T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R S T . L U K E ’ S S C H O O L

Welcome to 377, The Magazine for St. Luke’s School. The mission of this publicationis to bring you new perspectives on life and learning on the Hilltop through aparticular topic lens. In this issue, we celebrate the innovations that take placethroughout School in the name of continuous improvement. Look for the toidentify stories that offer more on our website at www.stlukesct.org.

Just say no to TTWWADI! St. Luke’s is known as an accepting communitybut this is an area of zero tolerance. TTWWADI (That’s The Way We’veAlways Done It) is an acronym applicable to many school cultures—butnot to St. Luke’s where Continuous Improvement is a core value andguiding principle.

Ian Jukes, co-author of Understanding the Digital Generation, speaks about thedetrimental effects of TTWWADI on schools. Jukes points to outdated structures(formed in the days of kerosene lamps and horse-buggies) and a pre-existingmindset that overlooks the needs and expectations of today’s students.

Jukes is not alone. He is joined by the likes of President Obama, Bill Gates and anarmy of educators raising the red flag and declaring that we must innovate in oureducation system or watch our country and our children fall behind.

This issue of 377 is a celebration of St. Luke’s anti-TTWWADI culture. From ourCenter for Leadership—a testament to St. Luke’s forward thinking—to our manynew programs and initiatives, St. Luke’s continues to explore new ideas, newconcepts and new frontiers in education.

Enjoy reading and please let us knowwhat you think (communications@stlukesctorg).Your passion, ideas and insights make St. Luke’s AFTSWAIP (A Forward-ThinkingSchoolWhereAnything Is Possible).

Mark Davis, Head of School

This fall, St. Luke’s introduces the STEMDiploma (Science,Technology, Engineering, Math). Math Department ChairElaine Greene describes the genesis of the program:“We havestudents driven by the precision, logic and elegance of math.Often, these same students have an affinity for science andtechnology. This programwill fuel those passions.”ScienceDepartment Chair MikeMitchell adds: “The philosophy ofSTEM represents the synthesis of these disciplines—it showsstudents the interconnectivity.”For students not certain of theimportance of STEM topics, Computer Department Chair JeffKress shares an article from CareerCast stating: “Amajority ofjobs that rank in the top 10 this year require proficiency inmath, science or technology.”STEM grants will also be availableto St. Luke’s students in Grades 8-12 whowant to pursue theirinterests in the STEM arena.

“Math and science are the engines of innovation.”

According to English Teacher Jim Carroll and Assistant Head ofMiddle School Mark Chuhta: “Declamations for the Eighth Gradehave undergone an evolution that gives newmeaning to thequestion, ‘Who is your audience?’Thanks to the wizardry of the ITDepartment, we were able to stream the speeches live and havearchived them on the School Media Gallery. Rather than simplyprojecting their voices, knowledge, and passion within the confinesof the cafeteria, students like Annabel were beaming their speakingskills around the globe.”

“Workingon tech crew introducedme to skills—likeworking the lightboard—that I canuse in real life.Because SLSTechTheater keepsgrowing, I get experiencewith themost up-to-date technology. Allmydifferent passions like theater tech,physics, pre-calculus andvolunteertimeatAmbler Farm, are comingtogether and leadingme toengineering,which I think I’ll continueto study in college.”

“As a bicycle racer, I am always tryingto improve. After races, no matter theresult, I constantly over-analyze whatcould have been done differentlyin order to have achieved a betterperformance. Did I use my energyefficiently? Did I eat the right foods?What was my biggest mistake? Fromthere, I ask myself more enduringquestions, such as, ‘how can Iimprove my training?’Or, ‘how canI improve my race strategy?’Independent study has helpedmefind the answers to these questions,and the science behind them… theclass allowedme to optimize mypersonal performance.”

INNOVATIONSt.Luke’sAthletics

As St. Luke’s prepares for the fall launch of theCenter for Leadership, Athletic Director KevinButler and his colleagues demonstrate thatleadership opportunities are everywhere—andeven great programs can get better.

IN MOTION

The Leadership PlaybookThis Fall St. Luke’s Athletics launched The Team Captains Leadership(TCL) programunder the guidance of St. Luke’s Athletic Director KevinButler and Upper School Health and Wellness Coordinator CamilleDeMarco-Havens.

TheTCL program is used by schools across the country. It enhances captains’understanding of responsibility, positive influence, goal setting and teamdynamics.“The goal of theTCL program is to work with our team captains todevelop and hone their leadership skills” explained Camille. “Part of what wedo is encourage captains to have open dialog with their coaches andteammates so that everyone can experience a positive team culture.”

“This programhas taughtme to be a better leader. I’mheading into college this fall and feel like I’ll be able totake the values I learned with me.”- St. Luke’s Senior, Megan Flood

St. Luke’s Senior, Megan Flood is the captain of three St. Luke’s teams (soccer,basketball and softball) and has been through the TCL program twice this year.Megan had this to say: “I like that this leadership program connects to our motto:Enter to learn. Go forth to serve. It helped me to understand how much influencea captain has and how you can inspire people on and off the field.As a senior, I wantto leave a lasting impression on the underclassmen. I definitely believe this programwill help future teams have better leadership and open lines of communications.”

Intentional Leadership

This spring Assistant Director of Athletics Ryan Brown helped launch a newintentional leadership training program for the St. Luke’s football team.Ryanbecame interested in bringing the program to St. Luke’s after learning about asimilar program at the National Football Convention: “What I took away was thatwhile leadership is a natural byproduct of sports, you can take the benefits to thenext level by being intentional with the lessons you create.” Helping Ryan bring theStorm Leadership program to life are St. Luke’s dedicated football coaches: NoelThomas, Sr., Joe Bonaddio, Sr., Jerry McDougall, science teacher Alec LeBris ’95,Jeff Fuller and Frank Kelty.

According to Ryan, Storm Leadership comes in many forms:“Our strategy is to havereal-life conversations with the kids about what they want from life.What kind of mendo they want to be? We want to teach them to set goals and understand whichqualities will help them achieve those goals.We define and actually study these quali-ties which include: trust, loyalty, commitment, pride, attitude, desire, sacrifice,toughness and class.”

“We already had a lot of these leadership skills but they were sort of inour subconscious. Now these expectations are in the forefront—they’rereminders of how to be a good leader and a good teammate.”- St. Luke’s Junior, Joe Bonaddio

“One of the best things about thisprogram is that it offers a platform foreveryone,” says St. Luke’s Junior JoeBonaddio. “Everyone on the team isimportant. You don’t have to be asenior.You can be an 8th grader andspeak up.We even have people whohaven’t started at St. Luke’s yet andthey come to these meetings and cantalk about what trust and attitude meanto them.”

Though the Storm Leadership trainingjust started, Ryan says early signs arepositive: “I was amazed at the kids’reactions.The meeting was pretty lateat night and I figured they might be tootired to really respond. But they gotinto it.They were asking questions andsharing ideas. You could tell theyappreciated the chance to talk aboutthese issues that will impact them forthe rest of their lives.”

St. Luke’s Athletics Task Force“How do we become excellent?”InAugust 2010, St. Luke’sAthleticTaskForce (ATF) gathered a team of parents, coaches and teachers to examine ourathletics program and identify areas for improvement. In the words of BoardMember and ATF co-chair Tracy Duncan: “We already had a strong program.Thiswas about getting even better.We asked ourselves,‘How do we become excellent?’”To answer that question, theATF did a deep dive externally, examining the athleticprograms at five competitive schools, and internally by interviewing more than 30faculty coaches plus several non-faculty St. Luke’s coaches.

“It’s howwe play the game.”The ATF research uncovered insights about our program’s strengths and weaknesses.St. Luke’s Athletic Director and ATF co-chair, Kevin Butler summarizes the strongpoints: “We get a lot of credit for good communications between players, parents andcoaches.And people are happywith the diversity and competitiveness of our programs.But the best feedback centered around the character of St. Luke’s athletes and coaches.St.Luke’s does the right thing on the field and off. It’s how we play the game.”

Limited fitness and conditioning programs and “facilities constraints” wereidentified by the ATF research as challenges. Kevin described two other areasneeding attention: “To renew our dedication to the faculty/coach model we have to

make sure the teachers who want to coach have a balanced workload. Somany teachers told us the greatest part of coaching is the relationships theydevelop with the kids. But the time demands can be tough.We want to domore to support these teachers.We also need to work on our athletes’ skilldevelopment, ensuring that everyone has the chance to develop thefundamentals while also challenging those at more advanced levels.”

"The hard work is just beginning."Tracy and Kevin recently presented the ATF findings and recommendationsto faculty and staff, Board Members and the Mission & School LifeCommittee. The seven-month process lead to five key recommendationscurrently under consideration:

1) Renew St. Luke’s Faculty-Coach Model2) Develop Our Student Athletes3) Address Facilities Needs4) Support Fitness As A Lifelong Skill5) Budget For Continuous Improvement

The next steps are implementing strategies that will address each of theserecommendations.“We’ve accomplished somuch” said Kevin “but inmanywaysthe hard work is just beginning. Now that we know what will move us towardexcellence—we have to leverage this great momentum and make it happen.”

“We created theDiscovering Voicesworkshops as a way tounleash creativity and break the mold of a traditional classwhile still connecting with the curriculum. Our studentsattended an afternoon of workshops designed to exploreself-expression through poetry, music, art, drama andmovement. I was thrilled that my colleagues jumped at thisnew idea and the chance to try something different.”

Discovering Voices workshops were open to St. Luke’s sixth, seventhand eight grades. Students selected from 17 innovative workshopsincluding: Harlem Jazz Art Infusion, Electronic Music Poetry, NatureWriting and Stop Motion Animation (led by Art Teacher Peggy VanAckerpictured here).

The program culminated with a high-voltage performance byinternationally acclaimed violinist Alexander Markov.

Coming This Fall…Wherever You AreSt. Luke’s enters the online learning arena with three courses for theUpper School. Students enrolling in these courses will receive coursecontent and assignments online. In addition, collaboration and helpwith coursework will be conducted both online and in weeklyface-to-face meetings with classmates and instructors.

The new online classes are:

• Introduction to Computer Science, Grades 9-12,Prerequisite: Algebra I• Introduction to Java Programming I, Grades 9-12,Prerequisite: Introduction to Computer Science•Music History and Literature, Grades 11-12

Head of Upper School JimYavenditti said, “This is an excitinglaunch.We’re ready to explore the great flexibility online classes offerin regard to learning styles, locations, pacing and progress.”

“These days the library is everywhere, so the librarian needs to beeverywhere.” St. Luke’s Librarian Elizabeth Nelson is explaining theevolution of a new initiative aptly named the embedded librarian.“The concept is very much like embedded journalists who insertthemselves in the middle of the action so that they can reallyunderstand what’s happening. Next year, I will begin embeddingmyself in classrooms in order to see firsthand what the students’needs are:What kinds of resources would be most useful? Howmight the research tools available shape what’s possible with thelesson or project? I will know the students better. I’ll knowwho willlearn most from a podcast, who prefers the visual learning of videosand who is ready for the next level of transliteracy.”

“I started DIGIDAY 20 years after graduatingfrom St. Luke’s. It’s been thrilling becausewe’ve grown into a leading digital mediacompany. That entrepreneurial spirit issomething that started at St. Luke’s. Thewords printed above the school door at St.Luke’s always stuck withme and embodythe spirit of our organization today: Enter to Learn, Go Forth toServe. Runningmy business I am always thinking about howwecan better serve our readers and our clients in an authentic andmeaningful way—just like all the teachers at St. Luke’s did formewhen I was there.”

More than 600 St. Luke's School students, faculty, staff and parents signed a steelbeam destined for St. Luke’s Center for Leadership. The beam was placed atop thenew structure during an ancient“topping off”ceremony thought to bring growth andgood luck. The St. Luke’s Center for Leadership opens to all students this September.Our own Jim Foley (US Technology Coordinator) has been appointed Directoreffective July 2011.

Center for Leadership

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377 North Wilton RoadNew Canaan, CT 06840www.stlukesct.org

Let us know what you think atcommunications@stlukesct.org

377 Editors: Nancy Troeger, Jane AhrensPhotography: Desirée SmockDesign: Peapod Design6/2011/#4/Innovation