Janella Brand - Holy Innocents' Episcopal School

AROUND CAMPUS
French
Made Easy
Ms. Joanne Thomas
is a presence, both
in the classroom and
online. The Middle
School French teacher
created three textbooks
– then posted them on
the internet – to give
her students better
language resources.
She began the
project when Upper
School Principal Mr.
Chris Durst asked if
she could teach French
without a book. “I knew
I could,” said Ms. Thomas. “I write my own
notes and activities, but then it hit me that
not only could I teach without a textbook, I
could write one.”
With the Greenbaum Grant, she traveled
with three of her students to France to
ensure her lessons were current. After the
trip, her books went public.
Since its debut, the site has not only been
a hit for Americans, but it’s also had visitors
from over 60 countries. “I’m excited that the
information is available for the students,”
said Ms. Thomas. “And it’s nice to know
that people from South Africa, Guatemala
and Latvia are using it, too.”
To see her work, go to:
http://ahbon.wikispaces.com/,
http://fifthgradefrench.wikispaces.com/ or
http://seventhgradefrench.wikispaces.com/.
Six members of the Holy Innocents’
family belong to that elite fraternity
known as People Who’ve Run
Marathons. And they all have
interesting outlooks on their
races.
Math teacher/cross country
coach Mr. Mike Daly, who has run
15 marathons, says, “The big carrot is to
qualify for Boston, and try I did. Finally in
Huntsville, I ran a 2:58 and made it!”
Administrative Assistant Mr. Dunn
Neugebauer has run 14 marathons,
including three Bostons. He especially
remembers Jacksonville in ’93, his first. “I
wasn’t a nice person those last six miles,”
says Mr. Neugebauer. “Life is short until the
last part of a marathon.”
Assistant swim coach Ms. Haley Chura,
who ran a 3:32 in her first Boston Marathon
this April, remembers her first time meeting
‘The Wall.’ “It hit me right on schedule –
Strength and conditioning coach Mr.
Peter Tongren knows Dodgeball. Not only
is he a three-time national champion,
but he also appeared in the 2004 movie,
“Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.”
“I got Vince Vaughn out,” Mr. Tongren
says with a smile.
His experience on the Silver Screen took
Mr. Tongren and some of his championship
teammates to Hollywood three times. “First
we helped choreograph the actual dodgeball
scenes,” he said. “Then we went for some
preliminary filming. The third time was live
Visiting Spain Before Math
Sixth graders in Ms. Eliza Suarez’s Spanish
class didn’t need a field trip to discover the
wonders of Spanish culture. They simply
turned their own classroom into a Spanish
museum, with student-made exhibits of
bull stadiums, architecture, art, and even a
restaurant with authentic Spanish recipes to
taste.
“They really did a great job researching
their exhibits and put a lot of effort into
creating them,” says Ms. Suarez. “Learning
a language is much easier – and a lot more
fun - when you can see all your lessons in a
cultural context.”
Ms. Suarez’s students have also
connected with students in Spain via “E-Pals”
and shared photos of their museum with their
Chief Running Bears
mile 20,” Ms. Chura says. “My legs, my
arms, my brain – they all just quit. I tried
counting steps, singing songs – anything
to take my mind off of running.”
Other HIES marathoners include Ms.
Chura’s mom, Upper School teacher
and swim coach Elizabeth Chura,
Lower School assistant Ms. Jennifer
Brown and Fine Arts Director Mr.
Joshua McClymont.
Mr. McClymont is the speediest Bear,
turning in a 2:36 (wow!) last fall in Houston.
“Training consumes me. It affects my eating,
my sleeping, everything” he says. “But after
four months of logging hundreds of miles,
I’m ready to toe the line and get this baby
going.”
There are undoubtedly more marathons in
store for Elizabeth and Haley Chura, Jennifer
Brown and Joshua McClymont. Mr. Daly
and Mr. Neugebauer, however, insist they’ve
retired.
Tongren Goes Hollywood
new amigos. Depending on who you listen
to, the museum was either “awesome” or
“divertido.”
takes in costume.”
In the movie, Tongren
can be seen in the
semifinal round against
the Average Joes, as well
as a few ‘quick takes.’
So what’s it like to see
yourself in a movie “It
wasn’t as exciting as I
thought it would be,” he says. “I’d seen the
whole movie long before it was released.
But the first time I saw it in a theater was still
pretty neat.”
Ms Eliza Suarez and her class
One Good Turn
Deserves Another
With three languages at his disposal, Mr.
Gerard Gatoux is rarely at a loss for words.
But when the senior class chose him as
honorary Tassel Turner for their graduation
ceremonies, he was – quite temporarily –
speechless.
“What a wonderful surprise,” said Mr.
Gatoux afterwards, fully recovered. “I’ve
always supported these students in and out
of the classroom, and I’ve really enjoyed
watching them grow and mature. We’ve gone
on mission trips and have a lot of memories
together. One of my favorites is the time we
were volunteering in Reynosa, Mexico, and
they all dyed their hair.”
In keeping with tradition, the Tassel Turner
is kept secret until its announcement at a
special chapel service. Mr. Gatoux, unaware
that he was this year’s honoree, listened in
anticipation of the announcement. When
asked if he’d had a hunch that he might be
chosen, he hesitantly admitted, “Well, I had
hoped.”
Connor Thompson, Dalyan Kilic, Tal Kelsey, Henry Odom
Katie Cross, Kennan Luther, Jasmine Brooks
AROUND CAMPUS
Heart of Service
This summer, rising junior A.P. Taylor will multiple vaccinations
join a two-month mission trip with Teen and must take antimalarial
medication
Missions International to work with Ugandan
orphans – helping to build a meeting hall for before, during and
them and teaching basketball. The civil war after the trip.
that has raged in Uganda for over twenty As daunting as
years has left many displaced and orphaned the environment
children in its wake, and their plight speaks might seem, what
to A.P.’s spirit of service.
makes A.P. nervous,
““People in the U.S. might be down on besides the thought
their luck or have difficulties, but there is that snakes might
usually something they can do about it,” slither into her tent,
says A.P. “That isn’t true in Uganda.” is the question of
A member of the Varsity Basketball team, how all the teens will
A.P. looks forward to sharing the game get along. “I hate drama,” she explains. “I
with the young children. She is also excited just want to go and get some work done. A
about visiting exotic cities like Entebbe lot of people want to go to Africa, but just to
and Kampala, as well as Jinja, site of the go, not to work.”
headwaters of the Nile.
Her experience on the recent HIES
The trip is preceded by a weeklong ‘boot mission to Costa Rica and this ambitious
camp’, where the volunteers will receive trip are part A.P.’s plans for possible Peace
cultural sensitivity and personal safety Corps service after college. But while her
training. Their accommodations
future has yet to take shape, one thing is for
will be rugged—
sure—some Ugandan children are going to
tents and bucket baths. And they need play some good basketball this summer.
To Russia With Love
Some children in Moscow couldn’t make it
to Stacy Bubes’ bat mitzvah. But they still
want to thank her for including them in her
celebration.
“My cousin Charlie was adopted from
Russia, and I’ve seen pictures of where he
lived,” Stacy said. “The building was really
old and dilapidated.” So for her mitzvah
project, a philanthropic option for Jewish
children coming of age, she raised $7,000
and gathered loads of toys for Charlie’s
old orphanage, the Ryazan Baby House in
Moscow.
The money helped buy much-needed
new windows. “The windows were cracked
and really needed to be repaired,” says
Stacy. “It gets so cold there in winter, and orphans in Moscow. “If you don’t have
when one child gets sick from the cold, they parents, you don’t have anything,” she says.
all get sick.”
“I’m lucky that I do, but there are still kids
These days Charlie’s life is a lot different, out there who don’t. I’m just glad I got the
but Stacy hasn’t forgotten all the other chance to help.”
Peter Myer, Madison Collins, Anne Claire Pittman, Madeleine Gibson
Katherine Correll, Samantha Glover,
Ane Wanliss, Grant Wilmer
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