WELCOME TOSPA
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OUR M ISS ION : SHAP INGTHE M INDS ANDTHE HEARTS OF THEPEOPLE WHO W ILL CHANGETHE WORLD .
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ACH IEVEMENT Academ icexce l lencei s a tthecen te ro f wha t we do . Wo rk ingha rdtowa rd agoa li sdeep lyfu li l l ing fo rs tuden t so fa l lage s . Thepu r su i to fexce l lence cu l t iva te sbo ththehum i l i ty andgenu ineconidence s tuden t sneedtosucceedin co l legeandinthe i rl ive s . ACCOUNTAB IL ITY Th i si soneo fou r mo s t impo r tan tva lue sbecau se i ti sthefounda t iono fou r Accoun tab le C la s s room s . Inou rd i s t inc t ivec la s s room se t t ing s ,s tuden t slea rnto beaccoun tab letothe i r c la s sma te sandteache r sby com ingtoc la s sp repa red andre spond ingthough t fu l ly andcon s t ruc t ive lytothe idea so fo the r s ;theybecome accoun tab letothem se lve s bytak ingfu l ladvan tage o fthe manyoppo r tun i t ie s afo rdedthem ,bo thinand ou to fthec la s s room .
COMMUN ITY Pa ren t sands tuden t s de sc r ibead i sa rm ing ly wa rm and we lcom ingcu l tu rea t SPA .S tuden t sa rea tthe cen te ro fth i scu l tu re ,and evenou ryounge s ts tuden t s a reexpec tedtoac ta s accoun tab lec i t izen so fthe la rge rcommun i ty .Th i si s po s s ib lebecau se weg ive them mean ing fu l ,age app rop r ia tere spon s ib i l i t ie s tha tse ttheteno rfo rthe schoo l .S tuden t sreapthe benei t so fasuppo r t ive commun i tybu t mo re impo r tan t ly ,theylea rntha t theyhaveanob l iga t ionto makethecommun i tybe t te r . RES IL IENCE Re s i l iencei salea rned s t ra tegyfo rdea l ing w i th l i fe ’ sinev i tab lef ru s t ra t ion s andse tback sinthe mo s t p roduc t ive manne rpo s s ib le . S tuden t sneedtolea rnto seefa i lu rea sas teptowa rd s succe s s ,neve ra sanendpo in t .
INVENT IVENESS C rea t ive ,o r ig ina lthough t move sthe wo r ldfo rwa rd .I t requ i re sa m indcapab leo f syn the s iz ingtheknownin to thenew .Bu ti ta l sotake s cu r io s i tyandcou ragetosee the wo r ldinnew way sand ofe rnewidea s . Webe l ieve i ti sv i ta ltop rov idebo ththe in te l lec tua ltoo l sandthe emo t iona lsuppo r trequ i red toun lea shc rea t ive m ind s . PASS ION SPAi sap lace whe re s tuden t slea rnthepowe rand sa t i s fac t iono ffu l lyengag ing inthe i rlea rn ingandthe i r commun i ty .Pa s s iona te , emo t iona lengagemen t b r ing sp ro foundjoyand be t te rpe r fo rmance , whe the r inthec la s s room ,onthe s tage ,inf ron to fanea se l , o rontheie ldo fp lay .
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AM ISS ION -DR IVEN SCHOOL BYBRYNS .ROBERTS , HEAD OFSCHOOL
Wha tdoesi t meantobe am is s ion -d r ivenschoo l? A tSPA , we wo rkha rdtode l ive rthetang ib le e lemen tso fanexcep t iona leduca t iona l expe r ience ,bu t wha t makesSPAun iqueis in tang ib le .Pa ren tsandnews tuden tste l lus tha ttheyfee lapa r t icu la rk indo fene rgy when they wa lkth roughou rdoo rs :anopennes sand wa rm ththa trelec tsou rcu l tu re .Thepu rposeo f th isb rochu reistodesc r ibeou rcu l tu re ,andthe va luesand m is s iontha ta rea ti tsfounda t ion . Weinv i teyoutov is i tou rcampusestota lk w i thusabou thow we l lSPAi ts w i thyou rown educa t iona lv is ionandva lues .
Ou rm i s s ion—toshapethe m ind sandthehea r t s o fthepeop le who w i l lchangethe wo r ld— i sa p rom i setoou rs tuden t sandou rfam i l ie s .I ti s in ten t iona l lyamb i t iou ssoi tw i l lpu shu stobe though t fu labou teve ry th ing wedo .I tin sp i re su s tobeou rbe s tandrem ind su stha t wehavethe re spon s ib i l i tytore spec tandnu r tu retheun ique po ten t ia lineve rych i ld . The rea rel i te ra l lythou sand so fdec i s ion s madeeve rydaybyteache r s ,adm in i s t ra to r s ands tuden t s .Insum ,the sedec i s ion sse rveto deine whoand wha t wea re . Wea skeve ryone inou rcommun i tytou seou rm i s s ions ta temen t a sai l te r :i sth i sdec i s ionina l ignmen tw i th ou rm i s s ion?
The m i s s iona l sose t sh ighs tanda rd sfo rou r s tuden t sbu ttheyrece ivesuppo r tandgu idance a teve rys tep . Weshapethe i rm ind sbyteach ing themhowtoth inkc lea r lyandc rea t ive ly . We shapethe i rhea r t sbyteach ingthemhowtobe sen s i t ivetothepe r sona ls t rugg le so fo the r s . Weopendoo r sandshowthempa thway stoa w ide r wo r ldandsuppo r tthe i rpa s s ion s . Wethen suppo r teachs tuden tinchoo s ingthe i rd i rec t ion , app ly ingthe i rind iv idua lta len t s ,andemb rac ing the i rpo ten t ia l . Ou rm i s s iong ive su spu rpo se .I trep re sen t sou r g rea te s ta sp i ra t ion sandva lue s .Bu t mo s to f a l l ,i trelec t sou rdeepbe l ie fintheta len t sand capab i l i t ie so fou rs tuden t s .
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ACH IEVEMENT
EXCELLENCE COMESIN MANYSHAPES ANDS IZES Academ icexce l lencei sa tthehea r to ftheSPAexpe r ience . Asu rveyo frecen tSPAa lumn i/aeind ica tedtha t94%o f recen tSPAg radua te srepo r tfee l ingbe t te rp repa redfo r co l lege wo rkthanthe i rco l legec la s sma te s . Th i sk indo fp repa ra t ionrelec t sthepowe randappea lo fthe Accoun tab le C la s s room .The rei snobacko fthec la s s room a tSPA .Sma l lc la s ss ize sa l lowou rteache r stohe lps tuden t s indthe i rs t reng th sandpa s s ion ssotha teachonecanexce l inthe i rown way s .A sare su l t ,SPAs tuden t sa rerecogn ized fo rexce l lenceac ro s sana r rayo facadem icpu r su i t s— intheTw in C i t ie s ,M inne so ta ,andna t ionw ide .S tuden t s a recha l lengedby wha t webe l ievei sthebe s tacadem ic cu r r icu luminthes ta te . Ca r ingsuppo r ti sacon s tan t ,bu t s tuden t sw i l lcometoknowha rd wo rkandh ighs tanda rd s be fo retheyg radua te . A tSPA ,ones izedoe sno ti ta l land wedon ’ tteachto thete s t .Intheea r l ie s tg rade s ,ch i ld renspendtwoyea r s w i ththesametwo teache rteam ,a l low ingfo ralonge r deve lopmen ta la rcanddeepe runde r s tand ingo feachch i ld ’ s need s .Inthe Uppe rSchoo l , we ’vecho senno ttofo l low the AdvancedP lacemen tp rog ramsoou rc la s se scango we l lbeyondthe APcu r r icu lumindep thandcomp lex i ty . Mo rethanha l fo fSPAs tuden t s whoe lec ttotake APexam s ea rnasco reo f4o r5and mo rethan80%ea rnasco reo f 3o rabove .
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12 12 NCAA D IV IS ION1 ATHLETESIN LAST5YEARS
seven 7M INNESOTA STATE CHAMP IONSH IPS FOR MATHTEAM INLAST12YEARS
PLACED2ND OF 243SCHOOLS FROM AROUND THE WORLD AT INTERNAT IONAL PUBL ICPOL ICY FORUM DEBATE COMPET IT ION
50STUDENTS RECOGN IZED BY M INNESOTA SCHOLAST IC ART AWARDSIN LAST3YEARS
THERUB ICONSTUDENT NE WSPAPER WAS AWARDED A COLUMB IASCHOLAST ICPRESS ASSOC IAT ION“CROWN , ” ITS H IGHEST HONORIN ADD IT IONTO A GOLD MEDAL W ITH ALL COLUMB IA HONORSINTHE CSPA CR IT IQUE COMPET IT ION .
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2TEAMSSELECTED TOCOMPETEIN NAT IONAL QU IZBOWL CHAMP IONSH IPS
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2STATET ITLESFOR ONE ACTPLAYPERFORMANCES INTHELAST5YEARS
3M IDDLESCHOOL STUDENTS WON PLACES ON THE NAT IONAL HONORROLL OF D IST INCT IONFOR SCOR INGINTHETOP 1% OF ALLSTUDENTS NAT IONALLYIN THE AMER ICAN MATHEMAT ICS COMPET IT ION
3 -T IMESTATE CHAMP ION ACADEM IC WORLD QUEST( WORLDKNOWLEDGE COMPET IT ION )INLAST5YEARS
1 RANKED1STIN M INNESOTAINPUBL IC FORUM DEBATE
1STPLACEINTHE M INNESOTASTATE SEN IORLEVEL WORLD SAVVYCOMPET IT ION
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35 NAT IONAL MER ITF INAL ISTS INLAST4YEARS
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ACH IEVEMENT Ca r l tonCa lv in’79 founded Razo r—acompanytha t re inven tedtheconcep to f scoo te r s ,b ike sandska te s fo ranewgene ra t ion .“ I a lway ste l l myk id stha tI lea rned way mo rea tSPA thanId ida tco l lege ,andI u setha tlea rn ingeve ryday a tRazo r . ”
ALEGACY OF ACH IEVEMENT BEYONDTHE CLASSROOM Thepeop le wechoosetovene ra tesayalo tabou tus . Manyfo rme r s tuden tshavegoneontohaveadm i rab leca ree rs ,bu tthepeop le we choosetoce leb ra tese tanexamp lefo rusa l lbecausethe i r wo rkchanges the wo r ldfo rthebe t te r .The i rach ievemen tsdemons t ra tetotoday ’ s SPAs tuden tstha tthejou rneytoexce l lencecantakeape rsonin many d i rec t ions—bu ti ts ta r tsf romexac t ly whe retheya res i t t ingnow .
Du r ingh i sca ree ra tthe Depa r tmen t o fJu s t ice ,John Doa r’40 he lpedd ra f t theC iv i lR igh t s Ac to f1964 ,ove r saw landma rkvo t ingr igh t sca se s ,and pe r sona l lye sco r tedJame s Me red i th , thei r s tb lacks tuden tadm i t tedtothe Un ive r s i tyo fM i s s i s s ipp i .
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Wh i les t i l la tSPA ,N ico le A l i McNee r’04 becamethei r s tM inne so tanto w in thep re s t ig iou s Dav id sonIn s t i tu te Scho la r sh ipfo rhe r wo rkona p roce s stog rowb lood fo rm ing umb i l ica lco rds temce l l s .S ince g radua t ingf romHa rva rd , sheha sbecomepa r to f ateamdeve lop ing leukem iat rea tmen t s a tY a le .
In1909 ,theyoungF .Sco t tF i tzge ra ld pub l i shedh i si r s tp ieceo fic t ionin theSPAs tuden tnew spape r .H i slegacy i sin sp i ra t iontotoday ’ ss tuden t s who become w r i te r sinou r Accoun tab le C la s s room sandlea rntha texce l lencei s po s s ib lefo rthemtoo .
Ka renH s iao A she’72i s c rea to ro ftheH s iao mou se —av i ta la s se tinthere sea rch shelead sa ttheUn ive r s i tyo f M inne so tatohe lpdecodethe sec re t so fA lzhe ime r ’ sd i sea se andindapa thtop reven t ion .
An i l Menon’95 ha sde s igned andled med ica lfac i l i t ie sa t M t .Eve re s tBa seCampandin ea r thquake shakenHa i t i .He ’ s evense rvedin A fghan i s tan a sal igh tsu rgeon . Nowhe ’ s wo rk ing w i th NASAtoc rea te be t te r med ica lp rac t ice sfo r theex t reme so fspacel igh t .
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ACCOUNTAB IL ITY
ENGAGEMENTLEADS TOBETTERLEARN ING The Accoun tab le C las s roomhasp roventobeanex t rao rd ina r i lyefec t iveapp roach tha tappea lstoteache rsands tuden tsbecausei t ’ ssuchanengag inglea rn ingexpe r ience . Theapp roachdependsonas tuden t teache rra t ioo f8 : 1tha ta l low sun iqueta len tstobe d iscove redandrea l ized .I t ’ sap lace whe rech i ld reno fa l lageslea rntheyhavearespons ib i l i ty toengageandcon t r ibu te—eve ryday ,eve ryc las s ,andeve ryac t iv i ty—becausetheschoo lis on lyasgoodasthes tuden tsandteache rs makei t ,toge the r .Thed iscou rseteachess tuden ts torespec ttheideaso fo the rs ,evenastheybeg intorecogn izethe i rownta len ts . Whe the ri t ’ sa rounda Ha rknes stab ledu r ingan Uppe rSchoo lsem ina ro rac i rc leo f k inde rga r tene rsontheloo r ,thecons tan ta teve ryageisanexpec ta t iono faccoun tab i l i ty w i th inanin t ima telea rn ingenv i ronmen t .
AS tuden t ’ sExpe r ienceIn The Accoun tab le C la s s room BY AFSARSANDOZ I’ 15
A rounda Ha rkne s stab le ,s tuden t sa reawa reo fthere spon s ib i l i ty theyhavetocon t r ibu teandl i s ten ,becau sethed i scu s s ion w i l lon ly bea sgooda s we makei t .The rei sarea lsen seo fcommun i tyinou r c la s se sbecau se wea refac ingeacho the ra roundatab le .A lmo s t uncon sc iou s ly , welea rnhowtohaveare spec t fu ld i scu s s ionand howtoen su retha ta l lvo ice sa rehea rd . Pe r sona l ly ,Ilovei t whensomeonep re sen t sanews idetoan a rgumen tbecau sei tp rov ide sa mo recomp le tep ic tu re .T eache r s p rov ided i rec t ionanda skp rob ingque s t ion sbu tthed i scu s s ion i samongs tuden t s . Wan t ingtoseea l ls ide so fana rgumen ti s some t ime sd i sm i s seda sindec i s ivene s s ,bu tl i s ten ingre spec t fu l lyto d ife ren top in ion slead stoabe t te r in fo rmeddec i s ion .Iamthank fu l fo r myfou ryea r sa round Ha rkne s stab le sw i thcompa s s iona teand though t fu lpee r sandteache r s .
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AT eache r ’ s Pe r spec t ive BY ANDREASACHS ,PH .D .
Oneo f myfavo r i tep lace stobei ss i t t inga rounda Ha rkne s stab le d i scu s s ing Ame r icanh i s to ry w i th mys tuden t s , wa tch ingthem w re s t le w i ththecomp lex ,o f tencon t rad ic to rye lemen t so fou r na t ion ’ spa s t .Thea r rangemen to fthetab le—w i theve ryoneinthe “ f ron trow ”— rem ind ss tuden t sda i lytha ttheya l lp layaro leinthe co l lec t ivelea rn ingexpe r ience . T each inga tthetab lerequ i re sgoodpe r iphe ra lv i s ionandal igh t handonthere in s .Io f tenbeg inthec la s sw i thas t ruc tu redac t iv i ty : af ree -w r i t ingac t iv i ty ,ap rovoca t iveque s t ion ,o rapuzz l ing p r ima rydocumen t . Onceth ing sa re mov inga long ,Icanbackup andle tthes tuden t stakecommando ftheconve r sa t ion .Isee myro lea she lp ings tuden t snav iga tethe“ swee tspo t ”be tween con sen su sandd i sco rd ,c la r i tyandcomp lex i ty ,andcom fo r tand cha l lenge . Conve r sa t ion scange tdu l l wheneve ryoneag ree sw i th oneano the r ,soI m igh tp robeab i ttosee whe retheunan im i ty b reak sdown .Evenbe t te ri s whenabo lds tuden ts tep sinto p laydev i l ’ sadvoca teandspa rk sap roduc t ivedeba te .Becau se h i s to r ica ld i scu s s ion su sua l lyinvo lves takeho lde r s who ses to r ie s a rebe ingd i s to r tedo rove r looked , myro lea sateache ri stoinv i te s tuden t stouncove randempa th ize w i thle s sv i s ib lepe r spec t ive s . Good Ha rkne s stab leconve r sa t ion sembodytheba lanceo fsa fe ty andcha l lengetha tSPAi scon s tan t lys t r iv ingtoa t ta in . We wan t to makea l ls tuden t sfee lfundamen ta l lyva luedandai rmed , readytoa r t icu la tethe i ridea sanda skthe i rque s t ion s .Theface to faceconve r sa t ion sa roundthetab lesuppo r ttha tgoa l ,gen t ly encou rag ings tuden t stotaker i sk sandg rowin te l lec tua l ly .I t ’ sve ry g ra t i fy ingtoknowtha tou rg radua te sleaveSPA w i thah ighleve l o fin te l lec tua ls t reng thandag i l i ty .Theyheadtoco l lege w i tha sen seo finqu i ryandahab i to femb rac ingcha l leng ingtop ic sand exp lo r ingb igidea s .
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COMMUN ITY
BYTHESTUDENTS , FORTHESTUDENTS I t ’ srema rkab le wha tcanhappen whens tuden t sa reen t ru s tedto shapethe i rcommun i ty . Gu idedbyadu l t s ,theya reempowe red w i thage -app rop r ia teoppo r tun i t ie stoa r t icu la teand mode lhow peop leshou ldl iveand wo rkinou rschoo l ’ scommun i ty .S tuden t s p laya ma jo rro leindein ingthesoc ia lcompac ttha tdeine sthe i r expe r iencea tSPA .There su l ti sap lace whe red ife rence s a rece leb ra tedanden t i t leda t t i tude sa ref rownedupon . Peop lea rejudgedba sedon wha ttheycon t r ibu te , no t wha ttheyhave . He rei t ’ sgoodtot ryyou rbe s t , andsma r ti scoo l . Thes tuden t shavehe lpedc rea teanex t rao rd ina ry commun i tytha tba lance stheque s tfo rexce l lence w i tha wa rm ,suppo r t iveenv i ronmen t whe re ch i ld renandyoungadu l t slou r i sh— emo t iona l lyandin te l lec tua l ly .
THESPA COMMUN ITYIS MADEBETTERTHROUGH D IVERS ITY .IN20 14 15 ,29% OF OURSTUDENTS WERESTUDENTS OF COLOR ANDSOC IOECONOM IC D IVERS ITYIS ENSUREDTHROUGH MORETHAN$3 M ILL IONINF INANC IAL A IDTO OURFAM IL IES .
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BYBENBOLL INGER DAN IELSON , SPA UPPERSCHOOLTEACHER AND G IRLSSOCCER COACH
Ob se rv ingThe Cu l tu re A t Wo rk InT eamSpo r t s Thecu l tu reo faccoun tab i l i tydoe sn ’ ts topinthe c la s s room sa tSPA .Thecu l tu re man i fe s t si t se l f when s tuden t -a th le te ssha rethe i rh ighleve lana ly s i so fa gameo rinthe mundaneta sko f manag ingequ ipmen t eachdaya tp rac t ice .Thes tuden t sca redeep lyabou t p re se rv ingahea l thy ,compe t i t ive ,joy fu lenv i ronmen t . Theyac t ive lyp re se rvethe i rpo s i t ivet rad i t ion sand theydono tho ldbackf romho ld ingthe i rpee r stoa h ighs tanda rd . Even myha l f t imeta lk sdu r ingsocce rgame srelec t thecu l tu rea tSPA .Ire se rvethei r s tfew m inu te s o fha l f t imefo rthes tuden t -a th le te stop rov idethe i r in s igh t sonthegame . Du r ingth i st ime ,theteam con s t ruc t ive lyd i scu s se s wha tha s wo rkedand wha t need stoimp rove— i t ’ sju s tl ikead i scu s s iona rounda Ha rkne s sT ab le . Iama lway simp re s sedbythet rad i t iono ftak ing owne r sh ipandaccoun tab i l i tyfo rteamva lue s— f rom tak ingre spon s ib i l i tyfo rbe inganexce l len tteamma te totak ingthere spon s ib i l i tyfo requ ipmen t .Thesocce r p laye r sd i scu s sandho ldeacho the raccoun tab letoa se to fteam -e s tab l i shed -va lue stha ttheyseektol ivein p rac t ice ,inschoo l ,andingame s .
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RES IL IENCE
THE TRUTH ABOUT GR IT Recen tre sea rchin tothepe r fo rmanceo f co l leges tuden t sha siden t iiedaspec iic cha rac te r i s t ictha ti sv i ta lfo rsucce s s : “g r i t . � Webe l ieveg r i ti srea l lyabou t s t ronghab i t sandlea rneds t ra teg ie sfo r dea l ing w i thf ru s t ra t ion sandfa i lu re s . Becau sefa i lu rei sanimpo r tan tpa r to f lea rn ing , we mode lsucce s s fu ls t ra teg ie s fo rdea l ing w i thinev i tab lese tback sby g iv ings tuden t s manychance stotake r i sk sandpu shthem se lve sbeyondea sy an swe r s . Wepu shs tuden t stoengage w i thidea s mo redeep lyandthough t fu l ly thantheyeve rimag inedtheycou ld . Ou rgoa li stog ivethemthetoo l sthey needtoseesho r t te rmf ru s t ra t iona sa nece s sa rys teptowa rdsucce s s .
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THEPSYCHOLOGY OFRES IL IENCE BYJ ILLROMANS ,PH .D . ,M IDDLESCHOOLPR INC IPAL S tuden t s whodeve lopasen seo fse l f -e s teembu i l t onre s i l ienceandpe r seve rance— ra the rthanonh igh ach ievemen ta lone—a re mo rel ike lytofee lconiden t du r ingd iicu l tlea rn ingta sk s .Inth i s manne r ,re s i l ience a sacha rac te rt ra i ti sanimpo r tan tpa r to fs tuden t succe s s .S tuden t s wholea rnea r lyontode r ive conidencef rom w i th ina re muchbe t te rp repa redto app roachd iicu l ts i tua t ion s .Incon t ra s t ,s tuden t s who sese l f -e s teemi sde r ivedf romex te rna ljudgmen t s , sucha sg rade s ,a rele s spo i sedtotaker i sk sanda re o f tena f ra ido ffa i lu rea ttheexpen seo ft ruelea rn ing . RES IL IENCEIS A HAB IT OF M IND AS MUCH ASIT IS A CHARACTERTRA IT . ATSPA , A KEY GOALIS TO HELPSTUDENTS DEVELOPTHESETOOLS OR HAB ITS OF M IND . SPAs tuden t sdeve loptheab i l i tytope r seve re ,to nav iga teamb igu i ty ,andtoa skgoodque s t ion s .They lea rntha to f tenthe rei snooner igh tan swe r ,andtha t eachan swe rlead stoanewse to fque s t ion stha t deepenunde r s tand ing .Re s i l ienceinth i scon tex ti s theab i l i tytope r s i s t ,tohaved iicu l tconve r sa t ion s re spec t fu l ly ,tonego t ia teandco l labo ra te ,andtote s t ou td ife ren tpo s s ib leso lu t ion s . Intoday ’ scu l tu re ,s tuden t sa relook ingfo rimmed ia te feedbackandin fo rma t ion . Weteachthemtos tep back ,ga the rnewin fo rma t ion ,seektounde r s tand theva l id i tyandre levanceo ftha tin fo rma t ion ,and d igdeep .A tSPA ,s tuden t sbecomecom fo r tab le w i thtak ingthe i rt ime— theylea rntoa skque s t ion s , taker i sk s ,andunde r s tandtha tt ruelea rn ingi san ongo ingp roce s s .
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INVENT IVENESS Webe l ievetha teduca t ionshou ldbeaca ta ly s tfo rtheimag ina t ion . W i th supp le m indstha tcansyn thes ize ,inven tandbu i ld ,SPAg radua tesa re be t te rpo isedtocon t r ibu teideastha tw i l l movethe wo r ldfo rwa rd .
OR IG INAL TH INK ING Thecu r r icu luma tSPAin teg ra te s c rea t iv i tyandrea son inginnove l way s , engag ings tuden t sac ro s sd i sc ip l ine s . SPA ’ sh igh lyrega rded ma thp rog ram beg in sw i thS ingapo re ma thinthe Lowe rSchoo landinc lude safocu s on ma thema t ica lp roo fw i ths tuden t s inthe M idd leand Uppe rSchoo l s . Anexpe r ien t ia landinqu i ry -ba sed app roachi sacommondenom ina to r in ma thandsc iencea ta l lleve l s . SPAha sadop tedthep r inc ip le sand p rac t ice so fS tan fo rd Un ive r s i ty ’ s De s ignTh ink ingapp roachineach d iv i s ion . De s ignTh ink inginv i te s s tuden t stodeve lopadeepand mu l t i face tedunde r s tand ingo fa p rob lem ,dein ingi tinthe i rownte rm s be fo rete s t ingandrev i s ingp ro to type s a stheysea rchfo raso lu t ion . 16
A ttheLowe rSchoo l ,the“Make r space ” i sac la s s roomded ica tedtohand s -on c rea t ionandexpe r imen ta t ion .M idd le Schoo ls tuden t stakepa r tin week long “W in te rup t ”cha l lenge sl ikere imag in ing andre -de s ign ingtherec rea t iona la rea ontheRando lph Campu s .Inthe Uppe rSchoo l ,afu l l seme s te r De s ignTh ink ingcou r sea l low s s tuden t stoapp lythe p r inc ip le stoad ife ren t cha l lengeeve ryyea r .
STUDENTS HAVE ACCESSTOSTATE -OF -THE -ART 3DPR INTERSIN ALL OFTHE D IV IS IONS
OR IG INAL EXPRESS ION
TECHNOLOGYENABLES CREAT IVE PURSU ITS . CH ILDRENIN GRADES3 AND4 HAVEIPADS ANDLAPTOPS AREPROV IDEDTO ALLSTUDENTS IN GRADES5 12 .
Asp i r i to fc rea t iv i tyi spa lpab leonbo thcampu se s anda l lc la s s room s .V i sua la r tand mu s icoccupy animpo r tan tp laceintheschoo l ’ scu r r icu lumf rom theea r l ie s tg rade s .Pe r fo rm inga r t sa rea l soav i ta l pa r to ftheSPAexpe r ience ,a sthespec tacu la r new Hu s s Cen te rfo rthePe r fo rm ing A r t sa t te s t s . The mu s icp rog rami sin teg ra ltos tud ie sf romthe ea r l ie s tg rade s .Ina l lfo rm so fc rea t iveexp re s s ion andpe r fo rmance ,s tuden t slea rnabou tthev i r tue s o fbo thindependen tandco l labo ra t ive wo rk . Ju s ta simpo r tan t ,tak ingc rea t iver i sk steache sthe impo r tanceo fcou ragea sap re requ i s i tefo ra r t i s t ic exp re s s ionandt ru lyc rea t iveth ink ingo fa l lk ind s .
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PASS ION
L IGHT ING THEF IRE Wev iewpas s ioninave ry spec iic waya tSPA .I t ’ sno t jus tasenseo fen thus iasm andene rgy ,a l thoughtha tis neve rinsho r tsupp ly .Fo rus , pas s ionlow sf rom mean ing fu l , deepengagemen t .Tha tk ind o fengagemen tcomesf rom teache rsandcoaches who rea l lyknowthe i rs tuden tsand takethet imetounde rs tand the i rna tu ra lp roc l iv i t iesand ta len ts .Pas s iona teengagemen t istheha l lma rko fpeop le who makead ife renceinthe wo r ld andanimpo r tan tpa r to f ou rcu l tu re .
Relec t ion s F romRecen t G radua te s
In20 14 ,SPAconduc tedas tudyo frecen t g radua testode te rm inehowtheyfe l tabou t the i reduca t ionandhow we l li tp repa red themfo rco l lege ,andbeyond . He rea rea fewo ftheve rba t imcommen ts werece ived :
“Iv a luethefac ttha tSPAd idn ’ tteachtoates t . Ith inkSPAdein i te lygave methetoo lsto answe r d iicu l t/unanswe rab le/ in te res t ing ques t ionsandtouseresou rcestoigu reou t ananswe r .”
“ SPAINST ILLED A SYSTEM IC CUR IOS ITY WH ICHSETS ME APART FROM MYPEERS . ” 18
“ SPAgave methe com fo r ttospeakup inc la s se s .I tt ra ined me we l lto maneuve r ind i scu s s ion s : l i s ten ing ,bu i ld ing ontheidea spu t fo r thbyo the r s ,and in jec t ingnewidea s tothed i scu s s ion . ”
PASS ION INSPORT BY DAWN W ICKSTRUM , ATHLET ICS D IRECTOR
Compe t i t ivea th le t ic senhance sthe s tuden texpe r iencebyenab l ing engagemen tw i thpee r sin way s tha tcanno tberep l ica tedinthe c la s s room .Thel i fele s son slea rned th roughspo r t sp layap ro foundro le inhows tuden t sw i l lcon t r ibu teto soc ie tyth roughou tthe i rl ive s .Tha t ’ s why we ’ rep roudtha tf romba ske tba l l tofenc ing ,socce rto A lp inesk i ing , the re ’ saspo tontheteamfo reve ry SPAs tuden t .Eachyea r weave rage 90team sin17spo r t s . Among Uppe r Schoo ls tuden t s ,nea r ly75%compe te ona tlea s toneSPAteam . Thepa s s iontha tsu r round sspo r t seep sin toou rcu l tu re .I tp rov ide sa venuein wh ichpeop lecometoge the r andi tcana l sose rvea saca ta ly s t fo rsucce s sinthec la s s room .The d i sc ip l ineands t ruc tu rerequ i redto p laycompe t i t ivespo r t sre in fo rce s s tuden t s ’ab i l i t ie stoefec t ive ly nav iga tethecha l lenge sthey w i l l faceth roughou tthe i rl ive s .
“MY AB IL ITYTO WR ITE CLEARLY ANDTH INK CR IT ICALLY HAS BEENEXTREMELY VALUABLETO ME IN COLLEGE AND IN MYL IFEBEYOND COLLEGE AS WELL .” “ Iw a s much mo rep repa redthan myco l legepee r s . I wa sa s ton i shedtolea rnsomeo f myco l legef r iend s haveneve rw r i t tenre sea rche s say s .Bu tIth inkthe mo s timpo r tan tth ingSPAtaugh t me wa showto fa l ldown ,andthenp ick my se l fupaga in . ” 19
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