Onward an MCDS MAGAZINE Winter/Spring 2017 p. 8 Character Education at MCDS p. 16 Celebrating 20 Years Head’s Letter 2 The Buzz 3 MCDS Moments 4 In Focus 6 Teamwork & Triumph 18 Character & Community 20 Sustain & Thrive 22 Alumni Pages 25 Features Character Education Is the Heart of MCDS 8 Celebrating 20 Years 16 Ben Hebebrand Head of School Onward Contributors Dana Asmuth Director of Advancement Holly Bobula Graphic Designer Courtney Comer Parent Volunteer Kimberly Hazen Admissions Specialist Emma Henke Parent Volunteer Beatrice Jones School Secretary Rebecca Shepley Parent Volunteer Kristi Thom Contributing Writer Jamie Wojcik Development Office Manager Onward Photographers Bonnie Manley Event Logistics Assistant Maheen Ott Kindergarten Teacher Board of Trustees Erick Hallick, BS Chair Jim Gallegos, JD Vice-Chair Guy Comer, BA Secretary Lynn Kaminski, CPA, BBA Treasurer Kathy Baus, MD Bruce Bosben, BBA Sandra Fernandez, EdD Mark Louden, PhD Robert Rusch, CFA, CPA John Schaffer, PhD Jerry VanKirk, MDiv, ThM Sheila Young, BA Ben Hebebrand, MA, ex-officio Honorary Trustees Erica Christman, MHA Terry Haller, MA Eric McLeod, JD Bassam Shakahshiri, PhD Beverly Simone, EdD Advising Trustee Julian Pozniak ’10, BA, MCDS Alumni President Emily ’28 and Matthew ’28 enjoy the Lego Wall in the Tinkerspace inside the new Prairie Hawk Center. The mission of Madison Country Day School Front cover: Ninth graders enjoy taking Kindergarteners is to provide an intellectually stimulating, personally enriching, and academically challenging program in the liberal arts and sciences to an able and diverse student on a wonder walk in the MCDS prairie. body; measure the curriculum and student achievement against the finest programs in the world; and contribute to the larger community by developing effective educational programs to serve as models for other private and public schools. 5,590 23 letters books were written by tenth graders are in the new to “Letters to the Next President,” a Prairie Hawk Center’s National Writing Project opportunity. Lower School Library. Mr. Hebebrand joins Grade 4 and Pre-K Big Buddy/ $6 million Little Buddy time in the new Prairie Hawk Center. raised to date in the Spreading Our Wings campaign The only $700,000 more needed to Buzz Letter from the Head of School reach our goal Our cover story in this edition of Onward sheds light on our school’s efforts in helping students develop character. First, I believe the most important principle underlying character education is to value the individuality of each child. Understanding and respecting our mutual differences is qualified for WSMA State the foundation of character education. Mutual respect and understanding has long been a mantra Honors ensembles 29 of mine. students middle school At Madison Country Day School, we invest time and effort in illuminating ten different character performed in Wisconsin School Music Association traits, all of which underscore this notion of mutual respect and understanding. These ten character Honors ensembles. participated in traits—being inquisitive, knowledgeable, open-minded, principled, thoughtful, balanced, caring, 7 students communicative, reflective, and being a risk-taker—are universal traits, traits that have been talked The Art of Writing Conference about and written about throughout history and across the world. MS Honors HS Honors at the Milwaukee Art Museum. ETHAN ’20 SOPHIA ’18 The word character traces its roots back to the Greek kharaktēr, meaning a “stamping tool.” The ADAM ’20 SOPHIE ’18 word today has many meanings, but generally we define character as a person’s mental and ALEXANDRA ’21 moral qualities. I am particularly fascinated by this intersection of thinking (mental) and sensing PETRA ’21 (moral), because a child who both thinks and senses has a truly engaged mind. Emerging research ANNE SOPHIE ’21 indicates that it is often our character that defines success—both in the classroom and beyond the many years we spend in schools. So, please enjoy the article on our character education efforts as well as the many other chickens wonderful stories and photographs in this issue of Onward. hatched with the 3 HS Ecology Elective. Benjamin Hebebrand Head of School participants420 hit the trail in this year’s Rocky’s Fun Run! 2 3 MCDS Moments 1 Annual Grandparents Day 2 Grade 5 science 3 Bollywood Dance Club performs at assembly 4 Class of 2017 leads superhero philanthropy campaign 5 Grade 3 art 6 Lower school sledding at recess 7 School spirit shines at homecoming pep rally 2 8 Grade 11 Extended Essay discussion 1 3 5 6 7 8 4 5 Group 4 Project: Exploration and Collaboration at an Advanced Level One unique aspect of the IB science program is the Group 4 Project, which partners students from biology and chemistry in small groups to study a common topic In Focus or problem. This year, students studied the health of the prairie and pond on campus. Members of each with High School Science group developed the concept they wanted to study, Ninth grade students in collected data, and analyzed their results. the new chemistry lab Teachers emphasized process over product in the Group 4 Project to help students learn that live, outdoor experiments often encounter unexpected variables. They also wanted to demonstrate that collaboration of laboratory equipment each day to make room for the to communicate and work with scientists from many fields takes active work by all participants. Expanding Opportunities, variety of courses that were sharing one lab,” remarks and areas around the world.” IB science teacher Michelle Kramer. “The new addition Expanding Minds Reflecting this shift, the MCDS science faculty redesigned allowed the creation of a second lab that was outfitted the freshman and sophomore science courses to give At the start of the 2015-2016 school year, seven bold specifically with chemistry in mind.” MCDS juniors immersed themselves in a new experiment: students a more rounded, integrated introduction. The they elected to complete two IB science courses Sophomore Bethany appreciates the new lab space new, two-year course combines biology, chemistry, simultaneously as the school offered both IB Biology and because, she notes, “We get to spend more time doing and physics. The course teaches the main concepts of IB Chemistry for the first time. The students chose this science.” Additionally, a pass-through fume hood, sinks each discipline using the areas in which they overlap to route not just because they enjoy science. They craved at every station, and moveable lab tables broaden the strengthen the students’ understanding of the nature of the challenge the double course load presents. number and types of labs that students can perform. science. Says Amanda Webb, who leads the new course, “Teaching the three sciences together allows us to present Those original seven students—now seniors in their For many, the decision to study both chemistry and real world concepts that feel more relevant and tangible second year of two IB science courses—appreciate biology tied into their goals for a future in a science to students.” related field. “Taking two science classes has really how the experience and knowledge they have gained allowed me to explore my interest in science,” explains applies to their other classes and their lives outside Instead of memorizing abstract chemical reactions in Tessa ’17. “Now I think about sciences in a more of school. Crystal ’17 has found great value in her chemistry and then learning about photosynthesis in interconnected way, furthering my knowledge even science study. “The combination of IB Chemistry and biology, for example, students study chemical reactions beyond the two classes.” IB Biology allowed me to approach science with an by looking in depth at photosynthesis. Similarly, students interdisciplinary mindset,” she says. Crystal also took investigating the physics of mechanical advantage, MCDS High School’s quick growth spurred this part in the Advanced Science Research internship force, and levers will learn how these concepts apply innovation in the science department. Recognizing program. Through her internship, she applied her biology to the human body through muscles and joints. In students’ varying interests and the school’s strong skills to the laboratory study and analysis of cancer cells, this way, students have the opportunity to make commitment to developing critical and creative problem and she used her knowledge of chemistry and advanced concrete connections. solvers, the department expanded its offerings to include analytical techniques to answer questions about mass In turn, high school students can approach their choice to IB Chemistry as well as IB Biology. In addition, the faculty spectrophotometry. instituted the Advanced Science Research internship take one or two IB science courses their junior year with program to give students an opportunity to collaborate a clear understanding of each science’s concepts and Integrated Science Makes the skills needed to succeed in any IB Science course. Students working on beyond the traditional classroom. their Group 4 project Concepts Connect Mr. Eaton best sums up the benefits of the developments: The school’s newly enlarged and enhanced lab space— “As a growing high school, we’re excited to be able to created as part of last summer’s construction—also gives In our scientific-minded world, it is not always useful to expand our offerings. The new integrated nature of the students more room to explore, inquire, and investigate. separate scientific subjects into what Ms. Kramer calls freshman/sophomore courses, changes in the Group 4 “Before the new Academic Center addition, our science “isolated boxes of biology, chemistry, and physics.” Project, Advanced Science Research, and more create an curriculum required countless set-ups and take-downs Instead, she explains, “Scientists today use technology exciting, engaging program of study for our students.” Exciting news: Plans are in place to launch IB Physics in the 2018-2019 school year.