Even in the summer months, Chapin students and PC members are learning and exploring! Global trips and enriching programs filled the days between Commencement and the first day of school.
In June, Lower School students filled the School with music, dance, laughter and joy through two exciting programs. Girls in the BOLD Arts Dance Camp, a program in its inaugural summer at Chapin, spent two weeks creating visual and performing arts pieces. Renowned artists like Frida Kahlo and Vincent Van Gogh inspired their work for a final showcase, “Living Art Gallery,” where their fine art pieces and dance performances were presented. In that same month, Chapin’s beloved June Jam program ran a variety of courses and field trips. The students’ days included activities ranging from beading, mosaics, STEAM opportunities and drama, to trips to the New York Hall of Science and Compo Beach.
Also at Chapin, our Middle School students had the opportunity to join our faculty for three different summer workshops. In the HCI with Dr. Jon Olivera, girls explored Engineering Design engaging in hands-on work experimenting with tools and materials to solve real-world engineering problems. A few floors down, Genavie Williams led students through a variety of art mediums from printmaking, clay exploration to painting in Art Studio. And in and around Chapin, Heather Vardis and another group of students explored photography. Using iPads, the girls ventured through Carl Schurz Park, developing their photography skills and using their photographs to build a digital portfolio.
Across the Atlantic, a group of 15 Upper School students traveled around Greece on a trip led by the World Leadership School (WLS) and Chapin faculty that gave them the opportunity to develop their leadership skills and foster global connections. They explored Athens and the Acropolis, kayaked to the theater of Epidarus, snorkeled through the Sunken City, toured the Mycenae ruins and hiked to the Fortress of Palamidi. These experiences helped the girls to learn about and appreciate Greece’s rich culture and history. They also worked with two non-profit groups, Solidarity Now, which provides support for people in need from refugees to people facing poverty, and the Melissa Network, which provides assistance and safe spaces for female refugees in Greece. Additionally, the WLS ran leadership and critical thinking sessions for the students that included “Finding Your Inner Leader,” “Circle of Questions” and “Building Utopia.”
In virtual classrooms, students from Classes 4-10 participated in Chapin’s online Creative Writing program, “Travel on a Path on Paper,” run by Head of Middle School Humanities Jenet Dibble. The program offered nine courses taught by Lynette Engel, Miranda Orbach and Kelly Hammond and were attended by more than 100 Chapin students, setting a record breaking number in the program's eight-year history!
Our Professional Community members were as adventurous and enriched as the students this summer! One group of teachers — Karey Boals, Director of College Guidance; Amanda McMillian, Middle School Equity Coordinator; and María Hurtado López, Lower School Spanish Teacher — traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, for a week of professional development with our SHOFCO partner schools. Teaming up with teachers and staff from our sister schools, they explored new teaching methods and were inspired by their work. Over the course of the week they participated in and led group activities and discussions of a variety of topics including teacher collaboration, Differentiated Learning, Metacognition, Lines of Inquiry, the Neuroscience of Calm, Level-Up Lessons and Creative Writing.
Many of Chapin’s faculty ran and participated in professional development workshops over the summer. Lower School Spanish Coordinator Ismar Rosado Aponte, for example, added lessons and a new data literacy collection to her “Triple S” Spanish and Social Studies program. Middle School Math Teacher Lindsay Chase designed three new projects for Class 4, creating comprehensive interdisciplinary math projects to engage her students in art, design and data as they delve into addition, subtraction, decimals, multiplication and division. A team of faculty across K-12 also worked together to design new writing evaluation techniques and tools to track the students' writing development over the course of their Chapin studies.
Members of departments like Advancement, Communications, the Business Office, Facilities and Food Services enjoyed their own adventures during breaks and each others’ company in the building over the summer.
We look forward to sharing more about our community’s impressive work as the academic year unfolds!
