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Entries categorized as ‘Education’

Sherwood Island Nature Center Seeks Interns

March 7, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Believe it or not, there are youngsters not far from here who have never been to a beach.  Thanks to the Sherwood Island Nature Center — opened last summer as a partnership between Friends of Sherwood Island and the state Department of Environmental Protection — they too can visit a beach.

And learn all about it at the same time.

(From left): Volunteer Jon Wormser, and interns Annie Harnick, Erica Mayer, Matt Wormser and A.J. Kieffer, examine a horseshoe crab.

Mike Rowinsky — whose main job is teaching biology at Greens Farms Academy — is the center’s naturalist at the center.  He’s looking for high school students and 2010 graduates to serve as interns this summer.

Working with Mike, interns create and lead a variety of activities such as arts and crafts projects and trail tours.  They also conduct research for displays, help set up exhibits, care for animals, and act as educational docents to the public.

Interns should be friendly, have a strong interest in nature and environmental issues, and be willing to take initiative.  Small stipends are available.

(For a downloadable application form, click here.  For more information call Liz Milwe: 203-984-8981.)

Categories: Education · Environment · Organizations · Teenagers
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And The Winner Is…

March 2, 2010 · 1 Comment

…Team 102.

Nick Cion, Annie Harnick, Lexa Koenig, Kat Krieger and Lena Ziskin — all seniors at Staples — won that school’s inaugural Spectacular Student Challenge.

By figuring out which of 3 different strategies — actually, a combination of all 3 — would make Westport greener, they earned the praise of judges, plus the satisfaction of knowing their 12 hours of work could help create a more environmentally friendly town.

Oh yeah.  They also won $5,000.

Lexa Koenig and Lena Ziskin look snug -- but their laptops get a workout midway through the Challenge.

Despite having to plow through a PhD-level question — then research, analyze, synthesize and present their findings in a time frame that would stress a post-doc — the winners took a balanced approach to their task.

They enjoyed a sitdown lunch from Tengda, and also spent a few minutes in the fieldhouse, cheering Staples’ indoor track team at their championship meet.  “We didn’t fry our brains,” Nick says, counterintuitively.

But they must have done something right.

“We saw the importance of innovation, but we also knew we needed a plan that was catchy, accessible, and would appeal to the public at large,” he adds, explaining his group’s success.

They concluded that a 3-pronged strategy is needed.  Solar panels at Staples and Bedford, and carbon reduction would help a bit; so would community-supported agriculture.  But household changes are necessary too.

The group seized on a Brazilian initiative — peeing in the shower to reduce flushes — and estimated that if every Westporter did that once a day, we’d save 11 million gallons of water a year.  That got the judges’ notice (as well as anyone who pees).

After earning finalist status, the team practiced their presentation for a full day.  Other groups were math oriented, but Team 102 focused on communication skills.

“We wanted a presentation that we would want to hear,” Nick says.  “We didn’t talk about numbers; we talked about why all this was important.”

Lunch from Tengda was great -- but a few hours later Team 102 wanted to make sure they had dinner too.

Going into the final presentation, the group had no idea what to expect.  They were eager to see how other teams — some of them veterans of the similar, but math-heavy, Moody’s Mega-Challenge — did.  When the night was over, they felt they’d done well — and were glad their tack was different.

Last Friday, Nick was awakened at 10:20 a.m. — hey, it was a snow day — with word from Kat that their group had won.  He was thrilled, then promptly fell back asleep.

On Monday, Team 102 will accept congratulations — and a fake check — at the Board of Education meeting.

As for the carryover effect of the contest, Nick says:  “I’m already following the household tips we came up with.  It’s amazing how easy it is.”  (Yes, all of them.)

And — for Team 102 — how lucrative.

Categories: Education · People · Staples HS · Teenagers
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Tuition Grants Pave The College Path

February 25, 2010 · 1 Comment

Think you’ve got some hefty college bills?  Meet Jody Brown.

Last spring the Westport single mother prepared for Staples graduation — of her triplets.  Megan, Kyle and Tyler DeBussey were ready to enter college this fall.

Tuition costs — over $300,000 for 4 years — kept her up at night.  The Barron’s guide, she says, made her sick.

All 3 of her kids had gone through Westport schools, from kindergarten through 12 grade.  None had ever requested financial assistance.  But each took on the task of filling out financial aid applications — including applying for Staples Tuition Grants.

Since 1943, the program has provided assistance to Staples seniors — and graduates still in college.  Some are students like the DeBusseys (though triplets are a 1st).  Others live in homes where 1 — or both — parents are seriously ill, or out of work.

Staples Tuition Grants is the largest single donor of financial aid in Westport.  Last year the organization handed out $198,000 — 24 grants to seniors, 53 to alums.  Awards range from several hundred to several thousand dollars, and are based solely on need.

Last year also saw a 35% increase in applications.  Many came from graduates who had not needed aid as seniors, but because of changed family circumstances or college funding cutbacks, suddenly did.

The DeBusseys all qualified.  Tyler is at the University of Wisconsin; Kyle attends the University of South Carolina, while Megan is at the University of Hartford.

Along with additional scholarships for academics and sports achievements — plus personal loans and campus jobs – all 3 are thriving. 

This June Staples Tuition Grants hopes to award $200,000 to a new crop of seniors, and some familiar grads.  As always, the committee relies on contributions from individuals, PTAs, civic organizations, local businesses and trusts.

But so far they’ve raised only half their goal.  It’s time to step up for our own.  Contributions may be made here, or by mail:  Staples Tuition Grants, PO Box 5159, Westport, CT 06881. 

(The deadline for students to apply for aid is March 15.  Applications are available here.)

Categories: Education · Organizations · People · Staples HS
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Getting Kids Off Their Butts

February 10, 2010 · 24 Comments

When was the last time you saw a Westport youngster walking or riding a bike to school?

I had to search the web for a stock photo of kids walking to school, because no such photo exists in Westport.

There’s a reason the answer is “back in the Ford administration.”  For reasons both societal (parents enjoy driving their kids) and calculated (the town has decided to not create bike lanes; not build or improve sidewalks, and not install bike racks), Westport’s roads and parking lots are clogged each  school day with the vehicular version of atherosclerosis.

I won’t say the result is an epidemic of fat kids.

I’ll let Michelle Obama say it for me.

Yesterday the First Lady announced a sweeping initiative to eliminate childhood obesity within a generation.  Part of the effort includes installing sidewalks in neighborhoods to encourage students to walk to school.

She said that a series of small changes — as simple as repainting crosswalks with reflective paint so more children could safely walk — slows the rate of childhood obesity.

A couple of years ago, Bedford’s security guard counted 300 parents dropping kids off — in a single day.  That’s in addition to the many school buses that crawl through town — often moving slower than a child can walk or bike.

Westport is in the forefront of so many things.  We ban plastic bags, build edible gardens and sponsor Ecofests.

Let’s get off our butts on this one.

So our kids can get off their theirs.

Categories: Children · Education · Westport life
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Jason Gandelman Goes For The Intel Gold

February 4, 2010 · 3 Comments

Jason Gandelman didn’t think his stuff was “sexy” or “good-looking” enough to draw a 2nd look.

He should have had more faith in Advanced Glycation End-Products, and how their buildup and activation are strongly linked to the cause of common diabetic complications like atherosclerosis and kidney failure.

That was the gist of his 3-year Authentic Science Research project at Staples.  And — sexy or not — it’s earned Jason a coveted finalist spot in the Intel Science Talent Search.

Next month the senior joins 39 other high school students from around the country in Washington, DC.  They’ll present their projects to a panel of judges; display their work to the public — and hope to win the $100,000 1st prize.

Jason would be Staples’ 2nd Intel national prizewinner.  Mariangela Lisanti captured the mega-prestigious honor — for the contest long known as the Westinghouse science search — in 2001.

Jason Gandelman, with his roll-right-off-your-tongue research project title.

Jason may not have thought his project — which provides new directions in the creation of medications to cure the horrible diabetic complications of blood vessels and kidneys — had sex appeal.

But he knew that the research he’d conducted at Yale for 2 years was strong, and worthy of a shot at the Intel competition.

The process was as lengthy as a college application.  Jason submitted a 20-page paper outlining his reearch, plus 2 long essays on his science abilities and view of important scientific problems for the future.

From the time he entered Staples — as far back as Coleytown El and Midle School, really — Jason has enjoyed the help of caring, committed teachers.

Drs. Nick Morgan, Michele Morse and AJ Scheetz helped lead him through the intensive, multi-year Science Research course — while fostering the independence and creativity any scientist craves.  Westport Teacher of the Year Mike Aitkenhead wrote a recommendation to supplement Jason’s application.

Jason also credits his Yale mentor, chemistry professor David Spiegel, for reaching the Intel finals.

“Of course there were scientific speed bumps” along the way, Jason says — for example, data that did not fit his hypothesis.

The biggest obstacle, though, was “the stigma that statistical analyses of data is not ‘real science,’” he says.  All of his work that 1st summer at Yale was done on computers using advanced statistics — but even judges looked down on his work.

They felt that “because it wasn’t lab work on real live animals, it wasn’t significant,” Jason says.  State science fair judges told him condescendingly, “This is a good starting point.”

Jason calls that “a good experience.  I learned it was important to keep plugging away at what I knew was ‘real,” even when all those around me couldn’t see the value in my work.”

In preparation for DC, Jason is reading scientific journals.  He’ll have to show the judges he is broadly excellent in a variety of areas, so he is “brushing up on burgeoning fields, and the ever-changing world of science.”

Jason is polished in areas far beyond math and science.  Sure, he’s taken AP courses in chemistry, biology, physics, statistics, multivariable calculus and environment — but he’s loved AP courses in English Literature and economics too.

He is co-president of Staples’ debate team (and, with his partner, took 3rd place at last year’s Harvard National Tournament).

He is co-captain of the engineering team, where he finds enough time to help build a fully electric car that will be shown at this year’s Ecofest.

Jason is co-president of Staples’ Stock Investment Club — and, oh yes, youth chairman of the Westport Youth Commission, whose major projects include getting a community movie theater in town, and giving internet safety presentations to middle schoolers.

Jason was accepted at Yale in December, and will hear soon from a couple of other schools.  (“06880″ has no idea what they’re waiting for.)

“I just want to find a place that fits me best as a person,” Jason says.  “But I know wherever I go it was what I learned at Staples that got me there, so I’m very thankful.”

In college he hopes to continue conducting biological chemistry research, and major in chemistry.

Here’s hoping he does it with an Intel Science Search gold medal sitting somewhere on his crowded desk.

Categories: Education · Staples HS
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Staples Spectacular Challenge Question – Read It Here!

February 3, 2010 · 2 Comments

You’ve heard all about the Staples Spectacular Student Challenge — the event that kept over 40 high schoolers riveted for 12 hours Saturday, as they researched, analyzed, synthesized, wrote and calculated their way toward a $10,000 prize.

Now you can read it, in all its 10-page glory.

Before “06880″ provides the link, however, a warning:  Sit down.  Get comfortable.  Pour yourself a nice soothing coffee or tea (or whatever).

And imagine how you would have handled this question when you were in high school.

To see the type of thinking Staples encourages today, click here.

Petey Menz has no problem with the Staples Spectacular Student Challenge question. (Photo by Julia McNamee)

Categories: Education · Staples HS · Teenagers
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JD Salinger and Westport — The Sequel

February 2, 2010 · 3 Comments

“06880″’s recent notice of J.D. Salinger’s long-ago past in Westport brought this recollection from long-time instructor Garry Meyers:

When Gladys Mansir was head of the English department, I as a 2nd-year teacher — without tenure — attempted to introduce Catcher in the Rye into the curriculum.

I was chastised by principal Stan Lorenzen, and ordered to stop.  He said, “It’s not as if the book is literature.”

My colleague and good friend Wyatt Teubert Jr. — at the time of favorite of Stan’s (and Stan’s son, then a senior) — interceded and saved my job.

Although I immediately stopped teaching the book, Stan’s daughter — in my class — defiantly and bravely gave the then-required monthly oral book report on Catcher.

One more related story from Garry Meyers:

Salinger was once a guest of author Peter De Vries, who lived in Westport.  Jan, Peter’s daughter, offered to write an account of the visit for the class.  Feeling that was an invasion of privacy, I discouraged her.

This was before Salinger was noted for his reclusiveness.  I must admit, I sometimes review that decision.

(Got a J.D. Salinger-in-Westport story?  Send it along to “06880.”  Now it can be told.)

Categories: Education · Looking back · People · Staples HS
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Staples Students Face Spectacular Challenge

January 31, 2010 · 13 Comments

Nothing — not a formal dance, a major track meet or massive hunger pangs — deters Westport teenagers.

More than 4 dozen Staples students spent 12 hours yesterday — from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. — researching, analyzing, synthesizing and solving one of the nation’s biggest problems.  They did it voluntarily — and made it 1 of the most memorable days of their lives.

A few days ago, “06880″ previewed the Staples Spectacular Student Challenge — the 1st-ever school-wide contest for attacking a real-world issue, with a $10,000 prize at stake.  “06880″ knows a lot — but we didn’t know the issue.  Nor did we have any idea how complex the instructions would be.

Staples Challengers Emily Cooper (left) and Rachel Myers, hard at work. (Photo by Julia McNamee)

At 9 yesterday morning, 9 teams of 4-5 students each were handed a 10-page packet.  Basically — and this is waaaay simplified — they were charged with making Westport a greener community.

Considering “the culture of our particular community, the history of progressive movements in America, the nature of political systems, current philosophical strands in the Green movement, and the quantifiable impact of proposed changes,” they were asked to determine which of 3 strategies — or combination — would most benefit the town:

  • Growing or sourcing food locally
  • Initiating household strategies to reduce environmental impacts
  • Implementing photovoltaic systems at Staples and Bedford to generate electric power.

This was not a true-false test.

Julia McNamee — a Staples English teacher who, with math instructor Trudy Denton, helped devise and administer the Challenge — updated “06880″ frequently.  She said:

9:19 a.m. It’s fascinating how differently the groups configure themselves.  We hand out the questions, and kids race for their rooms.  A group of boys immediately form a circle of desks and chairs.  A group largely comprised of girls put desks together in a rectangular bank.  A group of very verbal boys reads aloud parts of the question; another group gets laptops up and running, and reads intently on their screens.  Another group is spread throughout the room, reading some and talking in between.

10:35 a.m. The teams are getting into the nitty-gritty of this!  An entirely sophomore team is considering quitting because the math may be too much; bags of junk food are opened all over their desks as they continue to work hard.  Another team is playing opera music over the room’s speakers as they work.  A couple of boys who qualified for FCIACs in track leave to compete; maybe that will end up helping!  An extra challenge is that many of the juniors went to Counties last night; 1 group of junior boys has taken off running around the 3rd floor to clear their heads!

2:28 p.m. We deliver heros from Fortuna’s and Calise’s.  We walk into 1 room with the cart of food, and not one of the 5 boys looks up. “We just had a breakthrough,” one mutters.  In another room, kids argue whether to include in their presentation the fact that if 1 person in a family pees into the shower once a day, 1500 gallons of water will be saved annually (something like that).  The team that was floundering found new life and is still in it, which is great.

3:45 p.m. Cookie and brownie consumption has quadrupled in the last hour.  A sophomore says, “Has it really been 6 1/2 hours? It’s going so quickly!”  Two kids on an all-senior team are wrapped in Snugglies; 1 has her hood pulled over her head.  A mom trudges in with a load of Starbucks drinks, saying:  “My son says I’m the only mom who hasn’t brought anything.”  A room of mostly boys looks like the aftermath of a frat party:  food, trash, clothing strewn everywhere.

5:13 p.m. A sophomore boy says, “Why won’t GE tell me how much their turbines cost?”  A room of seniors puts a sign on the door: “Don’t forget about us! We want food!”  Pizzas are on order from Arcudi’s and Angelina’s.

8:46 p.m. Two boys type away in tandem.  One says, “J. Robert Oppenheimer is THE man,” as they quote him in their paper.  Another group cites “06880″ (ahem).  A trio of junior girls dance around the chalkboard, scrawling math on the board.  In every room, every wall surface is covered with equations, plans, proposals — blackboards, whiteboards, Smartboards.  Literally everything.  I hear:  “I’m freaking out, I’m freaking out, just 25 minutes left.”  One group writes advice to next year’s group:  “Time goes fast — make sure not to slack.”

Finally, at 9 p.m., it was all over.  All teams finished — which Julia McNamee called “amazing, considering 2 were all sophomore and another was 4/5 sophomores.”  Teams whooped, cheered and danced in the halls.

Each team’s 10-page paper — with quantitative report — was submitted on hard copy.  So was an electronic response, including links to websites for graphics.  The writing, they hoped, was “of the highest caliber” — I’m quoting the rules here — with a “complete and detailed solution,” including technical details, balance and consistency.

So are they done?  Nope.

A panel of judges convenes next week to determine the top teams.  They’ll be invited to present their solutions — and answer questions — at a public forum on Tuesday, Feb. 9.  Those presentations will be evaluated by a panel of community experts.  The top 3 teams there will divide scholarships of $5,000, $3,500 and $1,500 respectively.  (The $10,000 total was raised thanks to a private donor and Westport’s Green Village Initiative.)

And how did you spend your Saturday?

Food and drink fuel the brain for Matt LaBarre (left) and Ross Gordon. (Photo by Julia McNamee)

Categories: Education · Environment · Organizations · Staples HS · Teenagers
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Challenging Staples Students

January 27, 2010 · 3 Comments

It doesn’t take much to get Staples students to spend 13 hours on a Saturday at school.

Just the chance to research, model, analyze, synthesize and develop presentation materials to solve a real-world problem.

And win $10,000 in scholarships.

Albert Einstein is not on any of the Staples Spectacular Student Challenge teams (he's too old, and too dead). But Staples' spectacular students will do fine without him.

The 1st-ever Staples Spectacular Student Challenge is set for this Saturday (January 30).  Stapleites have formed themselves into teams of 4 or 5; if they’re smart (and they are) their team will be skillful in areas ranging from English and social studies to math and scinece.

At 8 a.m., the teams will receive a Challenge problem.  For the next 13 hours they’ll work together to research the problem, figure out a solution, and present it persuasively.

Preliminary judging will be done by Staples faculty.  The top teams will be invited to present their solutions — and answer questions — at a public forum on Tuesday, Feb. 9.  Those presentations will be evaluated by a panel of community experts.  The top 3 teams there will divide scholarships of $5,000, $3,500 and $1,500 respectively.  (The $10,000 total was raised thanks to a private donor and Westport’s Green Village Initiative.)

So what might this open-ended, thought-provoking, real-world problem be?

Three samples were provided by math instructor Trudy Denton.

One dealt with health policy:

Evaluate the expected infection rate of H1N1 Influenza virus in the Westport community.  Define an optimal health policy for the community that incorporates vaccination guidelines, quarantine recommendations and school closure policies.

Include analysis of the implications of broad based infection in among various school community groups:  students, faculty and support staff.  How might your recommendations change if considering H1N1 infection in an inner-city school setting?

The 2nd involved energy usage:

Develop an optimal school calendar and daily schedule and identify the optimal use of Town of Westport facilities in order to reduce current energy usage by 10%.

Consider the financial implications of your proposed changes for the Westport School District; the psychological, social and emotional needs of students in your recommendations, as well as family, individual student and staff needs.  Identify the impact on transportation services, and consider the historic rationale for the traditional school calendar.

The 3rd covered personal finance:

Design an annual and monthly family budget for an average family in suburban Westport and an average family in inner city New Haven.  How do the following considerations impact each of these budgets?  Environmentally friendly purchases and family practices; transportation decisions; education planning; financial and health emergency planning; child care and extracurricular expenses; leisure activities.

Just another typical Saturday, for typical Staples students.

Categories: Education · Staples HS · Teenagers
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Westport’s Avatar

January 22, 2010 · 3 Comments

In 2007 Connor Murphy graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design.  He’d focused on studio-scale animation, and enjoyed internships working on productions like “Corpse Bride,” “Brotherhood” and “Underdog.”

Connor Murphy

Now the 2003 Staples grad needed a Real Job.  He wrote 1,300 personalized emails.  Finally, he landed work as a “glorified production assistant” at Giant Studios.  The company — specializing in “motion capture technology” for film and video games– was just gearing up for a new project:  “Avatar.”

“It was pure Irish luck,” Connor recalls.  “To be honest, at that point I would have taken any job.”

Giant Studios is actually rather small — 30 people — allowing Connor to learn quickly and move up.  He served as director James Cameron’s camera assistant on stage, and ran the motion capture system.

With his animation training, Connor worked as a motion editor on 3 simultaneous projects:  “Mummy 3,” The Incredible Hulk” and “Prince Caspian.”  He applied the captured human motion to the movie characters, then changed, blended or enhanced that motion as needed.

When the motion-editing phase of “Avatar” began, he moved easily into that.  He had, he says, “the unique and very advantageous position of working on both the on-set capture and post-production effects portions” of the mega-blockbuster.

Six-day weeks were typical — and on those days Connor would work from 7:30 a.m. to midnight.  “We all got a little crazy, and a little fatter,” he notes.

“‘Avatar’ was my first credit.  Having touched nearly every scene in the movie in 1 way or another, I’m just proud that we finished and that people like it,” he says.

At Staples Connor was involved in tech for Players.  He took several advanced drawing courses, and spent his free time drawing in the art rooms.  He credits teacher Camille Eskell and the rest of the art department with helping him take art seriously — and get into RISD — but realizes now that “the rest of my Staples education was invaluable to successfully merging art with the real world.

“Being able to speak to the physics and the ‘reasons why’ behind the animation is just as valuable as being able to do it in the 1st place.”

This week, Connor began his next project:  “Real Steel.”  Directed by Shawn Levy, it’s “a ‘Rocky’-style story about robot boxing in the future.”

Connor looks forward to working on fight scenes — and “more extreme characters.”

Categories: Education · Entertainment · People · Staples HS · technology
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