Thistletalk Winter 2011 - Winchester Thurston School

wt todayA HometownHigh Q WinUpper School students Andrew Linzer,Nathaniel Brodsky, and Avery Feingold,WT’s Hometown High Q team, defeatedButler and Fox Chapel high schools in itsfirst round last fall, with an outstanding635 points. Coached by Upper School mathteacher David Hallas, the team goes to thesemifinal round this spring. HometownHigh Q airs Saturday mornings on KDKA.Technology&CivicsAfter placing first in theLeague of Women VotersMock Election DesignChallenge, WT’s APcomputer science studentsspent last summer workingat the Gates-Hillmancenter at Carnegie MellonUniversity. Alongside CMUand Pitt professors, students refined their software program;it was subsequently used in high schools around the region,including WT’s Upper School, for a mock election. APComputer Science teacher David Nassar oversaw the project.Head of School GaryNiels, City as Our CampusDirector Teresa DeFlitch,and Upper School DirectorMick Gee presented at theHathaway Brown EducationInnovation Summit inCleveland, attended bymore than 500 facultyand administrators fromschools across the U.S.and Canada. The presentation focused on the history andevolution of the City as Our Campus initiative, current projectsdesigned to enhance and expand it, and specific best practicesfor nurturing faculty innovation, developing educationalpartnerships, and enhancing curricula through experiential,place-based, and participatory learning.Dionne Brelsford,Director of Programsand WT parent,comments, “The WTParents AssociationSpeaker Series offersparents a chance to come together to learn about and discusstimely topics and tips related to parenting.” The annual serieswas open to all WT parents and the local community, andtopics included “Easeful and Joyful Parenting and Partnering,”“Doing Your Best…Under Stress,” and “Preparing your Teenfor the Start of a New School Year.”Calcu-Solve BearsVictoriousInnovationSummitPA Speaker SeriesWT took first place out of nearly 200 teams, and sixth grader NathanielHull won first place individually at the recent Calcu-Solve competition, aregional math tournament for fourth through sixth graders. Calcu-Solveis a rigorous contest featuring complex mathematical word problems.Students from both the City and North Hills Campuses participated,coached by teachers Rachel Cunningham and Kathy Dunlop.www.winchesterthurston.org11