With a special Christmas wish for our students ...
"I hope that you are home, safe and sound. I hope that you are with people you love. I hope that you are making good decisions. I hope that you are helping your friends make good decisions.  I hope that the deep, best wishes of your heart ... that are not things, but about life and people, begin to come true this Christmas season."

Mr. Byers' Christmas Rhyme - watch the video! 

The editors of The Local Scoop - Best Kept Secrets of the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula, decided that our beautiful Marston Hall was the perfect backdrop for its Hollywood-style holiday photo shoot! And yes, look closely ... that is our own Mr. Jeb Byers "among the best-dressed men in our area" on page 33 of the fashion spread! Enjoy an electronic version of the glossy pictorial, which starts on page 27.

Faculty and students turned out in strong numbers last week to give blood at a Red Cross drive sponsored by the CCS Student Community Council. Faculty coordinator Jon Waite reports that the Christchurch School community donated 35 pints of the life-giving gift. Each pint can save the lives of three adults or six children. A gift from the heart, indeed.

For years, Christchurch School students and faculty have enjoyed shopping and wrapping for the Christmas Friends program of Middlesex County. In its 27th year, the program directly helps needy children and disabled or low-income elderly of our county. As one CCS student was overheard to say after wrapping the last gift, "NOW I'm feeling the Christmas spirit!"

This year, Christmas Friends delivered gifts to 301 needy families.

photos left
top: Mrs. Hennigar's advisee group shops for Christmas Friends.
bottom: The Homer advisee group wraps packages

On Monday we gathered as a community and our headmaster, Jeb Byers, led us in prayer for the people of Newtown, CT saying, "We are fortunate to be able to rely on our tradition as an Episcopal Church School and turn to the beautiful Book of Common Prayer for the right words at such a sad time."

We began by saying the Lord's Prayer. We shared two more prayers, and then Chaplain Alter read a poem that he had written, Six and Seven. Mr. Byers continued, "While there is no way to understand the pain and grief of those who have suffered such loss, we can hold them in prayer. We can also reflect on our own blessings and the good and abundant life that we share here together. So I offer a prayer of Thanksgiving." We closed with a moment of silence for the victims and their families.

At Christchurch School we may not have a Candy Cane Forest, but we definitely have a Candy Cane Tree! In a favorite CCS holiday tradition, the candy-festooned fir tree miraculously appears every year in front of the Headmaster's Residence - and has done so for three decades. As students pick the candy canes, the tree magically replenishes. Just a little of that ol' Christchurch magic ...

Christchurch School was awarded top prize in this year's GO GREEN VIRGINIA CHALLENGE for the boarding school category. The annual challenge encourages schools to reduce energy usage, promote sustainability, and use "best practices." Hooray for us!

For the sixth year, Dr. Dean Goodwin's Global Environmental and Honors College Environmental students ran a touch tank exhibit at the Urbanna Oyster Festival's annual Education Day Program. CCS students collected samples from our Rappahannock River waterfront and researched facts and data on the species in order to share their knowledge with area middle schoolers. Eighteen groups of 4th-7th graders rotated through the exhibit in a six-hour time period for hands-on interactions with our students and the tanks. Bethany Smith, co-coordinator of the Marine Science Legacy Program wrote to Dr. Goodwin, "Thank you for all your time, dedication and hard work! The waterfront truly came alive through all of your efforts!" The goal of Dr. Goodwin's students is to impart to the younger children the significance of the Chesapeake Bay.

This year's ninth graders are looking forward to an evening with Mr. and Mrs. Byers at the Headmaster's Residence. As is longstanding tradition, the freshmen will decorate the Byers' Christmas tree and enjoy a festive dinner. As seniors, they will close the circle when they are invited back to the house for the traditional Senior Dinners.

No matter what grade you're in, we have the information that you need as you begin to think about your college search and applications. Christchurch School students have the excellent benefit of working one-on-one with our Director of College Placement, Elana Roseberry. Check out Mrs. Roseberry's helpful blog, ccs2college. It is loaded with information, advice, ideas and timetables.

Mr. Alter took his theology class to Rosegill Pond for a morning of reflection and contemplation. "Here's to Now" courtesy Ugly Casanova. Read more in the Southside Sentinel. 

Christchurch School Food Service Director and Chef Kristin Macan (SAGE Dining Services) chose to use her days off to travel to New York City to cook for victims of Hurricane Sandy. Ms. Macan and the organization Mercy Chefs helped prepare and serve hot meals for more than 8,000 people a day. THANK YOU, CHEF MACAN!

The Christchurch School Honors Spanish Seminar/Food & Culture focuses on the culinary traditions of four major Hispanic cultures. For each segment, the class studies the confluence of cultural traditions encapsulated in food, ingredient sources, and connections between national and international culinary traditions. In a culminating challenge for the Mexico unit, the students chose ingredients from a basket and then prepared a dish with their selections. The results? Shrimp/guacamole appetizer; chipotle shrimp over rice; chile-rubbed flank steak with homemade flour tortillas; Mexican orange; and chocolate flourless cake. "Fue muy delicioso!"

In a Christchurch Minute - La Fruta

When Colin Murasko interviewed for a teaching position at CCS, every part of the tour and interview process had him thinking “I must teach here!” What stood out most was the “sincere interest in community” that he saw everywhere and from everyone. 

November 6, 2012

Mr. Kempe's CURRENT EVENTS: HISTORICAL ROOTS AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT class (in which students examine local, regional, national and international current events to understand and evaluate multiple perspectives on contemporary issues and their roots) accompanied him to the Middlesex County, VA polling location when he cast his vote on Election Day 2012. While there, the Christchurch School students politely asked willing voters questions about what issues are most important to them and how they make their choices.

Ph.D. Genetics - The George Washington University

It's one of our favorite traditions - Christchurch School students put in nearly 500 community service hours each year at our neighboring Oyster Festival. This year's favorite activities included making chowder and fritters at the parish booth, carrying the banner in the parade, and working with middle school students at our marine and environmental science education booth. 'Til next year!

Earl Rimbey '12 is making his (and our!) name known in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference soccer world. The frosh midfielder #20 helped the Lynchburg Hornets score a victory against Virginia Wesleyan, securing a home first-round game for the Hornets in the ODAC tournament on Saturday. Lynchburg coach Chris Yeager had this to say about the Seahorse standout, "... some huge play from Earl Rimbey and Daniel Jobrack up the middle. They were men out there today and they are just freshmen... that's been huge for us  ... "

As the fall season cools down and basketball season heats up, be sure to follow Seahorse Teddy Okereafor as he takes the court for the Virginia Commonwealth University RAMs. Wednesday, at VCU's Media Day, Coach Shaka Smart referred to Okereafor as "probably our most improved player." He says that Okereafor has embraced his role as a floor general, and he hopes to see him spell the starting point guard Darius Theus on a more regular basis.

While some students took advantage of the long weekend to travel home, others celebrated the close of the first marking period with a relaxing few days here on campus. Offerings included trips to King's Dominion and the Williamsburg Outlets, an Adventure Trip to the dunes of False Cape State Park with Mr. Goodrich, and a showing of The Avengers on the giant movie screen on Headmaster's Lawn.

Sunday afternoon featured an Oyster Roast and Clam Bake on the Bishop Brown Patio, with football on the Student Center's big screen just inside. Mr. Waite and Mr. Galleher served up a bushel of oysters and 250 Littleneck Clams complete with the fixin's (crackers, cocktail sauce, drawn butter) and pink lemonade. Now THAT'S relaxing ...

This time it was Matt Kinnear of "Inside Lacrosse" who confirmed what we've known all along ... that Pat Young '12 is a very special lacrosse player. In his notes from Drexel's fallball "PlayDay" Kinnear got right to it and said, "Freshman Pat Young stood out for UMBC. He was able to hit shots from outside, initiate, and he was out there on defense as well."

Pick up the latest copy of NCAA Football 13, and you can pick from three Christchurch School alumni avatars! Choose Josh Lovell '10 (Marshall), Win Homer '12 (Boston College) or Will Smith '12 (Wake Forest). Play on!

Congratulations to Ms. Wanda Wallin, our Math Department Chair. Ms. Wallin has been named recipient of the Virginia Council on Economic Education 2012 Economic Educator Award. She will be honored at an awards luncheon at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond in December. Economic Education Executive Director Sarah Hopkins wrote, "I applaud you for your efforts in advancing economics and personal finance. The students of Virginia are the direct beneficiaries of your innovative efforts." Congratulations, Ms. Wallin!

On Tuesday, we will kick off a five-part Life Skills series featuring speakers and workshops intended to insure that our seniors are well-prepared for life experiences after Christchurch School. Topics will include managing personal finances, dealing with stress, making the transition to college, and words of wisdom from the decades. The first in the series is "The Legal Reality and Responsibility of Turning 18" with guest speaker Charles Adkins, Attorney-at-Law.

Congratulations to Meredith Adkins '00 and Wes Charlton '01 who found out on Thursday that they passed the Virginia Bar Exam! CONGRATULATIONS AND WELL DONE. Go Blue!

The Christchurch School math department attended the 1st annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Coalition) conference at VMI in Lexington. Mr. Bloom, Mr. Schaefer, Ms. Wallin, Ms. Derringer and Mr. Waite returned energized with the latest ideas for teaching math, and confirmation that many of our current practices are backed by research and supported by experts in the field! A fairly new teaching strategy, the flipped classroom, is something we will explore. In a flipped classroom, students watch instructional videos for homework and then practice the skills in the classroom with the instructor readily available to help. As always, CCS math students will continue to explore concepts in detail through investigations and real world applications.

What's most interesting about this LAXALLSTARS.COM BLOG post about an exhibition game between the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus Retrievers and players from Kieo University in Japan, is that only two players are mentioned by name, and one of them happens to be our own All-American Pat Young, who is just a freshman at UMBC. "Freshman middie Patrick Young looked strong for UMBC, scoring a goal and adding an assist. He's a load and could cause opponents some headaches with his size and quickness. Young is definitely someone to keep an eye on this spring." Get out your Seahorse Pride folks, because we'll be hearing a lot about PY.

Be sure to stop by Marston Gallery to see exhibits from Mr. Murasko's Portfolio and Art/Media classes. The Art/Media class display (Graphite and Charcoal on Paper 18x24) is still life "using line to communicate weight, shape and form." The Portfolio class exhibit (Light Modeling Paste, Acrylic on Canvas 30x30) features canvases stretched and primed by the students. Each painting deals with a non-representational theme that uses color as an expressive component to convey a mood or internal meaning. Watch "In a Christchurch Minute," art class.

Students at Christchurch School recently celebrated the Moon Festival, a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by Chinese and Vietnamese people. In China, the festival – called an intangible cultural heritage - is a public holiday. It is customary to eat mooncakes, a delicacy made of lotus bean paste. According to Moon Festival folklore a rabbit lives on the moon, pounding the elixir of life with a mortar and pestle.

Students in Christchurch School's Finite Math class are forming investment groups to invest "$100,000" in a state and national stock market simulation sponsored by the Virginia Council for Economic Education and SIFMA Foundation.  Local Investment Manager Jay Wallin from Davenport & Co., spoke to classes today to provide them with an overview of the intricacies of the stock market and some investing strategies. His advice? "Learn to invest in what you know!"

Congratulations to Dr. Pamela James (Chorale, Music Exploration and Experience, World Drumming and Guitar)  who is selected to present "The Use of Informal Music Learning Practices in a High School Music Exploration and Experience Class" at the VA Music Educator's Association conference in November at the Homestead Resort. Dr. James will also present at the National Music Association for Music Education bi-annual Eastern conference this spring in Hartford, CT. There, she will share hands-on strategies in her session "Classroom Connections: an Engaging Philosophy of Classroom Management."

At Christchurch School we offer an Adventure Trip each weekend. Although the main goal of every trip is FUN, each adventure is connected to the school's mission and core values through curriculum connection, watershed awareness, relationships, respect of and appreciation for adventure, imaginative play, and reflection. Read more about the CCS Adventure Trip "formula." See the complete list of Adventure Offerings for this year. Stay tuned for the Adventure Trip Log 2012-13: a living journal of dates, participants, locations, weather conditions, sketches, poems, stories, songs, etc.

September 2012 Christchurch School Dean of Instruction, Donny Pyles, announced that CCS instructor Matt Schaefer (Pre-Cal, Calculus, Honors Calculus, Honors College Calculus, Honors College Statistics) has been selected by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools to present at their annual conference this November in Richmond. 

Schaefer’s presentation is Optimization and the Triple Bottom Line - Helping students see the relevance of math to their world and promoting quantitative literacy are two challenges that math teachers face daily. How can a typical math problem be tweaked to appy to a local situation thus engaging students and encouraging them to think quantitatively? The problem used in this session is designed for Pre-Calculus and calculus courses and incorporates optimization, cost analysis, derivates, scale diagrams, data analysis, application of Sierpinski's triangle, William McDonough's Triple Bottom Line model of equity, ecology and economy, debate and mathematical writing. Upon completion of this extensive problem, a student commented, "this is hard, but I like it!"

William McDonough’s Triple Bottom Line model, commonly referred to as the “sustainability triangle” is applied across disciplines at Christchurch as part of the Great Journeys curriculum. Dave Cola, the school’s Great Journeys Watershed Coordinator commented on Schaefer’s VAIS presentation, which is based on an actual classroom lesson, "Some people struggle to understand how math can be utilized to teach our school's thematic curriculum which focuses on sustainability and stewardship of the world around us. It is powerful and inspiring to see Mr. Schaefer use an upper level math lesson as a tool for students to better grasp abstract concepts related to sustainable decision making. By the end of his lesson I saw in many of his student eyes and heard in the voices a heightened appreciation for both math and our school's mission."

Eric Siegel '12 and Matt Lawler '08 represent all that is best about CCS on the water at Washington College in Chestertown, MD. Matt continues this year as captain of the Shoremen sailing team, and Eric debuts as a SKIPPER in his freshman year. Eric is featured in an article about the team coming in fourth at the Central Fall Qualifier, and can be spotted in boat #4 in this recent story broadcast by FOX 21. Eric was also named "Shoreman of the Week." GO SHOREMEN!

Christchurch School Aspiration #3
"As a community, we aspire to have an integral sense of environmental stewarship and sustainability. To this end, we integrate care for the river and the natural world into all we do." We apply the sustainability triangle (ecology, equity, economy) across the curiculum and throughout our community at-large. The sustainability triangle is a tool put to big use on our Immersion Trips - students explore communities and systems and use the model to guage the sustainability of these systems. See all six of our aspirations.

We know that William Styron '42 won the Puiitzer Prize for his novel The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967). But did you know that Styron was also on the Pulitzer Committees short list in 1952 for Lie Down in Darkness? Herman Wouk's The Caine Mutiny won the prize that year, But Styron's novel received more votes than J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye! Hear the story from Styron's daughter, Alexandra.

Samuel Williams Jr.'s novel Anomalous: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure featuring Jack Johnson and Alphonse Capone is now available at Amazon.com. Williams recently held a book signing at the Redlands (CA) Barnes and Noble. Read more about Anomalous in the Southside Sentinel.

New faculty left to right: Clay Tharrington, William Taylor, Chris Newton, Katie Parker,
Shannon Fisher-Bloom, Charlotte Cornwell '02, Colin Murasko, Liping Liu, Tom Thomas, 
Lawrence Robinson '07

Clay Tharrington – Head of Hall, 3rd Scott B.A. Economics and Business, Virginia Military Institute Previous Experience: Project Engineer, W.M. Jordan Company Head Lacrosse Coach, The Steward School   William Taylor - Assistant Director of Development, Business Instructor B.A. Religion, Hampden-Sydney College Previous Experience: Principal, Frisch Capital Partners, LLC Defensive Coordinator, University of Georgia Men's Lacrosse Team   Chris Newton - Science Instructor Ph.D. Genetics, The George Washington University M.Sc. Molecular Genetics, The University of Leicester, England B.S. Biology, Trinity College Previous Experience: Adjunct Faculty/Biology – Northern Virginia Community College Chemistry Teacher, Episcopal high School   Katie Parker – Learning Skills Program Instructor B.A. Longwood University Previous experience: 4th Grade Teacher, Hanover County   Shannon Fisher-Bloom - Community Life Coordinator B.A. Anthropology and Sociology, Lafayette University M.S. Sport Management, East Stroudsburg University Previous Experience: Head Volleyball Coach, East Stroudsburg University Assistant Volleyball Coach, Lafayette University   Charlotte Cornwell Charlton ’02 – English Instructor B.A. English, University of Delaware Previous Experience: Teaching Fellow, St. Catherine’s School   Colin Murasko - Art Instructor M.F.A. Painting and Drawing, Claremont Graduate University B.F.A. Sculpture and Drawing, Stephen F. Austin State University Previous Experience: Middle and Upper School Art Instructor, The Emery/Wiener School Academic Advisor and Adjunct Instructor, The University of Texas, Arlington Adjunct Instructor, Tarrant County TX Community College Adjunct Instructor, Dallas County Community College   Liping Liu - Chinese Instructor Ed.D. Teaching, Curriculum and Learning Environment, Harvard University M.A. Liberal Studies, Dartmouth College M.Ed. Foreign Language Teaching Methodology, Beijing Normal University B.A. English Language and Literature, Anhui University Previous Experience: Chinese Instructor, The College of William and Mary Chinese Instructor, Christchurch School Assistant Professor of Chinese, Christopher Newport University Assistant Professor of ESL and Education, Brevard College Chinese Instructor, Harvard University   Tom Thomas - Development Associate, Head Crew Coach J.D. George Mason University School of Law B.S. Animal Science, Rutgers University Previous Experience: Partner Fagelson, Schonberger, Payne & Deichmeister Crew Coach, Bishop Eustace Prep Crusaders Director Res. Living, University of Charleston   Lawrence Robinson ’07 – Intern B.S. Sports Management, West Liberty University   Not pictured: Isaac Clark - Science Instructor, Head Sailing Coach B.S. Geology, The College of William and Mary Previous Experience: Research Assistant – Coastal Hydrodynamics and Sediment Dynamics Lab, Virginia Institute of Marine Science Sailing Director, Summer Camps on the River CCS   Paul Vernon - History Instructor Hertford College, England Previous Experience: Community Liaison Officer, U.S. Embassy Prague Office Management Specialist, U.S Embassy Madrid Video Researcher, PBS and British ITV Hertford College, England

On July 20, the popular Wall Street Journal feature FIVE BEST named the five best books on war. Anthony Swofford includes on his list two Christchurch School graduates, both Pulitzer Prize Winners  - William Styron '42 The Long March (1953) for and Lewis Puller '63 Fortunate Son (1991). Read the article.

Our Headmaster, Mr. Byers, says that only a fraction of people in the world have the opportunity to attend a school like Christchurch - "let's start with a school on a river and a thousand possibilities!" We had a few days of intense orientation (core values, tech training, college workshop, mission, community expectations, etc.) culminating with the great advisee bakeoff - each advisee group prepared a dessert to share with the community at Tuesday night's waterfront picnic. The first day of class was Thursday. How did it go? According to Samantha, a new 9th grader, "AWESOME!"

Madeleine Przybyl was named Cornell Volleyball's MVP at the end-of-the-year banquet.Przybyl also earned second team All-Ivy honors.

 
1) Elliott, Joy, Maddie, Ross and David on the CCS Dock 2) Breading and seasoning!
3) Joy with Mr. Cola and her freshly fried croaker!

It's late summer on our Rappahannock River, and the croakers, rockfish, trout and redfish are biting! This weekend everyone took a break from preseason practice and several Seahorses took the opportunity to relax and fish off the Christchurch dock. Joy (volleyball) tried fishing for the first time, and caught two croakers with a nice squid bait. With the help of Mr. Cola, our Great Journeys Watershed Coordinator, she filleted, breaded, seasoned and fried her catch-of- the-day. Mmmmm, mmm!

At Christchurch School, our core values - CURIOSITY, RESPECT, ACCEPTANCE, INTEGRITY, KINDNESS, SELF-CONFIDENCE - are at the heart of all that we do. This summer, CCS faculty and staff, as part of the annual "Faculty Institute," participated in a seminar on character education and moral development with educational visionary David Streight, Executive Director of the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education. Streight emphasized the importance of fostering in our students goodness, autonomy, competence, and a sense of belonging.

This summer, the Christchurch School faculty and staff read The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner, and Authentic Instruction and Assessments:Common Standards for Rigor and Relevance in Teaching Academic Subjects by Fred Newmann et al. They also read the grade level common readings, which the students will read during the year - (9th grade) The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie; (10th grade) Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe; (11th grade) The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot; and (12th grade) The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini. ALSO the following articles - The School as Village: Helping Our Students Grow Up;Dealing with Difficult Students/Listening and Response;  Hopeful or Helpless? Adjusting to the Challenges of Boarding School;  Goals and Characteristics of an Exemplary Residential Program;  Prevention of Bullying, Harassment, Intimidation, and Victimization in Schools; Undercurrents of Gender: The Hidden Curriculum and the Null Curriculum; and But That's Just Good Teaching! The Case of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.

What did you read this summer?