Spring 2007 archive

January 21

Mollie Pathman’s teachers may know already why she’ll miss some school in April, but everyone ought to know that she’ll be representing the U.S. on the Girls National Soccer Team. This from the Olympic Development Program staff: “We would like to say congratulations on being selected to attend the 1991/1992 Costa Rica Trip. You should be proud of this accomplishment. There were 18 players chosen nationally. Players will fly out of Houston on 9 April and return 18 April 2007.” Brava, Mollie!

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In the same happy realm of wonderfully talented students, I share the following message and invitation (to all) from a (gasp!) sophomore:

There will be a very cool round table discussion / conference on linguistics, constructed languages, and sociolinguistics on February 2 from 3:30 to 5:30 in the conference room. The conference will not be entirely theory-intensive, and it should in fact cover a lot of personal experiences with communication. This discussion will be by no means controlled by me; I will simply organize and guide you guys. You all can talk about your musings, observations, or interests (basically anything you want, within reason) for as long as you like... hopefully from 3-20 minutes each presentation.

I have already gotten semi-confirmation on some topics (yet these aren't set in stone); Mr. Edwards will hopefully tell us about his experiences in the Peace Corps, using Wolof and learning Turkish. Mr. Nozick will hopefully comment on his experiences with Arabic and Hebrew on the streets of Israel (with especial focus on the language and culture connection). I, myself, will talk about 18th and 17th century philosophical languages and their connection to Wittgenstein's concept of a personal language. We will, for sure, have a special guest speaker coming to talk to us about a very cool topic (more on this later).

Finally, (phew, almost at the end) there will be a translation challenge in the beginning of March (hopefully somewhere in there). The idea - you have 35 min & 10 sec to learn a language (in which you are not fluent or semi-fluent) in teams as best you all can. You will use hints for what to study (general topics) which will be generated by the makers of source texts that you will use for translation... these people will also serve as judges. You can use dictionaries, phrase books, grammars, textbooks, and other related resources for this challenge. Hopefully, I can find judges for exotic languages like Persian, etc. Please let me know if you would be willing to judge (and thus create a text for translation). Best of wishes to you all, and please let me know if you have any ideas that you need help posting.

Ciao,
Johnny Piskor

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From the DA Debate website: “DA was the talk of the tournament, coming within one ballot of closingout public forum in a strong national field of sixty-plus teams. DedePless and Grace Wallack won the tournament, placing ahead of manynational contenders, including last year's NFL nationals runners-up. Patrick Toomey and Katherine Buse were third, losing a close semi-finalround. Both teams received TOC bids, and each debater won anindividual speaker award: Buse 4th, Pless 8th, Wallack 9th, and Toomey13th. Pless and Wallack also won partial scholarships to the FFIsummer institute as a result of their win. In extemp, Evan Donahuefinished 4th in a very consistent performance, and Michael Robey was asemi-finalist. Josh Erb finished 3-3 in varsity L-D.



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Bobbie is headed to New York next week to meet with a couple dozen DA alumni who live in the Big Apple. Below are excerpts from an email exchange with one 1981 graduate. I share it to 1) give you a sense of Bobbie’s outreach and help you answer the common student question, “who is that lady with the camera?”, and 2) to underscore how many alums are out in the world, rooting for our continued development as a school.

Dear NYC alums:

We are just finishing up a week of honoring the life and words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that is described on our web site (www.da.org). I have attached a photo from one of the events: the "I Have a Dream March". The entire Pre and Lower School marched to the US campus with their own "I have a dream" posters (no litter, no war, no sickness, no smoking, etc.). It was terrific to see so much hope on the move. We are in the business of training dream-makers.

Dear Ms. Hardaker,

I will certainly plan on being with you on Jan. 25. What a great event you have planned! And thanks for forwarding the link for the Martin Luther King event. What a wonderful initiative the DA march was. DA has made such great strides in the area of diversity and inclusion. I know that you are huge part of that. It was so different when I was there, but as an alumna, I am really so proud of the school's evolution in this regard. Also, I am proud of those of us who helped to blaze the challenging trails at DA- Brian Holeman, Cathy Clements, Anita Merritt, Wayne Perry, the irrepressible Donald "Buggy" Moore, Mark and Claire Sanders. This inspired march from the Lower School to the Upper School was such a profound and moving statement, as well as tribute to the legacy of Dr. King. Thank you for sharing this!!!! I look forward to seeing you next week

Valerie Kennedy Miller ‘81

January 28

Remember Marion Kennedy? Her mom (a Ridge Rd. neighbor) recently wrote me the following heartening email:

I invited Mr. Murray's advisory today to walk/run over for hot cider and cake. Marion was in Greg’s advisory so I have a special place for these 10th graders. They shook hands as they walked in, were charming and sweet and the young men on the bb team all had ties on- it was lovely to have them. They made me proud to have had children at DA.
Ana Kennedy

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John Pardon earns $1k for the science or math departments! John was named one of the 300 Semifinalists in the 66th annual Science Talent Search. His project, “On the Unfolding of Simple Closed Curves” 40 finalists will be announced on January 31 (at www.sciserv.org) and attend the Science Talent Institute in Washington DC in March. Each intel STS Semifinalist will be awarded $1000 by Intel. In addition, Intel will provide $1000 to the Semifinalist’s high school for each student named, to be designated to furtehr support excellence in science, math or engineering education at the recipient high school.

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February 1

Soo fast! For those of you who haven't yet checked the website Milesplit.com. From a report on the Va Tech meet: ”Adrianne Soo of Durham Academy, still figuring out what this "Indoor Track" stuff is all about finished 2nd in the 3200. She ran 20 seconds faster than last weekend at UNC. Her time of 11:10.79 ranks her #1 in the state for this indoor season. It is also the 9th fastest time ever run indoors by a NC athlete. On Saturday, she ran the 1600, and ran 7 seconds faster than last weekend. Adrianne finished 3rd with a time of 5:14.04. That's the fastest indoor time of the season among NC athletes.”

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Two top-five teams on Tobacco Road! No, it’s not Duke and Carolina, but Dede Pless and Grace Wallach, ranked #2 in the nation in Public Forum debate. Patrick Toomey and Katherine Buse are hot on their heels at #4. Though these are somewhat unscientific rankings, they still represent a great achievement for these four students and for DA Debate as a whole. Details: http://www.forensicsonline.net/results/2006/?cat=PFD

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February 11
Next gig . . . . Carnegie Hall? You may know that Andrew Ferrari performed last weekend at the Talent Extravaganza. You may not know that he performed last month at our Lower School. The LS web site makes it possible to watch a clip of Dr. Ferrari playing Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag.
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DA Debate update, from last weekend’s well-attended Cary Academy tournament: “Josh Zoffer and Tristan Bepler were undefeated and won 1st place in varsity public forum, Grace Wallack and Dede Pless were 3rd, and Kathrine Buse and Patrick Toomey were 4th. In JV public forum, Caitlyn Finn and Michelle Corea were 2nd, and Jim Mallerney and Caroline Buse might have trophied had a scheduling conflict not derailed their fourth round. Michael Roubey was 6th in international extemporaneous speaking, and barely missed placing in U.S. extemp. Meredith Burger was DA's first congessional debate competitor of the year, blazing a trail that others should follow.

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Two interesting “This I Believe” essays from NPR:
“I believe in pastrami -- well-marbled pastrami. Hot, thinly sliced, piled on fresh rye bread with dark mustard and a crisp dill pickle.” Educational psychologist Lee Shulman is president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Stanford, Calif. For nearly 20 years he was on the faculty of Michigan State University and founded its Institute for Research on Teaching. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6696794
“It all started in elementary school when I realized that I wasn't like everyone else.” Fourteen-year-old Joshua Yuchasz is a high school freshman in Milford, Mich. He plays in his school's concert band and on its football team. In addition to Godzilla, Yuchasz likes other reptiles, including Bubba, his pet red-tailed boa constrictor. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6254308
February 18

Congratulations to our 2007 Durham Herald Front Page Award Nominees:


Arts: Adam Marshall
Career & Technical: Katy Considine
English & Literature: Eleanor Wertman
Entertainment/Drama: Lizzy Poleski
Foreign Language: Terry Hsieh
Journalism: Kendall Bradley
Mathematics: John Pardon
Political Science: Harry Stark
Science: Scott Dobbins
Technology: Alec Grubbs

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For many years scholars have recognized that late nineteenth-century Durham, North Carolina makes an ideal case study for examining emancipation, industrialization, immigration, and urbanization in the context of the New South. "With its tobacco factories, textile mills, black entrepreneurs, and new college," the historian Syd Nathans observes, "Durham was a hub of enterprise and hope." By the early twentieth century, Durham became renowned for its vibrant entrepreneurial spirit. Both W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington wrote articles for the national press about their visits with members of Durham's African-American community. After his visit in 1910, Booker T. Washington dubbed Durham the "City of Negro Enterprises."
The Digital Durham website (http://digitaldurham.duke.edu/) offers students, teachers, and researchers a range of primary sources with which they can investigate the economic, social, cultural, and political history of a post-bellum southern community. Letters from mothers to daughters, parents to children, and husbands and wives give insight into the domestic lives of some of Durham's elite citizens. Entries from Atlas Rigsbee's general store ledger together with data from the 1880 census provide a view into the social experience of those Durham citizens who have not left written documents. Taken together the new materials on Digital Durham touch on over 600 topics including African American business enterprise, the emergence of textiles, tobacco production and marketing, child labor, prohibition, evangelical revivalism, nineteenth-century medical practices, women's experience of childbirth, and public and private education.

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Next Wellness Committee offering for parents: Families and Food: From DNA to the Dinner Table, with Cynthia M. Bulik, PhD, UNC-CH. Being a parent is hard enough, but conflicting advice about how to prevent obesity and eating disorders can make your head spin. The latest figures show that about 65% of adults and 15% of children in the United States are overweight. At the same time another group of people—those with anorexia nervosa—are literally starving to death. How can these two problems coexist? And more importantly, how can we prevent obesity and eating disorders simultaneously? In this highly interactive talk, I will present how both genes and environment contribute to risk for both obesity and eating disorders and provide practical and workable solutions for busy families who are struggling to normalize eating. Parents are urged to come with questions, as nothing is more valuable than learning from other parents facing similar challenges.

February 25

On Saturday, about 30 more prospective Student U. students and their parents will come to campus for their interviews. Today the Duke Chronicle ran a story about the program, authored by Camey VanSant. You can read it, a bunch of other articles about the program, and lots of program details at http://studentu.da.org/. Thanks to our Webmaster, sophomore Deniz Aydemir.

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Last week our debate teams confirmed their place among the nation’s best.

o At Harvard, Patrick Toomey and Katherine Buse were the public forum champions of the nation's most prestigious invitational, topping a strong national field of 155 teams. They even blanked their opponents 5-0 in the final round! Evan Donahue was in the semifinals of extemp, finishing in the top 12 out of 200 extempers. Editorial comment not on the website: Katherine and Patrick are clearly among the top five teams in the country, and probably would be first in a meaningful ranking system at this point. They beat last year's national runners-up in the semifinals, and have been 1st, 1st, and 3rd at their three national tournaments this year. Evan has a chance to be in the top 10 at nationals.

o At Cape Fear: Each and every DA competitor brought home hardware! Max Ramage was en fuego, taking 1st in extemp and 4th in impromptu. Robert Kindman was just behind him, placing 3rd in extemp and 5th in impromptu. On the debate side, Caitlyn Finn and Michelle Corea were 2nd in varsity public forum, while Will Lindsey and Mackin Brinegar were 4th. Josh Erb took his first trophy in varsity L-D, placing 4th. Editorial comment not on the website: This was a little tournament, but everyone seems to have had a good time. Max's performance was particularly impressive given that this is only the second tournament he's been to. He's a bit of an Evan -- socially awkward but can turn it on when he's competing.

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Andrew Herrington sent the following slide show to his advisor Herb Lamb. The two links are different formats, but the same show. I think you’ll find it inspiring, unsettling, uplifting, and entirely relevant for the work of our strategic task forces:

o http://www.scottmcleod.org/didyouknow.mov
o http://www.scottmcleod.org/didyouknow.swf

March 2

Most of us find ourselves leaning into spring break and the relaxation it represents, but Shan and Thomas are gearing up to take ten students to Nicaragua. The trip has been organized by Jordan Adair in partnership with the Sister Communities of Durham and San Ramon (a group founded by parents of DA alums Lonna and Richard Harkrader).

Below is an excerpt from the note Thomas sent this week to the parents of the Nicaragua travelers. It underlines the ways in which this trip is on the vanguard of our efforts for globalization, service-learning, and experiential education.

Dear parents:

First and foremost, let me extend my sincere gratitude to you all for the wonderful gift that you are giving your student. One of the great presents that my parents gave me when I graduated from high school eons ago was the opportunity to travel to Europe. It was an enormous financial sacrifice, but what they did was open the doors and perspectives of the world to me. What could beat experiencing the actually collapse of the Berlin wall, East Germany and Communism? To say that that trip has shaped my view of life and the world view would be a gross understatement. You are opening this world to your student and it will be transformative.

Shan and I are excited about this trip and we want to assure you that we will do our utmost to make sure that your child is safe, secure, and making the most of this trip. For starters, we will meet as a group this coming Wednesday during lunch to talk about expectations, goals, and ideas of not only how to make this trip memorable but how can we use this experience to launch bigger and more meaningful things in our lives, if that is possible. We will also try to plan and streamline what we can and should bring to Nicaragua. At any rate, we thank you for entrusting your child to us and we take this responsibility very seriously.

March 9

The Cum Laude committee recently selected this year’s new members:

• Juniors: Ashley Brasier, Lauren Bronec, Caitlin Burk, Molly Dektar, Jenny Denton, Elizabeth Hamilton, Ben Hattem, Leslie Ogden, Sean Sketch, and Brennan Vail.

• Seniors: Kendall Bradley, Scott Dobbins, Jess Epsten, Becki Feinglos, Brooke Hartley, Samantha Mumma, Harry Stark, Natalie Sutton, Lauren Vaughan, and Blair Wilson.

• Returning seniors (selected last year): Meredith Annex, Gary Bressler, Katherine Buse, Hannah Cohen, Evan Donahue, Anne Hart, Cora Lavin, John Pardon, Nell Snider, and Eleanor Wertman.

The Cum Laude assembly will take place on Monday, April 23 (a day 3).

As in past years, the committee deliberated patiently to select our maximum allowable 10% from each class. “Academic excellence” is the guiding principle. Under that umbrella we consider strength of academic schedule, grades achieved, intellectual curiosity, and character. We also consider the Cum Laude motto, three Greek words:

• Areté (excellence) includes the concept of excellence in the moral sense and is not limited to the ideal of superiority in scholarship, nor does it involve the endeavor of competing primarily for academic grades.
• Diké (justice) includes the concept of what is suitable and appropriate as well as just.
• Timé (honor) includes the concept of dignity and true worth as well as honor.

If you have any questions about Cum Laude or the selection process, please feel free to contact any member of the committee: Asta, David M., Dennis, Kari, Kathy, Margarita, Owen, Verle and me.

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From the Restore-Your-Faith-in-the-Youth-of-America Department – in the fall, a plastic globe in the library was found damaged one day. Another sign of student disrespect, it seemed. Several days later, Asta found a new globe with the following note on it:



Mrs. Dinello and Mrs. Smith,

My name is Yates Sikes. I am the student who broke your globe. I am sorry that I did this as it was an accident. This globe, I hope, can serve as a replacement for the broken one.

Yates Sikes
PS. I am truly sorry.


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The following thank-you letter was addressed to two of us, but directed to our whole community. Paula, who spent three weeks with us, is pictured below.






Dear Michael, Dear Christina,

Thank you so much for having Paula visiting your school and be a part of your wonderful, inspiring, vivid community. Paula had such a great time and I am sure traveled back with lots of insights and experiences eager to share with her friends back home. She was so glad to visit your school right in time for the
performance of the musical and was so impressed by the quality and dedication the students brought to it.
One thing she mentioned often was the closeness she observed between teachers and students, the encouragement and kindness teachers approached their students with.

I wish the best for you, your work and the school,
and we will keep you in fond memory,
Jeannette Stargala and Stephan Zuchner and children

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Edward B. Fiske (http://www.fiskeguide.com/ebf/index.html), who lives in Durham, is a former education editor of The New York Times and chair of the board of advisers of the Center for International Understanding. The editor of the Fiske Guide to Colleges, he lent his services to Kathy and Anthony for one of their parent programs last year.
Unsurprisingly Fiske’s perspective on education is broad and clear. Check out the opinion piece he wrote recently for the News and Observer. It mentions two rival schools (Chapel Hill/Carrboro schools and Cary Academy) and gives some fuel for at least one of our central task forces.

http://www.newsobserver.com/559/story/547883.html

March 25

The first child of debate coach Jeff Welty was born during our spring break. Wrote Jeff, “Baby Caroline Hope Welty is here, cute as a button and sweet as pie.”



Saving Ourselves
A Benefit Concert

Saturday, March 31, 2007 · 3 pm
Sunday, April 1, 2007 · 3 pm

The devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the Genocide Crisis in Sudan has affected the lives of millions. This benefit concert will feature an evening of entertainment performed by Durham Academy Middle Schoolers.

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Young scientists reach down from US Mount Olympus: (the following note was written by Science Olympics leader Meredith Annex). The attached description shows just how generous and creative our students can be.

At the beginning of the school year, our Science Olympiad team began planning a science day for the first graders. I'm emailing you to update you on our progress so far.The day is scheduled for Monday, March 26th, which the Upper School has off for end of quarter. We will meet with each class individually for an hour on Monday morning, and during this hour the kids will be split into three groups and sent to three different stations: one with a physics topic, one with a biology topic, and the last with a chemistry topic. We will also have an introductory demonstration for the kids to observe as we go over rules for the day, and we will give each student a ribbon as they leave.

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Turtle Island founder and Wilderness Renaissance Man Eustace Conway was recently in Durham. Check out this story on his work and a unique neighborhood not too far from DA: http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-830627.cfm

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Want to feel good? Read the following two emails from the mothers of senior John Pardon and Colorado College freshman Logan Roberts (DA ’06). Both underline the wonderful leavening process of adolescent development. Both remind us that the world is big, and that life is long, and that our roles matter..


Dear Michael :

After having John in several schools before the eighth grade (public schools, private schools, progressive schools, traditional schools, and homeschool) I am able to recognize the importance of the daily learning environment for a unique learner such as John. In some schools, under some teachers, he flourished. But more typically he shut down, was unable to purue his talents, much less use them, and would act unmotivated and apathetic or sad about the prospect of school. A positive reaction toward school was not a given with a child like John. Schools were typically an inhibiting, restrictive, boring environment for John, especially the ones who portrayed themselves as being otherwise. We tried DA five years ago. The school’s environment has nourished John, engaged him, and allowed him the time and encouragement to pursue outside activities important to him. It is because of the school , in part, that he has become an accomplished cellist, a nationally ranked computer programmer, and a national science talent award winner--though the pursuit of all those accomplishments occurred outside the school cirriculum and school day as typically considered. DA respected and promoted the values in its students to accomplish big dreams, pursue worthwhile activities, even follow one’s heart - as cliche as that sounds. DA found a place for a student like John to be himself.

The only reason John's sister, a freshman at East Chapel Hill High, is not at DA is strictly monetary. And she is more adaptable, and can flourish happily anywhere, where John is more temperamental, his environment more critical.

I'm hoping to compile a book about parenting and raising exceptional children from the perspective of parents of the 2007 intel finalists. IF it materializes, it will likely include many opinions on schooling which I will be happy to pass on. Parents of such kids often have lengthy tales of educational appropriateness (or lack thereof). I myself still ponder over how John's fifth grade teacher required him to do pages of single digit multiplication problems for homework when he had proved the quadratic formula in the third grade for fun. Her rationale was a bit weak "everyone can use practice with their multiplication." Silly things we parents remember.

Thanks for asking. I don't have much advice to offer, but I'm good at feedback. Try to meet kids’ needs at where they are- not where you think they should be.

Joyce Pardon



Michael,

I hope all is well at DA. I just returned from a 12-day Duke Alumni Association trip to Chile and Argentina -- I was the "faculty host," so did some lectures and general orientation (Jim got to go too!). We flew first
to Santiago, where we spent a few days (visited one of Neruda's houses, along with other highlights), then flew to Puerto Montt in the south, spent a couple nights in lovely Puerto Varas, and then crossed the Andes in the lake region (three lakes, three catamarans, plus a bus ride on a very undeveloped road -- really fascinating) and on to Bariloche -- gorgeous. Then 4 days in Buenos Aires, my favorite place. It was the two of us and 16 others, plus our guide (Pedro, argentino), and turned out to be a very compatible and simpático group. I know you can appreciate how difficult it was to come back!!

But the real reason I am writing is to tell you what a wonderful and mature young woman Sydney Hill Chopping is. She was along on the trip with her delightful grandmother, Irmgard Hill, and our entire group was very impressed by Sydney -- her personality, her openness to new cultures, and her ability to interact with folks of many ages and backgrounds. Meeting her was one of the highlights for everyone! (At the start of the trip she told me I looked familiar, and then we put two and two together and she discovered my connection to Logan and I discovered hers to DA!) I know she missed a little school in order to go along on this trip, but I can assure you that she threw herself completely into this trip and learned a tremendous amount. So -- please pass this on to her advisor and anyone else who might be interested!

Quick update on Logan: he is thriving at Colorado College -- a perfect choice for him -- and is (right now) spending most of his spring break at the Nantahala Outdoor Center learning to be a whitewater rafting guide --the summer job he wants, preferably on the French Broad. We are proud of him for doing such a cool thing over break!

Nick has completed the novel that began as his senior honors thesis at Duke (a novella in that incarnation) and is awaiting word from MFA programs, as well as from literary agents! He is living in our mountain cabin in Marshall (north and slightly west of Asheville, about 35 miles), working at an outfitter's (Curtis Wright) with shops in Weaverville and Biltmore, and also as a fly-fishing guide. Writing and fishing are his two passions, for sure.

All for now --
Deborah Jakubs
Rita DiGiallonardo Holloway University Librarian
Vice Provost for Library Affairs, Duke University


April 1

Congratulations to Herb, Trevor, and In the Pocket. Last Saturday night, in addition to raising the pulses of 450+ audience members, they raised nearly $1,300 for Musicians’ Village, a Habitat for Humanity project for New Orleans musicians.

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An email to Kari Newman, from first grade teacher Elizabeth Culpepper: I was so impressed by your students today at the Science Fun Day! It was obvious that they had put a lot of thought and energy into preparing for the day. The stations were fun and interesting, with great discussion and follow-up, the "big kids" were wonderful with our little ones and were wonderful roll models. It was truly special to see the first graders interacting with the upper school students and made such a connection for them and all they hope to be when they get bigger.

The entire day was well-organized, and all the thoughtful planning made it very easy to get the kids ready for a fun and enriching time. We (teachers) knew what to expect, the kids knew what to expect, and everything ran like clockwork. It couldn't have gone better! I hope that we can continue to do this in years to come.

Thank you so much for your help in bringing Science Olympiad Fun Day to the first grade. Please send my kudos to all your students, with many, many thanks from the First Grade Stars.

Elizabeth

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As our season of student and teacher recruitment draws to a close, I want to thank all of you for the hospitality and flexibility you show to all our guests, drop-in visitors, and interviewing candidates. The following note, which arrived in my email box this afternoon, is typical of what our visitors say about the Upper School. Even if you factor out the buttering up, this and all the other flattering writers are largely correct in their perceptions. Thanks for all you do to make us the community described below.

Dear Michael,

It was great to meet you and thank you again for taking the time to meet with Martha and me on Tuesday and arranging her morning visits. She had a terrific time in the classes she attended, felt very comfortable with the students she met and is very interested and excited about the possibility of attending DA next year as a new student.

We both appreciate your candidness about the applicant pool this year and the small number of spaces available for 11th grade, however, we will remain positive and hopeful that something works out. If there is additional information we might add to her application file to bolster her chances of being considered, would you kindly let us know.

As I mentioned in our brief discussion, Martha very much wants to be a part of a vital school community where valuable exchanges and nurturing relationships can be formed. She felt this sense of vitality in the small classes she attended, where students and teachers seemed engaged and closely connected with one another. She mentioned to me that the kids she met "were lucky" to have teachers that seemed to care so much.

Martha and I have also talked about how she'd like to expand her interests and try some new experiences, whether it's taking an elective, trying out for a school play, learning a new sport or working on the yearbook or school newspaper. Her current school encourages students to choose a path and excel in it, often at the exclusion of other pursuits. DA seems to be a place where exploring new ideas and interests is encouraged and valued. This is the kind of learning/growing environment in which I believe Martha would bloom.

Please know how much I appreciate your generous time and continued interest in Martha, and we look forward to hearing more from you in the weeks to come.

Warm regards,
Kim Glenn

April 8

Dear everyone:

I thought I’d send along a photo I took recently of DA kids at the Habitat worksite. They have been there the last two Saturdays. No one will be working this Saturday, but Lewis and Jeff Jones will be trying to recruit additional DA students for this spring.

The house is located very near downtown Durham. Kids from across Durham are working on another house on that street – the big “YouthBuild” project – so it’s a great collection of people.

I’m also going to send this photo to David Beischer -- to thank him for allowing DA to partner with the Fox Family Foundation. We had to raise an additional $14,000 to finish out the partnership. A number of parents helped out -- the Preyers, Gary Diamond, Jones, Brazer, Pappas, Chesson, and Strauman. Mac’s mother made a nice donation as well.

I thought DA might be interested in recognizing this partnership in some way, especially since the Fox Foundation made it possible.

Thanks for your support.

Wendy and Mac McCorkle
(parents of senior Lewis and recent alumnus Chip)



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The following excerpts from a message I wrote last week to the Student U. Advisory Board contains some encouraging updates and an open invitation for interested DA teachers.

Dear Advisory Board:

Student U.’s momentum keeps growing, thanks primarily to the tireless efforts of Amanda, Dan, and Mary. Even more exciting – their vision is beginning to multiply itself. As our students, parents, teachers, and mentors assume their roles in the program, Student U. is growing from an idea held by a few to a reality owned by a wide range of Triangle residents.

I invite you to see this reality at Student U. Family Day 2007 (Saturday, April 14; 3-5 pm at DA’s Brumley Auditorium). Family Day is the kick-off for Student U.'s first-ever summer session. Joining the staff and our newly-selected 16 teachers will be our 51 new 5th grade students and their families. We’ll begin with a short program introducing the staff, then invite students and parents to get to know their homeroom, or "family," peers and teachers. Parents will leave Family Day informed and prepared for the summer. Attached you’ll see the email to parents announcing the event.

Just as it marks the official public beginning for Student U., Family Day represents a bittersweet culmination of the planning stage for our collegiate trio. Dan and Amanda will be working in the summer program, but Mary will be moving to Washington DC, where she has accepted a teaching job at Key Academy, a KIPP charter middle school (www.keyacademy.org/). She’ll no doubt be helping Student U. right up to her departure, and surely will keep in close contact with the program. But Family Day marks Mary’s last major event, and our last chance to thank her for her incredible leadership and student recruitment. Please come if you can, even if it’s just a quick drop-in.
A few updates:

o Students – From nearly 70 applicants, we offered spaces to 52 students. Fifty-one of them accepted positions in the program. They come from 10 DPS elementary and two charter schools. 75% are African American; the rest represent a wide range of ethnicities, most predominately Latino. They represent a range of achievement levels, and well over half of our students' parents have not completed a college education. 100% of the families are engaged, excited, and eagerly looking forward to June.

o Teachers - From nearly 40 applicants, we offered positions to 15 college students who will join Amanda as the inaugural Student U. faculty. It’s a powerhouse group, including 4 Duke students, 7 from UNC, 3 from NCCU, and two from DA (one now at Brown, one preparing for high school graduation). Five of our 16 teachers are male. Six are African-American, 2 Hispanic, and 2 Asian-American. All of them have the intellect, energy, and charisma to make the program fly.

o Mentor teachers – Four talented and enthusiastic teachers bring more than 70 years of combined teaching experience to their roles as advisors/coaches/guides/ inspirations for our young faculty. Three come from DPS schools, one from DA’s Lower School. This foursome will be guided by our own Jan Riggsbee. They’ve already met and begun with curriculum development and orientation planning.

o Donations keep trickling in. We’ve now raised over $111,000 and find ourselves with the happy tasks of budgeting and spending. DA’s business office has been helpful as we work through the details of payroll, transportation, facilities, scheduling, food, parental permissions, insurance, and other nuts and bolts. We realize that none of this would be possible without your leadership and guidance with fundraising.

Many of you have been helping individually or in small groups with continued fundraising, planning, and the development of evaluation tools. Again, thank you for all this time and work. If anyone is feeling out of the loop and looking for ways to stay involved, email me or the trio of college students at
student-u@da.org. If you have questions or suggestions at any point, send those too.

April 15

Junior Amadeo DeLuca-Westrate recently finished all of the requirements for his Eagle Scout. He built a storage shed behind the Lakewood YMCA, and will soon be embarassed by me at a Morning Meeting or assembly. Congratulations, Amadeo!


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The Machine Is Us/ing Us, an inspiring 4.5-minute look at digital learning and how it changes everything. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g


April 22

Ingrid Smith has been named as the recipient of the Ria Stambaugh Undergraduate Award for Excellence in German for the year 2007. Established in 1987, this award recognizes the graduating senior judged to have achieved thte most distinguished academic record in German language and literature. This monetary prize is made possible by memorial contributions of friends and relatives of Ria Stambaugh, Professor of German from 1963 to 1984. The award was presented to Ingrid by Chancellor James Moeser at a special awards ceremony last Monday.

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Ex-library disciplinarian and DA alumnus Michael Dibbert is moving to Boston. He just got a job teaching Middle School English and coaching basketball and track at Boston College High School, a large Catholic day school in South Boston that is opening a new 7/8 division in the fall.

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A new initiative recently approved by the Student Life Committee - Student Entrepreneurs Activating Community ($EAC) grants, funded by the DA Parents Association, give Upper School students the opportunity to design, propose, fund, and carry out projects that build community on or beyond the campus.

The US Student Life Committee (SLC) acts as the granting agent for SEAC grants. Its members (4 Lead Advisors, Counselor, Directors of Outdoor Education, Community Service, and Alumni Affairs, Deans, and Director + 5 student representatives) consider proposals on October 15, January 15, and May 15.

Students may request up to $200 for materials and other costs necessary to carry out community-building projects. They may request funding from other sources as well. Grant applicants must submit detailed estimates of all costs with their proposals, and submit receipts after project completion. The SLC will make its grants based on the following criteria:

1. Acuteness of community need.
2. Quality of project plan.
3. Number of students/community members affected by proposed project.
4. Sustainability of project.
5. Variety of grant projects in the cycle and year.
6. Availability of funds (SLC will steward its $1000 over the three annual granting cycles).
7. Demonstrated responsibility and follow-through of student(s) making proposal.

Examples of student initiatives that might be appropriate for SEAC funding: Science Olympiad Fun Day for 1st graders, Intramural Sports Leagues, Environmental Awareness Week, Linguistics Club conference, SOCK camp, recycling efforts.

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How can we build more creative, social-justice-oriented students? 2007 Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) Leadership in Social Entrepreneurship Award Presentation and Dialogue, honoring Bill Drayton, Founder and CEO, Ashoka - Tuesday, April 24th at 10:30 a.m. in Geneen Auditorium. Free. For those of you not familiar with Ashoka, it is the leading social entrepreneurship organization in the world. Bill Drayton founded Ashoka in 1980, and since that time, Ashoka has elected over 1,800 leading social entrepreneurs as Ashoka Fellows, providing them with living stipends, professional support, and access to a global network of peers in more than 60 countries. For his pioneering efforts, Bill Drayton has been recognized with numerous honors and awards, including a MacArthur "genius" award and recognition by US News & World Report as one of America's Best Leaders. After the award presentation, CASE Faculty Director Greg Dees will engage Bill Drayton in a spirited dialogue around social entrepreneurship. You can read more about Bill and our Annual Leadership Award at http://www.fuqua.duke.edu/centers/case/events/leadershipaward/07winner/index.html.

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April 29

From junior Anna Cooperberg: “I just wanted to let you know that the Paella Sale last Monday was a great success! We raised $950, counting $350 that I fundraised myself, for El Centro Hispano's Emergency Fund! The money in this fund goes to help individuals with special needs (medical treatment, electricity bills, etc.) The Fiesta Latina was also a success! We raised $1010 for the Pies Descalzos Foundation. Thanks to everyone for being so supportive of these events!”

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From a spy from a nearby school: “At the Southern Association for College Admission Counseling (SACAC) conference in Atlanta last weekend, Anthony Clay received a big award -- the President's Award. SACAC is a big organization -- maybe 2000 people in 9 states. 850+ were at the conference in Atlanta. At a luncheon, three awards were presented to different individuals for distinctive service to the college community at large. As a complete surprise to him, the outgoing President of SACAC honored Anthony for all of his service to the community, the organization, etc.... Although he was completely caught off guard, he made (as I'm sure is not surprising to you) an eloquent speech that was both gracious and humble.”

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Want to walk through Durham’s history? Join the Walking Tour of the Historic Hayti community. Saturday, April 28 at 9 AM, beginning at the Stanford Warren Library at 1201 Fayetteville St (at Simmons St) The following excerpt comes from the 3-page preview of the tour (attached):

Booker T. Washington, the noted African American leader and educator at Tuskegee Institute, agreed with DuBois that Durham provided an opportunity for African Americans to excel economically. But Washington also recognized the existence of friendly relations between African Americans and whites. He stated, "Of all the southern cities that I have visited I found here the sanest attitude (among) white people toward the blacks."

With this interracial and economically progressive environment as the back drop, Durham emerged during the Jim Crow era as one of the centers of African American middle class in North Carolina and the South. Many members of this middle class resided in impressive, large residents in the Hayti district. The architecture of the houses was Victorian. They had spacious porches and large lawns. Also located in Hayti were churches, stores, a hospital, a library, several funeral homes, a college, clubs, and fraternal lodges.

Also, many working class communities developed in the midst of the middle class neighborhoods-that was fueled by the tobacco industry created in a city within a city. The sound of blues music dominated the streets of Hayti, where the Biltmore Hotel played host to entertainers such as Bessie Smith, Cab Calloway, and Count Basie. Musicians like Blind Boy Fuller and Gary Davis made much of their early money singing on the streets of Hayti. African Americans living in Durham enjoyed a strong and independent social, economic, and cultural life.

May 6

Two more alumnae join the world’s greatest profession - Julia Lacy (’03), cousin of junior Zack Davenport, recently accepted an offer to teach high school English and History at the Field School in Washington, DC. Julia graduates from Duke next Sunday as an English Education major. Classmate Anna Jacobi (’03), who will join Teach For America in New York this fall, was just awarded Duke’s D.T. Stallings Award, presented annually to Duke seniors who have worked closely with faculty in the Program in Education to provide high-quality tutoring to at-risk children in local schools.

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Ingrid Smith, whose job in the front office has been reclaimed by Pat “The Bionic Woman” Isbell, has been working in the archives, digging up materials for DA’s 75th anniversary celebration. In her spare time, she digs up other useful resources, such as this guide to Grinding Rules: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PK_RTLuHQoY

May 13

Last week, sophomore Byran Jadot learned of his admission to the North Carolina School of Science and Math. Sophomore Greg Taschuk will be attending NCSSM, but Bryan was unsure about his decision. He spent a day visiting NCSSM. When I asked him about his impressions, he said;

o “Students at DA seem more uniformly smart and sophisticated. At NCSSM, I got the impression that there are some really really bright students, and some who are not as well prepared.”
o “Our campus is nicer – cleaner, more spacious, more natural-feeling.”
o “The general tone of the DA community is friendlier. I really like the feel of DA. It’s casual but smart, with a lot of sophisticated students and teachers.”

This week, Bryan decided to reenroll at DA. Like John Pardon, who declined an offer of admission from NCSSM, Bryan feels his overall experience will be richer and more satisfying here.

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An update from Jeff Welty from last weekend's Speech and Debate team trip to Lexington, Kentucky for the Tournament of Champions, an invitation-only tournament for the nation's best teams: DA's TOC debut! Katherine Buse and Patrick Toomey warm up for nationals by taking second place in a strong field of 36 qualifying teams. They did not lose a ballot in the elimination rounds until the controversial decision in the final debate. Meanwhile, Grace Wallack and Dede Pless nearly broke, cementing their place among the top sophomores in the country. Not on the website is the fact that we had a good time and managed not to aggravate one another too much during the 8-hour van rides each way.

May 20

Ninth grader Marco Reyes will be the featured alumnus speaker at the June 1 graduation ceremony of Durham Nativity School. It begins at 10:00 in Duke Gardens. Congratulations, Marco!

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DA debate: penultimate update, 07-08. Ain’t that great? – Evan Donahue and Michael Roubey went to the extemporanous speaking Tournament of Champions in Evanston, IL last weekend. From their website: Evan Donahue reaches the semifinals in his last tune-up for nationals, and is the only competitor from North Carolina to advance beyond the preliminary rounds. Michael Roubey is one of only a handful of sophomores to qualify for the competition. Not on the website: Evan narrowly missed finals, speaking about "How will the Pope's visit affect Brazil?" Not a topic for which we'd spent a lot of time preparing. He watched finals and felt like he could have been in the top three had he made it.

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The following was sent Wednesday to the parents of all TDA members, all US students of color, all MS students of color, all recently-admitted students of color, and all diversity committee members from all DA divisions. And now, to you (in the hope that we’ll see lots of US faculty members there).

Dear Parents and Students,

Please join us on Friday, June 1st at 7:00 p.m. on the Upper School quad* for dessert, refreshments, and jazz (from “In the Pocket,” DA’s student-faculty ensemble).

Our fourth annual “Diversity Dessert” will recognize the contributions of students and faculty in making Durham Academy a welcoming place for all. Many of our Upper School students, faculty and parents participated this year as organizers, assembly leaders and club members or supported school activities that enhanced Durham Academy’s sense of community. Their efforts will have a lasting and positive impact.

This event is for the whole family. We hope the evening will provide you an opportunity to meet with other families and faculty and learn more about Durham Academy’s commitment to building a community that welcomes and celebrates diversity in all forms. Please RSVP to the admissions office (admissions@da.org) or 493-5787 by May 25.

Looking forward to seeing you there,

Michael Ülkü-Steiner
Upper School Director

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Jennifer Crawford (mother of 9th grader Jonathan) and Deb Shadduck (PreK assistant and mother of 8th grader Michael) co-chaired this year’s DA used book sale. You may remember their satellite sale of paperbacks during International Day. While the US sale left lots of room for improvement next year, the overall event was a terrific success. It raised over $9600.00 to fund Parents Association gifts to the school, and drew scores of community members to campus for the first time. All unsold books were donated to Student U, The Durham Nativity School and Habitat Hand-Me-Ups. Jennifer, who also serves on the US diversity committee, came to DA from a school that raised over $100,000/year and wide community exposure from its book sale. If you see Jennifer on campus, say thanks and brainstorm with her for the Used Book Sale 2008.

May 27

Dear faculty and staff:

Thank you ALL so, so much for your generous donations and help this week. We have 4 huge suitcases full of clothes, toys and medicine to take with us and are a little nervous but very excited as we get ready to leave tomorrow morning. We raised about $420.00 with our popsicle sales which far exceeded what we had ever hoped to make. We recieved many generous donations and are extremely grateful. While we are gone, we are hoping to post on a blog. The blog address is http://guatemalagirls.blogspot.com in case you would like to take a look at what we're doing and hear about where all the clothes, toys and money you gave are going! While we won't be able to upload any pictures while there we will be sure to bring loads back!
Thank you again for all of your help,

Chloé Rousseau

June 3

For those who didn’t see the front page story from Wednesday’s Chapel Hill News: “Cooking with class”



Durham Academy seniors (left to right) Clark Witzleben, Christine Hardman, Jamie Gutter and Stephani Tindall join chef Pamela Grosscup Ransohoff (second from right wearing hat) in preparing food to serve at Project Homestart. The students took a cooking class and made meals for the women's shelter as part of their required 15 hours of community service. Full story:
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/front/story/7661.html

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9th grader Mollie Pathman traveled to California last week to train with the under-15 U.S. National Soccer team. A good showing could put her in the pipeline for the 2008 U17 Women’s World Cup. As the excerpts from the article below (www.topdrawersoccer.com) show, she had a good showing.

CARSON, CALIFORNIA - Tad Bobak's U15 Girls National Team closed their camp here Thursday.

Defender Mollie Pathman helped the U.S. set up the first effective attack, moving forward from the left side until she was able to strike a good cross to the front of the goal. One of the U.S. forwards managed to get a shot off, but the Eagles goalkeeper was up to the task diving to the right to make the save.

Just a few minutes later, Pathman again charged up the left side, with numerous U.S. players making simultaneous runs for the cross they knew was coming. After Pathman hit it, an Eagle defender attempted to clear the cross but knocked it into the corner of her own goal.

“Normally, I play forward, so I’m comfortable getting into the attack,” Pathman said. “The space opened up because they played three in the center.”Her strong left foot was a major asset to her position. “It helps a lot, because it allows me to hit something unexpected,” Pathman said. “But I use my right foot as well.”

After the equalizer, the pace of the match quickened exponentially. The Eagles loosed two shots in search of the lead, but both were off target. Still, Bobak was satisfied with their effort. He singled out Pathman as the player who had moved to another field position and impressed.

“Mollie – who was playing left back. Our left mid had to come out because of a little strain, so I moved Mollie up and brought in Mia Bruno, who is a left back, to play that position," Bobak said. "Mollie played that left mid position very productively, both defensively and offensively. That’s a good revelation for me.”

Some of the squad may soon be moving up the development ladder, though. “I think we have some players who can help out the U16 team,” Bobak concluded, noting that he is in frequent communication with U16 Girls National Team coach Kaz Tambi.

“We talk all the time," he said. "He’ll probably call me tomorrow or at the beginning of next week. He’s planning for qualifying and then later for New Zealand. We’re constantly exchanging ideas. I’m going to discuss these players with him and send some out there so he can compare them to the stronger players he has. If there’s anyone who can give him more depth, all the merrier.’

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Not a page-turner, but rather a school-changer. Sent by Dr. Kathryn Andolsek, mother of senior Kendall Bradley and Associate Director of Graduate Medical Education at Duke, this online book is an authoritative overview of current understanding of learning, with implications for teaching. Five minutes of skimming had me thinking about new ways to improve my course. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Available online (for free) at http://books.nap.edu/html/howpeople1

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A song by 11th grader James Han for a Vietnam project in Owen Bryant's US history class (right click on the attached mp3 file)

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A video by Lanis Wilson’s 10th grade Western World Literature course on T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-tzUcGcjgQ

June 10

The mother of Yates Sikes sent the following interview with “North Carolina’s Noble Savage,” the founder of Turtle Island, Eustace Conway. It appears on Microsoft’s site for Live Earth “is a monumental music event that will bring together more than 2 billion people on 7/7/07 to raise awareness about global warming. With 24 hours of music across 7 continents, and performances by more than 150 of the world's top musicians, Live Earth will engage, connect, and inspire individuals, corporations and governments to take action to solve the climate crisis.” (http://liveearth.msn.com/).

To see a picture of Eustace, learn why he likes deer hunting, urinating in sawdust, and Jacques Cousteau, click here: http://liveearth.msn.com/green/eustace?wa=wsignin1.0

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In case you never heard Arlonzo Williams in his radio debut, check out the archived Podcast for the April 2 Richard Brown Show on WCOM, 103.5 FM. If you can be patient (both after clicking the link and after hearing Richard’s first questions), you’ll hear Bela Kussin singing the praises of our diversity efforts and Arlonzo called “the future mayor of Durham.” http://richardbrownshow.com/show94.mp3

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The future is coming - Karl Schaefer has catalyzed a minor tech revolution in MS classes. To see an example of the kind of projects already being created by our future fresh-folk, check out this movie about the Constitution by rising 9th grader Allison Kohl: http://web.mac.com/damiddleschool/iWeb/MSPodcasts/USConMovie.html