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Peer Mediation – Crowdsourcing An Invitation to It’s All about Leadership: Re-Imagine the the Hats GDS HS Peer GDS Campus Leadership Program
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Strategic Planning: By the Numbers SPRING 2015
OUR MISSION DRIVES ALL THAT WE DO.
REBECCA DROBIS
Georgetown Day School honors the integrity and worth of each individual within a diverse school community. GDS is dedicated to providing a supportive educational atmosphere in which teachers challenge the intellectual, creative, and physical abilities of our students and foster strength of character and concern for others. From the earliest grades, we encourage our students to wonder, to inquire, and to be self-reliant, laying the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.
Thank you to all of our staff and alumni writers for your contributions to the magazine. We welcome submissions from all Georgetown Day School community members. Please contact agrashiem@gds.org to learn more. Alumni are encouraged to send their news with photos to alumni@gds.org for inclusion in the Georgetown Days magazine.
SPRING 2015 GEORGETOWN DAYS REBECCA DROBIS
Head of School Russell Shaw Assistant Head of School Kevin Barr
MAGAZINE STAFF
Officers Michael Gottdenker, Chair Brad Vogt, Vice Chair Eric Koenig, Treasurer David Leary, Secretary Cheryl Johnson, At Large Trustees Jenny Abramson ‘95 Stephen Bailey Emily Bloomfield Philip Bronner Monica Dixon Lisa Fairfax Marc Glosserman ‘92 Jeff Shields Hunker Jennifer Klein Jill Lesser Reid Liffmann Leroy Nesbitt ‘78 Pamela Reeves Lucretia Adymy Risoleo Scott Shepperd ‘79 David Smith Anu Tate David Wellisch
CONTENTS FEATURES
JASON PUTSCHÉ PHOTOGRAPHY
2014–15 GDS BOARD OF TRUSTEES
JASON PUTSCHE PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Institutional Advancement Kendra Brown Director of Communications Alison Grasheim Storyteller and New Media Associate Kimberly Damm Magazine Design Think 804
24 (On Cover) A Teacher Will 31
An Invitation to Re-Imagine the GDS Campus
AROUND CAMPUS 3 In the Classroom 7 Beyond the Classroom 10 Arts & Performances 20 Athletics 22 Faculty 36 40
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GDS RETIRING FACULTY ALUMNI REUNION & NOTES MEET THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
34 Strategic Planning: By the Numbers 2
FROM WHERE I STAND
A Message from Head of School Russell Shaw
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JASON PUTSCHÉ PHOTOGRAPHY
While these distinctions may partially explain the different narratives, they fail to illuminate perhaps the most important factor in determining a student’s experience of school—the role that the individual student is asked to play in school. A student-centered school is one in which a student knows and experiences that her voice, her perspective, and her actions matter. It is a living reflection of how we as adults view the young people with whom we spend our days. Are young people empty vessels waiting to be filled with the knowledge and wisdom that we, the adults, have to impart? Or are they powerful actors, capable—with our guidance—of constructing their own meaning, of developing unique solutions to challenging problems? It is the latter frame that has served GDS throughout its 70 years and that continues to direct our approach to teaching and learning. When our first graders read their own carefully constructed narratives at the Author’s Brunch; when Russell Shaw, Head of School our sixth graders share their family history with their Box Project; when High School Peer Leadership Program participants take responsibility for orienting students new to GDS—our students experience It was the Friday afternoon of Spring Break, and Lower School students themselves as active participants in the life of GDS were lined up in the hall waiting to be picked up. and as central to the story of our School.
FROM WHERE I STAND Walking down the hall, I was stopped by a second grader. “Hey Russell,” she said. “Are you the one who schedules the Spring Break?” “Yes,” I answered. “Well, I’m kind of mad at you. Can you not do it next year?” “Why not?” I asked. “I don’t want to have to miss school.” Just days before this exchange, a friend had forwarded me a Facebook status update written by a high school student in California: “It’s not that I don’t like the teacher, it’s just that I lose the will to live in her class.” So, what’s the difference between these two anecdotes? A number of possibilities come to mind, including: Lower School vs. High School; East Coast vs. West Coast; and Not-GDS vs. GDS.
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At GDS, our mission explicitly calls us to “encourage our students to wonder, to inquire, and to be self-reliant, laying the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.” These words were carefully chosen. Our mission recognizes the centrality of student voice to a great education, the importance of allowing students to ask questions, not simply answer them. It is in asking questions that we construct understanding, that we make sense, that we develop new ways of seeing. Asking questions challenges us to empathize, to seek to understand the world through someone else’s eyes. Like adults, young people are passionate about environments in which they are central, not peripheral. It is our joyous, challenging student-centered environment that makes students reluctant to leave school for break, and eager to leap out of their cars upon the return from break to rejoin the community and begin learning anew.
Around Campus IN THE CLASSROOM
LMS Community Service Gets New Blood, New Programs In her homecoming to GDS, Colleen Smith returns this year as the LMS community service coordinator, in charge of all service programs for students PK through 8th grade, helping to provide logistical support and connections throughout the greater DC community. After serving as an outreach coordinator at the Newseum where she helped the museum establish partnerships with schools, Colleen is excited to expand GDS’s partnerships with local nonprofits and to build relationships with LMS students and faculty. During her first stint at GDS, she led the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade Way (SSEGWAY) program with GDS’s After-School Program from 2011-2012. Appreciating the wide range of service opportunities we have in our nation’s capital, Colleen wants students’ service work to build upon their learning experiences and help them build sustained, impactful relationships with others outside of their immediate community. Colleen said, “My greatest goal is to link authentic community needs with student interest and faculty passion.” While all of GDS’s service-learning programs have fulfilled this goal, one standout is a new program she and Middle School educational technologist Laura Loftus spearheaded with the age-in-place nonprofit Palisades Village. In this new program called “Tech Boot Camp,” eighth grade students tutor and support senior citizen members from Palisades Village in technology. Over the course of five service days in the fall, students worked alongside seniors to address their various tech questions, ranging from help with email to successfully uploading photos from a phone onto a computer.
LMS Tech Boot Camp participants. At the conclusion of the Tech Boot Camp, the MS students shared individual and group feedback about their experiences. Students’ individual responses included a range of anecdotes, like the challenge of “helping a senior to download 3,383 cat pictures,” but each student clearly enjoyed providing tech support to a community member in need. Sheppy Lewin ’19 reflected, “Tech has always been an interest of mine, and this program allowed me to share my experience.” In their group response, the students were proud of the improved tech skills evident in their “students”; every student felt that building new friendships was one of their best outcomes. The students were overwhelmingly happy with the program and recommended identifying additional opportunities to support connections between students and seniors beyond technology. And so Colleen and Laura look forward to facilitating another tech series during the MS spring service program. In addition to the collaboration with Palisades Village, community partners for the 2014-2015 service programs include: A Wider Circle, Anacostia Watershed Society, Bancroft Elementary, Covenant House, CentroNía, Christ House, Common Good City Farm, District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH), Food and Friends, Friendship Terrace, Homeless Children Playtime Project, Kennedy Kreiger School, Martha’s Table, National Center for Children and Families, National Park Service, Rosemount, Sunrise on Connecticut, Washington Animal Rescue League, and We Are Family.
GDS STRATEGIC PLAN
GOAL 3– CURRICULUM EVOLUTION
PK-12 Social Impact Curriculum: Building from Strength.
New LMS community service coordinator Colleen Smith.
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Around Campus IN THE CLASSROOM
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On the Ground with Peer Mediation By Kimberly Damm
Everyday from 12:20 to 1:00 p.m. It is 12:20 p.m. and the playground is quiet; students are in their classrooms finishing lunch. Moments later, the doors of the first floor stairwell burst open, and out rushes a pack of energized first graders, one proudly calling attention to a new gap in his smile. I sit to their left, innocently with a camera and reporter’s notepad (read: iphone). Immediately the first graders surround me, trapping me in a labyrinth of questions: “Can you untie my shoes?” “Will you take my picture at the Passover assembly?” and a desperate, “Where are the bikes?” Finally, it’s my turn to ask the questions, “Have you ever been mediated?” “Was it helpful?” and, “Do you practice the skills you learned? “YES!” they all screamed. The child with the newly untied shoes volunteered, “You get to tell your side of the story and then the other person tells theirs. Mediation helped.” 4
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It is now 12:35 p.m., and as another set of doors open, the playground returns to quiet. Armed with clipboards, hats, and the confidence and seriousness of Julius Caesar, out walk three fifthgrade mediators. Their task for the next 25 minutes is to make sure that justice, fairness, and equity stay intact on the playground. These three students are part of a team of more than 25 mediators, who applied for, were selected, and completed trainings for the 2014-15 school year. As mediators, the fifth graders monitor recess on the playground and help facilitate mediations for first and second grade students, as needed. Mediations often revolve around accidents, skipping a player’s turn, or inadvertently leaving a classmate out of a game. The sessions end with an agreed upon resolution, such as apologizing for an accident, making sure not to skip players’ turns, or including all classmates in future games. You can find the peer mediators on the playground every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12:20 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.
JASON PUTSCHE PHOTOGRAPHY
If You Give a 3rd Grader an iPad
It’s all about the hats. Fast-forward a year to second grade. With a full 12 months of recess mediation, second graders are wiser, keener, and more experienced than their first-grade friends. Fully versed in the mediation drill, second graders begin to test the fifth graders’ authority, sometimes playfully initiating a game of keep-away using the mediators’ hats—all done in good humor. By fifth grade, at the first mention of mediation, students jump at the chance to wear the mediator hat, forgetting their earlier days of stealing the caps. They all want to be a part of the program and earn the prestigious hat. “For the fifth grade students, the best part of the peer mediation is the hats,” Lower School Assistant Principal Rose Bednar, who has led the mediation program, explained. Kylle Summers, Lower School assistant confirmed, “It’s all about the hats.” It can’t be all about the hats. Further investigation revealed that for fifth graders, the appeal of mediation hats is what they symbolize: fairness, justice, equity, open communication, and democratic process—all core GDS values that are emphasized in the classroom. Wearing the mediator hats allows students to lead their schoolmates in understanding and practicing GDS ideals. To wear the mediator hat is to be an ambassador for GDS. As alumni of the mediation program, students enter sixth grade understanding how to practice GDS values both inside and beyond the classroom. These sixth graders are advocates for themselves and their schoolmates, and they do not shy away from the opportunity to talk about fairness, justice, and equity.
This year’s third graders have been working with their own personal iPads, thanks to the GDS Innovation Fund, an annual operating fund that can award up to a total of $100,000, collectively, to PK-12 teacher applicants looking to pursue innovative curriculum in the classroom. The third grade team purchased iPads and cases for each student in the grade for this pilot program, known as the 1:1 iPad program. With this program, teachers are able to adapt their curriculum to the needs of each student. Director of technology and 21st century learning Tim Lyons credits the Innovation Fund with helping to support innovative teaching and learning through the use of new technologies. In reflecting on the 1:1 iPad program, Tim said that GDS’s thoughtful, intentional teachers, small class sizes, and strong connections in the classroom help keep the Innovation Fund’s projects fresh. “It’s the people here that are really driving the innovation, not the technology: innovation at GDS is born from, and continually nourished by, the strong, close relationships between students and their teachers. Even in our younger grades, the iPad’s have simply allowed those teacher-student relationships to flourish in new and innovative ways,” he said. Through the use of iPads, students are able to approach curriculum as individuals, learning in their own ways and at their own pace. Go to www.GDS.org/MediaGallery to watch a short video showing how LS science teacher Eric Friedenson is able to incorporate differentiated instruction into the classroom using iPads.
GDS STRATEGIC PLAN
GOAL 2– THRIVING TEACHERS
Growth-Oriented Faculty Culture, part 2: Professional learning and leading opportunities.
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Christina '20 and her mother Jane Zaki after their first student-led MS parent/teacher conference.
TA K I N G
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MS Students Lead Their Own Parent/Teacher Conferences
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his spring GDS put the reigns of parent/teacher conferences in middle school students’ hands, and the results were outstanding. After weeks of preparation and armed with a portfolio of their best work, MS students provided a 20-minute presentation to their parents/guardians and teachers about their progress in specific classes and overall development. The new format struck some students with a touch of apprehension as they prepared for the big conferences on March 12 and 13, but within moments of opening their presentations, students’ nervousness melted into confidence and excitement. Christina Zaki ’20 pictured above with her mother, Jane, said, “It was much easier to tell my mom about how I was doing in classes with this format. Basically, I was nervous for nothing.” Joining in with students’ excitement, many parents/guardians were also fans of the new format. Christina’s mother Jane said that she found the results of the conferences to be overwhelmingly positive and very organized. In addition to the student presentations, parents also had the opportunity to communicate with teachers directly through question and answer sessions, one-on-one conversations, and open office hours. As a complement to this new format, MS fall parent-teacher conferences will maintain their traditional structure to facilitate additional direct parent-to-teacher communication. To prepare for the conferences, students regularly met with their advisors, wrote reflections, organized scripts and talking points, and rehearsed their presentations until they felt comfortable 6
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with the content, timing, and structure. This reflection process turned out to be one of the most beneficial aspects of the new conference format as it allowed students to delve into their personal academic strengths, identify opportunities for development, and think about their personal and academic growth. MS science teacher Michael Desautels said, “I loved seeing the interaction between parents and students. I was really impressed with how serious and prepared students were. The practice of reflecting on their work and sharing that with their parents was an important step in students’ ownership of their education.” Explaining how the new conference model helps prepare students to be active participants in a changing world, MS Principal Nancy Kaplan said, “Autonomy doesn’t happen by itself; as educators and caregivers, we must create opportunities to build autonomy. We see this new conference format both as a communication tool and a powerful learning opportunity for our students.” Empowered by the experience, MS students are holding onto the reins of their education and becoming confident, self-advocating young adults.
GDS STRATEGIC PLAN
GOAL 1–DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING
Partnership: Establish principles and best practices for communication and partnership among parents, teachers, and students in support of student learning.
Around Campus BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Playing The “Race Card” Michele Norris Joins GDS as the 2014 Ben Cooper Lecturer
“I’ve spent my career purposefully avoiding the topic of race, as a journalist of color,” said Michele Norris in her opening remarks to the GDS community as the 2014 Benjamin Cooper Lecture speaker. And after tackling the topic head on while researching and writing her first book, The Grace of Silence, Michele realized that sidestepping the topic only served to keep the national dialogue around race buried. That’s when she launched “The Race Card Project,” an ongoing online and in-person conversation about race—a dialogue that has reached 65,000+ individuals across the globe. This past November, she brought this global conversation to life with the GDS community, both at the evening presentation at Washington Hebrew with more than 500 in attendance and also at the morning assembly for High School students. For the project, Michele asks individuals to distill their thoughts, experiences, or observations about race and cultural identity into one six-word sentence. These six-word essays on race include the following gems: “I’m allowed to wear a hoodie”; “Never eat fried chicken in public”; “No, I am not on scholarship”; and “The hybrids shall inherit the Earth.” Norris’s “race
“The Race Card Project enables people to dialogue about race within the context of people’s lived experience, which humanizes the discussion so folks actually listen to each other with compassion and that’s powerful.”
cards” provide a window into others’ worlds and a way into what can be a challenging topic For the Ben Cooper Lecture, Michele enlisted the help of 14 GDS community members— faculty and staff, parents, alumni, and students—to read the observations about race. Some of the sentences originated within our community; others were particularly compelling samples gleaned from the thousands received worldwide. All of them got people thinking and talking. Tamara Wilds Lawson ’92 (pictured below) said it was an honor to participate as a reader, and that it was “surprisingly cathartic.” “The Race Card Project enables people to dialogue about race within the context of people’s lived experience, which humanizes the discussion so folks actually listen to each other with compassion—and that’s powerful,” she said.
Alum Tamara Wildes Lawson '92 participated as a reader.
The Ben Cooper Lecture honors the memory of Benjamin Cooper, a rising Georgetown Day School senior who was killed in a tragic accident in 1997, by bringing a renowned guest lecturer to the school each year to stimulate the kind of dialogue in which Ben loved to participate.
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Around Campus BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Crowdsourcing Leadership
What does it look like when students join adults in defining a community? When HS counselor Amy Killy and Dean of Student Life Bobby Asher started envisioning a strategy for expanded intentional supports for the ninth grade transition to high school, their thoughts naturally turned to one of GDS’s greatest resources: our students. They envisioned bringing upper classmen to freshman orientation to help guide the rookies around the school and acclimate them to life at GDS. It was from this initial vision that the Peer Leadership Program (PLP) was born. “We realized that instead of a one-off activity, we had this great opportunity to build something much more substantial,” said Amy. “We have plenty of leadership opportunities at GDS. But, at the time, we weren’t taking enough time to develop leadership skills.” Students applied to be part of the first PLP cohort in 2013. At their first two-day
retreat before the start of school, the group discussed and decided how they would support the incoming freshman during orientation. Bobby and Amy then asked the students, “Now what?”
The bars came withinspirational, kind messages. “For it to be a true leadership program, we wanted the students to develop it themselves,” said Amy. The group brainstormed and came up with more approaches to help freshmen, including taking part in freshman seminar to share insider information and having
informal lunches with the new students. Additionally, the PLPs established monthly meetings to continue their own leadership training. The trainings introduced different concepts of leadership, asking students to reflect on the style that suited them best. Some of the trainings, including a two-day winter retreat, also focused on team building within the group and how the group could build community within the school. “It might seem trite, but through the PLP program, I have learned so much about leadership!” said senior Nicole Greenberg. “You don’t have to be an outgoing person to lead; sometimes it’s better to be a shepherd, helping others make their own decisions.”
GDS STRATEGIC PLAN
GOAL 3– CURRICULUM EVOLUTION
Transition from 8th-9th grade: Programs that support student success. 8
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“Because I’m conscious of what I’ve learned from this group, it makes me want to be a better person in the GDS community. For instance, I always greet people coming into the school or offer to help when people seem lost. Our PLP conversations helped me see the value in that and how it can shape a community,” she continued. This is precisely the kind of impact Amy was hoping for: “This group’s value is huge. We’ve seen growth in each student and growth within the group as a whole. We’ve all become invested in making our community a better place—one in which people feel like they matter. And this group has shown that we can impact the pulse of what’s going on.”
“The Kindness Challenge gave us an opportunity to slow down and really value what is at the heart of GDS.” The first year was such a success, Amy and Bobby chose to expand the program. Sophomores and juniors could still apply to be part of PLP, and the first year cohort could rejoin as PLP Mentors, modeling for the incoming group and continuing to help inspire and grow the program. For the 2014-15 school year, the group was tapped to lead the HS efforts for the school-wide Kindness Challenge. From manning the Kindness Table with daily activities to handing out
Kind Bars with secret kind messages (left) at the Tenleytown metro, from sharing positive notes and gifts with teachers to making Valentine’s cards for veterans with GDS third graders (above), the members of PLP made it a success. “The Kindness Challenge gave us an opportunity to slow down and really value what is at the heart of GDS,” said Amy. “We didn’t go into it saying, ‘people need to understand how to be kind.’ It was about celebrating and valuing our already kind community.” As PLP heads into its third year, Amy reflects that it’s still a work in progress: “The kids realize they are a part of something— that’s one of the beauties of it. Being a leader means having a growth mindset and having a pro-social purpose.” “We created this together,” said junior Abigail Fisch. “And so I feel like I’ve had an important role in shaping what this will be in the future. This has been such a rewarding experience for me— my goal is that we increase awareness of it so that others can take part.” “Our PLP group understands that there is a world greater than them out there. They’re growing and changing and helping others embrace their own growth,” said Amy. Michael Osaghae ’16 said that the program has helped him find his place in the community. But more importantly, he’s realized, “While I’ve been finding my place, I’ve been helping others find theirs.” Read more about GDS’s Kindness Challenge on page 26. GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
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S E S S I O N S :
An Experimental Learning Machine Pop into the Georgetown Day School High School Innovation Lab (also known as Odradek) Thursday after school and you’ll witness in action a seamlessly engineered community service, science, and experiential learning machine. It’s High School students behind the wheel of this advanced operation that brings together Jefferson Academy Middle School students and GDS HS students for hour-long science experiments as part of the after-school Super Science Sessions. GDS HS students and Supper Science Sessions co-chairs Arianna Neal ’15 and Arica Shepherd ’15 created the program during their sophomore year, in an effort to revitalize a program formerly known as Teen Corps. Together, Arianna and Arica developed a science curriculum that allows students from other schools to participate in hands-on science experiments that they might not have access to in their own classrooms. The integrated curriculum focuses on the scientific method while also reinforcing students’ writing and literacy skills.
GDS STRATEGIC PLAN
GOAL 3–CURRICULUM EVOLUTION
PK-12 Social Impact curriculum: Building from strength.
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Super Science Sessions is a member of Kid Power’s PublicPrivate School Network, a program that partners DC Public School students with mentors at local independent schools. “Super Science Sessions also gives these middle school students a taste of GDS,” HS history teacher and community service coordinator Catherine Pearson explained. Over the past three years, Arianna and Arica have seen the goals of the program come to life. Arianna shared, “Super Science has taught me that while realizing one’s own scientific discovery can feel exhilarating, so too, can witnessing that moment for [someone else].” Arica has been particularly moved by how much of a positive impact students can have in just one to two hours a week. “Super Science has taught me the real ability that GDS students have to change something…I can see the spark in the [students’] eyes when a topic we are covering really piques their interest. Seeing that teaches me that I, along with the rest of the GDS community, have this amazing opportunity in front of us to introduce [someone] to an interest that they haven’t met yet,” she said. Both graduating this year, Arianna and Arica are passing on their torch as co-chairs, but they are confident that their work to build Super Science Sessions has made it sustainable for years to come. “I am so pleased with where the program has gone thus far, and I can’t wait to come back after I graduate in June and see where it is,” said Arica.
Around Campus
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ARTS & PERFORMANCES
LMS
visual
Arts
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AT GDS
1. Isabelle Jeffers '24
draw a house using a variety of shapes, marker
2. Abby Quinn-Shores '25 self-portrait, paint
3. Sophia Gore '22
stamp design, paint
4. MS MLK Workshop
individual oil pastels combined into collage; oil pastels
5. Emma Leary '19
design drawing, sharpee
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ENJOY!
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Around Campus ARTS & PERFORMANCES
FATA Morgana Does It Again In what can be the cutthroat world of dance, Georgetown Day School has a safe space for students to explore their art and feel a part of a team in its dance group, Fata Morgana. The group is based on a model of full inclusion; every GDS High School student who auditions is invited to perform. Fata Morgana creates an environment where dancers can fully express themselves, avoiding the rejection that is more often than not most dancers' experience. For the show, all members dance in the group finale; individuals are also invited to perform in various pieces based on experience and interest in different dance styles, ranging from ballet to hip hop. 12
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Enthusiastically selling tickets outside of the HS Black Box Theater and getting excited for her performance in the second act, Christine Irwin ’15 said, “Everyone has a place and you feel a part of it.” Fata Morgana performances are a delightful experience for the audience of family, friends, and teachers who hold connections to each dancer. The winter 2014 performance included two acts packed with 17 student-choreographed, -designed, and -directed performances. Students showcased hip hop, jazz, ballet, and contemporary styles set to a wide range of music including Nina
Spotlight on 4200 GDS HS director of dance Maria Watson had been thinking about starting a dance company for years in order to provide more advanced dancers with an outlet to train and perform at their level. In the fall of 2014, she finally made the leap. The new group, 4200 Dance, featuring five intermediate and advance level jazz and ballet dancers, made its debut at the 2014 Fata Morgana show. 4200 Dance performed a piece titled “License to Move,” which was created and choreographed by Maria to music by Jon Scofield. 4200 Dance members attend one class and one rehearsal each week with plans to increase both in the coming years. The company also has the opportunity to work with Maria and other choreographers in a professional setting. After building up its repertoire, the group will hold its own performances. The company, which does not have a limit to its membership size, is open to grades 9 through 12 and auditions are held every September.
Simone, Ed Sheeran, and Beyoncé (which came to no one’s surprise as the GDS HS has a well-attended Beyoncé Fan Club). "Fata has done it again...What an enjoyable evening," glowed Laura Rosberg, HS performing arts department chair.
With a cast of approximately 30 dancers, Fata is led by head Danny Thimm ’16 and advised by HS director of dance Maria Watson. Abigail Alpern Fisch ’16 served as the Stage Manager and HS theater teacher Will Ley and his Performance Design class designed the lighting.
While some students participate in Fata as an opportunity to casually explore dance, others springboard from Fata to a professional dance career. The Stage co-founder and professional dancer S. Asher Gelman ’02, and professional dancers Sammi Rosenfeld ’09 and Billy Robinson ’04 are among Fata alumni.
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Around Campus ARTS & PERFORMANCES
HS ARTS HOW TO: FILM POSTER DESIGN By Adrian Loving
OBJECTIVE: Students will create an exciting film poster for a Marvel or DC superhero of their choice. They will select online trailers to research images, gather dialogue, and get a general feel for the character. Using google images, students will find high resolution images of the superhero to use as the central design element of the poster. After a little Photoshop magic, a fantastic new 9x12”poster comes to life!
HOW I TEACH THIS PROJECT:
Demonstration is the best method! I typically have a few existing film poster samples on hand that I present to the class, and discuss why they are successful in their design and legibility. Next, I take them through the process of selecting and downloading quality images that have negative space around them and easy cutout areas. Layering is key to the success of the overall design and feel. I demonstrate in Photoshop how to cutout, tweak, and then layer images on top of each other to gain the desired effect of a proper poster layout. The final touches come by adding logos, type, and the title to the poster. Once an initial layout is made, I usually critique and give feedback on how to make the poster a tighter final product of industry-standard quality. The final result is a series of great poster designs custom made by first-time designers.
WHAT YOU NEED • A well-researched concept and idea • A variety of high-resolution images (preferably 1200 x 2000 dpi) • Film Poster copy (credits, title, actors names, tagline or subtext) • Logos • Adobe Photoshop Design Program • Creativity
For the next phase of the project, students created a one-minute film trailer using Final Cut Pro. You can watch some highlights online at www.GDS.org/HSArts.
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N U R HOPPERS' DEN r e p p o H r u o y o t
e h t t a r a e G
Located at the LMS Advancement office or online at
www.GDS.org/SchoolStore 15
Around Campus ARTS & PERFORMANCES
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ALUMNA ARTIST CAITLIN GREENHILL CALDERA Takes Up Residence At GDS
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ecalling her days as a student at GDS, Caitlin Greenhill Caldera ’10 (CJ) said, “I was never happier than when I was in art class.” Fast forward several years plus an undergraduate degree in Studio Art and Art History from Wellesley College and a fellowship from the Melton Foundation, CJ is back on campus serving as an artist-inresidence at GDS, which she fondly refers to as “the most wonderful place.” As an artist-in-resident at GDS, CJ spent the 2014-15 academic year performing high school art workshops in painting and print making, mentoring student groups in public art projects, and creating oil paintings, notably Ex-voto para Mi Mamá y Alex (at right). Using a piece of upcycled wood originally used in a GDS high school theater production, CJ covered the wood in copies of photographs from her childhood that depict the amazing childhood CJ’s mother provided for her and her younger brother Alex, who suffered from a traumatic brain injury at birth and lives with cerebral palsy. Using oil paint, CJ painted over the canvas images of her mother embracing her brother Alex. In her personal statement about the inspiration and stories behind this painting, CJ writes, “This image is not only a thank you to my mother and Alex but also my way of sharing their inspiring journey so that others who have and have not suffered similar challenges can know that the impossible can be achieved and that unconditional love is the greatest weapon of resistance.” Read CJ's full statement about her painting online at www.GDS.org/HSArts. CJ entered the portrait into the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition held by the National Portrait Gallery. CJ initially came to GDS because of the school’s rigorous academics and arts programs, and within her first semester, she quickly proved that her work ethic and confidence were tough as nails. Within her first semester, CJ made it clear to her teachers that she was here to grow and become her best. High School arts department chair Michelle Cobb recalls a discussion she had with CJ about her artwork: “CJ, a little tiny thing, looked at me and said, ‘You’re not being straight
with me. You need to be tougher on me. … If you never tell me the truth, then I’ll never get better.’ And it changed the way I teach.” “When someone tells you the truth, he or she is demonstrating that he or she really respects you as a person and more importantly, believes in you and your ability to achieve your potential,” explained CJ. This mutual respect for one another’s opinions and art launched the duo’s partnership, which remains strong almost a decade later. While her mother’s embrace inspired the creative direction of this painting, CJ credits Michelle Cobb and Edward Loper for the technical inspiration. Edward Loper, Michelle’s mentor, visited CJ’s high school art class and demonstrated the technique of underpainting, which she said drove this piece. “Michelle taught me the method of painting that Edward Loper taught her. You paint one color next to another to realize a complete composition of light, line, color, and shape. I am truly grateful to both of them for teaching me to see color and have the skills to capture it.” Over the course of her residency at GDS, CJ invested endless hours painting in the HS art studio and talking to students about her process. Grateful for CJ’s commitment to the school and her art, Michelle Cobb said, “For me as a teacher, to see the method we teach in 9th grade develop over the years into a professional level of painting is so rewarding.” As CJ wraps up her artist-in-residence position at GDS and her internship with the Curator of Latino History and Culture at the National Portrait Gallery, she is already planning her next steps as an artist, art history researcher, and art educator. She is busily working on paintings for an exhibition of her work. CJ is also involved with mural projects for the GDS HS Enviro Club and GDS HS Library. CJ’s presence, however, will remain a part of GDS, as her artwork is displayed throughout the high school, including four large landscapes of the Nicaraguan Rainforest from her 2013 solo show.
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Around Campus ARTS & PERFORMANCES
N O T
P L A Y I N G
GDS Stages Marat/Sade
I T
S A F E
JORDAN ROSNER
JORDAN ROSNER
When Washington Post theater critic Peter Marks heard GDS would be putting on Marat/Sade, or The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade by Peter Weiss, as the 2014-15 fall play he tweeted: “Which here isn’t playing it safe? Arena has FIDDLER, Shakespeare Theatre has AS YOU LIKE IT, and Georgetown Day School is doing…MARAT/SADE!” GDS HS Theater has never played it safe, challenging our students and our audiences to explore the outer reaches of possibilities within the medium.
The Quintet surrounds Jason Martin ’15, playing Jean-Paul Marat. The cast improvised their characters on a nightly basis. Said Danny Thimm ‘ 16, “The improv kept the show alive for all five nights. Each night I saw my character grow and find new ways to express similar emotions from the previous night. At first it was scary, but once the whole cast started to let loose, we all became extremely—almost too—comfortable.”
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Will Anderson ’16 was a member of the chorus, called The Quintet, here responding to the Marquis de Sade, played by Jacob Roberts ’15. These highly energetic and animated characters punctuated the main action of the play with peculiar responses, ongoing movement, and singing. “Being in character for two hours was thrilling,” he said. “Being introspective doesn’t work for a play— you have to be able to portray mental illness outwardly. We all worked to find a balance in portraying something accurately while also remaining respectful and interesting.”
JORDAN ROSNER
JORDAN ROSNER
Set Designers Graeme Hall ’15 and Laura Smith ’15 designed the stage as a theater in the round. “With an audience on all sides, our biggest challenge was designing a performance space that played to every angle of the audience. Ultimately, no one had bad seats,” said Graeme. “The trap doors helped us create more playable space and add something very physical to the space—Laura (Rosberg, the faculty director) wanted us to design something that would startle the audience,” said Laura.
GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
As the cast carries the daughter of Coulmier, the Director of the Asylum, played by Maddy Clark ’16, the sheer size of the cast is illuminated. Quintet member Rebecca Berger ’15 said, “This show was different from any other show I’ve been in solely because we had to be onstage the whole time…it brought us together into a completely cohesive and responsive cast. Something about sharing every single experience on the stage and creating such a difficult picture together melded each person into the very definition of a team.”
WINTER’S DULCET TONES “Hark! How the bells, sweet silver bells seem to say, ‘Throw cares away,’…” rang the voices of the GDS Singers, as they opened the third annual Winter Choral Concert on December 10, 2014. The voices of 250 Georgetown Day School students across grades 4 through 12 filled the chamber of the National City Christian Church in historic Logan Circle with an ensemble of classical and contemporary holiday songs. Just as the audience relaxed into their seats with their eyes fixed on the stage, their attention was shifted to the balcony at the rear of the chamber where 8th graders were performing the dulcet tones of Caccini’s “Dona Nobis Pacem.” LMS arts coordinator and music teacher Keith Hudspeth said, “That was one of those chilling moments for me.” The evening’s repertoire also included a more light-hearted, humorous performance of “Chinese Food on Christmas,” which was sung by Five O’ Clock Shadow, one of GDS’s, five high school a cappella groups. The song’s catchy lyrics about the Jewish tradition of eating Chinese food and catching a movie on Christmas Day resonated with the culturally and religiously diverse audience of GDS families. HS vocal music teacher Ben Hutchens summarized what he thinks was the highlight of the Winter Choral Concert, “It’s one of the events that brings together lower, middle, and high school students to perform collectively. That’s what makes this special.” The concert wrapped up with a finale of “Deck the Halls,” featuring the 250 students singing and dancing together. Ending on a high-note, the high-spirited performers and their families traveled over the river and through the woods, taking the warmth of the season with them.
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Photo by:Jordan Rosner.
Around Campus ATHLETICS
STOP, THINK, LEAD
Introducing the HALT Program This spring, the GDS High School Athletics Department introduced a new program focused on fostering leadership and creating opportunities for student athletes to make recommendations within the athletic program, called the Hopper Athletic Leadership Team (HALT). Created for varsity athletes, the HALT program will also foster cohesion between student athletes and promote GDS athletics through active engagement and outreach within the greater community. The group’s motto is, “Stop, think, lead.” HS athletic director Kathy Hudson is excited to see this program come to fruition. “Starting a student athlete leadership program has been one of my long-term goals and [HALT] is the result,” she said. Serving as representatives between the athletic teams and HALT, members of the program attend meetings facilitated by faculty advisors. The meetings also include smaller breakout sessions where students meet with their committees in the areas of branding, policies, spirit, and leadership.
Through an application, nomination, and review process, the following students were selected to be members of HALT for the spring semester of 2015: • Mac Andrews ’15, Baseball • Greg Connors ’16, Basketball • Bryce Delaney ’16, Soccer • Kendal Edwards ’17, Soccer and Basketball • Nicole Greenberg ’15, Lacrosse • Natalia Greene ’17, Volleyball and Lacrosse • Eliana Miller ’16, Volleyball • Michael Osaghae ’16, Soccer and Basketball • Ben Schwartz ’17, Basketball and Baseball • Julian Wallentin ’16, Soccer • Jadyn Wilensky ’17, Soccer and Track HALT is a newly launched program, with lots of exciting plans for the future. Stay tuned for more developments!
HALT's administrative team includes Kathy Hudson, assistant athletic director and certified athletic trainer Veronica Ampey, Dean of School Life Quinn Killy, and women's assistant varsity soccer coach and HS science teacher Anna Rhymes.
GDS STRATEGIC PLAN
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Athletics: Enhance program to optimize student experience, health, and well-being.
GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
GOAL 3–CURRICULUM EVOLUTION
ROGER COLAIZZI
It’s In Him
Junior Tristan Colaizzi Wins Gatorade Cross Country Runner of the Year In January, junior Tristan Colaizzi, pictured above, far right, with teammates, was named the 2014-15 Gatorade District of Columbia Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year—the first ever chosen from GDS. The award recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the racecourse. “[The award] distinguishes Colaizzi as District of Columbia’s best high school boys cross country runner,” according to a press release from Gatorade. The Gatorade accolades haven't gone to the head of the same runner who joined hands with teammate Aiden Pillard '16 to deliberately tie for the boys championship title in 2013. “That story shows what’s best about our team. We’re not competitive with each other, and we push each other when we need it,” said Tristan. Tristan credits the sense of community and connection within the track team to the coaches, including head coach Anthony Belber. “His philosophy is that every member of the team is equally important,” he said. “He loves running, and he shares that love with the entire team.” Anthony mirrors the compliments right back, pointing to Tristan’s leadership on the team. “While Tristan’s performances in races during cross-country were remarkable, our team values his charisma, energy, and cheerful approach even more than his talent. Tristan is an asset to our team in countless ways,” he said. Tristan says that being on the team is a way of life for him. When he was injured, he had to take a break from running. “When I’m not running, I don’t sleep well, I don’t focus as well. Running is such an integral part of who I am—it truly translates to all aspects of my life. The hard-working mentality of the team has made me a better student and a better person,” said Tristan.
PERSEVERANCE
TAKES THE PRIZE Armand Harvey ’15 describes his start to high school as “unfavorable.” Under 5 feet tall, underweight, and painfully shy, Armand said that he was lacking confidence. But after being recruited by a close friend to join the wrestling team a few weeks into his freshman year, things began to turn around. He made friends, increased his weight and strength, and started to feel comfortable in his own skin. Now in his fourth year wrestling at GDS, Armand credits his success to perseverance, a skill stressed by his captain when he was a freshman on the team. “I have wrestled people stronger than me, faster than me, with more experience, and in general larger than me. But in the end, I win because of my perseverance,” he said. The 2015 Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAC) Wrestling Championships held on January 23, 2015 at the GDS High School presented an opportunity for Armand and his teammates to shine. Armand won his weight class at 152, went 4-0 in a round robin, and was named to the 2015 All-MAC team.
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Around Campus FACULTY
VIRTUES On two cold, snowy-ish days in February, second grade teacher Githa Natarajan and her husband, Arun, led an in-house training workshop for GDS faculty on the Virtues Project. A global, grassroots initiative to inspire the practice of positive character qualities in everyday life and in our classrooms, the Virtues Project helps teachers nurture students in the skills and qualities that are essential to success in school and life, including empathy, courage, honesty, patience, and responsibility.
Two virtues resonate with Githa as significantly GDS:
Githa and Arun started their journey with the Virtues Project when they attended trainings on the approach from a family and business perspective; the work felt so right to them that they trained to become facilitators themselves. After practicing the approach with her family and training others in it for more than a decade, Githa brought it to her classroom—first during her tenure in DC Public Schools and now to the GDS classroom she coteaches with Danny Stock.
GDS participants left the workshop feeling “re-energized,” “enthusiastic, interested in applying this in my personal life and in the classroom,” and hoping to implement it in a more sustained way at GDS.
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“Integrity is one of them. Wherever our students go, whatever they do, it is such a core GDS principle and is key to their success. The second would be thankfulness. I want the students to be thankful for the opportunities we have here, thankful for where they can take it and grow with it, and share it with the rest of the world.”
As Director of Teaching and Learning Dresden Koons said, “Often the greatest professional development we experience as colleagues is when we teach and learn from each other, building community along the way. Thanks again to Githa for her leadership, passion, and purpose.”
PARTICIPATING TEACHERS INCLUDED: Selma Aniba Barbara Buonora Yi-Na Chung Crystal Davis Aicha Kacem Mandy Kimlick Belinda Lartey Joanna Phinney Diana Rehfeldt Lida Salmani Payal Sangani Danny Stock
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GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
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A GDS TEACHER WILL Curated by Dresden Koons
When I began working at GDS in the summer of 2013, one of the first documents shared with me was our “A GDS Student Will…” the set of skills and capacities that GDS works to cultivate in our students. It soon became clear that the necessary complement should be “A GDS Teacher Will…” My fellow administrators and I intuitively decided on a consensus-building endeavor in which the faculty would have the opportunity to name and describe the qualities that best represent teaching excellence at GDS. Current research (and common sense) support this idea: when teachers are empowered to name what they are committing themselves to, those commitments are much more likely to become actionable and not just aspirational. Teacher agency and efficacy are directly correlated with student outcome. The entire GDS faculty engaged in an intentional, iterative process, responding to the question, “What makes a great teacher?”, which then evolved into a consideration of “What makes a GDS teacher great?” Across multiple conversations, dominant themes quickly began to emerge, with specific teacher language to elucidate each theme. In my role as Dean of Teaching and Learning, I synthesized that language into the following ten affirmations of what “A GDS Teacher Will…,” which has been formally approved by the Academic Leadership Team. Teachers met in cross-divisional departments in the fall of 2014 to begin to infuse these affirmations with their lived experiences through storytelling. The vignettes that follow highlight a sampling of these stories. Moving forward, we will continue to make these commitments actionable as a framework for our professional growth cycle—especially teacher observation and self-reflection—and our new teacher mentoring program.
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GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
Jay Tucker and his fourth grade class practice mindfulness.
GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
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A GDS TEACHER WILL:
Live the mission of the school, celebrating diversity, validating different perspectives, and affirming our shared identities. Reed Thompson, 5th Grade humanities When it’s Justin’s turn to lead the group to the next control checkpoint, he studies his map carefully, ignores the compass hanging from his neck, and confidently points off in the distance before him. Bounding through some trees toward a gurgling creek, the group follows after him. One of the students still studies her map and compass: “Hey guys! Wait a minute! Look at the map...to get from control #2 to #3, we need to follow this trail and cross over a road to get to #3. The creek is south of us, but we need to go NORTH! I think we had the map turned around before,” says Giselle. “Thanks Giselle! Let’s do it!” says Justin. The kids quickly regroup and rumble off in the other direction. Every year for the past 25, GDS 4th graders have led their parents into Prince William Forest after a number of lessons in and outside of the classroom, in this culminating orienteering activity. Orienteering inspires these moments of tension—group dynamics, thinking on your feet, being outside, managing the stress of the unknown, being in and out of comfort zones, practicing real map and compass skills, becoming more at home in the natural world—moments that create true experiential learning and anchor us firmly in our mission “to wonder, to inquire, and to be self-reliant, laying the foundation for a lifelong love of learning.” Year after year, I get to watch ALL the kids blossom before my eyes, including the bouncy kids who yearn for movement and the visual and tactile learners who get more from an activity that doesn’t involve paper and pencil. I treasure guiding them through new learning experiences and seeing them fail, regroup, try again and master a task in real time, with a real-life consequence. And most of all, I treasure the whoops of joy and excitement as they bound through the woods along their course as we celebrate our diversity, validate difference, and affirm shared identities.
A GDS Teacher Will:
Model and lead by example in setting high expectations and in caring for others and for oneself. Meryl Heylinger and Amy Killy, LS and HS Counselors The 2015 Great Kindness Challenge was a great opportunity for GDS to celebrate what is at the core of our school—a community that promotes a rich learning environment by fostering a sense of belonging, confidence, purpose, and respect in intentional and meaningful ways.
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GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
Fourth graders orienteering in Prince William Forest.
HS ceramics instructor Nick Ryan asked his 9th Grade Seminar class to “write a sincere and heartfelt expression of your gratitude that demonstrates your own kindness, compassion, and appreciation” with the hope “that these letters will stimulate others to consider the role of important people in their life, and prompt them to express their appreciation.” One student wrote: “Your support as my friend has made me a better person.” Another: “I never realized… how incredible it felt to know that someone believed in me and my dreams throughout my entire life.” Nick gave his students the opportunity to be reflective and thoughtful, and in doing so, he gave a gift that could ripple out beyond our school walls. Feeling inspired to inspire others, LS teachers and students made videos, posters, performed skits, and shared stories. Acts of kindness were practiced all week long—and though the week made us note these acts, they didn’t occur because of our participation in this national challenge. Whether it’s sharing materials, an older student helping a younger student during morning carpool, or a peer mediator guiding students toward the resolution of a conflict, our students display acts of kindness all year round. These acts continue to be inspired by the work of our teachers in modeling and leading by example, setting high expectations, and caring for others and for oneself.
A GDS Teacher Will:
Partner and work collaboratively with all members of the community. Sarah Redmond, HS English, and Paul Bolstad, HS history Remember the granddaddy of all reality shows, The Real World? How the introduction closed with the show’s claim to “find out what happens...when people stop being polite...and start getting real”? This year, a group of GDS teachers and staff used Critical Friends Groups (CFG) to answer this very question. The word “critical” does not mean “judgmental,” but rather “essential.” What we found is that when we come together as a community of professionals and “get real”— partnering and working collaboratively with all members of the community—the results are profoundly empowering. The group included 20 high school faculty from both the humanities and STEM, including a variety of non-classroom teaching staff (from the Library to Lab Tech to Community Service). At each meeting, framed discussion protocols help participants focus on different elements of each others’ practice, including lesson plans, assignment sheets, student work, and even professional dilemmas. Together, we work through a member’s dilemma: how to redefine an “A”; considering how a community service form could better guide students towards their interests; the examination of a history project exploring immigrant voices. Above all we now understand that, in taking a critical look at any individual’s work, we are all better able to take a critical look at our own, collectively and individually. Our collaborative work made “the real world” of our classrooms, labs, library, theater, and even the world beyond the school walls an even better place for our students.
A GDS Teacher Will:
Inspire and empower students and colleagues. Laura Howell, 3rd grade homeroom, Jenny Medvene-Collins, 4th grade science, and Jay Tucker, 4th grade math The word “mindfulness” can hold a variety of meanings, understandings, and implications. Using our personal practices as a base, we participated in a curriculum training with Mindful Schools, gaining curricular tools and knowledge based on the latest neuroscience research related to mindfulness in education. Following the training, we built on existing work with students by using a shared sequence of lessons and a variety of techniques. In mindfulness, the goal is not to “get” anywhere in particular. While we do expect that the teaching of mindfulness will likely cultivate a pause between action and reaction, compassion in relationships, and a sense of grounding, we do not have one end goal. We aim to show students, through lessons and repeated practice that they have the choice in each moment to be fully present. During staff meetings we have begun leading colleagues in a variety of mindfulness activities and encourage
Kindergartners build foundational skills with teacher Angela Sandford. them to consider using mindfulness in their classrooms as well. Our students often request “more mindfulness.” Many have also started to practice at home. Laura’s student, Eden ’23, “called a mindfulness break” with a friend and her sister one weekend; Jay’s student Sophie ’23 “reminds herself to breath” when considering her day. Deepening our mindfulness practices will continue to inspire and empower both students and colleagues.
A GDS Teacher Will:
Have a deep, broad knowledge of and passion for one’s subject and craft. Angela Sandford, Kindergarten When many think about a teacher of “younger children,” they often picture students “playing” with playdoh or building with blocks. What not many people realize is that these early school experiences are the building blocks and foundation for the rest of these young children’s educational careers. During recess today, a student ran to show me a worm on a stick that he had dug out of the soil around the edge of our playground. His excitement and delight made it hard for him to even hold the stick still so that I could see the wriggling worm. When I asked him why the worm was wriggling so much, he replied, “I think he’s scared.” From this, a discussion ensued about the worm’s “natural home” and how it must have felt to be taken out of that “safe space.” While encouraging wonder and curiosity about the natural world, I wanted that student to also understand his impact on the environment, to know that he can understand how others feel by observing them while not squelching his curiosity about the world around him. After we observed the wriggling worm for a few more seconds, the student slowly and carefully returned the worm back to the soil with so much care. He watched it for a few more seconds before running off to join others play. It is my hope that others will recognize how rigorous, challenging and important early childhood learning is. Teachers need to have a deep, broad knowledge of and passion for both subject and craft. In the early years children learn conflict resolution, self-advocacy, language development, empathy and perseverance—just to name a few—all skills deepened in seemingly simple moments on the playground and in the classroom that will serve each and every one of them for life.
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A GDS Teacher Will:
A GDS Teacher Will:
I knew that whatever we did in class after Winter Break needed to engage us all, teacher and students alike! Remembering a suggestion from a student, our unit on government systems was the right moment to try it out. While it promised engagement and inquiry, it also offered many avenues for things to go awry. But I was curious, interested, and willing to see what we could do.
GDS offers me countless opportunities to gain knowledge and develop new skills. The school encourages teachers to demonstrate a zeal for learning, expanding and enriching the way we teach, identifying new information to pursue, and modeling the comfort of not knowing how to solve a problem but eventually figuring it out.
The student’s idea grew out of a photograph of gummy bears depicting oppression used in class during our study of the Arab Spring. To activate our background knowledge and develop visual literacy skills, we analyzed photos of gummy bears posed into social justice words (thanks, Pinterest!). Using our essential questions “Who has the power?’ and “What are the strengths and weaknesses?” we collaboratively researched various government systems—tyranny and oligarchy among them. Then, using only the bears, toothpicks and our visual literacy skills, students created Thinglinks that used their own gummy bear photos with tags to the information critical to understand their system.
Last year at a conference I learned how to use MIT Scratch coding, an exciting challenge. What fun it was to share Scratch with GDS kids, watch some students take off, and then quickly discover that I needed to learn even more. Digital citizenship seminars have given me the perspective and skill to teach students about a subject that transforms itself, often from dayto-day. And many years ago I took an HTML course, returning to school to code its first website and then teach sixth grade students how to code and publish their written work on the web. Courses, conferences, retreats, independent projects, presentations given to others, and great books to read--GDS offerings that ensure I am a teacher as well as a lifelong learner.
Be nimble, engaging, approachable, and connected. Kate Maloney, MS history
While composing the photographs of the gummy bears, groups faced different challenges: How long does it take to melt the red bears in the microwave to make gooey blood for the ‘anarchy’ group? How do we compose an image that conveys the weaknesses of an abstract concept? The challenges kept us coming back for more and prodded us forward with delight; we couldn’t wait to see what the next group put together. The culminating activity for the unit was a rich class discussion examining the potential for social justice in each system. The depth of discussion, informed through the engagement, the mutual risk taking and visual learning, made every risk along the way worthwhile. Evan Smith, HS Latin GDS students are makers, not spectators. These words, however, remind me that students can’t help but watch us; that working with the young, who are curious of what they might become, means that my colleagues and I teach ways of being human. Teachers, in a student’s eye, present possible futures: in us, they should see teaching as a commitment to freedom; should see someone helping, rather than forcing, others to take responsibility, through what they learn, for the possibilities we face (nimble); someone excited at young minds meeting old mysteries (engaging); someone interested in their intellectual lives as they are here and now (approachable); someone willing to be helped and not just be helpful, someone open and kind with them and other adults, and hopeful of what we can achieve together (connected).
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Embrace innovative practices to instill and promote a lifelong love of learning. Marti Weston, LMS technology education specialist
A GDS Teacher Will:
Educate the whole child through diverse, equitable strategies that support, challenge, and engage every student. Kevin Joy, MS math As much as possible, I try to incorporate as many different experiences into my Pre-Algebra classes to engage as many diverse learners as possible. One such experience happens in the measurement unit called “The Measurement Olympics,” which is designed to have students’ practice conversions within both the metric and U.S. customary systems of measurements. My students compete in a wide range of events that include throwing straws across the room, putting golf balls, and squeezing water in containers. Physically, they are moving around the room to each individual event, engaged in the challenge and actual measuring. Each student has the opportunity to work individually, but then will work cooperatively with their group on converting each measurement. Regardless of one's learning style, this activity often connects with everyone, and works better than doing worksheets. I have done this activity for a few years, and students are now returning from the High School to share that “The Measurement Olympics” is both how and why they remember the metric system years later, having felt particularly supported, challenged, and engaged by it.
A GDS Teacher Will:
Encourage students to improve their local, national, and global landscapes and give them the metacognitive skills to do so. Catherine Pearson, HS community service coordinator and HS history
Marti Weston works with students on gaining technological skills while building her own.
Third graders work on Valentine's as part of their work during Kindness Week.
Although it can be difficult for students to see through the haze of exams and papers, there comes a time when each GDS student will graduate and continue to pursue his or her academic aspirations. It is our responsibility to make sure they are prepared to be engaged, conscientious citizens equipped with the knowledge and the confidence to address the social inequities they witness/observe in their communities. This past summer, 22 high school students participated in the Policy and Advocacy Institute. Over five weeks, they developed policy proposals in collaboration with community partners such as Vets First, the STEM Alliance, and the American Cancer Society. Around the same time, ten students traveled to the Navajo Nation in Arizona to learn about Navajo history and culture. Whether our students are collaborating with one another and assessing the needs of veterans experiencing homelessness in D.C. or learning how to develop a lesson plan for elementary school students in Round Rock, Arizona, I hope that we will continue to create opportunities for our students to engage directly with communities near and far. Once a student graduates from GDS, I hope that it is instinctual that they ask, “What is my responsibility to my community and what knowledge and skills do I have to support those around me?”
A GDS Student Will:
• Build networks and collaborate across difference Gummy bears illustrate government systems in Kate Maloney's Middle School history class.
• Innovate and create • Take risks, tolerate failure, and learn from failure • Self-advocate •Think critically • Communicate clearly and powerfully • Tackle complex problems • Learn activley and resourcefully • Engage as a just, moral, ethical citizen • Lead
Marjorie Clark works with students constructing a DC map on the floor of the High School's innovation lab. GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
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A GDS Teacher Will:
Take appropriate risks, make and learn from mistakes, and tackle challenges with creativity and flexibility in constantly seeking to grow in and reflect on practice. Marjorie Clark and Julie Stein, HS history This year we agreed to develop and implement our History 9 course together, meeting for two planning periods during the week, sharing and editing Google docs, and engaging in an every Sunday night phone call. From constructing a DC map on the floor of Odradek to performing a Civil Rights simulation, our collaboration has compelled us to take thoughtful risks and grow in and reflect on practice in ways we had not anticipated coming into the year.
JASON PUTSCHE PHOTOGRAPHY
We were struggling to create an interactive lesson on the causes of WWI, for example, and then we had a breakthrough. We decided to split students into five countries and give each group, or “country,” a mini white board. We put up different dates and asked each country to live-tweet on their whiteboard events based on their dates and to hashtag compliments and insults to other countries; additionally they could arrange their chairs to visually indicate their relationship to each other depending on the historical date. We then decided to visit each other's classes, which we have done a hundred times this year, to observe this simulation in action. This allows us not just to reflect on practice together, but to observe each others’ students with fresh eyes.
Kate Maloney connects with her MS history students.
GDS STRATEGIC PLAN
GOAL 2–THRIVING TEACHERS
“A GDS Teacher Will…” Providing transparent expectations of excellent teaching to all members of the GDS Community. 30
In reflecting on our work together this year, we have gained so many skills by being both pushed and supported. We never would have experimented pedagogically nor have been willing to fail without having a colleague with whom to plan and process. Marjorie in particular reflects, “After many years in the classroom, this has pushed me out of my comfort zone. You can’t let something bad slip through. To be able to be spontaneous with structure and support has been incredibly powerful. It’s not just me. It’s this thing we did together, and we are all figuring it out together. I have learned more in the semester and a half with Julie than I have in the last 10 years.”
WONDER, BY DESIGN
AN INVITATION
to re-imagine the GDS campus By Wonder, By Design
GDS'S MASTER PLANNING EDUCATION DESIGN FIRM
Midway through our first visit with GDS for the campus master plan project, a high school faculty member’s comment captured our imagination. In response to a question about possibilities for the future of ‘community’ at Georgetown Day School, the teacher said: “To be of a community, one must live together, eat together, learn together, create together, and celebrate together. And for all that we are as a school—a truly amazing school—we’ve never truly been able to do that. Not as one community. And I can’t help but think that this is our chance to finally do just that.” GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
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And, recalling the teacher’s quote above and given the passion it demonstrates around community, we were well aware that such a mindset can physically reinforce what it means to be an authentically unified community as well.
A Human-Centered Design Process Ultimately, this is what Wonder is doing in partnership with GDS—we’re here to design a learning environment that honors what GDS is seeking. More importantly, we are trying to design the questions and processes so that your community can decide what sorts of physical relationships and spaces they must have in order to honor your own nonnegotiable values and visions of the future.
THIS PROJECT
has always been
about space.
It's also about much more than that. What had appeared at first glance to be a project about real estate and traffic flow was now becoming a commitment to develop a campus ecology that truly honored the belief in ‘one community, one GDS.’ And from that moment forward, this became the driving spirit for our ongoing work as GDS’s design partner.
Wonder and a consideration of the environment as the third teacher As a design studio, Wonder’s primary focus lies in exploring how the environment can empower agile learners and teachers. We are architects, educators, ethnographers, and storytellers, and each of us has felt inspired by ‘the third teacher,’ a philosophy from the Reggio Emilia school approach that recounts three primary “teachers” or influences in a student’s education. The first teachers are the adults in one’s life. The second are one’s peers. And the third teacher is the environment, both physically and conceptually. Within this mindset is a belief that how we design the learning environment will determine how well we can inspire and reinforce how young people learn over time.
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Since its founding, Georgetown Day School has sought to be a place where previously disparate ideas and people could come together in the service of creating something more vital and socially conscious. This is the singular moment when the GDS community has the opportunity—and the responsibility—to reimagine, reinvigorate, and reconnect to the spirit of that founding vision through its ability to reimagine the role of "campus." Of all the things GDS can do in the future—we’ve heard you wonder—what must it do? Similarly, what does such a commitment actually look like when explored at the scale of a unified GDS community? What does it mean to focus spatially on the unique human relationships between your children and adults? And how can a reimagination of two distinct campuses become both a unified place for teaching and learning as well as a bridge to the larger community of Tenleytown? In teaming up with GDS, the shared desire to move thoughtfully has been refreshing and powerful— letting authentic openness and deep purpose guide all efforts along the way. This has been shown time and time again in the school’s unified commitment to gather the full community together in robust conversations and workshops. Since we began visiting your campuses in fall 2014, we immersed ourselves in both touring and exploring. We participated in free-form conversations with students and asked a similar set of questions to parents, alumni, key partners and supporters, and faculty and administration. We observed classes, crashed school events, and witnessed community transitions at all levels. And we explored the local neighborhood and recent real estate purchases to better understand the surrounding community.
This allowed us to delve into how to develop campus environments that foster GDS’s formal tradition of academic excellence with engagement that happens in more informal and serendipitous ways.
A Vision for the Future
WONDER, BY DESIGN
Ultimately, the process helped us develop a unified learning ecology that truly lives up to the school’s remarkable mission. Likewise, it embraces the unpredictable trajectory of what will be needed in generations to come.
“ To be of a community, one must
To that end, the following five strategies become central: First, the future of GDS acknowledges the vital importance of a single, unified campus. Second, this sparks a vision for honoring three distinctive divisions with distinctive identities while simultaneously creating an integrated community that epitomizes the school’s shared mission. Third, we recognize that "shared community spaces" must finally exist for everyone within GDS.
live together, eat together, learn
Fourth, the spaces between buildings must also be seen as significant for ensuring that the GDS community can gather, connect, learn, and explore together.
together, create together, and celebrate together. And for all that we are as a school—a truly amazing
Fifth, this is the opportunity for GDS to become an intentional bridge, welcoming in the Tenleytown community.
school—we’ve never truly been able
This project has always been about space.
to do that. Not as one community.
It’s also about much more than that.
And I can’t help but think that this is
It’s about the mindsets we bring to the spaces in which we gather, teach, and learn. It’s about the degree to which we remain committed to that founding mission. It’s about being the first integrated school in a segregated city. It’s about discovering what it means to remain authentic to our historic culture while also staying fresh for the next 70 years of the school’s history.
our chance to finally do just that.”
And it’s about preparing GDS graduates to be the worldchangers and social-justice seekers they are uniquely qualified to be. But it is at this moment—as one of your own faculty reminded us in the midst of early stage discovery—that we can remind each other that we are invited to develop a campus which honors that we are truly "one community, one GDS." Find campus planning updates online at www.GDS.org/CampusPlanning
WONDER, BY DESIGN
(at left) LS Students work with Wonder to imagine a unified GDS campus.
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GDS STRATEGIC PLAN: B Y - T H E - N U M B E R S
I
n January 2014, GDS began implementing our strategic plan, after an 18-month planning process that provided an opportunity for every member of our community to be involved. In fact, more than 500 community members—students, parents, alumni, board members, parents of alumni, and faculty and staff—informed the plan. The final plan (see www.GDS.org/StrategicPlanning for the overview) has five goals and more than 100 activities outlined to achieve those goals.
GOAL 1
Differentiated Learning: Engaging students as individuals.
GOAL 2
Thriving Teachers: Investing in support, growth, and excellence.
GOAL 3
Curriculum Evolution: Providing students with skills to collaborate and innovate for tomorrow’s needs.
GOAL 4
Diversity: Next steps in engaging difference, equity, and access to build foundations for success.
GOAL 5
Infrastructure & Operations: Building frameworks for innovative learning environments.
The activities that make up the strategic plan are the driving force behind, and at the center of, what we do to make the daily, lived experience of our students the best it can be. In essence, the activities reflect an integrated work plan that evolve our day-to-day school functions and serve as a valuable tool to help us maintain focus on our priorities. Though we’ve called the plan “final,” we see it as anything but. For one thing, we’ve since added activities to the plan that expand on the stated goals. Our “living” plan is iterative in nature and moving at a brisk pace. With some activities already complete and many others under way, we’re tracking our progress. You can get a snapshot of where some of the activities stand in stories throughout this magazine and in our 2014 editions, (all marked with a Strategic Planning ribbon noting their place in the plan) and in the infographic at right. All statistics are for the 2014-15 school year.
36 new iPads for 3rd grade
300
minutes students have had for contemplated reflected practice and study skills during the new MS study hall. (Goal 1, Objective 5, Activity C)
funded by the GDS Innovation Fund. (Goal 2, Objective 2, Activity F.)
21
9th grade advisors as part of the new 9th grade advisory system. (Goal 3, Objective 6, Activity C)
33 hours of professional
development time geared toward reflective practice (among administration, department chairs, and faculty). (Goal 1, Objective 4, Activity A)
10 faculty members who
are working to achieve Board certification for the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. (Goal 2, Objective 2, Activity E)
18 new faculty members
who benefited from the New Employee Mentoring program. (Goal 2, Objective 1, Activity D)
23 members of the newly
created Diversity Counsel. (Goal 4, Objective 1, Activity C)
130 participants for
the first Future of Diversity Symposium in September 2014. (Goal 4, Objective 1, Activity D)
14 speakers installed in
the forum. (Goal 5, Objective 2, Activity B)
1
campus in 2020 (hopefully). (Goal 5, Objective 4, Activity A.; Goal 5, Objective 4, Activity F)
41 classes taught in the HS innovation space. (aka Odradek) (Goal 5, Objective 4, Activity B)
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WITH G R AT I T U D E :
Retiring Faculty Rose Bednar,
GDS LS Assistant Principal An appropriate retirement gift for Rose Bednar might be a collection of Georgetown Day School hats, because she has worn so many during her time at our school. Rose started her GDS career in 1980 as a first and second grade teacher; since then, she’s been a substitute teacher, a member of the Lower School admissions staff, alumni parent to Elizabeth Schachter ’04 and Sam Schachter ’09, and beloved Lower School Assistant Principal—a role she has loved since 1999. During those busy years, Rose also beat cancer twice and used humor as part of her arsenal. Recalling her memories over the past three-and-a-half decades at GDS, Rose chuckles about volunteering at HS strike parties, chaperoning endless field trips, and leading her favorite annual activity, 5th grade mediation trainings (see 36
GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
page 4). For over 20 years, Rose has been mentoring students with conflict resolution skills that that they then put to use on the GDS playground, and she loved getting to know students one-onone through her role in this program. Sharing lunch with a student before or after he or she mediates on the playground has always been a special bonding time for Rose and LS students.
How do you think the school has changed since coming to GDS in 1980? I think we have definitely grown in the quality of education that we produce, and I like that we still have our quirky kids that keep us a different and a unique place. With our growth, I like that we can reach out to a wider community in DC and globally, especially with regards to our mission.
Q&A
What’s you’re one piece of advice to teachers and administration? Smile. (She laughs and then pauses, getting choked up.) I always say you have to have fun, have a sense of humor, and to laugh…and keep it unique and quirky.
What is one of the things you will miss the most about GDS? The kids. Definitely. And secondly, the staff and faculty. In a few phrases, how would you describe GDS? It’s definitely an exciting place, a stimulating place, and a very warm and embracing place.
What do you think is the best part of your role at GDS? The best part is that I am free to engage with all the kids in the LS as well as all of the staff. One of my favorite things to do is to pop into a classroom and watch one of our amazing teachers teach.
Do you have any favorite memories that always come back to you? Once when I was going through chemotherapy, it was the first time I came back to the school and the kids knew what I was going through and what was going to happen. I was wearing a hat and a PK/K student came up to me and said, “Rose, what’s under your hat?”
looking forward to having lunch with some of the GDS retirees.
I explained to her, “My hair finally fell out.”
Clay Roberson,
And in a concerned and matter of fact tone she asked, “Well does the doctor know?” What’s next for you? I’ve always wanted to spend a full week at the beach in the fall, so that’s one thing that I would like to do. I look forward to coming in and working with the PK/K applicants that come in for play visits. I also look forward to visiting my daughter who is moving to California. I’m actually
Rose won’t be a stranger at GDS. Instead, she’s trying on a new hat and will be coming back to help facilitate admissions play dates and watch her favorite LS assemblies.
MS English Teacher A lifelong Washingtonian, Clay initially came to Georgetown Day School in the early 1980s as a substitute teacher. That year there was a particularly lively 8th grade class that some substitutes found too challenging. But not Clay; he liked the group, and because of this, he was invited back many times to sub for 8th grade. After serving as a permanent substitute and teaching everything from kindergarten through 9th grade, Clay was hired as a full-time Middle School
teacher. In this role, he taught 6th grade homeroom, 6th and 7th grade math, and eventually 8th grade English, his favorite course. For more than a decade, Clay has also been teaching a much-loved Parent Book Club at GDS. Originally the book clubs focused on the same texts that students were reading in his classroom, but in later years, the club moved to what Clay refers to as, “some wonderful books that really can shape one’s soul.” He appreciated the great discussions that were shared with parents over these texts.
Q&A
What was your favorite grade to teach? I’ve always loved teaching eighthgraders—being in the classroom with them. Their minds are such that you can talk to them about anything. You can read and discuss very sophisticated material with them. If they are charmed by an idea, GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
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they’ll open up and really talk to you and to each other. What is your general perception of Middle School students? Sixth, seventh, and eighth graders are extraordinarily different people. We call them middle schoolers but the distance between then is remarkable. What will you miss most about GDS? I’ll miss being in the classroom with 8th graders and talking about books, poems, and paintings. What’s your advice to the GDS community? Walt Whitman’s poem When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer says it perfectly. I hope that students don’t lose their ability to value the human response to life. And for teachers, this poem speaks to how you have to know students—each one is unique. Teaching is not a science, but an art. It is a face-to-face encounter, a developing emotional relationship between you and the students. That relationship must be engendered by the subject that brings you and them together.
Bruce Ruble,
HS Technology Coordinator Bruce Ruble came to the Georgetown Day School community in the fall of 1976 as a High School science teacher and later became the head of the science
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department. He primarily taught physics, but also taught astronomy, physical science, and chemistry. In 1995, Bruce transitioned to a role in the Technology Department, which he says divided up his GDS experience perfectly into two halves. As a part of the tech team, Bruce has held every role except the network manager, but his focus has always been on educational technology. He also spent a fair amount of time focusing on training and support for various technological needs across the high school. Over the last few years, Bruce was able to return to the classroom to teach introduction to programming and introduction to JAVA, two courses he developed.
Q&A
without thinking about using it. A teacher would never say, “Oh, I think I’ll use the white board today as a special occasion.” Instead they just do it. How has the high school changed? It’s gotten a lot bigger; it’s twice the size. There were 220 students when I started and now there are more than 500. When we were in the older building, [4880 MacArthur Blvd, NW], teachers were literally on top of each other space-wise and that accelerated collaboration. I loved that. What’s your best piece of advice to the GDS high school community? I’m going to go with the thing that the kids always say which is to ‘stay weird’ and also to work hard but try not to take things too seriously.
What is your favorite role that you played at GDS? Anything involving teaching—teaching kids, teaching teachers, being in the classroom is always the most fun.
How would you describe the 1976 version of GDS in three words? How would you describe today’s GDS? Fun, wild, and creative; still weird, successful, and still evolving.
What direction do you see the technology department headed? My hopes are that we become a 1:1 school and that the use of technology becomes more transformative in the way that classes are taught and the way kids learn. When I started at GDS, technology was definitely seen as an add-on, rather than central to teaching.
What’s next for you? I’m moving near Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a calmer, non-Washington life and to be near family. My husband Randy’s family is large, and they all live in Pennsylvania. They have a reunion every year, and I’m looking forward to going to that for the first time.
I’d really like to see technology use be transparent, meaning that people use it
Any closing thoughts? GDS has always let me be myself and
given me the chance to make mistakes, to explore things I’m interested in on my own. Certainly me getting into technology was a complete accident. In 1980, a parent gave an Apple II+ to the school and Gladys Stern decided to give it to the science department. I grabbed it and started playing with it, and that’s how I got into technology—just by playing with it.
For those of you who don’t know Janis, she is the quiet and positive force behind the business office. She’s a proud alumni parent to Jennifer Webb ’08, a substitute teacher, and a friend to her colleagues. Salim Nashid, who will be transitioning into the role of GDS Controller, adds that one of Janis’s key roles was humbly mentoring staff, like himself.
The larger point is that GDS gives teachers room to play, try things, make mistakes, and be creative.
What is one of the things you will miss the most about GDS? I’ll miss the creativity of the staff at assemblies and farewell parties.
People say that the kids have really changed, but I don’t see it at all. GDS kids are just as strong and committed to learning, to arguing things, and to being totally involved in whatever they are interested in as they always have been.
Janis Webb,
GDS Controller When Janis Webb came to GDS in 1996 to manage accounting and administer employee benefits, the School was just implementing a brand new technology called voicemail and hadn’t adopted Microsoft Excel yet. Since those humble beginnings, Janis has witnessed our school’s technology increase ten-fold, from adopting faculty voicemail in the late 90s to installing 3-D printers for student use in 2014. Similarly, Janis’s roles and responsibilities exponentially grew as she managed the school’s evolving and complex accounting processes.
Q&A
How would you describe GDS in three phrases? Great school, great people, great mission. What’s your one piece of advice to colleagues in the business office? It takes time to acquire institutional knowledge. Be patient. What do you think is the best part of your role at GDS? The best part of my job was managing benefits when I was initially hired. It was something I’d never done at the employee level. It gave me the opportunity to meet new staff and interact with them. Early on, I felt like I was one of the lucky people who got to know and help people at GDS. I liked working for the whole school—not just a division. What’s next for you? Moving to the beach, wedding planning for my daughter, who is getting married
in the spring of 2016, and spending time with my aging parents, in-laws, and oneyear-old grandson. I’m excited not to wake up at 5 a.m. to make the commute from Bowie and to be living full-time in Ocean Pines, Maryland, where we will golf and fish on our boat. My husband and I have a cross-country trip planned in the fall and will winter in Florida next year.
Marti Weston,
LMS Educational Technology Specialist When tech guru Marti Weston retires this June, it will be the end of her second tour at GDS. For her first, she started as a first and second grade teacher in 1976. Then, in 1982, Marti stayed home with her little hopper (Rachel Weston Linnemann ’99) for a few years, returned to teaching briefly at The Potomac School, then returned to GDS in 1989 as the Lower and Middle School Technology Coordinator. During the past several years, Marti has worked in the role of Lower/Middle School educational technology specialist. She also served as the director of summer programs for several years. Marti earned a Master’s Degree from The University of Chicago where she used her first computer (with punch cards) and learned about the importance of lifelong learning. She is motivated, spunky, warm, and has no trouble teaching herself to do something if training is not available. Marti’s most recent venture was teaching a Scratch coding class, and she even
GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
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enrolled in her own coding classes in order to stay ahead of her tech-savvy, Generation-Z students.
the computer. It’s exciting to see children use digital devices as differentiation tools that help them learn in different ways.
Marti is keenly aware of the huge opportunities up ahead for GDS and she’s excited to see the technology department she helped build flourish even more.
The second most rewarding part of my job has been watching my colleagues—the educators—learn new things, master new skills, and transform the way they teach.
Q&A
What do you think is the biggest challenge and opportunity for GDS over the next few years? Making and carrying out decisions about 1:1 devices, increasing coding opportunities, making coding a part of the curriculum, and engaging more broadly with the maker movement will be wonderful challenges and opportunities for GDS in the near future.
What was the most challenging role you played during your time at GDS? Growing the technology program from just a few computers and keeping the focus on teaching and learning as the first priority. What has been the most rewarding part of your work at GDS? Seeing how technology can level the playing field for kids who struggle with learning has been rewarding: seeing a child who has difficulty writing but who can type really fast or a child who has trouble reading but can highlight text on 40
GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
What are you most excited for in your next stage of life? Having a grandchild; helping, as needed, my daughter and son-in-law settle into their new lives in Atlanta where Rachel will work at Emory University Medical
School; traveling to Italy, Australia, and India; spending time with my parents in Harrisonburg, Virginia; learning lots more about coding; taking piano lessons; and kayaking. I’ll also be volunteering and attending as many concerts as I can. Oh, and relaxing a bit more (grin). We assume this isn’t it for your technology explorations. What is next? I plan to continue my work writing and presenting on the challenges of digital world parenting, maintain my blogging schedule, and continue teaching elders about both the exciting world of digital devices and the importance of avoiding connected world scams. The world of technology is always changing so there is always more to learn. You can find Marti and stay up to date on her latest thoughts by visiting her blogs at www.MediaTechParenting.net and www.AsOurParentsAge.net.
Outside of GDS, Mimi has been working with African artists since the 1960’s, a result of her family’s State Department post in Nigeria. Mimi mentors artists from all over Africa, helping them to get their careers started, and she has no intention of ever stopping!
Q&A
Mimi Wolford,
LMS art teacherIn 1970, Mimi Wolford joined Georgetown Day School as a French Teacher in the Lower and Middle Schools, and just two years later, she found a new home in the art classroom. For more than four decades, Mimi has been teaching art to grades first through eighth.
What is your favorite part of being an art teacher at GDS? Every day is a different day. There is no humdrum. What is your best piece of advice for the art department? I always loved the spontaneity of children creating freely and the wonderful serendipitous results, and I hope that art department nourishes that.
two dogs to class with me), parent-teacher interaction socially and educationally. What hasn’t changed? The students. They are still wonderful. Any favorite memories of your time at GDS? We used to have themed Christmas parties where the faculty and many of the parents would decorate the entire building. What are you most looking forward to in your next phase of life? Last summer I hiked from Aspen to Crested Butte, and I hope to do it again this summer. I’m planning lots of travel and continuing to work with artists from Africa.
How would you describe the 1970 version of GDS in three words? Hippy-esque, loose (I used to bring my
FEBRUARY On behalf of Georgetown Day School and the families who benefit from your generosity, thank you for supporting the second annual online campaign for financial aid, Fund-A-Scholar February.
With your donations and your bids in the online auction, we raised $170,000 dollars for financial aid programs in one month.
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Alumni Notes 1985
Lane Blumenfeld, father of Sam ’18 and Zach ’22, has gone back to in-house work, serving now as Chief Legal Officer for Team Velocity Marketing, a leader in digital marketing for the automotive industry. “My kids thought I was going to work for a car company or dealer, and thus would get a cool sports car. I had to correct their misconception.
Class of ’97 Meet Up Danielle Tarantolo, Susie Cowen, Gillian Galen, Sarah Baird, and Annie Vinik are here pictured with their kids!
The 30-acre deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum (just 20 miles west of Boston) named John B. Ravenal as the institution’s new Executive Director. John joined deCordova after a stint as the Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.
Captain Anthony Cowden, recently transferred from his position with the Seventh Fleet in Japan to serve on the military faculty at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, teaching Security Strategies in the National Security Affairs department. His mother, long-time and founding High School Librarian Louise Cowden, recently visited Anthony and sends her greetings.
1984
Attorney Mychal Wilson settled a whistleblower case involving Biotronik, Inc. (an affiliate of German device-making company Biotronik SE & Co. KG). They have agreed to pay the United States $4.9 million to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act that the company used various types of payments to induce physicians to implant pacemakers and defibrillators manufactured and sold by Biotronik.
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Rebecca Drobis currently has photographs on display at American University as a part of the Photoworks: Presence of Place exhibit.
1997
1977
1980
1995
1986
Michael Berman co-wrote and photographed a book that came out in May 2014: The Little Bookroom Guide to New York City with Children. The book offers practical and detailed advice on the best places for families to eat, shop, and have fun in New York. For every entry, the book addresses these questions: “What’s in it for the kids?” and “What’s in it for the parents?”
1990
Matthew Kaminski has been hired as Executive Editor of Politico's European edition. Formerly a member of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board who lived in Europe for 15 years, Matthew will launch with 30 reporters and editors, and scale up from there.
In March 2014, Terence Carter was promoted from Head of Drama to Executive Vice President at Fox TV, reporting directly to the COO of Fox. Carter brought Sleepy Hollow and The Following to Fox, which have been renewed for new seasons. Terence also produces the new show, Empire, which has been a big hit for the network, with ratings going up each week. Nora Abramson and her husband, Dave Nathan, welcomed their first baby, Gabriel Arek Nathan on August 14, 2014. They moved back to DC this fall after 15 years living in New York City.
1999
Ellen Shapiro switched careers several years ago and is now a Senior iOS Engineer at Vokal Interactive in Chicago, Illinois. She also works on an app for songwriters called Hum on the side, which you can check out at www.justhum.com.
2004
Anna Belew is pursuing a PhD in linguistics at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, with a focus on endangered languages and sociolinguistics in Sub-Saharan Africa. She is currently working on the Endangered Languages Project (endangeredlanguages. com), a collaborative online space to celebrate and preserve linguistic diversity. Aloha from Honolulu!
2005
Ethan Foote is a musician and composer, who co-created the performance piece Fox Cried. It was originally part of the 2013 Source Festival, put on by Cultural DC at the Source Theater. Fox Cried involves drama, music, and movement and it “interrogates ideas of truth, myth, and authenticity, using as a premise the research of a trio of supposed experts into an ancient culture that may or may not be their own creation.”
Please send us your news! Have a new job or volunteer position? Welcomed a new baby or pet into your home? Attend a meet-up with other alums? We want to know!
Send photos and all the details, and we’ll make sure the GDS community knows how cool you are. Email alumni@gds.org
The Alumni Board
would like to welcome and congratulate our new members and board leadership: Alumni Board President Liz Levine, '02
2011
Alexander Biniaz-Harris performed the composition, “Remembering Auschwitz: Suite for two Pianos,” at a gathering of survivors in Krakow, Poland in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. You can find an article on the event in the Los Angeles Times www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/culture/ la-et-cm-usc-students-perform-anniversaryauschwitz-liberation-20150123-story.html
Alumni Board Vice President Nina Hammond Ritch '95 New Board Members: Ava Jones '02 Mitch Malasky '04 Benji Messner '08
And thank the following members for their six and four years respectively, of service on the Board: Tamara Wilds Lawson '92 Melanie Dix '87
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MEET THE TRUSTEES
GDS is fortunate to have a diverse, distinctive, and involved Board of Trustees working in partnership with our administration to support the GDS mission, including these two veteran members. They are part of an active Board focusing on strategic planning, campus planning, and financial goal-setting. For more information about other members of our board, go to www.GDS.org/Board.
Marc Glosserman '92
Monica Dixon
Marc Glosserman ’92 joined the GDS Board in 2009, and he is one of four alumni currently serving.
A member of the Georgetown Day School Board since 2011, Monica and her husband David Dixon, of Dixon/Davis Media Group, are the parents of twins Mack and Madeline Dixon ’21.
Serves on the Finance and Buildings and Grounds Committees.
Marc shared that for him, the benefits of serving as a trustee go beyond assisting his alma mater. “Because I don’t live in Washington, DC and don’t have kids, being on the Board is a way for me to give back to an institution that gave so much, while staying connected to the GDS and Washington, DC community.” Marc added, “It’s a wonderful community and one that I’m proud to say I’m a part of. People that I know from GDS are some of the smartest, most interesting, motivated, and fascinating people I’ve met. This is something that is hard to put in words.” Marc is the Founder and CEO of Hill Country Hospitality (HCH), a New Yorkbased restaurant hospitality company that has restaurant and catering operations in New York City, Brooklyn, and DC. Hill Country, a generous supporter of GDS events, has a location here in the District. Marc is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Business School at Columbia University.
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Serves on the Advancement, Diversity, and Head’s Review Committees
GDS’s commitment to academic excellence, diversity, and equity were the values that initially drew Monica and her family to be a part of the school, and they have enjoyed being a part of a community that shares similar ideals. Monica said, “For me, a big part of the connection is the families that we are in this community with. … The children, siblings, and parents are interesting, challenging, and wonderful to spend time with – that community of people whose values are so similar to mine, interests are so diverse and fascinating, is why this community is so engaging and fun to be in.” Now serving her fourth year on the GDS board, Monica said, “It’s an honor to be a part of the leadership of the school especially now when we are in such an exciting time, and we can create real financial sustainability for the school – not just five years from now but for a decade and longer.” Currently, Monica is the President of Dixon Consulting, where she advises high-profile companies, campaigns, and candidates. Monica’s career has focused on providing strategic and management consulting for individuals and institutions. She has served as the top strategist to the Vice President, CEOs, boards of directors, campaigns, candidates, and issue-based organizations.
David Leary
Serves as the Secretary of the Board, chair of the Diversity Committee, and on the Executive and Facilities Master Planning Committees David Leary and his husband Seth Perretta are the parents to Emma Leary ’19 and Sarah Leary ’23, and together the family considers GDS their second home. Sharing his family’s experience at GDS, David said, “We were drawn to GDS for our daughters because we thought it brought together a deep commitment to social justice, equity, and academic excellence. Those components nurture the whole child, especially in the case of children who are themselves diverse.” David added that his family’s number one criterion in selecting a school was the quality of teachers, and GDS has surpassed their expectations. “GDS has teachers who are deeply dedicated to what they do and who bring real innovation to their craft every day in the classroom. It’s almost like watching artists create their work—the teachers are that good. Watching the teachers up close is really inspiring.” Outside of GDS, David is a lawyer with a practice focusing on the drafting and negotiation of technology-related agreements and intellectual property. He also serves as the President of Rainbow Families DC, the metro area’s only organization supporting LGBTQ parents and their families. He also serves on the board of a sailing school in Chatham, Massachusetts, where his family spends the summer connecting with nature.
REUNION
From the Georgetown Day School Archives
Longtime Washington Post syndicated columnist and GDS parent Art Buchwald with second Director of the School Edith Nash. Art joined GDS as a parent lecturer April 28, 1967.
GEORGETOWN DAYS SPRING 2015
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4530 MacArthur Boulevard, NW Washington, DC 20007-4297
JASON PUTSCHE PHOTOGRAPHY
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