Sad News to Share

I have some sad news to share. Anne Poultney Taylor ’24 passed away late last week. Anne was our oldest living alumnus (we think) and celebrated her 100th birthday two months ago. I had the opportunity to visit with her three times over the past year. What a wonderful person! In an earlier post, I shared her story about being sent to Mr. Hillyer’s office in 1922 (in the W. Chase Street building) after she ran into a classroom and exclaimed that her baby sister (Elinor Wagner '34) had been born. Anne vividly remembered her teachers and spoke so lovingly about Calvert—the school she attended 90 years ago. She made a big impact on me, as did several other Calvert “legends” who passed away recently, including benefactor Bill Carey ’42 (who said time and time again the best education he ever received was at Calvert), and Jack Morton ’31, who always told me he “loved every brick in this building.” It is imperative that we do everything in our power to ensure that the Calvert students of today have an equally special experience.

New Administrators

I have excellent news to share regarding two recently concluded administrative searches. Calvert Fifth Grade teacher Pam Ossmus will assume the role of Academic Dean, which will help oversee faculty professional development, curriculum, instruction, and standardized testing; coordinate the teacher ladder process; run the new teacher orientation and mentoring program; serve as administrative liaison to the Outreach, Green Schools, and International Committees, and oversee our Association of Independent Maryland & DC Schools (AIMS) reaccreditation process.
Pam brings a wide array of skills to her new post; her excellent CV includes over twenty years in public, parochial, and independent school settings; a K-8 teaching certification; fourth and fifth grade classroom positions; Calvert Education Services (CES) advisory teaching and education counselor experience; and two years as Professional Development Coordinator at CES. In that role, Pam developed a strategic, research-based professional development program that included both on-site and virtual services. Pam traveled to CES schools across the country and then targeted specific "21st Century" professional development needs based on classroom observations and teacher input. Moreover, she developed and constructed an online Professional Development Portal and prepared and delivered presentations both locally and nationally.

I am also pleased to introduce Craig Luntz as our new Director of Technology. Currently the Director of Academic Technology at Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Craig has led many projects there, including coordinating the integration of tablets and the expansion of their 1-1 laptop program to the fifth and sixth grades; deployment of iPads to the support the fifth grade pilot program; re-designing the summer technology professional development program; and creating and maintaining a web-based set of academic technology resources for faculty, staff, and students. On a daily basis, Craig supports teachers and students with all phases of academic technology integration, including planning, in-class visits, and facilitating assemblies on digital citizenship and the responsible use of technology. In the independent school community, Craig has emerged as a national leader in the field of blended learning. Through his role as a faculty member in The Online School for Girls (www.onlineschoolforgirls.org), he has co-developed and taught regular sessions of a four-week course on Blended Learning. In late February, his presentation at the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Annual Conference in Seattle, entitled Blended Learning: Design Technology Goes Online was “standing room only.” Craig has also given workshops at multiple other venues, including the AIMS Technology Retreat, Sloan Consortium Blended Learning Conference, and Lausanne Laptop Institute.

Both Pam and Craig will begin their new roles in the summer. We are quite fortunate, indeed, to have attracted such high-caliber educators into the Calvert community!

State Champion!

We at Calvert now have a State Champion in our midst! One of our Tenth Age girls won the "All Around" gymnastics competition for her age group, while also finishing second on floor, beam, and vault and first on the bars. In addition, for the second year in a row, she made the Maryland State Team, which includes the top six gymnasts in the state at each age level. This is truly exciting news for the student, her family, and Calvert!

Tenth Age Performing Arts Show

As reported before in my blog, the Calvert Fine and Performing Arts program is thriving. With each passing month, there are new and improved events, beautiful projects on display, and high-quality performances from a variety of grade levels. On Friday, the showcase activity was the Tenth Age Performing Arts Show. The participation was so strong--24 acts!--that we had to move the event up to 1:30 PM from its original start time of 2:00. Forty-six students (a full two-thirds of the grade) performed during three different Acts: Dance, Poem/Instrumental, and Vocal/Band. The students were terrific! There was truly a great diversity of skills on display: piano, poetry recitation, rock 'n roll, pop, and modern dance, just to name a few. What started out as a 20-30 minute show in the music room two years ago has quickly evolved into a 90 minute show in the Auditorium. I am very proud of all the performers!

Sprinting, not Winding Down

It has already started again this spring. I have been asked several times, as I am routinely in late March or early April, "So, are you winding down the school year?" I always answer emphatically, "No, we are sprinting to the finish!" The running analogy really is apt here, as we have run a strong race thus far and are headed into the final lap of a four lap contest--one lap per academic quarter. We can see the end in sight, but we cannot slow down. There is too much race left! In our case here at Calvert, there are skills to be honed, material to be learned, games to be played, speeches to be delivered, class plays to be performed, and lessons to be taught. The school calendar is literally packed with events, with fine arts nights, talent shows, grade-level plays, interscholastic athletic events, Track and Field Day, and Calvert Day (our spring fair)--among many other activities--filling the docket. It is shaping up to be an exhilarating "last lap" of the 2011-2012 school year, indeed!

The Power of Observation

A few months ago, as Middle School morning handshaking was wrapping up at about 8:15 AM, I just stood there and observed a variety of movements, conversations, and sights: multiple high-quality art projects on the walls and in display areas; dozens (literally) of students bounding down the stairs after early morning squash practice and hustling to their first period class; 7th graders happily starting a dress rehearsal in the Black Box Theater under the tutelage of their enthusiastic teacher; and a math teacher and a 7th grader pleasantly discussing when the best test date would be given that the student had a conflict (because of the aforementioned dress rehearsal!). All in all, it was a great few moments, with academics, art, drama, athletics, and several authentic teacher-student relationships all "on display." The scene reminded me about the power of observation. An observer, while standing in a common area such as a lobby or main hallway, can learn a tremendous amount about a school (or a workplace!) without actually speaking with anyone. What are the students wearing? If they are wearing a uniform, do their accessories (shoes, backpacks, jackets) differentiate them from each other in any way? How are they interacting with each other? With adults? How are the adults interacting? What items are hanging on the walls? Tone and demeanor of the students and adults? I encourage you to "be an observer" in your school or workplace and then to reflect about whether your observations were in line with your prior thoughts or expectations.