Writing Discussion in 10-A

I was invited by one of our Tenth Age girls' homerooms, 10-A, to discuss the importance of writing in my career. The girls were a great audience and made numerous insightful comments. I stressed several points: 1) know your audience 2) follow a process (brainstorming, organizing, writing, proofreading, and revising); 3) use descriptive, non-repetitive vocabulary. I also emphasized that reading extensively and proofreading others' work will improve their own writing. In addition, I shared that asking for help is really important. In fact, I told the girls that I still ask my mother for help with grammatical and style questions! My own Calvert education gave me an excellent writing foundation, and I am very grateful.

The Big Apple

I was in New York City from Sunday to Tuesday for a fundraising conference as well as our annual New York City alumni event, so graciously hosted each year by Mr. Bill Carey '42 and Mr. Frank Carey '38. We had a record attendance of 60 alumni and friends at the dinner! Again, as I shared after my Florida alumni trip, the passion of the alumni was palpable. The alumni ranged from the classes of 1935 to 1998 and everywhere in between. They shared stories of their Calvert years, asked about teachers, and inquired about the future challenges and opportunities for Calvert. It was a wonderful evening; I am already looking forward to next year's event!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

On Wednesday, I sat down to have a quick lunch with a table of 8th Age girls in the Lower School Cafeteria. As we ate, we talked about what was happening at school that day. It was a pleasant, normal conversation. After about five minutes, I had to leave for my next appointment. I said, "Goodbye, girls, have a nice afternoon," to which one girl replied enthusiastically, with a big smile, "See you later, big fella." She said her words with affection, and I had to summon all my powers not to burst out laughing. I contained myself, chuckled, smiled, and walked away. I have since recounted the story at prospective parents' night and at our faculty and staff meeting later that week, and on both occasions, the audience roared with laughter. At Calvert, we obviously do teach our students to speak confidently with their peers and to adults! :)

Dr. King Day of Service a Huge Success!

Today, we held our first-ever Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. It was an outstanding day; over 250 members of the Calvert community attended! The day began in the Middle School Atrium with inspiring speeches about Dr. King, service, and Calvert by Dr. Jannette Dates, Dean of the School of Communications at Howard University, and Dr. Kaye Whitehead, Assistant Professor of Communications at Loyola University Maryland. After the opening session, participants dispersed to a variety of locations both on and off campus to complete a range of service projects, including making scarves, casseroles, and cards, and painting a back-drop for a Lower School class play. The sense of community was palpable throughout the day.

Many thanks to Mrs. Babb, Mr. Skeen, Mrs. Williams, the Outreach Committee, and the Day of Service Committee for their hard work in making today a huge success!

Florida and Charlie Brown

Yes, this is an interesting name for a posting. However, it is accurate! On Thursday night, I was in Naples, Florida, for a Calvert event. We had 16 alumni, grandparents, and friends in attendance. The alums ranged from the Class of 1934 to the Class of 2000! I had goosebumps as Mrs. Wagner from the Class of 1934 spoke lovingly of her Calvert teachers. She clearly remembered faculty members from 80 years ago. Speaking with older alumni underscores what I regularly say to our faculty and staff: we have an enormous impact on our students now and for the rest of their lives.

This weekend, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown was on stage in the Black Box Theater in the Middle School. The cast was comprised of 7th graders, while 8th graders served as crew and assisted Ms Marlowe with the direction. The play was very funny, and the actors had terrific stage presence and well as spot-on timing with their lines. There was a good deal of singing in the play, which forced some students out of their comfort zones. They rose to the occasion, however. I was impressed. A key part of the Calvert experience is learning to speak clearly in front of one's peers in a classroom and on stage. That curriculum strand was certainly fulfilled in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all of my readers! I hope that you had a chance to enjoy the holiday and rest up for what will hopefully be a terrific 2010! I was able to enjoy some quality R&R myself. The stretch between now and Spring Break is the busiest of the year from an administrative perspective: student re-enrollment contracts, faculty contracts, admissions events and decisions, and financial aid committee meetings, to name a few of the major occurrences coming up. It is an exciting time, because the current school year is going full steam ahead while major planning for 2010-2011 is happening at the same time. By the way, it will take me a good month or so to get used to writing and saying "2010." Where did the last decade go? It seems just yesterday when everyone was panicked over the "Y2K" transition!

I need to make a selection for my spring book club evening, to be held in April. I am a little more than halfway through Checklist Manifesto, by Dr. Atul Gawande, who wrote Better, one of my previous selections. Checklist Manifesto is very good thus far. I am wondering about the applicability of checklists in education. If checklists work in surgery, which requires both knowledge of basic procedures plus the ability to adapt on the fly, will they work in a classroom? Do we use checklists already in education without calling them checklists? Do my readers have any book suggestions?

Best wishes to all for a wonderful 2010!