A Place to Belong
is
a periodic e-newsletter for SHS alumni that supplements the print magazine. It is brought to you by Shady Hill’s Communications and Advancement Offices in collaboration with the Alumni Board. These articles make evident that the School of today is vibrant and innovative while continuing to embrace the mission and traditions you hold so dear.
Happy reading!
The Communications and Advancement Offices and the Alumni Board
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A message from Mark Stanek about the COVID-19 pandemic:
I want all alumni to know that Shady Hill is treating COVID-19 with the gravity it requires. We have in place two administrative task forces that have been meeting daily over the past two weeks, evaluating up-to-the-minute information from various health agencies. The work of the task forces is helping us adapt our policies to best ensure the health of our school community as well as plan for the possibility of closing school and instituting remote learning. We are in regular communications with families and are nimbly making decisions to protect both our own Shady Hill community and the greater community at large.
I know COVID-19 is likely affecting you and your family. Wherever you are as you read this, I hope you stay safe and healthy.
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Return to SHS to Teach an Afterschool Offering!
Shady Hill invites alumni to come back to campus next fall to teach in our Afterschool Enrichment program, which
allows children to explore various topics and interests independently of their regular Shady Hill day. From yoga to sports, from chess to fiber arts, the course offerings range widely and we are always looking for new ideas. Each Afterschool Enrichment class session generally lasts one to two hours, and runs one afternoon a week for eight weeks. All instructors must be able to commit to the full eight week term. Term dates for next year will be finalized soon; please reach out to
[email protected]
for more information. We welcome class proposals from alumni of all ages, in the local area. Stipend provided.
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Fourth Grader’s Insight
Launches Service Project
A Shady Hill fourth grader's empathy sparked a school project to help those facing homelessness. Dylan observed, “There’s a homeless man I see a lot near where I live. He makes me realize that there are people who don’t get to go home every day. He makes me think about how hard it is to live like that. I wanted to help by giving people who are homeless the same things they would have if they had a home.”
Dylan used her leadership skills to help organize Grades III and IV classes to make 140 toiletry bags for the Pine Street Inn, a Boston non-profit that serves people experiencing homelessness. Student volunteers gathered at morning recesses to pack bags that contained items such as soap, band-aids, toothbrushes, and hand warmers. Students also created beautiful cards with messages of care and support as shown above. Card making reached the middle-school community as well, as Student Board Service leaders led middle-school volunteers in creating cards for the bags.
This project – and so many others like it –beautifully illustrates Shady Hill's mission: active learners developing the intellectual discipline necessary to become contributing, ethical citizens.
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Len Cabral Guest Speaker at
Black History Assembly
Renowned storyteller and guest speaker Len Cabral spoke at this year's Black History Assembly. Cabral focused his stories on the importance of building bridges and the power of working together. Erika Pernell, Director of Inclusion & Multicultural Practice, introduced Cabral. The internationally acclaimed story teller won the National Story Telling Network's Circle of Excellence Award. In response to Cabral’s poem celebrating Dr. Seuss and Miles Davis, Shady Hill's Gold Jazz Band performed Miles Davis’ "All Blue."
Other performances included
a video
the Kindergartners had made called
Upstanders
that describes principles and behaviors at the heart of being an upstander, Grade VI performed Kwame Alexander’s powerful poem, "The Undefeated,"
Grade V delivered a compelling, heartfelt recitation and performance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's. "I Have a Dream" speech, and three seventh-graders from the Hip-Hop Songwriting class performed original rap lyrics to "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing."
Head of School Mark Stanek explored the idea of history as story. “The work,” Mark emphasized, “is to recognize everyone’s story. To understand whose story is being told, listened to, and responded to." Mark rang a powerful note saying, "Let’s be clear: we are making history each day. While Black history is celebrated in February, it is something to be celebrated all year.”
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Show Your SHS Spirit!
Check out the hats, hoodies, tees, and more. This fall, the Parent Community Events team switched to a new vendor, Squad Locker. You can customize most items with a selection of SHS logos and even add your name to the back or sleeve.
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Be a Part of
May Day of Giving
May Day is 5.13.2020!
Participate in #MayDayofGiving challenges starting now.
Make your annual Shady Hill Fund gift today!
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Meet Sarah Wooten, New Director of Admission & Financial Aid
After a thorough, nationwide search, we are delighted to announce that Sarah Wooten has been appointed Director of Admission and
Financial Aid. Having served masterfully as the Interim Admission Director since July, Sarah has proven herself an incredible asset to the School with her professionalism, experience, and natural warmth.
A graduate of Pike School in Andover and Milton Academy, Sarah earned a B.A. from Spelman College in Spanish Language and Literature, summa cum laude, and a J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law. Before starting at Shady Hill in July, Sarah served as Associate Director of Admission at Milton for six years. She developed successful recruitment strategies and initiated and led Milton’s social media campaign for recruitment and yield. She also managed relationships with students of color placement programs and oversaw logistics of the transition program for incoming students of color. Representing Milton, she participated in NAIS’s Design Equity Lab, which focuses on culturally responsive teaching, and in the Leadership Seminar at the People of Color Conference.
Reflecting on her tenure here, Sarah said, “I've really enjoyed my first seven months at Shady Hill. Each day, I am impressed by the intentionality of the programming and the kindness of those in this community. I am thrilled to have been offered a permanent position, and I appreciate the time and thought that everyone put into the process.”
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Neuro-diversity Specialist Gene Thompson-Grove Speaks to Parents & Faculty
This winter neuro-diversity specialist Dr. Gene Thompson-Grove led two interactive workshops titled “All Kinds of Minds," one for faculty and one for parents. She introduced an approach that takes into account research on neurodevelopment (also called “brain growth”) and neuro-diversity (also called “brain variation"). Dr. Thompson-Grove's approach celebrates students as learners and helps them succeed through understanding unique learning preferences.
When presenting to the parent community, Dr. Thompson-Grove used assessments, exercises, and discussion, to dispel common myths about learning profiles and challenges. The root cause of a student's learning struggle can be very nuanced. Persistence is important when figuring out a particular challenge, as is listening to the child and engaging them in the process.
Dr. Thompson-Grove also shared with parents the work that Shady Hill faculty has been doing to learn how to use the “All Kinds of Minds” framework. This work includes developing a strengths-based approach to support all students’ unique minds and creating effective learning strategies and tasks.
Most importantly, Gene encouraged parents to demystify learning by talking with their children about the uniqueness of each person's brain and learning preference and mentioning that there are many strategies used to enhance learning.
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We are happy to announce that enrollment for Shady Hill Summer 2020 is now open!
Our
website
provides details, but here are some highlights:
Four weeklong sessions from June 22–July 17
- Fun-packed days full of interactive, energetic, and stimulating programming from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM
- Stay-and-Play options to extend your child’s day until 5:00 PM
- Enrollment for rising K–V graders
- An experienced, top-notch staff.
New for 2020
- Specialty Programs
- A three-day Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for rising sixth- through eighth-graders: June 29 to July 1
- Young Explorers Camp for rising Kindergarteners (Yes! We’ve opened Summer STEAM to rising Kindergartens.)
Registration through
CampBrain
is easy. Please make sure you share this with any of your friends who may be interested in learning more about our Summer Programs.
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Grade III
Whalers Set Sail
The community gathered on the Green this week to wave off three ships’ worth of brave sailors embarking from New Bedford on a multi-year, round-the-world whaling voyage. The Mayor of New Bedford (Mark Stanek) and the ship owners (Kirk Goetchius and John Segar) wished the captains and sailors “greasy luck” and instructed them not to return until their holds were full of oil. Science teacher Michael Horn and Music teacher Kabir Sen led everyone in whaling work songs and sea chanties. Well-wishers tearfully waved goodbye as the happy sailors loaded all their goods and provisions on board and set sail eastward to the Azores.
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Class of 2016 High School Graduation Party
Thursday, May 21
Assembly Hall
6:30 - 8:30 PM
Invitation to follow.
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Friday, May 29, 2020
Opening Lunch
Student-led Tours
In the Classroom
Student Panel
Cocktails on the Green
All-Classes Dinner
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Registration & Coffee
Diversity & Inclusion in the Middle School Classroom
Family Picnic & Art on the Green
The Sing
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It All Adds Up
The average American charitable bequest is not huge, but the sheer number of bequests means they add up to a very hefty sum: The total, nationwide, comes to over $30 billion a year. For more information on including a bequest to Shady Hill in your will, we invite you to visit
www.shs.org/PlannedGiving
.
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