Center Faculty Member, Bruce Marr, Named Director
Henrico County Public Schools selected long time Center faculty member Bruce Marr to be the new Humanities Center Director beginning in August 2009. Mr. Marr brings both an in-depth understanding of the unique qualities of the program and a committment to continued excellence.
Clare Sisisky Leaves Center for China
Center Director, Clare Sisisky, will leave her position at the end of the school year to work with the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations teaching in China. The parents and students of the Humanities Center organized a farewell cook-out for the whole Humanities Center community at the beginning of June.
Center History Teacher Harvey Stone Selected as Henrico County Teacher of the Year
Level I history and humanities teacher Harvey Stone was selected as the Teacher of the Year for the whole of Henrico County Public Schools, K-12. His creativity and enthusiasm were recognized by our Superintendent. His students and colleagues in the Humanities Center hosted a party to celebrate this honor.
Performance Showcase Highlights Year's Projects
Two afternoons of performances and presentations were held in May, 2009 for Center students and faculty to share with each other their experiences and accomplishments with the year long projects on Voices that were funded through Partners in the Arts. The Center Wide program, called "The Art We Hear," asked each grade level to explore, create and perform an audio art form with the help of workshops with visiting artists. The visiting artists ranged from actors with the Richmond Shakespeare Company to Slam Poets from the perofrmance poetry show Lyric Ave.
Students Create English Language Tapes for School in Bangladesh
Level I students created English tapes of conversations to be used as teaching tools for a school in rural Bangladesh. Clare Sisisky travelled to Bangldesh in April to deliver professional development training for English teachers in the country through the U.S. State Department's Teaching Excellence and Acheivement Program. Students from Level IV also collected childrens books to donate to libraries in rural elementary schools there.
Parent Organization Hosts International Dinner
The Friends of the Humanities Center parent organization hosted a pot luck international dinner featuring food and music from around the world.
Students and their families gathered to socialize and enjoy the culinary delights.
Student Honored at Capital One Leadership Forum
Six students attended the Capital One Leadership Forum for Young Women designed to teach promote leadership for high school students. Each of the 450 attendees had to write an essay and three essay were awarded for excellence. Level II student Mindy's essay was selected for this honor.
Student Takes Service-Learning Global
Level II student Nikki was inspired to raise awareness and help after learning about the challenges facing women in the war-torn nation of the Congo. She organized a large gathering in the community that raised a very substantial amount of money for a women's organization in Congo and brought attention to the issues facing women in this part of Africa.
Center to Host Film Festival on Theme of "Voices"
Students and faculty gathered to view documentary films that connect to this years Center-wide theme of voices. Films included documentaries focused on the power of theater, hearing the voices of the Lost Boys of Sudan, and an insiders look at the annual meeting of todays best minds.
Humanities Center Students Win Many Honors in Reflections Contest
The PTSA literary and arts contest known as Reflections receives entries from English and arts courses at Hermitage. Center students won recognition in every area, including winning first place in three out of the four categories (Music, Literature, and Photography).
Humanities Center Director Wins Award
Clare Sisisky, director of the Center, recently accepted the Award for Excellence in the Teaching of International Studies, given annually by the Virginia Center for the Teaching of International Studies, a partnership between the World Affairs Council and the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. An article was featured in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
Level I, II, and III Students visit Smithsonian in DC
Students from Level I explore the National Museum of African Art guided by a musuem educator that related the art and artifacts to Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart. Level III students visited the recently opened Newseum, connecting their study of the American humanities with journalism and communication.
Center Hosts Visting Film Maker From Africa
Writer and film maker Felicity Thompson spent the day with students introducing students to this year's theme of "voices." Her workshops focused on voices from Africa and began with students explorng their preconcieved impressions and images of Africa. The students then viewed short films made and created by young people from Tanzania including a visual slang dictionary. These films were part of project Thompson worked on for the BBC. Thompson led students in reflective discussion after viewing the film. She is based in Dakar, Senegal.
Humanities Center Receives Partners in the Arts Grants
The Center-wide theme this year will be “Voices,” and the Humanities Center has developed a year long program entitled The Art We Hear: Finding Your Own Voice. This collaborative project has been generously funded by Partners in the Arts, an arts and education organization in Richmond that works with local school districts. The project will ask each grade level to focus on a different type of auditory art, experience a lesson or series of lessons with a visiting artist or performer based on a topic relevant to the established curriculum, produce a presentation based on their research, and create their own piece of art demonstrating their own voice. Students will share experiences across disciplines and grade levels.
Teachers and Students Explore Art and History in Europe
Thirty Humanities Center students spent seventeen days this summer travelling around Europe. The trip, organized by Level I teacher Mr. Stone, allowed students to visit the historical and artistic wonders they have studied in their humanities courses. Students traveled to London, Paris, Italy and Greece and visited such sites as St. Paul’s Cathedral in London, the Louvre Museum in Paris, the ruins of Pompeii in Italy, and the Parthenon in Greece. Students were also able to experience the cultural joys of trying new food and travelling by ferry and subways.
Senior Project Showcase
As part of the Level IV humanities course Modernity and Global Cultures, students engage in a series of independent projects on the topics on Influence, Identity, Contribution, and Concern. Students are strongly encouraged to use technology and create a wide range of final products including audio pieces, music, film, sculpture, dance, essays, creative writing, visual art, animation, and installation art. Other students design a community service project or engage in a activity to promote a cause important to them. The showcase transforms the Center into a contemporary gallery space and features exmaples of student projects.
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