The Seven Hills Buzz - April 23, 2010 by The Seven Hills School

The Seven Hills Buzz The Seven Hills School Bulletin

A Brief Word from Chris Garten It’s hard to imagine a more galvanizing experience for young people than last Saturday’s Youth in Politics event. The students in attendance heard from a passionate group of panelists, including Seven Hills parents Eric Kearney and Calvin Buford, about the diverse roads that led them into public life. They told powerful stories of role models and mentors who encouraged them to devote their lives to public service. They spoke movingly of early experiences with injustice, about their compassion for the voiceless and disenfranchised, about the impact of their schooling in fostering the desire to serve. Skillfully moderated by TSHS alum P.G. Sittenfeld, a self-confessed “political junkie,” the discussion focused on the difficulty of balancing the expectations of one’s constituents with one’s own moral imperatives. The panelists spoke of the time and effort it took to study and understand all sides of an issue, and they encouraged the students to educate themselves about the multiple perspectives from which one can see the controversial issues of our day. Special thanks to Felicia Bell and her colleagues at SNAAP and to Christine Schiff for offering our students such an inspiring experience. Chris Garten, Head of School More on SNAAP’s Youth in Politics event is on pages 14-15.

Celebrating 50 years in business, The Resale Shop is staying open until 8:00 pm on the third Thursday of every month

Vol. 1 No. 15 April 23, 2010

National Cum Laude Society inducts new members

(Front) Ainsley McWilliams, Peppar Cyr, Sydney Larkin, Sasha Lieberman, Sheva Serota, Justine Cefalu; (back) Maddie Elkus, Quinn Schweier, Bryan Romaine, Kohki Nakafuku, Josh Dunaway, and Shirley Yan.

Congratuations to the following students who have been selected for induction in the Seven Hills chapter of the Cum Laude Society, a national honor society which recognizes academic excellence: juniors Justine Cefalu,

Peppar Cyr, Sydney Larkin, Sasha Lieberman, and seniors Josh Dunaway, Maddie Elkus, Ainsley McWilliams, Kohki Nakafuku, Bryan Romaine, Quinn Schweier, Sheva Serota, and Shirley Yan.

Students earn top honors in chemistry competitions Chemistry students have earned top honors in recent competitions. Sophomore Suhel Singh placed fourth out of 80 top chemistry students from the tri-state region competing in the first-year Ralph E. Oesper Chemistry Examinations of the Cincinnati Section of the American Chemical Society. Junior Haleigh Monaco placed third out of 70 top chemistry students on the second-year Oesper exam, winning a cash award. Haleigh Monaco and junior Peppar Cyr scored high enough on the qualifying exam of the Chemistry Olympiad to be invited to the second tier of competition on April 23, when they will take another

Haleigh Monaco, Peppar Cyr, Suhel Singh

two-hour written exam and a three-hour lab practical to qualify for the third tier of competition.

A Look at What’s Happening at Doherty, Lotspeich, Middle & Upper . . .

A Look at What’s Happening at . . . DOHERTY

LOTSPEICH

MIDDLE SCHOOL

Big SAT/PSAT news from Director of College Counseling Susan Marrs: “Junior Gabe Blanco now has perfect SAT’s, earned in 2 seatings: he scored an 800 writing in October and 800’s in both critical reading and math in March. Also, Izzy Arjmand had a perfect PSAT as a sophomore!”

Lotspeich’s wonderful new Big Toy will be completed by the end of this month! Photo of the construction on page 8. Reports of sightings of two sheep on the Hillsdale Campus are true! April 13 was the annual visit of the fifth grade sheep, Lotsheep and Lana Lamb, who reside on Ms. Knoop’s farm and generously share their wool for the fifth graders to card, dye and weave as part of their colonial studies. Photos from the annual sheep shearing on page 12. Mrs. Harrison’s and Mrs. Carr’s kindergarteners co-wrote a performance for their preschool friends at Doherty. The kindergarteners shared their thoughts about their continent study through the amazing travels of Flat Stanley. Each kindergartener has been excitedly awaiting the arrival of postcards and pictures from his/her flat doll look-alike, mapping where each has traveled. Check out our Flat Stanley presentation on the Doherty Kindergarten webpage at www.7hills. org>Quicklinks>Doherty Corner>Kindergarten! More photos page 6.

Third graders (red group) toured the Cincinnati Museum Center and had the special opportunity to go up on the rotunda catwalk and to view the president’s office. Both are closed to the public. What an amazing building! The children visited the Cincinnati History Museum while there

It was another great Colonial Dinner Day for the fifth graders on April 16. Photos pages 12-13. Ms. Merritt said, “During our Spring Break Holiday Care, our students participated in a Go Green Day. Students spent the day outside learning about and exploring nature and beautifying the grounds. They picked up pieces of trash that made its way onto our school grounds. Students had so much fun, they were competing to see who could fill up their bags the fastest. They did a wonderful job contributing to tidying up our campus and making it sparkle this spring! They were certainly busy bees.” Photo page 6. PK, kindergarten, and first grade students enjoyed a performance of “Peter and the Wolf” by Schoolhouse Symphony on Aprill 14. Photo page 8. More music news from Mrs. Wilson: During Global Educa-

UPPER SCHOOL

The sixth grade enjoyed its annual trip to Indianapolis on April 15-16. Yes, there was a flashmob at the Middle School during lunchtime on Wednesday this week. Music teacher Mr. Rising said, “Techno Music Wednesday was part of a Senatesponsored drive for The Caring Place by the entire Middle School. Students were able to vote for their favorite music style with their donation, and the style with the most $$$ was to be played during lunch. Techno music won. The eighth grade team decided to try our first flashmob, since everyone would be outside at lunchtime. Since the eighth grade was studying the Cold

It was a special opportunity for Upper students when Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo spent part of the day with them on April 12. His novels include Empire Falls, which won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize, Bridge of Sighs, That Old Cape Magic, and Nobody’s Fool. The author met with juniors, who study Empire Falls, and other students and faculty were invited to his reading in the Young Family Library. His visit also included a discussion session with faculty. His visit to Seven Hills was organized by parent Jim Schiff and Coombe Writer-in-Residence and Creative Writing teacher Kristin FitzPatrick in conjunction with Russo’s appearance that evening at the University of Cincinnati. The author’s visit to Seven Hills was courtesy of The Schiff Foundation. Photo page 5. During spring break, the Athletic Department received certificates from the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association recognizing the boys and girls varsity soccer teams for Team Academic Excellence. To be eligible for this award, the team’s gpa must be at least a 3.0. The varsity boys soccer team’s gpa was 3.30 and the varsity girls soccer team’s gpa was 3.74.

STUDENT ARTISTS FOR HAITI, A Night of the Arts for the New Victorian School in Haiti, featuring Upper fine and performing

A Look at What’s Happening at . . . DOHERTY LOTSPEICH

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and topped off the trip with ice cream at the Rookwood Ice Cream Shop. Third grader Alex Link competed in the United States Tumbling Association (USTA) State competition on April 17. He scored first place in all three events of competition for his age—tumbling, double mini and trampoline. 2016 Olympics, here we come!

UPPER SCHOOL

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.” He added, “It was a curriculum-related flashmob.” Photos page 11.

artists at the Madisonville Arts Center on April 9, was a big success! The event raised some $1000. Photos page 18.

tion Week, the fifth graders performed a Chinese Ribbon Dance to “Gong Xi.” This has been a busy week in second grade! On Monday, students participated in Happen, Inc.’s Community Canvas Project—the product of which is now installed in front of Lotspeich. Students learned about the famous Japanese artist, Hokusai, with the team from Happen, Inc. and worked together in the Red Barn to recreate Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” Photos page 10.

During the first four days of Spring Break, 27 fifth graders participated in the annual Doherty Virginia Trip. The students spent these four days completely immersed in colonial history. More photos and a description of the trip are on page 7. On March 3, Unit III students had the unique opportunity to participte in the Choices and Challenges Program in which guest speakers talk with our students about unique choices and challenges they have faced in their lives. Students heard

MIDDLE SCHOOL

On Wednesday, the second graders held their annual bake sale with proceeds benefitting a school in Guatemala.

On Thursday, Earth Day, second graders travelled to Happen Inc.’s Toy Lab to learn about

Seventh grader Mona Scheiber earned a black belt in taekwondo on March 26. She is donating part of her monetary gifts from her bat mitzvah on April 24 to the World Wildlife fund. Mrs. Keller said, “Mrs. Haskins and I just completed a Geometry unit in Math 6 where we integrated the Language Arts book Three Cups of Tea and the Geography World Religions

unit. The students created Islamic tiling designs and tessellations in small groups.”

Sophomore Sharon Liao and junior Adimu Hunter-Woodard are the Upper School’s first ambassadors in the Freestore Foodbank’s new Student Ambassador Program. Seven Hills 1993 alumnus PG Sittenfeld, who serves on the Freestore board, said, “The goal is to have two students from every area high school who will serve two-year terms as Freestore Student Ambassadors. They will serve as liaisons from their school community to the Freestore; be the point-people at their school for coordinating food drives and organizing an annual hunger-awareness event; and give the Freestore feedback on how well we are fulfilling our mission and what we could be doing better.” Sophomore Alex Ferree has been selected to participate in the Regional Youth Leadership Program next year. Congratulations to junior Elisse Hill, who has been accepted to the highly selective MIT summer program called MITES (http:// web.mit.edu/mites/). We invite parents to inform us of their children’s acceptance to selective summer programs. Mr. Davis said, “The Economics class was recently investigating various causes for demand shifts beyond price change. One of the more popular topics resulting from these discussions was the role of product marketing and brand management. The class discussed how strong brand identity has become so important in both good times and bad. Traditional marketing has evolved from simple advertising and product placement to associating the brand with emotions, values and lifestyles.” Continued on page 19 Senior Henry Warrington was highlighted for his volunteer work in the spring newsletter of Starfire, an organization

A Look at What’s Happening at . . . DOHERTY LOTSPEICH unique perspectives from a stayat-home dad and working mom, a female African American veterinarian, a minister, and a mom and dad who both work full-time jobs. A special thank you to all of our guest speakers—Mr. and Mrs. Williams, Reverend Weaver, Dr. Bonner, and Ms. Gibson— for taking the time out of their busy schedules to visit with us! More photos page 5. The Pod 3 PK students celebrated the end of a unit of study on author Jane O’Connor with a visit from Fancy Nancy’s mother (Fancy Nancy herself was in school) in the Doherty Library. Former Doherty parent Nancy Silverman (aka: Fancy Nancy’s mother) read Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterflies and answered questions about her storybook daughter. Everyone enjoyed a very fancy party with appropriately fancy attire including beads, tiaras or top hats and Fancy Nancy fans and where little cakes and foaming pink punch were served. Photos page 9. First graders connected with others around the globe in a nature project. Friends and relatives chose items from nature in their environments and mailed them to the children. Then the classes had a nature hike and chose items from that they could mail back. Mrs. Vanoy’s first graders proudly displayed their certificates for participation in the Cornell University bird watch program. They have monitored feeders outside their classroom for five months. They learned the names of birds common to the area, kept track of weather conditions and dates and even illustrated a window guide for other students. Photo page 9.

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“upcycling,” create their own toy, and participate in a team invention project. Earlier this month the second graders sponsored a recycled toy drive. Photo page 10. Lotspeichers worked with members of Upper’s Environmental Science class on environmental studies and field work. First graders helped Mrs. Ford’s class to plant Ohio natives in the woodland restoration area beyond right field of the baseball diamond. Fourth graders worked with the Upper Schoolers outside and inside the Lotspeich science lab in student-led stations focusing on honeybees and the importance of pollination, invasive species, and making biodegradeable plastic Photos page 16.

MIDDLE SCHOOL

UPPER SCHOOL

Middle’s many recent service activities included the visit of Yancey/Kalubi advisory to the Hyde Park Health Center on St. Patrick’s Day.

that enables individuals with disabilities to become active members of the community by creating opportunities for members with disabilities to interact with friends. The article stated, “Far exceeding expectations, Henry has volunteered over 40 hours since November, going out with the four different Evening and Weekend Clubs. No matter the age of members he is working with or what they are doing, Henry never fails to show maturity and responsibility, while still having fun.” On two occasions, members of Mrs. Ford’s Environmental Science class worked with Lotspeichers on environmental studies and field work. See the news under Lotspeich. Photos page 16. Creative collaboration occurred when Paper Noise editors served as scribes for the oral stories of the PK students. Photos page 17. Will Hillenbrand, renowned children’s author and illustrator (and father of freshman Ian), met with the art students in Mr. Knarr’s Drawing class on April 9.

PK students have great stories to tell, but they need scribes to write them down. Enter the editors of Paper Noise, Upper’s literary publication. The junior and senior editors recorded the oral stories of the young storytellers, some of which will be used in the year-end issue of Paper Noise, which includes creative writing from every grade level. This is the first year that the creative stories of the PK authors will be included. Photos of the collaborative process page 17.

More photos and news on pages 5-__ . . .

Installed in front of the DAC, this creation of the Materials and Design class is made of 1”x2” scrap lumber. More recent artwork by the class is on page 19.

Many of our students participate and excel in sports outside of school, including swimming, squash, taekwondo, gymnastics, equestrian competitions, figure skating, and more. These commitments involve long hours of daily practice, hard work, and a great deal of dedication. Here is some recent news that reached the Buzz: Several Seven Hills swimmers recently wrapped up successful Short Course Age Group seasons. Congratulations to Emma Shuppert, Grace Carroll, Samantha Eng, Clay Hausberger, Claire McDonald, and Tyler Zmich for fine finishes at the regional level. In addition, Lucy Callard, Tigar Cyr, Tindar Cyr, Pearce Kieser, Henry Marquardt, Matthew Marquardt and Leah Yuan advanced to the Ohio Swimming Junior Olympics and posted several championship finishes. Lucy, Tindar, and Henry qualified to represent Team Ohio at the Central Zone Meet in Wisconsin in August.

Dohertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Choices and Challenges Program

Author Richard Russo at Upper

Dohertyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Flat Stanley Presentation

Go Green Day in Spring Break Holiday Care

Mrs. Kulhavikâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s class visited the Cincinnati Zoo on the most lovely spring day!

Doherty fifth graders visit historic Virginia Mrs. Burton shared details of the fifth grade trip to historic Virginia. “The fifth graders visited the Historic Triangle of Jamestown Settlement, Colonial WIlliamsburg, and Yorktown Victory Center, which also included a visit to Monticello. In Jamestown they were able to experience the Powhatan Indian village, the three Jamestown ships (Godspeed, Discovery, and the Susan Constant), and the Jamestown fort. “The next two and a half days were spent in Colonial WIlliamsburg where they did two three-hour study visits that included behind-thescenes activities at the trades shops, Governor’s Palace, and the Capitol Building in the historic area. “They also went on a tour of the William & Mary campus. Then they traveled to Yorktown Victory Center where they toured the museum and were given hands-on experiences on a Virginia farm and a Revolutionary War military encampment. From there they traveled out to the battle field and walked through the siege lines and to the British redoubts. On the final day, we went to Charlottesville to Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello, where they explored the gardens, Mulberry Row, and took a tour of the home. It was a fabulous trip!”

Lotspeich’s nearly-completed new Big Toy!

Director of Development Gary Monnier said, “Funding for the new Big Toy is nearly complete, between the very generous matching challenge gift and donations from Lotspeich parents and the Lotspeich Parents Association, among others. We are still approximately $5000 from our funding objective. “If you are a Lotspeich parent and have yet to make an annual gift, please be aware that ANY gift that represents an increase from your gift last year will be dedicated to the Big Toy. If you are a new Lotspeich parent, you may dedicate your ENTIRE annual gift to this exciting project! Contact the Development Office to make arrangements to share in our success.”

Schoolhouse Symphony is a popular visitor at both Doherty and Lotspeich. The ensemble is pictured performing Peter and the Wolf for the Lotspeich PK, kindergarten, and first grade students

Doherty Pod 3 PK students celebrated the end of a unit of study on author Jane O’Connor with a visit from Fancy Nancy’s mother.

Mrs. Vanoy’s first graders proudly displayed their certificates for participation in the Cornell University bird watch program.

Happen, Inc.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Community Canvas Project with Lotspeich second graders

Second grade recycled toy drive

Eighth Grade “Duck and Cover” Flashmob on Techno Music Wednesday

Colonial dinner, activities, attire, sheep

Youth in Politics: Creating a Voice in Our Youth, sponsored by SNAAP

Guest panelists were, from left, attorney Calvin Buford; David Singleton, Executive Director, Ohio Department of Justice; Judge Fanon Rucker; and Senator Eric Kearney.

The event included lunch and breakout sessions whose topics were It’s Our Responsibility, Choosing Sides—Republican or Democrat, Technology and Politics, Everyone’s Vote Counts, Policy and Politics, and more.

Environment Science class and Lotspeichers work together for the environment.

Paper Noise editors serve as scribes for the prekindergarteners stories

Student Artists for Haiti

Economics class study of Chiquita International Marketing (Continued from page 3) “One exercise had the class study a very innovative marketing campaign by Chiquita International. Chiquita has recognized the power of social networking and interactive media as a means to maximize its marketing dollars through a new phenomena being coined as viral marketing. Viral marketing utilizes the exponential reach of the internet and the demographic boundaries offered by social networking.” More information on Chiquita’s campaign can be viewed by visiting Mr. Davis’ Economics blog. Mr. Davis continued, “Realizing Chiquita is a Cincinnati-based company, I contacted Chiquita public relations and requested a visit from the marketing department to give some insight into their innovative campaign and hopefully give our students some insight into marketing careers with consumer products companies. Chiquita was kind enough to respond by offering to have Rob Adams, product manager, speak with the class. Rob visited Seven Hills on April 9 and agreed to allow Mr. Knarr’s Graphics Arts class join the discussion as well. Rob gave a presentation to the group on the challenges of increasing banana demand and then discussed a newly-announced product tie with Sega International’s game rollout of the Wii Fit platform version of Super Money Ball.” Rob also agreed to stay an additional hour and meet with Mr. Drew’s Psychology class to discuss consumer behavior as well. Rob later told Mr. Davis, “I rarely have time to answer these types of requests but I was very impressed with the approach to learning and the level of thought being requested from the students”. A big Seven Hills thank you to Rob Adams and Chiquita International.

Working for the environment and recycling with artwork by the Materials and Design class (with help from other students and visiting alumni).

At right, members of the Wearable Art Club sold handmade earrings to benefit Bethany House.