Modeling a Commitment to Lifelong Learning

Our new dance teacher Ms. Alias traveled to Colorado and rehearsed and performed with Chadash Contemporary Dance Movement in Denver. Professional dancers and artists from all over the country came together to produce the piece entitled A Life's Song choreographed by Kelly Archer. Ms. Alias also taught Modern Dance at Northern California Dance Conservatory's Summer Intensive.

Michael Anderson:
Michael completed his studies and earned a Virginia teaching license this summer and now has begun the process of seeking the same in California, having relocated here.

James Bailey:
Over the summer Mr. James Bailey opened a new theatre in Los Angeles, taught master classes at a world improvisation convention in Indianapolis, directed two weeks of theatre summer camps, and directed and re-opened Chickspeare, which heads to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland on September 23.

Robert Bailey:
This summer Mr. Bailey traveled to Monterey, CA to provide instruction and training to Catholic school leaders from around the country on the topics of strategic planning, organizational models, and the viability of Catholic schools in our highly competitive markets.

Marisa Bartalotti:
Ms. Bartalotti took an online course in Positive Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this summer. She did this to enhance her teaching of psychology, as the course tends to be more about the negative and the abnormal than the positive and the practical for life.

Chris Berghout:
Mr. Berghout attended a summer conference at Santa Clara University on the encyclical letter Laudato Si (“Praised Be”) by Pope Francis. It is the most comprehensive Vatican document to date on environmentalism, ethics, and Christian faith. The document is intended for all people, not Catholics or Christians alone. He hopes to weave this new content into the curriculum of his courses throughout the year.

Megan Cadigan:
In addition to preparing for her role in the Justin-Siena Engeineering Department and the Project Lead the Way curriculum, Ms. Cadigan traveled to the southwest for a two-week training for the Principles of Engineering course she is teaching this year at New Mexico State University.

Stan Cordero:
Mr. Cordero was readmitted to the Doctorate of Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership program at Creighton University. He continues his coursework, beginning this week, and will travel to the Creighton University campus for the residency requirement in October.

Jim Day ’72:
In addition to accompanying Ms. Xiaozhen Li and a group of students on a trip to China, Mr. Day and also traveled to Peru this summer. He visited several important archeological sites from which he now has photos and information that he will directly incorporate into his world history class.

Berenice Garvan:
Ms. Garvan began a Masters of Arts in Language and Culture at Salamanca University, Spain. This summer she spent six weeks in Spain, attending classes and sitting for exams in Spanish Linguistics, Language, History, Literature, Cinema, and Culture. She also began doing the research for her thesis, which will be submitted this academic year. Ms. Garvan also attended the World Languages' Congress, which focused on the topic of technology this year.

Heidi Harrison:
Over the last several months and in addition to working on her doctoral dissertation, Ms. Harrison completed the online Harvard course, "Introduction to Data Wise: A Collaborative Process to Improve Learning & Teaching" to learn about ways teachers can analyze student assessment data and use the information to improve instruction.

Mary Pat Hepp:
Ms. Hepp participated in the weeklong Think Evolution Summer Institute at the UC Berkeley Museum of Paleontology at the end of July. This is, of course, a key topic for her biology classes.

Alex Hesser:
Mr. Hesser was a Reader for the AP U.S. History exam this summer. He also took part in a weeklong workshop sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the UC Davis History Project. The workshop was on the Transcontinental Railroad and it combined lectures from prominent historians with trips to sites of historical interest (Old Sacramento, Donner Summit, and Stanford University). History teachers from all over the country attended, and it was very informative and useful. He plans on utilizing a number of classroom strategies introduced at the workshop, but mainly he hopes to improve students’ understanding of local California history and how it affected the entire nation.

The AP Reading gave him valuable insight into the level of writing and content knowledge that is expected of AP-level students which he is going to use to show his students what the expectation is, and then ask them to aim higher.

 

Andy Hodges:
Mr. Hodges neared completion of his doctoral dissertation through Creighton University. His research is entitled "Revitalizing the mission of Catholic elementary schools through disruptive innovation and a blended learning network." Mr. Hodges hopes to defend his dissertation and earn the Doctor of Education in Leadership degree this November.

Jaime Hodgkin:
This summer Ms. Hodgkin attended a short story workshop for which she submitted a 12-page story in preparation for publication. The story was reviewed by novelist and Flannery O'Connor Prize winning author, Molly Giles. She plans to apply the skills she learned in the course she is currently teaching, Contemporary Literature: Short Stories.

Monica Jacobson:
Ms. Jacobson was one of twenty-two educators from across the country chosen by National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS) to score more than 3,000 artifacts from 250 students from schools nationwide, the team convened in Reston, Virginia to further refine and inform their findings of the Model Cornerstone Assessments (MCA) for the National Core Arts Standards. Educators were chosen based on the strength of their application, credentials, and experience in one or more of the five arts disciplines.

Monica said of her time with the group, “The experience this summer as a practicing educator assessing MCA’s for the NCCAS, gave me a unique professional development opportunity. I saw the application of standards as interpreted by art educators throughout the country. It confirmed that the application of backward planning and understanding by design strategies, we use at Justin-Siena. It is indeed an effective method of curriculum planning. Essential questions that evoke in-depth exploration of an idea and develop authentic student driven expression promotes sustained student engagement and develops important skills in all four of the artistic practices, creating, presenting/producing, responding and connecting. It was a pleasure to work with an esteemed group of educators from around the country and under the facilitation of Dr. F. Robert Sobel, Professor of Art Education at Perdue University and former president of The National Art Educators Association.”

Rick Landry:
Mr. Landry spent time in front of a monitor and is now a Google Certified Educator. Rick went through the all the modules in preparation for the exam. His motivation for all the time spent is that Google tools and apps have become so powerful and intuitive, and they'll be more of a use with our students as they move to higher education after JSHS. Rick says he is already working with them in the department and doing some peer tutoring, and even using them in Advisory to model for the kids.

Brandon LaRocco ’98:
This summer Mr. LaRocco spent a week on the Stanford University campus at the AP Silicon Valley Institute preparing for our new AP Economics courses he is teaching this year.

Xiaozhen Li:
Six Mandarin students, along with Mr. Jim Day ’72 and Ms. Li traveled to China for a highly educational trip. Enjoy a VIDEO of the trip. During their time in China the students spent time at a Chinese high school and stayed three nights in the homes of their student pen-pals. From all reports this was an extraordinary education experience organized with great energy and precision by Ms. Xiaozhen Li who looks to broaden the Mandarin program.

Thom McDermott:
Just after school ended for the summer Mr. McDermott headed straight to Kansas City, Missouri where he served his second stint as an AP Reader. His job, along with approximately 2,500 others, was to read student responses to one of the three essays that make up 55% of the test. More than 574,000 students took the AP Language exam, each of them writing three essays in the two hours allowed for this part of the test.

Though an exhausting process overall in which he reports to have personally read approximately one thousand essays over an eight day period, both the job and the experience are invaluable when it comes to sharpening our approach to teaching this important course.

Louis Pierotti ’72:
Mr. Pierotti traveled to Stratford, Ontario and attended the Stratford Shakespeare Festival where he researched and studied six stage productions. He looks forward to incorporating what he experienced in his classes this year.

Eric Sweigert ’08:
This August Mr. Sweigert was awarded a single-subject teaching credential from the California Commission of Teacher Credentialing. He began his program at Saint Mary’s College two years ago as a Lasallian Fellow. Somewhere between the coursework, the long hours of commute, and his classroom experience his passion for teaching grew and he began to realize how large and nuanced education is and the responsibility facing educators as teachers, leaders, and life-long learners.

We look forward to seeing how all these new thoughts and ideas manifest themselves in class this year and are grateful that these educators call Justin-Siena home.