Campuses Spring into Action
Spring break is in the rearview mirror—and that always means graduation will be here before we know it. As the tree and flower buds burst open, our campuses are blossoming with activity in every direction as well.
The School’s production of Bye Bye Birdie starts this evening and runs through Saturday. Tickets are still available online or at the door. You won’t want to miss the stellar performances our Upper School students always deliver. From backstage and tech crews to musicians in the orchestra pit and actors on stage, these students let their lights shine, sharing their remarkable talents and demonstrating perseverance and dedication
At the College, we are looking forward to Parents’ Weekend, also starting today. Visiting parents will be treated to Dance Production, including the work of eight student choreographers and the world premiere of a new ballet choreographed by former American Ballet Theatre (ABT) dancer John Gardner and performed by former ABT prima ballerina Amanda McKerrow and several students. Tickets and a rehearsal video are available online.
On Saturday, the CSO is sponsoring a lecture by Mark McCurties (C'02), CS, a member of the Christian Science Board of Lectureship, to be held in the College Chapel. As the title of his talk suggests, he will help us all think about "Making Meaningful Change: How God’s Love Can Change Your Life and the World."
Starting tomorrow, Middle School students head out for educational field trips. Sixth grade will study revolutionary history in Boston, Fort Ticonderoga, and Philadelphia. Seventh graders will travel to New York City to drink in theatre and art, while eighth graders study natural science and practice their Spanish in Costa Rica. Meanwhile, nine Upper School students are in South Africa, where they are teaming up with students from Huntingtower School in Australia for nearly three weeks of service learning with The Simunye Project. Follow their journey at twitter.com/@simunyeproject.
During spring break, the Upper School robotics team competed in the FIRST Robotics Championship regional rounds, taking fourth place out of 43 teams, many of them from much larger schools.
More good news: we recently learned that Heidi Katz (C’14) was awarded a highly competitive Fulbright scholarship to study learning processes in Finland. Heidi was an outstanding student in the College’s English and Educational Studies Departments, and we send her our warmest congratulations. It’s terrific to have Principians helping promote international educational exchange.
The College has just finalized a partnership with the University of North Dakota (UND) to offer a five-year dual-degree program in engineering, beginning in fall 2015. The curriculum combines the strengths of Principia’s comprehensive liberal arts program with UND engineering courses offered via streaming video on our own campus. Principia faculty members will support all aspects of the distance learning experience, including attending the online classes and holding office hours. During the summers before their fourth and fifth years, Principia students will travel to the UND campus for two-week lab sessions dedicated to research projects, data analysis, and presentations specific to their engineering discipline.
I’m grateful to announce that we have hired Chris O’Riordan-Adjah (C’99), a professional engineer with nearly 15 years of experience in structural engineering and seven years of teaching experience, as director of Principia’s engineering program. If you know any college-age Christian Scientists interested in pursuing engineering, please let them know about this exciting new opportunity.
Later this month, the Principia Today Tour picks up again with events in Connecticut (April 25) and Boston (April 26). We will have a food truck serving lobster in Connecticut and will be sharing lunch together in Boston. All alumni, friends, and future Principians are invited to participate and learn more about what’s happening across Principia firsthand. Get more information and register. We look forward to seeing as many Principia alumni and friends as possible—so pass the word!