Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School

News

• The CH-CH Science Fair Recap

  5/20/2013
  Students at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall have been developing their hypotheses, gathering data, and practicing their presentations for over a month, and last week they eagerly displayed their findings to the spectators and judges of the 2013 Science Fair.  From the growth rate of bacteria on people’s hands, to comparing the cleanliness of a dog’s mouth to a human’s, these were experiments that impressed spectators and judges alike.
  
  

  The head of the science department at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall, Bill Gostylo, has overseen the science fair for twelve years, and was impressed by the scale and attention to detail of this year’s projects.

   

  “The students really cared about, and put a lot of effort into these projects,” said Gostylo. “It’s exciting to see the projects getting better and better each year.”
  
  

  With the senior class graduating in just a few weeks, Gostylo is hopeful that the lessons learned in this year’s science fair will carry on for a lifetime, “The ability to complete a long term project, work with a partner, and solve problems along the way are all traits that these students demonstrated, and ones that they will continue to utilize throughout their life.”
  
  

  Visit our Facebook page to see more photos from the Science Fair.
  
  

  Science Fair Award Recipients:

  Ninth Grade Conceptual Physics

  First Place: Ben Kline & Sam Nesin-Perna, “Gummy Bear Volume”

  Honorable Mention: Eric Crain & Cheyenne Bates, “Magnetic Force vs. Distance”

  Honorable Mention: Mindy Li & Brady Su, “Fruit Battery”
  
  

  Tenth Grade Chemistry

  First Place: Devon Franklin & Em Arbetter, “Pesticides & Strawberries”

  Honorable Mention: Michele Sun & Steven Fu, “Properties of Handmade Soap”

  Honorable Mention: Sam Hertzel & Max Lemke, “Making Plastic from Milk”
  
  

  Eleventh Grade Biology

  First Place: Chloe Briskin, “Antioxidant Effectiveness in Heartbeat Restoration after Free Radical Damage”

  Honorable Mention: Anna Xu, “Food Energy:  Natural vs. Transgenic”

  Honorable Mention: Grant Li & Phu Doan Pham, “Investigation of the Five-Second Rule”
  
  

  Senior Electives

  First Place: Jonah Spector, “Visual Memory”

  Honorable Mention: Alessandro Millor, “Multitasking: Does It Really Work?”

  Honorable Mention: Nick Mankiw, “The Dying Guitar Note”

   
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• Teacher Spotlight: Mr. Guenther

  5/6/2013
  For the past twelve years Mr. Guenther has been bringing math to life for the students of the Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School. Whether he’s teaching differential equations, statistics or pre-calculus, Mr. Guenther sees math as more than just numbers.
  
  “To me, math is a language, and knowing it will help you understand how certain parts of the world work,” said Mr. Guenther.
  
  His teaching career began in 1966, and throughout the years he has gained an expertise in a wide range of subjects including, physics, chemistry and English.  Mr. Guenther will frequently bring these and other subjects into classroom by basing his lessons on real-world issues.
  
  “One of my favorite problems in the Differential Equations class is based around a fishery,” Mr. Guenther explained. “We use math equations to determine how quickly the over-fishing of a species can lead to extinction. It’s not just about the math, but all of the factors involved in solving a complex real-world problem.”
  
  Currently, Mr. Guenther is teaching Newtons and sine functions to his Honors Pre-Calculus class, which can be seen in our recent Multiple Intelligences Approach video here:
  
  
  
  

   
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• Student Art Installation

  4/22/2013
  Students arriving on campus Thursday morning were greeted with six student sculptures on display in the lawn. The sculptures ranged from a full-size lama to a squirrel mid-jump, and were made by students from the Advanced 2D and 3D Design class.
  
  

  “We’ve been working on these for months,” said TJ ’15, who created a saber-toothed tiger. “I think it made people very happy to see them this morning.”
  
  

  The sculptures are on display for a limited time. If you miss them, you can see all the photos of the installation on our Facebook page.
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• CH-CH Hosts 2-Mile Race for Charity

  4/11/2013
  The morning rain didn’t deter the more than one-hundred runners lined up on the Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School campus on Tuesday morning. They were ready to run and walk the first ever Race Against Hunger, a two mile race to benefit Waltham’s Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen.
  
  Before the start of the race, students, parents and faculty carried bags overflowing with canned goods and made their donations. The race was the first event in CH-CH’s Diversity Day, a day in which students gain new perspectives by participating in a variety of events designed to celebrate differences.
  
  “Diversity Day and the Race Against Hunger really demonstrate what our community is all about here at CH-CH, which is learning about and respecting differences, and taking care of one another,” said Lance Conrad, Head of School.
  
  Representatives from the Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen were on hand to participate in the race and accept the the canned goods as well as over $400 in donations.
  
  “Without the help we receive from schools, we wouldn’t survive,” said Mike Hannan, Program Director at the Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen. “This money will help us buy the dry goods we need to keep serving people in need.”
  
  Located at 545 Moody Street, the Bristol Lodge Soup Kitchen serves between 60 and 110 people in the Waltham community every night, and prepares 18,000 sandwiches for the homeless annually. To learn more visit www.mhsainc.org/soup.
  
  Click here to see all the photos from the race.  The training for next year's race starts now!
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• Mankiw Gallery Launches First Show

  4/3/2013
  In March, Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall’s Mankiw Gallery launched its first exhibit featuring the work of photographer Kristin Chalmers.  The exhibit received an outstanding response, including a packed opening night, and coverage in media outlets including The Boston Globe.
  
  

  The exhibit is titled The Broad Spectrum Project: Looking Through the Window of Autism, and features photographs Chalmers took while collaborating with the Camphill Special Schools in Phoenixville Pennsylvania, a residential school for children and young adults with profound Autism and other disabilities.
  
  

  “I have been going to the Camphill Special Schools for over a year and a half documenting the life at this amazing school,” said Chalmers.  “My passion is to photograph people of all ages with autism.”
  
  

  Opening night of the exhibit received over sixty guests, and led to an article in The Boston Globe profiling Chalmers and her work.  Read the full Boston Globe article here.
  
  

  Chalmers will use proceeds from the show to purchase 18 to 20 point and shoot cameras for the students living on the young adult campus of the Camphill Special School, fund her visits to Camphill, and give back to the charity Autism Speaks.
  
  

  To see the exhibit, visit the Mankiw Gallery during open hours at the CH-CH Commons between 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. or by appointment. Please send appointment requests to cludlam@chch.org.  Visit the CH-CH website for more information about the Mankiw Gallery or to submit your own artwork for consideration in a future exhibit.

  
  See more photos from the Broad Spectrum on Kristen Chalmers’ website.
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• Dr. Siri Akal Khalsa Named Trustee of NAIS Board

  3/22/2013
  We are proud to announce that Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall’s President, Dr. Siri Akal Khalsa, has been named to the Board of Trustees for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). In this position, Dr. Khalsa will work with other Independent School leaders from around the country to help guide the more than 1,400 non-profit independent schools and educational associations that belong to NAIS.
  
  "Serving on the NAIS board is particularly important at this time of great change and development in schools and in the world," said Dr. Khalsa. "As schools encounter the challenges and opportunities presented by an increasingly global future, the success of independent schools will arguably depend upon the foresight and support that NAIS can provide."
  
  During this three year appointment Dr. Khalsa and other trustees will work with the NAIS President to set the annual and long range focus for the organization. The board as a whole will address fiduciary, strategic, and generative duties and goals, led by the officers and the Executive Committee.
  
  With this appointment, Dr. Khalsa and Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall’s message will be brought to the national stage for independent schools.
  
  "We all know what a gem of a school CH-CH is, and how important our approach of teaching the way students learn can be, and we want to carry that message forward," said Dr. Khalsa. "Our long-standing commitments to personalized learning and global education have become priorities for many schools now, and as these discussions evolve at the national level, I hope to make worthwhile contributions as a trustee."
  
  Dr. Khalsa has said that education has opened doors of opportunity in his life, and he sees serving on the NAIS board as a chance to “pay it forward.”
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• Spanish Class Video Conferences with Professional Matador

  2/25/2013
  Students taking Spanish classes at Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall were given a unique opportunity to discuss the life and ethics of bull fighting through a video conference with Alejandro Espla, a professional matador living in Spain. This experience allowed students to practice their conversational Spanish, while also learning about the family and professional life of a bull fighter.
  
  

  During the Spanish-speaking question and answer, Ali Fox ’14, asked Espla about his favorite aspects of the job. “He said that his favorite part is traveling, and being able to see all the different places, including France and Peru,” said Fox.
  
  The questions and topics ranged from the specifics about bull fighting, to his family’s history. Espla’s family tree includes many matadors, including his father and grandfather. Students asked how his father felt about his decision to enter the family business.
  
  “They didn’t want me to become a bull fighter, so they sent me to school in America,” said Espla (translated to English), but he went on to explain that there was something inside him that drove him back to bull fighting.
  
  This outstanding learning experience allowed students to not only practice their Spanish speaking, but gave a window into a world full of history and tradition. Head of School, Lance Conrad, believes that video-conferences such as this present many learning opportunities.
  
  “The integration of videoconference technology is another step in our work embracing Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences and putting our understanding of human learning to work in new and innovative ways that can connect students to our curricula,” said Conrad. “I look forward to taking more virtual field trips in the weeks and months to come; there is simply so much to learn out there.”

   
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• New Technologies Drive Winter Musical

  2/19/2013
  As the Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall performing arts department prepares for their performance of this year’s Winter Musical, the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein classic The Sound of Music, a focus has been put on some of the newest additions to the Barn Theater. From the lights, to backstage, all of these additions are bringing a new excitement to this year’s Winter Musical.
  
  

  “In the last year, we’ve added a lot of changes to the Barn Theater, and really created a great performing space for ourselves,” said Performing Arts Teacher and Musical Director, John Schnelle. “We’ve painted the whole thing black, we built up the stage, and we now have a scrim curtain which raises and lowers.”
  
  The new scrim offers many uses for performing arts department, including being used as a semi-transparent screen for the new rear projections system. By projecting images into the scrim, many different sets can be created from photos, without having to paint each set by hand.
  
  “This projection system gives us the opportunity to create any set that we need,” said Stage Manager Chloe Briskin ’14. “We’re using this in The Sound of Music to project everything from mountains to street scenes, and the great thing is that it takes about one second to change them.”
  
  In addition to the new technology, this Winter Musical production will also include a raised stage, a new lighting system, and more hand-built sets created by CH-CH students than any play before.
  
  “We built everything from a pit, to walls, to a platform that has to hold up to seven people at a time,” said Head Carpenter Stephen Ellias '13. “We even used paper mache and chicken wire to make stone walls; it’s going to be a very full set.”
  
  All of these new additions, along with the talent and endless hours of work by the CH-CH students, will make for a powerful production of a story that has enjoyed over 50 years of performances worldwide. Come see the story of the von Trapp family, the unforgettable songs, and work of the CH-CH performing arts department in the CH-CH performing arts department’s Winter Musical, The Sound of Music.
  
  Shows begin at 7:00 p.m. on February 20th, 21st, and 22nd, admission is free, and a reception for the cast and crew, along with family and friends, will be held after the performance on February 22nd.

   
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• Student Cavalry in Full Charge

  1/25/2013
  The Cavalry is Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall’s student ambassador program, and over the last month, they have been one of the most active groups on campus.  Whether they are giving tours to prospective families, blogging about their experiences in school, or launching a new YouTube series, the Cavalry is a group of students that are on driven to share their message.
  
  

  The Cavalry Program is in its second year, and currently has forty-seven members.  Admission Officer Lauren Lewis frequently works these student ambassadors, and has been amazed by their enthusiasm.  “I love seeing how eager they are to give tours to prospective families,” said Lewis.  “And they do such a great job of sharing their story and experiences at CH-CH.”

  
  Students have also been hard at work writing blog entries for the School’s Cavalry page with topics ranging from life on campus, to themes discussed in class.  These blog entries have given students a way to verbalize their lessons and experiences, and deliver their message on to others.
  
  

  “I love the Cavalry because I get to express all of the great things here at CH-CH,” said Tour Guide Leader Gabe Jonas ’13.  “It also really helps students get involved and brings us closer together.”
  
  

  In January, the Cavalry launched a YouTube series written by students called Cavalry-TV.  The first episode is hosted by Caroline Finamore ’13, and highlights some of the big events going on around the CH-CH campus this winter.
  
  

  Visit the Cavalry online at www.chch.org/thecavalry to see their work. 
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• Michael Connelly visits Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall

  1/10/2013
  Best-selling author Michael Connelly visited Chapel Hill-Chauncy Hall School on January 9th to lead a discussion with a full-capacity crowd at the 2nd Wednesday at The Commons series. Earlier in the evening Connelly held a session just for CH-CH students, where they had the opportunity to speak with the author of over 30 books about writing, some of his most famous characters, and the process of adapting his books for the screen.

  
  “A script never says what someone’s thinking; it’s all about what they say, it’s very much like a play, dialogue, direction, and settings are the key things,” Connelly told students. “It takes a real skill. I thought for a long time that writing books was harder so of course I could write screenplays, but that transition can be pretty difficult.”
  
  

  CH-CH students, including senior Devon Franklin, were eager to hear stories and get writing advice from one of today’s best-selling authors. “I learned that you have to be willing to talk to people and ask for critique on your writing, and you can’t be afraid of it,” said Franklin.
  
  

  After talking with students, Connelly held a discussion in The Commons assembly hall which was open to the public, and received over two-hundred attendees. Fans of Connelly’s books were delighted to have the rare opportunity to hear their favorite author talk candidly about characters they’ve been following for years. “I was impressed by his discipline,” said attendee Sheila McMahon. “He’s up at four or five in the morning writing. It was also impressive to see how humble he is to be doing something that he loves.”
  
  

  Connelly has sold over forty-five million copies of his books worldwide. In 2011, his best-selling book The Lincoln Lawyer was adapted to a highly acclaimed film starring Matthew McConaughey. In 2002, Clint Eastwood worked with Connelly on a movie entitled, Bloodwork, based on his 1998 fictional novel. His most recent book The Black Box, features Harry Bosch, his most famous character. More information can be found on his website: www.michaelconnelly.com.

  
  The next 2nd Wednesday at the Commons event will feature the Waltham Philharmonic Chamber Group on February 13th. Follow us on facebook for more information on upcoming events, and to view photos from the Michael Connelly discussion: www.facebook.com/ChapelHillChauncyHall.
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