SEMESTER IN REVIEW
LOOKING BACK: FALL 2019
As we close the fall semester of 2019-20, we look back at some of the outstanding accomplishments that marked the first half of the school year.
SEVEN HILLS RANKED #1 COLLEGE PREP PRIVATE HIGH SCHOOL IN OHIO BY NICHE.COM The Seven Hills School is pleased be recognized as a 2020 Best School by Niche.com, the largest, data-driven website for researching and ranking K-12 schools, in state and local categories. Seven Hills was named “#1 Best College Prep Private High School” in Ohio and “#1 Best Private K-12 School,” “#1 Best Private High School,” and “#1 Best College Prep Private High School” in the Cincinnati area. “We are thrilled to be recognized as a top school in several Niche.com categories,” said Head of School Chris Garten. “The rankings reflect the academic drive and talents of our students, as well as what our faculty do, every day, to create a school where students not only excel, but feel motivated and inspired to do their best.” Niche.com analyzes statistical data from sources such as the U.S. Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics to determine a school’s rankings and grade. The website also factors in surveys and reviews by parents, alumni, and students when determining rankings.
SEVEN HILLS MAKES NEWSWEEK MAGAZINE FOR STEM CURRICULUM Seven Hills was named among the top 500 schools with dynamic, engaging learning environments in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) in fall of 2019 by Newsweek.
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The ranking is based on
SEVEN HILLS’ OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC, ATHLETIC AND ARTS ACHIEVEMENTS
quantitative and qualitative data collected from 2015 to
Congratulations to 10 Seven Hills seniors—10% of the 2020 senior class—who were recently named National Merit Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Seven Hills congratulates Kayzad Bharucha, Madeleine Creech, Yash Gaitonde, Madeleine Magruder, Nina Martinez Diers, Rajiv Raman, Andrea Stancescu, Stephen Walsh, Kevin
Muniz, Ajay Gupta, Krish Gupta, Maddy
Wang, and Chase Young.
Kennebeck, Gabriella Kominar, Megan
2019. Head of Upper School Matt Bolton said the Upper School community is proud to be selected among the top 500
McLennan, Sufwan Safdar, and Rhea Srivastava. Seven Hills’ National Merit Scholars, which includes National Merit Semifinalists and National Merit Commended Students, comprise about 17% of our graduating class. Our National Commended students qualified for recognition in the National Merit programs with their scores on the PSAT. ........................................... Seven Hills continues its tradition of excellence with eight seniors who recently were named National Merit Commended Students in the 2020 National Merit Program. Congratulations to Jorge Amadeo-
.......................................... Seven Hills congratulates seniors Jorge Amadeo-Muniz, Nina Martinez Diers, and Geereesh Shankar for recently being named National Hispanic Scholars through the College continued on page 2. . .
STEM schools in the country. “I think it’s a real testament to the hard work of our teachers and students,” said Bolton. “Our wide range of core math and science classes and our exciting electives in subjects like computer programming, biotechnology, and engineering offer students a host of opportunities to expand their horizons and to better understand the world around them.”
SEVEN HILLS’ OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC, ATHLETIC AND
Creating Conversations
This July, three Seven Hills Latin students
SPEAKER SERIES
attended the 2019 National Junior Classical League (NJCL) Convention at the University of
Seven Hills parents listened to and
North Dakota in Fargo. Alex Grass ’20, Krish
interacted with a panel of mental health
Gupta ’20, and Jenny Hu ’22, joined other Ohio
professionals and therapists who
Latin students to represent our state alongside
discussed dealing with anxiety, during a
more than 1,000 Latin students from across
mid-November Creating Conversations event in the Young Family Library on
Board. Each year, the College Board helps
Hillsdale Campus. The panel consisted of
more than seven million students prepare for
Dr. Julia Anixt, director of The Kelly O’Leary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Wendi Lopez,
a successful transition to college through programs and services in college readiness and college success—including the SAT and the Advanced Placement Program. In keeping with the College Board’s mission to help students take advantage of the opportunities they have earned, each year the National Hispanic Recognition Program (NHRP)
America. Both Alex and Krish serve on the state board of the Ohio Junior Classical League, as historian and parliamentarian, respectively. Jenny Hu ’22 was recognized in front of the more than 1,000 assembled students for her Perfect Paper on the National Latin Exam, an accomplishment achieved by less than 1% of students who take the NLE. She also earned a first place in the nation for her essay, first place in constructed chart, fourth place in sight Latin
recognizes about 7,000 academically
translation, and fifth place for drawn map.
outstanding Hispanic/Latino high school
Krish Gupta ’20 earned a second place finish
juniors who take the PSAT/NMSQT.
for his model of a Greek warship.
.................................. The Seven Hills School congratulates junior Andrew Yang, who recently earned a perfect composite ACT score and also was named a National YoungArts Foundation Merit winner in Classical Music. Yang received perfect subscores in English, math, reading, and science. “Andrew is the only junior—and the
staff psychologist for behavioral medicine and clinical psychology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center; Glenn Hall, an addiction specialist with Freedom from Chemical Dependency; clinical social worker James Pease; and psychologist Brian Riker.
only person in recent memory—to score straight 36s across all the subtests, including English, math, reading, and science, which gave him an overall composite score of 36,” said Seven Hills Assistant Head of School and Head of College Counseling Susan Marrs. As a 2020 YoungArts award winner, Yang was invited to participate in one of the organization’s regional programs, which will run from February through April, such as YoungArts Miami, YoungArts Los Angeles or YoungArts New York, which provide emerging artists with master classes, workshops, and mentorship from leading artists in their fields.
The Seven Hills School Speaker Series
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The NJCL is a youth organization which promotes the study of Latin in secondary schools. There are 40,000 NJCL members in 993 schools throughout the country. The summer convention is a weeklong academic village with more than 1,400 students, teachers, and adult chaperones. At the NJCL Convention, students compete in a variety of activities including tests, Certamen, performance arts, graphic arts, colloquia, spirit contests, sports, and social activities. ......................................
ARTS ACHIEVEMENTS, CONTINUED Several Seven Hills students were selected to
Congratulations to senior volleyball player
In what is becoming an annual tradition, Head
join prestigious regional and statewide
Avani Seshiah on her 1,000th kill! Avani also
of Upper School Matt Bolton sat in on a class
orchestras. Nine students were selected to
in mid-October with sophomore English
join the Cincinnati Symphony Youth
students to determine if the pardoner from
Orchestra (CSYO), eighth-grader Evelyn
the classic novel, “The Canterbury Tales” by
Gao (violin), freshmen Savita Thompson
Geoffrey Chaucer, would be expelled from
(violin), and Erin Finn (viola), sophomores
Seven Hills if he attended the school. “The
Robby Ligeralde (violin) and Anand Patil
pardoner is one of Chaucer’s most nefarious
(violin), and senior Rajiv Raman (violin) have
characters, but each year the debate, nevertheless, is heated, passionate, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny,” said English teacher Mark Beyreis. “With half the class advocating expulsion and half the class set Seven Hills’ spike record. Senior Max
advocating some lesser punishment, the
Creech has also set a school record with more
discussion is a combination of literary criticism
than 1,700 assists. Creech also led the league
and modern-day cultural issues in education.”
in assists. ...................................... Ninth-graders Josie Domet and Eloise Young, and eighth-grader Riley Moser spent the joined the CSYO Concert Orchestra. Several students also joined the CSYO Philharmonic, including sophomore Kathryn Guo (violin), junior Meg Yuan (cello), and junior Andrew Yang (violin). In addition, three students will play in the Ohio Music Education Association’s Southwest Regional Orchestra, including Yang, Yuan, and Raman. Junior Wes
holiday season performing in the Cincinnati Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker.” Josie and Eloise danced the roles of soldiers. Riley performed the role of Clara. ...................................... EXAMPLES OF LEARNING THROUGH INQUIRY, HANDS-ON DISCOVERY, TECHNOLOGY, COLLABORATION The Doherty Campus community came
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contemporary ensemble, auditioned for and
together during its first assembly of the school
was selected to play as a member of the
year last fall to share something they all had in
Pre-kindergarteners in Tyler McIlwraith and
Cincinnati Youth Jazz Orchestra.
common—a book! As a part of Doherty’s
Gardner, a member of Seven Hills’
community building activity based on the national literacy project, One Book, One School, students age 2 through fifth grade either read “Friendship According to Humphrey” over the summer break or someone read it to them. Librarian Jo Schnirring said Doherty students will
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Kathleen Koester’s classes learned about the weather in a fun, hands-on unit last fall. During their study of wind, students created windsocks. “We made the windsock to observe outside when we check the weather each morning, but students also had fun running with them in the wind!” said McIlwraith. .....................................
continue to discuss friendships and kindness
First-graders in Amy Kulhavik’s Unit I class
as part of the yearlong activity.
learned in October how to incorporate the
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skill of hypothesis during a class in which they tried to determine the buoyancy of certain 3
E X A M P L E S O F L E A R N I N G T H R O U G H I N Q U I R Y, H A N D S -O N D I S C O V E RY, items. “The students loved discovering which
kids?” as well as “Should this animal be living
and Smale Park. “The Spanish students had a
items would sink or float!” said Kulhavik. “It’s a
its life at Lotspeich? Why or why not?” to
fantastic time here at Seven Hills,” said Upper
great hands-on science activity and really gets
conduct their research.
School Spanish teacher Teresa Bardon. “They
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were amazed by our culture.” Bardon said the
Sixth-graders in Jennifer Licata and Karen Glum’s science class in early November explored the characteristics of living things to kick off their study of life science. They completed a number of activities and experiments for the unit. “From learning how to identify cells under a microscope to
exchange students noted the respect and trust between Upper Schoolers and teachers as well as the overall friendliness and respect around campus. In addition to experiencing campus life, exchange students and their host families visited several Cincinnati institutions, including the Cincinnati Zoo, a Reds game, and a Bengals game.
running a controlled experiment to answer the question, ‘What is yeast?’ to better understand the concept of metabolism, students got practice building their skills and kids thinking and predicting.” Kulhavik said the
reinforcing challenging concepts,” Licata said.
Unit I students also expanded their discussion
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to work collaboratively to hypothesize, test,
In October, third-graders in Rebecca
and reason why certain objects float, while others sink. ...................................... Fourth- and fifth-graders in Lotspeich
Harnage’s class discussed and created a list of “keys to success” for the 2019-20 school year. Students first brainstormed their goals for the year. “What goals are going to help you this year?” Harnage asked the class.
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Students talked about improving their
Kristin Suer led her seventh-grade earth science
handwriting and working on math and study
class in hands-on demonstrations, simulating
skills. Once students brainstormed as a class,
objects found in space. In the first demonstration,
they each wrote two goals on large paper
students recreated the death of a red supergiant
keys and colored them. They then used a pipe
star. “Students blew up a balloon to represent the
cleaner to create a key ring of goals.
star and covered it in layers of foil to represent
kids safe from the animal?” and “What needs
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the growing layers of burning gas that embody a
to be considered to keep the animal safe from
Seven Hills welcomed 30 exchange students
science teacher Kate LaBare’s class conducted an in-depth inquiry in September to help determine which type of animal is a good fit for the classroom pet. Students researched the needs, personality, and care of potential animals. They were given guiding questions, such as “What needs to be considered to keep
and two teachers from IES Carlos III in Spain in mid-September. Upper School students hosted the guests and showed them around Seven Hills and Cincinnati. During their time in Ohio, exchange students experienced life on campus and off. On campus, students
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star. Thermonuclear fusion exerts a pressure that keeps it from collapsing,” Suer said. “Then they popped the balloon with a pin and crumpled up the foil in a ball, representing the fuel that runs out in the core. The diminishing size and increasing density of the foil simulates the formation of a black hole.”
enjoyed physical education and theater
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classes, the Upper School’s Big Readers
Unit II students studied states of matter while
program, and pizza and ice cream with the
making root beer floats in early fall. After reading
varsity girls soccer team. They also took field
and watching videos about the different states of
trips to places like the American Sign Museum
matter and how they change, students made the
TEC HNOLO GY, CO L L A B O R AT I O N, CO NT INUED ice cream treat. They used the root beer float
of the Roman empire, in a unique and
olds, led by pre-kindergarten teachers Judy
to identify the parts of the drink that were
delicious way. “Because Rome managed such
Shuppert and Julie Brackett, incorporate
solid, liquid, and gas. When the lesson was
a huge empire, its army focused on building
observant treks across campus, nature
over, students enjoyed their treat!
and maintaining a well-engineered and
gathering, searching for particular insects and
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long-lasting system of roads,” said Latin
small animals, art, and discussion.
teacher Katie Swinford. “We looked at the
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network of roads that led to Rome, hence the saying ‘All roads lead to Rome.’” They also studied how the Roman army built roads, some of which are still in use in the world today. This culminated in the students building model Roman roads out of candy and cookies. ...................................... The Upper School came together last fall for a daylong intensive, The Defamation Experience, which included a thoughtful mix of small-group advisory discussions, an interactive play that explored issues of race, class, and gender in Author Ibi Zoboi spoke to Middle and Upper School students in mid-October. Zoboi was born in Haiti and immigrated to New York at age 4. She writes young adult novels ranging from a retelling of “Pride and Prejudice” set in present-day Brooklyn to a coming-of-age
American life, and honest conversations among students, faculty, and administration. The event was initiated by Head of School Chris Garten and carried out by Head of Upper School Matt Bolton, as well as English teachers Nate Gleiner and Marielle Newton.
Head of Middle School Bill Waskowitz and Middle School counselor Taylor Markovits taught new Middle School and sixth-grade parents the importance of digital well-being and understanding social media. “Social media
story about a young girl with a big
is not going away,” Waskowitz
imagination, to “The Farming of Gods,” which
said. “It’s becoming more
features a post-apocalyptic Haiti following
complex. Social media is a
the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Zoboi spoke to
prevalent part of growing up in
Upper School students about language, the
today’s world.”
western literary canon, which is a body of
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books that represents narrow western
Christina Del Vecchio’s pre-
culture, and the importance of reading books
kindergarten for 2-year-olds class
outside the canon to gain context and an
enjoyed some fall fun with their
understanding of the perspectives of people
families when they visited Parky’s
around the world. Zoboi’s visit was arranged
Farm in Winton Woods. “We
by Middle and Upper School associate librarian Gail Bloom and Middle and Upper
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School head librarian Megan Whitt.
At the start of the 2019-20 school year,
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pre-kindergarteners on the Doherty Campus
In November, seventh-grade Latin students
took to the outdoors, as part of an ongoing
learned about the movement of immigrants and refugees into Rome from the far reaches
curriculum that focuses on nature, hiking, and
spent the day touring the farm, took a wagon ride, petted the farm animals, and picked our own pumpkins from the pumpkin patch!” Del Vecchio said. ......................................
exploration. The lessons for 3- and 4-year-
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CE L E B R AT I N G O U T S TA N D I NG AT H LET IC ACH IEV EM ENT S The varsity boys soccer team had a great fall season. The team was named the Miami Valley Conference (MVC) Champions, and in the postseason, earned the titles of Sectional Champions, District Champions, and Regional Finalists. The team ended its overall season 14-3-4. Seniors Kayzad Bharucha and Joshua Nelson and juniors Bart Cooper, William Hawgood, and Nolan Loring were named First Team, All League by the MVC. Junior Scott Williams was named Second Team, All League and sophomore Ahmed Abass and senior Jack Rauh received Honorable Mentions. ....................................... The varsity volleyball team took home the title of Sectional Champions and District Finalists. The team had an overall season record of 19-7. Max Creech and Avani Seshiah were both named First Team, All League by the MVC. ...................................... The varsity golf team won the 2019 Southwest District III Sectional Championship. It is the second consecutive year the team earned the title of Sectional Champions. The team also competed in the district tournament. The golf team included senior Taylor Greenwald, juniors Andrew Yang and Matthew Weirich, and sophomores Collin Chen and Jacob Joffe.
the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s 2019 Soccer: Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity Award. Varsity Golf
Joffe was named Second Team, All City. ....................................... The boys and girls varsity cross country team made it to Regionals at Troy High School in October. The competition was the first time in Seven Hills history that the girls advanced to Regionals. During the season, the girls had victories at the Seven Hills and FelicityFranklin Invitationals. The boys also won the Felicity-Franklin Invitational. ...................................... The girls varsity soccer team was led by seniors Erica Au, Grace Copfer, Linley Dawson, Annie Leeper, Megan McLennan, and Katie Remaklus. Their strong leadership was on display throughout the season. Coach Kristen Bowman was named the Girls Soccer MVC Coach of the Year and the recipient of
..................................... Varsity girls tennis had a strong season with an overall record of 12-7. Coach Tim Drew was named the Girls Tennis MVC Coach of the Year. The doubles teams of junior Megan Tan and sophomore Shriya Sekar and seniors Avital Isakov and Anika Parameswaran and singles players senior Annika Alper and sophomore Gabriella Khaskelis made it all the way to Districts. ....................................... Senior Josh Nelson was recognized by the United Soccer Coaches, the world’s largest soccer coaches’ organization, and he was named to the Fall Boys High School All-Great Lakes Region Team. ...................................... Luke Malloy received the Dick Snyder Sportsmanship Award, which is awarded to students who display integrity and general sportsmanship throughout the season. ....................................... Seven Hills had a total of 84 Scholar Athlete Award recipients in the fall season. To qualify, recipients must be a varsity athlete and have a minimum first quarter GPA of 3.495.
Varsity Soccer
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VA R SI T Y G O LF • VARS IT Y TE N N IS • VARS I T Y VOLLEYB ALL • VARS I T Y C ROS S-COU NT R Y • S O CC E R
SE V E N H ILL S A R T S S A M PL ER Congratulations to our talented Middle and
the Winter Concert, held in early December.
Upper School symphonic ensembles and the
Middle School Chorus serenaded a rapt
Upper contemporary ensemble for sharing
audience with several songs from around the
the fruits of much hard work in early
world, from the sixth grade’s performance of
December. Under the direction of
“Bhombela,” and seventh- and eighth-graders’
instrumental music teacher John Rising, the
songs that spanned traditional tunes and the
musicians performed a variety of complex,
song, “Revolting Children” from the musical,
technically intricate songs. The Middle School
“Matilda.” Students in the Upper School full
instrumentalists played everything from
chorus, women’s chorus, men’s chorus, and
British Invasion classics, including the Rolling
chamber ensemble serenaded the audience
Stones’ “Paint it Black,” to the traditional folk
with the beautiful sounds of the season during
song “House of the Rising Sun.” The Upper
our annual winter choral concert. The Upper
School filled The Schiff Center with the
School Chorus performed a vast array of songs
sounds of “Sea Songs,” the holiday classic “All
that incorporated percussion, soloists, and a
I Want for Christmas is You,” and jazz and soul
duet. Vocalists sang a number of songs, from
standards “Cold Duck Time” and “Caldonia.”
“Dear Theodosia” from “Hamilton” to Stevie
Senior Adam Chen brought down the house
Wonder’s “High Ground” to “Al Shlosha
with his piano solo arrangement of Vince
D’Varim,” which is part of Seven Hills’ Upper
Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”
School choral tradition during the winter holiday
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season. Congratulations to our students, Choral
Congratulations to our Middle and Upper
Director Tina Kuhlman, co-Director Lynne
School chorus for lovely performances during
Miller, and to Technical Director Trey Tatum.
Middle School Instrumental
Middle School Chorus
Upper School Instrumental
Upper School Chorus
...................................... Every year, Lotspeich fifth-graders take the stage in an exciting musical production. This year’s group of fifth-graders performed the classic tale of “Cinderella” on the stage of The
Schiff Center. The auditorium was full of family and friends, enjoying the story of a servant girl who becomes a princess. Congratulations to our Lotspeich fifth-graders on an amazing performance! And congratulations to Lotspeich music teacher Robin Wilson for directing and guiding our student actors. continued on page 8. . .
7 C I N D E R E L L A • S Y M P H O N I C & C H A M B E R E N S E M B L E S • C H O R U S • H A I R S P R AY • T H E P I R A T E S H O W
SE V E N H ILL S A R T S S A M PL ER, CO NT INU ED GETTING INTO THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT AT DOHERTY CAMPUS
orphanage. Utilizing
Student vocalists on Doherty Campus showed
Schiff Center’s
us all how to celebrate the season during our annual Doherty Winter Concert, which took place in two parts, with pre-kindergarteners through fifth-graders performing on Doherty Campus and kindergarten through fifthgraders performing at The Schiff Center on the Hillsdale Campus. Congratulations to our Doherty students and music teacher
“The Pirate Show”
every inch of The stage, students performed on an amazing set that featured a full-scale, boardwalk-style set design, crow’s nests, ladders, and movable furniture. Congratulations to our student performers and stage crew, as well as Middle School theater
soared throughout The Schiff Center, to the
teacher Jacob Hauser and Upper School
grand finale with meticulous choreography
technical theater director and teacher Trey
and explosive energy, and all of the fabulous
Tatum, on a great show!
scenes in between, the stellar cast executed a
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beautifully humorous and gut-wrenchingly lovely musical that earned a mid-performance
Seven Hills’ Upper School theater Doherty Holiday Program
department put on a stunning production of “Hairspray” in late November. The mega cast of talented, intentional actors and crew
Maria Eynon for all of their hard work in
members brought down the house with
preparation to share the spirit of the holidays
standing ovations and dizzying choreography.
with friends and family.
From the moment “Good Morning Baltimore”
standing ovation. Congratulations to the cast, theater teacher Marc Raia, technical theater director Trey Tatum, and fine and performing arts chair and choral director Tina Kuhlman. ......................................
...................................... Middle School students gave a swashbuckling
“Hairspray”
performance in late October, staging “The Pirate Show” in The Schiff Center for the Seven Hills community. The young performers told the tale of an orphaned brother and sister, Nigel and Virginia, who become separated while running away from their awful
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