Today at Breck: Summer 2018

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

TEACHING THE SCIENCE OF LEARNING Eighteen faculty fellows lead an all-school training from the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education / PG. 24

20 QUESTIONS THE MYSTERY OF MUSIC ALUMNI NEWS

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Summer 2018

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Today at Breck

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FEATURES 20 / The Mystery of Music Using an interdisciplinary teaching method, this new Upper School elective is teaching students the science behind music.

24 / Teaching the Science of Learning

COVER STORY This year, 18 faculty fellows from the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education led their peers in an all-school training. Learn more about this important work and how it is impacting our students in the classroom.

54 / Words of Wisdom Visual Arts Department Head Michal Sagar shares her most cherished life lessons with Breck readers.

DEPARTMENTS

2 / 20 Questions

5 / 123 Ottawa News

41 / Alumni News 48 / Athletic Season Highlights

On the cover: Eighteen faculty fellows from the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education. Photos by Sara Rubinstein.

NATALIA R. HERNÁNDEZ, ED.D. HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear Breck friends, Watching the growth of a student from the first day of school to the last is incredibly exciting. At Breck, day in and day out, each faculty and staff member is working tirelessly toward our shared purpose: the growth and development of each student. Somehow, every year we marvel at the incredible strides our students make as they take advantage of the vast opportunities Breck offers. In this issue of Today at Breck, we give you a glimpse into the culmination of a year at Breck. From Lower and Middle School closing to that iconic cap toss at graduation, we celebrate a year of hard work and personal growth.

Also in this issue you’ll read about our distinctive Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education, which bridges research in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and education with classroom practices to maximize learning for every student. On the cover, we introduced you to 18 Faculty Fellows who served as ambassadors for the Center over the past two years.

Inside, we share stories about how these teachers, along with the leaders of the Center, Director Daisy Pellant and Coordinator Sarah Flotten ’85, trained our entire faculty in the field of MBE, and read about the impact it is already making in the lives of our students and faculty.

Over the past year I have heard many stories about the late Peter Clark, a beloved faculty member whose legacy lives on in those he met and the work of the Center. We hear retellings of impactful stories that describe his passion for all students and an uncanny ability to recognize the untapped potential in all people. He believed in the growth and development of his students and fellow teachers, and we are proud to carry on the important work he brought to Breck. Peter hoped we could all be learners for life and the work of the Center is focused on exactly that. By using research to inform our practice, and sharing our practices to inform research, we are igniting the curiosities of learners, encouraging them to explore new ideas, and developing their passions in ways they may have never dreamed or expected.

The guidance of the PCC for MBE is one of the many factors that makes Breck a leader in P-12th grade education. One of only two centers like it in the country, we hope you enjoy learning more about it in this issue.

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

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Questions

Carrie Lennox: ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS AND FINANCIAL AID 1 What music are you listening to lately? I listen to everything: 80’s music, hip-hop, rap, pop, country. I tend to jump around depending on my mood.

Lately it’s been country; I’m visiting Nashville this summer.

8 What advice would you give to your younger self? Do want you want to do, even if your friends don’t want to do it. I missed out on some cool opportunities because I didn’t want to do things alone.

15 Favorite line from a movie? It’s a tie: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat,” from Jaws or “Warriors, come out and plaayyyyy!” from The Warriors.

2 What’s one of the last books you read? Hmm … I have a stack of books next to my bed, but the last book I read was Girl on a Train. I’m way, way behind.

9 What do you remember from kindergarten? Having to meditate and do yoga. I hated it! My mom had me in a hippy kindergarten.

3 What’s your favorite time of year?

Summer. I love the sun, hanging at the cabin, and being on the water.

10 What is the most important room in your home? The living room. It’s the best place for conversations.

17 Three people — living or dead — you’d want to have dinner with?

Honestly, anyone who can teach me something about passion, inspiration, drive, and truth. Anyone from Humans of New York.

4 What’s one of the most adventurous things you’ve ever done?

Living in Cape Town, South Africa, solo for three months

11 What’s your favorite place on the Breck campus? I don’t have one, but I love seeing Breck all lit up at night.

5 What’s your favorite Breck lunch?

Taco bar 6 What’s your dream job? Owning an animal rescue…it’s going to happen!

7 What’s one of the best decisions you’ve ever made? To keep searching for my birth family. My 30-year search finally paid off!

12 Favorite comfort food? Mashed potatoes with butter and gravy and any kind of cake. Wait. No, not any kind. I’m a vanilla, yellow, berry type. No chocolate, mint, or peanut butter — yuck!

13 Favorite treat: salty or sweet?

SWEET 14 If you had a theme song, what would it be? Any song that makes me happy. For some reason “Hip Hop Hooray,” by Naughty by Nature, or “Brown Eyed Girl,” by Van Morrison.

16 Favorite website? Facebook — I’m addicted!

18 If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I would start in France to walk the El Camino through Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

19 What’s your pet peeve? How much time to do you have?! Incorrect grammar, slow drivers (get in the right lane!), people who don’t read directions, dirty dishes in the sink, nylon tights or socks, or people who borrow my things and then don’t put them back where they belong and you never see them again.

20 What keeps you up at night?

When I think I’ve hurt someone’s feelings.

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Questions

Katie Raffel ’18: BRECK SENIOR 1 What music are you listening to lately? It’s been a good mix of J. Cole’s and Post Malone’s new albums, and country music.

2 What’s one of the last books you read? The Woman in the Window,

by A.J. Finn 3 What’s your favorite time of year?

Spring because the weather is warming up, everything turns green again, and you know summer is on its way!

4 What’s one of the most adventurous things you’ve ever done?

When I was on a safari with my family in South Africa, I agreed to get in the jump seat, the seat outside of the jeep, to be driven up to a sleeping leopard.

5 What’s your favorite Breck lunch?

Chicken patties — Breck has the same ones that I ate at camp for four years and it reminds me of my summers there.

6 What’s your dream job? My dream job would be a sports physical therapist for a major sports team.

7 If you had a theme song, what would it be? Girl in a Country Song,

by Maddie & Tae 8 Favorite comfort food? French fries.

I eat way too many of them.

9 What’s one of the best decisions you’ve ever made? This is going to sound cheesy, but transferring to Breck freshman year was the best decision I ever made. I was at a small Catholic school for middle and lower school, and I wasn’t happy there. Breck gave me the opportunity to explore what I value and experience diversity of thought that I wasn’t able to engage in at my previous school.

10 What advice would you give to your younger self? Everything has a way of working itself out. Surround yourself with people that will always have your back, and enjoy the ride.

11 What do you remember from kindergarten? I remember my teacher being surprised that I could say the alphabet backwards — my dad practiced with me when it was his night to put me to bed.

12 What’s your favorite place on the Breck campus? My favorite place on the Breck campus is Dr. Daisy’s classroom, the Peter Clark Center. There is always a lot of candy, fun chairs, and toys to play with.

13 Favorite treat: salty or sweet?

Definitely sweet. I LOVE chocolate.

14 Favorite line from a movie?

“Honey, where’s my supersuit?” from The Incredibles 15 What is your favorite family tradition? On Christmas Eve we always have homemade spaghetti and meatballs, and it is delicious!

16 If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I would like to go to Australia, because I really want to see a kangaroo, and watch all the surfers on the beach.

17 What’s your pet peeve? I hate it when people are grumpy with you, rather than willing to engage in a conversation to try and solve the problem.

18 What keeps you up at night? I’m not ready to leave everyone that I love and everything that I am familiar with when I leave for Vanderbilt in the fall.

19 What is your favorite subject in school? I love science, but more specifically Biology and Neuroscience; I love learning about what makes our bodies and brains work.

20 What’s one of your greatest talents?

I’m super great at making lists about what I have to do, so that I can procrastinate actually getting the things done.

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

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Questions

Nile Greenberg ’07: ARCHITECT | NILE RECENTLY FOUNDED NILE, AN

ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE WORKING ON MANY TYPES OF PROJECTS: HOMES, PUBLIC SPACES, OFFICE SPACES, AND EXHIBITION DESIGNS. 1 What music are you listening to lately? Oneohtrix Point Never is great, lots of podcasts, and the weekly Chances with Wolves radio 2 What’s one of the last books you read? I just read The Story of my Teeth and Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in 40 Questions, both by Valeria Luiselli (Published by Coffee House Press, in Minneapolis). Also, a brilliant book to read is The Good Life: A Guided Visit to the Houses of Modernity, by Inaki Abalos.

3 What’s your favorite time of year?

I think the heart of summer, when only really fulfilling and personal work gets done. You can work outside, build things yourself, and do really satisfying chores.

4 What’s one of the most adventurous things you’ve ever done? Eating the street food every city I go. Street food is the key to every city’s success, and it tells you so much about it.

5 What’s your favorite Breck lunch?

Chicken fajitas 6 Favorite comfort food? Mexican food.

7 Favorite treat: salty or sweet?

Seb Joe’s

8 What’s your dream job? Being an architect is all about dreaming and inventing new places. It’s a complicated profession, but it’s endlessly interesting.

9 What’s one of the best decisions you’ve ever made? Learning to build things myself; it’s incredibly liberating to learn to cut timber, weld steel, powdercoat, 3d print, Japanese joinery, bead blast metal, frame a house, or just build your own table.

10 What advice would you give to your younger self? Make your own reality, anything you want to exist, you can create. Be as open as you possibly can to new perspectives.

11 What do you remember from kindergarten? I remember making little buildings in the playground using the milk boxes as bricks.

12 What is the most important room in your home? Definitely my studio where I work, make things, and play music.

13 What’s your favorite place on the Breck campus? I always loved the meditation courtyard near Papa B’s office.

14 If you had a theme song, what would it be? Probably “Non-Stop” from Hamilton…

15 Favorite line from a movie?

“Great pâté, mom, but I gotta motor if I wanna be ready for that funeral.”

-Heathers 16 Favorite website? I’m obsessed with Are.na, a dense collaborative collecting and sharing platform with some incredible people and content.

17 Three people — living or dead — you’d want to have dinner with? Mies van der Rohe, Henri Labrouste, and Charlotte Perriand—three architects and great educators that shaped my perspective 18 If you could travel anywhere, where would you go? I’d visit the land art piece The Lightning Field by Walter de Maria in New Mexico during an intense lightning storm.

19 What’s your pet peeve? I am a bike commuter as much as possible, so please look when you make right turns!

20 What keeps you up at night?

Thinking of all the things I don’t know yet.

There are so many things to learn, movies to see, books to read, and people to meet that could change my perspective.

/5 Disaster, by Talia Saklad ’19

Today at 123 Ottawa Avenue North

SAKLAD ’19 WINS CONGRESSIONAL ART COMPETITION Talia Saklad ’19 was awarded the top prize in the 2018 Congressional Art Competition for the 5th District. Her winning entry (pictured above) was a mixed media drawing titled Disaster.

As this year’s winner, her work will be on display at the U.S. Capitol for a year, along with other district winners from across the nation. Talia also received two airline tickets to Washington D.C. to attend the award ceremony.

STUDENTS EARN RECOGNITION IN NATIONAL ART AND WRITING AWARDS TréAllen Warner ’18, Deirdre O’Neill ’19, and Melinda Samaratunga ’18 earned national recognition in the 2018 Scholastic Art & Writing awards.

Tré’s poem “17 + Black” was awarded the American Voices Medal, which recognizes the top five “Best in Show” submissions from his category that most exemplify originality, technical skill, and the emergence of a personal voice or vision. Tré received his award at a ceremony at Carnegie Hall in June and his work will be on display in the Art.Write.Now. exhibition in New York City. His accomplishment also aired on KARE11’s Breaking the News with Jana Shortal.

Deirdre’s ceramics submission, “Meat-amorphosis,” was awarded a silver medal. Melinda also received a silver medal for her personal essay, “Error 404: Identity Not Found.”

This year, nearly 350,000 works of art and writing were submitted with less than one percent recognized at the national level.

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

Today at 123 Ottawa Avenue North

VISUAL ART STUDENTS EARN STATE RECOGNITION

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This year’s MSHSL Arts Tournament included 15 winning entries from Breck students, including two who received highest honors: Juror’s Choice. Deirdre O’Neill ’19 and Henry Bubula ’19 received the Juror’s Choice award and were featured in the state-wide art exhibit in May. Other students receiving recognition include: Kylie Spangler ’19, Alisa Panichkina ’19, Saylor Hawkins ’19, Elizabeth Pfohl ’19, Grace Valley ’21, Maisie Dodge deBruyn ’19, Alexa Luther ’21, Marc Valdez ’19, Nina Eyres ’19, and Josefina Fernandez ’19.

BRECK SENIOR NAMED PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR Hyun Soo Brian Song ’18 was named a 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholar by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Brian was one of 161 students nationwide to receive this honor and traveled to Washington D.C. to receive his award in June.

This recognition is awarded to one male and one female in each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad as well as 15 chosen at-large, 20 in the arts and 20 in career and technical education. Each scholar also has the opportunity to name his or her most influential teacher, who also receives a certificate from the Secretary of Education. Brian chose Upper School English instructor Frank Eustis for this recognition.

TEN STUDENTS NAMED SCHOLARS OF DISTINCTION STAMPEDE ROBOTICS EARN GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM AWARD Breck’s STAMPEDE 3630 robotics team earned the Gracious Professionalism award during their regional competition at the University of Minnesota. The award recognizes outstanding sportsmanship and continuous gracious professionalism in the heat of competition, both on and off the field of play. To win, a team must exemplify the principles of FIRST Robotics — fairness, humility, sharing, and persevering — and a winning attitude.

This year’s team earned the recognition because of their continued relationship with a fellow robotics team from the Czech Republic as well as their work during the Upper School’s Wednesday Community Partnership time where they explored the world of STEAM and Robotics with students at Neill Elementary.

Ten members of the Advanced Science Research class were named 2018 Minnesota Scholars of Distinction or Meritorious Performers in the areas of STEM, Mathematics, and Science in May. The Scholars of Distinction program is the Minnesota Department of Education’s highest honor and given annually to students across the state. Students earn the recognition by completing required work in the Minnesota Academic Standards, demonstrating mastery of complex subject matter, and applying their knowledge to challenging projects.

This year, 33 awards were presented to students statewide, with 10 going to Breck ASR students. In the category of Science, Catherine Pirtle ’19 and Lana Trautman ’19 were named Scholars of Distinction, and Erica Iliarski ’18, Cassidy Roland ’18, Nathan Tank ’19, and Christiana Wilke ’19 received the Meritorious Performance award. In the Mathematics category, Louise Kim ’19, Dylan Vincent ’20, and Spencer Yueh ’19 received the Meritorious Performance award. In the STEM category, Alexander Anderson ’19 also received the Meritorious Performance award.

THIRD-GRADE TEAM TAKES 7TH IN NATIONAL WORDMASTERS COMPETITION Breck’s third-grade WordMasters team earned highest honors in this year’s WordMasters Challenge™ — a national vocabulary competition involving nearly 150,000 students annually. The team scored an impressive 189 points out of a possible 200 in the last of three meets this year, placing seventh in the nation. The third graders also placed fourth nationally in the overall competition with a cumulative score of 551 points out of a possible 600.

Competing in the difficult Blue Division of the WordMasters Challenge™, third graders Emi Colianni and Ellorie Lampe and fourth grader Pearl Perry each earned a perfect score of 20 in the meet. Nationally, only 68 third graders and 42 fourth graders achieved this result. Other third graders who achieved outstanding results in the last meet of the year include Addie Detor, Grace O’Brien, Taylor Olson, Ellis Preissing, and Julia Rosenman, and fourth graders Winona Ettawageshik and Greta Wilson.

Addie also earned individual Highest Honors in the overall competition with a cumulative score of 56 out of a possible 60 points. Highest Honors are reserved for students who place among the top 10-15 students in their division.

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BRECK STUDENTS SHARE PASSION FOR RESEARCH AT THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FAIR Alexander Anderson ’19, Louise Kim ’19, Siyuan Ma ’18, Cole Maxwell ’18, Spencer Yueh ’19, Samuel Aronson ’18 (alternate), and Alex Cheng ’18 (alternate) were selected to represent Minnesota at the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in May. Alexander Anderson and Siyuan Ma were recognized by the National Anti-Vivisection Society with a 2nd place award and a $5,000 cash prize. Their project, “Holding Your Heart in Your Hand: 3D-Printing a Mechanically Accurate Aortic Valve Model” was found by judges to represent the best advancement in alternatives to the use of animals in research.

CURTIS ’18 RECEIVES AMERICAN COMPOSER FORUM RECOGNITION Jordan Curtis ’18 received an Honorable Mention in the American Composers Forum NextNotes Composition Competition this spring. There were 155 submissions to the competition from students across 35 states.

Jordan is an avid composer and has taken Music Theory 1, AP Music Theory, and Music Psychology at Breck in addition to being in the band. He spent his May Program working on another composition of his own.

Cole Maxwell won a 4th place Grand Award of $500 in the Biomedical and Health Sciences category. His project is titled “More than Skin Deep: Deciphering the Role of Bartonella Henselae Infection in Melanoma Metastasis, Phase Two.” Louise Kim and Spencer Yueh were awarded a Certificate of Honorable Mention by the American Psychological Association for their project titled “Unplugged: Quantifying the Effects of Technology on Adolescent Sleep and Mood.”

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

Today at 123 Ottawa Avenue North

MAXWELL ’18 AND SPANGLER ’19 ADVANCE TO NATIONAL SCIENCE AND HUMANITIES SYMPOSIUM 8/

Cole Maxwell ’18 and Kylie Spangler ’19 participated in the 56th Annual National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in Hunt Valley, MD. Cole and Kylie were part of an elite group of five students who advanced to the national competition from the North Central Region (including students from Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota).

The National JSHS brought together 230 high school students who qualified for attendance by submitting and presenting original scientific research papers in regional symposia held

at universities nationwide. The students not only presented their work to professional researchers, peers, and the public, they also heard from well-known researchers with the Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of Energy, IBM, and NASA, among others. Cole Maxwell received 2nd place in his category at the competition and was awarded an $8,000 college scholarship.

SCIENCE RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS RECEIVE STEM COMMUNICATOR AWARDS Twenty-four students from Breck School’s Advanced Science Research class received the 2018 Minnesota High School STEM Communicator Award and will be published in the Minnesota Academy of Science journal. Students earned the recognition because of their exceptional success in conducting scientific and mathematical research.

Winners include Addison Gleekel ’18 and Melinda Samaratunga ’18; David Ahrens ’18, Cassidy Roland ’18, and Christiana Wilke ’19; Cole Maxwell ’18; Nathan Tank ’19

and Dylan Vincent ’20; Catherine Pirtle ’19 and Lana Trautman ’19; Samuel Leville ’19 and Abigail Roh ’20; Louise Kim ’19 and Spencer Yueh ’19; Thomas Peterson ’19 and Kylie Spangler ’19; and Samuel Aronson ’18 and Alex Cheng ’18.

Honorable mention recipients include Aaron Bae ’18; Emma Carr ’18; Maya Czeneszew ’18 and Erica Iliarski ’18; and Siyuan Ma ’18 and Alexander Anderson ’19.

AWARDS PRESENTED: STAFF APPRECIATION DAY CHAPEL Head of School Dr. Natalia Hernández presented distinguished faculty awards as well as recognized faculty and staff milestone celebrations at the annual Staff Appreciation Day chapel in May.

10 YEARS Staff members recognized for ten years of service include Middle School Dean Tod Dungan, Buildings and Grounds Staff Member Marcus Harris, Physical Education Department Head Merrill Harris, Bus Driver Richard Hohertz, Band Assistant Kathy Jensen, Lower School Librarian Emily Jones ’94, Lower School 3rd Grade Instructor Stacy Moore, Bus Driver Michael Nelson, Middle School Counselor Katy Pearson, Bus Driver Mary Phelan (not pictured), Bus Driver George Shannon, and Bus Driver Les Steinberg.

20 YEARS Twenty year honorees included Maintenance Technician Bill Bahmuller, Lower School Director Peg Bailey, Lower School Admissions Coordinator Debi Becker (not pictured), Middle School English-History Instructor Mary Jane Curran, Middle School World Languages Instructor Oscar Diaz, Upper School Math Instructor Mary Gentry, Advancement Office Assistant Barbara Hedensten, Lower School World Languages Instructor Lucy Lofquist, and Lower School Kindergarten Instructor Kerry Marshall.

YEARBOOK DEDICATION This year’s yearbook editors Kiwi Sundeen ’18 and Alayna Simonds ’18 dedicated this year’s yearbook to Athletic Trainer John LaRotonda.

30 YEARS Staff members who have served thirty years include Superintendent of Buildings Paul Blesi, Lower School Academic Technology Coordinator Dave Kust, Upper School History Teacher Lori Merrill, Mathematics Department Head Brad Peterson, and Lower School First-Grade Instructor Bobbie Tonkin.

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Today at Breck

Summer 2018

Today at 123 Ottawa Avenue North

AWARDS PRESENTED: 10 / STAFF APPRECIATION DAY CHAPEL

JEAN WIGLEY AWARD: Middle School Academic Strategist Jay Rainville

Four additional awards were also presented during the chapel. The awards recognize the best in teaching and learning at Breck and celebrate the accomplishments of our outstanding faculty. Recipients included:

ERNEST CAMPBELL AWARD: Health Center Coordinator Karen Kaverman

RALPH AND PEGGY BURNET FAMILY FACULTY CHAIR: Performing Arts Department Head Sharon Mazion

WALLACE AND MARY LEE DAYTON FAMILY FACULTY CHAIR: Upper School Science Instructor Brian Wright

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LOWER SCHOOL CLOSING

Celebrating the End of the School Year

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MIDDLE SCHOOL CLOSING Congratulations to the Class of 2022 who were welcomed into the Upper School during the Middle School Closing Ceremony on June 4. Each year during the Closing Ceremony, the Middle School faculty present awards for effort, sportsmanship, leadership, and academic excellence.

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

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Honoring the Graduates

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Special recognition for the Class of 2018 includes Cole Maxwell (valedictorian), Katie Raffel (salutatorian), Alex McFarland (Haupt Cup), Taylor Phillips (Christin M. Mead ’90 Memorial award), Samuel Aronson and Kiwi Sundeen (Robert J. Aarthun award), David Roddy (Breck Alumni award), and Julia Murphy (Citizenship award).

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Class of 2018 Future Plans

Arizona State University (2) Auburn University Augsburg University (2) Babson College (2) Bard College Barnard College (2) Bennington College Boston College Brandeis University Brown University Carleton College (3) Colgate University College of Charleston Colorado College Columbia University Connecticut College Cornell University Dartmouth College (2) DePauw University Dickinson College Drake University Duke University Furman University (2) Grinnell College (3) Hampton University Haverford College Johns Hopkins University

Loyola Marymount University Loyola University Chicago (3) Miami University, Oxford (2) Michigan Technological University Middlebury College Minnesota State University Moorhead Mississippi State University New York University Northeastern University Pennsylvania State University Pepperdine University Salve Regina University Santa Clara University Sarah Lawrence College Scripps College (2) St. Olaf College (4) Stanford University (2) Tennessee State University The American University of Paris The New School - All Divisions The Ohio State University Trinity College (2) Trinity College Dublin Tufts University Union College (New York) United States Military Academy - Army

University of California, Davis University of Chicago University of Colorado at Boulder University of Colorado Colorado Springs University of Denver (4) University of Michigan (2) University of Minnesota, Rochester University of Minnesota, Twin Cities (2) University of Northern Colorado University of Northern Iowa University of Notre Dame University of Oregon (2) University of Puget Sound University of Richmond University of Southern California (2) University of St. Andrews University of St. Thomas University of Wisconsin, Madison (5) Vanderbilt University Villanova University (2) Washington University in St. Louis (2) Wesleyan University

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Class of 2018 Alumni Reps Alex McFarland and Luci McGlynn

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? CATCHING UP WITH ALUMNI

Each year, the summer issue of Today at Breck highlights the future plans of our graduating class. This year, we wanted to catch up with some recent alumni to hear how they are doing and how Breck prepared them for life beyond our walls.

mma Luten ’15: Emma Luten ’15: Emma Luten ’15: Emma Luten ’15: Emma Luten ’15: Em 18 /

1. Tell us about your career and what you are doing now?

After studying abroad in London and exploring Europe (and a bit of Africa) this past semester, I am spending the summer in Minneapolis.

I am completing an 11week program with Procter & Gamble where I will be working as a category management intern on their Target team.

4. Words of wisdom for our recent grads?

2. How did Breck help you prepare for your college experience?

Jaila Tolbert ’15: Jaila Tolbert ’15: Jaila Tolb

The 14 years I spent at Breck played a tremendous role when it came to preparing me for college. At Breck, I was challenged to set and surpass expectations. I was expected to perform academically. I was pushed to acknowledge and participate in the communities around me. And, I was expected to be the best classmate, friend, student, and leader I could possibly be. While the lessons I learned in the classroom at Breck were undoubtedly valuable, they were just small pieces of the puzzle. It was the independent thinking, curiosity, strong work-ethic, unwavering determination, and self discipline that Breck instilled in me that I think truly prepared me for life beyond Breck.

3. What have you learned about yourself since going to college?

Since going to college, I’ve realized that life is chock-full of the unexpected and that I absolutely love that! Whether good or bad, each and every experience is an opportunity to learn and grow.

My biggest pieces of advice are to be a risk taker, always say yes, be engaged in your communities, keep an open mind, be an agent of the change you wish to see, consciously learn from every experience, make meaningful connections wherever you go, and believe that you can because you can and you will.

1. Tell us about your career and what you are doing now?

Currently, my life revolves around school, sport, and SAAC! I will be entering my final year at Virginia Tech, and I’m already bummed that undergrad is SO QUICKLY coming to a close. Time flies! This summer I will be competing with the USA Women’s Collegiate National Volleyball Team, and I hope to take everything I learn straight into my last season as a Hokie.

In May 2019, I plan to earn my degree in International Studies and Business, but who knows what’s coming next. Lastly, I am very involved with a nationwide athletics initiative called the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. In my last tenure, I will lead Virginia Tech as SAAC President, where I will have

rker Montgomery ’14: Parker Montgomery ’14: Parker Montgomery ’14: Parker Montgo 1. Tell us about your career and what you are doing now?

I recently graduated from Boston College in May where I majored in Economics.

I entered the “real world” on July 9 when I started my job in New York City at Ally Bank.

mma Luten ’15: 2. How did Breck help you prepare for your college experience?

After the first few weeks of college I noticed two major differences between myself and my other peers. The first was simply that I knew how to write. I was shocked as to the number of students entering undergrad with no real knowledge as to how to craft an essay, something that, at Breck, we began learning in Middle School. I found myself very thankful to have these skills as other classmates had to spend countless hours writing and rewriting just to get the format down. The second major takeaway I found was my ability to manage time properly. Breck is obviously very rigorous, and it is not uncommon for students to have

multiple athletics and clubs going on after school. In order to perform academically and be involved, one must learn to balance the load they are carrying. College is an adjustment but entering this chapter with good study habits and the ability to budget time was key to early success.

3. What have you learned about yourself since going to college?

I learned that I do much better when my life is structured and routine. While some might find boredom in repeating the same tasks, at the same time, day-after-day—I find comfort. Socially, I found that I need to be pushed out of my comfort zone. Whether it was me actively taking a risk or a friend pushing me to try something new, without consciously making the decision to be social I would end up sitting in my room, and ultimately miss out on fun and exciting opportunities.

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4. Words of wisdom for our recent grads?

Enjoy each day. It is far too easy to get stuck in a monotonous routine and suddenly a week/month/year has flown by. Find time to reflect regularly on the highs and lows, because the four years of college, or wherever your path takes you, will fly by whether you choose to appreciate the time or not.

bert ’15: Jaila Tolbert ’15: Jaila Tolbert ’15: Jaila Tolbert ’15: Jaila Tolbert ’15: Jaila Tolbert ’15: 3. What have you learned about yourself since going to college? opportunities to make the student-athlete voice more prominent and potentially help shape and influence future legislation. It will be a busy year, but I am so ready to tackle it!

2. How did Breck help you prepare for your college experience?

Time management and writing. At Breck, we are challenged to excel in the classroom, be all-around leaders, join clubs, and maybe even compete. Learning time management in high school gave me a huge advantage over other students who were not used to having commitments and extensive time demands. Additionally, Breck gave me many tools to enrich my writing. While this may seem trivial, you’d be surprised how many students in college don’t know how to write a formal essay or annotated bibliography. Being able to use verbs and detailed descriptions will take you far!

Entering my senior year, I’ve realized that even after earning a degree, I will still have so much to learn. I’m working on not putting a clock on my accomplishments because success takes time and hard work. With this being said, I’ve realized that we put way too much unnecessary pressure on ourselves; worrying less will help me smile more!

4. Words of wisdom for our recent grads?

College can sometimes be a petri dish for negativity. To help this, find your balance. Take time for yourself every once in a while and learn how to say “no”! Not spreading yourself too thin will be the key to either having a great experience or becoming a stressful version of yourself. In addition to this, don’t be afraid to try new things! Finding passion and direction is hard for everyone at any age. Honestly, you may not have it figured out once you graduate, so build a diverse network now to help you with growing pains later on.

Today at Breck

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Summer 2018

The y r e t s My c i s u of M

A new Upper School class sheds light on the power of music You’ve probably heard the story before: the piano career gone awry after lessons that just didn’t work.

For Upper School Performing Arts Instructor David Birrow, this is a theme he hears all too often.

“Most people have a bad story of having to take piano lessons as a kid,” says Birrow. “As an instrumental teacher, this story is practically etched in stone and really impacts the way some people approach the field of music. I’ve always wanted to fix this problem.”

Following the failed piano lesson, people often point to “giftedness” in music — or not — for the reason behind the experience. But Birrow believes there’s more to learn.

“As a teacher, my number one passion is learning, even more than teaching. I love teaching and being a teacher but what is going on in the minds of my students is what I find really interesting,” he explains. “I’ve always been curious about the way music has been taught and answering the question of whether or not our teaching matches how we learn.”

Fueled by this curiosity and supported by the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education, Birrow offered a new class in the spring of 2018 for Upper School students to explore the world of music psychology and music cognition.

In the class, students examined music through the lenses of psychology, neuroscience, physics, and mathematics in order to answer the basic questions of what music is and why it exists.

“Music is mysterious,” explains Birrow. “When we’re learning it, we want to know what’s going on in our mind?

What’s changing about our brain as we’re learning music?

This class helps us unwind how we learn when we are actually learning music.”

The semester elective brought in a large class of students from all backgrounds, some with a passion for music but others who...may have their own piano lesson story.

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“There were no prerequisites for the class,” says Birrow. “One of the things that kills me in my music teacher viewpoint is how music has become a cloistered field. As an adult you’re either musical or you’re not. I believe everybody is 100 percent musical, so being able to reach students in Upper School who aren’t in band or choir or orchestra, while weaving music into the high academic standards of Breck was my goal with the class.

gabby billing ’18 was a member of this year’s class “I didn’t know what to expect. I’ve never played an instrument, I can’t sing, and I didn’t think I was interested in psychology.” But she found that the class was much more applicable than she originally thought. “I started to make connections to other classes and to my own life and to my service site. It was really cool to learn about the emotional side of music and how it affects us.”

One concept covered in the class related to music in adolescence. Students learned that the music you listened to as a child is a piece you will remember most about these years, especially as you age.

Gabby, whose community partnership site was at Jones-Harrison Senior Living, explained that this lesson gave her a deeper understanding of the residents she visits each week.

“When we would go to the memory care floor, they were always playing old music that would have been from the residents’ childhood or adolescence,” she explains. Because of the class, she understood the reason for the music selection and why it was important to the residents. “I’m making connections all over the place because of this class.”

Isaac Luten ’18 was also a member of this year’s class. Like Gabby, Isaac isn’t one to describe himself as a musician but feels that music is a big part of his life. After taking a previous class led by Mr. Birrow in Middle School, he was excited to learn more.

“Music is such a big part of everyone’s life. I love listening to music everyday and I would love to really understand what it does to your brain,” he explains. “This class made me realize how much of your everyday life is impacted by music. Music is one of the things that relates to everyone and has the same effect on our brains. It is like a mediator for classes and races. It is the one thing that everyone can relate and connect to, and I think that that’s something really cool.”

Music Psychology is usually taught in college. In fact, as Birrow was planning the semester, he could not find another school offering the class at the high school level. But he didn’t let that deter him. He was confident this type of class would be well-received by Breck students.

“One of the things that is interesting here is that the students are ready,” says Birrow. “I have spent most of my teaching career in schools all over the Twin Cities and the students at Breck are definitely more willing to take a chance on a class than in other schools.”

Birrow also reached out via Twitter to music cognition researchers from colleges and universities throughout the U.S. These professors were able to Skype into the class, share the latest results of their research, and touch on many of the points the students discussed. One of those professors was Dr. Amy Belfi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychological Science at Missouri University of Science and Technology “Mr. Birrow has gone above and beyond in terms of bringing current research into his course. This course is certainly at the college level, although it’s not really a common course in most colleges and universities. I would have absolutely loved having a class like this in high school or college, but I didn’t really discover music cognition until graduate school,” says Belfi. “One important aspect of a course like this is the true interdisciplinary nature of this topic. Music cognition is a wonderful blend of arts, sciences, and humanities. Bringing this type of course into a high school is a great way to show young people that they can have interests and pursuits in both the arts and sciences, and that art and science are not oppositional to one another.”

Birrow capitalized on this interdisciplinary work by collaborating with other Breck faculty throughout the semester to infuse his lessons with new ideas.

“The course was both interesting and academically rigorous,” explains Birrow. “When we were studying the physics of music, we worked with Upper School instructor Ben Lampe, and Dr. Daisy Pellant and I teamed up when we studied the Mozart effect. The collaborative element of this course is a bit more tenable at Breck than it is at other places.”

In the end, the class not only taught the how and why of music, but fundamentally required that students always ask questions and keep learning.

“The hope is that they find the course interesting and that it makes them think hard in a way they may not think in another class. The most basic takeaway is that they should think critically about things in everyday life and everyday subjects. If they do that, then the class is a success,” says Birrow.

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

Faculty Fellows Meet our

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Breck Faculty Fellows are preschool-12 teacher-leaders who received extensive training in Mind, Brain, and Education Science and Teaching for All Kinds of Minds, a neurodevelopmental framework. They assisted in leading all-faculty training in a supportive peer-to-peer model.

1. Jenny Bennett Lower School Instructor 2. Laura Burrows / 25 Middle School Math Instructor 3. A. J. Colianni US Dean of Studies/Technology

Instructor/Multimedia Coord.

4. Lisa Hunninghake Lower School Instructor 5. Alexis Kent Religion Department Head/ Middle School Chaplain 7

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6. Carolina Olaya Upper School World

Languages Instructor

7. Katy Pearson Middle School Counselor 8. Jay Rainville-Squier Middle School Academic Strategist 9. SĂŠbastien Saunoi-Sandgren World Languages

Department Head

1 0. Anne Savage Lower School Instructor 11. Kim Schafer Lower School Instructor 12. Katie Scherer English Department Head/

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Middle School English

Carey Sirianni

Upper School Academic Strategist

Sarah Strong

Middle School English Instructor

Ty Thayer ’90

Lower School Instructor

Sara Thorne

Lower School Instructor

Jessica Wanless Middle School World

Languages Instructor

18. Marcy Wegner Lower School Instructor 17

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Teaching Science Today at Breck

Summer 2018

the

A. J. Colianni 26 /

US Dean of Studies/Technology Instructor/Multimedia Coord.

The work in MBE has allowed us to speak a common language about students when discussing the challenges they are facing, and reminds us that just as the students are not static, our strategies are not static either. Our adaptive and iterative approach as teachers and guides changes and is supported by the work in MBE to best meet each student’s needs over time.

Sarah Strong

Middle School English Instructor MBE is important because it’s a frontier of teaching. It’s really amazing that we have thousands of years of education systems to pull from, with reverence for the masters like Socrates (and the Socratic Method), Confucius, and we are just now beginning to understand why their methods work while simultaneously debunking hallowed ideas (i.e., left-brain/right brain). It is exciting to be part of an education revolution that is based on sound science.

Breck is a culture of reflective practice, seen in the many ways our faculty is committed to professional growth and development. At any given moment throughout the year, you can find Breck teachers leading a presentation at a conference, collaborating in a professional development workshop, or visiting a peer school to engage in an exchange of ideas. Reflective practice ensures an ongoing cycle of professional celebration and calibration — recognizing evidence-based ways we are improving the learning experience for all students and calibrating when we see room for research-informed improvement.

One of the recent hallmarks of this professional approach for Breck faculty lies in the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education (PCC for MBE). Founded in 2016, the PCC is just one of two centers in the country dedicated to bridging research and practice at the crossroads of neuroscience, psychology, and education. The Center’s goal is to serve every student by working with every teacher.

To achieve that goal, this spring, the PCC hosted a first-of-itskind training for all Breck faculty, tutors, and administrators on the latest research in the field of MBE. In a collaboration with the Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning, we succeeded in completing a deep-dive training to align our faculty, tutors, and administrators in their understanding of a neurodevelopmental framework, which gave faculty a common language to discuss and analyze student learning,

Anne Savage

Lower School Instructor It is incredibly valuable to have the same neurodevelopmental framework language as we brainstorm in teams and divisions. When we sit down with our colleagues to look at curriculum and planning, we can be more purposeful in balancing the neurodevelopmental demands within our daily routines and work.

Learning

of

identify areas to push students, areas to support students, and tools to assess the cognitive load of the classroom experience.

“As a teacher, being an MBE practitioner is an ongoing process of gaining a deeper understanding of individual students as learners, critically assessing research, and judiciously applying what will elevate the teaching practice and enable the learning process,” says center director Dr. Daisy Pellant.

This training for more than 160 teachers, tutors, and administrators would not have been possible if not for the outstanding efforts of the 18 Faculty Fellows from the PCC. These Fellows, featured on the cover, are preschool-12 teacher-leaders. They have spent the past two years engaged in extensive training in the field of MBE and this neurodevelopmental framework, allowing them to teach the rest of the faculty this spring.

Moving forward, the Faculty Fellows will guide and support their peers in building the skills of reflective practice and applying the neurodevelopmental framework in the classroom and with every student. This work has garnered national attention and signifies the commitment Breck has to being a leader in P-12 education. Here we’ve shared some of their insights on their work so far, the importance of MBE, and what it means to be a reflective practitioner.

Katie Scherer

English Department Head/ Middle School English This work has changed my perspective away from thinking less about what content I’m teaching and towards what skills students are gleaning from working with the content. I’m always trying to think about transferrable skills and working hard to make that transfer opportunity visible. If we learn a new strategy for studying grammar, for instance, I’m going to ask my students as we wrap up the lesson, “So where else can we use this strategy?” In most scenarios, a strategy can make its way into foreign language or math or history. That feels like we have a purpose.

Ty Thayer ’90

Lower School Instructor

Marcy Wegner

Lower School Instructor I am a passionate, life-long learner. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to become a teacher-researcher, and to delve deeply into mind-brain education. It’s truly been a fascinating journey into a subject I thought I knew a little about, but almost immediately realized I knew nothing about.

The goal of a teacher is to reach every student. This can only be done by honestly evaluating what is working and what is not working within our area for study with each student. Then a teacher is able to make changes that focus on an individual student and their needs.

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Today at Breck

Summer 2018

Book review by Daisy Pellant, Ph.D., Director of the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education

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The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in your Child by Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D. Daniel J. Siegel, M.D., and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D., have come out with their third book focused on the neuroscience that will help us in our parenting. The Yes Brain: How to Cultivate Courage, Curiosity, and Resilience in Your

Child is an excellent read. As in each of their books, they lay out the neurobiology of emotions, thinking, and behavior in ways that are easy to understand, recognize, and respond to.

The Yes Brain teaches us about four kinds of brain/behavior development: Balance, Resilience, Insight, and

Empathy. Each section describes the importance of a development, what it looks/sounds like when it is going

well, what it looks/sounds like when it is not going well, and what parents can do to support healthy progress.

They use engaging narrative to provide examples and include cartoon drawings and diagrams to illustrate their points. Equally important, they provide a “refrigerator sheet” as a quick-guide for sustaining our understanding of the Yes Brain and responses to our children in the moment. Additionally, they provide a section about teaching kids to understand their own Yes Brain development.

While the book may seem geared toward parents of Lower School and Middle School kids, as the parent of four kids, now aged 13-20, I would argue the development of a Yes Brain is something we support all the way

through adulthood and this book is helpful for any age. I’d love to book-club this book with interested parents so please email me if you’d like to get something organized for the fall.

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MBE Action in

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MICHAEL ODEN MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH For me, whenever I go to a training like this, I sometimes struggle with finding applications to my students in math class. But what I learned in this training were things I could apply right away. For example, one of the things I learned more about was just how important differentiation is to my students. I have started using the online software application called FlipGrid to help support this work. I can email an assignment to my students in FlipGrid and, instead of students writing responses, they are able to create a video and send their answers back. I’ve found that this can reduce math anxiety because I’ve taken the handwriting portion out of the mix. For some students who I thought weren’t grasping a concept, they’ve shown me they know much more through their video than if they would have written out their work. Both writing and talking through their work are important skills but, by differentiating my teaching, I saw how I can continue working on their skills. We also learned about the brain and how we can more effectively teach students. I believe that when you know better, you do better. So for me, when I know more about how the brain works, I can do my job of teaching better.

AMY VANDER DEAN LOWER SCHOOL SPANISH

I first became interested in how

the brain learns when I got my

masters in linguistics. I was really intrigued by what the brain does when acquiring a language. Last year, I had the chance to go to the Learning and the Brain conference and really spent a lot of time thinking about the brain as it acquires a language and using that information to make the most effective Lower School language program possible. One thing that I was really excited about was the research behind the power of stories when working on vocabulary acquisition. We already do a lot of work with stories in my classroom, and what I learned at the conference really bolstered this work.

After the training this spring, I feel like I have really become a detective in my own classroom. I am stepping back and watching the kids, looking at the observable phenomena, and asking myself different questions. I’m noticing more of the small details that are then helping me tailor my instruction. Another thing I’m doing more of is differentiation. In the beginning of the year, I asked my older students (3rd and 4th graders) where they wanted to improve over the year so they really feel a sense of ownership. Then I differentiate my assignments sometimes three or even four ways so I can give them different ways of doing things, give them a push, or provide them with a different way of expressing or showing their level of understanding. The training has really helped me design even more effective ways of assessing my students and more effective ways of designing differentiated instruction.

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WHITNEY CLARK ’02 UPPER SCHOOL CHINESE Since the All Kinds of Minds training I think about my work differently. I’ve realized that whenever we used the word smart, what we were really talking about is that someone had a great short-term or long-term memory – you told them something and they remembered it.

But that’s a very narrow definition. There are so many other ways that people can demonstrate abilities and skills. Maybe their short-term or working memory isn’t great, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good at other things to achieve the same ends.

As I work with this training more next year, I am going to think more explicitly on what I’m asking of my students. If I ask my students to do a task that requires three different kinds of skills but they all work on the same neurodevelopmental ability (i.e. memory or attention), students who struggle with that ability aren’t going to perform as well on that assignment.

But that doesn’t mean they can’t speak Chinese well.

I’m going to be more purposeful about hitting on different kinds of activities and different ways to engage my students. This is work we’ve talk about in education for a long time – so that doesn’t mean my colleagues and I haven’t been doing it – but I’m going to be more intentional about it. I like this work. I think it is right.

The result of this training really isn’t tangible, but I think it will make us better educators and allow us to work more effectively with students and make more interesting classes.

BARBARA JACOBS-SMITH LOWER SCHOOL INSTRUCTOR The whole notion of de-mystifying how children learn – to help them understand themselves as learners – is really powerful. This year “advocacy” was one of our C.A.R.E. themes, and it’s an important word for both what’s happening in our social and academic worlds. If our children know themselves as learners, then they can better advocate for themselves. It’s really important that children understand their strengths, what their next steps need to be, and that it’s OK to be where they are but it’s not an OK place to stay. We all need to be making forward movement.

This training gave all our staff the same understanding and shared knowledge of our students. As faculty, we were able to help each other in terms of approaches and how we handle certain situations. There are very few trainings that are valuable to a preschool teacher and a 12th grade teacher, but thinking about how children can maximize their strengths and understand themselves as learners is important work.

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PRESCHOOL TEAM One vital aspect of this training is having that common language throughout the building. In early childhood education, we talk about educating the whole child. In our team, we always know what we are talking about and use language that is very appropriate for the younger ages. This training has given us a framework to tap into the same language that the rest of the building is using while still staying true to what is early childhood education.

Play and exploration are big parts of early childhood education. Our job as teachers is choosing materials and experiences that encourage children to develop.

Having an in-depth neurodevelopmental construct and framework helps us continue to be more deliberate in those choices that we make for each child. As we observe children and the choices they are making or in the games they’re creating, we are able to look at them and say, “This child has not only figured out their numbers, which is important, but we are also going and looking at what’s happening with them as far as memory, neuromotor functions, higher order cognition, or social cognition, as examples. We can really zero in on each student’s current strengths and current needs and create experiences that help each child.

LOWER SCHOOL STUDENT AND KIM SCHAFER, LOWER SCHOOL INSTRUCTOR In January, we set goals for our students and one of Pearl’s goals was to get a perfect score on a Wordmaster’s test. Pearl has an incredible vocabulary but sometimes second-guessed herself on certain words because she was able to make a compelling case for two or more answers. She was a little frustrated because she hadn’t gotten a perfect score on this test so she set a goal to not overthink answers.

When Pearl said this was her goal, I thought, “I would like to know how to do that, too!” The first thing that came to mind was tapping Dr. Pellant for help, so that’s what we did. – Kim Schafer, Lower School Instructor When I talked to Dr. Pellant, we came up with the idea of analyzing the strategies for the Wordsmaster’s test. I would write down the ones that were my wobble answers – ones that I thought might be something else on my trial sheet. When I was done, I would check over my answers and see which had the majority of the correct answers – the ones where I went with my gut or the ones where I wobbled and second guessed. In my analysis I found that I did better with my gut answers so I learned to stick with my gut but remember that checking your answers never hurts. On my last Wordmaster’s test I got a perfect score, but I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t checked over my answers! – Pearl Perry ’26

in

Action

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COOPER PHILLIPS ’24

SOPHIA YLINEN ’21 Breck introduced this concept of a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset, and I thought that was beneficial for learners. Then in 8th grade Mindworks we learned about neuroplasticity and that was really fascinating, too. I became really interested in the concept of mental health and the psychology behind it, so this year I took the Affective Neuroscience class.

In the class, I learned that your brain works better at certain times of the day and when you eat certain things. Now I am more conscientious about what I’m doing or what I’m putting in my body. If I feel stuck while I’m studying, I have strategies to get myself out of it. I use the idea of breaking up my studying into parts instead of cramming because I know it strengthens my neural pathways over time, and it becomes easier to retrieve the information. I wouldn’t have known that if not for this class and I think it has really turned things around for me and made it easier to study.

When you know yourself as a learner, it helps you know how to learn. For example, I know the approach I take for different subjects and how much work I can do.

With math, I have something in my head that tells me to keep trying. I know that eventually I can work out the problem and knowing that I can do it makes me want to try even harder. In science, if I try something and it doesn’t work, I move on to another problem and come back to it. I switch my brain away from it instead of what I do in math where I try to look at the same problem in a different way. In science, I do another problem because I know I need to take care of my brain in a different way. In English, I don’t think of reading as homework because I’m happy to read. But in writing, I try to get through it as quickly as possible. Sometimes I really need to stick with something as a writer because I just want to get done. I feel like I know my limits.

I want to know how I learn because I think it does help me to learn better. If I know how I learn best, then I can do what I need to do to learn more effectively.

Synapse

THE Y A S S KID

T S E T R A SM INGS TH

ne terms fi e d o t 1 s ades 5-1 r g response in ir s e t n h e T d . u BE st d Breck CC for M P e h t m We aske fro credible! learning in e y r t a t e y r e th are p

Retrieval Practice That’s when you retrieve what you have stored in your memory and you ta ke it forward. The more you do it, the more you get better at it.

Growth Mindset

The synapse bring information from the tenticle-y part of one neuron to the tenticle-y part of the next neuron.

It is how neurons talk to each other to create pathways that are our learning.

Flip your l id

This is when your ne gative emotions, like getting m ad, hijack your thinking and you can get out of control or not be able to think when you need to.

Studies show that keeping a positive attitude toward your abilities, using “yet,” and positive selfaffirmations helps you learn. You need to be on your own team and cheering for yourself.

Active Studying

Amygdala The emotional center of your brain where you control your fight-flightyour freeze-faint response. Taking care of ns amygdala is important so your emotio . help you learn instead of blocking you

Your brain makes

y t i c i t s a l p o r Neu

Metacognition That’s when I think abou t how I am thinking.

Sort of examining the wa y I use my brain for differ ent things so I can choose to use it well.

Being active in the way you think about what you are studying and connecting it to other things.

pathways, like in the sand or in the snow.

As you keep going you get better and your

brain can do it faster

and better. For example, my ABC’s are really deep pathways.

Yet The power of YET— it’s not that I can’t do it, it’s that I have to practice because I just can’t do it, YET. It’s a tool your brain uses to not limit your abilities.

Spaced Practice

So, there is a test on Friday. Don’t put all of your study time in on Thursday. You should space out your studying and do some each day to repeat and practice remembering what you need for the test.

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p

p

EIAM p

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In a nutshell, learning can be understood through the E/I - A - M - L model.

Emotions drive Interest (and interest drives emotion) — Together, they drive Attention (seen as engagement) which drives Memory which drives Learning.

Learning then drives the cycle itself.

p

ML

A version of this model originated with Dr. Robert Sylwester, Emeritus Professor of Education at the University of Oregon. Dr. Sylwester understood early on that emotions were not only important in learning but they were required for learning. Since Sylwester’s early writings, neuroscience researchers have proven this again and again as they look at the way the brain is active in emotional circuitry before it activates in other ways.

We feel therefore we think.

What does this mean for us as parents and teachers?

Most importantly, it helps us remember the importance of helping our kids connect with caring to anything they are learning. It doesn’t mean that they have to “love” multiplication (although the trick for the 9’s tables using your hands is super cool) or cell division (equally impressive), but they have to have a reason to want to attend/engage. Seeing the big picture of how their learning connects to their life, feeling accomplishment for getting through something challenging, knowing they are taking a step on a stairway leading to something they want, or seeing themself in the content/empathy for others will address the emotion that underlies attention-memory-learning.

We can also use this model to unpack what is happening when a learner is struggling. It is simple (and scary) to jump to a concern that our child has “something wrong” linked to attention or memory when what we need to do, first, is to back up to the emotional/interest level and leverage that to try to expand their skill in attending/ engaging. Paying attention is required for remembering.

Paying attention is a skill that develops — at wildly different rates and consistencies for different kids — but it is a skill. Paying attention requires an emotional (“I care”) connection to the learning. Neurologically speaking, if we can help our kids care, we can help them learn.

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Today at Breck

Summer 2018

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Questions

2. Who are the Center’s Faculty Fellows and what is their role?

Our eighteen Faculty Fellows have been working ahead

1. We’ve heard a lot about the Peter Clark Center for Mind, Brain, and Education but can you tell us what, exactly, is mind, brain, and education?

Mind, Brain, and Education (MBE) is a relatively new field of research that exists at the intersection of psychology, neuroscience, and education. Our ability to understand the complexities of learning has never been greater. MBE science provides us with opportunities to critically assess the applicability of research to the classroom, identify

of the curve to understand how to bridge MBE research with practice in the classroom. These dedicated teachers have been studying MBE and a neurodevelopmental framework for more than a year. They are responsible for training their colleagues in MBE and Teaching for All Kinds of Minds, and they will serve as peer coaches next year as we dive into using what we’ve learned in our everyday practice.

3. Why is this important work?

and correct neuromyths that have found their way into

We do not know what jobs we are preparing our students

our work, and actively participate in use-inspired

for but we know we need to prepare them to be indepen-

research that stems from our questions.

dent learners for life. Our goal is for every single student to understand learning, know themself as a learner, and know how to advocate for themself. This empowers them to lead their learning in any school and any job.

4. How are students benefiting from the work?

faculty potential to truly support learning. Peter would

Preschool-12th grade students are taking greater

often demystify the learning process for students and

ownership of their learning and working with their

faculty and encourage students to become self advocates.

teachers in active ways to be the best learners they

In alignment with the Center, he believed our job was to

can be at Breck and independent learners anywhere they

create independent learners for life, not simply students

go from here. Additionally, faculty now have a common

for Breck. In every role he played at Breck, he guided both

language to talk about students and their learning

students and faculty to know themselves better and

processes, which increases the efficacy of instruction and

pushed them to discover untapped potential.

deepens the teacher-student relationship.

5. Is MBE the future of education?

9. Where do we go from here?

We will continue our collaboration with the Center for

Why is now the time for this work? In many ways, MBE

Transformative Teaching and Learning (CTTL) at St.

is the history of education research as well as the future.

Andrew’s School in Potomac, MD. This summer, Kim

The most exciting element of an MBE approach is that

Schafer, Jessica Wanless, Dennis Joslyn, Don Bell, and

educators are at the table in equal partnership with

Michelle Jones attended the CTTL’s Science of Teaching

University researchers. With this approach, the bridge

and School Leadership Academy. Daisy Pellant served as

between research and practice is informed by the experts

a Translation Leader for the second year as well as

from the classroom as well as the experts in each

Faculty for the Academy this summer. We are also

research field. We are excited to be partnering with the

thrilled to begin our partnership with the Science of

Science of Learning Institute at Johns Hopkins University

Learning Institute at Johns Hopkins University this fall.

to design and implement applied research that will

Next year, in support of our further development of Breck

directly impact our students.

as a culture of reflective practice, our Faculty Fellows will

6. How can understanding your brain help students?

This goes beyond understanding the brain to an understanding of how individuals learn and, most importantly, the self-knowledge that can fuel a student’s progress.

When students know how they learn best, in a variety of contexts, they are better able to advocate for themselves and much more likely to succeed.

7. Why is it important to have all faculty trained in an MBE approach to teaching?

We often say, “to reach every student, we work with every teacher.” To reach every student each day, we must have all of our faculty working together toward the bigger goals of students who are self-reflective, metacognitive, self-knowledgeable, and self-advocating. The April professional development we engaged in was an important part of our ongoing work to raise the expertise of our faculty in their understanding of mind, brain, and education science.

8. How does this work reflect the work of Peter Clark?

be leading all faculty in deepening their understanding and application of the neurodevelopmental framework in every classroom. Sarah and Daisy, along with select faculty members, will continue to share the work of the Peter Clark Center at regional and national conferences as we build our reputation as a leader in mind, brain, and education science.

10. How can we partner with you? How can we help?

Stop by, share your thoughts, and ask questions! Participate in speaker events, workshops, and educational opportunities in collaboration with our Parents Association Education Committee. Read about our work and learn how we have shifted from the model where the teacher pours the information into the students who then pour it back out on a test to the more effective and sustainable model where the student is an active participant, driving their learning, in ways that support future independence. Embedded in this process is trial and error and a learning curve about learning. You may be tempted to push for a return to the “kill and drill”

We’ve heard from longtime faculty, alumni, and the Clark

model because it is what you know and the short-term

family that Peter would be thrilled with the Center’s

results (i.e., test scores) are evident. We encourage you,

work. His son Alex, Class of 2002, is an active member of

however, to take the long view and recognize that we

our advisory board and we count on Alex to keep Peter’s

are supporting independent learning for life. There are

spirit alive in the evolving mission and vision of the

many good videos, articles, and books about parenting

Center. We were also able to meet with Peter’s wife, Gail

with the brain in mind. We are looking forward to many

Hartman, and his daughter, Emily Clark, this year and

more conversations with you!

they each shared how strongly they feel that the Center reflects everything Peter believed about student and

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Thank you!

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We are so grateful to all of the parents, alumni, grandparents, parents of alumni, faculty, staff, and friends who generously supported the 2017-2018 Annual Fund.

Join Us .. .

breckschool.org/annual-fund

1988 2018 Distinguished Alumna Rachel Solotaroff, M.D., was recently featured on NBC Nightly News talking about her work in Portland, Oregon.

alumni news

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1968 The Class of 1968 is celebrating its 50-Year Reunion this year on Homecoming Weekend: September 21-22. Steve Wirth is leading the committee’s efforts. The class will also be honored at the annual Golden Mustangs Luncheon as the group’s newest members on Friday, September 21.

1988 Katharine Anderson Groethe and Alycya Hjelm Cardwell are planning the reunion for the Class of 1988. The class will celebrate its 30-Year Reunion over Homecoming Weekend: September 21-22.

1985 Sandy Stone presented the Breck Alumni Award at the Upper School Awards Ceremony on June 5.

1988 Breck Alumni Council President (2016-2018) Kirstin Erickson Wilson, M.D., received the 2018 Alumna of the Year Award on May 7. Kirstin was honored for her work as President on the Alumni Council. She will serve as the Past President of the Alumni Council for the 2018-2019 school year.

Athletic Hall of Fame Committee Evan Jones ’86, Byron Rice, Allison O’Toole ’89, Michael Proman ’99, Jon Septer ’01, Alex Clark ’02, Matt Cosgriff ’07, and Michael Mooney ’10 are serving on the 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame Committee. The group met on June 4 to discuss nominations.

1982 & 1984 Katie Flanagan-Steidle ’84, Liz Elert ’84, and Alix Umen ’82 met for drinks at The Hewing on Mother’s Day Weekend.

1988 Gwen Lopez-Cohen is currently a child and adolescent psychiatrist on the faculty at Yale University and in private practice. She is also a mother to four boys ranging in age from 17 to 4! Gwen says she is grateful for the education that she received at Breck and knows that it helped her to find her place in the world. Emeritus Head of School, Mr. Samuel Salas, was the new Head of School during her senior year, and had a big impact on her confidence and drive to pursue her career goals.

Reunion year

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

2018 Distinguished Alumni Award Committee

1989 Allison O’Toole has a new job as Director of State Affairs with the United States of Care. She will be responsible for state initiatives across the country to expand access to health care. Allison most recently served as CEO of MNsure.

1989 Alumni Council member Margot Murray Olness will serve as Homecoming Chair for 2018.

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Members of the Distinguished Alumni Committee Brad Clary ’68, Allison O’Toole ’89, Molly Cronin Clark ’90, Tom Keller ’91, Brian Costello ’92, and Tim Rosenfield met on June 4 to discuss nominations for the 2018 Distinguished Alumni Award. Nominations are currently being accepted for 2019.

To nominate a classmate, email alumni@breckschool.org.

1993 Alison Hitzemann-Hardy is leading the effort for the 25-Year Reunion for the Class of 1993. The class will celebrate during Homecoming weekend, September 21-22.

1994 John Myers was recently featured in the Atlas Obscura’s article “In Search of Rare Birds and Glory in Columbia”.

John is the Leader for Strategic Partnerships at World Wildlife Fund Colombia.

1990 Molly Cronin Clark presented the Christin Mead ’90 Award to Taylor Phillips ’18 at the Upper School Awards Ceremony on June 5.

Networking and Speaker Series Michael Proman ’99, Dimitrios Efstahiou ’96, and Brian Costello ’92 served on a panel on the business of sports as part of the Breck Networking and Speakers Series on May 3. The evening was moderated

by Breck parent Steve Silton.

1994 One of the “Godfathers” of the annual Tour de Breck runt bike race made his debut in the race. Tony Jewett joined his nephews Hunter Larson ’18 and Grant Larson ’18 on one of the teams — and placed second! Tony also served as this year’s alumni speaker at graduation.

Thank You! A big thank you to Colin Brooks ’97 and Mike McKeon ’98 for serving as the 2017-2018 Alumni Co-Chairs of the Breck Annual Fund. The duo led the alumni fundraising efforts for the year with a goal to increase both dollars raised and alumni participation. Colin has agreed to stay on as Alumni Co-Chair and Secretary of the Breck Alumni Council for 2018-2019. Sandy Stone ’85 will serve as his Alumni Co-Chair of the Annual Fund.

2007 Traci Copeland is a runner, yogi, Nike Trainer, professional back up dancer, and fitness instructor.

She was inducted into the Breck Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015 and was recently featured in Women’s Health magazine.

alumni news 1998 Mick McKeon and Stefan Krasowski are leading the Class of 1998 Reunion.

The class will celebrate its 20-Year Reunion on August 4.

Sara Marsh ’98 will play opposite Sally Wingert in Dark & Stormy’s production of Night Mother by Marsha Norman. The play runs August 16September 8.

1999 Alicia Luther will serve as Vice-President of the Alumni Council for 2018-2019.

Ben Schleuss ’99 will serve as Executive Chair of Events on the Breck Alumni Council for 2018-2019.

Michael Proman ’99 will serve as Executive Chair of Recognition on the Breck Alumni Council for 2018-2019.

2001 Jon Septer ’01 will serve as Executive Chair of Service on the Breck Alumni Council for 2018-2019.

2005 Students heard from Alex Freçon at the annual Cum Laude Dinner on April 18. Alex shared his career journey and his trip to North Korea with the Friendship Games.

2007 Congratulations to Jamie Erdahl on her new appointment as the Lead Reporter for CBS’s SEC College Game of the Week for college football in the fall.

1999 William Wells honored his late mother and former Breck faculty member at Art-A-Whirl in April. Emeritus Head of School Sam Salas attended the event.

Alumni Council Mike McKeon ’98, Chas Simcox ’00, Matt Bartel ’02, and Leah Lussier Sixkiller ’03 were recognized for their years of service on the Breck Alumni Council at the Annual Meeting of the Breck Alumni Association on Monday, May 7.

Alicen Burns Spaulding ’95, Michael Proman ’99, Quinn Shadko ’05, and Michael Mooney ’10 are new members of the Alumni Council. Their threeyear term starts in July.

Starting in July, Christy Piotrowski Leintz ’04 will serve as President of the Breck Alumni Council. Christy started her role a bit early welcoming the Class of 2019 to its senior year on June 8. She was joined by Jon Septer ’01 and Rusty Nelson ’64.

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Today at Breck

Summer 2018

2007 Sophia Radolinski recently graduated from Tulane University Law School with honors and a certificate in Maritime Law. She has accepted a position as an Assistant District Attorney with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office

2007

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Award-winning director Kevin Schreck has a new film. ENONGO — The Sammus Documentary shares the story of rapper, producer, and Ph.D. candidate Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo.

2008 Henry Funk was recently featured in the Star Tribune. He shared his journey hiking through the Pacific Crest Trail.

2010 Cam Soojian is a Demand Generation Writer at Anaplan in Minneapolis. The firm’s mission is to make the world better by connecting organizations and people so business leaders can make better-informed decisions. Cam received his B.A. in Journalism at George Washington in 2014.

2011 “Translation” by poet Julian Randall was featured in online version of the New York Times Magazine .

ARE YOU LinkedIn? Over 910 Breck alumni and parents are members of the Breck School Community Group on LinkedIn. Are you?

Visit breckschool.org to connect.

2007 In May, Erika Brownson Gartner married Brian Gartner at St. Apollonius Church in Napa, California. The reception was held at Cline Vineyards in Sonoma. Classmate Katia Dragotis (left) was in the bridal party and Natalie Sandy (right) attended as well.

2011 Zoey Preston, Mezzo Soprano, has performed with many leading orchestras and companies including the New York Philharmonic and New York City Opera.

After graduating from Breck in 2011, she attended the Manhattan School of Music and received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance in 2015.

Her operatic roles range from Franzi in Lehar’s Das Land des Lachelns directed by Dona Vaughn at the Manhattan School of Music to Cherubino from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. Recently Zoey made her NYC professional operatic debut with the Manhattan Opera Studio at the National Opera Center. She played the Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel. On July 2, she performed “Tu n’es pas beau, tu n’es pas riche” from Offenbach’s La Perichole and its “Barcarolle” from the Tales of Hoffman at Carnegie Hall.

2013 During Middle School Awareness Day on May 4, the “Bike the Twin Cities” group led by alum Evan Jones ’86 ran into Ben Gleekel ’13 as they passed through the St. Anthony Main area.

2014 In May Derek Wiitala graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business with a Bachelors degree in Finance, Investments, and Banking. Derek, who interned at investment firms in New York City, Milwaukee, and Kansas City, will continue his studies this fall in the Applied Security Analysis Masters Degree Program at his alma mater.

alumni news 2014 Eileen Bayer graduated in May from Washington University in St. Louis. She is headed to Chicago to be a partner manager with Facebook. Eileen will be helping advertising agencies and their clients utilize Facebook as a platform.

Senior Day Kwaku Bodom ’15, Jenn Fabian ’15, Ivy Garvis ’17, Graydon Kulick ’15, Mo Lawal ’15, Madi Lommen ’15, Emma Luten ’15, Michael Mooney ’10, and Andrew Quay ’17 came back to campus to talk to the Class of 2018 about college life on May 17.

Former Faculty Congratulations to Michael S. Moos, winner of the Ashland Poetry Press 2017 Richard Snyder Memorial Publication Prize.

His manuscript The Idea of the Garden was selected by final judge Elizabeth Spires. The book will be available in fall 2018.

Moos will also receive a cash prize of $1,000.

Join us for Homecoming 2018

September 20-22 THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

2018 Distinguished Alumni Presentation Chapel of the Holy Spirit | 11:00 am 2018 Athletic Hall of Fame Reception and Induction Ceremony Upper School Library | 6:00 pm

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

Golden Mustangs Luncheon For our Alumni that have graduated 50+ years ago Heritage Room, Breck School Anderson Ice Arena | 11:30 am Homecoming Varsity Football vs. Minneapolis North McKnight Stadium | 7:00 pm

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 Blessing of the Animals Chapel Green | 10:00 am

2015 Madi Lommen was one of the featured young professional speakers at Team Women’s Leadership Conference on May 11.

Virginia Tech Volleyball star Jaila Tolbert ’15 was named to the U.S. Collegiate National Team.

Girls Varsity Soccer vs. DeLaSalle McKnight Stadium | 11:00 am Homecoming Barbecue and Carnival Homecoming Tent | 12:00-2:00 pm Boys Varsity Soccer vs. Academy of Holy Angels McKnight Stadium | 1:00 pm Individual Class Reunions will be held Saturday evening. *All events, except reunions are free for alums and their families to attend.

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Today at Breck

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2017 Ivy Garvis and Sophia Cherian presented the Yearbook Award at the Upper School Awards Ceremony.

2017 Andrew Quay served as a presenter at the 2018 Upper School Awards Ceremony.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO ALL THE ALUMS WHO ATTENDED OUR REGIONAL EVENTS!

Boston

Classes of 2008 and 2013 46 /

The Classes of 2008 and 2013 will celebrate their Reunions during Thanksgiving Weekend.

Thank you!

2

1

James Lloyd Breck Day of Giving generated over $18,000 through 77 gifts for Breck’s Annual Fund. Thank you to all who volunteered and donated to this annual effort.

1. Jeffrey Portu ’08 and Brianna Nassif 2. Victoria Sponsel ’09, Paul Grandstrand ’07, David Keefe, and Elena Cameron ’17 3. Sarah Hrass Kmetz ’00 and Courtney Strader DeFreese ’00

IN MEMORIAM

3

2004 Mark Ledford passed away on April 16 in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he had been a resident for the past eleven years. After graduating from Breck in 2004, Mark attended Vanderbilt University where he graduated summa cum laude with a degree in economics.

He started his career in the banking industry and was serving as Vice President, Debt Capital Markets. He enjoyed hockey and lacrosse and often served as captain of those teams.

He loved gliding the snow powder for snowboarding, and the greenery and frustration of golf.

New York

5

4

1982 Michele Lynn Anderson passed away in January. She was a graduate of the University of St. Thomas. Although only at Breck for her last two years of school, Michele will be missed by many classmates and Breck friends. She was the sister of Renee Fares ’86.

4. Bill Mauzy ’07, Chris Ohm, and Marjan Riazi ’08 5. Reuben Parish ’11, Katherine Paulsen ’10, Bill Mauzy ’07, and Nile Greenbers ’07 6. Tait Helgaas ’16 and Dr. Natalia R. Hernández 6

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The Middle School Musical

HONK! Jr.

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SPRING: BRECK ATHLETES WRAP UP SUCCESSFUL TEAM-BUILDING SEASON Springtime in Minnesota turned into an extension of winter. Although the snow seemed to stick around for longer than normal, spring sports still had a great season.

Track and Field The Track and Field team had a rough go this year as many meets were canceled due to the weather. The team ended up participating in four regular season meets, which included the IMAC indoor meet, IMAC Conference Relays, IMAC Conference Finals, and True Team Section. The team ended up doing

David Roddy ’18 Section Discus and Shot Put Champion.

State 4th Place - Discus, 5th Place - Shot Put

Sports photos by Lauren Kiesel

well at the section tournament at Macalester College. Saylor Hawkins ’19 took 2nd place in the triple jump, David Roddy ’19 was the shot put and discus champion and set a new Section 4A record in discus, and the girls 4x100m relay team (Mikayla Ennevor ’18, Saylor Hawkins ’19, Kaitlyn MacBean ’20 and Paige Olowu ’18) were section champions. All qualified to participate at the Class A State Meet at Hamline University. The 4x100m girls relay team became state champions with a time of 0:50.18. This year’s team was led by senior captains Alex McFarland, Paige Olowu, Taylor Phillips, Jefferson Slocum, and Terrina White. Saylor Hawkins ’19, Melanie Oden ’21, Paige Olowu ’18, David Roddy ’19, Josh Taylor ’19, and Terrina White ’18 won All-Conference awards. Mikayla Ennevor ’18, Kaitlyn MacBean ’20, Alex McFarland ’18, Taylor Phillips ’18, and Finn Salveson ’19 won All-Conference Honorable Mention awards. Team awards went to Alex McFarland ’18 and Paige Olowu ’18 (MVP), Jennie Ehlert ’20 and Will Murphy ’21 (MIP), and Taylor Phillips ’18 and Jefferson Slocum ’18 (Mustanger). Next year, the team will be led by captains Saylor Hawkins ’19, Kendall Riskevich ’19, David Roddy ’19, Finn Salveson ’19, Josh Taylor ’19, and Abigail Wesson ’19.

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

Linden Olness ’18 at the Class AA State Tournament

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Boys Golf Will Torgerson ’18

Baseball Due to the unfortunate weather circumstances, Breck baseball had a slow start to the season. In order to make up for time, the team played multiple games per week, which quickly got them ready for the playoffs. They took the 12th seed in the section tournament and had a tough first game against fifth seed Providence Academy. The boys upset Providence Academy to move on in the double elimination tournament. Once again, they received a strong opponent in fourth seed Southwest Christian. After multiple rainouts, the Mustangs were able to get the game in as a doubleheader where they defeated Southwest Christian. They moved on to the section semi-final game where their season came to a close. The team was led by senior captains Will Torgerson, John Steinbergs, and Jake Rand. Will Torgerson ’18 and Alex McKenna ’20 won All-Conference awards. Ethan Guell ’19 and Carter Oftedahl ’21 won All-Conference Honorable Mention awards. Team awards went to Will Torgerson ’18 (MVP), Matthew Conroy ’19 (MIP), and John Steinbergs ’18 (Mustanger). Next year, the team will be led by captains Ethan Guell ’19, Alex McKenna ’20, and Leo Sanborn ’19.

The boys golf team started the season with just one match before the section preview tournament. The team practiced hard when they were able and were one of the top three teams after day one of the section tournament. Therefore, they qualified as a team to participate in the second day of the section tournament. Linden Olness ’18 qualified for the Class AA State Tournament at Ridges of Sand Creek Golf Course. The team was led by senior captain Justin Paschke.

Justin was also an All-Conference award winner. Linden Olness ’18 won All-Conference Honorable Mention. Team awards went to Justin Paschke ’18 (MVP), Sam Reisberg ’19 (MIP), and Zach Sellman ’21 (Mustanger). Next year, the team will be led by Sam Reisberg ’19.

Girls Golf The girls golf team jumped into action with their first tournament being a combination of all classes at Bunker Hills Golf Course. The second match of the season was the IMAC Mid-Season Conference Tournament at Goodrich.

The team won the IMAC Conference Tournament and Alayna Simonds ’18 was the medalist. The team participated in the section tournament at Pebble Creek Golf Club where they won the championship and Amelia Simonds ’18 was the medalist. The team qualified for the Class AA State Tournament, which was held at Ridges of Sand Creek Golf Course. The team consisted of Alayna Simonds ’18, Amelia Simonds ’18, Margie Johnston ’18, Mary O’Grady ’20, Ally Hogan ’20, and Effie Mehbod ’19. The team finished in 6th place and Alayna Simonds ’18 took 9th overall. The team was led by senior captains Alayna Simonds, Amelia Simonds, and Margie Johnston. Alayna Simonds ’18, Amelia Simonds ’18 and Margie Johnston ’18 won All-Conference awards. Effie Mehbod ’19 won All-Conference Honorable Mention. Team awards went to Alayna Simonds ’18 (MVP), Margie Johnston ’18 (MIP), and Amelia Simonds ’18 (Mustanger). Next year the team will be led by Ally Hogan ’20, Effie Mehbod ’19, and Mary O’Grady ’20.

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Boys Lacrosse The boys lacrosse team started off the season on a winning streak where they won six of their first seven games. The team came together this season and worked hard to have a winning record of 8-5. The majority of the team will be back next year and they are looking to keep on the winning track.

The boys were led by senior captains Gavin Hopping, Blaine Madson, Brendan Madson and Ryan Stafford. Blaine Madson ’18, Brendan Madson ’18, Bryce Parrish ’19 and Arlo Zelickson ’19 won All-Conference awards. Gavin Hopping ’18 and Ryan Stafford ’18 won All-Conference Honorable Mention awards. Team awards went to Blaine Madson ’18 (MVP), Derek Turner III ’20 (MIP), and Brendan Madson ’18 (Mustanger). Next year the team will be led by Michael Kenney ’19, Bryce Parrish ’19, Sam Shin ’19, and Arlo Zelickson ’19.

Cade O’Neill ’18

Girls Lacrosse The girls lacrosse team welcomed a new head coach to the program and entered the season with excitement and optimism. The team ended the season with a record of 9-6, defeating Spring Lake Park and Benilde-St. Margaret’s in the section tournament where they lost in the section final game. The team will lose two players to graduation, but with the majority of the team returning, they are looking forward to an exciting season next year. The team was led by captains Luci McGlynn ’18, Deirdre O’Neill ’19, and Emi Shermeta ’18. Eloise Cherian ’19, Polly Burns ’19, Natalie Ott ’19, and Taylor Nelson ’20 won All-Conference awards. Emi Shermeta ’18 and Elinor Applebaum ’21 won All-Conference Honorable Mention awards. Team awards went to Eloise Cherian ’19 (MVP), Lydia Akins ’20 (MIP), and Luci McGlynn ’18 (Mustanger). Next year’s captains will be named at a later date.

Eloise Cherian ’19

Today at Breck

Summer 2018

Homecoming Weekend 2018 September 20-22

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brecksports.org |

@BreckAthletics |

Cole Maxwell ’18

Svea McNally ’18

Softball Due to the extension of winter, the softball team had a season of doubleheaders. The team worked hard through the extended games and kept focus despite the weather setbacks. The team is losing a few key seniors this year: Kalynn Garrett, Addie Gleekel, Svea McNally, Kylie Pha and Olivia Thanadabout. These seniors played 4-6 years of softball and their dedication and commitment to the team will be missed. Athletes playing softball often continue with the program throughout their time at Breck. The participation level is up this year, and with a relatively young team, they are hoping to be competitive next year.

BreckAthletics

Boys Tennis The boys tennis team had the shortest season as they are the first sport to compete in the section tournament. Once the courts dried up and allowed the team outside, they won matches against Minnehaha Academy, Providence Academy, and Mounds Park Academy. Ishan Nadkarni ’21 participated in the section singles tournament where he finished in fourth place. The team was led by senior captains Sam Aronson and Cole Maxwell. Ishan Nadkarni ’21 and Clayton Haberman ’21 won All-Conference awards. Daniel Gutierrez ’18 and Zach Piehl ’22 won All-Conference Honorable Mention awards. The team awards went to Ishan Nadkarni ’21 (MVP), Daniel Gutierrez ’18 (MIP), and Sam Aronson ’18 (Mustanger). Next year, the team will be led by captains Clayton Haberman ’21 and Ishan Nadkarni ’21.

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Middle School Egg Drop

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Summer 2018

WORDS OF WISDOM

Today at Breck

Michal Sagar

Michal is the Visual Arts Department Head. She has been a faculty member at Breck for 22 years and is a well-known artist in both the Twin Cities and across the nation. In this Words of Wisdom piece, she shares her perspectives — both in the classroom and out — with the hope to inspire and create change in the lives of our readers.

LIFE EXPERIENCES CAN LEAVE US WITH LESSONS TO BE SHARED. IN THIS SERIES, WE HEAR WORDS OF WISDOM FROM MEMBERS OF OUR OWN COMMUNITY. We are all part of a creative community. Often I see kids in my classroom filled with an energy that they talk about in terms of anxiety or stress. Yet, when I see students move their energy to being a part of an active, creative community, a really wonderful give and take opens up. There’s a natural sense of children wanting to help and wanting to help each other.

Eliminate shame. We have to set up an environment in which one can play, envision, imagine, struggle, and fail without being shamed in the process for either the process or the product.

When shame is taken out of the mix, everyone grows. Everyone blossoms.

Become your own teacher. In my life — as an artist — I have to take the place that I expect for my students and put it in play for myself in the studio. When I see a student able to take risk, and I can’t do it in my own studio, then I have to challenge myself to make that leap.

Life isn’t about fitting into a pre-assigned form. In the 20th century, most women were getting their clothes to fit their body. Today we focus on a number; I have to change my body to fit into the number of the dress, as opposed to, “Here is my body, where’s the dress?” I want to bring the focus back and instead say, “Here I am. What can I offer the world?”

Find a way to keep the infinite play of creative imagination alive.

In our time, people who have kept that creative energy alive have a sense of youth and a greater understanding of their purpose on the planet.

Dream your own dream. When anyone wanders in nature and lets their mind be free, the dreams and the imagination have an ability to miraculously open in ways we haven’t seen yet.

Perspectives change. I’m at the point in my life of seeing multiple

generations. Now, I’m the matriarch of my family. No one ever thinks that’s going to happen to you.

Look less at the superficial and more on the essential. During my sabbatical, I created ancestor totem poles out of long pieces of reclaimed barn wood. I chose to carve my ancestors because they were the people that always looked for the best in me, who gave the best advice and best energy, but I really had to think about how one turns relatives into ancestors. As I carved out the rot, the totem was so beautiful. It was unique and specific. It had the power of its history in its very form.

Open the vista. As hard as it is to limit the addiction of moving images, which are very powerful and very seductive in all kinds of ways, it is so important to our soul — to the nature of the civilization — that we continue to build, to let nature be our teacher once again, and to learn how to sit without the script that’s been highly produced for us.

What Remains, Michal Sagar

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IN THEIR OWN WORDS SKY FAUVER

”

Arthur C. Hansen was born in 1923. He was a man who entered his 7th-grade World Cultures classroom wearing a suit that could have fit two of him. His laced-up shoes had the patina of a newly-minted penny, and it wasn’t rare to see remnants of that morning’s shave somewhere on his face. He carried with him a black attaché in one hand and our class text under the other arm. I still don’t know why he

gears and, admittedly, a degree of adolescent resentment toward my mom and Mr. Hansen. Instead of identifying the salient information, I took it all in, and missed out on other pursuits in the process. It took me years to understand that working longer did not necessarily mean working smarter.

That is the lens we are instilling in our students, for understanding this early on their individual voyage and applying

didn’t place the text in his bag.

it to their daily learning will pay dividends in their lives.

The pace of change in our current environment is enough to make one’s head spin, and there are no plans of slowing down. To effectively and efficiently adapt to the twists and turns, a certain constant is a must: knowing how to learn.

More specifically, knowing how one learns.

I introduce you to Mr. Hansen because I received a D+ in his class that first semester. At that age, I had yet to face much, if any, academic adversity. School came easily to me and I conditioned myself to assume that that would be my path for as long as my educational career monopolized my bandwidth. So what to do about that D+? After a meeting with Mr. Hansen and my mom, it was determined that I wasn’t working hard enough and just needed to apply a little more effort.

Fast forward a few decades and I can comfortably share that my saliency determination at the time was a weakness, just as my task component maintenance posed challenges for me. That probably sounds like Greek to you, but it’s becoming a part of the vernacular here at Breck. Thanks to the Peter Clark Center for MBE, teachers are using such language much the same way students reference terms from Fortnite.

Furthermore, students are engaging in discussions about neuroplasticity and the function of their amygdala.

I’ve been asked whom the PCC is intended to serve, and my most common response has been, “Yes.” All of our students, teachers, and parents stand to gain a great deal from the Center’s work which I have referred to as unapologetically ambitious; and I stand by that.

Initiatives in schools are commonplace, and it is crucial for the entire Breck community to internalize that this is not an initiative. This is not a fad. This is the way forward because the gap between research and practice in education must be bridged. Through the work of the PCC, Breck is changing the educational landscape for our students, faculty, and families.

During second semester of my 7th-grade year, I brought that D+ up to an acceptable level, more reflective of my ability.

However, the process in doing so involved much grinding of

Had I been taught how I learned best prior to entering Mr. Hansen’s class, I can unequivocally state that adversity would have been avoided. However, what really gets me is that I could have applied my self-knowledge to my other classes as well, boosting my experience across the board.

Already a strong math student, I would have been that much stronger. Able to read and write with relative ease, my process would have been enhanced that much more. We recognize that students may not get the proverbial “shot across the bow” that I had, but that need not preclude them from gaining such important insight. That is what the PCC’s work seeks to do: to provide each of our students with the opportunity to develop their own tools to boost performance, manage through inevitable struggle, and thrive as confident learners. Unapologetically ambitious? You bet.

By no means do I fault Mr. Hansen for my experience in his class. His approach to teaching reflected the pedagogical mainstream at the time in that he delivered the facts and students took in as much as they could. Today our students need not rely as much on teachers for information they can access at their fingertips, but they do need them to serve as guides on their learning journeys. Serving in such a capacity helps students better understand their respective paths so they can travel them on their own. As parents, it is not uncommon to want to provide our children with opportunities not afforded to us, and I can say the same is true at Breck. As a faculty and administration, we are beyond pleased with the work accomplished thus far, and even more enthused by what lies ahead.

Visit us on our new website!

Breck launched an updated website in August 2018.

We invite you to read more about current news on campus by visiting us online.

Today at Breck Summer 2018 Today at Breck is a publication of Breck School, 123 Ottawa Ave. N., Golden Valley, MN 55422 email: communications@ breckschool.org

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Natalia Rico Hernández, Ed.D.

EDITOR Stacy Glaus

DESIGN

Brenda Janisch-Hoban

WRITERS Tina Fourniea, Stacy Glaus, Michelle Geo Olmstead

PHOTOGRAPHERS Tina Fourniea, Brenda JanischHoban, Lauren Kiesel, Michelle Geo Olmstead, Ainslie Phillips, Karyl Rice, Sara Rubinstein

PRINTING

Bolger Vision Beyond Print

breckschool.org MISSION

Breck is an Episcopal, coeducational, college-preparatory day school enrolling students of diverse backgrounds in grades preschool through twelve.

Breck’s Mission is to:

Prepare each student for a college whose culture is compatible with the individual’s needs, interests, and abilities.

Help develop each student’s unique talents and potential to excel by nurturing independence and self-worth.

Instill in each student a deep sense of social responsibility.

Breck School is committed to environmental stewardship.

This publication is printed on paper manufactured with a minimum of 10% postconsumer recovered fiber.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

123 Ottawa Avenue North Golden Valley, MN 55422

PAID

Permit No. 2995 Twin Cities, MN

Parents of Alumni: Please forward this publication if your daughter or son no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, or please notify us (763.381.8129 or alumni@breckschool.org) of their new mailing address.

LOOK WHO’S BUZZING AROUND BRECK The Upper School was buzzing about a new May Program course designed to give students the opportunity to spend time around and learn about some of nature’s most incredible creatures…bees! Students learned about beekeeping, artists inspired by bees, medicinal aspects of bee products, and bee culture. And they cared for our new bee colony, located in an Upper School courtyard. The Breck bees are tended by faculty members Coreena Affleck and Stacy Tepp. How sweet it is!

Photo by Karyl Rice Photo by Karyl Rice