Building Community through Conservancy in Lower School Science
Holly Caldwell
Stroll past the Lower School’s pollinator garden in the spring and you’ll see preschoolers engaging in a delicate dance with monarch butterflies. Initially, Shipley’s youngest students are likely more enchanted with the thought of chasing these winged creatures than understanding their deeper connection to our environment. But much like the maturation cycle of the monarch, under the tutelage of Lower School Science teacher Dan Del Duca, students will graduate from tracking animal prints in the snow in Pre-K and Kindergarten, to learning about the water cycle as second graders, to conducting chemical tests to determine the overall health of the Mill Creek. Over the years, fifth graders have collected data that shows a high increase of chloride levels after snow storms due to road salt being applied to area roads.
Each hands-on activity is designed so that students can participate in the decade-long partnership Mr. Del Duca has cultivated with the Lower Merion Conservancy (LMC). Working toward the mutual goal of caring for the local watershed, Mr. Del Duca’s students work in collaboration with the LMC to raise community awareness of this issue. Shipley’s yearlong program on sustainability is key to supporting this mission, as it helps students understand their individual role in the larger ecosystem, which “gives them a sense of personal responsibility of caring for our environment,” explains Mr. Del Duca.
To protect our watershed and in collaboration with Shipley’s horticulture program, this spring the group will build a rain garden on the Lower School’s campus to filter water and trap runoff. Though grounded in science, this project encapsulates all aspects of life in the real world. “It’s scientific, mechanical, and mathematical, but at its core are social elements, because it affects us all as human beings.” Mr. Del Duca encourages all students to view environmentally based endeavors through a new lens: “Projects reach their full potential when everyone in the community participates. When the methodical student works alongside the humanistic dreamer, that’s when the magic happens.”
Fifth graders visited Ashbridge Park to collect and analyze water samples as part of their yearlong program on sustainability in science class. The data collected is shared with the Lower Merion Conservancy. “We have a true partnership sharing stream data and educating the public about keeping our streams and rivers clean,” said Mr. Del Duca.
Fifth graders visited Ashbridge Park to collect and analyze water samples as part of their yearlong program on sustainability in science class. The data collected is shared with the Lower Merion Conservancy. “We have a true partnership sharing stream data and educating the public about keeping our streams and rivers clean,” said Mr. Del Duca.
Fifth graders visited Ashbridge Park to collect and analyze water samples as part of their yearlong program on sustainability in science class. The data collected is shared with the Lower Merion Conservancy. “We have a true partnership sharing stream data and educating the public about keeping our streams and rivers clean,” said Mr. Del Duca.
Fifth graders visited Ashbridge Park to collect and analyze water samples as part of their yearlong program on sustainability in science class. The data collected is shared with the Lower Merion Conservancy. “We have a true partnership sharing stream data and educating the public about keeping our streams and rivers clean,” said Mr. Del Duca.
I have often described Shipley as a school that is both incredibly accomplished and that possesses great potential. It’s reasonable to ask, how can a school be both rooted in its mission and values and committed to change? The simple answer is that Shipley has always been driven to do what is best for its students and to prepare them for the world...
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After 77 years as an all-girls’ school, Shipley’s Board of Trustees approved coeducation in 1971—a watershed moment in the School’s history. In this collection of articles, we examine the origins of the decision, share reflections of the people who shaped and experienced the transition, and explore coeducation today.
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Shipley’s youngest students partner in sustainability through hands-on science lessons in the natural environment, including Shipley's decade-long partnership with the Lower Merion Conservancy, in which fifth grade students collect and analyze water samples of the local Mill Creek. Learn more about how learning comes to life in Lower School science.
Shipley’s move to coeducation was a difficult transition on a number of fronts—from attracting boys to a formerly all-girls’ school to convincing faculty and alumnae that it was in the School’s best interest. Here are reflections from some of the people who shaped and lived through the early days of coeducation at Shipley.
Before joining Shipley as the Head of Middle School in 2013, Shane Kinsella spent the first 15 years of his career teaching in a single-sex school. "Having taught in both single-sex and coed environments, there is no one modality of learning that works best for a single gender," he says. Dr. Kinsella sees many benefits to learning and teaching in a school that is inclusive of all genders. Read his reflection to learn more.
Shipley boys' soccer coach and PE teacher Thom Schauerman has led the Gators to 10 Friends Schools League Championship victories during his time at the School. Learn more about Coach Schauerman and his coaching philosophy in this Q&A.
Shipley's Philly Math League team, made up of ten Upper School students, completed their season with a 6-3 record and finished second in the League standings. "This is a highly motivated group of students who embraces challenge and cooperation,” commented team coach Dr. Joachim Rebholz. Learn more about the team's impressive performance.
As Founder and Director of CREDO, the Center for Research on Education Outcomes, Margaret “Macke” Raymond ’72 is on a mission to improve the evidence around which education policies and programs produce the best outcomes for K-12 public school students. Raymond says her experiences at Shipley played a formative role in her career, which she has spent trying to emulate the strengths of Shipley's educational model.
For Dave Samson '95, seeing his mother’s love for learning was a huge factor in setting him on the path to a career in education—as was the influence of many of his teachers at Shipley. As Head of Upper School at Brookwood School in Massachusetts, Samson places great emphasis on restorative practices that encourage growth and building community over punitive discipline.
Caleb Balderston ‘06 joined Teach for America, teaching math in Chicago public charter schools. Working mainly with low-income students of color, it was there that Balderston developed his passion for equity in education. As high school principal at Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School in Massachusetts he is explicit in his focus on identity work and global citizenship, in addition to academic mastery.
Shipley’s mission compels us to inspire in students a compassionate participation in the world. We asked a few Shipley alumni who work in education how else schools can make a positive impact in the world. Read their responses in this Q&A.
In April 2022, artist Peter Makela ’04 will travel to Nepal as a Fulbright Scholar. He’ll spend 10 months in the Kathmandu Valley pursuing his project, “The Radiant Emptiness of Space: Madhyamaka and Contemplative Perception,” while studying Madhyamaka philosophy at Rangjung Yeshe University, the world’s preeminent English-speaking Buddhist university. Learn more about Makela and his work.
In the fall of 2021, Ashleigh Gundy ’18 was named the inaugural winner of the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Tina Sloan Green Award, which recognizes teams or individuals working to promote equity and inclusion.
In October 2021, Shipley alumna Carla Zambelli Mudry '81 had the pleasure of attending Church Farm School's parents' weekend festivities, which included a presentation by her friend, classmate, and nationally syndicated cartoonist Robb Armstrong '81, as well as the presentation of the school's CFS medal to three Shipley alumnae, Stacey Shreiner Kley ’74, Caroline “Cackie” Buck Rogers ’73, and Cannie Crysler Shafer ’74.
The Pre-Kindergarten’s “From Seed to Plant” interdisciplinary spring project centered around the questions, “How Do We Take Care of Nature?” and “How Does Nature Take Care of Us?” Ecology lessons in the classroom were complemented with hands-on learning and gardening experiences in the Lower School’s courtyard and newly-installed vegetable beds.
Vision 20/26 compelled Shipley to “Cultivate a diverse and inclusive community” as a means of “increasing our ability to work across differences in our school, in our communities, and in the world.” Five years later, Shipley has taken great strides with its DEI efforts. Are we doing enough? Too much? How can we work together as a community to advance this important work? Our panel explores these questions and more.
Vision 20/26 pushed Shipley to “advance its position as a recognized leader in social, emotional, and ethical development education” as part of its drive for Educational Excellence. Since then, the School has become a pioneer in the field of Positive Education. It is now pushing the boundaries around what it means to educate for flourishing by incorporating DE&I and pedagogy principles into its evolving, science-based framework.
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.