Springside is now the Philadelphia area’s Satellite Workshop Center in Molecular Biology as part of the Princeton University Outreach Program. Springside has a long history of academic excellence and is a leader in science education. Fall and spring four-day workshops for Philadelphia-area science teachers will be taught by Head of Science Department Scott Stein, along with Springside alumna Virginia Pearson, Class of 1964, Research Collaborator at the Smithsonian Institution Genetics Program and Project Coordinator Elephant Crittercam with National Geographic Society. Topics will include DNA extraction, DNA fingerprinting, PCR, genetic engineering, and bioinformatics. Download flier.

Drummers, actors, chess enthusiasts, and campers of all ages and interests have been enjoying their summer at Springside's many Summerside camps. The Performing Arts Camp's recent production of Alice in Wonderland was over the top!

This week, a trio of Springside Educators—Kristin Trueblood (Pre-K teacher & curriculum mapping co-chair), Erik Dreisbach (Middle School science & curriculum mapping co-chair), & Betty Ann Fish (P.E. & conference presenter—are attending Alan November's annual Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston.

Betty Ann, a national pioneer in using tech with P.E., presented to a standing-room only crowd on the topic Tried and Tested: Quick, Easy Ways to Integrate Technology in Pre-K–4th Grade P.E.  

Think you need a lot of time and fancy equipment to bring technology into the classroom, to the students and the parents? Come see and hear some of the ways elementary students are using technology in the classroom and the gym. Included will be student movies with a Flip Video camera, iPod recordings, collaborative and faculty development projects. See first graders explain the pathway of the blood in the heart as they go through the heart adventure challenge course in the gym. Watch the Lower School faculty challenge themselves and bond in the gym and on the low and high ropes course.

Read our faculty's wiki, live from Boston.

Springside's Jenn Vermillion (Director of Educational Technology) and Ellen Fishman-Johnson (Apple Distinguished Educator & ViDCAST Studio guru) are attending the International Society for Technology in Education's yearly conference, NECC.

Springside has a tradition of faculty and student presenters at NECC, including this year. Dr. Fishman-Johnson is presenting a seminar titled "Soundtracks That Sing.  Getting Beyond the Surface in GarageBand."

Read along (and comment) as our esteemed colleagues post their blog notes from the conference...

Thank you to Springside parents for their incredible show of school spirit with 88% giving to the 2007–2008 Annual Fund. What a wonderful affirmation of the Springside experience!

Over 3,000 teachers from across the country sent in applications for the MIT Science and Engineering Program for Teachers, which will be held at MIT during the week of June 22. Yet, only 50 teachers were selected for the program―one being Springside’s Dr. Kim Eberle-Wang, who teaches forensics, pharmacology, environmental science, biology, and physics. Eberle-Wang is also the recipient of a scholarship for the MIT course given by InVivo Therapeutics Corporation. Read more...

For the second year in a row, Victoria Roebuck was named the winner of the annual Blue/Gold Award at the Springside Athletic Banquet. The senior won the prestigious award as the Upper School athlete who best exemplifies excellence in athletics and sportsmanship for the 2007–2008 school year. Roebuck made the Inter-Ac First Team in both lacrosse and volleyball, earned honors as the MVP of the lacrosse team, and was the recipient of the Coaches Award for the volleyball team. As a tri-varsity athlete, she also plays field hockey. Her intensity, skill level, and respect for opponents and team members have earned her praise from opposing coaches throughout the season. (Roebuck is pictured with varsity volleyball coach Chuck Matthews and Springside alumna and volleyball volunteer Kim Newton.) Read more...

Seven Springside School 9th graders walked away with 1st place honors from the State Science Fair held at Penn State. To attend this fair, the students had to place 1st or 2nd in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Sciences Fair earlier in the spring. In this competition, the students were judged against criteria rather than against each other. The criteria were Scientific Thought, Experimental Methods, Analytical Approach, and Presentation.

Head of Lower School Cary Page became Dr. Page at the University of Pennsylvania's recent commencement. In a special assembly, Dr. Sands explained the significance of this achievement and the Lower School girls enjoyed seeing Dr. Page in her cap and gown.

Science teacher Mary Ann Boyer has received The Garden Club of America’s 2008 Elizabeth Abernathy Hull Award. Impressed with her “hands-on approach in communicating environmental principles that are relevant to young people,” the Scholarship Committee noted that Boyer has “inspired many children to care for the natural world around them in the innovative programs [she] has created…,” thus achieving one of the objectives outlined by Hull: “To recognize an individual who, through working with children under 16 years of age in horticulture and the environment, has inspired their appreciation of beauty and the fragility of our planet.”

Springside’s highest honor was bestowed on Melissa Fitzgerald, Class of 1983, reunion weekend. Melissa was presented the Distinguished Alumna Award, given annually to an alumna “who has made a significant contribution in her field of interest and whose accomplishments have had an impact on the larger community.” Melissa spent a day with Upper and Middle School students, sharing her passion to bring the voices of Uganda’s youth to the world. Students enjoyed having the opportunity to view the trailer for the documentary she is working on, Voices of Uganda, and to hear classmates read monologues from refugee teens. Click here to learn more about Melissa and her project...

Springside is the first school in the state to receive "Bird Habitat" recognition from Audubon PA. Specifically, we were given this status in recognition of our Traffic Circle Rain Garden, the planting by the bird blind, the work around the Middle School loop to attract birds, the creation of a pond environment for insects, and the Lower School butterfly garden. Steven Saffier and Bob Wallis of Audubon Pennsylvania were on deck to install the sign that reads "Audubon recognizes that the people who care for this property pledge to provide healthy habitat that supports birds, butterflies and other wildlife."

With a nod to National Drinking Water Week, the Schuylkill Action Network presented their “Source Water Protection Awards” to three schools and the Philadelphia Water Department for developing environmental and educational projects that help to protect sources of drinking water in the Schuylkill River Watershed. Springside’s entire sixth grade was honored at the Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center! Students Leah Beight and Michaela Reitano gave the class response, talking about their rain garden project, the native plants they incorporated, and its impact on stormwater runoff. During an interview with a WHYY reporter the girls were able to share their passion for the environment and the many things their class has done over the years. Click here to enjoy a slide show from the event.

Springside students won several French awards in Le Grand Concours, an annual competition sponsored by the American Association of Teachers of French. Students compete both on a local level, and also against other French students from all 50 states and abroad. Over 3,000 students in the Philadelphia region took the French exam.  Read more...

Each spring the school recognizes students in the junior and senior classes for academic achievement by inducting them into the esteemed Cum Laude Society. The induction assembly was held recently and this year Cum Laude Society member Lillian Klotz, Class of 2001, was the featured speaker. Read more...

The Chestnut Hill Academy-Springside School (CHASS) Vulcan Robotics Team poses with its 2008 robot, which tied for 4th place out of 60 teams in the recent FIRST competition in Annapolis, MD. The team made it to the quarterfinals of their division in the World Robotics Championships held recently in Atlanta and finished 24th overall in the standings. The championships encompassed more than 360 teams and 5,000 people over three days of matches.

The Chinese class at Springside was recently treated to a special guest, Mr. Chuanyi Huangfu, who introduced the students to the ancient art of Chinese calligraphy. The Chinese use a special writing brush, ink, paper, and an ink stone to do calligraphy, commonly referred to as the “four treasures” of the study.

“Dreaming” green no more! Enlighten Springside lit up the Vare on Friday night and will allow the school to move forward with the installation of solar panels on the roof of the field house. The Parents’ Association event caught the attention of Mayor Michael Nutter, and he was on deck to express support for our green initiatives. Springside’s project represents the second largest photo-voltaic installation in the city!  Says parent Georgie Noll, chair for Enlighten Springside, “We have always been a body of leaders and our community continues this tradition with our endeavors to reduce our footprint and become more self-sustaining.” (Pictured above: Board President Richard Hayne, Head of School Priscilla Sands, Mayor Michael Nutter, Enlighten Chair Georgie Noll, PA President Carol Horne Penn. Click on image to enlarge.)

Months of hard work on their research projects brings big rewards for Springside science students. Competing against Central, Masterman, and other Philadelphia schools at the George Washington Carver Science Fair before Spring Break, 15 of 16 Biology students earned awards. Of the 7 categories entered, Springside students earned over 50% of the possible medals! At the Delaware Valley Science Fair, competing against students in PA, NJ, and DE, Springside scientists came home with category award medals AND many of the Fair’s prestigious special awards, including partial scholarships to Drexel University, Philadelphia University of the Sciences, the United States Navy Award, the American Entomological Society 1st place Calvert Award, the Society of Women Engineers 1st place special award, and NOAA’s 2008 Taking the Pulse of the Planet Award. All our scientists are to be congratulated on their ability to write clearly, read critically, analyze mathematically, and put together convincing written, visual, and oral presentations! Click here to read about the results, the specific awards, and the research topics...

Congratulations to juniors Erica Swan and Caroline Phillips who received honorable mention in the American Architectural Foundation (AAF) and Target’s recent “Redesign Your School” contest for their structure, “Innovation High.” Hundreds of high school students across the country entered the competition to design the next generation of America’s public schools. Eight finalists were chosen, 20 semi-finalists, and 80 honorable mentions. The winners hailed from 29 states, and according to AAF President Ronald E. Bogle, “What connects all of these designs is a search for a better way to link schools to nature and the environment.”

Science department chair Scott Stein has been named the Delaware Valley Outstanding Science Teacher for 2007. This prestigious award, conferred by the Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers (PSPE), recognizes the dedication Stein has shown towards educating, guiding, inspiring, and challenging future scientists, engineers, and mathematicians of the Delaware Valley. Congratulations, Scott! Click here to read an article from the Times Chronicle/Glenside News.