A bus loaded with Springside’s power tech team traveled to Washington, DC for the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) where our girls were featured in the Student Showcase. Selection to present is very competitive and NECC attracts some of the best educational technology presenters in the country. The members of the iSITE team shared their model for providing support and training for the Springside community. Director of Educational Technology Jenn Vermillion comments, “I cannot begin to describe how proud we were of our Middle and Upper School girls. They were enthusiastic, articulate, confident, and eager to represent their school well during the two-hour showcase. We received countless compliments from participants who interacted with our girls, calling them a credit to Springside, an inspiration, and an impressive representation of ‘girl power’ in a field that many girls shy away from.” Watch the girls in action—they were interviewed by the NECC media and screencasted live during the conference. In the words of the interviewer, they were “one of the best interviews yet!” You can leave a comment for them, too. Click here to see the NECC interview (the second video on the page). Click here to read more about iSITE.

Springside won first place in the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools’ “Hooray for Us” New Media contest. Springside’s student-run “genius bar” called iSITE and the Springside Ning and Ning promotional video earned the school the award, which was conferred at the annual conference of the coalition in June. The coalition, NCGS, is comprised of 137 schools for girls in the U.S. and internationally.

Science department chair Scott Stein was named the 2009 Outstanding Biology Teacher of the Year for Pennsylvania by the National Association of Biology Teachers! Head of School Dr. Sands comments, “This is an amazing achievement for Scott, for his department, and for Springside and CHA. Scott has been a strong advocate for continuing to push his practice, his students, and his own learning and we celebrate this extraordinary accomplishment.” Stein was previously named the 2007-2008 Delaware Valley Outstanding Science Teacher.

Thanks to the 2009 Dempsey Writer in Residence, students at both Springside and Chestnut Hill Academy were treated to the sharp questions—“Knowing that only 20% of the story can make it into the feature film, how would you cut it to ten scenes?”—and strong visual literacy that Philadelphia Inquirer movie critic Carrie Rickey brings to the classroom. Rickey shared her insights in English classes, an assembly, an informal Q & A with students, and the Video Production class where she reviewed a student-produced video and discussed the role of music in film.

Dr. Caroline Koehrer, from the Department of Biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spent three days exposing students to her work with protein engineering as the 2009 Kleckner Scientist in Residence. Students conducted labs with her, putting new genes into bacteria that they didn’t have before and using cutting edge suppressor tRNA technology to overcome mutated genes and alter the structure and glowing ability of Green Fluorescent Protein.

Springside has received $400,000 in the form of a grant called “Energy Harvest” made available through the Department of Environmental Protection. These funds will be added to those raised from last spring’s Parents’ Association event and the Class of 1966’s generous reunion gift to allow the school to move forward on an exciting project to blanket the roof of the Vare Field House with photovoltaic solar panels. Ours could potentially be the largest non-profit project of its type in this region. Read more...

In their Applied Physics and Design class, Springside and Chestnut Hill Academy students created games for United Cerebral Palsy clients that could be used in their Range of Motion class. Just like a real-world design project, the students met their clients on several visits, discussed and assessed their needs, and then built games to meet the specifications.

Several years ago, Springside received a grant from the PA Department of Environmental Protection to study factors impacting water quality in the Wissahickon Creek. That grant has yielded a yearly collaborative effort which is both a mentoring program and a freshwater ecosystem testing lab for Honors Chemistry students. Teacher Ann Fournier’s model will be shared at the ChemEd 2009, a conference held later this summer. Read more...

Both of the Springside boats that qualified to compete in the National Scholastic Rowing Championships advanced to the finals this weekend. The JV 4+ finished in 6th place...in the nation! In an impressive final, the JV Quad won the gold medal. Congratulations to our athletes on their amazing accomplishments: JV 4+: Verity Walsh, Sofia Soto-Reyes, Rebecca Chasar, Allie Colina, Laura Chisholm. JV Quad: Jenn Arcidiacono, Taylor Apostolico, Katie Fitzkee, Larissa Sfedu.  Watch the YouTube video.

Perhaps inspired by the Little Engine That Could, the small but feisty CHASS robotics team, made up of students from Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School, went up against some of the major teams in the world at the recent FIRST Robotics World Championships and came back with the bronze overall and first place in its division. Along the way to the Championship, the team took third place in the New Jersey regional, first place in the Pittsburgh regional, and two design awards.  Read more...

Springside juniors Courtney Caputo and Nicole Lombardo have made verbal commitments to outstanding Division I programs where they will continue their lacrosse careers. Courtney has verbally committed to 9th ranked Georgetown University and Nicole made a verbal commitment to American University after being recruited from other Division I programs. Read more...

Springside alumnae have a rich history of sharing their passions and their expertise with current students. Katie Bolton '04 Springside, '08 University of PA, B.A. in Health and Societies; Concentration in Health Policy (Minor in Intellectual History), came in to speak with Biology classes about bioethics during a unit on DNA technologies. Read more...

Junior Natalie Klotz was selected as an apprentice for the 2009 Office of Naval Research (ONR) Science and Engineering Apprentice Program (SEAP) at Naval Surface Warfare Center in Philadelphia. Two hundred and fifty high school students from across the United States will receive mentoring by laboratory personnel and will participate in Department of Navy research and technology efforts for eight weeks during the summer.

Dr. Steve Kress, a fellow at the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology and Vice President at the National Audubon Society, enthralled Springside girls and alumnae during an assembly in which he shared his clever plan that resulted in saving puffins off the coast of Maine from becoming extinct—a plan which took dedicated efforts over 30 years! Students enjoyed a short puffin calling contest, trying to imitate the unusual bird growl. Dr. Kress visited the school at the invitation of Springside, The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association, and Audubon Pennsylvania. His public lecture, “Practical Advice on Creating Habitat for Birds,” gave useful tips on setting up a backyard plan, creating dust bathing for birds, bird-friendly vegetation for various seasons, and even ways to keep woodpeckers enjoying the trees and not the house. Also while at Springside, Kress met with two kindergarten and 5th grade classes and helped kick off Audubon’s Pennies for the Planet fundraising project to help save puffins, bighorn sheep, and alligators in three wild places in the United States. Some of our girls, teachers, and parents were also filmed for in an upcoming national video to promote the project.

Senior Julia Stepanuk’s original environmental science research paper “Study of the Wissahickon: Does Chestnut Hill Negatively Impact the Health of the Ecosystem?” has been awarded a semifinalist honor in the 2009 Young Naturalist Competition sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History. This is a national science research competition judged by scientists
affiliated with the museum.

Last year, with two grants in hand, Springsiders were able to initiate a robust composting program that involves the entire Lower School, the school cafeteria, and home. Girls collect cafeteria and classroom scraps, and then throw them into two tumbling compost bins provided by a grant from SCA Tissue. Weavers Way also gave Springside School a grant to purchase vermiculture (worms) and a sign outlining composting tips at the site of the bins. The home phase of the program began recently when under-the-sink compost bins went home with Pre-K students. Watch the Pre-K  “how-to” video on composting... Read more about Blue and Gold make GREEN...

During the month of February, 77 second, third, and fourth graders devoured books as they “Read for Ronald” and raised $2,217.04 for the Philadelphia Ronald MacDonald’s House. Noëlle was the high reader for the fourth grade and served as Springside’s special representative at the Ronald McDonald award ceremony. (See story below, too!)

At the George Washington Carver Science Fair in Philadelphia, 14 Biology Honors students earned recognition. In the seven categories entered, they received two 1st place awards, three 2nd places, and two 3rd places competing against the top science students in grades 11 and 12 in the City of Philadelphia.

UPDATE: These students went on to compete against students from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware at the Delaware Valley Science Fair in April. Becca James, Kingsley Delacato, Stephanie Sherman, Nicole Lombardo, Natalie Klotz earned further special recognition. Read more...

Four Springside teachers were “SMART Exemplary Educators” at a recent SMART Board users conference at the Tatnall School in Wilmington, DE. History Department Chair Janelle Collett and Math Department Chair Kathleen Tkac gave a session entitled, “Across the Board: Teaching All Learners,” which focused on the use of the SMART Board to enhance student learning by taking advantage of SMART Board motion and interactive learning to teach to different learning styles. In a session called “Using SMART Board Technology to Enhance the Language and Social Studies Curriculum in Grades K–2,” Mary Ann Domanska and Karen Kolkka presented ways to teach students how to create virtual book reports by making their own avatars, which can be posted into their eFolios (digital portfolios) in Blogger!, and how to add virtual tours of museums and Skype contacts all over the world to increase interest in social studies units.

Springside placed 3rd out of 27 schools in The Green Schools Alliance's “Green Cup Challenge” for our climate division. Schools were asked to monitor their electricity during the month of February and compare it to the same period of time over the past three years. The school’s reduction over the prior years was a whopping 20%. The inspirational video that Springside students created was awarded Honorable Mention in the video challenge. Springside’s team was comprised of 25 fourth grade students, 16 Middle School students, and 10 Upper School students who led the charge. View video...

Senior Melanie Bavaria received the Philadelphia Inquirer's Student Citizenship Award at a special breakfast held at the National Constitution Center recently. In addition to serving as president of Student Government, Mel is co-founder and co-head of the Model UN Board, a four-year member of the World Affairs Council, an active member of the Players Board, and a recipient of numerous academic and community awards.

This month, first graders began an exciting new virtual exchange project with students in China. Through the exchange, students will be introduced to Chinese culture and learn how to communicate and share—interests, classroom life, cultural holidays, digital stories, poems—with their new friends in China. Springside is partnered with a school in China through the iEARN (International Education and Resource Network), the largest global network that connects teachers through the Internet. Read more...