Summer 2003 Press Releases

Summer 03 - Word Dance Features Art Work by Middle School Students
Summer 03 - Andy Cannon '05 Works With Young Friends in China
Summer 03 - Ashwath Karpe '05 Teaches In India
Summer 03 - Matt Johnson '04 in Two Prestigious Summer Programs
Summer 03 - Faculty Summers Well Spent
Summer 03 - Jeff Rubens Named Coach of the Year

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Summer 03 - Word Dance Features Art Work by Middle School Students
Two Wilmington Friends eighth graders, Chris DiAndreth and Todd Aronhalt, had artwork published in the Summer 2003 issue of Word Dance, a magazine "established for the purpose of giving today's youth a quality forum for creative expression."

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Summer 03 - Andy Cannon '05 Works With Young Friends in China
Junior Andy Cannon participated in the 2003 China Summer Workcamp, a program now in its third year to take teenagers to China to teach English as a second language; the program is sponsored by Westfield Friends Meeting, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting. Andy joined seven other Young Friends in the program, which was attended by approximately 100 Chinese children.

Andy had already completed more than 50 hours of service--enough to meet the school's service requirement--working last summer at the du Pont Hospital for Children, but he was enthusiastic about the trip to China. "It's hard for me to leave my family for so long, and I had to ask for a leave of absence from my part-time job at Acme," Andy said, "but the chance to travel to Asia, where I was born, with other Young Friends, is too good to pass up."

Andy was born in South Korea, but has lived in the United States since he was adopted at the age of five months. His parents, J. Roy and Terry Cannon also have an adopted child from Peru, Catie, who attends the Cab Calloway School for the Arts. The Cannons are members of the Wilmington Monthly Meeting.

Service coordinator Richard Bernard said of Andy, "I think he's courageous...it's outside his comfort zone and he's challenging himself. I'm really pleased that he's willing to do that." Terry Cannon added, "It's a different perspective that I think will be valuable to him."

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Summer 03 - Ashwath Karpe '05 Teaches In India
Junior Ashwath Karpe, whose family is from India, spent the summer volunteering as a teacher at the Boys Home sponsored by the YMCA of Andheri, India. Ash taught classes in conversational English, chess, and mathematics to students ages 9 to 14. All of the classes except English were taught in Hindi.

Ash's supervisor commented that, "Ashwath has proved to be an excellent role model…he was compassionate toward the boys, meticulous in his approach, and diligent in the responsibilities entrusted to him." Ash said that he learned much about the responsibility of being a teacher, noting, "It also taught me to appreciate how much people like me, from more privileged homes, take so much for granted."

Toward the end of Ash's service project, his family sponsored a party for the 65 children at the school, and also established an annual scholarship to help with the expenses for a student in grades 6-8, the age group Ash taught this summer. Of his students, Ash said, "I'm glad that I could contribute in some small way toward their development. I hope to visit these children when I go to India next and renew my association with them."

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Summer 03 - Matt Johnson '04 in Two Prestigious Summer Programs
Matthew Ross Johnson '04 spent the first half of the summer serving as a United States Senate Page. In that role, Matt had the opportunity to meet many of the nation's leaders, to contribute to the day-to-day operations of the Senate, and to work with Pages from diverse backgrounds.

Matt then was selected to participate in this 2003 National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology (NYLC/TECH), held in San Jose, California, from July 27 to August 5. Approximately 1,500 high school students participated in the Forum, working on group and independent projects, and attending workshops and product demonstrations led by technology industry leaders. Dr. Craig Barrett, CEO of Intel Corporation, and Dr. Vance D. Coffman, Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corporation, were among the event's guest speakers.

"In their young years, many bright individuals like Matthew Johnson have already become a dynamic part of the industry--writing software, building systems networks, managing web hosting companies, and developing the next generation of cutting-edge technology," said Donna Snyder, executive director of NYLF. "The National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology provides a virtual summit whereby tomorrow's innovators build upon and add to their skills while also receiving inspiration and direction from current technology industry leaders."

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Summer 03 - Faculty Summers Well Spent
Among the special faculty programs and projects undertaken over the summer, in addition to the many professional development seminars and conferences and the various curriculum meetings, were:

• An International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum development project on the relationship of math and the arts; Art Major and Precalculus students will engage in the Art of Mathematics/Mathematics of Art project;
• Exploration of possible sites for a winter program abroad, including Ecuador and the Galapagos, and the development of international school partnerships in New Zealand, with help from former AFS student and now member of the New Zealand parliament, Nick Smith;
• Development of a cross-curricular project on the life cycle of a chicken, to coordinate homebase science learning and science lab studies in lower school (the project this year will be centered in a kindergarten homebase classroom), including a contest to collect the best "chicken jokes";
• Preliminary work on a distance learning program.

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Summer 03 - Jeff Rubens Named Coach of the Year
Upper school girls soccer coach Jeff Rubens was named as Delaware's Coach of the Year for the 2003 season. Jeff was nominated by the schools in the Independent Conference, as well as other "small schools" in the state, and was announced as the recipient of the statewide honor at the June 16th all-state banquet. The 2003 Friends Girls Soccer Team won the Independent Conference championship, featured three all-state players, and competed in the state tournament.

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