TEACHERS ARE THE DIFFERENCE

At Seven Hills, our teachers are experts at their craft. They create a welcoming environment for students to test their limits, try new things, and achieve more than they ever believed possible. Together, we are

Upper School Math Teacher Melissa Khoo

Upper School math teacher Melissa Khoo uses a variety of techniques for students to harness their potential and to fully understand real-life applications of complex mathematical principles.

“A lot of students haven’t seen or understood math in real life. They expect math to be beautiful and always result in beautifully solved answers. But, in real life, there’s always variation in data analysis. There’s never going to be a constant exact, and even in machinery, there are fluctuations. My passion is to teach them

THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY STUDENTS… Upper School math teacher

Melissa Khoo

1. Creativity. Students have lots of energy and enthusiasm to try new concepts, and still surprise me with innovative approaches and unique perspectives to problem solving.

2. Strength. Students are constantly facing new situations and environments, yet they are able to adjust and navigate these changes.

3. Growth mindset. Students are developing their abilities through hard work and dedication where challenges are viewed as opportunities for growth. They show a continual willingness to improve their skills and knowledge.

The key to approaching math is developing perseverance and a nevergive-up attitude, according to Khoo.

“I encourage students to keep trying different things and have faith in themselves. Math doesn’t have to be your passion. But, it's the process by which you work through problems in subjects that may not be your passion, that defines you. You may not remember a specific problem you solved, but you'll remember the critical thinking skills you applied and mastered. It’s not about the end result, it’s about building foundational skills,” Khoo said.

that if there are rules, there must be a reason. If they’ve hit a roadblock when solving a problem, they can refer back to their foundational math skills and work their way to finding a potential solution,” Khoo said.

Khoo’s favorite way of showcasing the unexpected side of math is through a parking lot problem.

“I tell students to imagine they’re traveling with friends over spring break, and they need to use the airport’s car park. They park their car in CVG’s economy parking lot for seven and a half days to account for potential delays. They research how much it would cost, graph it from the first to the last day, and discover it’s not a completely straight diagonal line. There’s a curve, and then we discuss how that happens,” Khoo said.

celebrating our amazing teachers in this magazine installment, which features Upper School math teacher

Melissa Khoo and Middle and Upper School world language and history teacher Katie Swinford .

MIDDLE & UPPER SCHOOL WORLD LANGUAGE AND HISTORY TEACHER KATIE SWINFORD

Studying Latin in Middle and Upper School world language and history teacher Katie Swinford’s class is akin to studying the human condition.

In ninth grade world history, students take on Athenian personas from ancient Greece and role-play different political factions while trying to design a democratic system.

evolves because of that, my curriculum every year to meet the needs and talents of my students,” Swinford said.

“Humanity, like our wants, needs, and goals, hasn’t changed too much in the last couple thousand years. Students learn more about the timelessness of the human condition and everything it means. For example, Upper School students research the Roman Empire’s expansion and compare its effects with modern-day immigration and border laws,” Swinford said.

Swinford uses imaginative projects to immerse her students in ancient Rome while showcasing Latin’s beauty and long-lasting impact. During Latin IV Honors, Upper School students research senate identities from 63 B.C.E. and live tweet their reactions to Cicero’s speech as if they were his contemporaries.

“Students, in both history and Latin classes, are learning and sharpening their analytical skills; how to read a document and figure out its potential bias, form their own opinion, and debate it. They’re reading texts and discussing an author’s intent and how different events may be covered by different authors. I love my job because the kids are interested and willing to go the extra mile, and parents want to support their kids however they can. This gives me the freedom to create the best lessons I can and

THINGS I LEARNED FROM MY STUDENTS… Middle and Upper School world language and history teacher Katie Swinford

1. How to be flexible and spontaneous!

2. Kahoot nicknames are for life.

3. When in Italy, eat gelato every day.