Student Life at Woodberry Forest School • march 2015
Winter Fun at Woodberry Long Winter weekend offers something for everyone
Tim Sheng ’15, Justin Mitchell ’16, and Marion Anderson ’15 consult during the physics tournament.
Beyond the Classroom Science events build higher learning
’16 Mr. Reid and Rob Prater . ges jud fair nce serve as scie
“We don't teach science just so students can pass our tests,” said Greg Jacobs, chair of Woodberry’s science department. “We do science here.” Students take what they learn in their core subjects – conceptual physics, chemistry, and biology – to another level when they choose advanced courses like Anatomy and Physiology, Research Physics, and Biomechanics.
Long Winter Weekend, which arrived in the middle of the trimester, offered boys a break from their winter routines. Many guys took trips to their own or friends’ homes, and some stayed on campus to compete in the US Young Physicists Tournament. Others participated in a local robotics tournament, ventured out for dinners at local restaurants, or gathered for a Super Bowl party.
The ability to communicate is just as important in science as it is in English or history. So when Curtis Phillips’s biomechanics class completed its experiment on what exercises best activate the hamstring muscles using high-tech measuring devices called EMG sensors, the class presented its research to Dr. Todd Jarry’s anatomy and physiology students.
But the luckiest seven might have been the ones who went with Nolan LaVoie, Woodberry’s director of outdoor education, to Snowshoe Mountain for four days of skiing and snowboarding in fresh powder. They spent days tackling the resort’s fiftyseven trails, located right outside their cabin’s front door. After long days of fun in the deep snow, they hit their cabin’s sauna and hot tub, cooked dinner, played Xbox, and watched ski-bum movies.
The main event for Research Physics students, the US Invitational Young Physicists Tournament, brought teams of students from all over the world to the Forest to present and debate solutions to physics problems they’d spent the whole year working on. This year, Woodberry took second place in the competition in which they investigated and built devices like a magnetic “rifle,” a swing that shows parametric resonance, and wooden windowsills that test the “teapot effect.”
“The ski trip was the most fun I’ve had in a while!” said Gus DuPree ’18. “We were right next to the mountain, which allowed us quick access to the slopes.” Warren Matthews ’18 agreed. “Hitting the sauna and hot tub at the end of the day was the best.”
Recent special science events offer further evidence of how far a boy can go. Mr. Reid and Mr. Aubin took their Honors Biology scholars to a nearby middle school one January morning to serve as science fair judges. “Our students can see the level of expertise they've gained, and they can immediately recognize the best projects,” said Mr. Jacobs.
The success of these events and presentations comes from the everyday work boys have done since they walked into their third-form physics lab. As Mr. Jacobs says, “Designing, performing, and analyzing experiments are part of the everyday nature of our courses."
From the Headmaster “The primary purpose of Woodberry Forest is not to prepare you for college, though that is surely important; it is not to prepare you for the workforce, though that is important, too. The purpose of this place is to prepare you to live a great and bold and courageous life." Byron Hulsey ’86 in his sermon in St. Andrew’s Chapel Read more: www.woodberry.org/headmastersblog
Robin Kay ’16
Woodberry Forest School Tiger Tales • march 2015 • 1