Middle
October 6, 2021
Partnership Providing Additional Mental Health Services
For the 2021-22 school year, Seven Hills has partnered with Best Point Behavioral Health to have licensed mental health therapists on the Hillsdale and Doherty campuses. “There is a rise in mental healthcare needs throughout Cincinnati, so we wanted to provide preventative and proactive care and give families additional support,” said Counseling Department Chair Angie Bielecki. Through Mindpeace, a nonprofit that helps schools better understand their mental health needs and connects them to providers, Seven Hills was partnered with Best Point, a program by Children’s Home of Cincinnati. “We wanted to make health services more accessible for families. This way there are not long waits and students don’t have to leave campus,” Bielecki said. Licensed mental health therapists Emily Daugherty and Claudia Thomas will have dedicated spaces on both campuses. Daugherty will be working with pre-kindergarten through second-grade students and Thomas will be working with third- through 12th-graders. Parents can contact their student’s division counselor to set up a meeting with the therapists.
Creating the Cosmos Through Multi-subject Project
In mid-September, sixth-grade students combined geometry, design, and themes from “The Iron Trial”, their summer reading novel, to create tessellations in a grade-wide activity. “Students are working together to manipulate the common square into a beautiful pattern utilizing a theme from their summer novel to create their own tessellation,” science teacher Jennifer Licata said. “We are reviewing a variety of concepts and skills in the process. We are discussing the artwork of MC Escher, reviewing a bit of geometry, and practicing skills of measurement.” The sixth-grade teachers regularly plan collaborative lessons in order for students to develop stronger creative collaboration, and critical thinking skills.
Seventh-Graders measure to infinity and beyond
Seventh-graders in Kristin Suer’s class used proportional math to calculate a smaller sized version of our solar system, and utilized bouncy balls, fishing bobbers, and tennis balls, among other objects, to represent the planets. “We want students to put the information they learn into practice and build to the next step,” science teacher Kristin Suer said. “Along with utilizing knowledge from sixth grade, students are preparing for our next chapter and beginning to ask why jovian planets, like Jupiter and Saturn, need to be farther away from the sun than terrestrial planets, such as earth.”
Between the Pages hosts author Jasmine Warga
Newberry Honor award-winning author Jasmine Warga, author of “Other Names for Home”, was the chosen author for Seven Hills’ fifth annual Between the Pages event for Middle and Upper School students. Before their session, Middle School students welcomed Warga with handmade signs, filling The Schiff Center’s theater with colorful paper waving through the air as she stepped onto the stage. After greeting the students, Warga discussed the long road from turning an idea into a novel. Warga specifically referenced how she tried to tell the story of Jude, a Syrian refugee immigrating to Cincinnati, authentically and respectfully, while she came to terms with her own identity as Jordanian-American. “Novels can give a singular story, but in that singularity, there is a voice and a face to the situation,” Warga said. After her presentation, Warga opened the floor to questions and answered questions from Middle School students.
It's Your World expands sixth-graders worldviews
Head of Middle School Bill Waskowitz, writing teacher Chris Caldemeyer, and librarian Megan Whitt launched the newly designed It’s Your World class for the 2021-22 school year and beyond. The course aims to expose students each quarter to a different global issue, such as migration, climate change, social justice, and global health. “I really felt the need for students to delve into civic engagement and discuss the issues we’re facing today,” Waskowitz said. “We plan to examine these issues, with our students early on, in an apolitical, fact-based learning environment.” Waskowitz, Caldemeyer, and Whitt partner with the Middle School teaching team to cover the four topics enabling teachers to provide specialized lessons in the subjects. For instance, math teacher Theresa Keller taught students how to calculate migration percentages, and Dean of Middle School Andy McGarvey taught students the five themes of geography and how they correlate with push/pull factors for global populations.
Eighth-graders learn about world-changing Latinx contributions
Eighth-graders walked through a gallery of 10 world-changing contributions Latinx have made during the last 50 years, from space exploration to school integration during world language teacher Kaitlin Link’s Spanish class. “I wanted them to learn something new, something they probably haven’t heard before,” Link said, explaining how she chose the 10 exhibits for the gallery. “I want students to see how many contributions people of Latinx heritage have made, not just in the U.S. but around the world.”
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Five Stingers Sign to Play in College
Five Stingers from the Class of 2024 signed their letters of intent to continue their athletic careers in college.
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