Thistletalk Winter 2011 - Winchester Thurston School

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wt todayLower School Science Days:A Living LaboratoryIt’s a sure-fire formula for scientificstimulation: take WT’s idyllic NorthHills Campus with its spring-fedpond, wildlife, woodlands, and naturetrails. Add inquisitive students; mix inpassionate educators. The result? LowerSchool Science Days, a living laboratoryinspiring students to observe, explore,investigate, probe, question, and marvel.“The primary goals of Science Days areto support and enhance the curriculum,including science, art, and social studies;to immerse the children in North’s sevenacrenature classroom; and to fostera sense of community between bothcampuses,” says Heather Capezzuti,North Hills Campus science teacher.Science Days revolve through the seasons,enthralling students with the delights ofscientific discovery and experientiallearning, from digging for earthwormsto mapping the solar system.A Second Grade FirstNew this year: the “Un-nature Walk,”developed by world renowned environmentalist,educator, and author JosephCornell during his 2009 visit to WT North.“Second graders explored a nature trail ina wooded section beside the pond,” saysCapezzuti. “They looked for pre-plantedunnatural objects of various sizes, colors,and shapes…a button, a mirror, anartificial snake. Some were camouflaged,and all were positioned differently: high,low, on the path, and off. At first, notmany items were discovered, but as weretraced our steps, students sharpenedtheir observation skills and, having honedthose skills, found more objects.”“Students learned that different peoplemake different observations,” addsBrittainy Hambelton, City Campus LowerSchool science teacher, “and that the waywe approach—our angle—can affect ourobservations.”Cultivating CollaborationOpportunities for cross-curricularteaching and interdisciplinary learningabound. “Fourth graders create a mapof North’s Pond to strengthen theirmapping skills in social studies,” notesCapezzuti. “Third graders study artistand environmentalist Andy Goldsworthy,and build natural sculptures inspired byhis work.”The pond offers countless themes forinvestigation, including pond life, pondseasons, pond food chains, food webs,and evaluating pond health.“Fifth graders study watersheds andassess water quality, both biological andchemical,” explains Kristen Hannan,City Campus Lower and Middle SchoolScience teacher. “Students examineplankton, identify organisms, andconduct water quality testing includinganalyses of dissolved oxygen, nitrates,phosphates, pH, and turbidity. ”Research continues at Hartwood Acreswith a macro invertebrate streamstudy, and extends well past ScienceDays with a May trip to the MountainInstitute in Spruce Knob, West Virginia.There, students conduct the same tests,enabling them to compare water qualityat the Mountain Institute with that ofWT North.“I cherish the ‘ooohs and aaaahs’ I hearwhen discoveries are made,” smilesCapezzuti. “I also feel a great deal ofsatisfaction seeing children enjoy andappreciate nature.”16 Thistletalk Winter 2011
Fall sports roundupSoccer Makes HistoryFor the first time inWT history, UpperSchool Boys VarsitySoccer made theWPIAL Playoffs. Theteam secured theirposition with a 2-0 winover Trinity, finishingwith a regular seasonrecord of 9-6-1. Theteam battled against Springdale High School in the firstround of playoffs and fell to a 3-1 loss. Senior David Curtismade the All-WPIAL team and, along with senior Ben Steiner,the WPIAL all section team. The team is coached by AdamBrownold, David Piemme, and Nikhil Singh ’06.Girls Tennis ThreepeatsWPIAL Finals BerthWith a regular season record of 7-5, the Girls Varsity Tennisteam qualified for the WPIAL Playoffs for their third consecutiveyear. Having defeatedKeystone Oaks in thefirst round, they facedoff against SewickleyAcademy and after ahard fought battle fell toSewickley. The team wasled by returning coachLeslie Leopold.Middle School Bears RoarWith record numbers for participation, Middle School Soccerwas split into three teams, divided by grade. They defeatedSewickley Academy, Shadyside Academy, Falk, CommunityDay School, and St. Edmund’s Academy. The squadswere coached by Jeff Cronauer, Courtney Rovnan, SammyHeckerman, and Brad Davidson. Field Hockey posted a recordof 6-2-3, defeating North Allegheny, Sewickley Academy,St. Edmund’s Academy, and the Greensburg YWCA underreturning coaches Ashley Lemmon ’01 and Brenda Carnahan.With a strong turnout, Boys Cross Country placed first at theFalk Invitational, led by coaches Bruce Frey and Travis Bui.Field Hockey Building TeamThe Girls Varsity Field Hockey team had a rebuilding year, with a strong groupof freshmen stepping up to the plate this season. Junior Emily Onorato wasnominated to the WPIAL All-Star team. The team is led by returning coachesSarah Faulx, Megan Longacre, and Bill Fitch.WPIALCoach ofthe Yearwt todayHead Soccer Coach AdamBrownold was named WPIALCoach of the Year. Coach of theYear is determined by a nominationprocess, whereby allcoaches in the section nominate a coach. This season markedBrownold’s eighth year coaching the team, and by far thebest year yet. According to senior starter Reed Frischman,“Brownold is the type of coach who is determined to takehis team beyond all expectations and continue on as far aspossible. As a senior, it is an indescribable feeling being a partof the first team in school history to make WPIAL playoffs.”Brownold is also a WT Middle School Social Studies teacherand assistant coach for the Boys Varsity Lacrosse team.Cross Country StrongWT’s Boys Varsity Cross Country team finished with a strongrecord of 4-1-1, while the girls team posted a record of 2-5.Both teams had school record setting seasons in the WPIALrankings with the boys placing ninth out of 40 and the girlsearning the 28th spot out of 40. The team was coached byveteran coach Bruce Frey and assistant coach Travis Bui.RowersMedalCongratulations to WTRowers who participated inthe 24th annual Head of theOhio race on October 9. Oneof the largest fall regattas inthe country, it features morethan 2,000 participants. WT boats took home one silver andthree bronze metals. WT Crew is coached by Dori Tompa andLucy Tuttle-Smith of Steel City Rowing Club in Verona.www.winchesterthurston.org17
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Page 33 and 34: class notesSan Francisco, had twins
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Thistletalk Winter 2011 - Winchester Thurston School

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