Opening Ceremony kicks off school year

On the first day of the 2023-24 school year, fourth through 12th grade students from both campuses came together in Kalnow Gym for the annual celebration marking the beginning of the year. Seven Hills selected respect for others and appreciation of diversity as the Seven Hills value that will be a focal point for the year. In his opening address, Head of School Chris Garten encouraged students to learn about the world and seek out different perspectives to better their own understanding. “Respect for others and appreciation of diversity means we remain open, even eager, to learning about other people’s cultures and beliefs and their lived experience. It means we make a sincere effort to understand and respect the emotional experience of those in our school who are different from us,” Garten said. Representing each division, Doherty fifth grader Eulalie Briquet, Lotspeich fifth grader Kai Vadivelu, eighth grader Eli Kampel, and seniors Grace Dunson and Rex Shaffer each shared their own perspective about how respect and diversity makes Seven Hills a welcoming community for everyone. “At Seven Hills, we do not only learn from books and in the classroom, we learn from each other, too. Diversity is all around us, in our classmates and teachers,” Briquet said. The boys varsity tennis team was also honored for the state championship win in the 2023 spring sports season.

Practicing Reading, Writing, and Spanish Skills in Unit I

Unit I students in Amy Kulhavik’s class spent the first day of school brushing up on their name writing skills. Later in the week, students read the books “Chairs on Strike,” “Pencils on Strike,” and “Scissors on Strike” by author Jennifer Jones to learn about the every day tools in their classroom and how to use them safely. The students then made art projects, but with their scissors on strike, they had to rip the shapes to create a forest, ocean, flower, and other creative designs.

In Kristen Diersing’s Spanish class, the Unit I students practiced their singing and dancing skills while learning the names for body parts with a song called “Juanito cuando baila.” “They were singing loud and proud after hearing the song just one time!” Diersing said.

Unit III in Book Tasting

Unit III sampled books from different genres at their “book tasting” in Katey Parks-Goad’s language arts class. This playful event encourages students to try new books and explore different genres. The students spent about eight minutes at each table, which had several books in a specific genre, to look at the book’s cover and the author and read the back of the book and the first few pages. They wrote down favorites they “tasted” and why they liked the books.

Doherty Visits the Firehouse

Unit II students in Sherri Linville’s class and Unit I students in Amy Kulhavik’s class went on a walking field trip to Cincinnati Fire Department Station 23, just down the road from Doherty. The Unit II students gave the firefighters Lifesaver candies to thank them for being lifesavers. The students toured the firehouse and saw their living quarters, kitchen, and sleeping spaces. During the visit, the firefighters were called on a run and the students got a first-hand look at their departure. Later, the Unit I students made gift bags for the firefighters and delivered them in honor of the 9/11 Day of Service.

Teamwork in Fourth Grade Science