The national 2010 Salvatori Prize winner for Excellence in Teaching is Mrs. PJ Chagan, history teacher at The American Academy (Conshohocken, PA).  The Prize recognizes outstanding examples of teaching the ideals of western civilization and US constitutional liberty, and will be formally awarded Oct 3 at Hillsdale Academy, Hillsdale, MI.  The award includes a $25,000 grant to The American Academy.

As described on the Hillsdale College website, institutions which receive the Salvatori Prize are recognized as “…address(ing) constructively the perilous state of American education…it is intended that educators and citizens alike will come to regard the Salvatori Prize as a measure of teaching excellence and its recipients as inspiring examples.”

The full press release is available here.

Congratulations Mrs. Chagan!  We are so very proud of you!

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After reading Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear with Dr. Traver, grades 5th-12th attended a play of King Lear on March 9 at the People’s Light and Theatre. From “How sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is/To have a thankless child…” (Act I, Scene iv) to “Out, vile jelly!” (Act III, Scene vii), the students and faculty enjoyed the production and said it helped them to better understand the play by seeing it performed. This was a memorable event for all who attended. Thanks to Dr. Traver for preparing the students for the play.

Congratulations to all our TAA Scottish dancers who competed in the Essex County Scottish Dancing competition on 6 March 2010: in the 8 & under beginner category, Hannah Master, Laura Null, and Lena Harnish; in the 9 and over beginner category, Jacqui and Nathania Hofstetter; and in the Premier level, Sarah Null.  Ages 8 and under: in the Lilt , Hannah won 1st place, Laura 2nd place, and Lena 3rd place; in the Fling, Laura won 5th, Hannah 6th; in the Sword, Laura won 2nd; and in the Seann Triubhas, Laura won 2nd, Hannah 3rd.  Ages 9 and over: in the Lilt, Jacqui won 4th; in the Fling Jacqui won 2nd; in the Sword Nathania won 5th; in the Seann Triubhas Jacqui won 4th and Nathania won 6th. In the premier level, Sarah won 1st in the Fling and 4th in the Sword. She will go on to the regional level. Thanks to Mrs. Null for teaching and preparing the girls for this competition.  Lena, Jacqui, Laura, and Hannah each got a stamp for being in the top three in at least one dance.  When a dancer acquires six stamps they move up a level, excepting the Intermediate level, in which you only stay for one year.

Six of our students won awards in the Gladwyne Library League’s 38th Junior Author Contest on March 5. Congratulations to Samuel Chang (3rd grade) “Castles and Kings and Knights, Oh My!”, who won 2nd place for 3rd grade poetry, Seth Dewitt (1st grade) “Animal Cinquains”, who won 3rd place for 1st grade poetry, Jacqui Hofstetter (3rd grade) “Soccer Dog”, who won 3rd place for 3rd grade poetry, Lena Harnish (3rd grade) “Disneyland, Not!”, who won Honorable Mention for 3rd grade poetry, Sarah Null (5th grade) “Mystery Box”, who won 1st place for 5th grade poetry, and Molly Wells (5th grade) “Three Wonders of Nature”, who won 3rd place for 5th grade poetry.  There were 732 entries from 12 different area schools.   Thanks to Dr. Traver for helping the students with their poems.

Mrs. Hanko’s kindergarten/1st grade class has been learning about simple machines. The students have been taught new vocabulary and a new song about these machines, and have also been doing hands-on experiments.  They constructed and used makeshift catapults to shoot ping-pong balls at their “castle” made out of blocks.

Congratulations to the following students whose essays have been accepted for publication by Creative Communication:  Sam Anthony for “Paranoid Perhaps?,” Samuel Chang for “At Korea,” Molly Harnish for “Fun at the Farm,” Nathania Hofstetter for “Sensations of the Sea,” Jacqui Hofstetter for “My First Invention,” Noelle Ludlum for “My Nantucket,” Samantha Ludlum for “Left Behind,” Nathan Master for “Crazy Cousins,” David Matej for “Trip to Slovakia,” Rachel Meell for “Amazing Arizona,” Stephanie Meell for “Cast Down,” David Null for “Moms vs. Grandmoms,” Sarah Null for “Down and Out in Irish Jigs,” Harry Robinson for “Parking Problems,” Ace Robinson for “The Amazing Tricks of Twenty-Six,” Josiah Wells for “Journey to Germany,” Molly Wells for “Deutschland,” and David Yang for “iStall.”

Congratulations to students Lena Harnish (”Shell the Corn, Grind the Wheat”) and Laura Null (”History Class”) for receiving special certificates for their essays.  Apparently they were too young for the essay contest, but the judges “found Lena and Laura’s essays to be well-written and would have accepted them if they had fallen within contest rules.”

Finally, TAA received Creative Communication’s Writing Achievement Award, given to those schools whose students’ entries to the essay contest were of exceptionally high merit.  This award is the result of much hard work in revising copies and getting them ready to submit for publication.  Though challenging, this process helps the student develop professional writing skills that will be invaluable for college and career.

On Monday, December 7, Mrs. Mary Hanko’s K-1 class had a wonderful day in the city of Philadelphia.  First they attended the “Sound All Around” program at the Academy of Music, where Mr. Loren Lind of the Philadelphia Orchestra introduced them to the flute and piccolo.  They enjoyed his music, joined in sing-alongs, and listed to a story accompanied by the flute and piano.  After that they walked to Macy’s where they watched the Christmas lights show.

TAA is collecting food for Operation Brotherhood, a ministry of Skilton House Ministries that distributes Thanksgiving food to the needy.  In 2008, nearly 2000 families received a Thanksgiving bag in the name of Jesus, along with a copy of the gospel of John.  This year, for those who wish to donate through TAA, Wednesday November 18th is the last day for collecting these goods:  l lb. can of peas, 1 lb. can of corn, l lb. can of green beans, l lb. can of cranberry sauce or fruit, 1 box of stuffing, or 1 lb. can of yams.   Special thanks to TAA senior Noelle Ludlum for coordinating our participation.  Visit the Operation Brotherhood web site for more information.

Students in grades 5 through 8 are now working on the Daughters of the American Revolution essay contest, which requires research and a bibliography.  The topic is the building of the Transcontinental Railroad; students are asked to “[d]escribe how you felt on May 10, 1869 when the golden spike was driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, to celebrate the completion of the first Transcontinental Railroad.  Pretend you are either a settler planning to use the train to travel to your new home in the West, an Irish or Chinese worker who helped build the line or a Native American whose way of life was greatly affected by the railroad.”  Go TAA scholars!

Monday afternoon 11/16 from 4-5 PM our students in grades 7+ will have a special FPRI opportunity that was just added to the FPRI schedule.  The subject is “Munich 1938: New Revelations from the Czech Archives,” relative to the famous Munich Agreement which permitted Hitler’s takeover of the Sudetenland portion of Czechoslovakia prior to WW II.

The speaker, Milan Hauner, is an associate scholar of FPRI who grew up in Prague and has earned two PhDs at prestigious European universities and who taught at other important institutions.  Hauner has written and co-edited ten books and many scholarly articles and has most recently edited several unpublished manuscripts of the former Czechoslovak president Edvard Benes, as well as reconstructing 3 volumes of this leader’s wartime memoirs.

The lecture will be held at the FPRI library/offices at 1528 Walnut, a smaller venue around the corner from the Union League.  TAA students who are interested in attending should notify Mrs. Anthony; we will need to make reservations.