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Yearly Archives: 2015
Falling Forward: Defining “Innovation”
By Jennifer Vermillion, Director of The Center for Innovation and Learning
Failing Forward: “Defining Innovation”
How do you know if something is innovative? If I asked you to name three things that exemplify innovation, what comes to mind? Innovation is certainly a prevalent topic these days. Universities have started offering degrees in innovation. A quick Amazon search for the term yields 1,158 books about innovation published in the last ninety days alone. Here at St. Mark’s, we have an entire center dedicated to innovation in teaching and learning. Innovation is essential for addressing complex social, environmental and economic challenges, but without careful reflection and discussion, the term can feel vague and even trendy. So how do we define and value innovation at St. Mark’s? (more…)
III Form Physics: First Engineering Design Challenge
By Lindsey Dumond, III Form
III Form Physics: First Engineering Design Challenge
Units 1, 2, and 3 all focused on the same design challenge, which was to create an object with the highest average velocity over two meters. The object also had to be self-propelled and could not leave contact with the track at any time, or it would be disqualified. At the end of unit one, we chose several materials that we thought would be most useful in creating an object that could complete the challenge. We created a first design based on what we knew about physics at that point. In unit two, we built a model of our first design and tried to make it self-propelled. After facing challenges during this step we redesigned and rebuilt. As we redesigned, we were also learning more about physics and concepts that (more…)
Challenging the World to Decrease Energy Use
By Kristen Upton, V Form, Annette Kang, VI Form, and Kristin Smith, VI Form
Challenging the World to Decrease Energy Use
In our Advanced Environmental Science class, we had the challenge of making a 1-2 minute proposal video that would invite and encourage people around the world to find a solution to our essential question: How much of our energy use is actually necessary? In our video, we challenged our viewers to decrease their unnecessary energy use, with our goal being to prompt conversations and spread awareness of superfluous energy consumption. As we try to accomplish this feat at our school, we hope that this video will spur inspiration in others to take on the same challenge.
What The Wedding of Zein Teaches Us About Islam
By Blaire (Ninglin) Zhang, V Form
What The Wedding of Zein Teaches Us About Islam
While The Wedding of Zein by Tayeb Salih portrays the day-to-day life of various seemingly unconnected groups of people in a Sudanese village, it poses important questions about the religion of Islam. In describing events leading up to Zein’s wedding and reactions of the villagers, Salih reveals contrasting interpretations of Islamic faith. One comes to see that under the façade of Zein’s wedding and the author’s use of comic elements exist tensions between those who follow the Sufi tradition and those who prefer the more orthodox, non-Sufi way to Islam. Haneen and The Imam represent individuals who exemplify these two opposing views. (more…)
CHOSEN: The TV Pitch Project Winner
By Alex von Campe and Sean Bellefeuille, VI Form
CHOSEN: The TV Pitch Project Winner (A Contest in Mr. Camp’s Getting LOST VI Form Elective)
PITCH BIBLE–
Logline:
As an unknown disease ravages the world, outsiders fight to gain entry to the one safe place where the chosen people live.
Elevator Pitch:
A group of people is chosen to restart society, but they are unaware of this, and they are trapped in a never-ending underground system with no sunlight. Families of the missing people fight to find their loved ones and eventually find others in similar situations. They come close a couple of times, but soon, an incurable disease ravages the world. It dawns on the outsiders that they were deemed not worthy of restarting the human race. The people realize that their missing loved ones, the chosen ones, are in the only safe place on earth.
Trailer for “Chosen” click here
Synopsis:
Society was struggling as a whole. Natural disasters were ravaging poor (more…)
My Presentism RANT
By Adam Jewell, History Faculty
My Presentism RANT
An immediate disclaimer: I am a flawed human; we all are. I am, however, probably flawed more than most. I attended six different colleges and have two degrees (one of them is NOT a doctorate). I routinely annoy every human I interact with, especially my poor wife. I very nearly cause severe (inadvertent) bodily harm to my son each and every day, but we laugh and shake it off so I assume all is well. In short, I mess up this game of life each and every day and therefore try to not pass any judgments (moral or otherwise) upon anyone. With that in mind, seriously, we all have a pretty damn good life. However, from what we all often say and hear on a daily basis, one would think we are living a life akin to Depression Era America or perhaps worse. I refer to this phenomenon as my own version of “presentism.” My idea strays from the normal definition of the term. Simply put, “presentism” in my discipline is interpreting the past through the moral concepts and lens of the present. Instead, I argue that a more tangible form of “presentism” exists (more…)
On The Recent Return from Haiti
An Interview with Mr. Chris Kent (English Faculty) by Julie Geng, VI Form
JG: What made you interested in Haiti initially and decide to go on the first trip?
CK: When Ms. McColloch, and Ms. Berndt and Ms. Lohwater first developed the partnership, she asked me to come along and join the group. I definitely took a backseat approach and wanted to just observe and wasn’t necessarily as active as I could have been purposefully. I just wanted to see what other people thought this was all about and take the time to figure out for myself what interested me. So I’m not really sure other than just being approached and being asked to be part of the group were what really drove me. I don’t think I had early on a connection with Haiti other than the idea that helping the school seemed a great thing to do. I was definitely impacted by the idea of teachers helping teachers. (more…)
Getting Back Up on the Horse…Literally
Getting Back Up on the Horse…Literally
By Paige Crotty, VI Form
For years I have been traveling the same roads, going to the same place. I have the 
twists and turns of the route memorized in my muscles. However, I never tire of the feeling when I hop out of my car–the combination of hay and horses filling my nose as I look out to the barn. I walk through the aisle of the barn and make my way to the back door where I can see my horses. They nicker at me affectionately, reminding me why I love my horses and riding; I put so much commitment into the sport, even if it means sacrificing time with my friends. Horseback riding is comprised of both accomplishments and disappointments, but over the last eight years, I have learned those failures serve as the best life teachers. (more…)
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