T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R S T. L U K E ’ S S C H O O L
Welcome to 377, The Magazine for St. Luke’s School. The mission of this publication is to bring you new perspectives on life and learning on the Hilltop through a particular topic lens. In this issue, we celebrate world perspectives. Look for the to identify stories that oer more at www.stlukesct.org.
“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.” - Buddha
As I walk across campus, I see the world. In each face. In each song, painting, goal scored, experiment tried, problem solved. I see it in big thoughts and small moments, because at St. Luke’s, our global perspective is a lot more than taking a trip. It’s stretching our minds to accommodate the universe. We stretch our minds by learning. As Ajit Akole can tell you, studying geography (p.5) challenges us to search our minds, not Google, for the scope of this blue planet. This gives a foundation for understanding ideas. We begin to see how geography is often destiny in world history. The arts give us another portal to our world.We can be poor, disenfranchised, yet happy in a shtetl in Czarist Russia.We can be in love and out of our class on Once on This Island (pp.6-7). We can listen to the stories of students and faculty who’ve traveled far and wide to discover new territory within themselves. From the teacher who taught in Botswana (p.9) to the alumnus who lives inTaiwan (p.2). As our brains expand to fit the world in, we discover there’s plenty of room. A big thinker named Einstein nailed it when he said: “The most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible.” As I travel to Rangitoto College in New Zealand this summer to swap ideas about education initiatives with a diverse group of educators from all over the world, I’m sure I will comprehend a bit more of this incomprehensible world of ours.
Mark Davis, Head of School
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When Mr. Shee Calls... “When Mr. Shee calls you – you can’t say no.” That was Cliff Champion’s reason for heading to the Hilltop to help celebrate World Language Week. Cliff shared his fluency in French and Chinese as well as his experiences living abroad in China. “I remember World Language Week from when I was a student and I loved it.” Cliff certainly made his mark while attending St. Luke’s. He launched St. Luke’s first China Care chapter and graduated as the first Global Scholar. “I am so grateful for my time at St. Luke’s. My language teachers were amazing. I was surrounded by people who inspired and motivated me…that can change your life.”
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When Cliff is not at St. Luke’s enriching our students’ experiences, he works at a sustainable architecture firm in Taiwan.
Excusez-Moi, You’re In My Seat SLS parent Isabelle Royce came to World Language Week to share her native French background and language skills with students. But she also delivered a charming story. It seems Isabelle’s husband Elliot is a St. Luke’s alum ’79 (and past Trustee). The two met when Elliot was an SLS student studying in France and accidentally occupied 16 year-old Isabelle’s seat in a class. The two must have worked it out as evidenced by their children Gabriel, Pierre and Camille. Cliff's and Isabelle’s stories drive home what we already knew: St. Luke’s takes you places…and then brings you back home.
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“Every child loves to be read to and that never seems to change.”
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Middle School Head Gareth Fancher made this observation after the annual reading of If the World Were A Village. This year’s reader was English Department Assistant Chair, Kirsten Tobler. This 6th grade tradition stimulates lively discussion and fosters “world-mindedness” with activities that include imagining the entire population of the world as a village of just 100 people.
Ajit Akole has emerged as St. Luke’s resident geography whiz. The sixth grader won the National Geographic Middle School Geography Bee, held at St. Luke’s and qualified for the state level National Bee. “Anybody can study for a geography bee as long as they like reading and learning about the Earth and the different cultures on it,” said Ajit. “Geography is interesting because it opens your eyes to the rest of the world.”
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World THEATRE “I invited the students to create two worlds. I wanted to make a clear distinction between the impoverished Peasants and the wealthy Grands Hommes.� Jereme Anglin, Director, Once on This Island
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At St. Luke’s, All the World’s a Stage Pretending and storytelling are the ways we understand the world. As far back as 500 BC, in a preliterate society, long before the 24-hour news cycle, news and facts were spread orally. In Greece, tens of thousands packed into theatres to be healed by means of a “vision” onstage. Today, a popular “vision” can get a million hits on YouTube in a matter of seconds.
Live theatre has survived thousands of years, (and the mobile device) because it tells us things about our world–and about ourselves –that can’t be found anywhere else.The cast, crew, audience–all share the power of the experience–in the moment. This year, at St. Luke’s, we explored the world of the French Antilles in Once on This Island, and visited a shteltl in Czarist Russia for Fiddler on the Roof.Worlds away from life in a Connecticut school. How did we get there? Dale Griffa, St. Luke’s Musical Director, says: “I asked the kids to create a backstory. To think of the moment before the audience comes in, and the moment after the curtain goes down.” Jereme Anglin, the School’s Director of Theatre Arts says: “These are made-up worlds, but elements of them look very much like our own world. For the set, our student tech crew painted everything black and white. We wanted to make the world seem familiar, but at the same time to be obviously just a story.”
“Everyone has a different lens through which they view the world. Fiddler is a real story of the haves and the have-nots.” Dale Griffa, Director, Fiddler on the Roof
Far Away Yet Close to Home Universal themes emerge, powerfully delivered in dance and song, through the eyes of characters like Tevye and Ti Moune. We are faced
with wealth and poverty, racism and discrimination, life, love and death, and everything in between. Within the context of the world onstage, we find our empathy, and we learn important coping skills. Eli Parker-Burgard ’12 played Tevye: “It was interesting to play a man so close to God and serious about his religion. Playing this part helped me understand what it’s like to struggle to hold on to traditions, even when it might hurt your family.” Dale puts it this way: “We can only imagine some of the anger and struggles people face. What helps them through that? A sense of community forms the pillars of Fiddler. Like at St. Luke’s, what holds you together really is belief in each other–to want the best for each other.”
A World of Possibility “Our lives become the stories we weave,” is a song lyric from Once on This Island. As Jereme Anglin says: “We do not get a happy ending. Ti Moune dies for her love. But her conviction and truth open up the possibility for future generations to break down those social and racial inequalities.” This year, we traveled thousands of miles to arrive home, to the campus of St. Luke’s, and a world of possibility.
“I live every day in gratitude for all that I have and that which I have been given. I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities I have been given in my life such as the gift of intelligence and SSP for recognizing that spirit of excellence in me.” - Voyolwethu (“Vuyo”) Lwazi Nomthandazo Nkosi Vuyo (pictured here with host student Abby Goettler ’12) is one of six South African students who visited St. Luke’s as part of an arrangement between the Center for Leadership and the Student Sponsorship Programme (SSP). SSP provides scholarship opportunities to talented students from low income families. Just as Vuyo appreciates the gift of SSP, the St. Luke’s families who hosted the students appreciated the gift of time with such intelligent, lovely people. 8
English teacher Frank Henson was the first to participate in St. Luke’s teacher exchange–a Center for Leadership initiative. The exchange provides faculty with opportunities to immerse in a different country and culture. Frank travelled to Maru-a-Pula (MAP), a private school in Botswana, Africa: “My most transformative learnings were macro in scope. They transcend literacy, Cambridge exams versus SAT’s, and grammar. They are about vision in building student leaders, and they form an inspiring connection to St. Luke’s mission and offer potential lessons for us.” 9
Scholars Symposium St. Luke’s Yosif Ganat ‘95 was the first alumnus to keynote a Scholars Symposium. Yosif is a graduate of Cornell with degrees in pre-med and religious studies. He is currently a Post-doctoral researcher in the laboratory of Lorenz Studer at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center where he works on Parkinson’s disease therapies.
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Yosif gave a fascinating presentation on his work and ended with an old photo from his SLS days and this personal comment: “I’m still very close with my St. Luke’s friends. Some people ask ‘why do you spend so much time with your high school friends?’ and I say ‘hey, they’re my best friends.’ ”
The Scholars Program is in its sixth year and has grown to include Global, Classical and STEM distinctions. The following are the 2012 St. Luke’s Scholars, their Independent Study and Capstone topics, and next fall’s matriculation: Ellie Biddle: University of Virginia Classical Greek Pottery: Construction, Decoration, and History Hannah Butman: University of Richmond The Paradox of Foreign Aid: Helping or Hurting? Kyle DeViney: Bucknell University Engineering the Ideal Scene Shop Annabelle Duncan: University of Notre Dame Exploration or Exploitation? A Study of Biopiracy Sam Fuller: Tulane University The Opium Trade in Afghanistan: Causes, Effects, and a Promising Solution Sabrina Herbert: Lehigh University Endangered Means There is Time - Extinction is Forever Caroline Hopkins: Boston College “Soulology”: The Nature of the Soul in Classical Greek Philosophy Spencer Jaffe: University of Pennsylvania LEED by Example: Why the World Powers Must Lead the Switch to Alternative Energies Eli Parker-Burgard: Hamilton College Tricks of the Trade: A Look at the Effectiveness of Fair Trade Sam Posner: Pomona University From Language to Logic Gates Kelly Seaver: Harvard University Classical Athens: Monumental Architecture and Oratory in the Periclean Age Charlotte Seiler: University of Virginia Two Worlds Collide: India’s Changing Economy and Its Effect on Gender Relations Danny Serrano: Colgate University A Modern Look at the Palace of King Minos at Knossos Nikita Singh: Johns Hopkins University Capitalizing Kidneys: The Downfall of Organ Donation in the Middle East Anne Troy: Wake Forest University The Method to China’s Success: Currency Manipulation and Its Global Implications
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Ask Them to Build It…And They Will Come Of all the intimidating places to explore, the regions of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) top the list for many students. Science Department Chair Mike Mitchell and Center for Leadership Director Jim Foley are determined to change that fact. The two hosted St. Luke’s first annual Rube Goldberg Challenge to illuminate the excitement and yes, fun, of STEM. The contest required teams of four (students, teachers, parents, alumni) to build an intentionally, even comically complex contraption to perform the simple task of ringing a bell.
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“The best part about this challenge was that it takes the lessons out of the classroom and into the real world,” said Jim Foley. “It’s experiential learning at its best.” Mike Mitchell added: “Within the classroom students can easily lose sight of why it is important to learn algebra or physics, yet when they approached the competition they ended up using those learned skills. They also found out that playful curiosity goes a long way.”
Craig Gibson ’12 reads his essay about the decline of the villain during Spring Fest 2012. The fest is a multi-faceted celebration of the arts, academics and athletics. It is a weekend long demonstration of SLS students’ ability to thrive in a world of diverse experiences.
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Let us know what you think at communications@stlukesct.org 377 Editor: Nancy Troeger Production Director: Jane Ahrens Photography: DesirĂŠe Smock Design: Peapod Design 5/2012/#6/World