SNAAP Banquet Celebrates Students, Families

The Seven Hills Network of African American Parents (SNAAP) hosted its 2021 Recognition Banquet on June 5. The banquet celebrates the students moving from fifth to sixth grade, eighth to ninth, and this year’s Upper School graduates. SNAAP committee member Cindy Jones served as the afternoon’s mistress of ceremonies. Jones opened the ceremony with a moment of silence and in memoriam for Seven Hills parents and SNAAP members Tasha Porter and Tysha Wilder. The afternoon then segued into a musical performance from Preston Bell Charles III, a welcome from SNAAP member Yoti Walker, and a musical selection from rising eighth-grader Vivian Brown. Ken Best gave the invocation before lunch, which was followed by opening remarks from Head of School Chris Garten. “Thank you all for the support you have given to our children,” Garten said. “We really are proud of the resilience and courage you’ve shown (this year).” Garten also spoke about Seven Hills’ in-depth examination of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and the energy from faculty and staff surrounding the curriculum. He said he has a “sense of hope about our school community.” Following Garten’s remarks, SNAAP co-chair Kimberly Jackson presented the Tasha K. Porter Leadership Award to the Upper School’s African American Awareness Club for its achievements during the 2020-21 school year. The event’s keynote speaker, Dr. Chris Lewis, vice provost for Academic Programs at the University of Cincinnati, professor of family medicine at UC, and physician at UC Health, shared words of wisdom with students and attendees. He told students not to think about what they wanted to be when they grow up, but who they want to be. Inspired by the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis said, “What are you doing for others?” SNAAP co-chair Tonya Best then presented the rising students, including Class of 2021 graduates Summer Jones, Savoy Lackey, and Riyah Vaughn; rising ninth-graders Devyn Best, Sydney Best, Evie Ferguson, Mason Griffin, Erin Jackson, Saxon Lackey, Arman Merchant, and Devan Willis; and rising sixth-graders Briana Morris and Karringtyn Wilder. The ceremony closed with words from Head of Upper School Matt Bolton, graduate reflections from Jones and Lackey, and closing remarks from Best and Jackson.

Click here to see more photos from the event.

Faculty and Staff Bid Farewell to Retiring Educators

At the faculty and staff closing meeting, Seven Hills honored two retiring educators who have more than 60 years of experience between them. World Languages Department Chair and Upper School French teacher Ann Griep leaves Seven Hills School after 21 years, and was met on stage at the Schiff Center with flowers and accolades from her colleagues. Middle and Upper French and Spenish teacher Jacky Kalubi paid tribute to Griep by sharing memories of trips they chaperoned, funny things students have shared with them, and two decades of collaborating. “You always treated us with professionalism, but you’ve also been a beloved friend and mentor,” said Middle and Upper School Latin and history teacher Katie Swinford. Upper Spanish teacher Teresa Macho Bardon presented Griep with flowers and parting words of gratitude and excitement for Griep’s coming coastal move.

Head of Lotspeich Carolyn Fox spent her 40-year-career at Seven Hills as a teacher and counselor, and then for 19 years was the Head of Lotspeich. Lotspeich second-grade teacher Danielle Necessary said, “When you speak to Carolyn, she somehow communicates that you are her only priority.” Lotspeich Director of Early Childhood Kara Meador added how well liked and respected Fox is among both students and faculty, how nobody can rival her Halloween costumes, and how one student wrote a book inspired by Fox’s love of race cars, aptly title “My Principal Drives a Racecar.” Kalubi ended with a touching tribute to Fox’s lasting impact on Seven Hills School. “Text without punctuation is just a collection of words,” Kalubi said. “You took what could have just been a school, a collection of the usual things, and you made it into a home away from home.”

Fox ended the ceremony by sharing her gratitude and her love for the Seven Hills community. “What we have that has endured is the love for these children, the care for each other, and the love for this community,” she said. “I hope you all have as much joy as I have had for 40 years.”

Seven Hills Graduates 79 Students in 47th Commencement

“Now is your turn and time to lead.” The words of commencement speaker Hon. Judge Timothy S. Black charged the Class of 2021 with the responsibility of encouraging and inspiring each other to draw from their resilience and to value their connections with other people. Seven Hills celebrated its 47^th Commencement in the Field House on the Hillsdale Campus on June 4. The 79 graduates, clad in caps and gowns, came together to commemorate their myriad achievements and time at the Seven Hills Upper School, and to listen to the words of wisdom of several school community leaders, including Head of School Chris Garten, Head of Upper School Matt Bolton, and Board of Trustees Chair Stephen Baggott. Students also heard from classmate David Kiley, history teacher and college counselor Beth Driehaus, and parent Mandy Hayes ’91, also a Middle School English teacher at Seven Hills. In addition, Seven Hills alumni Peter Matthews ’91 and Elizabeth Lende Williams H’60, received the Goodall Distinguished Alumni Award. Rahwa Ghebre-Ab ’01 received the Young Alumni Award. Congratulations to the Class of 2021!

Click here to see more photos from graduation.

Junior Hosts TEDx at The Schiff Center

As part of her Personal Challenge project, junior Suhani Gupta recently hosted a TEDx Talk at The Schiff Center. Gupta’s TEDx production started off with Drs. Elizabeth Kelly and Meredith Shockley-Smith, co-founders of Cradle Cincinnati, which is an organization founded to reduce infant mortality in the community. The event also included presentations from Seven Hills junior Manan Vij on artificial intelligence, junior Lucy Schneider on her personal connection to the Holocaust, junior Sebastian Rodriguez, who presented on his interest in biomimetics, and alumnus Jay Shifman ’05, who on spoke about the stigma surrounding mental health and substance misuse.

Seven Hills Breaks Ground on Middle School Expansion and Renovation Project

Members of The Seven Hills community came together on June 1 to break ground on the Middle School Expansion and Renovation project. The project will create three, grade-level common areas in the Middle School and increase the size of the Middle School from 22,950 square feet to 35, 625 square feet. Existing classrooms and lab spaces will be renovated and doubled in size to promote flexible seating. The Innovation Lab will also double in size and have increased student capacity. The expansion and renovation was designed with help from the Board of Trustees Facilities Committee, Head of Middle School Bill Waskowitz, faculty, and many others. “We’re here to celebrate a milestone moment in the history of the school,” said Head of School Chris Garten. “This is a project we’ve been planning together for a decade and we’re so thrilled to finally see it come to fruition.” Garten thanked those in attendance, which included Middle School students and faculty, current and retired members of the Board of Trustees, as well as Board Chair Steve Baggott and former Board Chair Jen Stein, and many other members of the Seven Hills community. Garten also thanked the Seven Hills administrative team, Director of Development Margo Kirstein and Director of Finance Robert Horne, for their invaluable efforts on the project. Garten put a spotlight on Waskowitz and the talented Middle School faculty. “We are incredibly lucky to have the group that stands in front of us with Bill Waskowitz at the helm,” Garten said. “Since Bill came to Seven Hills in 2010, he and his faculty have worked tirelessly to develop a program that is designed to meet the unique developmental needs of students this age.” Garten also shared words from Waskowitz, who was unable to attend the groundbreaking. “This is a day I and my Middle School colleagues have dreamed of for almost a decade,” Waskowitz wrote. “Like Chris, I’m deeply grateful for all who’ve worked so hard to make this new facility a reality and I thank you from the bottom of my heart… I’ve devoted my life to working with students this age and today is among the proudest moments of a long and fulfilling career. So, thanks to all of you and especially to our students for filling our days with joy.”