A Place to Belong is brought to you by Shady Hill’s Advancement Office, Marketing and Communications Office, and the Alumni Board. Now, more than ever, we are committed to sharing news that reminds us all how vibrant and innovative Shady Hill continues to be, while forever embracing the mission and values you hold so dear. | |
Shady Hill Strong: A Strategic Plan | |
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Shady Hill has a new five-year strategic plan, based on an extensive process of feedback from the School’s stakeholders. Parents, staff/faculty, alumni, and Board members past and present provided their input, which ultimately led to three priority areas: people, program and community.
Click above to watch the launch video and learn what's next.
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Mark Stanek Sabbatical Send-Off | |
Students in Miss White’s Grade II class held a surprise goodbye party for Mr. Stanek before he left for sabbatical. The children were very excited to learn about his upcoming travels and other plans while on break! After dancing, singing, and reading thank you notes, there were plenty of hugs to go around. Assistant Head of School Dr. Daryl Wright is serving as Acting Head of School in Mark’s absence. | |
A Peek into Classrooms: Grade IV | | |
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Grade IV students in Ms. Liz Peet's classroom have embarked on an engaging pen pals experience with alumni ranging from the Class of 1949 through the Class of 2006. Seen here, the students are receiving letters from their first round of correspondence, and (in second photo) one recipient, Betsy Green Fogarty '55, happily reads her letter at her home in Florida.
Ms. Peet, who is a Shady Hill grad herself of the Class of 2000, is filling in as the parental leave substitute for Ms. Maloney this spring. Ms. Peet developed this project at her prior school, and found it a wonderful way for students to practice their handwriting, learn to address envelopes, and improve their ability to formulate and answer questions. She keeps copies of all the outgoing letters, so that at the end of the school year, each student will have a folder to look back on of the full exchange, allowing them to see how much their writing has progressed.
The students and the participating alumni are all enjoying the project immensely.
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A Peek into Classrooms: Grade VI | | |
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In February, Grade VI students benefited from a visit from alum Mirella Blum '10, a postdoctoral fellow in the linguistics department at Dartmouth College. Mirella studies African languages, including undocumented and "endangered" dialects. She credits Shady Hill with teaching her how rich Africa is in culture, languages, and experience. Earlier this year, Mirella reached out to her former teacher Ms. Katherine Hesko to schedule a visit, hoping to enrich Grade VI's Central Subject study of Africa. (Lower photo: Mirella on left, Ms. Hesko on right.) In the spring, Mirella will be teaching a course at Dartmouth titled "Languages in Africa" that has similar throughlines and content to what is covered in Grade VI's Central Subject study.
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Shady Hill Welcomes the Year of the Dragon | |
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Shady Hill ushered in the Year of the Dragon with a spirited Lunar New Year party for all students and their families, on the evening of February 8. Thanks to the Equity Office, DASH, and legions of hard-working volunteers, party attendees of all ages were able to try DIY dumpling-making, paper lantern crafting, and calligraphy. Guests were fortified with hearty soup in their choice of Chinese dumpling or Korean rice cake styles, as well as delicious bubble tea. The evening wrapped up with an outdoor parade and performance by a professional lion dance troupe. The otherwise-chilly February evening was warmed by our strong and loving community coming together in celebration of cultural diversity.
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Reunion
Alumni, mark your calendars to join your classmates on campus for Reunion!
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As we move to our every-other-year gatherings, we will celebrate those classes ending in '3, '4, '5, '8, '9, '0' -- but ALL alumni from any year are most welcome to join in!
To get involved in the organizing effort, please reach out to alumni@shs.org to volunteer, we welcome your help!
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Shady Hill Night Out
for Alumni and Parents of Alumni ("PALS") in the Boston Area
Today is the last day to sign up!!!
21+ event
Wednesday, March 6th
6 PM – 8 PM
Cocktails & hors d'oeuvres overlooking the Boston skyline
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San Francisco Meetup
Calling all Shady Hillers in or near the San Francisco Bay Area!
Sunday, April 7th
3:30 PM – 6 PM
Enjoy a casual gathering hosted by Robin and Edie Hartshorne '52 at their Berkeley home overlooking San Francisco Bay.
All are welcome!!
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Dr. Leesa Mercedes Named Lower School Division Head |  | |
Following a national search, Interim Lower School Head Dr. Leesa Mercedes has been named Lower School Division Head effective immediately. Dr. Mercedes joined the Shady Hill community two years ago as the Lower School Psychologist after extensive experience working in public and independent schools. She graduated from Boston College where she also earned her ME.D in Developmental Psychology. She went on to Columbia Teachers College where she earned both a second masters in clinical psychology and her PhD in applied educational psychology and clinical psychology. In addition to more than 20 years in education, she has spent the last 10 in independent schools. An expert in child centered and child appropriate development, Leesa's skillset has greatly enhanced the senior leadership team.
Serving as Interim Lower School Head since July 2023, Leesa’s leadership and skill set have allowed her to build trusting relationships to inspire and support faculty with their instructional practice. She has also supported students with their growth and learning, and partnered with parents and caregivers to help and support their children’s education. We are excited to have Leesa with us!
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Katherine Taketomo '05, TTC '14 Named Middle School Division Head | |
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We are delighted to announce Katherine Taketomo as Shady Hill’s next Middle School Head beginning on July 1, 2024. Katherine is a Class of 2005 Shady Hill alum and a 2014 graduate of the TTC. In between, she earned her undergraduate degree at Barnard College in Urban Studies, with a specialization in Psychology. During her TTC year, she taught Central Subject at two grade levels and received her Master’s degree from Lesley University in Middle School Education. Since then, she has worked at the Berkeley Carroll School in Brooklyn, New York, while also earning her Master's in School Leadership at the University of Pennsylvania. Katherine currently serves as Assistant Director of Berkeley Carroll’s Middle School where her responsibilities include curriculum development, division-wide programming, student support, and coaching of faculty.
Our current Middle School Head, Chia-Chee Chiu, has decided to step down at the end of the current school year, to focus on supporting her family.
We are excited to welcome Katherine back to the Boston area where she will be closer to her family, and where she will devote her leadership and expertise to Shady Hill’s Middle School, beginning next fall.
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Moving the Needle on Socioeconomic Diversity | | |
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An article written by Mark Stanek was featured in the magazine produced by the National Association of Independent Schools. In his article, entitled "Moving the Needle on Socioeconomic Diversity", Mark discussed the various measures Shady Hill continues to take to address inclusion, including our recent task force on Financial Aid.
"One of the main outcomes of the task force’s work was the decision to adopt the Boston area cost-of-living adjustment in our financial aid formula. The board approved this new formula, leading to an overall 19% increase in financial aid awards for the 2022–2023 school year and the current 2023–2024 school year."
To read the full article, click on the cover image
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To deliver the quality experience Shady Hill is known for, we rely on contributions from our community. Please support the Shady Hill Fund at whatever amount feels right to you by donating today. Gifts of all sizes are all profoundly important. Please, join in at whatever level you can, and know that we will be genuinely grateful! | |
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