Science Scene Inspires Middle and Upper School Students with Hands-on Experiences
On the morning of April 2, middle and upper school students could be found in the Stevens Building dissecting squid, building motors, designing snowflakes, exploring the possibilities of wind and solar power, examining human hearts, learning about Connecticut’s birds of prey and reptiles, and conducting emergency medical triage on fellow students as they took part in Science Scene 2008.
The workshops were led by a varied group of professional scientists from local area non-profit organizations and businesses, as well as from within the NCCS parent community. We are especially grateful to the following NCCS parent presenters for their time and talents: Andrew Zachary, Andy Woolford, Joyce Takaguchi, Cindy Carey, Heidi Laub, Diane Schmidt-Fellner, and Josh Ziac; NCCS Alumna, Sarah Rathbone ’99; and former NCCS parent Dr. John Fallon.
The program began with a keynote address by Dr. Christopher Breuer, M.D., Principal Investigator Yale Center for Children’s Surgical Research and uncle of Tori Dewey ’08. Dr. Breuer fascinated students and faculty with a presentation of his cutting-edge research in tissue engineering. Following this talk, students participated in an exciting and unique exploration of the sciences at work in the world today, rotating through different hands-on-workshops in the areas of biology, space, the physical sciences, and chemistry.
The morning would not have been possible without the diligence and good leadership of co-chairs, Frances DeSouza, Lynn Quinn, and Jill Swirbul, and the help of so many parent volunteers: Julie Halloran, Trish Morgan, Pamela Randon, Patricia Shean Kelley, Mary Holmes, Margie Connors, Kitty D’Agostino, Marte Small, Alice Baldwin, Ellen Melton, Susan Furth, Martha Lane, Melanie Blandon, Wendy Dewey, Alanna Rathbone, Stacy Holmen, Nancy Montgomery, Jennifer Kelley, Lael Keisling, and Kate Lowe. Additional thanks are extended to NCCS staff members, John Murphy and the facilities staff, Jacquie Jeffress, Matt Taylor, Christine Scholtz, Dave Stoller, Mark Macrides and the kitchen staff for their assistance in providing this enriching experience for our students.
New Canaan Country School
New Canaan Country School admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin and are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, financial aid policies or any other school-administered programs.
