Duke School Under the Oak Magazine, Fall 2018

Message from Dave Michelman, Head of School
Moore’s Law suggests that the speed of
microprocessors will double about every 18
problems.
instance,
For
second
months. Despite the ever-increasing speed
of microprocessors over the last decade (our
phones are amazing), Moore’s Law is still relatively
graders built a bee
hotel on campus
to encourage the
accurate. For better or worse, Moore’s Law seems
population
growth
to be true for many aspects of our life. The pace of
change is remarkable, and Duke School faces the
of native pollinators.
Similarly an eighthgrader
catalyzed
challenge of preparing our children for this fastpaced
life.
We know that to succeed in a fast-paced world,
students must be agile, creative thinkers who can
work collaboratively. We are fortunate that project
work, for which Duke School is renowned, molds
students in that image. Equally important, we
push ourselves every day to serve our students
better and better.
Our newest initiative is to create an environment
where students are encouraged to be true
innovators. To do that, everyone on staff is striving
to become more innovative. Some innovative
donors seeded a grant program in which students
and staff can apply for innovation grants. The
Development Office is now accepting foreign
currency left over from travel. The Middle School is
prototyping Prime Time that allows middle school
students to explore their passions until 6 PM for
no extra charge.
Students are regularly encouraged to propose
an exhibit in the University of Mississippi library
to honor James Meredith, the university’s first
African American student. That student’s portrait
of Meredith will grace the exhibit.
This issue of Under the Oak highlights some other
ways innovation is integrated into Duke School. It
speaks about upstander work the school is doing,
and about training non-Duke School educators
on how to teach project work. In her graduation
message to our Class of 2018, Hallie Westlund ‘08,
reflects on how her Duke School education has
prepared her for a life of service and fulfillment.
Duke School is on the move—getting better and
bolder—while keeping true to its project-based,
student-centered approach.
I hope you enjoy this issue of Under the Oak as
much as I do, and hope you are as proud a dragon
as I am.
“We are dragons, we are real!”
and implement solutions to real-ife community
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UNDER THE OAK