Upcoming Drug and Alcohol Assemblies

To aid in our on-going quest to educate the students about the dangers of drug and alcohol use, we have scheduled two assemblies in the Upper School.  On Monday, April 19 at 9:00 AM the seniors have invited their parents for a viewing of the documentary HAZE (www.hazethemovie.com) detailing the binge drinking, hazing, and drinking games that are prevalent on college campuses across America.  This film is graphic and very direct as it outlines the dangers of alcohol abuse and/or poisoning.  Following the movie, Debbie and Don Cross, parents of two Lovett School graduates, will share their message, Live for a Reason, and tell of the events that lead them to create the Tyler Cross Memorial Fund (http://tylercrosstournament.com/) .  We plan to make this an annual assembly for seniors before they embark on their college journey. 

The 9th-11th graders will be attending a special assembly on Thursday, April 22nd featuring Certified Addiction Counselor Ashley Baker. She will be highlighting the physiological and psychological effects of alcohol and various prescription and street drugs. 

In order to facilitate family conversations about choices and consequences, here is a link to a brief video emphasizing the dangers of underage drinking: http://connectwithkids.com/theworstdrugofall/ .  The video is provided by Connect with Kids, a local education company that focuses on adolescent health.  Feel free to explore their webpage for more information.

Course Requests for 2010 - 2011

Scheduling for next year is already upon us.  This week, Mr. Arjona met with the current juniors, sophomores, and freshmen (as a class) to discuss scheduling for next year and hand out Course Guides that list the courses available to them for next year.  Their advisors will also be discussing courses for next year over the next week or two and handing out additional information.  Below are links to the scheduling documents that students were given this week (freshmen will receive some of the documents in advisory on Monday):

1. Course Guide for Rising Seniors
Course Guide for Rising Juniors
Course Guide for Rising Sophomores
These Course Guides list the courses available and include relevant information like whether the class counts in the GPA and what the graduation requirements are in each department.  Full course descriptions can be found in the Upper School section of The Walker School website.  Here is another file that has the course descriptions for the new courses in our curriculum this year.

2. AP Course Expectations -- this document gives the summer requirements and typical outside of school commitments for each Honors and AP course.

3. Math Progression Diagram -- this document is a visual representation of the math curriculum.

4. Students will meet with one of the administrators starting on Wednesday, March 24, to discuss their course requests for next year.  Students should fill out a Course Request Form prior to the meeting to serve as a starting point for the scheduling discussion.  Rising seniors will meet with Mr. Murphy, rising juniors will meet with Mr. Arjona, and rising sophomores will meet with Mr. McCurdy.  Rising freshmen will meet with their future advisors after Spring Break to determine their courses for next year.  Below are the links to the individual meeting schedules:

Rising Seniors with Mr. Murphy
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4

Rising Juniors with Mr. Arjona
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

Rising Sophomores with Mr. McCurdy
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3

Parent Survey Results

Our 2009-2010 Upper School Parent Survey got a great number of responses (247 out of around 315 families), and below is a link to the summarized results:

2009-2010 Parent Survey Results

As a further step to gain insight, we plan to conduct a short follow-up survey in April that will ask a few more specific questions based on the results of the main survey, so be on the look out for that.

Overall, we appreciate the fact that so many of you took the time to complete the survey and provide us with such valuable and thoughtful feedback.

Walker Alum Speaks at Kennedy Center MLK Celebration

Walker alum and current Georgetown sophomore Ryan Wilson ('08) was recently invited to speak at an event at The Kennedy Center to celebrate Martin Luther King Day.  He introduced the "Legacy of a Dream" award given each year by Georgetown University (given this year to Dikembe Mutombo), and he directly followed remarks given by President Barack Obama.

Here is a link to the impressive speech given by Ryan.  The speech was part of a larger program to celebrate Dr. King's legacy.  If you would like to go directly to Ryan's portion of the program, he is introduced by the President of Georgetown University starting at the 35 minute 20 second mark and he gives his speech directly afterwards.  We are not surprised, but are continually impressed by the success Ryan has found at Georgetown in just two short years.

Jennifer Freeman featured in The Atlantic

Jennifer Freeman is currently teaching in our Science department while Emily Adams is on maternity leave.  She joined us in November and is teaching Biology and Epidemiology this semester.

Jennifer is an experienced teacher with Atlanta Public Schools and was recently featured in an article in the national magazine The Atlantic.  The article is entitled "What Makes a Great Teacher?" and features a video of Jennifer teaching a lesson at her previous school on the digestive system.  Be sure to read the article and watch her in action.

Bullying Prevention Specialist Who Spoke at Walker Earlier This Year

Jeff Dess, a local Prevention Specialist, spoke to our 10th & 11th grade male students earlier this year about bullying prevention. He will also be speaking to our entire faculty at our upcoming inservice day in February. In additional to bullying prevention, Mr. Dess specializes in preparing parents for the many challenges they may face while raising a teenager. He authored the book Turn Up The Music - Prevention Strategies To Help Parents Through The Rap, Rock, Pop, And Metal Years. To learn more from Mr. Dess or to purchase a copy of his book, feel free to visit his webpage at http://www.psych-centric.com/. Plus, expect to see Mr. Dess again at Walker in the future!


Jessica R. Eaton, M.S.
11th & 12th Grade Counselor

Study Plans for Exams

As we approach exams, advisors will be talking to their advisees about semester exams.  Our Freshmen Advisors will be following a more structured plan to help their advisees since this is their first time preparing for semester exams in the Upper School.  The plan, developed by our Upper School Guidance Counselor, Anna Kennedy, involves three steps:

1. Advisors will be going through general study tips with their advisees. Here is a link to the guidelines for those study tips.
2. Next, the freshmen will create a study schedule in advisory as a plan of attack for exams.  Here is a sample study schedule that can help guide the students in making their own plan.  Keep in mind that students should design a plan that best fits with their style of studying and amount of review they need.  The sample can serve as a starting point.
3. Advisors will then spend a few days going through the students' study plans with them to ensure that they are on the right track.

The Freshmen Advisors have already started implementing this process this week, but it is a useful exercise no matter whether you are a freshman or a senior trying to direct your studying efforts.