Shane Kinsella says that teaching at the middle school level “is less about content and more about making connections with students so that they feel safe and valued. The daily challenge for a teacher is to connect with his or her students, to find areas of interest, and build on them so that students feel valued and respected, and as a result, are open to learning.” Read more about Shane.

Meg Biddle '68 was one of Shipley's very first art majors. Now, she divides her time between crafting new projects and mentoring aspiring artists. Read more about Meg and her art.

Are kindergarten students capable of doing research projects? If they’re in Shipley’s kindergarten, the answer is “Yes!” The Knights and Castles unit challenges our young students to seek information about a topic of interest, collaborate with other students to build a project, and develop the confidence to present information to an audience of fellow students and adults. What’s the best part? They love every minute of it. Read more about this memorable unit.

Shipley's Lower School students may think that their physical education classes are all fun and games, but they're participating in an innovative and fun program designed to build the foundations of efficient athletic movement – and get their bodies moving. Learn more about Shipley Lower School’s ABC program.

In Jessie Willing’s Upper School Bioethics senior science elective, there are no right or wrong answers. Students explore difficult issues through ethical inquiry: asking questions, gathering relevant background information, reasoning through a dilemma, making a decision, and evaluating the outcome. Read more about this fascinating class.

What does it take to put on a theater production from scratch? Our Middle School theater students would know. This fall they wrote, produced, directed, and performed in an original production staged in Riely Theatre. While the final performance was spectacular, the process leading up to the curtain call was where the real magic happened. Read more to find out what students learned about working together and moving from conflict to compromise.

Lower School science with Mr. Del Duca is all about the experience. From worm bins to the solar system, students don’t just study science, they live it. Read more.

What can you do with $50,000 and a semester’s worth of economics under your belt? If you’re in Char Weigel’s Honors Macroeconomics class you can start your own business. Find out how complex economics concepts and creativity led to her students’ success.

Shipley’s varsity girls’ basketball team has entered a new era of success under the leadership of head coach Sean Costello. Most recently, the team has won two consecutive Friends School League titles, as well as the PAISAA Independent State Championship in 2012 – a first in school history. What’s been the team’s secret? Year-round dedication, lots of hard work, and speed on the court. Read more about Shipley’s girls’ varsity basketball program and the leadership of coach Sean Costello.

Shipley Freshman Philip Johnson earned a coveted place in the 2013 Philadelphia District Orchestra, comprised of high school students from Montgomery and Bucks counties. Only forty violinists out of 160 were accepted. He placed tenth in the rigorous audition process. What helped him get there? Lots and lots of practice. Read more about how Philip Johnson prepared for the District Orchestra.

With the delivery of a 7-foot Steinway & Sons concert grand piano in Riely Theatre, Shipley is thrilled to announce its intention of becoming an “All-Steinway” school - a unique distinction for a PreK - Grade 12 institution. Read more.

How do you teach 10th grade students what causes the spread of disease in a way that keeps them interested? If you’re Upper School Health Teacher Sarah Sterling, you stage a grade-wide zombie apocalypse simulation. Read more about how she’s breathing life into Upper School health classes.

THANK YOU FROM THE SERVICE TEAM!

A sincere thank you to everyone in the Shipley community for your generosity over the holidays. We delivered over 200 coats to our sister school, The Andrew Jackson School in South Philadelphia, and we took our celebration on the road to Union Beach, NJ to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. 

View/Purchase Photos.

Seven Shipley students were named as winners in the 2012 Philly Young Playwrights Annual Playwriting Festival. However, our fifth graders learn more than how to write plays in the Philly Young Playwrights program. Read about how playwriting is a courageous act and lessons it can teach our young students.

When this Shipley Upper School math teacher entered Yale as a freshman, he signed up for courses in linguistics and international studies with the intention of becoming a spy. Read about how he became a math teacher instead, why he chose to teach at Shipley, and more interesting facts about David Reiman.

In the summer of 2012, Liz Dempsey, Assistant to Head of School Steve Piltch, was able to make a long-time dream come true with funding from Shipley’s Denis Nicholson Asselin Professional Development Award. Ever since she was first introduced to Ibsen’s dramatic poem, "Peer Gynt", in a middle school music appreciation class, Liz had dreamed of travelling to Norway to see it performed live in its natural setting. Read about the performance at the Peer Gynt Festival and the rest of Liz’s travels through Scandinavia at http://norwaytrip.webs.com.

Eighth grade English students have been involved in an exciting unit on the Harlem Renaissance, designed by eighth grade English teacher Christine Hutchinson. The unit began with an historical overview of the Harlem Renaissance and focused on the people best known for their contributions to the arts, music, and literature. Throughout the exploration of this important time in history, students were encouraged to reflect on their own identities and their role in their community. They even got a chance to share Harlem Renaissance-inspired performances with their peers. Read more.

“Did you pack or are you going to buy?” Back in the day, that meant lunch and if you bought school lunch there was only one option. Ketchup was a vegetable, burgers and fries ruled the day, and mealy peas were munitions.

No more.

Gone are the days of the single choice, mystery cafeteria food. Now it’s all about nutrition and variety. Every day Shipley students are served a wide array of fresh, locally sourced hot and cold food items. Read more about how Shipley's food service is revolutionizing school lunch.

Most Shipley students aren’t old enough to vote, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t been engaged in the political process this election season. Throughout the school, teachers have used the election in their classrooms as the basis for many lessons, assignments, and in-class debates. Students in Pre-K through Grade 12 have even participated in mock elections, casting votes in a variety of ways. Find out how Shipley teachers engaged their students in this year’s political process.

Upper School history teacher Jim White wanted to give students in his Modern Middle East History class just one more graded assignment before the end of the first quarter. He thought an essay would be appropriate, but his students had a different idea. “How about a debate,” they proposed. Find out how well the students fared in their last assessment of the quarter.

Elizabeth Zodda isn’t your average science teacher. And in her class, it’s not enough to perform well on a test. Instead, she uses an innovative grading system called Standards Based Grading to assess her students. The avid gamer takes inspiration from the rewards systems in video games to help her refine the way she approaches motivating her students. Read more about Elizabeth and her innovative approach to teaching and learning.

Linda Flippo has served as an ambassador and cheerleader for Shipley's humanitarian efforts in Haiti since 2010, after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the country and its people. This summer, Linda travelled to Léogâne, Haïti, to spend time in the Summer Tent Schools and La Tulipe Kindergarten, which Shipley supports financially and through the donation of school supplies. Read Linda's heart-warming account of her experiences in Haiti this summer, and how she plans on furthering Shipley's relationship with these schools in the future.

After graduating from Williams and before starting his job as a Business Analyst at Deloitte Consulting LLP, Matthew Piltch ’08 decided to spend a term volunteering at the Brain Tree School, Shipley’s African sister school in Uganda. We asked him some questions about his experience there and what inspired his trip. Read more

Eighteen Shipley students have been recognized for their achievements as National Merit Semifinalists and Commended Scholars. This recognition is based on their performance on the PSAT/NMSQT tests. Read more.

Thanks to everyone who came out for the fun, food, and games on Super Saturday. Parents, students and faculty volunteered and over $9000 was raised to donate to The Andrew Jackson School in Philadelphia, Le Tulipe School in Haiti and The Brain Tree School in Uganda.
Read more from the Main Line Times.

This summer, Upper School English Department Head Susan King received a grant from Shipley's Professional Development Committee to attend The Conference on Poetry and Teaching at The Frost Place in Franconia, New Hampshire. The conference rekindled her appreciation of poetry - writing and teaching it. "What I valued most about this conference is that it validated my belief that poetry is a vital, living art. More than simply capturing experience in pleasing language, a poetic sensibility enhances one’s perception of being."
Read more about Susan's professional development experience.

Sarah Megan Thomas ’97 may look familiar. The Shipley alumna, actress, writer, and producer has appeared on screen alongside such personalities as Sigourney Weaver, Kate Bosworth and, most recently, James Van Der Beek of Dawson’s Creek fame. Now on the verge of releasing her first feature film—which Thomas not only stars in, but also wrote and produced—the multitalented filmmaker is poised to become a household name herself.
Read more.

Last summer, Upper School art teacher Steve Baris participated in an intensive film workshop at Filmtech, a film school in Philadelphia, with funding from Shipley's Professional Development Committee. In addition to writing, filming, editing and producing his own short film, the course helped him prepare to teach his own class in film production to Shipley students during the 2011-2012 school year. Read all about his experience here.

The Shipley community celebrated the annual Upper School Closing Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 30. Many students were recognized for their achievements and for their contributions to the Shipley community. Read more.

(You can view and purchase photos from the event
in Shipley's online photo gallery.)

The Shipley School Seventh Grade completed the World Affairs Council's Student Diplomat Junior Model UN Program for history class on May 14 and 15. Hannah Engelman and Gavin Becker were recognized as the Outstanding Country Delegation. Read more.

On the Ides of March, all 7th grade and 8th grade Latin students took the National Latin Exam, competing by grade level with students in 13 other countries including Japan, Iran, France, and the UK. Many Shipley students were recognized for their excellent performance on the exam. Read more.

Don't miss the extraordinary collection of artwork by Shipley's Class of 2012 Art Majors.

The Senior Art Show is now on display in the Upper School through June 16.

Preview the work and artists here.

On Tuesday, April 24, 2012, Denis Asselin – former Shipley French teacher and Honorary Alumnus – walked out his front door and embarked on an old-fashioned pilgrimage—a 487-mile walk from Philadelphia to Boston with numerous stops along the way. The pilgrimage—“not a trip or a hike, but a journey,” says Denis—is in honor of his son Nathaniel, who died last year after a 13-year battle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (OCD/BDD). Denis’ goal is to raise awareness of OCD/BDD, a crippling brain disease, and raise money for the International OCD Foundation. Read more.

Shipley senior Jordyn Turner has been recognized as one of the country’s most outstanding high school seniors by the Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation and has been awarded a $20,000 scholarship for college. As a member of the 24th class of Coca-Cola Scholars, Miss Turner has demonstrated a commitment to academic excellence and civic engagement in school and in the community. Read more.

On Wednesday Shipley’s preK and K “Acorns” celebrated our senior “Oaks” as part of the last all school assembly of the year.  Every year in the fall our Oaks welcome our Acorns as they join the Shipley community and the Acorns return the favor in the spring, presenting diplomas and offering a song in honor of the seniors and their upcoming graduation.

“Develop tact and you will go far.” These were the words Shipley’s head of school, Mrs. Epes, had inscribed on the index card she handed to Fredricka Brecht at her graduation in 1968. “I think it was her way of telling me to work on the grace part (of the school motto),” says Brecht, who now herself coaches CEOs to become better leaders. Read more about Fredricka Brecht ’68.

Come see Andrew Christman '92's latest series of multi-media collages and paintings. Titled Arboretum, the series draws upon sources from both Eastern and Western painting traditions. In addition to referencing contemporary “recognition” field guides, abstract expressionist paintings and Asian art, Christman has recently synthesized children’s drawings of trees with his unfolding impressions of the trees that he encounters around the world.

Get more information.

In July of 2011, Piano Lesson Teacher and Musical Accompanist Saine Hsu, traveled to the soundScape Festival in Maccagno, Italy with the help of funding from Shipley’s Professional Development Committee. The two-week festival featured rehearsals, lessons, improvisation workshops, performances, and much more. The experience left Saine with fresh ideas and invaluable tools both to enhance her students’ learning and also help her create more interesting accompaniments for the Lower School concert songs. Read more.

The Professional Development Portfolio is a series of stories written by Shipley faculty members who have received funding from Shipley to pursue Professional Development opportunities. Stay tuned to www.shipleyschool.org for regular installments.

Do you want  to go to London? Tour Fenway Park? Play golf at Merion? Bid on amazing auction items and support Shipley. Absentee bids due April 18.

Shipley's Service Learning Team invites all members of the Shipley community to participate in a very special event happening this spring on Sunday, May 20, 2012 in honor of all the woman and families whose lives have been touched by breast cancer. Living Beyond Breast Cancer is a local organization that helps women navigate their way from the moment of diagnosis through treatment and recovery. This organization has played a huge role in the lives of many women here at Shipley. Read more about how you can help support this cause.

Students in Mrs. Leschinsky's Lower School Friendship class read the book, A Letter to My Daughters, by President Barack Obama. They were so inspired by the message of the book that they created their own version depicting people who have inspired them. Lower School Technology Coach Debra Finger scanned their drawings, imported them to iPhoto, then used iMovie to create this narrated version. We hope you enjoy it and become inspired as well.

A Letter to the President on Vimeo.

Second grade teacher Marian Roche’s father, Jim Stevens, was one of the soldiers of the 601st Tank Destroyers during WWII. He was on active duty for the entire engagement of the North African Campaign and The European Theater of Operations. In four years he experienced 546 days of combat.

Jim has often said that he would have liked to return to Italy - a ritual journey allowing him to reconcile the brutality of the war he fought with the people, culture, beauty, and history of the country that he also experienced. At 91, he could not take that journey. So, with money received from the Denis Nicholson Asselin Professional Development award, Marian took the trip for him this summer.
Read all about it in her blog.

Shipley middle school students performed extraordinarily well at the Valley Forge/Montgomery County chapter MATHCOUNTS competition. The official team of Amy Danoff, Will Field, Benjamin Kimmel, and Steven Zhang led the Gators to a third place finish overall, out of 24 schools. MATHCOUNTS is a national competitive middle school mathematics program. Read more.

Congratulations to Giselle Bartolo, Sydney Bolling, Eric Loreaux, Elizabeth Schwartz, Samantha Spear, Steven Wadden, and Elizabeth Wilcox.

Read more about the National Merit Scholarship Program.

With a grant from Shipley’s Professional Development program,  Upper School Spanish teacher Antonia Angeles Gonzales traveled to Spain in the summer of 2011. She participated in a course called “The Spanish Culture and its Application in the Spanish as a Foreign Language Classroom” at the prestigious Universidad Alcalá de Henares, just outside of Madrid. It was “one of the most enriching, rewarding, and memorable experiences of my life,” she says. Read more about her trip.

The Professional Development Portfolio is a series of stories written by Shipley faculty members who have received funding from Shipley to pursue Professional Development opportunities. Stay tuned to www.shipleyschool.org for regular installments.

It has to be said: it was a bold move to rewrite Homer’s Iliad—one of literature’s most famous ancient works—as a modern novel. But it has paid off for Shipley alumna and former teacher, Madeline (Emmy) Miller ’96.
Read more about Emmy and her new novel, Song of Achilles.

Visit Shipley's Speer Gallery to view artwork by Mark Khaisman, which will be on display through February 10.
Get more information about the artist and his work.

You can also join the artist for a reception:
Thursday, January 19
5:00 pm, Speer Gallery
Get more information and download to your calendar.
Add this event to your calendar.

By Laura Schoeffel

Joy Styles wants to make history, and she is very candid about her goal: “I am going to be the first black woman to succeed in country music. There never has been one.” She is well on her way, having just released her debut EP, Trying to Be Me. Each song reflects the journey of a woman who has learned the value of past mistakes and emerges stronger: “…whether it is an anthem or a ballad, the songs are a part of myself that I am sharing.” Read more.

In July 2011, Middle School history teacher Peter Stokes participated in a professional workshop for teachers exploring the historical resources of Valley Forge and Independence National Historical Parks. As part of the workshop, he participated in behind-the-scenes experiences of two of the most outstanding historical sites in American History, including an archaeological dig in Valley Forge Park. Read more.

The Professional Development Portfolio is a series of stories written by Shipley faculty members who have received funding from Shipley to pursue Professional Development opportunities. Stay tuned to www.shipleyschool.org for regular installments.

By Middle School Latin Teacher, Anne Smith

The recent seventh grade field trip to Washington, D.C. was a great example of Shipley Middle School’s innovative efforts to integrate curriculum. I contributed to the trip with integrated lessons on Classical architecture in my Latin classes, which were capped off with our visit to the capital city and its Classically-influenced monuments. Read more.

As part of Shipley Upper School’s innovative efforts to integrate curriculum, students in ninth grade honors English have been studying Middle Eastern literature in conjunction with their study of the Middle East in history. A recent assignment asked students to be, like Scheherezade, storytellers themselves. Read more.

“It really is an honor to be nominated (for an Emmy),” admits Justin Shipley ’00, whose work on The Horsemen Cometh, a documentary airing in January on PBS, earned him a nomination for Outstanding Cinematography alongside pieces from National Geographic and 60 Minutes. This is the first year the Emmy Awards allowed web content to compete with television, so the nomination for a segment Shipley completed for Airshowbuzz.com, a cyber world for airplane enthusiasts, is especially exciting. Read more about Justin Shipley '00.

In the summer of 2011, Shipley Lower School art teachers Bonnie Goldstein and Kathy Chapman were able to participate in a course on outsider artists and the art of collage, thanks to Shipley Professional Development funding. Goldstein and Chapman, who teach lessons on outsider art in their lower school classes, expanded their understanding of what outsider art is and got to make some of their own art. Read about their experience.

The Professional Development Portfolio is a series of stories written by Shipley faculty members who have received funding from Shipley to pursue Professional Development opportunities. Stay tuned to www.shipleyschool.org for regular installments.

Seventh graders recently visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. after researching the lives of some of the people whose names are engraved there.
Find out what they learned.

Earlier this year, Shipley Theater Director Emma Gibson reached out to the Shipley community to help her raise money to match a $25,000 Knight Challenge grant she received to debut the “A Play, A Pie, and A Pint” theater concept with her Tiny Dynamite Theater Company. The concept – which Emma refers to as “Brilliantly Casual Theatre”—consists of a one-act play, accompanied by a drink and a slice of pizza. The concept has been wildly successful and was recently written up in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Read the article here.

Twenty-two Shipley seniors were recognized by the National Merit Scholarship program. The program honors individual students who show exceptional academic ability and potential for success in rigorous college studies.
Read more.

Come see the abstract paintings of Kassem Amoudi, on display in Speer Gallery from October 17 through November 4. Meet the artist and other art enthusiasts at an Artist Reception on October 17.
Get more information about the artist.

Artist Reception Monday, October 17 5:00 – 7:00 pm Speer Gallery

by Elinor Donahue

Even in this Internet age, the whole world isn’t all at our cyber-connected fingertips. Sometimes you just have to walk it with your feet. So this summer Shipley students did that. The morning after graduation, ten Upper School students boarded a plane for Costa Rica to immerse themselves in that country’s life, language and work. Another five students were off for a week in Japan to experience the culture of a nation half a world away.

Certainly there are no boundaries to how and where Shipley students acquire an education—whether it’s on the playing field, in the community, studio or laboratory or anywhere else. Getting a first-hand understanding of how broad the possibilities are may be the best learning experience of all.

The students came back from their foreign adventures with a new appreciation for the differences around the globe. And they came back with stories that will make a difference in their lives – and shape who they might become.

Read about students' experiences in Costa Rica.
Read about the trip to Japan.

On Saturday, September 24, the Shipley community was out in full force for the games, crafts, food and fun all to support the charities chosen by the Students Organized for Service. The crowds stayed to cheer on our teams and celebrate the official opening of the new turf fields with a ribbon-cutting. Super Saturday embodied Shipley’s best self...Read more about the day and see photos.

Shipley Upper School art teacher Steve Baris doesn’t just teach art, he makes it. A regular exhibitor in Philadelphia and New York City galleries, Baris’s work was published in two important publications this summer and has been included in a local exhibition at the Main Line Art Center. Get more information.

Don’t miss out on the chance to see artwork by Shipley Lower School art teachers Bonnie Goldstein and Kathy Chapman at the Old City Jewish Art Center through September 22.

Their work is part of an exhibition titled, “A Fusion of Judaism and Art.”

See a preview of their work.

Old City Jewish Art Center
119 N. 3rd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19106
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 1-6 PM, and by appointment
www.jewishartcenter.com

What you don't see
A photographic exhibition on loan from the West Collection
In Speer Gallery September 5 to October 6

“What you don’t see” highlights what photographs typically don’t do: create a mystery. The contemporary artists working in this exhibition go to great lengths to lead viewers to a set of questions ranging from “is this a Photoshop alteration?” to “how is that possible?”

Get more information.

Shipley has been working since last spring with some 19 other organizations and Lower Merion Township on plans to celebrate Bryn Mawr institutions that are 100 years old or older.

The Bryn Mawr 100 celebration will take place on Saturday, September 10 from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, centered around the main parking lot in Bryn Mawr, with live music at the gazebo. A formal ceremony recognizing Shipley and the other institutions will take place at noon at the gazebo. The Farmers’ Market will be in full swing and there will be free parking in Bryn Mawr Hospital’s garage. Old-time games, sidewalk sales, food, and tours of participating institutions will be features of the day.

September 10 is also the date of Shipley’s Back-to-School Barbecue, to which all are invited.

Founded in 1894, Shipley is well into its second century and joins in the celebration with such organizations as Harriton House (over 300 years old), Bryn Mawr Hospital, John Fish Jewelers, a number of churches, Bryn Mawr College, The Baldwin School, and Aqua America.

More information: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bryn-Mawr-100/142966572451288?sk=wall

Please join Shipley alumna Erin Klingsberg '08 on Thursday, June 2, for a special screening on Elia Kazan's East of Eden. Erin is screening the film in order to help promote and raise funds for her BFA thesis film, "The Lonesome Animal," which she is currently producing for Emerson College and which she will be shooting at Shipley later in June.

The screening begins at 6:00 pm in the Riely theater and will be accompanied by a short Q&A with Erin afterward. Concessions will be available and a suggested donation of $5.00 is much appreciated.

The Desert Zoo is the second grade's culminating social studies project. Having completed research projects on desert animals, second graders dress up like and act the part of desert animal experts. In this video, second grade teachers at The Shipley School explain the project, with some help from their students and scenes from the big event. Stay tuned until the end of the video, when second graders perform their desert zoo song.

Becky Snyder Fawcett '88 was named this week's CNN Hero for her work in establishing Help Us Adopt, a non-profit grant organization offering adoption financial assistance.

Watch and read CNN's report on hero Becky Snyder Fawcett '88.

Visit www.HelpUsAdopt.org.

Don't miss these upcoming performances of the Spring 2011 Shakespeare production of Hamlet.

Friday, May 20 & Saturday, May 21
7:30 pm, Riely Theatre

Sunday, May 22
2:00 pm, Riely Theatre

Don't miss your chance to beautify your garden and support Shipley's horticultural program at the same time - stop by the plant sale outside of the carriage house next to West Middle School!

On Friday, April 29, five Shipley Upper School students traveled to Orlando, Florida to compete at the international level for DECA, the high school marketing club. 

The competition was conducted in two parts: first, students completed a written exam, and then they conducted two role plays in which they presented a business plan to professionals recruited from across the country.

In addition to the honor of being invited to compete at the highest level of competition, three Shipley students received additional recognition. Haley Banks was given a medal for Outstanding Role Play in the Apparel and Accessories Marketing individual event. In addition, the team of Mason Richins and Chris Taylor was invited to compete in the finals for the Financial Team Decision Making event, and they placed among the ten best teams in the country.

The trip was extremely rewarding for the students, both personally and professionally. Their successes are incredible, even more so because nearly every student at DECA takes formal coursework in marketing and business; Shipley’s students thrived despite no formal training. Congratulations to them!

Middle School Latin teachers Dr. Lynn Iozzo and Mrs. Anne Smith are pleased to recognize the following seventh and eighth grade Latin students who distinguished themselves by their performance on this year’s National Latin examination.

7th grade NLE level “Introduction to Latin”
“Outstanding Achievement” (Certificates, & purple ribbon) Amy Danoff, Vincent Fumo, Evan Spector, Benjamin Kimmel, Josh Liss. “Achievement” (Certificates) Will Field, Allegra Rapoport, Nicholas Ragaglia, Elise Dadourian, Nicole Weber, Micah Salamon, Shannon Smith, Jill Nehrbas.

8th grade NLE level “Latin I”
“Summa Cum Laude” awards (Gold medals on purple ribbons & Certificate) Nathaniel Wheeler and Porter Durham. “Maxima Cum Laude” awards (Silver medals on purple ribbons & Certificate) Sara French, Miray Eroglu, David Bakali, Ethan Bradlow, Alex Picariello, Emma Scornavacchi, Riley Smith, Anisa Iqbal. “Magna Cum Laude” awards (Certificates) Zach Quayle, Hunter Vander Zwaag, Elanur Eroglu, Keagan Farr. “Cum Laude” awards (Certificates) J.R. Cruise, Tristan Fogt, Brian Anderson, Zoe Helmers, Anne Homans, Halle Nagorsky.

The Shipley Sprouts, Shipley's Upper School horticultural club, has been a fixture at the Philadelphia Flower Show for more than 30 years. In this video, filmed and produced by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, you'll meet some of the students and teachers that make up this important Shipley club. Watch the video on YouTube.

RSVP today for the 37^th annual Secret Gardens Tour for a day of exploring magnificent and seldom-seen gardens along the Main Line. Make it a day with your friends and include a catered lunch at historic Appleford, where local artists and vendors will sell their featured items. Kindly RSVP by May 5. A map and ticket(s) for the tour and/or luncheon will be sent to you.

Don't miss the Upper School's performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet, in Riely Theatre May 19 through May 22. Performances are scheduled as follows:

Thursday, May 19
Friday, May 20
Saturday, May 21
7:30 pm

Sunday, May 22
2:00 pm

This video highlights some of the work that Shipley's Upper School students did with local dance and theater professionals to prepare for their performance of Hamlet. Thanks to theater director, Emma Gibson, for making and posting the video. Watch the video on YouTube.

Come and marvel at the work of 22 Shipley senior art majors, which will be on display in Shipley's Speer Gallery from May 13 through June 4. Preview their extraordinary work here.

Middle School students will perform The Music Man in Shipley's Riely Theatre. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children. Performances are scheduled as follows:

On Monday, May 23rd Shipley will host a college fair sponsored by Shipley, EA, Baldwin, Haverford, and Friends’ Central.

The fair will be held from 6:30-8pm, in Yarnall Gymnasium.

Colleges attending the fair are:

Dark skies, heavy winds, and the forecast of thunderstorms did not dampen high spirits in Shipley’s Yarnall Gymnasium, where the Groundbreaking Ceremony for Phase I of the school’s Upper Campus Master Plan took place on Thursday, April 28. Shipley alumni, trustees, parents, grandparents, and friends joined students and colleagues for the celebration, which followed the end-of-year All-School Assembly. Read more.

In the last two weeks in April two alumni from the class of 2005 died tragically: Nathaniel Asselin and Bradley Strange.

Nathaniel Asselin, the son of long-time revered faculty member, Denis Asselin and Denis’ wife, Judy, and the brother of Carrie, was a student at Shipley in fourth and fifth grades. He left us after fifth grade to return to Westtown School.

Nathaniel (age 24) was the Assistant Director of the Westtown Middle School After School Program, where he ably served his young charges as they settled down after school and got started on homework. An avid runner, he was also an assistant coach on the Westtown Middle School Cross Country Team.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, May 1 at 2:00 p.m. at Westtown Meeting House on the Westtown School campus. A reception will follow the service.

Bradley Strange, son of Lynn and David Strange and brother of Tori ‘02 and Whitney, joined Shipley in ninth grade and graduated in 2005. He went on to Bard College and was living in Northampton, MA.

A passionate and thoughtful student, Brad was among Shipley’s most gifted performers A member of the Madriguys, he was an anchor in all of our theater productions. Former faculty member Emily Miller ’96, who directed him in an extraordinary performance of King Lear, wrote: “Brad was an incredible young man, and I am saddened beyond words that his light is no longer in this world. I cannot believe that he is gone.”

The memorial service for Bradley will be held on Friday, May 6 at 2:00 pm at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church with a reception afterwards at the church fellowship hall. 

By First Grader Jon Campbell Basralian

Shipley junior reporter Jon Campbell Basralian reports on the School's annual Lower School Book Fair, which raises money for the Lower School library.
Read his article here.

Third graders in Deb Marcee’s science class recently wrapped up their unit on sharks with a dissection activity. Parent volunteers were on hand to help students with the more difficult aspects of the project. “I can talk about sharks and show you pictures in a book,” said Mrs. Marcee, “but it doesn’t compare to the experience of actually looking at a shark’s insides, and being able to touch and feel them.” See what the experience was like in this video.

Shipley fourth graders capped off their study of the Revolutionary War with a modern-day game of Jeopardy. The Loyalists matched up against the Patriots for a close and exciting battle of the minds. Find out how they fared in this video.

Shipley first-grader Jon Campbell Basralian is not your average six-year-old. He caught the attention of local online news outlet Patch.com because he reads the Philadelphia Inquirer and sometimes the Wall Street Journal on his way to school. Read about the other interesting things we found out about Jon in this interview.

Shipley’s Sweethearts will join together for Yoga on the Steps, a fundraiser supporting Living Beyond Breast Cancer. Last year, a group of over 30 people from the Shipley community raised over $7,000 for the cause. This year, the group is hoping to recruit more members and raise even more money. Read more.

Shipley junior Caroline Anapol was named the Main Line Media News' Student of the Week. Read and watch the Main Line Media News interview with Caroline.

For the third year in a row, Shipley will partner with Witnesses to Hunger to raise awareness about hunger in Philadelphia and its devastating effects on humanity through an event hosted in Shipley's Upper School dining room.
Get more information about this eye-opening event.

The public is invited to attend a screening of the critically acclaimed film, Race to Nowhere, in Shipley's Riely Theatre on Monday, March 21 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 at the door and $10 in advance through online purchase. Get more information.

Lower School art teachers Bonnie Goldstein and Kathy Chapman don’t just teach art – they make it. Both women are longtime members of the Cheltenham Printmakers Guild and will be participating in an upcoming exhibition, running from April 4 through April 29. Read more.

Ten Shipley Upper School students participated in the Pennsylvania DECA state competition from Wednesday, February 23 through Friday, February 25. The students found the competition personally rewarding and many of them won distinction in their categories. Read more.

Upper School students have been busy rehearsing in preparation for the spring musical performance of Little Shop of Horrors, which will run in Riely Theatre from March 10 through 13. Get more information.

The Philadelphia Classical Society held its annual Latin Week Competition on Saturday, February 26 at The Baldwin School. Many Shipley Middle School students submitted artistic and creative projects. Seven students received Best in Show commendations for their submissions. Read more.

Shipley third graders participated in the National Education Association’s annual Read Across America event and celebrated Dr. Seuss’s 118th birthday on Wednesday, March 2. The celebration entailed lots of reading, pajamas, and special Seuss-inspired snacks. Read more and see the photos.

Upper School students Andrew Wofford, Kiersten Zug, and Zack Flick won first place in Parliamentary Debate at the Pennsylvania High School Speech League District Tournament and qualified to compete at the state tournament, scheduled for March 25 and 26. Read more.

Shipley’s Pre-Kindergarten students were treated to a performance and music lesson by New York City-based musician Joe Vigliotti. He talked about the difference between different musical styles, answered questions about his musical background, and played his standup bass. He also left students with a parting gift, which they used to create this fine piece of music. Joe dubbed it “The Shipley Shuffle.” Watch a video of the performance.

With Lunch at Al Dar Bistro
Thursday, March 17, 2011

Join the Shipley Fine Arts Committee for an intimate tour of The Barnes Foundation to see one of the premier collections of French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, and early Modern paintings in the world. Although the upstairs galleries are closed for conservation work in preparation for their relocation to Philadelphia, approximately 1,500 extraordinary works remain on view on the first floor, including famed masterpieces by Cézanne, Renoir, Matisse, Seurat, Modigliani and many others.

This private tour (galleries will be closed to the public during our tour) is available at the special price of $45.00 per person which includes parking (usually $75.00 or more). If you are able to join us for lunch, we have selected a few delicious items to choose from at $20.00 per person.

For more information contact Christie Test Moag '95, cmoag@shipleyschool.org, Director of Special Programs and Events.

Shipley’s first graders celebrated the 100th day of school on Friday, February 25 with artistic creations made of 100 objects. The results were colorful and creative. Read and see more.

Shipley third graders brought heroes past and present to life – and got some public speaking practice in the meantime – at the annual Bagel and Biographies morning on Thursday, February 24. Read more.

All Shipley parents are encouraged to attend the parent education program rescheduled for Monday, March 7 at 7:00 pm in the Middle School Resource Center. Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, author of A Parent's Guide to Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Your Child Roots and Wings, will speak to parents about helping their children learn competence, confidence, connection, character, contribution, coping, and control to help them bounce back from challenges. Read more.

RSVP to parentprograms@shipleyschool.org.

Congratulations to Nate Colgan, David Corenswet, Jeremy Laskin, Dixon Sperry, Julia Tyson, and Michael Umbrecht, National Merit Finalists. Congratulations to Amiyr Jackson, National Achievement Finalist. Read more about the National Merit and National Achievement Scholarship programs.

Halfway through the school year, sixth grade English teacher Elizabeth Dougherty noticed an important thread emerging from two of the units she was covering in her course. “It had to do with the importance of our memories, not only as a connection to the past but as a bridge to the future when we consider the possibilities for wisdom that memories provide,” she explained. Read more.

Students in Shih-Han Wang’s Middle School Mandarin Class rang in the Chinese New Year with a feast and their families at local Chinese restaurant Yang Ming. Read more.

Betsy Leschinsky has been teaching Shipley Lower School students how to navigate challenging social situations and talk about their feelings for years. She and her students role play, read stories, and discuss topics to learn these difficult lessons. Now, she’s got Kimochis – a cast of adorable stuffed animals with tiny feelings inside – to help her. Read more.

Students in Shipley’s Middle and Upper Schools took a break from their regular classes to participate in the School’s annual Multi-Cultural Awareness Program Day on Tuesday, January 25. The Middle School’s activities focused on the theme of “Goodness in the World” while the Upper School spent the day thinking about “The Right to a Good Education.” Read more about MAP Day.

Get rid of the winter doldrums with “An Afternoon of Gavottes,” a musical and dance performance by Shipley students in support of the Brain Tree School. The event is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 13 in the Riely Theatre. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance. Get more information.

Friday, February 4, 5:30-7:30pm
Upper School Dining Room

Get more information and a detailed basketball schedule.

Shipley is once again partnering with Sustainable Horizon to provide Upper School students with the opportunity to travel to Costa Rica for 10 days. The trip combines service learning with home stay experiences and eco-tourism adventures and will take place June 11 – June 20, 2011. Get more information.

On Thursday, January 6, 21 Shipley Upper School students participated in the DECA competition for District 8 in Pennsylvania. Nearly all of Shipley’s participants qualified for the state competition, to be held at the end of February, and many took home even more impressive awards. “The students enjoyed themselves immensely and performed admirably,” said faculty advisor, David Reiman. Read more.

Explore the whimsical, organic-inspired sculptures of artist Karen Steen, to be on display in Shipley's Speer Gallery February 14 – March 25. Meet the artist at an open-to-the-public Artist Reception on Thursday, February 24, from 5:00 to 7:00. Read more about the artist and her work.

Celebrate the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. with your children and the Shipley community by participating in one of many Shipley-sponsored service opportunities. Get more information.

Artwork by artist Martha Finney is on display in the Speer Gallery through February 11. The public is invited to attend an Artist Reception on Thursday, January 13 at 5:00 pm. Get more details about the show.

Shipley’s Pre-K students culminated their unit on nutrition with Shipley’s fifth annual Healthy Snack Sale. The students raised $382 to benefit the Food Allergy Network, a non-profit organization which funds research on vaccines for food allergies. Read more.

Students in Shipley’s fourth and fifth grades participated in an international exchange with students in Croatia and Portugal—all without leaving the Lower School Library. Read more.

Shipley’s school store is teaming up with the community for the second year in a row to collect gently used coats and blankets, and new socks, hats, and gloves for five organizations in the area. The drive runs December 6 – 17. Make a donation and save 20% at the Shipley School Store.

Get more details.

Don’t miss these chances to cheer on Shipley’s basketball teams in December.
Friday & Saturday, December 3 & 4
Boys’ Basketball vs. Phelps, New Beginnings, and Valley Forge Military Academy
Friday & Saturday, December 10 & 11
Girls’ Basketball vs. Agnes Irwin, Westtown, and Lawrenceville

Get the schedule.

Fifty-one families in the Philadelphia area will benefit from the generosity and support of the Shipley community this Thanksgiving holiday. Over $3,000 were raised to purchase food for 51 Thanksgiving meals – including 25-pound turkeys and all the fixins. A very special thank you to freshman Madison Bailey, who raised enough money for 41 of those meals. Read more.

Middle School Spanish teacher Nate Schwartz loves music. He shares his passion with students through songwriting mini-courses, random musical collaborations throughout the year, and even in his Spanish classes. At the beginning of the year he decided to start writing songs to help his students learn vocabulary and grammar. See some of the results in this video.

When you step into Deb Marcee’s Lower School classroom, there is no doubt about what subject she teaches. Her room is a living and breathing testament to the study of science. Tanks filled with fish, small sharks, a turtle, and other creatures line the room’s perimeter. A display of birds perches on top of a bookcase. And all around, posters covered with insects, plants, and other life forms cover the walls.

The second through fifth graders who learn in Marcee’s room are literally surrounded by science. They experience it; they don’t just study it. That’s why her second graders dissect grasshoppers during their unit about insects.

Watch a video of the second graders at work.

It’s first period on a Wednesday. The students in Christine Greenwood’s ninth grade Art Foundations class are sitting in the multi-media design lab, staring up at a 52” flat screen on the wall. She’s working in Photoshop, showing her students how to convert a 2” x 2” pencil-drawn template into a complex black-and-white abstract design. Read more and see some of the final projects.

Forty pieces of artwork by Shipley students in all three divisions have been entered into the Ardmore First Friday Emerging Artist Show. The work will be displayed throughout stores in Ardmore during the month of November. On Friday, November 5, there will be a pre- show reception for the exhibiting students and their families from 5:30 – 7:00 pm at the Ardmore Initiative office, 56 E. Lancaster Avenue, Ardmore. Get more information.

Upper School students will present three performances of the Fall Plays starting Friday, November 19. Theater directors Tony Morinelli, Emma Gibson, and Phillips Brown are directing several different productions.

Get more details.

Shipley's Upper School Faculty Band—made up of college counselor Ellen Deitrich, history teacher Chuck Amidon, and science teachers Adam Goren and Josh Berberian—play Melissa Etheridge’s "I Run for Life" in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The band performed the song for Middle and Upper School students.

Shipley also recognized Breast Cancer Awareness month with Wear Pink or Red dress down days in each of the divisions, which helped raise money for The Susan G. Koman Foundation and Living Beyond Breast Cancer. The Middle School also held a bake sale to help raise funds in support of breast cancer research. Watch the performance.

In this video, students in Josh Berberian’s honors physics class use basic physics formulas to predict how far down the hallway a block will travel when shot out of the super-duper physics block-firing slingshot. Unfortunately, our camera battery ran out before the completion of the final competition. In the end, though, it’s the process that matters most. Watch that process in this video.

Satisfy your sweet tooth and feel good about it by ordering a pie just in time for Thanksgiving through MANNA's Pie in the Sky Sale and Fundraiser. MANNA is an organization that prepares and delivers nourishing meals and counsel to individuals battling life-threatening illnesses. Apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, carrot cake, chocolate fudge cake, and cherry-topped cheesecake all available. Place your orders by November 19. Get more information.

All members of the Shipley community are encouraged to take part in the Special Olympics Fall Festival from November 5 through November 7. Shipley will host the bocce ball and soccer competitions in Yarnall Gym and Fuller Fields. Get more information about volunteering.

When I Was a Girl, a series of digital Iris prints by photographer Ann Chwatsky, will be on display in Shipley’s Speer Gallery from November 15 through December 17. The public is invited to attend an artist reception on Wednesday, December 2 at 5:00 pm in the Speer Gallery. Get more information.

Even before Major League Soccer came to Chester, PA, Shipley alumnus Neal Regino ’03 and the Will Trippley Youth Development Foundation were working to improve the lives of Chester’s youth through soccer. The program ran its first camp in the summer of 2006 and has celebrated many milestones since then—including the recent $50,000 Pepsi Refresh Grant won in coordination with MLS team the Philadelphia Union. The organizations are hoping the grant will give them something else to celebrate—a new soccer field for the 300+ Chester children who benefit from the Will Trippley Youth Development Foundation’s Chester City United Soccer Program. Read more.

When Shipley alumna Allison Manley ’89 and her husband Rob Coleman saw their son chewing on his baby books, they wondered what was in them—and whether they were safe to eat. They did some research and were surprised by the lack of regulations and environmentally-friendly options for children’s books. Eco-conscious Allison and Rob found they had lots of options for cloth diapers, low-voc paint, and organic food—but not for books. Read about how they changed that with Squishy Press.

Shipley’s sixth grade teachers kicked off the beginning of the school year by asking their students, “What’s your journey?” When it came time for science teacher Stu Malcolm to share his answer, his excitement was palpable. “I’m going to commute back and forth from school without any carbon,” he told them. Read about Stu Malcolm's carbonless commute.

Nate Colgan, David Corenswet, Jeremy Laskin, Dixon Sperry, Julia Tyson, and Michael Umbrecht were all named National Merit Semifinalists and will have the chance to compete for over $36 million in scholarships with some of the nation’s most academically talented students. Read more.

Eighth grader Arman Eroglu caught the attention of his teachers and peers by spending one full day trying to access everything he needed through a three-inch hole. Inspired by an article in Newsweek, he was simulating the experience of the 33 Chilean miners trapped 2,000 feet underground. In the process he - and the rest of the Shipley community - learned something important. Read the story.

Visit the Speer Lobby Gallery in Shipley’s Upper School from October 11 through November 14 to view a selection of paintings by Shipley alumna Anne Graham Minich ’53. The exhibition, called Painting/Constructs, features work spanning the last 14 years. The public is invited to attend an artist reception on Thursday, October 14 at 5:30 pm in the Speer Gallery.

Read more about the exhibition.

In the summer of 2010, Upper School math and science teacher Josh Berberian left the comforts of home – including his wife and three children – to hike the 220-mile Pennsylvania portion of the Appalachian Trail. Alone.

With funding from Shipley’s Denis Nicholson Asselin Professional Development Award, he set off on a “journey of the spirit.” A journey that he thought would give him “ample opportunity to reflect professionally and personally—as a teacher, leader, father, and husband.” In his proposal for the professional development grant he mused, “I do wonder what so much solitude will bring me. My hope is that I find myself re-centered, having figured out the priorities in my life, and appreciating more all that I have.”

Read Josh’s memoir of his solo hike and the surprising lessons he learned.

Join in the fun on Super Saturday and help to raise money for three charities working to enhance educational opportunities locally, nationally, and globally. Games, food, and a carnival atmosphere are all part of the fun. While your on campus, support Shipley's fall sport athletes as they match up against Agnes Irwin and Radnor High School. Get more details and the sports schedule.

Good weather, great company, and delicious barbecue fare attracted the largest crowd ever to Shipley’s annual Welcome Back Barbecue. Read more.

View photos from the event.

Philip Brown, one of Shipley Upper School’s theater directors, was recently featured in an article published in the Chestnut Hill Local. Focusing on his accomplishments as an actor, writer, theater company director, and acting coach, the article also highlights his upcoming appearance in Philly Fringe production, Tiny Dynamite (which also stars his Shipley colleague, Emma Gibson).

Read the article.

Photographs by award-winning photographer Jill Greenberg will be on display in Shipley’s Speer Gallery through October 10. The artist’s popular “Monkey Portraits” series, on loan to Shipley from The West Collection, features larger-than-life portraits of monkeys. Read more about the exhibition.

Visitors to Shipley’s Gladwyne Farm Fields have something new to cheer about this fall sports season—a major renovation project that includes a paved parking area with 57 spots, a new field house complete with training room, snack bar, restrooms, and storage area, and improved, ADA-standards-compliant access. Read more.

It’s been a busy summer for members of Shipley’s Theater Department as Directors Tony Morinelli, Phillip Brown, and Emma Gibson gear up for this summer’s Philadelphia Fringe Festival. And they’re not alone. Shipley students and alumni have joined in the efforts to help share Shipley’s theatrical talent with people in the greater Philadelphia area – and beyond. Read more & get schedules. 

Access the schedules and more information here.