91̽��

Dr. Dost Öngür, this year’s Science Assembly Speaker, talked with students about his research into the causes of schizophrenia. Chief of the Psychotic Disorders Division at McLean Hospital, Dr. Öngür addressed mental illness in general, as well as the associated stigmas.

“Mental illnesses are common. They are not a small thing we can ignore, but rather a significant public health issue, and people need help,” said Dr. Öngür. “The best way to deal with mental illness is head on—the way we approach any other medical condition.” Dr. Öngür cited worldwide statistics: 350 million people suffer from depression, and 48 million live with dementia.

Dr. Öngür explained that there is no test or imaging that can help diagnose a condition like schizophrenia. “We know it when we see it, but we don’t know how to measure it scientifically,” he says.

Alumna Dr. Lisa Miller ’84, author of the bestseller The Spiritual Child, spoke with students as this year’s Class of 1952 Endowed Speaker for Religious Understanding. Dr. Miller is a professor of psychology and education, and director of the Clinical Psychology Program at Columbia University Teachers College. Dr. Miller is also founder of the Spirituality Mind Body Institute—the first Ivy League graduate program in spirituality and psychology.

Dr. Miller spoke about when she started in the field of psychology and the absence of research on the effects of spirituality and the mind at that time. Today, psychological and neurological research shows direct correlation between spirituality and mental health, particularly evidence that children and adolescents with any form of spiritual practice are happier and thriving.

“Everyone is born with some innate spirituality. The most important thing you can do as a teenage is to expand this and establish a spiritual core,” said Dr. Miller. “It will help protect you from the ‘holes’ in life. If you set it up now, you will live that way for the rest of your life.”

By Elizabeth Muse ’16

March break is here, and many students are heading out on School-sponsored trips. Fifteen students will travel to Belize for the annual service trip organized by the Community Service Board. At Ocean Academy, on the island of Caye Caulker, they will work on school improvement projects and tutor children.
“I’m so glad I got the opportunity to go last year. We worked with kids, helped with construction, and even met fellow students our own age. The trip was a lot of work, but it was also a ton of fun,” says Cameron DiGiovanni (I).
The work is done in conjunction with Peacework, a nonprofit organization. This is 91̽��’s eleventh year working with the organization. While Peacework coordinates the work done on the island, students raise money leading up to the trip, through t-shirt and raffle sales.

Armond James—a 2014 congressional candidate for Pennsylvania—shared with students the lessons he’s learned in his life and work. Mr. James’s visit was sponsored by the student club Onyx, in honor of Black History Month.

“I hear a lot about creating safe spaces,” said Mr. James, “but out in the real world, you have to have tough skin. Not everyone is going to like you, but don’t let that dissuade you. Stay true to what you believe in.”

Born and raised in the Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia, Mr. James grew up in what he describes as a hardworking, blue-collar household. He credits his parents for providing him a strong foundation, and teaching him about hard work, respect and the importance of education. Mr. James was the first in his family to attend college; he graduated from Temple University, where he discovered a passion for history and politics.

Twenty-nine 91̽�� students competed in the Boston Invitational Model United Nations Conference (BosMUN) at Boston University last weekend. The conference is a three-day simulation of the United Nations and draws high school delegates from around the world. Mark Heath—history faculty and club sponsor—is proud of all the students’ impressive work; 13 students received awards for the high quality of their research and debates.

Each student represented a specific country or political figure, and the debates centered on topics as contemporary and relevant as climate change, anti-terrorism tactics, Iran’s nuclear deal, and Syrian refugees; as well as historic simulations of such events as the Russo-Japanese War and Simon Bolivar’s Liberation of South America.

Rika Ichinose (I), one of the clubs co-heads, earned a first place award for Best Delegate. She represented Malaysia in the Special Political and Decolonization Committee, where the topic focused on human trafficking.

“I am so proud of our club as a whole,” says Rika. “Especially the student board members, who put so much work into preparing the other students. Their leadership was essential to our success.”

Last spring, Jim Kernohan (science faculty) introduced his students to a new learning tool. Raytheon’s Learning Platform—intelligent tutoring software—provides customized guidance to students in real time, as they master physics concepts at their own pace. After this week’s exams, Class IV physics students will begin studying circuits and electrostatics, and the Learning Platform will be part of the experience.

“I’m always looking for new tools that help teachers introduce a concept,” says Jim. After hearing about the Learning Platform through a physics instructors’ group, he assigned problems through the program as homework.

Raytheon originally developed the Learning Platform for the U.S. Office of Naval Research STEM Grand Challenge, where the goal was to create adaptive, intelligent systems to teach and promote science, technology, engineering and math. The company has since begun donating the software to high school physics departments across the country.

Poet Tracy K. Smith, director of Princeton University’s Creative Writing Program, read from her powerful, sometimes haunting, work during the Martin Luther King Assembly on Wednesday morning. Ms. Smith was the 2016 Bingham Visiting Writer, and English faculty member Lisa Baker introduced her as “one of the significant voices in contemporary literature.”

Some of Ms. Smith’s poems reflect on current events in the United States, addressing topics such as hate crimes, violence and justice. She uses these poems to “exorcise the news stories that constantly run in [her] brain.”

“A poem can be a tool for thinking about who we are as a nation. A poem is a great place to discover something, to push against some of my own opinions, and to figure out the way I, myself, can be implicated in some of the problems we face today,” says Ms. Smith.

Marshall Sloane (II) continues 91̽��’s long tradition of excellence in speech competition, earning third place in the recent Montgomery Bell Academy Southern Bell Forum. The forum is an invitation-only tournament for the top 16 current events extemporaneous speakers in the country. Marshall—a 91̽�� Speech Team veteran—was invited to the Forum last year and placed 14th.

“This year, it all came together for me,” he says. “The competition was really close at the end; we went into round 10 in a three-way tie, but I felt really good about my performance.”

During extemporaneous speech events, competitors draw three topics from an envelope, choose one, and then have 30 minutes to prepare a seven-minute speech. At the forum, Marshall made five speeches on Saturday and five on Sunday. His topics ranged from how the Syrian civil war has been affected by increased tensions between Russia and Turkey (which Marshall says was one of his most challenging topics) to adopting the role of Supreme Court Justice Sotomayor in the Fisher v. University of Texas, Austin, affirmative action case. Marshall says the latter was his best speech of the tournament.