Our Minecraft Curriculum Featured at Annual NAIS Conference

by Aaron Cooper

Head of School

Last week, a contingent from The Elisabeth Morrow School traveled to Philadelphia for the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Annual Conference; a gathering of more than 5,000 educators from around the country. 

EMS Technology teacher Marianne Malmstrom and I were honored to be invited, along with seventeen other schools, to present specific educational innovations in a session called Speed Innovating.  Ms. Malmstrom and I offered a session titled Targeting the "Six C's" for the 21st Century Through the New Frontier of Minecraft, which detailed the "gaming" curriculum of our technology department. 

Some within our community are familiar with our Tech department's work with Minecraft.  If you are not, or are interested in taking a closer look, please consult the following links:

•  The information on our session at NAIS

•  This wiki space maintained to document the students’ work

•  Or, this article from the 2012 Appletree magazine.

NAIS President Pat Bassett referred to the session in his general remarks to the entire conference by saying that, "if [attendees] did not have the chance to see the Speed Innovation session, [they] need to do so next year, as it featured details of what education can and should be."  Mr. Bassett also had the chance to listen directly to our presentation and was quite impressed with the work going on at Elisabeth Morrow.  This is certainly high praise coming from an individual so knowledgeable about the independent school world. 

Ms. Malmstrom and the technology team have developed this program over the past five years and have worked tirelessly to tweak the curriculum and support the students’ work.  It is this sort of dedication and drive that we all appreciate and is a hallmark of our entire Elisabeth Morrow faculty.  

NJAIS Conference Features EMS Faculty Participants

Yesterday (October 15) the EMS faculty attended the annual New Jersey Association of Independent Schools Conference at the Ranney School in Tinton Falls.  The conference goal is professional development and networking: providing "speakers, workshops, seminars and sessions" focusing on all facets of independent school trends and activities.  Once again, this year featured EMS faculty (two current and one former) with active rolls in the conference.

Carol Toth

EMS Director of Auxilary programs Liza Jones Hards and Math teacher Carol Toth were asked to lead "affinity tables" in their area of expertise.  As Ms. Toth expains, "the idea (with hosting affinity tables) is that in an informal setting we could get together and talk about the issues that face us and hopefully help each other find solutions to common problems."  Ms. Toth planned to direct the table toward issues regarding groupings, acceleration, working with challenged math learners, and how much (if any) of the state's Common Core Curriculum Standards math departments could incorporate into their own programs.  

Liza Jones Hards presents at NJAIS Conference at the Ranney School 

Along with guiding a table on school auxiliary programs (camps, before-school and after-school programming), Mrs. Jones Hards, along with her colleague Cindy Wyatt from Gill St. Bernard's School, also presented a full session at the conference.  Titled Let The Sunshine In, Mrs. Jones Hards' and Mrs. Wyatt's presentation focused on "their success stories for building and maintaining summer activities that keep learning going, while at the same time adding marketing and financial value" to their respective schools.

Also presenting at this year's conference, former EMS Head of School, Dr. David Lowry spoke on the topic of administration and leadership – sharing "humor and truth" from his thirty years in independent schools.

EMS Gala Raises Over 210K For Faculty Endowment Fund

By Jennifer Shaia, Judy Couri , Courtney Miglietta
Spring Gala 2012 Co-Chairs


The Spring Gala 2012 was held at the Alpine Country Club and a wonderful time was had by all who attended! This year, our annual benefit honored retiring Head of School, David Lowry, as well as Aril Lowry, affectionately known as our “Garden Lady.” On Saturday, May 5, more than 320 people came together to say “Thank you!” to Dr. and Mrs. Lowry.

Dr. Lowry believes that “the teachers are the heart and soul of Elisabeth Morrow” and requested that all proceeds from this event be directed to the Endowment for our Faculty. This year, more than $210,000 was raised at the event!

We sincerely thank all the volunteers, underwriters, faculty, staff, and administrators who made this event such a success.

Photographs by Shelley Kusnetz

Marianne Malmstrom Participates in Born This Way Foundation Launch

EMS Technology Teacher, Marianne Malmstrom

by Evan Brown

Director of Communications and Alumni

On February 29, Elisabeth Morrow Technology Teacher, Marianne Malmstrom, joined an esteemed gathering of experts, educators, researchers, policy-makers and foundation leaders at the Symposium on Youth Meanness and Cruelty at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet and Society in Cambridge, Massachusettes. The Symposium served as a pre-launch to Lady Ga Ga's Born This Way Foundation (BTWF) which occurred later in the day.  More importantly, the members of this symposium, through their collective expertise, were tasked with identifying trends and initiatives that would assist the BTWF in determining their policy as they seek to address issues of bullying and youth empowerment.  

The symposium was divided into six workstreams.  Ms. Malmstrom was among fifteen assigned to a workstream entitled, "Curricula as Campaign for a Network Age," headed by Jason Rzepka (VP of Public Affairs at MTV) and Anastasia Goodstein (author, journalist, currently Director of Digital Programs for Inspire USA Foundation).  The group debated over how best to utilize media, both "new" and "old," to spread "messages of bravery and tolerance."  Ms. Malmstrom's thirty-year teaching career along with her extensive expertise and notoriety regarding virtual worlds and gaming, brought an important perspective to the group.  

Click here to view a full PDF of the Symposium program with member bios.

•••

Upon her return to campus, Ms. Malmstrom lead a faculty meeting to relate her experience and offered the following links for further reference. 

• Elisabeth Morrow students weigh-in
• Video of BTWF Launch Event
• Complete Coverage: Born This Way Foundation Launch: Ask With Forums, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Lady Gaga, Winfrey Target Bullying: C. Walsh @ K. Kotch, Harvard Gazette, 2/29/12
• From "Born This Way" to "Move This Way:"  A New Foundation:  Reflections from Anne Collier, one of the symposium organizers

•••

Ms. Malmstron also had an opportunity to pass along the following letter to Dr. Lowry, relating her feelings about the experience:

Hello David,

Last Wednesday was incredible.  It is still hard for me to wrap my brain around the fact that I was invited to Harvard to work with such an amazing group of professionals.  Peggy (Peggy Sheehy) and I felt extremely humbled and honored to be included. I have never experienced anything quite like it before and I believe that most everyone else attending felt the same way.  There was this amazing energy as we all shared our respective expertise and knowledge, tackling the complex issues set before us.  Which relates to the point of this symposium–to bust people out of their professional silos and get them talking and sharing with each other on this very important issue .  It was certainly mass intelligence put to work.

We all came prepared knowing our assignments and the "four driving questions" that each group was expected to resolve.  Even though the time line for our agenda was brutally tight, the six workgroups got a great deal done in that short period of time.  When all the groups convened at the end of the day, we were all surprised to hear how our recommendations meshed with the each other.  Upon wrapping up, we all felt a sense of great satisfaction walking across campus to watch the formal launch of BTWF, knowing that we had helped established its working foundation.

I pinched myself several times, wondering how I had ended up involved in such an incredible project.  When Anne (Anne Collier) introduced me at the symposium, it became clear that it was for the same reason LEGO invited me to speak at FOSI a few months ago: Anne and I strive to create unique models for developing healthy online norms for young children through the use of "games" (virtual worlds & MMOGs).  

David, it was quite humbling to be there, but I was even prouder to be representing our school. I can't thank you enough. This wonderful opportunity only arose because you, Germaine and Sarah gave me the freedom to think outside the box, the faith to let me follow my instincts and the support to make it happen.  Thank YOU!

Sincerely, 

Marianne Malmstrom

P.S. Officially, Lady GaGa has one new fan  :-)