Head's Reflections

  • Posted May 2, 2013

    A Case Study of Innovative Instruction

    This spring, Ceramics students in Aggie Belt’s class and Studio Art students in Sarah Meyer’s class engaged in a project that serves as an excellent example of the forward-looking education which makes me so proud to be leading St. Mark’s at this moment in our history. The students in each class paired up with someone from the other class to create abstract three dimensional objects inspired by the microscopic patterns found either in crystals, plants, or mammals. The beautiful, deceptively simple, finished products are now on display in Taft (see photo at right). Aggie and Sarah advance skills many have identified as essential for success in the 21st Century world and they use technology and incorporate ideas from beyond St. Mark’s in ways that meaningfully advance our students’ learning. (read more)

  • Posted February 22, 2013

    Intellectual Spark Outside the Classroom: David Vachris’s Initiatives

    As I was walking down the Main Hallway after Seated Lunch on a recent Friday, Dean of Students David Vachris came up to me with a huge smile on his face and asked, “do you have time to go down to the Library? There are four chess games going on; Doug Piper is doing a great job leading a chess club!” I know chess in our Library is close to Vac’s heart because a couple of months before Vac had put a very attractive chess board close to the front door and rarely is the chess board idle. “How can I say ‘no’ to witnessing an example of intellectual spark?” I replied. Two minutes later, I was very happy to see eight students intently plotting their next moves under Doug’s supportive gaze.


    Initiating an interest in chess is just one of many steps Vac has taken during his tenure as Dean of Students to further enhance the School’s atmosphere of intellectual vibrancy, complementing the three Strategic Plan initiatives that are aimed at the same objective. Another initiative is The Fifteen Minute Lecture, which takes place after Friday Seated Meals and is advertised as an opportunity “where 15 minutes can get you 15% more knowledge.” This idea “originated with former Math Institute Director Jim Tanton,” Vac told me. “Jim observed that anybody can spend fifteen minutes learning something; asking for a longer time commitment would not be as attractive.” David solicits faculty and students to give brief lectures on any topic they believe would interest students. Topics have included, Modern Language teacher Esther Sanchez explaining the Mayan prediction about the end of the world, VI Former Shawn Wu describing his community service initiative in Mongolia, English teacher John Camp identifying lessons about life he has drawn from Peanuts and V Former Laura Sanchez demonstrating to Opera goers how to walk successfully in high heels (well that last example may not be especially intellectual). VI Former Ian Martin remembers the life lessons lecture many months later, “Mr. Camp gave me a really interesting way to think about life that had not occurred to me.”(read more)

  • Posted January 7, 2013

    The Importance of Relationships

    Chapel Talk January 7, 2013

    A Reading from Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

    Ubuntu is the essence of being a person. It means that we are people through other people. We cannot be fully human alone. We are made for interdependence, we are made for family. When you have ubuntu, you embrace others. You are generous, compassionate. If the world had more ubuntu, we would not have war. We would not have this huge gap between the rich and the poor. You are rich so that you can make up what is lacking for others. You are powerful so that you can help the weak, just as a mother or father helps their children. This is God's dream. -

    When my son Ethan and my daughter Amanda were young, they would trundle into my bed on Christmas morning, at their grandparents' house in Western Maine, and settle in for a good long read (longer than they actually wanted). The memory is very powerful for me, Ethan stretched out on one side of me, and Amanda stretched out on the other side of me, both looking at Babar and Father Christmas which I would hold in front of us. Babar and Father Christmas was the perfect book to provide a lengthy distraction, very important because given Ethan and Amanda's excitement on Christmas morning, they woke up far earlier than their grandparents. The book was the perfect size--big--and it has great drawings which, along with a wonderful text, can hold a child's attention (and a parent's attention) for a long time. Enjoying the drawings and text, the three of us would follow Babar, the King of the Elephants, as he leaves Celesteville on a quest to make the children of the town happy by finding Father Christmas, and convincing Father Christmas to include Celesteville on his Christmas Eve route. Babar's quest is long and arduous, made more manageable by the companionship of his faithful little dog, which reminded us of our faithful little dog. Babar must first find a particular professor in a fancy city who can tell Babar where Father Christmas lives. Then Babar, wrapped up in many layers of winter clothes, must climb a tall snow covered mountain. He first comes upon elves, who are not at all happy with the visitor, but eventually all turns out well. Babar convinces a skeptical Father Christmas that Celesteville is just the place not only to leave presents but also to stay for a bit of a tropical vacation to recover from the rigors of his Christmas Eve ride. (read more)

  • Posted November 30, 2012

    The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning: Inspiring the Best in Every St. Mark's Student and Faculty Member

    When you walk to where the Forbes Center used to be, right in the middle of the Main Building, you currently find a construction zone. After months of demolition, structural steel is now being installed so that you can envision what the space will become: the offices and resource rooms for the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. You can also imagine the transformative effect this space will have for St. Mark's.

    Once the construction is complete, by the end of March, every student and every faculty member will pass the Center's offices and resource rooms multiple times each day. And students and faculty will not simply walk past, the program and opportunities offered by the Center's staff will draw them in. A student with a deep interest in Science, will engage in conversations about enrichment opportunities like a summer marine biology program off the coast of Maine; a student seeking a travel opportunity will learn about possibilities in Asia. A faculty member whose imagination has been piqued by design thinking will find information about a relevant conference or degree program. A student seeking advice about how to identify the most important information in a United States History assignment will find support, as will a teacher seeking to create tests that will most effectively assess whether students have incorporated Spanish verb forms into their long term memory. (read more)

  • Posted November 2, 2012

    The St. Mark’s Science Research Fellowship: a Case Study of The Strategic Plan’s Promise

    Anyone who heard VI Former Katie von Campe and Science Chair Kimberley Berndt describe, at the October Boston Reception, the new Science Research Course could not help but have been impressed. Katie spoke with infectious enthusiasm about the project she has developed as one of eight Research Fellows: understanding biological factors that affect cognition. Kimberley conveyed great pride explaining the components of the course: how it starts with an application the previous spring, includes research during the summer, requires a research project that is interdisciplinary and collaborative, and must also incorporate a service component to ensure that the project has concrete real-world relevance. (A recent St. Mark’s website article elaborates on the details of this innovative course .)

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