Inside the Hall: Upper School

Working to make worldwide impact Student grant sets benchmarks for bright ideas

It’s not every day that a high school junior can say she debated the tenets of sustainable development with teenagers from around the globe. But, in the spring, three Harpeth Hall juniors — Amelia Cummings, Caroline Ford, and Mary Roper — had that very opportunity. They joined more than 150 students from the United States, Canada, India, Turkey, and Colombia in an event organized by the Global Education Benchmark Group (GEBG), which promotes and navigates global education in schools. Together, student groups gathered virtually to discuss UN Sustainable Development Goal 12, which reads, “Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.” At Harpeth Hall, the Global Scholars program encourages our students to “think beyond the geographic and cultural boundaries of the familiar in order to develop leadership skills necessary to become effective and responsible global citizens.” At the GEBG event, participating students and faculty gathered in a virtual room for a brief orientation and then joined breakout rooms of about 10 students from other schools with a faculty facilitator to discuss the global challenge and how it affects their own lives and to share ideas for solutions. The discussions had a tremendous impact on the students, and they began thinking about how they can lead change. “After considering the many and wide-ranging perspectives of the people in my breakout room group, I think that if individuals can start sharing the things they are actually doing to consume sustainably, others will begin to believe that they could take sustainable steps as well,” Mary said. “Because our world is more connected than ever before with social media and cell phones, one person’s deliberate actions have the potential to inspire thousands of others as well.” J unior Amelia Kremer went down a woodworking rabbit hole on YouTube. After learning she was one of only 10 students across the country to receive the Erkan Fellowship STEM Education Grant from the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, she started brainstorming the many ways she could leave her mark. The grant presents her with the opportunity to complete STEM projects while participating in a mentorship program throughout the rest of her high school career. But where should she begin? In the Bullard Bright IDEA Lab’s new workshop, the walls of tools presented so many possibilities. “I was itching to do something with the new machinery,” she said. After hours of YouTube video inspiration, she decided on her first project. In the spring, Amelia began construction on a workbench complete with laser engravings and epoxy art.

Togas to go in Latin IV

Carpe diem. Quid pro quo. Ipso facto. Et cetera.

These Latin phrases are a part of our modern vernacular as we have adopted the ancient language into our ever-changing culture. But, what would the ancient Romans think of our modern-day world, and how would they fit in? The Latin IV classes sought the answer. First, they needed the authentic clothing of ancient Rome to truly play the part. They researched what the day’s fashion was like throughout the eras, and in one of Harpeth Hall’s maker spaces, The Design Den, students crafted authentic clothing complete with peplos, ornate pins, and an 18-foot-long toga. Then it was time to put the costumes to the test. Members of the Latin IV honors class wore the clothes out in Nashville to film videos imagining what the ancient Romans would be like in the modern world. Teacher Jerard White wanted students to explore how their imagined Roman character would react to some of our technology and way of life based on the ancient readings students completed in Latin. Imagine a Roman senator walking through an Apple Store. What do you think his reaction would be?

Student grant sets benchmarks for bright ideas

“Deciding on which of my several ideas to pursue for my grant project was very difficult for me because I tend to be overly ambitious, but Mr. Kyle Odum, my mentor for this project, helped me make my decision. I have done very little with wood before, so we went with a simple bench and made it more special with the laser engraver and epoxy. I plan to give it to my brother as a gift because he was my first role model for engineering and has always helped me pursue it. I was and am ecstatic about this project mainly because I have never had an opportunity like this before and getting to experiment with designing software, do hands-on work, and have a tangible product in the future is a huge deal for me. Basically, the stars aligned to make this happen for me with the Bullard Bright IDEA Lab and my grant, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I have already learned so much and am looking forward to more and bigger projects that could potentially benefit the school!” — Amelia Kremer