mila Tang, Class of 2029, fill
paints to areas dedicated to
2028, read their USA Studies
their pages with their favorite
light, music, and textures,
Weekly newsletter and use
things, ranging from the
the children choose which
laptops to conduct research
library and swimming pool to
station to visit and what
for their upcoming projects
teachers and Big Sister-Little
they would like to create.
on individual states. In
Sister events. “This School
“I like the feel of it in my
November, all fourth graders
talks about kindness, and
hands,” smiles Elisa Waring
will present their findings in a
that’s what I like best about
’34 as she mashes a ball of
LoDome exhibit open to the
being here,” says Mila. “I like
clay. “I’m going to make
entire School.
being an Ashley Hall girl.”
something special.”
JENKINS HALL Lined up with bean bags on their heads, EEC faculty member Katie Paulson’s pre-primary students are as still as statues, until Case Russell ’35 giggles. As the rest of the class joins in, the bags start tumbling down. EEC library teacher Ginger Dixon loves this activity inspired by Dr. Seuss’ Ten Apples Up On Top! She explains, “It is one of my favorite lessons, not only because of its focus on spatial relationships and body awareness but also because students are having so much fun!”
8:28 A.M. 8:34 A.M. 8:40 A.M. 8:47 A.M.
| MAKING A PL ACE A HOME
THIRD FLOOR, MATH, SCIENCE, &
JENKINS HALL
TECHNOLOGY LAB,
In Honors Chemistry I,
JENKINS HALL
sophomores are reviewing
Getting extra help from Upper
for their upcoming test on
School faculty members
atomic structure basics. Upper
Crystal Wilkins and Meghan
School faculty member Patricia
Osborne, nearly a dozen
Kamau, Ph.D., divides the girls
students work around the
into groups to create a review
lab tables and computers.
strategy in writing. “Students
Open and staffed throughout
are developing study guides
RIVERS LIBRARY LAWN
while others are practicing
staff members in a spirited
the day by faculty members
EEC faculty member
working through different
basketball shootout game,
from the Math, Science, and
Kathleen Ricker’s laughing
types of problems,” she notes.
which the faculty and staff
Technology department,
kindergartners run around the
“They also are asking me good
narrowly win. Ending with
the lab helps students work
lawn while dodging the big girls
questions, so I can clear any
a massive dance party, the
through assignments as well
walking to pick up their Little
confusion related to the content
entire campus joins together
as challenging concepts and
Sisters for the pep rally. The
in a collective show of
theories.
we have covered.”
fun is about to begin!
Panther pride!
GYMNASIUM Amid a sea of purple and white at the pep rally, Big Sisters and Little Sisters cheer, laugh, and dance while the seniors face off against faculty and
8:55 A.M. 9:10 A.M. 9:33 A.M. 9:40 A.M. 33
MUSC URBAN GARDEN Coordinating their science education plans, Upper School faculty member Allison Bowden and Lower School faculty
SECOND FLOOR,
member Beth McCarty team up to take kindergartners and Honors Biology II students, who are currently studying botany, to the Medical University of South Carolina’s Urban Garden to investigate plant life. The field trip is a special treat for the little girls, who love sharing with the older girls the flowers, roots, and ladybugs they spy throughout the garden. Partnering students across divisions is a regular occurrence at Ashley Hall (read more on page 60). Teaming with Bel Shields ’20, Rebecca Shuford ’32 examines an abundance of flourishing plants in a raised garden bed. “I really like these,” she smiles, while touching a leaf’s ribbed texture.
INGRAM ARTS BUILDING SECOND FLOOR,
In Visual Arts faculty member
JENKINS HALL
Cindy Andrew’s Foundations of
Helping eighth graders in
Art class, students are creating
history class better comprehend
shadow boxes inspired by the
their reading of the Iliad, as
works of John James Audubon
well as offering them a little fun
and contemporary Italian
while they earn extra credit,
artist Hitnes (read more on
Upper School faculty member
page 65). First sketching and
Mary Webb allowed students
COURTYARD, INGRAM
then painting with watercolors
earlier in the week to video
ARTS BUILDING
and acrylics, each girl is in
record themselves and willing
As part of Performing Arts
the process of assembling
family members as they read
faculty member Elizabeth
her shadowbox featuring a
passages and reenacted key
Dinwiddie’s Chamber Music
particular bird nestled among
scenes. Now, the resulting
Ensemble II class, students
a representative background
film screening brings howls
are practicing outside since
with other stylistic effects. “I
of laughter and lots of good-
the weather is nice. Isabel
chose a hummingbird,” explains
natured ribbing. Somehow,
Marshall ’21 especially likes
Lorna Milani ’20. “I enjoy the
togas and accents make
the courtyard’s secluded
sketching part and being very
everything better.
nooks.
detailed.”
10:50 A.M. 11:36 A.M. 11:57 A.M. 12:03 P.M.
| MAKING A PL ACE A HOME
SECOND FLOOR, JENKINS HALL SECOND FLOOR, LANE HALL Happily invested in one of the multiple stations around the spacious studio, third graders paint, draw, build, cut, shape, and glue. Empowering students to pursue their own creative visions through art is a guiding principle in Visual Arts faculty member Tina Hirsig’s educational philosophy (read more on page 50). For many students, the upcoming Halloween Carnival occupies their imaginations and inspires everything from costume props to spooky drawings.
EEC OUTDOOR
In Intermediate I Spanish
PLAYCENTER
class, Upper School faculty
Easily one of the most popular
member Olga Long’s students
places on campus, the new
are eager to begin the day’s
EEC Playcenter is a favorite
rotation at one of four
among the pre-kindergarten
different classroom stations.
set. They excitedly build
While Long converses in
dams inside the three-tiered
Spanish with students in direct
waterway and construct
instruction, her other students
WALKING PATH,
elaborate ramp and tunnel
are collaborating, studying,
SENIOR LAWN
configurations on the magnetic
or completing projects and
During their physical
wall (read more on page 4).
assignments. In honor of
education class,
For Hudson Mozingo ’33, the
Founder’s Week, Adair Smith
kindergartners race on
Outlast Blocks are hands-
’24 and Greta Wilkins ’24
the sandy path around the
down the best choice for fun.
examine archival Ashley Hall
Shell House with Director
“I can build anything I want!”
photos and practice using the
of Athletics Franny Slay
he emphasizes. “A car, a ship,
imperfect tense by describing
cheering them on every step
even an airplane—whatever I
students from different
of the way.
can think of.”
decades.
12:10 P.M. 12:16 P.M. 12:19 P.M. 12:33 P.M. 35
SECOND FLOOR, JENKINS HALL RIVERS LIBRARY,
Upper School faculty
SECOND FLOOR,
JENKINS HALL
member Alison Parks uses
INTERMEDIATE
To kick off the eighth grade’s reading of the Odyssey in English class, Upper School faculty member Leslie Rowland and librarian Emily Davis place togawearing students into rotating groups to partake in Odyssey-themed activities, including board, video, and card games and a breakout box. “What I love about these plans is that they show students how much impact the classics still have on contemporary culture and even pop culture,” notes Rowland. “We also integrate technology, team building, and critical thinking.”
PROGRAM BUILDING
high-energy teaching and a
As part of Intermediate
fast-paced alphabet game to
Program faculty member
motivate students in Classics
Kiki Sweigart’s Cardboard
I B. Once she reveals a letter,
Boat Challenge, fifth graders
students quickly write the
are just putting the finishing
corresponding Greek letter
touches on their creative
on their dry erase boards,
cardboard, duct tape, and
and while the competition
bubble wrap boats, which
is fierce, it is also all in good
they designed and crafted in
fun. “I like that this is not the
one of the STEAM rooms
normal way of studying,” says Anna Strickland ’24. “It stays
MADREN POOL
in the new Intermediate
in your brain a lot longer
With aquatics director
Program building (read
when you do something
Maggie Laney in the pool
more on page 8). The key
interactive and fun, and it
to instruct and encourage,
requirement for this math
helps you to see the letter as
first graders dive right in as
and science assignment is
well as hear what it sounds
part of their weekly swim
that each boat must float as
like. She always gives us
lessons. For Karmen Grant
a girl paddles it down the
different ways to understand
’31, it is her favorite part of
length of the Madren pool
something.”
the day.
later in the week!
12:41 P.M. 1:07 P.M.
1:26 P.M. 1:36 P.M.
| MAKING A PL ACE A HOME
CODA
It is the end of the school day, and students once more stream out, to athletic practices, extra study help, after school enrichment, or waiting carpools and parking lots. The sun slants in the opposite direction and the dust settles on another day of community, one built moment by moment.
FIRST FLOOR, JENKINS HALL A new course this year, Senior Seminar supports twelfth graders through the multiple stages of proposing, researching, writing, and
THIRD FLOOR,
VANDERHORST
defending their Senior
JENKINS HALL
STREET
Thesis. Having finalized
Using plastic bottles and
Students in Upper School
baking soda, students
faculty member Meghan
SECOND FLOOR,
in Upper School faculty
Ward’s Oceanography
Upper School faculty
PARDUE HALL
member Allison Bowden’s
class are conducting a
member Grant Vatter, who
In Performing Arts faculty
Biology I class attempt
survey of trash around
teaches one of the four
member Aubrey Goio’s
to model the greenhouse
the outside perimeter of
sections of the course, urges
studio, the pre-first boys
effect during a lab on
campus. Fanning out into
students to be deliberate
try to wait patiently for
climate change. “They are
different sectors, they
in their research methods.
their music lesson to begin,
learning how to investigate
categorize each piece of
“The best Senior Thesis
but Preston Saylors ’32
properties of matter and
debris before bagging
papers and presentations
cannot resist plucking at his
evaluate human impacts on
it for disposal. “What
acknowledge that there is
miniature cello. Smiling,
the Earth’s atmosphere,”
would you call this?”
another side to the argument,
they all come to attention
Bowden notes. Tre’veana
laughs Logan Tunick ’21,
presenting evidence that the
at Goio’s urging and snap
Evans and Lulu Highfield,
holding up the remains of
other side will use and then
into proper form. They all
Class of 2023, celebrate
beads and string. Clearly,
directly countering that,” he
agree—Goio is a very nice
when their experiment
there are grey areas in the
emphasizes.
(and patient!) teacher.
begins to work!
classification chart.
their proposals, seniors are now evaluating sources.
1:51 P.M. 2:24 P.M. 2:35 P.M. 2:51 P.M. 37
A student is drawn to
Ashley Hall’s International Boarding Program for a number of reasons: outstanding academics, individualized learning, dynamic and caring faculty members, immersive signature experiences, and a tailored college guidance program, among many others. However, once she arrives, she finds something even more meaningful: a place to always belong, no matter where her travels take her.
Bonds of Friendship: Friendship : The Society of International Sisters
The Elizabeth Rivers Lewine ’54 House for Global Studies is a stately and elegant historic mansion, but one only needs to step inside to be embraced by the warmth and laughter of its residents, the International Boarding Program students.
The
girls’ vivaciousness is never more evident than during monthly Society of International Sisters (SIS) events, when Ashley Hall day students join
Feels Like Home :
Stories from the International B oarding Program BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
international students for a time of fellowship, fun, food, and—an absolute must—karaoke and dancing. “We are very high energy!” laughed Xueqian Snowy Yu ’20. “At the beginning, I was really homesick, but then all the great people at Ashley Hall brought me in as a part of this big family, and I think SIS helped with that. I feel really comfortable being in this community.” New student San Yu Sunny Liang ’25 agreed: “Everyone is so sweet and treats others very kindly. This is the place I belong.”
| MAKING A PL ACE A HOME
Headed by co-presidents Jingyi Jenny Wu, Reese Terry, and Millie
who are wonderful role models to the young boarders can be very
Welbourn, Class of 2020, SIS was created in 2014 to promote friendship
powerful.”
through special activities during the school year. While the Elizabeth House parties are standard, the girls also enjoy bonding during off-
Three prefects, along with assistants, help with the daily running
campus outings, such as an ice skating trip in November. The meetups
of the Elizabeth House and resolving any issues that arise. “They
allow the girls to get to know each other outside of the demands of
are encouraged to observe and notice what is happening among the
school. “You spend meaningful time together,” pointed out Yayan
boarders and to come up with ideas to create a harmonious community
Stephanie Zhao ’20. “The whole evening is being with dear friends.”
in the house,” said Dionne. “The leaders bring up their ideas, questions,
Welbourn also appreciates the opportunities to meet other students.
and issues for discussion with all the boarders during the once-a-week
“Thanks to Jenny, I was lucky enough to get some of the nicest and
house meeting. I find it unifies the boarders more if I allow leaders the
funniest friends I could have asked for,” Welbourn enthused. “I wanted
space to present their own concerns related to the house and to allow
to be involved in SIS because it is my hope that the group can give
them to solve problems with my guidance.”
people the same push that Jenny gave me. Through SIS, I have gotten to talk to so many girls, both international and day students, to whom I
In addition to the prefects and the Society of International Sisters,
never would have talked.”
there are three other leadership groups that focus on specific
While the girls love to eat,
areas important to the success
sing, dance, and play games
of all international students. For
during SIS house events, they
example, Ashley Hall’s curriculum
most enjoy the chance to talk
and
and share their lives with one
for day students are the same
another. “I think that SIS is such
for international students, who
an amazing way to connect with
complete the requirements in a
the international students on a
second language. The Academic
deeper level,” said Wickie Fort
and
’21.
“They are such dynamic
new and younger students with
girls, and I find it incredibly
academics and community service
interesting to learn about their
graduation
Cultural
requirements
Advisors
help
initiatives. “Being someone who
lives in China as well as their life in the Elizabeth House. Despite
can help new students is a really valuable thing I can do during my
the fact that we grew up in different countries, we are connected by
last year at Ashley Hall,” explained co-president Jingyi Jenny Wu ’20.
Ashley Hall and share many of the same opinions, which is so fun!”
“Now their lives will be easier.” Working as president of the Health
Wu emphatically agreed. “My favorite part is friendship,” she smiled.
and Wellness Team, Kedi Jiang ’21 expressed the same motivation.
“Ashley Hall is a second home for me, and I’ve made friends with a lot
“You think of plans and how to improve everyone’s lives,” she revealed.
of day students already. I have friends to hang out with.”
“Since we eat breakfast and dinner in the Dining Commons, I sent
Run of the House: House : International Boarding Program Student Leaders
Under the deft hand of Director of Residence Life Naoko Dionne, the Elizabeth Rivers Lewine ’54 House for Global Studies runs like a welloiled machine, and she credits the smoothness of operations to her dedicated team of student leaders. “The leadership program is about students contributing their talents, efforts, and time to our community as their home at Ashley Hall,” Dionne noted. “This is the only home in Charleston for young ladies who are thousands of miles away from their families. They need a solid, happy, and relaxing ‘home’ to return to after a long day on campus. Because it is such a small community, all the boarders are important members who have a large impact on creating the culture of the Elizabeth House. Having strong leaders
some suggested recipes to the chef, who was nice and made them for us. I also encourage the girls to work out with me since it is always good to have an exercise buddy!” The Event Team has an especially fun job: planning holiday and birthday celebrations throughout the year. “It is a way to connect everyone,” said Xiaoya Mia Zhou ’21. “I feel like Ashley Hall is my second home, and the best thing is being happy when we share events like a family.” Beaming with pride, Dionne values the contributions of her student leaders and the legacy they are creating. “I recently saw one leader tutoring a new student for six hours on Friday night,” she revealed. “Who would do that? I believe that all the kindness that our younger boarders have received will be passed on to our future boarders to keep growing a close-knit and better community.”
| Opposite: The front door of The Elizabeth Rivers Lewine ’54 House for Global Studies, home to Ashley Hall’s International Boarding Program students. Photo by Meredith Adkins Frazier | Above: Members of Ashley Hall’s Society of International Sisters (SIS) enjoy time together at the beginning of the school year. Photo by Jennifer Turner
39
In the Moment : The Photography of Shiqi Key Zhang ’20
For Shiqi Key Zhang ’20, photography is more than a hobby or even a passion; it is essential to her understanding of both herself and the world around her. “I have been a photographer since I was ten, when I got my first camera from my dad,” she noted. “I like to capture people in their interactions and in the moment. Since I started young, it has become one of my ways to perceive the world.” Her portraits are particularly striking; often unposed and unaware of the camera, her subjects are immersed in their environment, and the viewer becomes part of their time, place, and story. With a newly published, wellreceived book of her photographs, Zhang is considering a career in photography. “I think I am going to major in cognitive science, but at the same time photography is what I really want to do with my life for a career, so I can imagine giving up my science career and being a photographer, even twenty years later!” she laughed. “Photography is part of myself; it defines me.”
immediate family of our boarding students and consider it a privilege to help ensure their happiness, safety, physical and emotional wellbeing, and academic success. Valuing the ties of our community and the rich lessons we are able to teach each other, Ashley Hall is a supportive, welcoming family. Regardless of her home country, each international student is embraced as an Ashley Hall girl and soon
Now in her fifth year as an international student at Ashley Hall, Zhang included a number of Charleston photographs in her book, an intentional choice to honor a place that is her home for much of the year. “My first two years in Charleston, I was not familiar with the city, so I would go out maybe twice a month over the weekend with my roommate, Katherine [Yuqi Katherine Zhang ’17], and we would pick a random path
finds that this place will always be her home.” —Jeff Dionne, Director of Global Studies & International Admission and Director of Summer English Language Institute (SELI)
In Their Own Words : Yiyun Maggie Cen ’18
Currently a sophomore majoring in biology at Brandeis University,
and explore the city,” said
Yiyun Maggie Cen ’18 recently shared how being an international
Zhang.
student at Ashley Hall shaped her life and forever tied her to a supportive
“I’m bad with
directions, so sometimes
community filled with warmth and friendship.
I would get lost, but I would still take photos and
“Whenever my friends in college come into my room, the white teddy
learn the streets.”
That
bear in a purple shirt on my desk always grabs their attention. Then I
willingness to embrace
am proud to tell them that it is there to remind me of my high school, a
each adventure is evident
place that had profound direct and indirect impacts on me.
in Zhang’s work. “When I’m taking photographs, I
I was lucky to grow up in a family that values education the most. At
am in the moment,” she affirmed. “It is afterward, when I am looking
the age of fourteen, my parents decided to send me to Ashley Hall, a
at the photos, that I am reminded to think deeper and reflect on what
school that was on another continent, thousands of miles away from
I have done. Through photography, I can communicate with myself,
them. Though I sometimes imagine what my life would be like if I
both in the moment and afterwards.”
had stayed in my hometown, I never regret leaving home at such a
The Heart of the Elizabeth House: House : The Dionne Family
“Ashley Hall opened its doors to international students in 2007 and ever since has been a place enriched with global perspectives, cultures, and friendships. The Elizabeth Rivers Lewine ’54 House for Global Studies is a truly special home for all our International Boarding Program students, and since 2014, my wife Naoko and I, along with our daughter Misa ’28, have been honored to serve as the
young age. I studied at Ashley Hall as an international student for four years. I loved the tight, caring, and inspiring community of this School. Living, studying, and growing together brought all the girls closer: I looked up to the older girls, and I learned a lot from them. When I graduated and became an alumna, I realized that I should also be a model for younger girls. I am currently a sophomore at Brandeis University and majoring in biology. I developed my passion for life science through marine science and biology classes during my time at Ashley Hall.
| MAKING A PL ACE A HOME
grade meeting on the first day of the new semester. At the meeting, the teacher introduced each student. The process went on in silence, except with the voice of the teacher echoing in the hall. Finally, two overseas students from China were introduced. At this time, there was a round of applause. This scene was beyond my imagination. After the meeting, parents came to us with their children to say hello and introduce themselves. We felt the kindness from local people, with which anything can be solved. I was relieved and realized that Maggie would love this city and Ashley Hall would no doubt be her second home. Ashley Hall expanded my horizons into different areas that I could have never imagined and shaped the person I am today. It provided me with a well-rounded education and resources to become an independent, responsible woman who is prepared to meet all challenges with confidence. I played sports that I had never heard of before, and I was encouraged to hold leadership positions in the School and the Elizabeth House. My favorite memory as an Ashley Hall international student is when we decorated the Christmas tree and exchanged gifts during Secret Santa with other girls living at the School. Though I was not familiar with western holidays when I grew up in China, I felt the warmth and that Ashley Hall is a big family that I can rely on at any time. I am honored and glad that my father will be a member of the Ashley Hall Board of Trustees because I truly believe that more girls deserve an equal opportunity like I did: to be educated, valued, heard, and empowered through learning and growing in the enriching community of Ashley Hall.”
There were lots of challenges ahead for an international student like Maggie, who came from an educational system different from that of the United States. It took her more than two and a half years to adapt to the new learning methods completely. There was no lack of pain in this process. She also felt lonely at the same time. Fortunately, she could endure all of this and do her best to improve herself. Her teachers gave her lots of useful advice. She learned to deal with everything by herself. Eventually,
she
became
a
confident and independent girl. Because
of
my
daughter’s
smooth growth at Ashley Hall, I have a grateful heart for the School. As a new member of the Ashley Hall Board of Trustees, I hope to introduce the School in detail to more potential middle or high school
Dr.. Jianzheng James Cen Dr
girls willing to come to Charleston. I hope Ashley Hall’s educational
This past fall, Dr. Jianzheng James Cen was appointed the first
fellow parents with International Boarding Program students includes
international board member of the Ashley Hall Board of Trustees. The
the following:
ideas can benefit more girls from the mainland of China. My advice to
father of Yiyun Maggie Cen ’18, he recently shared his experiences with Ashley Hall’s International Boarding Program and its significance to his
1. You need to know what kind of person you want your girl to be.
family.
2. You need to know what kind of person your girl wants to be. 3. Before sending her abroad, please have a deep talk with her and ask
“Maggie and I had learned from the teacher’s introduction and from the
whether she agrees.
Internet what kind of school Ashley Hall is. She was full of expectation
4. During the semesters, please spend more time communicating with
for her four-year high school life at Ashley Hall in Charleston, the place
your girl, encourage her often, and keep in contact with her teachers.
where the American Civil War started with the first shot. Besides the perfect living facilities in the dormitory and the teaching facilities
My favorite memories of Ashley Hall are Maggie in a long white dress
on campus, I was deeply impressed by the staff. I was moved by Mr.
as she received her diploma from Head of School Jill Muti; Maggie
Dionne, who answered my questions about the smell of dormitory
being held by her piano teacher as they said goodbye; and the moment
paint in detail and provided me documents about the paint. From him,
when Maggie and Naoko were reluctant to part.”
I saw the seriousness of the teachers. Yet I, as the girl’s father, still had some concerns and worries until the
| Opposite, L-R: Tibet, China, 2016. Photo by Shiqi Key Zhang ’20 | The Elizabeth House resident family, Jeff and Naoko Dionne with daughter Misa ’28. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography | Above, L-R: Zhenjia Jenny Wu and Yiyun Maggie Cen, Class of 2018, are all smiles at Commencement. Photo by Meredith Adkins Frazier | Yiyun Maggie Cen ’18 with her parents, JIanzheng James Cen and Yanjun Chang. Photo courtesy Yiyun Maggie Cen ’18
41
A room with a view: envisioning a global perspective
A Room with a View
Envisioning New Perspectives BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
|
| H A R N E S S I N G S Y N E R GY
As part of the Upper School’s impetus to link thematically its English and history courses in each grade, the interdisciplinary curriculum of Humanities II offers sophomores a yearlong odyssey into different cultures, viewpoints, and interpretations. The most important journey students undertake, however, involves an inward exploration of themselves. It is 7:30 a.m., and the lights in Jenkins Hall 102 are already glowing. Sipping his coffee, Upper School faculty member Grant Vatter catches up on emails and makes plans to incorporate one of The Wall Street Journal articles he has read that morning into the day’s lesson for his Humanities II history course. He is soon joined by Upper School faculty member Jill Harper, who has dropped off her daughter at the Early Education Center and now eats a taste of string cheese while reviewing Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the current reading for her Humanities II English course. Their desks face each other from opposite sides of their shared classroom, which is filled with world maps, historical memorabilia, books, and an impressive oak Harkness
community engagement,” she noted. “It was meaningful for them to experience this part of the world and to see that although it is strikingly different, it is not as ‘other’ as we may expect.” Like Harper, Vatter’s significant international travel experiences occurred after college. Although at the time he considered himself an educated individual, he soon became aware of his perception limitations. “I remember encountering various people at hostels and feeling embarrassed at how little I knew about the world,” he recalled. “They were so competent about American politics, and I could not reciprocate.” Since then, Vatter has actively sought to broaden his
table that dominates the space.
experiences by traveling to a number of international countries. In
Now in their fourth year of teaching complementary parts of Humanities
in a Westernized safe zone or venture farther out. “The area was stable,
II, they effortlessly converse about lesson plans, student observations, and campus news. The nature of their linked courses demands a high level of synchronization and compatibility, which they have cultivated in their long-standing quest to impart global perspectives to their students. As their conversation lulls, the classroom’s wall of windows facing Senior Lawn becomes fully suffused with light, opening the
Colombia, South America, he and his friends debated whether to stay so I took precautions and went,” he said. “The experience was more authentic.” Vatter wants to encourage his students to have the same openness. “I want them not only to have meaningful experiences but also to embrace a deeper understanding of what is going on in other societies and why,” he emphasized.
room to the possibilities of the day.
A Shared Expedition
Now the work begins.
linked curriculum. For both Harper and Vatter, the pairing of their
On Parallel Paths
viewpoints of their students. “We want our students to realize the
experiences that have left indelible marks on their world views and
their world view intentionally, we are trying to break down ideologies.
Both Harper and Vatter are influenced by past international travel shaped their outlooks as educators. After graduating college, Harper accepted a year-long position teaching English and studying Mandarin at Qingdao University in Shandong, China but found herself struggling to integrate into the Chinese culture. However, she returned for a second year. “I wanted to try again with a more mature perspective and challenge my resistance to the culture by investing in relationships with people there,” she said. “I embraced friendship with Chinese college students and got really close to several people. That was an awakening.” Growing from that experience, Harper has since sought international experiences that promote cultural understanding. Three years ago, Harper attended the annual conference of the Global Education Benchmark Group and afterward designed an Ashley Hall travel experience to India to emphasize engagement. “We partnered with Magic Bus, which does outreach to high poverty areas, and they took our students into the field and taught leadership skills and
The interdisciplinary nature of Humanities II extends far beyond a English and history courses is a shared mission to expand the global danger of single-story language,” noted Harper. “By fragmenting Disillusionment is something we focus on.” Harper uses an apt analogy for the process: a window represents a student’s world view, and the subject matter of Humanities II becomes a hammer that cracks the glass, each swing further shattering the appearance of clarity and thus distorting the view. “Their view is never going to be quite so clear again, and that is a good thing,” she explained. Vatter, too, wants students to delve for what lies underneath. “It is like peeling back layers and steadily uncovering the truth,” he said. “They think they might know something, and then another layer appears.” Both recognize the advantages of integrating English and history, especially with overlapping time periods, subjects, and themes. “Teaching together makes each course more vibrant,” affirmed Vatter. “It amplifies the conversation as opposed to our being separate. It also builds a narrative that this is the tenth-grade curriculum. Our courses
| Opposite, Upper School faculty members Jill Harper and Grant Vatter have a spirited discussion about their Humanities II courses while collaborating in the McBee House Drawing Room. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography
43
together make it a story
———
that is interconnected.”
During her class period, Harper has a special challenge for her students:
That integration supports
a timed exercise to assess their familiarity with Heart of Darkness
student engagement. “The
and the myriad ways to interpret its symbolic use of darkness. After
courses
each
an open discussion of the novel’s final chapter and its dichotomy of
other by teaching the same
European and African women, she poses a seemingly straightforward
things in different ways, so
question: “What does the darkness represent?” Attempting to answer
you get many perspectives
the question in less time than Harper’s other classes, her students set
on the same concept,”
to work searching for textual evidence and recording their findings
pointed out Lulu Grubb
on the board. Confident in their abilities, Harper intentionally steps
’22. For example, Vatter
back to encourage them to sort through and debate each other’s ideas
will assign literary pieces,
without looking to her to adjudicate answers. While some students
such as George Orwell’s
write quotations on the board, she is more interested in their using
“Shooting an Elephant,”
the evidence as a springboard for their own hypotheses. Only then
just as Harper references
will they come up with the most feasible answer. Guiding each other,
historical
students progress from simply linking passages to voicing and weighing
Their
reinforce
documents.
students
quickly
the validity of their different interpretations and even forgetting to
learn to recognize and
take advantage of their chance to have a clue. Keenly watching from
draw on the correlations. “They interweave the two subjects all
the sidelines, Harper is pleased with the resulting display of critical
the time,” said Harper. “In our interpretation of Chinua Achebe’s
thinking and collaboration. Over the last few weeks, she has been
Things Fall Apart, students were pulling in things they had read
surreptitiously preparing them for exactly this.
in history. Literature is just as much a part of history as primary
———
source documents, and because it is someone’s story, history is just
“Students have more confidence in an idea when they have figured it
as interpretable as literature. When people write their stories, one is
out for themselves as opposed to a teacher just saying it,” Vatter noted.
called fiction and one is called fact, but in reality, both are interpretable,
“It feels more authentic to them, so they are better able to defend their
both are explaining an experience, and both are giving a history, so by
ideas when they are challenged. Ownership is the goal.” With inquiry-
emphasizing that connection, students do gain more awareness and
based learning as the foundation of their courses, both Vatter and
understanding.”
Harper prioritize self-driven thought for students and reject the aura of
Into the Wilderness
the all-knowing teacher. “If your students have to get somewhere, and it is the group’s job to get there, you are constantly behind the scenes
It is the first class of the day, and Vatter’s students are gathered
maneuvering them in a proactive way to that final goal or realization
around the Harkness table to discuss the origins of major world
of knowledge,” revealed Harper. “It is a different strategy of teaching,
civilizations, part of their reading assignment from the night before.
and you must have mastered your content. There is not one point
The conversation starts slowly; the challenge is not for students to
where they automatically get this big picture. You constantly have to
simply read and recap facts but to apply their own analysis and draw
navigate them down all those rapids and know where the challenges
conclusions. More importantly, Vatter wants them to question each
will arise.”
other’s ideas. One student introduces a topic, and another picks it up, but the conversation quickly falls quiet. Sitting at his desk,
Harper and Vatter maintain a delicate balance between encouraging
Vatter carefully monitors the dialogue but makes a point not to
independent thinking and providing appropriate guidance. “I do not
interject himself. There is a period of silence, which he lets stand,
see myself as a general directing things,” Vatter remarked. “We are
the discomfort prompting his students to take responsibility; he is
part of the collective in the classroom.” That viewpoint helps make
not there to rescue them. Righting themselves, they push forward to
Harkness a positive experience for Vatter and Harper’s students. “I
continue the discussion and move beyond just reading from the text
learn different perspectives on the material every day, and I am able
to trying out their own theories. Vatter clarifies a point when the
to speak openly about my own ideas, which can be useful to the rest of
class becomes jumbled and occasionally throws out a question, but
the class,” Bella Sanchez ’22 noted. Alexandra Ewing ’22 agreed that
it is always multifaceted. He pushes his students to dig deeper and
Harkness has many benefits. “The fact that I have the ability to change
explore more angles as he adeptly engages them in the complex topics
my outlook, based on the different views I find appealing, shows
hidden in plain sight. He is adamant, however, that his students learn
evidence of growth in these classes,” she explained.
to discern for themselves.
| H A R N E S S I N G S Y N E R GY
Opening Vistas
With a global focus anchored mainly in the twentieth century, Humanities II introduces students to dynamic subjects, theories, and themes that parallel contemporary society. “The twentieth century is very relatable, which makes the stories more vivid and connected,” asserted Vatter. “I believe my history class has a purpose to help my students understand the world as it is now, and this approach resonates with them. I incorporate current events to make the history relevant.” In addition to his own lectures and presentations, he introduces global perspectives through scholarly readings, a technique he refined while earning his Master of Arts in History. “Robert Marks’ Origins of the Modern World is my absolute favorite because it flips the narrative on Western-centrism,” he enthused. “Hans Rosling’s Factfulness debunks myths and gives honest data about the world. Humans always believe the worst because we assume that people in other places do not have things such as vaccinations or electricity. That builds into a perception of ‘otherness’ and creates fear. Students come away with a much better understanding of the wealth and equality levels of the world, which in turn helps them to comprehend what this course is about.” For her Master of Arts in Comparative Literature, Harper specialized in postcolonial theory and relishes the chance to introduce its literature and concepts, such as the “us/them” binary, to her students. “The time period we teach saw the rise of globalization as well as feminist and postcolonial criticisms and their ways of analyzing the world and literature, which is very relevant to contemporary issues,” she disclosed. “Students use this critical lens to analyze the content of the curriculum and gain perspective. It is graduate-level work, so the fact that they can understand it over the course of the year is highly rewarding.” Harper firmly believes the course’s focus on globalism is imperative for her students’ self-growth. “I feel like I have failed by the end of the year if my students are still speaking in a Westerncentric way,” she said. “If they are using that binary language, they are not critically thinking about what they say when they talk about today’s news or world events.” Students appreciate the many layers
a no-holds-barred review of each other and not worry about giving offense, since it originates from a place of making us better teachers,” acknowledged Vatter. Many students appreciate the synchronization. “Both Mrs. Harper and Mr. Vatter are very engaging teachers,” emphasized Dorothy Fort ’22. “You can tell that they want us to succeed.” Vatter and Harper’s high level of trust creates synergy in their classes. After nearly four years of teaching together, both see Humanities II as a chance to have a lasting impact on students. “I like the idea that we are on a journey of global exploration and self-discovery, and while Grant and I are ahead of our students on the path, we still have so much more to learn as well, so we want them to join us on this expedition,” noted Harper. “This year is practice for how they will deal with anything they encounter in life.” In the same vein, Vatter likes to view their teaching as not imparting enlightenment but rather offering practical knowledge. “It is like a field or survivalist guide,” he revealed. “Jill and I share with students what we have learned, which has been hard fought and won through our own quests. However, like everyone else, we still have a long way to go and hope to empower students by our own journeys.”
Going the Distance
It is 4:00 p.m., and Harper and Vatter are winding down their day in Jenkins 102. For the better part of the last hour, students have dropped in for extra help; some share impressions from class, and others inquire about points that they do not understand. Patient and engaged, Harper and Vatter resist the urge to hand out easy answers and instead take time with their students to extend the learning process. Now the light from the windows is slanted, and the shadows are slowly creeping in from Senior Lawn. Harper checks her cell phone and stands while Vatter grabs his leather satchel and flips off the lights. Tomorrow is another day.
And the work will begin again.
of investigation. “Mrs. Harper does a fantastic job of explaining the books we are reading by connecting the content to our personal lives,” affirmed Penny Wallace ’22. “So far in Mr. Vatter’s class, we have learned about the origins of the modern world, the scramble for Africa, and World War I in great depth. For each subject we cover, he always makes sure to emphasize the importance a specific historical event has on today and possibly the future.”
Rites of Passage
For both Harper and Vatter, one of the greatest assets of Humanities II is their partnership and how they leverage its strengths to create an empowering learning environment. “We share the same dynamic in the way that we relate to our students,” Harper pointed out. That similarity helps with both self and team assessments. “We can offer
| Opposite: Harper laughs with students during a class discussion. | Above: Vatter references a world map to answer a student’s question before class. Photos by Meredith Adkins Frazier
45
THE SPLENDOR OF LEARNING
BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
At Ashley Hall, an interdisciplinary mindset is more than a professional
goal; it is a fundamental way of envisioning education in fresh and dynamic ways. Acting as prisms, faculty members channel their academic acumen and creative
CREATING AN INTERDISCIPLINARY SPECTRUM impulses into a broad spectrum of learning that integrates fields, inspires students, and elevates experiences. Take a glimpse into the mindsets of six scientific and artistic faculty members who reveal through their own words how their teaching methods radiate a kaleidoscope of learning. | Science and visual arts faculty members gather in the Pierce Hall garden courtyard. L-R: Tina Hirsig, Marc Simpson, Lynne Riding, Nichole Carey, Nancy Langston, and Lillian Apple. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography
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NANCY LANGSTON | VISUAL ARTS “Land, Sky & the Between” Glass and concrete sculptures by Nancy Langston, Corrigan Gallery The horizon Tells a story and evokes an emotion. It is the place Where colors, And textures, And forms Meet To define their existence. It is that Upon which all animals Find perspective. It possesses An abundance of nothing -An absence of everything. The wheel Connects past to future Knowledge to intuition Minutes to centuries Planting to harvest Is always moving forward. The form Tapered and balanced Implies infinity within boundaries. Glass, Both liquid and solid, Tells of water, sky, and light. Concrete Industrial and earthy, Grounds the ethereal. Between energy and tranquility Between land and sky Lies permanence And transience.
“As a sculptor, I recognize the extent to which I rely on science to create my artwork. Even when my sculptures appear ancient or born of the earth, the science, technology, and engineering behind them is quite complex. The concepts steer my artwork, the aesthetics point the way, and science is the engine to get it there.” “I control the aesthetic outcome of each sculpture through an understanding of the thermodynamics of casting glass and the chemistry of refractory materials. Studio-glass artists typically build and repair their own equipment, furnaces, and kilns, requiring a solid understanding of related physics, engineering, and chemistry.” —— “The artistic process and the scientific method are really quite similar. They both are rooted in curiosity, observations, predictions, experiments, intuition, analysis, conclusions, and outcomes. Science exists to be applied—to explain and build understanding of our universe. Art is more of a philosophical look at the universe.” —— “Ashley Hall students who take sculpture or art are learning to imagine, make predictions, calculate, respond to results, persevere, experiment, analyze, and reflect. The artistic process requires each student to develop technique, discipline, creativity, empathy, and accountability. In the studio, students not only seek solutions but also pose their own questions. The 21st century requires deep problem solving and creative thinking skill sets.” —— “Making sculpture is a vehicle for students to apply and combine scientific principles, mathematics, engineering, and imagination. As they create, students are building an appreciation for and an understanding of how these entities interconnect. It provides the context for scientific concepts.” —— “An interdisciplinary curriculum recognizes and embraces the fact that the world is a complex, dynamic system with multiple disciplines being inextricably linked together, and when connections are made from varying vantage points, a student gains a deeper understanding of a concept. In the sculpture course, we use science, math, sociology, history, engineering, technology, and more to develop concepts; to apply formulas and techniques; to understand various materials’ physical properties; and to build context through the hands-on application of these concepts. The sculpture becomes a vehicle to visually join disciplines, concepts, and principles.” —— “My fondest moments are when a student experiences a deep sense of empowerment and pure joy by creating something meaningful that challenged her, thus building her confidence and propelling her forward.”
| From top: Langston’s recent work “Land, Sky & the Between,” a cast glass and concrete sculpture. Photo provided | Langston in the studio with Blythe McCurry ’21 | “Limbo” sculpture by Liza Bradley ’21. Photos by Kelly Grace Photography
LILLIAN APPLE | PHYSICS
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“I try to incorporate art in terms of both projects and the approach. Both science and art are founded on observations. Our physics labs usually begin with observations (and analyzing what can be measured) rather than with instruction. I have also incorporated a visual puzzle into the coding aspect of physics class. Some years I find time to do a photo-realism art project that relies on the concept of particles and empty space and addresses scientific components such as density. My longest running STEM project is my involvement in the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) Physics photo-essay project. Over the years we have had multiple finalists. It is so incredibly rewarding to see their published photos.” “When I started SMart Girls Camp this past summer at Ashley Hall, I had the participants explore a science topic for each day and design an art project that incorporated both this science topic and a specific artist. For example, to learn about different classifications of nebulae, campers wrote a few notes about each in a table and drew a mini sketch of each type. Then they used glue, watercolors, toothpicks, and canvas to paint their favorite nebula that they came across in their research. It was a bit ambitious for nine year olds, yet the paintings they developed were beautiful. For another project, we used microscopes and nail polish to see the stomata of leaves. Using these images alongside Henri Matisse’s style of ‘painting with scissors’ as inspiration, we used tissue and construction paper to make collages of the leaves that were collected.” —— “I have always loved painting and art history, and as a high school student, I looked forward to math, science, and art class. However, I was always questioned about this by others, especially adults, as if it was not normal to appreciate these disciplines as a whole. I studied art, science, and mathematics throughout college and graduate school, and it was a very rewarding academic path. I want my students to know that there is no rule that says you cannot combine art and science. In fact, I do not believe the two can be separated! Our students thrive in these disciplines, and I want them to appreciate their talents and how art and science can be woven together.” —— “I wish I could create more! I used to carve out time to paint at home, especially when my daughter was very young. I used to put out real paint with brushes and canvases for both of us even when she was younger than two years old. Yes, it was messy, but it was so inspiring to watch her move the brush the way she wanted to. There was no feeling of judgement or fear, which can creep up on artists as they age, and thus her pieces were organic and colorful. Seeing this love of art in children is inspiring to me.” —— “I studied art and art history abroad in college and traveled all over Italy! I studied art as well as physics yet never took a photography class! Because of this, I am fascinated with photography and with those who do it well.”
| From top: Anna Strickland and Emorie Stockton, Class of 2024, work with Apple during class | Adya Sharma ’29 at work during Apple’s engaging SMart Girls Camp at Ashley Hall | Apple stands in front of the Ashley Hall 2019 AAPT photo-essay submissions. Photos by Kelly Grace Photography
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TINA HIRSIG | VISUAL ARTS “Artists and scientists think alike. We both imagine what could be, ask questions by observation and curiosity about our world, make a plan to explore what we do and do not know, create and experiment to provide evidence of knowledge, and take time for reflection on what could be improved. The ultimate goal is to contribute in a positive way to our greater culture, improve our way of life, and communicate to one another that we are connected. I suspect many of our disciplines of study have similar processes of thinking. Perhaps this speaks to something elemental about us as humans. Observing these parallel thinking processes has changed how I teach and how I create art.” “My graduate studies allowed me the time to find my voice in the arts while sparking a new vision for teaching young children. How I work in my studio is how I mentor my students to work in our classroom studio. My art class is choice-based. I mentor children on how to be self-directed, envision ideas, and persist through individual or collaborative project creation. This is in line with a constructivist philosophy of education, which honors children’s ability to construct knowledge for themselves. This flips a traditional model of education from a focus on content delivered to the student to a focus on the learner making meaning and building relationships with our world. This experience teaching others is directly connected to my growth as an artist. I could not have reached my understanding of what an artist has the potential to create without having to teach others to do the same.” —— “When I was a child, my parents had a commitment to take us on long road trips to the far reaches of the west coast to see the Redwood National Park and then on another trip to the east coast to see Acadia National Park. As a young adult, I backpacked through Glacier National Park, Grand Tetons, Badlands, Mammoth Cave, Rocky Mountains, and the White Mountain National Forest. As a parent, I have taken my children camping and hiking all along the east coast. It was not until my graduate studies that I understood these experiences in nature were directly informing my art practice. I was seeking experiences in nature not being aware that this was my muse all along. Ever since, I have been aligning these two into one practice.” —— “Moving to Charleston has deepened this connection with the land. The ecosystem here from the maritime forest to the marsh and the beach contains a sort of magic I have not found other places. It seeps into all the work I currently create.” —— “My parents are antique dealers, so I grew up around fascinating objects hanging from the ceiling and tucked into corners. My fascination has extended to found objects from nature I gather on local hikes in the woods and during paddles in the local waterways. Sometimes a found object is the main subject of the art, and other times it is supporting the larger composition. Still other times I do not use objects at all and prefer a simple pencil to paper.”
| From top: Hirsig’s recent artwork “Owl” sits atop books of inspiration in her studio. Photo provided | Hirsig’s class comes to life with discussions about famous artists who inspire students’ work, including the recent portrait on bottom by Jaalah Brown ’26. Photos by Kelly Grace Photography
MARC SIMPSON | COMPUTER SCIENCE & ROBOTICS
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“Teaching STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) in many ways mimics my previous work experience. Almost always the job or issue required many different disciplines to resolve. The application of those disciplines could lead me down any number of different avenues, each potentially arriving at a resolution. STEAM scenarios are real-life scenarios, resolved in a real-life way. Teaching STEAM is not only a good way to learn and apply information but also a preparation for life and career. STEAM helps students identify resolutions or at least helps them reveal potential paths to resolution.” “My method of approach is trial and error more than anything else. I learn so much more from my errors/mistakes than my successes. With very few exceptions, successes are achieved through information obtained as a result of any number of different errors, mistakes, and failures. I want to be productive and efficient. In order to do so, I must learn from my mistakes.” —— “I am a problem solver by nature. My brain does not like loose ends. I must find a solution. So, I build, tinker, and program a lot. If I can engineer a solution to a problem, I will do it. If that is wood and nails or devices and software, I am comfortable. I am practical and appropriate. Form follows function, but I like it to look good too. A good solution will both perform well and look the part. For example, I like my robots to be symmetrical (among other things). Often a good design that distributes the weight of the robot or the weight of the load will be symmetrical, but it does not have to be. Clean lines and symmetry are pleasing to the eye and generally functional (structurally sound).” —— “My Introduction to Coding and Digital Design class is essentially a digital art class. Through the use of computer science and technology, students build a digital portfolio containing web pages, movies, logos, photography, 2D and 3D design, 2D and 3D programming, games, and stories, all of their own creation.” —— “My classes are all project/problem-based and have always incorporated elements of STEAM. This means the problem is foregrounded, and the resolution is openended. Disciplines emerge naturally, and the resolution to the problem/project will require elements of science, technology, engineering, art, and math. In my classroom, students need to have the opportunity to choose various components of the project, and their resolution cannot be predetermined. Technology will be integrated throughout as a tool, not as a novelty, to achieve resolution. Perhaps most importantly, the projects/problem scenarios need to be authentic.” —— “I hope students learn to embrace their failures and not be afraid of them but instead learn from them. I also hope they begin to understand that the disciplines they are learning in school are not mutually exclusive. Just because you learn algebra in Algebra class does not mean you cannot or will not apply algebra in another class or situation. It helps counter the age-old question, ‘When are we ever going to use this?’” —— “Essentially, I am motivated by innovation and the desire to innovate, to do better, or to do more in an efficient way. I am most rewarded when I can say a problem has been resolved.”
| From top: An example of Simpson’s robotic work. | Briana and Tatiana Burkhalter Jennings, Class of 2022, follow directions from Simpson in a recent robotics class. | A student-built robot. Photos by Kelly Grace Photography
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LYNNE RIDING | VISUAL ARTS “To me, interdisciplinary means giving students a chance to see and to learn how a subject—2D Art for example—is used in all areas of life and how subjects such as language, 3D design, technology, and history blend and combine to enrich each other.” “I think that technology as a form of interdisciplinary approach is bringing access to today’s world into the art studio and is not to be ignored. It is now easy to combine processes such as drawing and film, to reproduce pattern and color variation, and to see what an artist on the other side of the world is currently making. On the other side, the scientific approach to process has taught me—and I hope that I pass this on to students—to be patient and to love the process of inquiry and development. I want students to pay attention to all the steps needed in a process, not to rush, and to enjoy the making of art. You have to be brave and allow the medium at times to show you what to do.” —— “In my own studio practice, I am currently involved in a process that uses Gofun, natural pigments, and silver leaf. Gofun is made in Japan from crushed oyster shell and produces a luminous white, the marks of which will show through subsequent layers of natural pigments. I crush the Gofun powder, mix a solution of Japanese fish glue, and concoct a mixture of the two. The silver leaf can be manipulated with sulphur to produce amazing shades from the darkest brown and blacks to luminous blues. I also continue with my drawing and oil painting as separate bodies of work.” —— “In the classroom, students scan and develop their own photography and create pattern design from original artwork. For example, an AP 2D Art student developed beautiful watercolor paintings from images of microbial cells. The materials that we use in the art room (such as Gesso grounds made from gypsum, mediums for oil painting, and glazing) all have interesting properties that are ripe for discussion about choosing one medium over another.” —— “Technology is a useful tool in the arts today; I am currently studying simple animation for art by following an education training program and hope to use this technique in the classroom. In my art class, we also research using art and museum websites. Some math is required when calculating percentages of solutions, measuring paper, or scaling up in size, and we use the engineering elements of a printing press. We also measure the figure, for example 7.5 head lengths to the average figure.” —— “A sense of place motivates and inspires me to create. I am concerned with issues of impermanence. Major components in my work are the issues of shifting perspectives and loss, aligned with the dichotomy of enduring hope, that which drives us on.” —— “The most fulfilling part of teaching for me has always been enabling the growth in a student’s awareness and abilities. To see a student become fully engaged and excited with her art work and ultimately proud of her achievement is a tremendous reward.”
| From top: “Hiraeth 21” by Riding. Photo provided | Riding guiding Zitong Lisa Jia ’21 during the artistic process. | Zhe Vanessa He ’21 adds detail to her painting. Photos by Meredith Adkins Frazier
NICHOLE CAREY | MATHEMATICS
| H A R N E S S I N G S Y N E R GY
“Math and sewing are passions of mine, and I love sharing them both with my students. It is so special merging two things I love into a quilting service project to benefit the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at the Medical University of South Carolina. All around, it makes for such a positive experience for students.” “The quilting project is broken up into four parts. For the design process, students use Pinterest and Google Image searches to get inspiration. They use graph paper to create a scale drawing and color coding to show the different types of fabric they want to incorporate. Next, they calculate the yardage they will need for each type of fabric, including the added seam allowance. The third part is cutting the fabric; students use a rotary cutter and mat to get the most precise cut. Finally, students sew their quilts together.” —— “After all the quilts are finished, we walk over to the NICU to donate them. The nurses give us a tour of the unit, and this really brings meaning to the project. In our first year of the project, we donated eight quilts, and now Ashley Hall is the leading source of donated quilts to MUSC, with over fifty donated last year. My eight-year-old son, Jackson, was born prematurely and spent three weeks in a NICU. We were blessed beyond measure with a team of doctors and nurses who cared for all of us. While we were there, a donated quilt was given to him, and to this day it is something that we cherish.” —— “An interdisciplinary curriculum is important, as is finding an application to anything that we do in the classroom. Such connections supplement and reinforce instruction. The interdisciplinary mindset of the quilting project is one that students look forward to each year. Sewing is a technical process; you must have a very close eye for detail since a little off on one side is a lot off on another! Students use mathematics and engineering skills, and I love that the girls are applying geometric concepts in a way that benefits the community.” —— “As an art form, sewing sparks my creativity, and it is interesting to me to see what the girls come up with each year. With quilting specifically, you can pull together so many different types of fabric. I quilt on my own and even made a twelve-block quilt and an Interactive notebook for my Banding Project. Each block and each chapter of the notebook went together and illustrated the stages of my professional development.” —— “As self-made textbooks that students can keep, interactive notebooks are an organization tool that applies color with purpose. Using composition books, my students enjoy being creative and truly take ownership of their work. I absolutely love interactive notebooks since they are accommodating to multiple learning styles.” —— “I know that not everyone shares my same passion and unwavering love of math. If a student gets a sick feeling about coming to math class, I am not going to reach her as quickly or with as much depth as I will with a student who is happy and excited. Incorporating interdisciplinary activities into our curriculum is a way to meet students where their passions are.”
| From top: Ailish Ward ’23 guides the sewing machine to create her quilt patch. Photo by Paula Harrell | Algebra comes to life for Addy Rose and Lauryn Ferguson, Class of 2023, with the help of Carey. | Carey’s Banding Project quilt. Photos by Kelly Grace Photography
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educating the whole child
WE ARE THE LOWER SCHOOL BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
“We are the Lower School, and we live by the golden rule. We will always be friends, to the very, very end, At the Lower School of Ashley Hall!” –excerpted from the Lower School Song
STEPPING INSIDE PARDUE HALL, visitors are drawn to the LoDome, the bright,
enclosed courtyard at the heart of the building. On any given day, they will see multiple grades fully engaged in the space. Likely there will be a wellness class completing an activity at one end, girls diligently working on math problems near the stairwell, and children tucked into various nooks while reading. Amid the laughter and learning, one thought immediately comes to mind: This is a place where foundations matter.
| H A R N E S S I N G S Y N E R GY
WELLNESS & COMMUNITY
HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT
Second graders are proud to manage the Lower School’s recycling efforts! Sorting and organizing Pardue Hall’s rolling bins in the morning and gathering recyclable materials from each table at lunch, the girls do a wonderful job accepting responsibility for a highly-valued initiative.
“A place where many girls begin their journey at Ashley Hall, the Lower School is committed to teaching social and emotional skills in conjunction with academics to ensure a well-rounded foundation of learning. In this supportive, nurturing environment, each girl rises to her highest potential.” —Polly Rainey Kronsberg INSIDE A RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM
developmentally as they grow in independence and confidence. “I
faculty members employ the Responsive Classroom, a philosophy
is providing our students with the tools to live out our Ashley Hall
Planning their class activities for each new school day, Lower School that fits well with the Lower School’s dedication to educating the whole child. “Responsive Classroom is based on the belief that social learning and academic learning are both necessary for students,
believe one of the greatest benefits from Responsive Classroom Hallmarks and to feel confident doing so,” asserted Tamblyn. “This strategy helps build a sense of belonging for each student in my classroom.”
and it provides opportunities for growth in many different ways throughout each day,” explained Lower School faculty member Lee Tamblyn. “From day one, my girls are part of a community that will work together throughout the year. We begin each new school year sharing our ‘Hopes and Dreams’ with each other. Our parents are also asked to share their ‘Hopes and Dreams’ for their daughters.” For many Lower School faculty members, Responsive Classroom is a valuable approach around which to orient the school day that might include a morning meeting, collaborative problem solving, guided discovery, and academic choice. Each activity is specially chosen to support students socially, emotionally, academically, and
| Opposite: Rhetta Lowndes and Weesie Read, Class of 2031, laugh during the Early Morning Makerspace in the LoDome | Above, from top: Emma Antonucci, Sophie Rose, and Ginna Decker, Class of 2030, take charge of recycling. | Lower School faculty member Katie Rodgers’ class during morning circle time. Photos by Meredith Adkins Frazier
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MATHEMATICS to enrich the students’ independent learning) and help the students understand the instructions, so they can be successful. On other days I co-teach with teachers, which allows for smaller math instructional groups and activities. I am always available to work one-on-one with students to secure or broaden concepts.”
HOW DOES YOUR WORK BOTH SUPPORT TEACHERS AND PROMOTE INDIVIDUALIZED STUDENT LEARNING?
“Having two instructors in the classroom certainly provides a better teacher-student ratio and allows for smaller and more intimate learning experiences. When our girls have a conversation to express their problemsolving strategies, they become more confident and successful risk-takers. They are able to be active learners and take ownership of their math acquisition. The students enjoy learning the games, which is one of the Everyday Math strategies for learning basic facts.”
WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST REWARDING ABOUT YOUR WORK?
Q&A: SUZANNE SAUNDERS
As the Lower School Math Specialist, Suzanne Saunders works with faculty members to identify and implement best practices and learning strategies for students.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF A COMPREHENSIVE MATHEMATICS PROGRAM IN THE LOWER SCHOOL?
“Our Everyday Mathematics program has a spiraling curriculum. Each concept is introduced and reviewed several times throughout the school year, which allows the learning to go to a deeper level for a more complete understanding. This affords the students an opportunity to fully grasp concepts and apply them successfully to the tasks, challenges, and activities offered in each unit.”
AS THE MATH SPECIALIST, WHAT ROLES DO YOU ASSUME?
“My role as the Lower School Math Specialist is to facilitate the math learning experiences in each classroom. Our Lower School teachers determine the best use of my time when I visit their classrooms. Each day and class are different. On some days I locate differentiated activities (which provide experiences
“It is so rewarding to work with the girls in kindergarten through fourth grade and see the math curriculum spiral in action. The math concepts introduced in kindergarten broaden throughout all the upper grades. The girls grow more confident in their math, and it is so interesting to witness the way the students make connections, find patterns, and manipulate numbers to solve math problems.”
WHY IS THE EVERYDAY MATH CURRICULUM A CORE COMPONENT OF THE LOWER SCHOOL? WHAT DOES IT OFFER OUR STUDENTS?
“Everyday Math is a fully researched math curriculum (based on the best math practices from around the world) to teach the young child mathematics. It offers a curriculum which is ageappropriate and differentiated to meet the instructional needs of every student, every day. There is a page in every lesson which provides a review of recent concepts. This program is open-ended to allow the integration of other types of activities or projects to support and enrich the learning experiences for students. Everyday Math promotes problem-solving discussions, so students are encouraged to share their strategies (both orally and written) with others. Brain research supports that this is the best way for girls to learn. In the Lower School, the teachers are supporting girls to become successful and confident in math, all the way through to the twelfth grade.”
| Above: McLaine Warr and Kitty Mack Smith, Class of 2030, tackle challenging math problems | Opposite, from top: Lower School faculty member Lee Tamblyn works with Freddie Strauss ’30 | A student completes her math assignment in the LoDome. Photos by Meredith Adkins Frazier
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SUMMERTIME AND THE LEARNING IS EASY
This past summer, kindergarten through fourth grade faculty members convened for professional development to continue their focus on the best math instructional practices for elementary-age girls. Started in early January 2019, the initiative focuses on supporting students in mastering content in a technology-driven environment. Seeking to align their Everyday Mathematics curriculum with the School’s benchmarks and the National Core Curriculum objectives, each grade level team worked for two days with Lower School Math Specialist Suzanne Saunders to fine-tune their instruction for the fall. “Each team planned their scope and sequence and located learning activities to enrich their instruction,” noted Saunders. “They also discussed instructional techniques that allow students to go deeper into the content and build a toolkit to solve complex, authentic problems.” Gaining new insights and time to prepare for the year ahead, faculty members found their professional development project to be an invaluable opportunity. “We have always taught with a purpose, but now we are using our teachers’ experience and knowledge as another valuable resource to improve the math instruction for our students,” said Saunders. “We are supporting our girls at a young age to assume the responsibility for their own learning.”
INTRODUCING STUDENT PLAYLISTS AND REDBIRD
Two intriguing initiatives have been making the rounds in Pardue Hall this year: student playlists and Redbird. Both are dynamic new ways to support student learning. “Student playlists have taken over math instruction,” declared Director of Innovation Ed Dougherty. “This technique, which creates individualized sequences of resources and activities, provides students with a chance to work at their own pace and demonstrate mastery in skills they are working on. Students get to choose their path and monitor their activity completion while teachers are able to shift their direct instruction time from whole group to small group and really target student levels. The overarching goal is to create a more personalized approach to instruction while differentiating curriculum and activities using data mastery charts.” A playlist is a sequence of resources and/or activities for students to complete. When we ask students to complete multi-faceted independent activities, a playlist serves as guidance and sequencing without real-time teacher actions.
mathematical understanding of particular concepts, and challenges students to further their mathematical knowledge by advancing them as needed through self-paced instruction,” explained Lower School Math Specialist Suzanne Saunders. “Our teachers can access students’ accounts to see progress and run reports to assess growth and areas of concern.”
Another way the Lower School is promoting differentialized learning is through Redbird, an auxiliary computer math program used alongside the Everyday Mathematics curriculum. “It allows our students to practice what they know, identifies gaps in a student’s
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LITERACY Q&A: ERIN LIBAIRE
As the Lower School Librarian and Literacy Program Coordinator, Erin Libaire works with students, faculty, and staff to promote a culture of literacy.
HOW DOES ASHLEY HALL INTEGRATE LITERACY THROUGHOUT THE LOWER SCHOOL AS PART OF THE LEARNING SPIRAL?
“Literacy is everywhere, from a science student’s research to understand concepts to social studies, where students read fiction and nonfiction to gain a deeper understanding of a time period. Ideas are expressed in all subject areas through the written word.”
WHAT ARE YOUR DUTIES AS THE LITERACY PROGRAM COORDINATOR?
“I make sure our curriculum aligns and supports each grade level. I also help teachers meet students’ needs by providing lessons, holding small groups, conferring with individual students, and holding book clubs. In addition to analyzing grade level and Lower School literacy data, I help tailor curriculum and gather resources for teachers.”
AS THE LOWER SCHOOL LIBRARIAN, IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU ENCOURAGE STUDENTS TO BECOME BETTER READERS?
“My mission as a librarian, and as a person really, is to help everyone see himself or herself as a reader. The best way to become a better reader is to READ, so one of my most important tasks is to get books into students’ hands. I recommend books and authors and read to students as much as I can. I also weave reading and writing skills into just about everything I do with students. I have kindergartners read poems and play word games that develop their phonics skills. In any grade, whenever I conduct research with a class, I tuck in reading strategies and notetaking skills. Even during a read-aloud session, I pause and ask questions that require students to talk to each other, thus developing comprehension skills. I am using technology with students more frequently to develop their skills as readers and writers.”
HOW DO YOU SUPPORT THE RESEARCH AND COMPOSITION EFFORTS OF OLDER STUDENTS?
“The biggest challenge I see for students is wading through the vast amount of information available. I help them curate their resources by showing them databases and primary and secondary sources that support their research. I also help teachers fi nd books and web resources to support their teaching.”
WHAT DO YOU FIND MOST REWARDING ABOUT YOUR WORK?
“I love what I do. I have students who stop me at carpool to talk to me about what they are reading. I also love collaborating with teachers. I think of the “We Are Readers” parade with kindergartners marching and holding their books high as the rest of the school cheers them on. I tear up every year! We are ALL readers, and we are proud of it.”
| H A R N E S S I N G S Y N E R GY
WE ARE READERS!
THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF PHONICS
Phonics education is an important component of the Lower School curriculum, and over the past year, eight faculty members have attended the Phonics Institute at Teachers College, Columbia University. “The phonics units of study go hand in hand with the reading and writing, so there is a cohesive flow from kindergarten through second grade,” said Lower School faculty member Mia Smith. “Having all our teachers using the same curriculum also allows the girls to have the continuity of a workshop as they go through Lower School.” Faculty members use the Units of Study in Phonics for students in kindergarten through second grade. Organized into small groups or rug clubs, students have a grade-level stuffed animal mascot whose storyline supports their phonics learning. It is an additional touch to ensure children have a
OUR YOUNGEST CRITICS
Inspired by kindergartners’ love of reading, Lower School Librarian and Literacy Program Coordinator Erin Libaire thought of the perfect way for them to connect with other students: video book recommendations! “My goal was to use more technology during library classes,” said Libaire. “I thought it would be an engaging way to get our youngest students to share their thoughts and ideas.” Using the Flipgrid application on iPads, students recorded themselves talking about why they liked a particular book. Afterward, each
positive experience with phonics. “The method of instruction really depends on the phonics being taught, and options include songs, writing something together, and reading something together, to name a few,” explained Lower School Librarian and Literacy Program Coordinator Erin Libaire.
In October, kindergarteners marked the important milestone of becoming readers! To celebrate the end of their fi rst reading unit, the girls donned special crowns, carried their favorite storybooks, and chanted “We Are Readers!” while parading around the LoDome with the rest of the Lower School cheering them on. Held in high regard at Ashley Hall, reading is woven throughout the curriculum.
With the goal of having all faculty members who teach phonics receive training at Teachers College, the Lower School is invested in establishing a strong foundation for its literacy initiatives. “Phonics is the basis of reading and writing,” emphasized Libaire. “Because this phonics curriculum is written by the same authors as our reading and writing curriculum, they are closely aligned. When our students have a strong foundation in these skills, everyone benefits.”
video was paired with a QR code posted with the student’s photograph in the library. Students browsing for a good book can use an iPad to watch the kindergartners’ recommendations. “I liked filming myself and saying what I thought about my book,” said Arrington Wingfield ’32. Libaire wants the reviews not only to encourage kindergartners to read but also to make them more confident. “I hope other students will want to read one of the recommended books,” she remarked. “I want our kindergartners to know that what they like matters and that they can recommend books to a friend.”
| Opposite: Lower School Librarian Erin Libaire helps young reader Katie Cina ’32 with the Flipgrid application | Above, from top: Beatrice Watson ’31 enjoys reading in the LoDome. Photos by Meredith Adkins Frazier | Kindergartners during the “We Are Readers” parade. Photo by Jennifer Turner
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AROUND THE SHELL HOUSE STOR IE S TH AT CA P T U R E THE PU LSE OF CA MPUS
BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
WITH ONE VOICE: THE INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S CHOIR FESTIVAL, JULY 20-27, 2019 When Ashley Hall choral singers traveled to the United Kingdom this past summer to take part in the International Children’s Choir Festival, they were looking forward to performing in Canterbury and Southwark Cathedrals. However, little did they know how the trip would transform them as a choir. “This opportunity was once in a lifetime,” emphasized Performing Arts faculty member Katie Clarkson, who led the trip. “Every single student prepared tirelessly to take part in this Festival, and I could not have foreseen the immense amount of growth that occurred throughout the week.” At the festival, individual choirs received private coaching sessions during the week and joined together as part of the International Children’s Choir. “The choir was comprised of elementary age to collegiate voices, and these students took to heart that choral singing is a lifelong love and that choral music can transcend time,” noted Clarkson. “I am so proud of the professionalism our singers displayed while we were in each rehearsal and performance. We were finally able to see in person how other choirs across the country and the world hold themselves, rehearse, and create beautiful music, and most importantly, that they have an unbreakable special bond with each other.” Students also enjoyed impromptu singing sessions while touring famous English sites in Canterbury and London. “The most magical moment for us while in Canterbury was our tour of the Cathedral Precincts in its entirety,” said Clarkson. “We stopped to have a mini rehearsal in this gorgeous setting, sang some of our Christmas Play chants, and basked in the reverberant space.”
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE When primary students in Early Education Center faculty members Amy Kuenzel’s and Christine Dooling’s class became fascinated with ramps, they built their own with blocks and then explored campus to find more. However, they hit the jackpot when Upper School faculty member Lillian Apple invited them into her Honors Physics I class to assist her students with a lab on acceleration using ramps! “It was a perfect match!” said Apple. “They joined together to use ramps to see resulting graphs on Logger Pro when changing the location of the motion detector and the starting position of the cars. They analyzed position, velocity, and acceleration versus time graphs.” Laughing together as they placed ramps on chairs, counters, and desks, the children and the big girls enjoyed using the ramps and cars for both purpose and play. For Kuenzel, the resulting partnership highlighted the camaraderie that makes Ashley Hall so special. “The primary children were the ones to send the car up or down the ramp while the big girls checked the speeds,” she said. “It was so much fun watching them collaborate and experiment together.”
#GOGIRLGO PQV to Ashley Hall’s 210 student athletes who showed exceptional sportsmanship, teamwork, and school spirit while playing on seventeen teams for seven different sports (JV and varsity tennis, cross country, sailing, swimming, golf, equestrian, JV and varsity volleyball, and 8 Bantam volleyball teams) this fall. A special congratulations to the varsity tennis team for their state championship win, the cross-country team for their runner-up state championship finish, and the sixth grade purple team for winning the Lowcountry Volleyball League 6B tournament championship! #GirlsWithTheWill
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HARNESSING CREATIVITY: EARLY MORNING MAKERSPACE One of the most exciting times on campus occurs even before the first bell of the day rings. Step into Pardue Hall’s LoDome during the magical hour before classes begin and prepare to be dazzled by creativity, enthusiasm, and student-led innovation at its very best. “I wanted to make early morning drop-off another time for students to learn,” said Lower School faculty member Henslee Elliott, who is the driving force behind the Early Morning Makerspace. “Students choose materials from our makerspace cart, which is filled with cardboard, sharpie markers, reclaimed plastic materials, and other interesting items, and they enjoy being creative and even designing prototypes for other projects, which they love to share during the weekly Lower School assembly. I am there to guide them and support their vision.” In addition to the fully-stocked makerspace cart, students also have access to even more craft supplies in the second floor Fab Lab, a name chosen by students that stands for “fabricate and build.” Serving as a makerspace for the entire Lower School, the Fab Lab directly supports project creation, with students having the opportunity to fill out a project form that asks what problem they are solving and what Ashley Hall Hallmarks they are using in its completion. Given the opportunity to explore interests that might not otherwise be covered in regular classes, students let their creativity shine. “The cart is filled with so many things I can use, and Mrs. Elliott is fun to create with!” exclaimed Marilen Hammond ’31. “I make whatever I imagine.” For Elliott, that sentiment is the gold standard for which she daily strives. “My favorite part is witnessing the collaboration between students,” she noted. “It is wonderful to see the process and the thinking that students go through to create, tinker, and explore!”
THE SPIRIT OF ASHLEY HALL’S
now have!” said Intermediate Program faculty member Holly Blair.
TRANSATLANTIC VOYAGE
“The Scilly Islands will forever be linked to Ashley Hall due to this
On August 20, The Spirit of Ashley Hall successfully landed on White
experience.” To watch a recording of the video chat and follow the
Island, part of the Isles of Scilly, located near the southwest English
journey of The Spirit of Ashley Hall, visit
coastline. A five-foot unmanned, ocean-sailing vessel assembled
http://educationalpassages.org/boats/spiritofashleyhall/
by Ashley Hall sixth graders through the Educational Passages program, The Spirit of Ashley Hall was launched April 24 near the Delaware Capes and spent 118 days crossing the Atlantic solely on wind and current propulsion. Equipped with GPS, the MiniBoat carried instrumentation that has set data collection records. The Five Islands Academy, an Isles of Scilly school, is partnering with Ashley Hall in a scientific and cultural exchange before relaunching the MiniBoat on its next adventure. In September, Ashley Hall girls video chatted with Five Islands Academy students about their daily life, school, and of course the excellent condition of the MiniBoat! “Watching our students interact with another classroom of children across the Atlantic, I was in awe of this global connection that we
| Opposite, from left: Ashley Hall singers at the festival. Photo provided | Verona Hepner and Elisa Waring, Class of 2034, explore ramps with Ava Piebenga ’21. Photo by Jennifer Turner | Above, from top: Marilen Hammond ’31 loves working with Lower School faculty member Henslee Elliott. | Maclane Applegate, Hadley Thompson, and Vanna Pennington, Class of 2026, track the path of The Spirit of Ashley Hall. Photos by Meredith Adkins Frazier.
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THE FRIENDSHIP FEST
what friendship means in their language,” explained Elliott.
With beautiful weather and warm smiles, November’s
“They feel so connected to one another, and the process of
Friendship Fest at the reflection pond near McBee House
creating their gifts becomes a meaningful one,” Robbins
was the perfect time to be grateful for good friends! For
agreed. For students, stringing their bead necklaces during
several weeks, pre-kindergartners, kindergartners, and pre-
the Friendship Fest was the perfect reminder that friendship
first students eagerly anticipated the special celebration.
makes everything better! “I love everything about this!”
Early Education Center faculty member Wendy Robbins
exclaimed Hudson Mozingo ’33. “My friend Kate made this
and Lower School faculty member Henslee Elliott created
necklace just for me!” His special friend Kate Harvard ’32
opportunities for students to be kind to one another,
was equally pleased. “We’re good friends now,” she smiled.
including sending sweet notes, sharing singalongs, and
“He’s funny! I’m glad he liked his gift.”
painting beads to exchange. “The project changes from year to year and is based on students’ interests and insights into
THE LEGEND CONTINUES: MATTISON MATTHEWS After a stellar Ashley Hall volleyball career, including a varsity team state championship, Mattison Matthews ’19 is continuing to break records as a University of Virginia (UVA) freshman. A middle blocker, she produced one of the most efficient seasons in the college’s history by hitting .382 to set a UVA freshman record and achieve the second-best single season performance by any cavalier in program history. PQV!
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sense of belonging in the world, historical and cultural awareness, and concern for social justice. We have been working with the Coalition for about five years in various capacities. Our classes have translated Nigerien student report cards and letters to American partners and written letters in French directly to students telling them about our own hopes and challenges while encouraging them to persevere in school and pursue their dreams despite overwhelming obstacles. In addition, we have done fundraising through bake sales and non-uniform days, participated in the School Spirit Run for Niger, matched several juniors with the Coalition for their internships, and integrated Niger and the Coalition into our Upper School curriculum. During their presentation in October, I was moved by how directly our Nigerien visitors Ibrahim Abdou, Mariama Harouna, and Ibrahim Harouna spoke about their culture with a critical lens. When they drilled down to how educating girls changes the overall landscape of their nation, it shifts in surprising ways. Ibrahim Abdou ‘s sister shies away from seeing the doctor because she feels shame about her body and her needs. Because all healthcare professionals are male, she is not
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
empowered to take control of her health and seek care. I would like to see our partnership with the Coalition deepen across other divisions on
THE FRENCH CONNECTION: ASHLEY HALL’S
campus. As a girls’ school, it is a natural partnership to support other
PARTNERSHIP WITH THE REMEMBER NIGER COALITION
endeavors to educate girls and women across the globe. I believe in the
In October, Remember Niger Coalition representatives visited campus to
servant leadership mindset, and as we build and empower leaders at
meet with students and highlight initiatives to improve girls’ education in
Ashley Hall, it is important to also instill in our students a desire to serve
Niger. Partnering with the Upper School’s French Department for the last
first as they lead, to investigate, and to look at situations both locally and
five years, the organization thrives on student efforts to understand and
globally with a desire and confidence to engage.”
connect with a cause particularly meaningful to Ashley Hall.
“
UPPER SCHOOL FACULTY MEMBER
“
REESE TERRY ’20
“I worked with the Remember Niger Coalition for my Junior Internship
SARAH MARGARET DECKER
last summer. I was able to use my French skills to translate interviews
“Niger is the least developed country in the world, according to the
of Nigerien students, parents, and teachers into English. Studying at
United Nations Human Development Index, and educational resources,
Ashley Hall has made the French language one of my greatest passions,
especially for girls, are severely lacking. By educating a girl in a developing
so being able to use my proficiency in the language to make a difference in
country, many things change, not only for her but also for the good of the
the world was a life-changing opportunity.
entire nation: she stays in school, delays marriage and childbirth and is therefore healthier, becomes literate, learns a skill, contributes to her
Coming from a school where we are all in a position of privilege,
community, earns respect and an income, and changes the entire fabric
participating in service provides a sense of grounding. Attending Ashley
of society, especially as she passes these values and skills on to the next
Hall has definitely changed my life, but my education goes to waste if I
generation. Multiply these results by millions of girls (and all children) in
do not use it to help those in need. Through service we learn about the
Niger, and the power to change the course of Nigerien history is possible!
importance of community and the significance of compassion. These lessons are indispensable in the development of young women.
As
part of a community of French speakers at Ashley Hall, I tell
my students that we are automatically connected to the Nigeriens
In October, given my previous experience with the Coalition, I found
through language.
The ability to communicate with others is a
it extremely moving to be face-to-face with the people I had seen in the
beautiful, meaningful skill that gives direct access to cultures, fosters
videos I translated. I had heard their stories and translated their words,
understanding, and promotes empathy. The fact that our students can
but hearing them again in person just reiterated how important it is that
engage with a global community of French-speakers creates a deeper
we help the people of Niger in as many ways as possible.”
| Opposite, from top: The Friendship Fest held near the McBee House reflection pond. Photo by Jennifer Turner | Matthews in action. Photo courtesy UVA Athletic Media Relations | Above: Upper School faculty member Sara Margaret Decker and Reese Terry ’21 on campus in late fall. Photo by Paula Harrell
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TOY STORY Many children imagine their toys one day coming to life, and for Eden Harper ’35, October 31 was a dream come true! Her Early Education Center teachers, Katie Paulson and Shannon Silliman, came dressed for Ashley Hall’s Halloween Carnival as two of Eden’s toys, which she had named especially after them. “Eden’s mom [Upper School faculty member Jill Harper] told us about ‘Paulson’ and ‘Silliman,’” said Paulson. “I think Eden named ‘Silliman’ fi rst, and then a few days later Jill told us that there was a Paulson now, too. We thought it was the sweetest thing that she had named them after us, especially since it was right at the very beginning of the year.” Determined to surprise both mom and daughter, Paulson and Silliman meticulously planned their costumes, even contacting father Jim Harper to get photographs of their namesakes and to ensure Eden brought them to school. “The looks on Jill’s and Eden’s faces were priceless,” said Paulson. “It made the surprise so sweet and special!” Happily walking the Halloween parade route hand-inhand with her very own life-size Silliman and Paulson, Eden was thrilled. “I love them!” she smiled.
A PITCH PERFECT DEBUT In November, Sarah Marshall ’21 proudly represented Ashley Hall and South Carolina in the All-Honors National Orchestra, sponsored by the National Association for Music Education. Part of the All-State Orchestra last year, Marshall was chosen to be one of only three South Carolina students to participate in the AllHonors National Ensembles.
SPEND THE SUMMER WITH ASHLEY HALL! Ashley Hall is pleased to announce an enhanced Summer Programs schedule, offering a wide variety of classes that will keep campers entertained and engaged. New in 2020: over fifty day and specialty camps, a boys-only day camp, and a number of high school enrichment opportunities. Visit www.ashleyhall.org/ summerprograms to view the complete schedule and register.
| From left: EEC faculty members and ultimate Halloween costume designers Katie Paulson and Shannon Silliman surprise Eden Harper ’35 with personalized costumes of her favorite toys named in honor of them! Photo courtesy Jill Harper | Sarah Marshall ’21 before the competition. Photo by Liz Dinwiddie | Opposite, clockwise from left: Visual Arts faculty member Cindy Andrews in the Ingram Arts studio. Photo by Kelly Grace Photography | “Prothonotary Warbler” 3-D painting by Elle Thompson ’23. Photo by Meredith Adkins Frazier | Students view the Audubon portfolios at the College of Charleston. Photo by Jennifer Turner
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“
IN HER OWN WORDS: CINDY ANDREWS
“INSPIRATION LIVES ON”: FINDING THE ARTISTIC SPARK, PAST AND PRESENT Visual Arts faculty member Cindy Andrews recently guided
Because art is an empirical process too, this year’s trip
her Foundations of Art students through an immersive artistic
provided yet another interesting perspective.
process that drew on past and present art as inspiration for new
Foundations students visited ‘The Image Hunter: On the Trail
creations. Entitled “Inspiration Lives On,” the completed project
of John James Audubon,’ an exhibit at the Halsey Gallery by
was placed on exhibit in Davies Auditorium.
a contemporary Italian artist named Hitnes, who came to
Last year,
America two centuries later to trace the steps of the nineteenth “Established in 2004, the ninth grade Foundations of Art class
century Audubon. In his updated version, Hitnes created
has been closely tied with Ashley Hall’s humanities course
three-dimensional constructions that mimic the appearance
work as well as the biological sciences. Students learn how
of Audubon’s original colorized etchings. In addition to the
to render plant life, insects, and human anatomy and gain
birds, his shadow boxes also included abstract shapes and
experience mixing egg tempera and oil paint. In addition, the
found objects such as the bones of prey, feathers, and pellets.
study of artistic composition requires students to learn oneand two-point perspective as well as the scientific properties
Students’ responses to the works of Hitnes and Audubon
of color and light.
have been an illuminating experience. Over several weeks, the students chose a specific American bird to illustrate, cut
For the last five years, I have included an annual field trip to
out, and mount into a shadow box. The abstract backgrounds
the College of Charleston for the Foundations students to
were painted on plexiglass and made into mono prints. When
view the Birds of America elephant portfolios by John James
assembled, each layer of the composition provided the illusion
Audubon. The students have always enjoyed going because the
of depth, nature’s visibility. I think Audubon and Hitnes would
work is so beautiful and because nineteenth century scientific
have been impressed!”
illustration is the historic link between science and art.
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M E S SAG E S O F M E M O R I E S A N D LOV E :
The Christmas Play Telegram Tradition BY JENNIFER TURNER, EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
Celebrating its 96th year, Ashley Hall’s The Christmas Play is a true gift
stories, mishaps, and much sage advice, including how not to trip while
of wonder and beauty to the Charleston community, but there is also
walking in an angel’s robe. Most importantly, they sent their love for
a very special and equally moving tradition that is privately observed
a shared experience spanning generations and offered their treasured
just prior to the public performance. As in years prior, student cast
memories of taking part in a simply magical tradition. The following are
members gathered together to hear the reading of “telegrams,”
edited excerpts from this year’s telegrams. To read the full collection,
messages of luck and best wishes submitted by alumnae ranging from
visit www.ashleyhall.org/thechristmasplayalumnaetelegrams.
the Class of 1957 to the Class of 2019. A group of alumnae volunteers read aloud the messages, a practice stretching back to the midcentury
Did you know? Held at The Cathedral Church of St. Luke and St.
days of Head of School Caroline Pardue. Afterward Head of School
Paul, the 2019 performance of The Christmas Play featured a cast of
Jill Muti spoke about the significance of the telegram tradition.
over 100 students, with actors from first through twelfth grades as well as the Upper School Orchestra, the Nautilus Orchestra, the Red Choir,
Remembering the nerves that crept up on opening night and wanting
and the Nautilus Choir. The Christmas Play is an annual Charleston
to send reassurances to the girls who now filled their once-coveted
tradition that draws from the Chester Cycle mystery plays to tell the
roles, alumnae penned letters and composed emails detailing funny
story of Christmas.
| From left: Former Headmistress Caroline Pardue reads telegrams to the cast and crew of the 1975 production of The Christmas Play. Photo from the Ashley Hall Archives | Alumnae share telegrams as the 2019 cast looks on. Photos courtesy of Margie B. Barham ’86
| PA RT I N G S H O T S
are deeper than ns deep, and none l where tradition ru oo sch a is ll being in the green Ha ay y Ashle like it was yesterd r be em rem I . ae ay as Pl letters from alumn the annual Christm one reading out the me so d an w ium slo or dit y by, girls; try to room at Galliard Au Time really does fl st. pa ne go ars y ye hle d in time you have at As who had participate and just enjoy the months at school few t las se days. se the down are going to miss the nk so now, but you thi t no t gh mi u Yo Hall. memories you get older, the ecial place, and as sp y ibl red inc I know every an d Ashley Hall is y Hall friends an en today, my Ashle Ev . ial ec sp re g the Ashley mo become even to burst into singin have been known or ay Pl as tm tmas Play ris ris word to The Ch ions like The Ch hley Hall and tradit As . rty pa a at ng Hall school so er. stay with you forev Walters ’82 Martha Thornhill
To The Christm as Play continu particip ing this ants in 2 w onderfu 019: Th for our l traditio ank you family, a ! Thank n. It is tr nd I kno you for uly the s membe w it mean r of the tart of th s a s c m a e Christm s uch to m t, choirs To Trow as seaso , and str any oth le and T ers. Eve ings tog n udde, I ether m ry single senior y had the a k ears. I th e jo th y e o e f v p e in n la ing mag ying the k they a the stor ical. re the m se parts y. I hop ost fun b in my ju e you ha nior and ecause th ve fun p ey bring laying th To the c a little h em tonig hoir, yo umor to u are th ht! togethe e beauti r with e ful back ach son drop to director, g. I still the stor Sam, cr rememb y that ti inging e er all th es each Ladies, very tim e songs piece all of yo e we san we sang u. Than g (and ou “ e g k you so gshellsio r choir much! Helen A us”). nn Har per ’89
A terribly homesick boarder in my junior year at Ashley Hall, “O Holy Night.” That I was selected to sin g was forty-nine years ago. My hands still sha l l hym a na ke when I hold a l to H sin g y tha t glo le rio us h son g. I still know the wo As nuee veon rds and piano notes of my dge Ais by heart. It a favorites. a rolin 2 Rutle
17 outh C ston, S 3But I have to say that le r a h it was so scary to per C 294 0
form. The School sta A shley Hall original Gaillard Au ged this in the ditorium – still cavern 17 ou 2 s R by utledge Avenu my sta nd ard totally inexperienced s as a sixteen year old e at the time with such Cha rleston, S an aud ien outh Carolin ce or set The point of this is no ting size. a t to underscore your 294 03 fright but to bolster you head into this yea you r con fi den ce as r’s memorable experi ence. No doubt, you have reh earsed over and over and know every note word with perfect dic in key and every tion. And you will be ma gnificent when that ma night arrives. I’ll be gical, single in the balcony, silentl y cheering you on! An streaming down my d wit h tears of pride cheeks.
Nancy Muller ’71
these. aditions like The Chri beautiful tr girls, y ve la ha P to but as stmas Pla e s, tm ar Chris y is one o exciting way w lucky we d ho an is Dear sweet w e A ne eg shley Ha f my deare ll in co fe e li in d m ur so ne yo ll. I was in ar at e st and bri le th ap g ve sh in l ha il I ow w gs kn ho th ghtest of in in w e th rt le y c th fo o op an n m e m pe gregation n played memorie t so many and seek co One of the third she ee for three rn s of m tu d re an n e ca ac p u y h pl ears (194 yo e is rd re a th ll e he fo w th r three ye is e th 6-1948) a lo ke n li g e h You will leav ours of pra ac ars (1949 pl a nd ve ha -1951). I ctice, and shepherd y gets to remembe I can still s’ play. M not everybod r . : sa ge is en y r, s McBee all the lin directed semeste Hall wom never chan directed es in the the music gly endless hed Ashley great things the play th . My olde l, accomplis red a seemin fu du ti en, and M en au sa ve be n , r ha g si ed d th st nt an e e t le r. Fracht r m ta en J e o a st om th n e sang in to beautiful r angelic m r, the red ch solo in th So good luck performa ls, ted for thei ge n remembe ai an o ca w e ir p by ey ve n and la th ba c ha y. e as , and I kn I hope th s who e precious r as long ow you w at you ha The senior this play fo including th in n, il v io l en e it a a be lw ad great ve tr a y ” s rememb ho ha is exciting the lowe. er it. Bre The ones w Emmie H get to join th thy sheep to y ve ll a ri k na fi a “D a leg! y y, ho Alexand st w ard and sa er Hanco The younge ts to don a be c ge k ho ’5 a w 2 ve rl y gi e lucky to ha And the luck die—you ar do your Ms. Dinwid strings girls: y to m od to if you don’t go te e A no school, even iles away. B gh m hi y of an at much. ls m th ia gs from whacky tr e loves you love and hu because sh through the is u ly yo al h re it Sending my it w d cry g because will laugh an her a big hu teacher who i cries, give ut M . rs M s. And if playing test o, In Bocca Lup yars ’18 LouLou B
67
The Measure of a Man: Remembering Thomas Edwin Thornhill (1928-2019) BY JENNIFER TURNER EDITOR & INSTITUTIONAL WRITER
“To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” –attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson
I
n October, the Charleston community
Ashley Hall’s current Assistant Head of
School. Ashley Hall was a true family affair,
lost one of its most committed
School and Director of the Upper School.
and the sentiments of selfless service, legacy,
supporters with the passing of Thomas
Serving as a board member from 1976–1988
and community echoed throughout his speech
“Tommy” Edwin Thornhill, a true civic leader
and as president of the Board of Trustees from
to the graduates sitting before him. “While
who championed selfless service. Thornhill
1977–1980, Thornhill drew on the expertise
you learn the building blocks of life, keep in
progressed through a number of fulfilling
and business acumen gained through his
touch with the events of today that are forming
careers in his lifetime, including Army Reserve
extensive background to lead initiatives,
the mosaic of your future,” he urged. “Then,
officer, gas and oil industry executive, business
including the establishment of the endowment
armed with knowledge from the campus and
professor, commercial real estate agent, and
fund, to secure Ashley Hall for future
from today’s world you can commit yourself
innovative entrepreneur. However, as both the
generations. He deeply believed in Ashley
to be an effective instrument of change to
foundation and overarching inspiration for all
Hall’s mission: “To produce educated women
help build a better society. Your motto here at
that he undertook, a life in service to others is
who are independent, ethically responsible,
Ashley Hall translated from Latin is ‘They can
Thornhill’s greatest legacy.
and prepared to meet the challenges of society
who will.’ Take this with you always—They
with confidence.”
can who will! . . . You can be that one voice, that
While Thornhill supported many worthy
one life that can make a better world.”
causes with his time and talents, he held Ashley
On May 29, 1977, as Thornhill prepared to
Hall in particularly high regard. Thornhill’s
deliver the commencement address, he was the
As someone who devoted his life in service to
mother, Ama Van Noy Smith, was in the first
incoming president of the Board of Trustees,
others and never lost his belief in the ability
class of the School, a tradition continued by
Ama was a rising sixth grader, and recent
to create positive change, Thornhill was that
both of his daughters, Ama Thornhill Couch
college graduate Anne had just completed her
one voice to many, and his life and legacy will
’84 and Anne Thornhill Weston, Ph.D., ’73,
first year teaching middle school science at the
always be a testament to that power.
| L-R: Tommy Thornhill with daughters Anne Thornhill Weston ’73 and Ama Thornhill Couch ’84 sitting on a joggling board in their Tradd Street garden. Photo courtesy Anne Thornhill Weston ‘73
THE JOY OF GIVING From a very young age, Ashley Hall students are encouraged to give of themselves with joyful hearts, hands, and minds. This spirit of generosity is seen through student-directed fundraisers, community action projects, and partnerships with local non-profits. These expressions of respect and love exemplify how we live in community at Ashley Hall. When you give to the Loyalty Fund, you make possible the many transformative experiences that enrich our students each day and prepare them to become their best selves. Make a gift to the Loyalty Fund and share the joy that is Ashley Hall. www.ashleyhall.org/support Dahan Huja and Maya Huja, Class of 2033. Photo by Meredith Adkins Frazier
ASHLEY H A LL
A S H L E YWEEKEND HALL ALUMNAE
ALUMNAE A P R I L 1 6 –WEEKEND 18 , 2020 INVITING US! ALL JOIN ALUMNAE TO COME
APRIL 16–18, 2020 BACK HOME!
Non-Profit Org. US Postage
PAID Charleston, SC Permit No. 1309
172 Rutledge Avenue Charleston, South Carolina 29403
