AIS Online in Action: Week of 5/30

Changing Over to a New Academic Year

Yesterday, upper schoolers celebrated a digital version of our annual Changeover Assembly. Clubs and organizations recapped their work from this past year, and introduced next year's leaders. Mrs. Leonard presented the Triple Crown Award to the senior class — an honor given to the Upper School grade that emerges victorious from class competitions. Although students could not be together physically for the "moving up" to their new seats in the auditorium, they celebrated in spirit!

Students Honored for Mathematics and Language Excellence

Upper and middle schoolers were honored this week for academic excellence in the areas of mathematics and foreign language. We're proud of all our scholars!

Natalie Pansini Named Main Line Times Athlete of the Week

Congratulations to senior Natalie Pansini, who was named a Main Line Times Girls Athlete of the Week! Her athletic career at Agnes Irwin has included a prestigious tenure with the lacrosse and soccer teams, two years on the varsity squash team, and multiple accolades — including this year's Inter-Ac Athletic Director Award. Read the Main Line Times article!

Second Graders Reflect on the Year

Second graders in Ms. Hobson and Ms. Zachary's classes reflected on this past year and shared their memories on Thursday. Students practiced their creative writing skills to create personal narratives, opinion pieces, haiku poems, and even songs/cheers to share memorable moments from the 2019-2020 year. Popular choices were gatherings of friends, AIS/EA Day, Valentine's Day celebrations, writing fairy tales, and even constructing the balloons for our special Thanksgiving Parade!

Dr. Hill Visits Lower School Surprise Guest Assembly

Dr. Hill was this week's surprise guest for Thursday's Lower School assembly! Lower schoolers presented Dr. Hill with a final gift before her tenure as Head of School concludes: an engraved music box that plays "Unforgettable," containing a necklace with a photo of Dr. Hill and the kindergarteners!

Thirteen Seniors Join Cum Laude Society

Thirteen Agnes Irwin seniors were inducted into the Cum Laude Society at a special online Upper School ceremony on Tuesday, representing students who have pursued the most rigorous coursework during their high school years. Learn more about this year's ceremony.

Collaborating to Study Infectious Diseases

Sophomores Marissa and Cate used their knowledge of smallpox — based on their recent study between historical diseases and COVID-19 for their history class — to help 7th graders prepare for their project examining smallpox's impact on the Americas in the 16th century. The two upper schoolers created special videos for their Middle School friends, discussing the process of comparing two infectious diseases, while offering words of encouragement. We love seeing this kind of cross-divisional collaboration!

Stay-at-Home Still Lifes in Studio Art I

Ms. Farrow's Studio Art I students finished their Stay-at-Home Still Life projects this week, using objects that reflected a mood, personal feelings, or experiences while sheltering in place. Each student was tasked with demonstrating the skills they discussed and practiced throughout the year, including elements such as use of tone/value, pen or pencil techniques, composition, and use of color theory/blending techniques.

A Visit with Retired Teacher Mr. Flood

Third graders welcomed special guest Mr. Flood to their class on Wednesday! Mr. Flood, who retired last year after 21 years of service at AIS, read The Surprise Puppy, a story written by Gabrielle Ware '10. He instilled a love of literature in his students, and is known as an avid storyteller — as well as the former pilot for the annual Kindergarten "flight" to Mexico that kicked off their study of the customs, people, and environment of a Spanish-speaking country.

Recording Wellness During COVID-19

Students in 9th grade Wellness class chronicled their physical, social, emotional, environmental, intellectual, and spiritual wellness throughout the COVID-19 epidemic through special digital journals. They responded to writing and photo prompts to explore different dimensions of well-being during their time at home, allowing them to reflect on how their personal wellness has been affected, both positively and negatively, by the stay-at-home orders.

Summer at AIS Registration is Open!

Summer at AIS is just around the corner! We are pleased to be able to offer free, academic enrichment opportunities for Agnes Irwin students online! These online offerings are being designed to provide a review of current grade level content and to introduce new academic concepts to students throughout the summer for those families interested in extra support. Once registered, teachers will reach out to students prior to the start of each course to distribute expectations for online summer learning

Summer Strength and Conditioning Training Program

The Athletic Department is gearing up for the Summer Strength and Conditioning Training program, running twice a week beginning Monday, June 8 and concluding on Thursday, August 13. This program is open to any AIS students interested in playing a Middle or Upper School sport at Agnes Irwin. Rising 9th graders will begin with the Middle School group, and progress to the Upper School section once acclimated to the program. To register, please sign up via the appropriate link: US Summer S&C Sign-up or MS Owls Summer S&C Sign-up. If you have any questions, please contact Coach Janis at ejanis@agnesirwin.org.

A Look Ahead

We are pleased to announce that this fall, thanks to a generous gift from Amy and Hank Summy, The Agnes Irwin School will unveil a new Piano Lab, Composition Room, and upgraded Recording Studio in honor and memory of Naya Summy '21. The project, the result of an ongoing collaboration between the Summys, Dr. Hill, Mr. Savar, and the Class of 2021, will significantly expand and enhance instrumental music programming, singing and songwriting at AIS. "As I reflect on my time at Agnes Irwin, I am deeply grateful to have known Naya and her family and to have this opportunity to honor her in such a powerful way," says Dr. Hill. "This special gift will strengthen our music curriculum, but just as importantly, it will bring the joy of music to AIS girls for years to come. We are deeply grateful for the incredible kindness and generosity of the Summy family which has made this possible."

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More Scenes from AIS Online

Middle schoolers met for a royal gathering on Tuesday to honor Dr. Hill, thanking her for her dedication to AIS and presenting her with a special book, titled A Parliament of Owls!
 

First graders in Ms. Shields' class celebrated a year of hard work (and the last week of school!) with a beach party — including ocean animal dance moves, drawing beach-related items, and playing a "go and find it" game!

Students in grade K through 4 were challenged by Ms. Siembora to create found/natural object owls. Check out their creations in this fun online gallery!
 

A night at the theater, anyone? Fifth graders finished their study of Shakespeare, and performed scenes from the author's works — including masks of featured characters!
 

Eighth graders created brochures to promote lesser known museums in Paris, including locating the nearest metro stop, hours of operation, entry fees, and an informational paragraph encouraging people to visit the museum — all written in French!

Students in Sr. Sevillano's Spanish 3 Honors got creative this week as they wrote an extra chapter or episode from either a novel or the TV series El Tiempo Entre Costuras (The Time in Between) — and practiced their Spanish grammar and understanding of historical context!

Third and 4th graders presented their Passion Projects this week, a precursor to the Upper School Personal Interest Project! The projects lay the foundation for building independent inquiry skills as students move on to Middle and Upper School.

COVID-19 couldn't stop our 4th graders from practicing their special dance steps (virtually, of course!) with Mrs. Kane over the last few weeks, and creating a fun video!

 

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Stay Connected With Us!

We know community is important; we're staying connected during this time — and want you to be a part of it! Here are a few ways that we are sharing the work of our students and faculty members. Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and check out our Insta story daily: we regularly ask to hear from you about things like book recommendations, how you're spending your time as we stay at home, and more!

We Love Our Seniors!

In honor of the resilient Class of 2020, we present this special Instagram video, full of messages of encouragement and support from our faculty and staff!  

A Middle School Takeover

Sixth grader Lizzie took over Instagram this week and walked us through a day on AIS Online — including Middle School Parliament, theater with Ms. Stait, art with Ms. Miller, history with Ms. Ramsey, and more!

We’ll be sharing weekly updates of the exciting project, classes, and creative exercises happening on AIS Online, so stay tuned!