By Fiona Kelley ’19

Recently, […]

Students in Studio Art and Introduction to Art classes were recently given a unique assignment. They had to create a piece of art inspired by items they had seen during a recent trip to the Empresses of China’s Forbidden City exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem. They translated the knowledge they gained during the field trip into artwork that echoes Chinese history but with a modern twist.

On January 22nd, the first day of Intersession Symposium, students selected two of the following Master Classes taught by APH faculty and staff. These classes are designed for students to gain exposure to diverse topics and also to see how intellectual curiosity and passion for learning are important qualities they can develop throughout their lives. The full course descriptions highlight the range of subjects that will be taught.

The inaugural APH Intersession Symposium will take place on Tuesday through Friday, January 22nd-25th. This kind of event is critical to students' professional and personal growth. Making intentional time for learning beyond the classroom and to help students envision their future is in keeping with The Academy's mission: to educate, enlighten and empower young women to live and to lead exemplary lives.

Each fall, an APH family hosts an exchange student from Guatemala and this year, we were delighted to welcome Claudia G. While she was with us during the past two months, Claudia did an excellent job of immersing herself in all elements of school life. On Friday, December 7th, her final day at APH, Claudia gave a presentation to the entire school during Morning Meeting. We miss her already and wish her all the best for her very bright future!

Article by Juliette Chait '20 - On Thursday, November 15, the junior class was invited to eat at first lunch and then was excused from classes for the remainder of the afternoon. We all bundled up and took the vans to Wingaersheek Beach in Gloucester for our team-building class service project. Our mission was to collect all the trash we could find on the beach and keep track of everything on the paper for an organization called COASTSWEEP.

In a unique class called Out of the Shadows, students are learning about the lives of enslaved women in New England and the South. Under the guidance of faculty member Dr. Linda Meditz, the students are learning about several “hidden” women in Massachusetts including Lucy Foster who was enslaved in Andover. Their proposal to erect a gravestone in Lucy's honor has been approved by the Board of the South Church at Andover and is now moving forward.

The Academy at Penguin Hall Athletics teams had a strong Fall 2018 season. All four teams (soccer, cross country, volleyball, and field hockey) made great strides throughout the season, with each team improving their skills and ability to play well together. Coaches and athletes from other schools frequently commented on how our student-athletes are both competitive and kind.

Article by Molly Geaney '19 - On October 24th, Mr. Williams’ 12th grade Writing to Change the World class attended The Peculiar Patriot, a one-woman show playing at the Paramount Theatre in Boston. The play, starring and written by Liza Jessie Peterson, explores the impacts of mass incarceration on the lives and communities that it disrupts.

When you see a dancer performing with passion, it is truly mesmerizing. Each movement, gesture, and facial expression can convey so much. In Taunia Soderquist’s Choreography class, seven students are learning the power and grace of dancing individually and as a group. We look forward to seeing this talented group of young women perform their final choreography projects at the Winter Concert on December 14th!

In Craig Gorton’s Robotics class, six students are hard at work writing code using a program called Arduino to control robots. After moving from simple tasks to more complicated maneuvers such as completing a maze, the girls completed their greatest challenge yet: programming the robots to perform a choreographed dance together.

On an early, cool fall morning, eighteen students gathered to embark on a field trip to Steepletop, the home of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. Each girl had her own unique reasons for being willing to spend a whole Saturday traveling 163 miles each way to Austerlitz, New York to visit Millay’s home and grounds but the common thread they all shared was an eagerness to learn more about the Pulitzer Prize winning poet and thoroughly modern woman.

Recently, APH students and their teacher Emily Hewitt had the unique chance to speak with a leading expert on whales. Nick Pyenson, PhD, a paleobiologist who serves as Curator of Fossil Marine Mammals at the Smithsonian, is the author of Spying on Whales: The Past, Present, and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures and joined us for an hour-long discussion.

Through Introduction to Russian Language and History, an elective course taught by Mary Richards, students are learning about the people and forces that have shaped Russian culture and daily life. After several classes where they explored the life of Peter the Great, now the students are each researching the life of a Russian historical figure of their choice as part of a multiphase biography project.

Each week in Ms. Lake’s Portfolio class, students get to put down their books, put on music, and pick up a shading pencil or paintbrush. Her course is designed to support and encourage students who are interested in pursuing Art at a higher level and require documentation of their high school art experience.

The students in Mr. Borzi's Geometry classes got to apply their understanding of the Segment Addition Postulate through an unusual, hands-on activity. Students acted as “building inspectors” and needed to determine the distance to the exit door from three different 4th floor classrooms.

Sara Campbell, the designer, founder, and CEO of Sara Campbell Ltd., started this year’s Women in Leadership Speaker Series on a high note. She shared her story of professional and personal success and challenges as well as encouraging young women to make a difference.

By Mary DeLorenzo, School Psychologist–Now that summer is in full swing, what will the rest of the summer break hold for you? Take time to relax, travel, create memories, and make an impact.

By APH Staff—The Honorable Paula M. Carey, Chief Justice of the Trial Court for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shared words of wisdom with the APH community. She encouraged students to have their voices heard and dream of who they can be without limits.

By Hannah Kimberley, Humanities—Last Saturday, a group of our students met me in Gloucester to help in the National Association of Letter Carriers’ annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive,

Environmental Science students and Art History students collaborated with organizers from Salem Sound Coastwatch and Tidal Shift, an organization creating community created public art installations on the North Shore to communicate the negative impact of plastic bag pollution in the oceans.  

By Bryon Williams, Humanities—Juniors in Global Literature are currently showcasing their culminating projects in their study of Americanah, the award-winning 2013 novel by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Students had already read Adichie’s short non-fiction book Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, and Americanah serves as an even more expansive exploration of identity, gender, and race in the twenty-first century.

The weather is finally warmer and our calendars are full this month with all the end of school year activities. This is especially true for me as my four children graduate (a daughter from college and triplets from high school) and I am looking to Mindfulness as a way to stay focused and calm.

APH softball traveled to Rockport High School on Monday to face the Vikings’ JV squad. The Penguins continued their offensive dominance with a six-inning, 20-3 win over their hosts.

Shakespeare for Modern Actors culminated in its study of Much Ado About Nothing with a field trip to see an incredible performance of the play at The Actors’ Shakespeare Project in Cambridge

April is Autism Awareness Month. Autism is a wide-spectrum disorder, meaning every person who has autism experiences it differently. This Tuesday,  Best Buddies hosted an assembly to educate our community about autism and people with disabilities, as well as to inform everyone about the Best Buddies program in general. We’re so lucky to have people in our own community willing to share their experiences and stories.

By Katherine Reardon, Director of Athletics—The season is off to a great start for APH athletics.  Last Friday, our tennis team traveled to Newburyport Racquet Club where they faced off against Amesbury in their season opener.  The 8 members of our tennis team played hard and earned a 3-1 win over their hosts. 

By Lily Johnson'20 and Ella Nazzaro '20—Hundreds of students from all around the Northeast take part in this event. Holy Cross undergraduates host popular contests during the day including an art challenge, a costume contest, a manuscript challenge, and, usually, a famed chariot race

By Madeleine Mogavero '21 — Some auctioned off countries, while others made deals with opposing countries. The conference got heated at times, but the students learned the importance of diplomacy throughout the game.

Thanks to increased participation this year, our cross country runners were able to log the school’s first official meet results with a full team running.  Not only that, but the girls earned the program’s first-ever wins at the varsity level.

Recently, Ms. Hewitt's Chemistry class investigated calorimetry by burning some of their favorite snack foods, like Doritos, Funyuns, and baked potato chips.

  Coach Paige Eaton is returning to APH this Spring and is looking forward to working with a talented group of players as our team looks to make its mark on the softball scene.

The message Ms. Ryan brought to the community was an inspiration, centered on taking chances, never knowing what exactly lay around the next corner, pursuing dreams, acting on personal principles, and holding fast to one's values.  "If you can't own it, you can't be it,"

Olympic runner Abbey D'Agostino stopped by APH this week and gave a very interesting and inspiring talk to the school community about her experience as an athlete, her wins and also her losses. Her message was one of pursuing dreams, balancing demands, having faith, and living for the moment. 

We really seemed to click and work together and we really just nailed the other team and caught them off guard. Two of our girls scored perfect 10s during this trial.

How are you a 'Light in the Winter' for others? Our students in the Yellow House answered that question by having a menstrual product drive for homeless women as their community service project.

By Kate Reardon, Athletic Director—The Winter 2017-2018 season was another example of growth for the Penguin Athletics program, as each of our winter sports recognized new feats while continuing to display the teamwork and sportsmanship we expect of our student-athletes.

By APH Staff—This semester our 25 Play Production students will be participating in the New Noises Playwriting Festival at Boston Playwright’s Theatre of Boston University. Our students will be writing their own original 10 minute plays to be submitted for the festival.

At APH, we are always striving to expand the horizons of our students with new and interesting academic opportunities.  The second semester is seeing important growth in elective courses which diversify and expand the classroom experience at APH.  These courses offer new ways for our students to think and grow and truly show the depth of expertise in a variety of fields that our faculty brings to the community. 

APH came out with a win against Bishop Fenwick High School in the second of three meets on February 2nd, with the judge commenting that our APH students performed as well as any of the students he had taught at Boston University School of Law.

The young women in our Events and Traditions club organized an afternoon of reflection, an inspiration for service, and fun to help us to celebrate APH, the Light in Winter house service project.

By Mary DeLorenzo, School Psychologist

During our recent Parent Coffee, the topic […]

By Brigid Beckman, Campus Minister—Many local agencies and organizations work hard to ease a wide array of needs in our communities. Yet sadly, they often struggle to balance an abundance of help at the holidays with being largely forgotten throughout the year. This reality inspired the creation of what we hope will become a dearly held tradition for our school: APH, the Light in Winte

By APH Staff—We welcome Taunia and her breadth of musical talent and experience to our APH Community. She comes to us from Southern California where she was a Brass and Vocal Instructor.

By Kate Reardon—Many local agencies and organizations work hard to ease a wide array of needs in our communities. Yet sadly, they often struggle to balance an abundance of help at the holidays with being largely forgotten throughout the year. This reality inspired the creation of what we hope will become a dearly held tradition for our school: APH, the Light in WinteFall 2017 was a great season for The Academy at Penguin Hall Athletics with all four programs taking positive steps forward from last fall and each team demonstrating growth over the course of the season. 

The challenge helped the students understand the topic better: “When I heard about the issue I was very pro-regulation: you have one planet and you have to save it. When you hear that these regulations affect someone’s livelihood, you realize it’s not as simple as you thought,” Trzcinski says. “I don’t think we could have read about it in a textbook and understood it the way we do now,” Atkins adds.

Academy at Penguin Hall art students had an exciting opportunity for a real-world design experience. Each Mixed Media student learned about design, printmaking as well researching women in history.

The Gift of Failure

APH Students Talk School Life, Culture, and Politics With Girls […]