We want to thank everyone across the country for their outpouring of emotion and support for the loss of Liz. We were able to celebrate her life with her family and friends from Minnesota and continue to honor her legacy every day in our drive towards our mission and vision for the school.
Fortunately for us, we were able to shift internally for Chemistry, with Chiquita Adams taking the helm in those classes. Chiquita has a background in Chemistry and is a founding staff member who knows all the juniors well and brings an element of joy positivity to everything she touches.
For Outdoor Adventures, Liz’s signature class, we were lucky to be able to call on New Harmony friend Anne Churchill who has a deep and rich background in gardens, cooking, and education. Anne has hit the ground running, or rather pushing– a cart of garden veggies, seeds, tools, paints, supplies, you name it– to meet the kids where they are in their outdoor adventure journey.
In other new New Harmony Family news, we are excited to announce that Wafa Faris will be joining the team at New Harmony to wrap up the year in English I after we return from Spring Break. Wafa has a long history of working in public education and work-based learning initiatives in high schools and post-secondary. We are confident that Wafa can tap in and finish out the year. We will certainly miss Tiffany who led English I up until now, and send her all our love.
The New Harmony family always has more love to give, and we are so thankful to these three women who have stepped forward (and up!) to help our students be able to finish the year strong.
And at semester, we were able to bring on two new team members, Sentoris Bronner and Kelsey Reynolds. Sentoris joins us as the Student Support Coordinator, working on creating and managing interventions and solidifying culture. Sentoris has an impressive background in Special Education and brings such a tender perspective to every student-first interaction. Kelsey joins us as a Health and Outdoor Adventures teacher. Her background in creating programming for youth with our partner 826 New Orleans, as well as youth and community organizing, makes her a great fit for New Harmony.
And better late than never– our incredible Director of Learning officially started on March 13, 2020, which if you remember was the day the city shut schools down. Katelynn had been working with us on a contract basis over the course of last year, but joined us full time right as we had to make a switch to virtual learning. There are no words to explain the load that Katelynn has shouldered over the last year. And no words to express the gratitude I personally feel for the way Katelynn handles every bump with grace. Katelynn’s project and place based learning at Teton Science Schools, as well as teaching and operations experience, made her the perfect fit for the role. We could not have pulled off this past year without her.
When we started New Harmony with just 12 staff members in August 2018, we talked about the future like it was so far away. Time has a way of folding over on itself, and here we are in Q4 of Y3, with an incredibly rich and talented group of individuals who guide, facilitate, lead, plan, befriend, support, and love the students and their fellow co-workers.
Best,
Sunny
From left to right: Sentoris, Kelsey, Chiquita, Katelynn
Alaina Carter, New Harmony’s World History teacher, was recently recognized for her work as a frontline worker in Gambit’s Frontline People Awards. Way to go!
Jeff’s Humanities Class Highlight
Audio Production In English III
Students in Jeff’s English class began working on a forthcoming audio project and Season Two of the New Harmony High Podcast (if you missed Season One, you can check it out here!). In class, students learned how to use the audio program Soundtrap tocapture recorded versions of their stories and created original music beds to support the tone of what they had written. This was all made possible through a wonderful partnership with Be Loud Studios, who generously provided New Harmony with audio equipment and direct assistance with the recording sessions.
Upcoming Student Events and Opportunities
The South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center will hold its annual swamp camp from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 14-18 and June 21-25 for campers ages 9-12.
“Our camps will educate students on the basics of Louisiana’s wetlands and the importance of the coast’s industries using daily field trips and activities,” said Wetlands Discovery Center Program Director Samantha Hicks. “Field trip destinations include: swamp tours, crabbing, Greenwood Alligator Farm tour, and more!”
Camp activities will include lessons in native plant use, land subsidence, water quality, fish anatomy and estuary management to encourage students to preserve our coast. In addition to lessons focused on coastal wetlands, the camps will also educate students on the oil and gas, fishing, and agriculture industries that support the economy of Southern Louisiana.
To adhere to COVID-19 safety recommendations and to ensure social distancing, available camper spots are reduced to 16 spots per week. Campers will be required to wear masks and all campers will have their temperatures checked upon arrival to camp.
The Wetlands Discovery Center’s summer camp is made possible by a grant from ConocoPhillips.
Camp tuition is $135 per week and includes ALL field trip costs. There is NO REGISTRATION FEE! Registration for the camp is on a first-come, first-served basis with only 16 students being accepted per week. For more information about the camp or to print a registration form, please visit www.slwdc.org or email shicks@slwdc.org.
At New Harmony, students learn their core subjects by diving deeper into their own unique passions. Love art? Let’s talk about it in the context of math or geography. Love engineering? Let’s talk about how you can solve community problems and flex not just your math and science skills but also your writing and critical thinking skills found in humanities courses.
You can learn more about New Harmony on our website. You can also contact our recruitment team to learn more about placement with us this fall at recruitment@newharmonyhigh.org.
Parent Actions and Need to Knows
Spring Break
Please make sure you have spring break marked on your calendars. Spring break begins on March 29 and 9th graders will return in person on April 6, virtual classes will begin again for all students on the 6th as well.
Socially Distanced 11th grade Advisory during their first day back!
