Our place in the world
Dear Families:
At this Wednesday’s Middle School Meeting, we had our annual National Geography Bee. Prior to this, students competed in their homerooms to identify our eight finalists. The first round was exciting and challenging. Students pondered a range of questions and supported each other as we worked through this preliminary competition. A number of these competitions were decided by tie breakers, which added to the excitement. So with a thank you first to all of those students who participated, the participants in the Final Round were as follows: Fifth Grade – Marcelo and Ryan, Sixth Grade – Josh and Julian., Seventh Grade – Adam and Hannah, and Eighth Grade – Micki and Nicholas. At the end of the Final Round, two students – Micki and Nicholas – moved on to the Championship Round. The Championship Round was decided after three questions with Micki emerging as the champion. Next week, he will take the qualifying exam for the State Geography Bee competition. The state level competition will take place in the spring in Albany, NY. Congratulations to all of the finalists for a job well done.
In addition to the good fun that the National Geography Bee provides, it also points to the critical importance that a basic understanding of geography plays in being an informed citizen of the world. As technology makes the world smaller and increases our interconnectedness, we should not let ourselves be fooled into thinking that the boundaries, borders, and geographic features of our planet don’t matter any more. The geography of our planet provides a key to understanding important aspects of history and culture and provides a lens for focusing on issues that are “of the moment.” Knowing where something is by necessity establishes a relationship between places. With an understanding of place, we can gain a deeper insight into the people who inhabit that place while we simultaneously gain new insights about our own place in the world. It is these moments of insight that help to define us as citizens of the world.
Also at this week’s Middle School meeting, we formally recognized the 2007-2008 Irwin Scholars. The Irwin Scholars program is a merit-based scholarship that recognizes eighth graders for their sustained commitment to academic excellence, active participation in the life of the Middle School, service to the community, demonstrated leadership, and the potential to serve as a community leader in the High School. This year we had a most excellent cohort of applicants; this made the selection process all the more difficult because the quality of applicants was so strong. I would like to extend my thanks on behalf of the faculty and administration to all of the applicants for their thoughtful essays and interviews and am pleased to share with you the 2007-2008 Irwin Scholars. They are Ama, Deion, Hannah S., Nicholas, and Quinn.
On another celebratory note, this from former MS and current HS parent Chris Flemming:
I had the pleasure of being one of the chaperones accompanying the 29 LREI middle and high school students to the American Library Association (ALA) Mid-Winter Conference in Philadelphia on Sunday. To say they were impressive is an understatement. Led by our incredible librarians; Jennifer, Karyn, Stacy and Kerri the students were given a few guidelines and were free to roam the exhibits. On the exhibit floor I witnessed them politely and enthusiastically engage in conversations with the book publishers and exhibitors. But they really sparkled at the Teen press conference attended by publishers, editors and librarians. Clad in various LREI shirts and sweatshirts the students individually stepped up to the mics to share their book reviews. They were articulate, humorous, full of insight and completely honest. It was clear to everyone that these students were well read and had strong opinions about literature. You would have been very proud of them.
An indeed we are!
Be well,
Mark