Welcome
Welcome to the May issue of the TPS ProgressIVE Report. This issue reports on some culminating activities for the school year and on initiatives to look forward to during the 2010-2011 school year.
Diane Pepe Wins Research Grant
by Amy Purcell Vorenberg
There is no question that our teachers bring a great deal to their students every day. Diane Pepe, long-time director of the After School Enrichment Program, is no different. But next year she will be bringing a little more than usual.
Diane, who is also an Associate Professor of Art at the University of the Arts (UArts), has been awarded a Philadelphia Applied Research Lab (PARLab) grant from the university to fund the creation of a mosaic mural at The Philadelphia School. The mural will be a collaborative project between faculty and students at the University of the Arts and faculty and students at TPS. Its design will be based on the City, Country, Classroom aspects of the education at TPS, and the mosaic will be installed on an interior wall at TPS. Please read more . . .
Introducing Primary Unit D
Carlye Nelson-Major, Associate Head of School, preschool-grade 3
Welcome to spring and the last two months of school. It is such a wonderfully rich and meaty time of year for our learners; new skills become consolidated, exciting content is explored, developmental milestones are reached, and friendships deepen and blossom.
Teachers and administrators are busy working on making plans to close this year in a strong and connected way – field trips, Shelly Ridge good-byes, and special Encuentro assemblies, to name a few. We are also busy planning for the opening of school in September. Please read more . . .
The Sandra Dean String Ensemble
by Joan Giannobile, Director of Development
Thanks to an anonymous donor, principal emerita Sandra Dean’s vision for the TPS String Ensemble will endure and grow. This generous contribution was made in tribute to Sandy, who throughout her tenure as principal was a passionate advocate for music in the education and lives of children. In recognition of her efforts the Sandra Dean String Ensemble will now bear her name. Please read more . . .
Showing Off Their World
by Elizabeth LaBan
I discovered a few things at the Primary Unit Learning Celebration this spring. I found out that Benjamin Franklin was a volunteer firefighter. I read that the first toothbrush was made in 1498 and had a bone handle and hog hair bristles. And I learned that my son, Arthur, is having the time of his life in PU-C.
The Learning Celebration is a time when parents, siblings, grandparents and friends can join their children in the classroom and witness firsthand what has been going on there all year. The students, in turn, have a chance to show off their world. Please read more . . .
Why I Teach
by Judith Parker, Middle School teacher
The question of why I teach can be answered, at least superficially, in two words: kids and books. But of course the reality is more complicated than that. As a child, I never wanted to be a teacher; I first wanted to be a farmer, then I wanted to save the world. By the time I got to college in the sixties, I would have expressed that thought in a more sophisticated fashion, but basically I still wanted to help the world, particularly this country, solve the tremendous problems of inequality and poverty. As it was the sixties, I had plenty of company, although more people talked about these issues than did much about them. Still, I marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and worked as a community activist and felt that I had found my niche in the world. Please read more . . .
Indiana Jones, TPS-Style
Perhaps archaeologist Mac Marston ’93 didn’t set out to emulate Indiana Jones, but a list of Mac’s travels through areas such as Turkey, Egypt, and Albania can’t help but call Steven Spielberg’s hero to mind.
As if his travel itineraries weren’t exciting enough, this year Mac won three prestigious academic awards for his research. In January, the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) selected him as the winner of the institute's Graduate Student Paper Award. His paper, presented at the 2010 AIA Annual Meeting in Anaheim, was deemed particularly impressive because of its "integration of the archaeological and environmental evidence into a convincing and cogent scientific argument." In April, Mac won the Best Student Paper Award at the Society for American Archaeology meeting in St. Louis. And to cap it all off, he also received a two-year postdoctoral research grant from the Council of American Overseas Research Centers. The research fellowship is a State Department-funded grant for research in two or more countries that leads to publications with regional significance. Please read more . . .
Snowmageddon Wasn't So Bad After All!
Todd Freedman ‘01 is a Peace Corps volunteer serving in Tonga. Emergency Coordinator for Lifuka Island and Ha'ano Island, Todd received a Letter of Commendation from Aaron S. Williams, Director of the Peace Corps, for his leadership during Cyclone Rene. Here is an entry about the cyclone from his blog - and we thought snowmaggeden was bad!
I'm too exhausted to write much, but I just want to update everyone quickly. On Saturday we were warned of a looming cyclone headed directly for the islands of Tonga. All of the volunteers in Ha'apai were told to consolidate to my house since it is at the highest elevation and is the strongest structure of any of the volunteer houses. Nine volunteers quickly came over with a ton of supplies to weather the storm, which ended up being a category 4 cyclone out of 5 (5 causing catastrophic damage). Read more . . .
EATS Redux
by Joan Giannobile
It's been 13 years since the very first EATS. The brainchild of Terry McNally, whose son graduated from TPS in 2002 and whose restaurant London Grill has participated since the event's founding, EATS has been a success in myriad ways - raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for TPS, bringing TPS parents and staff together for a fun and celebratory evening, and introducing the school to the broader Philadelphia community - scores of restaurants, retail establishments, and cultural organizations who support the event.
Each year, a cadre of veteran and new EATS volunteers bring their creative energy to add some new twists to EATS - this year an EATS Facebook page, new lighting elements, an incredible DJ, and new restaurants. EATS 2010 continued in that tradition, with its organizers - led by co-chairs Stephanie Appleby, Susan Green-Liddy, and Susan Regli - transforming the gym into a spring wonderland, raising more than $65,000, and celebrating record attendance numbers. Restaurant coordinator Sue Solomon gathered a wide variety of Philadelphia food and beverage purveyors who generously provided the evening's tasty fare. I personally want to thank the spirited and hard-working group of parents who assisted me this year.
EATS 2010 continued in that tradition. Please read more . . .
A Dashing and Victorious Debut
By Elizabeth LaBan
Last year they were spectators; this year they are winners.
In front of up to 40,000 people at the Penn Relays held last week at Franklin Field on the University of Pennsylvania campus, four members of the TPS track and field team ran the 4X100 meter relay race against five other independent and charter schools. Working together, seventh-grader Samir Taylor and eighth-graders Javi Flores, Sam Valerio-Sacks, and Jaquay Scott came in first. Their final time was 50.3 seconds. That was 1.6 seconds ahead of the second place team. Please read more . . .
Out and About
Our faculty and staff have been doing their part in professional development initiatives in the Greater Philadelphia Region. Please read more . . .
Time to Schedule Physical Exams
Start planning for the 2010-2011 school year and schedule your child's next annual physical now. The PE Department recommends that children get on a summer examination cycle - getting their physical in June, July, or August - to ensure that they will be able to participate in all seasons of interscholastic sports when they enter Middle School.
Physicals must be dated within one year of any interscholastic involvement and must not expire prior to the end of the season.
