Shady Side Academy - Academian Yearbook (Pittsburgh, PA)

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nd p nd nee War any students exper- ienced brief periods of confusion this year due to the unusually large turnover of Social Studies teachers. There were many additions to the faculty as a result of former department head Robert Kirkpatrick becoming Director of Admissions. As he was responsible for many demanding duties, he was no longer able to carry his heavy Social Studies workload. Two new faculty, Mr. James Blitch and Ms. Laura Peder- sen, were hired in order to take over many of Kirkpatrick's classes. These new and relatively young teachers were unknown quantities to many students who already approached their new classes with trepidation. Students no longer had the security of being familiar with the teachers' reputa- tions and expectations. Adding to the initial confusion of facing the unknown for some students, other students had to deal with a sudden change of teachers in the middle of the year due to Dr. Sauer's and Mr. Hench's half year sabbaticals. Mr. Bruce Jordan took their places in their absences. The changes in the Social Studies Department were unsettling to say the least for the brought refreshing insights and perspectives to the material. lt was a time of growth not only for the students but also for the new teachers. Mr. James Blitch felt that he had grown along with his students. While he had observed the development of potential in his own students, he also had found his own abilities as a teacher bene- fiting from the experience. Students next year will also be facing a degree of uncertainty as the change in department organi- zation will again cause new faculty to join the department. Mr. Robert Veto will give up his position as head of the department to become the Dean of Students. Dr. Sauers will return to the position of De- partment head, and a new teacher, Mr. Wilson, will take the place of Ms. Judy Bell. Another new face on campus will be intern Ms. Doer- ing who will be working with Mr. Hench. Changes in faculty are not the only exciting developments as a new history course will be of- fered: Advanced Placement Euro- pean History and an updated Mod- ern European History. lt is hoped that these new devel- opments will result in the same growth undergone by both faculty l students, but out of this confusion came an unexpected bonus. The new faces and new personalities 'iii B 1 'N and students of the 1987-1988 school year. 3 Q . We t Nm. 22 Academics Qs Letting his mind wander from presidents and politics, junior Jason Kushner looks away from the board during Mr. Veto's Ll.S. History class. ln a quiet corner of Rowe Common, used to working on her own, having Mindy Gottfried uses the solitude to completed an independent study in get some work done. Gottfried was analytical writing.

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X fi Confusion or perhaps more likely dis- gust covers the face of Nina Coslov as she and her lab partner, Haroon llyas, perform a chemistry experiment. First level chemistry courses usually spent at least two days per cycle in the labora- tory. The computer is a nf-ressary tool for students Nlatt Majewski, AJ Eiiglan, and Phil Joyce, as all three work hard at the keyboard. NYT I 41 unctions and i 6 hangs-s was a de- ! r partrnental word , y M -this year for both the ,mathematics and computer science sections pf SSA's curricu- luma ongoing addition of new teachers and betterment and modi- fication of facilities helped to make these-fftwo departments. stronger than ever brefore, Mrs. Danielle Meyer, a comput- er sdiedce instructor, agreed, The factfthdt there are more computer basic and advanced to choose from, and the increased use of the word processors has en- ticed people into the computer lab. f'lfhis..year we had our first indepen- A deny study ini computer scienceg Jordan Karp, a sixth former, stud- ied spreadsheets and other busi- lnteptly studying the screen, Linda Wei worylts on a programwduring a paced Pascal class, ness related programs. I think we are going to see a lot more of this interest and initiative in computers at the Academy in future years. Senior David Riley who was en- rolled in the Advanced PASCAL course taught by Dr. John Sutuia, department head of computer sci- ence, stated, A definite improve- ment in the computer department has been the addition of the lBM's. Cory Jacques, a junior tak- ing the same class, added, The computer department has satis- fied my needs. l know that l am getting a college level PASCAL courseg it's really helped me to think logically. . The math departments impact on the school was equally impres- sive this year. Approximately fifty' five students, more than ever be- fore, were enrolled in Advanced Placement Calculus courses. Ms. Christine Czapleski, an instructor, said, Our school has a great AP record for its size. Although i have only been here for two years, l am truiy impressed. This year also marked Shady Side's best record for the math team, advised by Mr. Meier. At the fourteenth annual Westminster Colleges High School Mathemat- ics competition on October 3, 1987, Shady Side finished first and second in Division One schools in New Wilmington. The winners were Benjamin Wu, Rondal Evans, Matt Steffora, Jerry Lynn, Linda Wei, Valia Djafari, and Owen Rescher. However, senior Darah Himmel- hoch thought that the department could be improved, and she of- fered some advice for the teach- ers, l think the system needs to be more personalized. l'rn not too lll'S sure why i'm taking BC Calculusl do not understand what the appli- cation of advanced mathematics to life reaiiy is ... Chris Foster, a sixth former in Calculus A agreed that the system is run pretty well and that, There were some major changes this year. Things occurred on a cosmic scale. The differences were like black and white, night and day, east and west, and Mrs. Mathis and Mr. Pavlovichf' Overail, students found that they were challenged by both de- partments this year. Most acade- mians felt that as long as additions and improvements are continuous- iy made, Shady Side Academy wiil continue to produce young people with a good conceptual under- standing of mathematics and a strong foundation in the increas- ingly complex computer field. Mathematics!Computer 21

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S 5 , r 'gf A:, 4, 'i ti swwmwwfik- -' f Sharing ideas, Bill Semins, Kathy lla- vens, Todd Green, and Mike Srodes work in a group in Mr. Hench's US. History class, When Mr. Hench went on sabbatical in January, the students were forced to adjust to the new teach- ing style of replacement Mr. Bruce Jor- dan. Mv.Nfns, MW., .- . f V nov-awwrulx-w,.i,.4.,. - f l The heavy workload or perhaps adjust ing to new teachers induces senior Thatcher Montgomery to r-arch rome z's in a social studies classroom. ,V -mn . Ind endent Stud only turn but also to turn rnaturefmembers e has c ha n g e s thespirit S ill' y As in all opportunities which call for student responsibility, there is a potential risk of abuse. in order to insure that this program is iusedas intended, a guideline of re' quirements was decidedupon by the faculty. ln order fora program to be approved, a student must have a project advisor in the area of his interest and must submit the project for review by the indepen- dent Study Committee tmade up of the heads of different depart- mentsi. Approval largely hinges on the students down academic re- cord, For the students who pursue this alternative, the benefits are numerous. They are able to ex- plore creative, often unexpected ,topics of inquiry, running the gam- ut from Advanced Studies in Latin Poetry by Darah Himmelhoch, to the study of Analytical Writing by Mindy Gottfried, to Confucianism by Chris Marquis, to Journalism by Jamie Beckerman, Many found that this program enabled them to focus on a particular area more ex- tensively after taking a more gen- eral course within the SSA curricu- lum. While most are well-motivat ed by self-interest, some students find the program to be a way to test their own academic abilities. Senior Matt Braidic, who under- took an independent study in histo- ry, did so to prove to Mr. I-lench that he could write a good history paper. Darah Himmelhoch's exper- ience in taking the independent study program accurately sums up the reasons that students are turning to this alternative. i did an independent studyrbe- cause l had completed all the Latin courses offered at the Academy, and l wanted to continue it. lf l could, l'd do it again. lt was helpful to me in that there was a 'one to one' relationship with the tutor so l learned more than if l had been in ciass. lt's also more personal and flexible when you run into a tight schedule or problems. It taught me to schedule my time. Given the rewards of the pro- gram, independent studies will un- doubtedly continue to be a popular alternative for students in the fu- ture. Social Studiesflndependent Study 23