Leaning Tower of Pisa... leaning a little less!

After a two-year restoration both cleaned and stabilized this 12th century monument, visitors are once again able to tour the building and go up into the tower. The two photos show the slightly-improved angle of tilt! Read the article here: http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/

New Picasso paintings found

A retired French electrician recently unveiled his collection of 271 previously-unknown works by Pablo Picasso. The Frenchman, who installed burglar alarms for the painter, claims that Picasso gave him the paintings as a gift, and he has been storing them in his garage. Read the full article and see some of the paintings here.

Italy's monuments falling down from neglect

Many of the ancient Roman sites, even some as rich in history and mythology as the Palatine Hill, are suffering from neglect and crumbling under the weight of the Italian bureaucracy. Read the appalling article here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40093071/ns/travel-destination_travel/

Languages are Indispensable

Here's an interesting article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. We're fighting the good fight!

Bigger than the eruption of Mount Vesuvius?

The Phlegraean Fields, or "burning fields" of southern Italy near Naples are, according to mythology, the home of Hephaestus and the site of the entrance to the Underworld. But this area is also the site of a huge subterranean caldera which is considered one of the world's most dangerous volcanic sites. And it's been pretty active lately, with the surrounding terrain rising and falling as much as 11 feet over the past ten years. Scientists fear that an eruption of this "supervolcano" could affect the entire planet, causing millions of deaths, enormous climate changes, and perhaps even a mini-ice age. Giuseppe De Natale, head of research at the National Observatory for Geophysics and Volcanology, wants to probe the underground caldera to determine how imminent is the risk of eruption. But other scientists fear that such a probe could actually trigger such an eruption. The mayor of Naples has blocked the research temporarily, and a meeting in Rome will discuss whether to move ahead with the probe or not. Read more here: http://www.newsweek.com/2010/10/20/should-scientists-probe-the-massive-volcano-under-naples.html

Peru's Vargas Llosa wins the Nobel Prize for literature

Manuel Vargas Llosa, one of the most acclaimed authors of the Spanish-speaking world, was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature for 2010. He had previously, in 1995, won the Cervantes Prize, the greatest honor given to a Spanish-speaking author. Read the article here: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/39550770/ns/today-books/

Roman helmet from Hadrian's Britain up for auction

A Roman ornamental helmet used in cavalry exhibitions was found in northern England and is now going on sale at auction at Christie's. The helmet includes a face mask with eyelashes, hair, and holes for the wearer to look through. Read the story here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/10/06/england.roman.helmet/index.html?hpt=T2

Marcus Licinius Crassus and Capitalism

Crassus immediately came to mind when I heard about the homeowner in Obion County whose home burned while the firefighters watched -- he hadn't paid the fee! Turns out others were struck by the same thought -- read the article here:
http://dagblog.com/reader-blogs/firefighting-and-capitalism-marcus-licinius-crassus-obion-county-tennessee-7092

Ancient Stone Statues -- in Living Color!

Though we've all known for a long time that the ancient statues and buildings of Greece and Rome were not all "pure white," as they have now become, but actually seeing them in garish living color can be something of a shock! Check this out! http://io9.com/5616498/ultraviolet-light-reveals-how-ancient-greek-statues-really-looked

The world's highest paid athlete

Sorry, Tiger Woods-- apparently the highest paid athlete of all time was a Roman charioteer!

Magistra Christeson Speaks at the Parthenon

MBA veteran Latin and French teacher Anne Christeson spoke July 23 at the opening reception for artist Rachel McCampbell's exhibit WOMEN IN MYTHOLOGY: The Power of the Feminine in Ancient Tales. Mrs. Christeson, a friend and neighbor of the artist, served as the academic consultant for the exhibit after having collaborated with Ms. McCampbell as the project developed. In her role as academic consultant, Mrs. Christeson wrote the text for the catalog, which can be purchased in the Parthenon's gift shop, and also wrote the explanatory comments that accompany the paintings in the exhibit.

In her prepared remarks to the large opening reception crowd, Mrs. Christeson spoke eloquently about the role of goddesses in Greek mythology and how their functions differ significantly from the more familiar roles of their male counterparts. Her remarks, in pdf format, can be read by clicking here.The exhibit will run through November 17, 2010 in the East Gallery of the Nashville Parthenon.

More information can be found on the Parthenon's website by clicking here.

Hoard of 3rd Century Roman Coins Found

A British treasure hunter has unearthed a hoard of 52,000 Roman coins from the 3rd century. The buried pot containing the coins was unearthed in Somerset and may reveal valuable information about Marcus Aurelius Carausius, who seized power in Britain and northern France and declared himself emperor. Carausius, a Roman naval officer, seized power in 286 and ruled until his assassination in 293. It was only the intervention of the emperor Diocletian which ended the separatist movement started by Carausius.

MBA German Students take part in Sister Cities Germany Trip

In June, MBA German students Chase Pruett and Marshall Sorenson took part in a 2-week exchange program to Nashville's Sister City of Magdeburg, Germany. The exchange, led by Herr Sawyer, also included two students from Brentwood High School.

Following here are pictures and two email updates that Herr Sawyer sent to participants' families during the trip.

Fun was had by all, and the students learned much in the classroom of daily immersion!

(2 Emails from June 4-20th 2010)

1)Good evening from Magdeburg!

It is Monday evening, 7pm, and I have just returned from the city. We had a very full, very fun day here. I met the students at the Dom Gymnasium (prep school) at 8 am -- all students visited the same school today. There, we visited two english classes --one a sixth class, the other an 11th class. In the sixth class, we were assigned to groups of young students, and they interviewed us about all sorts of topics ranging from Miley Cyrus to Obama! Their level of skill in English was astounding -- they are only in their second formal year of instruction. In the 11th class, we spoke about gun control, the war in Iraq, Germany´s involvement in the war in Afghanistan, Palin, stereotypes of German and Americans, and lots more -- fascinating discussion.

Afterwards, we were led on a tour of the city's famous Gothic Cathedral -- the Dom. An English teacher from the Dom Gymnasium led the tour and explained all about the ancient structure which dates back to the 1200s! The students were quite impressed and they took many photos. Several students from the 11th class also joined us for the tour.

We next took the streetcar to Hasselbachplatz to eat lunch at a Doener-kebab restaurant. I had Chase lead the way -- he was successful at finding the correct line for us and helping us to the location. Doener is Germany's favorite fast food. It is turkish -- the largest immigrant population here are the Turks. Everyone enjoyed eating this specialty of modern German culture and sharing first impressions and funny stories.

We lastly went on a double decker bus tour of the entire city to give the students an overview of the great city of Magdeburg. This was interesting. Again, several photos were taken, and much fun was had by all.

The boys and Breanna seem to be enjoying themselves immensely. Each has had unique, individual experiences over the past few days, and I have been thrilled to hear about them. They all say that their German is improving greatly :) Tomorrow we will meet the mayor and have a small meeting with him and with several city council members. We will also be interviewed by the local newspaper. We will finish the day with an open-air viewing of the production of the musical "Evita."

I am so proud of the students for their efforts to broaden their cultural and linguistic understanding. It is a great pleasure to be here with them.

I will be in touch again later this week.

Bis dann --until then!

Jonathan Sawyer

2) Guten Abend aus Magdeburg! Good evening from Magdeburg (here it is 6pm Friday).

We have had quite a week! The weather has been absolutely beautiful -- although quite hot at times (nearing 90 without any Klima Anlage-- A/C). We have all gotten quite tan from being out in the sun so much. Don't worry, I have sun tan lotion for the students!

Tuesday of this week, we began the day with a tour of the city's town hall and a meeting with my host father -- a city councilman of 20 years in the SPD party. He shared stories of the former East Germany and about his involvement in the so-called "Monday Demonstrations" that very much played a role in the fall of the Wall and the ultimate freedom of all East Germans. He also told us something about the structure of the German government. We then met with the mayor's assistant and were invited to sign the official guest book of the city. This is considered quite an honor. Each student also received a certificate of citizenship and appreciation for their efforts and participation in the project to bring our two cities together in partnership and friendship. Afterwards, we were interviewed for the local paper. I have attached the fine article and photo.

That evening, we went to the open air production of Evita on the Dom-Platz square. It was amazing to see the production outside at night. It was also fun to hear the differences in the lyrics, as the production has been translated into German. It was a great exercise in comprehension for the students!

Wednesday, we spent a lot of time boating. The day started with a four hour boat tour of Magdeburg's locks and waterways. The weather was perfect, so we sat on the top deck and sunned ourselves while enjoying the sights. The students will have to tell you all about the famous waterbridge. That evening, the students were invited to canoe in a dragonboat along the Elbe river. There was a large competition of the best canoe athletes from all around the world taking place at the time, so we were able to watch some great events. In addition, there was a nice barbecue and party.

On Thursday, we visited the local zoo, where the students had the opportunity to play with goats, see elephants close up, and learn many German words for animals! Later, we traveled through town on a streetcar from the early 1900's.

Today, we visited the city's museum of history and culture. In the afternoon, we sunned ourselves and enjoyed the beautiful weather at a lake.

This weekend, many students will travel with their hosts to Dresden or Leipzig. I am excited to hear their stories come Monday.

I wish you all a schoenes Wochenende. In the coming week, we will travel to Berlin!

Mit freundlichen Gruessen,
Jonathan

Language Department CTE Luncheon - 5th period

CTE, April 13th, 5th period; Technology in the classroom
Moderator: Daniel Paolicchi
Faculty in Attendance:
Robbie Quinn Matt Smyth
Kevin Frantz Cherie Roberts
Daniel Paolicchi Catharine Hollifield
Michael Kelly Jan Pippen
Robert Sawyer Beatie O'Connell
Roderick Russ Jo Palmore
Ed Tarkington Samuel Lester
Dede Clements
Daniel opened the session by directing our attention to handouts provided by Sarah (NETS handout about national standards for technology in the classroom).
The discussion started with Daniel's presenting tips given by Ed Gaffney in the previous session (Ed uses the "comments" feature through our electronic gradebook -- used for both praise and explanation -- particularly useful for explaining to parents why a grade was what it was; as Ed's classroom has no chalkboard, Ed frequently uses School Pad. He can save the lesson and load it to his web site making the notes accessible to boys who are absent. He can also set it up by dates from year to year and access what he's done when in the past. Daniel carefully noted that the notes do NOT replace a student's notes in class. Also Ed uses the first class "memo" feature to record who came to help class and when and what was accomplished.)
Part two was Daniel's showing some power point slides for use in Spanish I and II -- images, NOT words. The students generate the vocabulary as they work in pairs or as a group. Daniel had scanned pictures from texts as his departure point. Daniel then discussed the Language Department's use of Google Calendar (Sarah's idea!) to schedule our language lab dates -- this scheduling is considered by us all, I think, to be very helpful.
Part three was a demonstration by Ed Tarkington of his use of the program Drop Box which enables him to do digital grading while at the same time cutting down on paper use. He also uses the function with a folder for his class sponsor duties. He's found that once he's gotten used to the correction "macros (grammar, style, spelling, etc. corrections)," he can get to and return student work more quickly. Ana and Haywood also use The "comment" and "track changes" features on MSW. Ed pointed out that many college professors are moving to this kind of student assessment, and that it's a good idea for our boys to get used to functioning in this way.
Robbie was set to give a presentation on library technology, but we ran out of time! He will mail the presentation to us.
The lunch period passed quickly, and all presentations were helpful!
Respectfully submitted,
Beatie O'Connell, scribe

CTE Luncheon, April 13, 2010 - 6th Period Notes

Thanks to Jonathan Sawyer for taking and transcribing the notes for our session:

CTE Discussion/Luncheon 6th period, 4-13-10—Notes by Jonathan Sawyer

In attendance:
Malcolm Morrison
Cal Fuller
Kevin Hamrick
Will Norton
Dennis DeYoung
David Deutsch


Presenters (in order of presentation):
Anne Christeson (presenter)
Jonathan Sawyer (presenter)
Haywood Moxley (presenter)
Nicole Serrano (presenter)

Anne:

Anne shared several student projects with the group. She first showed student projects about the sculptor Rodin. Students had created interactive powerpoints that conveyed information to viewers through video clips, colorful photos, and text on slides.

Next, Anne showed a video in which her student had dubbed his reading of a self-written poem about penguins over a video depicting penguins in nature. The student-written poems were inspired by the AP French students’ study of a cycle of poems about the animals on Noah’s Ark. Students set their poems to video, slideshows, or music.

Jonathan:

Jonathan shared examples of student work filmed in class using the technology of the Flip camera. The camera was requested for the German classroom and provided by the generous Mothers Club. With such a tool, video can be shot with ease and immediately downloaded into a playable format on a laptop. The camera has a built-in USB stick that automatically installs/downloads necessary software when it is first used on a computer.

Raw footage can be downloaded from the camera to the computer in seconds, and the camera’s memory is then cleared to film more footage. With the raw footage, one can manipulate and edit the footage by splicing it, adding words/captions/credits, and even by adding music to it. Finally, one can finalize the project by making it into a “movie” file or by creating a DCD of it.

Jonathan has used the camera to record quick, simple student dialogues and scenes. He has also had students act out grammar concepts with physical motion and visual cues that
help instill the principles of the topic at hand.

Jonathan also shared the benefits of using the digital language lab for quick access to and review of student recordings and online media files.

Haywood:

Haywood shared his use of the “comments” function within Word. The English Dpt. now uses digital dropboxes for themes. With a digital file, the teacher can then edit using the comments function to make suggestions, provide criticism, and even to praise student work!

More specifically, Haywood has found it useful to create his own macrons/shortcuts for his toolbars within Word for use when editing. This allows him to mark common mistakes with the stroke of a key or two rather than having to write out the same comment time and again across many themes.

In order to help student understand the processes of turning themes in and receiving them back in digital form, Haywood has also created “jing” videos and screenshots of the steps necessary for correctly editing and turning in a theme digitally.

Jing is available as a free download at jing.com

Nicole:

Nicole presented on the uses of wikispaces and Google reader in the classroom and in preparation of lessons. She has created a wiki for her English class. On this website-like page, she posts lessons, links, videos, handouts etc. for her students’ use.

One particularly convenient function of a Wiki is its ability to notify all members/followers of it (students) via email of any changes made to the Wiki each day. So, if Nicole changes an assignment or adds an important attachment to an assignment, her students are notified via email of this change, and they are directed to visit the Wiki for more information.

Within her Wiki, Nicole has posted videos of Canterbury Tales rap, animations of John Donne’s metaphysical poetry, and downloads of student work (examples). Nicole also touched upon her use of “Google reader” to stay current in her field of teaching, find and share good lesson plans and classroom ideas, and to find articles of interest to the debate world.

6th period CTE was full of great ideas, and it was interesting to see the myriad ways in which different teachers from different departments bring technology into instruction, organization, and evaluation.

Thank you to all who shared ideas and attended.

Wiesbadeners Visit- German Exchange

On Sunday evening (4-11-10), a group of fifteen German students and their accompanying teacher arrived in Nashville after a week in New York. On exchange, the students are staying with host families/students associated with MBA, Harpeth Hall, Brentwood High, and Centennial High. Now in its fifth year at MBA, the GAPP (German American Partnership Program) exchange brings students from Wiesbaden, Germany to Nashville each spring.

Three MBA students are hosting this year. Freshman Chris Habermann is hosting Dustin Walpert, sophomore Jake McDonald is hosting Niels Jungjohann, and junior Collin Brannon is hosting Marco Goebert.

During their two-week stay in Nashville, the Germans will attend school, visit downtown Nashville and experience the Wildhorse Saloon, canoe on the Harpeth River, travel to Lynchburg's Jack Daniel's Distillery, and visit Sewanee.

MBA's German Program and Herr Sawyer are excited to welcome these students to Nashville and to have them become a part of the MBA community.

Special thanks to all host families, teachers of the exchange students, and the MBA administration for their support of the German exchange program.

Herzlich Willkommen in Nashville, Jungs!

German Essen-Tag! YUM :)

Herr Sawyer's German classes enjoyed a day of German food and culture today. The menu included belegte Broetchen (open faced sandwiches/ rolls), Kartoffel-Chips (potato chips), Schoko-Kuchen (chocolate cake), Leberwurst (liver-wurst), Salami, Schinken (ham), Kaese (cheese), Butter, Marmelade, and Nutella. Each student also received a bar of German chocolate. Refreshments included Mezzo-Mix Spezi (a German soft-drink), Mineralwasser (sparkling mineral-water), and Apfel-Schorle (Apple juice/sparkling water mix). Many of the goods were imported from Germany through the website GermanDeli.com

This fun day of food and culture is made possible annually by the generous allocations provided by the Mothers and Fathers Clubs. All German students and Herr Sawyer say "Vielen Dank!" for this special day!

Why France is the best place to live in the world.

International Living magazine, for the fifth year in a row, has voted France the best place to live in the world. The results are based on ratings of a number of factors, in which France scores high on almost all categories, including health care (100 points), infrastructure (92 points), and safety and risk (100 points). The magazine quotes a young Australian expatriate living in Paris. When she delivered her first child, she received almost five full months of paid maternity leave, and could take another seven months off unpaid, but with her job guaranteed upon her return. AND she got to spend five days in the hospital after the delivery of her healthy son - something unheard of in the U.S. The magazine asserts, "Its (France's) tiresome bureaucracy and high taxes are outweighed by an unsurpassable quality of life, including the world's best health care." The United States slipped from third to seventh this year, mostly because of the economic crisis which has hit harder here and in Great Britain, now ranked 25th, than in most of Europe. Read the whole article: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/02/11/france.quality.life/index.html?hpt=C2

The Age Old Question

Why study the Classics? According to many, including the philosopher Schopenhauer, the real question should be "Why not?!"

"From what I have said, it is obvious that to imitate the style of the ancients in their own language, which is so very much superior to ours in point of grammatical perfection, is the best way of preparing for a skillful and finished expression of thought in the mother-tongue. Nay, if a man wants to be a great writer, he must not omit to do this; just as, in the case of sculpture or painting, the student must educate himself by copying the great masterpieces of the past, before proceeding to original work. It is only by learning to write Latin that a man comes to treat diction as an art. The material in this art is language, which must therefore be handled with the greatest care and delicacy."

I'm swooning! (You can read more here.)

'Creme' of the Crop

Inspired by Madame O'Connell's love for French culture, Douglas McWilliams shared a decadent treat with his French II honors class yesterday-- creme brulee. What a sweet way to return from MBA's snow-cation!

National German Exam Scores 2010!

National German Exam 2010 Results: Montgomery Bell Academy: Levels 2, 3, 4
Instructor- Mr. Jonathan Sawyer

On 15th January, 2010, all 23 students of German II, Honors German III, and AP German IV took the National German Exam. Level 1 does not have an exam. This year, nearly 25,000 students in the nation took the exam. MBA’s students did very well, as shown by the data below.


Ø 23 of 23 -- all students earned Certificates of Merit from the American Association of Teachers of German (AATG) for their scores at or above the national 70th percentile


Ø 20 of 23 students scored at or above the national 80th percentile


Ø 17 of 23 students scored at or above the national 85th percentile


Ø 16 of 23 students scored at or above the national 90th percentile


Ø 13 of 23 students scored at or above the national 95th percentile


Special Congratulations go to the following students whose scores qualified them to apply for a study-trip award from the AATG:

Level II:

Marshall Sorenson -scored in the national 99th percentile, and placed 8th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip to Germany in summer 2010.

Joe Scherrer – scored in the national 99th percentile, and placed 8th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip to Germany in summer 2010.

Andrew Holmgren – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 19th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip to Germany in summer 2010.

Stephen Bedard – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 19th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Daniel Rundberg – scored in the national 95th percentile and placed 23rd of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.


Level III:

Max Werthan – scored in the national 97th percentile and placed 13th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Jonathan Golab – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 15th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Matt Vanek – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 15th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Will McCaskill – scored in the national 94th percentile and placed 20th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Alexander Hornbuckle – scored in the national 94th percentile and placed 20th of 161 students at level 3 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Level IV:

Pat Killian – scored in the national 99th percentile and placed 3rd of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Sam Denney – scored in the national 99th percentile and placed 5th of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Patrick Clarke – scored in the national 97th percentile and placed 10th of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Michal Zienkiewicz – scored in the national 94th percentile and placed 11th of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter. This exceptional performance qualifies him to apply for the AATG-PAD study trip award to Germany in summer 2010.

Special Congratulations also go to the following students:
Their scores would qualify them for application to the study trip awards program, but other requirements of application preclude these students from applying.

Paul Brazil – scored in the national 98th percentile and placed 13th of 271 students at level 2 in the TN chapter.

Wesley Wilson – scored in the national 96th percentile and placed 9th of 82 students at level 4 in the TN chapter.

AP Spanish Avatars

After a few test runs, the students in the AP Spanish class have posted their first Avatars for a grade. Their task was to promote a concert in Nashville. Their avatar had to represent someone who would fit the style of music of the concert and students were assessed on fluency, accuracy and variety of vocabulary and grammar, as well as organization and cohesiveness.
http://mbaapspanish.blogspot.com/