What NCS Faculty and Staff Did on Their Summer Vacation

It's been a well-deserved break for the hard-working faculty of NCS, and many have used the summer to expand their horizons. Here’s a far-from-exhaustive sampling of “what I did on my summer vacation” from teachers and staff:

In June Art Teachers Catherine Batza and Cristina Cox attended a seminar on “Global Learning: Understanding the Arts across the Curriculum” at the American School in London, where former NCS College Guidance Director Patty Strohm now works. Catherine and Christina had dinner with Patty along with Emily Fetting and Robbie Jefferiss, who were in London escorting NCS students on the St. Paul’s School exchange. Catherine then went on a journey through Amsterdam, Brussels and Bruges in search of some of her favorite paintings before winding up in Italy, where her family joined her.

Science Teacher Elna Clevenger, Mathematics Teacher Patty Howie, and French Teacher Michele Spittler attended the College Board Advanced Placement annual conference in Washington, DC, July 15-18 to learn about and discuss the latest AP assessments.

Spanish Teacher Luis Deocares was busy teaching at the NCS Summer Institute for Teaching and Learning. He taught four technology classes: Adventures in Web Design, Robotics, Digital Animation, and a Multimedia class. He and his wife enjoyed spending time with their one-year old daughter Isabella and serving as tour guides for his older brother, visiting the DC area from Chile for the first time.

Associate Head of School Elinor Scully and Middle School Director Scott Erickson attended the three-day conference “UbD by the Sea” in Long Branch, NJ. Scott reports: “This professional development program offered an opportunity for educators to deepen their work with the pedagogical practices in Understanding by Design (UbD). Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe were the main presenters. Elinor and I had the chance to meet with Jay to talk about his appearance at our faculty professional day on September 1. It was a terrific learning experience.”

Mathematics Teacher Patty Howie took part in an Online School for Girls course on blended learning, which combines classroom teaching and on-line learning to facilitate a more student-centered model of instruction. Patty also participated online in a four-day institute sponsored by the Math Forum at Drexel University and funded by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation, which discussed the relationships between mathematical thinking and financial behavior, and the math relevant to financial literacy and how it aligns with curriculum.

In June, Performing Arts Director Ben Hutto attended the annual conference of the Association of Anglican Musicians in Hartford, CT, where he made a presentation on the practical and legal considerations for domestic and international choir tours. Ben is a past president of this association. In July, he served on the steering committee for the American Guild of Organists national convention in Washington, DC, attended by over 2,000 organists from all 50 states, plus Puerto Rico and 16 foreign countries. During the first week of August, he was the music director for the Royal School of Church Music inaugural course for young singers at Salve Regina University, Newport, RI, with services at Trinity and Emmanuel Episcopal churches. Seven singers from NCS and St. Albans, grades 7-12, participated in this week of intensive musical study with 50 other young musicians from around the United States.

Head of School Kathleen O’Neill Jamieson attended a Conference at Davidson College which featured History Department Chair Dr. Sally McMillen, who lectured on the history of the women’s rights movement, and Biology Professor Dr. Malcolm Campbell, who shared research in the field of synthetic biology. She also spent a week camping and whitewater rafting on the Salmon River in Idaho with her husband. “The environment was inspiring—the water breathtaking and the stars spectacular. I have been dreaming of navigating rapids ever since!”

College Guidance Co-Director Erin Johnston and International Program Coordinator Robbie Jefferiss volunteered with the Cathedral Scholars program, a three-year summer program that selects 15 promising honor roll students from the District of Columbia public high schools. They taught an abbreviated “Senior Seminar” course, with topics ranging from essay-writing exercises to interview techniques.

Mathematics Teacher Kathleen Kiernan reports that she and her husband Tom completed a "Learn to Scull" camp at Thompson's Boat House in Georgetown. “After nine years of watching our kids row, we now can get out and do it ourselves!” she said. “We learned how to row in singles, but are hoping to eventually row a double. Professionally, I signed up for three classes to renew my Virginia Teaching Certification: Teaching the Female Brain: How Girls learn Math and Science, Cross-Curricular Games and Activities, and Real World Math via the Internet. I will begin my work on these classes this summer and continue this fall.”

Voyageur Program Director Syl Mathis reports, “I feed my soul in a number of ways during the summer. One of which, is by feeding my creative appetite working on glass and multi-media sculpture. In May, I won 'Best of Show' at the Bethesda Fine Arts Festival for my collection of sculptural work, which has motivated me to move in forward with a few new concepts."

Mathematics Teacher Cahlan Mazur has had a most excellent summer adventure, taking a multi-week trip through Southeast Asia. The trip was funded in part by NCS’ Katherine Lee International Program, which enables NCS faculty members to participant in international study or travel each summer. Only a third of the way through, Cahlan wrote, “It’s been a very eye-opening trip, which has introduced me to an entirely new part of the world. So far, it’s involved a great deal of travel throughout Singapore, Peninsular Malaysia, and Sabah, in Malaysian Borneo.” Cahlan observed math classes in Singapore, which has a world-renowned math program. He also said, “Borneo was absolutely amazing, and as a former biology teacher I was astounded by the variety and novelty of life in the jungle (I did a three-day tour of the Kinabatangan River) and the ocean.” A more detailed account of Cahlan’s trip will appear soon on the NCS website.

Science Teacher Mollie Morneau served as the acting director of NCS’ Summer and Auxiliary Programs from May through July while Jen Cumbo was on maternity leave. In addition, illustrations of bottlenose dolphin skull bones and mandibles that Mollie drew were published in "The therian skull : a lexicon with emphasis on the odontocetes" by Jim Mead and Ewan Fordyce, published by the Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.  Mollie’s thesis research was also published in January 2010 in the Journal of Marine Mammalogy: "Mandibular fractures in short-finned pilot whales, Globicephala macrorhynchus."

Mathematics Teacher Kathleen Murphy was at Yale University working at the Exploration summer program for high school students, then vacationed on Martha’s Vineyard with her family in August.

Information Technology Specialist Steven Rentz took a course in Chicago at the end of July to get his SMART Notebook certification. Steven says, “I’ll be the only one at the school who has this certification and will use what I learn to help build our Technology Professional Development courses for the 2010-11 school year. We plan to have weekly Tech Training open to faculty, staff and parents starting in October.”

Spanish Teacher Tamara Riquele-Manzoni says, “I am spending part of my summer with my mother and my children driving through Spain. I have visited plenty of libraries, museums, parks, exhibits and, of course, plenty of places where I have been forced to eat tapas, only for the cultural experience, of course.”

Social Sciences Teacher David Sahr took part in two professional development opportunities. The first was an Annenberg Foundation-funded workshop at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, which analyzed changes to the Constitution—ones that have occurred, and ones that have not yet taken place. In addition, he attended a seminar sponsored by the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History in Colorado which examined how the environment has been viewed throughout history, and ways to approach environmental problems. Each teacher attending was asked to create a unique lesson plan and share them; David says, “I hope to use some in the new environmental course we'll offer at NCS in the fall.”

Mathematics Teacher Ed Stern was at Camp Greylock for Boys in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts for his 29th summer. He has been a camper, counselor, waterfront director, and for the past few years, has been the head counselor. His wife and sons spend the summer with him at camp, even though the boys (3.5 years and 5 months) are too young to be campers.

Latin Teacher/Languages Department Chair Kate Sheeler spent two-and-a-half weeks in Israel working on an archaeological survey in the northern Negev desert and one week in Jerusalem, translating medieval Latin travel journals. She says, “Most folks who traveled to the Holy Land in "the good old days" traveled from the port of Gaza eastward to the city of Hebron. This main west-east road cuts right through the region where we'll be excavating next year (we've been surveying for the last three summers). The travel journals describe the topography, landscape, ancient sites, animals, plants, and the people these travelers met along their way. My Latin IV class will get the chance to look at some of these texts next spring. Fun for all!”