Back on the Bus, Kendall, Conrad, Shodor, and a Hidden Bias Test

On Thursday night fourteen veterans of the Civil Rights Tour gathered at Bobbie Hardaker's house for a "Back on the Bus" reunion dinner. Following through on the promises they made to each other during this year's moving Tour, the group had researched local service opportunities and spent part of their evening discussing them.

Their discussion eventually landed on Durham Nativity School, a school with an inspiring mission to "educate tomorrow's community leaders" by serving "socio-economically disadvantaged and at-risk boys who might not otherwise have access to a quality education in East Durham." Founded in 2002, this free middle school already has several key ties to Durham Academy:

• Dr. Joe Moylan (DA parent of alumni) is the founding President and current Board Chair.
• DA Director of Business Services Jerry Benson has consulted with DNS since its founding on faculty benefits, school policies, services, supplies, and facilities.
• DA parents Barbara Potter, Hector Hidalgo, Mark Anderson and Diane Lanevi are among the many active volunteers at DNS.
• The valedictorian of DNS's second graduating class is currently a DA sophomore, successful in the classroom and emerging as a leader in the Upper School.
• Alex Nozick is teaching photography each week to a DNS sixth grade class in the Upper School darkroom.

The Civil Rights Tour alumni are looking forward to an October visit to DNS and to deepening our relationship with the school.

As Anthony Clay wrote in his follow-up email: "David & Owen together have led us on a powerful journey. To use King's words, we formed a "beloved community" in our short time traveling the highways & byways of the South. I'm so grateful that so many of you seem interested in staying on the bus, as it were. More mighty things are possible if we endeavor to sustain the "beloved community" beyond those days & those miles on the bus. I look forward to what we can do together in the months to come."

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Which Duke Women's soccer player was voted by her teammates as "most likely to earn a 4.0 this year?" Which player was voted "most likely to win at Jeopardy!" The answer to both: DA alumna Kendall Bradley. According to an article published this week in The Chronicle, Kendall is a key part of "a freshman class that has not only racked up playing time but has elevated their team's level of play." To see the article and several of Kendall's quotes, click here.

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Several teachers and parents have asked about the progress of Conrad Zaborowski, the East Chapel Hill High student injured in May in a car accident. Concerned friends and well-wishers can follow Conrad's progress through the blog maintained by his sister, DA alumna Daphne Zaborowski: http://www.thinkingofconrad.blogspot.com/

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Looking for a cool opportunity in science, math or computing? Shodor is a non profit organization serving students and educators, improving math and science education nationally through computational science. Their office is located in downtown Durham. For more info, visit www.shodor.org.

Until September 25, Shodor is accepting applications for their SUCCEED Apprenticeship Program, funded by the National Science Foundation. Students in grades 9 – 11 who are interested in science, technology, engineering and math are eligible to apply. Individuals who are accepted into the program enter a two-year learning experience, gaining a variety of essential skills for a technology-intensive career path. Classes will begin Saturday, October 20, 2007. There are no fees or other costs to participate, and stipends will be awarded as levels of achievement within the program are completed. Also, successful participants may apply for paid internship positions at Shodor.

Students must apply online at http://www.shodor.org/succeed/apprenticeships/application.html All applicants must be interviewed. Candidates may attend one interview session on either Wednesday, Sept. 26th or Thursday, September 27th from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. For more information, visit www.shodor.org/succeed/apprenticeships or call Shodor at 530-1911.

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Asta Smith sent this fascinating self-test: Studies show people can be consciously committed to egalitarianism, and deliberately work to behave without prejudice, yet still possess hidden negative prejudices or stereotypes. So even though we believe we see and treat people as equals, hidden biases may still influence our perceptions and actions. Psychologists at Harvard, the University of Virginia and the University of Washington created "Project Implicit" to develop Hidden Bias Tests — called Implicit Association Tests, or IATs, in the academic world — to measure unconscious bias.Take a test at Project Implicit's website and see what may be lingering in your psyche.

Hillary in Germany, Nan in India, and Youth Noise Network in Durham

Below you'll see short excerpts from two long emails that arrived on the same day - one from Junior Hillary Rosen, just after cresting a wave of homesickness in her first week an AFS student in Germany, the other from alumna Nan Ransahoff, who is spending a semester abroad from Harvard . . . in India. Their accounts show the open, curious spirits of these two young women - and the big, wide world that awaits our graduates.

Hi Mr.Ulku-Steiner!

I am sitting at a German computer in Esslingen, Germany. The keyboards here are really different. For example, the y is where the z should be and the z is where the y should be. There are also more keys because german has three special letters: ä ü ö. So typing is difficult.


I got to Germany last weekend. I got up Friday morning in New York to finish orientation and then I was awake for the next 30 hours. After I got the the Frankfurt airport, I had to wait 13 hours until my train came for Stuttgart. When I got to Esslingen, I slept until 3pm the next day. Everything is so beautiful here. It looks like the town hasn't changed since the middle ages.

Here is a little about my typical day here:

I wake up at 6am. Then I go back to sleep and get out of bed at 6:30am. I go downstairs and eat breakfast, brush my teeth, and then start my walk to school. My walk to school takes about 30 minutes. I live in the mountains, so it's very hilly. I walk alone, but some girls in my class sometimes meet up with me when I'm almost at the school. The school starts at 7:45am . Most students walk, bike, or take the city bus to school. Some kids do drive though. The cars in the parking lot are either BMWs, Mercedes, or Audis. There are some smart cars too.

The school is very yellow and has about 4 floors. I am always lost, but I'm beginning to figure out where I am. All the schools here are public. I made a list of some of the things that are different between our school and the school here:

1. No teacher has their own classroom. They move and students stay, but sometimes students move too. It depends what day it is.

2. Almost no one has a locker and the lockers have keys.

3. No one older than the 9 grade uses a backpack and backpacks are square.

4. The textbooks are on loan and they are about 1/20 the size of ours.

5. The schedule goes 3 classes, then a 20 minute break, then 3 more classes, and then we get out of school at 1pm.

6. On most days you get out of school at 1, but one or two days a week (Mondays for me) you have afternoon school. In that case, you can eat lunch at the cafeteria and then go to your last three classes.

7. Sometimes you have two straight periods of the same class and other days only one hour of the class. Oh, and today they decided to teach English instead of Chemistry because our chemistry teacccher wasn't there. We weren't supposed to have English today.

8. I'm taking 13 classes: German, Spanish 1, Spanish 3, English, Religion(Catholism), Math, Geography, PE, social studies, physics, art, chemistry, and biology.

9. They take physics, chemistry, and biology every year since the 9 grade.

10. There are 13 grades.

11. There's almost nothing on the walls because the teachers have no room of their own.

12. The girls are a lot closer than in America. When close friends greet each other in the morning, the kiss on the lips. I don't have any close friends yet.

13. People where the same outfit to school for the entire week. I don't mean everyone matches, I mean each person wears just one or two outfits during the entire week.

14. All grades can leave campus when they have nothing to do and when people cross the street, they wait for the walk signal even if no cars are present.

15. Students have side conversations while the teacher is teaching and the teacher does nothing about it.

16. Some letters and numbers are written differently, so it's hard to read the board.

Those are just some of the differences between my school here and DA. My favorite subject is English, because it is taught in English. My second favorite is probably math, because it's pretty much the same. The words for things are a bit longer, though. For example, speed is "Geschwindigkeit." I always keep my dictionary handy.

So after school I walk home. It takes 30 minutes and practically the entire way is uphill. When I get home, we eat a big lunch, because dinner is practically nonexistent. After lunch, I start my homework, so that I am free by the evening. (remember, I get home at 1) I can also sit outside on the porch overlooking the rose fields or in my room with the beautiful view of the mountains and vineyards. At night, we watch TV together and eat pretzels.

That is a typical weekday in Esslingen. I will send pictures as soon as I get internet hooked up to my laptop. I'll be sure to keep in touch.

Hope everything is going well in North Carolina.
Mit Freundlichen Grüßen (With warm regards),
Hillary

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To: DA teachers
Subject: "Nan" means "eye" not "bread"

Yes, ladies and gents. Sorry to disappoint, but in Hindi, "nan" (if you pronounce my name correctly) means "eye." Not the tasty indian bread. I'm pleased because it has a little more meaning than a food (as yummy as it may be). Now that that's been settled (I apologize this is so long, it's just that everything is so new. For those of you who make it through, I hope you get a few laughs.)

Orientation, in a word, sucked. It was a lot of safety/health/logistical issues that are pounded into us over and over again. I mean, is it really necessary to have to two-hour sessions of which the takeaway message is: don't drink the water and wear bug repellent? We get it. However, while the vast majority has been downright boring, here are a few new things I did learn, mainly pertaining to avoiding sexual harassment in India.

1. Carry a diaper pin or safety pin to poke men on the train who won't leave you alone. For some reason this is not considered violence. (I will make sure it's at least a clean pin, since this country doesn't need any help spreading diseases.)

2. Don't be afraid to take off your sandal and smack men who bother you incessantly.

3. If a man is bothering you, don't hesitate to turn to the stranger next to you and say very loudly, "Can you believe this man! Look at how he's behaving!!" to draw attention to him and shame him into leaving you alone.

4. Don't point the bottom of your feet at people. It's incredibly offensive.

5. Never eat with your left hand (as this is the one that does all of the "dirty work" ahem). This is somewhat problematic for me as I'm left handed. I've been practicing eating with my right, but its going miserably so far.

While I have not had to use any of the anti-harassment suggestions yet, it's common to hear non-threatening come-ons usually along the lines of, "Big businessman in US" while the guy points to himself. He might be more convincing if spoken in complete sentences, but whatever works I guess.

A few days ago we moved into our homestays. I am living with a mother, father and their 24 year old son. The father, Chandraji picked me up. He is a tiny little man with the biggest head of hair - huge dark curls. His wife is the sweetest woman I've ever met, and good lord can she cook. Its all vegetarian (which I love), and everything is super spicy (which I also love). They've been hosting SIT kids for 5 years, and she says, "all the students come here like this (waving her finger like a stick)" and leave "fatty." I, however, am determined not to get "fatty." She claims that she is "fatty" and is trying to lose 10 kilos. I try to tell her she is not "fat" (even though she is a little), but she doesn't understand.

Ankit (their son) loves Grand Theft Auto, so we play it occasionally. I mentioned that it enforces pretty terrible racial stereotypes in the US, to which he responds, "I thought that was not a problem anymore because Will Smith is a popular actor." That made me laugh. He has also downloaded about 50 youtubes of Michael Jackson, which I also find amusing.

Their entire family (and extended family) are musicians, which is amazing for me. The first time I walked in the house, there were 15 kids playing piano in the main room, 5 kids playing guitar in the bedroom and 5 kids playing sitar in the side room. I have already received a sitar lesson and an Indian vocal lesson. My mother walks around the house singing all the time, and I think it's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. I'm really psyched to learn Indian music. It's a perfect match.

I have my own room, which's walls are bright pink, curtains are bright pink and bed is bright pink with yellow flowers. There's a huge mural on the wall of maidens frolicking by a pond with a flock of swans. It'sŠinterestingŠ My shower is a bath spout (but no bath, the water just falls on the same cement floor as the toilet) and I take a pitcher and pour water on myself. Also, toilet paper is virtually non-existant, at least where I am. People just splash water on themselves. I'm not really down with that, but whatever.

The house is really colorful - fake flowers and fake fish tank included (it's a tank of water with plastic fishes tied to the bottom on strings. Haha). There's no furniture in the main room because apparently its too hard to clean. Also, we eat in the parent's bedroom, which I find a little odd. All the families we are staying with are upper middle class, we are told. Could not be more different than the upper middle class in the US. Remarkable.

oh. also, they have ahomeless man who sleeps on their floor every night. skinniest thing ive ever seen. just thought id put that out there.

A few doors down, they have another house, with joint family. I spent today talking with the 25 family members living in this tiny little compound. Half spoke very good English. "Conversation" with the other half was composed of a somewhat awkward, silent smiling contest.

So far almost all of the food here has been phenomenal. Since I don't know what anything on a menu is besides "tandoori chicken" (thanks to HUDS), I basically just whirl my finger, point and hope that it's good. So far it has only failed me once, when I ended up with a sour yogurt drink with large chunks of basil and some sort of cracker mixed in. I don't plan on ordering that again, assuming I can correctly remember what its called.

As for Jaipur - first of all, the driving here is INSANE. Motorcycles, bikes, buses and cars are all the roads together and they essentially nudge each other along. I swear most people never let off the horn. It has lost all meaning. The average space between vehicles is probably 3-6 inches full speed no joke. We get around mostly in auto rickshaws, and I seriously fear for my life every time I'm in one. Drivin is like a constant game of chicken. Fortunately I have not been a victim yet.

The program center is really nice and we have chai tea every hour it seems. Our academic director is unbelievably old. While knowledgeable, he is very set in his ways (as well as hard to hear). He is also a walking contradiction. He goes on long rants about "simple living" how we don't need air conditioners, a lot of clothes, cell phones etc., and in the middle of it, his phone will go off, and out of his pocket comes not a even an old school nokia, but a new, fancy, technicolor razor, which he leaves the room to pick up. I don't really like him but whatever. Ha. We don't have to hear from him that much.

Overall, I really can't get over how different India is. I mean, I knew it would be, but actually seeing it and living in it is totally different. Everything, everywhere I go could be part of a spread in National Geographic - old, frail women carrying 15 bricks on their head but wearing these gorgeous, vibrant saris; stick thin men with turbans and wrapped in sheets limping around; camels wandering around; women leading cattle and herding goats while talking on their cell phones; carts of vegetables being pushed everywhere; snake charmers; the most stunning fabrics you can imagine. I see all of these things all the time, every day. It's hard to find many similarities to the US. I am slowly adjusting, but am not quite there yet. I miss you all so much. Thank you to those of you who have emailed me, I read and loved each one. I'll have a cell phone in the next few days I hope and will let you know how you can reach me (even if the 10.5 hour time difference leaves a small window of opportunity). I hope you are all doing well and enjoying AC and toilet paper.

So much love.

Nan

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Youth Noise Network (YNN), the bilingual youth radio project based at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke, has space this fall in our after school program for new participants. More info: http://cds.aas.duke.edu/audio/ynn.html.

In YNN teens use documentary audio as a tool to explore issues that matter to them and their communities. The students produce a weekly radio show on WXDU 88.7 FM, featuring their audio pieces, on-air interviews and music.

YNN nurtures creativity, critical thinking skills and community engagement. Students involved in the project develop planning, research and writing skills, in conjunction with learning to produce a radio show. In addition to the skills acquisition, YNN is a great place to make new friends. It's part of our mission to create a unique social space where teens from all over Durham and from diverse backgrounds can get to know one another.

Participants must be Durham County residents between 13 and 18 years old. Potential YNN participants are required to complete Speak Up and Make Some Noise: A Radio Workshop for Durham Teens , on either Saturday September 29th OR Saturday October 6th, from 10am-5pm. The initial workshop costs $25.00 and there are scholarships available.

Tennessee Jane Watson
Youth Noise Network Coordinator
919.660.3696 / tennessee.watson@duke.edu

Marvelous Mollie, Rosh Hashanah, Ramadan, Share your Christmas, and Student U. Chronicled

The following excuse note is slightly better than one requesting a trip to the orthodontist. If you see Mollie, congratulate her and wish her luck.

Dear Michael Ulku-Steiner,

On behalf of the United States Soccer Federation I would like to request the release of Mollie Pathman to participate in a training camp and matches with the U.S. Under-15 Girl’s National Team in Carson, California from September 17th through September 23rd, 2007

These camps play a vital role in her continuing development as one of the most talented young female soccer players in the United States and are an important step toward identifying a pool of players who will compete for future places on our Women’s National Teams, and maybe one day, in the FIFA Women’s World Cup and/or Olympic Games.

Best regards,

Whitney Stipetich
National Teams Coordinator

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In a promising calendrical coincidence, Rosh Hashanah and Ramadan begin together at sundown on Wednesday. There will be no school on Thursday, and no student should have homework due or tests to take on Friday.

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Thanks to an alert suggestion from Edith Keene and a communitarian sacrifice by Michael Meyer, we have postponed the Winter Music Assembly and created a time for advisory groups to shop together for Share Your Christmas. Plan on an assembly period + lunch on Thursday, November 29. This and all other assembly dates are available on at the right of this blog and on the US web page (under Extracurriculars).

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At Friday's memorial service, Bobbie Hardaker was able to relay the US faculty's strong support for the HALL BARNES SPIRIT AWARD (formerly the Spirit Award), given to that member of the junior or senior classes who best demonstrates the qualities of Hall Barnes, '79 - kindness, respect, inclusivity, open-mindedness, and an ability to transcend cliques and groups to bring laughter to classmates. To read Barnes' obituary an the link to the guest book, go to:
http://www.legacy.com/NewsObserver/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=93349556

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Tired of reading about Mike Nifong, readers of Duke's Chronicle were likely bouyed to read the recent review of the inaugural summer of a creative new program. The intrepid reporter? DA alumna Camey VanSant. The headline? Student U. Unites Students of All Ages. Read it at:
http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/08/31/News/Student.U.Unites.Students.Of.All.Ages-2946689.shtml

Chocolate Drops, a joyful risk, and the extended family of Senior Challenge

In next Wednesday's assembly, we'll be treated to the Carolina Chocolate Drops as part of the Durham Blues Festival's "Blues in Schools" program. The assembly, like last year's Clayton Miller Blues Band, grew out of our budding relationship with the Hayti Heritage Center.

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Want to see a new DA teacher taking a joyful risk? Check out this video of new 2nd grade teacher Anna Karol. Be patient and you'll be rewarded. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfy0fIiianA

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The following email is from Laura Sikes, mother of 12th grader Yates, whose grandfather died on Saturday morning, just as Senior Challenge was beginning. Laura called Greg Murray to ask if it might be possible for Yates to leave his group, attend the funeral in Tennessee, and rejoin the group to finish Senior Challenge. With a flurry of phone calls, a series of shuttles, and two well-orchestrated meetings in the wilderness, the Senior Challenge support crew helped Yates do just that.

Dear Upper School faculty:

I cannot adequately express my gratitude to Greg, Verle, Mr. Parry and the folks at BackCountry. They all worked to make a most difficult time as stress-free and normal as possible. I felt as if I was asking for the impossible and they all made it look as if it was no big deal. At one point Greg tried to explain that he and Verle both felt immediately that it all had to happen. I responded that once again DA was "Family".

Yates has looked forward to Senior Challenge since he was a freshman. He would have been extremely disappointed if he had missed it. I will never forget the look on his face when I woke him and told him about Pop-Pop. I will also never forget the look on his face when it clicked that he would likely miss Senior Challenge. So, instead of a life-long disappointment, Greg, Verle, Mr. Parry and the folks at BackCountry have created a life-long memory of how much people care about him. I think that he was somewhat humbled by the experience and I know that he appreciates the effort and will certainly never forget it.

So, please know that from the bottom of my heart, I appreciate all of the efforts of those involved. Please tell them that they are simply THE BEST and that once again, DA has given me reason to know that Yates is truly in THE BEST school imaginable!

Laura Sikes

Student U. in Christian Science Monitor, John Pardon nation's best young programmer

Student U. Co-Founder featured in Christian Science Monitor article - Amanda Dorsey, who teamed with new DA faculty member Dan Kimberg to launch Student U. this summer, comments on the role of DukeEngage in fostering moral leadership in Duke Students. To see Student U.'s first mention in a national publication, go to: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0823/p14s02-legn.html. To see 15 more local stories about Student U. (including the News 14 Carolina TV profile), go to: http://studentu.da.org/press/index.html.

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Newly-minted alumnus John Pardon just returned from Zagreb, Croatia, where he was competing again the International Olympiad in Informatics, "one of the most prominent computer science competitions in the world." Also from the IOI website: "The Competition Tasks are of an algorithm nature, however the contestants have to show basic skills as problem analysis, design of the algorithm needed, data structures, as well as programming and testing of their solutions. The winners of the IOI belong, no doubt, to the best young computer scientists of the world."

For the second year in a row, John finished fifth in the world (the next American contestants were 9th, then 48th). For details and final results, go to http://ioi2007.hsin.hr/index.php?page=results

Soo motivated

DA Junior Adrianne Soo is one of six Triangle athletes featured in this morning's News and Observer. To see a picture of her in on the trail and hear an audio clip about what motivates her, go to http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/preps/photos/story/674230.html

Foreign students, Augustine connections, and Will's welcome

Please go out of your way to welcome two foreign students who arrived recently to join us for a year at DA:

• Senior Hannah Kaiser is a family friend of the Ohmans (senior Elsa and recent grad Edward). She comes from Sweden, is eagerly awaiting Senior Challenge, and plans to play tennis, basketball, and soccer.

• Junior Sonia Eisenfisz is an AFS student from France. She'll be living with the Noah Katz family, who hosted German Niklas Putschbach last year. Sonia enjoys music, table tennis, climbing, and judo. She also has her own YouTube singing audition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTMpmHc0sV4

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In late July I attended the graduation ceremony of about 20 volunteers for the Augustine Project. They had completed their 70-hour training program and were preparing for year-long commitments tutoring individual children in the Chapel Hill public schools. I was invited by Debbie McCarthy, the former DA teacher and current Director of the Augustine project (www.augustineproject.org), who will be teaming with Eric Teagarden to lead a dozen DA seniors in the same kind of project. It was inspiring to get a sense of the seriousness of the enterprise, the acuteness of the need, and the depth of learning already evident from the new tutors.

It was also fun to run into longtime Augustine Project volunteer Barbara Ziff, who taught Pre-K at DA for 20 years. She offered three news flashes:

• Barbara is a painter. She divides her time between literacy tutoring and watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media painting. She's had several gallery shows and sold many works. You can see one reproduction below, and many more at www.barbaraziff.com.


• Barbara's son Peter (DA class of 1996) is a truck driver. He and his wife live in Eastern North Carolina with their two young children. Peter has been keeping busy this month transporting loads of cucumbers from farms to markets in Raleigh and beyond. His new truck appears below.


• Barbara's web page designer is Peter's DA classmate Bill vonReichbauer. Bill is a guitarist, teacher, composer, writer, and editor, currently living in Albany, NY. You can see Bill pictured below and catch up on his life and work at www.williamvonr.com.


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The following remarks were delivered by senior Will Ramsey during last Monday's new faculty orientation meetings for teachers in all divisions.

Good morning. My name is Will Ramsey, and I am a senior here at DA. I am also a musician – I play saxophone in the upper school jazz and rock ensemble In The Pocket. Music is a great passion of mine, providing both an outlet for stress and a medium through which to unite and channel the creative energies of like-minded individuals. I am always looking to learn more, so this summer I decided to enroll in a five-week performance seminar at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. The five-week program is intended to give interested students the chance to expand their musical abilities, become familiar with the Berklee curriculum, and, of course, meet student musicians from all over the country and all over the world. Needless to say, most of the participants plan to pursue a career in music.
Despite sustaining a stress fracture in my right foot and spending four days in Massachusetts General Hospital with a severe urinary tract infection, I finished the program with improved technique and mostly excellent memories under my belt. So significant, in fact, was my time at Berklee, that when scrambling to prepare for this address, I felt it would be just the type of anecdote I needed.
I regard the five-week program as a wonderfully enlightening experience because it showed me that I couldn’t tolerate living with a bunch of musicians. For me, attending a school of music is like eating chocolate cake for every meal of the day, every day of the week. By the end, I was almost glad to go home, if only to escape hearing one more joke about guitar players or one more mention of modal interpolation, substitute dominants, or the imaginary bar line. Just like our mothers tell us, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, regardless of how much it makes us practice.
I am sure that by this point you are asking yourselves; what the heck does this have to do with Durham Academy? Where is this guy going? Why am I here? Why did I even interview for this job? Not to worry. My point in telling you about Berklee comes to this: I realized that although music brought beauty and joy to my life, it could never be more than an avocation. Durham Academy – my home since kindergarten – has provided me with such a diverse spiritual and intellectual diet that anything less just makes me feel undernourished. Although I imagine most high schools maintain a certain number of interdisciplinary requirements, the environment at DA is such that students feel excited about stretching themselves across multiple fields of study, art, and thought. You’ll find truly remarkable kids here at DA – the cello-playing math prodigy who runs cross-country and still enjoys English class; the student body president who plays softball and finds time to tech for theater productions; the track-running poet/historian who also happens to play violin in the school chamber music ensemble; the star soccer player and devoted science student who skillfully entertains his friends and peers with magic. Students like these are not exceptions, although they are often exceptional – they are common at Durham Academy.
What is it, then, that you as teachers need to know, coming into an environment such as I’ve described? First: be yourself. The teachers I remember, the ones I consider superior, were and still are willing to share their interests and experiences with students and with the school community. Whether it’s the calculus teacher who readily discusses his passion for Schubert, the English teacher who goes out for the winter musical, or the history professor who talks about his days working for the CIA in the Soviet Union, DA teachers make an impact simply by contributing their unique selves to the mix. I won’t say be funny, because that may not be exactly who you are – but it doesn’t hurt.
Second: remain open to all the school has to offer. Teachers have the opportunity to extend themselves far beyond their individual disciplines – advising clubs, coaching teams, assisting with musical or theatrical productions and even starring in them. A great teacher, as you can probably tell, is one who forms a personal connection with the school and students and who constantly strengthens this connection by investing his/her time in as much as he/she can.
Third: be honest to your students and to yourself. This applies not only to your policies in the classroom, but also to your relationships outside. Teachers that are clear in their expectations garner respect from their students, as do teachers that are clear in their principles – clarity in both areas will immeasurably help class productivity.
Finally: remember this school’s oft repeated but still potent mission statement: “to provide each student an education that will enable him or her to live a moral, happy, and productive life.” Every aspect of the schooling process at DA should and does, in my opinion, contribute to the fulfillment of this mission statement – and every aspect of the schooling process starts with the teachers.
There is no manual that I know of that describes how new teachers should go about establishing themselves. A lot of it is, I think, stumbling around and making mistakes until one gets the hang of it. I could give you many more tips, beyond just four, that I think are important, but you’d probably forget them and resent me for presuming to dictate to my superiors. That’s why I’ll leave you with one overarching piece of advice – don’t be afraid to make your own way in this school. You may find that only some or none of my points apply in your case, and that a different approach is needed. That’s okay – in fact, given the unique diversity of this community, I might expect it.
It’s entirely possible that I’m just starry-eyed, that I have an overly romantic view of the school – one born of isolation from other perspectives, perhaps. But I think that you’ll find, as I have, that this is a very special place. Good luck.

Uganda, the magistrate, AFS, N&O, and Conrad

Amid his daily routine reading of Ugandan newspapers, Eric came upon the following story about DA’s partnership with Ugandan girls’ schools, catalyzed by the assembly visit of George Piwang-Jalobo and the subsequent work of Hillary Gleason and Jenny Denton: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/9/35/573603

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Elaine Evans, mother of rising junior Tyler, is among our warmest, friendliest parents. Just hope you meet her at your work and not hers! See this great profile from the Herald Sun: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-863651.cfm

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A note from rising junior Hillary Rosen, bound for an AFS semester (plus): “I just got all my information for Germany and I thought I would email you to keep you informed. I will be leaving on September 6th and returning on February 16th. I will be staying with the Wunderlich family in Esslingen, Germany. Esslingen is located in southern Germany jus outside of Stuttgart and about 140 miles southeast of Frankfurt.” To keep in touch with Hillary during the year, email hillroy@nc.rr.com.

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The News and Observer’s education reporter has been busy at DA lately, covering stories about:

1. Brennan Vail, Ashley Brasier, and Samantha Leder's Serving Our Community’s Kids (SOCK) camp (http://www.thedurhamnews.com/class_time/story/68963.html)

2. Student U. (http://www.newsobserver.com/print/wednesday/city_state/story/640857.html)

3. Chess Master Hikaru Nakamura visiting our chess team (http://www.thedurhamnews.com/class_time/story/73746.html)

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Several teachers and parents have asked about the progress of Conrad Zaborowski, the East Chapel Hill High student injured in May in a car accident. The answers are in the following articles and the blog maintained by his sister, DA alumna Daphne Zaborowski: www.thinkingofconrad.blogspot.com/

www.newsobserver.com/news/orange/story/642025.html

www.chapelhillnews.com/front/story/8607.html

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