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February 2013 Vol. 1

Just a Splash of Color…and Much More!by Katharine F. Maroney

O n January 30, the First and Second Grade performed The Gift of Color, an original play

by Lower School Music Teacher, Sara Bush. They performed a dress rehearsal for students during the day and “wowed” parents, siblings, grandparents and friends at the evening production. What a performance! For 45 minutes, non-stop energy was displayed with singing, dancing and smiling. Students had learned intricate choreography, some had specific lines and others dressed in costumes in addition to the color that each class represented.

The play opened with the farmer’s wife

(Mrs. Martinez who gained about 80 lbs. for the role) chopping off tails and chasing the three blind mice (Ms. Max, Mr. Zeplin and Dr. Wheeler!) until they found a teapot from which a genie emerged (Ms. T.) and granted them the gift of sight. Genie relaxed her one-wish policy with permission from her boss, Aladdin, and granted the mice the gift of sight under the condition that it was only temporary and they would have to disappear while they could see. But it was worth it. The mice learned about the “gift of color.” Primary colors were led by yellow

(Mrs. Roop’s class), blue (Mrs. Martinez’s class) and red (Mrs. Clay’s class). Then, the “mix-it up machine” was brought on stage to make complementary colors of orange

(Mrs. Coulter’s class), purple (Mrs. Tinney’s class) and green (Mrs. Ouladdaoud/Mrs. Stuebing’s class). Throughout the singing and dancing, color poems that had been written by the students were read to help the mice better understand what a color might look, taste, feel or sound like. For example, “Blue is the color of the U.S. national anthem being sung at the London Olympics.”

The Gift of Color was a rainbow in motion coupled with songs you find yourself singing days later. Congratulations First and Second Grade—both students and teachers—for a very memorable performance!

For 45 minutes, non-stop energy was displayed with singing,

dancing and smiling.

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nthusiasm for our annual Scholastic Book Fair was abundantly evident at the three-day January event. The

Lower and Middle School students’ excitement for the fair was not dampened by the change of date due to Hurricane Sandy in November. Even flu season did not keep the Tower Hill

community from visiting the 1919 Auditorium or the online fair to purchase books.

Adults and children alike enjoyed browsing the cases and tables of books. Children, especially, entered the 1919 wide-eyed with excitement to see the vast selection of books. Whether it was a picture book, chapter book, cook book, record book or paw pointer, there was something for everyone. Parent Jen Lunger’s words summed up the thoughts of many, “I always love going to the Book Fair with my kids and seeing their faces light up when they see the new books. I also love how comfortable they are at the Book Fair; they immediately grab a book, plop down and just start reading.” Jacquelyn Hamilton, Head of Lower School, was spotted smiling broadly as she leafed through her recommended book selection, Olivia and the Fairy Princesses. Many also enjoyed pressing the pages of the engaging Press Here, a top-selling title at our fair.

TOP-SELLING BOOKSLower School

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney

Press Here by Hervé TulletInside Out & Back Again by Thanhha LaiBreadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Middle SchoolStranded by Jeff ProbstI Funny a Middle School Story by James

PattersonOne for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker RhodesRaft by S.A. Bodeen

All SchoolSuperstars! One Direction by Sunny Blue

The Book Fair uniquely brings together the Lower and Middle Schools. Fourth and Fifth Graders helped to advertise the Book Fair with their handmade posters. A volunteer eighth-grade crew helped to break down the fair at its conclusion. Librarians Ellen Dolmetsch and Cinda Crane promoted the fair through the Read Aloud program and video presentations, and also organized class visits and assisted with book selections. Parents from all of the school divisions, and even grandparents, participated by volunteering and shopping. Ellen Riley, grandmother of Jack and Meghan Okoniewski, returned as a volunteer for the second year in a

2013 Book Fair Lights Up Facesby Vikki Smith and Louise Barton

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RECOMMENDED BOOKSLower SchoolMrs. Hamilton:

Olivia and the Fairy Princesses by Ian Falconer

Mrs. Dolmetsch:Wonder by R.J. PalacioPress Here by Hervé Tullet

Middle SchoolMr. Capodanno:

Million Dollar Throw by Mike LupicaOne for the Murphys by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Ms. Crane:The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert SharenowBetween Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

All SxhoolDr. Wheeler:

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Popular Sold Out Items

Wonder by R.J. PalacioHappy Birthday Hamster by Cynthia Lord

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Top Secret UV Pen

row. The Book Fair always has opportunities for everyone to get involved.

Students, parents and generous volunteers made the Book Fair a great success. Sales of books and perennial favorites such as posters and fun erasers exceeded $18,500. Even more remarkable was the generosity of Book Fair shoppers. Tower Hill families donated

a record 200 books to our classrooms and libraries through the Teachers‘ Wish List Program. In addition, donations collected in the Scholastic Book Fair’s All for Books™ boxes more than tripled this year. The spare change donations provide less fortunate children access to books. Parent Melissa Lenhard said, “It was truly heartwarming to see the enthusiasm of the children as they donated their extra pennies and dollars, knowing that they could help other children buy books.” Scholastic Book Fairs matches monetary donations raised with a donation of up to one million books to two non-profit organizations dedicated to helping children, families, and teachers acquire books and educational resources—Kids In Need Foundation and Kids in Distressed Situations, Inc.

It is obvious that Tower Hill kids love

books. Whether donating their change for others to buy books or purchasing their own with a roll of quarters or the contents of their piggy banks, the children were thrilled about Book Fair. As he was leaving the Book Fair with his purchases, third-grader Jake Pena exclaimed, “Book Fair and Flower Market are my two favorite things!” Fortunately, Flower Market is just around the corner.

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uthor Joseph Campbell’s life-changing mantra, “Follow your bliss,” served as inspiration

for a three-week unit co-taught by Trina Tsjersland, Judith Kennedy and myself, all self-proclaimed Tower Hill “Goddesses of Bliss.” Campbell’s life work on mythology and the hero’s journey resonates with 6th graders mythical quests for life purpose and meaning. For them, there are no limitations and all things are possible. What an incredible age to mentor and teach!

Every January, 6th grade reading classes think they are going to make puppets. They do make puppets…but they also learn to negotiate, write mythology and learn acting skills. Puppets are just the way into learning.

Inspired writing is the key to the success of this project. Following a “read to write” approach to learning, students read traditional Greek mythology utilizing Bernard Evslin’s text Gods, Goddesses, Heroes and Monsters of the Greek Myths as a starting point. Inspired by the classics, students then write amazing original myths about their invented gods and goddesses. Specific writing exercises and thoughtful advice help the young writers craft innovative, creative and detailed myths,

replete with spirited dialogue. Humor is usually a key component in the writing since gods and goddesses, while divine, can be quirky, feisty and even silly. These puppets become an extension of each child’s creativity and personality.

The hidden gem of the unit is the negotiation process through which we delicately guide the 6th graders. Bringing their individual gods and myths to the table, groups of three or four students work together to create a new group god or goddess. They decide who will to write each type of myth (creation, transformation, quest and nature). Learning the delicate art of negotiation can take a whole lifetime and can be a tricky process. We always walk away impressed with how many 6th graders can work together so fluidly.

Making the puppets is an integral and exciting part of the project. This happens down in the Ms. T’s rehearsal room, where groups assemble their puppets using Styrofoam

by Diane Smith, Middle School Reading Teacher

Gods and Goddesses, Personal Mythology and Puppetry in the Sixth Grade Reading Class

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ere is a snippet from the life of Comicous, god of comedy, the student-created mythology of Ryan VanVechten, Brian Brown, Trevor Koenig, and Jake Spruance. In this myth, written by Jake Spruance, Comicous learns an important lesson in self-restraint from Hades, god of the Underworld.

balls, dowels, pipe cleaners, feathers, hair, googly eyes, pom-poms, beautiful fabric and everything except the kitchen sink. Each puppet’s body consists of a beautiful long gown, which aids their fluid movement because they are action figures! As a group, students decide who moves the puppet, and who narrates each beautiful myth. They make joint decisions on how the puppet moves, how to incorporate spirited dialogue into the myth and what props are essential for the best telling of each story.

In this ever-evolving project, students then perform condensed snippets for a nighttime

performance for parents in the 1919 Auditorium. On that special evening Tower Hill School and Mt. Olympus unite, and all puppets are joyously inducted into the elite society of gods and goddesses residing on Mt. Olympus.

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One bright and sunny morning on Mt. Olympus, Comicous, cheerful as always, looked down on the mortals to see how they were faring when he noticed that his red polka-dotted clown shoe was missing. This was troubling as he realized that a missing shoe lessened his godly power.

“Huh,” he mumbled, “I could swear I put my shoe on this morning.”

He rummaged through all of his junk in his chest, from clown horns to clown cars, but still couldn’t find his shoe. He decided to take a short brisk walk around Olympus to look for his shoe. He walked up to Hermes, who was dressed in his golden winged sneakers and toga.

“Hey, Hermes,” Comicous quirkily exclaimed, “Have you seen my shoe anywhere? The shoe is black, white, red, white, black all over. Do you also know what else is? Two zebras fighting over a tomato! Ha, ha, ha, ha! Well, umm, did you see it?”

“Yes, I think I did,” said Hermes, “it was in Cerberus’s mouth when I

went to check on Persephone. By the way, Comicous, being funny all the time doesn’t really help you out. Take my advice and try to be serious sometimes.”

Comicous thought about this then replied, “Well, laughter is the best medicine. Did you hear the joke about a fly without wings? Wait, it wasn’t a fly; it was a walk! Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, nyuk!”

“Ugh,” moaned Hermes, “just go get your shoe.”

“Thanks for the info,” Comicous giddily yelped.

With that Comicous trudged along a dirt path until he came to the Underworld. He intended to get in and out and not deal with Hades. Unfortunately, Hades was expecting him. Comicous looked up to see him, a tall hooded figure in black robes.

“Hello Comicous... missing a shoe I see? Cerberus found it but he hated it. This three-headed dog is super slobbery these days so I hope you can deal with its condition. Luckily, it turns out that your shoe is turnip flavored, and Cerberus only eats meat like YOU!” threatened Hades.

With that remark, Comicous started to back away when he heard a loud growl behind him.

“All I ask is that you to be serious for once in your life. Sit here for a minute without doing anything funny. Remember Cerberus is very hungry, he hasn’t eaten in about a decade,” sneered Hades.

Comicous sat very still, and although it was uncomfortable he refrained from cracking any jokes. He accomplished this task after he remembered Hermes giving him the same advice earlier that day about being serious. Hades retrieved his shoe, and once Comicus had it safely back on his foot his powers were fully restored. Consequently, there was also a little bit more happiness in the world that day. Comicous walked back to Mt. Olympus feeling stronger than ever but, crisis averted, he had one last joke to share.

“What do you call a shoe made from a banana? A slipper! Har, har, har, har, har, GOOD NIGHT AMERICA!”

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The Green & White Club hosted its 2nd annual Casino Night on January 26. The game tables were lively, the food was fabulous and the prizes were impressive. Over 110 people from our Tower Hill community played cards and rolled dice throughout the evening, helping raise over $12,000 to support the school’s athletics program. The funds raised from the event are largely going to be spent on the historical athletic photo project that Green & White took on last year. You can see the progress of the photo project as you walk through the tunnel.

Kelly Gates, who proclaimed she never wins anything, won steadily at the craps table and also went home with a door prize. In fact, many people did not leave empty-handed. The door prize table was loaded with wonderful things, including goodie baskets, wine, beer, gift cards and portable electronics. Capers and Lemons was a huge supporter, donating the food for the event and playing a significant role in the bottom line success. The game tables also had sponsors, which helped offset the price of the dealers and table set-up. The dealers were great at helping new players learn the various games. If you couldn’t attend this year, you should definitely join the fun next year. There will be a twist added to keep the event fresh.

The Green & White Club is an organization of parents of former and current students, teachers and coaches, students, and alumni supporting athletics at Tower Hill. The organization’s mission: To support and enhance athletic experiences for Tower Hill students by generating spirit, raising funds, providing services and sponsoring activities that require resources beyond the financial and professional means of the school. The Green & White Club is dedicated to the belief that competitive athletics makes for a healthy and integral part of a balanced education. If you are not already a member of the Green & White Club, please consider joining. Dues are $40 per year and are tax deductible.

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Casino Night: You Bet it Was a Blastby Kelly Gates

t is hard to believe, but we have made it through half of the school year and as the weather has been particularly harsh recently,

I’m sure everyone is looking forward to spring! The Home & School Association and our many volunteers have been hard at work this year. We hope you have all been able to become familiar with Home & School either by participating as a volunteer or simply by enjoying our flowers, baked goods, gently used clothing or by getting a head start on your summer by visiting the Camp Fair. Hopefully Home & School has had a positive impact on your year.

As you know, the role of Home & School is to help bring our school community together by building and strengthening our relationships with the school and each other as well as helping to enrich our children’s experience at Tower Hill. One way we aid in this enrichment is by raising funds, which are then donated to the school for various items/improvements including Smartboards, musical instruments and furniture as well as a contribution to the new Math and Science Center. I thought it would be helpful at this point to share with you how successful our fundraising committees, in particular, have been this year and last.

To recap, last year Home & School was able to contribute a total of $43,700!So far this year, the following amounts have been raised by the Committees below:

Bake Sales: $ 1,332Book Fair: $ 4,611Flower Sale: $ 1,630Camp Fair: $15,351Clothing Sale: $11,642 (approximate as of 1/14/13)Total $34,566

As you can see, the time and commitment generously given by our Home & School volunteers has made for a very successful year, and we’re not done yet! We hope to once again be able to contribute a substantial amount for the 2012-13 school year.

By way of thanking everyone who has given of their time, we will once again be co-hosting with Dr. Wheeler a volunteer appreciation luncheon at the Hayward House. This year’s luncheon will be held on Thursday, May 16 at 12:00 p.m. All volunteers will receive an invitation, and we hope you will be able to join us. Last year we were able to enjoy a delicious lunch on a perfect spring day at Dr. Wheeler’s home. If you have volunteered for a particular committee and did not sign up through our main volunteer registration system, please do so by visiting the Home & School page of TowerNet (found under the heading “Inside Tower Hill”). We want to ensure that we have an accurate listing of all volunteers. We do have a few more Home & School events coming up. If you are interested in volunteering, we’d love to have you!

Spring Bake Sale – 4/12Teacher & Staff Appreciation – 5/6 – 5/10Clothing Sale – every Thursday while school is in session from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Thank you for your support!

Mid-Year Home & School Updateby Charlotte Shegog, President, Home & School Association

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ooking for a summer camp for the kids? You still have about 120 days to nail down the details. If you

need some ideas, take a look at Tower Hill School’s Camp Fair website (www.towerhill.org/campfair). Listed there are over 100 camps that exhibited at Tower Hill in the Carpenter Field House on January 31. At the 20th Annual Camp Fair were camps of all shapes and sizes: girls, boys, co-ed, academic, arts, community service, sports, travel and traditional. There were camps ranging from worldly programs like Sail the Caribbean and Global Works (travel to Fiji or Africa!) to neighborhood day camps like those at the Brandywine Zoo and the Delaware Art Museum. And of course, our very own Summer at Tower Hill program was there to remind us of all the great reasons to be right here at Tower Hill all year round. While the Camp Fair is in its 20th year, there were many new camps this year.

An army of Camp Fair volunteers, led by returning chair Jennifer Miller, set-up tables, blew up balloons, covered tables, unloaded and guided vendors to their designated tables and provided them with lavish (and donated!) food. Once the fair began, more volunteers greeted and assisted visitors, while even more (ably assisted by some enthusiastic middle school

Camp Fair 2013

by Julie Saunders

girls) painted the faces of young fair-goers. Other volunteers ran the largest-ever fair raffle with prizes generously donated by Summer at Tower Hill, Two Sisters boutique and the Delaware Running Company. Thanks to Tower Hill families, the fair was also able to include in the raffle a backpack stuffed with camp gear and tickets to a Flyers game.

The atmosphere was festive. There were balloons. There were kids. There were giveaways: balls, Frisbees, whistles, candy, pens, pencils and rubber bracelets. The junior class sold a variety of foods from the concession stand to raise money for prom. By all accounts it was a fun afternoon and evening.

This event could not have succeeded without the handful of volunteers who

started planning the event a year ago, the committee of a dozen parents who began meeting in September and worked tirelessly to ramp up new camp recruiting efforts and modernize advertising efforts, and the 50

parent volunteers who showed up starting at 7:45 a.m. on the day of the fair and didn’t leave until the Field House was cleaned. As always, Tower Hill’s maintenance staff played a key part in the set up, parking, unloading and reloading of vendors’ vehicles, security and clean up of the Fair.

And, while Camp Fair is fun to attend and a useful source of information for Tower Hill parents and others in the community, at bottom, it is a powerful Homes & School fundraiser, and despite facing ever-increasing competition from the Internet, the Camp Fair again turned an impressive profit, raising well over $15,000 for the school.

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by Jane Boarman, Fourth Grade Teacher

Town Meeting’s New Heightsour times each school year, Lower School students from Pre-K to Fourth Grade gather on a Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. to enjoy a long standing tradition of

celebrating student work, the Town Meeting. Work to be celebrated at Town Meetings is created by Second, Third or Fourth graders. First graders often strut their stuff in class or grade-wide presentations that showcase what they are studying. Students not only exhibit work they’ve done in school such as writing and art projects, but also work engaged in outside of school. We have seen world premier songs, traditional Chinese and Indian dances, and on February 1, our first ever fashion show.

Trina Tjersland and Darla Max of the Drama Department contribute their talent and skill to the show by creating a dramatic presentation inspired by student authored poetry and stories. We’ve seen skits, dramatic readings, impersonations, raps and presentations that defy classification. It is always a highlight of the show, and on February 1, the fourth-grade actors wowed us with their interpretation of second grader Elizabeth Boruff’s poem, Stress.

Town Meeting wouldn’t be complete without the third- and fourth-grade dance group. Ideas for the dances often come from the student artwork displayed in the hallways. Christine Gilbert, a Tower Hill parent and dance enthusiast, has been choreographing the Town Meeting dances for three years and never fails to deliver an entertaining act. For the February 1 Town Meeting, we enjoyed a Calypso number and even learned a little Spanish from the song lyrics, “la vida es buena” —life is good. Photos of guitar art created last year by current Second Graders inspired the dance number and were on display overhead while the dancers stepped, whirled and leaped.

There is never a shortage of great writing and art to present at Town Meetings, and this month we celebrated three promising authors and a budding fashion designer. First, we were entertained by second grader Charlotte Langlois’ book, complete with illustrations, entitled My Fish Mary. Later we were warmed by third grader Morgan Tinney’s sensational poem Hot Cocoa. Our third celebrated writer was third grader Campbell Zehner who wrote her own version of a scene from the book The Twits by Roald Dahl. Fourth grader, Olivia Schwandt, is clearly applying her creativity and sewing lessons to her clothing designs. Three fourth-grade models presented fabric outfits sewn by Olivia, while three others walked the runway in her vibrant tissue paper dresses.

Often guest performers are invited to demonstrate their talents for the Lower School audience and this past Town Meeting was no exception. Senior Alex Churchwell and 7th grader Annie Abramczyk treated us to a preview of the spring all-school play, Seussical. Alex, who plays the Cat in the Hat, and Annie, who plays JoJo the Who, sang the song “It’s Possible” to the delight of the audience.

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Editor: Starr Cummin BrightThe Focus’ mission is to highlight the ef-forts of the Tower Hill Home and School and to report on other Tower Hill events of interest to the entire school communi-ty. Submissions and suggestions are always welcome.

Editor: Starr Cummin BrightEditorial Board: Louise Barton, Jane Boarman, Kelly Gates, Katherine F. Maroney, Julie Saunders, Nancy Schuckert, Charlotte Shegog, Diane Smith, Vikki Smith, Valeri Stanton

n February 8 and 9, seven Tower Hill School faculty members and two student directors put

on the production of Three Tables, a one act play by David Remmes. Seniors Jody Lanza-Gregory and Victoria Longo are the first Tower Hill students to ever direct a play on their own for the Tower Hill community. Much of the impetus for this production started with Jody, who was considering early entry into college this year and decided instead to further explore her talents within Tower Hill School with Victoria: to be totally responsible for the production of a Tower Hill play.

After reading through a stack of short play scripts in Ms. Tjersland’s office, Jody and Victoria chose Three Tables as being a one-act play, feasible to produce within their other school commitments. With approval from Ms. Tjersland and Ms. Max signing on as their mentor and ultimate producer, the two decided to direct this as the 2013 faculty play. They asked teachers and staff with whom they had worked when they were stage managers last year and signed up ninth grader Blair Isken as the stage manager.

To approach directing the faculty to get into their parts, Jody and Victoria asked each actor to think about their character, pick a trait or a movement and exaggerate it while keeping it throughout their scenes. Victoria cited an example, “Mr. Kaiser (Todd) is nervous, so he jiggled his leg for every scene. It helped him see how his character felt, though he didn’t need to keep that behavior in the final performance.” As Ms. Max says, “The script provides the skeleton of the character, the actor provides the flesh. It is helpful for an actor to invest in his or her character in an unscripted way.”

The rehearsals started with one couple at a time, with the co-directors taking notes as they watched and listened to the actors. At the end of the brief scene, they would point out what they liked, what worked well and ways in which the scene could be improved. When the directors had an idea for a new approach, the actors would try it, and Jody and Victoria could decide which version

worked better.Asked about the challenges of taking on

all the varied aspects of the production, the Victoria replied, “Certain production aspects such as lights and sound and set design were familiar territory to us from previous years. Other production aspects were new. With no stage crew props needed to be kept at a minimum.” Jody pointed out, “We had to consider costumes - more than simply the actors’ choice of dinner clothes. And the food—what can an actress eat while holding a conversation?” They also needed to provide the food and the other props as well as address marketing the play around the school and in publications. Learning the aspects of production and all the decisions made as directors gave the two seniors an amazingly rich education.

And the performance? Three Tables was about three couples seated at three tables in a restaurant in various stages of their relationships: Todd and Doris on a blind date, Paul and Mandy celebrating their anniversary, Michael and Barbara signing divorce papers. The spot light (run by Technical Director Mr. Matthew Kator) shifted from one couple to another for short scenes, coming in and out of ongoing conversations while a waitress moved between the tables.

Although the scene was set at the beginning to give the audience a ground for expectation, the conversations at the tables went in unexpected directions. The blind date couple, attorney Doris (Ms. Rachel Marlowe) and psychotherapist Todd (Mr. Patrick Kaiser) first explored whether meeting on LoveLorn.com and going for a date is really a blind date, and then spent time discovering each other’s past loves and current likes. The anniversary couple, Paul (Mr. Will Thayer) and Mandy (Ms. Kara Showalter), already had a basis for interaction from a five-year marriage, which clearly had created unmet expectations and issues of lack of trust and betrayal. The divorcing couple, Michael (Mr. Elliot Mitchell) and Barbara (Dr. Amy Cuddy), showed a similar familiarity, but with the ability to talk and laugh despite their issues, acknowledging the

effort it takes to maintain a healthy marriage. The scene was tied together by the waitress (Erin McArthur) moving from table to table and the diners’ awareness of the people at the next table (which also reflected on the state of their relationships). Each actor invested in his or her character’s relationship to bring out both the drama and the comedy in this short play. One minute had the audience laughing and another they recognized the pain of betrayal.

The combination of the choice of a light dramatic comedy, good directing and production by Jody and Victoria and the actors’ comfortable use of humor and intonations made this performance a delightful success. Congratulations!

1 Act + 2 Students Directors + 3 Tables + 7 Faculty Actors = Success! by Starr Cummin Bright

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