SEMESTER IN REVIEW
LOOKING BACK: FALL 2018
As we close the fall semester of 2018-19, we look back at some of the outstanding accomplishments that marked the first half of the school year.
OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS AND MORE Congratulations to eight Seven Hills seniors— 10 percent of the 2018 senior class—who were recently named National Merit Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Congratulations to George Eng, Ari Gleich, Eddie Hatfield, Aryan Katneni, Max Lane, Chris Nathan, Susanna Spooner, and Max Yuan.
our graduating class. Our National Commended students qualified for recognition in the National Merit programs with their scores on the PSAT. .......................................... the 2018 National Junior Classical League
Grass, Krish Gupta, and Matt Wabler, and freshman Jenny Hu were among 160 Latin students to represent Ohio, of the 1,400 Latin students nationwide. Dwight competed on his fifth Ohio Certamen team, this year on the Advanced team alongside students from Walnut Hills and Shaker Heights in Cleveland. Hu played for the Intermediate team alongside students from Summit, Mariemont, and .............................................
a home school. Both Dwight and Hu won spots on
The Seven Hills School continues its tradition of
Ohio teams during tryouts in June.
National Merit Program. Congratulations to Andrew Brown, Michael Glum, Greg Kalin, Felix Karthik, Patrick Kilcoyne, Abby Markworth, Amisha Mittal, Rohan Sachdeva, Aishwarya Varma, and Michael Weirich. Seven Hills’ National Merit Scholars, which includes National Merit Semifinalists and National
Seven Hills Class of 2019 produced the highest percentage of National Merit Semifinalists in Cincinnati
Last July, six Seven Hills Latin students attended
Dwight ’18, sophomore Alex Frohn, juniors Alex
National Merit Commended Students in the 2019
NATIONAL MERIT SEMIFINALISTS
Merit Commended Students, comprise 22 % of
(NJCL) Convention at Miami University. Charlie
excellence with 10 seniors who recently were named
CLASS OF 2019
The same two Seven Hills students were recognized at the General Assembly for their performance on the National Latin Exam (NLE). Hu earned a Perfect Paper, an accomplishment achieved by less than 1 percent of students who take the NLE. Dwight was honored for his continued excellence on the NLE, having earned five Gold Medals in six years of NLEs. Top 10 National Awards in Academics, Creative Arts, and Graphic Arts: Charlie Dwight - 4th place Reading Comprehension (Prose), 8th place Latin Grammar, 8th place Roman Life, 10th place Reading Comprehension (Poetry) continued on page 2. . .
After an analysis of the percentage of students named National Merit Semifinalists based on the graduating class size of schools in Cincinnati, last fall, Seven Hills announced that the Class of 2019 produced the highest percentage of National Merit Semifinalists in Cincinnati, with 10 percent of the graduating class receiving this prestigious recognition. “We are so proud of our students and their remarkable record of success as recognized by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation,” said Assistant Head of School and Director of College Counseling Susan Marrs. “Almost 22 percent of our graduating class has earned National Merit recognition and we’ve learned that 10 percent of them are Semifinalists, giving them the distinction of having the highest percentage in the city!”
Outstanding Academic Achievements Creating Conversations
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SPEAKER SERIES
Senior Brennan Callow was selected in early December to be a member of the 2018 Fall High
As part of the September kickoff, school
School Boys All-America Team. The honor was
counseling department chair Judy Arnold
given by the United Soccer Coaches, which is
and Project Math teacher Liz Lorenz on
the world’s largest soccer coaches’ organization.
Hillsdale Campus, and school counselor
Callow was recognized at a ceremony in
Angie Bielecki on Doherty Campus
mid-January in Chicago.
shared the differences between growth and fixed mindsets. For example, someone with a fixed mindset may become frustrated when classmates are successful with a project or lesson and
Top 10 National Awards, continued:
they are not, while someone with a
Alex Grass - 8th place Traditional Photography
growth mindset may seek out the
Krish Gupta - 4th place Essay Contest, 7th
successful student for help. Arnold and
Traditional Photography
Lorenz shared that parents can teach
Jenny Hu - 3rd place Latin Sight Reading
children to have a growth mindset by commenting on their children’s efforts and hard work during the process, rather than praising them for a grade or end product. Bielecki opened with an activity asking parents to vote whether they agreed or disagreed with a variety of
Matt Wabler - 8th place Classical Art ....................................... Six Seven Hills students were selected to play in the Cincinnati Symphonic Youth Orchestra (CSYO) and the Southwest Regional Honors
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Orchestra in early November. Junior Rajiv
Senior Max Yuan was named first chair for viola
Raman performed in the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Concert Orchestra and freshman Kathryn Guo, sophomores Andrew Yang and Meg Yuan, as well as senior Max Yuan, also performed in the Cincinnati Symphony Youth Philharmonic orchestra. Senior Chris Nathan performed in the Ohio Music Education Association Southwest Regional Honors Orchestra.
in the Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) Southwest Regional Honors Orchestra. After being notified that he was eligible for a leadership role in the OMEA, Yuan auditioned for the position in early November and recently learned he was named first chair. The first chair designation, in orchestral terms, refers to a position of distinction that usually goes to a highly skilled musician who also exhibits leadership and a command of music dynamics and technique. ............................
statements, leading to conversation about the views people have on various topics.
Freshman wrestler David Gelman, as of the first week of December, was undefeated. Gelman, who trains at Archbishop Moeller High School,
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and More is a pioneer in his sport at Seven Hills, and our
EXAMPLES OF LEARNING
election and set up booths on election day to
only Stinger wrestler.
THROUGH INQUIRY, HANDS-ON
educate students about how to contact reps,
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DISCOVERY, TECHNOLOGY, AND
get info on candidates, and be socially active.”
COLLABORATION
........................................
Unit III students in Julie Guminey’s class
Doherty and Lotspeich fifth-graders learned
created a “Grand Encounter” using robotics
more about the next big step during Middle
in early December. Students have been
School Move Up Day, held in late November.
learning about European explorers and
The fifth-graders toured the Middle School,
Native American nations in their social
visiting everything from Chinese, to science,
studies classes. Working in the Creation
to art classes. Students enjoyed lunch in
Studio, students grouped up and were asked
Founders Hall before coming together for a
to take on the role of a member of a Native
scavenger hunt. Working in groups, students
American nation or an explorer. The groups
found the answers to questions, such as, how
designed robots to replicate their historical
many lockers are in the Middle School, to get
figure and programmed the robot to speak. The robot was also programmed to travel around a map and speak when it landed on an Sophomore Andrew Yang was selected in November, to play a solo during an annual
important landmark. .....................................
to know their new building. After the hunt, they had their general questions about the school answered by students and Andy McGarvey, Middle School dean and sixthgrade teacher.
side-by-side performance with the Cincinnati
Upper School students participated in a mock
......................................
Symphony Orchestra and the CSYO
Midterm election on Election Day. Students
Unit I students in Amy Kulhavik and
Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, a prestigious
ran the polling stations, checked in voters, and
tradition. Yang, along with four other student
handed out ballots. “Several students from
musicians, including freshman Kathryn Guo,
Club JEDI and the Social Activism club had
October. Kulhavik explained different
from across the region, auditioned at Music
information booths set up throughout our
geographical qualities and students drew them
Hall for the position. Yang will play the famous
hallways geared toward educating students
on their maps. Students learned which states
solo, Franz Waxman’s “Carmen Fantasie,”
about the significance of voting and this
border Ohio, the meaning of the state’s name,
during an April 2019 performance at Music
election,” said history teacher Jen Faber. “The
and where the Ohio River is located. As she
Hall. “This is a really big deal,” said Middle and
point of this was to take an opportunity to
taught, Kulhavik asked students to recall the
discuss process rather than the outcome of an
meanings of words they already learned, such
election. Club JEDI and the Social Activism
as the word border, and made the lesson
Club helped to bring awareness about the
engaging and participatory.
Upper instrumental music teacher John Rising, adding that Yang is a stellar, hardworking student musician. “This side-by-side
Margaret Walsh’s classes mapped the state of Ohio during a social studies lesson in late
concert gives Andrew an extremely amazing
................
opportunity to solo with two fantastic
In late October,
orchestras!”
the Middle School
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Community
Senior basketball player Brice Hill shot his
Service Club
1,000th point in early December, at a game against St. Bernard-Elmwood Place High School. ......................................
continued its work by volunteering at The Giving Fields, which benefits the Free Store Food Bank. continued on page 4. . .
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Examples of Learning through Inquiry, Hands-on Discovery, Sixteen students and parents harvested 262
said it was to give them an understanding
pounds of radishes and 72 pounds of turnips,
about the expenses they will face in the
which will be used in more than 250 meals
future. “Tshiunza and his colleague talked
distributed by The Giving Fields. The
about the development of the city around the
Community Service Club is also hosting a
issues of sharing spaces, affordable housing,
year-long recycling drive to collect empty pill
redevelopment, and more,” Neidlein-Dial said.
bottles and dried-out plastic markers. “So far
.......................................
we have collected and packaged over 40
Lotspeich Second-graders in Danielle
pounds of markers to be shipped to Crayola for their Color Cycle program,” said Project math teacher Liz Lorenz. The pill bottles will be donated to Matthew 25: Ministries to be used to help ship medical supplies to areas affected by a natural disaster or they will be shredded and recycled. .......................................
Necessary and Cicely Knecht’s classes wrote a class book in September. To help get them started, students learned about analogies, which takes a relationship between two things and likens it to the relationship of two other things. “Working with analogies can foster creative-thinking skills, and diverse problem-
Seventh-graders in Kristin Suer’s earth science
solving strategies, as well as encourage
class used their knowledge of space to write
Tshiunza Kalubi ’02, son of Jacky Kalubi,
development of vocabulary and verbal skills,”
children’s books, in late November. The lesson
Middle and Upper School French and Spanish
Necessary said. “Development of these skills
was part of their space unit. “Students were asked
teacher, in early December, spoke to
helps students across subject areas.”
to create a fictional, with some facts embedded,
eighth-graders about his work in the city of
.......................................
children’s book about a planet in our solar
Cincinnati’s department of community and
Twenty-six Upper School students went to
system,” Suer said. In a cross-divisional activity,
the University of Dayton
History teacher Judith Neidlein-Dial said the visit is part of an ever-expanding project with eighth-graders. Earlier this year, students created a budget based on a 40-hour work week with a pay of $10 an hour. Neidlein-Dial
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Wildfong’s fourth-grade science class.
Model UN
..........................................
Conference in
Doherty students in Jo Schnirring’s Unit II class
late October,
used dice to drive their lesson on place value
to debate and
through 100,000 in early fall. The students rolled
negotiate
the dice, then studied the numbers. Schnirring
some of the
said the students were allowed two rolls. They
world’s
could opt to keep their roll or re-roll, in order to
thorniest
find numbers that could be rearranged to
issues. All did
correspond with the directions on their game
well, and the
cards. The exercise allowed students to focus on
following
the numbers in an active and kinesthetic fashion.
students won
..........................................
awards: economic development. Middle School
seventh-graders read their books aloud to Natalie
Honorable Mention: Emaan Asghar, Kayzad Bharucha, Alicia Gan, Ari Gleich, Jenny Hu, and Chase Young Outstanding Delegation (the top award): Varshini Odayar and Neda Tehrani .......................................
Upper School Students in Jennifer Torline’s honors chemistry class are studying stoichiometry, the calculation of reactants and products in chemical reactions. To put the idea to the test, students conducted a lab using silver nitrate and a piece of copper wire. They added a piece of solid copper wire to the silver nitrate.
Technology, and Collaboration When they did, silver crystals formed on the
presentations on a range of topics, including
and Upper School English teacher and equity
wire and the solution turned blue. Students
cultural competency, supporting students of
and justice chair Nate Gleiner.
had to study how much silver was produced on
color, selecting and teaching diverse literature,
.......................................
the wire and were able to see the results of a
creating resilient school culture, and
Doherty pre-kindergarten-for-2-year-olds
single replacement reaction.
promoting empathy. Upper School students
recently participated in their first music class
....................................
who participated included juniors Rosalind
with local award-winning scientist Barbara
As part of an annual tradition, students participated in Insect Day and Pumpkin Day on Oct. 31. In the morning, sixth-graders and their parents participated in Insect Day. They conducted a termite experiment that required
Roland, Hannah
James. The young students got an up-close
Kelly, and Nina
view of the guitar, feeling the vibration of the
Martinez-Diers,
strings and observing the way sound is
and sophomores
produced from the action of strumming the
Savoy Lackey,
strings. Teacher Julie Brackett said James
Christina Torlone,
coupled her musical visit with a lesson about
and Hana
manners and kindness. The students enjoyed
Mahmoud.
the lesson, which included dancing and
Faculty attendees
playing instruments.
included Doherty
.......................................
Spanish teacher
Senior Abby Markworth shared her passion
John Krauss,
for engineering with the Middle School
Lotspeich
Engineering Club last fall. Markworth took
third-grade
over the club after former classmate Louann
teacher Kim
Kovach graduated in June 2018. Markworth
Walden, Lotspeich Spanish teacher Megan
created a list of challenges from the Public
Hayes, Middle and Upper School French and
Broadcasting Service (PBS) design website
Spanish teacher Jacky Kalubi, Middle and
and gave them to Middle Schoolers to
Upper School head librarian Megan Whitt,
complete. She said many of the projects are electrical or mechanical based,
participants to group up and draw a line on the
and some introduce physics
middle of a piece of paper, and then
principles.
determine if the termite followed the line. All
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the groups recorded the data, analyzed, and
Pre-kindergarteners in Kiki
graphed it. Students also did a creative writing
Scavo’s class cultivated their
exercise about insects. Students decorated
own plants with a tower garden.
pumpkins and participated in athletic contests
Students recently prepared the
like tug of war.
seeds for the tower garden,
.......................................
first planting them in soil in
From Nov. 28 through Dec. 1, six Upper
early November. Scavo said
School students and nine Seven Hills faculty
students can grow plants in the
attended the Student Diversity Leadership
tower garden all year long.
Conference and the People of Color
Students learn about
Conference in Nashville. Our students joined 1,600 of their peers for three days of leadership training centered around issues of equity and justice. Faculty, joined by 4,000 other educators from around the world, participated in workshops and attended
sustainability, healthy living, Upper School learning support specialist and
and food production, as well as science and
history teacher Amaris White, Upper School
math concepts like observation, predictions,
English teacher Marielle Newton, Upper
and estimation.
School math teacher Anna Works-McKinney,
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Celebrating Outstanding Sports Achievements The varsity boys soccer team tied with
Boys Golf
boys competition with a time of
Cincinnati Country Day for the title of
18:27.65.
Miami Valley Conference (MVC) in fall
..................................
2018. They were also named the sectional
The varsity girls soccer team exhibits
and district champs. The team ended the
strong leadership going into the 2019
regular season 13-1-1 overall, winning every
fall season. This year, the team was led
home game, with big wins over Mariemont,
by Captain Dottie Callard, Emma
Madeira, Troy Christian, and Summit Country Day. Brennan Callow was named Player of the Year by the MVC and a LaRosa’s MVP of the Week. Stratton Papakirk, Josh Nelson, and Callow were named First Team. .....................................
Shuppert, and Katie Remakalus. The varsity golf team proved to be tough competition last fall, with six players going to
the MVC’s First Team.
state at NorthStar Golf Club in Sunbury,
........................................
Ohio. Max Lane, Egan Dewitt, Michael Weirich, Jacob Joffe, Andrew Yang, and Taylor Greenwald competed. Lane shot 75-76, for a two-day total of 151. He was named Second Team All-State and placed seventh overall in the state of Ohio. Coach Nate Hirsch was
Girls varsity volleyball finished the regular season 19-3 overall and 14-2 in the conference. Led by Ava Romerill, Avani Seshiah, and Max Creech, the team beat Summit Country Day twice. Seshiah was named Co-Player of the Year in districts. .....................................
Senior Max Lane 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 89 Scholar Athlete
named Coach of the Year by the Miami Valley
award recipients for the fall 2018 season. To
Conference. ....................................
have a minimum first quarter GPA of 3.495.
The girls tennis team had a strong showing Girls Varsity Volleyball
Shuppert and Remaklus were named to
qualify, recipients must be a varsity athlete and Girls Soccer
throughout the fall season. The team was 10-4 overall. Earlier in the season, the team won the Pickerington Tournament. .................................... Cross country runners Riley Jones and Dhruv Mahajan had standout fall seasons. Jones was named First Team AllConference and placed fifth in the MVC’s girls cross country category with a time of 22:10.99. Mahajan finished fifth in the
....................................... Boys 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
Seven Hills Arts Sampler Seven Hills’ Upper School cast and crew of “Grease” delivered a prize to the school community—three stunning performances Grease
chamber ensemble serenaded the audience with the beautiful sounds of the season during our annual winter choral concert. Upper School students also spread holiday cheer in early December, as they participated in a concert tour throughout Cincinnati. Fine and performing arts department chair Tina Kuhlman said the evening marked the last time the winter choral concert will take place in Founders. The spring choral and instrumental concerts are scheduled to be held in The Schiff Center, scheduled to open in spring of 2019. .......................................
that kept the audience either leaning forward in their seats or restraining themselves from jumping out of them. The musical started off with kinetics and energy and didn’t stop, a true testament to the months of hard work and
Fifth-graders at the Lotspeich Lower School staged their exciting musical titled, “Summer Camp,” in late October. Under the direction of music teacher Robin Wilson and creative
dramatics teacher Russell White, with lighting provided by technical theater director and teacher Trey Tatum, students put on a great show! The fifth-graders told the story of a group of kids who, at first quite hesitantly, attend summer camp. After encountering a parade of bugs, a very hungry bear, and having the time of their lives, the children aren’t ready to leave camp as the summer comes to a close. The show was great and had the audience laughing. ....................................... The cheery bells of Winter Break rang out in mid-December during the annual Doherty Holiday Program, titled, “Paint the Town December.” Congratulations to our sartorially splendid student vocalists and musicians, and to music teacher Maria Eynon!
meticulous preparation put forth by the students. Congratulations to the cast and crew, Upper School Theater teacher Marc Raia, and technical theater director Trey Tatum. ....................................... Congratulations to our talented Middle and Upper School symphonic ensembles and the Upper contemporary ensemble for sharing the fruits of much hard work in early December. Under the direction of instrumental music teacher John Rising, the
Upper School Chorus
musicians performed a variety of complex, technically intricate songs. The Symphonic Ensemble also included a stunning duet performance by sophomore Andrew Yang and senior Max Yuan, of “Passacaglia – Duo for Violin and Viola.” ....................................... Congratulations to our Middle and Upper School choruses for lovely performances during the Winter Concert, held in early December. Students in the Upper School full chorus, women’s chorus, men’s chorus, and Middle School Instrumental
GREASE • SYMPHONIC & CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLES • CHORUS • CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
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Middle School students put on a great show
of friends starting at age 5 and ending in
director and teacher Trey Tatum provided the
in mid-October, performing two, one-act
Middle School. The sparse set allowed the
lights and sound production. Congratulations
plays. In “Me, Myselfie, and I,” by Jonathan
actors to shine throughout the play. Middle
to our Middle Schoolers, Tatum, and theater
Dorf, various groups of young people
School students and technical theater
teacher Jacob Hauser on a great show!
grappled with how technology, particularly smartphones, play into their lives. Whether it was being “ghosted” by a presumably close friend, agonizing over taking a picture of lunch for Instagram, or debating the best way to take a selfie, the Middle Schoolers acted out these real-life issues with empathy, sweetness, and humor. In the second play, “The Adventures of Rocky & Skye,” by Kelly DuMar, the audience enjoyed the evolution
Me Myselfie and I
Seven Hills’ Upper School art show featured about 200 pieces of art, which included sculpture, digital imagery, photography, graphic design, and more.
© 2019 The Seven Hills School
SEMESTER IN REVIEW: F A L L 2 0 1 8