Enrollment Procedures for the 2012-13 School Year

Upper School Parenting Perspectives Presents:

I Love my Kid, but.......: When to Say "Yes" and When to say "No"

Setting boundaries for healthy development
Understanding your adolescent's world
My child has always been a good kid, but...
Does grounding work as a consequence? What does?

WHAT? A question and answer forum to address parenting dilemmas
WHERE? The St. Martin's Upper School Peyton Center (on Haring Road)
WHEN? Tuesday, February 7, 2012 at 7:00 pm
WHO? Presentation for parents of 8th-12th grade students by Nancy B. Timm, LCSW-BACS

Nancy Bissinger Timm received her MSW from Tulane University in 1981, and her LCSW, ACSW accreditation in 1983. She worked extensively with children, adolescents and their families in her role as Director of Counseling at a local school for over ten years. She has over twenty-five years of experience as a private practitioner providing individual and group psychotherapy to children, adolescents and adults.

St. Martin’s Upper School Parenting Perspectives is designed to address some of our parents’ most pressing concerns.  Sessions are scheduled for approximately one hour in the Peyton Student Center.  If you have questions, please call or email Dr. Bill Rosenbaum, at 736-9937 or william.rosenbaum@stmsaints.com.

KUDOS TO OUR PERFORMING ARTS DEPARTMENT... 

2011 Nominations for the 14th Annual Marquee Awards

Set Design - Musical
Jeffrey M. Davis - I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

Supporting Actress - Musical
Carrie Hill - The Drowsy Chaperone

Musical Director
Carrie Hill - The Drowsy Chaperone

Director - Drama
Andrew Crusse - Torch Song Trilogy - *Delta Productions

Director - Musical
Andrew Crusse - I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

Drama of the Year
Torch Song Trilogy - *Delta Productions

*Delta Productions - Andrew Crusse and Jeff Davis' newly formed production company.

St. Martin's will be treated to a very special performance! The Maret School Concert Choir from Washington, D.C. will be performing for our 1st-8th grade students on Wednesday, February 15th at 1:05 p.m.

The Maret School Concert Choir is a select chorus made up of high school students in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grade attending the Maret School in Washington D.C. The Concert Choir has performed in many different venues throughout the country and are known for their great diversity in repertoire encompassing many styles from around the world. Some notable local performances have been at the White House, the Children's Hospital, the Kennedy Center, and the National Cathedral. During the month of February, the Choir takes their annual tour performing in public and private schools as well as in areas culturally significant to a particular city. Most recently they have toured Los Angeles, New York City, New Orleans, Nashville, Miami, Houston, San Francisco, and Charleston, South Carolina.

James Erwin is the Director of the Maret School Concert Choir. In addition to being the Performing Arts Chair at Maret School in Washington D.C., he is also a composer and arranger who writes for the group and arranges pieces to highlight the unique energy inherent to high school students. He was the 2004 recipient of the Agnes Meyer Award for Excellence in Teaching. Mr. Erwin has written two full-length musicals and has performed throughout the D.C. Metropolitan area as a pianist and bandleader. He has directed the Concert Choir for 23 years. Mr. Erwin is also the Director of Worship at Little Falls Presbyterian Church in Arlington, VA.

Click here to view the St. Martin's Viewbook

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ST. MARTIN'S EPISCOPAL SCHOOL

St. Martin's in the Holiday Spirit... 

St. Martin's Episcopal School celebrated the Christmas season with each division of the school supporting different local and international charities.

Our George Cottage "adopted" five families through the Social Services Department of Children's Hospital. All of these families have a patient currently receiving medical care through Children's Hospital and are in need of support. Students and families of the George Cottage brought in Christmas gifts or donated money for the families. The George Cottage also collected items for The Nicaraguan Mission which leads a religious community located in the outskirts of the City of Leon, which is one of the poorest areas in Nicaragua. The Mission is run by priests and nuns as well as lay volunteers who are dedicated to feeding impoverished children and supporting very needy families socially, spiritually and physically.

Our Lower School's generosity was expressed through a book drive for KIPP Believe Academy. This local school's library was in dire need of assorted reading level books and our Pre-K through 5 students answered the call. Well over one hundred books were collected and donated to KIPP Believe Academy's library.

Our Middle School's holiday spirit supported Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans. The sixth, seventh and eighth graders collected jars of peanut butter for the local food bank. 521 jars of peanut butter were donated from our own St. Martin's Middle School.

Upper School students made it their mission take up a collection for the New Orleans Metropolitan Battered Women's Shelter. Students brought in toys for the homeless boys and girls who will spend Christmas in the shelter with their mothers.

St. Martin's Episcopal School's students are living their school's motto of faith, scholarship and service during this holiday season by serving and giving to others less fortuante.

Middle School's Peanut Butter Christmas tree for Second Harvest being blessed during Chapel

Mrs. Merry P. Sorrells

St. Martin's Episcopal School proudly announces the appointment of its ninth Head of School. Mrs. Merry P. Sorrells, a resident of Jefferson Parish for thirty years and an administrator with experience as Head of School, Director of Admission and Director of Advancement at independent schools in the Greater New Orleans area, will assume leadership of St. Martin's on July 1, 2012. She will be the first female Head in the school's sixty-five year history.

States Board of Trustees Chair The Rev. Fred Devall, "Thanks to the open and transparent search process that garnered important input from the school community, we knew the qualities we were looking for in the next leader of our school. On paper, Merry was immediately a strong candidate. Through the interview process, we recognized her strength of character, strong work ethic, zeal for strong academics, and the creative ability to help us tell our story to the wider community. For example, it was Merry who suggested that we consider entering into partnerships with local science and medical institutions to help our students formulate an understanding of what will be required of them for 21st century employment. In this way she was articulating our mission- to prepare students for college and for life. Further, Merry clearly has earned the respect of her peers, as evidenced by several letters of support to the Search Committee from other local Heads."

Mrs. Sorrells has a Masters in Educational Administration from the University of New Orleans and a B.A. in International Relations with an emphasis in foreign languages, international political science and environmental science from Principia College in Elsah, IL. She is currently working on her Ph. D in Educational Leadership from the University of New Orleans; her dissertation will focus on 21st Century Education. In 2006, she participated in a National Association of Independent Schools/E.E. Ford Fellowship for Aspiring Heads of School.

Professionally, Mrs. Sorrells served as the Head of School at St. Paul's Episcopal School in New Orleans from June 2007 until June 2011. Under her leadership, St. Paul's position was re-established in a community significantly weakened by the impact of Hurricane Katrina. The school saw significant increases in enrollment and annual giving as well as the establishment of dynamic new programs including a sustainability curriculum, garden and outdoor education program, afterschool program and a media lab/AV program.

Prior to St. Paul's she served at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans as Director of Admission (July 1998-June 2006) and Director of Advancement (July 2006-May 2007). She served as Associate Director of Admission at Newman (January 1997-June 1998) and was an active Substitute Teacher and Parent Volunteer there (1992-1997). She also served as an Upper School Advisor at Newman for eight years. Most recently, until her appointment as the next Head of St. Martin's, Mrs. Sorrells has served as Associate Head of Admission and Marketing at Trinity Episcopal School in New Orleans (July 2011-June 2012).

In her thirteen years as an administrator at local independent schools, Mrs. Sorrells has demonstrated a strong talent for building a dynamic and collaborative faculty and administration; marketing; strong communication, both internally and externally; program building; and enrollment growth. Her experience at two Episcopal Schools and her philosophy that learning from loving teachers in a faith-based environment gives today's children the strength of character and intellect which are necessary for success in today's complex world, make her the superior choice to lead St. Martin's into the future.

Mrs. Sorrells has a strong history of community involvement in the Greater New Orleans area, including service on the Boards of the Homecoming Center (a post-Katrina outreach organization at St. Paul's) and Breakthrough New Orleans at Isidore Newman School. She has also served as a Committee Member for the Jefferson Parish Educational Smart Summit.

Mrs. Sorrells has been married to her husband Kim Walter Sorrells for thirty two years, and together they raised four children and have one grandchild.

States Mrs. Sorrells, "Over the many years that I have lived in the New Orleans area I have been impressed with the strength of spirit and community expressed at St. Martin's. It will be an honor and a privilege to serve as the head of St. Martin's Episcopal School. I am excited about joining the community and stepping forward together into a successful future."

The selection process for the St. Martin's Head of School was an intentional, inclusive and thorough process that took place over the past fifteen months and included candidates from across the nation. The process was directed by Mr. Stephen Dicicco, President of Educational Directions Incorporated, a firm with deep and broad experience in the best practices of successful independent school Head searches, as well as a familiarity with the culture of New Orleans and Episcopal schools. The Search Committee was comprised of twelve members representing parents, alumni, educators, trustees and the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana. Mr. Dicicco spent several days on the St. Martin's campus with faculty, staff, students and parents; and oversaw electronic surveys of all constituents. That process resulted in a comprehensive Candidate Information Document, the primary marketing tool used to attract prospective candidates. During the late spring and summer of 2011, the field of candidates was narrowed to seven semi-finalists, each of whom visited the campus in September for a tour and interview with the Search Committee. The list of three finalists was announced in late September after thorough vetting by Mr. Dicicco's firm, and those candidates (with spouses) spent a full two days on campus in October, meeting with all constituencies and participating in a lengthy interview with the Search Committee. The Search Committee subsequently made a unanimous recommendation of Mrs. Sorrells to the Board of Trustees, which voted unanimously in favor of that recommendation.

The St. Martin's Episcopal School Board of Trustees wishes to express its sincere thanks and appreciation to Mr. DiCicco, the Search Committee and The Rev. Dr. Walter J. Baer, who has ably and commendably led the school as Interim Headmaster since May 2010. He will continue in this role until June 30, 2012 at which point he intends to resume his duties at St. Martin's as Middle School Chaplain.

St. Martin's Episcopal School is a co-educational faith-based independent school for ages two years through twelfth grade. Its Mission Statement is to "prepare students to thrive in college and in life through faith, scholarship and service." St. Martin's does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, disability, religion, national or ethnic origin.

Congratulations to the StM Saints Football team on a history making season!

In the Regional playoff round of playoffs, the Saints lost the lead in the 4th quarter to fall to Block 34-26. This team finished the season as the District 10-1A Champions and undefeated in regular season, the first team to accomplish this in school history. They were also the first team to reach the second round of playoffs since 1992.

http://highschoolsports.nola.com/news/article/-803706057400334764/st-martins-foiled-by-block-late-in-game/

More Playoff news:

The UNDEFEATED Saints defeated Delhi Charter 14-13 in the Bi-District Round of the Playoffs. They advance to the Regional Round of the Playoffs. The Saints(5) will play Block(12) on Friday, November 18 at 7:00PM at home.

http://highschoolsports.nola.com/news/article/-803708057401334783/st-martins-gets-turnovers-edges-delhi-charter/

Read about the StM vs. Block match up on sportsnola.com

http://www.sportsnola.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=577457&Itemid=4333

The Boys and Girls Cross Country teams placed 2nd overall in the District 9-1A Cross Country Championships. And the Boys team placed 3rd overall in the State!!

Congratulations to the St. Martin's Varsity Volleyball and Cross Country teams. The volleyball team defeated South Plaquemines and moved on to the regional round of the playoffs.

Go Saints!!

l-r: Liz Amoss, Jason Bremermann '15, Jessie Troxler '13, Madeline Davis '13, Hailee Barret '14, Emily Diaz '14, Daniel Amoss '14, Timothy Birdsong '14, Adler Hyatt '14, Christian Borges '13, Performing Arts Club President Emily Tastet '12, Guild of Fine Arts President David Tastet, Ben Griffith '13, Jennifer Griffith, St. Martin's Director of Theater Andrew Crusse, Betsy Birdsong and David Birdsong.

The St. Martin's Episcopal School Guild of Fine Arts presented a check for $1200.00 to the St. Martin's Performing Arts Club at the close of the November performance of "Arms and the Man." The Guild raises funds through the sales of student artist's greeting cards and concessions and flower sales during the performances. The Performing Arts club is raising money to sponsor students to attend a theater workshop in New York City. The Guild of Fine Arts has generously donated over $9500 to the Arts at St. Martin's, both visual and performing.

St. Martin's Episcopal School's chapter of the National Honor Society inducted 25 new members during its fall tapping ceremony. Members are selected based on their outstanding academic performance, demonstration of service and leadership within their community and school and strength of character. The new members are: Cassidy George, Tyler Dean, Ian Jenkins, Paden Gallagher, Jessica Herbert, Austin Falk, Richard Jurisich, Benjamin Bonner, Jonathan Waters, Mitchell Duhe, Paul Alvendia, Grant Reggio, Tejas Shah, James Conatser, Claire Adams, Alex Lunyong, William Kuehne, Samantha Price, Vishal Shah, Lindsay Andrews, Conrad Appel, IV, Laura Nussdorf, Hannah DellaCroce, Jessie Troxler and Madeline Davis.

The UNDEFEATED St. Martin's Saints were featured on WWLTV sports and Fourth Down on Four!

http://www.wwltv.com/sports/high-school/St-Martin-the-big-dog-but-can-they-be-the-top-dog-131904278.html

Alumni News:

St. Martin's announces Betsy Threefoot Kaston '72 as the 2011 Martin de Tours Award recipient

2011 Alumni Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees

PERFORMING ARTS NEWS: 

• Congratulations to Connor Appel'13 and James Conatser'13 who have both been accepted into the Louisiana Music Education Association All State Honor Ensembles! Connor will be singing Bass I with the Mixed Chorus, and James will be playing Trombone and sitting FIRST CHAIR!!

• Congratulations to several STM students who performed in the Romantic/Contemporary Piano auditions which were held at Loyola this past weekend. STM was well represented with outstanding students in each division. James Conatser was selected to play in the Honors Recital. William Baird was an Honorable Mention winner and received a medal. Lainey Pickens was also selected to play in the Honors Recital and Jules France, Jessie Pickens and Clara Conatser received superior and excellent ratings.

• St. Martin's had the most students of any area school who auditioned yesterday for the 2012 Louisiana Music Education Association District Honor Choir. Congratulations to the following who were chosen for this honor: Nic Lobrano, Carrington Roaf, Malorie Saucier, Bailey Shofstahl, Charlotte Fowler, Alyssa Garrido, Ellie Hurley, Elise Lafleur, Anna Beth Talbot, Griff Thomas, Mitchell Halpern, Ruby Reeves, Khaja Bradley, Zoe Carter, Elizabeth Kuehne, Rimi Mandal, Mollye Varon, Madalyn Cranford, Gabby Lagarde, Evan McCollum, Chloe Bartholomew, Jules France, Madison Aucoin, Cassandria Goh, Betzy Liriano, Beline Manalle and Mya Carter!

Go Saints!!

St. Martin's Middle School Launches iPad Pilot Program

Upon returning from the International Society for Technology and Education's annual conference in June (which he was able to attend thanks to a generous Faculty Recognition Grant by the St. Martin's Mothers Club), Science Department Chair Warren Lind approached the Technology Office with an ambitious idea for the 2011-12 school year: Launch a one-year pilot program using iPad companion devices and an interactive science textbook to enhance learning by Middle School students. After studying the idea during the summer, this exciting pilot program was launched yesterday for the thirteen students in Mr. Lind's Honors Physical Science Class.

St. Martin's Middle and Upper School students have been using laptop and tablet technology since 2006 with significant benefits including the ability to learn interactively with faculty and classmates using SmartBoards and the ability to post homework and assignments, see grades and research online from anywhere on campus or at home.

Two advances in technology prompted the new program at St. Martin's: The development of Companion Devices, including iPads, which are lighter, less expensive, more durable, faster-on, easier to use and with longer battery life than laptops; and the advent of truly interactive learning systems like Cinch Learning Systems. Unlike previous "online" textbooks, which were simply large pdfs of paper texts, Cinch employs state-of-the-art curricula in science featuring customizable interactive lesson pages and presentations, animations and videos to illustrate scientific principles as well as online practice problems. In our pilot program we are using CINCH Science, a comprehensive 5-12 science program that maximizes online capabilities to engage all students in learning. Teachers can access all lessons and course materials, and students can access all assigned resources at any time to review key concepts. All CINCH e-books and other core materials are fully accessible from a wide range of mobile devices including the iPad2, smartphone and laptop PC, providing multiple options to target different learning styles and classroom needs.

St. Martin's selected the iPad technology for use in the pilot program based upon its functionality, cost and the large number of educational apps available. The cost of purchasing the pilot program devices was funded by the school, and students in the pilot program will be provided a proportionately-sized keyboard for use with the iPad2s. At the end of the one-year pilot program, the school will evaluate not only whether the use of companion devices and interactive curricula enhanced student education, but also whether the iPad technology is the best choice for future companion device use. States Technology Department Head Michelle Snow, "Ultimately, we see companion devices as the machine that students will bring to school, while their laptop or home computer will serve for heavier computer use involving extensive writing or research."

In order to transition from using laptops purchased by parents to companion devices for the 2012-13 school year, this year's sixth grade students as well as all new seventh and eighth grade students have been provided a school-owned laptop. If the pilot program succeeds as expected, parents in the 2012-13 school year would purchase only a companion device for their child. Companion devices are significantly less expensive than laptops ($600 versus $2100, and they have a two-year warranty).

Evaluation of the pilot program will be based upon a pre-testing survey conducted by Warren Lind during the first week of school, followed by periodic surveys during the course of the year and finally, a post-test survey at the end of the school year. The school will advise students, parents and faculty regarding the results of the pilot program and recommendations for procedures and equipment for the following year.

The students and parents participated in a webinar Monday night, and the iPad2s were distributed on Tuesday. This provided an introduction to the pilot program that utilizes iPad2 and an interactive curriculum. Companion devices for the pilot program group will receive technical support from the StM Technology Office.

"The important point is not that we're using technology. Rather, it's the integration of technology with what the teacher is doing in the classroom," states Warren Lind. "By conducting a one-year pilot program with a control group of students and one teacher in a true classroom setting, we will be able to objectively measure the impact of that integration on learning, which is our mission as a school."

Middle School Head Jane Caine is very excited about this pilot program just as she was about the introduction in Middle School of the tablet program in the fall of 2006. "Our teachers are highly motivated, eager to receive training and continually looking for additional venues to facilitate the effective integration of technology into the classroom." "I cannot think of a better place to pilot this program than with our Middle School students and faculty."

St. Martin's Saints football program featured on Sportsnola.com

http://www.sportsnola.com/sports/prep-sports/blogs/football-preview-2011-experienced-squad-yields-high-expectations-at-st-martins.html

See St. Martin's student-led servant leadership in action!