A Brief Word from Chris Garten

SEVEN HILLS The Buzz september 21, 2010

Congratulations to Richard “Duke” Snyder, Seven Hills Athletic Director, on his induc-tion into the Seven Hills Athletic Wall of Fame, an honor established in 1998 “to honor Seven Hills athletes and teachers who have contributed to the athletic program in significant ways.” That would be an under-statement in describing the contributions of Dick Snyder, now in his 36th year of direct-ing athletics and physical education at Seven Hills. The plaque marking his induction states: “Seven Hills Athletic Director and Head of the Physical Education Department; Personifica-tion of the Seven Hills values and sportsmanship in thoughts and actions; Beloved coach (Var-sity Boys Basketball 1981-93, Cross Country 1983-88, Track 1983, Golf 1989); Dedicated teacher of the importance of winning in life and inspirational mentor to many; SWOBCA Coach of the Year 1989-90; Miami Valley Conference President 1996-98.”

This description came to life in the words of the alumni and others who shared their experiences with Duke Snyder as students, athletes, teachers, and fellow coaches at his induction—the culminating activity of Seven Hills Sports Day, a day of alumni vs. varsity sports competition—on August 15. The many members of the Seven Hills com-munity who gathered to honor Duke nod-ded their heads in affirmation as the speakers recounted their experiences and expresssed their gratitude to their teacher and mentor, coach and colleague. 1987 alumnus Jonathan Hawgood served as master of ceremonies, and speakers in-cluded Head of School Chris Garten, former Headmaster Peter Briggs, boys soccer coach Terry Nicholl, and the following alumni athletes, some of whom continued careers in athletics after graduation: Isabelle Kalubi (’00), Benjamin van der Horst (’05), Marty Mueller Gerhardt (’85), Scott Kaufman (’86), and Elliott Anderson (’85).

Duke Snyder inducted into Seven Hills Wall of Fame

Chris Garten, Isabelle Kalubi, Peter Briggs, Benjamin van der Horst, Jonathan Hawgood, Marty Gerhardt, Dick Snyder, Scott Kaufman, Elliott Anderson. Not pictured: Terry Nicholl. Photo by Keith Neu.

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800s on SAT, SAT Subject Tests

Ten members of the Seven Hills Class of 2011—14% of the class—and three mem-bers of the Class of 2012 scored 800s on 20 SAT and SAT Subject Tests, as of the June testing. One student scored a perfect 2400 on the SAT. In addition, six students had perfect scores on sections of the ACT. The following members of the Classes of 2011 and 2012 scored 800s on the SAT and SAT Subject Tests: Gabe Blanco, SAT

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Outstanding SAT, AP results!

In the opening weeks of school, skilled teach-ers engage their students in establishing the rules of classroom discourse. What work habits are expected? Who gets to talk and when? How are students expected to interact with their teachers? With each other? How are we encouraged to support one another in our learning?

Every time I witness these exchanges, it strikes me afresh how important are these cultural expectations. How classroom furniture is arranged, established protocols for giving and receiving help and for listening and respond-ing to one another: these all send a powerful message. They are our “hidden curriculum,” and in the aggregate they account, more than any other factor, for the warm and purposeful relationships I see everywhere on this campus.

From a host of interactions in these beginning weeks, our students get one clear message: at Seven Hills learning is a team sport, and each of our students is responsible for helping to sustain this unique and engaging culture. It takes time to build, but it is certainly worth the effort.

Chris Garten, Head of School

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Duke Snyder inducted into Seven Hills Wall of Fame Continued from page 1

One of the alumni speakers, Scott Kaufman (’86), who is the District Athletic Direc-tor for Princeton High School, started his remarks recounting how this ceremony was successfully kept a secret from Duke. “Ath-letic Administrative Assistant Barb Frey, who organized the event, called in June and asked me to be a part and tell some stories. I was humbled and honored. Barb said, ‘The day is a secret—if not, he won’t show,’ and she was right. I asked, does this mean retirement, and she said no, it was just the right time to honor Duke. So I decided that I’m saving the stories for the Retirement Roast one day. So, Duke, how’s that for motivation NOT to retire anytime soon?

Above at left, the poem written for the occasion by soccer coach Terry Nicholl (right) was a big hit at the ceremony. Above at right, just a few of the friends, family members and fans who gathered to celebrate Duke.

“What’s ironic is that for all the reasons you don’t want be standing up here is exactly why you are! Your service, your passion, your commitment—it was never about you and you never wanted it to be about you. You have always done what is best for kids, no matter the cost—personal or professional. Ultimately, whether you like it or not, the Seven Hills Wall of Fame was never going to be complete until your face was on it. This is the moment in your career you have feared and avoided the most—a day that’s all about you, and you deserve it! “Today we honor the service and commit-ment that you have given to the students,

athletes, coaches, teachers, staff and admin-istration of Seven Hills for so many years, the programs you have helped build, the opportunities you have created for so many kids, and the passion in which you have done it year in and year out. It is truly my great honor to present Richard ‘Duke’ Snyder with a plaque adding his great legacy to the Seven Hills Wall of Fame.” In addition to the speakers at the induction ceremony, some of the letters from alumni sent for Duke’s “memory book” were read. Excerpts from three of those letters can be found on our website at News>Duke Sny-der Induction.

Seven Hills honors Tracy Hickenlooper for excellence in teaching history

Doherty teacher Tracy Hickenlooper is the recipient of one of Seven Hills’ highest faculty honors—the Mary Drury Faculty Chair in History—in recognition of the excellence of her teaching. A teacher in Unit III, she is in her 17th year at Seven Hills. In presenting the award at the opening faculty meeting, Head of School Chris Garten said, in part, “Tracy Hickenlooper is an extraordi-nary teacher in all areas but it’s clear that social studies is her first love. History comes to life in her classroom. Her lessons are often Socratic in method, well planned and purposeful, but she knows, too, when to step back and let the children take the lead. As a result, her students are engaged and invested in their learning and willing to take academic risks.

“Tracy ... is constantly learning and asking new questions. She is a master at connecting ideas and content and a question in Language Arts may be the result of a discussion in Social Studies. She has been a leader at Doherty in integrated instruc-tional technology into the classroom. At the same time, she leads the Doherty Outdoor Program, serves on the Global Committee, worked on the development of Seven Hills’ Strategic Plan, and represents her Unit III team as Team Leader. Ever learning, ever pushing herself, Tracy recently enrolled in online courses on both Mimio and i-EARN. Seven Hills is blessed to have a teacher with Tracy’s energy, commitment, and boundless good humor.”

Critical Reading, Math and Writing (2400); Chase Atherton, SAT Critical Reading and SAT Subject Tests in French and Literature; Izzy Arjmand, Class of 2012, SAT Subject Test in Math 2 (she also had a perfect PSAT); Julianne Bain, SAT Math; Justine Cefalu, SAT Critical Reading; Peppar Cyr, SAT Math and SAT Subject Test Math 2; Betsy Johnson, Class of 2012, SAT Subject Test in Math 2; Sasha Lieberman, SAT Writing; Nathan Markiewitz, SAT Subject Test in Molecular Biology; Alex Markovits, Class of 2012, SAT Subject Test in Math 2; Mia Perlman, SAT Critical Reading and Writing; Dan Shi, SAT Subject Test Math 2; Virgil Urbina Lazardi, SAT Subject Tests in Chem-istry and U.S. History. Seven Hills students who had perfect scores on sections of the ACT were Julianne Bain in English, Leah Cromer in English, Mia Perlman in English, Sydney Larkin in Math, Sasha Lieberman in Math, and Nathan Mar-kiewitz in Science.

Outstanding SAT, AP results! Continued from page 1

62 seniors, 2010 graduates named AP Scholars

Sixty-two Seven Hills seniors and 2010 gradu-ates have been named AP Scholars by the Col-lege Board for their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Exams. On the 228 AP exams in 16 subject areas taken in May by 119 students, 96% of the scores earned were 3’s or better on the 1-5 national scale, qualifying the students for advanced standing in college. The Seven Hills students scored an average of 4.7 (“Ex-tremely Well Qualified”). Receiving National AP Scholar Awards for average scores of at least 4 or higher on all AP Exams taken and scores of 4 or higher on eight or more were 2010 graduates Britt Cyr, Lena Geissler, Sarah Kloepper, Danny Korn, Ainsley McWilliams, Sara Schonfeld, and Josh Wang. Receiving AP Scholar with Distinction Awards for average scores of at least 3.5 on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on five or more were seniors Gabe Blanco, Justine Cefalu, Peppar Cyr, Victoria Huang; 2010 graduates Michael Bi, Nancy Cohen, Britt Cyr, Josh Dunaway, Maddie Elkus, Lena Geissler, Adam Jatho, Erin Kelly, Sarah Kloepper, Danny Korn, Ainsley McWil-

liams, Kohki Nakafuku, Kyle Neu, Gilbert Pasquale, Bryan Romaine, Francesca Scheiber, Sara Schonfeld, Quinn Schweier, Sheva Serota, Josh Tiao, Elizabeth Ver-schoor, Josh Wang, Henry Warrington, and Shirley Yan. Receiving AP Scholar with Honor Awards for average scores of at least 3.25 on all AP Exams taken and scores of 3 or higher on four or more were seniors Julianne Bain, Ka-tie Cromer, Leah Cromer, Ari Kirsh, Ryan MacKenzie, Aaron Markiewitz, Nathan Markiewitz; 2010 graduates Hope Brown, Kathleen Mathieu, Aaron Ransohoff-Englert, Justin Rau, Walker Schiff, Lloyd Ulicny, and Robby Woodworth. Receiving AP Scholar Awards for scoring 3 or higher on three or more exams were junior Isabel Arjmand, seniors Julie Berger, Jeff Brown, Helen Head, Elisse Hill, Sydney Larkin, Clarence Ling, Haleigh Monaco, Joe Soonthornsawad, Virgilio Urbina Lazardi, Stella Warner; 2010 graduates Julia Baggish, Kate Brandy, Grace Elkus, Heidi Garrett, Alex Hill, Baker Leyman, Diya SenGupta, Justin White, Taylor White, and Luke Wulsin.

Welcome to our new faculty!

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16% of seniors qualify as National Merit semifinalists!

The following 11 seniors—16% of the class—have qualified as semifinalists in the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program: Chase Atherton, Julianne Bain, Gabriel Blanco, Justine Cefalu, Peppar Cyr, Elisse Hill, Victoria Huang, Sasha Lieberman, Nathan Markiewitz, Haleigh Monaco, and Mia Perlman. Elisse Hill and Adimu Hunter-Woodard qualified as semifinalists in the 2011 Nation-al Achievement Scholarship Competition. After we receive notification of all of the National Merit recognitions, a photo of the entire group will run in the Buzz.

The Seven Hills community is please to welcome teachers new to our school this year: (from left) Mia Nussbaum, Writer-in-Residence and Creative Writing teacher in Upper; Martha Slater, interim Theater teacher in Upper; Bill Waskowitz, Head of Middle School; Sophie Beckwith (’06), sixth grade French teacher; Dr. Lenore Horner, math and physics teacher in Upper; and Vaishali Sarbhoy, kindergarten assistant at Lotspeich.

A look at what’s happening at Upper SchoolSee page 7 for Middle School, page 9 for Lotspeich, and page 11 for Doherty

Junior Michael Young has been accepted into the Polar Bears International Teen Leadership Camp of Polar Bears Interna-tional, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the worldwide conservation of the polar bear and its habitat through research, stewardship, and education. The leadership camp takes place October 10-16 in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, the polar bear capital of the world. Campers will observe polar bears in the wild and learn about climate change firsthand from renowned scientists while aboard mo-bile classrooms on the tundra near Churchill. The Camp is designed to inform, moti-vate, and empower teen Arctic Ambassadors to educate others about the effects of climate change on polar bears and to organize con-servation projects in their communities. Participants are selected for the leadership camp from exceptional young people who are active in the volunteer or leadership programs of participating Arctic Ambassa-dor Centers around the world. Michael was selected by the Cincinnati Zoo.

Michael Young and junior Matthew Mon-teith attended the Boy Scouts’ 100 Year Anniversary National Jamboree in Fort AP Hill, Virginia, this summer. Michael and sophomore Elizabeth Young also attended the Red Cross Leadership Camp this past July.

Senior Victoria Huang taught English in China this summer. She emailed Director of

College Counsel-ing Susan Marrs, in part, “I helped students prepare for the speaking portion of the IELTS, which is like the TOEFL. I did a lot of research

beforehand so I could answer all their ques-tions and simulate real testing conditions. I mostly worked with the ‘Gou Ji Bu’ which was a program at the school for students who plan to attend college in an English-speaking country.” Victoria also went to some of her stu-dents’ other classes: “I did attend many of their classes in other subjects because I was curious about the teaching environment. They emphasized memorization a lot more than independent thinking. Some of the teachers were also very traditional and there was absolutely no class discussion. Even for a Chinese literature class, all the interpretation was done by the teacher. I even learned some physics in Chinese that I have not learned in English yet!”

Alumna Stephanie Miller (’06), who graduated in June from the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architec-ture, Art and Planning, where she studied art history, was the guest speaker in Mrs. Sittenfeld’s Art History class on September 16. Stephanie shared images and information from her two-month experience this summer with the Harvard Summer Program in Copán, Honduras, sponsored by the Harvard Field School in Classic Maya Archaeology and Epigraphy. After teaching the students some basics in interpreting Mayan words and numbers, Stephanie challenged them to translate a worksheet of Mayan hieroglyphics.

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What’s new in the Spirit Shop?

Anticipating those rainy fall days? Stop in check out our new Stinger Folding Umbrel-las! Automatic open compact 42” umbrella with 2-section shaft and ribs, imprinted with “THE SEVEN HILLS SCHOOL” and our Stinger Bee! Available now in Navy & White and in Royal & White and soon in Kelly Green & White. $17.

The Spirit Shop is located on the Hillsdale Campus in the Sports Lobby near the Kal-now Gym. Open school days 11:30–1:00 or by appointment (513-272-5395).

Honoring outstanding varsity teams

Last year the Seven Hills Athletic Department and Athletic Boosters began a new tradition, honoring past teams that advanced in tournament play to the regional finals and beyond. In 2009-2010, the honored teams were the boys basketball 2007-2008 regional finalist team and the girls basketball 2006-2007 and 2008-2009 regional finalist teams. Congratulations to this year’s honored teams! Banners were presented on August 1 to the 2005-2006 and 2009-2010 golf teams and on August 15 to the 1999-2000 and 2009-2010 boys soccer teams, the 2007-2008 and 2009-2010 boys tennis teams, and the 2006-2007 girls soccer team.

1999-2000 boys soccer—regional finalist, State Elite Eight in state2009-2010 boys soccer—regional champion, State Final Four2006-2007 girls soccer—regional finalist, State Elite Eight2005-2006 golf—finished third in state tournament2009-2010 golf—finished sixth in state tournament2007-2008 boys tennis —finished second in state tournament2009-2010 boys tennis—finished third in state

2006-2007

2009-2010

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The Resale Shop offers a van pickup service for donations like furniture and appliances that don’t fit in your car. Scott Porter (right) and Robert Allen, “our strong men,” work on Thursdays and are usually booked one week in advance. Please phone the Resale Shop at 271-7977 to schedule a van pickup for your larger saleable donations.

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The Upper School faculty spent the morning of August 20 performing service projects for Ronald McDonald House (preparing brunch), People Working Cooperatively (working on the yards of two elderly persons), and Sycamore Senior Center (delivering Meals on Wheels).

Orientation Day for ninth graders included fun bonding activities led by reps from Camp Joy.

Last Friday at lunchtime was perfect for Paper Noise’s first Open Mic of the year. At right, speakers included senior Peppar Cyr, who recited from memory the poem “You and Me and the Cottage of Lost Play” by J.R.R. Tolkien.

A look at what’s happening at Middle School

Mrs. Heinlen’s seventh grade English stu-dents will be creating and conducting sur-veys about the written and unwritten rules of society that we follow (or don’t). They will be using iTouches to conduct the surveys of students of all ages and adults. Mrs. Heinlen said, “The surveys are instruments being used by the seventh graders to gather some understanding of others’ perceptions of and choices for the rules we follow in society (written, unwritten). It’s one of my essential questions and ties the English and history curricula together. The skills being exercised are identifying issues with varying opinions that could be based on rules we follow (con-stitutional and/or personal ethics/morals), asking and formulating questions, the social and scientific skills of conducting surveys, and the technology components of using iTouches, SurveyMonkey software, etc. They will be using all of this information to write their first ‘big’ paper for me and hopefully coming to some sort of understanding about the creation of rules, who follows them, and why or why not. This goes well with our novel selections this quarter (The Outsiders, Nothing But the Truth, etc.) and with their study of American government.”

In Mrs. Faber’s Global Explorations classes, students are preparing presentations on global warming and resources around the world. She said, “The assignment is to pre-tend that we will present these to the UN’s conference on climate change in October in Tianjin, China. The object is to convince UN leaders of the implications of depletion of sources and come up with new ways to save energy and utilize sustainable practices.”

Seventh grade American history teacher Mr. Huff was selected by The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Ohio to participate in the Teacher Institute in Early American His-tory at Colonial Williamsburg this summer. The Society promotes the study of American colonial history and sponsors one teacher each year. At Colonial Williamsburg, he was ex-posed to the ideas and realities of colonial

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“In eighth grade sci-ence, we have been busy with a revised unit of measurement,” said Mrs. Wiesemann. “This year for the first time the eighth grade math and science classes worked on measuring and the metric system unit at the same time. Many of the concepts were first covered in math class and then integrated into one of the lab activities in science. The first homework activity demonstrated the global nature of this unit. Each student selected a country that uses the System International or metric system and researched information about that country. For example, they found the average high and low temperature for the month of September, luggage size and weight limits for traveling to or within the country, speed limits within the country, etc. “The first lab activity was figuring out which rock from a set of rocks (all similar in size) is largest? The students determined what measurements they needed to make and devised their own procedure as a group.

The second activity was measuring and es-timating in the metric system. Each student found personal reference points and objects for common metric lengths, volumes and masses. “The third activity was to determine the accuracy and precision of measurement tools and the actual measurements themselves. During this lab students are introduced to the concept of significant figures or digits as they relate to measurements and calculations based on those measurements. “Our last activity will be the Metric Mysteries Team Survivor Challenge. This challenge has the students measuring and estimating in the metric system and a scaven-ger hunt for items of certain measurements.”

Mr. Betts added, “Eighth grade math and science classes were the beneficiaries of a collabora-tive effort on a unit of measure-ment. From creating a system of measurement using non-conventional tools to converting measurements from one system to another using dimensional analysis, students engaged in ac-tivities and discussions connect-ing the mathematics concepts with the applications of science. Students in this photo are mak-ing the connection between one cubic meter, 1000 cubic deci-meters, and 1,000,000 cubic centimeters. Another demonstration connected the relationship between one cubic decimeter, one liter, and one kilogram.”

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“Here are ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of some sixth grade service work,” said Mrs. Licata. “They removed a large number of weeds from a garden area on the hillside next to the Middle School. We plan to use the area to plant tulip bulbs for a student project this year.”

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times and also sampled some aspects of it himself. “Williamsburg did a great job of covering every aspect of colonial society,” he said. One of his favorite parts of colonial history is the process of formation of the American government and its laws. At Colo-nial Williamsburg, he was able to experience social and political discourse as if it were contemporary. Mr. Huff plans to present historical scenarios in his classroom and help students develop opinions on colonial issues. “Be-cause of my Williamsburg trip, my students will be better able to see colonial life, to feel it, to experience it,” he says. “They’ll be able to understand what challenges people faced in the colonial era and what they risked in order to change their society. I want my students to understand that they can have impact on our society today.”

“As part of their study of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, seventh graders are con-cluding experiments which test the effec-tiveness of various sorbent materials, ” said Mrs. Glum. “After researching cost and envi-ronmental impact, each team of students will recommend the sorbent it believes would be most suitable for use in cleaning up future oil spills. Focus will then shift to the effect of the oil spill on wildlife, with particular emphasis on bird feathers and eggs.”

“Eighth grade English classes just com-pleted the ‘Which Book Would You Save?’ paragraphs defending a choice for the most suitable book to guide a society in search for itself after a nuclear holocaust,” said Mrs. Maupin. “We are now embarking on the Banned Book Project to coincide with National Banned Book Week at the end of the month.”

“In Writing Workshop, six students are writ-ing about their summer reading, and they are writing poems and prayers for the 21st cen-tury,” said Ms. Ready. “Journalism 8 is busy putting together our first issue of Middle Beat, and Writing Workshop 7 students are editing their letters to their favorite authors.”

“In sixth grade math classes, we are studying integers and worked with them during Integer Day on Sep-tember 17,” said Mrs. Keller. “We did several fun activities centered around computing using dice and other manipulatives.”

Sixth graders start the school year with service

At left, cleaning out the theater closet; below, painting Ms. Knoop’s cabinets; inset, clean-ing cages in Lotspeich’s science lab.

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A look at what’s happening at Lotspeich

The younger drama students have enjoyed the challenges Character Party, The Magic Spell and Let’s Pretend. The older drama stu-dents have been working on Secret Stopper, Freeze Tag and Super Hero Slo-Mo. Students are now exploring “Cinderella Around the World.” Mr. White said, “There are many versions of this classic fairy tale and the drama students will be performing mini plays in class that come from many different countries.”

Head of School Mr. Garten was the Star of the Week for Pre-K. He stopped by on Sep-tember 15 to read his Star Poster, share some pictures of himself and his family, and read a book to the children.

The junior zoologists have begun training for their important science lab responsibilities.

The All-Day Kindergarten children en-joyed an after-noon of won-dering about watermelon! They observed the shape and color of this summer fruit, carried the huge ovoid to feel its weight, created a visual interpretation of the outside and inside with a crayon resist painting, and delighted in tasting and eating the juicy, pink fruit. All the leftover rinds were taken to the compost bin for the Seven Hills worms.

“Lotspeich has a newly-renovated math resource room providing space for more children to work and learn,” said Mrs. Fox. “The room gained footage by extending the space to include the former tutoring room and the tech office. Mrs. Pierson and Mrs. Cohen have graciously relocated to allow this expansion. The room is now equipped with a new whiteboard to accom-modate the close-throw projector and Mimio system. Ms. Okin selected new furniture that most efficiently utilizes the space to allow small groups of students from each grade level throughout the day as well as a morning math lab each day to work with Ms. Okin. We appreciate all the hard work in constructing the math room and extend our thanks to Robert Horne, Tim Poff and the maintenance crew. We do love our new room!”

Above, first graders continued a Lotspeich tradition of making First Day Fizzies. By carefully following the recipe and working together they made a refreshing drink to enjoy on the first day of first grade.

Mrs. Balskus said, “Fifth graders are begin-ning to write creation myths in language arts class and our world map project in our afternoon social studies classes. We have also started our Reading Partner program in which parents come every Monday after-noon for book chats with students on their independent reading.”

News from Ms. Knoop’s art studio: “Second grade art stu-dents started off the school year with a blast of secondary color mixing. Fifth graders have learned to follow a pattern, thread a needle, make two kinds of knots, stitch, stuff, and finish a stuffed animal! Students started these at the end of fourth grade and now are excitedly finishing them. It’s the real Build A Bear! Fourth graders start the year learning about symmetry and color values. This insect project combines these two concepts as well

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as using some computer ‘mouse’ packaging material saved from the trash!”

The fourth graders went on a field trip to Green Acres Farm where they studied honeybees. Mrs. Snyder said, “The field trip reinforces the fourth grade science curriculum where they learn all about bees. On the field trip the students get to see a live hive and identify different types of bees. They learn how beekeepers extract honey, and they get to help extract honey from a hive. They also have an opportunity to taste honey from different regions and from different flowers to explore their different tastes. The students also explore bee life, learning about the different ways that bees see and communicate. They got to do a bee waggle to communicate like a bee!”

“The second grade is adjusting to the pro-cedures and routines of a new school year,” said Ms. Feeney. “In the beginning weeks of school, second graders were encouraged to collaborate in teams to generate words of a rhyming chain in reading (pictured above) and to practice solving and generating num-ber sentences in math. They are off to a fantastic start!”

In culmination of Color Week, Mrs. Meador’s and Ms. Merritt’s Pre-K made a Gingerbread Man cake. Much to their surprise, the Gingerbread Man escaped from the oven! The children hunted all over campus, stopping to see if he had climbed a tree. After Ms. Tyler found him, he was deco-rated and gobbled up!

Above, two of Lotspeich’s Good Apples—fifth graders who perform service at school during their recess one day a week.

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A look at what’s happening at Doherty

“Fifth grade students resem-bled energized atoms as they participated in Science Activ-ity Day,” said Mrs. Burton. “Parents en-gaged them in a variety of Light and Sound experiments, such as color wheels, finding their blind spot, conducting musical harmonicas, and tie-dying napkins for their trip to Glen Helen. Everyone had fun and learned many new things.”

Third grader Alex Grass narrowly beat his soccer coach, Tom Link, to the finish line at the 5K Cincinnati Zoo Cheetah Run on Sept. 5. “That’s the struggling coach in the red cap,” said Mr. Link.

On August 27, the Unit III students par-ticipated in team building activities. Mrs. Burton explained, “These activities were designed to allow students to have fun while getting to know one another. At the same time, these activities required the students to communicate and work as a team. While working in small groups, students were

challenged to move a marble from one side of the courtyard to the other by only using small pieces of PVC pipe. In another activ-ity, students threw bean bags to one another while saying the names of their group mem-bers. The favorite activity of the afternoon

Unit II students learned how to make com-puter generated graphs and then enjoyed presenting them to their class.

On Social Studies Activity Day, fifth graders got a preview of what they will be studying in social studies this year. Mrs. Burton said, “The students were part of an archeological dig. As items were unearthed, they had to determine what the items were and how they were used in colonial times. They played the colonial games of hoops and sticks and trap ball, and they were enlisted in and drilled for the Continental Army, where they learned commands, how to march and how to carry a musket.”

was tie-dyeing t-shirts. Students will wear these unique t-shirts during special activities throughout the school year. We ended our afternoon with popsicles and conversation with our new friends. What an amazing way to start our new school year!”

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“Eli and Jacob Joffe’s mom ex-plained the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah to Unit I,” said Mrs. MacK-enzie. “Students enjoyed a delicious customary treat of bread and apples with honey. Mrs. Greff also shared with the unit a 125-year old shofar or ram’s horn which has been passed down from generation to generation.”

friendship. The children made their first class book based on the Friendship Song (sung to the tune of ‘London Bridge is Falling Down’). We will continue learning poetry, reading stories, recognizing the names of our friends, singing songs, and doing role-plays in relation to this topic. To coincide with this theme, we will be reading the various Audrey Penn books such as The Kissing Hand.”

The younger drama students have enjoyed the challenges Character Party, The Magic Spell and Let’s Pretend. The older drama stu-dents have been working on Secret Stopper, Freeze Tag and Super Hero Slo-Mo. Students are now exploring “Cinderella Around the World.” Mr. White said, “There are many versions of this classic fairy tale and the stu-dents will be performing mini plays in class that come from many different countries.”

“The Doherty kindergarten children are settling into the routine beautifully,” said Mrs. Carr. “They are making many new friends and getting reacquainted with old friends. The theme for the first few weeks is

“Students in Unit I are enjoying science and social studies,” said Mrs. MacKenzie. “Students completed the Lifesaver Experi-ment by predicting whether the candy would dissolve quicker in warm or cold water. Each student received two Lifesavers along with a cup of warm and a cup of cold water. Stu-dents noted the start time, made their predic-tions, and observed the candy dissolving. Students also enjoyed an experiment to find out what happens when colors are mixed together. Students chose two different colors of food coloring and predicted what the outcome would be.”

Donations 2 Dollars is a way for members of the Seven Hills community to donate items to be sold on eBay and receive gift credit for the proceeds. We handle the complexities of eBay for you. When your items sell, you will receive gift credit to Seven Hills in your name for the net tax-deductible value of your items. This is a convenient way to get additional Annual Giving credit.

Drop-off locations: Doherty Campus

Kemper Bldg., first floor8:30 - 2:30 Monday - Friday

Hillsdale CampusResale Shop

9:00 - 3:00 Monday -Saturday

Questions? Call Lynn Cowles at 513-221-1765 or Margo Kirstein at 513-527-1319.

Donations 2 Dollars is a way for members of the Seven Hills community to donate items to be sold on eBay and receive gift credit for the proceeds. We handle the complexities of eBay for you. When your items sell, you will receive gift credit to Seven Hills in your name for the net tax-deductible value of your items. This is a convenient way to get additional Annual Giving credit. Drop-Off Locations: Doherty Campus - Kemper Bldg., 1st fl.; 8:30 - 2:30, M-F. Hillsdale Campus - The Resale Shop; 9:00 -3:00, M-Sat. Questions? Call Lynn Cowles at 513-221-1765 or Margo Kirstein at 513-527-1319

The Seven Hills School

Donations 2 Dollars is a way for members of the Seven Hills community to donate items to be sold on eBay and receive gift credit for the proceeds. We handle the complexities of eBay for you. When your items sell, you will receive gift credit to Seven Hills in your name for the net tax-deductible value of your items. This is a convenient way to get additional Annual Giving credit. Drop-Off Locations: Doherty Campus - Kemper Bldg., 1st fl.; 8:30 - 2:30, M-F. Hillsdale Campus - The Resale Shop; 9:00 -3:00, M-Sat. Questions? Call Lynn Cowles at 513-221-1765 or Margo Kirstein at 513-527-1319

The Seven Hills School

Dr. Kejian Zhang, Kev-in Wang’s mother, shared her knowledge of Lanzhou, China, and Kevin’s summer in China with a Unit II class who is corresponding with a Peace Corps volunteer who is stationed in Lanzhou.

Unit II students enjoyed “hunting bugs” on a lovely sunny afternoon as part of their insect unit of study.

In honor of 9-11 and Patriot Day, Unit II hand-delivered cards they made in class along with a basket of cookies to firefighters at our local fire station.

“Unit II students were challenged in the Doherty Library to correctly identify the beautifully-decorated bear sculptures that are currently on display in Cherokee, North Carolina,” said Mrs. Wolfe. “This was a dif-ficult thinking contest that tied the library to the Unit II Cherokee curriculm.” The contest winners are pictured at right.

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Doherty kicked off the year with its first Out-door Program trip on September 3. Twenty-eight fifth graders, along with Mrs. Wichman, Mrs. Dawson, Mrs. Hickenlooper and Mr. Krauss, traveled to Morgan’s Canoe Livery to go canoeing on the Little Miami River. “Prior to the three-mile trip, they received instruction on how to paddle and safety on the river from the Morgan’s staff,” said Mrs. Burton. “They took 12 canoes out on the river. About halfway they stopped on the bank and did a little swim-ming, fossil exploring and rock skipping.”

Mrs. Carr, Mrs.Pietroski and Mrs.Harrison’s kindergarten classes are participating in an ex-change with a kindergarten class in Taiwan of greeting cards, photos, videos, and books, as well as sharing of their classroom activities via e-mail and snail mail. “We have so many things to learn from each other,” said Mrs. Carr. This project was inspired by connections Mrs. Carr made while attending the iEarn conference in Canada this summer.

As part of Unit I ’s study of Cin-cinnati, the class learned about the fireworks used at the Labor Day celebration on the river. Michael Vanoy, 2008 alumnus and CCM theater tech student, returned to teach the children about the science, technology and history of fireworks. The stu-dents then illustrated and deco-rated their own firework picture using the skyline of Cincinnati.