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Summer @PT Offers Spanish Immersion - Register by May 1
 By Francisco Hidalgo, Upper School Spanish Teacher A few days ago, I read an article in an English magazine about education that caught my eye. It was about the increasing importance of Spanish language in the world, and therefore in education. It said that though English remains, for the moment, the primary language of international commerce and pop culture, Spanish is shooting to the top of the popularity charts. Spanish is currently one of the most popular languages for students and professionals alike - and it's only becoming more useful, especially in the United States. There are more than 400 million native Spanish speakers in the world, making it the second most widely spoken language, with official language status in 21 different countries. An additional estimated 60 million people speak Spanish as a second language, bringing the total number of speakers to well over 500 million. More than 20 million students study Spanish as a second language. Many of them are in the United States, where Spanish is by far the most popular language studied. Because Hispanics and Latinos account for 17% of the population in the US and because of our proximity to Latin America, we are the biggest source of Spanish learners in the world. Spanish is so important in the US that it has become part of the conversation for the 2016 presidential candidates. Democrat Hillary Clinton has produced videos and content for her campaign website in Spanish, while Republicans Marco Rubio, who is bilingual, and Jeb Bush, who is fluent in Spanish, have made media appearances speaking in Spanish and even used some Spanish words and phrases in speeches. And, Spanish can help business and trade grow. A recent study conducted by Spanish multinational company Telefónica, found out that bilateral trade increases by almost 300 percent when Spanish is the common language of commerce, suggesting that it is in the best interest of countries and companies looking to expand into the fast-growing Latin American markets to ensure they have Spanish-speaking employees and representatives. Most US companies can no longer rely on our internal market alone if they want to grow. This summer, we will once again offer Spanish Immersion camp for students in grades K-5. This 4-week program (students can sign up for a minimum of two weeks) combines an outstanding opportunity for learning with a fun and relaxed summer camp. Immersion is the secret to learning a foreign language. We are proud to offer this peerless language experience for Lower School students. Click here for more information and to register; students who participate in all 4 weeks of the program will receive a 15% discount.
Applications for the Innovators Institute (grades 9-12), Junior Innovators Institute (grades 6-8) and Ernst & Young Integrated Business Program (grades 10-12) are also being accepted now. The Innovators Institute provides a unique opportunity for students entering grades 9-12 to learn the skills needed to be successful in college and beyond, while becoming leaders in their fields of interest. Students will learn how to think and act like innovators by developing skills in critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, communication, and collaboration while gaining hands-on experience in cutting edge courses. The Junior Innovators Institute provides students entering grades 6-8 an opportunity to explore computer science by creating software and hardware projects using Python and Raspberry Pi. Click herefor more information; financial assistance is available.
Taught by Ernst & Young Partner Jeffrey Aldridge, the Integrated Business Program is designed for highly motivated students entering grades 10-12 who are interested in a career or future study in business, finance and/or economics. Click here for more information. |
CyberPatriot Defense Teams Complete Successful Season
Congratulations to the 47 PT students who participated in CyberPatriot VIII this season. CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program and was conceived by the Air Force Association (AFA) to inspire high school students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation's future.
This was Park Tudor's sixth year to compete in the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, with participation growing from five to 47 students. The online competition puts teams of high school students in the position of newly hired IT professionals tasked with managing the network of a small company. In the rounds of competition, teams are given a set of virtual images that represent operating systems and are tasked with finding cybersecurity vulnerabilities within the images and hardening the system while maintaining critical services. Competitions take place on specified weekends throughout the school year. Teams must complete all their work during one (1) six consecutive-hour period on the Friday, Saturday, or Sunday of these competition windows. Teams compete for the top placement within their state and region, and the top teams in the nation earn an all-expenses paid trip to Baltimore, MD for the National Finals Competition. Coaches Bryon Realey and Karen Pellico fielded a record eight teams into the competition this season. Teams members were: Team #1: Alex Gregory, Bella Realey, Chris Lombardo, Jeremy Klotz, Kiran Bohyer and Nick Coury. Team #2: Amanda Li, Angi Li, Justin Lueck, Quinton Petrucciani, Rhodes Lacy and Zeba Kokan. Team #3: Alex Kim, Christian Amstutz, Karen Lu, Kendall Garner, Michelle Zhu and Riley Aquilano. Team #4: Adi Bhatt, Chris Skalnik, Drew Wiegel, Josh Weinstein, Siddhu Peri and Vanessa Longe. Team #5: Aidan Wiesinger, Graham Fisher, Justin Hu, Paul Miller, Rena Li and Victor Xiao. Team #6: Hannah Wang, Matt Fu, Maya Mishra, Megan Chapelle and Will Wallentine. Team #7: Alec Bloomfield, Alex Woods, Linnea Lindstrom, Matthew Jessup, Oliver Scotten and Tommy Gallagher. Team #8: Aaron Chai, Kevin Wu, Nick Conterno, Olivia Xu, Vahin Vuppalanchi and Carl Meyer. Congratulations to all of our teams for a great season and congratulations to the following State Winners: Team #6 First Place Indiana Gold Tier Winner Team #5 Second Place Indiana Gold Tier Winner Team #5 Second Place Midwest Region Gold Tier Winner
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Park Tudor's Guatemalan Partnership: Host Families Needed
 By Dr. Clarice Doucette, Upper School French and Spanish Teacher
One of Park Tudor's global opportunities is our partnership with the Guatemalan-based program, Faces & Our Cultures. For the last three years, Park Tudor has hosted Guatemalan students in the Upper School during October and November. Our visiting "ambassadors," as they are called, take a full schedule of classes, live with PT families, and take part in the social, academic, and cultural life of the school and surrounding community. Through their many interactions with students, faculty, and other members of our community, the Guatemalan students learn much about the culture of our school, city, region, and country.
The cultural enrichment is not one way, however. Our Guatemalan visitors teach us much about their culture, country, and perspective. Their presence on campus enriches our daily lives and helps us shatter stereotypes and appreciate cultural differences. Moreover, the young ambassadors teach us that people of different cultures share much in common. Not least of their lessons is the tremendous value of international friendship. Thanks to our partnership with Faces & Our Cultures, students at Park Tudor still communicate and even plan visits with Guatemalan students who spent time among us in previous years. Their ongoing friendships attest to the openness, trust, mutual growth, and learning that can and do develop among our young people of different countries and backgrounds.
While not a formal two-way exchange agreement between Park Tudor and Faces & Our Cultures, our partnership has also afforded us travel opportunities to Guatemala. Last year, a group of Park Tudor students and two faculty chaperones traveled to Guatemala during Spring Break, the first of such trips that we hope to offer on a periodic basis. During that time, students visited classes in their counterparts' schools, engaged in family life with their host families, and toured the country. One visit included a spectacular tour (including zip-lining) in the cloud forest, complete with howler monkeys in the background and pouring rain! The group also visited a finca (a working plantation), on the grounds of which was Guatemala's second-highest volcano. Another highlight was going to Petén, where the impressive Mayan ruins of Tikal are located.
We are currently preparing to host three more students in the fall of 2017. For more details about hosting or about participating in a possible trip to Guatemala, please contact me at 415-2807 or cdoucette@parktudor.org.
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A Word on Wellness: The Importance of Sleep
 By Cokie Scheidler, School Nurse
This weekend, the clocks will "spring ahead." Appropriately, this week is also the National Sleep Foundation's Sleep Awareness Week.
We will all lose an hour of sleep between Saturday night and Sunday morning. Does it matter? Is sleep really that important? Yes! Unfortunately, many of us don't get the recommended amount of sleep that our body so desperately needs to function to our full potential. The National Sleep Foundation has recommended new sleep durations: |
Age
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Recommended
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May be appropriate
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School-aged Children 6-13 years
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9-11 hours
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7-8 hours up
to 12 hours
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Teenagers 14-17 years
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8-10 hours
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7 hours up to 11 hours
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Young Adults 18-25 years
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7-9 hours
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6 hours up to
10-11 hours
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Adults 26-64 years
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7-9 hours
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6 hours up to 10 hours
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Children aged 6 to 13 need 9-11 hours of sleep. School age comes with increasing demands like homework, sports and other extracurricular and social activities. In addition, school-aged children become more interested in TV, computers, the media and Internet as well as caffeine products - all of which can lead to difficulty falling asleep, nightmares and disruptions to their sleep. In particular, watching TV close to bedtime has been associated with bedtime resistance, difficulty falling asleep, anxiety. Sleep Hygiene TipsThe promotion of good sleep habits and regular sleep is known as sleep hygiene. The following tips can help your child - and you - improve sleep hygiene: - Go to bed at the same time each night and rise at the same time each morning. If you do the same things every night before you go to sleep, you teach your body the signals that it's time for bed.
- Avoid large meals before bedtime.
- Avoid caffeine close to bedtime.
- Avoid nicotine.
- Turn off technology - cell phones, iPads, computers, and television.
- Stick to quiet, calm activities, like reading a book.
- Try taking a bath or shower (this will leave you extra time in the morning).
- Try keeping a diary or to-do lists. If you jot notes down before you go to sleep, you'll be less likely to stay awake worrying or stressing.
- Keep your room cool, quiet and dark.
Sleep Hygiene Tips adapted from the National Sleep Foundation What happens with inadequate sleep?Sleep is food for the brain. During sleep, important body functions and brain activity occur. Skipping sleep can be harmful. You can look bad, you may feel moody, and you perform poorly. When you are tired, it can be hard to get along with your family and friends, your scores on school exams can be lower, your sports can suffer and you can have increased acne. Lack of sleep can also cause drowsiness and falling asleep at the wheel. Lack of sleep is estimated to cause more than 100,000 car crashes every year. When you do not get enough sleep, you are more likely to have an accident, injury and/or illness. Problems that may occur with sleep deprivation include an increased likelihood to suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression, and obesity, as well as cancer, increased mortality, frequent mental distress and reduced quality of life and productivity. Research shows that lack of sleep affects mood, and a depressed mood can in turn lead to lack of sleep. To combat this vicious cycle, sleep experts recommend that teens prioritize sleep and focus on healthy sleep habits.
Different Types of Sleep:Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) or "quiet" sleep: During the deep states of NREM sleep, blood supply to the muscles is increased, energy is restored, tissue growth and repair occur, and important hormones are released for growth and development.
Rapid Eye Movement (REM) or "active" sleep: During REM sleep, our brains are active and dreaming occurs. Our bodies become immobile, breathing and heart rates are irregular. The importance of sleep is often underemphasized. Just like cars need fuel to run, our bodies need sleep and proper nutrition to run at their optimal level! Try to make sleep a priority. Try to regularly get the recommended amount of sleep each night. You will be amazed how much more productive you will be and how much better you will feel! References:
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Upcoming Events
Lower School/Hilbert Center Parent-Teacher Conferences - NO CLASSES for LS/HC
Thursday, March 10 and Friday, March 11
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| | Artwork by Elizabeth Untama |
PT Dinner Theatre and Upper School Musical Performance: The Addams Family Friday, March 11 5:30 p.m.: Dinner and Silent Auction in Clowes Commons 8:00 p.m.: Musical performance in Ayres Auditorium Click here to purchase tickets. You can bid on auction items even if you are unable to attend the Dinner Theatre event. Click here to see all of the great items available!
Upper School Musical: The Addams Family
Friday, March 11 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 at 3:00 p.m. - This performance will be followed by an opportunity for young audience members to meet the characters and get signatures and photos with them!
Sunday, March 13 at 3:00 p.m.
Ayres Auditorium
Purchase show tickets here.
College Admissions Forum for 11th Grade Students and Parents Monday, March 14 7:00 p.m. Clowes Commons
Middle School Conference Day - NO CLASSES for MS Tuesday, March 15
Coffee & Conversation
Wednesday, March 16
5:30 p.m.
Seminar Room/Leffler Gallery
Join Interim Head of School Peter Kraft for another round of "Coffee & Conversation," back by popular demand at a new time. Peter will answer your questions about the newly redesigned schedule, iBlock and how you can participate, Community Engaged Learning (CEL) at Park Tudor, summer programs, or other topics.
Women's Networking Event at Traders Point Creamery
Tuesday, April 12
6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Traders Point Creamery
9101 Moore Road
Zionsville, IN 46077
The Park Tudor Women's Network brings women together to provide connections, learning experiences and opportunities to grow in meaningful ways. Park Tudor recognizes the power of women and strives to engage and encourage women as critical partners of the school. All Park Tudor moms, moms of alumni, alumnae, grandmothers, faculty, and wives of alumni are invited to join us! Traders Point Creamery is an organic, 100% grassfed dairy farm and artisan creamery in Zionsville, Indiana, owned by the Kunz family, Dr. Fritz Kunz '72 and Jane Elder Kunz '73. Join us for delicious appetizers from the Creamery's farm-to-table restaurant and other refreshments. Jane Kunz will educate us on organic farming and nutrition.
Upper School Musical Theater Students Perform on The Cabaret Stage
Thursday, April 14
7:30 p.m.
The Cabaret Stage at the Columbia Club
121 Monument Circle
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Students in Lamonte Kuskye's new Upper School Musical Theatre class will give a cabaret performance on the Cabaret Stage at the Columbia Club. Join us for a special evening of music and entertainment in one of the most beautiful venues in the city, known for hosting top Broadway and cabaret performers. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online here or by calling the Cabaret at 317-275-1169.
Save the Date: First Annual Pantherfest Booster Club Fundraising Dinner
Sunday, April 24
5:00 p.m.
Clowes Commons
Join the Booster Club and keynote speaker Yogi Ferrell '12 for a dinner in support of the Park Tudor athletic program. Yogi is a 2012 Park Tudor graduate and currently leads the IU Hoosiers basketball team. He is a first team all-Big Ten, IU's all-time leader in assists, and is a candidate for the John Wooden Player of the Year award. There will be a meet and greet with Yogi prior to the dinner. Enjoy a buffet catered by Ruths Chris featuring favorites like filet bites, chicken breast, macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes and cookies. Details on sponsorship opportunities and ticket sales will be available soon. All ages are welcome!
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7th/8th Girls Basketball: For the third year in a row, the PT 7th/8th grade girls basketball team is the IISL champion with a victory over St. Richard's! The Lady Panthers jumped out to a fast 10-0 lead, and their defense never allowed the St. Richard's girls to get any closer than 7 points. Guards Kristian Young, Mallory Hasselbeck and Lucy Crossin penetrated and kicked out with decisive precession. Using the glass in the lane and lighting up the nets from the outside, the game was dominated by the victors and punctuated with a 19 point margin of victory for the championship. Forwards Alicia Aaholm, Caroline Smith and Annabelle Hasselbeck combined in scoring 17 of the 39 points. Trinitie Terrell play really well and chipped in 5 points along with 12 rebounds. The final score was Park Tudor 39, St. Richard's 21.
The Lady Panthers ended the season with a record of 23 wins and 1 loss.
Boys Basketball: The boys basketball team (20-4) opened up IHSAA tournament play last week in sectional 28 at Beech Grove High School. The team defeated Cardinal Ritter in first round action, 64-46. They then followed that performance up with another victory in the semi-final game versus Beech Grove, 77-59. They were crowned sectional champions Saturday evening after defeating the #7 ranked Warriors from Danville High School by a score of 65-41. In the championship game, the Panthers were led by Isiah Moore with 20 points, Isaiah Rice with 17, Jaren Jackson Jr. with 12, and Kobe Webster with 10. They earned the right to advance to the IHSAA class 3A regional at Greencastle High School on Saturday, March 12. They will take on the Brebeuf Braves (16-9) Saturday, at Greencastle High School with a noon tip off time. If victorious, they will play again Saturday evening at 8:00 pm and will face the winner of Northview/Tri-West. Tickets can be purchased at Greencastle High School; $7.00 for a single game or $10.00 for the entire day. Check out the IHSAA brackets here.
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* Two PT teams competed in the Indiana Regional Science Bowl on Saturday, March 5.
Park Tudor #1 team: Andrew Wu(Captain), Alex Gu, Michelle Shen, Allen Zhao
Park Tudor #2 team: Mark Rook (Captain), Adam Shafique, Siddhu Peri, Max Bott
Park Tudor team #1 won the competition and will advance to the National Science Bowl in Washington DC. The National Science Bowl is a highly competitive science education and academic event among teams of high school students who compete in a fast-paced verbal forum to solve technical problems and answer questions in all branches of science and math. * Dario Untama's AP Physics class competed in the Bridge Bust at Purdue on Friday, February 26. The Bridge Bust is a contest where students from different schools in the region (some even came from Illinois) compete to design and built a balsa wood bridge that will hold the most load for its own weight. Participating students: Kendall Garner (11th grade) Margaret Kosten (12th grade) Rhodes Lacy (12th grade) Angela Li (12th grade) Joe Lybik (12th grade) Nikko Mack (12th grade) Colin Oberthur (12th grade) Anish Thyagarajan (12th grade) Dario's Physics students also recently completed their "Egg Drop" project, building vessels to protect eggs when dropped from ever-increasing heights. * Sragvee Atluri (grade 4 and Lower School spelling bee representative) started Sunday's Regional Spelling Bee as speller #30 out of 31. The number must have had some mystical powers, as he lasted through 30 rounds of words to come in second for the county! For 14 of the rounds, he was one of three spellers; he then persisted through five more rounds, where he and this year's winner competed. Some of his words were echt, archipelago, recalcitrant, bellicose, and innocuous. This year's winning word was quisling. Congratulations, Sragvee! We look forward to seeing what you will accomplish next year! * Several PT students participated in the American Lung Association's "Fight for Air Climb" to the top of Chase Tower on Saturday, March 5. Fundraising efforts for the team were driven by Will Johnson and the Climb, Hike and Ski Club. * Last week's article about the ISSMA State Competitions should have noted that Andrea Stout earned a gold rating for her bass solo as well as for her ensemble work and for her piano solo. She and Elise Edgar (viola, voice, ensemble) were the only two Park Tudor musicians to achieve that top rating in three of four categories. We apologize for the omission.
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All members of the Park Tudor community (students, their families, faculty and staff, and alumni) are invited to submit work to the 5x5 Art and Writing Salon. This year's theme is "Opposites." The theme is optional, but can be used as a jumping-off point for interpretation. Pieces need to measure 5 inches in each direction, and can be in any medium. All pieces submitted by April 18 will be displayed in the Upper School during Alumni weekend (April 29-30), with a reading of original short poetry, prose, and non-fiction pieces on Saturday, April 30. Please find all the guidelines, including instructions for dropping off or mailing submissions, here. If you are interested in participating in the reading or have any questions, please contact Laura Schroeder at lschroeder@parktudor.org or 317-415-2796.
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COUNTDOWN TO PT CHALLENGE: 4 weeks to go!
Does Upper School have a team that can win the traveling trophy from the Middle School? Let's find out! Lace up your running shoes and grab your friends, and join us on April 9th at 5:30 pm for the Annual PT Challenge! This Amazing Race-style event combines exciting site activities, with trivia questions and lots of racing about the PT campus. This event encourages you to gather friends and create a team of up to 8 people. CASH prizes are awarded for Overall Winner and Division Winners along with the coveted PT Challenge Trophy! Afterwards, enjoy a pizza and bingo party to crown the winners. Registration forms are available from your Division Administrative Desk and requested back to Susan Richards by Monday, April 4th. Lower School and Middle School teams must have at least one parent per team. Any questions should be directed to co-chairs, Susan Richards, suserichard@icloud.com or Paul Miller, lmiller@att.net.
The Park Tudor Parents' Association is currently seeking nominations for the following Executive Board positions:
1. President Elects (2)
2. Event coordinators (2)
3. Recording Secretary
4. Corresponding Secretary/Media coordinator.
5. Treasurer.
The nomination form is available here. All nominations must be received on or before March 18, 2016. Nominees will be informed of the final decisions by April 15, 2016. Please direct any questions to Carrie Holle at Carrie@Highgarden.com.
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Throwback Thursday History: PT on CBS This Morning
In 1993, following their study of the national debt, the 5th grade programmed one of their computers to count to a trillion (pretty cool back then!) to get a sense for the enormity of the number. Then, they composed letters explaining the project and sent those letters to anyone they wished. One 5th grader, Becky Tyler, wrote to CBS "This Morning" and on March 23, Becky, Matt Symons, Samantha Florio and their teacher Natalie Barman appeared on the show live from Park Tudor with Harry Smith interviewing them from New York. Satellite trucks arrived before 6 a.m. to set up outside the Lower School for a 7:00 a.m. feed. Cameras and cables were everywhere through the entrance of the Lower School and right up the stairs to what is now Mrs. Dubie's room. It was an exciting experience on a very early morning March morning!
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Park Tudor School Mission
To create an inspiring college-preparatory learning environment, with exceptional educators and extraordinary opportunities, that prepares and motivates students to become balanced, confident, and resourceful lifelong learners.
Editor: Cathy Chapelle '87
Editorial Staff: Cassie Dull
Graphic Design & Layout: Stefanie Dean '05
The deadline for submissions to the Times is Monday at 9 a.m. for publication on Thursday. Because of the volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee publication in the same week, but date-sensitive information will receive priority.
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