An Independent Study in the Upper School

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Last Spring, when I was deciding what classes to take my Senior year, I came up with the idea to do an independent study with Jona Rice, an Art teacher at Waynflete. I wanted to do something that would allow me to explore one of my personal interests at school. I talked with Jona about my goals and plans for the study, wrote up a proposal, and it was approved. So, this past fall, I started my independent study, Graphic and Mobile Application Design.
A few years ago I became interested in creating iPhone apps. To do this, I had to learn how to code in Objective-C and also learn how to use Xcode, a software development tool used to develop iOS apps. I had never coded or programmed before, so I taught myself with books, the Internet, and stackoverflow.com (the programmers version of Yahoo Answers). I found coding to be fun and fascinating and soon I was able to create my own application. After a few months of experimenting, I was creating more complex apps, and I began selling them on the iTunes App Store. As my business grew, I started developing Mac applications as well and created my own website (http://gtcsoftware.com). I also began doing development work for other companies and individuals. I built applications for them or helped them with the building process and distribution of their own applications. Last summer, I registered my business in the state as GTC Software LLC.
Recently, I was approached by a company called Leap Motion, Inc., the creator of a device, which was launched this past summer. The device allows users to interact with their computer in 3D using special sensors. Leap Motion has an App Store similar to Apple’s, called Airspace, and after seeing some of my apps online, they asked me to develop my apps for their device, and sell them on their App Store.
Creating apps includes both coding and graphic design. Jona is extremely helpful in giving advice and feedback on the design aspect of my work, which includes graphic design, interface design, and user interaction with the app. I am able to meet with him regularly to discuss new apps to make, redesign already made apps, and work on graphic design and Photoshop use. It is extremely helpful being able to bounce ideas off of someone who is so knowledgeable.
Having an independent study at Waynflete has supported my interests and granted me credit for pursuing them. Despite not having any computer science classes, the school was able to accommodate me and assist me in my personal studies.

USNOW and into the Future

Posted by Waynflete Communications

As students and faculty are consumed by exams at the semester’s end, production of stories for USNOW has dropped precipitously to this reflection on the first four months of its existence.  Here are some highlights:

 

  • The idea for the page surfaced during the opening of school faculty meetings in late August as a way to streamline information for parents and to convey a sense of life in the Upper School.
  • My activity, formerly the Do Stuff Club, transformed into the Document Stuff Club, and took on the task of producing stories from the student perspective.
  • Over the course of the semester, the page hosted 36 stories in written and video form created by students and faculty.  In addition, it has hosted several photo galleries and a steady stream of important information for parents.
  • We solicited readership feedback, first live from the class parent group and later through a survey of readers that elicited 100 responses.  The responses were overwhelmingly positive and rich in useful feedback.
  • At the end of the semester, a member of the DSC, junior Sam Fredrick, proposed a redesign of the page to members of the group and Kathy Dion, our Communications Director, Page Lennig, our Technology Director, and Cathie Connors, who has been in effect the production manager of USNOW.  Sam’s page design, which promises to be much more dynamic, visually engaging, and interactive than the current version, was enthusiastically embraced.  Look for its implementation soon after we return from break.

While the efforts of many have been responsible for the success of USNOW, the effort of one stands out: Cathie Connors, who had more than a full job before I came to her in late August to share this great idea I had for “us” to produce an Upper School webpage. Then I went away on Outdoor Experience, and when I returned, the page was ready to go.  Since then Cathie has spent untold hours brainstorming story ideas, proofing every story before she posts it, teaching herself how to manage the page, and channeling material for publication in the Weekly, for which I am deeply grateful.  In fact, Cathie has been so busy producing USNOW that she hasn’t had the time to write the story I have asked her to tell, which is about the secret of her prodigious coaching success.  Her story is one of a thousand extraordinary tales of Upper School life waiting to be told and published on USNOW.  Stay tuned.

Get Stressed for Your Health?

Posted by Waynflete Communications

“Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort…. The best way to make decisions is go after what it is that creates meaning in your life and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.”  With that advice, health psychologist Kelly McGonical ends her TED talk confessional, in which she reveals that her prior teachings about stress as the enemy “is doing more harm than good.”  On Thursday, with exams looming next week, juniors and sophomores watched her talk and discussed it in their POD groups.  The hug-fest that ensued afterwards is evidence of their attentiveness to Dr. McGonical’s message.  Click here to find out why. For more information about some of the science underlying her message, click here.

Unsung Hero: Sophie Raffel, emerging leader for justice

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Click here to read the Forcaster article about Senior, Sophie Raffel.

The Fall Sports Recognition Ceremony

Posted by Waynflete Communications

On the evening of Tuesday, November 12, Waynflete held its fall sports awards ceremony for all  varsity athletes. The sports represented were Golf, Girls and Boys Soccer, Field Hockey, and Girls and Boys Cross Country. The ceremony began with Ross Burdick, Waynfletes Athletic Director. He spoke about the fall sports season and congratulated the Girls Soccer team for winning the state championship. When Ross finished, one by one, each team stood on the stage with their coach. Each coach gave a speech about his or her team and presented awards. Typical awards were the Coach’s Award, Most Improved Player, The Most Valuable Player, All Conference recognition, and academic awards.  Geoff Wagg, the Head of School, was present at the ceremony and took multiple pictures with the Girls Soccer State Championship trophy. At the end of the ceremony, Ross announced that Leigh Fernandez and Henry Cleaves had been selected as the Forcaster Fall Athletes of the Year.  Click here to read the Forecaster article:

http://www.theforecaster.net/news/print/2013/12/02/waynflete-flyers-fall-athletes-year/180759.

Ross then thanked all of the students, coaches and parents for their support and dedication. To end the evening, he introduced a slideshow highlighting great moments for each of the teams.

The Upper School Celebrates Its Allies

Posted by Waynflete Communications

An ally is not just a straight person defending someone in the LGBTQI community. An ally is a person, gay, straight, trans, asexual, pansexual or bisexual, who supports another person in our high school. An ally is a student committed to lifting others up and helping others person feel valued and respected. Being an ally does not necessarily mean taking extreme measures for social change, it means smiling at someone when you pass them in the hallway, lending a hand or a kind word.
Each year, Waynflete’s Gay, Straight, Transgender, Alliance (GSTA), which is the oldest high school group of its kind in the state, sponsors Ally Week.  This year, the week took on some new colors as we  decided to present this event in a different light than in years past. Rather than focusing on the rare faults of our Upper School community, we decided to take a week to appreciate how amazing Waynflete already is.
We invited two guest speakers for Ally Week, a Waynflete father of two juniors,  and Lucas O’Neil, an alumnus from 2008.  Lucas’s speech focused on identity in a humorous and casual manner.  He spoke of his time in the Waynflete Upper School and the process of finding his own identity, as a straight, white, male member of the community.  You can watch a video of his talk below.
The father’s speech focused on the experience of raising his transgender daughter. His speech was raw and accessible for everyone in the audience. He spoke of the discrimination that his daughter faced earlier in her life and the battle his family continues to fight for her right to be herself. I had already seen him speak before, and he had me once again covered in goosebumps, inspired to work harder for equality and thankful for the amazing community of which I am a part. In the theme of appreciation for this year’s Ally Week, he spoke of how Waynflete has been a critically important supportive community for him and his family. It is moments like this that make me take a step back and realize how wonderful Waynflete School is, and that all of our hard work towards creating a safe and accepting community has truly paid off!

We thank both speakers for their unforgettable words of wisdom. Thank you to the students, parents, faculty and staff who make Waynflete School the only place in the world that I would want to spend my teenage years. There are not words to describe how touched I am, as well as the rest of the GSTA, by the open minds and hearts of each person in the this community.

Blended Coursework in the Humanities: The Pedagogical Mash-up

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Taffy entered the Waynflete community as a parent in 1992.  Both of her children are now alums.  Six years after she arrived and after a stint as a Waynflete Trustee, she began teaching part time in the English Department and has taught in most semesters ever since.  In recent years, she has worked in the college counseling office.  Next spring, Taffy will team teach a new English elective for juniors and seniors with Phuc Tran. Phuc joined the Waynflete faculty in 2003 to advise in the Upper School and teach Latin to Middle and Upper School students. From time to time, he also teaches Greek, and in recent years, he, too, has worked in college counseling. This collaboration with Taffy will be Phuc’s first foray into the English department, but it will not be the first time they have teamed up.  A year ago, they were guests on an MPBN show, Maine Calling, that focused on the relevance of grammar in the age of tweeting and texting.  In the fascinating on air conversation that endued, the seeds of their course – The Language of Social Class – were sown.  Click here to listen.   

One thoroughly fabulous aspect of teaching at Waynflete is working with colleagues who are smart, funny, excited about teaching, and enthusiastic learners themselves. We sit in on each other’s classes, attend conferences together, brainstorm pedagogy in Collaborative Inquiry Teams, and share and explore existing and potential content within and between departments.
But the most fun of all is to have the opportunity to fully collaborate in creating and teaching a specific course – to team teach. Scheduling challenges have made team teaching rare at Waynflete, but Word and Image and Revolution and Romanticism are sparkling examples of the exceptional intellectual richness that is possible. Team teaching allows students to see teachers model collaboration, active learning, respectful and fruitful discussion and disagreement, and different perspectives and learning styles.
So imagine our excitement when Phuc Tran – that remarkable student of seven languages who reads grammar books and dictionaries for fun – and I received approval not only to team teach next semester but to pilot a new course which will explore literary examples of the ways forms of language can unite or divide us (more about that in a minute) AND will offer students what is called a “blended learning” experience. “Blended learning” is the name for coursework that is taught partly in person, partly online. Online learning has opened wide doors of access to global content resources and to styles of delivering content tailored to individual learning profiles. It is an inevitable part of all of our futures – in fact, if you’ve ever responded to a child’s question at the dinner table by turning your smartphone back on to research an answer and then encouraged discussion of what you’ve found, you’re already in the swing of it. “Blended learning” seeks to take the best of what is possible in online learning and couple it with face to face (referred to as f2f – if you’d like to be among the cognoscenti), relational learning – what Waynflete has done so well for so long.  We all know there is a wide variety of quality on the Internet – from preposterous inaccuracies to brilliant lectures and spectacular photos from the Hubble telescope. There is an equal range of quality in online coursework, and Phuc and I will have the opportunity in this class to work with students in developing tools to help them choose and make most fruitful their life-long online learning opportunities.
The course itself is titled The Language of Social Class. It will consider the ways specific and variable choices of syntax, vocabulary, and grammar – what contemporary analysis often refers to as “code-switching” – can impact social interactions and even one’s sense of oneself. Our literature will include Pygmalion,Invisible Man, Raisin in the Sun, The Brief and Wondrous LIfe of Oscar Wao, The Burgess Boys, and excerpts from Dickens, Twain, Eva Hoffman’s Lost in Translation, critical analysis, and contemporary culture. In addition, Phuc will open the semester with a brief history of the English language and examination of the cornerstones of linguistics (grammar, syntax, articulatory phonetics, etc.).

We and our students will update you on the course once we’re underway. In the meantime, take a look yourself at what’s already out there. Here, for example, is an article Admissions Director Lynne Breen sent us last week on yet a new version of what’s new: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/01/education/us-plans-global-network-of-free-online-courses.html

 

RAaW Retreat

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Friday discussions in the RAaW (Racial Awareness at Waynflete) activity group are built on establishing a deep level of trust, so each year for the past several years, we have been given the opportunity to take an afternoon to do some group building to foster that atmosphere of shared understanding. This year’s retreat on October 30 helped our group set the tone for our weekly meetings. First and foremost, what we do on our retreat is  eat. Together the RAaW group makes a lunch for each other. This year after lunch we selected random objects off a blanket and told stories of ourselves using those prompts. We also explored the layers of our identity and discussed what would happen if we were forced to choose among them.

For the past three years we have met at the home of Julie Boesky and Jonathan Shapiro. Their son Ben was a four year member of RAaW and despite the fact he graduated last year they once again graciously opened their home to us. We ar

US (needs you) NOW

Posted by Waynflete Communications

I think that we can all relate to that feeling of annoyance when a parent or family member asks how your day was – and they genuinely want to know. You get home, hoping to relax or get a start on that looming project that you should have started last week but didn’t. Very quickly you gather that that will not happen. They are persistent, and the truth of the matter is, sometimes you a) actually cannot remember what you did that day or b) cannot explain it in a linear, sane way that would satisfy their desire.

 

Well, in case you missed the announcement, there is a new webpage called “USNOW” at Waynflete that catalogues highlighted events and accomplishments of the Upper School. Although it has just begun, they are looking for pictures, news, articles, writings – anything that sheds some light on the occurrences of the high school. It is the perfect site to point your parents toward after a long day or week, especially if they have seen that you have contributed something!

As you continue participating in many activities, programs and classes, keep this site in mind not only to add to but to use as a means of advertisement for various events and causes. Get the word out about your bake sale that will raise money for elephants! As technology becomes more prominent, this site has the potential to serve as an active, informative page for your school that parents and faculty look to often. So, be a part, and contribute to its formation!

Mapping the Journey

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Freshman students have been creating Life Maps for over 10 years now, and they have all turned out quite exceptional.  Eidann Thompson-Brown, a current seminar student, worked on her Life Map for three weeks. “It took a lot of time and energy, but it was worth it in the end,” she says. Her Life Map was a graph of her life with high points and low points. It turned out very visually appealing and organized.

9th grade seminar teachers Lydia Maier and Cathie Connors believe that Life Maps inspire students to think about the events that have shaped them and to consider their future aspirations. Life Maps give students the opportunity to realize the goals and dreams they have for their lives, and inspire students to want to reach them. “When you’re about to set out on an adventure, and I really think of high school as a journey, you want a map,” she says. “I think starting Upper School presents a great opportunity for students to embrace new challenges but they also need to honor the things they’ve done in their lives that have shaped them so they can draw on those inner resources.” Life Maps can help students see the strengths that have brought them to where they are now.

These Life Maps are presented to one another in seminar groups. One seminar student, Rawha Michael, pointed out, “I enjoyed seeing other people’s Life Maps because there are so many different interests and goals that people have and it was neat to get to know other people.”  Presenting these Life Maps gets students to recognize others’ unique accomplishments. There are also so many different ways students interpret the assignment to craft a Life Maps.  Some are 3D mobiles made of well-loved belongings, some are on-line, and one was even edible. “These are totally creative ways of thinking about your life,” Lydia Maier says.

“Flipping the Classroom” with David Vaughan

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Many teachers across the country are experimenting with “flipping” their classes.  In simplest form, in a traditionally structured class, a teacher presents the course material in the classroom, and then students practice what has been presented at home.  In a “flipped” class, students are presented with the material at home, and then they practice the material in the classroom. The advantage of the “flipped” strategy is that the teacher is present when the students are trying to apply the concepts they have been presented and so can assist the students in actually learning them, rather than trying to figure out what the students have mastered and what they have not the next day in class.  It also allows more time in class for hands-on activities and projects that make the learning more “real” for the students.  The concept has been around for a long time but has gained greater currency lately because of the emergence of so many online tools that make presenting material at home a much more viable option for teachers than it has been in the past.

 

David Vaughan is one of several teachers at Waynflete who is applying flipped strategies to his classes.  He is using Schoology, which is an online learning platform that many Waynflete teachers are trying out this year, as a tool to present material to his students at home.  He has, for example, like other teachers across the country, videoed himself presenting course content which he then posts online as well as posting videos of lectures by others that he has selected from online sources.  At home, students watch these presentations and take notes, much as they would in class.  If they miss something, they can scroll back and listen again until they think they really understand the lesson.  The next day in class, with David’s careful guidance and under his watchful eye, they attempt to apply what they learn.  Not only does this strategy give David the opportunity to guide the learning, but it also allows him to assess how well each student is understanding the material, in time for corrective measures to be taken before a student’s learning is documented more formally on a test or quiz.  In addition, this approach helps students to become comfortable with the various technologies that they use in class and, in so doing, develop the skills they will need to succeed in college and beyond.

 

But it is not enough for David Vaughan to merely flip his classroom. Those of us who have been David’s colleagues or students know him not only to be a master of his material but also amazingly creative in how he presents it.  Suffice it to say that no other teacher at Waynflete and few, I suspect, in the world has a more extensive or eclectic collection of costumes hanging in the closet that are intended for classroom use to make particular lessons inescapably memorable.  Thus, for those of us who know him, it comes as no surprise to learn that, once again, he is going above and beyond.  Check out the following links for a peek into the most current iteration of a “flipped classroom”, David Vaughan style.

 

9th Grade Biology Flipped Lesson

 

Marine Biology Flipped Lesson

Motion in the Ocean Assignment

My Experience with Mock Trial

Posted by Waynflete Communications

At the beginning of August, I got a package in the mail from school, detailing my schedule and the available activities for the coming year. Being the semi control freak that I am, I made a list of everything I’d be doing: all the classes I’d be taking, the activities I’d be a part of, and the performing arts I wanted to partake in. At the top of my list, I put Mock Trial.
I joined this activity last year as a junior, but I’d wanted to try it out since I was a freshman. When I finally joined, it was more fun than I’d ever imagined. Mock Trial is just that, a mock trial. Schools all over the place participate in this competition, taking it to a national level. This year, there were around twenty two schools just in the state of Maine.
Last year, the case was a charge of manslaughter. Even though it was my first year, I was picked to portray the defendant herself, and it was such an amazing experience. We spent about two months preparing the trial and then went to the district court house in Portland to compete. Over one weekend we competed on Saturday and advanced in the competition to another round on Sunday. Although we didn’t move on from there, it was an incredibly fun experience and I knew that I’d be doing it senior year.
This year, our case was the same charge of manslaughter, but the circumstances were very different. It involved a teenager texting while driving, who subsequently crashed the car and killed one of the passengers. I was one of the eyewitnesses to the accident, and I was so excited about going to court and fighting for a place in the finals. On our first weekend, we went up against Berwick, who had been to the semi finals the year before. It was more challenging than I’d expected, but it was a healthy competition and we moved on to the second round, which took place the following weekend. In round two, we went up against an equally challenging competitor. Although we did not move on, the experience helped me to learn a lot about the Maine judicial system, and it drew our Mock Trial team close together. It also was a plus to be able to present in the same courtroom used by Maine’s Supreme Court.

The experience was unbelievable, and I absolutely hope to continue with Mock Trial in college, in some way. I was very lucky to be able to work alongside such an amazing team, and it made my senior year that much more memorable.

Staying Connected with Your Teen and Communicating about Substances

Posted by Waynflete Communications

We request that all Upper School parents read this article and then complete the survey that is linked here.

 

When we meet people and they find out that we are high school educators, they will sometimes ask about today’s youth and substance use.  “Is it still a problem?” they want to know.  Our  response is always the same. We sigh and simply say “Yes.”  While it is difficult to get a detailed picture of an activity that is essentially secretive, any high school administrator in America who has any awareness and is being honest will say the same.

 

How could we not?  The vast majority of America’s youth are either at-risk now or will be.  A fundamental reason why is that American culture is awash in messages to use drugs. Advertisements encourage viewers to  “Call your Doctor” for a pharmaceutical remedy to every ailment, athletic heroes turn to drugs to enhance performance or simply to get back into the game, and ever prevalent beer commercials run throughout every sports broadcast.  Moreover, the risk of use to youth is made greater because the consequences may well be severe, such as physical or emotional harm in the short term or possible addiction and irreversible brain damage in the long term. More subtly, substance use hijacks the brain’s natural reward system, deflates motivation, and limits achievement.

 

At the same time it tempts them to take these shortcuts, modern culture has made youth particularly vulnerable to substance use by marginalizing them.  The teen brain is primed for connection and purpose, yet our culture gives them few substantive roles to play.  We need their input and capacity to seek novel solutions to the very problems they are inheriting from us yet rarely ask for their input in meaningful ways. Thus, even high achieving students in this system are vulnerable to disengagement or feeling an emptiness inside which they are sometimes tempted to fill with drugs.  In addition, the cycle of procuring, using, and talking about using drugs further isolates youth by dividing users from their non-using peers and from important adults, including parents and teachers.  At a school such as Waynflete, which holds building high quality, trusting relationships between adults and youth as a core value, this cycle of use frays the fabric of our community.

 

Thus, we seek to prevent substance use among our students in myriad ways.  Anyone who has heard Lowell address the student body before Outdoor Experience on the subject of substance use knows that we communicate our expectations and the consequences for violating them very clearly and directly. But while rules and consequences are important components of an effective prevention strategy, they are not nearly sufficient to overcome the powerful lure to use as described above.  The key to doing so, in the words of Waynflete’s mission, is “to guide (our students) toward self-governance and self-knowledge and to encourage their responsible and caring participation in the world.”  In so doing, we help the young people in our charge to fill the void created by their marginalized status while strengthening their capacities to make healthy choices for themselves.  In a real sense, the entire Upper School experience serves as a prevention program in that each interaction and every component is intended to cultivate in our students a sense of meaning, purpose, and agency.  Furthermore, the emphasis on values and interpersonal skills in ninth grade seminar and throughout the advising curriculum provide our students with a place to get information about substances and the effects of using them.  Because we view students as the primary architects of their own lives, we help them to reflect on and improve their decision making skills.
We also know that parents have the greatest influence on all aspects of the lives of their children, including around decisions relating to the use of alcohol and other drugs.  For that reason, every year we seek to engage the parent body with this topic.  A few weeks ago, on the eve of Portland’s overwhelming vote to legalize the recreational use of marijuana,  we held a program for parents entitled “Communicating with Your Teen about Substances: An Evening with Geno Ring.” Geno has presented to Waynflete parents on multiple occasions.  A licensed substance abuse counselor, he has an uncanny ability to connect with young people as a therapist, consultant, father, and life coach.  His own story of recovery is one of reconnecting with a deep sense of purpose and meaningful work.

 

At the recent Waynflete event, Geno told his story to set the stage for the two people speaking with him – a young woman from Hyde and another from Bowdoin – who both shared compelling narratives of the impact of substances on their lives and the supportive role their parents continue to play as they recover.  Despite differences in circumstances, their stories had much in common.  Both young women spoke of social anxiety and lack of confidence in staying true to their own deeply held values that might have protected them from using had they sought more support from trusted adults early on.  Both cited the prevalence of alcohol use as a cultural norm that buffered them from seeing their own use as problematic until well after it clearly was even to their friends.  Perhaps most compelling was the insight by one presenter that though she started drinking to fit in and connect with people, her use had precisely the opposite effect.   Even during her highest usage when she was at the center of multiple parties, she felt utterly alone and disconnected from anything and anyone.

 

The presenters also reported that even after finally seeking and getting help they were haunted by traumatic memories of drug abuse and unwanted sexual experiences that too often result from heavy use of substances. Both girls said they have had to work hard to recognize and tolerate and seek positive alternatives to the varying degrees of painful memories and boredom that typically accompany recovery since they no longer use substances to mask those states. Their dramatic descent into such self-destructive behavior and despair and then the arduous work of recovery raised the question of what these young women, their peers, their school, and their parents might have done earlier to prevent such a painful episode.  The evening concluded with questions for the panelists and dialogue about how important it is to keep relationships with those close to us real and authentic rather than succombing to seeking an image of what we think others want us to be. At the moment, both young women are pursuing college and have reignited a desire to shape their futures through actively engaging their passions and interests.

 

The evening underscored the critical role we as teachers and parents can play in cultivating the capacity of each of our young people to realize a life of meaningful work and play.  “Teens have to learn how to be interesting and interested to keep themselves entertained and engaged without substances,” Geno noted, “so we need to give them plenty of opportunities to get that way. If you want to get to know your child, set the alarm for 11:00 p.m., get out of bed, and go watch YouTube with them – you’ll see what they think is funny and find out what they like.  Ask them what they are thinking and then listen.”

 

By engaging your children in such ways, you may or may not get a laugh, but you will learn something about them.  And most importantly, you may find that you are present for them, just when they need you most.

Please complete the parent survey linked here.

Students Really Invest in this Class

Posted by Waynflete Communications

It’s that time of year again and I don’t just mean pumpkins, turkeys, apples, or the opening time of the Maine Mall on November 28th.  I am talking about the intense Upper School fall ritual known as the Stock Market Game.  Every fall, juniors and seniors taking the Business and Finance elective participate in a stock market simulation.  There are endless online trading programs, but this one is especially geared towards schools.  We use SIFMA’s (Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) Stock Market Game.
There are 47 members of the Waynflete community currently participating; 36 students from either the Business and Finance class or the Finance Club, and 11 faculty/ staff.  The students are organized into teams and most are also managing individual accounts.
Each account provides $200,000 of buying power ($100,000 cash plus $100,000 as a loan).  Teams are ranked based on how their equity compares to that of the S&P 500.  Students are learning about corporations, stock markets, supply and demand, risk, and how math is really used in the real world.
Overheard in some recent classes…
“Wow, Tesla is tanking.  Classic example of a bubble stock or what?”
“Dude, we are looking at a 4.2% gain on that stock.  We could sell, but after the 1% commission what have we really made?”
“With the new gaming devices coming out, let’s take a look at Sony or something related.”
“Google blasted right through $1000.  So much for expected price resistance at that level.”
“I must defeat Simon.  He is too nonchalant about his success.”
“Whoa, Kautz is awful at this game.”
See above photo for a look at the latest team (as of Nov 13) rankings showing Team Madoff & Kostya leading the way.  The game ends December 15.

Global Perspectives Activity Presents to the Upper School

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Global Perspectives is an activity in the Upper School that started five years ago. Modeled from a national community service organization The Empty Bowl Project, students joined the mission for this activity which is centered around the core values of our school: global understanding and community service. The students sponsor a dinner each spring with food donations from Waynflete parents who own restaurants in the area. The modest meal is served in hand crafted bowls made by the students. This dinner raises funds to support two children in schools, The Tanzanian Children’s Fund and Friends of Kakamega.

Broadening our commitment to service that focuses on empathy and understanding, students have joined Gabriella Nuki in her self-started organization Tools for Schools. While working in a school in Bhutan this past summer, Gabi recognized the need for school supplies for children in this impoverished country. Global Perspectives researched and read about Bhutan, and then students designed a slide show and filmed interview of Gabi for an Upper School assembly. They asked students to donate working pens, pencils, markers, notebooks, paper, and crayons.

Global Perspectives invites the school community to join our efforts by providing Tools for Schools for the children of Bhutan. Working pens, pencils, markers, notebooks, paper, crayons are all a welcome donation.  Donations boxes are in the library and Student Center. If you have any questions, please contact Lorry Stillman .

Please visit these links to view the assembly presentation slide show and an interview of Gabriella Nuki.

Positive Risk Taking?

Posted by Waynflete Communications

It is amazing to learn what people carry with them  every day, hidden from view.  In fact, you might never really know until you ask them.  Generally speaking, when the topic of teenagers and risk is raised, it has a negative connotation; risk-taking by teens is usually regarded as something to be avoided.  Recently, we polled the Upper School students and asked their views on a different kind of risk taking.  In a survey, we asked them to:
“Describe a recent time when you faced a fear and took a positive risk.”

The students responded with a broad array of stories about times they had finally faced a fear that had been holding them back, a fear that in most cases they had held to themselves.  Their stories included times that they had chosen to risk failure by electing a more challenging course load, trying out a new sport or activity, or choosing the most rigorous Outdoor Experience option; to risk feeling exposed by speaking out on a controversial topic in history class or at church; to risk social rejection by standing up for a friend who was being treated poorly or asking to sit with a new group at lunch; to risk being alone by choosing to attend Waynflete and leaving old friends behind; and to risk emotional pain by learning to accept one’s own feelings or by confiding those feelings to another.

We also asked the students to explain what gave them the courage to take those risks.  In each of the instances listed above and in the many more that students related, they cited the importance of their parents, their friends, and trusted adults in helping them to choose to do the right thing.  They also noted the importance of their own internal capacity to push through fear of any kind.

The survey was the latest part of an extended conversation that we have been having with students this fall about the importance of taking positive risks in life in order to grow.  The conversation began at the opening Outdoor Experience meeting this fall when program coordinator Emily Graham asked the students to see their trips as an opportunity to “step outside of your comfort zones” whether by simply going on the trip, which is a big challenge for some, or, if being in the outdoors is not a challenge, by assuming a leadership role on the trip.  In my opening talk to students this fall, I recounted a time in my own high school career when I had let fear of failure hold me back academically, and I showed a video of a Hamilton College graduate delivering a speech on the importance of doing things not only “in spite of our fear” but also “because we are afraid.”  (Click here to read the text of my talk and to view the video of the Hamilton College speech).  Her delivery proved a powerful illustration of her message as she spoke forcefully despite having a profound stutter.  A couple of weeks ago, at the invitation of the Upper School advising team, Geoff Wagg spoke to the student body about a time when he took a positive risk.

After Geoff’s talk, we conducted the survey of US students cited above to find out what holds them back from taking positive risks and what helps them to push through.  (Click here to view a copy of the survey questions). Following are some of the results:

  • Seventy-seven percent of the students reported being held back in a significant way by some form of fear sometimes(60%), frequently (15%), or everyday (2%).
  • Of the fears listed that hold students back in a significant way, failure (64%) and social embarrassment (63%) topped the list followed by criticism (48%) and rejection (35%).  The other fears were indicated by 26% of the students or fewer.
  • Of the sources of support that help students overcome their fears and to take positive risks, family was ranked the highest, followed by the students themselves,  their friends, trusted adults, and inspiring examples of people that they don’t know.
  • Eighty-nine percent of the students reported being interested in building their capacities to take positive risks, with the bulk of them (47% of all students) reporting that they have already started pushing themselves to do so.  About a quarter of the student body reported that they are interested in building their capacity to take positive risks but have no idea how to do so.

The survey is probably not sophisticated enough to yield many scientifically valid conclusions.  Its data does, however, seem to indicate that various forms of fear do hold our students back from making some choices that would help them to grow.  In fact, the students even added to the list of things that hold them back, including a generalized feeling of anxiety.  The student response to the survey may even support the notion held by many that ours in an age in which a pervasive sense of uncertainty about the future has caused a heightened anxiety that is inhibiting the ability of young people to thrive.  While there may not be much that we as the significant adults in the lives of our youth can do now to make the future more certain, we can certainly strive to empower them to take charge of their lives.  One way to do so is to help them to build their capacities to take the risks that will help them grow.

The survey data also shows clearly that parents are the most important force in the lives of young people.  While that fact does not surprise me, a reminder to you parents is probably refreshing, given that your children are of an age when they might not communicate that point on a regular basis.  The data also reveals the importance of supportive friends, which validates the work we do to cultivate a healthy social climate and respectful peer relations at school.  And the data shows the importance of trusted adults in the lives of our students, which certainly validates the work we do as a faculty to build relationships with our students.  In addition, the data also indicates an overwhelming interest among students in building their capacities to face up to fears and take positive risks, and many report that they are already trying hard to do so.  That is great news.

Risk-taking is a tricky subject with which to engage our students.  On one hand, there are many risk-taking behaviors that we actively discourage because they are unhealthy, self-destructive, or dangerous.  On the other hand, we don’t want our young people to be fearful of the world and become risk averse, because that would surely thwart their growth.  The survey data will be the focus of discussions by the Upper School team as we consider ways to continue to help our students to build their capacities to take positive risks.  We hope you as parents will help as well by continuing to point your children towards the opportunities that they have to grow and bolstering them in the myriad ways you do to seize the day.

Electing an Education: Reflections on Nearly Three Decades of Creating Curriculum at Waynflete

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Lorry has been teaching English in the Middle and Upper School at Waynflete since 1987, inspiring her students to love literature, training them to read and write and helping them to discover their own voices.

After a move to a new home this summer, I spent a good deal of my time unpacking boxes of books. I performed this task with my usual sense of literary organization, cataloging fiction from memoir and poetry from drama. I continued filling shelves designated for male, female, foreign, in translation and in a foreign language. But one large box was labeled “Upper School Electives,” and these well-worn books needed a different rule of order, for they are separated in a more eclectic and far-reaching category than all the others.

It has been a privilege teaching in the Waynflete English department where junior and senior electives create this interesting collection of titles. When the department considers classes for elective choices, we discuss books within the canon and more contemporary titles. Literature is chosen to represent region, genre, style, gender, ethnicity, historical era and thematic idea – often creating a specific reading list that reflects all of all these descriptors. Southern Literature is a class that typifies this model. The reading focuses on the voice of the American south with speeches by Sojourner Truth and drama by August Wilson, novels by Toni Morrison and poetry by James Dickey. With our alternating years of World and American literature, students have the choice to move around the globe. For example, through its study of fiction, film, and historical documents, African Literature examines the experiences of cultures throughout the continent from the time of first contact with Europeans through conquest, colonization, and independence, tracing the efforts of the indigenous African people to re-imagine post-colonial identities in the context of a modern and increasingly globalized world.

In developing elective classes, teachers are encouraged to pursue their passions and interest, bringing personal and professional energy to the teaching curriculum. When I first taught Literature of the Holocaust, I used this elective to further my research and writing. This research became the foundation for a published guide for teachers on the Holocaust of World War ll, which I completed during a sabbatical.  I soon enlarged the curriculum to include genocide of the world, both past and present. The class examines the historic relevance of genocide in the contemporary world with readings about Rwanda, Nigeria, Armenia and Haiti.

The elective system at Waynflete has also afforded me the good fortune to co-teach Word and Image with Judy Novey, the chair of the Visual Arts department, This unique and interdisciplinary class was created from our shared fascination for the representative ideas in the visual and written arts. With one-of-a- kind artist books, students combine the imagery that illuminates a visual and written idea. The bookmaking poses the challenge of thinking about expressing self with poetry and personal essay in combination with drawing, painting and photographic imagery. The bookmaking answers the essential questions, What is the meaning of metaphor in both the visual and written arts? How does form reflect content? The emergent books are examples of multiple intelligences working together, challenging students to use words, images, and book binding to simultaneously create their ideas and hone them.  See the embedded picture gallery for a sampling of the books.The most essential quality of our elective program is the opportunity it creates for students to choose their classes, and this extends to all departments in the Upper School. Choice empowers their learning and creates a challenge to invest in the expectations of the class. Electives teach students to plan a balanced transcript that includes writing, reading and research. Students benefit from the depth of study and sequence of Biology to Advanced Biology. Environmental Science uses our school and larger communities to examine our global footprint. Language students move through challenging composition, film and literature classes in expanding their oral skills. Interdisciplinary classes in the visual arts and English and History help students expand their critical thinking in the liberal arts.The elective program of our Upper School holds unique benefits for our students. I have witnessed the energy and enthusiasm of a junior who selected Literature of Vietnam in order to further his discovery of his family’s experience as political refugees to this country. One of my advisees who returned from a term at the Chewonki Semester School as a junior was able to further her growing personal commitment to the environment by electing Environmental Science. Students make important decisions in choosing elective classes, which provide the opportunity to dig deeply into specific worlds of interest while still creating a solid academic foundation necessary to move forward beyond the Waynflete experience.

When I held in my hands this past summer the well-annotated books of all the classes I have taught in the Upper School, I recognized the choices I have been able to make as a teacher: to pursue what I did not know, to develop my interests, and to learn from others. It occurred to me then that I, too, have received a Waynflete education.

Upper School Students Watch a Texting and Driving Documentary

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Given the temptations and dangers of texting and driving to everyone, including young drivers, we decided to show the entire Upper School student body a segment of the documentary on the subject, From One Second to the Next, created by the famous film director, Werner Herzog.  Our plan is to show it on Thursday, October 24 to the 10th and 11th grades in small groups and to follow the viewing with a discussion.  We will show it to the seniors next week and to the 9th grade in the spring in Seminar as part of the risk-taking unit.

Here is the link to an NPR story about the film.  The film itself is linked to the story.  We hope you all will take the time to watch it and talk about it with your children.

GLTR Successfully Hosts First Screening in the Country for Girl Rising

Posted by Waynflete Communications

Last Thursday, the Girls Leadership Group celebrated a significant turnout for the screening and discussion of the film Girl Rising- a new film highlighting the tragic fact that 66 million school age girls are out of school worldwide. Many girls, like Suma from Nepal, are required to work or care for young children, others, like Wadley, an 8 year old from Haiti, are too poor to afford school fees.  Each of the 9 girls was paired with a writer from her own country who was willing to spend time witnessing the girls’ day-to-day lives. Says Maddy Pellow, junior and student leader of GLTR, “The film made a point of showing hope within the most dire situations, it demonstrated that there is a chance for happy endings and we can all help to achieve them. Additionally, it showed that this is not just an issue for girls and women because in many of the stories it is the men who made the biggest positive impacts in their daughters’ and sisters’ lives and futures.”

Several of the girls’ struggles were about the fight to get back into school after being told or forced to leave. During the film debrief, the story of Malala Yousafzai came up, along with her recent remark on the Daily Show, “You don’t know what you have until it is snatched from you.” Malala was forced to leave school by the Taliban and shot in the head when she spoke out about it. She is now an author and spokesgirl for girls’ education in Afghanistan.  Sophie Raffel, a senior who helped to facilitate the discussion after the screening, was optimistic about the film’s impact.  “I hope Girl Rising will inspire more girls to create change, whether it be through large or small actions. Inspiring more girls to lead movements inside the classroom, the office or the government, will change the world.”

A major theme in the film is the high return on investment for a country’s economic development when girls are educated. When girls receive education and find themselves with more opportunity, it has an impact that reaches further than a single individual: political climate, economic stability, and the overall health of a nation’s population are affected positively.  “Girl Rising exposed the statistics surrounding women’s education in a more impactful way putting a face to numbers which are sometime hard to comprehend. Hopefully, this movie will impact other students, both boys and girls, around the world with the same immediacy” remarked Vanessa Van Deusen, a senior who is new to GLTR. The film has been a catalyst for discussions about future activism in GLTR, and the group is considering ways to sponsor a girl’s education through the Girl Rising movement.

GLTR thanks all those who attended, as well as CIEE, a partner in the Girl Rising movement, who made the film available for the screening at Waynflete.  Over 2,000 screenings are planned worldwide this year in the hope that a broader social movement will be generated and ensure basic human rights and a brighter future for all girls.  More information about the movement can be found at the Girls Rising website at http://www.girlrising.com/

Changing the court system to help young offenders

Posted by Waynflete Communications

One of the largest and most pressing issues inMaine is the problem of over-incarceration. I believe the solution is criminal justice reform and the reduction of recidivism.

Most people interested in such things have heard of “the revolving door,” symbolizing the perpetual cycle of convicted people through the phases of our flawed justice system: get caught, receive your sentence, do time, leave jail with little support, repeat.

From the very moment the judge pronounces you guilty, your chances of returning to jail or prison within three years increase by a staggering 43 percent, according to a 2011 Pew Charitable Trust survey.

This is simply not an acceptable statistic, and only contributes to other dismal statistics such as prison costs, unemployment and homelessness.

Our judicial system cannot continue as it has while people continue to cycle through jails and prisons.

What do we do? The answer is start early.

At-risk youth are one of the most important targets to address so that, in later years, these young men and women can contribute positively to society, not become another passenger in the revolving door.

Last summer, an organization called Youth Move Maine decided this issue was simply too important to ignore. A grant and two employees later, the Maine Youth Court was born, to directly tackle the enormous issue of how to reduce recidivism and get kids back on the right path.

Youth court is one of the many national initiatives to recognize that, in order to change such a drastic and long-term issue, one must think a little bit outside of the box. We can’t change anything until we change the system, or at least provide an alternative to the standard judicial process.

Additionally, youth court tackles a problem with growing recognition: the harmful practice of suspension or expulsion from school.

If an adolescent has committed a crime, ejecting and isolating this individual from their school community or extracurricular strengths has a backwards effect: It only increases the likelihood that the teen will repeat his or her behavior.

At-risk teens are often faced with myriad problems that require support, whether the issue is family life, substance abuse or peer pressure, and in order to truly address the root of one’s “bad” behavior so that it does not occur again, we have to provide this support and strengthen a youth’s bond with his or her community.

That is exactly what youth court does. Its process involves referrals of first-time high school- or middle schoolaged youths who have committed minor infractions such as possession, vandalism or theft. The youths are diverted — either directly by their schools as an alternative to suspension or expulsion; or by police officers, juvenile community corrections officers or the court — from a traditional punitive process. Youth court procedures also do not appear on a youth’s permanent record.

The most unique aspect of youth court is that it is nearly entirely youth-run. High school volunteers perform as advocates or judges to complete a hearing in which a disposition is decided for the young defendant known as a “respondent.”

The disposition can include anything from letters of apology, mandated weekly time with mom, or playing basketball with the younger members of the Boys and Girls Club. The disposition is created by judges with four fundamental goals:
  • repair the harm done by the crime;
  • build knowledge, skills and resources for the respondent;
  • create connections for the youth in his or her community and family; and build strengths by customizing the disposition according to interests or strengths.
The respondent is given three months to complete his or her disposition; incompletion could result in a return to the court, the school or wherever the first alley of punishment was.

The purpose of youth court is to provide an environment where youths are truly given a voice, and to create an alternative plan to a punitive sentence which focuses on education and fostering stronger relationships and values.

I have been a youth court volunteer since December 2012.

I must confess that, initially, I was not a believer.

And that is one of the major issues with creating true change in the criminal justice system. This nation has become so universally accustomed to the status quo that many have come to accept the revolving door not as a clear indicator of a major error in our system, but as “just the way it is.”

Working with youth court has been eye-opening. Contrary to the cynical voice of 2012 in the back of my mind, the process actually works.

One success story is the case of “Chris,” who was caught for possession and use of marijuana on school property. His high school awarded him “student of the semester” before his youth court disposition had even been completed.

No, youth court is not Maine’s silver bullet, but without these grassroots movements contributing town by town, county by county, how are we ever going to see true change?
If you aren’t quite a believer yet, you can read more about the program and the upcoming training for it in the Bath- Brunswick area at www.midcoastcasa.org.

SOPHIE RAFFEL is a student at the Waynflete School, an intern with the American Civil Liberties Union and a volunteer for the Maine Youth Court.
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