Eighth-grade Latin Students Zoom with Archaeologist

Eighth-graders in Marcie Handler’s Latin class recently spoke via Zoom to Dr. Steven Ellis, an associate professor of classics at University of Cincinnati and Roman archaeologist. Ellis has excavated and studied the ruins of Pompeii. Handler said students recently started studying Pompeii after studying Rome, Britain, Gaul (ancient France), and Lusitania (ancient Portugal). “We are so lucky to have an internationally renowned Roman archaeologist in Cincinnati who has excavated and studied a neighborhood at Pompeii,” Handler said. “Dr. Ellis joined our class to share how an excavation actually works, and what notable things he has uncovered over the last few years.” Ellis spoke about many aspects of an excavation, including the people with whom he’s worked, how archaeologists determine the periods of development of a city, and the many artifacts his team has found.

GSA Club Welcomes Virtual Guest Speaker

The Middle School GSA-Just Be You! Club recently welcomed guest speaker Alex Fruchtman. Fruchtman currently lives in New York City and earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration, with a double concentration in international business and management of information systems and a minor in Spanish, from The George Washington University. Fruchtman is the associate vice president and financial advisor at Morgan Stanley’s flagship office for Wealth Management, where a large focus of his practice has been working with the LGBTQ+ community for the past seven years. Fruchtman also serves as the president of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce’s LGBTQ+ Committee and he’s been highly involved with George Washington University’s LGBTQ+ Alumni Association for several years. Science teacher Kristin Suer said Fruchtman discussed a variety of topics, including how he dealt with bullying in middle school and the journey he went through when he came out. “Students asked what he would tell himself now if he was 12 or 13 years old,” Suer said. “He said, ‘Ask yourself, are you a nice person? If you’re a nice person, then good things happen to you!'” He also discussed the progress America has made with LBGTQ+ rights and the positive work that is being done in various organizations. 

Sixth-graders Kick Off Body Systems Unit

Every year, sixth-graders in Jennifer Licata and Karen Glum’s science classes complete an in-depth study of the human body and body systems. Students kicked off the unit with an experiment to study the effects of different variables on heart rates and breathing rates. “Students compared their heart and breathing rates after sitting, standing, and doing slow and fast jumping jacks for a minute,” Licata said.

Eighth-graders Attend Virtual Leadership Conference

Eighth-graders Ahalya Nambiar and Fiona O’Driscoll recently attended the virtual 2021 Jacob G. Schmidlapp Bystander to Upstander Youth Leadership Day, hosted by the Center for Holocaust and Humanity Education. The event brings together seventh- and eighth-graders through virtual sessions to consider the role of history and to gain leadership skills. “Together with 65 students from area middle and high schools, Ahalya and Fiona spent the day exploring what leadership means and discovering their own leadership strengths,” said eighth-grade history teacher Judith Neidlein-Dial. In the afternoon, they participated in a panel discussion featuring young leaders from across the country and worked on an action plan for a hypothetical issue.

Middle Schoolers Compete in Math Contests

Congratulations to all of our Middle School students who competed in the Ohio Math League Contest in late February. Results are below.

Eighth grade

Seven Hills tied for third place in our league, which includes 18 schools, and second place in our region.

Top Scorers:

First – Liam Bien

Second – Daniel Choi and Brett Woffington

Third – AJ Lee and Josie Schneider 

Seventh grade

Seven Hills placed seventh in our league, which includes 19 schools, and second in our region.

Top Scorers:

First – Ethan Avera

Second – Sabrina Donovan, Adi Nayak, and Kaavay Tatavarty

Third – Halsey Ha-Martinez, John Piersma, and Olivia Schmidt

Sixth grade

Seven Hills placed sixth in our league, which includes 21 schools, and first in our region.

Top Scorers

First – Beckett Ceron and Charleigh Hayes

Second – Freddie Murrer

Third – Meghan Sheerin-Day and Will Stock

We are also #StingerProud of our six Middle School math teams that competed at the University of Cincinnati Math Bowl in early March. Six teams competed, with four teams scoring a superior rating and two teams scoring excellent ratings.