Upper School

Upper School News

Seniors’ Yards Signed

The weekend before the First Day of School, the Class of 2021 was surprised to look out on their lawns and see them signed with a Senior yard sign. The signs, placed there by mysterious deliverers when no one was looking, celebrate St. Johns seniors and all the many achievements it has taken them to get to this point—their senior year. “We’ve been doing the signs for a few years now,” said Head of Upper School Mary Virginia Fisher. “They’re a fun way for the School to spotlight our seniors, applaud them, and give them some of the recognition which they truly deserve.”

Juniors Receive Class Rings

In December, St. Johns hosted its 3rd annual junior ring ceremony, in which members of the Class of 2022 received the class rings they ordered earlier in the year.

EcoArt and the Plastic Beach: A STEAM Collaboration

As reported on CBS Sunday Morning, “In the 1950s, scientists invented a new material that would change the world forever: plastic. Cheap, durable, sanitary, strong, and light – and, as we have seen in the years since, very, very difficult to get rid of once we are through with it. About 70 percent of our discarded plastic winds up in open dumps or landfills, but much winds up in an even worse place: the ocean.” The plastic pollution crisis has been blamed on a handful of Asian countries, but a recent report shows that the U.S. is the largest producer of plastic waste in the world with 42 million metric tons in 2016. The second-largest producer is India with 26.3 million metric tons. Less than 10% of the plastic waste is recycled in the U.S.

This STEAM project was generated as a collaboration between Dr. Román and Ms. Ayres to create awareness of the global marine plastic pollution crisis. Students in Dr. Román’s Marine Science class were asked to select a coastal location from a list of places that are so littered by manmade debris that they have earned the nickname “Plastic Beach.” The selection included former sandy paradises that now resemble garbage dumps and are considered some of the dirtiest beaches on Earth.

The students researched the causes for the accumulation of debris in the area and the ocean current patterns associated with the location that might be responsible for the trash on the beach or other parts of the world. In addition, the students were asked to identify a local organism that is adversely affected by the trash and debris in that location. To complete the art component of the project, the students used personal recycled materials to create a silhouette of the marine organisms affected by plastic pollution. Recycled material was also used to display the ocean currents associated with the geographical location of the dirty beach.

National Honor Society inductions are being postponed until spring, in hopes that they can be conducted in person rather than virtually.

Spartans Gain Experience Through Fellowships

By Julia Nichols ’21 (Journalism Fellow)

Now in its third year, St. Johns’ unique Fellowships program offers Upper School students opportunities to delve into a topic of their choice, embarking on invaluable journeys of exploration. With many opportunities available in a variety of subject areas, students are able to shape their futures and gain practical experience as they take additional classes, volunteer, network, and more. Fellowships allow Spartans to excel and explore in unique ways, including writing this article.

The program provides an incredible opportunity of allowing students to obtain real-world experience in a field they may want to go into. Current fellowship subject areas include: Arts and humanities, community engagement, computer science, conservation, health sciences, international studies, journalism, United States government and politics, and visual arts. Taking a deep dive into subjects students are passionate about enriches their learning experience and opens doors to a wide scope of academic, practical, and professional possibilities. Students don’t explore alone; they are guided by dedicated faculty who root for their success and work to help students enhance their time in high school.

For senior Ellie Rosenau, the community engagement fellowship was a way to further bring her passion to fruition through real, impactful work. Rosenau chose the community engagement fellowship because it allowed her to pursue her passion for serving individuals with disabilities. Her fellowship experience has helped her narrow down her major and solidify her goal to seek a career in special education. In fact, it has done more than that. Her fellowship led her to serve at a Young Life camp, where she served meals and interacted with teenagers who did Capernaum, Young Life’s special needs ministry. Rosenau believes her experience as a fellow has made her “a more empathetic person, who is aware of specific ways I can positively shape my community.”

Maggie Kent, a member of the health sciences fellowship, has always been interested in medicine, so pursuing a fellowship was a no brainer for her. With her eyes set on the future, Kent shadowed a general surgeon and put in hours with the North Florida Cancer Specialists. In her own words: “Being able to scrub in and view a surgery was absolutely crazy, I’ll never forget it.” The deep dive she has been able to take as a fellow allowed her to narrow down the field of medicine she hopes to pursue, leading her to choose to study sports medicine. While Kent may have been able to pick a major without her fellowship, the hands-on experience it has provided certainly made her choice easier.

Senior Fellows Ellie Rosenau (left) and Maggie Kent (right).

Rosenau, 3rd from left, at camp.

Starting Senior Year During a Pandemic

By Julia Nichols I was asked to write about the experience of starting senior year during a pandemic, and for one of the few times in my life, I’m struggling to find the right words. I’m not sure my perspective matches my fellow students because I had to learn the hard way that life doesn’t always go as planned. When 2020 didn’t really go according to anyone’s plan, I didn’t find it too hard to adapt. I’ve had more than one sports season end early, and I’ve faced adversity that flipped my life upside down before, so I choose to see the good, and make the best of these crazy times. I know it’s been a year filled with immense fear, frustration, loss, pain, and uncertainty, which is why writing an article about my senior year being interrupted or abnormal feels somewhat irrelevant, petty, and privileged.

Even though the pandemic hangs over the entirety of our senior year, most events are still happening thanks to the efforts of the administration, even if they look a little different this year. I am so grateful to the incredible faculty and staff who worked to make the best of distance learning and pivot to allow us to return to school, trying to preserve many senior year traditions. Pivots that include wearing masks, filling out a daily health survey, sitting a little farther apart, and limited attendance at flag, sporting events, and other events, like the fall play. Pivots that really don’t change my senior year that much.

I think what makes this year hard has little to do with being a senior in high school. What makes this year hard is the uncertainty surrounding it. We wake up and go to school not knowing if today will be the day a COVID outbreak shuts the school down, if we’ll have to go back to distance learning, or if our sports seasons will be cut short. As we apply to colleges, we wonder if we’ll be able to attend in-person.

College applications look different this year, and our senior trip, which has already been rescheduled more than once, may not look the way they have in the past, but I don’t think it’s something to be upset about. Everyone is just doing the best they can right now. We’re adjusting to the idea that human interaction looks different this year. It’s hard to make plans and have hope in this season, but I believe that despite the bad, there has been good in 2020. This year has made us stronger. It’s taught us how to adapt.

While some of the privileges we’ve been waiting for haven’t materialized in the way we envisioned, we still got to have a senior presentation with brunch, photos, and a ceremony. We still have first grade buddies, and we get to go out to flag every morning. Amidst increasing community spread and scary Covid-19 numbers all around us, we are still able to attend class in person and eat lunch together. No, we don’t have a senior room, and we haven’t had any school dances, like homecoming, but we’re here. I’m honestly just grateful to be in school. We’ve been in school since August, and to me, that’s the most we could ask for given we all need to make sacrifices to protect our community from this pandemic.