Seabury Hall Parent Newsletter Inside Upper School News Middle School News Athletics Next Semester Quick Links College Acceptances Study Tips for Students 1st Quarter (Nov 2013) From the Headmaster During the sum m er I had the honor and pleasure to attend the Malone School Heads retreat at Stanford University. This is the second m eeting I attended since w e received the $2 m illion gift from the Malone Foundation for financial aid scholarships for gifted and talented schools. Only one school from each state w as chosen to receive this gift, so this is a w onderful opportunity to m eet the heads of som e of the finest school in Am erica to gather, discuss educational issues and listen to w orld renow ned researchers and speakers from Stanford University and elsew here. Joseph Schmidt Headmaster One of the speakers at this summer's event w as Dr. Caroline Dw eck. She is the author of the book, Mindset, and has developed "ground breaking" ideas based on years of research that have a significant impact on the success and achievement of children. Dr. Dw eck discusses w hy it is not simply our abilities and talents that bring us success. What has a greater impact on success is if w e approach our goals w ith a "fixed" or "grow th mindset". She discovered through her research that praising our children's intelligence and ability does not foster self-esteem and may jeopardize success. Her research indicates that children w ho believe they are flaw less tend to be less likely to challenge themselves for tw o reasons; one, they do not w ant to look bad; and tw o; they don't believe they need to do more. This is referred to as a fixed mindset. A grow th mindset is one w here children recognized they can do even more than they thought because every success is follow ed (or is it preceded) by a challenge. Her contention is that the "self-esteem" movement of the past three decades has created a fixed mindset in many of our young people and they struggle w ith taking on challenges that w ill stretch them. She feels that young people can be praised for the accomplishment of a task, but that they must understand that that accomplishment is not a measurement of their aptitude, as much as it is of their performance characteristics such a grit, critical thinking skills, drive, etc. In other w ords, if you w ant your child to succeed in their learning and life experiences it is more important to challenge them to go beyond how they define themselves. Over the years I have seen young people w ho receive a "B" grade be upset w ith the teacher, the assignment, or the test and state that they are an "A" student: the "B" grade must have come from some other source rather than their individual effort or preparation. Students w ith a grow th mindset w ill see the "B" as a challenge and w ill w ork even more diligently to achieve higher and w ill not necessarily measure themselves by the grade (w hich defines one w ith a fixed mindset), but w hat they have accomplished. If you have more interest in this concept, I highly recommend the book, Mindset. It is a terrific read, w ell researched and very pertinent to education today. On another note, w e are very pleased w ith all that has been transpiring throughout the first quarter of the school year. The Seabury Hall w ebsite posts the new s regarding student success in all areas of school life. If you have time to read articles regarding National Merit recognition, Advance Placement Success, Academic and Arts achievements and the success of the Athletic teams, I highly recommend you perusing the posts. More importantly, w e are reminded on a daily basis of the quality of young people w e have in the school. It is alw ays a joy to receive comments from our new faculty regarding their impressions of the school and of the students. I met w ith the new teachers recently and they w ere not only impressed by the students' desire to excel, but by their compassion and caring for each other and for their teachers. It is truly a pleasure to serve the Seabury Hall students and families. It is an honor to play a part in providing them, not only w ith an outstanding education, but a rich, w arm and caring community that nurtures them through their adolescent lives and focuses on developing in them the character traits that w ill allow for the development of a "grow th mindset". Upper School News Now that the first quarter has w rapped up, students should be feeling com fortable in their classes and have a solid understanding of their teachers' expectations. With the first grade reports, students w ill be provided w ith specific feedback on their perform ance and constructive com m ents on how to best proceed in each course. Whether a student has just com pleted his/her first quarter in the Upper School or is busy preparing college applications, successful academ ic perform ance is Scott Winham im portant. In the second quarter, w ith m idterm exam s approaching, it is crucial that students put forth their best Upper School Head effort and follow their teachers' recom m endations. In addition, parents should alw ays feel com fortable contacting teachers and advisors if they have any questions or concerns about how to best support their children. The Class of 2014 began its final year at our school in w onderful fashion. For the seniors, the year began before the first classes w ith a productive and fun Senior Retreat at Camp Olow alu. The class then led an excellent Senior Leadership Day during the first w eek of school and hosted an all-school dance in the evening. The seniors w ere creative in their planning, being the first class to create a scoreboard for the day, have a culminating team relay, and hold a dance competition. The Class of 2014 has truly set a positive tone for the rest of the student body. COMMUNITY DAY: NOVEMBER 1 On November 1, the entire student body of Seabury Hall spread throughout the island to provide a variety of services. This annual tradition has been a staple of Seabury's commitment to the community for the past decade, and offers each class an opportunity to spend time together aw ay from the confines of the campus. WINTERIM SIGNUP Although Winterim w on't take place until February, the program selection process w ill begin prior to the Winter Break. Winterim provides students w ith diverse opportunities for experiential education and enrichment activities, and it is very important that students have every chance to participate in the programs that are of interest. Students w ill receive their selection forms soon, and they should, w ith parental input, complete the form entirely and return by the due date. PSAT/NMSQT HONORS Six members of the Class of 2014 have been named National Merit Semi-finalists. Students w ho score in top tw o percent in the nation on the PSAT/NMSQT test in their Junior year receive this prestigious aw ard. These six students represent the largest number of seniors to receive this aw ard in any given year at Seabury Hall, as w ell as the highest percentage of recipients from any school in the state. The students receiving this aw ard are Ema Turner, Michael Kalmeta, Carly O'Donnell, Fletcher Prouty, Celina Bekins, and Carter Umetsu. In addition, tw o students w ere selected as National Hispanic Recognition Program Scholars for their outstanding performance on the PSAT/NMSQT test and their cumulative GPA. These students are Nicolas Colon and Bruno Bernacchi. ADVANCED PLACEMENT HONORS Congratulations to several members of Seabury Hall's Class of 2013 for their recognition as AP Scholars, honoring their success at demonstrating college-level achievement in a variety of disciplines. Three students w ere recognized as AP Scholars w ith Distinction, for achieving a score of 3 or higher on five or more exams and having an average score of at least 3.5. These students are Gabriella Berman, Ariella Brandon, and Alden Simmer. Seven students w ere recognized as AP Scholars w ith Honor, for achieving a score of 3 or higher on four or more exams and having an average score of at least 3.25. These students are Samantha Atkinson, Samuel Jiran, Anna Kali-Deiss, Diane Li, Kaulu Lu`uw ai, Isabelle Olivit, and Mackenze Tezak. Nine students w ere recognized as AP Scholars, for achieving a score of 3 or higher on three or more exams. These students are Haley Eligio, Gloria Ford, Alec Gumpfer, Lauren Hecker, Ruby Hopkins, Rayna Koishikaw a, Sierra Ludw ig, Jeremy Morton, and Reyn Stisher. Middle School News MAUI COUNTY FAIR RESULTS (Upper and Middle) Tw enty five of our art students submitted their w ork to the 2013 Maui County Fair School Art Exhibit or the Photo Salon Exhibit. The School Art Exhibit w ork w as submitted in one of five divisions, based upon grade level. These students honor us all by having the courage to enter their w ork in this very public juried exhibit. Congratulations to the fifteen students w ho participated at Jacquie Peterka the Upper School level: Elle Caravalho, Chloe Cadiz, Kylie Gentile, Middle School Head Victoria Naluai, Sancia Nash, Kamaile Lee, Jenna Loesberg, Elizabeth Lopez, Angel Melone, Amy Ozee, Jasmine Patel, Isabella Pickering, Lillian Pickering, Patrick Termulo, and Ruby Turner. In addition, Corin Nishimoto and Teak McAfee participated in the Photo Salon. In the Middle School, the eight students w ho participated are: Kano Watanabe, Skylar Lickle, Leslie Kimura, Shelby Ferrier, Maura van der Ark, Maya Crow , Keana Hyman, and Keala Frost. Division V, grades 11 - 12: 2nd Place, Sancia Nash Division IV, grades 9 - 10: 1st Place, Amy Ozee; Honorable Mention, Ruby Turner Division III, grades 6 - 8: 2nd Place, Kano Watanabe COMPASSION IN ART Starting in mid September the 7th and 8th grade draw ing class w orked on a project for the 2nd annual Aloha Harvest Compassion in the arts contest. It is a state w ide event open to students 11-18. The students w ere judged on sticking to the theme w hich w as compassion for the hungry and homeless as w ell as originality and technique. The contest w as judged by representatives from the Honolulu Museum of Art and the Haw aii State Foundation of Culture and the Arts. 3 of our students w ere finalists. 1st Place for 7th Grade w ent to Maura van der Ark. 2nd Place for 7th grade w ent to Madeline Oberst and 1st Place for 8th grade w ent to June Cai. [Click here to for photos and artw ork] MIDDLE SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY The Seabury Hall Cross-Country team just completed an exciting season. Under the direction of coach Daw n Keomaka, this year's team of sixth, seventh and eighth graders has proudly continued Seabury's formidable cross-country tradition and has established itself as the team to beat. HIKI NO The middle school hosted an episode of Hiki No, a student generated new s program on PBS that aired on October 31. The episode show cased our beautiful campus aired last night and featured the on camera talents of Julian Ball, JD Pells, Mikhaila Sung, Trenton Steele, Michael Egami, and Marley Mehring, as w ell as myriad other students w ho w orked behind the scenes. Advisors Roberta Hodara, Marsha Kelly, and Ryan Walsh w orked tirelessly w ith the w hole Hiki No student production staff to create snippets of w hat makes Seabury Hall special. The episode can be seen on the PBS w ebsite: http://w w w .pbshaw aii.org/hikino/index.php MIDDLE SCHOOL MARCHING BAND Who are they and w hat's the big deal about them? If you don't know the answ er to this question, you obviously have not attended a football game this season. Like many attendees at the games, you come to w atch football, but then became entranced by "the band." "They're just kids!" "That's a middle school band?" "Did I just hear (Led Zeppelin's) Kashmir?!" These are some of the comments that have been uttered about the 25member Seabury Hall Middle School Marching Band. Although they are merely young children, they rock w ith a purpose and have fun doing so. But the fun doesn't stop there! They have also participated in the 91st Annual County Fair Parade, w here they w ere the youngest and smallest marching band to perform. Do you w onder how something like that feels? Sixth grade banner holder Kehale'a Baz's statement best sums it up: "When w e got to the end, they just kept cheering and shouting 'Go Seabury!' I couldn't help but cry. It felt so good." Athletics As I conclude m y first season as Athletic Director at Seabury Hall, I feel blessed to be part of a com m unity w here students, athletes, coaches, parents, teachers, and adm inistrators display such a high standard of excellence in all that they do. Each tim e I w atch a practice or a gam e I am rem inded once again how fortunate w e all are to be able to influence the lives of such trem endous student-athletes w ho represent Seabury Hall w ith exem plary sportsm anship and true caring for one another. This fall season has proved to be a very successful one for all of our teams. The girl's volleyball team capped a perfect regular season by defeating Hana to w in the outright MIL Division 2 Championship. They now w ill move on to play in the HHSSA Volleyball State Championship held on Oahu from October 29Robert Dougherty November 1. Our boy's and girl's cross country teams traveled to Athletic Director Kauai to compete in the state cross country championship meet w here both teams came home crow ned Division 2 State Champions. The Spartan football team has continued its w inning w ays capping another perfect season by defeating Molokai in the final game of the year to w in their second MIL Championship in a row . As the Fall sport season come to an end, w e now embark on a very busy Winter season that w ill include paddling, sw imming, diving, boys and girls soccer, and boys and girls basketball. I am confident that our Winter sports teams w ill continue the success that our Fall sports teams have so graciously displayed both on and off the field. Winter season team meetings for each sport w ill be held in early November. Please continue to monitor the Seabury Hall w ebsite under Athletic New s to receive information regarding the Winter sports team meetings. As Athletic Director, I am truly proud of all our teams' accomplishments both on and off the field of play. More importantly though, I am delighted w ith the manner in w hich they achieved such success, the Spartan w ay, w ith humility, sportsmanship, and honor. Thank you to all w ho have supported and continue to support Spartan athletics. GO SPARTANS! College Counseling We are in the m idst of a very exciting and busy fall! We have expanded our college counseling evening program s this year. In Septem ber w e w elcom ed Kim Hunter, Associate Director of Adm issions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to cam pus to present on technology schools and MIT. We hosted a Great College Essay w orkshop for seniors w ith Keith Todd, Director of Adm issions and Financial Aid at Reed College in October. In addition to enhancing the curriculum and evening program s for seniors and juniors, w e offered an inform ative evening on college planning for freshm en and Stephanie Nelson College Counseling sophom ore students and parents w ith Mark Rasic, Associate Director of Adm issions at the University of Southern California. Continuing our evening programs, here are a few upcoming events that w e encourage families to attend. Details of all evening presentations w ill be announced shortly. FAFSA EVENING Senior parents (strongly suggested) Junior parents (welcomed) Lyle Iramata from the Educational Opportunity Center at University of Haw aii, Maui College and Cathy Bio, Director of Financial Aid at University of Haw aii, Maui College w ill w alk parents through the FAFSA.(Please note that junior parents are w elcome to attend, but the FAFSA changes annually so it is not essential. Also, w e w ill have an evening for junior parents to discuss financial aid in the spring.) HOME FROM COLLEGE EVENING For: 9-12th grade students and parents Now in the second year, the Home From College Evening is a new w onderful tradition at Seabury Hall. Alumni w ill return to talk w ith freshmen through senior students and parents about their transition to college. All Upper School parents and students are strongly encouraged to attend. JUNIOR YEAR COLLEGE COUNSELING EVENING For: Junior students and parents The program w ill open w ith a few seniors sharing their college application process and journey. While their application process is relatively the same, their interests and paths tow ards higher education are vastly different. Also, families w ill receive the Seabury Hall Junior and Senior College Counseling Guidebook. Although attendance is not mandatory, w e strongly encourage all juniors and at least one parent to attend. TIPS FOR FRESHMEN THROUGH JUNIOR YEAR PARENTS [click here] SENIORS AND SENIOR PARENTS The FAFSA (The Free Application for Federal Student Aid) opens on January 1st, but you can prepare now . There is a section for the student to fill out and a separate section for a parent to fill out on the FAFSA. Both the student and parent w ill have to request pin numbers, w hich can be obtained by follow ing the link: http://w w w .pin.ed.gov. If a parent has filled out the FAFSA in previous years, they must use the same pin number to sign in. LATEST COLLEGE ACCEPTANCES [click here] More Information & Rehearsal Photos Click Here The 23th Annual Christmas Party Performing Arts Concert All levels of Seabury's Dance Programs with guests Directed by David Ward Friday & Saturday, December 13-14 @ 7 PM Seabury's annual Christmas Party/Performing Arts Concert, a perennial sellout, features all levels of our dance program, along with music and drama guest performances. For two nights only in Seabury's award-winning Creative Arts Center, celebrate the performing arts with its most fierce supporters - our students! Enjoy complimentary desserts and beverages in the lobby. On stage, watch dances choreographed by David Ward, Andre Morissette, and Vanessa Cerrito. See an excerpt from recent productions of Hamlet and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Demand for seats runs high for this one weekend only affair - so reservations are a must. 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