April 13, 2018

Year-End Activities

As we move closer to the end of the year, please see the information below about year-end activities. Some of these event descriptions include time and location - check back here or on the school's Master Calendar in May for up-to-date information.

Journeys

Now in our fourth year, the Journeys take our students to the far corners of the world (well, of North America, at least!) to give students a chance to apply what they've learned in new contexts and to develop a global outlook. Grade 6 travels to northern California, Grade 7 to the Southwest, and Grade 8 to Costa Rica. 

All Schools Orchestra Concert

The All Schools Orchestra Concert includes performances by student ensembles in all four Divisions. Join us for the concert on Wednesday, May 16 at 7:00pm in the Kemper Theater. Contact Mr. Stuart Hake with any questions. 

Middle School Spring Dance

The MS Spring Dance (Student Council's third and final dance of the year) is on Friday, May 18 at 7:00pm in the Kemper Gym. This is the first dance that welcomes members of Grade 6. Permission forms will be available in the MS Office the week leading up to the dance. Students may bring up to 10 guests (who are also in Grades 6-8) from other schools. Contact Ms. Clare Wagstaff with any questions.

MS Spring Athletics Awards

Spring Athletes and Teams will be celebrated at the Spring Athletics Awards on Thursday, May 31 at 2:15pm in the Kemper Gym. The occasion will include honoring MVP, Most Improved, and Gatorship Awards designees and a chance for all students to have a little fun. Contact Mr. Mike Finch with any questions. 

May Day

May Day is an all-school event that carries on one of the longest Annie Wright traditions. Most of the May Day festivities focus on the graduating Grade 12 class and connect to Graduation and Reunion activities, but on Friday, June 1 at 1:30, the May Day Ceremony for the whole community, which includes a speech from the MS Student Body President, begins!

Grade 7: Milk Boats Regatta

One of the longest-standing traditions in the Middle School is our annual Milk Boats Regatta! Over the course of several months, Grade 7 students work in teams to design, test, and build seaworthy vessels from repurposed materials (including a lot of milk cartons!). Each team prepares a short presentation about their process (and usually including a few light-hearted jabs at their competition) before the actual race, and lunch is provided. All of Middle School attends the regatta, and parents of Grade 7 are encouraged to join! This year, the Milk Boats Regatta is on Friday, June 8 on American Lake (Lakewood). Contact Mr. Kyle Price with any questions.

Grade 6: Design Exhibition

On Monday, June 11, student teams in Grade 6 will demonstrate the Rube Goldberg Machines they built, the result of an interdisciplinary unit in Math, Science, and Design. Grade 6 parents are encouraged to stop by to see the machines at work! Contact Ms. Clare Wagstaff with any questions.

Grade 8: Retreat

Monday, June 11 is designated as a Retreat day for students in Grade 8. Students and their Advisors will spend most of the day off campus for a loosely structured series of activities to reflect on their time together and individually throughout Middle School and to turn their heads toward Upper School. Contact Ms. Clare Wagstaff with any questions. 

Honoring our Eighth Grade

On Tuesday, June 12, we will have two special occasions to honor our Eighth Grade. 

The Eighth Grade Chapel is a formal celebration of the class as they conclude their time together in Middle School. The Chapel will include a chance for students to honor each other, and families of Grade 8 students are encouraged to join! This year, the Eighth Grade Chapel will be on Tuesday, June 12 at 9:00am in the Raynor Chapel. Contact Ms. Clare Wagstaff with any questions. 

Immediately following their special Chapel, students in Grade 8 will exhibit their Oral History Projects, the result of an interdisciplinary project in Language & Literature and Individuals & Societies. The exhibition will include a chance to visit and learn about a variety of subjects profiled and historical events studied, to hear from a handful of students, and to meet some of the people interviewed. Families of Grade 8 students and people interviewed for the OHP are welcome to attend! The Oral History Project Exhibition will be on Tuesday, June 12 from 10:30am-12:00pm. Contact Ms. Shelli Strate, Mr. Kyle Price, or Ms. Jennifer McConnell with any questions. 

Open Mic

The Middle School's Open Mic performance will begin at 1:00pm on Tuesday, June 12 in the Kemper Theater. Open Mic is a unique forum that features many of our student performers in a variety of media - music, dance, comedy...you name it! Open Mic includes performances from our MS Band, which brings the house down every year! All MS Parents are welcome to join! Contact Ms. Liz Gettel with any questions. 

MS Closing Ceremony

The Middle School Closing Ceremony provides a formal conclusion to the academic year. The occasion includes the distribution of our annual Scholarship, Strength to Strength, Good Person, and Scholarship Awards to students in each Grade, and Humanities, Arts, Math & Science, and Teachers Awards to students in Grade 8. All MS Families are welcome to join for the Closing Ceremony, and students are dismissed for the summer immediately following the Closing Ceremony. The Closing Ceremony will begin at 10:00am on Wednesday, June 13 in the Raynor Chapel. Contact Mr. Bill Hulseman with any questions. 

April 6, 2018

PHE: Suicide Awareness and Prevention Education

In our next unit of Physical and Health Education (PHE) within the social and emotional learning competency areas, we will be implementing the SOS Signs of Suicide Prevention Program with all of our students in the middle school. Mrs. Dicks will lead this proactive program designed to increase depression awareness, and arm students with the knowledge to seek help if they are concerned about themselves or a friend. SOS is listed on Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs and Practices and in a randomized control study, the SOS High School Program showed a reduction in self-reported suicide attempts by 40% (BMC Public Health, July 2007). 

The goals of this program are straightforward and are as follows:

• To help our students understand that depression is a treatable illness and what these symptoms may look and feel like
• To explain that suicide is a preventable tragedy that often occurs as a result of untreated depression
• To provide students the knowledge to identify warning signs of depression or potential suicidality in themselves or a friend
• To impress upon our students that they can help themselves or a friend by taking the simple step of talking to a responsible adult about their concerns
• To remind students whom they can turn to for help, if they need it

This program is a credible and age appropriate curriculum to implement with our students based on the needs of our community. Each year, we learn of students that have expressed language that is concerning to their friends and are in need of necessary and appropriate support. Research indicates that youth are more likely to turn to peers than adults when facing a suicidal crisis. Sometimes the comments are a one off or don’t indicate real danger, but quite often they are an indication of a need for some level of additional support. Regardless, it is very distressing for a friend to receive a text message, see a post on social media or hear directly from a friend about feelings of depression or hopelessness or even indications of plans to self-harm. This program uses the acronym ACT: 

• Acknowledge how your friend is feeling, 
• tell them that you Care about them 
• and make a plan with them to Tell a trusted adult.  

In the PHE classroom, we will watch and discuss a video, and follow it up with engaging activities to move the knowledge and skills into long-term memory. We see this curriculum as a way to support our students in being good friends, equipping them with the confidence to respond appropriately to alarming comments, as well as to give students the tools to seek help when they themselves feel depressed.  We are happy to provide any interested parents with this training to arm them with the knowledge and tools to support their child. Research shows that parents often do not know how to identify suicidal behavior or are unaware of their child’s depressive symptoms.

Mrs. Dicks will be implementing this curriculum beginning next week during the PHE class period for each grade level. If you have questions or concerns about this program, or do not wish for your child to participate in this program, please contact Ann Dicks. If we do not hear from you, we will assume your child has permission to participate in this program. We recognize that the word suicide and depression might make some uncomfortable. Some may feel their child is too young for this topic, and some may even be under the impression that talking about suicide may give someone the idea to do it. In fact, the opposite is true. Bringing up the subject of suicide and discussing it openly is one of the most helpful things you can do, particularly in a way that is proactive and preventative. Additionally, we find that students are often far more aware of these mature topics than we believe. Once we start the curriculum, we will provide information to allow for follow up conversations at home. 

Balanced, Interdependence and Diversity

Spring is an exciting time for various cultural and religious communities. Festivities and holidays from a variety of cultures overlap this time of year. The end of Spring Break coincided with the start of two important religious seasons for Judaism and Christianity - the start of Passover and the start of Easter. Considering this, in All Schools Chapel on Monday, students throughout the school reflected on the Learner Profile attributed "Balanced":

We understand the importance of balancing different aspects of our lives - intellectual, physical, and emotional - to achieve well-being for ourselves and others. We recognize our interdependence with other people and with the world in which we live.

The key phrases in the IB's definition reflect the goal of cultivating this attribute - "well-being" and "interdependence." In Chapel, we took this as an opportunity to reflect on what it means to be interdependent. There is personal interdependence that takes the form of collaboration and cooperation among individuals, each seeing and relying on the talents of others. There is group interdependence, taking the form of community building, which challenges each person to discern what's right for the individual and what's right with the community. There are myriad examples of natural forms of interdependence, from our reliance on the natural environment for our basic needs to the food chain and the water cycle - and each reminds us not only of our reliance on the natural environment but also our responsibility to care for it. There is economic interdependence, represented by the distribution of resources from virtually every region in the world to virtually every other. The final example we considered was, again, more personally focused: identity. We depend on each other to understand our own layers of identity, and we depend on the diversity of identities in every aspect of our personal and communal lives. The starting point for interdependence in this aspect is understanding and being knowledgeable about what another's identity means.

One of the worst understood identities in American culture is religious identity. Scholar and Boston University Professor Stephen Prothero has been researching and documenting this for many years, finding that Americans are woefully uneducated when it comes to the basic facts of different (or sometimes one's own) religious identities. He developed a quiz to use with his students to get a sense of how well this well-educated and motivated group could identify the basic facts or talking points about different religious groups. Students didn't do so well, sparking him to further explore this deficit in broader American society and to advocate for a better understanding of religious culture in America. In Chapel, we posed a handful of questions to the community...no one knew the right answer to all seven questions, very few to six. The questions are here (and the answers are below):

• Christianity: Name the Four Gospels.
• Hinduism: Name a sacred text of Hinduism.
• Islam: Name the holy book of Islam.
• Judaism: Name the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Torah. 
• Buddhism: Name the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.
• The First Amendment says two things about religion, each in its own “clause.” What are the two religion clauses of the First Amendment?
• At 2.3 billion and 1.8 billion people respectively, Christianity and Islam are the two largest religious groups in the world. At approximately 1.2 billion people (about 16% of the world’s population, what is the third largest group? (This questions was not included in Prothero's quiz and was added for Chapel.)

As we continue to cultivate this attribute in ourselves and among our students, getting to know the basics about the experiences, resources, and ideas that shape each other in every aspect of their lives can only lead to stronger bonds and a stronger community. 

Answers...

• Christianity: Name the Four Gospels. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
• Hinduism: Name a sacred text of Hinduism. Vedas, Upanishads, Sutras, Bhagavad Gita, Mahabharata, Ramayana...
• Islam: Name the holy book of Islam. The Qur’an
• Judaism: Name the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Torah. Genesis/B’reshit, Exodus/Sh’mot, Leviticus/Va’yikra, Numbers/B’midbar, Deuteronomy/Devarim.
• Buddhism: Name the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. Life is suffering, Suffering has an origin, Suffering can be overcome, The Eightfold Path overcomes suffering
• The First Amendment says two things about religion, each in its own “clause.” What are the two religion clauses of the First Amendment? Establishment Clause, Free Exercise Clause
• At 2.3 billion and 1.8 billion people respectively, Christianity and Islam are the two largest religious groups in the world. At approximately 1.2 billion people (about 16% of the world’s population, what is the third largest group? Non-religious, Atheists, and Agnostics

March 16, 2018

Nutrition

It's no surprise that during the Middle School years, students develop quickly and dramatically - their brains are developing at a fast rate, their emotions run from hot to cold in a matter of minutes, and their social and emotional lives can seem to change at the drop of a hat! One of the most important factors in all of this development - and in managing or mitigating the rough patches - is nutrition, and, noticing some trends among our students when it comes to nutrition during the school day, it's important to take note of healthful approaches to food.

During First Semester, students completed a unit about nutrition in PHE classes. Much of that work focused on balance - each meal or snack should have a combination of far, carb, and protein to sustain energy and attention levels until the next snack or meal. PHE teachers introduced students to resources provided by the USDA. Their My Plate initiative seeks to educate about balanced nutrition (the Plate has replaced the Pyramid!), and the site provides a variety of resources for people at different ages.

In the Middle School, we provide a snack each day after Period 2. Our dining staff prepares varied offerings each day - some, like Goldfish and popcorn, are quite popular while others, like salami slices and celery sticks, are less popular - and students often bring their own snacks to last throughout the day. We've noticed an uptick in sugary and less nutritious (less nutritious than the USDA might recommend) snacks, a long line in the bookstore to purchase sweets and chips at the end of the day, and a significant amount of Starbucks cups. Throughout the Middle School, it is our policy that students refrain from eating in classrooms, and that students may carry a bottle of water with them to class, but other beverages are not permitted. On one level, this is to maintain our common spaces, but primarily, this is about nutrition.

As we move into the Spring, please open a conversation with your student about nutrition. Making healthful choices has a direct impact on sleep, cognitive ability, and self-regulation, but too many stimulants like caffeine and sugar can get in the way.

Studying Abroad

At Monday's Chapel, Blue Tie and Middle School alumna Mia Dobbins shared about her fall semester in Southern Africa! Her stories about her unique educational program (taking finals in the shadow of a waterfall, for instance!) through Zambia, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa demonstrated both Risk Taking, one of of 10 attributes on the IB Learner Profile, and a commitment to developing a global worldview, another key element of an IB education.

March 14

On Wednesday, USG students organized a series of venues for students in Middle and Upper Schools to commemorate the one-month anniversary of the shooting in Parkland, FL. Local news covered demonstrations and walk-outs in the regions, including Annie Wright, including The News Tribune and Tacoma Weekly. Middle Schoolers had the opportunity to participate in a demonstration in front of the school, and those students stood in a circle, holding hands, for 17 minutes of silence, followed by a few remarks from US students about student safety, and about half of MS students requested permission to participate. The remainder of the Middle School gathered in the Lounge to share a minute of silence in memory of those who died in Parkland and other tragic shootings, followed by a discussion about emergency preparedness at Annie Wright. Ms. Wagstaff, who also serves as the school's Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, walked students through the rationale for our monthly drills and answered questions about the many "what if's" that are on students' minds. It was an opportunity to affirm for students our commitment to their safety and to calm some of the fears that current events might be stoking. If you have any questions about these events, feel free to reach out to Mr. Hulseman, or if you have questions about our emergency procedures, feel free to contact Ms. Wagstaff.

Guest Speaker: George Elbaum

On Thursday, we were privileged to welcome George Elbaum, who shared stories from his extraordinary life. Born in Warsaw, Elbaum was a young child when the Nazis invaded Poland. He spoke powerfully about his earliest memories from the Warsaw ghetto, about being separated from his mother while placed with families to keep him safe, and about the experience of liberation and eventual immigration to the United States and pursuit of an MIT education and a career in aerospace! In addition to sharing photos from his life, Elbaum also read excerpts from his book, Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows, and encouraged questions from students, faculty, and parents and grandparents who attended. Dr. Elbaum was not only a powerful storyteller but also a gracious guest, entertaining a variety of questions and connecting with many of our students and guests after his talk.

Elbaum's talk is the third event giving students a chance to explore the history, ethics, and impact of the Holocaust - recently, a MS Chapel introduced the history of the Holocaust, and we experienced the Living Voices performance of "Through the Eyes of a Friend," which expanded on the story and legacy of Anne Frank. Please open a dialogue about these events with your students - during and after each of these events, our students have been consistently engaged, insightful, and eager to translate their understanding of these events to understanding our world today.

To learn more about Dr. Elbaum, visit his website, Neither Yesterdays Nor Tomorrows, where he not only reflects on his experiences and provides excerpts from his book - he also captures questions and his more extended responses that are asked during his visits to schools and other communities.

March 9, 2018

Projects

As we inch toward Spring, interdisciplinary projects are popping up for each Grade in the Middle School. After the Journeys, Grade 6 will embark on building Rube Goldberg machines; beginning this week, Grade 7 is launching their Milk Boats project; and Grade 8 is engaging the Oral History Project. For the MYP, interdisciplinary work is a key and essential element for learning, as it gives students the opportunity to make connections between different areas of knowledge and to transfer skills and understanding.
Like many aspects of our curriculum, our attention to interdisciplinary learning extends well before the introduction of MYP to our program. While the MYP didn't introduce this angle, it does provide a curricular home for and adds a layer of meaning and importance to interdisciplinary intersections.
Unlike the Milk Boat Regatta, which goes back many years, the Oral Histories Project is a more recent development of the Ancestry Project. Beyond giving students a different approach to researching, the OHP also develops empathy for the people they interview and a person-centered understanding of history. Read more about the OHP in the Fall 2017 issue of Strength.

Getting to know us...

Since the beginning of the school year, this blog has featured a different Middle School faculty member each week. We hope you've enjoyed getting to know us a little differently! One last "Get to know you" profile...

Mr. Bill Hulseman, Director of Middle School

What is your favorite color? Blue. 

What is your favorite book? AB Yehoshua, A Journey to the End of the Millennium.
What is your favorite movie? Too hard to narrow down to one: "Murder by Death," "All About Eve," and "Young Frankenstein" rise to the top.

If I hadn't been a teacher, I probably would've been... an architectural designer, or a performer.

What is your favorite musical artist? Ella Fitzgerald. 

Where were you born? Evanston, IL.

Any interesting trivia about you? I'm the youngest of 10 siblings.

Where did you attend Middle School? Sts. Faith, Hope & Charity School in Winnetka, IL.

Who was your favorite or most influential teacher? Mr. Austin, my French teacher in high school, opened my eyes to exploring and wanting to understand culture and difference, and Mrs. Faye Ryan, my director in high school, who gave me opportunities to develop my own skills and to build my confidence.

March 2, 2018

What we are learning...

Ms. Niki Taylor, Science and Design Teacher

What is your favorite color? Purple. 

What is your favorite book? The Princess Bride.
What is your favorite movie? "The Princess Bride"

If I hadn't been a teacher, I probably would've been... a forensic scientist. 

What is your favorite artist? Mumford & Sons

Where were you born? St. Louis, MO.

Any interesting trivia about you? I have a masters of Raptor Biology.

Where did you attend Middle School? Our Lady of Providence and Sperring Middle School in St. Louis.

Who was your favorite or most influential teacher? Roger, one of my high school soccer coaches. 

My 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes are all now investigating the Concept of Relationships. Sixth graders are relating the variable x to y in equations and forming lines. Seventh graders have moved deeper into this x and y relationship so that the lines are now intersecting. Eighth graders have been optimizing linear relationships by graphing linear inequalities. These relations form the foundation for understanding natural and human worlds in powerful ways. For example, gathering data and relating it in a bar graph is a way to detect patterns and make reliable predictions. The justifications for things such as climate change or the use of investment strategies depend on these mathematical techniques. People who value the clarity that math can provide find a clear path forward into a future of independence and self-reliance. Inspiring middle school students to focus on math as a way to bring order to their lives is an enduring and elusive challenge that keeps my mind active.     

February 9, 2018

What we are learning...

Mr. John Rockne, Math Teacher

What is your favorite color? Green, the color of forests. 

What is your favorite book? David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens.
What is your favorite movie? "The Wizard of Oz."

If I hadn't been a teacher, I probably would've been... a house builder. 

What is your favorite song? Bob Dylan, "Ballad of a Thin Man."

If you could travel anywhere in space and time, where and when would you like to visit? I would travel to this great Pacific Northwest in the 1830s as a fur trapper.

Where were you born? Boise, Idaho.

Any interesting trivia about you? My middle name is Knute, and I am related to the famous coach of Notre Dame.

Where did you attend Middle School? Sacred Heart in Boise.

Who was your favorite or most influential teacher? P. Bede taught me Algebra, and K. Price taught me how to enjoy travel with children.

My 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes are all now investigating the Concept of Relationships. Sixth graders are relating the variable x to y in equations and forming lines. Seventh graders have moved deeper into this x and y relationship so that the lines are now intersecting. Eighth graders have been optimizing linear relationships by graphing linear inequalities. These relations form the foundation for understanding natural and human worlds in powerful ways. For example, gathering data and relating it in a bar graph is a way to detect patterns and make reliable predictions. The justifications for things such as climate change or the use of investment strategies depend on these mathematical techniques. People who value the clarity that math can provide find a clear path forward into a future of independence and self-reliance. Inspiring middle school students to focus on math as a way to bring order to their lives is an enduring and elusive challenge that keeps my mind active.     

Don't Let Your Phone Control You

Last week, Common Sense Media published a brief article about the ways that smartphone technology and apps are designed to manipulate users' reactions, including our emotional responses. Tips for avoiding that manipulation and feeling of addiction to our phones include: 

• Turn off all notifications, except those from people. 
• Go grayscale. 
• Limit what's on your home screen. 
• Type to find apps. 
• Take social media off your phone. 
• Charge your phone outside of your bedroom. 
• Fight fire with fire. 

The last recommendation might need a little fleshing out. There are apps designed to manage the triggers built in by app and phone designers and engineers, and the site also provides a series of recommendations for kids to use on their devices that help develop time management and healthier habits. Apps range from task managers and anxiety-alleviating calendars to usage-trackers and homework tracking. If your student uses a device and struggles with the attachment to it, or if your student could use some help with time management or staying on task, take a look!

The most important piece of the article isn't necessarily the useful recommendations - it's the recognition that adults are susceptible of being attached to devices just as much as kids. What the article doesn't articulate, though, is the role of adults - parents, teachers, coaches - in modeling healthier use of technology. If we hope our students will develop skills to integrate technology to enhance their learning and their lives - and to avoid the rabbit hole of distraction that smartphones and other technologies invite - we need to model it ourselves. 

February 2, 2018

"The Danger of a Single Story"

In Wednesday's MS Chapel, the Hartmann Advisory introduced the February observance of African American History Month with some of the history of the observance and with Chimananda Adichie's influential TED Talk, "The Danger of a Single Story." Reflecting on her own experiences of being reduced to a "single story," and her own experiences reducing others to a "single story." "Single story" refers to defining an experience based on a single account that provides an incomplete, inaccurate, and potentially damaging understanding of others. It's easy to see the connection between single stories and the development of stereotypes and the marginalization and discrimination that might stem from them.

Certainly, Adichie's reflection speaks to the need to attend to and integrate a diversity of voices and perspectives in the course of learning. This is precisely the kind of work that our teachers do when they attend to diversity, equity, multiculturalism, and inclusion in their curricula and in their classrooms, and it also relates to the vision and initiatives of Teaching Tolerance and similar organizations. However, Adichie's message should also speak to each of us personally to ask critical and, sometimes, difficult questions about our points of view. How do we tell stories about each other? Do we actually seek multiple perspectives when seeking the truth? When we hear stories about others that are incomplete, untrue, or damaging...what do we do next?

Adichie closes her talk with a powerful summary. "When we reject the single story," she says, "when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise." As we continue to reflect on these insights and engage in learning about African American history and culture - not just throughout the month but throughout the year! - our students and we will begin to build "a kind of paradise."

Mind/Shift: Self-doubt and Learning

The Mind/Shift podcast and website explores current research, trends, and resources for understanding and promoting "growth mindset" in individuals. A recent article by Linda Flanagan on the site looks at the impact of self-doubt on one's mindset. High levels of self-doubt seem to correspond with fixed mindsets and the experience of stress. "Though common," she writes, "relentless suspicion about one's abilities corrodes confidence and limits learning, even when that anxiety produces successful outcomes." That doubt might translate into a persistent fear of failure or impeded clear thinking. Flanagan identifies these steps for parents and teachers to buoy students' well-being:

• Change the meaning of doubt. 
• Challenge the self-doubting thoughts.
• Step back in time. 
• Focus on process rather than results. 
• Visualize your successful future self. 

Visit Mind/Shift to flesh out what these recommendations mean and to find more resources for developing a growth mindset in your student...and in yourself!

What we are learning...

Dr. Vicky Lovejoy, Math Teacher

What is your favorite color? Alternating patterns of teal and purple. 

What is your favorite movie? "Out of Africa."

If I hadn't been a teacher, I probably would've been... a veterinarian. 

What is your favorite song? Brad Paisley, "It Could Get Better Than This."
If you could travel anywhere in space and time, where and when would you like to visit? I would love to visit New Zealand at a time before it was heavily populated. I'd love to see the native plants and animals as it is an entirely different evolutionary path.

Where were you born? Leavenworth, Kansas.

Any interesting trivia about you? I used to train and compete with horses, and now train and compete in performance sports with dogs.

Where did you attend Middle School? Colorado Springs.

Who was your favorite or most influential teacher? My Calculus teacher and my Physiology teacher both had a big influence on me.