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Hillsdale campus 5400 Red Bank Road Cincinnati, Ohio 45227
SCHOOL
Doherty campus 2726 Johnstone Place Cincinnati, Ohio 45206
HILLS
www.7hills.org 513.728.2400
E-mail: alumni.news@7hills.org
Fax: 513.728.2409
Contents Getting It Right: A Look at Life “In the Middle” . . . . . . . .1 By Head of School Christopher Garten
Voices from the Middle School . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 By Editor Kathy Deubell
School News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Reunion 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Alumni News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Front cover: Middle School boys’ cross country. Photo by Keith Neu. Back cover: Middle School girls’ soccer. Photo by Tyler McIlwraith ’03.
Vol. XXXV No. 1 fall 2011
Kathy Deubell Editor
Chris Hedges Director of Communications
Nancy McCormick Bassett ’83 Director of Alumni Relations
Seven Hills is a publication of The Seven Hills School. It is produced using the school’s digital publishing equipment.
Carol Brueggemeyer Designer
Margo Kirstein Interim Director of Development
Christopher P. Garten Head of School
FPO
Getting It Right: A Look at Life “In the Middle” by Head of School Christopher P. Garten
Anyone who has raised or taught a Middle School child knows that the developmental needs of students this age are enormously complex. The Middle School years are a time of incredibly rapid physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual growth, and it is imperative that schools like ours provide the richest possible soil for the unique learning needs of young adolescents. Over the last several years, Seven Hills has put a major emphasis on the continuing evolution of our Middle School program. Under the leadership of our new Head of Middle School, Bill Waskowitz, the Middle School faculty and administration have spent a great deal of time refining the Middle School program so that it responds, even more fully, to our students’ educational needs. One important tool is a new book called This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents. This publication, commissioned by the National Middle School Association (NMSA), represents the best thinking of some of the nation’s leading teachers and researchers about educating students this age. After discussing this monograph in a series of meetings, the Middle School set about defining, as accurately as possible, their goals for middle school learners. After a great deal of discussion and debate, the faculty has affirmed much of the thinking outlined in This We Believe. In our Middle School, the core of our mission is the cultivation of several critical social and interpersonal skills, among them:
• an understanding of and commitment to developing one’s own particular strengths, skills, talents, or interests • an emerging understanding of one’s potential contributions to society and to personal fulfillment • a sincere respect for the diverse ways people look, think, speak, and act both within the immediate community and around the world • the interpersonal and social skills needed to learn, work, and play with others • the ability to assume responsibility for one’s own actions • a readiness to accept obligations for the welfare of others Equally important is our commitment to helping students develop a toolkit of intellectual skills that will be critical for future success both in subsequent schooling and in the world beyond. These include, among others: • an active awareness of the larger world • a habit of asking significant and probing questions for which there may not be one right answer • the ability to think critically and to express ideas clearly and compellingly • a desire to read deeply and to gather, assess, and interpret information from a variety of sources • substantial experience in using digital tools to explore, communicate, and collaborate Articulating these goals has led, naturally, to extensive (and impassioned!) discussions of best practice in teaching students this age. In large measure, the faculty has adopted the fundamental precepts of the NMSA, that an effective middle school is, above all else, “developmentally responsive, challenging, empowering, and equitable.” continued next page
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Getting It Right: A Look at Life “In the Middle” “Developmentally responsive” means that both the content of the curriculum and the prevailing modes of instruction reflect a deep understanding of the unique intellectual and emotional needs of young adolescents. One of our great blessings as a school community is a team of Middle School teachers who truly love and understand students of this age. As we all know, it takes a special personality to nurture and inspire students this age. We are very fortunate to have assembled a team so rich in patience, good humor, and creativity. It is also clear that styles of teaching that work well with elementary or high school students are often less effective with emerging adolescents. This We Believe stresses the importance of designing for Middle School students learning activities that are “active and purposeful” and of ensuring that the curriculum is “challenging, exploratory, integrative, and relevant.” In our own Middle School this commitment to relevant, challenging, and exploratory learning manifests itself in an emphasis on engaging students in extended explorations of complex questions, often questions of immediate relevance and interest to students themselves. Instead of presenting discrete bits of information in isolated departmental siloes, the Middle School faculty has begun to organize the curriculum around “integrated” or interdisciplinary investigations. Teachers have begun to orient students’ experience at each grade level around core “essential questions” that students explore through 2
a variety of disciplinary lenses. The emphasis is on encouraging students to find meaning in the world by linking the things they are learning to overarching thematic concerns. In addition, in accordance with the recommendations of the NMSA, teachers are exploring a wide variety of learning and teaching approaches that accommodate as fully as possible an equally wide array of individual learning styles and intelligences among students. Naturally this variety of pedagogical methods necessitates designing a variety of assessments so that students with different learning strengths have, at least on occasion, opportunities to demonstrate their understanding in ways that suit more precisely their own learning styles. All of this takes an extraordinary commitment to professional development and a great deal of teamwork and professional collaboration among the faculty. The resources we have recently secured to support both professional training and curriculum renewal have had a powerful impact on the school, particularly one might argue, on our Middle School program. Above all else, This We Believe stresses the importance of creating a sense of “culture and community” that is conducive to the growth and development of young adolescents. At Seven Hills this culture of caring is expressed in several ways:
• a school environment that is extraordinarily warm, safe, inclusive, and supportive • a comprehensive advisory and support services program that meets the developmental needs of young adolescents • an active working partnership with families • a strong health, wellness, and developmental guidance program that encourages responsible decision-making In the pages that follow, we offer a glimpse of the excitement of our Middle School. I want to take this opportunity to commend Bill and his staff for all they are doing to refine a program, which, I believe, already exemplifies the best in Middle School education.
Make a plan for your future As you consider year-end giving plans, be sure to think about one option that will pay you dividends – literally – for the rest of your life: a charitable gift annuity. Popular among our alumni, a charitable gift annuity (CGA) is perhaps the easiest way to ensure a reliable, long-term income stream for you while providing an important gift for The Seven Hills School. Here are several things for you to weigh as you consider your own gift annuity plan: Charitable gift annuities provide an income that is determined in large part by the age of the annuitant. Generally speaking, a gift annuity with an immediate payment schedule makes sense if you have reached or passed your 65th birthday. (A great way to make a special gift at your 50th Reunion!) Y OU R A G E–
To make understanding it even easier
Seven Hills wants you to be very clear as to the many benefits of a charitable gift annuity – as well as other planned giving options. To do this, please visit our new planned giving website: http:/7hills.giftlegacy.com. There you will find many useful features including the following:
A charitable gift annuity may provide a lifetime income for you, a spouse (or both combined), or any other individual. Once again, income payments are dependent on the age(s) of the annuitant(s).
the launch of Seven Hills’ new planned giving website www.giftlegacy.com
You will find helpful information about what to give and how to go about it. Our P l a n n e d G i vi n g
enables you to sketch out your ideas at your leisure, in the privacy of your home, prior to calling our office to enact your plan. C a l cu l ator –
your annui ty –
T he annui tant(s) –
to a n n ou n ce
G i f t Op t i o n s –
T he as s et you w ill use to fund
Since the chief benefit to the annuitant is an increased current income, you will want to use an asset (preferably highly appreciated stock) that pays a very modest dividend, thereby resulting in the greatest income increase. You also need to determine your initial investment in a CGA. The Seven Hills School requires a minimum investment of $10,000.
We are p l ea s e d
R egu l ar f eatures s uc h a s “ Wa shi ngton New s” a nd “ Per so n a l P la n n er ”–
that focus on important legislation affecting charitable giving and lifestyle considerations to help solidify and optimize your financial planning in years to come.
When it’s time to act!
The Seven Hills Development Office is ready to assist you in making this important decision – both for your future and the School’s. To discuss your plan, please contact Margo Kirstein, Interim Director of Development, at 513-728-2437 or by e-mail at margo.kirstein@7hills.org. 3
Bill Waskowitz
D e v e l o p i n g M i d d l e S c h o o l c u r r i c u l u m t h a t i s e n g a g i n g , r e l e v an t , a u t h e n t i c Head of Middle School Bill Waskowitz, who came to Seven Hills last school year, has always been drawn to the big picture questions: Why do we do the things we do? Is there a simpler or more direct way to do things? What makes for a good life? What makes one, ultimately, a happy person? They were a large part of his educational focus—B.A. in Religion and Literature from Hamilton College and M.A. in Religion from Yale Divinity School—but the kinship he found with other seekers of big picture answers came with teaching eighth grade English at Phoenix Country Day School in 1995.
Bill at one of Middle’s assemblies, which are led with a “talking stick” by every eighth grader over the course of the year.
“I had never worked with kids this age before, and I fell in love with Middle School,” he said. “I felt that was where my home was. With kids who were asking big picture questions, though they didn’t know they were asking big picture questions at the time. They were not, I think, intentionally asking, ‘What’s the meaning of life.’ They were saying, ‘How do I fit in? Why do I feel this way?’” Bill felt that middle school education often wasn’t taken seriously in the past. Middle
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schoolers weren’t seen as having specific needs as did elementary and high school students. “Middle school was seen as a sort of holding pen for these young adolescents, and no one knew what to do with them,” he said. “At Phoenix Country Day School, an eighth grade history teacher and I decided that instead of teaching a curriculum that we had been handed by our predecessors, we needed to focus on essential skills that the kids would need for academic success wherever they went. We questioned the value of teaching content for its own sake. We decided that the bottom line for us was this: We should encourage kids to ask, ‘Why am I studying this?’ If we couldn’t give a good answer, then why are we teaching it?” Bill said that this rethinking of Middle School curriculum “wasn’t groundbreaking,” but this focus on curriculum that is engaging and relevant specifically to middle schoolers certainly reflects the same conclusions published in 2009 by the Association for Middle Level Education—This We Believe: Essential Attributes and Characteristics of Successful Schools. “Our thinking was greatly influenced by the work of Heidi Hayes Jacobs, a pioneer in educational reform. She was a firm believer in essential questions that should intentionally guide curriculum design: does it engage the student, is it relevant to the student, and is it real or authentic to the student?
“Middle school curriculum has to be skillsbased all the time. That’s the bottom line. Young adolescents need the skills of academic literacy: communication skills in a range of oral and written forms, skills of reflection, thinking skills that include math skills like logic, looking at sequence, following a set of directions, making conclusions based on observable criteria. Can they perform a lab experiment? Are they able to organize, analyze, compare and contrast, create hypotheses, test, and draw conclusions? “Middle School is a time that demands a very challenging, unique curriculum that’s always evolving. It’s about coming up with unifying themes that kids gravitate toward and creating real-world scenarios that drive kids to want to know the answers. I always tell the teachers, ‘You don’t have to be sick to get better. We’ve got to be getting better all the time. The one thing we can’t do as a middle school is pull out the folder marked ‘September’ and just do what we did last year. “For example, after the oil spill last year, seventh grade science teacher Karen Glum set aside the regular curriculum to focus on what was going on in the Gulf. She wanted the kids to understand the scientific process of designing experiments: coming up with hypotheses, testing them, and drawing conclusions. She challenged them to think about new ways to clean up the Gulf.”
The seventh graders had to devise a process for testing different materials for absorbancy, then run the tests. They researched the environmental impacts and cost for each material used. In the end they had to recommend the material they thought was best for use in a clean up based on performance, environmental, and cost considerations. Bill said, “Karen took a real-world event and created an authentic, challenging project, and her students loved it.” If young adolescence is a unique age, it requires teachers who are unique, too. Bill said, “This is a great place to teach if you are willing to be creative, inventive, and flexible. Middle school education requires teachers who reexamine their curriculum every year to see how they might do it better. They’re eager to take advantage of professional development opportunities to stay abreast of research on the developmental needs of young adolescents. “Our faculty is in the process of designing curriculum and exploring a schedule structure that is most appropriate for middle schoolers. We’re also looking at how we teach in the classroom, exploring multiple intelligence and learning style theories. We want to be empowering kids to understand how they learn. This is metacognition—thinking about how one learns, learning how to learn. That’s a higher order thinking skill for kids to figure out, and it’s an important skill that they have to learn in middle school.” What seems to get to the heart of Seven Hills Middle School’s success is the feel of the place:
it feels happy! Students and teachers like each other and enjoy together all of the activities that are so Middle School, so on-target for 10- to 14-year-old boys and girls and their teachers. Bill said, “Middle school kids aren’t jaded yet. They’re not afraid to look goofy. They’re free to be who they are and to try out who they might want to be, no matter what that might look like to others. As middle school teachers, we’ve got to be willing to put ourselves out there in front of kids. We’ve got to show kids that it’s okay to take risks. We’ve got to be models of the behaviors and habits that we want to see emerge from our students. “You have to have teachers who don’t just like working with this age group—they have to LOVE working with this age group. We are fortunate to have in our Middle School people who LOVE this age group.” Bill Waskowitz is a serious educator committed to making middle school education the best it can be, but for a complete picture, one needs to read the bumper sticker on his car: Ben and Jerry’s philosophy—“If it’s not fun, why do it?” He said, “The most mundane task can become fun, but fun isn’t always tickling and giggles.
Fun can also be when the kid in the seventh grade science class figures out, ‘Omigosh, my oil removal device works!’ ” Another clue to the man lies in his ending every email with “Take care.” He explained, “I started this practice probably in the mid-1990s. I do this in the spirit of wishing that all people take care in how they treat others, treat themselves, make decisions, and think their thoughts, with the realization that all of our individual actions affect our future in ways we might not realize when we are in the moment of making a decision, thinking a thought, treating others and ourselves. Simply put, take care in how you think and act so that your thoughts and actions have (hopefully) positive effects on others.” Bill remembers well his own middle school experience. “I had just a horrible middle school experience. I hated it. Being a seventh grade boy was the most painful thing for me at that point in my life. Above all, they don’t want to be noticed. This is why you have to pull these kids out and give them opportunities to shine, to be happy and proud.” Those opportunities are abundant at Seven Hills Middle School. The following articles represent a small sample of the curriculum, activities, and faculty that make Seven Hills a wonderful place to be a sixth, seventh, or eighth grader.
On Middle’s annual Insect Day, which included every teacher wearing an insectrelated t-shirt, parents and their sixth graders worked together on experiments with termites. Bill, wearing his “Don’t bug the Principal” shirt, is pictured with one of his
twin daughters, Emily. 5
Allison HEI N LEN C o nn e c t i n g
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Allison Heinlen’s seventh grade English students, as one would expect, do extensive work in the fundamental elements of grammar and in developing the ability to communicate with clarity and confidence in both written and verbal forms, as well as developing listening and interpreting skills. What is unexpected in her classes are the students’ intense discussions about determining right from wrong, following or not following rules, and personal codes of conduct. With her Summer 2011 curricular grant, Allison redesigned the English 7 curriculum to reflect the overall theme of “How We Live Among Each Other: Codes of Conduct.” The theme states, “English 7 students consider the values, ethics, morals, beliefs and laws and rules by which they live, both independently and collectively. Students will articulate their evolving understanding using the following ‘through-threads’ [lines of thinking that are developed and assessed throughout the year through written and oral methods]: applications for and examples of our individual codes of conduct; creation 6
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and evolution of laws and rules, both written and unwritten; assumptions and/or conclusions about people from codes of conduct. “Essential questons compel students to find personal meaning in their studies and to recognize connections of the past to their own present and future.” Allison said, “What Middle Schooler doesn’t like to debate about values and what’s right and wrong and how you decide, to stand up for his or her own beliefs? I try to to connect literature to their lives, making sure they look at the characters that way, looking at their decisions. What happens when you make the wrong decision, the right decison? We have a lot of conversation in class!” Allison’s curriculum offers a wealth of opportunities for in-depth discussion, including study of To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and A Raisin in the Sun, among other novels, plays, short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. “My goal is for the students to figure out how we arrive at our beliefs and to view others’ beliefs in a nonjudgmental way. I want them to see themselves and others as individuals and to respect each other. They do that very well here.”
In addition to mutual respect, another factor contributes to the climate of the Middle School. “The faculty is happy to be here,” she said. “We’re all friends, we’re all family. And we all love the Middle School. We all have the Middle School sense of humor.” She added with a laugh, “The longer you teach middle school, the more you digress into middle school mentality! You really relate to the kids. It’s a small community and there’s a nice connection. We all like what we do, so it’s a happy place.”
A It’s no surprise that seventh grade science students get excited by explorations to uncover answers to scientific questions. Teacher Karen Glum’s passion for scientific inquiry is contagious. “I absolutely love teaching seventh graders,” said Karen. “Their intellectual ability enables me to do some interesting science with them and, in Middle School, I have a lot of freedom to respond to the kids’ interests.
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in the Arctic for the past 42 summers. He went to the island initially to study Black Guillemot birds and has witnessed the impact of the melting ice on all of the Arctic’s birds and wildlife. He spent last January 26 at Seven Hills meeting with classes of
“For example, this year we started with a unit on NASA that I’ve never done before. Because the space shuttle program retired this summer, the question on adults’ and kids’ minds alike was, ‘What’s the point of NASA if there’s no space shuttle?’ But there are tons of things that NASA is doing that are fascinating but that don’t get any airtime. So we started this year with groups of kids researching what NASA is doing and presenting it to the class.” A significant part of seventh grade science over the past two years has been a study of the carbon cycle and climate change, in collaboration with arctic scientist George Divoky. That collaboration grew from Karen’s trip to Alaska in June, 2010, funded by grants from Seven Hills’ Miriam Titcomb Fund and Professional Development Fund. Karen and her family travelled to Alaska with Drs. Dave and Jill Russell (the scientist professors and bird banders working with the sixth graders on their bird studies program), and journalism professor Jenny Wohlfarth. At the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium, the group met George Divoky, a scientist who has been working on Cooper Island
students and presenting the community lecture, “The Polar Bear at My Front Door: Realities of Climate Change in a Melting Arctic.” Karen’s students plan to Skype with Divoky this year, and he might make another visit to Seven Hills. Like scientific inquiry, Karen’s planning of this year’s curriculum on carbon cycle and climate change took an unexpected turn. She said, “No matter what starting point I came from, no matter where I thought I was headed, I kept ending up
KAREN GLUM f o r
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back at sea ice, a critical piece of how climate on our planet functions, and all the monitoring that NASA does. NASA just launched a new satellite called Aquarius that is studying sea surface salinity. Actually it’s not even sea ice that’s at the basis of controlling our climate; it’s one step deeper than that—it’s salinity of the oceans. When I was on beaches in Florida and Rhode Island this summer, I collected salt water in milk jugs for salt water studies in our lab.” Another scientific inquiry project that resulted from Karen’s Summer 2011 curricular grant was participation this year in Project Nest Watch through Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology. “This will involve observing and monitoring a local nest which you find or set up, then submiting the data to Cornell’s lab. I’d like to get the seventh grade doing that this year because it would be neat to parallel George Divoky’s work in the Arctic. He went there to study birds and he uncovered this huge story that was not his intent. We could say, ‘Why study birds here on campus?’ The reason is that you don’t know what you’re going to find out. This is why you do it. By observing nature, you discover all of these other things that are going on in the world around you. You don’t know what you’re going to find and that’s the exciting part of science.
(picture) On a field trip to the Civic Garden Center, members of Upper’s Environmental Science class and Middle’s Roots and Shoots Club examined how materials decompose under different conditions.
“I want my students to understand that science is a way of knowing that is very empowering, and anyone can do it. I want to show them that there are ways of learning about things that take out the bias and the mythology and the politics, especially with climate change. Remove all that, and it’s evidence-based, and they are capable of thinking that way.” 7
Judith Neidlein-Dial CO N N ECTI N G
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“There’s never a dull day in eighth grade social studies,” said teacher Judith Neidlein-Dial, but one moment stands out. “It’s awesome to see that connection when it happens—when students get that the world is a bigger place than what revolves around them.” The key in fostering that realization lies in making modern connections to world history. “The eighth graders come to see that this is their world and there are events from 100—even 500—years ago that have an impact on their lives today, and that’s very exciting.
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look at Mexico and Brazil. The unit will continue to explore issues of human nature, power and resource allocation—a continuing theme of the eighth grade history course. Students will study the long-term impact of imperialism on culture, society and government; the transition from a dictatorship to a democracy; issues of slavery, race and identity; current events and U.S. relations with countries in Latin America; and Brazil’s growing economic clout.
“History is the result of human choices,” she said, “and that’s important for the kids to know because they are already making important choices.”
“Last year I had a unit on the Israeli and Palestinian issue,” she said. “We were looking at why the area claimed by the Palestinians for a state is so weirdly shaped, with an area here and an area there, not connected in any way. That’s what makes coming up with a viable country very difficult. One student came back the next day and said, ‘Mrs. Neidlein-Dial, I’m so angry, because I just can’t figure out a solution.’ I said, ‘It’s not my goal to make you angry but it certainly gladdens my heart to see you care.’” Engaging her students in history that is taking place now was part of her motivation in designing the new unit, “Latin America and the World,” with her Summer 2011 curricular grant. “In the spirit of being an aware global citizen, it’s important for students in the U.S. to gain insight into the history and events that currently move its neighbors.” As described in Neidlen-Dial’s grant proposal, students will explore the history of Latin America and its impact on modern day society and relations with the USA by taking an in-depth 8
an incessant number of dates and facts. Today it will take me about two seconds to look up a particular date. You do have to know some things, but having your head filled with lists and dates is not going to create the sense of ‘Wow! I like this and it’s a worthwhile endeavor to think about what I do every day. Just because it’s what I’m used to doesn’t mean it has to be this way. It hasn’t always been this way and it isn’t this way in other parts of the world.’
She said, “The more I do this, the more I see that if we can make that connection between current history and their lives, then they come to my class not dreading it, but rather thinking that history is cool.” How does she make history cool for her students? “We talk a lot. I try to make it understandable in their terms. You have to like this age group and you have to take them seriously. It’s quite amazing how perceptive they can be. “I feel that if history has a bad reputation, it’s because students feel they have to memorize
Judith laughs when she admits, “There are days when I think, ‘Oh my gosh, when they run the world, I’m going to hope they have that Mars colony ready. But there are more days when I am really excited about what they will do when they run the show. They are a very smart and capable group. And we are fostering their sense of compassion and empathy—that’s a big part of the interdisciplinary unit with Linda Maupin’s English students, when we examine the Germany of the 1920s and 1930s and the society of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, exploring how civilized societies lose their way. “Will our students always make admirable decisions and choices? No, but nobody does. Do I feel comfortable sending these young people out into the world? Absolutely.”
Doug HUFF
S t u d e n t c o l l a b o r a t i o n l e a d s t o d e e p e r u n d e r s t an d i n g o f U . S . C o n s t i t u t i o n When Doug Huff ’s seventh grade history students began planning their tv newscasts on the U.S. Constitution, he was surprised at how big and how serious they wanted their newscasts to be. “They were really excited about the project and took ownership of it. I had to step in and say, ‘How are you going to accomplish all of this in the amount of time we have?’” This is the second year that Doug’s students have used iMovie and Boinx TV software to produce newscasts on different aspects of the Constitution. Doug designed the unit with his Summer 2010 curricular grant. This year’s topics focusing on the Bill of Rights were Free Speech, Federalism, Right To Bear Arms, Freedom of Religion, and Students Rights. Last year’s topics focusing on Technology and the Law were Free Speech, Cyberbullying, Violent Video Games, Illegal Downloading, and Online Privacy.
Doug described the assignment: “The class was broken down into groups of 3–4 students. Each group researched and chose a particular topic from the Bill of Rights Institute site (www.billofrightsinstitute.org). Each group then chose a team leader who conveyed group questions to the teacher. After research and a brainstorming session, each group wrote a script; designed a 2-minute newscast with an anchor, a title, one outside source, and one outside reporter; rehearsed the newscast; videotaped it in the Middle School computer lab; edited it in iMovie; and prepared the final product in Boinx TV, which enables students to create visually appealing videos that look like they’ve been produced by tv professionals. “I left it wide open as to whether their broadcast should be news or commentary. I wanted them to take the ball and run with it. Some kids did a serious newscast, and others made it more humorous, like The Daily Show.” Doug’s objectives with the newscast project went beyond these: “Students will be able to become familiar with the Constitution as a document and as a body of law; students will be able to gain a broader understanding of the applications of the Constitution on our lives today; and students will be able to recognize and define constitutionality in our legal system today.”
Equally important objectives were these: “Students will be able to develop their organizational, technical and creative skills; and students will be able to learn to express their points of view in collaboration with their team members.” He said, “I wanted the students to be able to work together on a long-term project, go through the different steps and thought processes, and come up with a finished project. I wanted them to be able to solve and learn from any problems they encountered with understanding the Constitutional case, with the technology, or with working together. Collaboration, creative thinking, organization, and problem solving were all valuable outcomes. “What I especially like about the project is the requirement that everyone participate in some way, shape or form. You can be the anchor or one of the writers. Maybe you enjoy doing the editing or working with graphics. This was an opportunity for the students to find and share their unique strengths.”
Cassandra Bruce
T e a c h i n g S p an i s h p r o f i c i e n c y t h r o u g h r e a d i n g , s t o r y t e l l i n g , an d a l o t o f e n e r g y
Peeking into Cassandra Bruce’s Spanish 7 and Spanish 8 classes, one sees high energy activity by both the students and the teacher, and one might guess that the class is having fun with a game of charades. What is actually taking place is a great deal of learning of Spanish.
Acting out the monsters in a story.
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Cassandra is a strong believer in the teaching method TPRS or Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling. She said, “It’s a highly effective method for students to learn to understand, read, write and speak more Spanish. The amount of Spanish that teachers could use in the classroom is increased with TPRS because you’re telling stories.” In fact, most of Cassandra’s classes are conducted in Spanish. TPRS (formerly called Total Physical Response Storytelling) helps students achieve proficiency in Spanish through reading and telling stories that illustrate and reinforce grammatical concepts and structures. Gestures, movement and repetition are crucial components of this strategy. TPRS involves three steps: in step one, the new vocabulary structures to be learned are taught using a combination of translation, gestures, and personalized questions; in step two, those structures are used in a spoken
class story or sometimes a PowerPoint of the story; and in step three, these same structures are used in a class reading. Throughout these steps, the teacher uses a number of techniques to make the target language comprehensible and engaging to the students, including careful limiting of vocabulary, constant asking of easy comprehension questions, and frequent comprehension checks. “This method is perfect for seventh and eighth graders,” said Cassandra. “They naturally have so much energy and it’s a very energetic method. Not every student is comfortable with acting out the story. I usually ask for volunteers, and I get a lot of hands.” She does insist on everyone doing the gestures for each vocabulary structure. “Whenever I use the structure in a question or a story, the students have to do the gesture. Studies show that if you use movement with a word, you internalize it better. “This method is so great because it touches all the ways kids learn: they read the vocabulary structure, and they hear it, speak it, and write it. At Middle we’ve been talking about multiple intelligences and learning styles, and TPRS reaches many different types of learning styles.” The key to engaging Cassandra’s students in the stories is making the stories about them. “At the beginning of the year, I took class inventories— All About Me pages of the students’ favorite actor, favorite sport, what they like to do, their interesting talents—and I incorporated that
information in the stories. Just using their names in the stories gets them excited. They love it: ‘The story’s about me!’ We like to have fun with the stories, like one about a boy who is scared of a monster under his bed. They love it and they remember it.” Cassandra uses the students’ All About Me information in question and answer sessions with the students. “Everybody has to respond to every question every time. They get really into it. Sometimes the question and answer session can take a whole class period!” Cassandra makes sure that speaking Spanish becomes natural to her students by posting signs in the classroom with the Spanish translation of expressions Middle Schoolers use. For example, “How cool!” (¡ qué guay!), “No way!/You don’t say!” (¡no me digas!), and “Really?/Seriously?” (¿De verdad?/¿En serio?). She said, “I love it when I hear my students using the Spanish expressions outside of class!” ¡ qué guay!
Acting out “headache” or “Le duele la cabeza.”
John Rising
“The most exciting teaching that I’ve ever done” Visitors with clear memories of their own young adolescent years might be surprised when they visit Seven Hills Middle School. They find engaged sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, happy to be learning and having fun with fellow students and with their teachers. How to explain the climate —the happy feel—of our Middle School?
“I knew middle school was where I needed to be because this age group is the most fun. I think it’s because of all the quirky, unexplainable things that kids do that are so spontaneous. When you ask, ‘Why did you just do that,’ a lot of times there’s no explanation. To me, that’s fun. That really adds an element during the day that makes it awesome.
A good place to start is with instrumental music teacher and eighth grade team leader John Rising, because he and his fellow team members seem to be at the center of many events and activities that are so Middle School, so much a part of its special feel. For
“If you can get into a groove or rhythm with kids at this age, it can be a lot of fun, just an endless energy that they can give you. For me, that makes the music raw and energetic and makes the product loud and fun and authentic. With older kids, music becomes more refined, more polished. At this age, they just want to play and have a good time and they want to do things BIG, and that’s exactly what I’m about. “Middle school education is foundational—the main thing is to teach skills—thinking skills to be curious, to think for themselves, to advocate for themselves, to ask intelligent questions, to be organized, to figure out their learning style. That happens at this age, and it’s important.”
example, there was Techno Music Wednesday at lunchtime on the Middle patio, including the school’s first flashmob. At the time, John explained, “Since the eighth grade was studying the Cold War Era and American life in the 1950s, we decided to do a ‘duck and cover’ to the narration of the 1951 civil defense film, Duck and Cover. It was a curriculum-related flashmob.”
John said of his rapport with middle schoolers, “I try to treat students like young adults, as weird and quirky as sometimes they are. You have to treat them with respect and really try to make connections with them personally and let them know that you care about them—and not just as a musician or as a kid—but as a human. ‘I care about you. I want you to be comfortable in school and have successful experiences but realize that you aren’t living in a vacuum and you’re going to have some struggles, but there
are a lot of people here to support you.’” John is in good company in his commitment to middle schoolers. “We have a solid group of people here who all have the same mission to teach the kids but also to help them grow, to be good role models, and to be there for them when they need you. “When you have teachers who are excited about what they do and passionate about their subject area, they want to share that. That really helps to motivate kids. And it’s not just teaching your subject—teaching math might be the fifth or sixth thing that you teach that day because you’re dealing with all sorts of other things. Our teachers do a really, really good job of trying to connect with the students and know them personally, and I think by doing that, we are able to teach them better.” Considering everything that comprises life in the Middle School, John said, “I think this is the most exciting teaching that I’ve ever done.”
Middle School Spring Instrumental Concert (photo left) John Rising, in his best powdered wig, with a few of the musicians who performed pieces by JS Bach at the first Seven Hills Bachathon last April. John organized and hosted the lunchtime event for fans of Bach and Seven Hills musicians.
John Rising is the 2011 recipient of one of Seven Hills’ highest faculty honors—the Elise Eaton Allen Faculty Chair in the Fine and Performing Arts—in recognition of the excellence of his teaching. See page 20. 11
Elissa Donovan F o s t e r i n g
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To get a sense of the depth and breadth of the Middle School visual arts program, one could compile an impressive Elissa with fused glass projects list of the myriad projects that Elissa Donovan designs for her sixth, seventh and eighth grade artists over the course of a year. Just a glimpse, though, of the artwork on display in her studio, in the hallways and in the Andress Art Gallery in Upper gives a more compelling sense of the extraordinary range and quality of work that is being created in the art studio at Seven Hills Middle School. “My class focuses on creativity and imagination,” said Elissa. “I want to foster the love of making art. The process of creating is more important to me than the outcome. Creating art has to be an adventure for the students, and they’ve got to take risks. They have to know that sometimes their initial effort is going to turn out glorious work and sometimes it’s not. And that’s okay. Reflection and making thoughtful decisions about the direction of their work are important skills for any artist to develop so they can grow. This can only happen in an environment in which kids feel safe and accepted.”
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Day of Dead skulls
Elissa designs projects in which Middle students can experience creative success, and projects are tailored to the psychological, social and artistic development of their age. Students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades all work with a variety of 2D media to create drawings and paintings, as well as 3D media such as ceramics, glass, wire, metal, model magic, recycled and/or found objects. The skills Elissa teaches evolve with successive grades. “Sixth grade is about capturing their ability to let loose and have fun! When we look at sculpture, for instance, we’ll start out with edible art. They love learning about additive sculpture by building with Rice Krispie treats and subtractive sculpture by carving faces out of apples. When we look at color mixing, we start with the three primary colors in icing and they have to mix the icing to create the secondary colors. Then, using the icing, they paint in a Van Gogh-style on graham crackers. This teaches them about primary colors, color mixing and secondary colors but in a way that is fun and engaging—they don’t forget it! “In seventh grade we really start looking at selfportraits by studying an artist named Chuck Close, who works with a graphing system of drawing that references photographs. The kids
take photos of themselves creating interesting, and usually pretty funny facial expressions, then learn how to graph and enlarge the images through drawing on paper, looking at their features, and adding in value to help create a three- dimensionality. The portraits turn out very realistic because they’re based on photographs. “In eighth grade, students are ready to expand beyond concrete concepts and express themselves in different ways. We work on painted selfportraits from direct observation through the use of mirrors. Students learn how to build a wood frame, stretch the canvas, cover it with gesso, draw in their features and paint their image as they see it. This year we added a new dimension by making it a mixed media project. Students brought in representational objects and materials to incorporate for a multidimensional self-portrait. The portraits go beyond the physical image of the student to capture who they are, and how they are unique.” Elissa witnesses growth in her students that goes beyond their artistic skills—especially among her sixth grade artists. “In the sixth graders’ first class, I tell then, ‘Look, we could all try to make the same exact thing, but because of the construction of our hands, the way we hold the tools and even the way we view something, our work is never going to look exactly alike. You’re going to make art the way you make art.’ And we find ways to celebrate that. At this age, there is a great need to ‘belong,’ and sometimes that means trying to be like ‘everybody else’. It is my goal to help my Middle School artists appreciate their unique view and help them tell their own story.”
Kaleidoscope skull
Reverse glass art
Mixed media self-portrait
How is Seven Hills Middle School meeting our expectations? B y Pa r e n t W e n d y E l l i s Ga r d n e r
Foremost, the school is exceeding our expectations academically, which for us was the initial reason we were attracted to Seven Hills many years ago. As we approached the middle school years, though, we weren’t sure what to expect given all the changes that happen to a young person at this age, and the pure range of change across students. Few, if any, days in the life of a middle schooler are not filled with drama, and the smallest things can set off emotions that leave us all bewildered. What we have come to appreciate, however, is that the school and the teachers have high academic standards and expect students to rise to the challenge – no matter what the state of emotions and social happenings. Importantly, Chase is pushed to achieve his best, but in a way that fosters ongoing curiosity and interest, rather than rote learning or short-term memorization. I think this dedication comes from two sources: 1) leadership who believes that middle school is a defining period of personal growth and opportunity, rather than a time to muddle through, and 2) faculty that truly seem to enjoy all the elements and nuances of 11-14 year olds – and there are many! When Mr. Huff (seventh grade history teacher) put a picture of himself participating in an all-you-can hotdog contest as his wiki photo, I knew he understood,
Wendy Ellis Gardner and her husband Todd are the parents of seventh grader Chase and third grader Wes.
and loved, his audience. He infuses an energy and excitement into U.S. history that I never experienced as a middle schooler. My husband and I laugh and say – “We want to go there!” Likewise, we have seen, and continue to see, a school and faculty that strive always to be better – not afraid to try something new or to go to the next level. We love the attitude of continuous improvement and believe the new ideas keep it fresh for everyone. We can always find ways to be better, even if nothing is broken. The Seven Hills philosophy where “learning” is served up as opportunity and challenge leads to an environment that fosters a sense of optimism, rather than dread, which is often how middle school students tend to view school. Tying it all together is the emphasis to apply classroom learnings to the real world, whether it’s the crossdisciplinary ornithology project in sixth grade or using math skills in science when developing the planetary models in seventh grade. One example in particular isn’t from math, or Latin, although Chase has great experiences in these areas, but rather from art with Mrs. Donovan. A recent project had the students studying Georgia O’Keefe’s close-up compositions and cropped style to create reverse glass paintings. Beyond understanding a famous artist in-depth, the project focused on graphing, project planning and color mixing skills. Chase chose to create an image of his favorite baseball
player, Brian Wilson, and was able to marry a personal passion with a school project. He talked about working on it, how he did it, what it looked like, etc., and I know he gained a lot of learning, experientially and effortlessly, in the process. I also recall being blown over the first conference in sixth grade by language arts teacher, Anne Yancey. She had already recognized Chase’s love of literature and she wanted to push him into some tougher, and very thoughtful reads. She then proceeded to suggest specific titles she thought he was ready to handle. And she was right.
Chase in art class.
Beyond the classroom, we continue to admire the overall attitude that permeates the school – a student body that is intellectually interesting, motivating, and importantly, supportive of each other. The school is fortunate to have kids with many different talents and backgrounds, and the ability to celebrate these different strengths is reflective of how we would like Chase to be. We have seen this translate onto the sports field, in the classroom, and even just “hanging out” with friends. In total, it feels like the right place to be.
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In Memoriam
Patty Flanigan Seven Hills Theater Teacher for 38 years
It’s nearly impossible to imagine a world without Patty Flanigan, who died on September 29. Some comfort lies in knowing that her gifts, passion, and inspiration live on in the people who knew and loved her and who learned from her. Many of those people filled the Black Box Theater on October 29 to share memories of Patty. Some reminiscences were funny, as members of the audience nodded, “Yes, that was Patty!” Others, like the remarks of her sister Maureen were achingly poignant and beautiful. Maureen told Patty’s story, starting from the time she was “a little girl who was different,” who wrote, directed and starred in her own plays at age four. Art teacher Diane Kruer said, “However you found yourself in the sphere of her influence—by her sheer gravitational pull or lassoed in the hallway with ‘Hey, you should be in a play,’ Patty was the center of our universe. Fiery, bright and radiating confidence, she pulled us into her orbit. She accepted us and affirmed us. Here she created a world demanding trust and the safety to take risks. With her, you found yourself on stage, you found a community, you found a voice, you found yourself.
Jay Bachemin
“Respecting who you were at that young moment, somehow she knew the potential of who you were meant to be—the amazing people sitting here now. She did not realize how we are all the better for the time spent with her. ”Our sweet friend, by your sheer brilliance, we reflected your light. You made us shine. You made us feel like stars. Thank you, Patty.” Those gathered in the theater joined Diane in a resounding, “Good show!” T h e
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Hundreds of comments from alumni are posted on our Facebook page
“Areté. Wikipedia says ‘The most articulated value in Greek culture is Areté.’ It means ‘being the best you can be,’ or in other words, giving life your best effort. All of it.
“I first learned this word while sitting in a group being taught by Patty. I was 12 or 14, and I remember her saying that when she died, she wanted one word to be her epitaph: ‘Areté! It means striving for excellence!’ She said that the most important thing in life is to strive every day for excellence in the tasks we take on, in our dealings with each other, in our performance, and that she wanted to be remembered for having done so. What a wonderful thing to teach children that was, but that was Patty, day after day, year after year, for decades teaching countless students to expect excellence from themselves and then showing them how to achieve it. “There were many great life lessons to be learned working with her: give your best effort, know your lines, be on time, listen. She would not hesitate to call out to actors foundering in a scene:‘You’re boring me!’ Then some choice direction, then ‘Again from the top, let’s get it right.’ Eventually we would get it right, usually just in time for opening night, and the coaching would continue right up until the performance, she knew how to pump us up and 16
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calm us down in just the right combination so we felt ready, even occasionally administering tea with lemon and honey to resurrect ragged voices. “You always knew you were coming down to it when, after some final notes and enunciation drills and then after leading us through relaxation exercises, she would calmly say to us, ‘Good show.’ To this we would reply as one, ‘Good show!’ Then she’d say it again with more authority, ‘Good show.’ Again we’d reply ‘Good show!’ Again she’d say it more forcefully and we’d proclaim ‘Good show!’ almost rapturously. At that moment we’d be pumped and primed and at our peak focus, ready to fly if she’d asked us. Life’s had plenty of exciting moments since then, but none more intense then those as the lights would come up and the show would begin. “From Patty’s lessons to countless students came confidence and courage and strength and perseverance and many more fine qualities. That certainly sounds like a person striving for excellence to me. “Areté. Patty, you did it. You got it right, all of it, for all of us. Your voice is a permanent part of my chorus. Thank you, and with respect, I say to you, ‘Good show.’ ” Memorials for Patty may be directed to: “The Patty Flanigan Dramatic Arts Fund.” In 2005 an alumna wanted to honor the career of Patty Flanigan. This fund supports all Upper School theater productions. Questions? Please contact: Margo Kirstein 513-728-2437 or margo.kirstein@7hills.org.
School News
Nearly one quarter of Class of 2012 named National Merit semifinalists Seven Hills is continuing its tradition of excellence in the National Merit program. Nearly one quarter of the Class of 2012 have qualified as semifinalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program. This represents the sixth year in a row that more than 18% of Seven Hills seniors have earned this high distinction. Less than one percent of the nation’s high school graduating seniors qualify as semifinalists with their results on the PSAT taken as juniors. Historically, 91% of Seven Hills students who achieve semifinalist status go on to earn National Merit finalist recognition. In addition to the 14 students who were named as semifinalists, 10 Seven Hills seniors were named as
Commended students, bringing the percentage of the class to receive National Merit recognition to nearly 40%. Seven Hills’ National Merit semifinalists this year are Harrison Addy, Izzy Arjmand, Alex Baggott, Alex Ferree, Kate Harsh, Betsy Johnson, Ginger Johnson, Olivia Koster, Sharon Liao, Courtney Linne, Alex Markovits, Adair McWilliams, Jonathan Tiao, and former student Bennett Barr. Seniors who were named as National Merit Commended students are Sarah Austin, Emily Bedell, Claire Duncan, Ryan Ferrell, Ian Grohsgal, Broti Gupta, George Lawson, Sam McHugh, Allie Scheiber, and Ned Williamson.
In the National Hispanic Recognition Program, Allie Scheiber was named a Scholar. In the National Achievement Scholarship Program, Claire Duncan was named a semifinalist, and Keenan James and Daniel McKinnon were named Outstanding Participants. “At Seven Hills, students learn by developing strong reading, writing, scientific, mathematical and analytical competencies – from pre-K through their senior year. Our focus on building 21st century skills and knowledge results in all sorts of successful student outcomes,” said Susan Marrs, Director of College Counseling and Assistant Head of School. “These national recognitions are just our latest example of Seven Hills students’ successes.”
(Front) Courtney Linne, Ginger Johnson, Betsy Johnson, Allie Scheiber, Izzy Arjmand, Sarah Austin, Broti Gupta, Emily Bedell, Kate Harsh, Keenan James, Daniel McKinnon; (middle) Sharon Liao, George Lawson, Jonathan Tiao, Ian Grohsgal, Sam McHugh; (back) Claire Duncan, Alex Baggott, Ryan Ferrell, Alex Ferree, Adair McWilliams, Ned Williamson, Olivia Koster, Alex Markovits, Harrison Addy.
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School News 93% of Seven Hills’ AP Exam scores qualify for advanced standing in college Fifty-eight Seven Hills seniors and 2011 graduates have been named AP Scholars by the College Board for their exceptional achievement on the collegelevel Advanced Placement Exams. On the 221 AP Exams in 16 subject areas taken in May by 107 students, 93% of the scores earned were 3’s or better on the 1–5 national scale, qualifying the students for advanced standing in college. The Seven Hills students scored an average of 4.2 (“Extremely Well Qualified”). Receiving National AP Scholar Awards for average scores of at least 4 or higher on all AP Exams taken and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more were 2011 graduates Justine Cefalu, Peppar Cyr, and Virgilio Urbina Lazardi. Their average score was 4.88.
Beautiful new courtyard deck on Hillsdale Campus! With the assistance of gifts from parents of the Class of 2011, the Hillsdale Campus has a wonderful new courtyard deck! Enjoyed by students as a gathering spot, study area, and place to relax, the deck, which was originally constructed in 1975 and modified in 2002, will no longer need annual triage on fatigued wooden boards. Our new deck is made of an earth-friendly product called Trex Transcend—a composite material guaranteed not to fade, stain, warp, rot, crack, splinter or ever need painting, and it carries a 25-year warranty against fading or staining. The new deck is certain to retain its character as the traditional campus “hub” for many years to come. Our sincere thanks to the Class of 2011 parents for their generous support of this important project! 18
Receiving AP Scholar with Distinction Awards for average scores of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more were seniors Izzy Arjmand, Sarah Austin, Alex Ferree, Broti Gupta, Kate Harsh, Betsy Johnson, Sharon Liao, Alex Markovits, Suhel Singh, Jonathan Tiao, and Ned Williamson. 2011 graduates who received AP Scholar with Distinction Awards were Julianne Bain, Gabriel Blanco, Jeffrey Brown, Justine Cefalu, Katie Cromer, Leah Cromer, Peppar Cyr, Elisse Hill, Victoria Huang, Ari Kirsh, Sydney Larkin, Sasha Lieberman, Ryan MacKenzie, Aaron Markiewitz, Nathan Markiewitz, Haleigh Monaco, Joe Soonthornsawad, Virgilio Urbina Lazardi, and Stella Warner. The average score of Seven Hills seniors and 2011 graduates who earned AP Scholar with Distinction Awards was 4.58.
Receiving AP Scholar with Honor Awards for average scores of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more were seniors Alex Baggott, Emily Bedell, Ginger Johnson, Sam McHugh, Adair McWilliams; 2011 graduates Julia Berger, Maddie Caldemeyer, Andrea Compton, Helen Head, Mia Perlman, Kristen Prevost, and Alex Wilt. Their average score was 4.45. Receiving AP Scholar Awards for scoring 3 or higher on three or more exams were seniors Harrison Addy, Ian Grohsgal, Helen Jatho, Deepak Kumar, Shea Renusch, Allie Scheiber, Jack Tyndall; 2011 graduates Graeme Harten, Kevin Pan, Ari Shifman, Celine Shirooni, Ben Sims, and Lauren Truncellito. Their average score was 4.12.
Seven Hills’ all-school effort for Unified for UNIFAT Connie Ring (center) and Abitimo Odongkara with members of the Seven Hills U4U Executive Board: (front) Co-Vice President Brian Collette, President Linnea Head, Co-Vice President Ellen Coombe; Moderator Nate Gleiner, Treasurer Katie Cirulli, Co-Outreach Coordinator Kayla Kavanaugh, Co-Outreach Coordinator Aditi Varshneya, and Secretary Claire Duncan.
An effort which started with a student and a math teacher at Moeller High School to make a difference in the lives of children in war-torn Northern Uganda is spreading at Seven Hills. Unified for UNIFAT (unifiedforunifat.com), which began in 2005, successfully joins the fundraising and awareness raising efforts of local students with the children served by UNIFAT (United Nile Institute for Appropriate Technology) School in Northern Uganda. The Upper School committed to the U4U effort last spring when Moeller math teacher and U4U Director Connie Ring gave the keynote address at Upper’s Global Education Day. English teacher and Upper Equity and Justice Coordinator Nate Gleiner said, “In response to Connie’s visit, Seven Hills formed its own chapter of Unified for UNIFAT (U4U), becoming the 17th high school in the region to join in sponsoring and supporting over 100 students at UNIFAT School. To show his support for the chapter, U4U founder Will Tardio visited a chapter meeting in May. In just under a month, Seven Hills students raised over $2000.”
faculty. Plans are underway to include the Middle and Lower School students in Seven Hills’ U4U effort, making Seven Hills the first school to involve younger students in U4U.
On September 22, UNIFAT founder Abitimo Odongkara and Connie Ring were guest speakers at a special assembly for Upper and Middle students organized by the Executive Board of the Seven Hills U4U chapter. Later that day, the speakers gave a presentation for Doherty and Lotspeich
“In addition, the Upper School U4U Outreach Coordinators attended the Middle School U4U chapter meeting, as well as committee meetings in Lotspeich and Doherty to plan upcoming events and fundraisers for the UNIFAT students whom Doherty and Lotspeich sponsor.”
“On October 5 members of both the Upper and Middle U4U chapters met in the Donovan Arts Center to participate in Re-Leaf for UNIFAT,” said Nate Gleiner. “Led by art teacher Diane Kruer, who generously donated materials and supplies, Middle and Upper Schoolers made clay leaves to be sold later in the year. All of the proceeds from the sale will go directly toward sponsorship of UNIFAT students.
In addition to raising funds to sponsor UNIFAT students (a $300 sponsorship provides a child with a uniform, books, shoes, tuition, and a meal a day for a year), Seven Hills is raising funds toward the purchase of a motorbike to assist in the transportation of mentors who support secondary school students who are U4U-sponsored graduates of UNIFAT School.
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Seven Hills awards Allen Faculty Chair to music teacher John Rising Middle/Upper music teacher John Rising is the recipient of one of Seven Hills’ highest faculty honors—the Elise Eaton Allen Faculty Chair in the Fine and Performing Arts—in recognition of the excellence of his teaching. A member of the Seven Hills faculty since 2000, John Rising teaches instrumental music in grades six to 12, and he is the director of the Upper School’s Classical Ensemble and Contemporary Ensemble and the Middle School’s Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grade Ensembles. Head of School Chris Garten said, “When John joined Seven Hills 12 years ago, his charge was to build an outstanding
Middle/Upper School instrumental music program, and he has fulfilled that directive with stunning creativity, verve and vigor.” Audiences respond to his students’ performances with standing ovations, and many of his former students pursue music studies in college and professional careers. In presenting the award, Chris Garten said, in part, “In everything he does, John sets admirably high standards for himself, and his greatest gift is his ability to impart to our students his own consummate sense of craft. His music program is a model of individualization; he extracts every ounce of native talent from his students, sweeping them up in a galvanizing enterprise with energy and enthusiasm that holds each student accountable. John has that rare ability, common in great teachers and great coaches, of making each member of the team feel a strong sense of responsibility to do everything he or she can to insure the success of a group. Of course, his students practice assiduously;
of course, they learn their parts; of course, they take risks when they’re assigned solos and support one another when they have an ancillary role. And when a concert is over, of course, they all pitch in to move chairs and store music and carry instruments. Universally respected for his strong work ethic, his creativity and inventiveness, and his somewhat offbeat sense of humor, John Rising is one of this school’s greatest assets.” The Elise Eaton Allen Faculty Chair was established in 1989 by the family of the late Elise E. Allen (Mrs. Robert H. Allen) to recognize a distinguished teacher in the fine and performing arts. The Allens, whose three daughters and son attended Seven Hills, were longtime friends of the school and supporters of the arts at Seven Hills and in the Cincinnati community. The late Robert Allen’s long-term involvement with arts organizations in Cincinnati was recognized with the PostCorbett Award for Lifetime Achievement.
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one another.”
that nourish children’s curiosity and set
eye. You set high standards for your
Jenny Carr is in her 26th year at Seven Hills. In presenting the award, Head of School Chris Garten
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the tone for a lifetime of learning.”
Sara Snyder, Jenny Carr
School News Science teachers collaborate on chapter in research book
Science teachers Karen Glum and Jennifer Licata collaborated with university professors and bird experts to write the chapter, “Birds, Bands, and Beyond,” about their bird study program in the recently-published book, Higher Education, Emerging Technologies, and Community Partnerships: Concepts, Models, and Applications. Published by IGI Global, the book is a comprehensive research resource that provides strategies to implement school and community partnerships. Karen Glum, Science Department Chair and seventh grade science teacher, and Jennifer Licata,
sixth grade science teacher, collaborated with Dr. Jill Russell of the College of Mount St. Joseph and the Avian Research & Education Institute; Dr. David Russell of Miami University and the Avian Research & Education Institute; and Jenny Wohlfarth, journalism professor at University of Cincinnati, on the chapter on Seven Hills Middle School’s yearlong bird study program. Since the program’s start in 2009, students have had the opportunity to work with the professors in the school laboratory, in the field, and via Skype. Last year, the students began a collaboration with noted arctic scientist George Divoky, who has been studying the effect of climate change on the Black Guillimot birds on Cooper Island in the Arctic for the past 42 years. Describing the Seven Hills bird studies program, Melody Bowdon and Russell Carpenter, Editors of Higher Education, Emerging Technologies, and Community Partnerships, wrote: “This case study describes a partnership between the Avian Research and Education Institute, College of Mount St. Joseph, University of Cincinnati, and science teachers at
The Seven Hills Middle School. This partnership enabled the teachers to implement a bird studies program and empowered the students to become citizen scientists. The partners used various technologies to establish and maintain an ongoing relationship between the field and classroom, so that students interacted with field ornithologists face-toface and virtually via the internet. “In the classroom, students assisted researchers as they color-banded birds that visited the school’s wild bird garden. The students then monitored the banded birds, communicated with the researchers, posted updates on the class wiki, conducted biweekly bird counts and submitted data to eBird, created eField Guides, completed inquiry projects, and presented their data at a school event and a community bird festival.” Freshen your decor and help your Resale Shop at the sam e time: your gently-used holiday clothing and seasonal decorations are best-selling items for holiday shoppers at your Resale Shop. Drop off your don ations Monday through Saturday between 9:0 0am and 3:00pm or we can arra nge pickups of large items. Spend an extra few minutes looking around the Shop—you’ll find a treasure of your own!
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School News Mathew Cohen
V A R S I T Y
S E V E N H I L L S had an outstanding fall sports season , including volleyball’s first sectional championship! League honors included Players of the Year in golf and volleyball, Co-Player of the Year in boys soccer, Coach of the Year in volleyball, Assistant Coach of the Year in boys soccer, and these All-League selections—13 for First Team, 10 for Second Team, 8 for Honorable Mention, and 40 named as Scholar Athletes. Seven Hills athletes also earned 27 All-City and All-District sports and academic honors, with more to be announced.
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Emily Bedell
Hillary Goldsmith
Head of School Chris Garten said, “We have, as usual, a great deal of which to be proud. Again this season our teams distinguished themselves not only by their dedication and tenacity, but by their commitment to fair play and by their warm support of one another. Character is best revealed in adversity; I couldn’t be more proud of how gracefully our athletes conducted themselves both in victory and in defeat.”
The varsity boys soccer team finished 12-4-2, was ranked #3 in the city and #2 in the MVC, and lost in the sectional finals 6-5 in a shootout against CHCA. The Stingers have lost only one league game in the past four years!
The junior varsity boys soccer team—both Blue and Gold squads—finished their season undefeated with a record of 15-0-1. They outscored their opponents 37 to 7 goals. The varsity girls soccer team finished with a record of 8-8-3, placed second in the MVC, and lost in the sectional finals 3-4 in a shootout against CCDS. The varsity volleyball team won the first sectional champship in Seven Hills’ volleyball history and advanced to the district finals. The Stingers were #1 seed in the sectional tournament and were ranked in the top 10 in the coaches’ poll all season. Their season record was 17-5, and the team placed second in the MVC.
F A L L
S P O R T S
Two members of the boys cross country team qualified to run in the regional finals. At the Seven Hills Cross Country Invitational on Homecoming Weekend, the Seven Hills boys team finished first overall with 24 points and one runner was the top runner of the meet, finishing with an impressive time of 18:49.0. One member of the girls team finished second overall at the Seven Hills Invitational with a time of 22:42.9, 21 seconds behind the overall winner. One male and one female also finished second at the MVC meet. Reports on all Upper and Middle School fall teams and celebration of team and individual honors are covered in the Seven Hills Buzz, which is published online (www.7hills.org>News>Seven Hills Buzz).
Six of seven members of the varsity girls tennis team won top places at the sectionals (including first places in singles and doubles) and qualified for the districts. Ranked fourth in the city, the team had an 8-7 record in a schedule including Division I teams and finished third in MVC among stateranked teams. The varsity golf team finished second in the MVC and competed at districts. At the MVC tournament one player shot a 157 after two rounds of 18 holes—the lowest round of golf by any player in the MVC league. He was named All-League Player of the Year out of a field of 30 golfers.
Pauley Gosiger
P arti c ipatio n
THE SEVEN HILLS FUND is our annual giving program, representing the collective generosity of current parents, past parents, grandparents, alumni, current and former employees and friends. Thanks to the generous support of 1,410 donors, The Seven Hills Fund finished fiscal year 2011 with $1,018,218 raised through annual gifts. We are grateful to our donors! As the School’s expenses have grown for 20112012, we have set a goal of $1,050,000 for The Seven Hills Fund, an increase of approximately $32,000 over the 2010-2011 total. If you donated last year, we ask you to increase your commitment this year in support of the larger goal. If you did not donate last year, we ask you to participate now by making a gift or pledge. Again this year, tuition will cover approximately 80% of the cost of educating each child at Seven Hills. For that reason, annual giving serves as a crucial component of the School’s operating budget. The funds, which help bridge the gap between income from tuition and the School’s total operating expenses, come primarily from generous support of The Seven Hills Fund from people like you. Donations to The Seven Hills Fund provide the learning tools that enrich our students’ learning every day. From maps to microscopes, art supplies to athletic equipment, field trips to electronic databases, your gifts underwrite the vast array of special programs that make Seven Hills an
Seven Hills Fund
a n d
exciting place to learn. And increasingly, your gifts also support professional teacher training and enhancements to the curriculum that keep our school on the leading edge of innovation. In short, your gifts to The Seven Hills Fund directly benefit every student at this School every day! WAY S TO G I V E Contributions to The Seven Hills Fund may be made using any of the following methods: Online Make your gifts safely and securely by credit card at www.7hills.org/giving. Seven Hills accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Check Checks made payable to The Seven Hills School can be mailed to us: The Seven Hills School Development Office 5400 Red Bank Road Cincinnati, OH 45227 Phone To make a gift by credit card over the phone, please call the Development Office at 513-728-2430 or 513-728-2434. Securities For information about making a gift of stock or appreciated securities, please call the Development Office at 513-728-2430 or visit our website at www.7hills.org/giving and download our stock transfer instructions.
vol u n t e e rs
m a k e
all
t h e
d iff e r e n c e !
Double or even triple your gift! Many employers sponsor programs that will match the donations of current employees or retirees. While some companies provide a 1:1 match, some provide a 2:1 or even a 3:1 match. This is a great way to increase the impact of your contribution to Seven Hills. Please check with your employer’s Human Resources department for more information. Q U E S T I O N S ? Please contact Meridith Oberklein Spille ’95, Director of Annual Giving, at 513-728-2438 or meridith.spille@7hills.org.
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H E LPIN G H A NDS V O L U N T E E R S
The Seven Hills Development Office gratefully acknowledges the following individuals who dedicated their time and effort to helping us send out over 60,000 pieces of mail in support of the School last year.
Jo Arnold Keith Arnold Marilyn Collins Malcolm Dunn Priscilla Dunn Tara Eaton Terri Ferree Rachel Foster Renee Frankel
Anne Greenwald Tate Greenwald Muff Hays Mary Heinlen Karen Hills Susan Hollister Lori Hunter Mary Levin Bill Michael
Velma Morelli Lilamae Mueller Carol Pearce Joni Quimby Phyllis Ringel Mary Smithers Francie Williams Mary Beth Young Lucille Wientzen 23
School News Seven Hills welcomes Queen Bees and Wannabees author Rosalind Wiseman
From left, Doherty Head Patti Guethlein, Head of School Chris Garten, Rosalind Wiseman, and Doherty counselor Mitzie Moser, who organized the event this year with the assistance of Lospeich counselor Judy Arnold and Middle/Upper counselor Vicky Hausberger.
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Rosalind Wiseman, bestselling author of Queen Bees and Wannabees: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and the New Realities of Girl World, gave presentations on “Creating a Culture of Respect” to adult and student audiences at Seven Hills on October 12-13. In an evening presentation attended by some 350 members of the school community, she spoke on “Queen Bees and Wannabes: Navigating the New Realities of Girl World and Boy World.” With Seven Hills faculty, she spoke on “Owning Up: Creating a Culture of Dignity in Your School and Classroom,” and with fourth and fifth graders at Doherty and Lotspeich, she talked about growing up and navigating social challenges. An internationally-recognized expert on children, teens, parenting, social justice, and ethical leadership for young people, Wiseman is also the author of Queen Bee Moms and Kingpin Dads as well as Boys, Girls & Other Hazardous Materials. In addition, she writes a monthly “Ask Rosalind” column in Family Circle magazine. Wiseman makes regular appearances in the national media as an expert on ethical leadership and is a frequent guest on The Today Show and Anderson Cooper 360.
“We were thrilled,” said Head of School Chris Garten, “to have had an opportunity to bring Ms. Wiseman to Seven Hills. Her presentations to parents, teachers, and, especially, to students will bring valuable insights into the social interactions among young people. Experiences like this are an important part of our continuing commitment to sustain a warm and caring community.” Rosalind Wiseman, herself a parent and teacher, started her meetings with parents and faculty with three important points: “Dignity is not negotiable. You matter in a child’s life. Connection makes life meaningful.” She told teachers, “Your students’ ‘happiness’ is based on these fundamental concepts: the right to be treated with dignity by others, the responsibility to treat others with dignity, and valuing the development of social competence as a critical academic skill.” She shared strategies for social competence with the fourth and fifth graders, including ways to deal
with social scenerios that are familiar to the students. She discussed the difference between good teasing, unintentional bad teasing, and bad teasing/bullying, as well as the difference between snitching and reporting. She urged the students to stand up for what they believe. “Don’t think one way and act another way. If you believe that people shouldn’t be put down, there are certain [hurtful labels] that can’t ever come out of your mouth.
“Find an adult ally, because sometimes you need an adult to help. Your ally should be opinionated but not judgmental, reliable, and honest.”
26th Annual Books for Lunch T h e
S e v e n
Hills
S c h ool
P ro u d ly
P r e s e n ts
David Henry Hwang Tony Award Winning Playwright, Screenwriter & Librettist Throughout his career, playwright David Henry Hwang has explored the complexities of forging Eastern and Western cultures in a contemporary America. His extraordinary body of work, over the past 30 years, has been marked by a deep desire to reaffirm the common humanity in all of us. He is best known as the author of M. Butterfly, which ran for two years on Broadway, won the 1988 Tony, Drama Desk, John Gassner, and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and was also a finalist for the 1989 Pulitzer Prize. Hwang’s play Yellow Craig Schwartz
Face, won a 2008 OBIE Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, while his play Golden Child received a 1997 OBIE Award and three 1998 Tony nominations, including Best New Play. Mr. Hwang’s Broadway musicals include Tony- nominated book for Rogers & Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song. He co-wrote the book for Disney’s Aida and was the bookwriter of Disney’s Tarzan. Mr. Hwang’s newest play, Chinglish, made its Broadway premiere in October 2011 following its wellreviewed world premiere production in Chicago in Summer 2011.
“Hwang has the potential to become the first important dramatist of American public life since Arthur Miller, and maybe the best of them all.”
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William A. Henry III Time
F R I D A Y,
F E B R U A R Y
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T he S e ven H ills S C HOOL PRESEN TS
L e c t u re Lu n ch B o o k S i g n ieno n a n d g Friday, Feb ruary 3, 2 012 11:00 AM Cintas Cen ter at Xavie r University
Dinner w ith D He n r y H w a av i d ng Thu
rsday, Feb ruary 2, 2 012 6:30 PM At the hom e of Lisa a nd Dirk Sc In vi ta ti o n s hneider w il l b e m a il e d in ti o
n , g o to w D e ce m b e r. w w.7 h il ls Fo r m o re .o rg o r co in fo rm a C o m m it te n ta ct B o o e C h a ir s N ks fo r Lu n a n cy S il ve ch 2 0 1 2 rm a n a t n rr.c o m o r g si lv e rm a K a ri E ll is n @ ci n ci . a t k a e ll is 2 @ a o l. c o m.
T H U R S D AY,
F E B R U A R Y
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Reunion Reception Alumni who came together October 14-15 for Reunion ’11 enjoyed campus tours, a luncheon for Classics alumni at Cincinnati Country Club, a reception in the Hillsdale Commons (pictured on this page), and class parties.
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Goodall Distinguished Alumna Award presented to Susanne “Sudie” Ernst Geier L ’35, H ’41 A highlight of the Classics Luncheon at Cincinnati Country Club was the gathering of family, friends, and many admirers for the presentation of the 2011 Goodall Distinguished Alumna/us Award to Susanne (Sudie) Ernst Geier L ’35, H ’41. The highest honor Seven Hills bestows on an alumna/us, the Goodall Award honors a graduate of CPS, Hillsdale, Lotspeich or Seven Hills— “who has achieved distinction in a public or private career or activity bettering the lives of others.” That description is an understatement when it comes to Sudie Geier. Head of School Chris Garten said of the long list of Sudie’s contributions to the community, as described by Shannon Kelly Carter H ’67 in her introduction, “This makes the rest of us wonder what we’ve done with our lives!”
Chris Garten presenting the Goodall Award to Sudie Geier to a standing ovation.
Sudie attended Pine Manor College and earned her B.S. from the University of Cincinnati. The list of community organizations that benefitted from her leadership, talent, dedication, and generosity include Convalescent Hospital for Children and the Antiques Festival; United Appeal (long-standing Tocqueville Society member and supporter; recipient of Voices of Giving Award in 2009); Cincinnati Symphony and Opera; Cincinnati Historical Society; Hillside Trust; Cincinnati Town and Garden Club; Cincinnati Nature Center; Little Miami, Inc; (New) Cincinnati School for Performing Arts; Fine Arts Fund Supporter; Betts House Research Center; University of Cincinnati Foundation; Pine Manor College (honored for distinguished service at her 50th reunion); Conservancy of Southwest Florida (positions included Campaign Cabinet Member—“Saving Southwest Florida” Capital Campaign raised $38.5 million when completed May 10, 2011). She was selected as one of ten Cincinnati Enquirer Women of the Year in 1981. Clearly, Sudie Geier has made a significant difference in countless ways in and beyond her community! Shannon added that Sudie was an “alternate delegate to the 1964 Republican National Convention in San Francisco (Goldwater) and a huge Reds fan.” (Front) George Zamary, Sarah Gay Zamary ’89, Delle Christensen Jones H ’67, Edmund W. Jones, M.D., Anne Taylor Kunkel C ’65, Lucy Christensen Davis L ’65; Bill Taylor, Dick Geier, Sudie Geier L ’35, H ’41; Paul Christensen L ’36, Sara Geier, Amy Geier, Jerry Simpson; Ted Geier, Suzanne Geier Peters H ’68, Phil Geier.
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Reunion Classics Luncheon at Cincinnati Country Club Congratulations on your 50th Reunion, Class of 1961!
Marjorie McCullough Motch C’ 41, Sue Carter Purcell C ’56.
Members of the Class of 1961 (and Lotspeich ’55), celebrating their 50th reunion, included (seated) Sarah Taft Jones H ’61, Ellen Levine Ebert L ’55, Margot Deupree Taylor H ’61, Pam Terrill Treverton H ’61, Janie Hamill Sommer L ’55, Sydney Anning Lamb H ’61, John Pogue L ’55, Melinda Freedman Staveley L ’55, Les Bennett McNeill C ’61, Dottie Webb Rockel H ’61. Marianna Cox Hirons H ’43, Marjorie Wood Drackett H ’40, Genji Hart Pennington H ’38.
Phyllis Siebenthaler Hopple H ’40, Suzanne Krehbiel Nielsen H ’40, Jeanne Johnson McCarthy H ’44, Mary Sloneker Donahue, Jean Wommack.
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From Hillsdale 1958, Lee Adair Adams, Bobbie Hill Ford, Janet Keys Simpkinson, Francie Garber Pepper, and Elinor Adick Kline. (Seated) Sherry Noonan LeBlond C ’59, Mary Reis Sullivan C ’59, Interim Director of Development Margo Kirstein; Sally Steman Whittaker C ’57, Bonnie Burns Rebhun C ’62, Natalie Plattenburg Hauck C ’60.
(Seated) Kay Foley Hauer C ’47, Sam Wilson L ’36, Anne Nieman Wilson H ’52, Mary Lou Ahrens Mueller H ’47; Carolyn Eberle Caldwell H ’37.
Carolyn Clare Simpkinson Anslow H ’51, Sue Siddall Castleberry H ’51, Ellie Head Paulsen H ’51, Frank Huss L ’45.
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Reunion Classics Luncheon at Cincinnati Country Club Congratulations on your 50th Reunion, Class of 1961!
From the Class of 1956, all Hillsdale with two CPS, (front) Carolyn Huwe Ludwig, Lucy Howard Tallas, Nancy Maescher Poffenberger, Sue Boller Rusche; Ann McDowell Santen, Judy Allen Thompson (C), Patti Davis Ballard, Sue Carter Purcell (C), Roberta Dunville Sprague, Lucky McCalmont Marmon, Jane Slemmer Larsen. Not pictured but who also enjoyed the reunion are Linda Lovett Crawford, Carol Wachs Kirby, and Patsy Terrill Hofmann.
Nancy Hogan Dutton, Former Director of Development Gary Monnier, and Patti Davis Ballard.
Nancy Hogan Dutton, Edmund W. Jones, MD, Louise Atkins Head.
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Reunion Individual Class Gatherings
From the Classes of Lotspeich 1955 and Hillsdale 1961, (front) Sherry Beard MacLean, Sarah Taft Jones, Dottie Webb Rockel, Sydney Anning Lamb, Jane Hamill Sommer, Claudia Gilmore Cummings; Barbara Simpson Garner, Frannie Atkins Kreidler. Not pictured: Holly Herschede.
Frannie Atkins Kreidler, Holly Herschede, Barbara Simpson Garner.
From the Class of 1951, (front) Joan Fankhauser Ireton (C), Bob Anslow, Carolyn Clare Simpkinson Anslow (H), Treon McGuire Christine (H); Happy Castleberry, Grace Milburn Munique (C), Sue Siddall Castleberry (H), Gay Seybolt Bain (H), Ellie Head Paulsen (H), and St. John Bain.
From the Class of CPS 1961, (front) Melanie Maddox Hunt, Mary Jane Reemelin Robinson, Penny Ferguson Griffith; Les Bennett McNeill, Melody Sawyer Richardson, Sunny Bowman Saelinger.
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Class of 1955 alums visit favorite spots at Lotspeich In the new Lotspeich library with plates displaying Lotspeich’s Seven Principles.
Sixth grade race for fastest runner!
At the sledding hill.
Exploring new hallways, remembering old ones.
At the Mariemont Inn for lunch, (seated) Sarah Taft Jones; Pam Terrill Treverton; John Pogue; Ellen Levine Ebert; Janie Hamill Sommer; Sherry Beard MacLean; Sydney Anning Lamb; Bucky Smith; Margot Deupree Taylor, Melinda Freedman Staveley. At the Pavilion. 32
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Reunion Individual Class Gatherings
From CPS 1966, Debbie Colaw Peterson, Annie Ratliff Naberhaus, Cynthia Kuhn Beischel, Ann Westheimer Williams, Evie Rusk Foulkes, and Susan Lynn Saldin.
From Hillsdale 1966, (front) Missy Kinne Norton, Kathy Dowd Baumann and Kitty Hawley Schmidt; Anne Drackett Thomas, Nancy Heuck Johanson, Monnie Gores Peters, Lane Carlee, Joy Barrett Ford, and Rita Lillard Picton.
Peter Matthews ’91 and Burch Baskett ’86.
From the Class of 1991, Kevin Mason, Lisa Binkley Briquet, Sarah Buzzee Flem, Sean Donovan, Vanessa Holmes, Jason Cohen. Amanda Hayes, David Jett, Kelly Myers, Aaron VanderLaan, Jason Goldman and Kellie Strauchen.
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Reunion Individual Class Gatherings From the Class of 1986!
Julie Foster Gneuhs, Phoebe Wood Myers.
Burch Baskett, Scott Kaufman, Julie Foster Gneuhs.
Sean Donovan, Julie Foster Gneuhs, Scott Kaufman, Bob Shaffer, Jamie Gleich Bryant, Ted Egan.
Jason Knarr, Betsy Gaines Quammen.
Bob Shaffer, Tim Hillhouse, Creighton Wright.
Don Shegog, Holly Dolbey, Jamehl Shegog, Margay Rice Skogen, Betsy Gaines Quammen.
Classes ending in and Lotspeich 2 & 7 clas ending in 1 & ses 6
R eunion 20 12 is movin g to a new wee
kend
October 19 & 20
, 2012
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Mark your cale ndar with the ne w dates and pl joining your cl an on assmates and fr iends in Cincinn ati!
S A T U R D A Y,
Olga Krayterman is a Doctor of Musical Arts degree
candidate at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY, where she also completed her Master’s in 2010 and her Bachelor’s in 2008 with High Distinction. She began her piano study in her native Belarus at age six and continued her musical education in Cincinnati after immigrating to the U.S. with her family in 1995. Her principal teachers include Professor Natalya Antonova of the Eastman School and Ms. Terry Moran presently of the Cleveland Institute of Music. During her time in Cincinnati Olga was generously sponsored by the Keyboard Club of Cincinnati, the Meyerson Foundation, and the Big Brothers/Big Sisters Association of Cincinnati, which facilitated her participation in numerous competitions and festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Olga is a Seven Hills Upper School graduate. Most recently, Olga was awarded the third prize at the Thousand Island International Piano Competition for Young People and first prizes at the Concours International de Piano du Moulin d’Andé in France, in the Stravinsky Competition, and in the Southeastern Summer Piano Festival Concerto Competition in South Carolina. Olga made her orchestral debut with the South Carolina Philharmonic as a senior in high school. She will return to perform with the orchestra once more in June 2012 in Bach’s Concerto for four pianos. Alongside performance, Olga has also begun her teaching and adjudicating career and has held the post of Teaching Assistant at the Eastman School of Music from 2008 to present. T h an k
y o u
to
o u r
R e u n i o n
CPS
Hillsdale
Joan Fankhauser Ireton
Janet Fast Andress
1951 1961
Melanie Maddox Hunt Les Bennett McNeill
1966
Anne Ratliff Naberhaus
1971
Sharon Twachtman McGraw Lucy Reckseit
R e p s
f o r
1946 1951
Gay Seybolt Bain Susan Siddall Castleberry
1956
Nancy Hogan Dutton Louise Atkins Head Carol Wachs Kirby
h e l p i n g
to
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SE JO IN
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f eaturing
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Q U E S T I O NS
m a k e
R e u n i o n
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2 0 1 1
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s u c c e s s !
Lotspeich
Seven Hills
Jane Hamill Sommer Margot Deupree Taylor
Jamie Gleich Bryant Julie Foster Gneuhs Scott Kaufman
Jane Slemmer Larsen Carolyn Huwe Ludwig Lucky McCalmont Marmon Linda Halverstadt MacDuffie Ottenad Nancy Maescher Poffenberger Sue Boller Rusche Roberta Dunville Sprague
Kitty Hawley Schmidt Katherine Dowd Baumann
1961
1971
Dottie Webb Rockel Margot Deupree Taylor
M A R C H
1955 1966
Wynne McCarthy Curry
1986
1991
Jason Cohen Mandy Hayes
2006
Laura Hoguet 35
N E W
Y O R K
A L U M NI
G A T H E R IN G
On April 28, 2011, the Seven Hills Road Show visited our New York alums. We hosted a luncheon at the New York Athletic Club and a reception at The Smith. As always, it was a pleasure to catch up with this very busy and diverse group.
(above left) Sara Vogeler H ’70, Mary Reis Sullivan C ’59 (above middle) Margo Pollins Schab C ’64, Sherry Walker Chapin C ’62 (above right) Sudie Anning ’84, Head of School Chris Garten, Holland Behrens ’82
(above left) Jaan Vaino, Sharon Worthing Vaino C ’70 (above middle) Peter Dumbadze ’06, Zan Dumbadze ’92, Brandon Hydrick ’92 (above right) Tim Wyant ’96, Michael Newman ’97 (left) Shauna Pinkett ’99, Francie Comey ’01, Monica Baker ’99
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(right) Ki Hackney Hribar C ’60, Sherry Walker Chapin C ’62, Sanna Goyert H ’63, Jack Silver
(right) Rob Gilson ’90, Shanti Gilson (right middle) Megan Rockwell ’03, Jay Antenen ’03 (far right) Alistair Motch’07, Henry Antenen ’08, Alex Shifman ’08
(right) Monica Dealy ’99, Benjamin Warlick, Liz Raskin ’97, Monica Baker ’99, Bobby Marcus ’97 (far right) Eva Motch ’03, Julia Baggish ’10
(right) Head of School Chris Garten, Dee Anne Schroeder Hunstein H ’57, Mary Reis Sullivan C ’59 (far right) Eva Motch ’03, Shelia Ronan, Ian Hayes ’03
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C HI C A G O
A L U M NI
G A T H E R IN G
Chicago area alumni gathered for dinner at Osteria Via Stato on May 19, 2011. It was great to see everyone and compare notes after a long, cold winter. The Windy City group is doing well—full of news about work, family and travels. A fun evening was had by all. (right) Aaron Ellison ’98, Karin Anderson ’88, Dan Abrell
(above middle) Kanika Goel, Keri Robertson ’02, Karan Goel ’01 (above right) Scott Carroll ’84, Jason Waugh ’96 (right) Michael Aquilino, Molly Marrero Aquilino ’98, Ginny Berg Van Alyea ’98, Alby Van Alyea (above) Justin Kreindler ’98, Ginny Berg Van Alyea ’98, Molly Marrero Aquilino ’99
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Patricia Cornell Brodie L ’32, H ’38 T here ’ s a permanent place in the hearts of our school community for Patricia Cornell Brodie, L ’32, H ’38, who passed away peacefully at her home on June 28, 2011. Her generosity and abiding commitment to our school, students, and faculty will be deeply missed and never forgotten. Pat often spoke of the importance of developing strong values and character and her conviction that she developed these life lessons from her experiences at this school. She would say, “The things that stay with you in life...I got here.” To express her own commitment to instilling the seven values that lie at the core of our educational mission, she made many generous gifts to The Seven Hills School – thus leaving a legacy that will have a powerful impact on both students and faculty for generations to come. In 2000, Pat honored Seven Hills with a lead gift of $1 million to The One and All campaign, which funded two important initiatives. A portion of her gift supported the construction of the new Upper School building, where the Technology Center bears the Brodie family name. Her gift also endowed the Brodie Family Faculty Betterment Fund, which provides professional enrichment opportunities for faculty and enables the School to recognize teaching excellence at Seven Hills in the form of the coveted Brodie Award. Pat chose to endow the Brodie Faculty Betterment
Fund with “no strings attached,” in an effort to inspire creative innovations in curriculum. Since its inception in the 2000-2001 school year, the Brodie Facutly Betterment Fund has provided 27 enrichment grants to faculty and staff.
a student, her favorite class was English. Most of all, she loved her teachers, including Miss Adams (U.S. history), Miss Watkins (Latin), Miss Ferguson (English), Miss Johnson (math) and Miss Atkins (singing).
In 2008 Pat made a $1 million bequest to the Critical Assets campaign. Pat’s support of this campaign accomplishes three of our most important strategic objectives. Her gift provided resources to attract and retain the strongest teachers possible, to sustain a robust professional development program so that curriculum is continually revitalized by the infusion of new ideas, and to enhance our scholarship program that will enable the school to enroll gifted young people whose talents and perspectives will enrich our community immeasurably.
Pat liked to say that Seven Hills was, to her, a special place: “Here you get values that last forever.” As we reflect on Patricia Cornell Brodie’s lifetime of community leadership and civic contributions, we are humbled by her assertions that this school played a part in awakening her instincts to give generously of herself. She supported many Cincinnati area initiatives and served on the Boards of Family Service, Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati Zoo, the Junior League, Planned Parenthood, and Women’s Leadership Council – in addition to her Seven Hills Board membership in the 1960’s.
As Head of School Chris Garten recently put it, “By her kindness and support of this School, Pat Brodie has helped enrich incalculably the lives of our students, both now and in the future. We are tremendously grateful for her long and generous friendship.” Pat, who served on the Board of Trustees in the 1960’s, often said that she supported The Seven Hills School because of her own fond memories, and because of those of her sons Woody, L ’54; Bill, L ’61 and John, L ’63. In particular, she admired her teachers’ “inner strength.” As
Patricia with granddaughters Rebecca and Katherine Brodie
As a community, we at Seven Hills have been honored and blessed by our long friendship with Pat Brodie. To her family, we send our heartfelt condolences, and our deepest gratitude.
H e r g e n e rosity a n d a b i d i n g c o m m it m e n t to o u r s c h ool , st u d e n ts , a n d fa c u lty w ill b e d e e ply m iss e d a n d n e v e r for g ott e n 41
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O u r c o n d o l e n c e s t o t h e fa m i l i e s an d f r i e n d s w h o l o s t l o v e d o n e s r e p o r t e d i n t h i s i s s u e .
1933
Laura Gamble Thomson Robinson (L ’27, H) (Winter Park, FL) died on June 3, 2011. She was a very active volunteer in Republican politics and other organizations. She held many positions, including Chairman of the Legislative Committee of Florida Federation for Republican Women and President of the Orange County Council of Republican Women, and she was the first Orange County State Committeewoman for the State Republican party, among other committee positions within the Republican Party.
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Raymond Lang wrote to tell us of his wife’s death— Anita Halstead Lang (L) (San Carlos, CA)—on July 11, 2011. “She is survived by her devoted children, Rhonda Carney (Tim) of San Carlos and Mark Robinson of Carlsbad, CA. Anita had happy memories of her time at Lotspeich School in the 1930s.”
1937
Margery Sisson Runyan (H) (Dayton, OH) died on April 2, 2011. Her daughter, Dr. Anne Sisson Runyan, shared this obituary with us. “Margery graduated from Hillsdale in 1937, receiving the Hillsdale Award that year, and she graduated from Smith College in 1941. Both these women’s 40
schools were formative of the bright, loving, and giving woman she became, and she remained indebted to them throughout her life as her main sources of inspiration and wonderful memories. She enjoyed her 70th reunion at Seven Hills and was looking forward to her 75th in 2012. In addition to her enduring support for both Seven Hills and Smith as centers for the education of women, she also funded an MA/JD in Women’s Studies and Law fellowship at the University of Cincinnati where her daughter, Anne, is a Women’s Studies professor. “After graduating from Smith, she met and married the late Richard Van Pelt Runyan. They raised four girls, identical twins Malinda Marlay Runyan and Margery Hamilton Runyan, Anne Sisson Runyan, and Catherine Wing Runyan. “A proud lifelong learner, a trait instilled in part by Hillsdale, Margery returned to school at age 50 to gain a Master’s in Library Science. She served in several libraries, finishing her library career in Dayton, OH, where for many years she was well loved and respected for her work in the audio-visual department at the downtown branch of the Dayton and Montgomery County Public Library until her retirement at age 71.”
1939
Oliver Pape Bardes (L) (West Little Rock, AK) died on April 2, 2011, at age 84. Our school has been blessed with four generations of his family members among our alumni and current students.
We are grateful to daughter Dee Ellen G. Bardes for sharing the obit she sent to his alma mater, Culver Military Academy. In part, it stated, “Oliver Pape Bardes, a native Cincinnatian of Annweiler, RheinPfalz paternal heritage ... suffered from both Alzheimer’s and non-tremor Parkinson’s for four years, but he never lost his contagious sense of humor. A WW II vet (U.S. Army Infantry) and 1950 graduate of Williams College, Williamstown, MA, he founded and ran Bardes International which specialized in real estate mortgage brokerage in Cincinnati and Naples, Florida, for forty years. Earlier, he founded Decision, Inc., Madisonville, Ohio, which published GreenSheet, an engineering recruiting newsletter, and subsequently acquired Clermont Sun newspaper, Batavia. “He bred, showed, and raced Arabian horses as owner of Hawk Hill Farms, Georgetown, OH, and Ocala, FL, garnering national honors. He founded and belonged to numerous clubs with his sailing, Beta Theta Pi, Ohio Society (farm land owners), and Culver-related endeavors held dearest. “A Y-DNA pioneer, he practiced family research and genetic genealogy, proving his maternal tie with retired Mexican President, Vicente Fox Quesada, via mutual Fuchs (Fox) surnamed ancestors of Lahr, Baden and Strasbourg, France, immigrants to Cincinnati.”
1949
Charlotte Craig Avril (C) (Cincinnati) died on May 18, 2011. She was a devoted docent at the Cincinnati Art Museum from the program’s founding year. Charlotte was a passionate teacher, joyful intellectual, and profound lover of art. She was a giver of warmth, light and kindness to all. Sandy Hauck Elliott (C) (Cincinnati) writes, “[I had] another fall this winter so I’m back on a walker for a time. So it goes. A trip to Arizona in March—spent time with our Cindy C ’73, Mary Duhme Pauly H ’49 and Missy Johnstone C ’71 at her rustic inn in Case Creek, AZ.
1950
Claire Martin Fairman (L ’44, H) (Locust Valley, NY) died on April 2, 2011. A 1954 graduate of Radcliffe College and Past President of the Harvard-Radcliffe Club of Long Island, she received Radcliffe’s Distinguished Service Award in 2004 on the occasion of her class’ 50th reunion, of which she was co-chair. A devoted community volunteer in Locust Valley, she served at various times on the Boards of Planting Fields Foundation, Locust Valley Library, Doubleday-Babcock Senior Center, Save the Children Long Island, and the New York Virtuosi Chamber Symphony.
1953
Katherine Crone (H) (New York, NY) participated through the Artered Gallery in the Affordable Art Fair in New York City September 22-25. http://artered.org/art_artists/katherine_d_crone
1956
Nancy Berger Groll (H) (Oceanside, CA) died on August 22, 2011.
1958
Frances Stilwell (H) (Corvallis, OR) presented an exhibition of artwork entitled Oregon’s Botanical Landscape at the Benton County Historical Museum May 6-June 4, 2011. The press release states, “The exhibition offers both an aesthetic experience and environmental education for adults, children and families. Visitors are encouraged to imagine what Oregon looked like 200 years ago as they explore the diversity of plant life which existed prior to the European settlement…For 25 years Stilwell has painted native plants throughout Oregon’s Statewide diverse eco-regions directly on the sites where they grow. She has a BA in Botany and MS in Botany-Biophysics from the University of Cincinnati.” Frances is pictured with Joan Barrett H ’58.
1960
Jan Vogel Mann (C) (Houston, TX) died on May 27, 2011. Jan and her husband Oliver moved to Houston in 1981. She was employed by the city of Houston and rose to the position of recruiter for the Mayor’s office until she retired in February 2002. Jan was an avid traveler. She took a trip around the world shortly after graduation from Smith College in 1964. After retirement, she increased her international travel.
1961
Sally Shepherd Herrlinger (H) (Mariemont, OH) died on April 10, 2011. Sally’s passion was her family. She adored her six grand girls. She attended both the University of Western Michigan and the University of Cincinnati.
Meredith “Dutchie” Fuller Baum (C)(LaGrange, GA) died on August 17, 2011. Meredith was a carefree and joyous spirit, sharing the gift of laughter with all who knew her. She will be remembered most of all for her unique and unfailing sense of humor that uplifted the hearts of so many.
1962
Pamela Lowry Rozelle (H) (Santa Cruz, CA) emailed “I recently received word from her younger brother that Barrie Bell (H) succumbed to cancer at the end of May. She has spent the last several decades living on a ranch in Sonoita, AZ, loving rural life in the southwest.” Margie Myers Young (L ’56, H) (Cincinnati) died February 21, 2011. She was the beloved wife of Jim Young and sister of George D. Myers, and she is survived by her special loving four-legged friend Hopscotch, nieces, and cousins.
1963
Elizabeth Lamson Gates (L ’57, H) (Eugene, OR) died on May 31, 2011. She worked as a photographer, teacher, author, and naturalist. She is survived by her two sons, brother and five grandchildren.
1969
Diana “Dedie” Roth DeVore (H) (Cincinnati) died July 11, 2011. She was the beloved daughter of the late John E. and Joan D. Roth, loving sister of Nancy Roth Cooper H ’72 and the late Barbara Roth Boswell H ’66. She is also survived by her nieces and nephews.
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R o d n ey V . B eac h Our school community lost a major figure in our history with the death on September 22 of Rodney V. Beach, who served as headmaster of CPS from 1958 to 1973. His son Tom shared his obituary with us, part of which stated, “In 1958, he became the headmaster at the College Preparatory School, a K-12 all-girls school in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he was the second male employee – the first was the custodian. He led College Preparatory through a period of substantial growth and change, including a major expansion of the school’s campus, the introduction of a coed Lower School, and a new curriculum emphasizing a progressive, individually-guided approach to each child’s education. His tenure at CPS culminated in the school’s merger with Hillsdale-Lotspeich School in 1973 to form the current Seven Hills School.” The 1973 CPS Milestone stated, “We agree with E. Allen Elliott, President of our Board, that it is impossible to list the tremendous number of contributions that Mr. Beach has made to CPS. Indeed no statistic can reflect Rodney V. Beach’s integrity, loyalty and faithfulness to ideals that he has shared with us for the past fifteen years. We will deeply miss his real interest in children and his concern and feeling for them.” We invite our CPS alumnae to share their reminiscences of Mr. Beach.
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1972
Ellen O’Connell Boyer (H) (Dayton,OH) shared her memories of Hillsdale in a letter to Head of School Chris Garten. “I had the great honor and privilege of attending The Hillsdale School—Class of 1972. When I began in seventh grade, my Dad and my sister Beth (O’Connell Keegan) H ’68 were there. They both shared their love and appreciation of all the goodness Hillsdale had to offer. It was a very special time and place and very small way back when—and yet, so well rounded and diverse. Over the years, we all rise to the challenges of an everchanging world, full of growth. I know Seven Hills has, and always will , continue to grow and adapt with grace….” It was great to see Kathleen Stewart Maynard (H) (Cincinnati) at Seven Hills’ commencement in June. Her husband Thane Maynard, Director of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden, was our inspiring commencement speaker. Kathleen is pictured with former English teacher Sandra Smythe.
1982
Ed Carson (Cincinnati) was elected to the Board of the Rotary Club of Cincinnati for a three-year term. He has been active with this group for eight years. The Rotary Club celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010.
1987
Gretchen Peters (Denver, CO) emailed Assistant Head of School Susan Marrs, “Earlier this year, I got an email out of the blue from Chris Charleville ’86, who is now a Lt. Colonel in the Marines, having served as a helicopter pilot, flying medical evacuation flights in Iraq. He now helps run a training program in Poland that prepares military officers from NATO nations who will soon deploy to Afghanistan. There they will live among and mentor Afghan troops. Chris asked me to come and teach at the program, which I did this July, delivering lectures on the narcotics trade and organized crime
1974
Eileen Gould (C) (New York, NY) wrote, “Cindy Bardes Galvin C ’74 and I will be celebrating 50 years of friendship this coming September, having met at Miss Doherty’s kindergarten class in 1961.”
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Congratulations to Chris Miller (Shanghai, China) on his marriage to Allyn Sutton on October 2, 2010, at the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, TX. They had been living in Hanoi, Vietnam, where Chris has been the Country Manager for Emerson Electric and Allyn has been teaching third grade at the United Nations International School (UNIS). In June, they moved to Shanghai, PRC, where Chris has begun a new position as Vice President, Asia Pacific of EGS, a division of Emerson Electric.
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1980
Jan Heimlich (Austin, TX) held a reading at Joseph Beth Booksellers in Cincinnati on July 7, 2011, for her new book, Breaking Their Will: Shedding Light on Religious Child Maltreatment. It is a “revealing, disturbing and thoroughly-researched book that exposes a dark side of faith that most Americans do not know exists or have ignored for a long time— religious child maltreatment. “
1988
in Afghanistan. The training center is located in the unpronounceable—but nonetheless charming— town of Bydgoszcz, which I can still not spell without checking it first. Outside of work, we enjoyed Polish cuisine (lots of pork and vodka), and reminisced about life in high school (like performing in Patty’s Phantom Tollbooth). It just goes to show you: you never can tell where Seven Hills connections are going to take you.”
Rupal Sanghvi (Brooklyn, NY) was featured in an article in the Atlantic focusing on her initiative HealthxDesign. “Rupal Sanghvi specializes in program evaluation, which means asking the question ‘does this work?’ and then working with implementing programs to define meaningful metrics to address the question. Recently she founded HealthxDesign, an initiative to explore and communicate the role of design—including the built environment—to improve health and
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1992
Congratulations to Zan Dumbadze (New York, NY) and his wife Simone Subal on the birth of Elias Bayard on October 2, 2010. Jovi Walker Brown (Atlanta, GA) has written three books on emotional intelligence: Emotional Intelligence in Plain English: Breakdown, Application, and Brain Games; The 7 Wonders of Emotionally Intelligent People: A Closer Look at Emotional Intelligence, Leadership, and Wonders of the World; and God Uses Emotionally Intelligent People: Foundational Biblical Principles in Emotional Intelligence. The books provide an overview of emotional intelligence and allow the reader to introspect to develop emotional intelligence. As a former professor, Jovi speaks to groups on using emotional intelligence to gain competitive advantage in the business world and everyday life. http://professorjovi.com/ ProfessorJoviOnlineShopBooks.aspx
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Congratulations to Fayre Schweitzer Martin (Cincinnati) and her husband Tyler on the birth of their daughter Brooke Elizabeth Audrey Martin on July 21, 2011. The middle names are in honor of both of her grandmothers. Everyone is doing well! Congratulations to Tim Wyant (Brooklyn, NY) and CitySquash on the recent feature by Liberty Mutual’s The Responsibility Project. To read the full article: http://responsibility-project.libertymutual. com/reporting/squash-dreams#fbid=nCc7qkulxbs
1998
Congratulations to Andi Fischer Simon (Cincinnati) on her marriage to Andrew Simon on July 9, 2011. The ceremony was at Knox Presbyterian Church, followed by dinner and
dancing at the Cincinnati Country Club. In attendance were three generations of graduates ranging from the Class of 1964 to Class of 2010. Alumni in the wedding were Lynn Schweitzer Rush H ’68, Liza Martindale Weiner ’99, Josephine Sittenfeld ’98, Ginny Berg Van Alyea ’98, Tuck Shepard ’98, Christine Coith Kommer ’98, Meredith Edwards ’98, Paige Schweitzer Connelly ’00, Peter Fischer ’96, Jay Ashmore ’98, Fayre Schweitzer Martin ’96, Hope Schweitzer ’02, Katherine Rush ’02, Charlie Rush ’06, and Alex Rush ’03.
2000
Katie Meyer Bruffy (Auckland, NZ) graduated from Ohio State University in June 2010 with a doctorate degree in Sports Management. While an undergraduate at OSU, Katie swam on the synchronized swimming team, winning four NCAA championships. Katie was team captain her senior year. For the past year, Katie has been teaching sports management classes at Unitec, a college in Auckland, New Zealand. In October 2010, she married Kevin Bruffy, a former steeple chase and cross country runner at OSU, at the Queen City Club in Cincinnati.
2001 C l a ss o f 2001 - 1 0 t h R eun i o n
We still need a volunteer to help coordinate your 10th Reunion! Contact Nancy McCormick Bassett nancy.bassett@7hills.org or call 513-728-2432.
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Alumni News
Our condolences to the families andfriends who lost loved ones reported in this issue. A
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Congratulations to Noah Bendix-Balgley (Pittsburgh, PA) who has signed a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as concertmaster. “It goes without saying that a player for this position has to be technically brilliant,” said PSO Music Director Manfred Honeck. “His intonation is very clear, his tone is rich and very expressive, but he never gets carried away…” It turns out the American violinist is not the first in his family to play in the group. “I was not aware of it until a few weeks ago—my great-grandfather, Samuel J. Leventhal, played in the PSO under Victor Herbert,” said Mr. Bendix-Balgley, who is living in Munich. “He played under Brahms in Leipzig, Germany, and joined the PSO as a 20 year old in 1900, leaving in 1904.” To read more go to http://www.post-gazette. com/pg/11198/1161034-388.stm Former faculty member Sandy Smythe emailed on July 1, “I have just watched Sara Eisen (New York, NY) being interviewed on the PBS Newshour. She has covered the Dominique Strauss-Kahn proceedings and today’s release of DSK on his own recognizance for Bloomberg News, and she appeared as one of two reporters and commentators interviewed by Jeffrey Brown. She did a spectacular job. Her reporting was superb, and she looked beautiful and confident and provided solid analysis.”
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Class Notes Christian Fannin (New York, NY) has joined Kreindler & Kreindler as an associate. Chris will work on the BP Deepwater Horizon litigation in New Orleans. Amber Hutchins’ (Cincinnati) father shared this great news from Amber, “I have landed the role of Gwendolyn in the play ‘The Odd Couple’ written by Neil Simon and put on by the Cincinnati Black Theatre Company. The production starts November 3 at the Freedom Center in Downtown Cincinnati, so if anyone is free to travel, come to the show! I also booked a small non-speaking role in the new ABC show ‘Final Witness.’ I think it will be on ABC in January and it’s the fifth episode, so please watch out for that. I’m still doing the feature film ‘The Hardship’ with Ace Productions in which I play Nurse Wilson. Shooting starts in January and it will be on DVD.” Congratulations! Elizabeth Looney (Cincinnati) shared with us the news that her father Peter J Looney, an active volunteer for Seven Hills, died on August 25.
2003
Mark Mitchell (Cincinnati) is the exhibit program specialist at the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History and Science. Mark has developed new programs for the museum focused on sustainability
and nature. He has created new programs such as Solar and Wind Power, Aquatic Insects, and Green Gardening. Mark has a bachelor’s degree in zoology and life science education from Miami University, a master’s degree in biology from Loyola University Chicago, and experience working in informal education at the Cincinnati Zoo and Shedd Aquarium.
2005
Sam James (Boston, MA) emailed Assistant Head of School Susan Marrs that his photography was featured in an article and photo essay in the New York Times on August 18, 2011. story: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/18/ world/africa/18nigeria.html?ref=world photo essay: http://www.nytimes.com/ slideshow/2011/08/18/world/africa/20110818NIGERIA.html Emily Lusenhop is attending Smith College School for Social Work in Northhampton, MA. She graduated from the University of New Hampshire, cum laude, in 2009, with a BS in Women’s Studies and minor studies in Environmental Conservation. After relocating to Burlington, VT, Emily worked at the Howard Center in the Child, Youth, and Families Department. She provided supportive counseling to children ages 4-12 with significant emotional and behavioral challenges, both in the community and with children in long-term residential treatment.
2006
C l a s s of 2 0 0 6 - 5th Reu nion
Saturday, November 26 • Neon’s • 8-10pm Get excited for our 5th year SHS reunion! On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, come to the upstairs of Neons and hang out with all your friends from the wonderful class of ‘06. Enjoy free food, individual drink tabs and a photo surprise to bring you back to our high school days. Help spread the word, so everyone in our class knows about it! Questions? Laura Hoguet laura.hoguet@gmail.com
2007
Collin Arnold (Dayton, OH) was honored for Best Work in Print Design at the Cincinnati AIGA senior portfolio review. The American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA) is a professional organization for design. Design professionals review the work of senior graphic arts majors from a number of schools around the state. In addition to the recognition, Collin received $500 for this honor. Collin graduated from the University of Dayton on May 8 with a BFA in Visual Communication Design. Collin is working as a graphic designer for Phil & Co. in New York City. Doherty teacher Aimee Burton told us, “Kathy Moebius (Cincinnati) visited the Unit III class of her niece Emma Fitzpatric ’19 in May to share her
Kaylyn Williamson (Boston, MA) graduated cum laude from Wellesley College with a degree in biological chemistry. She was honored with the Biochemistry Department Award and inducted into Sigma Xi for her work on her honors thesis studying cell cycle regulation in budding yeast. She has taken a position with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute associated with Mass General Hospital in Boston, and she is working as a research assistant studying leukemia and adenoid carcinoma. Thomas V. Schultz (Paraguay) graduated May 15 from Denison University with a B.A. in a double major in East Asian studies and environmental studies. He was the first student at Denison to graduate with those double majors. A dean’s list student, Thomas was a recipient of the Ching-Jong Yu and Maylon H. Hepp Award in Chinese Studies. He is a member of the Order of the Omega, the national Greek leadership honorary and served as President of his fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha, 20102011. “On September 28 I leave for my Peace Corps posting in Paraguay where I will be working on an agro-forestry project and as a conservation educator. Spanish and Guaraní are the local languages.”
out services to those villages. Kathy provided things as simple as hugging the children who had little close contact with adults and craved that touch, and buying several goats to provide milk, meat, and offspring to the poorest of families. Her travels made a big difference to the people of Africa and the experience of hearing of this service firsthand made a great impact on the Unit III students.”
2010
Baker Leyman and two other University of Alabama students have their own radio show Tuesdays from 7:00 to 9:00 pm on WVUA 90.7 FM, “The Capstone, the Voice of the University of Alabama. (www.thecapstone.ua.edu).” College counselor Wynne Curry said, “We can listen by clicking on the call numbers.” Congratulations to Jake Davis, who was named to the DIII All-American Freshman Basketball Team at Emory University. Jake also won the Freshman Impact Award which is “presented to a first-year student who demonstrates the exceptional dedication and spirit that defines Emory athletics. The recipient will have made a positive impact on his or her team through competition and sportsmanship.” One Freshman Impact Award is presented to a male and one to a female.
A L U M NI , W E W A N T T O HEAR FROM YOU!
What are you doing now? Are you getting married, changing jobs, finishing school, moving, having a baby or grandchild or do you have other news? Let us know where you are and what you are doing! Go to www.7hills.org/ alumni/alumni updates for an easy and fast way to share your news.
2011
experiences traveling to Africa and Cairo. Not only did she act as a tourist in these places, seeing three World Cup games and viewing the Sphinx and the Great Pyramids, but she also spent a lot of time in the local villages determining needs and carrying
Check out the September 20 article, “Tearing Down Wall Street,” in the Columbia Spectator by Virgilio Urbina Lazardi. At Columbia University, Virgilio is a member of Youth for Debate, the International Socialist Organization, and the New York Fencers Club. http://www.columbiaspectator. com/2011/09/20/need-alternative
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Second Annual Alex Bibler Golf Scramble S
The Seven Hills School sponsored the Second Annual Alex Bibler Golf Scramble on June 18, 2011, at Walden Ponds Golf Club. The Alex Bibler Golf Scramble was established to create a positive outcome from tragedy: Class of 2006 Seven Hills alumnus Alex Bibler died suddenly of a heart problem in December, 2009, when he was a senior at Ohio University. Alex was a member of the Seven Hills golf team and had a lifelong love of the sport. The event is sponsored by the Alumni Association and Athletic Boosters to provide an opportunity for past and present Seven Hills community to reconnect. This event supports the Alex Bibler Memorial Scholarship Fund which was established by the Bibler Family “to channel Alex’s passion for math and science back into Seven Hills for the benefit of equally passionate students in the future.” A talented math and physics student while at Seven Hills, Alex’s talent grew into a passion during his time at Ohio University, and his life plans beyond undergraduate study at OU included medical school. The Alex Bibler Memorial Scholarship was awarded for the
first time in the current academic year to recognize a Seven Hills student who demonstrates “strong aptitude in math and/or science.” First Place team members were Bryan Bibler ’04, Andrew Denenberg, Jay Denenberg, and Andrew Marsh.
First Place team members were Jay Denenberg, Andrew Denenberg, Andrew Marsh, & Bryan Bibler ’04.
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Alex Bibler Memorial Golf Scramble Walden Ponds Golf Club 8:00am Shotgun start 12:30pm Lunch & Awards This outing is open to the Seven Hills community, family & friends. Plan on joining us for a day of golf and fun. Q
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Sponsors of the Second Annual Alex Bibler Golf Scramble were Denoyer Group, Inc., David and Theresa Denoyer, HORAN, J.T.M., Panera Bread-Kenwood Pavilion, The Seven Hills Resale Shop, Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, Clayton L. Scroggins Associates, Inc., Tri-State Centers for Sight, Inc., UC Health, and The Bibler Family.
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Second Place team members were Bernie Wharton, Paul Gosiger, Pauly Gosiger ’13, and Cole Wilger ’13. Third Place team members were David Denoyer, Joe Fondacaro, Jeff Rechtin, and Bobby Stephens. Other honors went to Kelley Peter ’85, Longest Putt; David Denoyer, Longest Drive; and Steve Kondash, Closest to Pin.
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Second Place team members were Bernie Wharton, Cole Wilger ’13, Paul Gosiger, & Pauley Gosiger ’13.
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Alumni Calendar of Events Friday, December 23 Young Alumni Holiday Party for Classes 1991-2011 The Stand 3195 Linwood Ave, 45208 5:00-7:00pm Tuesday, December 27 Alumni Basketball Games Kalnow Gym, Hillsdale campus Girls 6:00pm, Guys 7:30pm
Thursday, April 19 Reception in New York for Classes 1980-2011 The Smith 55 Third Avenue (10th/11th) 6:00-8:00pm
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Wednesday, February 1 San Francisco Alumni Cocktail Reception Restaurant Lulu 816 Folsom St, 94107 6:00-8:00pm Saturday, March 3 Concert with Medusa Trio featuring alumna Olga Krayterman ‘04 Founders Hall, Hillsdale Campus 3:00-4:00pm Concert Thursday, April 19 New York Luncheon for Classes 1940-1979 New York Athletic Club 180 Central Park South 12:30-2:00pm
Thursday, April 26 Reception in the Garden at the Taft Museum 316 Pike Street, 45202 6:00-8:00pm
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Saturday, June 23 Alex Bibler Memorial Golf Scramble Walden Ponds Golf Club 6090 Golf Club Lane Hamilton, OH 45011 8:00am-1:30pm
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A R ec ep ti o n in th e G ard en at th e Taf t Mu se u m ffet Cocktails and Light Bu 12 Thursday, April 26, 20 6:00-8:00pm
isations: “Impressions and Impreov n” The Prints of Romar Bearde
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Alumni-Varsity Soccer, Volleyball, Tennis
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It was great to see so many of our alumni athletes, family and friends for the 15th Annual Alumni -Varsity Games on August 14!
Alumni girls soccer (Front) Julianne Bain ’11, Maddie Caldemeyer ’11, Leah Cromer ’11; Celine Shirooni ’11, Sydney Larkin ’11, Kate Brandy ’10.
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Alumni boys soccer (Front) Zach Nacev ’09, Pat McGrath ’05, Walker Schiff ’10, Ross Woodworth ’07, Alex Mannion ’07, Ryan Miller ’09, Charlie Kramer ’11, Ian McNamara ’11, Howard Konicov ’84; (back) Rob Nicholl ’01, David Bavis ’78, Spiro Mirkopoulos ’08, Gavin Tabor ’05, Britt Cyr ’10, Daniel Griffin ’11, Jacob Johnson ’10, Alex Hill ’10, Tyler White ’10, Miles Hill ’11, Corey Williams ’10, Gilbert Richards ’11, Graeme Harten ’11, Jon Clemons ’97, Taylor Lindblad ’11. Not pictured: Robby Woodworth ’10, Rob Seiver ’03, Scott Whitehead ’99.
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Alumni-Varsity Basketball Games Girls 6:00pm; Guys 7:30pm Kalnow Gym, Hillsdale Campus
Concessions will be available. Start conditioning, stretching and working on your slam-dunk. We want to see you courtside!
Alumni volleyball (Front) Paige Applebaum ’09, Keri Betts ’05, Shannon Monnier ’10, Tory Kennedy ’11; (back) Mindy Moser Barber ’05, Jessica Moss ’04, Lauren Berkemeyer ’09, Kristen Snyder ’01, Emily Rogers-Fightmaster ’10.
Our 2010 alumni teams.
Alumni tennis (Front) Matt Tesmond ’09, Joey Wayne ’10; (back) Billy Braff ’09, Sondra Polonsky ’09, Sam Laber ’08, Coach Tim Drew, Rick Tesmond ’11. C ome
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