Horace Mann - Winter 2012 - (Page 11)

celebrating 125 years: preparing great and giving lives children, we reshape the community in small ways, and the School recreates its student population every 15 years. As we create the student body of the next 15 years, we must think about the kind of leaders that our country and our world need. This speaks directly to the ideas of diversity, global awareness, and inclusion. Head of the Upper Division Dr. David Schiller, on exploring future curricular initiatives: “One way in which we’ve been engaging the project of curriculum revision is by visiting other schools similar to ours. We observe classes and talk with teachers, students, and administrators about their courses of study, schedules, and ways of handling change. It’s great to talk to people who are doing the job we’re doing. We’ve found many wonderful examples from which we can profit and have been favorably impressed with how thoughtfully many independent schools are organized. We’re now in the second year of the project, and have invited guests to Horace Mann to speak with us about various relevant topics, including how adolescents think, the new developments in technology and their affects on our students, and the future of college liberal arts education. These talks have stimulated much thoughtful consideration of our future.” Head of the Middle Division, Robin Ingram: “The Middle Division, as the newest of the HM Divisions, has almost continually been developing new curricular models and materials to match the needs of this age group. The return of the Williamsburg trip creates a reinventing of the sixth grade History curriculum. Hands-on math materials have been developed to support student learning. The history and English departments have begun a dialog about writing across the curriculum. English and science classes offer a choice of one trimester electives with clear skills identified. Curricular innovation is currently shared across departments, and the next step is to broaden the discussion to share across divisions.” Head of the Lower Division, Wendy Steinthal: “How fortunate we are to have children come to us with tremendous natural curiosity and excitement about learning. We are able to capitalize on these and focus on our curriculum, making sure to enhance the skills that will support our students as they move from one division to the next. Our curriculum serves to enhance our community, bringing balance to intellectual pursuits and preparation for what lies ahead.” students explore the environment and community at dorr. lem solve, and reflect on their actions as they become more independent learners. Our classrooms are inviting spaces that support inquiry and spark creativity, and our Nursery Division community is focused on the parent-teacher partnership to strengthen the support system for each child at this important developmental stage, and into the future.” John Dorr Nature Laboratory Director, Glenn Sherratt, on how the “Dorr” experience responds to Horace Mann School’s Core Values: “At Dorr, the School’s Core Values serve as the threads that form the fabric of what we do, and we use the outdoors as the medium through which students can experience their relationships with others and the natural environment in new and different ways. At the center of this experience and the essence of Dorr is awareness and understanding of community, from both an interpersonal and biological standpoint. Strategic planning requires that we explore and celebrate our interdependence as we strive to create a more sustainable environment.” Director of Technology, Adam Kenner, on the need to incorporate technological advances into academic life at HM, and in education today: “Horace Mann has a tradition of excellent education, and the intent is not to remove that tradition but to keep it alive in a new century, with new tools that respond to the development of new minds. One hundred years ago people had to go to school because that was where the knowledge was. That’s where the books were. That’s where the teachers were. Fifty years Head of the Nursery Division, Marcia Levy: “The ago things hadn’t changed that much. But today, knowledge foundation for lifelong learning begins in the nurturing is everywhere, from your phone to the street. In the past 20 environment of the Horace Mann School Nursery Division. years the activity of acquiring knowledge has gone off the The children thrive in an atmosphere that supports charts. The challenge of education today is to help students exploration, collaboration and intellectual curiosity. Our create a context for all that knowledge. I do believe that preschool children are inspired to think, plan and make schools that are open to connecting with new technology to connections. They are encouraged to ask questions, problead their students to knowledge will lead the way.” $ Horace mann magazine Winter 2012 11

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Winter 2012

Horace Mann - Winter 2012
Contents
Letters
Greetings from Dr. Tom Kelly
Greetings from Melissa Parento ’90
Horace Mann School’s 125th Anniversary Observances Begin
Strategic Thinking
New Initiatives in Institutional Research and Admissions
HM's New Director of College Counseling
Timothy HO and Monica Merlo are 2011 Tina and Dave Bellet Teaching Excellence Award Winners
Langfan Oratorical Contest, 2011
Horace Mann School Graduates 178 in June, 2011
Alumni Council Corner
Bookshelf
Class Notes
Memorials
Philanthropy and You

Horace Mann - Winter 2012