Spotlight on Lower School SEED: “Behind My Mask” Lesson Teaches Students about Emotions
For Lower School SEED teacher Betsy Leschinsky, helping young students learn how to recognize and manage emotions is a key part of what she teaches. This can be particularly challenging in the time of COVID-19.
“We’re used to reading emotions on people’s faces,” she says, “and that can be hard to do when we’re all wearing masks.” Her “Behind My Mask” unit was designed to help students uncover the feelings that people might not see when we wear masks, as well as some of the characteristics and interests that define us.
In Shipley’s Social Emotional Ethical Development curriculum in the Lower School, students as young as four years old begin to learn about the relationship between their emotions and their behaviors. As students grow, they are exposed to increasingly complex and developmentally appropriate concepts like emotional regulation, conflict resolution, inclusive behavior, and more.
What do recording artists and civil servants have in common? “They bring people together,” says Joy Styles ’92, Nashville's District 32 Councilwoman and one of the first Black female country artists to ever sign a record deal. “The time that I spent at Shipley prepared me to be a trailblazer for my community and society as a whole," she says. Learn more about Shipley Changemaker Joy Styles '92.
The Shipley School is proud to announce Kris Ryan has been selected as the next Head of Upper School. Kris will begin his work at Shipley on July 1, 2021. Read more about Kris in a letter from Head of School Michael Turner.
On Wednesday, March 10, Middle and Upper School caregivers and faculty convened on Zoom for a virtual Book Club meeting to discuss Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s Stamped from the Beginning. If you missed the meeting or are a Lower School parent, you can sign up to participate in the April 20 discussion that has been planned.
Take a Seat is a podcast about flourishing. It’s about the art of thriving, the science and practice of well-being, and people who are “crushing it.” Flourishing expert Dr. Nick Holton explores topics ranging from self-actualization, friendships, and transcendence, to optimal functioning, magnifying collective potential, and creating a better humanity.
In February, much of the DEI work in Lower School classrooms centered around Black History Month. From art to PE, PreK to fifth grade, all of our youngest students got a chance to learn about and celebrate the contributions of black artists, scientists, athletes, and world leaders. In third grade, students also completed a unit celebrating the Chinese Lunar New Year.
Recent DEI work in the Middle School spans explorations of America’s first published African-American poet, the “Black is Beautiful” cultural movement in relation to eighth graders’ study of A Raisin in the Sun, and scientific debates over sustainable fishing practices in indigenous cultures and the equitable distribution of vaccines to people across the world. Teachers have also engaged in their own DEI learning through various Professional Development opportunities.
In Upper School classrooms, students have been engaged in deep and meaningful learning around the impacts of racism on people in the U.S. and around the world, questions of equity in our economic systems, the contributions of the first Black women in national politics, and social justice issues in STEM fields.
Shipley’s Technology Student Association (TSA) team recently competed at the Pennsylvania Technology Student Association Region 5 Conference and placed in three categories to advance to the State Conference.
Carlos Casilla is Shipley’s Director of Choirs, PreK- Grade 12 Performing Arts Department Chair, and Class of 2021 Co-Dean. As a Black Dominican man, he is proud of his heritage, but also acutely aware of how those identities impact others’ perceptions of him, especially when he speaks Spanish in public. Learn more about Carlos and his experience as a person of color in our new series, Centering BIPOC Voices at Shipley.
Five members of Shipley's DECA chapter placed in the top three of their respective categories at the 70th Annual State Career Development Conference and qualified for the International Conference in April.
Inspired by their reading of A Long Walk to Water in English class, sixth graders Lilla Tsvetkov ’27 and Adam Hornberger ’27 have organized a fundraiser aiming to raise $5,000 towards the cost of building a well with the organization, Water for South Sudan. "We aim to inspire our community that no challenge is too big to be resolved or fixed, as long as you try to make a difference, big or small," they say.
Shipley Seniors reached the semi-final round of the Pennsylvania High School Speech League (PHSSL) State debate tournament, held virtually on March 13-14.
The racial reckoning of 2020 fast-tracked Shipley's efforts to draft a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategic Plan. Work on the plan was led by a Board of Trustees Task Force, and the plan's Preamble and Goals were approved by the Board in January of 2021.
The Shipley School is proud to announce Elektra Ballas '21 and Sebastian Fras '21 have been nominated as candidates in the 2021 U.S. Presidential Scholars Program.
As Social Studies Department Chair and Equity Liaison at Deer Park Middle Magnet School in Baltimore County, Maryland, Brianna Ross ’10 says, “I’m focused on interrupting teacher biases, beliefs, and practices that perpetuate inequities while working to build teacher capacity to create inclusive classrooms that reflect the strengths and interests of our students.” Learn more about Shipley Changemaker Brianna Ross ’10.
Lee Stuart ’71 has dedicated her life and career to improving the lives of others by providing access to food, housing, education, and a caring community. From the Bronx, NY, to Duluth, MN—she has lived Shipley’s motto, Courage for the Deed; Grace for the Doing. “I’ve been in some really challenging environments and situations, and it’s a good guidepost,” she says. Learn more about Shipley Changemaker, Lee Stuart ’71.
As founder and Chief Executive Officer of Keiki Capital, Dan Lichtenberg ’99 marries his technical and financial expertise with his passion for developing creative solutions to global problems—global warming and climate change, food and water insecurity, income and wealth inequality—and transforming data into actionable intelligence.
Shipley senior Emma Lo has been recognized as a 2021 National YoungArts Foundation Winner in Classical Music (Piano). Through a rigorous audition process, she joins over 600of the most accomplished young visual, literary, and performing artists from across the country.
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.