Chinese teacher and modern languages chair Chrissy Stouder Smith took part in a three week trip to Japan this summer. As a high school student, Ms. Stouder spent a year with a host family in Japan. Growing up in Indiana, the trip to Japan opened a world of opportunity for her, she she was excited to revisit a lot of the places and people who inspired her love of international travel and foreign languages. She even had the chance to see her high school advisor Sensei Yoshida from my 1999 exchange year.
Ninth graders Jia Fleming, Marissa Shoag, and Catherine Sherman took part in the Concordia Language Camp for two weeks over the summer. The program included a Chinese immersion and also forced them to turn in their cell phones, so they wouldn’t be compelled to speak in English with friends. Since 1961 the program has run Language Villages in the north woods of Minnesota to help improve students’ language skills and global awareness. The Mandarin immersion program is called Maplelag and requires all reading materials to be in Mandarin while students are residents. Both Shoag and Sherman have studied Chinese since elementary school at Yu Ying, and Fleming had started learning the language in middle school. Many upper schoolers take the opportunity to enrich their foreign language skills in Chinese, French, and Arabic through summer travel, field study, or immersion programs.
Senior Isaiah McKnight had an internship this summer with Texas Congressman Marc Veasey. The student applied for the internship through the congressman’s website. Over his six week stint on Capitol Hill, McKnight logged contact information on spreadsheets, delivered messages, and spoke to constituents on the phones. He says he became increasingly interested in political science in Ms. Collins’ AP Language and Composition Class as they read about the oratorical styles of various leaders from Socrates to Stalin.
Sophomore Nora Butler and junior Ava Tiller were selected as members of the 2017 All-National Honor Ensembles Mixed Choir, Soprano 2. Both singers are members of Ms. Vercammen’s (Nevola) Honors Choir. The 2017 All-National Honor Ensembles program will take place at the Coronado Springs Resort at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, November 26-29, 2017.
Upper school Biology teacher Ms. Jost journeyed to Tanzania and made it safely to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro this summer. The intrepid climber couldn’t help showing her Latin pride by bringing the school athletics jersey up to the very top of the peak.
