around campus: campus news upper school promotes cultural awareness

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AROUND CAMPUS: Campus News n April 11, groups from the Upper School sponsored an exciting and entertaining event spotlighting many of the diverse cultures of Kinkaid, Houston and the world. Culture Fest 2007 was sponsored by upper school clubs Sharing, Helping, and Discussing Ethnic Studies (SHADES) and Kinkaidians Against Hate and Discrimination (KAHD). The event was organized and planned around the principle of getting the entire Kinkaid community together to celebrate diversity and raise cultural awareness. Various upper school clubs, families and individuals sponsored booths representing countries, regions and cultures of the world. Visitors had the opportunity to taste and experience the food and culture of each region. Attendees were delighted by excellent (and free) cuisine and enthralled by performances from students and faculty, and top booths and performances received prizes. Highlights included: • 40 countries and cultures were represented from throughout the world. Beyond the traditional large cultures of China, the United States, Europe and India, smaller cultures like Eritrea, Tibet, Lebanon, New Orleans and others were well represented. • Fun activities for kids of all ages were planned, including free prizes in exchange for filling out a passport to the world, pony rides (sponsored by Texas culture) and a moon walk. • Awards for top performances were given to staff member Enrique Ambrosio and Upper School Spanish teacher Vanessa Riesgo for their Afro-Caribbean salsa (a mix- ture of African religious dance and Native American/Native Cuban dance elements), to Meghan Rao ’10 for her modern Indian dance, and to the group East Meets West for its Indian dance • Awards for top booths went to the Liberals club for the Iraq booth, to the Environmental club for its Tanzania booth, and to Thomas Garcia ’08 for the Guatemala booth. Attendance exceeded expectations, as sev- eral hundred people attended and most stayed until the end of the evening. Student chairs Coco Sprague ’07, Serena Mammen ’08 and Angel Gibbs ’08 dedicated countless hours to preparing for such a large endeavor. Faculty sponsors, Upper School history teacher and diversity coordinator Leslie Lovett, debate coach Eric Emerson and Upper School English and fine arts teacher Carolyn McCarthy, also played instrumental roles. All involved hope that this will become an annual tradition that celebrates the rich diversity of Kinkaid and the world. Upper School Promotes Cultural Awareness “Culture Fest created a wonderful forum for students to take pride in their heritage and for the community at large to learn or taste something different. I thoroughly enjoyed the festivities and I am pleased to see Kinkaid sponsor and embrace this tradition.” — Mariza Rosado O Left: Ramya Subramani ‘09; Middle: Jacqueline Mabatah ‘07; Right: Mr. Shepler, John Courtney ‘07 and Allen Pierce ‘07; Far right: Physical education teacher Molly Higby and Tyler Higby ‘15

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Page 1: Around CAmpus: Campus News Upper School Promotes Cultural Awareness

Around CAmpus: Campus News

n April 11, groups from the Upper School sponsored an exciting and entertaining event spotlighting many of the diverse cultures of Kinkaid, Houston and the world. Culture Fest 2007 was sponsored

by upper school clubs Sharing, Helping, and Discussing Ethnic Studies (SHADES) and Kinkaidians Against Hate and Discrimination (KAHD). The event was organized and planned around the principle of getting the entire Kinkaid community together to celebrate diversity and raise cultural awareness. Various upper school clubs, families and individuals sponsored booths representing countries, regions and cultures of the world. Visitors had the opportunity to taste and experience the food and culture of each region. Attendees were delighted by excellent (and free) cuisine and enthralled by performances from students and faculty, and top booths and performances received prizes. Highlights included: • 40 countries and cultures were represented from throughout the world. Beyond the traditional large cultures of China, the United States, Europe and India, smaller cultures like Eritrea, Tibet, Lebanon, New Orleans and others were well represented. • Fun activities for kids of all ages were planned, including free prizes in exchange for filling out a passport to the world, pony rides (sponsored by Texas culture) and a moon walk. • Awards for top performances were given to staff member Enrique Ambrosio and Upper School Spanish teacher Vanessa Riesgo for their Afro-Caribbean salsa (a mix-ture of African religious dance and Native American/Native Cuban dance elements), to Meghan Rao ’10 for her modern Indian dance, and to the group East Meets West for its Indian dance • Awards for top booths went to the Liberals club for the Iraq booth, to the Environmental club for its Tanzania booth, and to Thomas Garcia ’08 for the Guatemala booth. Attendance exceeded expectations, as sev-eral hundred people attended and most stayed until the end of the evening. Student chairs Coco Sprague ’07, Serena Mammen ’08 and Angel Gibbs ’08 dedicated countless hours to preparing for such a large endeavor. Faculty sponsors, Upper School history teacher and diversity coordinator Leslie Lovett, debate coach Eric Emerson and Upper School English and fine arts teacher Carolyn McCarthy, also played instrumental roles. All involved hope that this will become an annual tradition that celebrates the rich diversity of Kinkaid and the world.

Upper School Promotes Cultural Awareness

“Culture Fest created a wonderful forum for students to take pride

in their heritage and for the community at large to learn or taste

something different. I thoroughly enjoyed the festivities and I am

pleased to see Kinkaid sponsor and embrace this tradition.”

— Mariza Rosado

O

Left: Ramya Subramani ‘09; Middle: Jacqueline Mabatah ‘07; Right: Mr. Shepler, John Courtney ‘07 and Allen Pierce ‘07; Far right: Physical education teacher Molly Higby and Tyler Higby ‘15

Page 2: Around CAmpus: Campus News Upper School Promotes Cultural Awareness

Around CAmpus: Campus News

Kinkaid’s Character Development Symposium Yields Rave Reviews

or two exciting days in early June, Kinkaid hosted a Symposium on

Character Education that attracted more than 150 attendees. The con-ference, “Emerging Best Practices in Character Development,” featured three different paths for three differ-ent audiences—an Educators Track, a Coaching Track and a Parents Track—and over 30 presenters from Kinkaid and beyond. Perennial favorite Joe Ehrmann returned to campus as the conference’s Keynote Speaker and headline attraction for the Coaching and Parents Tracks. Hosting the Symposium was Kinkaid’s final obligation under the terms of the original matching grant the School received from the E.E. Ford Foundation to seed our char-acter education efforts. Twenty-one faculty members offered as many

as 22 different concurrent sessions featuring how teachers can use Kinkaid’s “3 A’s” (academics, ath-letics, and the arts) in the service of students’ character development. Faculty, administrators and staff from all three of Kinkaid’s divisions led conference sessions. Joe and his wife Paula, a licensed counsel-or, offered their engaging day-long “InSideOut Coaching” workshop to more than �0 coaches and half-day “InSideOut Parenting” workshop to Kinkaid parents. In addition to Joe and Paula, key character-developing collaborators were brought from off-campus to supplement the comprehensive, cross-curricular program. Visiting speakers included Peter Bachmann, headmaster of the Flintridge Prep School in La Canada, California, and

Perennial favorite Joe Ehrmann returned to campus as the conference’s Keynote Speaker for the Coaching and Parents Tracks.

F

Courtesy of sCott Kohn

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Around CAmpus: Campus News

David Streight, Executive Director of the Council for Spiritual and Ethical Education (CSEE). “It was great to see what Kinkaid has done in the past four years,” says Mr. Streight. “The breadth and depth of what the faculty and staff are doing was evident in the number of Kinkaid presenters—from a vari-ety of corners of the School—and the depth and quality that many of them spoke about.” “The symposium filled a real need, which became quickly evident as I got to speak with some of the peo-ple who were there,” he continues. “Those of us who work in character education sometimes think in terms

of the ‘finer points’ of how things should be done. Rather than finer points, many of the participants at this event were asking ‘how do we begin?’ ” Attendees included handfuls of teachers and administrators from several fellow ISAS schools, 10 fac-ulty members from the Chinquapin School in Highlands, Texas, and about a dozen teachers and coaches from the Spring Branch/Memorial Independent School District. Even two teenaged youth-league coaches from Austin attended the Ehrmanns’ full-day “InSideOut Coaching” work-shop, and another couple of Canadian attendees from a school in Vancouver,

British Columbia made this a truly international conference! Character Education Director Mike Pardee was thrilled with how the two days turned out. “What I appreciated most,” he remarks, “was the degree of intense engagement with character education and mat-ters of moral development shared by presenters and participants alike. Kinkaid is emerging as a national leader in these burgeoning fields. So it’s exciting for us to be able to contribute however we can to this growing character-development movement.”

Conference participants included about 150 teachers, coaches and administrators from Kinkaid as well as other ISAS schools and the Spring Branch/Memorial ISD. A few people traveled all the way from Indiana and British Columbia!

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Around CAmpus: Campus News

ver 600 members of the Kinkaid community came together on April 4

for a memorable evening of nostalgia and life lessons from two of the most famous pitchers in baseball history. Texas fireballers Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan had the audience in the Brown Auditorium captivated for over an hour with their inspiring and often humorous stories. They spoke about growing up as multi-sport athletic stars, the supportive roles of their families, the hard work required to be a superstar, their many successes, and how they worked through difficult times. Emcee Gifford Nielsen, Channel 11 Sports Director, did a masterful job of engag-ing Roger and Nolan to talk about leadership qualities and encouraging the audience, especially Kinkaid students, to ask insightful questions. “I would like to give special thanks to Don Sanders, parent

of three Kinkaid alumni and grandpar-ent of a current student, for bringing to Kinkaid Roger, Nolan and Gifford for this powerful and memorable evening,” said Headmaster Don North. In keeping with the baseball theme, the stage was deco-rated with a backdrop replica of Minute Maid Park, the Kinkaid Theatre lobby had red, white and blue bunting, and guests were treated to hot dogs, popcorn and Cracker Jacks. The $60,000 raised from the eve-ning benefits the Kinkaid Initiatives in Leadership Endowment. This endow-ment was originally created with the proceeds from “A Conversation with the Bushes,” an Auction 2004 event that pro-

vided an opportunity to share stories with the 41st President of the United States and Mrs. Barbara Bush. The earnings from the endowment support initiatives in leadership includ-ing speakers, special assemblies and leadership training.

Texas Sports Legends Enthrall Audience

Special thanks to Event CoChairs Peggy Rathmell and Sara Robins, the underwriters, box office coordinators Shirley Pearson and Chris Chung, graphic designer Susan Pennebaker and everyone involved in making this event a home run.

O

AuCtion 007 presents:

Channel 11 Sports Director Gifford Nielsen, Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens

Sanders Keller ‘15 presents his grandfather Don Sanders with a special autographed baseball

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Members of the Kinkaid community came together to recognize this year’s distinguished alumni on March 27 at The Houstonian. Distinguished Honorary Alumna Barbara Cooney, Distinguished Alumnus Rear Admiral Scott Sears ’62 and Distinguished Young Alumnus Dr. Philip D. Floyd ’�6 were honored.

Distinguished Alumni

Around CAmpus: Distinguished Alumni

2007 Alumni AssoCiAtion AwArds The Alumni Association Awards are pre-sented to a senior girl and senior boy whomeetthefollowingcriteria:haveattendedtheKinkaidUpperSchoolforatleastthreeyears;haveexhibiteddedicationtoKinkaidthroughpositive and conscientious volunteer andextra-curricular activities which have goneaboveandbeyondtheestablishedguidelines;have demonstrated academic diligence; arerespected and admired by both peers andfaculty; and have exhibited growth in matu-rity, responsibility and integrity. This award

is the only award where both peers andfaculty can nominate a candidate. This yearthe Alumni Association Awards were pre-sentedtoGeorgiana SmyserandChristopher Brown. GeorgianaSmyserenteredKinkaidinsixthgrade and has made a tremendous impacton the Kinkaid community ever since. Atrueathletescholar,Georgiana isoneof thetop rankedhighschool tennisplayers in thenation while excelling academically in fourAdvanced Placement classes. Serving ascaptainofthetennisteam,sheledthegroup

rear Admiral scott sears ‘62 distinguished Alumnus Scott Sears entered Kinkaid in ninth grade and was active in drama, art and chorus before graduating cum laude with a full scholarship to the U.S. Naval Academy. At the Academy, Scott graduated with distinction (sixth in his class of nearly 1,000) and with two majors, Physics and Economics. The years at the Naval Academy instilled Scott with “a heart of service” for a life of duty to our country. After initial tours of duty on diesel submarines, Admiral Sears attended M.I.T., where he received MSEE and EE (post-Master’s) degrees. Upon graduation, he applied to the Navy’s Nuclear Power program and served in a variety of attack and missile submarines. In 1�76 he navigated the USS Flying Fish to the North Pole and surfaced through the ice. From 1��3 through 1��6, he commanded the USS Albuquerque, a brand new nuclear attack submarine, and led the ship on numerous operations critical to national security. Following his command at sea, Scott transferred into Acquisition, where he served as Program Manager for the Navy’s largest software development program at the time. In 1��1 the Navy selected Scott for Flag Rank, and he led the Naval Undersea Warfare Center until his retirement to civil-ian life in 1��5. Since retirement from the Navy, Scott has worked in pri-vate industry with AT&T, General Dynamics and Raytheon. Scott is retiring a second time on April 1 to a new home that he and his wife Barbara have built in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.

Headmaster Don North, Barbara Cooney, Scott Sears ‘62 and Philip Floyd ‘86

Georgiana Smyser and Christopher Brown

“I loved everything about Kinkaid – my classmates, the faculty and the facilities.

The faculty inspired me to achievements that I never knew were inside of me.”

—Rear Admiral Scott Sears ’62

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Around CAmpus: Distinguished Alumni

Barbara Cooney distinguished honorAry AlumnA Barbara Cooney came to Kinkaid in 1�75 after teaching for three years in the Houston Independent School District. Guided by legendary principal and history teacher Art Goddard, Barbara has become a legend herself after thirty-two years of teaching the “Cooney note taking method.” Former students may have forgotten how the pyramids were built or how long it took, but they will always remember how to determine what is relevant in a paragraph and how to transfer that information to a note card. Since her hiring, Barbara has served as sixth grade ancient history teacher, dean of sixth grade students and his-tory coordinator for the middle school. It was no surprise when Barbara was honored in 1��0 with The Columbiana Award for Excellence in Teaching. She continues to be admired by both her students and their parents. When Barbara isn’t teaching, she enjoys traveling the world, particularly in Italy. She has generously shared her love of Italian culture and history with the Kinkaid commu-nity during several of the Alumni Association’s Evenings of Continuing Education. She continues to inspire and impact generations of students and alumni and represents the very best in a Kinkaid educator.

dr. philip d. Floyd ‘86 distinguished young Alumnus Philip D. Floyd entered Kinkaid in sixth grade and was active in soccer, track and chorus. A member of Who’s Who and the Spanish Honorary Society, he served as Honor Council President and graduated cum laude in 1��6. Philip attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a Morehead Scholar. He graduated with distinction in 1��0 with a BA in Spanish. Philip served for two months during the summer of 1��0 as a British Parliament intern in London, England before returning to teach Upper School Spanish and coach track and soccer at Fort Worth Country Day School for two years. Philip taught Spanish and Physics at Second Baptist School during the 1��2-1��3 school year before entering Baylor College of Medicine. After receiving his MD in May 1���, Philip completed his internship and residency in General Pediatrics in 2001 at Miami Children’s Hospital. Since that time, Philip has served as a pediatrician at Physicians to Children in Coral Gables, FL. Voted one of America’s Top Pediatricians in 2005 and 2006, Philip also serves as a volunteer faculty member at Miami Children’s Hospital, rounding with and teaching resi-dents and medical students one month per year. He makes regular television appearances on local network affiliates dis-cussing various pediatric topics and serves as a community speaker to parent groups and church groups on topics rang-ing from vaccines to sex education. He and his wife Debbie are the proud parents of twins Carter and Mackenzie.

to four SPC tennis championships and wasvoted All SPC and All South Zone for fourconsecutiveyears.AmemberofWho’sWho,Georgiana has served on the Honor Councilsince her sophomore year and was electedPresident this year. Along with two otherclassmates, Georgiana founded the StudentLife Council, a peer-mentoring group whichhelpsfreshmenmaketheacademicandsocialtransition to the upper school. Georgianahasearnedtherespectofbothherpeersandfacultywhodescribeheraspositive,consci-entious, compassionate, loyal and a student

of remarkablematurityand integrity.ShewillattendDartmouthCollegethisfall. ChristopherBrownenteredKinkaid in firstgrade and has distinguished himself as aremarkable student both in the classroomand the outdoors. A recent inductee intotheCumLaudeSociety,Christopherreceivedthe Sophomore Academic Merit Award andhas been a member of the French HonorSociety for four years. A member of Who’sWho, Christopher has served as FrenchClub President and Secretary of the YoungRepublicans Club. He has participated

in football, soccer and lacrosse at Kinkaidwhile pursuing his love of the outdoors—hiking, rock climbing and backpacking withhisfamily. Christopher has taken his outdoor activi-ties to the next level by becoming a “LeaveNoTrace”trainerandhasbeencertifiedasaWilderness Emergency Medical Technician.FacultyandclassmatesdescribeChristopherasgenuine,caring,thoughtful,energeticanda young man of tremendous character witha deep love of learning. He will attend YaleUniversitythisfall.

“Teachers at Kinkaid are fortunate because students and alumni recognize the value of what they learn in our classes and attribute much of

their later success to that background.”—Barbara Cooney

“Kinkaid, you its students, its faculty, its staff, share a common purpose and goal: to develop great citizens of the world who can and will give back to society.”

—Dr. Philip D. Floyd

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Around CAmpus: Papadopoulos Fellow

Contributed byKatherine leathemupper school Biology teacher

s there such a thing as a hero? The modern view of hero-ism has become somewhat warped,” says Gillian Levy ’10.

“Unfortunately, Hollywood celebrities often make headlines over candidates running for the upcoming presidential elec-tion. It’s hard to remember the last time we as Americans had someone to look up to. However, there is hope on the horizon,” declares Gillian. “His name is Dr. Mark W. Kline, and he saves thousands of lives every year.” Dr. Kline is Professor of Pediatrics, Head of the Section of Retrovirology and President of the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital. As the 2007 Papadopoulos Fellow, Dr. Kline demystified HIV/AIDS, the infectious disease which has become the pandemic of this generation of students. He redefined the biological jar-gon, unmasked the statistics and redirected our tendency to define HIV/AIDS as the plague of other countries. Dr. Kline founded the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI). Currently more than 20 countries use Dr. Kline’s family approach model to treat HIV/AIDS infected children. With the help of Dr. Kline and BIPAI, governmental leaders from Botswana, Libya, Uganda, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi and China receive assistance from Bristol-Myers Squibb, UNICEF, President Bush’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. BIPAI provides the “know how” which includes setting up clinics and offering administrative

help as well as sending doctors, nurses and other trained professionals. The latest initiative involves training native physicians to care for HIV/AIDS patients. Dr. Kline’s work with HIV/AIDS patients began in St. Louis, Missouri where one of his first assignments was to work with 15 hemophiliac boys who contracted HIV from contaminated blood products. He cared for them and their families, but could offer little in the way of medical treatment. Dr. Kline contacted Merck and the FDA to get permission to monitor a protocol to admin-ister the latest promising drugs, protease inhibitors, to children. The result was nothing short of miraculous, and because of this

treatment, many of these children are alive today. On a visit to Romania, Dr. Kline saw hundreds of orphans who had been infected with HIV through misguided medical practices, such as the injection of tainted blood with contaminated needles. Dr.

Kline persuaded Abbott Laboratories to donate drugs to the children forever, and Houston’s Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word donated money to transform an old building into a clinic. Deaths dropped from 12% to 1%. Dr. Kline was doing what no one had reported doing before—providing large scale, effective HIV treatment in a setting with very few resources. “Despite all of his great accomplishments,” says Ashok Yerramsetti ’08, “it is evident that Dr. Kline loves being a doc-tor for the sole reason that he is able to help people. I find his example of passion and hard work to be a lesson that can be applied not just to medicine, but to any career choice. Dr. Kline demonstrates how one can enjoy any amount of work and con-tribute to the greater good if they find a field they like.”

Dr. C.N. Papadopoulos and 2007 Papadopoulous Fellow Dr. Mark W. Kline with the Biology II AP classes

Houston’s Mark Kline Makes a Difference in Children Living with HIV/AIDS

I

“Dr. Kline helped these children and so many more is proof that one person can make a difference and

even change the world.” —Hilary Cohen ’10

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Around CAmpus: Campus News

pApAdopoulos Fellowstudent reFleCtions

Christopher Brown ‘07 “I can talk aboutDr.Klineforalongtime.However,themostimportantthingtodeterminenowiswhatwecandotohelp.Theseareasinclude:funding,destigmatizationofHIV/AIDSandadditionalpeople power. I believe it is important thatwemakeitknowntoCongressthatHIV/AIDSisanimportantglobalissueandthatPEPFARshould be renewed. A major problem inaddressingtheHIV/AIDSissueisignorance.Openand informativesessions like theonetoday should be held in schools acrossAmerica.IfonlythereweremorepeoplelikeDr. Kline, the world would be a betterplace.”

Hilary Cohen ‘10 “It’s hard for any onepersontocomeintoaschoolandinfluenceeveryone to whom he speaks. I recognizedthatDr.Klinehadaprofound impactonmewhen I found myself thinking about all thathehasdonelaterinthedayduringasoftballgame.Iturnedtoanotherplayerontheteamand said, ‘Can you imagine having done somuch for so many people?’ And soon thewhole dugout full of Kinkaid students wastalking about how motivated we were byDr. Kline. I will never forget the pictures ofthe 10 and 12 year old kids infected withHIV/AIDS from Romania who looked likean average four-year old. Realizing that Dr.Kline helped these children and so manymore is proof that one person can makea difference and even change the world.”

Mark Sabbagh ‘08 “When I think ofDr. Kline’s extensive resume, awards andachievements, I recognize that none ofthesethingsencompasswhathehasreallyaccomplished. How do you document thelivesyouhavesavedonaresume?Perhapsaphotoalbumwouldsuffice,eachpagewithasmilingfaceofachildwholivesbecauseof your treatment. Hundreds of childrenandthenhundredsofthousandsofchildrenwho are their descendants would make aneternal book of photos unparalleled by anyresume. Dr. Kline’s work will outlive all ofus and will outlive AIDS. And Dr. Kline leftmewithonephrasethatIwillrememberfora long time: ‘Youcanalwaysease thepainwithcomfort.’“

Student is a Finalists in National DNA Essay Contest Preston Moore ’10 is one of 10 finalists in the annual National DNA Day High School Essay Contest sponsored by the American Society of Human Genetics and Applied Biosystems. The contest challenges students to examine, ques-tion and reflect on the importance and social implications of genetic research in a sub-stantive and well-reasoned manner. Preston wrote about Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, one of nine types of muscular dystrophy that debilitates voluntary muscles. His interest in the condition evolved through conversations with family members from his church who were helping their son cope with its effects. Preston’s intent was to raise awareness among Kinkaid students.

Helping to initiate a new global attitude of caring for our planet, Biology I Honors freshmen served as naturalists teaching first graders about the ecology of The Backyard. In addition, they planted a magnolia tree in the Butterfly Garden and collected gently used and new bird feeders which will be refur-bished by Urban Harvest staff members and given to the 60 affiliate schools in the School Gardens program which teaches children in the wider Houston com-munity to care for wildlife. “Earth Day means a lot to me because it is great that we can spend a day making things better for the Earth and the environment. It helps raise awareness that we are destroying our home and the homes of others and we need to do something about it immediately,” says Sahil Patel ’10.

Biology I Honors Celebrate Earth Day

BACK ROW: Skylar Dabbar, Sarah Mountjoy, Sahil Patel and Preston Moore MIDDLE ROW: Lauren Krell, Gillian Levy, Julia Weil and Meghan Rao FRONT ROW: Evan Henke and Devyn Schultz

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Around CAmpus: Campus News

he senior peer men-tors along with their

freshmen advisories adopted a primary school in Moshono Village, Arusha, Tanzania for a spring service proj-ect. The idea came from peer mentor Ford Beckham ’07, who had visited Arusha last sum-mer along with William Simmons ’07 as guests of Danny Friedkin ’07 and his family. Ford’s concept was unanimously adopted by the Student Life Council, which is comprised of 23 senior peer mentors. The mentors believed that collaborating with their advi-sees on the project would strengthen their existing men-toring relationships, help other students in this Tanzanian school and foster valuable relationships across the globe. The Kinkaid students are contributing to Moshono Primary School’s curriculum for teaching students about basic life skills such as playing, sharing, washing, sleeping and eat-ing. The team created a “verb” book in which each advisory focused on one life skill verb. There are 11 copies of the over-sized book, filled with pictures of Kinkaid students enacting the verbs. “Big Book of Verbs: Everyday Activities” is easy

Student Life Council Adopts Primary School in Tanzania

his spring the Lower School dedi-cated its fundraising efforts to help-

ing a small village in Zambia. Kinkaid alumna Chelsea Keeton ’05, current-ly a student at Franklin College in Switzerland, expressed an interest to lower school Principal Gloria Fishman in sharing information with our lower school students about a service enter-prise that grew out of her Franklin classmates’ academic travels to Malawi and Zambia in 2004. Chelsea explained that her fellow Franklin students visited the sub-Saharan area to learn more about an organic farming method called permac-ulture and returned home with a calling to help the villagers of Baobab. They realized that, without help, the village children faced a difficult future, so they

formed the Baobab Initiative with the goal of increasing opportunity in sub-Saharan Africa through the promotion of permaculture and education. “It is our hope that the villagers will learn a degree of independence and empowerment that will allow them to prosper and establish further stability in the village,” adds Chelsea. “It is our goal that they will impart these skills of farming and strength to the other villagers so that they might be able to support themselves and overcome the disadvantages that are reality in below-poverty level areas of Africa.” This January, Chelsea spoke during a lower school assembly to share her slides of the village and the progress made by the volunteers funding a com-munity garden and sponsoring students

to attend a community school. After the assembly, the lower school teach-ers and students agreed to form a part-nership with the Baobab Initiative. “We raised over $1,000 for the initia-tive,” said Dr. Fishman. “We combined many of our fundraising efforts to sup-port this partnership…KOCI cookie sale and ink cartridge recycle drive, third grade chocolate sale, service day dog wash and lemonade stand…and several of our precious children even brought in their allowances.” “With our donation,” adds Dr. Fishman, “the Baobab Initiative can send two women from the village to learn farming techniques at the Freedom Gardens in Malawi and also buy a pottery wheel and kiln and bikes and chains for the villagers.”

Alumna Helps Lower School Form a Partnership with Village in Zambia

to read and has both English explanations and Kiswahili translations. The team also collected used supplies that are emblematic of our school’s excellence in the arts and sports. Students, teachers and parents of the upper, middle and lower schools donated used and new sports equipment and art supplies. Kinkaid parent

Dan Friedkin, father of Ryan ’08 and Danny, generously took the equipment and 10 of the “verb” books to the school this summer. The remaining books will be on display across from the Upper School office next fall. “The Adopt-a-School project has truly energized our seniors and further fostered a healthy mentor-ing relationship between seniors and freshmen,” says Dr. Elaine Calaway, upper school Counseling Psychologist. Dr. Calaway and Coach Scott Zimmerman, Student Life Council sponsors, credit the success of the first year of the program to the 23 students who have assumed responsi-bility for expanding the vision of leadership and service roles as mentors in both first and second semesters of their senior year.

Students from the Moshono Primary School in Arusha, Tanzania send their thanks toThe Kinkaid School. To see more pictures of the students receiving their gifts, go to www.kinkaid.org and select the Character Education link and then Service Learning.

Creating Global Awareness

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Around CAmpus: Campus News

student summer internships Mark Sabbagh ‘08 was selected forthe High School Medical MentorshipProgramatTexasChildren’sHospitalandBen Kwak ‘08wasselected for theHighSchool Summer Research Program atThe Stehlin Foundation. Both of thesesummer positions are highly competitiveand provide significant opportunities foracademicandpersonalgrowth.

student leAdership progrAm ThissummerKayla Noel ‘08andXavier Beckwith ‘08 are participating in theManagement Leadership for Tomorrowprogram, a national non-profit organi-zation that has made ground-breakingprogress to correct the dramatic under-representationofminoritiesinleadershippositions. Management Leadership forTomorrowworks to increase thenumberof minorities in institutions that developtalent,suchasfirst-tierbusinessschoolsandhigh-profilecompanies.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Freshmen Julian Cooper and Callie Summers each earned honorable Mention Awards in the DuPont Challenge Science Essay Competition, one of the foremost student science and technology prize programs in the United States and Canada. Sponsored by the DuPont Center for Collaborative Research and Education and in cooperation with General Learning Communications, the Science Essay Awards Competition is widely recognized and respected. Callie wrote on “Nuclear Fission: The Answer to World Peace,” and Julian wrote on “Algae, Biofuels, Fossil Fuels and their Effect on Our Planet.” Their essays demonstrated a genuine interest and enthusiasm about very important subjects and evidenced careful thought, insight and research as well as compelling writing. Callie and Julian joined a distinguished group of twelve Kinkaid former DuPont Challenge winners. Recently, they had the opportunity to discuss their entries with former first place winner William Papadopoulos ’92.

Students Receive Honorable Mention in DuPont Challenge Essay Competition

Julian Cooper ‘10, William Papadopoulos ‘92 and Callie Summers ‘10

Caroline Burke ’08 discovered a new passion when she enrolled in Middle and Upper School art teacher Jane DiPaolo’s jewelry design interim term course this past January. “I just love making jewelry. I have always liked art and always signed up for art classes, but I have never done anything like this before,” says Caroline. “Once I took the class, I realized that I like it a lot and continued using what I learned even after the class was over.” Caroline designed a heart bracelet and necklace that she has been very busy marketing. She had a booth at The First Annual “Girls’ Night Out: Champagne & Chamois” event benefiting Bo’s Place (a non-profit organization offering free grief support services for children) where she sold her jewelry. From her sales, she was able to present a generous check for $3,010 to Bo’s Place. “This summer I have an internship with Marnie Rocks who has a shop on Woodway, and I would definitely like to work with more charities in the future like I did with Bo’s Place,” says Caroline.

Student Discovers New Passion in Interim Term Class

Caroline Burke ‘08

the JenniFer hiCKs AwArd Dr. Sandra Derby, Director of ChoralMusic,receivedTheJenniferHicksAwardfor Faculty Continuing Education. Shewill attend the 17th Annual InternationalConference of the Robert K. GreenleafCenter for Servant Leadership, whosetheme this year is “Servant Leadershipfor a Flat World.” The servant leader-ship model is used by many compa-nies, organizations, and educationalinstitutions as a model and basic phi-losophy for their mission statements.Dr. Derby is interested in how she mightuse it personally, as a teacher, and asa member of a learning community. Hergoalistoadvanceourconversationaboutwhat and how we teach and enlightenourfundamentalpersonalvaluesandcoreinstitutionalvalues.

FACULTY AwARD

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he debate program at Kinkaid has

enjoyed a strong his-tory. Started by former faculty member Barry Moss in the early 1�60s, the program has a long reputation for excellence, recent-ly confirmed by the recognition it received from Montgomery Bell Academy as one of the “best in the nation” during its 25th Anniversary event. Furthermore, many Kinkaidians have been successful college debaters at the at some of the best universities in the country. As chronicled in previous issues of this magazine, this year’s squad has had a particularly successful year. And quite respectably, Kinkaid has won nearly every national tourna-ment sometime within the last three years. Head coach Eric Emerson, the former debate partner of Kinkaid alumnus Jonathan Brody ’90 at the University of Texas, was a major award winner as well. He was inducted this past year into the Gold Key Society at the Emory University Barkley Forum. The Gold Key Society began in 1�64 as an honor society dedicated to highly successful and respected

Contributed byeric emerson, debate Coach In May, the Kinkaid Debate Team com-peted at the prestigious Tournament ofChampions (TOC) sponsored by theUniversity of Kentucky. The TOC is widelyconsideredtobethemostdifficulttourna-mentinthenation,andthewinnerreceivesthehonorofbeingconsideredthenationalchampion. The field of competition islimited to 72 of the best competitors fromcoast to coast. It took an overall recordof 5-2 to reach the elimination rounds.Goingintothetournament,Kinkaidhadthedistinction of being among only a hand-ful of schools with multiple policy teamscompeting.Inaddition,Kinkaidwasoneof

only twoschoolswithcompetitors inbothLincoln-Douglasandpolicydebate. Inpolicydebate,theteamofJulia Lovett ‘07andDaniel Sharp ‘08barelymissedplacinginthesweet16(octofinals).Theybeganthetournament going 4-0 after the first fourrounds. They then had the misfortune oflosingthenextthreerounds.Twoofthoserounds went to the eventual tournamentfinalists from Westminster and GlenbrookNorthHS.JuliaandDanielendedupbeingthe17thseedand the top team in the4-3bracket.TheteamofLawren Tilney ‘08andRyan Beiermeister ‘08 also ended up 4-3.While theydidnothaveasclosea finish,they had quality wins in the preliminaryrounds against Greenhill, Chattahoochee

HS(Atlanta)andothers.Inaddition,Daniel was awarded the eighth overall speakerof the tournament (out of 142 individuals)whileRyanwasawarded the12th.This isparticularly remarkably given that therewereonlythreejuniorswhoplacedinthetop20overallspeakers. InLincoln-Douglasdebate,Becca Traber ‘08 also had a 4-3 finish. Becca began thetournament with a rocky start but quicklyrecuperatedwithqualitywinsoverScarsdaleHS(NewYork),WaltWhitmanHS(Virginia)andHarker(SanJose).Beccaiswidelycon-sideredtobeoneofthetopjuniorsreturningnextyear.Coming into the tournament,shehadmorebidsthananyotherjunior,andshewasamongstthetopintotalbids.

2007 Debate Team Competes in the Tournament of Champions

Debate Legacy of Excellence Continues

Continued on page 63

coaches within the debate community across the United States. Each year standing members of the Key Society con-duct a nomination pro-cess and subsequent election to determine new members. Not only does the debate program bring national attention and honor to the School, but more importantly, it provides a forum in which a student learns a variety of skills. There are the obvi-ous efficiencies and effectiveness in public

speaking and research abilities. But the intangibles of time management, interpersonal relationship, and adaptability aptitudes are honed as well. Debate creates an environment in which the students can discuss and banter among them-selves, and challenge one another and their peers at other schools on a variety of topics. “The debate program offers the students the ability to engage in intellectual experimen-tation and exploration within a close-knit family environ-ment, tempered by the safety net of the squad,” explains Mr. Emerson. “It gives the students a voice for student issues,

Former faculty member Barry Moss and his debate class in 1965

T

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glenn BAllArd Fellowship The 2007 Glenn Ballard Fellowshiprecipient is Middle School Texas andLatin American history teacher Diana Kokernot. She will take part this sum-merinatriptoCostaRica.SponsoredbyGlobalExchange,aninternationalhumanrights organization dedicated to promot-ing political, economic, environmental,and social justice, the trip will give Ms.Kokernotanopportunitytocometoabet-terunderstandingofCostaRicanhistory,politics, economy, religion, government,health care, agriculture, education andenvironment. It includes meetings andvisitsinvariouscities,townsandvillageswith community organizations, govern-ment officials, scientists, artists, envi-ronmentalists, and representatives fromreligiousandhumanrightsgroups.

the Joseph BArry moss And gAry Brent moss Fellowship The2007recipientofTheJosephBarryMoss and Gary Brent Moss Fellowshipin theHumanities isDirectorofLibrariesDorian Myers.Ms.Myersusedthegrantto attend the Western Archives Instituteat San Diego State University in June.Thisintensive,two-weekprogramprovid-edintegratedinstructioninbasicarchivalpractices.TheInstitutefeaturedsitevisitsto historical records repositories and adiverse curriculum that included historyanddevelopmentoftheprofession,theoryand terminology, records management,appraisal,arrangement,description,man-uscriptsacquisition,archivesandthelaw,photographs,preservationadministration,referenceandaccess,outreachprograms,and managing archival programs andinstitutions.ThisisespeciallyrelevantforMs.Myers,sinceshehasprimaryrespon-sibilityatKinkaidforarchivalmaterials. TheJosephBarryMossandGaryBrentMoss Fellowship in the Humanities isestablished to create the opportunity forKinkaid teachers toenrich themselves inthe formal study of the Humanities or inotheractivitiesrelateddirectlythereto.

FACULTY FELLOwSHIPS

Contributed bypat Cavanaghdyslexia reading specialist The Southwest Region Anti-Defamation League honored lower school Principal Dr. Gloria Fishman at the 2007 Walter Kase Teacher Excellence Awards Luncheon on May 3 at the Westin Oaks Hotel. Dr. Fishman was one of three Houston teachers honored for creating outstanding edu-cational programs on diversity. The founder of the award, Walter Kase, is a Holocaust survivor of five separate concentration camps. Every year, he speaks to over 200,000 chil-dren about hatred. In addition, his award honors the people whom he believes are the most important influ-ences in this world: teachers. “It’s important for children, early on, to learn empathy, compassion and respect. I don’t believe these vir-tues are innate but are learned both through observation of those we love and by direct exposure to situations that teach these concepts,” said Dr. Fishman at her acceptance speech. Dr. Fishman has guided the lower school faculty as each teacher incor-porates the virtues of honesty, respect, responsibility and kindness into the

ongoing life of the School. The con-cept of diversity is folded into discus-sions of respect and kindness. From World Peace Day to our International Festival, students learn to respect and honor difference. In closing Dr. Fishman remarked, “And so we do what we do and hope-fully have some influence on the char-acter of our students.”

Lower School Principal Receives Award from Anti-Defamation League

KinKAid: ‘no plACe For hAte’ sChool

Forthe2006-2007academicyear,allthreedivisionsachievedthedesignationasa“NoPlaceforHate”school.Topromoteacceptanceandcelebrationofdiversity,TheAnti-DefamationLeagueawardsthedesignationtoschoolsthathavecompletedasetofdiversityactivities.

Rikki Bleiweiss ‘15 introduced Lower School Principal Gloria Fishman at the luncheon.

Acting Lower School Principal for the day Sarah Stukalin ‘18 with former Kinkaid parent and current grandparent Helen Spector and her mother Anti-Defamation League board member Naomi Warren

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espAÑolThe following students receiveda national gold certificate and/orplaced locally in the 2007 NationalSpanish Exam. The exam has twocategories for every level: regular(basically nonnative speakers) andoutside experience (native speak-ers or students that grew up in ahome where another romance lan-guagewasspoken).Somelevelshadas many as ten of the top schoolsin the Houston area participatingand as many as 70 competitors.Congratulations to the students andtheirteachers.

Level 1 RegularTaylorBass’09,4thJulieWeil‘10RachelZummo’09

Level 2 RegularVirginiaAlbert‘10ChrisAlexander‘10MeganBlaney‘10SamBursten‘10HilaryCohen‘10UjalaDhanani‘10HarrisonHarvey‘10MattJohnson‘09CarolineKelly‘10GillianLevy’10,6thLaineLieberman’10,10thSabrinaPopatia’10,9thDanielTepper‘10TaraThurman‘10MichelleWest‘09

Level 2 Outside Experience JulianCooper’10,3rdCharlesTian’10,4th

Level 3 RegularJeanieArnold’09,3rdMichaelAtmar’09,8thCorrinBarnes’09,10thCarolineBoerwinkle‘09KatieCarpenter‘09BenjaminKwak’08,7thAndyMishra’09,6thAveryTwitchell-Heyne’09,1stDianaSmiley’09,2ndMargaretWittenmyer’09,9th

Level 4 RegularKevinAnding‘08EmilyBurke’08,10th

WilliamClementson‘08YurinaKodama’08,8thSashaLevine’08,2ndLawrenTilney’08,1stMariaVercek’08,3rdMayWang’08,4th

Level 4 Outside Experience ThomasGarcía’08,3rdFrancoSilva’09,2nd

Level 5 RegularEddieMillard‘07-Silver

Level 5 Outside Experience LeónBrener-Hellmund’08,2ndChantalFernandez’08,1st

FrAnCAisThe following middle and upperschool students earned the top tenscoresandthetitleofHoustonwin-ners of the 2007 National FrenchContest. Those ranked the highestalso qualified as national winners.Congratulations to the students andtheirteachers.

MIDDLE SCHOOLLevel 01 - grade 7 AndrewCampbell‘12,6th ChristopherDee‘12,8thMatthewDee‘12,7th EvanEads‘12,3rd NikiFrishberg‘12,3rd MadelineGould‘12,8thMariaHenning‘12,2nd,10thnat. RamilleLaw‘12,1st,7thnat.MillieNishikawa‘12,9thAlexisRoberts‘12,8thPatrickRoberts‘12,6th AllisonSchuette‘12,7thSheridanSchulte‘12,2nd,10thnat.EmmySprague‘12,6th AnnaCatherineWilson‘12,10th

Level 1- grade 8RobertBaldwin‘11,7th,9thnat.AryaBekhradi‘11,9thPeterClifton‘11,3rd,5thnat.HarrisonHantel‘11,9thNathanHuynh‘11,8th,10thnat.ElinaKostyanovskaya‘11,5th,7thnat.RachelMorico‘11,10thSchuylerSher‘11,9thLaileeTaghdisi‘11,4th,6thJaimeWestendarp‘11,6th,8thnat.

Level 01 B (with an advantage) MerrickWilson‘11,4th

UPPER SCHOOLLevel I -division A - (regular)KatieCarpenter’09,3rd,5thnat.

Level I, division B (with an advantage)BenHoffman’10,9th

Level II ZahraAsharia’07,8th,9thnat. SeanDadjoo’10,9th,10thPabloHenning’10,3rd,4thnat.LuisJuarez’09,7th,8thnat.StephanieKeinz’10,10thSidharthKumar’10,3rd,4thnat.SarahMountjoy’10,2nd,3rdnat.MiaNishikawa’10,10thAmandaSinger’10,8th,9thnat. AlbertSmith’10,9th,10thnat.VivianWang’10,5th,6thnat.JulieWeil’10,8th,9thnat.

Level IIINinaBrener-Hellmund’09,5th,7thnat.SashaLevin‘08,7th,9thnat.RachelRosenthal’09,7th,9thnat.MichelleWest’09,9thRachelBodzy’09,10thKatherineVerity’08,10th

Level IV JasonAdams’08,4th,9thnat. BeauBurns’08,9th AneeshMehta’08,9th MarkSabbagh’08,10th ArunSingh’08,3rd,8thnat.

Level V DannyFriedkin‘07,10thplaceMeghanLewis‘07,8thplaceClareSchirrmeister‘07,9thplaceGeorgianaSmyser‘07,7thplace

Level V C (native speaker advantage) EdwardGautier-Winther‘07,4th, 9thnat.

lAtinThe following Kinkaid studentsearned gold and silver medalsfor their performance on the 2007NationalLatinExam.

UPPER SCHOOL Gold MedalsChristopherAlexander‘10AnuraagDas‘10

LauraIllich‘09VivianWang‘10

MIDDLE SCHOOL Gold MedalsAryaBekhradi‘11AshleyBrown‘11AaronChen‘11PeterClifton‘11BenGrotta‘11LauraLachman‘11BrianLu‘11WilliamMontgomery‘11BakerTilney‘11HaleyWalker‘11MerrickWilson‘11

UPPER SCHOOL Silver MedalsMitchellBarth‘10EmmaBirckhead‘09UjalaDhanani‘10MichaelHaapaniemi‘10PabloHenning‘10MiaNishikawa‘10MattRyan‘09AmandaSinger‘10SabrinaPopatia‘10

MIDDLE SCHOOL Silver MedalsRobertBaldwin‘11LeslyeBarth‘11NikhilBontha‘11KatyBroesche‘11JewelCrosswell‘11HeatherGoettee‘11LaurenHeyne‘11NathanHuynh‘11ElinaKostyanovskaya‘11StephenLaswell‘11HaleyLockwood‘11WilliamMattingly‘11AshwinMehta‘11HenryMentz‘11Devynn-RaeMoreno‘11JayMullen‘11JenniferOrr‘11BenPardee‘11WilliamReade‘11TaylorShingledecker‘11SamanthaSiegler‘11AllysonSoderstrom‘11JulianTruscott‘11CarolineWallace‘11LyndseyWatson‘11GlenAllenWind‘11

Student Linguists Place in Local, National Contests

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48th Science Engineering Fair of HoustonThefollowingstudentswonawardsatthe48thScienceandEngineeringFairofHoustononMarch22-24attheGeorgeR.BrownConventionCenter.

SENIOR DIVISIONMark Sabbagh ‘08:ElectronAffinities&ReductionPotentials ofAromatics;Special Award from The American Institute of Chemical Engineers

JUNIOR DIVISIONRobert Baldwin ‘11:TheFastestProgrammingLanguage; Honorable Mention SEFH Award in Computer ScienceSara Jane wallace ‘11:UltravioletLight-WhichSPFProtects Best?;Special Award from The Texas Chiropractic CollegeHaley Lockwood ‘11:BurningCalories…Literally;Special Award from The American Physical Society

Prep Bowl Teams Excel in Spring Season In March, Kinkaid sent two prep bowl teams to a tournamentatBellaireHighSchool.Bothteamsmadeittotheplayoffroundsandwoundupplayingeachotherinthefirstmatch!TheunderdogteamofNaresh Rammohan ‘07,Aneesh Mehta ‘08,Arun Singh ‘08,andAshok Yerramsetti ‘08wonandwentallthewaytothesemi-finals,finishingfourth. InApril,KinkaidagainsenttwoprepbowlteamstoatournamenthostedbySt.John’sSchool.TheAllen Pierce ‘07,J.w. Blaney ‘07,AneeshandArunteammadeitallthewaytothefinals,finishingsecond. On Memorial Day weekend, eight team members went tothe national tournament in San Antonio where the squad wonthree out of six games. The students competing were Naresh,Aneesh,Arun,Ashok,Allen,J.W.,Eddie Millard ‘07andMatthew Evans ‘08.

On May 24, Headmaster Don North hosted the School’s first luncheon to thank donors who have established scholarship endowments or donated other restricted funds for financial aid. Fifty guests assembled in the Kinkaid Theatre Lobby and heard remarks from speakers including two need-based financial aid recipients, Kinkaid Alumni Association Board President Michael Kuhn ’68 and Carvana Hicks ’95. Michael, Partner and General Counsel, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, spoke of how his Kinkaid education opened many doors in his life, and how he and his wife Lucy created an endowed scholarship to help provide other students with the special oppor-tunities he had received here. Carvana, who today is an Assistant District Attorney for Harris County, also shared some inspiring remarks. “Kinkaid helped me develop a strong work ethic and taught me the impor-tance of teamwork, diversity, goal set-ting and confidence, which I continued to use as an undergrad at DePauw University and in law school. Whether it was on the Honor Council, in the choir, band, or on the sports field, I was surrounded by dedicated faculty and staff who believed in me and encour-aged me to reach for the stars!” In providing details on the scholar-ship program, Financial Aid Coordinator

Kinkaid Thanks Scholarship Donors

Bruce Waldron emphasized that the life of the School is enhanced by the contributions of financial aid students in the classroom, in athletics and in the arts and by the friendships they develop with students and teachers throughout the school. Kinkaid trustee L.E. Simmons described the Leadership Scholars Endowment that he and his wife Ginny funded. This new program identifies students with demonstrated financial need and leadership potential as they enter the ninth grade and—with their agreement and with the support of their parents—involves them in a four-year plan of guided activities and expe-

riences to help them build the habits of successful leaders. Recipients also pledge to “give back” their time to mentor students and to provide finan-cial support so future generations of students may benefit. In thanking the donors, Headmaster North mentioned the School annually provides about $1.3 million in tuition assistance and other support to finan-cial aid recipients, about one-half of which is funded through earnings from restricted scholarship endowment. For more information on the endowed scholarship program, please contact Tom Moore, Director of Advancement, 713-243-5045.

David Goodman, Lucy and Michael ‘68 Kuhn, Carvana Hicks ‘95 and Eileen Lawal

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Kinkaid Organizes Parent Diversity Committee “Kinkaid believes that the diversity of its school community, which in the simplest terms means the ways in which people are different, enhances the school’s abil-ity to implement its mission...” Morethan90%ofKinkaid’sstudents,parents,facultyandstaffagreedwiththisstatementintheonlinesurveydealingwithschooldiversityandmulticulturalismtakenlastfall. This overwhelming affirmation on theimportanceofdiversityatKinkaidisinlinewiththeBoardofTrusteesstatementcre-atedinMay2005thatknowledgeisgainedby exposure to lots of different people,experiences,perspectivesandideas.TheBoard’sstatementassertsthat,“Thisprin-cipleisattheheartofKinkaid’smotto, luxperscientiam,lightthroughknowledge.” Overthecourseoftheyear,HeadmasterDon North,DirectorofCharacterEducationMike Pardee, and diversity coordinatorsfromeachofKinkaid’sthreedivisions(Lisa Curry from KLS, Alvin Gilmore from KMS,and Leslie Lovett from KHS) met severaltimes tostudyand interpret theextensivedatayieldedbythesurvey. Presentationsanddiscussionsaboutthesediversitysur-vey results ensued in lower, middle andupper school faculty meetings, Board ofTrustee meetings and presentations toeachofthefourgradesinhighschool. Aparentgroupalsogatheredfourtimesduring the spring to consider the wide-ranging parent responses and to identifywaystobringKinkaid’sDiversityStatementeffectivelytolife.Thiseight-personcommit-teewasconvenedbyMr.Pardee,andwillcontinuetomeetduringthe2007-08schoolyear.At thispoint, theparentcommittee’sroleremainsmoredeliberativethanexecu-tive.Itsmemberswerechoseninaneffortto include thevoicesofasmanydifferentperspectives as possible from within theKinkaidcommunity. “Our children will be living in a globaland diverse world in the 21st century,and it’s important that they have a broadunderstandingofotherculturesandideasinordertobeleadersandproductivemem-bers in their communities.” commentedRoni Atnipp,co-presidentofthe2007-2008Kinkaid Parents’ Association and a mem-beroftheparentdiversitycommittee.

When, at 6 o’clock the morning of our departure, I was stuffed like a sar-dine into the backseat of our minivan, I never could have guessed what New Orleans held in store for me. Based on all I had heard and seen of Katrina, I pictured a city ransacked and utterly ruined: a devastated, demoralized town with little or no hope of ever fully recovering. I wanted to be wrong, but I was hardly optimistic about our destination’s condition. Sadly, my mindset still hadn’t changed by the time we reached Tulane. I was pleased to see Uptown (the neighborhood surrounding Tulane) seem-ingly in such good shape, and the university virtually unaffected. But I knew the worst was yet to come. It had to be, or why else would we have made the trip? On the second day, during our tour of the French Quarter, my stance began gradually to change. I started to see a livelihood about the city, a won-derfully vivacious culture trying and beginning to revive. Continued on page 60

or their first weekend of summer vacation, twenty-two upper school

students and five faculty members volunteered to help rebuild homes for the St. Bernard Project in New Orleans May 26-2�. The St. Bernard Project is a group dedicated to rebuilding houses in St. Bernard Parish, one of the areas most devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Kinkaid’s association with the project began through Associate Director of College Counseling Robin Doran’s col-lege contacts. While she was visiting colleges in New Orleans this spring, she had the opportunity to work with

the St. Bernard Project and knew immediately that this was an experi-ence she wanted to share with her students. Robin, with the help of upper school Principal Mickey Saltman and few other faculty members, organized a fun-filled “working” trip. First the students explored the city and heard from our own upper school history teacher Leslie Lovett’s broth-er, a law professor at Tulane, about

Students Experience New Orleans’ Reconstruction

“Katrina is something we all hear about, something

everyone considers a ‘national tragedy’ and a ‘worthwhile

effort,’ but you truly do ‘gotta go there to know there.’ ”

Journal Entry from Beau Burns ’0�

F

Serena Mammen ‘08

the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; took a cemetery tour. Then they took a tour of the French Quarter, ate at great res-taurants and even got in some shopping. Afterwards, the real fun began. The stu-dents insulated an entire house, spack-led and sanded another house and hung drywall in three separate houses. They worked hard and did it all with a smile. Junior Beau Burns chronicled his expe-riences and thoughts about the trip.

BeAu Burns ‘08 new orleAns JournAl entry