Inspire Spring 2014 by Eastside Preparatory School

THE EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL MAGAZINE: SPRING 2014 | VOLUME 5 | ISSUE 2

...Students to Create a Better World

EVOLUTION OF INSTRUCTION WONDER GENOGRAPHIC PROJECT SPOKEN WORD POETRY EVOLVING INDEPENDENT STUDIES

INSPIRE STAFF Vickie Baldwin

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR

Tina Hadden

GRAPHIC DESIGNER and LAYOUT EDITOR

Joshua Huisenga

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Amis Balcomb, Vickie Baldwin, Elena S. Blair Photography, Jennifer Boyle Photography, Daria Brandt, Roberta Christensen, Michael Connelly, Paul David, Paul Hagen, Amy Hallman, Barbie Hull Photography, Lara Nolan, Keith Nussbaum, Ana Safavi, Wanyi Yang COPY EDITORS

Dr. Laurie Benaloh, Lauren Formo, Allison Luhrs, Karen Mills, Dr. Elena Olsen WEB EDITORS

Jonathan Briggs, Jennifer Cross

SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM HEAD OF SCHOOL DEAN OF STUDENTS DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS CHIEF OF FINANCE AND OPERATIONS DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY

Terry Macaluso, PhD Jeff Adair Vickie Baldwin Doug Blair, JD Andrew Boyd, CPA Jonathan Briggs

ACADEMIC DEAN

Matt Delaney

DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS

Lauren Formo

UPPER SCHOOL HEAD

Bart Gummere

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

Kelly Moore, PhD

MIDDLE SCHOOL HEAD

Sam Uzwack

2013-2014 BOARD OF TRUSTEES OFFICERS PRESIDENT

Rob Short

SECRETARY

Stacy Graven

TREASURER

Sasha Press

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

Byron Bishop

Read INSPIRE Online

www.eastsideprep.org/epsmag Contact INSPIRE

HE SPRING ISSUE OF INSPIRE ALWAYS gives me a chance to experience—again— the better part of a school year. The real experience passes too quickly; this reflection on so many highlights of our time together is a reminder about the richness of our opportunities at Eastside Prep. The evolution of instruction is the theme for this issue of Inspire. Instruction has evolved over time, especially with so much information available at our fingertips (see cover photo). The evolution of instruction concept grew from the collaboration of Matt Delaney and Jonathan Briggs, whose course “The Evolution of Society” helps students make sense of contemporary life. A few lines from the course catalog describing the class will give you some idea of the aim: As technology and ideas progress, our society evolves to take advantage of

new media and rapidly changing economic and technological landscapes. This course briefly explores history from the Big Bang Theory to the shifting media and economics paradigms of the last twenty years—from a point where the creation and distribution of media was a tightly controlled expensive endeavor, to our current system where anyone can create a blog, YouTube video, podcast or web page for little or no cost. “Evolution” is what change looks like in real

time. It describes a student’s experience as well as all that composes the thing we call “education.” In this issue you will learn a great deal about our students. One story features Fina Short, who produced a compelling documentary about homework. I’ll let you guess the guiding theme in her film. Marta Picoto, a soonto-be-EPS-alumna, reflects on the emergence of her own form of compassionate leadership. Marta entered Eastside Prep as a sixth grader—before we had a fifth grade—and is one of thirteen “Lifers” who will walk across the KPC stage in a few weeks to be awarded their well-earned diplomas. As we learn more about how brains work—and as education evolves— so do the ways in which we engage with our students. When asked recently, “Why don’t students take notes anymore?” I suddenly realized that they can’t most of the time. They aren’t sitting in desks while someone talks in front of a white board. They’re moving around. They’re working on projects. They’re making and researching and finding and interviewing and shooting video footage. All that movement implies something very important about EPS. We need the space and the time to support these active endeavors. When you read “Evolution of a Campus,” you’ll understand what I’m talking about. Finally, if you’re not motivated and filled with energy by the time you’ve read this issue, there’s only one thing to do… drop by campus on a typical Tuesday, and be sure your seat belt is fastened.

magazine@eastsideprep.org

INSPIRE is published two times a year by Eastside Preparatory School. It is mailed to all current families, employees and donors. To remove or change your mailing address, to submit a letter to the editor, to suggest a topic for an article, or to submit text or photographs for AlumNotes, contact magazine@eastsideprep.org. © Copyright 2014, Eastside Preparatory School

Terry Macaluso, PhD Head of School

EPS students gather on the Fade Sport Court.

Contents The Changing Landscape of Teaching

An Ultimate Season 28

The All-School Read of Wonder 5

Compassionate Leadership

Evolution of a Campus

Progressing Through the English Discipline

Incentives Matter: Faculty Development at EPS 10

Inspire Survey: Evolution of Instruction

Genographic Project 12

“Lifers” 35

My Doc Film Experience

Eagle Recognition

Assemblies as an Extension of the Classroom

Spoken Word Poetry 20

Alumni Update: Catching Up with David O’Hara

EPS Productions

Leadership Changes

Visiting Thinker: Dr. Christine Gross-Loh

Strengths in Action

What’s on Your Bookshelf?

Blue vs. Gold: Making Competition Fun 43

Evolving Program: Independent Studies

Upcoming Events

44 INSPIRE Spring 2014

Jeff Adair

Doug Blair

Jonathan Briggs

Akshay Chalana

Matt Delaney

Stacy Graven

Bart Gummere

Paul Hagen

Christy Kearny

Wendy Lawrence

Dr. Terry Macaluso

Karen Mills

Dr. Kelly Moore

Marta Picoto

Kirsten “KP” Pike

Sarah Rainwater

Fina Short

Sam Uzwack

Contributors Jeff Adair came to EPS in 2004 and was a founding Upper School faculty member in 2005. Since 2009 Jeff has focused his energies on bolstering the student life program. As the school’s Dean of Students, Jeff works to enhance EPS students’ extracurricular, experiential, service learning and summer programs. Doug Blair has been instrumental in expanding the athletic offerings at EPS since arriving at the school in 2009. As Athletic Director, he has worked to advance our teams to more competitive leagues. In this issue of Inspire, Doug recaps a rousing fall Ultimate season. Jonathan Briggs joined Eastside Prep in 2005 as the school's first Director of Technology. In addition to his teaching duties, Jonathan has implemented the Middle School laptop program, brought databases online and overseen the technological needs of a growing school community. Akshay Chalana is currently in the eleventh grade at Eastside Prep and serves as Student Government President. In this issue of Inspire, Akshay shares the evolution of the EPS house system. Matt Delaney is Eastside Prep’s Academic Dean, chairs the school’s Curriculum Committee and oversees the program development process for faculty. He also teaches Upper School courses in history and the social sciences. Matt has proposed and

taught an array of electives in economics, media studies, urban planning, and political science. He is one of EPS’s four college counselors. Stacy Graven is the parent of two Eastside Prep students as well as a member of the EPS Board of Trustees. Stacy is also the Executive Director of the Meydenbauer Convention Center. Bart Gummere has served as the Upper School Head since 2008. Bart has overseen many changes to the Upper School program including the opportunity for seniors to design their own course of study through Independent Study options and the requirement that they complete a self-designed, multidisciplinary project. He is also one of four college counselors at Eastside Prep. Paul Hagen has taught in many places (Hawaii and Spain, just to name two) and has done a great deal of traveling outside his native Pacific Northwest. Paul has taught social sciences at Eastside Prep since 2009 and shares the contents of his bookshelf with us in this issue of Inspire. Christy Kearny is currently in ninth grade at Eastside Prep. She is involved in many activities at EPS and often serves as an Open House tour guide. Wendy Lawrence was one of the four founding faculty at Eastside Prep. She started as a science teacher and three years later, she became the head of the Middle School. Wendy lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan but is still very much connected to Eastside

Prep. Wendy blogs at TheFamilyThatReadsTogether.com. Dr. Terry Macaluso was originally retained by the EPS Board of Trustees in August 2002, to guide them in the development of the school’s mission and vision. She served in a consulting role until March, 2003, when she accepted the position as Head of School. Under Dr. Macaluso’s guidance, Eastside Prep has solidified its reputation as a college preparatory school with a rigorous academic program. Previously, Dr. Macaluso spent nearly thirty years in independent schools and university education, serving as teacher, college counselor, Upper School Director, President, and Head of School in three different schools. Karen Mills is an original member of the Eastside Prep faculty. She has served in many roles at EPS prior to taking on her current role of Librarian, advisor and Information Literacy teacher. Dr. Kelly Moore joined Eastside Prep in 2009 in a role that has changed and grown along with EPS. As the Director of Student Support Services, Kelly is Eastside Prep’s school counselor and oversees the learning support program, including Guided Study Hall, a program she, along with her colleagues in learning support, created at EPS. She also teaches social emotional curriculum to students in the Middle School and teaches a psychology class to Upper School students. Marta Picoto is about to graduate from Eastside Prep as a “Lifer” after spending her entire Middle and Upper School career

at EPS. Marta is highlighted in the “Lifer” article in this issue of Inspire and also writes about her experiences as a Peer Mentor. Kirsten “KP” Pike served in the Peace Corps in West Africa and taught at schools on the east coast before settling in Seattle and joining the Eastside Prep faculty in 2007. She is involved in several clubs at EPS and has led students on many trips both inside and outside the United States. KP currently teaches English at Eastside Prep. Sarah Rainwater brought an exciting breadth of experience with her to EPS in 2012. She has taught abroad and taken students on a number of international trips. Sarah teaches English and social sciences at Eastside Prep and serves as coach to the Debate Team. Fina Short is currently a tenth grader at Eastside Prep and is involved in many activities, including the Upper School girls basketball team. Fina writes in this issue of Inspire about finding an exciting topic for her Documentary Film class. Sam Uzwack has been Eastside Prep’s Middle School Head since 2009. In that time, Sam has instituted the Middle School laptop program and added regular grade level parent talks to the schedule to increase communication between the school and parents. He worked with Dr. Kelly Moore, our Director of Student Support Services, to bring a social emotional curriculum to the Middle School and expanded Environmental Practices to the sixth grade.

“What we have loved, others will love, and we will teach them how…” - William Wordsworth, Lyrical Ballads

Students Jill (’15), Ellie (’16) and Steven (’14) cast aluminum on campus.

By Terry Macaluso, PhD, Head of School

FEW THINGS ARE ETERNALLY TRUE. ONE OF THEM is that teaching is a way of life; it’s not a job. If you doubt that, watch Goodbye, Mr. Chips!—the original film version—and you’ll see what I mean. This is one of the reasons I don’t worry about the possibility that computers are taking over our classrooms. Fundamentally, teaching is a connection. If real learning is going on it’s because a high-trust relationship exists. A student trusts a teacher to be invested in his/her success. A teacher trusts a student to make an effort. When those two conditions are present, a very important thing happens. Students discover what they’re capable of doing. When they’re successful—it’s all systems go! When

The Changing Landscape of Teaching they aren’t, it’s the teacher’s job to prevent the loss of confidence inherent in failure. The manner in which that is done varies, of course, but the bottom line is that a demoralized student will not be able to “make an effort.” When that occurs the high-trust connection is broken—temporarily. I say “temporarily” because the problem is not that “Mike can’t add fractions.” The problem is that Mike no longer believes he can add fractions. The teacher doesn’t respond to that by doing one problem after another, trying to demonstrate how the problem is solved (somewhat akin to talking louder when speaking to someone whose language one doesn’t speak); the teacher helps the student believe that he can solve it. That, in turn, is possible because the teacher actually does have an investment in the student’s success. We’ve been debating for centuries to figure out how people acquire and use knowledge. Plato thought knowledge was innate, and that with a little help from a great teacher, the mutable objects in the world would serve as reminders to help us recall what we INSPIRE Spring 2014

already know. Aristotle’s famous first line in Metaphysics, “All men by nature desire to know, and proof of this is the delight they take in their senses,” says it all. The debate continues. Steven Pinker, in How the Mind Works, talks about something called “the frame problem.” Drawing on the work of colleague Daniel Dennett, Pinker notes that in all the theorizing we’ve done about how knowledge is acquired and used, we haven’t really thought much about what’s involved in solving a problem. The frame theory describes the issue here. When we solve problems, we don’t just choose options, we also discount them. To make the point, Pinker uses Dennett’s example:

“Dennett asks us to imagine a robot designed to fetch a spare battery from a room that also contained a time bomb. Version 1 saw that the battery was on a wagon and that if it pulled the wagon out of the room, the battery would come with it. Unfortunately, the bomb was also on the wagon and the robot failed to deduce that pulling the wagon out brought the time bomb, too. Version 2 was programmed to consider all the side effects of its actions. It had just finished computing that pulling the wagon would not change the color of the room’s walls and was proving that the wheels would turn more revolutions than there are wheels on the wagon, when the bomb went off. Version 3 was programmed to distinguish between relevant implications and irrelevant ones. It sat there cranking out millions of implications, putting the relevant ones on a list of facts to consider, and all the irrelevant ones on a list to ignore…”

Somehow, we’re able to distinguish between relevant and irrelevant factors. Why? What—exactly—does the brain do when it’s solving a problem? What’s different between building a dog house, and being asked to do a math problem about dog houses? Building a dog house presents a series of real problems. Doing a math problem about building a dog house is contrived. When you think about it, it’s sort of amusing. All these years we’ve been re-creating reality in textbook form, when all we really need to do is get up and move. What was your school experience like, and what do you remember? You sat in a desk in a history class and tried to engage in the discussion—while someone else was uninterested at best, and disruptive at worst. What do you remember more clearly, your English final in eleventh grade, or the rocket you and your best friend made and then got in trouble for making right after you sent it to Mars, just because it landed in Mrs. Ferguson’s living room by way of the living room window? 4

Mwansa, Hayden and Nat (all Class of 2020) work on their Egyptian pyramid project in Historical Thinking.

So—what to do? Get up and move. On any day at Eastside Prep, you’ll find some combination of these activities: 1. Interviewing faculty as well as other students to find out what they think happiness is 2. Measuring shadows outside at different times of day 3. Being on time and in a white shirt and tie during the internship portion of an independent study 4. Pulling yet another acre of blackberry bushes from someplace else they aren’t supposed to be 5. Playing basketball 6. Creating a simulation in which stocks are bought and sold 7. Playing the violin 8. Frogs giving their lives in the name of science 9. Trying to hack the EPS server I was joking about that last one. In truth, teaching is more about raising children than it is about grading papers. The time teachers and students spend together ought to be memorable, engaging, and authentic. Learning truly is solving problems, and the pleasure of accomplishment is so much greater when one has experienced, as Zorba the Greek would say, “…the full catastrophe!” If we never want to answer the question, “Why do I have to learn this?” again, we need to remove the conditions that give rise to the question in the first place—contrivance masquerading as reality. ¢

The All-School Read of Wonder By Bart Gummere, Upper School Head and Sam Uzwack, Middle School Head

S OUR SCHOOL POPULATION increases and our campus grows, it is challenging to participate as a whole school in a single activity. Throughout the first decade of our existence, the school community has “gathered” around events such as the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit, the screening of Finding Kind, and the visits of numerous speakers. For our latest iteration, we all shared in the reading of a novel, Wonder by R. J. Palacio. Wonder was first raised for consideration by the faculty as a summer reading book. As we looked into the novel, we discovered that it was both brilliantly reviewed and well-received by people of all ages. The story centers on the importance of inclusivity, the power of friendship, and the challenges of growing-up. The book’s themes are approachable for people of all ages; in fact, the story is told by multiple narrators. Students participated in group discussions in Advisory and took part in an assembly dedicated to the book’s themes. Parents had the opportunity to participate in book discussions led by EPS faculty members Jessica Heaton, Allison Luhrs, Dr. Elena Olsen, Stephen Keedy, and Sarah Rainwater. What follows are reflections on the experience from ninth-grade student Christy (who upon reading the book approached Ms. Mills about its potential as a summer reading selection), Librarian Karen Mills, and parent and board member Stacy Graven. Top: Marisa and Sonia (both Class of 2021) find one word to describe Auggie's sister in an exercise related to Wonder in their Advisory Group. Bottom: Trent ('20) gives his response to where in his life he could be kinder in an Advisory Group exercise related to Wonder.

INSPIRE Spring 2014

“...and from the first few pages ...Could. Not. Put. It. Down.” A Student Perspective by Christy Kearny, Class of 2017

Two years ago during summer I was hanging out at the University Book Store—an excellent way to spend a late August evening. I had $20 in my pocket so, of course, I HAD to buy a book. Wonder was brand new at that time, not quite as famous as it is now, and was displayed on a small table in the back of the store. So I bought it, and from the first few pages...Could. Not. Put. It. Down. It was something about the perspective. Diving into Auggie’s mind completely shifted my point of view. I wanted to make every child who had ever made fun of another read this book. To understand what it’s like. Those who know me well know I like to give book recommendations, and one of the first things I did when school started that fall was tell Mrs. Mills, “this HAS to be on the summer reading list for next year.” I couldn’t really put into words why exactly, I just told her she had to read it. I guess she liked it as much as I did. Having the whole school read this was a great experience. I know a lot of my fellow Upper Schoolers were wondering why they had to read a book originally intended for younger readers, but I think this just added to its charm. This was a book we didn’t have to analyze, annotate, or write a thesis about. All it did was add to our world perspective, encourage empathy, and tell the tale of one extraordinary boy in an all-to-normal life. There could not be a more fitting book for our school to read as a community.

Above, left: Christy (’17) reads Wonder. Above, right: Students discuss Wonder during an all school assembly. Opposite page: Parents gather to discuss Wonder.

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

A Faculty Perspective by Karen Mills, EPS Librarian

I became a reader because I love to learn new things. Books (in all their various formats) provide for me the opportunity to see new places, to think about events from new and different viewpoints, and to meet new people. I became a librarian because I love to share those places, viewpoints, and people with those around me. A fervent plea from Christy (’17)—“Mrs. Mills! You HAVE to read this book!”—easily convinced me to read Wonder. In its pages, I got to meet Auggie, Summer and Jack, I got to be a student again, sitting in the classrooms of Beecher Prep, and I got to consider how I might react to a student with a severe physical difference. A few other students and members of the faculty read Wonder, and then a few more. With this shared base of literature and understanding, we were able to have meaningful (yet totally unplanned) conversations about the characters and themes of the book. The topics were weighty but accessible

to fifth graders through adults; it seemed that each reader was able to take away a different understanding for his or her self. The idea of an all-school read emerged naturally from those early conversations and eventually turned into our week-long exploration of the book. As with most things in life (and maybe especially in schools!), not everyone enjoyed the book or appreciated the time we spent reading and discussing it. Creating a single takeaway or a common love for the book wasn’t the goal, though. From my perspective, the goal was to give the whole school a chance to live in New York, to get to know Auggie like his friends do, and to become a stronger community because of a shared single experience of reading the same story.

A Parent Perspective

by Stacy Graven, EPS Parent and Board Member

Long gone are the days when the kids—Chase (’16) and Cole (’18)—and I would sit down at night and read a book out loud, together, totally absorbed in the words, pictures and story. The time we spent together reading every night was as precious to me as their first steps and first words. We have fond memories of reading the same book over twenty-five times, going on “book adventures,” and at times fighting back tears when something touched our hearts. So when EPS announced that the entire school would be reading Wonder by R.J. Palacio, we took the opportunity to read out loud together as a family once again. This engaging book gave our family the great opportunity to think and talk about peer pressure, bullying, confrontation, bravery, sympathy, humor, parental aching and sibling anguish. We were sad, we laughed and we cried just a little (at least I did!). We talked about how Auggie had obvious physical differences and that once people got past those differences he was just as “normal” as any other kid, deserving of the respect, consideration and kindness of others. But our most interesting conversations were about the many people who may “look” totally normal but may talk differently, think differently or act differently…aren’t they also worthy of the same consideration by others? Our family was reminded that every day we should work a little harder to get to know someone who may not be just like us and to respect the obvious, and sometimes not-so-obvious, differences in others. The lessons in this book are just as important as any subject EPS offers. Thank you for selecting this reading for our entire school population—students, faculty and parents—and for reminding us all to “choose kindness.” ¢

“This engaging book gave our family the great opportunity to think and talk about peer pressure, bullying, confrontation, bravery, sympathy, humor, parental aching and sibling anguish. We were sad, we laughed and we cried just a little (at least I did!)”

INSPIRE Spring 2014

Will (’18) conducts a science experiment.

Evolution of a CAMPUS

By Terry Macaluso, PhD, Head of School

CHOOLS— INDEPENDENT, PRIVATE, AND public—share some common problems. Nobody has enough parking or enough storage space. I often wonder what enough storage space would look like. Would it be enough if you could keep absolutely everything you think you need—expanding infinitely as your capacity for acquisition continues to thrive? Should you have to get rid of something every time you buy something new? Maybe there’s a formula—there should be enough storage space to keep 85% of the stuff you have. Parking is another whole story—maybe for another article. On the other hand, it’s utterly possible to have enough teaching/learning space. The trick is to be sure it’s the right kind of space. For the most part, schools in America look and feel industrial. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, we were efficient—square corners, functional space, just the basics. Exactly what was needed and nothing more. (Although 8

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

those high ceilings, magnificent exteriors, and beautiful wood floors were certainly nicer than anything built after WW II.) We also built schools for very large populations— another efficiency. Consistent with the Machine Age that launched the last century, following the Industrial Age that pulled people off the farms and out of domestic service—we were on the way to mass producing … everything. A few things have happened since Messieurs Morse, Graham and Marconi were creating the prototype for the internet. First of all, everything is mobile. Remember when you were tethered to the phone in the den, or the one in the kitchen installed on the wall? (Please tell me I am not the only person in this community who remembers rotary dial phones.) Fortunately for us, we have enough community support to begin transforming some of our less than ideal space into space that will let us do what we know enhances learning. During the summer—June through August of

2014—two much-needed construction projects will be completed in the Middle School. The science lab on the main floor will be completely renovated, and increased, substantially, in size. The science teaching space in the fifth-grade “wing” is also being upgraded and remodeled to add space, and to make it possible for a full class of fifth- or sixth-grade students to do just about anything they ought to be doing in a science class! The expansion/ upgrade includes furniture, science equipment, power, and … that most valued of all possessions at Eastside Prep … sinks. While that project is being completed, work on the new Upper School science facility will begin. At this writing, plans are not finalized. So rather than speculate about exactly where the building will be—or what it will contain, I’ll talk about what we want to be able to do as a result of creating this new space. Right now, we have very little space for display. Students make things of all sorts—and we rarely get a chance to see them for lack of space to do so. As we become better and better at project-based learning, we’ll need spaces where students can work—for extended periods of time— without having to dismantle things and begin again from one class period to the next. We may be able to create some private work stations for students whose work requires a long term commitment. Similarly, faculty may be able to access some spaces for their own research—creating something of a reverse independent study for students. We’ll have three new science labs—biology, chemistry, and physics. We’ll have a “maker space,” with tools and furnishings that make it possible for students to tackle projects of any size—and we’re developing the curriculum needed to take best advantage of such space and equipment. Most exciting to me is the possibility of flex-space. We’re creating some wide open spaces that can be turned into whatever is needed: a mini-theatre for speakers and presentations, a collection of work stations for individual students, kiosks for small groups of students to move chairs and tables to configure whatever kind of space they need for a group project—or just for a great conversation. The consequence of all this construction is that a substantial amount of square footage will be made available as labs and equipment transition from where they are to their new homes. How might that newly available space be repurposed? Is there a student publications office? Faculty

“We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”

offices? Art production and Connor (’15) utilizes maker display space? We’ll have no space in creating a project problem finding ways to fill during Make@EPS. it—and when we’re finished we still won’t have enough storage space. This kind of opportunity doesn’t just happen. It takes a lot of discussion, conceptualizing and fund-raising to be able to do what’s being done for all of us over the course of the next several months (the hope is that the new science facility will be open in fall, 2015). As this issue of Inspire is finding its way to our readers, we will have announced that EPS was given a $4 million challenge grant in January, 2014. The challenge was constructed in two parts: part one required that we raise $2 million in order to receive the first half of the challenge funds. Those funds had to be in the bank by January 30, 2014. Through the amazing generosity of our families—we made it. Right now we are in the process of completing the second half of the challenge. We will receive the second half of the $4 million grant if we can raise another $2 million from our own community. As I write this article, we have $1 million raised—and $1 million more to go. Up until now we’ve asked a few of our most generous donors to get us most of the way there. Now we need everybody. We have to raise $1 million from families and friends who have not yet participated in the capital fund-raising effort. The last million is the hardest to raise—so please, give us a boost! Finally, this opportunity came to us as a surprise. We spent the year talking about the school’s vision, assuming that it would take us several years to realize it. We are on the verge—right now—of realizing almost all of that vision before this year’s sophomores graduate. With years of capital campaigning under my belt, I can tell you that this is nothing short of a miracle. Every day that you drive past the campus, and every day that a student goes home to talk about the “cool thing we did in class today,” know that a portion of that “coolness” exists because we have been given the opportunity to create the space we need to teach the way we know works for everybody. Winston Churchill said almost everything better than anybody else. On this topic, he comes through again. ¢

- Winston Churchill

INSPIRE Spring 2014

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

Incentives Matter: Faculty Development at EPS By Matt Delaney, Academic Dean

HE EVOLUTION OF INSTRUCTION IS A PHRASE COINED BY OUR Director of Technology, Jonathan Briggs. He thinks about the concept in the following way: “Society is constantly evolving in the tools we use, the ways we communicate, and our expectations of citizens. The Evolution of Instruction is the recognition that as the world changes, the ways in which we reach students effectively must change as well.” Eastside Prep teachers embrace this idea, and it fuels our teaching and learning. Two of the more remarkable things about the members of the EPS faculty are their levels of engagement and innovative spirits. One of the challenges with such a passionate and driven group is figuring out what experiences will best capture this energy and put it to use. Three years ago, many of the faculty read Daniel Pink’s book, Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us; and all of us watched and discussed a great animated short (thersa.org/events/rsaanimate/animate/ rsa-animate-drive) based on the same text that Pink did with RSAnimate. His premise is that people who are engaged in tasks that require “high-cognitive skill” (the concept-heavy and creative, intellectual work that software engineers, designers, and teachers do) do not necessarily respond to, nor are they ultimately driven by, traditional monetary incentives (i.e. money). He suggests paying people enough to take that issue off the table. Citing a number of different research sources, he argues that people who are doing this kind of work need a new incentive structure: an engaging problem, and the time, space, and resources needed to dream up and design an innovative solution. Inherent in this incentive structure is the opportunity for individuals to pursue their own personal need for autonomy, mastery, and purpose. The EPS approach to professional development subscribes to similar thinking. We provide time, space, and resources to support individual faculty and small groups of faculty as they pursue areas of interest to construct powerful learning experiences for students. The result is a cohesive direction for teachers, students, and the school, and a faculty culture that continues to be positive, creative and collaborative.

“... people who are doing this kind of work need a new incentive structure: an engaging problem; and the

time, space, and resources needed to dream up and

design an innovative solution.”

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Autonomy Using Teacher-Driven Development

Mastery

Pursuing Teaching & Learning as Craft

Purpose

Program Development Days This year, in an effort to harness the experience of our teachers and to tighten the bonds in our professional community, faculty teams are designing and facilitating workshops for their colleagues focused on discussion of current cognitive research and investigation of best teaching practices. On each of these days, faculty members self-select into sessions on topics ranging from adolescent brain development and its impact on emotional and intellectual processes, to informal assessment techniques used during class sessions, to differentiation (the crafting of instruction to incorporate student interests and learning styles). Palpable in each of these sessions is a sense of empowerment and ownership, and a level of discourse few schools in the country can boast.

iGrants Inspired by the practice of an Australian software company Atlassian that Pink cites in Drive, our most innovative approach to professional development is our iGrant Program. In teams, faculty are given the freedom to pursue a project of their own design focused on enhancing student learning. We announce a yearly theme in our August meetings, faculty establish their own teams with the knowledge that they will have to present to our full faculty group at the close of the year on what is called our FedEx Day. (The event borrows the moniker of the event that Atlassian hosts, which they borrowed from the well-known air freight company.) It’s called a FedEx, because on this day the

Above: Katie Dodd and Laurie Benaloh in discussion at an EPS Program Development day.

Building Student-Centered Experiences

Adapted from Pink, Daniel H. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. New York, NY: Riverhead, 2009.

expectation is that faculty teams deliver. Looking around campus this year, it is incredible to see how many “deliveries” from last winter’s event are driving teaching and learning.

School Visits On the day before our second term, each of our faculty headed out to different school sites. The purpose was three-fold: (1) to see what innovative practices and tools other schools are using; (2) to reflect on how time and space are being employed in other learning settings; and finally (3) to affirm what we are already doing well at Eastside Prep. Returning to EPS in the afternoon to debrief our experience, teachers shared examples of both the innovative practices and effective use of time and space they observed at other school. Most powerful in our discussion, though, was the feeling that Eastside Prep as a whole was working toward a shared vision and goal for our students.

Learning is a conversation, but for too many schools it is the same conversation over and over. Whether an EPS student or faculty member, the path to deep learning is investment in our process. Autonomy (possessing the ability to self-direct), mastery (building confidence in what we know and what we can do), and purpose (understanding the why behind our knowing and doing), fuel the diversity of our conversation and keep it evolving. ¢

GENOGRAPHIC By Sarah Rainwater, English and Social Science Faculty

HEN PREPARING TO TEACH AN Eastside Prep course, there is no such thing as dusting off the textbook. Instead, teachers here reflect on past courses, collaborate on new ideas, and research—a lot. So when I found myself about to teach a Prehistory course, I had a lot of thinking to do. Prehistory, to start with, happened prior to the written word. In other words, there’s no record of it. So where does a teacher start? I started with the questions I’d want my students to answer. How did humans go from simple hunters and gatherers to members of sophisticated societies? Why have humans been the only species on earth to take over the world? And what is the trajectory of our existence based on the patterns of our past? These are not small ideas. How can one course scratch the surface on questions so significant? In examining these questions with my students, I had three goals. My first was making Prehistory “culturally relevant,” a phrase coined in 1990 by Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings. Her research shows that students learn most authentically when they see themselves in the content. In “seeing themselves,” they practice critical thinking in a much more meaningful way because it comes to fruition so authentically. But this poses a problem—how do modern, tech-savvy students see themselves in ancient Neolithic communities? My second goal was finding enough data. Yes, there are very smart people analyzing documents and making very fabulous guesses about the past that we call supportable theses. And sometimes those theses are the books we choose for our students, such as the Prehistory text Guns, Germs, and Steel by geographer Jared Diamond. The challenge of a social sciences teacher is to provide primary sources and encourage students to do what those experts do: make “fabulous guesses.” This is the life blood of a social scientist, and it is what makes this 12

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

PROJECT

subject fun. However, a Prehistory student can only stare at a two-million-year-old hominid’s teeth on a computer screen for so long before guessing is no longer fun. Teaching as I do at an integrated school, my third goal was collaboration. According to Judith Little, Professor of Education at Colorado University, “Successful schools are distinguishable from unsuccessful ones by the frequency and extent to which teachers discuss practice, collaboratively design materials, and inform one another.” I found inspiration toward my goals while watching the National Geographic video The Human Family Tree, in which Spencer Wells, a professor at Cornell and the developer of the Genographic Project, explains how genetic data has been used to trace human migration over 50,000 years, when modern humans first migrated out of Africa. I had never heard of such research, and was elated to learn the quantitative proof of something I had before only qualitatively felt: We are all connected. We are all African. No teacher ever taught me this. My history education paradigm was this: History is composed of competing groups and the victors write the history books. The Genographic Project began to show me that there is another paradigm for history, one that suggests we are all connected and, quite literally, all family. Incorporating this into my own class, my

A Student Perspective of the Human Genome Project Allison, Class of 2016

students began our Genographic Project with cheek swabs from Eastside Prep faculty members, a DNA analysis that took us back to a time when Africa was everyone’s shared home. It was a simple action that led to a monumental project, and in it I found how to make Prehistory relevant, data driven, and collaborative. Sam Uzwack challenges us to think about our enduring understandings: thirty years from now, what do we want students to remember? For my Prehistory class, I had found the answer. I wanted my students to study these migration patterns and to remember how the human family started together in Africa, moved into the Middle East, and then divided and spread east toward Asia and west toward Europe. I wanted them to remember we are family. People can become isolated in their own identity. But race is not real, a fact science clearly proves. This is a second major learning of this project: that race is a false means of categorization. Cultural differences, however, are real, and should be understood. When the results of the DNA swabs came back to school, students were running in from the hallway to see the data. Never, in the history of my teaching, had students run to analyze data. Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings was right— critical thinking comes automatically when the information is relevant, when it relates to the lives and cultures of the students. Many students told me they loved the Genographic Project. “It was so interesting to find out we all came from the same place,” said one student. “It was different than any project I’ve done before.” As we progressed toward presenting our findings at an all-school assembly, the project

The Human Genome Project was a tangible product that came out of a class’s hard work. Ms. Rainwater first introduced us to the project at the beginning of the first trimester, and we worked on it up until the day of our assembly at the end of the trimester. We even had to take a few hours after school one day to perfect the stage for the presentation. For this project, we researched, planned, and presented. We worked hard to be prepared and present something worthwhile and important. It was a project to feel proud of as a class and as individuals.

Students and faculty involved in the all-school assembly presentation

became about working as a team and the learning experience instead of just earning a grade. One student was practically in tears about the prospect of speaking to a crowd, but she nailed it. I was proud of her, but more importantly she was proud of herself. This event showed me that learning isn’t only about content, but also about setting goals, sticking with a plan, and saying “on with the show” as a team. My students saw that social science is not about facts; it is about analyzing the data and the primary sources. History is real and, quite literally, inside us all. When we analyzed the genes, science teacher Adam Waltzer visited. Regularly, students told me how their science class connected to social studies. It is because of the collaboration between Prehistory and biology that students were able to make connections across disciplines. Like our own history, Eastside Prep courses evolve, too. The inspiration for the Genographic Project helped our Prehistory course evolve into one that tells the story of all of us. ¢

INSPIRE Spring 2014

My Doc Film Experience By Fina Short, Class of 2016

HIS FALL, I TOOK A DOCUMENTARY Film class that completely shook up my life.

But before I talk about that, I have to admit something. I have never been a movie person. I haven’t even seen Star Wars. I switched into Ms. Rainwater’s Doc Film class because I had an extra free period and I thought what we were supposedly going to be doing (watching documentaries) wouldn’t be a lot of work. I had no idea what I was in for.

Don’t get me wrong—we did watch documentaries in the class. We started off with Nanook of the North, the first documentary ever made, and progressed forward from there, watching propaganda films from the 40’s and the 60’s, seeing The Thin Blue Line (a re-enactment of a 1988 murder case), and even the dramatic Baraka, an hour-anda-half-long movie with absolutely no words. But the class went so far beyond just “watching 14

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

documentaries” than I ever thought it could. We took a field trip to the Seattle Social Justice Film Festival. We got to talk to Samantha Stengal, one of Ms. Rainwater’s former students who directed a thirty-second Youtube video called A Needed Response that currently has over three million views. We conducted our own critiques of popular documentaries in the style of PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre. We even made our own films, in one of which I tried to

“I had no idea what I was in for.”

make my cats the starring actors. Unsurprisusually helpful or busywork? And the big ingly, it was terrible. Cats don’t know how one: how had making time for homework to act. changed their lives? But everything we did in the class led After looking at all the interviews, I up to our final product: a five- to ten-minute started to think that EPS students offered too documentary. The premise of this docunarrow of a perspective on students’ general mentary was to pick a topic we felt strongly attitudes towards homework. And the only about—immigration rights in the United way to get a broader perspective on homeStates, for example—and to storyboard a plot, work was to ask kids from other schools. So conduct interviews, film the documentary usI went to the mall with a video camera and a ing artistic film techniques, and watch it with list of questions. Anyone who looked within the class in an end-of-trimester film festival. I my general age range was fair game for getdidn’t even know where to start. ting pounced on. After a string of interviews First off, the topic selection was comwith random teenagers, I found that yes, stupletely open, which terrified me. I can barely dents at EPS often spent more time on their drag myself out of bed homework than stuin the mornings. I didn’t dents at other schools, feel motivated enough but homework affected about any cause to want students’ lives deeply no to film a documentary matter what school they about it. Three weeks went to. from the due date, I was With that in mind, I still frantically searching put it all together, adding for something, anything, in a slew of research and that I was passionate facts that have been colabout. Sports? Social lected against homework media? Cats? I wanted to so that the documentary sit down and research a would be more credible. few different ideas, but I But after watching it, I had so much homework realized that something leading up to finals that I was missing. It needed couldn’t find the time. a more personal touch, That’s when it hit something that would me. The number one get my message across— thing that I (and high Fina, Lillian and Inaayat (all Class of 2016) in class that homework proschool students everyfoundly affects students’ where) hate with a burning passion. The one thing that lives. So I turned to my classmates, the people whose lives I yes, I absolutely would do away with if I could, no quesknow are deeply affected by homework because I have been tions asked. Homework. I would film a documentary watching them doing math problems and writing research against homework, and maybe, somewhere, I could cause papers with them since we started at Eastside Prep in fifth a small change. grade. I had them do one thing: write how many hours of The first step to making a documentary seemed to homework they have daily on a piece of paper. be conducting interviews, so I did. First, I talked to a few In this segment of the final video, each of my classteachers, including Mr. Gummere and Ms. Heaton, and mates held up a piece of paper with that number written asked them questions like how much homework they on it. They held the paper with that number in front of thought their students were doing per night or whether their faces, so I couldn’t even tell my best friends apart. they thought homework was always effective. Once I I may still not have seen Star Wars. And I probably had that information, I interviewed students. How much won’t ever be a movie person. But the reaction that partichomework were they actually doing per night—did the ular piece of my documentary got, the effect a few simple numbers match up with what the teachers had thought images had on so many people, has shown me the power they were doing? Did they think their homework was that film really can have. ¢ INSPIRE Spring 2014

ASSEMBLIES as an EXTENSION of the CLASSROOM By Jeff Adair, Dean of Students

In a given week, students spend 215 minutes in each subject. In that time, teachers provide a wide array of instruction from creative writing techniques to DNA replication labs. At Eastside Prep, learning is not confined to 215 minutes, however. Whether in a conversation over lunch or a meeting during office hours, learning is constant. Much of this learning happens in informal ways but is also supported in some formalized settings. Assemblies are a great example of this. Each week, EPS students and faculty gather in the LevingerPoole Commons for an assembly period. Assemblies are designed to reinforce the mission and vision of EPS, to provide a shared community experience and to reinforce learning in the classroom. Recently, the world was saddened with the loss of Nelson Mandela, who was described in life as an “elder of the human tribe.” Coincidentally, at the time of his passing, the eighthgrade Historical and Literary Thinking classes were studying contemporary Africa. Over the course of the unit, the eighth graders used class time to gain an understanding of the evils of apartheid and the efforts of Mandela and others. In class, 16

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

“Watching slam poets on YouTube is interesting… seeing slam poets on stage at assembly is inspiring.”

students were informed about the topic and had the opportunity to deepen their understanding at an assembly that week. Adrienne Behrmann, an EPS calculus teacher and a native South African, shared her memories of the famous civil rights leader and her life growing up in Cape Town. She described in great detail how proud she was as South Africa transitioned from the oppressive government in the 1990’s to a more democratic government and how important Mandela was to both the country and herself. Students were riveted as Ms. Behrmann shared personal and powerful accounts of tragedy and triumph. When asked about the experience, Ms. Behrmann remarked, “Although many of our students know who Mandela was, very few know the enormous impact he had on South Africa. I’m honored to share his legacy with our students.” Another great example of how assemblies support classroom learning is with the recent performance by slam poets Troy Osaki and Henry Luke. The two were invited to EPS by the Upper School Creative Writing class. A few weeks earlier, creative writing students attended Seattle Youth Speaks at the Freemont Abbey. The students were so impressed that they wanted to share the experience with

the entire school. Troy and Henry entertained the students with their hard hitting verse, touching on issues such as race, Asian identity, and the gentrification of Seattle. Not only did the performance inspire the poetry students but it touched on course topics from the biology and Seattle history classes. A creative writing student remarked, “Watching slam poets on YouTube is interesting…seeing slam poets on stage at assembly is inspiring.” Whether in the anecdotes shared by Kirsten Pike, Upper School English faculty, about her time in the Peace Corps or a presentation by the engineers on the State Route 99 tunnel project, Eastside Prep assemblies For more information work to enhance the value on slam poetry, see the of class time and further article on page 20. demonstrate that at EPS, learning is constant. ¢ This page, from top right: Ethan, Ashkon and Trent (all Class of 2020) at assembly; faculty member Kirsten Pike talks about her time in the Peace Corp during assembly; Adrienne Behrmann talks about South Africa and the impact of Nelson Mandela

INSPIRE Spring 2014

EastsidePrep 2014

By Jonathan Briggs, Director of Technology

ASTSIDE PREP STARTED HOSTING TEDX events in 2010 in order to bring in ideas from outside of our school community. Sometimes those ideas speak directly to how we teach and sometimes they are parallel to what we do and our teachers take those ideas and figure out what might enhance our courses. In teaching, we are preparing students to think about and engage with the culture and society around them. That target is always charging ahead and as it does so our approach to teaching and learning must keep pace. TEDXEastsidePrep is one of the ways in which we keep ourselves focused on the long view.

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

On February 14th, Eastside Prep hosted its fourth TEDXEastsidePrep event. Our faculty were joined by parents and other members of the greater Seattle area to hear five speakersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; thoughts on the theme Time & Space. Speakers had their own take on the theme and how they see it applying to both their field and education in general. Every presentation was also recorded and is available at TEDXEastsidePrep.com (along with every talk from previous years). Briefly, this is what each speaker had to say:

LINDSEY ENGH: CO-FOUNDER OF IMPACT HUB SEATTLE Lindsey reflected on what makes Impact Hub (www.impacthubseattle. com) work well, noting that great ideas emerge from the building of communities. In essence, great ideas are a natural consequence of people feeling a sense of purpose and belonging. Lindsey went on to note that this does not have to be an altruistic philosophical endeavor. In fact one of the ways in which you build community is, counter-intuitively, serving the individual. Her talk included a variety of tools to foster these efforts. JIM FLATMO: GAME DESIGNER, MATHEMATICS AND PROGRAMMING TEACHER AT SNO-ISLE TECH SKILLS CENTER Jim started by dispelling a few stereotypes of gamers. Most of us are gamers in one way or another, as are the vast majority of students. In building an analogy to a classroom setting, Jim urged us to consider real time strategy games like Starcraft. To do well, you have to manage resources to accomplish objectives, much like a classroom. The other gaming paradigm that Jim addressed was the two general genres of multiplayer games: player vs. player and player vs. environment. He noted that the default position of many students is player vs. player and that as teachers we have to work to instill confidence that we are operating in a player vs. environment space. Confused by all these terms? Check out Jim’s talk as he walked us through the discussion. (www.snoisletech.com)

Left: TEDXEastsidePrep 2014 speakers gather with Jonathan Briggs and Jennifer Cross at Central Cinema.

JARED STEIN: VICE PRESIDENT OF RESEARCH AND EDUCATION, INSTRUCTURE (creator of Canvas) Jared guided us briefly through some of the changes in education over the last twenty years while noting that for him, independent studies quite literally got him through high school. He gravitated towards online teaching and became an online teacher. Then he went back to the face-to-face style and had a few revelations: some things are better online, others are better in person. Jared has thought about this balance more than anyone I know and you’ll enjoy his discussion on the matter as he relates it to the history of the world learning to read. (www.instructure.com) SHAWN CORNALLY: HEAD OF THE BIG IDEAS GROUP SCHOOL, IOWA Shawn joined us for a second talk (he spoke in our very first TEDXEastsidePrep) to describe the school that he is now running based on many of the ideas he shared with us four years ago. BIG is a fascinating place where they are working to remix the ways in which students gain credit for courses. Instead of taking a course, they pitch a project. The teachers at BIG then figure out what skills from various courses are involved in successfully completing that project and assess them as they are completed. After a few projects, the pieces add up to some full courses. The process is fascinating and just starting to be fine tuned, check out the talk to find out what lessons have been learned in the first six months of this experimental school. (www.bigideasgroup.org)

Audience members at TedXEastsidePrep

JAIME WAYDO: RESEARCHER AT GOOGLE[X] AND FORMER SCIENTIST AT THE JET PROPULSION LAB Jaime brought us through a comparison of typical school scenarios as compared to the work of rocket scientists. She encouraged us to reflect on a few notable differences between the work of engineers and the expectations of a typical school. In particular, she noted that there are many ways to solve a problem, you rarely get it right the first time, and that it often takes large diverse teams of people working together to solve tough problems. Check out her talk to see how all these points are reinforced by her experiences as a team member on the Curiosity Mars Rover mission. (www.research.google.com)

The wonderful talks by our speakers inspired many conversations all around Central Cinema (our venue). If you were there, thank you for being a part of TEDXEastsidePrep. If you missed it, we hope we’ll see you at the next one. Next year’s event is tentatively scheduled for March 20th, 2015 and is sure to be full of great ideas to ponder and apply to education in ways that empower and engage our students.  INSPIRE Spring 2014

SPOKEN WORD POETRY By Kirsten Pike, English Faculty

HAT IS IT ABOUT SPOKEN WORD POETRY THAT SO captivates and connects with audiences? Is it the raw vulnerability of the poets as they put themselves and their beliefs up for public scrutiny? Is it the trust and support of the audience as they rub their hands together—as if warming them over a fire—to create the shushing noise that tells the poets they are not alone, that their missed line or choked voice is no big deal, and that this too shall pass? Is it the space for the writers to explore conversations they never got to have, frustrations and observations about the world around them, relationships and experiences they have had no other place to process? Is it the uncensored and unconventional style of the writing and performing itself as poets sing, confide, rant, swear, or whisper, using their whole bodies to bring this written word to stelliforous, pulsating life? It is all of these things. And these are the reasons why, when I began teaching spoken word poetry this fall, the course took on a life of its own. I said to my small class of nine creative writing students, “I’ve never taught it before, but I think we should just try writing some spoken word poetry, jump into it and just write some poems for a few weeks.” Then I had to try to define this genre for them. The best way to define the art form is to call it performance poetry that focuses on delivering a message, connecting with the audience, and self-expression. Due to the 20

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

wonderful breadth of poetry on YouTube, students found poems and poets that inspired them, they started drafting their own work, and then we went to our first Youth Speaks open mic in Beacon Hill. Crammed into the tiny Station Café, people sat on the floor or perched on the counter. We joined the crowd of twenty or so, tucking ourselves away in a back corner. After two hours of poetry, we got on the bus and drove back to Eastside Prep, all blown away by the raw emotion of the poets, their diverse experiences, and the safe space this group of strangers had created for each other on this random Sunday night. At the next open mic we went to in the University District, five EPS students

Clockwise from center: Andrea (’14) and Warren (’14) with Kirsten Pike and slam poets Troy Osaki and Henry Luke; Sadie (’17), Kaitlyn (’17) and Josie (’17) at a slam poetry event in Seattle (separate photos)

“spat” their original poetry, challenging themselves to stand in front of a room of college students and deliver their own stories. Our trimester culminated with poetry performances as each student stood in a circle of white Christmas lights at our “final exam” coffee house in the Upper School. They performed their works on topics ranging from dyslexia to grade pressures, from elusive fears to the intrinsic value of a good hug. Watching, I could not have been more proud of them, and there was no denying that this group of students had found a bond through sharing their poetry that would long outlive the end of the trimester. I was a convert; spoken word was a genre, an outlet, an experience that all high schoolers could benefit from exposure to. Last trimester, local spoken word poets Troy Osaki and Henry Luke shared their poetry in an all-school assembly. As they performed their pieces about race, ancestry, love, and Seattle, they held the audience rapt in the palms of their hands. These same poets led poetry writing workshops at EPS and provided feedback to student poets seeking to hone their performance skills. A group of eighteen students also attended The 2nd Preliminary Youth Speaks Poetry Slam, in which five EPS students climbed the stage to share

their work and compete for spots on the 2014 Youth Speaks Seattle team. The Seattle team will travel to The 17th Annual Brave New Voices International Youth Poetry Slam Festival (BNV), the largest ongoing spoken word event in the world. While at the four-day event, the Seattle team will attend world-class workshops and performances by renowned poets, writers, and musicians, and will participate in an Olympic-style poetry competition against teams from across the U.S. and abroad. The event is sponsored by Youth Speaks, a non-profit organization, and will take place from July 1619, 2014, in Philadelphia, PA. But, as all spoken word poets are fond of saying about poetry slam competitions, “the point is not the point, the point is the poetry.” Kieran (’14), one of Eastside Prep’s most prolific slam poets, says of spoken word that it is “an outlet in all forms. It’s more than just writing poetry; having it public and open takes a lot of strength and through poetry, people can find their voice and come to terms with emotions and feelings.” Hopefully, this outlet will be contagious here at EPS, leading more and more students to express themselves through writing and performance, foster community, and develop rich and lasting relationships with others at Eastside Prep and beyond. ¢ INSPIRE Spring 2014

Metamorphoses, adapted from Ovid’s poem (A.D. 8), was this year’s Middle School play production. Thirty-seven students (along with faculty, staff, and parent support) took part in the production, directed by Michael Cruz. Technical direction was provided by David Holmes and Roberta Christensen.

«EPS PRODU

ar was ction for this ye u od pr l ca si u m ool The Upper Sch

th Annual Putnam 5 2 The g Bee, n i l l e p S y t n u o C n, with . This productio

ette e finals by Meghan Arn takes place at th , with direction ts en d u st o w l thirty-t County. Musica am n ut participation by P al n io ct bee in fi d technical for the spelling atthew Kruse an ensen. M by ed id ov erta Christ direction was pr olmes and Rob H id av D by on directi

CTIONS

METAMORPHOSES

THE 25TH ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE

VISITING THINKER:

Dr. Christine Gross-Loh By Kelly Moore, PhD, Director of Student Support Services

N DECEMBER, EASTSIDE PREP’S COMMUNITY RESPECT FORUM hosted Visiting Thinker author and journalist Christine Gross-Loh. Dr. Gross-Loh is the author of several books, most recently Parenting Without Borders: Surprising Lessons Parents Around the World Can Teach Us. Her interest in global parenting began when she was a child, growing up as the Korean-American daughter of immigrant parents in small-town Pennsylvania. Her writing has appeared in a number of outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and The Huffington Post. She holds a PhD from Harvard University in East Asian history. During a parent book discussion, Dr. Gross-Loh discussed the unique lens with which American families view children and parenting. For example, she cited Japanese children who bring cleaning supplies to school as they are expected to take care of their school campus as part of their traditional school day. She let us know Finnish children have twice as many recesses as American children yet rank among the world’s highest academic achievers. America’s obsession with self-esteem also came under scrutiny in our discussion. Dr. Gross-Loh stated that despite high confidence rankings, American children are less happy than many of their peers in other countries. “It turns out,” claims Gross-Loh in her book Parenting Without Borders, “that when parents and educators send children the message that their needs and their individual happiness and dreams are more important than other things, like being a compassionate, ethical, hard-working person, it makes them unhappy.” In the afternoon, Dr. Gross-Loh spoke with our Upper School students during assembly. Her focus with the students was how ancient Chinese philosophy is changing the world view of Harvard students, a topic which is the subject of her latest book she is co-authoring with Harvard Professor, Michael Puett. Puett teaches ancient Chinese philosophy at Harvard and it 24

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

has become the most popular class on campus. In a recent article in The Atlantic, Dr. Gross-Loh states that “Puett tells his students that being calculating and rationally deciding on plans is precisely the wrong way to make any sort of important life decision. The Chinese philosophers they are reading would say that this strategy makes it harder to remain open to other possibilities that don’t fit into that plan. Students who do this ‘are not paying enough attention to the daily things that actually invigorate and inspire them, out of which could come a really fulfilling, exciting life.’” The Visiting Thinker series brings to our campus featured scholars whose passions relate to EPS programs. It was originally part of our professional development program but has now evolved to an expanded audience of parents and students. Dr. Gross-Loh is Eastside Prep’s twelfth Visiting Thinker. ¢

What’s on Your Bookshelf?

Faculty member Paul Hagen is the focus in our third examination of the bookshelves of our faculty and administration. Paul has provided us with his own descriptions of the books he is currently reading (or will be reading soon), which cover topics from history to poetry to pottery.

Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788 Pauline Maier

A Century of Sonnets James A. Michener

This is the best book written on the Constitution in the last twenty years (or perhaps ever) and is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding how our most cherished document came to be.

The great James Michener is best known for his lengthy fiction, but he was also a lifelong lover and writer of poetry. In this collection, published in his nineties, we find Michener’s best sonnets written over seven decades.

This Republic of Suffering: Death and the American Civil War Drew Gilpin Faust

Shoji Hamada: A Potter’s Way & Work Susan Peterson

The Swerve: How the World Became Modern Stephen Greenblatt

The Things They Carried Tim O’Brien

The Barbarous Years: The Peopling of British North America – The Conflict of Civilizations, 1600-1675 Bernard Bailyn

Letters to a Young Teacher Jonathan Kozol

The most original work relating to the Civil War to be published this decade. Faust is not only the first female president of Harvard, she is also a superb historian and one of the great creative minds in our field.

Winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction, this is an ambitious narrative history that is both interesting and insightful.

Though I haven’t read this yet, I have been told it is the best book written about this often misunderstood period in American history. Bailyn is the foremost living authority on early American history and is a genius storyteller.

One part biography, one part life philosophy, one part theory of aesthetics, and one part seminar in pottery. This is the best book about the legendary Shoji Hamada, one of the greatest Japanese potters of the last century.

This collection of short stories about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War is a lyrical masterpiece! One of the greatest opening chapters to be written in the last decade.

Kozol’s work first burst onto my psyche when, in 2003, I read his unflinching treatise on American schools, Savage Inequalities. Since that time I have found myself returning to his writings often. This, Kozol’s latest book, recently caught my eye and I hope to read it soon.

INSPIRE Spring 2014

EVOLVING PROGRAM:

Independent Studies By Matt Delaney, Academic Dean

WO EVER-PRESENT QUESTIONS AT EASTSIDE Prep are: How do students learn best? and What kind of learning opportunities do students need to thrive? A partial answer to both questions is a diversity of experiences. Some learning takes the form of direct instruction from teachers, some is done in collaboration with both teachers and classmates, and for a handful of seniors each year, learning takes the form of researching, designing, proposing, and participating in their own independent studies. One of the core elements of the independent school experience is the ability to watch a student’s growth over time. This is most tangible for me when a once-sixthgrader (whom I might have met in the lunch line), stands poised six years later in front of the Curriculum Committee to propose or conclude an independent course of study. In this moment, I see a student who has embraced the role of an independent learner and thinker. When seniors open our Course Catalog, they see the following:

Independent Studies Trimester Course

Grade: 12 Elective

Independent studies are a hallmark of EPS’s most engaged and self-motivated students. These provide seniors the opportunity to extend their academic exploration into topics not currently offered in the EPS Course Catalog. These efforts give students practice working one-on-one with faculty members, similar to collaboration that will be expected of their professors in the college setting. Interested students identify a topic or subject area that they would like to examine; find a faculty mentor to work with; and construct a ten-week curriculum which includes weekly meetings with a faculty mentor. A text of appropriate complexity is required for all independent studies. Both initial proposal and final presentations are heard by the EPS Curriculum Committee.

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Beginning with the Class of 2009, our first graduating class, students have engaged in over forty independent studies in a wealth of subject areas at EPS (see table below). Taking the opportunity to self-direct their learning, each student has emerged from the experience with a greater idea of what it means to construct their own understanding. At open house events, we explain that one of the goals for our students is that they become high-bandwidth— possessing a capacity to learn in a number of different settings in a number of different ways. Independent studies give our students the latitude and opportunity to define what this can look like. The result is that each time a senior proposes and completes an Independent Study, what future seniors imagine is possible evolves. What follows are two proposal descriptions from studies that were completed by EPS seniors this past fall. Each took on a study of significant depth, and notably, each included an element that expanded the way future seniors might imagine their own proposals. The first is an electrical engineering pursuit that leveraged digital content from MIT OpenCourseWare. The second, inspired by an initial exploration of women’s rights in the American Studies program, has that senior returning to share her findings with our current juniors in the same program. Both remind us that learning at its core is a personal pursuit, and that being open to multiple paths for students lets them own their learning. INDEPENDENT STUDY SUBJECT AREAS 2009-2014 2008-2009 Psychology Photography Art Programming 2009-2010 Prehistory: the Great Zimbabwe

2010-2011 Political Philosophy Fitness Studies 3D Modeling Concepts With Blender Programming Medical Ethics Latin American Poetry

Algebra 2 with an introduction to Calculus Media Literacy Sleep, Nutrition & Fitness Personal Training & Pilates Advanced Drawing

Electrical Engineering

An Independent Study Application by Steven (’14) I want to understand various circuits and connect them to software that I create, bridging the gap between hardware and software. Understanding how various circuit components and whole circuits work (with respect to inputs, outputs, and analog/ digital signals) lets me both understand what electronic pre-built components do, and how to create components that do exactly what I want. Along the way, I will use Arduino (open-source, programmable, micro-computer) to apply various principles and see how they actually work, as opposed to just being taught what they do. I will follow the MIT 6.002x course on EdX.org, take the assessments, and follow the simulations provided, tracking progression in specific topics and overall comprehension. Towards the end of the term, I will move from the courseware to building with the Arduino, which will be the platform of my final project. This class differs from any offered classes in that it combines a couple concepts from Advanced Physics, Programming, and physical building.

The Third Wave of Feminism

An Independent Study Application by Sage (’14) In this course I hope to learn how to make sense of the many different approaches to feminism I have absorbed in my free time this past year, and how feminism fits in my life as a modern woman. I hope to develop specific skills in communicating feminist ideas with the proper terms and applying feminist ideals to my everyday life. Three specific pieces of evidence I will create to show my overall learning are: a mid-term paper comparing and contrasting the core concepts of feminism; a final invited presentation on the importance of feminism in the modern day—not just for women, but society as a whole; and a written reflection journal to be worked on throughout my learning process in the class. I need to work on this as an independent study rather than in one of our standard courses because, like most high schools, women’s studies are noticeably absent from the offered curriculum. The movement I will be observing is in its nascent stages; being formed as I write these words. I fear if I do not make the class myself, I will not get a class on this movement until long after my nieces are in high school. I need this class; I need it as I attempt to understand the place feminism has in my life, and more than anything, as an opportunity for self-reflection.

Upper School Head Bart Gummere often comments that what most impresses him about our Upper School students is their ability to transition from having expectations provided for them, to constructing and following

their own. By engaging in independent studies, students like Steven and Sage own their expectations, and in turn, own their learning. ¢

2011-2012 Teaching Art Child and Adolescent Abnormal Psychology Art: Realism & Anatomy Creative Writing: The Novel Ethics Color Study Art-Realism & Anatomy

2013-2014 The Third Wave of Feminism Stagecraft: Lighting Design Electrical Engineering Introduction to Marketing Midi Production and Music Recording Mobile Application Development

Math Beyond the Numbers Photography Art & Design Latin American & Spanish Literature Photography: Technique and Composition Psychology

2012-2013 Abstract Algebra Computer Aided Design Probability & Statistics Neuroscience & Music Applied Physics

Photography & Photoshop Advanced Physics and Electronics Pencil and Charcoal Drawing

INSPIRE Spring 2014

ULTIMATE SEASON

By Doug Blair, Athletics Director

LOSE YOUR EYES AND imagine 2008. Eastside Prep’s very own Class of 2014 was in sixth grade, and in attendance at the largest youth Ultimate tournament in the world: Spring Reign. Senior captain Steven Benaloh reflects, “[Spring Reign 2008] was my first Ultimate tournament, helping spark a passion that has been quite possibly the most influential part of my life to date.” Steven has now attended dozens of tournaments around the United States, and his similarly seasoned teammates share his sentiments on how the sport of Ultimate has affected their lives. Upper School Boys’ Coach Adam Waltzer (who picked up Ultimate on a whim in college), remembers Ultimate as a great fit for the first Middle School team sport at Eastside Prep. Ultimate was “something that a lot of kids could start doing and really didn’t need to have a background in.” Along with Upper School Girls’ Coach Elin Kuffner, Adam has helped grow Ultimate at Eastside Prep to a point where, as Steven says, “we are now one of maybe three high schools in the nation where Ultimate is the most 28

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

popular sport.” The Eastside Prep teams have already put their stamp on the vibrant local Ultimate scene with playoff wins and sending players to the most competitive club programs. The dedication of our players and coaches is described perfectly by Steven, “The importance of Ultimate Frisbee to me is difficult to describe. It is a combination of every extracurricular category for me: hobby, pastime, volunteer, job, even obsession.” The EPS Upper School Boys had a great fall, reaching the state semi-finals. Three Eagles (Steven (’14), Max (’14) and Nels (’16)) earned all-league honors and were named to all-state teams, and Coach Waltzer was named Coach of the Year in the Emerald City League. In addition, Eastside Prep received the Team Spirit Award. We are looking forward to a great spring season for the Middle School and Upper School teams, and are excited about the future of a still growing sport. ¢

Clockwise from top: The Ultimate team huddles during a game; the varsity and junior varsity Ultimate teams. Kieran (’14) reaches for the frisbee; the pressure is on Max (’14).

Compassionate LEADERSHIP By Marta Picoto, Class of 2014

S A STUDENT AT EASTSIDE PREP, I HAVE ALWAYS wanted to try something new, including EPS’s extra-curricular programs, clubs, and sports teams. In my first year at EPS, sixth grade, the school adopted a Peer Mediation program that allowed students to handle conflicts between friends in a more formal, efficient way. I was excited because I have always tried to give the best advice I could and I wanted to learn how I could better help and support my community. But by the end of Middle School, less focus was put on peer mediation because not many conflicts occurred; which is definitely not a bad thing. But, I was sad that the program was over and since then, I hoped EPS would bring some form of the program back. Last year, EPS implemented a similar program which took mediation and mentoring a step further. It focused on strengthening the community, giving Upper Schoolers the opportunity to mentor Middle Schoolers during Advisory. I was instantly interested in Peer Mentoring because once again I would be able to help resolve conflicts, give advice and meet new people. As a mentor of two years, I have enjoyed the experience of being able to, in my case, hang out with a fantastic group of girls, discuss issues and connect with one another over subjects we all love. At first the program only lasted for a few weeks, and my partner Kathleen (’14) and I were barely able to discuss issues and give support because Advisory time was spent playing games and getting to know each other. At the end of the year, the girls begged us to come back. It seemed like our time shouldn’t be over. Because of this feedback, the program expanded further and this year, my new partner, Tenley (’15) and I come to our girls’ Advisory twice a month, if not more. The experience for both the girls and me has been stronger as we have delved deeper and created a better support system, along with a fun atmosphere. My friend Kaitlin, an eleventh grader and also a mentor says, “Mentoring is a great opportunity to both learn leadership skills and to become closer with the EPS community.” Indeed, mentoring is one of the programs at EPS through which Upper Schoolers and Middle Schoolers come together. Also, the leadership skills and communication skills we learn are extremely important because they allow us to test different approaches for leading a group, while also preparing us for the rest of Upper School and college.

Marta (’14) flanked by Noah (’14) and Ben (’14)

Tenth-grade mentor Allison says she likes mentoring because she feels that she can be a role model to the kids in a way that’s different than if she were an adult or a teacher. The connection between young and older students is more effective for mentoring because we, as students, have experienced Middle School recently and we have fresh knowledge, feedback, and advice from what we learned as Middle Schoolers. At the same time, Peer Mentoring also broadens my perspective and allows me to learn different student perspectives. As my time at EPS is almost over, I have a lot to reflect upon—my friends, my teachers, the life and academic skills I have learned, inclusivity, what it means to be in a community, how to lead a sports team… I could go on forever. But mentoring has made me a better person, leader, teacher, relator, and communicator; it has expanded my strengths and brought me out of my comfort zone. It has given me skills I will take with me to college, and use when connecting with my patients if I become a doctor. Finally, mentoring has made me laugh and connect with the community I love. It has allowed me to give back to my second family that is Eastside Prep, and for what EPS has given me over these incredibly rewarding eight years. ¢ INSPIRE Spring 2014

Progressing Through the English Discipline By Wendy Lawrence, Founding Faculty

PERSPECTIVE ON OURSELVES AND OUR WORLD “Literature is about the study of humanity,” says Upper School faculty member Dr. Elena Olsen. It’s about “human relationships, what drives us, how we experience the wonder and pain of life.” Fellow Upper School faculty member Sarah Rainwater asks her students “to dive into the murkiness of the human spirit and feel it out for themselves.” Kirsten (“KP”) Pike hopes her students gain “a new sense of community, stories that enrich their perspective on the world, confidence as thinkers, and familiarity with new ideas.” Stephen Keedy sees his job as facilitating this kind of growth. “There are specific themes I want students to understand and explore in a text but it’s important not to disclose those exactly. This is different than, for example, a math course where the ideas and goals are much more concrete. It is important for students to discover things on their own to build confidence and critical thinking skills.” In other words, it isn’t about the five-paragraph essay and the Oxford comma anymore. Teaching to the very soul of a student might seem a tall order, but the Eastside Prep English discipline assures that there is nothing a good English class can’t cover, no place it can’t take you, no reality to which it cannot connect you. So how does a teacher prepare for such a wide-reaching class? Sarah Rainwater has a unique approach: the head and heart technique. She wants her students to use their head for literary analysis: to dissect a novel and talk about themes, metaphors, and motifs. But 30

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

they also need to use their heart to “participate in the emotional, philosophical, and political appeals of the authors.” Rainwater argues that they need the former for college, but the latter for life. “EPS teachers select readings from a variety of time periods, locations, cultures, and writing styles,” says Middle School teacher Allison Luhrs. But perspective doesn’t come only from books. “It’s why we hold discussions, encouraging students to share and listen. It’s why we make room for plenty of choice in writing topics.” Perspective also comes from connections. “Literature does not exist in a vacuum,” the English discipline faculty members wrote in a recent self-study. They want students to see how literature reflects history, art, science, and human interaction. “Connections help students develop empathy in an increasingly desensitized society.” COMMUNICATION BETWEEN OURSELVES AND THE WORLD But what good is a well-founded perspective if you can’t effectively share it with anyone? Enter another goal of English: communication. When asked what she most wants her Above: Daria Brandt works with Dylan (‘21).

students to learn, fifth-grade English faculty Daria Brandt says “a deeper appreciation for the world and the main tool that we use to communicate—language.” “Students need to understand what kind of communication is appropriate in different situations,” the discipline members write in a recent self-study. “They need an understanding of audience and medium.” To this end, the curriculum includes experience in real-world writing styles such as evaluative essays, persuasive letters, and reviews. Argument and critical thinking are core components. “Whether we are teaching vocabulary, grammar, creative writing, or how to structure an analytical essay, our efforts all serve our desire to turn out better communicators,” says Luhrs. The communication goals go beyond the so-called “real world” of professionals. EPS English courses also teach students how to engage in academic dialogue and manipulate language within academic constraints. And

then the next day, they turn the page and start pushing the boundaries through poetry; no one ever said it was easy. “I want students to be developing their own writer’s voices—this means different things in every assignment,” says Olsen. But what about the comma? The English discipline has grammar learning targets for each grade level, but it isn’t a separate curriculum. “KP and I recently read a batch of papers with some comma splices and passive voice,” says Luhrs, and they responded with corresponding grammar lessons. “We want grammar to feel immediate and useful.” “Communication skills are learned best in context so the more writing and revision you do, the more opportunities you offer your students to work on it,” says Brandt. This process lets us “meet kids where they are rather than having a one size fits all curriculum.”

FROM FIFTH GRADE TO SENIOR YEAR How different are the Middle and Upper School in their quest for these goals? Only slightly, say the faculty. “Our core values span the divisions: The power of story, interpersonal skills, and argument and critical skills.” Olsen says Middle School students work on building a foundation of skills, and Upper School students stand on that foundation to take on more self-directed work. That self-direction is a more advanced form of the choice allowed in the Middle School, where independent reading assignments encourage kids to interact with books aligned with their own passions and reading levels. “I give a lot of power and choice to my students,” says Middle School teacher Eric Claesson. “Classes should be fun, relevant, and designed for the student.” “While a fifth-grade discussion may sound different from a twelfth-grade discussion,” says Luhrs, “the skills and values at the heart of the activity are the same.”

Keedy agrees. “The Middle School courses teach students argumentative skills, how to analyze and discuss texts, and ultimately how to conduct themselves in a language arts classroom. In the Upper School we dive deeper into the nuances of the works and we discuss the implications for both their lives and the world they are moving into.” One difference is the level of ambiguity. The Middle School courses tend to focus more on the concrete. “Upper Schoolers engage with material that is more emotionally and intellectually difficult,” says Olsen. In fifth grade, Brandt integrates with other subjects around themes. “For grammar, I work in conjunction with Spanish 1A” so students see the same grammar structures in two languages. She also integrates with history. “Students use artifacts, memorabilia and interviews to write their own history” for their autobiography project.

From left: Eric Claesson and Sydney (‘20) review a paper; Daria Brandt and Lauren (‘21) confer over a laptop; Dr. Elena Olsen and Sydney (’15) in class

INSPIRE Spring 2014

“Students use Knots in My YoYo String by Jerry Spinelli as a mentor autobiography” that shows them how to think about their lives thematically rather than chronologically. As students progress through the EPS curriculum, their perspective broadens. They analyze more complex texts, they connect to a more complex world, and they understand (and become) a more complex self. MILESTONE EVENTS Like every great journey, the trek through the EPS English curriculum is marked with “milestones,” distinct focal points of progress that students look forward to each year. In the Middle School, the Nigerian Festival is one such project. “We are working to shift and broaden the students’ perspective on Africa,” says Pike. After studying rich African stories, drumming, language, and tradition, they read Achebe’s Things Fall Apart, then host a Nigerian festival that includes drumming, food, fashions, art, music, stories, and more. Eleventh-grade students are challenged with “the Race Project,” an integrated assignment in American Literature and American History. “During the fall and winter, they study Native American and African American history and culture. They also explore the social construction of race. Then they research a contemporary topic in African American or Native American experience and tie that to course material. They write and present an analysis of their research, in which they address the role of race in the contemporary United States.” “My Literary Thinking 1 students study Greek Mythology and then write their own EPS mythology,” says Claesson. “The stories are always hilarious and amazing, but the best part is that they are a barometer through the eyes of the sixth grade for the parts of our school culture that are interesting, important, or weird. I won’t name names, but the Upper School head is usually a major villain.” Other milestones in the English curriculum include fifth-grade science fiction stories, a seventh-grade research project, and a ninth-grade Middle Eastern graphic novel.

Top: Allison Luhrs ponders a student’s comments. Right: Kirsten Pike leads a class discussion.

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

THE BOOKS If a text makes it into a backpack at EPS, it’s been chosen carefully. It has so much work to do: opening eyes to something new, reminding of something old, whispering a beautiful sentence, shouting a tight argument—all while integrating into history or science class! But the real question is this: do English teachers have a favorite? Elena Olsen says no. “I love every text for different reasons. I love To Kill A Mockingbird, because there is something timeless that students love. I love Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven because it enables students to think about difficult issues through humor and lyrical writing. I love teaching Shakespeare because it gets us out of our chairs.” Keedy names The Stranger by Albert Camus. “It is fun watching students grapple with their very existence.” Rainwater begs the question slightly and names an entire genre. “Latin American magical realism is so wonderful to teach. It’s so ‘weird’ and full of beautiful symbols. I think it artistically speaks to the human spirit in a way that other genres cannot.” Pike chooses The Crying of Lot 49 “because it’s challenging and beautiful,” more proof that English teachers like to watch you struggle. And Brandt’s current favorite is I-Robot, a 1940s sci-fi tale set in the ‘90s, that lets students see how authors from the past imagined a future the students have already lived in. “I also use the theatrical script of The Westing Game because it is a wonderful first group reading experience,” says Brandt. While it may seem daunting to be a teacher of books in the 21st century, EPS teachers don’t see it that way. “In this increasingly technology-driven world, we embrace the responsibility for being the discipline that continues to place strong emphasis on person-to-person connections. We want kids to see, hear, and experience one another’s thinking face-to-face, and while we certainly see the importance of tech-based discussions, we’re determined to continue making space for authentic interactions in the classroom.” ¢

To gain more insight on this issue’s theme—Evolution of Instruction—we asked Eastside Prep teachers how education has changed since they were students.

History was my favorite subject as a student, which is interesting, because for the most part I was only asked to memorize events, dates and information about historical figures. I hate doing those things! Luckily, in history today, the emphasis has shifted to examining the significance of events and how they shape our lives today. This is much more meaningful, and much more fun!”

When I was a student, a lot of the material was still taught from stuffy textbooks written by third parties that provided no opportunity for analysis (and that was in honors classes!). I actually started doing Running Start and was shocked at how interesting things (like history) became once I started reading primary sources and saw the world through the eyes of the people actually living in it (not a secondhand party providing an overview). I see our students having access to these kinds of resources BEFORE they get to college. It is amazing to see the materials that our teachers dig up to teach the students and get them to really explore content instead of learning basic facts that one could now find by looking at a Wikipedia entry. These resources include things like primary documents, images, videos, memes, anything! Our teachers are constantly honing and trying to find the resources that are not only going to be accurate and push our students, but also be relevant to our times in how we can reach the learners of today. When I was in high school, I was still learning from dusty overheads that gave no room for insight or interpretation. Very, very different than life here at EPS.”

Jessica Heaton, Social Science faculty

Jess Claesson, Learning Specialist

INSPIRE SURVEY:

Evolution of Instruction

When I was in high school, math was primarily reading the book, watching the teacher work some example problems, repeating the same type of problems on homework, then doing it again on the test. At EPS I still explain the concepts, but do fewer examples in class. Instead, we do a lot more discussion about strategies and look to understand why solutions work. I then provide resources for students to work through additional examples if they would like. I also incorporate projects where students have the opportunity to explore application of math in the real world in relation to their own personal interests.” Kip Wassink, Math faculty

“Very, very different than life here at EPS.” No use of libraries... answers are at our finger tips. This means that if I give a lecture, I probably am looking at the exact same sources that my students would look at if I made an assignment for them to learn about something on their own. I am no longer the one who holds all of the knowledge. Therefore, if I give a lecture I usually make them thesis driven. I hope to, in the future, have two Power Points about the same topic with two different thesis statements guiding the evidence on each of the slides. In this way I model critical thinking instead of being the giver of knowledge. Therefore, I think a teacher is more of a FACILITATOR, PROVOCATEUR, DOT CONNECTOR, etc.” Sarah Rainwater, Social Science & English faculty

INSPIRE Spring 2014

Emphasis when I was young was on individual understanding of content, and how you communicated your ideas or worked with other students was not as important. Developing the analytical skills needed to solve problems and the communication skills have become far more important.” Tobias Tillemans, Scientific Thinking and Environmental Practices faculty

“This is much more meaningful, and much more fun!”

When I was in high school, math was taught as a series of algorithms with lots of repetitive drill problems for practice. While we learned good basic manipulation skills, we did almost no problem-solving or application of knowledge to real world examples. “At EPS, we relate the skills learned to problem solving applications, and we guide students in varying degrees to discovering the techniques of solution for themselves. While practice problems are still assigned for homework, we try to keep drill problems to the minimum needed to master the skills.” Adrienne Behrmann, Math faculty

Then, we had to memorize more—names, dates, rivers, capitals, etc. Now, at least at EPS, it’s more using information than memorizing the information. “Then, we had to learn how to extrapolate logs and square roots from a huge mathematical table. Now we use calculators. “I don’t know if this is real or perceived, but it seems to me that teachers are expected to cover a lot more in a year now than ‘way back then.’” Laurie Benaloh, PhD, Mathematical Thinking faculty

A good part of what I remember from high school biology was memorizing taxonomies. Subsequent genomic studies revealed evolutionary relationships that proved many of these categories inadequate. Rather than learn even the most modern classification system, today’s biology students are asked to explore the technologies that compelled reclassification and to evaluate the benefit of taxonomy itself.” Adam Waltzer, Science faculty

When I was in high school, I remember doing a ton of grammar exercises and translations in my Spanish classes. Now, the focus is more on your effectiveness in communication. Yes, we value accuracy, but many assignments and projects are evaluated based on your success at making yourself comprehensible. If you were studying abroad or traveling in a Spanish-speaking region, could you get your point across? We value speaking a lot more than in the past. Students graduate our program prepared to chat and converse casually or even make a lengthy formal presentation in Spanish. When I graduated high school, my grammar was immaculate but I was terrified of conversing with anyone. I think our classes today do a much better job at preparing students to use Spanish in the real world.” Kelly Fox, Spanish faculty

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Sophie Miller

Trevor Hedges

Angelica Eden

David Jahn

Katie Sputh

Max Sheffield

EPS Max Bright

“LIFERS” 2014

Andrea Piacentini

Sonia Dailey

Steven Benaloh

Jordan Decker

Marta Picoto

Danny Stark

By Wendy Lawrence, Founding Faculty

HEN YOU ASK THIS YEAR’S LIFERS TO DESCRIBE themselves, there isn’t a single overlap. Choices included “active, funny, responsible, tinkering, self-starter, inquisitive, empathetic, positive, ‘some nerd’, and adventurous.” Things are different, though, when you ask them about Eastside Prep. Even though it was an open-ended question asked to an obviously eclectic bunch, a majority of them chose “community” as one of their two words to describe their home since the sixth grade. Others were: “family, inclusive, passionate, liberating, accessible, and informal.” INSPIRE Spring 2014

Steven Benaloh

Before EPS “I was pretty shy and intimidated by my teachers.” But when sixth grade began, “I quickly saw that our teachers are here to help us.” Seeing that, Steven jumped right in. He’s been part of Outdoor Club, Book Club, the school newspaper, basketball, and Ultimate Frisbee. “Some of my most fun experiences with the school have been trips such as Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Galapagos, and Washington, D.C. with my friends and teachers (they’re my friends too)!” But Steven’s heart lies with Ultimate. “I wouldn’t give up my teammates for anyone or anything!” He said the end of the season, where the team won third in the state, an EPS sports record, was “incredibly emotional.”

Max Bright

Max wasn’t always this interested in math and science, but it’s a passion now. So much so that it’s hard for him to leave the school because of all the opportunities in science and engineering he has to pass on. “I’ve grown to love anything involving applied math, be it programming or physics.” His passion for school has similarly grown. “In sixth grade, school was just something I had to do. Around eighth grade, I truly started to value my education.” And now? “I actively do extended research on the subjects that get taught in school.” Max plans to major in either computer science or electrical engineering and hopes to pursue a career in hardware or software development, “depending on which I end up liking more.”

Sonia Dailey

Sonia made a quick impression on her Middle School teachers as an incredible master of random facts, knowing a lot of things about a lot of things. She’s continued with that trend, applying herself in all of her classes, but her interests have certainly focused on the arts. Sonia’s favorite classes are the arts and she even seeks extra opportunities, taking many art classes outside of school as well. She was also an early driver of the Inclusivity Club. Sonia applied to several art colleges for her next step in education. Someday, she hopes to put her skills to work as an illustrator.

Jordan Decker

Jordan’s favorite thing about his first year was all the new interests he acquired. “On my first day, I was asked if I was trying out for the musical. I said ‘what the heck?’ and got a lead role!” Theatre is now a daily fixture in his life. He also tried new sports and clubs. “The community was small enough, welcoming enough, and perhaps daring enough for me to ‘give it the old college—or sixth grade—try’. Who

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

knows where I’d be now without the ‘anything-goes’ mindset that EPS taught me?” Jordan plans to sustain his interdisciplinary interests. “My ideal career is a part-time singer songwriter musician” with ties to the movies, theatres, and politics! This actually does not exist, but I will work hard to make it exist.”

Angelica Eden

“Right from the beginning our class formed a strong bond that we have managed to keep,” says Angelica. “In sixth grade, I didn’t have much of an idea of who I was and what my goals were. But toward the end of Middle School I developed a foundation for myself. Through Upper School I continued to build upon that. EPS has played the biggest role: I have gained confidence, a bigger sense of myself, and stronger idea of what I want to do after EPS and after college.” Angelica has been involved with volleyball, Student Government, planning and organizing school dances and other events, Climbing Club, tennis, and Ultimate. She also volunteers at school functions. “In college I hope to study marketing and communications. I look forward to seeing where it will take me.”

Trevor Hedges

Sixth grade was Trevor’s hardest year. “I was so different from the ‘typical’ Middle-Schooler.” Despite that, Trevor finds something to rave about: the Rube Goldberg project in Scientific Thinking 1. “David and I worked together on a ridiculously complicated machine that used domino chains and marble tracks with the ultimate goal of catapulting a Mento into a glass of Coke, which ended up working very well.” EPS has helped Trevor grow. “I have become more and more comfortable with the person that I am, and can see myself more clearly as a future member of this ‘real world.’” He’s even left his own mark, creating a successful Chess Club. After EPS, Trevor plans to pursue aerospace or mechanical engineering (“perhaps both”), and earn a PhD. “To be honest, I wish I could major in all of the fields of engineering and computer sciences, as there are so many interesting applications, but unfortunately there isn’t that much time in the world.”

Sophie Miller

Sophie sensed right away, during that first sixth-grade overnight, that her new class was going to be different and closer than any at her other schools. And she was right. “I can talk to all the girls in my grade about anything.” She says EPS helped her become less judgmental because “the community is full of diverse personalities.” Also, she grew

up. “I’m a lot stronger and better at doing what’s best for me, even if it isn’t my favorite option.” Sophie’s favorite class is choir. “It makes me feel connected to everyone in the room.” Sophie isn’t sure what path she will take in college—she’s interested in psychology, biology, and interior design, “so I could go any direction.” College, she says, will likely involve Oregon State University.

Andrea Piacentini

Andrea’s favorite thing about his first year at EPS was “how easily everyone became friends. We all just connected on the smallest things.” Looking back, he enjoys “realizing how much I have progressed. I am much more open to the world around me.” Andrea hopes his future involves that very world: “I’d love to travel the world and see as many things as I possibly can!” One EPS moment that stands out was on a hiking trip, when he was waiting in a tree to scare his teacher. But as Ms. Pike neared and he yelled, he fell eight feet to the ground. “The moral of that story is when you try to scare a teacher make sure you also remember to have a good sense of balance.” Indeed.

Marta Picoto

Marta came to EPS after a hard time in another school. “At EPS my friends accepted me. Here I was ‘smart’ and ‘cool’ when I got A’s.” She most loves the teachers. “They make me want to succeed. I feel comfortable asking questions, expressing ideas, joking around, or asking personal advice because we have grown closer throughout the years.” She has also enjoyed the chance to get involved. “I was awful at Ultimate at first but now I am the team captain.” She also participates in Student Government and theatre. “EPS turned me from a shy girl to a leader.” Marta is looking for a college that values the studentteacher relationship as much as EPS. She wants to continue Ultimate but hopes to push herself to like new things. “My goals are to find something new about myself and find more independence for the real world.”

Max Sheffield

Max Sheffield says, “I started out as shy but now I’m pretty much the opposite,” something he credits to his teachers who always asked for more. In fact, he says the small classes and his connections with his classmates and “teachers who cared” were his favorite things about EPS. Max really enjoyed a lot of the class trips, such as Costa Rica and river rafting, where he says “these connections with my classmates and teachers deepened.” Next year, Max is headed to Whitman College and plans to major in Biology and Spanish on a pre-med track.

But he will leave something behind, too. “I’m very invested in the Ultimate team,” he says, which he helped create as a freshman. Now he’s excited to leave the team, currently ranked third in the state, in the hands of a strong group of young students.

Katie Sputh

Katie has loved the flexibility of Eastside Prep. “EPS has allowed me to pursue my dreams of competing in the most prestigious international horse show in Florida for two months this year.” She also liked an opportunity she had to job shadow for an internship outside of the school. Katie’s Middle School experience felt more like a family and Upper School has evolved into a stricter more schoollike setting. After EPS, she plans to study business and communication.

Danny Stark

Danny remembers when his sixth-grade Advisory group created cement and gravel paths around the school. “It was really cool seeing what I had built being used every day.” Danny has grown up with the school he helped build. “When I was in sixth grade, I was really energetic and kind of wild. Twelfth-grade me is still the same, but now I’m more able to focus my energy. Instead of just bouncing around and screaming, I’m more able to use my excitement to study, research and listen (with occasional screaming).” At EPS, Danny has loved “the way that the teachers trust us and encourage us to pursue what we enjoy.” And after EPS, his goals aren’t specific, but they are purposeful: “I just want to do or invent something useful.”

David Jahn

David Jahn came to EPS after being homeschooled and says he has learned a lot about what it means to be part of a community, something he has valued in his time here. His sense of belonging to the school community increased a lot during his Upper School years playing on the basketball team. His favorite thing so far this year has been applying to colleges. Someday, he hopes to be a commercial airline pilot. ¢

INSPIRE Spring 2014

Eastside Prep students receive recognition for their achievements outside the classroom. a

a. Jack (’14) Jack plays bass and writes most of the music for his band, The Hebephrenics, which began playing cover music and has now evolved to play original punk rock. Jack and his band play in venues throughout Seattle and have been finalists in the Seattle Battle of the Bands competition. b. Amber (’21) Amber’s online cooking show demonstrates how easy and fun it is to make delicious, healthy, kid-friendly meals. Amber has been named “Inspirational Kid” on the Today Show, and is a part of Jamie Oliver’s Food Tube network after becoming the only kid and North American finalist for his international cooking video competition. (Amber is pictured with Michelle Obama on a recent visit to the White House.)

c. Andrea (’14) Andrea’s love of soccer started early (at age six in Italy) and continues today as he plays for a highly ranked Crossfire club team. Andrea’s team 38

has won the state championships for the last two years and he plans to continue his soccer career in college. d. Piper (’21) Piper started unicycling in kindergarten and has competed nationally for three years. In 2012, she was the youngest artistic competitor at Unicon 16 in Italy. Piper enjoys riding, mastering new skills and teaching others to unicycle. e. Lara (’16) Lara has been playing the violin since the age of three, and also plays the piano and sings. She has been in the Academy Chamber Orchestra for four years and this is her first year in the Seattle Youth Symphony.

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Lara has also been a soloist with the Bremerton Symphony. f. Nico (’19) Nico’s skills (especially batting and pitching) were apparent from the young age of seven, when he began playing baseball. Since that time, Nico has played on teams (usually with older players), attended a four-week camp at IGM Academy in Florida and is hoping his team will make it into the Little League World Series this year. g. Dylan (’21) Dylan is a sprint canoeist for the Gig Harbor Canoe & Kayak Race Team, which won the U.S. National Championships in 2012 and 2013. At

the 2012 National Championships, Dylan won a bronze medal, and at the 2013 National Championships, he won bronze and silver medals. Dylan paddles sprint canoe four days per week for nine months of the year and hopes to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games in 2028.

Has your child accomplished something exciting outside of school? If so, we’d like to highlight his or her efforts in an upcoming issue of Inspire. Please contact Vickie Baldwin at vbaldwin@eastsideprep.org.

ALUMNI UPDATE

Catching Up with David O’Hara

THEN

By Wendy Lawrence, Founding Faculty

David as Snoopy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown

NOW

T WASN’T THAT LONG AGO THAT DAVID O’Hara played the role of John Adams in Eastside Prep’s first production, 1776. But it’s been long enough for him to make his way through our Middle School and Upper School and most of his college career at Penn State. At EPS, David pursued theatre passionately in both school and professional settings. Some of his favorite EPS roles were Snoopy in You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady, and a member of the ensemble in All In the Timing. So it’s no surprise that he’s about to graduate Penn State as a theatre major. O’Hara likes to be on stage, but his favorite college course was play-writing. (Maybe that’s his EPS interdisciplinary background talking—integrating the English and Performing Arts disciplines!) “I liked that class so much I

took advanced play-writing in the fall.” Now David will get a chance to be paired with a student from advanced directing to stage an original production before he graduates. O’Hara’s play follows two police officers who begin as friends until professional opportunities come between them. Eastside Prep English faculty would be proud of his writing method—an evolving process centered around monumental amounts of revision. “It started off as a completely different play. It was going to be satirical and funny and started with CIA agents interviewing a five-year-old girl.” But then he started writing the backstory for the CIA agents and got really interested in their lives. The play became more serious and the agents turned into police officers. Before writing Ethical Procedure (working title), a forty-five-minute one-act with five cast members, David had written a few short plays, and he’s anxious to try a fulllength production someday. O’Hara says, “Being a theatre major often feels like a fulltime job. When I’m not in class, I’m usually rehearsing for a play.” Last semester he was in No Place to be Somebody by Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Gordone as well as an entirely independent production with some close friends where he played Edward in Spiked Heels. “That was a fun

Above: David O’Hara and Bart Gummere catch up at a recent EPS alumni gathering.

INSPIRE Spring 2014

By Terry Macaluso, PhD, Head of School

David performs in My Fair Lady.

one because a good friend was directing it and I think each of the actors was a lot like their character.” Oh, and speaking of a fulltime job (and thinking in multiple disciplines), there’s also the company he started. “My roommate and I started a marketing company.” Amplified.us “is based on the idea that no one knows a college campus better than the students themselves—students know where they hang out and when, what is popular, things that are valuable to a company who wants to market to college students.” Amplified has been busy, with three clients last semester alone. O’Hara readily admits, “I understand that what you do in college and what you do for a career are not necessarily the same thing,” but he hopes to start off his career in casting. Last summer he enjoyed an internship with an Emmy-nominated casting director for three TV shows (Person of Interest, Elementary, and The Good Wife). While directing plays in college, he found casting was one of his favorite parts. David says he thinks he has an eye for talent and would love to give casting a real shot. He is hoping to end up in New York or Chicago. David’s advice for future theatre majors is to work hard, but to do it for themselves, not for their grades. Theatre is unlike other things, he says, in that future employers don’t care as much for your college accomplishments. They are looking for talent. And the best way to develop that talent? “Hard work trumps all. I’ve seen people who are talented but then waste it.” He also advises students to ease into college—if that’s their nature. “I didn’t make my best friends until the end of freshman year or sophomore year. Stick it out.” David made a point not to live with theatre majors and so enjoys a broad network of friends from a variety of college circles. “People spend a lot of time figuring out which college to go to,” says O’Hara, and while there are some major factors to consider, “college will be defined by things that are up to the individual: the friends you make, the education you get. College is what you make of it.” ¢ 40

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

One of the hard things about running a school is the inevitable departure of a much admired colleague. After the years I have spent in school leadership, I know it’s inevitable—eventually talented folks decide to move on to pursue a dream or opportunity. It’s difficult, but also rewarding to know that the growth they experienced at EPS has prepared them for the next step. This year our Dean of Students, Jeff Adair, let us know that he was ready to pursue a position overseas—something that has been a dream for him for many years. While we are very sorry to see Jeff go, we’re also excited that our own Paul Hagen is prepared to step into Jeff’s shoes, in a slightly different role, as Eastside Prep’s Director of Student Life.

By Wendy Lawrence, Founding Faculty

EFF ADAIR SHOWED UP AT EASTSIDE Prep in its early days. Caught up in the spirit of the school, but with no open positions available, he began to volunteer doing mostly handyman work, whatever needed to be done. “After a few weeks, it got a bit awkward, so Dr. Macaluso had to decide whether to hire me or get a restraining order.” When Macaluso called him into her office, he wondered. Would he teach history? English? “No,” the Head replied, “I need you to be an evil space robot in the haunted house.” And thus began Jeff ’s introduction to the “can do” culture of Eastside Prep. In Jeff ’s ten years at EPS, he has seen the opening of the Upper School and the first graduation. He still does whatever needs to be done, but now as an administrator instead of a space robot. His job titles have included Middle School English, Upper School History, Service Learning Coordinator, Experiential Education Coordinator, Athletic Director, and Dean of Students. Jeff ’s favorite moments are the quiet ones. “Recently a student sent me an email that said ‘I know you aren’t my teacher but I was writing a paper and it’s a topic you know a lot about. Can I run some ideas by you?’ That kind of comment makes my day,” says Adair. “It says so much about the culture of EPS. It

Leadership Changes Jeff Adair says “Farewell.” Paul Hagen steps in.

is a place where the arbitrary social boundaries are set aside for the collective love of learning.” When Jeff leaves, much of his responsibility will pass on to Paul Hagen, the new Director of Student Life. “Paul and I have a great working relationship and we’ll be working together over the next couple of months. Brittany Williams will also help bridge the gap.” Paul says Jeff has given him guidance from his very first day, and this transition will be no different. In addition, he is taking time to shadow Jeff and meet regularly. “I am learning a great deal about our current program and spending time contemplating its future. There are books to read and ideas to consider. It is always important for me to get a strong sense of what has been done before I try to design what can be done.” Paul is a natural choice for the position. His passion for student travel began with his own service trip to Mexico when he was fifteen. “Travel with purpose is an important ingredient in education. I am excited to create great curricular ties with the EBC Week experiences and to increase rigor and focus in the Senior

Project program. The programs overseen by the Office of Student Life are a powerful platform to promote the EPS mission to guide students to think critically, act responsibly, lead compassionately, and innovate wisely, so I am very excited to take on this new role of leadership in this area.” Paul will be working to refine and improve the EBC Week and EPSummer experiences, the service learning days and the senior projects. “It is our highest calling to foster in our students global awareness, cultural understandings, and genuine empathy for others.” Like Jeff, Paul’s favorite part of Eastside Prep are the simple interactions with students. “The biggest highlight for me has always been working with such a curious and kindhearted student body. It is the students that make every day so memorable and meaningful for me.” Paul will continue to teach two history courses, which he says will help keep him “student-centric.” Plus, being a history teacher is closely tied to his new position. “Our history classes expose students to different cultures, time periods, places, and people—to promote understanding

and empathy. Likewise, my primary focus as Director of Student Life will be to design meaningful student experiences that will also promote understanding and empathy.” Meanwhile, Jeff is headed to Oman for a two-year position teaching seventh grade humanities as well as running a service learning program with a sister school in Tanzania. His wife will teach third grade at the same school, the American British Academy, which Jeff describes as “EPS on the other side of the world.” Muscat is an expatriate community with a large population of Americans, English, Canadian, Australian, Korean and Japanese among other Middle Eastern and European communities. Adair has lived in Seattle for the last fifteen years, but that’s an exception. “Before that, I’d never spent more than four years in one place. As the son of a Foreign Service officer, I lived a vagabond lifestyle.” One of the EPS vision statements is to inspire students to create a better world. “It’s time to practice what I preach,” says Adair. “EPS will go with me wherever my travels take me.” ¢

INSPIRE Spring 2014

Strengths in Action By Wendy Lawrence, Founding Faculty

VERYONE NOTICES WHEN EPS CONSTRUCTS A new building or adds a new course, but sometimes it is the evolution behind the scenes that has the greatest impact. One recent innovation is strengths testing. StrengthsQuest is a program from Gallup typically seen in universities that EPS students, faculty, and staff use to discover their five major strengths. (In the Middle School, Strengths Explorer identifies three strengths). Faculty are trained in the program and might use students’ strengths to form groups or help with advising. Staff can use it to improve their own performance or reflect on how they work with a co-worker. Strengths themes include Achievers, who work hard; Activators, who initiate action; Deliberatives, who make careful decisions; and Relators, who enjoy working with others. There are also those who excel in the Belief strength with strong core values, the Consistency strength, who treat everyone equally by creating and following rules; the Intellection strength who appreciate introversion and intellectual conversation, and the Woo strength—those people who enjoy meeting new people. All together, there are thirty-four strengths identified in the test. When Gilbert Ragudos, Kitchen Manager, took the strengths test, he was surprised when the results fit with his own expectations. “I would say the strongest ones were Adaptability and Includer because I like to go with the flow and bring people with me. Adaptability is probably the most important one in my position now. We always have to be creative and ‘be in the now’.” 42

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Marcela Winspear, Commons Coordinator, was surprised for different reasons. “I never thought of myself as an Achiever or that Intellection would fit me. However, Relator and Responsibility are right on.” Marcela doesn’t think about her strengths too often. “The strengths are my strengths and I nourish them just by being myself and doing my best.” Although on second thought, doing her best, she says, “is probably one of my strengths— Achiever, right?” When asked about their co-workers’ strengths, Gilbert says of Marcela, “The one thing not listed is ‘Amazing.’ I would not be able to work without her.” Marcela agrees. “Gilbert is just great and I LOVE working with him! I think we are a great team.” That great teamwork will be evident as Gilbert and Marcela have both recently taken on more responsibility for the management of the Food Services Program. Their strengths are also reflected in their daily routines. Gilbert the Includer starts his day by turning on some music and saying, “what’s up?” to his crew. During breakfast and lunch service, he chats with “the regulars.” The whole time he is cracking jokes, breaking into song, and wearing a huge grin. His Includer personality is also reflected in what he likes best: “I love the people I work with and the kids. I love all the different personalities. They are all hilarious in their own way.” And his Adaptability side loves “the freedom of creativity we can work into our daily menus.” Marcela agrees. She’s a Relator and says, “I love being around the kids. They are all different and super duper amazing. It is the best part to get to know every single one of them.” ¢

E G U O L LD B By Aks

ING K MA ON I « T « I ET ««« P M CO

ONE

ITIONisS D D A nity th GEST

ommu E BIG OF THe Eastside Prep ocf the Student

hay Ch

alana,

Class o

f 2015

FU N

f th ject house cture o int pro ’ Office: the u r jo t s a e n ct, s e to th has be n of Student ion was, in fa r a e y l t a pro uc schoo ent and De iginal introd r l o ia e it m h n tem’s in aller idea. T ighboring Gover his sys T . m h a ne ariety uch sm e t sys of a m alry day ” wit n io t e in a v lu an evo to host a “riv uld compet pion. Upon as wo am be posal w which teams hool the ch lved to o c v t s e a e l a n schoo st for the ide own o ts to cr r. Macaluso, hich would la wo n e v e of yw to D ich t tation l activit r during wh a presen erm interna e h the y ach other. er-t ent hroug t a long te s y a vernm in o w a G lf g a t a h n e e t t Stud a week ould compe esent curren tinued to pr d w e s h t e , s ) u 5 n e ho nor (’1 nd I co am, it chang nAs Con , Mr. Adair, a e T co e ip iv h ers gat ent d e a id n s e l L e ia r r t ion, n Vice P o the Senio e pote mpetit h o t c d t g e a r in the ide s we conside unity regard ating a me cre nse A a m . c r m e e o b h c t fur ittee r the g a se nces fo house comm y maintainin oints seque r b es f the p f ou o o lu s a s v u u c c S o the fo the EP t the f lly, this that fit is meant tha vents. Initia m e t s sy gs ric e y. Th y-cent munit wo thin ds. of com s communit warded for t Awar wa re a ammi S d n system t points we a s asy tha etition s the e rry t p a n m w a o e t c n m e Ha bly excitem assem ea of a alone: rating initial ed by the id use comr-ho light Gene ere de em, and inte e level we w le p h eo se syst ise to t part. P ue hou lly seem to r q s e r Potte ’t initia n didn io it t e p

had w orried abo Octob er led in ut and plan ned ag to our Jeopar ainst. very dy comm during assem first competit However, as itte ion, a g bly ame of tions is e came to re , those of us alize th on the a many a h -facete t coord ouse than it d fea inat wo activitie uld seem. Alt t that is muc ing competih h s did n ot turn ough the firs more difficu that fa lt t assem out as ilure cr we had bly’s eates m assem hoped otiva blie , we le Maxim s since, partic tion for futur us, hav e succe arned u la r ly late e be ss. O excitem ent in t en enormou February’s Cir ur s h cus s e uccess progra As EPS es, reg m. b e e g n ins to lo 2015, t erating he ok The fir house comm forward to n st chan ext yea ittee h ges to r, 2 as big before t c h h e anges 014next ye s planne ar. Hop coring syste ticipat d m will ing to ion, we occur w . encou will sta tion in r a e ge com ll rt aw clu mun events bs and sport arding point s, as w s for pa ity parsuch a ell as a s music rticipa Furthe tten co rmore, we wil ncerts, plays dance to sch for par l , oo c s p o ticipat ion in S ntinue to aw orts games, l movin e ard ho pirit W g th use po tc. that th e competitio eeks. While ints not en is will a n aspe tirely r ct of th dd the and co ees EP mmun ity par S personality ystem, we ho aspect t ic pe o f ipation s that s . We fu acceptance olely s dent e e r ther pla rve the xcit purp n to ad holdin ement, such d g hous as votin ose of incre asing s e t-shir g on h that th tut o d u is will b e se mas ecome sign compet cots an Prep e it a d ions. W xperie nce for n essential p art of t e hope many y he Eas ears to tside come. ¢

INSPIRE Spring 2014

UPCOMING F

OLLOWING ARE SOME OF the upcoming events at Eastside Prep. For a complete listing of EPS activities and events, visit our website (www.eastsideprep.org/ calendar) and filter using the All-School Events category.

MAY 4

ALUMNI PARENTS AND SENIOR PARENTS LUNCH

14 PLAY RECEPTION 6pm, Bishop Building

28 ALL-SCHOOL COMMUNITY BBQ

5:30pm to 7:30pm, EPS campus

13-15 ALL-SCHOOL PRODUCTION

At the end of each trimester, the music program showcases the work of students who have been actively studying, rehearsing and creating music.

JUNE

7pm, Levinger-Poole Theatre

Parents, grandparents and friends of EPS Middle and Upper School students are invited for an evening reception with Head of School Dr. Terry Macaluso. Join us for dessert, coffee and cookies just prior to the play production.

EPS campus (by invitation only)

EPS fifth through twelfth graders present The Twelfth Night, a comedy by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s boisterous and poignant tale is filled with music, romance, humor and adventure. When twins Viola and Sebastian are shipwrecked on an island, they have much to do to find themselves again. Directed by Michael Cruz. Reservations are required to attend the performance. Contact the director of the production to reserve a seat: mcruz@eastsideprep.org.

29 MUSIC CONCERT

Current and newly-admitted families are invited to join us for our All School Community BBQ for the opportunity to enjoy time with our incredible community. This event allows families to get to know one another and to spend time with our faculty and staff. Come hungry as we will enjoy some good ol’ fashioned BBQ provided by our amazing kitchen team. There will also be face painting, climbing wall action and lots of laughs. This is an event you will not want to miss! Please contact Ana Safavi, Associate Director of Institutional Advancement (asafavi@eastsideprep.org) if you have any questions.

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

12 MIDDLE SCHOOL CONTINUATION CEREMONY

EPS campus (by invitation only)

EVENTS 13 GRADUATION CEREMONY Kirkland Performance Center (by invitation only)

EPSUMMER CAMPS, JUNE 23 TO AUGUST 15

4-5 FALL ORIENTATION TRIPS

25 UPPER SCHOOL SPORTS SEASON BEGIN

Practices for Upper School athletic teams start on the week of August 25.

JULY

AUGUST

Students travel on grade-level trips to build relationships with faculty, advisors and fellow students.

19 FALL HARVEST

28-29 PARENT-STUDENTADVISOR CONFERENCES Parents and students meet with the student’s advisor to discuss the upcoming school year.

SEPTEMBER EPS has many offerings this year allowing students to choose what would best suit their interests and schedule. Details can be found on our website (www.summer. eastsideprep.org). Off-campus experiences are exclusively for EPS students. On-campus programs are open to the public. LIMITED SPACE AVAILABLE. Email epsummer@ eastsideprep.org if you have any questions.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

EPS parents, faculty and staff are invited to mingle with new and returning parents at the annual Fall Harvest event. This highly anticipated evening features great conversation and wonderful food.

23 BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT An opportunity for parents to meet each of their student’s teachers while following their child’s daily schedule.

OUR MISSION is to guide students to think critically, act responsibly, lead compassionately and innovate wisely. INSPIRE Spring 2014

10613 NE 38th Place Kirkland, WA 98033

Call us today at 425 822-5668 or visit www.eastsideprep.org

Photograph by EPS student Keith Nussbaum (â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;14)