File - The Howard Gardner School

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The 2009 Not-so-Silent Auction for the Scholarship Fund
The Not-So-Silent Auction was a delightful event and a successful fundraiser for the
HGS Scholarship Fund. Held in a lovely setting, we enjoyed delicious food, music by
seniors John Newkirk and Jordan Wise and a screening of
“Swine,” a genuinely scary horror film shot on campus by
students Ben Jarvis, Aaron Henson, and Jesse Baker.
The silent auction featured 50 unique items, including
gourmet baskets, books by acclaimed White House photographer, Pete Souza (parent of senior Alex Plafkin), music lessons and more. The live auction, hosted by teacher
and alumni parent Chad Thomas, featured a behind-thescenes tour of WETA by Dar Silver, a dinner party for four prepared by renowned chef,
Paul Magnant, and Fund-a-Scholar. Chad’s performance, channeling his inner chef, was
worth the price of admission. (Oh, that’s right – we didn’t charge admission. Then it was
priceless!)
The Ramano family won the raffle prize, a $500 grocery card, which is fitting, since
Rachel has been sending in home-baked goodies for kids and staff all year!
Assateague Island Trip
Our camping trip to Assateague was a
wonderful way to wrap-up the year. The
setting was pristine and the weather was
beautiful. Our tents survived the wind and
we were able to fend off wild Assateague
horses as they attempted to steal our
lunch (they did get away with the cheese).
With workshops on ocean ecology, the
history of bird hunting on the Chesapeake,
a math lesson on the beach, and a reflections on the year seminar in English, our
students continued our tradition of learning wherever they are.
We worked together to set up camp, cook
our meals and clean up. But there was still
lots of time to play on the beach, swim at
the life guard tents station, and hang out.
Altogether, a great trip with a great group!
THE
HOWARD GARDNER SCHOOL
2008-09
Issue 3
Alexandria, VA
hands-on learning
through
environmental science
and the arts
Thank you so much to the parents who worked so hard to make this happen: Susan
Early, Bridget Simpkiss, Chris Gordon, Carol Bull, Lynn Gaffney, Anne Knipper, Patti
Henson, and Sharon Scott. And a special thanks to Becky Yarbrough (above) who has
chaired the auction with grace and humor for the last two years!
P.E. at HGS is a Horse of a Different Color
Our late winter PE classes included ice skating, weight training,
bowling, and indoor climbing. The emphasis of this session was on
lifetime fitness and recreation – finding healthy activities that our
students can enjoy throughout their lives.
In mid-afternoon on Thursdays, our students had the rink to themselves, and even got to choose the music! While some students
skated, others worked out in the weight room.
Our PE climbing class had another great season. From climbing
2008-2009 beginners to experienced climbers, all of our students
gained strength and confidence over their 10 sessions at Sportrock climbing gym. With guidance from Addie, who recently started a non-profit dedicated to helping injured vets and others get into or back into climbing, our kids belayed, climbed and traversed at all levels,
and had a wonderful time doing it.
We Proudly Present
the Class of 2009
Julia Dickerson
Amy Fleegal
Jesse Kahaner
Christine McEntee
Amber Molock
John Newkirk
Connor Oddenino
Alex Plafkin
Cal Slater
Quentin Truland
Jonathan Tyler
Seth Waxman
Jordan Wise
Jay Yarbrough
The Howard Gardner School
4913 Franconia Road
Alexandria,VA 22310 703.822.9300
www.thehowardgardnerschool.org
Katherine Keith, Director
The Howard Gardner School is a small, progressive independent high school for college-bound learners in Alexandria,
Virginia, with a focus on environmental science and the arts. The school’s mission is to help bright, creative
non-traditional learners use their unique strengths to thrive academically, intellectually and emotionally.
The Class of 2009
2008-09
Building Boats While
Getting Acquainted
Campus Update
Our final site plan has been approved, we
are obtaining the necessary permits and
are on track to begin our excavation in the
beginning of November! We are having a
Ground-breaking celebration on Sunday, November 1 at 2 p.m., and would love to have
students and families, both past and present,
join us for this happy event!
We are making great progress on our
campus building project. In completing Phase
I, two years ago we purchased the property
and obtained our special exception from
Fairfax County, allowing us to have a school
on the property. We completed Phase II last
summer – we have protected our investment by improving the existing farmhouse
(new roof, refinished floors and energy-efficient windows), increased teacher salaries
and provided them with continuing education opportunities and grew our scholarship
fund.
In completing Phase III, we will build our
classroom building. In order to get our
building “move-in ready,” we need everyone’s
help. Tuition at HGS – while a major commitment for most families – is still significantly below most independent area high
schools. We are asking everyone to stretch
their giving – a donation of any size – so
that we can build a permanent learning facility for our kids and for the kids who follow.
Families, students, alumni,
alumni parents, friends
Please Join Us
Ground-breaking Celebration
Sunday, November 1, 2009
2 p.m.
Refreshments Provided
Every year, during the first week of school,
students and teachers get to know each
other or get re-acquainted through an allschool project – better known as ‘bonding
week.’ Students sawed, nailed, assembled and
caulked thin pieces of wood to build boats.
Teams of students worked together throughout the heat – building, problem-solving, leading and cooperating in order to complete the
building process. Dads Dar Silver and Alan
Dicerson and teacher Alex Stevenson-Castle
kept the teams moving ahead by manning
power tools and providing instruction.
Environmental Studies
Outside the Box
HGS was featured in a documentary on
“Learning for the 21st Century,” created
by the Association for Supervision and
Curriculum Development, a national nonprofit organization. Looking for “outsidethe-box” examples of classes, the crew
filmed the Alternative Energy class (above)
as they worked on the solar system for
our environmental science classroom, the
drumming class as they worked on new
patterns and the film studies class looking
for themes in an Alfred Hitchcock movie.
They also interviewed several teachers
about their philosophy of education.
HGS as a Case Study
During Field Studies Day, the great boat
launching was held at Fountain Head Regional
Park on the Occoquan reservoir. All of the
boats survived the demonstration voyage.
Several of the them were so successful that
Alex and some of the students paddled them.
Winter Workshops
Students spent the week before Winter
Break participating in a wide selection of
workshops. In science and technology, students experienced hands-on physics concepts
(below right) during “Bowling Ball Physics;”
checked out the solar installation that the energy class completed for our environmental
science classroom and toured a factory that
made the farmhouse’s new windows energy
efficient. In craft workshops, students knitted,
beaded (thanks to parent Wendy Curry) and
made paper, candles and bird feeders. Some
students sanded and finished a skateboard
deck of their own design or built bat houses
to replace vanishing shelter for local bats.
Literary opportunities included workshops in
children’s literature, “The Gift of the Maggi,”
and comedy writing. Workshops in “Teaching
tolerance” and the Meyers-Briggs Personality
Inventory helped students better understand
themselves and others.
Jocelyn Drakeford,
a long-time educator and principal,
has written her
doctoral dissertation for The
George Washington University
School. Jocelyn
has been following
HGS’s progress
since the school
Dr. Joceln Drakeford
began in 2004,
and has developed
a case study of HGS as an example of
“schools that work.” Much of her supporting research involved gifted and talented
education. Jocelyn states, “Many of the
principles and strategies used at HGS are
based on gifted and talented research ...
HGS is clearly a school for the bright and
creative!”
The Howard Gardner School was one of 40 Virginia schools to
be honored in fall ‘07 for Excellence in Environmental Education
by the Virginia Naturally Foundation. We were recognized
for our second year in the fall of ‘08. Founding teacher
Addie Helmke built our award-winning environmental science
program from scratch, with help from other members of our
environmentally savvy staff, and has made it an integral part of our
school curriculum. Many of our students have gone on to study
environmental science in college, with at least two of our alumni
majoring in Environmental Science or Environmental Education.
After studying watersheds and wetlands, ecology classes have been experimenting with
various methods to clean simulated polluted river water. In this activity, students choose
from a variety of materials and household tools that mimic how natural wetlands filter
direct and indirect pollutants from water, including rocks, window screening, sand, cotton
balls, cloth, coffee filters, and funnels.
The 2009 Arts & Sciences Exhibition
Held in March, our fifth annual Arts & Science Exhibition was a celebration of the work students have done across the curriculum. LIzzie Romano and Jordan Williams demonstrated
how to make a classic French dressing that they learned to make in French class (below).
Students in the Art History class have studied
American History through the art and architecture
of each period. Student models representing typical
architecture from various periods were on display,
including Grace Hudgins’s charming Williamsburg
building (below).
Math students used proportion and ratio to enlarge a small image to a 3’ x 4’ poster (below right).
In this project, each student was responsible for
one section. Other math students invented a deep sea creature and used their geometric
and algebraic skills to calculate and graph its growth rate.
Computer Tech students demonstrated the “smart board”
they built using just $60 worth of materials: infrared LED’s,
plastic highlighters, a “Wii” receiver and duct tape. Art was
highlighted throughout the exhibition: paintings, prints of various types, animations, and drawings. “The Pig Pen,” our student
literary magazine, was on display featuring cartoons, poetry,
and art.
Alternative Energy students gave tours of the solar-powered electrical system they designed and installed in “Addie’s House,” our environmental science classroom in the woods.
Not only was the building fully lit, but the system also ran a computer showing a men’s
NCAA tournament game, a great draw for many of our guests.
Our Senior Environmental Studies & Policies class
presented their findings on the condition of Pike’s
Branch, the creek that adjoins our property, and
its relationship to the greater watershed.
On a day too gorgeous to stay inside, our physics class used found materials to experiment with
conservation of potential and kinetic energy and
simple machines: specifically levers, incline planes,
and wedges. Hands-on activities helped the class
visualize the underlying principles of all work-saving machines.
The Director’s Message
As we enter our
sixth year, we will
begin our next phase
in our growth as a
school. Our founding teachers have a
wealth of experience
now while retaining
their authentic excitement and enthusiasm
for teaching and learning. Katherine Keith,
We continue to support HGS Director
their professional development through contributions toward
their graduate work and paid sabbaticals.
We have added new teachers who bring
their own energy and creativity, and are
ready to build on our strong foundation.
After beginning in 2004 with 19 students,
we ended the 2008-2009 school year with
almost 50 students – our target enrollment, while maintaining our sense of community and belonging and even strengthening it through a sense of continuity and
history. Students now refer their friends,
alumni parents refer other parents, and
younger siblings have joined us. We also
have had the joy of watching our alumni
grow up; our class of 2006 are now seniors in college or exploring the world in
other ways, and they – as well as following
classes – continue to keep in touch, having
made enduring friendships with their fellow Howard Gardner students and with
their teachers.
I am truly grateful to all of those – students, teachers, families, and community
members – who have worked to make The
Howard Gardner School the extraordinary
school it is today, and I am excited about
tomorrow.
Board of Directors/Advisors
Katherine Keith, co-founder, president
Emily Pavot, co-founder
Bob Kuletz
Kim Peele
Maggie Szymanek
Faculty
Katherine Keith, Director, Psychology
Emily Rose Apayan, French
Shanna Carvell, Art
Alex Stephenson-Castle, History
Addie Helmke, Environmental Science
Emily Pavot, Learning Specialist, Mentor
Beth Silver, Social Studies, English
Shelly Witiak, Math, Art
Chad Thomas, Physics, Robotics, Improv