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Quarterly Update - May 2017
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Principal's Message
Dear SHS Community Members:
I am pleased to provide the third update for this school year. We continue to focus on global education at the high school. While this can mean looking at issues with a global lens and understanding problems from multiple perspectives in our classrooms every day, we also strive to offer a full complement of learning activities that include international travel. We are grateful to our teachers who lead these programs as well as those who accommodate students' schedules, along with our parents who share our commitment to these opportunities. Below you will find a brief overview of our recent activities.
Please accept my best wishes for a strong finish to the school year.
Sincerely,
Kenneth Bonamo
Principal
Heidelberg
This past quarter Maggie Favretti organized and ran a student exchange with students from the Elisabeth-von-Thadden-Schule in Heidelberg Germany. Students from Scarsdale High School travelled to Heidelberg Germany over February vacation and then in March, students from the Germany travelled to Scarsdale. While participating in the exchange, students from both countries engaged in a series of activities and research devoted the issue refugee and migrant resettlement that is facing both Germany and the United States.
French and Spanish Exchanges
After hosting for two weeks in the fall, 19 Scarsdale High School students and 26 Scarsdale High School students left mid Feb. for a two-week visit to Colegio Ramón y Cajal, Madrid, Spain and Lycée Paul Cézanne, Aix-en-Provence, France respectively as part of a foreign language exchange program. Students lived with host families while they explored Spain (Madrid, Toledo, Segovia, Sevilla, Cordoba) and France (Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Le Lubéron, Arles, Nîmes, Nice, Monaco) attended high school, practice their language skills and truly lived a unique cultural experience. Students had an amazing time and will keep ties across the Atlantic forever.
Chorus
During the February break, members of the Scarsdale High School Chorus performed in Italy. They sang Gabriel Faure's Requiem in Naples at the Conservatory of Music with their orchestra and in Rome at the Basilica di San Lorenzo in Lucina, with the 'Orchestra Giovanile della Libera Accademia di Roma. In addition they spent a day in residence at the Istituto Sacro Cuore della Trinità dei Monti where they gave a joint concert with their choir and met Italian students.
Band
The Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble traveled to Melbourne and Sydney, Australia, with internationally acclaimed composer John Mackey. They played a concert in front of over 1,000 patrons at the Sydney Town Hall, and they performed to a standing room only sold out crowd at the Deakin Edge Theatre in Melbourne. Guest conductors were Ingrid Martin of the Monash Band and noted internationally renowned conductor John Lynch of the Sydney Conservatorium. The students climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, interacted with Australian wildlife, experienced cultural exchanges with high school and professional groups, and most importantly grew as a musical family.
Orchestra
The orchestra toured Germany with stops in Eisenach, Leipzig, Bonn and Berlin. Each city was chosen for its connection to the composers that the orchestra has been studying. In Eisenach students toured Wartburg Castle, where Bach's father worked as a court musician and also the house where Bach was born. In Bonn, students toured the house in which Beethoven was born and then performed at La Reroute. This is also the famous meeting place of where Beethoven first met Haydn. In Leipzig the orchestra toured Bach's last residence as well as Mendelsohn's home. They then performed at the Gewandhaus, where Mendelsohn was once the musical director. In Berlin, the orchestra joined with the Hochschule Music Conservatory and performed a concert at the French church.
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Art
The Art and Math departments joined for a professional development hands on experience on the afternoon of superintendent's day. Dr. Nat Stahl from the Museum of Mathematics in NYC came to facilitate a workshop on tessellations. He brought four different sets of manipulatives and set out a different problem to solve at each station. The art and math teachers mixed to form four groups and rotated stations. The conversation and problem solving strategies were enlightening. Art teachers approached the challenge visually, while math teachers discussed angles, equations, etc. Together each discipline saw a new way of approaching a problem. They explored regular and semi-regular tessellations, as well as penrose tilings with reflectional and rotational symmetry. The results were exciting and generated lots of interdisciplinary ideas to take into the classroom. Several teachers are following up the workshop with a visit to the Museum of Math.
In the Art department teachers attended the National Art Association and College Art Association conferences. We returned excited about lots of possibilities for the classroom. Lisa Yokana presented at the SXSWedu conference on design thinking.
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Counseling
For the Counseling Department, the past ten weeks have been full of activity. Deans held conferences with every freshman, sophomore, and junior in their caseloads to review individual progress and discuss the academic plan for the 2017-18 school year. Sophomores met with their Deans for Sophomore Seminar, a five-week session that included a personality survey and career interest inventory, while juniors reviewed their post-secondary plans during the Junior Conference, a comprehensive meeting that includes all aspects of the college admissions process (many will hold their conferences during the fourth quarter).
Deans were also busy in ongoing professional development. These included college visits, university fly-in programs, conferences, and participation in national organizations that are reflective of our ongoing commitment to the counseling profession. Deans were asked to serve as speakers for regional conferences and as liaisons for college advisory committees. In addition, Scarsdale High School is one of only two public schools in the United States with a representative on the Common Application Board, an organization committed to increasing access to our nation's colleges and universities.
While academic and college planning is an integral aspect of our role, the Deans remain committed to serving the individual needs of every student. To that end, we are eager to witness our seniors experience their last few weeks of high school, and we look forward to continue working with all our students on their personal and future goals.
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Ninth grade team enjoys field trip to the Cloisters
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English
In the English Department, the spring finds many of our 11th- and 12th-grade courses hard at work on research papers. These extended essays give students the opportunity to analyze a literary work, usually a work of their choice, and to work closely with their teachers to formulate compelling arguments. In some research papers, students formulate new interpretations of novels, poems, or plays; in others, they draw interesting connections between a literary work and historical events. In learning how to find, read, and incorporate secondary sources, students practice a vital skill that will help them succeed in college-level writing courses.
Thanks to a partnership with Lincoln Center Education, some of our 12th-grade classes attended a live performance of
The Gravedigger's Tale, a show created by Robert Richmond and performed by Louis Butelli. In Act V of
Hamlet, the Danish prince has a conversation with a gravedigger about life and death; this conversation is the springboard for Richmond's creative, thought-provoking homage to Shakespeare's masterpiece. Thanks are due to George Olivier, who coordinated with Lincoln Center to bring this interesting play to Scarsdale High School.
Also in March, over 100 11th-graders from the American Studies classes traveled with their teachers to Washington, D.C., for a two-day exploration of historical sites and museums in our nation's capital. Students had the opportunity to view the House and Senate in action in the Capitol, explore the Smithsonian's American History museum and the new African-American museum, tour the house of Frederick Douglas and the National Archives, and visit Arlington Cemetery. In addition, the group took an evening trip to some of the city's most important monuments, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the FDR Memorial.
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Library
Research has been the name of the game in the library with students across grade levels and departments investigating literary, historical and scientific subjects. Increasingly, we have been providing individual research guidance and have been encouraging students to seek us out. We are here to help and love a good challenge.
Our Look into the Past feature on the library homepage has been updated with NYT's stories about Scarsdale during 1916-17. Don't miss the article about Professor Raymond Walde, SHS science teacher, whose mother-in-law kicked him out of the house for refusing to testify on his wife's behalf in her lawsuit against her dentist. Can't make this stuff up!
 Thank you to the PTA and the Wellness Committee for initiating and organizing extended library hours during exam week. The library remained open until 7 p.m. on five nights with the help of faculty chaperones. An additional thank you to the PTA for once again providing healthy snacks for exam week.
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Performing Arts 
The Scarsdale High School theater program presented two wonderful evenings of The Servant of Two Masters. This foray into Roman and Greek classical theater was a first for many of the actors. Combining the language of the Renaissance with comedic acting is no easy feat. As an added element, the actors in character mingled with the audience in the lobby and the theater prior to the opening scene. The Director summarizes the value of such repertoire and age-appropriate lessons in her note in the Playbill; "We all serve multiple masters, often more than two: work, school, friends, families, faith, and more." She added from Ingrid Bergman, "Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get." This understanding was evident in the hard work of the preparation and performances.
The high school was indeed fortunate to have two chamber ensembles selected to perform at Alice Tully Hall on April 27th. The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center sponsors a very competitive audition process whereby those selected perform in this prestigious concert venue. Chamber groups audition from throughout the Tri-State area. A duet and a trio were selected from SHS. We are so proud to once again be represented at this extraordinary event and for this opportunity for our talented students and our program.
All three ensembles who performed internationally were ecstatic upon their return. All reported wonderful memories from abroad as they performed in superb venues and with new friends in Italy, Germany, and Australia. Congratulations to the students and directors for their fine work.
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Physical Education
Our 11th- and 12th-grade students completed a mini-unit in Physical Education to learn how to perform Hands-Only CPR and practice the use of an AED (Automatic External Defibrillator). Students administered chest compressions to the beat of "Stayin' Alive", which is 100 beats per minute, the recommended rate of chest compressions. Teaching our students hands-only CPR could save thousands of lives by filling our community with lifesavers.
Our 9th- and 10th-grade students focused on learning lifetime activities that they could take part in not only now, but also well into adulthood. In our bowling unit, students practiced techniques to improve their personal level of performance by focusing on the proper approach and various game tactics. Students then put their math skills to work as they learned how the scoring system works in a bowling game and calculated their own scores in a ten-frame game. During our yoga unit, students focused on increasing their overall flexibility and muscular strength through a variety of purposeful poses and routines, while also realizing that yoga is an effective stress management tool. The experiences in bowling and yoga provided our students an opportunity to find personal enjoyment in being active, promoting physical, emotional, and social wellness.
While our underclassmen were learning through their lifetime activities, our upperclassmen learned through two team sport experiences through basketball and volleyball. The basketball unit provided an opportunity for participation in a sports-based learning experience where students worked to improve a variety of skills including dribbling, passing, shooting, and strategy on both offense and defense. While working on those skills, students were also increasing their levels of endurance, improving balance and coordination, and developing concentration and cooperation. Our volleyball unit helped students work to improve the many skills involved in this fast-paced game, including the forearm pass, setting, spiking, blocking, serving, and game play. Students strengthened their minds and bodies through a variety of skill-specific activities, and then applied their improved skills in a game setting with opportunities for strategy discussion and cooperative team play.
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Science
Chemistry is a very abstract science course, with limited opportunities for direct observation. We ask students to consider an atomic world, which is best described with approximations using models. Lab activities and demonstrations provide concrete examples for students to anchor their understanding of concepts. For example, our students have a foundation to consider atomic structure after observing gas emission tubes (similar to neon signs).
Last summer, the chemistry group received a program improvement grant to develop instructional demonstrations. They felt that while we have a rich series of lab experiments, teacher-led instruction would be further enhanced by increased chemical demonstrations. The chemistry team researched demonstrations by unit, and then organized the equipment and material needs for each demonstration. The demonstrations performed have engaged students, and provided a basis for the rich discussion of concepts.
Before the winter holiday, chemistry students were treated to a series of demos using liquid nitrogen. Atmospheric nitrogen (N
2
) has such weak intermolecular forces of attraction that it needs to be cooled to around -200
o
C to condense to a liquid. Students were enthralled watching a banana, which had been dipped in the nitrogen, shatter like glass when hit with a hammer. Further, they were treated to ice cream dots, after their teachers mixed melted ice cream with liquid nitrogen.
More recently, while studying chemical kinetics, students enjoyed a demo that created mountains of foam by trapping oxygen gas, as concentrated hydrogen peroxide decomposed. This demonstrated the role of a catalyst to increase the rate of a chemical reaction.
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Social Studies
In Heather Waters' Peace-ing it Together class, students explored entomophogy which is the practice of obtaining nutrition from the consumption of insects. The classes' investigation of insects as a source for protein was part of a deeper inquiry into how various nations are addressing the issue of sustainability and the food supply.
In Ryan Kirk's 10th grade World History class, teams of students represented each of the three countries at the Yalta Conference in spirited negotiations to protect their respective interests and hammer out an agreement. Students then compared their results to the actual results of the conference and analyzed how it helped set the stage for the Cold War.
 In March the American Studies classes traveled to Washington, D.C. to engage in a two-day learning experience that asked students to connect their classroom learning with the contemporary world of Washington, D.C. A highlight of trip was a visit to the U.S. Senate to witness voting on the nomination of new members of President Trump's cabinet.
In Jonathan Pai and Patrick Healy's 12th Grade AT Economics course, students partook of a 1/2 day Congressional simulation. Students were assigned members of the current U.S. House of Representative and were asked to research their members district and political positions.
In the 12th grade course City 2.0 : Redesigning Urban Life in Real Time taught by Fallon Plunkett and Maggie Favretti, the class engaged in a massive multipart simulation based on a scenario where students, representing different city, state and federal government agencies had to formulate a response to catastrophic storm striking New York City with representative from both the New York City and Westchester County Offices of Emergency Management on hand.
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Special Education
It's Annual Review season in Special Education. LRC teachers are busy meeting with students and parents at CSE meetings and ensuring that the appropriate programs will be in place for the next school year.
We also are preparing to send our seniors off to their Senior Options experiences. We've celebrated with them as they committed to their future colleges and universities and couldn't be more proud of their achievements over the past four years.
We have also visited a few of the elementary schools to support their "Learning from our Differences" and "Eye to Eye" programs. A number of LRC students have met or will meet with 4th and 5th to share their stories about their varying classifications. They talk earnestly about what it has been like to be in the Learning Center and how being classified has impacted their education. The questions that the elementary school students ask are thoughtful and honest. The responses from the high school kids help the younger students to understand that having learning differences does not have a negative impact on their school experiences. Rather, the high school students explain how they have learned strategies to compensate for their disability which enable them to participate in all facets of the high school experience while finding success in their academics. The interaction between the elementary and high-school students is so positive and the high-school students get as much out of the program as the elementary kids do!
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Student Government
The third quarter was the beginning of the term for the new School Government Officers. As such, they successfully oversaw organizing past events like the February House Meeting, the Winter Club Fair and overseeing the annual Matchmakers fundraising activity.
In addition, the officers, having identified improving Student Wellness as one of their long-term goals, spearheaded a new initiative of De-Stress Activities throughout 3rd quarter testing week. Pairing up with various clubs throughout the school, students hosted and ran different activities during lunch each day of testing week. Activities included Ping Pong hosted by the Ping Pong Club, a classical concert hosted by the Tri-M Club and Knitting hosted by the Yarnwork Club. School Government officers themselves hosted a cookie decorating activity.
In addition, class governments hosted some large-scale events for the school. The Sophomore Class ran a blood drive in conjunction with the New York Blood Center. Also, on March 10th the Junior Class ran the annual Harlem Wizards game.
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World Languages
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Spanish AT host Cuban speakers
Speakers included Lorenzo Martín, Osmar Pool Ruíz, a talented artist and Yvonne Conde, the author of the book "Operación Pedro Pan" about the exodus of 14,000 unaccompanied children who fled to the US in the early years of Castro's revolution. Yvonne was a Peter Pan child herself. The speakers engaged the students with an animated and informative conversation and shared personal stories as well as opinions and perspectives on Cuba's past and present. Ms. Conde's biography and web page are available here.
On March 15, Latin students held their annual Roman Banquet. Students dressed in ancient costume and enjoyed food, games, entertainment and prizes. Medals were awarded to seniors who distinguished themselves in particular ways. Peter Miller and Victoria Sciortino won the Certamen Awards; Claire Gillespie won the Panini Language Award; Tom Zhang won the Homer Mythology Award. In addition, thirty-three students participated in the National Latin Exam this year and the results reflect their hard work and dedication to Latin: four Cum Laude, seven Magna Cum Laude, eight Maxima Cum Laude (silver medal), and seven Summa Cum Laude (gold medal).
In light of recent findings from the Wellness Committee, Spanish 333 teachers in Sra.'s Bray and Tanen's classes created a Proyecto de Pasión (Passion Project); working in pairs, students identified a common interest. Following significant research, students became experts in the particular field, and taught the class. Each presentation included relevant vocabulary, grammatical structures and a follow-up activity for the class: Quizlet and Kahoot seemed to be the favorites! Topics varied from "Cloning", "Destruction of the Amazon", to the controversial appeal of Key and Peele. Both teachers expect to expand the parameters of this project for next year.
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