SEVEN HILLS The Buzz
June 13, 2013
Congratulations and Best Wishes, Class of 2013! Seven Hills bid farewell to the 83 members of the Class of 2013 in commencement exercises June 7. By choice of the seniors, the commencement speaker was former NFL athlete, philanthropist, and entrepreneur Dhani Jones. Tributes to the class were given by teacher Tim Drew, parent and teacher Tricia Hoar, and class member Kyle Patel.
A Brief Word from Chris Garten The closing ceremonies with which we mark the end of the school year offer a wealth of opportunities to reflect on how far our students have come. How much they have learned! How much more confident they seem in their skills! Tasks that seemed well beyond them just nine months ago now seem as natural as breathing. They are more willing to assert themselves, a little more certain of who they are and who they want to be.
Jay Bachemin
Off to China for sixth year of Downey Seminars! Inside this Buzz Commencement 2
This is the miracle of growth, a phenomenon those in a school community get to celebrate year after year. My thanks to all of you, faculty and staff, parents, students, for all you have done to make 2012-13 such a wonderful year. I wish you a restful, restorative summer. We look forward to welcoming you back in August. Chris Garten, Head of School
Article on page 7
College Matriculations
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Year-end Awards
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Note from the Editor
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SNAAP Recognition Banquet
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Upper School News
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Faculty News
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Middle School News
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Lotspeich News
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Doherty News
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Have a great summer!
Commencement 2013
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Best wishes for continued success at these colleges and universities! Madalyn Frances Aichholz Ohio State University Zena Megan Al-Abed Case Western University Shray P. Ambe Emory University Nicholas G. Au-Yeung Northwestern University Christopher M. Baggott Ohio State University Michael St. John Bain Johns Hopkins University Alessandra Marie Baretta University of Pennsylvania Hannah Rose Batsche Miami University Anne Stuart Bell University of the South/Sewanee Andrew David Berliant University of Louisville Caroline Adra Bonini Butler University Bethany Nicole Buck Cornell University Laura Gonzalez Campos Ohio State University Jasmine Cline-Bailey Centre College Brian Michael Collette Pitzer College Michael A. Conroy West Virginia University Ellen Anderson Coombe Williams College Margaret Anne Cummins Guilford College Caleb Maurice Daniel University of Cincinnati Cullen David Deimer Boston University Lauren Nicole Driskell Miami University Jacob Daniel Fisher Tulane University Anna Maria Gagliardo George Washington University Christopher Thomas Gangl College of Charleston Gloria Garcia Enet Hobart & Wm Smith Colleges Lauren Mae Gerhardt Wittenberg University Federica Fernández Gonzalez Pomona College Paul Vine Gosiger III University of the South/Sewanee page 3
Caleigh Rose Griffin Elon University Cartland O’Casey Harten Hamilton College Grace Danyi He Cornell University Jeb Henry Head Claremont McKenna College Ian William Hillenbrand Bates College Allison Lee Hills DePauw University Kerry Christopher Hoar Xavier University Sebastian Thomas Hoar Xavier University Sara DuMont Hodgkins Middlebury College Sara Napolione Johnson Carnegie Mellon University Alec Kagan Indiana University Katherine Elizabeth King Kenyon College Shoshana Raizel Klafter Stern College of Yeshiva University Jordan J. Klette-Cusher University of Pittsburgh Andrew S Korn University of the South/Sewanee Emily Elizabeth Lambert DePaul University John James Larkin III Swarthmore College Christina Maria Lauck Wofford College Ganlin Liu Carnegie Mellon University Allan Joseph Loeffler University of Toledo Emily Marie Long Indiana University Donald Hugh Clow MacKay III Vassar College Brandon Grant Malofsky Worcester Polytechnic Institute Luke Bradley Miller Duke University Jay Raj Panandiker University of Delaware Priyanka Parameswaran Washington University Kyle A. Patel Columbia University
Zoë Hana Pochobradsky Rice University Trane Jeffrey Robinson University of Wisconsin Claire Taylor Romaine Bryn Mawr College John Christopher Rowe Ohio State University George Fabe Russell Kenyon College Mia Christina Samaha University of Michigan Adeline Gregory Sawyer University of South Carolina Katherine Isabel Scheurer Georgetown University Robert William Seibel, Jr. University of Nebraska Asher Joshua Serota University of Cincinnati Katherine Sun Shen University of Chicago Amanda Haven Shepherd Hope College John Alexander Smithers Xavier University Marisa Ann Steele College of Wooster Jasmine Monique Elizabeth Terry Emory University Peter D. Todorov Case Western University Lawrence M. Vignola Skidmore College Luis F. Visoso Ohio State University Anushree Mahendra Vora University of Michigan Terrance Carter Webb University of Cincinnati Evan Brant Werner DePaul University Rachel Richmond White Hope College Walter Cole Wilger University of Missouri Olivia Fisher Williams Mt. Holyoke College Sarah Jessica Williamson Rice University Qijing Xie University of Wisconsin Elizabeth Rose Young New York University Leah Yuan Washington University
Congratulations to our year-end award winners! Among our award winners were Katherine King, Shray Ambe, Laura Gonzalez, Lin Liu (whose parents watched from China via Skype), Luke Miller, and Carly Harten.
Commencement
Seven Hills Cup Katherine King, Claire Romaine
Awards Day at Upper Miriam Titcomb Award Gregory Sun ’14
Florence Fessenden Award Sara Johnson for Chemistry
Creativity/Original Thinking Award Ellen Sizer ’14
Alumni Association Service Award Shray Ambe Carol M. Brestel Award Katie Shen
Citizenship Award Jessica Seibold ’14
Ruth Russell Jones Award Allison Hills
Kathy Richardson Writing Award Maria Bobbitt Chertock ’16
John Larkin and Lauren Gerhardt, Jasmine Cline Bailey and Henry Head, Rachel White, Andrew Ligeralde, Allie Baretta, and Leah Yuan. page 4
Buenger Award Jasmine Terry ’13
Seven Hills Personal Achievement Awards Laura Gonzalez ’13, Lin Liu ’13, Zach Abraham ’14, Nicole Barresi ’15, Kenneth Remaklus ’16 English Award Priyanka Parameswaran ’13 History Award—Kyle Patel ’13 Science Awards Chemistry—Andrew Ligeralde ’14 Physics—Allie Baretta ’13 Biology—Leah Yuan ’13
Mathematics Award Luke Miller ’13 Foreign Language Awards French—Mia Samaha ’13 Spanish—Rachel White ‘13 Latin—John Rowe ’13 Chinese—Carly Harten ‘13 Athletic Awards Female Athlete of the Year—Jasmine Cline-Bailey ’13 Male Athlete of the Year—Henry Head ’13 continued next page
Kenneth Remaklus, Nicole Baressi, Ellen Sizer, Emily Lambert, Maria Bobbitt-Chertock, Zachary Abraham, Danny Rogers, and Natalie Choo.
Athletic Awards continued Elinor Scherr Mosher Award—Brian Goertemoeller ’15 MVC Dick Snyder Sportsmanship and Integrity Award—John Larkin ’13 Courageous Student Award—Emily Lambert ’13 Ohio Scholar-Athletes—Allie Baretta ‘13, John Larkin ’13 Archie Griffin Sportsmanship Awards—Lauren Gerhardt ’13, John Larkin ’13, Natalie Choo ’17, Danny Rogers ’17 Boosters Award—Kim Driskell Senate Award Middle/Upper Latin teacher Brian Sebastian
Major Awards at Doherty Student Council Citizenship Awards George Mentrup ’23; Oliver Vecellio ’22; Grace Arya, Griffin Callow ’21; Megan McLennan ’20
Seven Hills awards Named Merit Scholarships for 2013–2014
Grace Cawdrey
Piper Spooner
Mary Shaffer
Seven Hills awarded these named merit scholarships for 2013–2014: Sophomore Grace Cawdrey was presented the Neil Smith Award for “meeting the world with optimism and good will, expecting the best from himself and others, and exhibiting courage, compassion, integrity, and intelligence.” For their outstanding “academic achievement, breadth and scope of interests beyond the classroom, leader-
Hannah Levin
Claire Ramsay
ship, citizenship, and character,” eighth grader Piper Spooner was awarded the Patricia Howard Award of Distinction, fifth grader Mary Shaffer was presented the Jane P. Hoeland Scholarship, and fifth grader Hannah Levin was awarded the Theodore C. Wuerfel Merit Scholarship. Fifth grader Claire Ramsay was awarded the Elisabeth Greenwald Mapes Scholarship for “best exemplifying the Seven Hills Values.”
Loveland Award in English Brighid McLaughlin ’20
Major Awards at Lotspeich Joy in Learning Award Ethan Rising ’20 Eileen Driscoll Literary Award Anjali de Lanerolle, Katie Remaklus ’20 page 5
Note from the Editor It’s been my honor for nearly four decades to witness and record our school’s proud history and to showcase our wonderful students, teachers, and program in Seven Hills magazine, the outside media, and most recently, The Buzz. As I prepare to retire, I am indebted to all of the
photographers—faculty, staff, parents—who have generously shared their images with The Buzz. I am deeply grateful to Seven Hills students, teachers, families, and alumni who have allowed me to share their school lives for 37 years. It’s been a privilege and joy. Kathy Deubell
Annual SNAAP Recognition Banquet celebrates 2013 graduates, transitioning fifth & eighth graders The 13th Annual SNAAP Recognition Banquet June 9 was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our 2013 graduates, to recognize transitioning Lower and Middle School students, and to honor students for their achievements this school year. The inspiring keynote address was given by Tommie Lewis, President/CEO of Make It Plain Consulting, and the invocation was given by parent Pastor Charles King, Jr. The program included remarks by members of the SNAAP Leadership Team and by Head of School Chris Garten. The Banquet was a great family celebration which included returning alumni. Guests enjoyed music by The Professionals with KsW on Sax.
At top left, 2013 graduates Jasmine Cline-Bailey and Jasmine Terry with keynote speaker Tommie Lewis. At top right, SNAAP Vice President Nancy Bennett, President Ayanna Terry, Treasurer Shani Keeling, and Secretary Erica Vaughn.
Introducing transitioning students were (from left) rising junior Joshua Weaver, rising eighth grader Jordan Nared, and rising fifth grader Manny Keeling. Above, President Ayanna Terry with (left) rising ninth graders Jeremiah Weaver, Tre King, Randy Vaughn, and (right) rising sixth graders Joshua Nelson and Curtis Harrison.
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At left, alumni included Claire Duncan and T.J. Nelson ’12. Above, rising sophomore Nia Page and rising senior Hadiya Harrigan.
The Professionals’ great music brought guests to their feet!
A look at what’s happening at Upper School
See page 10 for Middle School, page 12 for Lotspeich, and page 13 for Doherty Congratulations to junior Hannah Silverman, whose Personal Challenge has made a difference in the school lives of Cincinnati children served by the non-profit Inner City Youth Opportunities (ICYO). Hannah created Educate 4 Education to raise awareness among all Seven Hills students of the educational needs of inner city children and to raise funds and collect school supplies for ICYO. Hannah gave presentations and organized fundraisers in all divisions. Quoting the ICYO May newsletter, “Hannah’s Challenge Project consisted of a book drive and school supply drive from the Lower Schools, soliciting 50 backpacks from Crayons to Computers, holding a Penny War which earned ICYO $650 from the Middle School, and a Basket Raffle from the Upper School. ... Not only did Hannah volunteer as a tennis helper [with ICYO] last summer but also as a volunteer tutor for ICYO this past school year. She said, ’My Challenge Project did point out to me how lucky and privileged I am to go to a school like Seven Hills and to have the educational opportunities that I have. It definitely opened my eyes a lot!’” The final piece of Hannah’s project will occur at the ICYO fundraising event on June 14 at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse, where she will present the organization with a check for over $3600. Congratulations to Writer in Residence Dana Crum, who is the subject of an article in the prestigious The Paris Review Daily, the blog for The Paris Review, about his poetry and writing process (www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/05/23/poetry-gone-to-piecestalking-civilization-with-dana-crum/). From the journal’s website: “Decade after decade, the Review has introduced the important writers of the day.” page 7
Sixth year of Seven Hills’ international exchange program in China continued from page 1 Seven Hills is proud to offer the sixth year of the Downey Seminars, one of Seven Hills’ international programs for students. This is a program with which Seven Hills, in collaboration with U.C. and supported through the generosity of the The Harriette R. Williams Downey Fund, offers a total three-week experience in China for rising seniors. Students will spend the first three days at school learning the basics of the Mandarin Chinese language while studying fundamental elements of Chinese history, culture and traditions. The students will then travel to Shanghai, Liuzhou, and Beijing for the following two-and-a-half weeks to experience firsthand life in Chinese society. This will also be the second year visiting Seven Hills’ partner school—Liu Zhou High School—where students will be immersed in school life for a week. This year’s China trip is led by U.C. International Program Manager Ryan Meyer and Seven Hills China Trip Coordinator Peggy Lovro. Student participants are Hannah Berger, Blair Brinker, Eryn MacKenzie, Sarah Salter, Kevin Cole, Devin Garrett, Jeffrey Maggio, Matthew Postell, and George Sims.
Alumni Association hosts annual Countdown to Graduation Breakfast for Class of 2013
The Alumni Association hosted the Countdown to Graduation Breakfast for the senior class on May 21. Scott Carroll ‘85, the incoming Alumni Association President, welcomed the class as the newest members of this special group. Also attending were alumni parents, including Helen Asbury H ’72, Marty Mueller Gerhardt ‘85, and Jeff Robinson ‘83. We are grateful to alumnus Ben Glassman ‘93, who was the presenter at our last Career Cafe for the year. This monthly lunch program offers students the opportunity to interact with parents and alumni in a variety of professions and careers. Ben is with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio where he has been the district’s first appellate chief since 2007. Ben is pictured with his former teachers Barbara Karol and Wynne McCarthy Curry H ’71.
It was an impressive spring sports season at Seven Hills! The following reports were submitted to The Buzz by the coaches. For a complete list of spring athletic awards, click Spring Athletic Awards.
“The Seven Hills tennis program had another banner year with a strong leadership core of seniors,” said Coach Michael Bain Tim Drew. “The players worked hard off season to ensure the team would be successful during the season. The varsity team finished 15-5 after competing against the top teams in the state. The team finished first in MVC league, second in the city and third in the state. Five players advanced to districts and three—John Larkin in singles and the doubles team of Henry Head and Sam Ellis—advanced to the state competition.” “The JV Gold tennis team was a dominant force in Greater Cincinnati this season,” said Coach John Krauss. “With a schedule mix against both jv and varsity teams, they posted a record of 14-3. A trademark of the team’s success is the players’ ability to play well at both singles and doubles. Another calling card of this team is the academic standard that they maintain. Books are never far from their hands before or after a match. Team awards included Most Improved to sophomore Henry Chavez, Most Valuable to junior Armand Ghazi, and Coach’s Award to junior Mason Duncan.” page 8
“The JV Blue tennis team finished with a winning record, with wins against St. X, Loveland and Talawanda,” said Coach Amy Ilg. “We finished third in the St. X doubles tournament and fifth in the GCTCA. We had a great year and were led by seniors Shray Ambe, Kyle Patel, and Adeline Sawyer.” “The varsity baseball team finished the regular season 7-13 before losing in the tournament to Riverview East,” said Coach Cary Daniel. “Led by a strong group of seniors—Caleb Daniel (First Team All-League), Brandon Malofsky (Second Team All-League), and Ian Hillenbrand—we finished third in our division and had a lot of good games vs. the top teams in our league. We look forward to a great season next year.”
Sports photography by Keith Neu
Varsity Spring Sports
Emily Lambert
“With three fourth-year seniors, one second-year sophomore, and one senior who joined the sottball team mid-season last year, we had some holes to fill in our lineup this year,” said Coach Tom Betts. “Our ‘rookies’ came through, and with the leadership of our senior co-captains—Bethany Buck, Lauren Gerhardt, and Lauren Driskell—we made it to the sectional championship game before ending our season at 8-11.” “The boys lacrosse team had an excellent year,” said Coach Nick Greiwe. “We found new ground this season by having the first home playoff game in program
history. Senior Brian Collette was named Second Team All-Region for attack, and sophomore George Karamanoukian was named Second Team All-Region as a goalie. We were led heavily by our sophomore class who accounted for most of our starting positions. The lacrosse team laid a foundation for incredible success in the years to come. Go Stingers!”
Stefan Antonsson
“2013 ended up as a rebuilding season for girls lacrosse,” said Coach Stewart Lewis. “The players greatly improved their skills as the season progressed, but the results did not meet our expectations. Keys for this year were the continued excellence in goal of Hadiya Harrigan, the fantastic development of Maggie Gosiger’s skills, and the strength and leadership of the duo of Allison Hills and Sara Johnson at defense. The greatest addition was the play of first-year teammate Claire Stewart. When we review the growth of Corie Kirkwood, Emily Addy, Kate Hickenlooper, Ellie Wilson and Mollie Rouan, we see nothing but great opportunities for the team in the next year.” Coach Tana Luckie said, “The track and field team had two district champions—Alayna Choo (long jump) and Jeff Maggio (long jump). We had two district runnersup—Kyle McKibben in the 200m and Laura Gonzalez in the 3200m. Nia Page (400m), Sarah Williamson (high jump), Terrance Webb (4x200 relay), and Ben Chung (4x200 relay) make up the remaining regional qualifiers. Jeff Maggio jumped a personal best of 19’ 10.5” to finish sixth in the long jump. Congratulations to all of our eight regional qualifiers! Great finish to the season!”
Farewell with our gratitude, best wishes, and love!
At the closing faculty meeting, longtime faculty who are retiring were paid loving (and funny) tributes by their close colleagues: (above from left), Susan Marrs on Betsy Sittenfeld, Patti Guethlein on Bobbie Staggs, Janet Hill on Kathy Deubell, and Karla Balskus on Kaye Riser (in the last photos, the ladies in pink are Carolyn Fox at left and Kaye’s granddaughter at right). Kathy Deubell, Assoc. Dir. of Communications, 37 years Betsy Sittenfeld, Upper Art History teacher, 36 years Bobbie Staggs, Doherty Administrative Asst., 33 years Kaye Riser, Lotspeich Fifth Grade teacher, 23 years Sandy Silber, Upper Librarian, Library Coordin., 11 yrs. Susan Settle, Lotspeich Pre-Kindergarten & Ext. Day, 6 yrs. Kristen Feeney, Lotspeich Second Grade teacher, 5 years
Marissa Holtzleiter, Middle Admin. Asst., 5 yrs. Summer Osborn, Kindergarten Assistant, 4 years Kate Riley, Upper Theater teacher, 2 years Amy Wyatt, Upper English teacher, 2 years Todd Tveita, Physical Education Intern, 1 year James Watson, Theater Technical Director, 1 year (Most recent positions at Seven Hills are noted.)
Faculty honors for three teachers Head of School Chris Garten announced three prestigious faculty honors earlier this spring. English Department Head and Upper English teacher Tricia Hoar is the 2013 recipient of the the David G. Gamble Faculty Chair in recognition of the excellence of her teaching. Upper math teacher Melissa Khoo and Lotspeich second grade teacher Danielle Necessary are 2013 recipients of Brodie Grants for Excellence in Teaching from the Brodie Family Faculty Betterment Fund.
Below, Doherty School Head Patti Guethlein said of the 23 seniors/former Doherty students who came back to visit Doherty and watch their fifth grade video on May 29: “Our ‘little ones’ were back on the story rug in the library during our lemonade social. It was a great turnout with lots of parents, too. How time flies!”
Above, seniors loved reminiscing and watching their second grade holiday show, “Music Through the Years,” with their Lotspeich second grade teacher Anne Greenwald and music teacher Jane Clajus. Their former fourth grade teacher Sara (Davis) Snyder stopped by to give them copies of the letters they wrote as fourth graders to their future senior selves. Sara said, “It is super fun and the kids love to read the letters!” page 9
A look at what’s happening at Middle School Thanks to successful fundraising events like the Eighth Grade Bowl-a-thon and a very generous family donation, the Middle School was able to donate a check for $4200 to The Caring Place! Pictured at the year’s last assembly are Caring Place Director Ceal Bellman and eighth graders Abigail Schneider and Devin Williams.
National Spanish Exam honorees
More Middle math honors! In addition to the MathCounts honors (first place in chapter, sixth place in state) earned by the Middle School team of Calvin Arbenz, Matisse Peppet, Daniel Grass, and Curtis Sun, as reported in the March 14 Buzz, Middle Schoolers earned the following honors in math competitions.
OML Eighth Grade (Team was 4th in region, 13th in state) Matisse Peppet (28 out of 35) Calvin Arbenz (27) Chase Gardner (26) Daniel Grass (25) Alex Halonen (25)
AMC 8 Eighth Grade Matisse Peppet (22 out of 25), Gold Calvin Arbenz (20), Silver Chase Gardner (19), Bronze Daniel Grass (19), Bronze
Seventh Grade (Team was 19th in state) Michael Barresi (25) Natalie Choo (22) Charlie Dwight (25) Curtis Sun (22) Alex Smith (25) Nate Rising (24)
Seventh Grade Curtis Sun (21), Gold Charlie Dwight (19), Silver Jonathan Harsh (16), Bronze
Sixth Grade (Team tied for 24th in state) Andrew Brown (27) Ari Gleich (26) Max Lane (27) Jesse Sprigg (26) Christopher Nathan (27)
A s i a Day !
Level 1 (Eighth Grade) Gold Medals (95th percentile or above) Samantha Chun (99) Samantha Eng (98) Silver Medals (85th-94th percentile) Natalie Choo (92) Rebekah Jonas (93) Chase Byington (88) Kendall Weems (88) page 10
Bronze Medals (75th-84th percentile) Lindsay Fisher (79) MacKenzie Whitehead (77) Honorable Mention (50th-74th percentile) Henry Marquardt (62) Adam Shim (67) Quinn Merrell (65)
Sixth graders enjoyed informative presentations and participated in a wide variety of activities on their annual Asia Day on May 31. Special thanks to all of our presenters for sharing their cultures with our students and teachers!
Middle School Spring Sports
The softball program made a nice comeback after a five- year hiatus when we didn’t have enough players to field a team. The season’s highlights included a season sweep of rival CCD and a triple play against CHCA. The team concluded the season with 4 wins and 5 losses. The future looks bright with eight members of the team eligible to return next year. Many thanks to all the girls who participated this past season. The Stingers were coached by Todd Tveita and Keri Rizkallah.
Keith Neu
Championship tennis team The boys tennis team really came on strong as the season progressed. The 12 players finished with an 8-4 record that included a 4-1 win against Wyoming. As the weeks of practice added up, the coaches were very glad to see the players being aggressive on the court and attacking to win points in matches. There was noticeable improvement up and down the ladder as the team approached our season ending doubles tournament. There was some pressure on the returning players and first time players to defend our tournament championship from last season. As the tournament began, it was clear to see that we were going to encounter some very tough competition. What a thrill it was to see the Stingers win on the third and fourth flight championship courts with tiebreakers in both matches. These last two team points brought the championship to the Stingers again as the team celebrated. That’s another trophy for the display case, way to go Tennis Team! The Stingers were coached by Russell White and Robert Horne. The girls lacrosse team finished the season with a strong 9-3 record. With a nice balance of veteran and rookie players, the girls learned quickly and grew in terms of skill and confidence levels. While there were some games in which Seven Hills clearly dominated, there were some close victories and losses. Wins over established programs such as CCD, Summit, Miami Valley, and Kings verified the fact the players understood how to play against competitive teams. Close losses to Milford (8-6) and Walnut Hills (6-5) gave the players the opportunity to come back from initial deficits and vie for a win. With a strong group of eighth graders moving on to the Upper School and a solid core of seventh grade and sixth grade students looking to create a strong team for next season, the Seven Hills girls lacrosse program looks only to strengthen in the years to come. The Stingers were coached by Bill Waskowitz and Tyler McIlwraith. page 11
The track team was small in numbers but large in talent. Due to the lack of participants, they weren’t able to score competitively as a team but had many individual accomplishments during the season. Each track meet saw Seven Hills team members place in the top 5 in different events and made their presence known. In the final MVC meet, Ally Jandes was champion in the 200m dash and took second place in the 100. Maliq Lee placed third in the high jump and our 4x100 relay team of Ricardo Godoy, Patrick Samaha, Sean Holcomb, and Alex Smith took second place overall. All team members improved throughout the season and contributed to the success of the team. The Stingers were coached by Craig Young and Andrew Mazza. Our 23-person strong boys lacrosse team had a great season finishing with a regular season record of 8-7 despite a very challenging schedule. Although the MS lacrosse program is only in its fourth season, the team is already competing against many of the top programs in Southern Ohio including Mariemont, Milford, Loveland and Summit. The team received great leadership all year from captains Trey “Cobra” Kieser, Danny “Kamikaze” Rogers, Reed “Slice” Russell, and Cam “the Ripper” Leonard. The highlight of our season was our annual trip to the Ohio State Middle School Championship in Dublin. We felt we had a great chance to be the Division IV State Champions this year. Unfortunately, we lost leading scorer Danny Rogers the last game of the regular season which forced us to re-jigger both our line-up and our offense. While every game was competitive, we ultimately finished with a 1-2 record. Although we had higher expectations on the field, our off the field expectations were far exceeded with our annual team dinner at Montgomery Inn and an outstanding Major League Lacrosse game featuring the Ohio Machine and the Long Island Lizards. The Stingers were coached by Mike Collette, Mike Schnirring, and Mike Fink. The baseball team set the bar very high this spring in the hopes of a repeat championship from last year. They started off the season winning their first nine games in a row, including impressive wins over Sycamore CHCA and Cincinnati Christian. The Stingers received outstanding pitching throughout the season, led by Tyler Zmich and Chase Gardner. Speed demon Chase Bynington, pinched in with 30+ stolen bases this season. The eighth grade class provided great leadership and the seventh graders played key roles in the success of the season. The Stingers fell short of their championship goal, losing in the semifinals of the tournament, but they proved that the future is bright for Seven Hills baseball. Coaches Mario Kirkendall and Ryan McCrystal led the Stingers.
A look at what’s happening at Lotspeich
Third graders had a great time exploring the dynamic world of science with hands-on activities at COSI (Center of Science and Industry) in Columbus.
Fifth Grade vs. Faculty Tennis Baseball
Drilling the troops at Valley Forge
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A look at what’s happening at Doherty Congratulations to students who earned top honors on math competitions. On the Continental Math League contest, top scorer was Stephen Walsh, and runners-up Megan McLennan and Ajay Gupta were tied. In the Ohio Math League competition, in the fourth grade, Griffin Callow and Aidan Finn were the top scorers, and the tied runners-up were Luke Malloy, Wes Gardner, and Kurt Drath. Alex Grass was top scorer in the fifth grade, and runners-up were Stephen Walsh, Kevin Wang, Mary Shaffer, Benjamin Mencer, Linley Dawson, and Allison DeWitt.
The Unit III students held their World Geography Summit on May 30. Each homeroom researched a world issue and came up with solutions to the issue. The topics covered were climate change, natural disasters, water, and hunger around the world. Unit I students designed French sailboats as part of their continent and boat studies this year. Alumnus Michael Vanoy ’08 came back to speak to the first graders about his job aboard the Carnival Cruise Lines. He is Entertainment Light Technician for their productions in both lighting and pyrotechnics. He also is a first responder trained by the Coast Guard for safety. On May 15, the students in Mrs. Hickenlooper’s homeroom packed up lunches for the Open Door Ministry, and the fourth graders delivered and handed them out. Unit II students Charlie Leeper and Oliver Vecellio went with the students to deliver a check for $140 that was collected as a part of the Collect and Give drive. page 13
Unit III Coordinator and math teacher Vaishali Sarbhoy said, “On May 22, history came alive in Tracy Hickenlooper’s room as her fifth graders portrayed the Patriots and passionately narrated their life stories to a captive audience. The students used Thomas Fleming’s book, Everybody’s Revolution, to depict a hero of their own choosing. They researched and wrote their own versions of the life stories of this diverse group of heroes, who were from different races, places, and gender. They all came together to present their contributions, and share the important role each of them played in the quest to become an American. It was an excellent performance!”
Unit III teacher Julie Guminey told us, “The fifth grade girls from Doherty wrapped up a fantastic Girls on the Run spring season! After working so hard, they ran a 5k on May 11, 2013. The girls were phenomenal!” Teachers Julie Brackett and Patty Dawson are also among the Girls on the Run. All fifth grade students from Doherty went on an overnight camping trip at the Wichman farm in Kentucky. They hiked at night and in the morning, made s’mores, slept on the barn stage as the ground was wet, and even tried their hand at fishing. Everyone had a wonderful time! As a culmination to a very successful year for the Outdoor Program, Unit III students participated in a Pedal and Paddle Event. Accompanied by enthusiastic parents and teachers as chaperones, they first biked six miles on the bike trail. Excitement ran high as they launched their canoes into the Little Miami River and paddled three miles down the river. They even got to swim and found some turtles basking in the sun!
Economics in Unit II
Head of School Chris Garten wrote of Unit II’s hands-on study of economics, “Over the last few weeks at Doherty, I’ve been watching the progress of Unit II’s economics unit. In this simulation, students earn ‘dollars’ by completing agreed upon classroom tasks, tracking their progress on individual spreadsheets.
that their classmates have designed and executed.
“At the end of the unit, they can redeem their accumulated earnings, in goods or services, provided at one of three ‘businesses’
“The spreadsheet keeps students focused on exemplary classroom behaviors in the closing days of the year; the project
“Each group has to create a business plan: maintaining an inventory, scheduling service clients, leasing space (in their own classrooms!), and paying for marketing and advertising.
requires students to apply their mathematical skills to a business project. Pretty cool!”
Unit III’s Poetry Cafe
On May 24 the students in Mrs. Dawson’s and Mrs. Guminey’s classes joined together for the annual Poetry Cafe. The Poetry Cafe is an event where the students perform their original poetry. Students at Doherty begin reciting poetry in first grade and continue to explore different poets and genres of poetry throughout the following years. The Poetry Cafe represents the culminating activity in this journey of exploration of this genre of writing and reading. After creating original works of poetry in various genres, the students page 14
began working to appreciate the necessity of creating voice and movements when presenting their works. The result was a spotlighted, and black backdropped “stage” on which the “poets” presented their poetry to parents and faculty. There were two shows, allowing for several of the students to serve the guests as the other performed. It was a true poetry cafe with an incredible amount of writing talent being represented.