Upper
October 6, 2021
National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and AP Scholars Announced
Seven Hills is pleased to announce eight seniors were named National Merit Scholar Semifinalists and 76 students were named AP Scholars. Congratulations to the following 2021 National Merit Semifinalists: Kevin Chen, Sarah Croog, Kathryn Guo, Jenny Hu, Robby Ligeralde, Naina Purushothaman, Sebastian Rodriguez, and Manan Vij. Grayson Halonen, Aahana Katneni, Ella Piersma, Aditi Purushothaman, and Cristina Stancescu were named National Merit Commended students. Students qualify for recognition in the National Merit program with their PSAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test scores. A total of 76 students were named AP Scholars. Thirteen current students and seven class of 2021 graduates were named AP Scholars, for receiving scores of 3 or higher on three or more AP exams. AP Scholars with Honor was given to 11 current students and 26 class of 2021 graduates for receiving an average score of at least 3.25 on all exams and a score of 3 or higher on four or more exams. Thirteen current students and six class of 2021 graduates were named AP Scholars with Distinction, for receiving an average score of at least 3.5 on all exams and a score of 3 or higher on five or more exams. For a full list of AP Scholars click here!
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.
Students Display Literary Knowledge in Debate
After a spirited debate among students, Head of Upper School Matt Bolton ruled to suspend, but not expel, The Pardoner, a character from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales,” who was a Seven Hills junior for the sake of the debate. Mark Beyreis’ British and postcolonial literature class split into two teams and conducted a disciplinary committee hearing through the lens of Seven Hills’ own disciplinary guidelines, overseen by Bolton, for The Pardoner, a character who greedily sells church pardons and fake relics while pointing out the greed in the Church and other people. One team argued that The Pardoner should be expelled because his misbehavior and greed violated the Seven Hills values. The other argued that The Pardoner should stay because there could be underlying issues causing his poor behavior and the Seven Hills community could have a positive effect on him. “There were some readings that were really clever. It showed the students know the book really well,” Bolton said.
Author Jasmine Warga Discusses Writing and Identity with Upper School
Award-winning young adult author Jasmine Warga told Upper School students about her love of reading, her writing process, and her ability to relate difficult topics to young readers at the Between the Pages event held in The Schiff Center. “Storytelling has enormous power and shows how we relate to our culture and society,” Warga said. Warga, a Jordanian-American and Cincinnati native, frequently writes about immigrant experiences and identity in her novels, saying it feels like a safe space to explore it. Her novel “Other Words for Home” follows a young girl who flees Syria and goes to live with relatives in Cincinnati, where she grapples with what it means to be Middle Eastern in America. “I want my books to help broker difficult conversations. I want to write books that can start a conversation and broaden the dialogue so we can build a better world,” she said. Her other novels center around the immigrant experience, teen mental health, and gun violence in America. Warga answered student questions about the publishing industry, character development, plotting, and following her dream of becoming an author.
Upper Offers Record Number of Clubs
From academic teams to vintage video games, from stock exchange to protecting paws, Upper School students have a choice of more than 50 clubs to join this year. “Clubs give students an opportunity to explore interests in more depth with more rigor,” said history teacher Dan Polifka, who is a co-moderator of Student Government and oversees student clubs. Students had a chance to explore the variety of clubs during the two-day Club Fair held this fall in the Commons. “I think the pandemic has confirmed that all of us yearn for contact and connectedness. A lot of the clubs are really intended to be relaxing social clubs for students to spend time together,” Polifka said of the record number of clubs.
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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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