ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT – Winter Journey
Upper School faculty and students will be travelling to the Kelly Campus to participate in the annual Winter Journey from 02/27-03/01 The juniors and seniors will be constructing and implementing their Group 4 research project. The students in grades 9-10 will be exploring Winter through art and writing, and a guest lecture by avalanche professional Don Carpenter (who many years ago was a TSS graduate student at the Kelly Campus). Along the way, all faculty and students will be making daily sojourns out into the world of Winter on cross-country skis and snowshoes.
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT – Horseshoe Yurt Trip
IB Outdoor Education Pathway Ski Expedition
Dolyn Kinney and Frank Daly conceptualized, planned, and actualized this mini ski expedition to Horseshoe Yurt in the Teton Valley Idaho. In Winter 2023, both of them planned their first
Winter mini ski expedition up Teton Canyon, also a three day endeavor. They both wanted to advance their skill sets this time around and chose to augment their winter trip planning by going
“beyond Fall Journeys meal planning”. They designed a simple questionnaire which they made available to all Upper School students who wanted to apply for a position on this trip. Two TSS Mountain Academy faculty members accompanied Dolyn and Frank on the trip as resources. However, from the planning through until the arrival back home, they made all of the decisions as the leaders of the trip. Down time at the yurt was spent talking about college applications and playing cards. On Saturday, all members went for a two hour ski towards the ridgeline.
COMMUNITY FOCUS – Mayme Sullivan, Spanish Faculty
“I am Mayme Sullivan, the 7th-12th grade Spanish teacher. I was born and raised in Nebraska where I played a lot of softball throughout high school. I earned my bachelors in Spanish and Journalism from the University of Nebraska– Lincoln and my MA in Spanish from the University of Wyoming. Communication and discourse have always been interesting to me and I love sharing these interests with my students via my love for Spanish linguistics and culture. My favorite part of teaching is when a student realizes they overcame a language-barrier or obstacle that they were previously convinced was impossible. My second favorite part is watching those stepping-stone victories (big or small) boost their confidence and evolve into milestone accomplishments in their language-learning journey.”
STUDENT CORNER – Augustine Porter
On 02/07/24, Augustine Porter was the first senior to present her International Baccalaureate EE.Poised, professional, and knowledgeable, she presented her thoroughly researched essay entitled, “Analyzing the Effects of Sexual Abuse on the Development of Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, with the Mention of Other Mental and Physical Disorders and Diseases”.
On Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 3:30 PM, Frank Daly will present his EE. The title of his essay is “Importance of Geology, Weather, and Human History in Rock Climbing Destinations”, which corresponds with Frank’s participation in the Outdoor Leadership pathway offered to students in grades 11 and 12.
The International Baccalaureate (IB) EE is a thesis, a well reasoned argument supported by research. Most papers are around 4,000 words. The presentation consists of a 15 minute overview followed by a Q&A session. The extended essay is a Mountain Academy graduation requirement and all students who attempt the full IB diploma must submit their papers to IB graders for assessment.
