Name: Brennan Currently Attending: American University Years at Shipley: 9 Activities & Positions Held: Varsity Volleyball (Captain), High School Democrats Club (Founder and President), Civic Activism Club (Founder and President), The Beacon (“World News” Editor), Yearbook (Photographer and Editor), Positive Paws. Served as a U.S. Senate Page in Washington, D.C. for five months during junior year.
Reflections on Shipley I entered Shipley as a young, wildly energetic, utterly disorganized nine-year-old, and I am leaving as a confident, driven, almost entirely organized eighteen-year-old. Looking back on my time at Shipley, I am able to reflect on how much the teachers, classes, field trips, speakers, and students have shaped the person I am today. Shipley taught me how to be much more than a student. I learned how to be a friend, a leader, and an individual. It wasn’t always easy being pushed out of my comfort zone, but I always came out of every experience grateful for my growth.
The fall, I helped organize a political panel for an Upper School assembly. A group of students and I were going to field questions from the student body as if we were one of eight different political candidates running for various positions in the 2018-midterm elections. As the President of the High School Democrats club, I felt confident in my ability to take on the role of a democratic candidate and answer questions without much preparation. However, several days before the assembly, the organizers decided it would be best if I played a Republican candidate, as to best remove bias from the presentation. I had no idea what to do or what I was going to say from the perspective of someone I had been arguing against for years. I did lots of research and spent hours preparing answers to potential questions I could be asked. Though I was nervous and admittedly uncomfortable, when the assembly took place, I introduced myself as the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate and embraced the role with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. Ultimately, I ended up having a great time fielding questions and the panel got a very positive response. I was proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and grateful to Shipley for pushing me to get to that point. I would have never challenged my beliefs and taken on a different perspective without that exercise.
Shipley has given me all the tools I need to go into college and the world without fear of trying new things or testing my limits. I have the courage to push myself and the maturity to understand how important these small steps are. I would not be the person I am today without the hundreds of little pushes Shipley gave me over the past nine years, and I encourage every student to embrace each challenge as an opportunity to grow. Looking back, my growth is clear, and I owe it all to my classes and community at Shipley.
Who was your most influential teacher and why? The most influential teacher in my life was, without a doubt, Mrs. Van Horn. When I first came to Shipley in fourth grade, Mrs. Van Horn welcomed me into her class and immediately began pushing me as a student and person. I was intimidated by her fast-paced, hands-on teaching style at first, but I soon realized that with hard work, focus, and a genuine love for what I was learning, I could make Mrs. Van Horn proud and soak in all of the information her lessons offered. Every day I woke up excited for whatever project, field trip, or mock revolutionary war battle we had in store that day in class. I don’t think I’ve ever learned more (or had so much fun) at school, and I will treasure the memories of Mrs. Van Horn’s fourth-grade class for the rest of my life.
What was your most memorable experience at Shipley? My most memorable experience at Shipley was winning the Independent League Volleyball Championship for the sixth consecutive year as a senior captain. The team went into the match as the underdog, having not defeated our championship opponent even once during the entire regular season and playing off of the Shipley campus in their School’s gym. Despite the odds, all of us on the Shipley team knew it would be our last time playing together and we had to give it our best effort. After two extremely intense, stress-ridden hours, Shipley pulled out a victory by three points in the tie-breaking fifth set. Everyone on the team burst into tears and ran onto the court to celebrate. I was so proud of each girl for her determination and passion and was grateful to end my high school career with such a memorable experience.
What are your plans for the fall of 2019? This fall I will be attending American University in Washington, D.C. to study Public Relations and Strategic Communication with a possible double major in Political Science.
Are you going to college to nurture a talent that you honed during your time at Shipley? I am going to college to pursue my interest in communication, journalism, and politics, all of which Shipley has fostered throughout my nine years in and out of the classroom. From writing for The Beacon to organizing and performing a mock political debate for an Upper School assembly, Shipley has never failed to not only support but also encourage my passions.
What is your future ambition and what led you to this ambition? My dream job would be to serve as White House Press Secretary or National Communications Director on a Presidential campaign. Shipley not only provided me with the public speaking, writing, and critical thinking skills necessary to pursue these positions, but also the confidence to see this dream as a reachable goal.
What does Courage for the Deed; Grace for the Doing mean to you? To me, it means pursuing your goals without fear or hesitation, but with kindness, compassion, and love.
What impact or contributions do you think you have made at Shipley and in the larger community? I hope that I helped people to recognize the power of their voice and the importance of their involvement in politics locally and across the world. I loved every second of explaining current events in Civic Activism Club, creating political messaging in my art, and debating hot button issues with my peers. I feel that I have done my best to generate a meaningful conversation about these important topics in the Shipley Upper School, and I hope that these conversations continue to grow years after I’m gone.
Complete this sentence: Shipley has prepared me to… take on the world with confidence in my knowledge, my voice, and myself.
The Shipley Sprouts, Shipley's Upper School horticulture club, won two second-place awards at the 2022 Philadelphia Flower Show for their Tablescape exhibit. In addition, students in the Upper School STEAM Department won third and second-place awards for their Garden Gate exhibit.
The Shipley School is proud to announce that Don Draper has been appointed as Director of Tennis. In his capacity as Director of Tennis, Don will oversee the growth, continuity, and strategic vision for tennis at Shipley.
Originally published in the May 2022 issue of the Upper School student newspaper, The Beacon, this article shares insights from All School President Griffin Chulik ’22 about his student government experience and some final thoughts as he departs from the Shipley community and prepares to head off to college in the fall.
Helping students identify their strengths and weaknesses is an essential goal for any educator guiding them on the path to success. This is especially important in sixth grade, as students make the transition from elementary to middle school. One cornerstone of the sixth grade SEED curriculum is having students explore their own learning styles and apply this knowledge to forming relationships.
On Thursday, May 26 the Upper School held its annual Closing Awards Ceremony. During this ceremony, Shipley recognized the outgoing and incoming student leadership officers and presented students with academic, athletic, and leadership awards.
Shipley's Middle School Latin students took the 2022 National Latin Examination with over 100,000 students from around the world. An impressive 26 students earned Latin Award prizes and recognition for excellence. Middle School Latin students also competed in The Philadelphia Classical Society's 83rd Annual Latin Week Competition - Traditional Artistry & Literary Projects on Classical themes. A total of 55 Middle School students won Latin Awards and recognition for excellence.
The Shipley School is proud to announce the appointment of Harry Green as the School’s new Director of Track and Field. This new position will oversee all running programs. Coach Green will be Head Coach of the Varsity Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field teams and the Cross Country team.
What do Coke and Pepsi have to do with statistics? The seniors in Matt Frankel’s interdisciplinary statistics class can tell you! After studying the statistical problem-solving process all year, students ran a large study with 300 subjects to see if they could differentiate between Coke and Pepsi with a greater accuracy than random guessing would provide.
Shipley Middle School science teacher Ace Schwarz has been selected to participate in its 2022 National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Landmarks of American History Workshop, The Space Age on the Space Coast. "I am hoping to bring back what I learn so we can really develop the space exploration aspect of our curriculum," commented Mx. Schwarz.
Shipley’s Middle School Science Olympiad team earned an overall ninth-place finish at the Pennsylvania Science Olympiad State Tournament held at Penn State Altoona on April 30.
The Shipley School is proud to announce that after an extensive search, Eva Winiarski has been named Head Varsity Girls' Lacrosse Coach. She brings a wealth of teaching, playing, and coaching experience to Shipley, most recently as the Assistant Lacrosse Coach and Defensive Coordinator at The McDonough School in Maryland. In the classroom, Eva will join Shipley’s exceptional English Department as an Upper School teacher.
On April 24, 2022, three groups of Shipley’s Upper School students presented research at a roundtable presentation of the Student Participatory Action Research Collaboration (SPARC). “Our students were passionate, thorough, confident, and genuinely enthusiastic about their research topics,” said student advisor and Shipley’s Interim Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Sheri Rider Jobe.
Shipley sixth-grader Jordyn Colbert '28 won first place in the 17th Annual Charlotte Miller Simon Poetry Contest, presented by the Ardmore Free Library.
Shipley’s Middle School and Upper School Science Olympiad teams participated in the Southeast Pennsylvania Science Olympiad Tournament. Combined, the teams earned 18 medals and qualified for the State tournament.
The Shipley School’s DEI Strategic Plan goal 3 is to ensure an equitable experience for all members of the community. One initiative of that goal is to create and support affinity spaces for students, colleagues, families, and alumni. Affinity spaces speak to the efforts of not just ensuring equitable experiences, but also creating experiences that foster belonging in our community. Learn more about our efforts to create these spaces.
The Shipley School is a private, coeducational day school for pre-kindergarten through 12th grade students, located in Bryn Mawr, PA. Through our commitment to educational excellence, we develop within each student a love of learning and a desire for compassionate participation in the world.