Spring 2017 by Westminster School

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Westminster Auction 2017

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The annual Westminster Auction, were treated to sights, sounds and tastes WestxWestminster (think Austin’s South that would not only transport them to 6th by Southwest Festival), was held on April Street in Austin, but more importantly, 1, 2017 at the make them feel Bricktown and appreciChevy Event ate just what it Center. Thanks is that makes to the efforts of Westminster a small army of such a special dedicated volschool. To pull unteers under off that kind the dynamic of atmosphere, leadership Kena and team of AucMonique knew tion Chairs they would Kena Garrett Auction chairs Monique Naifeh and Kena Garrett show off their need lots of and Monique hats and smile with Andrea Mason. help, so they Naifeh, the went to work night was full of fun and excitement as putting their team together by enlisting more than 400 patrons and friends came top notch caterers, decorators and busiout to help celebrate and raise funds for nesses who they knew could help bring Westminster School. about this vision. What was special and While the night was a huge success, unique about this year’s event was that one of the most complimented elements instead of going to the internet to find how of the evening was the unique Westminto contact vendors, Kena and Monique ster feel the auction took on this year. The went straight to the student directory. overall atmosphere of the event was front The first call was to Renzi Stone, Westand center to all the pre-event planning minster parent and the Chairman and that occurred to make sure that attendees continued on page two

WestxWestminster

Voyage á Paris

Magic in Middle Division

Middle Division Spring Play

Lower Division Play Letter from the

desk of Bob Vernon

Progressive Learning

Middle Division Talent

Faculty & Staff

New Website

in Primary Division Show

Luncheon

continued from page one

CEO of Saxum Strategic Communications, who quickly and graciously put his creative team at Saxum to work on creating a logo and a plethora of thematic printed materials to begin communicating the event to the Westminster community. With these creative elements under wraps, a distinct vision for the event really began to take shape and led Kena and Monique to make three more important calls to Westminster patrons with whom they could entrust with fulfilling their plans. To further develop the visual feel for the auction, a call was made to Tiffany Stephens, a Westminster parent, who just happens to operate Mood Party Rentals. Tiffany was asked to help make sure the blank, black canvas of the Chevy Center could be transformed into something that felt more organic and comfortable. Tiffany, knowing what Westminster is all about, quickly seized on the vision presented to her and created a floor plan full of communal tables, amazing lighting concepts to create an intimate atmosphere, and side vignettes for everything from casual conversation to food service. And speaking of food, the next call was made to Westminster parents Kim and Gene Leiterman of Cocoflow to enlist their help.

Kim and Gene had previously helped provide amazing desserts for prior auctions, but this year they stepped up to provide the entire culinary menu for the evening. The concept the Leitermans were asked to execute was creating a palette of gourmet street foods that could be served at independent stations throughout the Chevy Center, which they delivered through an eclectic menu which included everything from chicken and waffles to Korean steamed buns – and of course, a fabulous array of desserts. But what is food without drink? Fortunately, Monique knew just who to call to secure a fabulous in-kind wine donation – her husband Justin and his family’s company at Central Liquor. Justin quickly went to work with the venue and planning committee to ensure a top quality selection of wine would be available for the evening, but that it would also be at no cost to the school or to patrons of the event. These are just a sampling of patrons who helped come together as part of the Westminster community to make our auction event possible and so special this year. Their willingness and understanding of the school really created a unique Westminster feel to

Marc and Nikki Edwards spend time with Lauren and Nicholas Hickman.

Van Hughes and third grade teacher Shorrie Ward cheers.

Jessica and Jeff Swanson pose for a picture.

Second grade teachers Kim Seabrook, Linda Atchley and Kari Simmons enjoy the night.

the evening. However, in thinking about the As with everything at our school, this school and our entire community, one critical event was built by many hands, not all of ingredient was still missing from our auction whom were listed here. We could not have and it is truly the one ingredient that makes had such an enjoyable auction without those Westminster so special – and that is our stuwho helped create, volunteered for, donated dents. to or attended the event this year. Thank you Therefore, as a final preparation, Kena and for helping make WestxWestminster such a Monique worked to incorporate our students, great success, and more importantly, for being or their work, into the evening wherever a part of the Westminster family. they could. As a result students welcomed guests on the street with impromptu ukulele performances, student artwork was on display throughout the room and available for bidding as imaginative class projects, and the night even officially got under way thanks to a special musical performance by the Middle Division chorus. All of which was done to remind attendees what the night is all about – our students. Amy & Blake Pellow share a smile with Ashely Sellers.

voyage á In February, vibrant accordion music filled the hallways and transformed the Lower Division into a Parisian street for fourth grade’s inaugural Voyage á Paris, a celebration of French culture and language. Parents and guests took a festive stroll down the Champs-Élysées where they could admire Les Fenêtres de Paris, or window displays showing various French monuments, enjoy street art, gaze at La Tour Eiffel, l’Arc de Triomphe, and the Obélisque du Luxor, or be silently entertained by our exuberant street mimes. The monuments, designed and built by the students, demonstrated how well our students work together collaboratively. The café was a bustling space where guests could enjoy the cuisine specifically chosen by our fourth graders to represent their French favorites – baguettes and macarons this year! The market provided the opportunity to shop for souvenirs and the museum allowed parents to see Matisse-inspired collages and sculptures, and to hear recordings of our students telling stories in French. The game room provided fun for families as they learned to play Pétanque, vocabulary card Wait staff and chefs helped serve hungry guests a variety of French cuisine including baguettes and macarons!

games, and enjoyed a photo op with French props. Parents and guests could also visit our Cinéma where they could view a segment of a French class in action at various grade levels. Staying true to purpose, our students tried to use conversational French while working in our exhibits and the overall ambience delighted our students and guests. It was evident throughout the night how hard all of our fourth graders worked to make a successful French experience come alive and how much our fourth graders have learned about French culture and language. Each rotation of the night ended with a sweet rendition of the Westminster School song in both English and French. Our students were definitely the stars of this Parisian night!

Artists were on hand to capture the night, drawing portraits and scenes from their imagination!

“Street” performers wandered the halls to provide entertainment as guests visited Paris.

magic

Mrs. Ashinhurst and Ms. Shadid hosted an after-school reading of the new play, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” for students interested in channeling their inner witches and wizards. The group of 18 students met every Wednesday for two months to read the play as they sipped on butterbeer and munched on treats. For the final meeting of what affectionately became known as the Harry Potter Club, students were treated to a handmade wand thanks to Chris Carlsen, husband of Mrs. Carlsen, who lathed an individual wand for each student in the club. Students learned about the process of creating their wands and enjoyed special student-made Harry Potter treats including some yummy pumpkin pasties, cupcakes, cookies, candy, chips, and witnessed a piece of chocolate fountain magic thanks to Westminster parent Kim Leiter-

in the Middle Division

man. Be on the lookout for future after school reading events in the Middle Division! Students enjoyed the magical book club, celebrating the release of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child!”

going greek lion king Lower Division play

Middle Division play

From set design to recording studios, fourth graders worked hard all year on their spring production of The Lion King. Students started the year off learning music for the April performance, and advanced throughout the year by rehearsing lines, practicing choreography and creating set backgrounds under the guidance of their teachers. The Lower Division twinkled with stars on stage and across the auditorium walls,

The Middle Division was thrust into the past with the April performance of The Greek Mythology Olympiaganza! This zany play highlighted all the toga-clad major players of Greek mythology in a collection of irreverent, hilarious skits! Directed by Dana Rodgers and Diane Russell, the spring play was enjoyed by all who saw it. A big thank you goes out to Megan Saboda and Jana LaChance and their class for creating the onstage scenery, and to all the parents and students who worked so hard to make this play so successful!

with top-notch special effects coordinated by play director Rhonda Clark. A special thank you goes to Al Bostick and Doobie Potter for their hard work helping the students create detailed, imaginative and spectacular costumes, to Sarah Pitman and Samantha Cozort for helping backstage and to everyone who helped this year for supporting these students in their artistic efforts on stage.

Middle Division actors give a passionate performance.

Fourth graders spent countless hours working to prepare for their spring play. Bravo, students!

A gang of Greeks discuss their next step.

The actors worked hard to get into character and the audience enjoyed the show!

The cast of The Lion King.

letter

From the desk of Bob Vernon

The ISAS Visiting Committee’s first recommendation after its ten year reaccreditation visit to Westminster last year was this: “Westminster enjoys an enviable stability and has captured a unique position in the local educational market. As an institution, the School exudes a level of confidence about its core values and the way in which they drive instructional programs. At this moment in its history, Westminster is uniquely positioned as an institution to take some risks, embark on new initiatives, and move in bold directions. We were surprised to discover that, despite the School’s encouragement of students to take risks and embrace failure, the institution seems reluctant to exhibit this same quality. The visiting team strongly encourages Westminster to be a pioneer for the local, regional, and national independent school community.” Over the last year, we’ve thought about what it would look like to be an educational “pioneer” and whether we have the passion, ability, and support to do so. We concluded that not only do we have the opportunity to pioneer, we have the responsibility to. And so in December the middle school became our first division to embark upon a renewal. Over the last half century, American education has struggled. In the 1950s, when Sputnik propelled us to reform our schools, win the Space Race, and defeat communism, American education took off. Benjamin Bloom introduced his taxonomy of educational objectives for both the cognitive and affective domains and provided the framework for teachers to improve the thinking of their students. In the 1960s, Jerome Bruner put forth the idea of the spiral curriculum explaining how any subject could be taught in an intellectually honest form to any child at any stage of development. By the end of that decade, Hilda Taba had refined Bruner’s spiral curriculum specifically for the social studies creating a template for improving teaching across the curriculum. Bloom, Bruner, Taba, and Dewey, those are the educators whose

ideas and research I thrived on when I became a teacher in 1969. Since the 1970s, other scholars have produced important work, especially psychologists like Edward Deci with his theories on intrinsic motivation, Martin Seligman with his work on positive psychology, and Carol Dweck with her documentation of a growth mindset. Brain research has also helped immensely, but how to teach children – basic pedagogy – has been eclipsed over the last forty years by debates over poverty and integration, charters and vouchers, self-esteem and bullying, by identity politics, safe spaces, and trigger warnings on the left and high stakes testing, common core, and federal encroachment on the right. We’ve convinced ourselves through grade inflation and improved graduation rates that education is improving, but it’s not. It’s stagnating … and hungrier kids in other countries have worked harder and passed ours by. So, where are we four months into our renewal? We began by reviewing what ISAS referred to as the “core values that drive our educational programs.” These core values include our mission (“challenge students to solve problems as cooperative, confident, and responsible learners”); our portrait of a graduate (“confident and connected people who work hard, think well, and work well with others”); our hedgehog principle, i.e., what we do better than others, (“get kids to express opinions confidently and comfortably”); and our overall educational goal for each child (“to develop a growth mindset”). I’ve written and talked about these core values for years, and most people know this is who we are and how we do school. After reaffirming our core values, we began to focus on curriculum where we’ve emphasized three questions: What do we

teach? What do they learn? What do they understanding. understand? We see each academic discipline This metaphor of a track probably surin our middle school as a long and separate prises some of you because Westminster has track with station houses along the way. In always been known as the school that does some of the disciplines like math and modern not track students … and we still don’t. Hislanguage, kids need to master the material torically, tracking classes simply meant that before leaving one station house and moving there were two parallel and distinct tracks. on to the next. In an English or history class, On one track was a small group of quick kids though, if a student fails his assessment on who were pushed lockstep up the track at the World War I, it doesn’t mean he can’t undersame faster speed. On the other track were stand the Depression. So understanding these the slow kids who moved all together up differences in disciplines, math and foreign their easier track at a slower speed. The tracks language classes will become more individunever merged and this created a problem. ally paced while English, science, and history The kids on the slow track always knew that will remain more group paced. they were, well, slow. They were the “dumb” Let’s see, for example, how this will work group, and since self-fulfilling prophesies in math where we really are real, they envision three comstruggled in school. “After reaffirming our core values, we ponents. In our first The second reason component, teachers we don’t track is that it began to focus on curriculum where will identify where goes against our core we’ve emphasized three questions: each child is on the values. Westminster What do we teach? What do they track and that is where has always focused learn? What do they understand?” the child starts workon getting kids to ing. Based on the work together to solve station house they are problems because in, children will then complete sets of probwhen kids with diverse abilities, talents, and lems, watch videos, work with other kids personalities work together, it benefits everyon skills, discuss in small groups, and work one. This philosophically leads into the third one to one with the teacher. Each child will component of our math program, problem reach different station houses on the track at solving, which focuses on practical math and different times and will be assessed to show is taught in heterogeneous groups. Practical he has learned the material, for example, on math assignments could be designed by the how to divide fractions. If he does not pass math teachers or they could be interdiscithe test, he needs to spend more time learnplinary in nature. For example, calculating ing and practicing this skill. If he does pass household budgets for a family to see if it the test, the second component kicks in. Even qualifies for TANF, SNAP, ACA, or EITC durthough he understands HOW to divide fracing a community service learning simulation tions, does he understand WHY he is flipping on poverty is practical math and so too are the second fraction and multiplying the two the calculations for science labs. fractions together? Can he draw a picture of We are committed to developing a math what he’s doing to illustrate this process? It’s curriculum that allows children to move at not just about memorizing HOW to do math their own pace through math skills, focuses and moving on to the next station house. The on the WHY as much as the HOW they do second component is about WHY. It’s about continued on page ten

letter

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math, and challenges heterogeneous groups ing together to develop deeper understandof students to work together and use math ing. What we don’t know is what “Shadow” to solve real problems. Our math teachers will fall on us as we seek to turn this idea are busy designing how this will work in into a reality, but that’s what pioneering is all practice. It’s hard, it’s important, and there is about. no roadmap. We are pioneering a new math Aside from curriculum, the other major program. theme of our renewal is to create a middle Pioneering our new humanities curricuschool culture that will support it. This cullum is equally complex as we try to integrate ture is characterized by four things. First, kids English, history, and the fine arts. It begins by need to feel connected. They have to believe deciding on essential questions to unify our they belong at Westminster, that they are a curriculum. Essential questions are openpart of our community, and that they feel ended, lead to more questions, and encoursafe and comfortable here. Twenty years ago I age a transfer of understanding. They require would have said that every one of our middle analysis, synthesis, and evaluation – the school students felt connected to Westmindevelopment of Bloom’s higher order thinking ster. Our goal was always to be inclusive, and skills. These essential to that end we never questions are what elected class favorites allow our humanities or class officers. We “Designing a renewal...is exciting classes to flow loginever published GPA’s, and invigorating. It’s full of hope cally from last year to honored MVP’s, or talthis year to next year lied PPG’s. We never and opportunity. There is the as well as from subsold privilege, big or promise of transformation.” ject to subject within small, from naming the same grade. rights to buildings to Essential questions headmaster circles to build bridges and break down silos so that reserved parking places to seats at graduaour English, history, and fine arts teachers tion. We never had A and B athletic teams or are all aware of and can connect with what valedictorians. We’ve always been an inclutheir colleagues are doing. The history teach- sive environment, untracked, first come first ers have read the literature being taught in served, a place where everyone was welcome English, and the English and fine arts teachand financial aid was distributed, confideners know the story their students are learning tially and solely on need, to children of any in history. age. We still are, but kid connection has Designing a renewal encourages collegiality suffered in the middle school. Maybe it has and reflection. It is exciting and invigoratsuffered because while we are a more incluing. It’s full of hope and opportunity. There sive, group-oriented place, the general culture is the promise of transformation. And then is more egocentric, more narcissistic, more the reality sets in, or as T.S. Eliot wrote nearly “me, me, me.” Maybe it has suffered because a hundred years ago, “Between the idea and our school is more expensive and affluent the reality … between the conception and the than it used to be and our kids have more creation … falls the Shadow.” Our renewal activities, opportunities, and responsibilities will challenge deeply held beliefs of teachers than ever. Maybe it has suffered because kids and students, but its goal is to have passionare more connected than ever before through ate teachers and conscientious learners work- social media without every having to leave

their bedroom and interact face to face with another human being. Maybe it has suffered because kids are meaner, but as I suspect we all remember, middle school kids have never been thought to be particularly nice. Maybe it has suffered because there are more helicopter parents hovering and ready to pounce, but parents have always worried about and protected their children. Maybe it has suffered because our administrators and teachers are less willing to get involved, somehow less concerned with the kids, or less committed to the school, but the energy of this renewal belies that. We don’t know the cause and we don’t know the solution, but we are going to try some new things to improve student connection next year because it’s essential to a successful renewal. And besides, that’s what pioneers do. The second and third things kids need are challenge and control. The school should promote a culture not only of hard work but also of meaningful and challenging work. Meaningful work, both inside and outside of school, is work that kids can do without the help of their parents. It’s work that moves them up the track toward greater understanding. Challenging work is work that pushes kids, sometimes beyond their comfort zones, to think. Challenging work accepts that kids will make mistakes, but also believes that mistakes are our best teachers if we acknowledge and learn from them. Meaningful and challenging work, however, go hand in hand with giving kids more control over when they do their work, how they show their learning, and what they understand. Control is as important for kids as it is for adults plus it teaches kids how to make decisions, use their time wisely, and be prepared for the increased freedom they will soon enjoy. Engaging kids with challenging work, however, does not mean they need more work for the sake of working more; they don’t need thirty problems if they grasped the concept after doing

ten nor do they need to always do formal essays when outlines might serve learning just as well. There is a belief that our middle school is too demanding, that there is too much work, that it’s “Stressminster.” I don’t believe that’s true. The reality is that our eighth graders will work harder in middle school than most of them will work as ninth graders in high school, but that reality needs to be put in perspective. First, high schools with a lot of new freshmen are concerned about the adjustment of their students to the high school social scene. Second, high schools are tracked; the higher the track, the more challenging the work. At Westminster, we only have one track. Sometimes kids move along it at different rates, sometimes altogether, but the work we ask them to do is always on a very high track. So it is important that kids and their parents understand that Westminster values challenging and meaningful work, that it wants kids to have some control over when and how they do that work, and that making mistakes is both understandable and helpful. Most of all, they need to know that if their children are willing to engage and try their best, they will be successful at Westminster. This leads to the fourth thing kids need– commitment. Commitment ties the other three C’s together. Commitment implies shared purpose, something that kids believe in and strive for; it’s something more important than themselves. In religious schools and military academies, commitment is to God or country, but in a school like Westminster, especially in an age of high tech individualism, it’s harder to define and develop commitment. The question we have asked is this: Is there anything in our community, any common story, any shared belief, any overriding principle, that defines and commits us to the purpose of our community? To answer this question, we have to go continued on page eleven

back to the beginning. The middle school was grounded on three values – inclusion, responsibility, and freedom. I’ve given examples in this article of how all three of them have been and continue to be emphasized, but it seems like an even better example is simply our “Westminster Song.” It was written by members of the Class of 1980, our first graduating class, and their teacher, Louise Goldberg, and has been sung by every student who has ever graduated from the middle school. Here it is, in part, 37 years later: We are the people of Westminster. You can hear our voices loud and clear. Come and listen as we sing about our living working dream A place we come to learn, to learn to live to grow, A growing living learning place where spirit shines on every face. We are just people, come on in and see, in this place we gather every day. A place we come to learn, to learn to choose a way, To live and learn to choose a way out of the many ways. Thoughts form in every mind, to be shared with friends and grow with time, Remembrances of yesterday and hopes and dreams for future days. Yes, sometimes troubles make us weary and thoughts of quitting come, But survival is a learning thing, together we are one, yes, together we are one. Our three founding values come through clearly. There’s inclusion – “We are just people, come on in and see … ” No pledging, no testing, no qualifying necessary. All

are welcome. We all belong because, “Together we are one.” There’s responsibility – “Sometimes troubles make us weary and thoughts of quitting come, but survival is a learning thing …” Everyone struggles, everyone has bad days, but no one gives up. Your classmates and teachers won’t let you quit. There’s freedom – “A place we come to learn, to learn to choose a way, to live and learn to choose a way out of the many ways.” Freedom to look like you want. Freedom to roam where you want. Freedom to eat what you want. Freedom to think what you want. Freedom to say what you want. But as we all know, freedom and responsibility are opposite sides of the same coin. In other words, kids are free to express their opinions at school, but only if they express them responsibly. This, however, is where the Shadow falls – between their right of responsible expression and the reality that sometimes their opinions, often unintentionally, hurt others. What is meant to be funny or provocative comes across as mean or hateful. This is why the four C’s of connection, challenge, control, and commitment are so important to any school culture. As psychologist Suzanne Kobasa has shown, these characteristics are the foundation of stress hardiness and resilience in adolescents. Kobasa’s four C’s (shown in parentheses) echo Edward Deci’s requirements for developing intrinsic motivation – connection (connection), mastery (challenge), autonomy (control), and purpose (commitment) – which lead to a growth mindset. This is why the culture of a community built on these characteristics will develop resilient, intrinsically motivated, young adults. Developing a culture based on connection, challenge, control, and commitment is not only important for our renewal to succeed; it is important for each individual in our community to succeed as well. Pioneering together, we can make this happen.

progressive learning in Primary

Thoughtful and beautiful design of the sensorial materials allows each child to explore them in ways that are most meaningful to their learning and experiences. It is this quality of design that allows them to be used with other sensorial materials that naturally invite the child to see similarities and slight differences. A younger child will manipulate and interact with the materials in a much different way than an older child. This natural progression is an interesting, unique journey for each child in the environment. Repetition does not grow old because each time the child uses the material, he or she is making connections to what is most relevant to them at that time, like when the mid-red color tablet reminded Lux of his grandmother’s shiny red car. Little does the child realize that she is working the three dimensional, concrete materialization of a trinomial algebraic formula. Through work with the sensorial materials,

A 5-Day student puts blocks in order from largest to smallest.

the child gains the keys to classifying the world around – these are the first steps in organizing their intelligence, which leads to adaptation to their environment.

A 3-Day student works on matching colors.

A kindergarten student completes a colorful puzzle.

enthusiasm delicious!

Middle division talent show

What do piano players, singers and dancers have in common? They all took the stage on February 17 at Westminster’s Talent Show. Fifth through eighth graders gave it their all for an enthusiastic and welcoming crowd of parents, grandparents, friends and teachers. Talent show coordinators Ashley

Adams and Brook Carlsen commented on the enthusiastic support for the performers from their peers and audience members. As in years past, the $3 apiece ticket sales were donated to a charity voted on by students. This year, Westminster students raised more than $900 to help veterans! Great job, performers!

Faculty & Staff Luncheon

To celebrate our faculty and staff, a luncheon was held in April during Westminster’s in-service day. Teachers and staff were treated to a fantastic meal organized by parents Rebecca Fellrath and Sarah Pitman. Parent Donna Ragozzino catered the event with a beautiful spread of chicken salad sandwiches, fruit and lovely desserts. Everyone enjoyed their time together! Thank you to our wonderful volunteers for their help and organization on this beautiful, delicious lunch!

Westminster faculty and staff members enjoyed the chance to mix and mingle during the luncheon.

A fifth grade duo sang and played drums to “We Know the Way” from Moana. A fifth grade songstress sang acapella to Imagine Dragons’ “Demons.”

An eighth grade student played the ukulele and sang.

Thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers for their hard work on a fantastic luncheon!

This seventh grader sang and danced to Stevie Wonder’s “Sir Duke.”

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OKLAHOMA CITY, OK PERMIT NO. 586

600 Northwest 44 Street Oklahoma City, OK 73118 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

ADDRESS CHANGE? Please notify Caressa Marvel, director of communications, of any address corrections. Thank you!

ALUM PARENTS: Please help! If this issue is addressed to your child who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please contact Rebecca Skarky, admission and alum director, with the correct address. Thank you!

The mission of Westminster School is to educate children by engaging them actively in experiences that challenge students to solve problems as cooperative, confident, and responsible learners.

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www.westminsterschool.org Westminster School

www.westminsterschool.org • 405.524.0631 Westminster School admits students of any race, color, religion, or national and ethnic origin. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, or national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, financial aid program, athletic, and other school-administered activities.