Crossroads fallwinter 2013-14 by The Steward School

crossroads issue 26

a publication of The Steward School

iNSiDE tHiS iSSuE:

PortrAit oF A StEwArD Pg. 4

ALSO INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

THANK YOU TO KEN SEWARD

Fall/Winter 2013

4, 2 mber e t Stude p e l on S nts jum ped for joy at the Back-To-School Socia

013.

crossroads Administration dan Frank, Interim Head of School lisa dwelle, Associate Head of School for Finance and Operations debbie robson, Associate Head of School for Community Advancement livia Mccoy and gardner Mundy, Interim Directors of Upper School susan atkinson, Director of Middle School Melanie casper, Director of Lower School nancy negus, Director of Curriculum and Professional Development JK-12

highlights of a 4 Portrait Steward

Those who have taken stewardship beyond our campus

Publication Staff lori Jobe, Editor sydney smith, Managing Editor sherilyn smail, Designer kristina kerns, Interactive Features Editor rachel Beanland, susan Brown, susan holt, heather Jeter, lori Jobe, chris lundberg, andy Mudd, erica riesbeck, sydney smith, Contributing Writers laura akesson, Bridget hazel Photography, kathi campbell, natalia Frost, debbie horwitz, kristina kerns, eric latourelle, chris lundberg, kim Magnano, Meredith Mcguire, erica riesbeck, laura skove, sherilyn smail, Bonnie turnage, Contributing Photographers

16 Headlines A message from the

Printing Worth higgins & associates, inc.

Children 48 Keeping Safe in a Digital

the steward school admits students without regard to gender, race, color, religion, or national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school.

Interim Head of School, Dan Frank

the Way 30 Changing Teachers Teach

World

The editors have made every attempt to ensure the accuracy of information reported in this publication. We apologize for any inadvertent errors.

The Steward Schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mission is to prepare each child for college and for life. Our core character values are honor, responsibility, and achievement, balanced by caring and respect for oneself and for others. Steward is committed to small classes and to small overall size, which allow for discovery and development of each studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s unique talents and passions, while providing more

departments 20 36 38 42 50

campusculture collegecounseling teamtalk spartanliving alumninews steWard WeBsite www.stewardschool.org

opportunities for individual participation. We believe an environment with a diversity of talents, abilities, cultures, and backgrounds provides the richest and most fully rounded educational experience.

social Media channels http://www.facebook.com/thestewardschool http://www.twitter.com/stewardschool http://www.pinterest.com/steward/rva http://instagram.com/thestewardschool

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Portrait of a Steward Stewardship in action

Making a Difference in the Community by Sydney Smith

hen our School’s founders established The Steward School in 1972, they chose the word “steward” to represent their mission because it applies to taking care of others. According to former Headmaster Paul Cramer’s A History of The Steward School, “The name derives its meaning from the concept of ‘stewardship,’ which throughout history has denoted responsibility, dependability, dedication, and trust. A ‘steward’ is one who applies these qualities with faith to a cause in which he believes.” While most high schools in the nation require their students to work community service hours, one of the underlying goals at The Steward School is to instill a

sense of service beyond self in our students. On the following pages, you will meet five such examples, including students, alumni, faculty, and families. While there are many generous volunteers within our collective population, these people represent going above and beyond in their choices to help others. They have made the effort, taken the risks, and put in the time to make stewardship a priority in their lives. To be a steward at the School of the same name means to live the ethic of care, a principle that we hope sticks with our stewards for life. We salute these stewards and all of the other altruists in our midst.

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Debbie Goldstone Horwitz ’90

Giving Hope to Cancer Victims Alumna

ebbie Horwitz has taken the word stewardship to heart. She is known around the world as the woman who lifted the veil on breast reconstruction following a double mastectomy. Turning tragedy into triumph, she has been giving hope to breast cancer victims since 2007. While living in Raleigh, North Carolina, and two months after becoming engaged to Evan Horwitz, she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 32, just a few months after a clean mammogram. Mrs. Horwitz wasn’t too surprised by the diagnosis because her mother had passed away at age 39 from breast cancer. Mrs. Horwitz had the BRCA1 mutation, the most aggressive mutation that interferes with the body’s ability to produce tumorsuppressing proteins, and it was a “no-brainer” for her to have a double mastectomy. During all of the

resource existed to help women going through reconstruction, Ms. McLamb offered to research the topic. Upon coming up completely empty handed, the photographer volunteered to document every stage of the reconstruction. The two women felt like they could put together a scrapbook that plastic surgeons would use as a resource for future patients to take some of the mystery out of the reconstruction process. For a year, Ms. McLamb came to Mrs. Horwitz’s home to shoot photographs at every stage of her reconstruction, even when she was vomiting from the chemotherapy, dealing with the effects of steroids, or weak and exhausted from the treatments. She gave the 800 pictures to Mrs. Horwitz, who planned to canvass the Raleigh-Durham medical community in hopes that every woman going through reconstruction would see

“You just never know where opportunities lie in life to be teaching moments. It wasn’t strength that got me through it, but the desire to let women know that you can be back together again.” meetings with doctors who were most concerned with saving her life, she was thinking ahead to putting herself back together. After all, she was getting married and wanted to feel like a bride. Fate intervened in the summer of 2004 when a friend of hers called a local photographer to set up a session for her engagement photos. The friend felt like it would be a boost for Mrs. Horwitz to have the pictures taken before her body went through all the surgeries in her future. At that session, she had a conversation with the photographer, Missy McLamb, that would change her life. In talking about the fact that no photographic

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them. She put together a PowerPoint presentation and met with a cancer support center in Chapel Hill named Cornucopia House. Its board agreed to provide funding and a grant writer for her to submit a proposal to the Susan G. Komen Triangle Chapter. With low expectations because her idea was so “outside the box,” Mrs. Horwitz was shocked to be awarded a $25,000 grant to put together a website and book for surgeons’ offices in the area. Within a few months, executives at NBC’s Today show got wind of what she was doing and contacted her to see if it was true. At that point in late 2006, Mrs.

Horwitz was expecting her first child, and the story of a pregnant, young breast cancer survivor was ripe for telling to the world. With the exposure on Today, she was not particularly surprised that people might want the book, but she was stunned by the response her pregnancy received. The hope it gave women was powerful. After her daughter was born in January 2007, Mrs. Horwitz decided it was time to establish her own nonprofit organization. She founded Myself: Together Again as a public charity to educate and empower women through the reconstruction process. She has spent the last several years “pushing the book” so that women will understand what their bodies will go through during reconstruction because, as she says, “At the end of the day, all the patient cares about is having the pictures” to see and understand what lies ahead. By 2011, such progress had been made in the field of breast reconstruction that Mrs. Horwitz decided her organization needed an updated book. She had been contacted by a breast cancer patient, Sherri Burgess, who had offered to help her because the original book was such an inspiration as she prepared for her own reconstruction. Mrs. Burgess was willing to be the subject of the second Myself: Together Again project, entitled Sherri’s Story with updated material, which was released in 2012. In the fall of 2013, Mrs. Horwitz’s website, www.myselftogetheragain.org, went through a redesign to include electronic versions of the books. Even though she knows the organization will ultimately lose money by featuring e-books as opposed to selling hard copies, she wanted to make the leap to continue with her mission to help other women. Mrs. Horwitz gives credit to The Steward School for putting her on the path to tell her story. She draws on her experiences in Paul Cramer’s Public Speaking class all the time when she gives speeches throughout the country. She even says, “Paul Cramer is an important part of who I am today…because he helped me find my voice, and I learned to deliver my message.” Stewardship is a big part of Mrs. Horwitz’s story, as she continues to give hope and change lives every day. Photos: (top) Debbie Horwitz’s first book, Myself: Together Again; her foundation’s second book, Sherri’s Story; (bottom) Debbie Horwitz

to visit Mrs. Horwitz’s website

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laura skove ’08

Peace Corps Volunteer Alumna

f true stewardship involves living outside of your comfort zone and dedicating your time to help others, then Laura Skove has stretched herself to the max. After graduating summa cum laude from NYU in 2012 with a dual degree in history and French, she enlisted as a Peace Corps volunteer and was sent to Cameroon for a two-year stint. She says that the organization’s approach to development is one of the main factors that attracted her to the Peace Corps. Its volunteers live at the level of the people in the communities they serve, which for Ms. Skove means living without electricity, running water, or cell phone service. She doesn’t live in a mud hut, but she does learn the native language, eat local food, and engage in cultural exchange. Her inspiration for joining the Peace Corps came from several sources. First was Ms. Skove’s aunt, who is a returned Peace Corps volunteer from the Central African Republic. Ms. Skove also credits two Steward influ-

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ences—history teacher Chip Chapman for his dedication to service and Interim Head of School Dan Frank, who also served in the Peace Corps. In Cameroon, Ms. Skove functions primarily as a health volunteer, working to address acute malnutrition and food security, particularly among women and children under the age of five. She works with farmers to encourage propagation of soy and a tree called moringa, and she teaches women’s groups how to incorporate soy into their diets, demonstrating with soy flour, soy milk, and tofu. She has trained volunteer health mobilizers in at-home nutritional screenings to identify children who are severely malnourished and to enroll them in a UNICEF-sponsored program. And, like all Peace Corps volunteers, she also deals with plenty of secondary projects that arise, including malaria prevention, environmental education, a community compost project, and a student pen pal exchange she is setting up with Steward Upper School history teacher James Stancil.

“There are days when I feel isolated, frustrated, ineffective, and resentful. These days are as often as not followed by days when I have great interactions with my neighbors and friends in the village . . .” As would be expected with any demanding commitment, Ms. Skove has had her up-and-down moments living in Cameroon. In her own words: It’s hard to pinpoint a best moment of my time in Peace Corps; the whole experience is something of a constant emotional roller coaster. There are days when I feel isolated, frustrated, ineffective, and resentful. These days are as often as not followed by days when I have great interactions with my neighbors and friends in the village, successfully lead a lesson or demonstration in Fulfuldé, and spend the afternoon playing Ultimate Frisbee with my dog and a herd of kids from the neighborhood. Most weeks and months contain some elements of both those extremes. One inarguably great experience was celebrating the Feast of the Ram (known in Fulfuldé as Tabaski, or in Arabic as Eid El-Adha) in Mandama. I spent hours the day before the feast with my landlord’s four wives and innumerable daughters, painstakingly decorating our hands and feet with black henna designs. The morning of the feast everyone dressed in their finest boubous and robes, and we all walked out to an empty field north of town, where the marabout, or imam, led the entire village in prayer. Families then returned to their concessions; the marabout, accompanied by traditional musicians, went house to house to slaughter each family’s sheep with the appropriate intonations and prayers. For the rest of the

day, we gorged ourselves on grilled mutton. Tradition dictated that I honor my friends and colleagues by visiting each one’s house to taste their sheep or goat; let me assure you, as an otherwise vegetarian, that’s a whole lot of meat. By late afternoon I was beyond full, but glad that I had been welcomed to take part in the feast. With another year to go in her commitment to the Peace Corps, Ms. Skove is planning ahead for when she returns home in December 2014. She is considering working in the professional world for a short time before pursuing a graduate program in environmental economics or natural resource management. She visited the U.S. last summer for a family wedding, and acknowledges on her blog (bienloindemontmartre. blogspot.com) that assimilating back into American life will most likely be a challenge. From the sound of it, however, challenges won’t stop Ms. Skove from accomplishing her goals.

Above: Skove’s blog— bienloindemontmartre. blogspot.com

to visit Ms. skove’s blog

Photos: (left to right) Feast of the Ram in Mandama; Baka pygmy encampment; planting moringa trees; tofu demonstration

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Erin, Kip, Ellen, and Steve ambrose; Cindy and ross Arrington; Bentley Mescall; Neil and Bonnie Turnage

Current students and parents, trustee, staff, and alumni parents

Helping the Uninsured Receive Medical Care

or the last 12 years, Richmond dentist Neil Turnage has spent several days each summer in Wise County, Virginia, on a Mission of Mercy (MOM). He is one of several local dentists to be involved with the Virginia Dental Association’s MOM projects, which are a component of the free services provided by Remote Area Medical (RAM) to uninsured Virginians in one of the commonwealth’s poorest counties. Since the first MOM mission in 2000, Virginia dentists have treated more than 50,000 patients free of charge. Dr. Turnage says that many of the patients spend more than 24 hours in line for treatment because it might be the only dental check-up they have all year.

“It’s so much fun . . .just getting to help people and see how happy they are.” -seventh-grader Bentley Mescall

to visit RAM website

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Dr. Turnage and his wife, Bonnie, have taken their granddaughter, seventh-grader Bentley Mescall, with them to Wise County for the last three years. For Bentley, it’s been a life-shaping experience. In her first two visits there, she worked in the Bentley Mescall kids tent, babysitting the children of medical and dental patients who were being treated. In 2013, her “Pop” invited her to join him in the dental unit. Bentley mostly showed patients to their chairs and gave dental instruments to her grandfather while he worked, but for one patient,

she was allowed to hold the suction tool during the procedure. As a result, she wants to be a dentist when she grows up. Most people don’t think of dental work as fun, but Bentley says, “It’s so much fun…just to get to help people and see how happy they are.” While Bentley was busy in the MOM dental unit, sophomore Erin Ambrose and freshman Ross Arrington were experiencing their first RAM mission trip in the clothing tent. The Wise County event is RAM’s largest outreach project, and therefore depends on 1,400 Erin Ambrose volunteers to serve the 2,500 people who seek service. Parent Ellen Ambrose says that because of the size of the project (spread throughout many acres at the Wise County Fairgrounds), “We would be split up at times, but you felt safe and didn’t worry about the kids getting lost. The patients were reRoss Arrington ally nice, and the kids had a good time interacting with them.” Mrs. Ambrose’s volunteer jobs included being a runner and working in the cardiology unit, and the rest of her family was stationed in the clothing and dental areas. The Ambroses and Arringtons were among 72 volunteers who Cindy Arrington attended the RAM weekend through a local church, Church of

“I’ve done a lot of volunteer work, and this was by far the most rewarding volunteer experience ever.” -cindy arrington

the Redeemer, in Midlothian. Leading up to the Wise County event, the church held a clothing drive, and volunteers spent months folding and organizing clothes that were hauled to Wise County for distribution in July. Middle School Division Assistant Cindy Arrington said that when she and Ross arrived to work at 5:30 a.m. on the first morning of the RAM weekend, the volunteers found hundreds of additional bags of unsorted clothes that had been donated by other groups. She spent hours that day sorting through clothing; in total, 15 tons of clothing were given out during the weekend. Attendees were allowed to take whatever clothing they could carry. Once the initial rush of crowds died down in the clothing tent, Erin was able to “play” fashion designer by helping people put together outfits complete with hats, belts, shirts, sweaters, and more. That experience was rewarding for her because she realized that the people probably had never had anyone come up to them in a store and offer to help. Mrs. Arrington described the clothing tent as the “happy spot” because patients who were dealing with unpleasant medical and dental procedures would “stop by our tent, and it was like Christmas.” With healthcare woes being a constant in today’s news, the RAM events are especially unique and require dedicated volunteers who know what they are doing. Mrs. Arrington is excited to report that Steward is organizing a group of ten Upper School students to set up the “medical city” in Wise County this coming summer, and she hopes the Steward participation will grow. As she says, “Everybody was there for the right reason…you don’t go unless you’re willing to work, to get dirty, and to be hot (in the July temperatures). I made friends there for life. I’ve done a lot of volunteer work, and this was by far the most rewarding volunteer experience ever.”

Photos: (top) Erin Ambrose and her brother, Kip; Bentley Mescall helps to set up for the RAM event; (bottom) Neil Turnage and Bentley provide dental assistance Crossroads

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Laura Akesson

Exciting Educators about Science Faculty

ost people don’t find the study of physics quite as exciting as Laura Akesson does. She’s almost the pied piper of physics, though she’s not luring her students to any unseemly fate. Her enthusiasm for her subject is a temptation for followers to see what she’ll do next, and in the process, her stewardship is infectious. In 2009, Mrs. Akesson established her own non-profit called Science Overdrive (www.scienceoverdrive.org) in hopes of instilling a passion for science in K-8 teachers. She wants educators to make the subject exciting enough to become contagious to their students because “the way to get a cultural change is through a teacher.” With two friends who are science teachers at Godwin High School, Mrs. Akesson conducts summer workshops for K-8 science teachers. Through the foundation, she obtains grants from large corporations such as Target and Home Depot to provide the classroom materials needed for the workshops. She wants the teachers who attend them to walk away with the materials they need to make the science curricula successful in their own schools.

to visit the science overdrive website

The workshops are the continuation of a similar program that was started in 2006 at the University of Notre Dame called Physics Is Elementary (PIE). After just a few years, the funding was discontinued, so Mrs. Akesson decided to begin her own foundation in Virginia, which led to Science Overdrive. Because the workshops attract attendees from throughout the commonwealth, the content is based upon the Standards of Learning in Virginia. Each teacher who attends the workshop receives a $150 stipend for travel expenses. “Teaching teachers is so rewarding right away—as a whole, teachers are wonderful. They get excited for their students,” Mrs. Akesson says. In addition to the non-profit workshops she conducts, Mrs. Akesson is a member of QuarkNet, which she adds, “is as dorky as it sounds.” QuarkNet is a particle physics educational outreach group that consists of about 20 university physics professors, high school physics teachers, and hobby engineers, including some who have worked at the European Organization for Nuclear

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Research known as CERN and on the Atlas Detector in Switzerland. Their main purpose is to figure out how to get particle physics into the classroom. Mrs. Akesson teaches some particle physics lessons in her curriculum because she thinks “it’s cool,” but she acknowledges that choosing it as a career would be a challenging path to follow. “You could spend your life doing research but never make a discovery. You don’t just discover a subatomic particle every day,” she adds with a smile. She tries to introduce her students to simple particle physics concepts before reaching for the huge ideas. Solid-state physics is relevant in their lives, she says, because it includes things that they can relate to like semi-conductors, Blu-Ray discs, and electronics. But even if her students don’t plan on becoming physicists, Mrs. Akesson says that it’s important for them “to be educated people and explain why things happen.” Interim Head of School Dan Frank raves about the difference Mrs. Akesson has made in Upper School. He says, “She talks about being ‘secretly joyous’ when she sees kids arguing over how to solve a problem; she wants to create situations where more kids have ‘math fights’ like that. She talks about waking up in the morning and feeling like ‘I get to go to work’ instead of ‘I have to go work.’ She is endlessly energetic and curious and tries new things all the time, even if there’s a possibility of failure.” Clearly, Mrs. Akesson is spreading her affection for physics on a regular basis. In addition to physics, she teaches Biomedical Design and coaches cross-country. With all this energy, Ms. Akesson can often be found riding a scooter between the Upper School and the Bryan Innovation Lab in order to get to classes on time…it’s just one more way to introduce out-of-the-box concepts to her students. And who wouldn’t want to follow a smiling teacher on a scooter?

“Teaching teachers is so rewarding right away—as a whole, teachers are wonderful. They get excited for their students.”

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The Magnano Family: Kim, bobby, matea, michael, tommy, and joey

Fighting World Hunger Steward Family

ow fitting that the word “magnanimous” is syllabically correlated with the Magnano family. For the last two years, they have brought Stop Hunger Now food-packaging events to the School, and in doing so, have donated 20,000 meals to poor countries needing aid. They plan to host the event at Steward again in the spring of 2014. Kim Magnano says that she has always searched for hands-on, charitable projects in which her children— ranging from ages 7-14—could participate. They have attended Richmond Community Church on Nuckols Road in Glen Allen for many years, and she credits the church with making it easy to find volunteer opportunities because they “push” service with compelling messages by the pastor, Rick McDaniel. In addition to regular volunteer opportunities at the Freedom House (feeding the homeless) and Lamb’s Basket (a churchoperated mini-grocery store), Mrs. Magnano says she likes for her family to tackle one big, impactful service project every year. With small children, the options are limited, but she remembered a Stop Hunger Now event that had been held at the church years earlier and thought it might work at Steward.

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“I loved the sense of being a steward and the community service [at the School], and I just thought the Stop Hunger event might really be a good fit,” Mrs. Magnano says. Having just joined the Steward community that year (2011), she spoke first with former Headmaster Ken Seward, and he put her in touch with thenDirector of Development Sarah Melvin to coordinate it as a donation. The logistics were the most difficult part of bringing the event to the School, but once the 50 volunteers were in place on the big day, the spirit of teamwork took over. At both of the Magnanos’ Stop Hunger Now events, a mix of parents and children from the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools worked side-by-side as teams to get the meals produced. The energy in the Lower School Dining Commons on those Saturday mornings was infectious. The volunteers were organized at tables with specific jobs—scooping precise amounts of rice, protein, or dehydrated vegetables into bags, weighing and sealing the bags, and delivering them to packaging stations. Every time the group had collectively prepared 1,000 meals, a giant gong rang out through the room to signal the progress. For the Steward participants, the Stop Hunger

“The best we can hope for [our] kids is that slowly but surely when they become adults, these things will be instilled in them, and they will have the desire to give back.” -kim magnano

Now days were fun events that happened to benefit world hunger and raise awareness of an issue to those who might not have thought about it much before. Mike Nelson, the Program Manager for Stop Hunger Now in Richmond, says that he is pleased when schools participate in his events because “the younger volunteers are often more energetic, enthusiastic, and empowered. To empower that desire is crucial to helping the world.” He believes that it is a misunderstanding to call today’s teenagers the “me generation”—instead he considers them the “what can I do to make the world better?” generation. According to Mr. Nelson, the Richmond office has been organizing events for four years and in that time has shipped two million meals per year to 13 countries. Ken Wermuth, the Stop Hunger Now representative who has conducted the events at Steward, talks with the volunteers before the food-packaging sessions begin to give them background on their mission for the day. His delivery is direct, and he is the type of leader who inspires his volunteers to want to do more. He shares with them some of the frustrating data about world hunger, including that if all of the world’s food could be properly distributed, there would be no world hunger—a fact that he hopes will stick with the volunteers long after they leave the event. “The best we can hope for [our] kids is that slowly but surely when they become adults, these things will be instilled in them, and they will have the desire to give back,” Mrs. Magnano says. She keeps a magnet on her refrigerator that is a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr.: “What are you doing to help others?” It is a simple line, a simple message, and a simple priority for a magnanimous family.

to visit the stop hunger now website

Photos: (far left) Freshmen Katherine Taylor and Matea Magnano, sixth-grader Michael Magnano, and Kim Magnano prepare to work; (near left) Steward families packaging meals; (top right) volunteers prepare to unload the truck; (bottom right) more Steward helpers Crossroads

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headlines

thank you, mr. seward!

dear Friends, Ken important work that will be reminded of the On these pages, you to the unity. His dedication th the Steward comm wi d an for did rd wa Se ses the School, and to cau (to self, to others, to els lev all at e car of ethic he made and each parent in every decision ap s wa s) lve rse ou n greater tha one nt legacy at Stewardâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; He leaves an importa initiative he founded. ue of e to emphasize the val build. We will continu to pe ho we ich wh on to come. stewardship for years

dan Frank Interim Head of School

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Ken Seward:

A Decade of Stewardship W

hen he arrived in Richmond from Michigan in 2004, Ken Seward joined a school with growth and potential ahead. With his wife Helen, a preschooler, and an infant in tow, he set out to lead The Steward School toward a new era by making a difference in the Richmond community. Whether it was the establishment of the LEAP program, the leadership of a $12 million capital campaign, or the building of the Bryan Innovation Lab, Mr. Seward was at the forefront of making change happen. During the last decade, Mr. Seward oversaw the expansion of both Upper and Middle Schools, the building of the Gray Pavilion, the naming of the Lora M. Robins Theatre, and the addition of an athletic field, a baseball field, and four tennis courts on the Steward campus. Under his leadership, both libraries were renovated to be more technology and research focused, a

goal set forth by the Vision 2011 strategic plan that he spearheaded. He was determined to set up LEAP (Latino Education and Advancement Program), which just completed its seventh successful summer. He made it a priority to establish a faculty summer grant program so that teachers could challenge their students beyond the usual parameters and set Steward apart from the rest. And, of course, he saw the vision of what innovation could do in a school setting, devoting himself to the creation of the Bryan Innovation Lab. In short, Mr. Seward was tireless in his determination to make sure that Steward was not resting on its laurels but was instead propelling itself into the 21st century. For his many years of hard work at Steward, we thank Mr. Seward and wish him well in his endeavors.

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missionnews

advancing the mission

Dan Frank Named Interim Head of School On november 26, Board of Trustees chair Maria Jones introduced Dan Frank as interim head of school. Mr. Frank joined the School in 2004 as director of Upper School. With over 25 years in education, Mr. Frank is an experienced administrator, teacher trainer, and teacher at schools in the United States and abroad. He holds a B.A. in english from the University of vermont and an M.A.T. from the School for international Training; he also

received a Fulbright and an e.e. Ford Fellowship. Mr. Frank will be leading the School while the Board of Trustees works to identify a new head of school who will take Steward to the next level of excellence and stewardship. kenneth H. Seward jointly announced with the Board of Trustees that he was stepping down from the post of headmaster effective november 30,

2013. Mr. Seward had served with distinction as headmaster since 2004. in his nearly decade long tenure at Steward, Mr. Seward focused his efforts on building a community of care, creating innovative curricula, and developing first rate programming, faculty, staff, and facilities. We thank him for his service and wish him well as he works to complete his memoir, which was accepted at the prestigious Bread Loaf Writers’ conference this past summer.

Board of trustees Notes

redefining Advancement for Steward Debbie robson has been tapped as the Associate Head of School for community Advancement and will lead the school’s admission, development, and marketing/ communications programs. Mrs. robson will focus her efforts on all activities that develop, maintain, and reinforce the relationship between the School and current and potential families, faculty and staff, alumni and their families, friends and supporters, and the greater community. This role will be integral in helping shape certain aspects of the forthcoming strategic plan, especially those relating to communications and strengthening the Steward brand in the richmond community.

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trANSitioN At the december board meeting, Board chair Maria Jones praised outgoing Headmaster ken Seward for his long service to the School and the many accomplishments during his leadership. The board looks forward to recognizing Mr. Seward at several events in the spring. Mrs. Jones also noted that the board has formed a transition team to assist Mr. Frank in his new role. The transition team is comprised of trustees robert Brooks, Larry Eiben, and Debbie Hanger.

StrAtEgiC PLANNiNg uPDAtE

DirECtor oF uPPEr SCHooL SEArCH

Board vice chair James Stutts has been charged with moving the strategic planning process forward. committees are working to have a final draft of the strategic plan in January. The board’s goal is to ensure that the plan is right for the School and has measurable and achievable goals for the next three to five years.

Dan Frank notified the board that a national search for a new director of the Upper School will begin immediately. The goal is to have the new director of Upper School named by this spring. dean of Students gardner Mundy and dean of Student Support Livia McCoy have agreed to serve as interim co-directors of the Upper School through the end of this school year.

Look Who’s Talking

Maria Jones, Board of Trustees Chair

Why do we need a strategic plan? While we have a vision statement that expresses an ideal version of The Steward School that lies in our future and a mission statement that expresses what we strive to do to support the vision, the strategic plan expresses exactly how we will fulfill the vision and mission through concrete, strategic steps within a specific timeframe. The strategic plan gives the School a “gameplan,” so to speak. Vision, mission, and the strategic plan can be thought of as “why, what, and how.” What is the process for creating the plan? It is a carefully thought-out process that takes some time in and of itself. Our process began well over a year ago when school administrators and the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees began to explore strategic themes. Candidate themes were then further discussed in individual and small committee meetings that included representatives of all of Steward’s constituencies. Along with this, a formal day-long, off-campus retreat was held last spring, again including representatives from throughout the School. This group was able to identify several key strategic priorities that folded in the themes as goals or objectives. The working title for this plan is Advance the Mission: Define, Communicate, Celebrate. All Board of Trustees committees are now busy refining the goals and objectives in order to produce a final document. How will it be used? The strategic plan will be Steward’s blueprint for advancing the mission for the next three to five years. It will guide our actions and decisionmaking at every level of the School. When will it be implemented? The Board of Trustees expects to have a final draft by late winter. This draft will then be circulated among the constituencies for final approval. Year One of the plan will be the 2014-15 school year. What does the Board of Trustees hope to accomplish with the plan? The board hopes to advance the mission by accomplishing current strategic plan goals. We have been working on communicating the Steward culture, brand, and ethos in order to build community pride and schoolwide engagement internally; defining and implementing 21st-century skills and learning; and strengthening the relationship among athletics, the mission, and enrollment. What are some of the items being considered for inclusion in the plan? For example, to attain the goal of communicating Steward’s culture, we are looking for specific ways to promote a strong sense of “one school.” To assist with implementing 21st-century goals, we hope to restructure the daily schedule to allow for collaborative periods and also hope to highlight cross-divisional activities. Each goal will have these types of specifics attached—we are defining them as “objectives.” How will it help students and families? Each goal and objective is created to take defined steps toward improving every student and family’s experience at Steward. We are consistently trying to fulfill the School’s vision and mission, which exist only to serve our students and families. Crossroads

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campus happenings

to visit steward snaps

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PrEviEw

Spartan Spirit Week: October 14-19 DrESS uP DAyS

Lower School Jamboree

JANuAry 24, 2014

Gala and Auction

FEBruAry 8, 2014

PEP rALLy

Family Bingo night

MArCH 28, 2014

ArtWalk

APriL 10, 2014

SPArtAFESt & BAzAAr

Spring Social

APriL 10, 2014

For MorE iNForMAtioN oN tHESE EvENtS AND otHErS, viSit

www.StEwArDSCHooL.org/EvENtS Crossroads

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campus happenings

ANNUAL PHILANTHROPIC KICKOFF

Whirled Peace Day On a September morning, the sun came out from behind the clouds to bathe Steward’s front lawn, which was decorated with hundreds of colorful, handmade pinwheels, in light—it was the perfect setting for Whirled Peace Day, the start of the School’s philanthropic focus of the 201314 year. Steward’s eighth-annual peace ceremony was a special celebration of thankfulness for our own good fortunes and the importance of helping others. The event included music from “We Are Family” to “We Are the World,” costumed characters from Uncle Sam to a human globe, and the official “planting” of the pinwheels. Art teachers Cindy Grissom, Rugene Paulette, and Lynn Zinder spoke throughout the program to explain the purpose of Whirled Peace Day, saying that our students were among millions around the world who were making a visual public statement about peace. Sophomore Ally Dods

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sang a beautiful rendition of the national anthem, the Middle School Choir performed “Amani Utupe,” which means “Grant Us Peace, Give Us Courage,” and the Upper School Choir sang “Go, Light Your World” with pinwheeloriented lyrics. Students who wished to contribute were asked to bring in a variety of donated goods from pet and school supplies to kitchen utensils and dishes, which will ultimately be given to eight local charities. Suitcases were set up on the lawn for the donated items, and they were overflowing! Delivery of these items will be made as part of Steward’s outreach efforts on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on January 20, 2014, when the entire School community will participate in the activities organized by the MLK Day Committee. Committee Chair Mrs. Zinder said that the committee revamped the School’s efforts this year to

include opportunities for the students to experience service learning on personal, local, national, and global levels. Not only is Steward supporting multiple causes in the Richmond area, but the plans for MLK Day include supporting five more national or global causes plus opportunities for self-care. For example, students will make “cuddly buddies” for children in orphanages around the world and hold an obstacle course fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Susan Holt, Lower School Dean of Students and a member of the MLK Day Committee, said that the changes came primarily from teacher feedback. Whirled Peace Day introduces the year’s initiatives, and MLK Day implements them. She said that this year’s efforts are more visionary because we will be helping the same agencies all year long, and the projects are meaningful, hands-on activities. Students in all grades should get a true sense

of what it means to make a difference, which, of course, is part of The Steward School’s mission and ethic of care, which is care for oneself, for others, for the School community, and for a cause greater than oneself. Middle School teacher Wallace Inge, also a member of the MLK Day Committee, said he likes the idea that the School’s community service efforts are being brought together by tying so many agencies into the Whirled Peace Day and MLK Day plans. “MLK Day was a one-day blitz, kind of like Extreme Makeover Steward-style, then we went back to our lives,” Mr. Inge said. “The whole idea of service learning is to expose these kids (over a longer period of time), and the hope is that they learn about the organizations” and continue to be involved with them.

FALL CArNivAL complete with face painting, spooktacular games, and pumpkin treats, the Lower School Fall carnival was a delight for all!

great tailgate deemed the best Steward tailgate in recent memory, almost 300 people gathered on a sweltering October night for oysters, chili, Strangeways beverages, and live music. The decorations and costumes of the revelers’ themes included duck dynasty, the 80s, Halloween, glow-in-the-dark, and college football, which was the trophy-winning theme of the ragan family tailgate.

Back-toSchool Social The parents Association welcomed over 700 people to the Back-to-School Social in early September.

tHANkSgiviNg ASSEMBLy Steward’s 2013 Thanksgiving Assembly celebrated thankfulness with remarks from seventh-grader Cole Mier and senior will grattan, a poetry reading by ten fifth-graders, and the annual appearance of “Timothy Turkey,” played by kindergarten student Burke Jennette.

turkEy trot

Convocation “Be who you are” was the main message at Steward’s annual convocation ceremony to officially start the school year in September. The highlight of the event was the annual processional of seniors walking hand-in-hand with JK and kindergarten students.

The second annual Turkey Trot, organized by pe teacher Bonny Hajek, was a running success! The goal of the program is for students to run or walk the equivalent of a half-marathon in six weeks’ time by recording their physical activity. parents were invited to join their Lower School children for the final run on the Monday before Thanksgiving. Crossroads

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campus happenings good works

Middle and UPPer school

Grandparents and Special Friends Day

NEwESt EAgLE SCoutS

StEwArDSHiP CLuB

in September, junior Matthew Bice (L) and freshman Bryce Brown (r) earned eagle Scout rank with the Boy Scouts of America, the highest rank attainable in the program.

The Stewardship club sponsored a team in the Juvenile diabetes research Foundation Walk and hosted a bake sale to support the cause. To date, the club has raised $500 for JrdF.

close to 200 grandparents and special friends attended this annual event on October 25. They shared lunch with their Steward students, and many visited classrooms in the afternoon. We hope they will return to campus often!

HENriCo CHriStMAS MotHEr DoNAtioN in October, a large group of Upper Shool students assembled 650 bags for the elderly and disabled. The bags of soaps, socks, and toothbrushes were distributed, along with pajamas, through the Henrico christmas Mother program.

growing Leaders Club The Middle School Growing Leaders club is breaking new ground, both literally and figuratively. The club was started as an opportunity for students to engage in community outreach programs and to provide additional leadership platforms in Middle School. Sponsors Christen Fratter and Meredith Mcguire focus meetings on community-related activities and discussions about leadership. At one of the sessions in november, the students harvested the Bryan innovation Labâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ipsen Gardens with the help of director Cary Jamieson. They

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gathered lettuce, cabbage, and spinach, which Ms. Fratter immediately delivered to FeedMore, where it arrived in time for shipment to shelters for meals that night. during the course of the fall, the group collected and donated approximately 200 pounds of produce.

BrEAkFASt FooD CoLLECtED For SoLDiErS Lower School parents Jen Jennette and Alice young joined dean of Students Susan Holt and the Student council members to package 26 boxes of donated breakfast foods to send to U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Good Works

D onors help school earn scholarship points The Stewardship Club organized a blood drive for Virginia Blood Services, registering 37 donors and collecting 26 units. Their next drive is Wednesday, February 12.

veterans day assemblies

Honoring U.S. Troops On this important national holiday, Steward students, faculty, and staff honored the U.S. military in special ways. In the Lower School, Lt. Col. Mark Thomson spoke about

the importance of supporting U.S. soldiers. In the Middle and Upper Schools, Lt. JG John Vandervelde, USNR, Vietnam War veteran, and former middle and high school teacher,

spoke at a morning assembly. In addition, senior Anna Fuhr performed an original song entitled “Soldier’s Son” as part of her senior project.

ooperative Spirit increases C donations S everal food drives took place on campus during the fall, totaling more than 2,000 pounds for FeedMore Central Virginia Food Bank.

fundraising and collections by student groups

Chili for a Cause

Cleaning Supplies for Homeless Shelter As part of the admission fee to the Middle School’s Winter Dance, the Student Council collected cleaning supplies for the Espigh Family Emergency Shelter, one of five HomeAgain shelters in the Richmond area. The students delivered the mops, brooms, sponges, and more to the shelter in mid-December.

When a disastrous typhoon hit his homeland of the Philippines in November, Chef Anton Gaston initiated a relief effort at Steward. He sold his delicious homemade chili to the Steward community and donated 100 percent of the proceeds to typhoon relief through the US-Philippines Society. Meriwether Godsey, Steward’s on-site dining services vendor, covered the cost of the ingredients to support Chef Anton’s efforts. He was able to contribute over $2,000 from the sales of his famous beef and vegetarian “Chili for a Cause.”

S everal grades spent the fall semester collecting items for HomeAgain, a local shelter for families and veterans. The Middle School Student Council hosted a “Creepy Café” on Halloween and raised $350 for HomeAgain, and Upper School advisory groups conducted a book drive for the shelter’s residents.

to visit Steward snaps

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campusculture

fine arts BlackBox theatre Lower School Plays wrITTeN aNd dIreCTed BY MoNICa MoeHrING ’95

grADE 4: VIrGINIa – THe woNder YearS

ProFessional artist sPeaker series

Watercolorist and Illustrator Visits every year, professional artists donate their time and guidance to Steward to expose students to a range of art-related careers. The visual Arts department has welcomed book illustrators, medical illustrators, archaeology conservationists, advertising specialists, art school representatives, and fine artists to campus in recent years. visiting artists in the fall included chinese artist Jiaru wang for four days in September and botanical illustrator Lara gastinger in October. Mr. Wang, the father of Steward senior Frank wang, is a very wellknown artist in china and a professor of fine arts at Hainan University, where he is a supervisor for master students. His watercolor collections are featured in galleries and museums throughout china, and his work was displayed in the carolyn r. Brandt Gallery at the cramer center during October, as well. Ms. Gastinger works with the

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non-profit organization Flora of virginia and is an incredibly accomplished artist in the botanical world. She recently had 1,300 illustrations included in the book Flora of Virginia, a guide to 3,164 plant species native to or naturalized in the commonwealth.

The fourth-grade actors and actresses used their stage skills to deliver a historical mystery in the BlackBox theatre production of Virginia—The Wonder Years. in their study of Jamestown, the fourth graders learned that it actually wasn’t the first english settlement in the new World, or as one of the lines in the play explained, “virginia isn’t even virginia in this story!” The play dealt with the attempted

settlement of roanoke island and the unknown details about its eventual disappearance. The colonization saga was broken into three chapters, and the play was conducted like a television show, including commercials and a theme song to the tune of “Gilligan’s island.” The advertisements for Folgers coffee and Mattel’s “chatty cathy” doll were hilarious additions to the entertainment.

grADE 5: JUST lIKe aN elIXIr oUGHT To do in a sophisticated play interwoven with humor, the fifth graders explored various operas, theatrical performances, and works of literature that utilize magic potions and elixirs as plot devices. Snippets from The Most Excellent and Lamentable Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde, and L’elisir

d’Amore (italian for “The elixir of Love”) were used to illustrate the uses of magic potions in stories with star-crossed lovers. Unfortunately, as the actors explained on stage, “star-crossed means the stars didn’t line up,” and in most cases, the ill-fated lovers did not survive.

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nancy Jacey, colored pencil Artist Brandt Gallery, 3 p.m.

JANuAry 8, 2014

Night of the Living Beauty Pageant Written by Tim Kelly and directed by Monica Moehring

robins Theatre, 7 p.m.

JANuAry 30-FEBruAry 1

energy eFFicient technology UPgrade

New Lights in the Theatre Last summer, the robins Theatre had major surgery, but it was not so much a cosmetic facelift as it was an organ transplant. The School purchased 31 new Led stagelights for the theatre: 15 eTc Selador d40 Lustr+ units to hang above the stage, and 16 Altman Spectra cyc Lights to illuminate the backgrounds behind the stage. These lights are the latest in Led technology, which requires much less electricity than conventional stagelights. The Selador units run on about 60 watts each,

whereas the old stagelights used 2000w lightbulbs to do the same job. The Leds allow the color to be changed within each light without the use of standard lighting “gels.” To control the new lights effectively, the School also purchased an eTc element lighting console to replace the eTc express that ran on software from the mid-1990s. The element allows for changing the colors of the Leds effortlessly and can even be controlled by an ipad app. robins Theatre Technical director Andy Mudd

is thrilled with the improvement in the theatre. “With the new lights, we can change colors instantly, and they use much less electricity than the old, standard stagelights.” He and tenth-grader will Jackson worked for two days in July unpacking, installing, and learning how to operate the new lights with the new console. The fall play, Number the Stars, was the first big production where the Theatre department tested the abilities of the new lights.

Andy Stuart, “visions of Beauty” Brandt Gallery, 3 p.m.

FEBruAry 19, 2014

Lower School Talent night robins Theatre, 6:30 p.m.

FEBruAry 27, 2014

Middle and Upper School Talent night robins Theatre, 7 p.m.

MArCH 21, 2014

ArtWalk, Brandt Gallery/MS dining commons/Steeber commons, 3 p.m.

APriL 10, 2014

to viSit StEwArD SNAPS FALL PLAy

Fall Play: Number The Stars The Theatre department’s fall production, Number the Stars, was the dramatic story of a danish family who helped Jews escape nazi control at the height of World War ii. The Middle and Upper School cast and crew conveyed life in a very difficult era in this emotional play, directed by Craig Smith.

The wiz

Music and Lyrics by charlie Smalls, Book by William F. Brown, and directed by craig Smith

robins Theatre, 7 p.m.

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bryan innovation lab A Sampling of upper School Bryan Lab Classes

to viEw tHE DAviD BErDiSH viDEo

visiting innovator david Berdish

Transportation Expert Shares Global Challenges David Berdish, Ford Motor company’s retired Manager of Sustainable Business development, was the first visiting innovator of the school year and will be part of the Bryan innovation Lab’s programming throughout the spring semester. Mr. Berdish spent his career dealing with major transportation-related problems around the world, and he brought the topics of sustainable transportation, human rights, and infrastructure to Steward in October. Mr. Berdish’s presentation illustrated the congestion, human trafficking, and carbon emission problems he has seen around the globe, and he challenged the Middle and Upper School students to evaluate their own roles in regard to these issues. These problems, he said, “are too tough for many people to tackle on their own. The Bryan Lab is a way for us to work on problems together.” in addition to his extensive list of international projects, he has worked on solving transportation issues domestically in Seattle; Atlanta; Los Angeles; Washington, d.c.; and many cities where

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gridlock is a problem. One of his current projects is richmond2015, the Uci World road cycling championships, which is the world’s largest cycling race and will take place in richmond next year. Mr. Berdish is working with rvApass, a “virtual metro” made up of transportation and technology companies that are trying to design a “connected city” app so that attendees of the race can navigate richmond. Mr. Berdish also spoke with visitors from the richmond community at an evening presentation and reception. He closed his talk with the following slide: “imagine…when arriving at a convenient richmond location, a citizen will have easy access to transport (buses, trains, trolleys, clean fuel taxis, car share, bike share) and real-time information on arrival and departure times. Trips will be safe, sustainable, and seamlessly connected door-todoor. There are incredible benefits. An integrated system enhances current public transportation options, can reduce dangerous traffic congestions, and improve the quality of life for citizens.”

CELL PHoNE DiSSECtioN

CHiNESE SuStAiNABiLity

As a reverse upon the idea of “design and build,” students in Chris Lundberg’s Fundamentals in design and innovation class conducted a “reverse engineering” investigation of the working components of a cell phone. The students dissected several phones and identified as many parts and functions as possible. in conclusion of the project, each student designed one improvement they would like to see for a cell phone.

Students in Chris Lundberg’s sophomore Fundamentals in design and innovation class, Carrie vandervelde’s sophomore seminar, and Mary greenlee’s Ap environmental Science class met Angie De Soto, director of Sustainability for the chinese Language institute (cLi) in Guilin, china. Ms. de Soto helped the students trace the life cycle of a product from initial concept to eventual disposal and discussed current global challenges in sustainability. She placed emphasis on the need for “insideout” and “outside-in” thinking in the design of systems.

tHorEAu DiSCovEriES in the mid-nineteenth century, author and poet David Henry thoreau published Walden, a journal that included his thoughts on walking in the woods. One of the experiences he discussed was growing beans, a process he used to explain life lessons about himself and his environment. Lynn Define’s American Literature students did just that— they grew beans, documented their growth, and planned how to share their discoveries about life in the natural world. They shared the process on social media, which is what they believed Thoreau would do if he were alive today.

How StroNg iS tHE HuMAN ArM? in Laura Akesson’s Biomedical design class, students investigated the forces that are confronted by a human bicep muscle. The class integrates the traditional concepts of physics and engineering with emerging fields such as adaptive medical design and biomimicry. Students measured various forces on a life-size bicep model and examined the muscle in terms of insertion points and flexing or extending action.

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Winter Garden and Healthy Meals demo

JANuAry 17, 2014 lessons in nUtrition

Edible Education The Bryan Lab kitchen was put to the test throughout the fall for a wide range of classes. Upper School foreign language teacher rebeca Heidbreder brought her students to the kitchen for international cooking lessons on several occasions. To fully immerse themselves in Hispanic culture, her students made recipes representing Spanish-speaking countries such as Argentina and Uruguay. For the younger classes, instructors from edible education came to the Bryan Lab kitchen to talk about good

nutrition and to introduce the students to new, healthy recipes. edible education is a non-profit organization based in richmond and founded by retired caterer Anne Butler to spread awareness of local, healthy food. One day in October, Ms. Butler’s team of teachers helped Lower and Middle School students learn to make pumpkin soup, pear muffins, kale chips, and pumpkin milkshakes. Much of the kale used for the recipe came from the lab’s gardens! With 73 percent of virginia’s youth eating fast food once a week and only 4 percent of

virginia’s youth meeting USdA recommendations of fruit and vegetable consumption, lessons such as these will help Steward students understand and live healthy lifestyles.

FEBruAry 5, 2014

Tibetan Monks Sacred Arts Tour

FEBruAry 17-21, 2014

to viEw EDiBLE EDuCAtioN rECiPES

grade 8 Students Become Experts in Child Development Meredith Mcguire’s fall health curriculum for eighth-grade classes focused on the study of child development. To give the students first-hand experience with human growth and developmental milestones in young children, she invited local pediatrician and Steward trustee Charles terry and several Steward-related parents with their babies and toddlers to her class. She welcomed art teacher Lynn zinder’s daughter, Jessica Lynn, with her three-month old daughter, Charlotte; former Spanish teacher Ashley raggi and her six-month old son, James; director of Admissions robin oliff with her

Social entrepreneur david Green

Starting a vegetable Garden

MArCH 21, 2014

Spring Garden and Healthy Meals demo

APriL 4, 2014

two-year-old granddaughter, Finley; and Athletic Turf and Field Manager Mark roberts with his son, Jack, age three. As they played with the babies and toddlers, dr. Terry explained that the students

were witnessing human development right in front of their eyes. At the first session, one eighth-grade boy begged, “can we do this again in three months, so we can see all the changes with the babies?”

entomologist doug Tallamy

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bryan innovation lab

Photo: Freshmen Noah Poling, Glenn Frank, and Joe Beauregard and Upper Schoool physics teacher Laura Akesson created roller coasters in the Bryan Innovation Lab.

Using innovation across caMPUs

Changing the Way Teachers Teach by Rachel Beanland On a Thursday in december, The Steward School’s resident scientist Chris Lundberg walks from the Bryan innovation Lab to the Lower School discovery Lab where kate Strickland’s kindergartners are waiting for him. Together, Mr. Lundberg and Mrs. Strickland co-teach a lesson on the moon and its relationship to the earth. He reads Frank Asch’s classic Moonbear’s Shadow aloud. Then he darkens the room and uses a flashlight, a globe, and a small bear to teach the children about light and shadow. Later, Mr. Lundberg will repeat the same lesson with the other kindergarten class.

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The exercise is based on one of a series of lesson plans that Mrs. Strickland and Mr. Lundberg developed last summer when Mrs. Strickland participated in a professional development program at the Bryan Lab. The weeklong “boot camp” was intended to help teachers across the campus learn how to integrate Bryan Lab concepts into their classrooms. “Kindergartners have short attention spans, so when we teach science, we usually teach a mini-lesson and then set up five stations with hands-on activities for the children to do,” said Mrs. Strickland, who has more than

three decades’ experience teaching. “chris helped us come up with stations that really reinforced what we were teaching.” Mrs. Strickland’s kindergartners aren’t the only ones who are enjoying the ripples of the Bryan Lab effect. “We want to be a resource not just to students but to faculty,” says Mr. Lundberg of the lab. “We think the Bryan Lab can change the way teachers teach, regardless of where they’re located on campus.”

inspiring innovation physics teacher Laura Akesson teaches half her classes in the Bryan Lab, and she says the space has affected the way she teaches even the classes that happen far from the new building. “i used to write up a lab that outlined the objectives, the materials the students would need, stepby-step instructions, and a series of questions for them to answer at the end. now, i give students a problem and tell them they can use any materials they want to answer it,” said Mrs. Akesson.

recently, Mrs. Akesson reminded all of her students to wear socks to school the following day. When they arrived the next morning, she gave them only one instruction: figure out the coefficient of the friction between your socks and the floor. She says the new teaching technique helps her quickly assess how much students understand. “in this environment, if students are going to fail—either because they

Ms. Gastinger talked to the students about her career in botanical illustration. Mrs. paulette taught them principles of drawing from nature. Mrs. Greenlee explained photosynthesis. The students benefited greatly from this triad of expert knowledge—learning firsthand how art helps researchers observe and communicate scientific concepts. Upper School Academic dean Carrie vandervelde teaches her

“We want to be a resource not just to students but to faculty. We think the Bryan Lab can change the way teachers teach, regardless of where they’re located on campus.” -chris lUndBerg

don’t know what’s going on or because they take things in a different direction—they fail quickly,” said Mrs. Akesson. “Failure is great. When you fail, you learn so much more than when you get the answer right.”

Encouraging Collaboration When visiting innovator Lara gastinger came to campus, Bryan Lab director Cary Jamieson pulled environmental science teacher Mary greenlee and art teacher rugene Paulette together and proposed that the two women take advantage of Ms. Gastinger’s expertise and co-teach a series of lessons on botanical illustration. “i love the visiting innovator program because it gives me a concrete approach—i’ve wanted to combine art and science for a long time, but with a fully supported artist coming in, i was inspired to look at my curriculum and make it happen,” said Mrs. Greenlee.

world history classes about industrialization, but visiting innovator David Berdish recently gave her reason to rethink her approach. Mr. Berdish spent 30 years working for the Ford Motor company, where he made a career out of considering the company’s impact on sustainability and human rights issues around the world. during his visit, he spoke to dr. vandervelde’s class about human rights issues that touch the areas of the world they’re studying, and dr. vandervelde asked for his help taking things one step further. Her students have selected a human rights issue that they’ll research in greater depth, trying—like Mr. Berdish did at Ford—to come up with solutions that support industrialization without losing sight of human need and suffering.

Engaging with the Community Mrs. Jamieson says she thinks the building and the School’s focus on creative problem-solving encourages teachers to give even more

back to the Greater richmond region. “With project-based learning, teachers are always looking for real-life problems that will make great projects,” said Mrs. Jamieson. “it just so happens that a lot of those problems are local problems, and the solutions can make a real difference in our community.” Science teacher kristen Householder and math teacher Barbara Filler have teamed up to solve one such problem. Together with the nonprofit organization ramp Access Made possible by Students (rAMpS), the teachers have challenged their students to design wheelchair ramps for the homes of three local families with accessibility needs. not only are the students seeing trigonometry in action, but they’re taking the lesson one step further—they’re raising the money it will take to build all three ramps and turning it over to the nonprofit. in another collaborative example, Mrs. Greenlee and Mrs. Jamieson recently agreed to work with the virginia Bluebird Society to install a bluebird trail on The Steward

School’s grounds. Mrs. Greenlee’s students built the houses, which were specially designed to deter snakes and raccoons from ransacking the birds’ nests. The Society is teaching Mrs. Greenlee’s students how to monitor the trail and take data on everything from when eggs are laid and hatch to when the birds fledge. Bluebird trails like Steward’s will help bring back the native bluebird population, which has declined as developers clear more and more of their habitat. “When it comes to changing the way you teach, there are four things you can do to make a difference,” said Mr. Lundberg. “You can change the content— what you teach. You can change the process—how you teach. You can change the product— what you ask students to create. And you can change the learning environment. The Bryan innovation Lab is a resource that helps teachers make progress in all of these areas.”

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class acts

uPPEr SCHooL SHAkESPEArE CLASS tAkES to tHE StAgE Stephanie Arnold’s Honors Shakespeare class concluded the semester with a showcase in the Lora M. robins Theatre. The students performed selections from all of the works they studied, including King Lear, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Hamlet, Merchant of Venice, Henry IV, Part I, and Much Ado about Nothing.

science + roBotics + PhotograPhy

The Octocopter richmond-based aerial photography company Sky Spider productions visited Steward in September and treated science students to a flying robot demonstration. Using the “Black Widow” model, the three-man production team sent the Octocopter whirring across the athletic field to record video of the students smiling and waving at the camera. The technical name of the flying device is the cinestar 8, and it consists of eight propellers, two cameras (one for navigation and one for photography), and a spider-shaped body made of carbon fiber. The company is a blend of three genres: photography, under the direction of photographer tom Maher; robotic technology, which is controlled by FFA-certified pilot richie McDonald; and production,

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Mr. previtera is a longtime friend of Grade 5 teacher ron Coles, who thought the Octocopter would fit in nicely with a science unit on technology and engineering as part of the Bryan innovation Lab’s visiting innovators program. Mr. Mcdonald explained how the robot works using electric motors, propellers, computer programming, and global positioning systems and how it takes video with the rotating camera attached to the bottom of the robot. The Octocopter can fly up to 2,000 feet, but it is usually flown at a level of 400 feet or below to avoid interfering with aircraft.

tHirD-grADE ENgiNEEriNg ProJECtS Many Thursday afternoons in the third grade are dedicated to hands-on experimentation. From building 3-d flower pollination models to designing drip irrigation units for watering their Jeffersonian gardens, the students have put their scientific skills to the test. One Thursday in the fall, parents were invited to join their children for a bridge-building challenge, which was a follow-up activity to a study of fiction and non-fiction books about bridges.

rEADiNg roCkS To keep students engaged in reading, the Lower School faculty goes to great lengths. The Accelerated reader program theme this year is “A World Full of reading,” and students will earn points toward various prize levels for every book they read. At the kickoff in September, a dozen teachers, led by “literary travel agent” Chris tickle, performed an around-the-world skit to show the thrills that await inside books. in addition, students in Grades 3-5 can join the read a Good Book club, an after-school group that meets once a month.

to viEw oCtoCoPtEr viDEo

with producer/director Stephen Privitera at the helm. Among the three of them, they have 50 years of combined expertise in their respective fields.

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MiDDLE SCHooL SCiENCE PoPS AND SHAkES

roBotics clUB

Spartabots Prepare for Competition Have you ever wondered what life will be like when robots are regular companions for humans? The students on Steward’s robotics team—the Spartabots—think about it frequently. They spent the first semester in preparation for several robotics competition events that will take place this winter. The Spartabots participate in the FirST robotics competition, which calls itself “the varsity sport for the mind” with its combination of athletic-style excitement and the rigors of science and technology. Under strict rules, limited resources, and time limits, teams are challenged to design a team “brand,” hone teamwork skills, and build and program robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. it’s as close to “real-world engineering” as a student can get. The Spartabots team includes juniors Matt gelber (captain), Braeden glancy, Eren graesser, Henry Harrell, Adam Mickle, and Jackson Pieters; sophomores Mary Madison Andrews, kara Bright, Abigail Herring, Edward kim, and Cameron

Simpson; and freshmen Adam kimbrough and Davis Mohar. They are fortunate to have Bryan innovation Lab resident Scientist Chris Lundberg as their coach. He has led them through a busy semester of designing and building their robot, accompanied them to several local workshops, and prepared them for the upcoming competitions in January. The team has kept an engineering “design notebook,” including minutes of each meeting and photos to chronicle their work. This notebook has allowed them to make improvements upon last year’s “spartabot” to adapt it for this year’s competition, which is called “Block party.” Using a standard set of LeGO and Tetrix components and other household and hardware items, they have designed, constructed, and programmed the robot to create a working device. The team has often used the 3-d printer in the Bryan Lab to design various needed parts such as gears, bushings, spacers, and even a special container to hold the robot’s battery pack. The robot itself was programmed using Lab

view program software, and it is wirelessly controlled using a Logitech game controller and a special wireless device called the “Samantha module.” The robot has fourwheel drive capability and uses two electric motors and a chain-drive system plus other motors and servo devices to perform functions that include picking up blocks and placing them in a scoring box, raising a flag, and performing a “chin-up” on a bar. in november, the team attended a “Meet the Field” event at vcU to check out their competition and work on the robot during an exchange of ideas with other teams. Their competitors were impressed that the Spartabots were able to make their robot successfully complete the “raise the flag” task during practice competition in less than five seconds! The team is registered to compete on January 11 in the Shenandoah regional competition at the University of virginia and on January 25 in the eastern regional competition at norfolk State University.

The week of Halloween provided some great opportunities for the Middle School teachers to have a little fun. The sixth graders turned into mad scientists in Natalia Frost’s classes when they made BOO Bubbles. They had learned how to use graduated cylinders to measure liquids, a skill they practiced by creating a bubbly concoction of glycerin, dawn detergent, and water. By funneling dry ice (in warm water) into the mixture, they created large, ghost-like bubbles that they could hold. Once touched, the bubbles turned into a fizz of smoke!

Meanwhile, in eighth-grade earth Science, the world was shaking. The students in Eric Latourelle’s classes designed and built two-story structures made from only straws, paper clips, and pins; the buildings had to hold at least 500 grams of weight and remain standing after significant earthquakes, which were simulated by special tables made by Mr. Latourelle.

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campusculture

class acts Middle School Adventure trips October brought a week of traditions new and old to the Middle School. The eighth-grade students and several faculty chaperones retreated to newcastle, virginia, for a week of bonding to experience caving, kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, zipline, games, and team building. in seventh grade,

a new tradition began with an overnight trip to Triple c camp near charlottesville, where students enjoyed a shortened version of similar adventuresome activities. Locally, the sixth graders took a field trip to the Science Museum of virginia to see the exhibit “Boost!” for health and nutrition tips.

loWer school holiday PrograM

The Gift Kept on Giving! “When we give to others, we also receive in return” was the theme of the Lower School’s annual Holiday program, The Gift. Music teachers Bonnie Anderson and Sarah Berry directed this production about two clever children who orchestrate a series of events

to promote the warm, fuzzy feeling of making others happy through kind gestures. in the process, they helped save several unique toys from the recycling bin and met interesting characters in new York city along the way.

Eighth graders kayaking

Seventh graders at Charlottesville’s Triple C Camp

Sixth graders watch a food demonstration at the Science Museum of Virginia

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StAtiStiCS CArNivAL Middle school gyM class

Sweet 16 Steward Style For the culmination of their basketball unit, the Middle School physical education classes participated in a “Sweet Sixteen” tournament in december. each grade was divided into four co-ed teams who were guaranteed at least two games, and each quarter was gender-specific to ensure fair play. Only two teams in each grade advanced to the championships. Several special guests were

part of the basketball unit. Former division 1 coach Bob Foley worked with the Middle School students in november to enhance their knowledge of basic skills. The guest referees for the championship games were girls basketball coach Adam Lonon ’06, former Steward pe teacher Elliot gravitt, boys basketball coach Charles oliver, and Grade 7 history teacher wallace inge.

Championship Match-ups: (winning teams in bold)

Grade 8: dream Team vs. Flint tropics Grade 7: thundering Salmon vs. TSA Grade 6: rams vs. thunder

Math teachers Barbara Filler (Grade 12 statistics) and Corbin orgain (Grade 6 advanced math) worked together on a “Statistics carnival” in the Bryan innovation Lab. Both grades were studying probability but at different levels of complexity and math content. The seniors devised carnival games to demonstrate how statistics and probability are used in a real-world game context for children, or as Mrs. Filler put it, “Math in action!” Mrs. Orgain’s students served as the “guinea pigs” to play the various student-invented games, which included “3 Shot drop” (ping pong ball toss), “Quarterback corner” (football toss), “M&M Twister,” and many more. each senior had to devise a game scenario, calculate values and odds (determining whether or not a game is fair to the participant), write instructions, organize the materials, and build their games. What a fun way to inspire the study of statistics!

StrAwBErry DNA

Encouraging Nature Journaling in October, Steward welcomed kelly Johnson, the author and illustrator of Wings, Worms, and Wonder, an award-winning book that promotes the incorporation of outdoor learning into education. She spoke at a Lower School assembly and a preschool teacher luncheon in the morning and got down to ground level with second-grade students in the

afternoon. Ms. Johnson used a sensory exercise to heighten the children’s awareness of their surroundings to use in nature journaling. The secondgrade teachers will use Wings, Worms, and Wonder to reinvent the second-grade science and social studies lessons, incorporating STeM activities to enhance the curriculum.

Seventh-grade science students studied dnA, heredity, and genetics by conducting an experiment to visualize dnA and its properties. Using strawberries, the students extracted dnA with salt, Suave hair shampoo, and alcohol—the soap helps to dissolve the cell membranes; the salt breaks up protein chains that hold nucleic acids together and releases the dnA strands; and the isopropyl alcohol (especially when it is ice cold) keeps the dnA from being soluble. Strawberries were used because each strawberry cell has eight copies of the genome (octoploid), giving them plenty of dnA per cell for the experiment. Crossroads

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preparing for the future

• The counselor also works with students on summer plans; it is a critical time for meaningful internships or programs before the application process begins.

• Junior seminar meets once a week, and the counselor helps students with writing resumes and essays and determining college fit.

• In February, the School offers an overnight college tour, visiting six schools in two days.

• By the beginning of second semester, students should develop a list of colleges to consider.

Students set goals and take a personality inventory.

Students are invited to meet with the college counselor individually, in small groups, or with their parents.

Students take an interest inventory to identify “career bands.”

In the fall, small groups meet with the counselor once a week. Weekend sessions and individual appointments also take place. The counselor helps seniors prepare and complete applications by the December break.

Students take the PSAT in the fall, followed by a results meeting in the winter.

12th

Parent/student night is held in January to discuss timelines, and families may schedule meetings with the counselor to discuss the application process.

In the spring, the counselor works on transition issues to avoid “senioritis” and reminds seniors that admission and scholarship decisions are still being made. Additional emphasis is placed on personal preparedness, so seniors are successful in taking care of themselves in college.

Resume writing begins with students documenting their outside activities, awards, athletic participation, and club activities.

10th

2013 college admission/application facts

Two parent/student meetings are held in the fall to discuss the application process. Students are required to begin working on resumes and essays and attend a family meeting with the college counselor before the second fall meeting.

11th

Students are introduced to the counseling process through the following topics: college “fit,” calculating GPA, importance of extracurricular involvement, common process myths, and developing long lines of commitment in outside activities.

9th

This winter, the College Counseling Office will be holding a financial aid workshop for parents on Wednesday, January 22.

The college tour is often the most important component of the application process because the students are exposed to several schools in a short amount of time. They can consider where they feel most comfortable (what type of school “fits” them)—urban, rural, or suburban; big or small; public or private—which helps guide the counselor’s recommendations through the rest of the process. Freshmen and sophomores also tour colleges as a class for field trips and during freshman Minimester.

Students in grades 9-12 are encouraged to attend meetings with college representatives who visit the Steward campus. During the fall of 2013, 100 college and university representatives visited Steward.

The Steward School approaches college counseling like running a marathon—lots of planning, training, and research are incorporated before the “main event” even begins. Navigating this process requires perseverance and guidance, not just for seniors but throughout Upper School. Starting in ninth grade, students and parents have access to the Naviance system, which is an organizational tool to help students navigate the college application process. It is used in all grades and allows students to investigate college options, build personal records that will be used in the application process, and find guidance in figuring out the path on which they belong.

Upper School College Counseling process

collegecounseling

TOTAL AMOUNT of MERIT-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS OFFERED

$2,797,136

seniors were accepted to every college/ university to which they applied

100

• the #1 undergraduate international business program in the nation (according to U.S. News and World Report) at the University of South Carolina.

• the Honors Program at the University of Mary Washington.

• the Presidential Leadership Program at Christopher Newport University.

• the International Fellows Program at Elon University.

• a program at New York University that allows students to craft their own degree programs.

• a number of competitive, direct-admit nursing schools in the country.

• a 4+2 Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at Boston University.

individuals in the class of 2013 were accepted into . . .

of seniors were accepted into four-year colleges

WA OR

8 (binding)

were admitted to college early decision

(out of a cLAss of 60)

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1 NJ

2 NY

4 VA

8 GA

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D.C.

DE MD

RI CT

VT 1NH MA

number of different colleges/universities the class of 2013 is attending

class o f 2 0 1 3 M at r i c u lat i o n b y s tat e

total number of applications submitted by seniors

369

teamtalk

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athletics

G voLLEyBALL Under new Head coach ginny Perry, the varsity volleyball team was reinvigorated, and the girls’ seven victories marked more wins than the previous two seasons combined. Wins included victories over christchurch, north cross, Banner christian, Tandem, covenant, St. Margaret’s, and norfolk collegiate. participating in a very difficult LiS conference, the girls faced a number of division 1 teams and carried themselves well. They took games from heavyweights collegiate and Trinity episcopal and finished their year in the LiS tournament. Freshman kellie Fonville was awarded Most improved player, and sophomore Meg trepp was named Offensive Mvp. Most valuable defensive player, senior Sarah Dickson, finished the season with 368 digs and was named to the LiS All-Tournament team. in addition to Sarah, the leadership of seniors Lindsey Lubin, Cassandra Martinez, and Hailey Marie ragan will always be appreciated. Official Seal Logo

The Jv volleyball team also had a first-year head coach, Sarah Buchwald, and the girls finished with an exceptional 13-3 record, including four more wins than last year. The team lost to St. catherine’s early in the season in two games, but showed their resiliency and improvement the second time they played, winning both games 25-15 in front of a home crowd. They also swept rivals covenant and Walsingham and had an exceptional match

SPARTANS! against division 1 Trinity episcopal. The team had great leadership and performances on and off the court. They were led by sophomore katherine Chambers, Most valuable Offensive player; freshman Meg Napper, Most valuable defensive player; and freshman Morgan van Davelaar, Most improved player. The Middle School gold volleyball team finished the fall with a 6-4 record. Led by Head coach Bonny Hajek, the team picked up a number of impressive victories over St. Anne’s-Belfield, St. catherine’s, collegiate, and norfolk collegiate. Sixth-grader Ali Cohen earned the Most Spirited Award, seventh-grader Morgan king was named the Most valuable Server, and seventh-grader gabrielle Franta was named Most valuable playmaker. The Middle School blue volleyball team’s eight girls had a challenging season. They struggled against primarily older and more experienced teams, but coach theresa Latourelle kept them moving forward. The girls represented Steward with class and respect throughout the season. Seventhgrader Lexi Petronis was named Most valuable player, sixthgrader gracie McLaughlin was Most improved, and seventhgrader Emma Fox earned the Team Spirit Award.

“It was some of the best hockey I’ve seen from my program.” -coach christen Fratter

FiELD HoCkEy Second-year coach Christen Fratter and first-year assistant Amanda Florio inherited a varsity team that included six starters from last year’s squad. Senior Claire kirchmier served as the lone captain and was integral in helping three eighth graders and a number of new players improve Steward’s field hockey program. At center back, claire was a reliable force on the field and was named all-LiS and awarded the team’s coaches Award. The girls finished third in the LiS and had a number of great victories during the season, including those over St. Margaret’s and Tandem. The girls tied norfolk collegiate and covenant, a team that had beaten them three times last

year; coach Fratter said, “it was some of the best hockey i’ve seen from my program.” The team’s depth is evident, as every member of the squad recorded at least one point during the season. Sophomore Julie iuorno, the team’s Mvp, took most of the team’s free hits, scored three goals, and was a leader on the field. She was named all-LiS for her efforts, as was junior goalkeeper virginia villani, the team’s Spartan Award winner. virginia finished the season with 188 saves (12 per game), including 20-plus saves against three opponents. The Middle School field hockey team overcame obstacles en route to a very successful season. After suffering a number of injuries early in the season, the Crossroads Crossroads

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Athletics

team was left with no substitutes, but the girls, led by eighth-grade captains Caroline Laibstain, Lily Henderson, Emily Harrison, and Becca Aldredge, went on finish the season with a 9-1-2 record. Along the way, they beat powerhouse teams, including St. catherine’s, Walsingham Academy, and norfolk collegiate. The defense did an excellent job protecting the goalie, seventhgrader Abby Dwelle, who helped Steward record eight shutouts, while the offense was relentless, averaging five goals a game. caroline was named Mvp, Lily earned the coaches Award, and seventh-grader Julia kabbani was named Most improved. coach Christina D’Angelo said it best: “The future is extremely bright for Steward field hockey.”

SoCCEr First-year Head coach EJ watkins lead the Spartans to their second consecutive state playoff appearance. After a coaching change and heavy losses due to graduation, it was important that the team take on a new identity quickly. coach Watkins credited his players with embracing their summer conditioning and increasingly technical practices. Led by senior captains Jimmy Phelan, will grattan,

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Ben Campbell, and DeMarco Nelson, the boys started the season by winning the Steward invitational, beating Fredericksburg and Trinity-Meadowview with 3-0 victories over both schools. They finished the year 11-6-2 (including ten shutouts) and earned the #9 seed in the state playoffs. Michael Cevallos, Jonathan Schmitt, and Jordan Nichols join the team captains as seniors who will graduate from the Spartan soccer program. The Middle School blue soccer team exceeded expectations this year en route to an undefeated 10-0-1 season. The team, comprised of seventh and eighth graders, excelled under the leadership of first-year Head coach Jordan Clark and assistant tom Funkhouser. They performed well against local rivals collegiate and St. christopher’s and tied against an exceptional Field School team in a scoreless game. By season’s end, the boys had kept clean sheets in eight games and had compiled a 64-5 goal differential. The three winners of the team’s coaches Awards were eighthgraders gray Hathaway, ryan odibo, and Aaron Stein. With Head coach Mark Nugent and assistant Justin Burnett at the helm, 20 sixth graders formed

the Middle School gold team, ensuring the future success of the soccer program. Throughout the season, they played other seventh- and eighth-grade teams, rising to every occasion and fighting hard. With offense provided by Matthew Cantor, Peter Bartee, and Hunter Milligan and strong midfield play by Callen Smith, the team improved every game.

CroSS CouNtry The boys cross country team consisted of 18 runners and had a great season in which they ran together and performed well under Head coach Laura Akesson and Assistant coach Chip Chapman. When senior Ben Cardwell and nationally-ranked freshman Noah Poling suffered injuries mid-season, junior will renner and sophomore Baker Dewey rose to the occasion. Sophomore Harrison vicars and senior tyler Ludlam finished the year as the team’s top two runners, earning their places through grit and hard work. A special mention was given to Alex Poling, who placed third overall at Maymont and was ranked as the #1 seventh-grade runner in the state toward the end of the season.

in its first year of existence as its own team, the girls cross country team carried a roster of five girls. Sophomore Ashley McCreary and freshman Summer owens led the charge and were integral to the massive improvements on the team. They placed first and second in all of their home meets. injuries prevented a full team at states, but spirits were high, and coach Akesson is optimistic about the future. From the beginning of the season to the end, each runner’s 5k time dropped considerably.

rAy tAtE SPArtAN goLF CLASSiC AND StuDENt-AtHLEtE SCHoLArSHiP The founder of the Spartan club, ray tate, left a lingering presence at The Steward School. The annual Golf classic named in his memory is always a fantastic fundraiser for Steward athletes. At this year’s event in October, the rainy weather added an interesting twist to the day, but the Spartan club raised more than $16,000 for the athletic program. With 23 foursomes on the course at Hermitage country club, it turned out to be a grand day of golf for all. The Spartan club’s work directly affects all student-athletes and is

proud to announce that three seniors are the first recipients of the ray Tate Student-Athlete Scholarship: Michael Cevallos (center), Lindsey Lubin (right), and Morgan Schroder (left). This scholarship was established in 2012 to honor Mr. Tate. Get to know the deserving recipients: Michael plays on the varsity soccer and futsal teams, is treasurer of the national Honor Society, and is involved in the Spanish club and ping pong club. Lindsey is a member of the varsity volleyball team and the Special Olympics club, president of the Honor council, and a peer tutor.

Morgan is a three-sport athlete (varsity soccer, varsity basketball, and varsity volleyball), Student council president, and president of the Student Athletic committee.

Award-Winning Baseball Field Athletic Turf and Field Manager Mark roberts has made Steward history—the School has won Field of the Year in the school/parks and recreation category from the Sports Turf Managers Association for the baseball field. This prestigious award is a first of its kind for Steward, and it is the result of hard work in maintaining the field. Mr. roberts will fly to San Antonio in January to accept the award on the School’s behalf, and there will be an article about Steward in an upcoming issue of Sports Turf magazine. Mr. roberts said that this award “should bring a fair amount of attention to Steward, and that’s why i do it.” As part of the baseball program, he trains the players to maintain the field, giving each student a regular job—such as packing the mound or taking care of home plate—following all practices and games. As a result, he says, “We get games in when others don’t…because our field can be put back to game condition so readily.” “My goal is for these kids to get as close to a college or professional field as they will find,” Mr. roberts says. After a 15-year career spent in the athletic fields business in one aspect or another, he knows his turf.

To learn more about the Spartan club, please visit The Steward School website.

SAvE tHE DAtE! october 6, 2014

Hermitage Country Club

to viEw tHiS yEAr’S rAy tAtE SPArtAN goLF CLASSiC PiCturES

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inspiration for daily life

spartanliving

“Beating the winter Blues” By Susan Brown

Susan Brown is a child development specialist and family educator who is beginning her 21st year with Commonwealth Parenting.

The days get shorter and colder, the sun shines less, and your child’s biological clock says it’s time to hibernate. While the winter climate in richmond may be less severe than in other parts of the country (i come from sunny southern california!), it does not preclude the chance that your

child might suffer from the wintertime blues. What to do? remember that what keeps us on an even keel are the chemicals in the brain such as serotonin and tryptophan, hormones that are produced during sleep. Try to keep your child on a good sleep routine. Over or under sleeping are counterproduc-

tive to mood stability. in addition to good-quality sleep, exercise is the best mood buster i know, and physical activity aids in getting to and staying asleep. A good brisk walk can do wonders for your mood, and taking a walk with your child before he or she sits down to do homework can yield additional gains. it gives you a chance to connect with your student and to hear about his or her day. physical activity can also aid in focus

so that homework becomes a bit less of a chore. Just make sure that any physical activity takes place an hour or more before bedtime. The exception to this rule would be to do some calming and relaxing yoga poses. When it comes to yoga, many studies point to the fact that it can be as effective as medication for people with mild depression, so if your child seems a little off his or her game during these winter months, think downward dog!

Steward’s Supper Favorite recipes by Meriwether godsey Provided by Chef Anton gaston

Slow roasted Pork with Cider Jus SErvES 8-10

ingredients: 3-4 pound pork butt 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided 2 cups apple cider ¾ cup chopped onion

2 each thyme sprigs, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves 2 tsp. apple cider vinegar 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut in ½-inch cubes

pork roast 1. Place pork and 2 cups broth in 9x13-inch glass casserole dish and cover with foil. 2. roast 2 hours at 300°, then remove foil and raise temperature to 375°. 3. cook until liquid is mostly gone, about 45 minutes. 4. continue roasting, turning meat every 10 minutes until browned, about 30 minutes. 5. remove meat and break into large pieces. cider Jus 1. Mix remaining cup broth, cider, onion, thyme, cinnamon, bay leaves, and vinegar in a medium saucepan. Boil until mixture reduces to 1 cup, about 30 minutes. 2. strain jus and discard solids, then whisk in butter a few pieces at a time. 3. season with salt and pepper; serve with pureed butternut squash and maple roasted brussels sprouts, if desired.

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Look Who’s Talking

Stacy Struminger, Founder of Rainraps and Mother of Liam (Grade 7) and Grace (Grade 5)

What’s your background? I worked as a buyer for Baby Depot Furniture (a division of Burlington Coat Factory) in the Garment Center, a district in New York City, for ten years. When I got married and moved to Virginia, I commuted to New York every week until I was five months pregnant with Liam and decided to “retire.” How did Rainraps get started? Living in Manhattan, the umbrella was my best friend. In the suburbs though, it’s not as convenient to carry one, and it’s always too hot and humid (in Richmond) for a raincoat. I was at a friend’s house, freezing and wet on a rainy day. I always carry a pashmina in my purse, but I was not prepared for the rain. I looked online for a water-resistant pashmina, but nobody made them. My mother works in the accessories industry, and I asked her to look into it, but she had no luck either, so I decided to make one. We had the name, logo, business license, and trademark before we even had the product. My best friend, Rachel Teyssier, who was always coming up with ideas for businesses, liked it, and now she’s my business partner. We met in a playgroup when Liam was little. How did you get the product made? There’s a Steward connection! Robin Brown Kocen ’85 is a friend of mine, and her father, Morty, works in manufacturing. He hooked us up with his manufacturer in China, and I sent them my favorite wrap for its shape and style and the material from a lightweight raincoat. They put it together, and we’ve done everything through email. I finally met the manufacturer in person this past October when he was in the U.S. for his daughter’s graduation. How have you publicized Rainraps? We just have a website—we don’t do trade shows. When we started out, I hired a publicist in New York who had just left the fashion editorial business, so she was well connected in that world. She got the Rainrap placed in O Magazine and Good Housekeeping in the spring of 2012. We got great press, and from that exposure we were encouraged to apply for the Spanx Leg Up Program for women entrepreneurs. We won the contest and were featured in the Spanx catalog in November 2012, so we gained some credibility. We also had a conversation with Sarah Blakely, the founder of Spanx, who advised us to get on QVC before expanding our product line. We contacted QVC, and they encouraged us to apply for their Sprouts Program, another entrepreneurial contest. At about the same time, QVC was trying to promote Sprouts and got the opportunity to plug it on the Today show. They wanted six companies to appear on the show before voting took place on the QVC website. We appeared on Today on Tuesday, September 17, then the voting took place, and we found out that we had won the contest that Friday. As the winners of the contest, we appeared on QVC the next day for a ten-minute sales segment. We sold 4,400 Rainraps in those ten minutes! What’s in your future? I want every woman to know what a Rainrap is, and I guess (major) retail stores are the ultimate goal—we’re in about 60 stores now. Come three o’clock every day though, I’m a mom, and I’m not really concerned with work. Grace even has a Rainrap in her size!

to view rainraps website

Crossroads

Fall/Winter 2013

spartanliving

inspiration for daily life

1) GET INSPIRED AND START PLANNING Don’t just think about what you want to grow. Think about what you want to eat. Do you love a Caprese salad on a summer day? Then you’ll want to plant tomatoes and basil. Could your family eat gazpacho every day of the week and twice on Sunday? Think about adding cucumbers, red onions, and red bell peppers to the mix. Go to the Steward Pinterest board for the websites that Ms. Jamieson recommends to help you start planning. A small planting calendar is included with this article (see insert), but you can find others with more detail online. Always refer to your package of seeds to determine planting and harvest dates—this is also a great exercise for young children to use math. Once you’ve identified your wish list of plants and ordered the seeds, you’ll need to time your plantings accordingly. March is a good time to plant leafy vegetables like lettuce, spinach, and broccoli, but you should wait until your soil temperature is over 50 degrees at night (sometime in late April or May) before planting warm season crops such as tomatoes, basil, and peppers.

2) SELECT YOUR SITE

planning your garden

How Does Your Garden Grow? by Rachel Beanland

Bok choy, kale, and red cabbage may not have been on your child’s radar last year, but there’s a good chance you’re hearing lots about leafy vegetables and other garden goodies now that the Bryan Innovation Lab’s Ipsen Garden is planted and bearing fruit (and lots of veggies). The Bryan Lab boasts an extensive garden with 30 raised beds, all of which are wheelchair accessible and designed with children in mind. The lab’s director, Cary Jamieson, helps teachers develop lesson plans that incorporate the garden. For instance, Kate Strickland’s

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Fall/Winter 2013

kindergarten class is growing turnips, potatoes, and radishes. The root vegetables will become Russian Stew, a complement to what the children are learning about the foods and culture of Russia. If your child is coming home brimming with newfound enthusiasm for arugula and Chinese cabbage, you may be asking yourself whether it’s time to give gardening a try. Ms. Jamieson breaks down the task with ten easy tips that will quickly make you a gardening guru.

Most vegetables like at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. Remember that if you’re evaluating your yard in the dead of winter, many of the trees on your property will be missing their foliage. Imagine what the yard will look like once the leaves are back on the trees. Also, be thinking about whether your garden will be in-ground, in containers, or in raised beds.

3) TEST YOUR SOIL Soil nutrition is often overlooked by novice gardeners, but it’s the single biggest influence on the overall health of your garden. Good

soil will result in better production and fewer problems with pests. For around $10, you can do a soil test; there are some local companies as well as websites that provide this service. You’ll get a detailed report that gives you information such as whether your soil is low on nitrogen or high in phosphorus. Ms. Jamieson recommends reading How to Grow More Vegetables by John Jeavons if you’re interested in making adjustments to your soil.

Recommended Planting Dates 7) COVER ‘EM UP If you’d like to avoid using sprays and pesticides, one trick Ms. Jamieson recommends is to cover your garden with row cover called Agribond, a transparent white fabric that can be draped over plants or stretched across small hoops. The fabric lets in light and water but protects tender, young seedlings from insects and the elements.

4) KNOW WHEN TO WATER A garden needs one inch of rainwater each week. Ms. Jamieson says that if you stick your finger several inches in the soil and soil does not stick to it, then you probably need to water. Higher temperatures and wind can dry the soil faster. In the summer, gardeners usually water once a day.

5) FERTILIZE WITH CARE The Bryan Lab uses exclusively organic fertilizers, but even organic fertilizers come in many varieties. This fall, students experimented with vermiculture, which utilizes worm casting to enrich the soil. Composted food and composed manure are two other organic fertilizers. If you’re shopping at a garden center, look for a liquid fertilizer derived from seaweed (for example, a product called Plant-tone).

8) REMOVE THINGS THAT DON’T THRIVE If you’ve got a never-give-up personality, try to let it go in the garden. Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, a plant won’t do well because of soil conditions, pests, or other factors. Rather than nurse along a diseased plant, simply take it out and replace it with something else. Try to select another variety of plant in case insects that were feasting on the previous vegetable remain in the area.

9) SHARE FOOD WITH FRIENDS If your garden thrives, you’ll have more food than you can handle. Canning and freezing can be good ways to make your harvest last yearround, but the best way to make sure nothing goes to waste is to share your bounty with friends and the community.

6) HARDEN THEIR HEARTS Garden center plants are grown in big greenhouses and aren’t used to wind, harsh temperatures, and full sun. When you bring them home, spend a few days letting them adjust to their new surroundings. Gardeners refer to this process as “hardening off.” For a day or two, keep the plants in a shady area and put them in the sun for only a few hours at a time. Give them some protection from the elements while they get used to their new environment, and they’ll do much better once they’re planted.

10) GET YOUR CHILD INVOLVED If your child is invested in planning, planting, and watching over your family’s garden, he or she is guaranteed to love everything you harvest.

The experts at www.SouthernExposure.com recommend the following planting dates for central Virginia (zone 7a, average last spring frost April 15, average first fall frost October 15). The dates may be adjusted according to the frost times in your area. Beans, Bush

direct sow April 15-August 1

Beets

direct sow March 15-June 15, August 15-September 15

Broccoli

sow indoors January 31-May 31, transplant out March 15-July 15

Cabbage

sow indoors January 31-July 1, transplant out March 15-August 1

Carrots

direct sow March 10-May 1, July 25-August 15

Cauliflower (spring)

sow indoors January 31-March 7, transplant out March 15-April 7

Collards

direct sow March 10September 1

Corn

direct sow April 21-July 15

Cucumbers

direct sow May 1-July 21

Kale

direct sow March 10-April 15, July 21-September 15

Lettuce

direct sow March 10-June 1, August 7-September 21

Okra

direct sow May 1-July 1

Parsnips

direct sow March 1-May 1

Peas

direct sow March 1-April 15, July 15-August 1

Peppers

sow indoors March 7-April 21, transplant out May 7-June 21

Potatoes

transplant out March 15-April 15, mulch June 1-25

Radishes

direct sow March 10-June 1, August 1-November 1

Spinach

direct sow March 1-April 21, September 1-October 1

Summer Squash & Zucchini

direct sow April 21-July 21

Winter Squash & Pumpkins

direct sow May 1-June 10

Sweet Potatoes

transplant out May 15-June 21

Swiss Chard

direct sow March 15-August 1

Tomatoes

sow indoors February 21-May 7, transplant out April 21-June 21

Turnips

direct sow March 10-April 15, August 7-October 1

Watermelon

direct sow May 1-June 10

Crossroads

Fall/Winter 2013

spartanliving

inspiration for daily life

Strengthening the Hearts of Our Youngest Stewards By Susan Holt, Lower School Dean of Students One of my favorite proverbs is “The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” Examples of this abound daily in the Lower School. Children naturally gravitate toward demonstrating what is in their hearts, and as adults, we want to model kind words and thoughtful actions for our children. We want kindness to take root in their hearts and minds, creating a true desire to benefit and respect others. This is the “heart” of the Character Education Program in Lower School.

Tools of the Trade To develop character in our children, we must fill their tool boxes with lifelong strategies to learn and grow. In Lower School, the most important tool is our Honor Code: • Be truthful at all times. • Respect the rights and property of others. • Give or receive help on a test (or project) only with the teacher’s permission. More than just a promise that all Lower School children sign each year, it is a mantra they actively chant at the beginning of Character Education class. Second, we teach the Six Pillars of Character (from the popular program “Character Counts!”): trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. We color code the pillars to help students internalize the message, and throughout the year, we reinforce the message through books, videos, activities, and discussions. The children apply each one to their lives in areas that are important to them: how to deal with friendships, gossip, and exclusion; how to be fair and a good sport on the field, the swings, and the slides; how to be a good helper at home with chores and responsibilities; and yes, how to use kind words with their siblings, even in the heat of the moment! We practice counting to ten and breathing deeply. We celebrate who we are

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preview The Parents Association presents a parent education speaker series every year. This year, the focus is on the many effects of social media. The first event took place in December with City of Richmond Detective Kevin Hiner and Virginia State Police Special Agent John Houlberg, both experts on the legality of social media. They presented a session on what parents need to know to keep themselves and their children out of trouble as social media relates to the law.

January 16, 2014 Bullying With national expert Katie Koestner and look at how we can become stronger in our values. We think about the recent story of a homeless man in Boston who found and returned $42,000 because it was the right thing to do. Surely, we can put ourselves in others’ shoes, take a deep breath to control our words, and respond to others’ needs and feelings in healthy ways. Third, we intentionally develop “social intelligence” in our children. Social Intelligence by Dan Goleman is the 2006 follow-up to his widely acclaimed 1995 book, Emotional Intelligence. The term “social intelligence” means that our children not only understand their emotions and the emotions of others, but also they understand how emotions impact their relationships. They learn to identify how they feel, why they feel that way, and what to do about it so they can connect with others successfully and with resilience whether at school, an extra-curricular activity, or at home. This year, to increase our students’ opportunities to say what’s on their minds and to allow for peer-to-peer growth, we are focusing on small groups. There are boy and girl “lunch bunches” in second grade, a “giggles” group for third-grade girls and “the guys” for thirdgrade boys, fourth-grade “Friday checkers” for casual social time between classes, and friendship lunches for fifth-grade boys and girls separately. In addition, I offer “Chat-nChew” sessions for anyone in need of a mediator between friends or a chance to relax during lunch in my office. We also have peer leadership groups such as the Student Council and the newly-formed Honor the Game Peer Advisory that put children in positions to model and learn better ways to interact with their classmates both in and out of the classroom. We are not looking for perfection, just growth.

Practice Makes Perfect...and Stronger Hearts Who helps our children practice these wonderful concepts? Teachers, parents, friends— and “frenemies”—and the ups and downs of life itself. I love the quote, “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Every year, it is fun to see how teachers help our children dance in the rain by reinforcing the Honor Code and the Six Pillars of Character in their own ways. For instance, kindergarten studies superheroes and assigns each one a character value. Did you know Superman stands for honesty? Our youngest students get a regular diet of great character picture books read to them or by them, and their teachers never miss a beat in pointing out and discussing the character in their daily interactions. Fourthgrade students, true to their Virginia history theme, write character education constitutions in “olde script.” A second-grade teacher has posted the Six Pillars of Character over her SmartBoard so that when the children are reading a book or story, they can have a natural conversation about which values the characters in the book portray…or do not! Character values are woven in and out of our students’ days, celebrated as often as possible, and lovingly strengthened when needed. The goal, of course, is to give children the tools they need to confidently manage their own friendships, negotiate their own power struggles, develop the “self-talk” they need to handle pressure and anxiety, learn to acknowledge and grieve a loss, and move ahead after a defeat. At some point, like it or not, we will have to let them go. Our reward is knowing their hearts are filled with strong character, which allows them to go out into the world as thoughtful and kind Stewards.

January 22, 2014 Social Media: Your Child’s Online Presence With Steward’s technology staff members Shahwar Qureshi ’90, Corina Haywood, and Robin Ricketts

february 12, 2014 Social Media: Bombarded with Unrealistic Images With Commonwealth Parenting

march 5, 2014 Social Media: Help Your Child Manage Stress with Humor With Dr. Michael Southam-Gerow

april 2014 Social Media: Protecting Family Relationships in the Digital Age With Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair

may 7, 2014 Social Media: Reclaiming Childhood— the Importance of Play Speakers TBA Crossroads

Fall/Winter 2013

spartanliving

inspiration for daily life

Keeping Children Safe in a Digital World by Lori Jobe Traditionally, parents have feared talking with their children about the birds and the bees. The new “most important talk” has become a discussion about digital safety. This is even harder for parents because the facts are harder to grasp, as they are constantly changing, and parents don’t always have first-hand experiences to share. The dangers of the internet are as broad and ever-changing as the minds that create new technologies. This new big discussion has to be about strategies and application rather than about straight facts. While there are a few constants in approaching the digital universe, parents must teach their children how to face each situation, give them the tools to evaluate alternatives, and empower children to protect themselves. A pew research center study in november 2011 found that 95 percent of teens 12-17 are online and 80 percent of those use social media sites. Social interaction for teens has moved from the local playground, movie theatre, or shopping mall to the digital universe. cyberspace is just like a playground in that children must learn to navigate relationships and social interaction, but they must do it without the benefit of being face-to-face and the ability to read body language, intonation, or other visual and auditory clues. Although parents may not have first-hand knowledge of navigating the teen years through the social media lens, they can help their children live safely in the digital world by taking an active role in understanding the technology available, partnering with school personnel, sharing information with other parents, and, as always, providing loving and careful guidance. While the internet is an invaluable research tool, most teens and tweens use it for social interaction. To safely guide children through these online interactions, parents must be aware of and understand the current social media apps and how teens and tweens are using them to relate to and connect with peers.

wHAt SoCiAL MEDiA APPS ArE your CHiLDrEN uSiNg? FACEBook – By now, many of you are familiar with Facebook; you most likely have an account yourself. do you share recipes with your mom? Swap stories with your friends? post pictures of school plays, cotillion, sporting events, and

Crossroads

Fall/Winter 2013

homecoming? Your kids know that you, your friends, and Grandma are on Facebook, so they are shifting their conversations and photos elsewhere. Most experts say not to engage with your teen here, but to use the site to collect information. iNStAgrAM – A site where users share photos with minimal text, the privacy settings here are most important. Younger teens love posting “selfies;” make sure they only share photos with those they know. The site describes itself as a place “to allow you to experience moments in your friends’ lives through pictures as they happen.” The danger in instagram is making sure that your child’s photos don’t end up in the wrong hands. twittEr – At the moment, this seems to appeal to older teens. it’s a spot where they can follow the lives of celebrities and connect with their group of friends at the same time. Twitter only offers 140 characters for teens to share their thoughts, but with recent changes to the site, pictures are more easily integrated. Because not as many parents are avid Twitter users, teens find this to be a place to more freely connect with their peers. parents don’t have to have an account to follow teens here, but teens may block other users from viewing their tweets; and parents must know the screen name teens are using. PiNtErESt – remember tacking or taping your favorite magazine pictures and articles to a bulletin board or in your school locker? pinterest is a site for users to digitally pin their favorite pictures and links to virtual bulletin boards. pinners have followers, and anyone can follow anyone else. There isn’t a lot of social interaction among pinners, but the site allows comments on pins, and pinners are encouraged to repin interesting pictures and links. Teens post pictures of their favorite hairstyles, future wedding dresses, or wish list items to different boards ranging from “my style” to “words to live by” to “fun foods.” As for dangers, your child won’t run into many here, unless he or she goes looking for it. viNE – Think instagram with six-second videos and you’ve got vine. To download the app, users are asked to confirm they are over 17, as inappropriate content can be found on the site. Again, security settings and blocking unwanted followers are extremely important in keeping videos private and out of the hands of strangers.

SNAPCHAt – This app is designed to send photos or videos that can only be viewed for ten seconds. While teens and tweens have fun sending silly pictures or clips to each other, there may be a darker side to the app. According to cnn.com, the app may be used for sexting, as users have a false sense of security in thinking the images disappear after seconds. However, users may take screen shots of received photos (the app notifies the sender when this happens), and as with anything on the internet, nothing disappears forever. cnn.com also reports that security flaws in Snapchat’s software allow for photos and videos to be retrieved. ASk.FM – A social networking site based in Latvia, this is a potentially dangerous site where users post questions and other users anonymously reply. Users must be 13 to use the site and must acknowledge that it does not monitor content and is not responsible for any material posted. Users may block other users from posting answers to their questions, but the block does keep the blocked user from reading content posted. privacy settings cannot be boosted to protect users from potential bullies.

it’S Not ALL ABout SoCiAL MEDiA According to faithandsafety.org, “internet safety isn’t about the right service or software. rather real safety in the digital world is all about active, involved, loving parenting. it’s a team effort that builds a strong…family.” Understanding applications is a start, but there are other ways to keep your children safe in cyberspace as they navigate information gathering as well as interacting socially.

9 out of 10

tEENS uSE SoCiAL MEDiA

favorite social media sites

tiPS to kEEP your CHiLDrEN SAFE iN CyBErSPACE • Cultivate an open line of communication with your child. • Take the device (phones included) and inspect it periodically. • Use computers in a common area of the house. • Make sure you use ﬁlters and parental controls to prevent inappropriate content from reaching your child. • Remind children not to give away personal information about themselves, friends, or family. • Bookmark your child’s favorite sites so they can access them easily. • Remind them that what they post online stays online forever.

55%

• Ask your child to show you what they are doing online and to whom they are talking. Ask to see their list of online friends.

49%

talking in person

• Consider setting up a separate wireless network for your children with parental controls enabled. • Establish a tech curfew – no computers, gaming devices, or phones during dinner and after a certain time.

13%

use Snapchat

33% texting

social media

talking on phone

what are they posting?

91% 71% 71% 53% 20%

post photos post their post the name post their email post their addresses of themselves school name of their town phone number

tired of being wired?

• Be aware that many games and apps allow players to communicate with each other while they play. • Consider writing and signing a computer contract with your child.

21%

use instagram

favorite ways to communicate

• Know what chat rooms and social networking sites your child is visiting. Are they age and topic appropriate? • Make sure any social networking site has settings to allow only people who are approved to view your child’s profile.

22% Use Twitter

use Facebook

While some teens may want to unplug from social media, they may find it difficult to remove themselves for fear of losing touch with the social pulse of their peer group.

20% 41% 43% 21% 36% consider consider wish they wish their wish they themselves addicted to phones

themselves addicted to social media sites

could be unplugged

parents would could go back unplug to a time before Facebook

• Spend time online together to model appropriate online behavior. • Take your child seriously if he or she reports an uncomfortable online experience. • Become computer literate and learn how to block objectionable material. • Remember: YOU are the parent.

Tips are from Shahwar Qureshi ’90, corina Haywood, and robin ricketts. references: http://www.chicagonow.com/tween-us/2013/10/facts-aboutask-fm-parents/ http://www.chicagonow.com/tween-us/2013/02/snapchattweens-teens-love-it-while-parents-have-concerns/

D E M IA AND

teens

www.cnn.com/2013/01/03/tech/mobile/snapchat

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/about-us/news/press-releases/teens-onsocial-media-many-benefits-to-digital-life-but-downsides-too

http://www.today.com/moms/moms-you-oughta-know11-social-media-apps-teens-are-6c10833314

http://penheel.com/2012/teens-and-social-media-usage-some-stats-maysurprise-you/#sthash.g5bowkA8.dpuf

Crossroads

Fall/Winter 2013

alumninews

highlights

Alumni Soccer Game rainy weather forced the annual alumni soccer game indoors for an exciting and fast-paced futsal tournament on Saturday, August 24. Steward alumni, the boys varsity soccer team, and assistant coaches were divided into four equal teams for a round-robin competition of elimination. The winning team consisted of both alumni and varsity players. Steward alumni and varsity players will carry on the athletic tradition on Friday, January 10 for the Alumni Back to Basketball game.

Crossroads

Fall/Winter 2013

SPArtAFESt PLANt SALE

Class of 1998 alumni enjoying their 15-year reunion at Crump Park: (left to right) Meghan Hajek Swenck with husband, Derick, and daughter, Georgia; Ashleigh McLaurin Puller with son, Nick, daughter, Laurin, and husband, Darryl; Catherine Woody Graves; Sara Rossmoore McDermott with son, Aidan; Adam Graves; Scott Howard; Ned Trice with wife and son Photo is © 2013 Brannan Blascak Photography & Design LLC

From a prime location next to the dunk tank, alumni volunteers welcomed visitors to SpartaFest. The alumni plant sale with items from Sneed’s nursery offered a wonderful assortment of decorative gourds, pumpkins, pansies, mums, herbs, and more. The plant sale raises money for the Alumni Association to sponsor a scholarship for a rising senior at The Steward School.

reUnions

Welcome Back! On October 5, the classes of 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008 hosted their respective reunions throughout the city. A big thank you to our reunion chairs for volunteering to organize their classes – Scott Moncure ’83, Stephanie kay williams ’88, Chris Levermore ’88, Corey turnage ’88, Sarah Hebb wynne ’93, Catherine woody graves ’98, kourtney Boughey ’03, and Liz and Mary Martha DeLaney ’08. 2003: (left to right) Tim Zeidan, Matthew Stainback, Eddie Fuller, Allison Strickland Worley, Lucy McDougall Rohrig, Kourtney Boughey, Pamela Lawrence Carter, Aynsley Wilton, Danny Wilton, Carrie Morris, Andrew Ware

2008 ladies: (back row, left to right) Page Conway, Elizabeth Hickman, Elizabeth DeLaney, Kemis Noble, Mary Martha DeLaney and Margaret Gupton; (front row) Margaret Spotts, Dana Powell, and Lexi Wiles

SPArtAFESt DuNk tANk

to viSit ALuMNi FACEBook PAgE

At SpartaFest, Steward math teacher Corbin Adamson orgain ’96 made an appearance in the dunk tank.

yEArBook SigNiNg On Tuesday, november 26, members of the class of 2013 returned to campus with their yearbooks in-hand for a signing lunch. Crossroads

Fall/Winter 2013

alumninews

spotlight

Meet the Family Randy Howard ’92, Scott Howard ’98, Will Perkins ’99, Rusty Perkins ’01, and Katie Perkins ’05

For a school as young as Steward is, we are fortunate to have about a dozen families with five or more alumni (including those who attended but did not graduate from Steward). As one of a handful in this category, the Howard/Perkins family is one of the School’s most entertaining clans. With three Homecoming kings, one queen, and one self-declared class clown among the group, five of them gathered on campus in the fall of 2013 to reminisce about their family’s connection to Steward. After graduating from Steward in 1992, Randy Howard attended Chowan College and transferred to VCU, receiving a degree in Criminal Justice. He is now a detective with Henrico County’s organized crime unit and is married with three children ranging in age from six months to 12. Randy’s younger brother Scott graduated from Liberty University and recently obtained his pilot’s license. He is an independent sales agent for Texas Refinery Corporation in Richmond. Randy and Scott’s sister, Debbie Howard Perkins, is the mother of Will, Rusty, and Katie Perkins. Will, a former Steward Alumni Board president, graduated from Hampden-Sydney College and works in direct marketing for Royall & Company. He is married to Elizabeth Sumner Perkins, who attended Steward in high school, and they have a toddler at home. Younger brother Rusty attended Virginia Tech and graduated from Ferrum College. He works in equipment sales for John Deere in

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Fall/Winter 2013

Ashland and has two young children. The only girl in the family is Katie. She graduated from Meredith College and recently obtained her master’s degree in music education from UNC-Greensboro. She lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, and is a music teacher at West Smithfield Elementary School. In addition to these family members, their cousins Jill Narron ’85 and her brother John Ross Narron are part of the Steward family as well. Jill graduated from UVA undergraduate and medical school and is a pediatric cardiologist in Dayton, Ohio. Though there are no members of the family currently at Steward, they have left their mark on the School. Their mother/grandmother, Rosemary Howard, ran the school store “in a closet,” and their father/ grandfather, Adrian Howard, was part of the team that built the original Upper School building. The School’s kayaks were kept at the Perkinses’ home because storage was minimal in the shed-like athletic building at the time. As teenagers, Rusty and Scott were volunteer firefighters; as adults, both men have remained involved with the fire department and have mentored five Steward student volunteers as well. All of them participated in Steward athletics, and in fact, they attribute participation in sports as being critical to their lives. Katie remembers coach Janet Rice and music teacher Bonnie Anderson coordinating after-school practice schedules so that she could participate in both field hockey and musical events. The fact that students could participate in multiple activities simultaneously, Randy said, “helped prepare you socially for dealing with different situations.” He added that the faculty helped direct students toward their strengths because of the individual attention they were able to give. As the products of independent schools themselves, Mr. and Mrs. Howard always believed in the value of a private school education. Several of their other children attended Collegiate, as did Randy, Scott, Will, Rusty, and Katie for certain periods of time. Randy said that ultimately, their parents “wanted us to find our direction…Steward became part of the family.”

Class Notes

’80s

renee and Chris Levermore ’88 are the proud parents of a new baby girl, Leah Simone, born August 10, 2013.

Clay tharrington ’02 is the new Athletic director at Ware Academy in Gloucester, virginia. prior to joining Ware, he worked at christchurch School and coached strength conditioning and lacrosse at The Steward School.

’90s Shelly giglio Felvey ’99 and Stewart Felvey ’00 welcomed their third son, Maxwell Hawthorne, on October 23, 2013. Max joins big brothers Jackson and Sawyer.

’00s

Shira Hurwitz worthman ’02 and her husband Brad welcomed a son, Brayden Alexander, to the world on September 19, 2013. The happy family recently moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

katie Drzal ’00 married evan rice at Lake Lanier islands resort in Buford, Georgia, on October 12, 2013. They spent a mini-moon at Grove park inn in Asheville, north carolina, with plans for an extended honeymoon to Bora Bora in February 2014. Katie and evan reside in Alpharetta, Georgia.

katie Perkins ’05 received her Master of Music in music education from the University of north carolina at Greensboro in the spring of 2013. She is a music teacher at West Smithfield elementary School in north carolina.

Three years after he started the company rvA pillowWorks, ryan DeLaney ’06 continues to sell his unique pillows through etsy.com. He also offers key fobs, pillows, and other locallythemed items at Orange in carytown.

This summer, Liz Franklin ’06 traveled to corn island, nicaragua, to teach p.e. at a local private school for two weeks. it was Liz’s second trip to nicaragua with her church.

After interning as a curatorial assistant on the exhibition Chagall: Love, War, and Exile, grace Astrove ’06 was hired in September as a publications assistant at the Jewish Museum in new York city. She spends her time on a variety of projects including exhibition catalogs, brochures, and gallery texts.

Beth Dixon ’09 married Alex Brown on October 12, 2013, at First Baptist church in Ashland. Both graduated from virginia commonwealth University this spring and reside in richmond with their pup, Baylee.

Austin Haas ’06 married daniel Shriver at the Wilton House on november 2, 2013. Among the bridesmaids were rachel Petock ’06, Louisa kendig ’06, grace Astrove ’06, and Lauren Christian ’07; the bride’s brother, sixth-grader Channing Haas, was a groomsman. Austin and daniel reside in richmond.

Crossroads

Fall/Winter 2013

alumninews

class notes

to uPDAtE CoNtACt iNForMAtioN AND to SuBMit A CLASS NotE

katie-Beth kurilecz ’06 currently works as the fundraising and figital engagement executive at international refuge Trust in London. The trust is an international development, nongovernmental organization that is currently supporting projects in Uganda, South Sudan, Thailand, and Jordan.

Peter Howard ’09 was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army on May 12, 2013, during commencement ceremonies at Hampden-Sydney college.

keith Murphy ’09 graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BS in Architecture. He works at 3north, the architectural firm that designed the Bryan innovation Lab, where he is doing follow-up work from the construction.

’10s Jared Pease ’10 earned placement on the dean’s List for the summer semester of the 2013 academic year at Berklee college of Music in Boston. To be eligible for this honor, a full-time student must achieve a GpA of 3.4 or above. Berklee is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Emily Friend ’09 married chris Brown at St. Mary’s catholic church on October 26, 2013; the wedding was followed by a reception at the Jefferson Hotel. chris and emily coach the Middle School girls basketball team at Steward. chris is a teaching fellow at the Bryan innovation Lab, where they hosted the rehearsal dinner.

Crossroads

Fall/Winter 2013

last word

to viEw HoLiDAy viDEo

G FOR OTHER N I R CA ING FOR OTHE S RS CAR

i am a steward i am a steward

are you? are you? TH E CO E LF S E N M O TH E CO MUNITY AND E LF MMUNITY AND ONES

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Richmond, VA permit No. 895 Our passion is helping students discover theirs. 11600 Gayton Road Richmond, Virginia 23238 www.stewardschool.org

are you a steward?

Please give to the 2013-2014 Annual Fund.

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for Steward Students! www.stewardschool.org/give

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