School News

Lower School Science Teacher Receives Presidential Award

Hilarie Hall was a decorated teacher when St. Andrew’s hired her to become Lower School Science Teacher. This past March, she was bestowed with an honor to surpass all others when she was presented with the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. Given to just 108 people annually, it is the nation’s highest honor for K-12 teachers of mathematics and science.

“Since arriving at St. Andrew’s Hilarie has been instrumental in moving forward our design thinking program at the Lower School and forging new initiatives across disciplines to expand the reach of science into all aspects of student learning,” said Jordan Love, Head of Lower School.

“This award means a lot of things to me; it’s both humbling and motivating,” Hall said. “It means that I can represent our St. Andrew’s community in an innovative way and bring many new ideas and experiences to our students. It means that I have access to a great national network of like-minded educators. It motivates me to continue to push myself to work harder and more creatively in my role as a teacher.”

“I love the tenacity of our Lower School students. They push themselves to dig deeper in their lessons and they become fearless in their learning as they recognize that mistakes and improvements are a part of all of our lives.”

Hilarie Hall, LOWER SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER

Hall has a B.S. from Boston College and a Master’s of Education from American University. She came to St. Andrew’s after teaching second grade for seven years at Woods Academy. While there, she was named an NAIS Teacher of the Future and received a Dow STEMtheGAP grant, which encourages educators within the U.S. to voice their concerns on science, technology, engineering and mathematics education, and propose solutions to help improve STEM education.

Hall, who is also a St. Andrew’s parent, has seamlessly transitioned into the Lower School community.

“I love the tenacity of our Lower School students,” Hall said. “They push themselves to dig deeper in their lessons and they become fearless in their learning as they recognize that mistakes and improvements are a part of all of our lives. They have a genuine concern for the greater world and a true empathy in their collaboration.”

“Her pedagogical approach is collaborative, multimodal, and builds upon a belief that all students have boundless potential and capacity to learn,” Love said. “Hilarie models for the students and her colleagues a passion for teaching, the willingness to take advantage of all learning opportunities, and the value of working in community towards shared goals.”

Hall is very active on Twitter (@HilarieHall), constantly tweeting from the design lab at the Lower School.

Middle School Uses Summer Reading as Year-Long Theme

The Middle School tried something new in 2015-2016 by introducing a community summer read, the book “The Giver.” The idea was to use the book as a touchpoint throughout the year with the theme of “Living in Color.” The book appears on numerous lists of great middle school books so it was a natural selection for the first all-division read.

Gyasi Ross spoke to Middle School students in March about his Native American heritage.

“Many of our teachers had already read the book and simply loved it,” said Rodney Glasgow, Head of Middle School. “It had themes with spiraling depths that could resonate on one level with sixth grade, a deeper level with seventh grade and even deeper with eighth graders and adults. The book’s focus on community made it a great community read, and its themes of utopia and dystopia added well to our roster of books that we offer throughout the year.”

The book, which celebrates the importance of diversity, individuality and choosing your own path, allowed teachers and administrators to return to the theme of Living in Color throughout the year. Whether it was a visit from Native American speaker, poet and storyteller Gyasi Ross, discussions with Bokamoso students about the history of apartheid in South Africa, or taking a break to play Glow in the Dark Mini-Golf, middle school students embraced Living in Color.

Students’ Study of Construction Enhanced by Student Center

Every year, fifth graders at St. Andrew’s learn all about construction. This year, their curricular study of engineering and math concepts in relation to bridges, area and perimeter was enhanced by the construction of the Student Center right outside their windows.

In the fall, students worked on the Bridge Building project, an annual science unit in the Intermediate School where students work in teams to conceptualize, design, and build their own original bridges while understanding the engineering process and what’s involved in building a superstructure. Because of the Student Center’s construction, students were able to view firsthand trusses, strength of materials, dead load weights, and forces of compressions and tension.

With that foundation of construction under their belts, they visited the National Building Museum in the winter in order to engage in architectural drawings and model making. Their study of construction culminated with a tour of the Student Center, where they were able to connect their study of area and perimeter to the footprint of the gym and student common areas. They were able to see many of the concepts they studied and explored put into action.

“Because of the Student Center construction, our fifth graders were able to connect classroom learning to a meaningful, real world application right before their eyes,” said Judy Kee, Head of Intermediate School.

Cheyenne Reid ‘23 helps her classmate during the Bridge Building Project.

Mindfulness Introduced into Curriculum

The Lower School has been engaged in a two-year process that has systematically moved our faculty towards more authentic implementation and embedding of mindfulness practice into the daily learning routines. This year the division utilized Minds Inc. to facilitate ongoing in-house faculty trainings and a parent education event to educate the adult constituencies on the purpose, value, and practices that are most useful for our students.

The Yoga presentation in March led by Lisa Danahy from INA Wellness was the culmination of a year-long classroom movement workshops. The approach taken in the Lower school is multifaceted and designed to present the students and faculty with many entry points to connect with how these practices can root ourselves more in the present. In May, the Lower School community gathered for a culminating mindfulness assembly to revisit and celebrate the self-regulation and focus strategies that resonated most powerfully with students.