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Community Service Highlights
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Archer Girls Serve:
COMMUNITY SERVICE HIGHLIGHTS
The mission of Archer’s Community Service program is to inspire students to become involved, compassionate citizens. Archer provides opportunities for students to perform community service through school-wide projects and after school activities, while challenging the girls to create and find meaningful service experiences of their own. This year has been particularly successful in fostering partnerships with service organizations that offer real, hands-on experiences. A few highlights from the past semester include:
Tutoring Middle School students at Paul Revere Middle School with the Determined to Succeed organization
Working with the Brentwood Community Council to save the Coral Trees on San Vicente
Performing at the Brentwood Festivus celebration and helping the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce raise $2,000 for Toys for Tots
Making blankets and gathering gifts for 10 families through our annual Adopt-a-Family program
More than 100 students and parents delivering holiday gifts to families in need in downtown LA
Tutoring at St. Anne’s School in Santa Monica
Organizing monthly dinners and art workshops with Daybreak Women’s Shelter
Partnering with the Slow Down for Julia Campaign to raise awareness about traffic and pedestrian safety in Brentwood
Coming Up
Hold on to your books for the upcoming Book Ends drive in April
Sign up to give blood during our Spring Blood Drive with St. John’s Blood Donation Center on May 2
Stay connected! Follow us on...
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cultivating interculturalism:
EXAMINING INTERSECTIONALITY OF SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION AND CROSS-CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING IN FRENCH SENIOR SEMINAR
By Shauna Callahan, French Teacher
Throughout the first semester, French Senior Seminar students, Lily Puglisi, Giulia Nunnari, Sophie Pendleton, and Shelby Gussman, (pictured in order at left), explored the concept of microfinance in conjunction with francophone women’s cultural identity in developing countries. Students analyzed and discussed diverse resources and media, including “Monique and the Mango Rains” by Kris Halloway, the Grameen Foundation (founded by Muhammad Yunus), the music of “Microfundo,” and statistics regarding women’s health and education from the CIA World Fact Book. Their studies were complemented by the Senior Class trip to the Skirball Cultural Center to view the exhibit, “Women Hold up Half the Sky,” and by the preparation and follow-up to the visit by Mr. Wogensen and the 12th grade team’s integration of “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,” by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.
Inspired by what they learned, and by their potential to engage our community in an endeavor to empower women globally, French Senior Seminar students culminated their first semester studies with a collaborative teaching project that presented the concept of microfinance in Malian culture to Ms. Gold’s 7th grade history class. Additionally, they created a Diversity Day seminar that taught our community about microfinance and its potential impact on women in developing countries.
During Family Friday in late January, seniors led discussions, prepared by the class, in preparation for their microfinance fundraiser. Students invested the fundraiser’s proceeds ($942.25) in the following microfinance organizations: Tostan, Worldvision Micro, and Opportunity International, and are tracking each investment throughout the course of second semester.
THE GALLERY AT ARCHER
The Gallery at The Archer School for Girls opened in 2006 with an inaugural exhibit that got people talking about the small gallery space that once used to be a chapel. The photography of Leonard Nimoy helped to establish a standard of showcasing excellence. Now in its 6th year, The Gallery has featured works from prestigious artists such as Julius Schulman, Peter Alexander, Frank Romero, Gerardo Monterubio, Laddie John Dill, and Barbara Brody Avnet.
This year’s Student Gallery Board (pictured at top right) continues The Gallery’s commitment to providing the School and larger community with a dynamic art experience in order to encourage and develop a vital interest in and passion for the arts. The next exhibit “Remastered” by Nicole Maloney opens March 9 and is on display through the end of April. To schedule a viewing, please call Gallery Director Patti Meyers at 310-873-7043.
DIGITAL TOOLS (continued from pg. 1)
Edmodo Makes the Grade in English by Robert Barker
The 7th grade students are using Edmodo, which is an educational social networking platform, modeled after the look and experience of facebook. Each section of the 7th grade has its own page in our class, with a “wall” where they communicate. Edmodo has its own quiz taking software, can accommodate attachments of all sorts of files, and also enables the teacher to create a library of documents that the students have access to 24/7. Lost the handout from yesterday? You were sick last week? The material you missed is just a few clicks away. In addition, when students take an assessment on Edmodo, it keeps track of it for them. They get a message every time they log on, indicating whether their assignment is “Waiting for Grade” or “Graded.” While the site is all about sharing, the grades and assignments of each student are only visible to her. All of these features work together to streamline and enhance student-to-student and student-to-teacher communication. Recently, the students in 7th grade English have been making great use of Edmodo in order to analyze writing samples and practice assessing them with a rubric. Groups of four to five students post their assessment scores in real time, while other teams view them and compare. The live discussion that ensues centers around any scoring discrepancies that exist between the groups. “You gave that sample paragraph a 3.7/4 for mechanics? Did you see all the comma splices and sentence fragments? Our team only gave it a 2! We need to talk!” Because the revision process is at the heart of English classes at Archer, Edmodo is the perfect fit, as it provides comfortable housing for all of a student’s work throughout the writing process. And students get to see a trail of their progress: they can scroll through weeks of work at a glance, reading through numerous written reflections, referring back to exchanges with classmates to get clarity on a concept, or just check out the Calendar section to see upcoming deadlines and assignments for class. Edmodo isn’t a digital portfolio of neatly typed essays. It’s a sprawling, living document that captures the journey and celebrates the day-to-day discoveries.
Library Resources by Becky Putzier
This year, the Archer Library has been working with teachers to compile digital resources on an array of topics that support their curriculum. These resources include links to scholarly resources that model reliable and educational content, such as Journal Storage (JSTOR), ProQuest Publishing, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Smithsonian Institution, Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Encyclopedia Britannica Online, and the Getty Museum. In addition, the librarians introduce students to effective beginning and advanced online search strategies. Our goal is to move students beyond simple Google searching to a more meaningful search experience that produces scholarly educational content.
Making Connections in History by Beth Gold
Students in Ms. Gold’s 7th grade world history class have recently become ePals with a 7th grade class in Shenzhen, China. The goal of the project is for students in both countries to use digital tools to create a global classroom, and for the students to learn about each others’ culture and geography through direct contact and communication. In preparation for their email exchange, Ms. Gold’s students explored popular search engines in China to find news headlines to explore further with their new ePals. The Shenzhen students sent Ms. Gold’s class an email describing their classes, their school routine and their city. Ms. Gold’s class has responded with emails about a typical school day at Archer, as well as their daily routines and life in Los Angeles. After our initial exchange of information, the classes will hopefully be able to Skype or video conference with each other. Learning about life in China through the eyes of students in China will greatly enhance the Archer girls’ understanding of cultural differences and similarities and teach them how to use digital tools to get firsthand information about their world.
Science Simulations by Cassia Sonderleiter
I use AirSketch and my iPad during note-taking and problemsolving in class. This allows me to project the Unit Packet (a pdf of the lessons in a given unit) and put up notes or have students solve the problems by writing on the iPad as it is projected on the board. I can move around the room to show students their process on the board without having to rearrange the classroom.
My students all complete labs with their groups using Google docs to collaborate. They insert pictures, data and graphs from the digital lab probeware software, and upload their labs to their group’s website. Students use a variety of physics simulations (from the Phet and Explore Learning websites) to complete guided inquiry activities to develop an understanding of processes that occur at the microscopic level and cannot be observed directly.
Students create video tutorials using Jing, voicethread, or iMovie to teach and explain concepts to their peers.
Flip Teaching in Math by Angelica Bailon
Math Department Chair Eileen Finney utilizes “Flip Teaching” in her classroom in order to provide more individualized learning experiences for her students. Ms. Finney uses Jing videos to briefly illustrate a math concept; students are asked to watch this video before coming to class so that they can be prepared for the following day’s discussion. This approach allows Ms. Finney to have more in-class time to discuss and collaborate with students one-on-one and also gives students the chance to learn and master a concept at their own pace.
To read more about how Archer teachers and students are using technology to enhance their learning experiences, visit www.archer.org/digitaltools
Creating Timeless Art Using Technology by Chad Attie
The idea behind this class was to teach a course that utilizes the latest technology as a tool for creating art. Today the art world climate has changed dramatically and continues to do so day by day. Behind this change is technology.
A key question facing artists today is, “How do I create work that is vital and pertinent?” Archer girls are living in a time of iPhones, facebook, texting, Internet, apps, Google (and Google Earth), and up-to-the-minute satellite imagery. These technologies constitute a language for them, so this class addresses how they can use these modes to their advantage creatively. We explore how they can tap into this wealth of knowledge to produce work that is informed, connected, and relevant. Harnessing technology to become an extension of their thoughts, ideas and feelings, the girls are currently designing projects based on both technology and their own lives and observations. The current work touches on and ranges from multi-layered digital prints that capture the kinetic movements of ballerinas, paintings inspired by a cell phone app imagery, a multimedia art installation, which utilizes video, sounds, and various light techniques to simulate the feeling of descending in a submarine, detailed drawings capturing the intricate and miniscule inner workings of a computer chip, paintings based on x-ray technology, and much more. (Artwork at left by Auveen Dezgaran ’15). Ultimately, the class is creating art that is on and about the forefront of our lives. Through the students’ fearless explorations, we—the viewers—can learn a great deal about them and the rapidly changing world we live in.
NATIONAL MERIT SCHOLARSHIP FINALISTS
Four Archer seniors were named by the National Merit Scholarship Program as finalists for 2012. Victoria Chen ’12, Sophie Kimball ’12, Emma Pauly ’12 and Benina Stern ’12 are among the less than 1% of high school seniors in the nation recognized with this designation. The program aims to honor students with exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies. Students identified as semifinalists were initially recognized for exceptional performance on the PSAT. Those who were named finalists were done so after a rigorous application process that involved submitting an essay and demonstrating participation in their school and community. Each student’s SAT scores and overall academic record were also assessed.
FAMILY FRIDAYS
Archer has a variety of peer programs, classes, and clubs that support, stretch, and empower students at each developmental level. “Family Fridays” is a new program this year where every Archer student is part of a “family” of seven students from each grade level. Older students act as big sisters and lead discussions every week about matters relevant across grade levels. Topics include cyber bullying, healthy study habits, and conflict resolution. It is also a social time for girls to get to know other students outside of their grade.
In December 2011, English Department Chair Kristin Taylor was re-certified as a National Board Certified Teacher by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards. Ms. Taylor is the only Archer faculty member with this distinction and is one of the 97,000 highly accomplished teachers nationally to receive this honor. After a yearlong process, which involved creating an extensive portfolio to illustrate mastery of a specific content area while highlighting professional growth, this 10-year certification continues to reaffirm her commitment to the professionalism of teaching. Now in her 15th year as an educator, Ms. Taylor believes that “This process is about challenging yourself. It’s about not being satisfied with ‘good enough.’ It is one of the most amazing growth opportunities I’ve had as a teacher.”
ARCHER TO SPONSOR FIRST-ANNUAL FILM FESTIVAL
The Archer Film Festival is dedicated to empowering student filmmakers with a focus on the promotion of women in the film industry. The festival, to be held in May, will feature guest of honor and keynote speaker Nina Jacobson, producer of the upcoming movie, “The Hunger Games,” screenings of selected student films from across the nation, and will culminate in a series of moderated pannels led by industry professionals. To view a promotional video and learn more information, visit the website at www.archerfilmfestival.org.
archer fast facts 2011-2012
Grades: 6 - 12
Enrollment: 430
Faculty: 65
Faculty w/ advanced degrees: 63%
Male Faculty: 28%
Faculty of Color: 20%
Student/Teacher Ratio: 7:1
Average Class Size: 16
Course Offerings: 115 courses taught, including 11 APs. 79% of juniors and seniors currently take an AP course.
Student Life: 30+, mostly student-run & student-initiated activities
Diversity: 31% students of color; Students come from 134 different elementary and secondary schools and from 75 different zip codes throughout the city.
Financial Assistance: 29% of students receive some form of financial assistance. Nearly $2.8 million in financial aid was awarded for the 2011-2012 school year.
Campus: Built in 1931 by famed California architect William Mooser, listed as a Los Angeles Cultural/Historic monument; 95,000 square feet of interior space including a 6,000 square foot library, 4 acres of playing fields and outdoor space
Athletics: Middle School teams compete in the Pacific Basin League, the Interscholastic Equestrian League (IEL) and the Delphic League (no-cut policy); Upper School teams compete in California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Delphic League and in the CIF Alpha League and the IEL. Teams include Equestrian, Tennis, Volleyball, Cross Country, Soccer, Basketball, Softball, Track, and Swimming.
Accreditation: Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS)
Memberships: National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), National Coalition of Girls’ Schools (NCGS), California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), College Entrance Examination Board, Online School for Girls, A Better Chance (ABC), The Independent School Alliance for Minority Affairs, Young Eisner Scholars
