An Honorable Gunston Graduate

Several days ago in my Literature of Modern Asia course, our class Skyped with Adam Jacquet, a recent Gunston graduate who was severely wounded in an IED attack in Helmand province in Afghanistan.

It was great to speak with him, and after many months of rehab and recovery, his mood was buoyant and upbeat.  In our class, we are reading Rory Stewart's book The Places in Between, a travelogue about a British diplomat who walked across the country in 2001.  Our conversation with Adam brought the country of Afghanistan to life, and Adam helped all of us gain a deeper understand of the dynamics of the American involvement there.

As many of you know, Adam received his Purple Heart recently.  The entire Gunston community is proud of his service and grateful that he is recovering.

Stay tuned later this spring for information about our "Run for Adam" 5K Fundraiser.

Chesapeake Bay Trust Grant

Gunston is very excited to have received a $100,000 grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust to restore our waterfront, and the Chestertown Spy recently ran a great article about the upcoming major renovations that our community will soon see down at the waterfront.  Here is the article: http://www.chestertownspy.com/gunston-awarded-100000-grant-from-cbt/

The Crash B's

Our crew team travelled to Boston this weekend to participate in the "Crash B's": The World Indoor Rowing Championships.  Our own Taylor Leverage not only broke the men's erg record for Gunston, but he won his heat at the event.  Check out this very cool video: http://utilities.concept2.com/replays/crashb2012/AHeat17.

Congratulations to the rowers, the coaches, the parents, and Mrs. Gruss for helping to organize this event!


Taylor Leverage pulling away from the pack



Congratulations to the Gunston Players

What a pleasure it was to see the Gunston Players light up the Church Hill Theater for three splendid performances of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Indeed, I was so inspired that I penned this sorry little doggerel in their honor:

A Poem for our Players
by John Lewis

After weeks of rehearsing day and night

Our Players delivered great delight

It’s hard to say what entertained more

Samantha’s slaps, or Blaise’s snore.

For three days upon a dusty stage,

They brought to life a bard and sage,

We saw men of wisdom and great buffoons,

And a most unforgettable popping of balloons.

And alas, we thank our directors three

For the hours spent in the pursuit of glee

(and let’s not forget, the talented Hongyi)

Our Wiening, our Catherine, our Robinson,

Gave hours of critique, and direction, and fun.

Three days and nights we laughed aloud

At our players as they wowed the crowd,

Our regal Daniel, and his Catherine queen,

The Brothers Walls, and Morgan’s scream.

Oberon’s tiptoes, the longest in the land,

Added to his appearance grand.

And Jackie Gross, whose poise and class,

Gave hope and light to her love, the ass.

We loved Johnson’s wall and Bannon’s light,

Quince’s humor, and Demetrius’ fight,

Wegner’s suspenders and his shoes,

The fairies giggles, Lysander’s swoons,

We loved the singing, and the harp

Which I must say Jack Wilson, was pretty sharp.

Thus, tis my duty as your head of school,

He that is mostly fool, but sometimes cool

To declare, in thanks for a play so gay

That Wednesday, for our players, is a dress down day.

A few more good reads

Millie Eliza

Sorry for the long blog hiatus, but having a new baby girl has cut into my blogging time.  Here's a photo as evidence: 

In the meantime, here are links to three interesting recent articles:

• Tom Friedman's article in the New York Times, Average is Over
• Nan Keohane is the former President of Duke and Wellesley, and she makes a powerful argument for liberal arts education in her article, The Liberal Arts as Guideposts in the 21st Century
• And, over the winter holidays, David Brooks awarded his annual Sidney awards for the best magazine articles in 2011.  Here is Part I and Part II.

Now that Millie is sleeping through the night, you can expect more regular updates.

Off the bookshelf: "The Element" by Ken Robinson

Last week at the AIMS conference, I had the opportunity to hear one of the world's experts on creativity, Sir Ken Robinson.  Sir Ken is the author of the highly regarded Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative, and he lectures around the world spreading the idea that creativity can be cultivated, and that the range of human ability is extraordinarily rich and diverse.

His new book, The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything is "a hymn to the breathtaking diversity of human talent and passion and to the extraordinary potential for growth and development."  Through dozens of vivid anecdotes, a review of the latest research on intelligence and creativity, and using his dry British wit, Robinson provides an inspiring roadmap for how individuals can cultivate and maximize their talents and passions.

The book resonated with me because it speaks to one of Gunston's core values: our desire to help each and every student discover, celebrate, and maximize their personal abilities and strengths.

Multim in Parvo

Gunston's annual magazine "Multum in Parvo" has been published for 2011.  It's a wonderful publication, and I encourage you to check it out!

Open publication - Free publishing - More alumni

Check out Gunston's new Admissions Viewbook

Open publication - Free publishing - More admissions

Steve Jobs

Here is a link to Steve Jobs' wonderful commencement address, "How to Live Before You Die", at Stanford in 2005: http://www.ted.com/talks/steve_jobs_how_to_live_before_you_die.html

Education 2020

I follow the "Teach Paperless" blog, and in December of 2009, they published a post entitled "21 Things that will become obsolete in education by 2020."  At Gunston, we will be using this as a reference point for our ongoing conversations about the evolution of education, and as part of a discussion about how Gunston can maximize our small size and committment to personalization.

Ernie's Army Goes on the Offensive!

Brian Schlosser and Logan Leverage finishing the job!

On Saturday, September 17th, a group of students and parents, organized by the new Gunston Parents Association, came to school to help beautify our campus.  After two hours of pulling vinca, raking leaves, and trimming hedges, everyone felt a sense of accomplishment, and it was a beautiful day to be outside.  By the end of the event, the front of Middleton was vastly more attractive!


Of course, every hour volunteered by our students and parents not only makes our campus more beautiful and binds us together in fun and fellowship, but in this era of limited resources, it also allows us to direct our resources to the areas that we care most about: student programming and teacher development. 

Alex Kukorowski and Blaise Dickinson

Susan and Lizzie Katz

My daughter Bea working hard!

Community Letter: School Opening

As we begin the 2011-2012 school year, see my community letter that outlines the major initiatives for the year and introduces our new faculty: Community Letter

The Gunston School

On August 11th, Gunston was formally reincorporated as The Gunston School.  We are still in process of reworking our viewbooks, website, stationery, etc.  Why did we decide to change our school's name?  See my letter to our community: The Gunston School.

Nuestra Escuela Gunston

Last year I promised Senor Angarita that the winner of his Gunston promotional video in-class assignment would be posted on this blog.  Let me congratulate Tricia Athey, Jacqueline Gross, and Katherine Gross for their excellent work in capturing the essence of Gunston en espanol.

New Compost Bins



Mr. Darling digging the holes



Alden lifting boards



Last year Gunston was certified as a Maryland Green School, and in August, Andrew Sindermann (TGS '11) installed compost bins on campus as part of his Boy Scout Eagle Project.  With assistance from his parents, fellow troop members, Mr. Darling, and fellow Gunston graduate Alden Ruben (TGS '11), Andrew can proudly boast that his lasting legacy to Gunston is a site for decomposing food!  All joking aside, composting reduces waste, and by consequence, makes Gunston a better steward of the earth.  Well done, Andrew!



Andrew smiling as he builds the bins







Getting Ready to Launch!

It has been a busy summer at Gunston, especially with the success of our new Summer Programs.  Led by our own Amy Gross-Kehoe, we saw more than 200 students on campus for sports camps, technology camps, rowing camps, environmental camps, and more.  We are already looking forward to next summer.

The Library, in process of renovation

Thanks to the funds raised in honor of the Everdells at Stop the Auction, one of the other major initiatives this summer has been the renovation of the Duffey-Blackwood Library.  We began by "weeding" the collection of un- or under-utilized books and we reworked the furniture layout in order to make the library more student friendly.  Over the next few months, we will see improvements in signage, layout, information access, and general resources.  Students will also have around 24 different periodicals to peruse.  The effort to convert the library will be guided by our own Ms. Wheatley.  

The Junior-Senior Center, painted Gunston green!

Finally, the Junior-Senior Center is nearly ready to launch.  Two of our student leaders, Charlie Fichtner and Tricia Athey, have done a great job to create a floor plan and thanks to Ernie Darling, the walls have been painted Gunston green.  The only thing left to do is get the furniture inside, decorate the walls, and for our own Seniors to "earn the keys" in a newly created ceremony.  Both the library and the lounge will be great student spaces!

A spectacular commencement weekend

Aunt Mary grinned during commencement weekend as the school held our annual Green and White Awards ceremony, Graduation, and on Sunday, the Everdell Farewell.  With the high spirits of our community, the breathtaking weather, the hundreds of alumni and friends who returned to our campus, it was a weekend of good feelings.  By request, I have attached links to the three major addresses given during the weekend:

• Sarah Everdell's graduation remarks: click here
• Stella Lin's Samuel A. Middleton Award remarks: click here
• My Green and White Awards address: click here

Senior Internships

Each Spring, our Seniors finish their Gunston career by engaging in a two-week internship, and right now our Seniors are involved in productive activities all over the state.  Just today, I received an e-mail from Katie Eales, whose internship is focused on horses:

Katie and Puff!

Hey Guys!

Just wanted to show you what shenanigans I have had the opportunity to get up to on my internship thus far. This is Puff and her new born foal. She gave birth this morning at around four o' clock and it has been my job and pleasure to be doing check ups, blood work, and shots for them all day. I am extremely excited and just wanted to share. I hope all is well at school. I miss it already

Sincerely
Katie 

Spring Events

It has been several weeks since I have posted anything to the blog, and this has much to do with the incredible amount of activity happening on campus over the past few weeks.

Last week, I had the opportunity to go on my first Bay Studies excursion--The Potomac Odyssey.  During our four days in Western Maryland, we rafted on the Youghiogheny River, biked 25 miles down the C&O Canal, mountain biked in Green Ridge State Forest, and cycled around the entirety of the Antietam Battlefield.  Although the weather transcended miserable, it was experiential learning at its best.

The past few weeks have also seen our Disembarkation Ceremony, championships won by our Girls Lacrosse and Tennis teams, a banner-raising sports banquet, and the delivery of the yearbook via 1911 Model T.  It was a classic way to cap our Centennial Year!

To read my May community letter, click on this link: letter

Earth Day!

Gunston celebrates Earth Day on April 29th, and we have an extraordinary array of workshops for our students to choose from:
   

1. Birds of the Eastern Shore: Dr. Wayne H. Bell

Maryland Ornithological Society, Inc., retired founding director of the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College, board member and past president of the Adkins Arboretum Board of Directors, president of the Maryland Ornithological Society.   

Dr. Bell will be discussing birds of the Eastern Shore and how bird species diversity relates to the working landscape of the Eastern Shore past, present, and future, as well as ecological succession, historical aspects of land use, and how these relate to bird species diversity on today's working landscape. 

2.      Bees!  Bill Hings

This is a widely respected apiculturist who teaches beekeeping both locally and all over the world, empowering people in third world countries with an income-producing skill. He will also be giving a workshop activity in the afternoon on native bees. 


3.      Compost Happens:  Mike Hardesty, Washington College ‘05 Biology and Environmental Studies, author  "Compost as Bioremediation Technology: Economic and Environmental Considerations."

As Post grad Washington College Sustainability Intern, Bill worked on developing a composting program for the college dining hall, and he worked as a farm worker locally and as a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi, Africa, working with farmers on improving their farming practices which included increasing the use of compost as a soil amendment. Currently Mr. Hardesty is back at W.C. working as Program Manager for the Center for Environment and Society.   

Mr. Hardesty will make a presentation on the why and how to compost. He will explain the environmental advantages to the process both from the individual and the institutional vantage point.

4.      Recycling Matters: Mr. James Wood, Regional Director of Midshore Recycling.

Mr. Wood, also a Gunston parent, will be discussing the practical and ethical concerns and realities of waste management and recycling on the Eastern Shore. He requests that you go online and watch “The Story of Stuff,” a 20 minute free movie, beforehand in order to get a jump on the discussion. 


5.      Oyster Workshop: Steve Sharkey, Corsica River Conservancy.

Mr. Sharkey moved to Centreville, MD in 1997, became involved with environmental issues with the Chester River Association and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and has been running programs to raise submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) 
for the past five years, as well as installing rain gardens in the Corsica River watershed and working on Oyster programs. He will be explaining the problems of the different parts of the river system and the importance of fixing runoff problems. He will review how CRC’s present Oyster Recovery Program got started and what they had to do to make it work. He will also be conducting a hands-on oyster lab on the dock as an afternoon activity. 


6.      Another look at oyster restoration

Alumni Doug Staurulakis will share information about an independent oyster growing project with which he is involved. 
 
 
 


7.      Fascinating Mushrooms and the importance of Decay: Susan Dabney , former teacher, Gunston Day School

Miss Dabney has studied and collected mushrooms since childhood and will be discussing the role of mushrooms in the ecosystem, the mechanisms of mushroom growth, edible mushroom propagation, mushrooms in permaculture, and the medicinal virtues of some mushrooms in cultivation. 
 


8.      Windy Hill Farm

Our neighbor, Mr. Matt Miller will host a full tour of their farm during which they will demonstrate and discuss the environmental initiatives that they have undertaken. Wind energy, a Living Shorline project, (etc. from full list) This is one single session and can accommodate up to 15 students. 
 


9.      Sustainable Energy

AP Environmental students will present a lesson on sustainable and renewable energy. They will incorporate information on alternative fuels. 


10.  Colchester Farms – Community Supported Agriculture

Learn about the return of the neighborhood farm. Community members and local farmers partner to produce high quality fruits and vegetables that are grown without the use of commercial pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides. 


11.  Kudzu and Ivy WORK shop

Help rid the Gunston ravines of these invasive species. Many hands and few minutes can help make space for indigenous species to thrive. 
 


12.  Sustainable Living

Emily Ross will discuss lifestyle choices that each of us can make to lead a healthier, more environmentally friendly life. Participants will learn both how to reduce their footprint and how have a positive impact on the environment. 


13.  Hope Road Cleanup – (If you sign up for this workshop, you cannot sign up for a second workshop)
Clean our “adopted” road in Centreville.  Gloves and safety vests will be provided.

14.  All About Chickens

Alumni, Bennett Price, will discuss chicken farming and reveal the many challenges that chicken waste poses for the poultry industry and the Chesapeake watershed.