MARYMOUNT INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Since September 2003, I have devoted a substantial amount of energy toward working to provide our students with additional athletic space, particularly in the form of a new soccer field, which the school is building in partnership with the City of Rome.

Over the last year, I have provided periodic updates in this newsletter about the progress of this project, starting with the city’s approval of the partnership, followed by our success in securing the necessary permissions, and ultimately the start of the construction process, which included preparing the infrastructure and land upon which the field will be built.

While construction of the field as well as the other components of this initiative, including an amphitheater, science center, and public park, has not progressed as quickly as any of us would have liked owing to the number of hurdles one must cross to finalize the myriad details of such a multifaceted endeavor, I am happy to report that the project continues to move forward.

In fact, we will see some very visible progress in the coming weeks as construction of a new security fence, which we have ordered thanks to a $550,000 grant from the U.S. State Department, begins around the land on which the field will be built. Additionally, preparation of the surface of the new field, which is composed of a state-of-the-art bio-organic material used for the first time in the City of Rome, is underway.

Without the vision and assistance of Mayor Walter Veltroni, these exceptional projects, which will benefit our students and students from our Italian partner schools, would not be possible.

We are very grateful for the Mayor’s far-reaching vision, particularly with respect to the internationality of this project. In these challenging times nothing is more central to the educational process than the understanding of diverse cultures and individuals, and these projects represent yet another leap forward for MMI in this regard.

More good news recently arrived in the form of a $10,000 equipment grant from the U.S. State Department’s Office of Overseas Schools, allowing us to purchase two interactive white boards, three digital projectors, three electronic screens, and a printing press, all divided between the Elementary and Secondary schools.

All of Marymount’s faculty, staff, and administration is very busy preparing for a 5-year accreditation review by the New England Association of Colleges and Schools and the Council for International Schools, which will include a site visit at the end of April. In preparation, Curriculum Coordinator Tony Burger is chairing 41 different committees engaged in reviewing our original 10-year Accreditation Report from 2002 and updating it to reflect the progress made in the past five years. Upon review of the updates so far, it is clear that MMI has made great progress in every area of school life.

Regarding our Strategic Plan, the Editing Committee completed the first draft of the Themes, Goals, Rationales, and Implementation Suggestions last month. In early February, this draft will go to the Board of Trustees, the Board of Regents, and the Strategic Planning Core Committee for their input, and later in the month the revised draft will circulate throughout the school for review. Once this process is completed in April, all parents will receive a copy of the approved plan.

I am happy to report that Sr. Paulity Kuzy is recovering from very successful back surgery that she underwent the day after Christmas. She is receiving physical therapy at the Motherhouse of her Sisters of Divine Providence in Pennsylvania, and sends her best to all of you with thanks for your prayers. Sr. Paulita hopes to return to school during the second week of February. Please continue to keep her in your prayers. Sr. Maryjane, Sr. Rose Michele, and Ms. Chris Tabbron are all available to assist you during Sr. Paulita’s absence.

Please know that we at Marymount continue to keep all of you in our daily prayers.

As part of their language arts studies, students in Ms. DeRocchis’ Grade 4 class recently brought Shakespeare’s renowned tragedy, Hamlet, to life.

The play unfolds in Denmark following the death of Hamlet's father, the king, and his succession by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. Late one night, the ghost of Hamlet's father comes to the young prince to reveal the truth behind his death: that he was poisoned by Claudius.

Moving quickly to avenge his father's death, Hamlet acted mad and pretended not to love his girlfriend, Ophelia, to Hamlet's anger and grief are so great that he finally exacts revenge by killing Claudius; however, he is unable save himself in the process. The excellent actors of 4D did a masterful job of performing this moving tale, filled with revenge, anger, death, and grief.

Ms. Claudia DeRocchis
Fourth Grade Teacher

From the Secondary School Principal

The second semester is proving to be a full of activity for students, not only in the classroom, as evidenced by the articles in this issue on areas as diverse as printmaking and the great minds of mathematics, but also with respect to significant events beyond the classrooms as well.

Our student actors at the International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) festival in Copenhagen returned “dramatically” richer from their experience in Denmark. Our delegation to The Hague Model United Nations, where Marymount represented Tunisia, returned with a wider vision of the world.

Our musicians in grades 6-8, who were also in The Hague for the Association of Music in International Schools (AMIS) festival, returned more artistically accomplished. All of our students in grades 6-10 returned from their community days with a greater sense of unity.

Lastly, our athletes, through their practice and competitions, are more determined than ever to work together as teammates.

So, while it is true that our students spend most of their time in classes, where they are challenged daily to grow in innumerable ways, it is also true that our many co-curricular and extracurricular activities represent even greater opportunities for growth to those students who take part.

Many of these activities are still to come in this school year, and I would encourage all students to participate. You never know what you might learn and what friends you might make.

New Arrivals
This semester, we are pleased to welcome two new members of the faculty who are covering for teachers currently on maternity leave. Dr. Daniela Margiore is stepping in for Ms. Iorio to teach Italian. Meanwhile, Ms. Lina Mahmoud, who previously taught full-time at Marymount, is returning on a part-time basis to step in for Ms. Ni Riordain as a Social Studies teacher.

Mr. Terrence McAndrews
Secondary School
Principal

The Marymount community extends a warm welcome to the school’s new nurse, Cherry Caldato. Originally from England and previously a resident of Canada, Ms. Caldato comes to Marymount after working as an occupational health nurse for Procter & Gamble here in Rome.

Ms. Caldato and her husband, a retired Canadian diplomat, have three children and two grandchildren and live in Trevignano Romano.

Ms. Caldato assumed the duties of Marymount’s nurse in January from Lone Jakobsen, who is expecting her first child.

Middle School Musicians Prepare for Festival

In late January, Marymount’s music students presented two concerts as preparation for their participation at a music festival in The Hague sponsored by the Association of Music in International Schools (AMIS). Above left: Mickey C. plays a saxophone solo. Above right: Kevin A., Soichiro N., Aisling G.-D., Sasha H., and Rika S. perform in the band.

Something is Dramatic in the State of Denmark
Five of Marymount’s talented high school drama students traveled to Copenhagen last month to attend an ISTA festival. ISTA stands for The International Schools Theatre Association, of which Marymount is a long-standing member.

ISTA festivals represent great opportunities for dedicated young actors and actresses to spend time working with outstanding teachers and practitioners, drawn from a wide range of theater and performance backgrounds.

The focus of this particular festival was Shakespeare's masterpiece, Hamlet, and throughout the four days in Denmark participating students from schools made a number of new friends and enjoyed the chance to visit one of this continent's most fascinating capital cities as well as the castle of Ellsinore, where Hamlet is set.

The Marymount students attending the festival were Aine Tyrrell and Costanza Uslenghi from Grade 9, Lucrezia Bisignani and Nicole Colmenares- Pulido from Grade 10, and Ceci Corsano from Grade 11.

IB Theater Arts teacher Mr. Dean and Italian teacher Ms. Rosato accompanied the group. Mr. Dean hopes that their experiences at the festival will serve them well in March, with the forthcoming production of Much Ado About Nothing.

Much Ado... Set to Take Place in March
Next month the high school drama students will present Shakespeare's comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Mr. Dean.

Keegan Trott and Cecilia Corsano star as Benedick and Beatrice, the couple who love to hate each other. Keegan alternated the roles of Poseidon and Menelaus with commendable skill in last year's successful and acclaimed production of The Women of Troy, and Cecilia's intense portrayal of the flighty, tragic Cassandra was also outstanding.

Other gifted actors and actresses taking part in this year's play include Lucrezia Bisignani as Hero, Lorenzo Rebecchini as Claudio, Tina Salih as Don Pedro, and Emily Haugh as the bumbling, inefficient but likeable Dogberry. The play's darker moments are set in motion by the villainous Don John, to be played by 10th grader Nicole Colmenares- Pulido.

Please do make a date to come and support the show as it promises to be a fine evening's entertainment. The performances are March 21, 22, 23, and 24 at 7:30pm. Tickets cost 5 euro (3 euro for students, faculty and staff).

Mr. Douglas Dean
IB Theater Arts

MS. LENTZ INVITED TO PERFORM AT CHAMBER MUSIC EVENT

Secondary School music teacher Ms. Laura Lentz has been invited to perform in the Lorenzo de' Medici International Chamber Music Course in Tuscania this summer.

The two-week program is designed for intensive study with internationally renowned faculty in chamber music and solo repertoire for strings, piano, woodwinds, French horn, and voice.

Ms. Lentz, a flutist, will also be on the faculty at the Rome Flute Academy this June held on the Marymount campus. For more information visit http://www.romefluteacademy.org/.

Grade 10 Students Learn the Art of the Print

Basic Drawing and Painting 10 classes began their first semester by exploring diverse drawing techniques and media. Having studied line, perspective, and shading they took this knowledge and applied it to their first Museum Research project: The Fountains of Rome.

The students went into the historic center of Rome, chose one of Rome’s numerous and monumental fountain complexes that feature human figures and/or mythological creatures, and did two sketches of their chosen fountain from different views, perspectives, or angles. Their drawings were impressive and became the inspiration for their first fine art print – a linoleum cut.

Printmaking is an ancient art, and early examples of printing techniques were found in the caves of primitive man, who later discovered that when color was applied to a raised surface and pressed against another surface, a copy or print of the original design remained.

The origin of relief printing remains uncertain, but we do know that Egyptians, the Chinese, and later, the Japanese used printing techniques. For many years, a hand-carved relief design on a wood block was the only method available for the reproduction of a picture.

While many of our finest contemporary artists use printmaking as a medium to express their ideas, printing principles today are essentially the same as they were centuries ago. Linoleum, however, a softy rubbery material, has replaced wood blocks in making relief prints because it is easier to cut than wood and needs less preparation.

Back in the studio, our students chose one of their better sketches and refined it to the point where it had the semblance of a completed drawing with shading. They then transferred this image onto a linoleum block, cut the image in low-relief, and then printed the result.

Our students learned much from this experience, as you can see by their works shown here. Above all they learned that patience and good planning were of prime importance in creating a successful print.

Mr. Dennis Cigler Secondar
Secondary School Art

Clockwise from top left: Piazza
Barberini by Nicole C.-
P.; Piazza Navona by
Martina D.; Trevi Fountain by
Ludovica R.; and Fontana
Pantheon by Georgia B..

Mr. Price's Grade 7 Social Studies class is studying the Old Testament in part through dramatization. The students research the historical accuracy of parts of the Old Testament and then perform a scene from the area they researched. Here students Guang Wei H., Keishi Y., Yurika Audrey M. and Gultiero U. perform a scene from Num. 10: The Trumpets.

For the first time, students in Grade 8 looked beyond their textbooks to uncover who exactly the men and women behind the numbers, theorems, and formulae they have been studying were. They presented nine projects that traced mathematics from Pythagoras’ first school of math in ancient Greece to Turing’s code breaking computer programs used in World War II. All of these projects can be seen on the third floor of Butler Hall – come up and take a look!

Each group researched the life and work of a mathematician and then brought them to life in their presentations. One group described Hypatia, the first known female mathematician, who was condemned to a brutal end for her work. Another demonstrated Fibonacci’s series in the world around us. Other topics included Hilbert’s axioms of math, Venn’s diagrams, and Euler’s ‘bridges of Königsberg’, a problem which is as puzzling today as it was for the people of Kaliningrad in the 1700’s.

All of the groups made a very impressive effort and presented their work using everything from chalk to slideshows. One group even designed a website and a game.

The following are two summaries of the projects on Carl Friedrich Gauss and Sophie Germain. Well done again to all the young mathematicians in Grade 8 for their incredible effort. Keep it up!

Sophie’s choice is Monsieur Le Blanc
Our group researched the life and work of the French mathematician Sophie Germain. She was a famous mathematician at the turn of the 19th century. Sophie’s parents didn’t approve of their daughter’s interest in math and did everything they could to dissuade her from the subject – even removing her candles and books from her bedroom.

However nothing could stop Sophie, and through the use of a male pseudonym, ‘Monsieur Le Blanc,’ she entered the math world. When Sophie’s true identity was revealed, no one could deny the beautiful logic she had applied to her theorems. She contributed major work to one of the greatest math puzzles of all time - Fermat’s Last Theorem. The theorem poses the challenge that no solutions exist for Pythagoras’s theorem x² + y² = z² greater than the power of 2. For example 3² + 4² = 5², but does a solution exist for a power greater than 2? Fermat declared no and challenged the great mathematical minds to call his bluff.

Sophie also worked on elasticity, which was fundamental to the building of the Eiffel Tower. We really enjoyed exploring the interesting world of Sophie Germain, and were saddened at her struggle for recognition but were inspired by her determination.

"Ask her to wait a moment – I am almost done."
These were the words we came upon when researching the life of Gauss. He said this when told his wife was dying. This casts some light onto the determination and sometimes all-consuming passion experienced by such minds. Gauss taught himself to read and count by the age of three. One day in school, a very young Gauss was told to stand in the corner and add all the numbers from 1 to 100. His teacher was amazed when a few moments later Gauss turned around and announced 5050. Gauss determined a pattern, 1 + 2 + 3 + … + 98 + 99 + 100. 1 + 100 = 101, 2 + 99 = 101, 3 + 98 = 101....there are 50 such pairs, 101 x 50 = 5050. After learning Gauss’s technique, we were able to apply it to the addition of other similar series. We each worked on a different area of the project according to our strengths and then combined what we had discovered.

Members of the Sophie Germain team:
Yasmina P.
Kathryn O.
Jose Maria L.
Giacomo M.
Chao Z. (Luigi)
Jimmy M.

Members of the Gauss team:
Valeria P.
Mattia B.
Bianca Di L.
Edoardo M.
Francesco C.

Ms. Derarca Lynch
Secondary School Math

January 2007 started off on a very positive note with the news that Beatrice Scibetta received a conditional offer of acceptance from Clare College, Cambridge.

This was soon followed by offers to students from a variety of universities in the United Kingdom, including the London School of Economics, University College London, London South Bank University, University of Bristol, Royal Holloway, Queen Mary, School of Oriental and African Studies, Warwick University, Loughborough, University of Bath, University of Surrey, University of Birmingham, and University of Southampton.

American colleges received the Marymount Mid-Year Grades in January, and students will receive replies to their applications soon. So far, students have heard positive responses from Florida State University and El Camino College.

The 11th Grade students completed a series of group meetings regarding college admissions and will follow these with individual appointments. An open meeting for parents of 11th Grade students took place on January 26.

The Step One Careers Tests for 10th and 11th Grade students will take place on February 7. Following the 2006 Step One testing, a Marymount parent made the following comments: "An inspirational experience for our son and for us as parents. It has helped to build confidence for the future and revealed areas not previously considered."

Representatives from a number of colleges and universities visited Marymount in January, including Marymount College Palos Verdes, American University of Monaco, Bocconi University, and the European School of Design.

Mr. Bryn Jenkins
College Counselor

COMPUTER TRAINING

Secondary School computer teacher Mr. Jon Southwell will offer computer training sessions after school on Wednesdays and/or Thursdays, beginning February 28/March 1.

• From Word to the World Wide Web
• From Calculator to Excel
• From Paint to Animation
• and more ...

All faculty and parents are welcome. If you have questions, please contact Mr. Southwell either in person or by email at jsouthwell@ marymountrome.it.