Direct from the Director

2/21/12 7:36 AM in News and Events

Why Siri will not be your child’s next teacher….

As Saint Stephen’s moves in the direction of having a resource like the iPad in the hands of each student, a question naturally arises:  what is the value of having a teacher in the room?

There has been a dramatic shift in the dynamic in the classroom since the advent of mobile devices with access to the Web.  A few years ago, during an Introduction to Psychology class I was teaching, I struggled to recall some of the details a particular study when one of my students rattled off the information.  Others quickly chimed in.  I was dumbfounded until I realized that they were searching the Web with their laptops.  A few years later, the devices are much smaller and faster, and there is more out there on the Internet.

Teachers – and parents — used to be able to dispense information at their own measured pace.  Increasingly, we have the role of helping to make sense of the array of information that is readily available.  The wedge between knowledge and wisdom has never been greater.  Stated a different way, having access to almost limitless amounts of information does not make one educated.

I have been reading Reflections, the Journal of the Yale Divinity School, which put out an edition this fall entirely devoted to understanding the impact of the media explosion on our lives.  One of the articles posed this question:

“What kind of 2.0 life will we lead – Stress 2.0 or Wisdom 2.0?  Will we let our deices rule us, habitually answering our cell phone any time it rings, or will we live wisely, focusing the quality of attention we bring to each moment?”

Adults working with children and teenagers, therefore, have the task of modeling and incorporating presence, awareness, and wisdom in this new era of 24/7 connectedness and communication.  I would argue that the role of the teacher in the classroom has never been more pivotal.  Teachers are much more than a living Siri.  They need to facilitate the development of wisdom, teach students to hone in on the key elements of their disciplines, and help their students actively engage in learning in a world that constantly seeks to distract them.

2/14/12 6:53 PM in News and Events

Love is in the Air!

Cupid dispatched his ambassadors today in the form of Upper School Student Council members.  Heralded by the “thwack” of an arrow…..

Cupid's Ambassadors prepare to strike

….they burst into classes and recited poems of friendship,  love, and devotion.

A student receives a poem during class with Cupid posing in the background

Even a few teachers received poems

In all, about 160 messages were delivered in this way.  There were some great individual moments, and one of the highlights was the message from the Upper School to Mrs. Pullen:

2/2/12 2:42 PM in News and Events

Extra! Extra! Read All About it!

With great fanfare, the Upper School Journalism class announced yesterday that the award-winning Upper School newspaper, The Gauntlet, would now be available exclusively in an online format:

You can visit the paper at http://www.ssesgauntlet.org/.  You are invited to “like” it on Facebook, and can follow the news through Twitter.

We were graced by two songs from the Falcon Voices; we continue to enjoy their new sound with contributions from the male members of the group (first ones since 2006).  In this image, you can see the fallen streamers that were released as a part of the announcement:

One of the news stories featured in The Gauntlet involves Shannon Morrish, who signed yesterday to play soccer at Vanderbilt next year. Congratulations, Shannon!

1/20/12 1:23 PM in News and Events

Recent Upper School Highlights….

This morning, Ms. Teske, our Academic Dean, opened the Semester 1 Honors Chapel with some recent Upper School highlights.  Here they are in printed form:

• We had a successful team of students return from Columbia University’s Model United Nations competition. Five of them earned awards. Congratulations to Ms Murphy and the team, and best of luck to the other competition teams heading out this spring!
• Speaking of returning from far away, we are glad to welcome back Mr. Patrick Whelan from his World History conference in Cambodia. Read about his travels at his “Angkor Watsup” blog!
• The girls’ soccer team is walking with their heads held high today after their district-semifinal 4-0 win against ODA last night. They play in the district final tonight vs. Shorecrest. Good luck!
• The boys’ soccer team won last night 3-0 against Sarasota High School in their last regular season game. They play again in their district tournament Tuesday – wish them luck – and go to the game; it’s at ODA!
• There’s a full set of basketball games down in the gym tonight – JV boys at 4:30, girls at 6:00, and boys at 7:30 – all against ODA, so it would be great if we could pack the stands.
• Parents, if you haven’t been by recently, please visit our Upper School Commons; 36 flags now hang around the upper tier. Each represents a country with which one or more of our community members identifies.
• 38 Upper School students will become published poets this year through the Creative Communications Poetry contest – congratulations!
• We’re all looking forward to hearing whatever the exciting news is from our Columbia Scholastic Press Association silver-award-winning newspaper, the Gauntlet.

Have a great weekend!

Randy Watts

1/11/12 5:18 PM in News and Events

Wednesday Assembly

As many of you know, the Wednesday assembly in the Upper School is an opportunity to share student talents and to offer new ideas.  In addition to a VERY clever video advertizement from Student Council for the winter formal, we had an engaging presentation by Mr. Aziz Tejpar, father of Nabila Tejpar ’11.  His topic was “Africa Rising.” In his talk, he discussed some of the international dynamics that are currently at play which may change the economic landscape of Africa in the near future:

In the background, you can see some of the flags that have been placed in the Upper School commons.  We are proud to display the flags of 36 countries from which our Upper School student herald in addition to the United States flag, which is at the front of the room.  Stop by when you have a chance.  It is quite a display!

Take a look at some of the press that this project has received: http://www.thebradentontimes.com/news/2012/01/08/community/community_news_manatee_spotlight_january_8_2012/

1/11/12 5:05 PM in News and Events

Welcome Back!

Dear Upper School Families,

Welcome back!  I hope that you all had an enjoyable winter holiday.

I am sure that there are any stories of adventure from the vacation.  Although I am sure that many of you traveled, I suspect that very few went as far as our own Patrick Whelan.   He went to Cambodia to a conference for World History Educators.  You can learn more about his trip from his blog: http://angkorwatsup.blogspot.com/.

12/14/11 10:03 AM in News and Events

Generosity

Generosity

The generosity of the Saint Stephen’s community never ceases to amaze me.  The idea of a toy drive for needy children was brought to me by a student during the Fall Athletics Awards night.  With the help of coordination  from the Upper School Student Council and Upper School parents, we had collected 135 gifts to benefit Stillpoint House of Prayer exactly two weeks later.  Wow!

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and other celebrations!

Here are some images from day 2 and day 3 of the drive:

Toy Drive -- Day 2

Toy Drive -- Day 3

12/8/11 12:15 PM in News and Events

A Hero in our Midst

This year, we welcomed  Mr. Jude Ndambuki to Saint Stephen’s as a chemistry teacher.  Prior to joining Saint Stephens, he started a community service project to help bring computer technology to schools in Kenya.  He was one of CNN’s Heroes in 2009.  Please take a look at this link for more information about the project http://www.hkenyaproject.org/page/videos.html.  He has led high school students on trips to Kenya for 6 years and will lead a trip with a group of Saint Stephen’s Upper School students this summer.

11/30/11 3:14 PM in News and Events

Lion King AND Tea Cups AND Board Games, oh my!!

Full of excitement, energy, and opportunities, the Upper School can also be stressful, at times.  We know that high schools students, as a group, need more rest and opportunities for relaxation than they typically receive.

As such, I know we appreciate the efforts that the Upper School Student Council has made for the past several years to strive for some balance to exam season with Relaxation Day.

Today, students had the opportunity to: sample tea, play frisbee, tennis, or soccer, take a nap, read a book, meditate, practice yoga, bake a quiche, play board games, play on the Lower School playground, listen to music, enjoy art, or watch a Disney movie.

Here are a few images from the day:

Students Relaxing in the Commons in front of The Lion King

Enthusiastic Cooks

Playground

The fasional Mr. Wolcott and other Ultimate Frisbee players

11/11/11 7:20 AM in News and Events

Speedy!

Congratulations to the Saint Stephen’s boys cross country team and Coaches Conn and Wolcott!  After many years of valiant attempts at the regional competition, this group of gentlemen will be the first in Saint Stephen’s history to proceed as a boys cross country  team to states!