SEVEN HILLS The Buzz
A Brief Word from Chris Garten
January 14, 2011
Sharing basketball expertise, love of the game
One of the defining characteristics of this school is the extraordinary richness of our learning community. Beyond the daily interactions in the classroom, it is our hope, periodically, to provide opportunities for our students (and their families) to engage with renowned thinkers from a host of important issues. The upcoming presentation by George Divoky, a world-renowned expert on the environmental consequences of climate change, and next month’s Book for Lunch presentation by Cincinnati native Michael Cunningham, the author of The Hours and, more recently, By Nightfall, are two such opportunities. Another is the workshop conducted this past week by visiting artist Courttney Copper. As you can see on the inside pages, Mr. Cooper worked for several days with our Middle School art students to produce breathtakingly detailed reproductions of Cincinnati landmarks. Special thanks to the teachers and parent volunteers who have orchestrated these— and countless other experiences—which so expand our students’ horizons. Chris Garten Head of School
Please help us spread the word Parents and students who will enter Grades 9–12 are invited to the Seven Hills Upper School Informational Coffee on Friday, January 21, from 8:45–10:15 am. Parents and students who will enter Grades 6–8 are invited to the Seven Hills Middle School Informational Coffee on Friday, January 28, from 8:45–10:15 am. Please call 271-9027 to RSVP or for more information.
The boys and girls varsity Stingers shared their basketball expertise with sixth graders during a lunchtime session on the court on January 4. More photos are on page 7.
Join us for Athletic Boosters’ Spirit Nights Jan. 21 & 28 Join Seven Hills athletes of all ages and their fans at the Athletic Boosters’ Lower School Spirit Night on January 21! The event will include recognition of all Doherty and Lotspeich basketball players and coaches, spirit face painting and hair spraying by the varsity cheerleaders, exciting varsity boys and girls games vs. CHCA, and great food! Don’t miss another great event for Seven Hills spirit and fun—the Athletic Boosters’ Middle School Spirit Night on Friday, January 28. The event will include recognition of Middle athletes and coaches, a free throw contest, free Spirit Night T-shirts for all Middle students at the games, varsity boys and girls games vs. Clark Montessori, and great food! Special thanks to Penn Station East Coast Subs for providing subs at the Spirit Nights! The Spirit Shop will be open during both Spirit Nights.
Seven Hills hosts arctic scientist George Divoky Jan. 26: “Polar Bear at My Front Door—Realities of Climate Change” Seven Hills will host renowned arctic scientist George Divoky for his community presentation, “The Polar Bear at My Front Door: Realities of Climate Change in a Melting Arctic,” on Wednesday, January 26, at 7:00pm. The event is open to the public and there is no admission charge, but donations to Friends of Cooper Island to support his work are invited.
To register for the presentation, click Register or go to www.7hills. org>Quicklinks>George Divoky Presentation. The presentation will take place on the Hillsdale Campus. For more information, phone 271-9027 or visit www.7hills.org. Continued next page
Arctic scientist George Divoky Continued from page 1 Darcy Frey. This coverage led to TV appearances including a segment of Scientific American Frontiers with Alan Alda. His presentation includes images and accounts of his observations as well as stories of how he has personally had to adapt to four decades of living on an island in the rapidly changing Arctic. Denis Hayes, National Coordinator of the first Earth Day, described a presentation by Divoky as “hilarious, poignant, provocative, compelling. He held the crowd rapt, and left them at the end of the night much better educated, but without feeling like they’d heard a lecture.” George Divoky has spent the last four decades studying Black Guillemot seabirds breeding on Cooper Island, a remote barrier island adjacent to the arctic pack ice. He has witnessed firsthand how environmental change, brought about by warming temperatures and resulting decreases in snow and ice habitats, is affecting and threatening his study population of Black Guillemots, as well as many other components of the arctic ecosystem. Divoky’s research and his struggle to maintain a longterm study on a desolate arctic island were the focus of a New York Times Magazine cover story entitled “George Divoky’s Planet” by
George Divoky’s presentation at Seven Hills is part of his effort to make his data accessible to teachers and students and to connect classrooms in a more personal way to the unfolding story of change in the Arctic. During this visit, he will work with Seven Hills students and teachers on ways to engage in meaningful connection with his work and the Black Guillemots. His long-term goal is to open these opportunities to students across the U.S. and worldwide.
The Seven Hills School’s
25th Annual Books for Lunch Proudly Presents
Michael Cunningham Pulitzer Prize-winning Author of The Hours Lecture Luncheon & Book Signing Friday, Feb. 4, 11:00 AM
Cintas Center at Xavier University
Dinner with Michael Cunningham Thursday, Feb. 3, 6:00 PM
At the Home of Freidoon & Shiva Ghazi For reservations or for more information, e-mail booksforlunch@gmail.com or phone 871-2098. page 2
Marrs, Curry to serve as experts on national series Director of College Counseling Susan Marrs and College Counselor Wynne Curry have been invited to be featured experts for a new education column that will be syndicated nationwide, starting in February, across numerous high-profile media outlets. Geared toward answering the questions of college-bound high school students and parents, the weekly series is being produced by Unigo.com, whose mission is “to provide accurate, up-to-date information about the world’s most popular and competitive colleges,” as well as expert information about the college admission process. Founder & CEO Jordan Goldman wrote to the counselors, “We are inviting you to become our featured experts because we admire your career and commitment to student success, and we would like to provide you with the opportunity to share your wisdom with a national audience.”
Phelps, Daniel conduct free baseball clinic in AZ Assistant Athletic Director and coach Brian Phelps and PE teacher and coach Cary Daniel are conducting a free baseball clinic in Phoenix, AZ, on a weekend in January. Mr. Phelps said, “The organization, FreeBaseball.org, provides free baseball clinics to kids all around Cincinnati. This particular free clinic is at an orphanage in Arizona. I think that the organization has been so popular around here, it is about to spread its wings a bit.”
Upper’s Choral Concer t rescheduled for Jan. 20 The Upper School will present its Winter Choral Concert Thursday, January 20, postponed from its December date due to snow. Under the direction of Tina Groom and accompanied by Lynne Miller, the concert will include a performance of the two songs the chorus performed on Fountain Square for the WSTR program, “My64 Holiday Carols.” Soloists for the concert will be senior Chris Clark, senior Haley Jones, and junior Emily Bedell on piano.
A look at what’s happening at Upper School
See page 8 for Middle School, page 10 for Lotspeich, and page 15 for Doherty Congratulations to senior Justine Cefalu, who is a semifinalist in the City Overture Awards, sponsored by the Cincinnati Arts Association, in two catgories—creative writing and instrumental music (piano). Music teacher Mr. Rising said, “The level of competition is in the stratosphere and the fact that she is representing the school in two categories is unheard of!” Congratulations to junior Sarah Austin, who was named a Scholastic All-American by USA Swimming in October 2010. She participated in Open Water Nationals in Long Beach, CA, and the Tiburon Mile Open Water Swim in Tiburon, CA, in 2010. At the Tiburon Mile, she placed 83rd out of 800 swimmers and second in her age group of 12-17 year olds. Mrs. Scarr’s Anatomy and Physiology students had a special visitor on Dec. 15. Christienne Wilson, Organ Donation Coordinator from Life Center, spoke about organ and tissue donation. She covered topics including when can a person be considered suitable for donating organs, whether a person can be a tissue donor if he/she cannot be an organ donor, and the processes involved in distributing organs and testing for compatibility. Art teacher Diane Kruer is among the artists whose work is being featured in “The Contemporary Sublime” exhibit at the Sandra Small Gallery, 124 W. Pike Street, Covington. The exhibit, which opened December 10, runs through January 27, and gallery hours are Thursday–Saturday, 1–5pm. The exhibit information stated, “World travel has inspired the small mixed media pieces of Diane Kruer.” page 3
(Front) Betsy Johnson, Ginger Johnson, Conrad Jacober, Gabe Blanco; Olivia Koster, Joe Soonthornsawad, Aaron Markiewitz; Kevin Pan, Virgil Urbina Lazardi, Elisse Hill. Not pictured: Nathan Markiewitz.
The sixth Academic WorldQuest regional high school international trivia competition was held December 11 at the Sharonville Convention Center. Twenty-two Greater Cincinnati teams of four students competed for points based on these six categories: Current Events, World Religion, International Organizations, Countries, Global Health and Great Decisions (Foreign Policy). Advisor Mrs. Faber reported that, among the 22 teams, one Seven Hills team won
Third Place with a prize of $100 each. “They finished two points behind the winning team. Another one of our teams finished fourth. They did great!” Members of Seven Hills’ three Academic WorldQuest teams are Gabe Blanco, Elisse Hill, Conrad Jacober, Betsy Johnson, Ginger Johnson, Olivia Koster, Nathan Markiewitz, Aaron Markiewitz, Kevin Pan, Virgil Urbina Lazardi, and Joe Soonthornsawad. Conrad, Aaron, Kevin, and Virgil comprised the Third Place team.
Mrs. Marrs reported that the Overtones’ performance of the National Anthem at the December 26 Bengals game was “awesome.”
Upper students and teachers spent part of winter break helping the needy. Above, Rachel White, Allie Baretta, Kate Harsh, and Service Club advisor Mrs. VanderLaan volunteered at Our Daily Bread, where they helped serve a meal to some 450 people. Mrs. VanderLaan said, “We met many nice people, had fun and hope to do it again.” Above at right, volunteers at the Freestore Foodbank were Isabel Arjmand, Allie
Scheiber, Helen Jatho, Broti Gupta, Keenan James, Kate Harsh, Upper Head Mr. Francis, teachers Mrs. Smythe and Mrs.VanderLaan, and Sharon Liao.
The Annual Running of the Gravity Cars
Dr. Horner’s AP Physics B and Physics Honors students built gravity-powered cars to go the greatest possible distance down the science hallway in the annual Running of the Gravity Cars on December 13. The assignment was to build a vehicle powered only by dropping a weight, with the constraint that the total height of the car be no more than one meter. The three top best-of-three runs were achieved by Helen Head, 23.22 meters; Victoria Huang, 17.25 meters; and Sydney Larkin, 13.95 meters.
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The Authentic People’s Pleasure Company Presents The Manhattan Theater Project’s
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Alice in Wonderland
Gifted musicians, beautiful music
Under the direction of John Rising, Upper’s Winter Instrumental Concert showcased the talented musicians who comprise the Concert Ensemble and the Contemporary Ensemble. The performances of the impressive and challenging selections were simply dazzling!
Above at left, Kaleb Brill’s instruments included the classic Acme Whistle—a big crowd-pleaser!
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Varsity players, sixth graders get together for lunchtime basketball!
Stinger fans create “blackout� for games at CCDS on Jan. 7
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A look at what’s happening at Middle School Congratulations to eighth grader Andrew Wilson, winner of the Middle School Spelling Bee. The sixth graders got basketball tips from the boys and girls varsity Stingers during a lunchtime session on the court on Jan. 4. Photos are on pages 1 and 7. Mrs. Licata said, “Students are learning about the process of cell division in sixth grade science classes. They will create animations of this process as part of a claymation project to help them better understand this challenging concept. The movies will be posted on the life science wiki for students to share with their family and friends. ”
Congratulations to eighth grader Ben Chung (right), winner of Middle’s Geography Bee, and to runner-up sixth grader Jack Lane. Both won in their respective divisions last year! The Middle School Roots & Shoots Club is collecting old cell phones and chargers for recycling.
Thanks to funding from the Middle School Parent Association, art students had the opportunity to meet and work with artist Courttney Cooper during an artist residency Jan. 10–12. More photos of his amazing artwork and the residency at Middle are on the next page. page 8
Mrs. Wiesemann described her eighth grade science students’ Newton’s Laws of Motion Video Clip Project: “Students work in teams of two or three students for this project. The purpose of this project is to identify applications of each of Newton’s Three Laws of Motion. “Each team will select one of two methods for this project. One—Find short video clips from the Internet and use iMovie to add a voice-over to explain how each clip shows one of Newton’s Law of Motion. Two—Use a camcorder to record a short video clip that illustrates each of Newton’s Laws of Motion and explain how the law applies to the action in the clip. “The completed video clips will be evaluated using a rubric and peer review.” See samples of the clips at Science 8 Wiki/Blog.
Artist residency with Courttney Cooper
Courttney Cooper is one of the remarkable artists who are part of Visionaries and Voices, a nonprofit organization in Cincinnati whose mission is to provide artistic and cultural opportunities for artists with disabilities and to build an inclusive environment where all artists feel valued. Widely exhibited, Cooper is recognized for his exquisite, obsessive, highly detailed, tapestry-like “Bic” ink drawings on paper. His main subject matter consists of Cincinnati landmarks and maps of the city, and he often walks the streets of Cincinnati committing all the places he visits down to memory. This is a unique and astounding process that he has been using since he was a child. Cooper’s pictorial portrayal of the city through a fine clustering of line work and detail create a unique and awe-inspired image of his surroundings. Courttney Cooper’s sharing of his amazing process and artwork certainly made for an awe-filled, inspiring experience for Middle School artists.
Visionaries and Voices artist Rob Macke will spend an artist residency at Middle from Jan. 24–26.
At left, checking out a Cincinnati landmark of their own, it was the Henderson Advisory on ice at Fountain Square! page page98
A look at what’s happening at Lotspeich
Congratulations to Natalie Choo, winner of the Lotspeich Spelling Bee, and to runner-up Tim Santos-Heiman!
The annual fourth grade Medieval Feast on Dec. 15 was a grand celebration of the novel Door in the Wall by Marguerite deAngeli. The feast included a presentation by NKU professor Margo Jang. Many thanks to all of our parent volunteers! More photos are on page 11.
Bravo to the second graders, Mrs. Wilson, and Mr. White for a wonderful production of “Once on the Rooftops” on the Founders Hall stage on Dec. 9, with a performance at the New England Club the day before. More photos are on page 13. page 11
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Lotspeich’s traditional Mitten Tree, benefiting those served by the Madisonville Education and Assistance Center, was another mitten-, gloves-, scarf-, hat-laden success this year!
Mrs. Martin said, “The inspiration and merriment of the Kindergarten ”Celebration of Lights‘ warmed the hearts of teachers, children, parents and guests who shared the projects, stories, treats and fun of this holiday festival on Dec. 14. The classrooms glowed bright with handmade glass candle holders, Mexican farolitos, Hanukkah menorah, Indian diyas and lanterns, Kwanzaa kinara, St. Lucia candle crowns and star hats, and Christmas lights. The children were delighted to share their insights about the lights and customs used to brighten winter days from varied cultural celebrations around the world. Everyone enjoyed sharing foods in celebration of AfricanAmerican Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Diwali, Las Posadas, St. Lucia Day, and Christmas.”
Go to the Lotspeich Corner on our website for many more photos and movies of Lotspeich events and activities.
Four th Grade Medieval Feast
NKU professor Margo Jang (left) with Mrs. McReynolds and Mrs. Reenan (subbing for Mrs. Snyder). Below, Margo Jang with some of our parent volunteers.
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Baking gingerbread with Buddies
First and fifth graders and their Moms enjoyed gingerbread baking (and eating) and games on Jan. 5.
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SNOW FUN!
The Ten Best Reasons To Volunteer at
YOUR RESALE SHOP You can set your own schedule You can shop while you volunteer You determine where to work in the store You can work at your own pace You are greatly appreciated by the friendly staff You get a first look at the “new” arrivals You can brush up on your decorating skills You are encouraged to bring a friend You can be near your children Your contribution ALWAYS improves sales for the day page 14
A look at what’s happening at Doherty
Congratulations to Tindar Cyr, winner of the Doherty Spelling Bee, and to runnerup Carly Jones. Fourth graders were asked why it is important to study and understand different religions and cultures. Here are some of their responses: “The more you know, the less afraid you are.” “When you are older and have a job, you will probably work with someone from a different culture. It will be important to understand them.”
On Dec. 8, Mrs. Hickenlooper’s homeroom prepared and delivered bagged lunches to The Open Door. While there, Mrs. Hickenlooper’s fifth grade students also delivered much-needed fleece blankets that were made by Unit II students.
“If you know about different holidays, you will treat everyone with respect.” “If you learn about something and know it, well then, you will know that they (religions) are a lot alike (peaceful) and you won’t be afraid.”
Go to the Doherty Corner on our website for many more photos and movies of Doherty events and activities.
Unit I students enjoyed their visit to Drake Planetarium. page 15
Unit III students used their creativity to design a new eating utensil to use for eating spaghetti. Mrs. Daily said, “An ordinary table fork could only be used to place the spaghetti on the new device or if it were modified in some way. The students enthusiastically tested their ingenious inventions with tasty spaghetti and sauce.”
Mrs. MacKenzie said, “As part of their ecology unit of study, Unit II third graders recently participated in a unique field trip to Happen Inc. in Northside. The program began with a toy drive earlier in the week at school. Then the third graders all loaded on the Seven Hills bus and headed for Happen’s Inc. toy lab. There they had the opportunity to build their own one-of-a-kind ‘thingamajig’ out of recycled toy parts. It was great fun and great life lessons about the wonderful applications of re-using!”
Above, Mrs. Guethlein sharing a book with Unit II students during a Principal’s Club. page 16
Artists creating together
Mrs. Streff’s third grade art students had the opportunity to work with local artist Anthony Becker on Dec. 15. Becker specializes in large sculptures inspired by literature, science and his observations of the natural world, using lighting and translucent paper to create potential for different viewer interactions with his work. The artist and student artists created origami houses together.
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All-School Doherty Winter Holiday Program
Congratulations to Mrs. Eynon and all of her performers for a wonderful “December in Our Town: A Multicultural Celebration of the Season.�
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Mrs. Wolfe said, “Nine fifth grade students (above) chose to read The Wright Three by Blue Ballient over winter break and to complete the extra credit project that included both math and Internet connections. Everyone enjoyed the reward of attending the make-your-own sundae party in the Doherty Library.”
The Doherty Outdoor Program had its first rock climbing trip of the year. Mrs. Burton said, “Twenty one Unit III students ventured to Rockquest indoor climbing gym to get a taste of and learn how to rock climb. Rockquest climbing experts worked with the students on basic rock climbing techniques and safety. The students spent about two and a half hours climbing various walls up to 40 feet high and bouldering in the Rockquest gym. It was a really great experience for everyone!”
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