Education

Area Golfers Hit the Links for Chesapeake’s Student-Athletes

September 24, 2018 by Chesapeake College Leave a Comment

Opportunities are available for golfers and tournament sponsorships for Chesapeake College’s Annual Golf Tournament on Monday, Oct. 15 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Resort in Cambridge.

Each year the tournament raises money for the General Athletic Scholarships Fund. More than 61 student-athletes are currently receiving Chesapeake College scholarships. This financial assistance allows students to pursue higher education as they continue to excel in the sports that they love.

“It means so much to have a scholarship. It’s helped me tremendously. This scholarship has given me a great opportunity to change my life and play soccer,” said men’s soccer team co-captain Cody Mesias, a freshman midfielder.

Chesapeake’s Skipjacks earn accolades for both their athletic and academic accomplishments. In the 2017-2018 academic year, 13 Skipjacks were on the Maryland JUCO All-Academic Team as student-athletes with a 3.8 Grade Point Average. In May, 23 student-athletes graduated from Chesapeake, and 31 transferred to four-year institutions.

The tournament brings together supporters from across the five-county service area. Businesses, organizations and individuals are signing on as event sponsors.

“We are thrilled that so many community organizations and individuals have stepped up to sponsor this year’s tournament and show their support for our student-athletes,” said President Cliff Coppersmith. “We look forward to having our event at the Hyatt, where the director of golf, Abby Messick, is a Chesapeake College alumna.”

Hays Companies of Maryland is the Tournament Sponsor, while Barnes & Noble and Sodexo are Skipjack Sponsors.

Hole sponsors include: TriGas & Oil Inc./ Comfort Plus Services; Shore United Bank; Dixon Valve; Jim Vermilye, CFP, The SRVP Group – Baird; PKS & Company; and Bruce & Blenda Armistead.

This year’s tee sponsors include: Integrace Bayleigh Chase; Chesapeake Investment Planning; Miles and Stockbridge; Key One, Inc.; Jim Vermilye, CFP, The SRVP Group – Baird; The Whalen Company; TGM Group, LLC.; and Stuart & Gail Bounds.

The cost for entry is $175 per golfer or $600 per foursome. The price includes continental breakfast, lunch during play, and a post-round reception.

For more information or to register, please visit https://chesapeake.edu/golf2018

About Chesapeake College

Founded in 1965 as Maryland’s first regional community college, Chesapeake serves five Eastern Shore counties – Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. With more than 130,000 alumnae, Chesapeake has 2,300 students and almost 10,000 people enrolled in continuing education programs.

Filed Under: Chesapeake College, Homepage Notes, Portal Notes

Kent School Students to Participate in Global Character Day

September 23, 2018 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Kent School students, teachers and administrators will participate in Global Character Day on Wednesday, September 26. Global Character Day brings together over 180,000 groups around the world with tools to encourage the development and use of traits of good character. Michelle Duke, Kent School’s Assistant Head of School for Academics, said, “Our participation in Global Character Day coordinates nicely with our participation in Harvard University’s Making Caring Common initiative and our partnership with Changing Perspectives. These partnerships help make character education and the teaching of of empathy strategies more intentional at Kent School.” Duke continued, “We know we cannot teach good character traits in one day and that it is not good enough to ask students to exhibit good character for just one day, so we will use the materials associated with Global Character Day in classes and advisory groups throughout the academic year. We also know that through mind, brain and education science good character can be taught.”

From the Character Day website, “We are all works in progress. On September 26, 2018, millions of people around the globe will gather for the fifth annual Character Day — a global initiative where school districts, organizations, families, and congregations of all sizes screen films on the science of character development from different perspectives. Students and teachers will dive into discussion materials catered to different ages around the importance of developing character strengths (resilience, grit, empathy, courage, kindness). All materials are backed by evidence-based research and latest breakthroughs in everything from mindfulness to neuroscience. Character Day is one day. The resources are available year-round.”

Nancy Mugele, Head of Kent School added, “We are committed to teaching empathy, acceptance and awareness of others at Kent School. These resources and relationships help us fulfill our mission of guiding students to realizing the full potential for academic, artistic, athletic, and moral excellence. We believe that discussions around empathy strategies will be meaningful for all students and we can help them navigate their rapidly changing world.”

Kent School, located on the bank of the Chester River in historic Chestertown, is an independent school celebrating 50 years of serving boys and girls in PK – Grade 8 from throughout the mid-shore and parts of Delaware. Kent School’s mission is to guide its students in reaching their potential for academic, artistic, athletic and moral excellence. The School’s family-oriented, supportive, student-centered environment fosters the growth of honorable, responsible citizens for our country and our diverse world. For more information visit www.kentschool.org or call 410-778-4100 ext. 110

Filed Under: Homepage Notes, Portal Notes

Andrew Lawler to Discuss His Book “The Secret Token” Oct. 4

September 22, 2018 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

The ultimate fate of the more than 100 men, women, and children who landed on Roanoke Island in 1587, with the intent to establish a European settlement in the New World, has been one of the greatest mysteries in American history. Within a few years, the settlers vanished, leaving behind a single clue: a secret token etched into a tree.

In his new book, The Secret Token: Myth, Obsession, and the Search for the Lost Colony of Roanoke, author Andrew Lawler sets out to probe our national need to know. His narrative of America’s oldest unsolved mystery and the people racing to unearth its answer exposes sobering truths about race, gender, and immigration, and ultimately, why historical myths matter.

Lawler will present a book talk and signing on Thursday, Oct. 4 at 5:30 p.m. in Litrenta Lecture Hall, Toll Science Center, at Washington College. Sponsored by the Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience, the program is free and open to the public.

Colorful characters, past and present, populate Lawler’s account, from English knight Sir Walter Raleigh and the Croatoan Indian, Manteo, to archeologist Ivor Noel Hume and Fred Willard, a “maverick Lost Colony seeker.” Digging deep into the archival and archeological evidence, Lawler has written what Publisher’s Weekly hails as “part detective novel, part historical reckoning. . . leading to a thoughtful and timely discourse about race and identity.”

Lawler, the Starr Center’s 2016 – 2017 Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown fellow, is the author of the highly acclaimed Why Did the Chicken Cross the World?. He is a contributing writer for Science, a contributing editor for Archaeology Magazine, and has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Geographic, Smithsonian, and Slate.His book The Secret Token was written in part while in residence in Washington College’s 18th-century Patrick Henry House on Queen Street in Chestertown.

The Hodson Trust-John Carter Brown Library Fellowship

The Starr Center administers the fellowship in partnership with the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious institutions for the study of early America. Founded with a $1 million endowment from The Hodson Trust, the fellowship supports work on significant projects related to the literature, history, culture, or art of the Americas before 1830. Now in its fifth year, it welcomes submissions not only from traditional historians, but also from filmmakers, novelists, and creative and performing artists. washcoll.edu/centers/starr/fellowships

About Washington College

Founded in 1782, Washington College is the tenth oldest college in the nation and the first chartered under the new Republic. It enrolls approximately 1,450 undergraduates from more than 35 states and a dozen nations. With an emphasis on hands-on, experiential learning in the arts and sciences, and more than 40 multidisciplinary areas of study, the College is home to nationally recognized academic centers in the environment, history, and writing. Learn more at washcoll.edu.

Filed Under: Homepage Notes, Portal Notes, Washington College

Spy Spotlight: Shore Exportations with Patrick Rogan

September 21, 2018 by The Spy Leave a Comment

Most of Patrick Rogan’s professional life is that of a designer of exhibitions for museums. His work, at that of his firm, assemble, works collaboratively with those institutions to tell compelling stories through images and other multimedia tools. The results of which can been seen in such nationally known museums as the , National Building Museum, Carnegie Institution for Science, or the Maryland Science Center, and more locally with the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Horn Point Laboratories, the Talbot Historical Society, and Stories of the Chesapeake Heritage Area and Historic Easton.

But through the process of developing these installations, Patrick also saw that these techniques could also apply directly to the learning process of children. The act of gathering material, doing research, and designing presentations of findings fits exceptionally well in a new era for the modern classroom, where students can use the same tools to examine the past, present, and future of the Mid-Shore.

Drawing from the life and legacy of Talbot County’s Frederick Douglass, Rogan is working closely with Talbot County Public Schools, the Frederick Douglass Honor Society, and the Talbot Historical Society during his Bicentennial year on two week interpretive workshops with local sixth and seventh graders, and TCPS teachers Colin Stibbins and Kyndell Rainer, to lead them through an exploration of our history, ecosystem, and culture to seek a better understanding of their past, present and future on the Mid-Shore.

The Spy talked to Patrick at the Waterfowl Building last week about Shore Explorations one month studio where participants will be using the legacy of Douglass and some of the Talbot Historical Society’s remarkable photographs as essential tools in sharing their hopes for the future for our area.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. We have also added clips of a video that the students created this summer as another example of Shore Explorations special approach. For more information about Shore Explorations please go here.

Filed Under: Archives, Homepage Highlights, Portal Highlights

TCPS Appoints Natasha Panduwawala and Lydia Shreves as Student Representatives to Board of Ed

September 21, 2018 by Talbot County Public Schools Leave a Comment

Natasha Panduwawala and Lydia Shreves

Two local high school students were chosen to represent their respective schools as members of the TCPS Board of Education for the 2018-2019 school year following an application and interview process. The students were officially sworn in during the September 19 Board Meeting.

Natasha Panduwawala attends Easton High School and has extensive leadership experience in her school community and beyond. She has served as President of the Latin Club, Key Club, and National Latin Honor Society. She served in Student Government as Treasurer for the class of 2019 during her sophomore and junior year and is a member of the National Honor Society, through which she volunteers as a Peer Tutor. This year she was elected President of the National Junior Classical League, an organization for middle and high school students in classical courses, and one of the largest academic youth organizations in the world.

Natasha has been active in Easton High’s Theatre and Choral programs and has played Warrior Lacrosse and Unified Bocce. She also attended the 2018 Youth Leadership Conference on Asian and Pacific Islander Health at Stanford University.

In 2016, while traveling to Sri Lanka for a wedding, Natasha learned of a tremendous need in her family’s home country for orthopedic aids for the less fortunate. Upon her return, she quickly acted and formed a non-profit to collect the needed supplies, and raised the funds to travel back to Sri Lanka to deliver them. She also provided donated school supplies to a Sri Lanka orphanage.

Natasha has received numerous awards, including the 2018 Prudential Spirit of Community Award, Rotary Youth Leadership Award,Carson Scholar Award, and the President’s Volunteer Service Award. She was a United States Achievement Academy Honoree, and has twice received the EHS Women of Tomorrow Certificate of Recognition.“I am absolutely thrilled and honored to be seated with the board members for this school year,” exclaimed Natasha. “Ever since my freshman year at Easton High, I have been curious about our school system and how the decisions of the Board of Education positively affect thousands of students as years go by,” she adds. “I pursued being the Student Rep because I could have the chance to see those decisions in action and represent Easton High School simultaneously.”

Lydia Shreves is a senior at Saint Michaels Middle High, where she actively participates in school clubs and organizations. She is President of Student Government and a Yearbook Editor and is the President of the National Honor Society. She has served on the Prom Committee, the African-American Alliance, Students Helping Other People, the Gay-Straight Alliance and was a member of the Destination Imagination Team Aero “DI”namics that travelled to the Global Finals competition in Nashville, TN.

Lydia Shreves and Natasha Panduwawala attended their first meeting as student representatives to the Talbot County Board of Ed on September 19.

Lydia is very active in Saints Athletics, playing field hockey, basketball and tennis. She has been team captain of the basketball team and was awarded Rookie of the Year, Offensive MVP and received the Saints Award.

Her community service activities include serving as a Character Counts Coach, and participating in Games on Wheels, the Six Pillars Century Bike Race, and Teen Court. “I became interested in this position because I am interested in not only actively participating in the Board of Education but also learning more about how it functions,” Lydia said. “I am looking forward to serving as St. Michaels’ student board representative as I hope to bring an authentic students’ perspective to the Board of Education this 2018-2019 school year!”

Natasha and Lydia will attend the monthly Board of Education meetings during which they will report to the Board on important happenings at their schools.

Filed Under: Homepage Notes, Portal Notes, Talbot County Public Schools

Washington College Poets Win Two Major National Poetry Awards

September 21, 2018 by Washington College News Service Leave a Comment

A second-year English faculty member and an alumna who is now assistant director at the Rose O’Neill Literary House each have earned two top national literary awards in poetry. Kimberly Quiogue Andrews, assistant professor of English and creative writing, has won the 2018 Akron Poetry Prize for her first full-length collection,A Brief History of Fruit, while Lindsay Lusby ’08 has won the 2018 Agha Shahid Ali Prize, awarded by the University of Utah Press, for her first full-length collection, Catechesis: a postpastoral.

“It is a testament to the talented writing community fostered here at Washington College that we can celebrate not one but two incredible poetic achievements,” says James Allen Hall, director of the Rose O’Neill Literary House, associate professor of English, and award-winning poet and essayist. “Each of these prizes—the Akron Prize and the Agha Shahid Ali Prize—are nationally competitive prizes with presses that make beautiful and award-winning books. One of Akron’s books was a finalist for the National Book Award in poetry last year, for instance. I feel honored to work with both of these poets and thrilled that poetry is thriving at Washington College.”

In its announcement of the 2018 Akron Prize, the University of Akron Press describes A Brief History of Fruitas shuttling “between the United States and the Philippines in the search for a sense of geographical and racial belonging. Driven by a restless need to interrogate the familial, environmental, and political forces that shape the self, these poems are both sensual and cerebral … Colonization, class dynamics, an abiding loneliness, and a place’s titular fruit—tiny Filipino limes, the frozen berries of rural America—all serve as focal markers in a book that insists that we hold life’s whole fragrant pollination in our hands and look directly at it, bruises and all.”

Kimberly Quiogue Andrews and Lindsay Lusby

This year’s judge, Diane Suess, selected Quiogue Andrews’s collection from 687 entries, calling it a “superb collection” that “offers up history—personal, familial, post-colonial, geo-political, ecological—and indeed the history of fruit, fruit as sustenance, pleasure, exploitable product, as image, parent, love, and wound… The formal variety is remarkable without calling too much attention to itself . . . the experiments arise organically from each poem’s purpose and particular emotional hue.”

Quiogue Andrews’s BETWEEN won the 2017 New Women’s Voices Prize from Finishing Line Press, and she is a two-time Academy of American Poets prize winner and a Pushcart nominee. Her poems have appeared in Poetry Northwest, Grist, West Branch, Nat. Brut, The Shallow Ends, and Tinderbox Poetry Journal, among others. Her essays and criticism have appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, ASAP/J, and elsewhere.

Kimiko Hahn selected Lusby’s Catechesis: a postpastoral, and the University of Utah will publish the book in June 2019. Lusby is invited to read as part of the University of Utah’s Guest Writers Series from the Department of English.

In Catechesis: a postpastoral , Lusby poses the question: If Clarice Starling and Ellen Ripley could warn the girls and women to follow, what would they tell us? The work combines Grimm fairy tale with understated horror movie and the Book of Revelation to construct a vision of the lush green dangers and apocalyptic transformations inherent in girlhood. This lyric lore, which includes strange diagrams and collages of the botanical and the anatomical, contains hidden instruction to prepare girls for the hazards ahead. The manuscript was a finalist for the 2018 Dorset Prize at Tupelo Press and a semi-finalist for the 2018 Brittingham & Felix Pollak Prizes at the University of Wisconsin Press.

“Catechsis by Lindsay Lusby is a daring and true debut collection,” said Kimiko Hahn in judging the award.

Lusby, assistant editor for the Literary House Press and managing editor for Cherry Tree, is also the author of two chapbooks, Blackbird Whitetail Redhand (Porkbelly Press, 2018) and Imago (dancing girl press, 2014), and the winner of the 2015 Fairy Tale Review Poetry Contest. Her poems have appeared most recently in Passages North, The Account, North Dakota Quarterly, Tinderbox Poetry Journal, Fairy Tale Review, and elsewhere. Her visual poems have appeared in Dream Pop Press and Duende.

About Washington College

Filed Under: Homepage Notes, Portal Notes, Washington College

Kent School to Host Secondary School Fair

September 18, 2018 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

On Monday, October 1, Kent School will host a secondary school fair for students in Grades Seven and Eight and their parents or guardians. The event will be held in the M.V. “Mike” Williams Gymnasium from 6:30 pm through 8:00 pm. The fair is free and open to the public. Several independent and area public schools, both day schools and boarding schools will participate. A partial list of participating schools includes The Gunston School, Mercersburg Academy, St. Andrew’s School, West Nottingham Academy, Madeira School, Westtown School, Woodberry Forest School, Kent County High School and Queen Anne’s County High School.

According to Tricia Cammerzell, Assistant Head of School for Advancement, “The purpose of the fair is to bring as many secondary schools together in one place at one time so students and parents can get an overview of the wonderful regional options for high school. This is an opportunity for families to speak with admission representatives and decide if they want to delve further into the admission process for a particular school.”

The secondary school process at Kent School is an intentional one that includes an academically rigorous program coupled with faculty support, small class discussions and student accountability. Nancy Mugele, Head of Kent School said, “At Kent School we are proud of the work we do for each student to prepare them for success in their chosen high school. We conduct mock interviews, create classroom situations similar to high school classes and write in-depth recommendations. As stated in our mission, we are invested in ‘helping each student reach their full potential for academic, athletic, artistic and moral excellence’. The secondary school fair is an important tool to help guide students and parents through the discovery, application and enrollment process.” Mugele continued, “I hope families from throughout the Kent County and Queen Anne’s County communities will join us to learn more about some of these exceptional schools.”

Kent School is located at 6788 Wilkins Lane in historic Chestertown. For more information call 410-778-4100 ext. 110 or visit www.kentschool.org. Kent School serves children from Preschool through Grade Eight on its scenic campus on the bank of the Chester River.

Filed Under: Homepage Notes, Portal Highlights

Mid-Shore History: William Smith’s Washington College with Colin Dickson

September 17, 2018 by The Spy 1 Comment

It is a common mistake to assume that George Washington was the founder of Washington College in 1782. That was not the case, but the future first president of the United States did agree to allow the use his name for an entirely new liberal arts college in Chestertown as well as hard cash as a donation, which was hard to come by after the Revolution.

No, that honor goes to William Smith, a brilliant academic who had helped start the College of Philadelphia (now University of Pennsylvania) with Ben Franklin and became its first leader. Forced to leave Philly due to his loyalist politics, he came to Chestertown at the request of the town, to start a revolutionary new form of undergraduate education.

In the fall of each year, as Washington College starts its new semester, we like to share an interview with former WC professor Colin Dickson in 2012 about William Smith and how extraordinarily lucky Chestertown was to have such a visionary and innovator in American education start their new school.

This video is approximately ten minutes in length. For more information about Washington College please go here

Filed Under: Homepage Highlights, Portal Highlights, Washington College

Kent School Adds Fall Fest to Osprey Triathlon

September 17, 2018 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

Each year Kent School hosts the Osprey Triathlon, a race featuring a seven-mile bike ride, a two-mile kayak and a three-mile run. The 2018 race will be held on Saturday, September 29 on and around the Kent School campus. This year immediately following the race, Kent School will host a Family Fall Fest with games, live music, activities and food. The Fall Fest is open to the public and families are encouraged to attend whether or not they are competing in the triathlon. Admission is free and most activities cost just $1.00. Kent School is located at 6788 Wilkins Lane in Chestertown.

The Osprey Triathlon is in its sixth year and draws racers from throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Racers may compete as individuals or as two- or three-person relay teams. Prizes will be awarded in a variety of age groups. The course will cover mixed surfaces including pavement, gravel paths and some grassy areas. The race will start and finish on the Kent School campus. The Osprey Triathlon is open to racers aged 9 and over. Racers between the ages of 9 and 12 must be part of a relay team with at least one team member over 16 years of age. For those racers without a kayak, a limited number will be available for rent. Advance registration is required to reserve a kayak. Race registration may be found online by visiting www.kentschool.orgpage/giving/osprey-triathlon. The race begins promptly at 9:00 a.m. and will be held rain or shine

The Fall Fest is a new addition to the events of the day. Games and activities will include a petting zoo, a dunking booth, ladder golf, fish ping pong and much more. Musician, Terrick Denny will be performing live music. With food trucks and other refreshments on site, Kent School’s Fall Fest will have something for everyone. The Fall Fest will be open from 11:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and will be held rain or shine.

Jen Matthews ’01, Director of Development and Alumni Relations and coordinator for these events said, “The Osprey Triathlon has grown over the years with the number registrations closing in on our 200 racer capacity. This year, with the addition of the Fall Fest, we expect our campus to be brimming with people, energy and activity.” Matthews continued, “A lot of volunteer work goes into planning and preparing for these events. I would like to thank members of our PTF (Parents, Teachers and Friends) for their support as well as our sponsors, especially our lead sponsors Baird Wealth Management, Gunther McClary Real Estate, RealTerm, David A. Bramble, Inc., FAM&M and Peoples Bank.

For more information on the Osprey Triathlon and Fall fest, contact Jen Matthews ’01 at jmatthews@kentschool.org or call 410-778-4100 Ext. 350. Kent School, located on the bank of the Chester River in historic Chestertown serves boys and girls from Preschool through Grade 8. Visit www.kentschool.org for more information.

Filed Under: Homepage Notes, Portal Notes

Kent School to Kick Off 50th Anniversary Year of Celebration

September 16, 2018 by Spy Desk Leave a Comment

The 2018 – 2019 academic year marks the 50th Anniversary of Kent School and we are taking this opportunity to celebrate 50 years of excellence, reflect on the present, look ahead to the  future, and honor the legacy of  our School. In this joyous moment in our history, we salute former Heads, Trustees and faculty/staff members for their contributions to our School and for  laying the foundation for our continued success. We are deeply grateful for our current Trustees and the entire Employee Group for their steadfast commitment to our School. Over the past five  decades, we have educated a thousand outstanding alumni and students. We believe that our graduates and current students are the empathetic leaders that our world greatly needs.

All members of the Kent School community, including parents, alumni, parents of alumni and former employees as well as members of our greater Mid-Shore community are invited to attend Kent School’s Fiftieth Anniversary Convocation on Friday, September 28 at 2:30 p.m as Kent School officially launches a year of Fiftieth Anniversary celebrations.

The convocation will include remarks from Nancy Mugele, Head of School, Chris McClary ‘91, President of the Board of Trustees, Merritt Conner ‘19, Student Government President and visiting leaders. Students in a variety of grades will also participate. “I am honored and humbled to lead Kent School into its next 50 years,” said Nancy Mugele, Head of School. “I know that Joan Merriken, Founding Headmistress of Kent School would be so proud of the school she so loved and I look forward to celebrating our successes in the year to come.”

Kent School accepted its first students in 1968 with the first class graduating in 1969. The School received accreditation from the Maryland State Department of Education and was approved as a member of the National Association of Independent Schools. By the fall of 1969, an eighth grade class had been added and a fourth classroom addition to the main structure completed to accommodate an enrollment increase of forty-five students. Throughout the 1970’s Kent School’s enrollment continued to increase, new programs were added to the curriculum, and additional faculty employed. In 1974 the Board of Trustees approved the construction of a gymnasium/classroom building. In 1986 the Little School opened for three and four-year-olds. In 2011 a new Library was built and two additional classrooms were added to the Middle School. The School is accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education and the Association of Independent Maryland and DC Schools. Kent School was named a Green School in 2017 by the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education.

Kent School’s mission is to guide its students in reaching their potential for academic, artistic, athletic and moral excellence. The School’s family-oriented, supportive, student-centered environment fosters the growth of honorable, responsible citizens for our country and our diverse world. For more information about Kent School’s Fiftieth Anniversary Convocation visit www.kentschool.org or call 410-778-4100 ext. 110.

Filed Under: Homepage Notes, Portal Notes

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