allison – Stevenson School

Upper Division Students Host Annual School-wide Symposium

On April 20, Stevenson’s upper division held its annual day-long Symposium. The central topic this year was the environment. Hosted by the Student Council, the event featured a roster of speakers specializing in topics ranging from green living to animals to philanthropy to national security. All upper division students attended keynote speeches and breakout sessions in place of their regular classes. Symposium is a unique experience because it is entirely student-led. Not only do student organizers pick a central topic for each year’s event and invite speakers, but they also manage the day’s logistics. Stevenson’s director of equity and inclusion Dr. Mashadi Matabane, who supervised the students’ work, explains: “Students plan and execute Symposium’s production from beginning to end. To actually make the day happen, students must engage with the School’s facilities, tech, and communications departments. In order to find and invite speakers, they have to work closely with [...]

allison2022-06-24T15:25:15-07:00April 28, 2022|News, Upper Division Academics|

From Hard Times to Hope: Grade 7 Relives the Great Depression

For many years, the School’s Grade 7 students have studied the Great Depression by participating in an immersive, cross-curricular “simulation.” This year’s foray included hands-on, experiential learning in math, history, and English. Over the course of the six week project, students gained both an understanding of the historical significance of the period, as well as a keen awareness of its toll on people’s lives. To kick off the project, each student chose an American “character” out of a hat. The students’ assigned character became their focus during the simulation—dictating the lens and worldview through which they approached their activities. While each character came with accompanying basic background information (like country of origin, ethnicity, job, etc.), students were tasked with fleshing out their character’s unique identity. They used research skills and creativity to create elaborate backstories, including how the financial crisis impacted their character’s day-to-day life. By the culmination [...]

allison2022-06-23T15:17:18-07:00April 28, 2022|FYE22, Middle Division Academics, News|

Rhea Cosand ’22, Krissoff Award Winner, Named PCAL Girl Scholar-Athlete of the Year

On March 10, Rhea C. ’22 was chosen by a volunteer selection committee from the PCAL Board of Managers as the league’s top female Scholar-Athlete of the year. She and the male nominee, Michael Julian of York School, will now advance to the next round of the competition, in which they will compete against the nominees from each of CCS’ leagues to receive the title of overall Girl or Boy Scholar-Athlete of the Year, as well as a $1500 scholarship prize. Rhea has received many athletics awards during her tenure at Stevenson, but this is the second time during this academic year that she has been recognized for being a student who shines just as brightly in other aspects of School life. In November 2021, Rhea received the Nathan Krissoff Award—an annual prize named in honor of Nathan Krissoff ‘99, who was killed in Iraq while serving as a [...]

allison2022-06-23T15:18:01-07:00April 28, 2022|FYE22, News, Upper Division Academics|

Global Growth: Carolyn Bruckmann ’12 Finishes her Work with One Acre Fund in Africa

After three years working for One Acre Fund (OAF) in two different regions of Africa, Carolyn Bruckmann ’12 will return to the US for graduate school this fall. OAF is a non-profit social enterprise that helps address hunger and poverty at a global scale by providing resources and training to local farmers. OAF aims to help small-scale farmers in developing countries “grow their way out of hunger” and build sustained, long-lasting pathways to economic security. Carolyn’s work with OAF grew out of her experience working at Bain, the corporate consulting firm. Carolyn’s decision to work at Bain was intentional and strategic. After graduating from Stevenson, as an undergraduate at Harvard, she became interested in global inequality. She knew that someday, she would want to pursue a career that would help address socioeconomic issues in the developing world. But she also felt like she needed to strengthen her business and [...]

allison2022-06-23T15:25:13-07:00April 28, 2022|News|

Mekyla B. ’22 to Receive the Prestigious Cooke College Scholarship

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation recently announced that Mekyla B. ’22 would be awarded the Cooke College Scholarship, and will receive up to $55,000 annually to cover costs associated with her undergraduate education. The Cooke College Scholarship was founded to help high-achieving students who have financial need earn a college degree. In addition to receiving financial support for their education, scholarship winners also receive ongoing academic coaching, graduate school or career advising, opportunities for internships and study abroad programs, and access to the network of other Cooke Scholarship winners—past and present. Scholars are also given the opportunity to access funding for graduate school if they choose to pursue a higher degree after college. To apply for the scholarship, Mekyla submitted an application via the Common App, along with two recommendation letters from her teachers. She was one of 100 Scholars chosen this year, from an applicant pool that included [...]

allison2022-06-23T15:19:20-07:00April 28, 2022|FYE22, News, Upper Division Academics|

Dean of Students Erik Olson to Become Dean of Co-curricular Education; Phillip Koshi to Succeed Him

Next year, after 14 years as the upper division’s dean of students, Erik Olson will step into a new role: dean of co-curricular education. As was announced earlier this year, Phillip Koshi–current world languages department chair, Spanish teacher, Day Hall resident faculty, and girls’ varsity soccer coach–will succeed him. As dean of students, Mr. Olson has been an integral figure in nearly every Pirate’s experience for the last decade and a half. When asked to describe the role, Mr. Olson explains, “The dean of students works closely with the head of the upper division to oversee matters related to student experience: health and wellness, student leadership, student activities, advising, discipline, outdoor education, and residential life.” During his tenure, Mr. Olson helped effect improvements in community life and programming. “We enhanced learning support,” he explains, “and also hired a superb and credentialed counselor, created a group that monitors students’ [...]

allison2022-06-23T15:24:29-07:00April 28, 2022|News|

Phillip Koshi Appointed Dean of Students for 2022-23 Academic Year

Dear Stevenson Community, On Tuesday, March 1, it was my pleasure to announce the appointment of Phillip Koshi as the upper division’s next dean of students, effective July 1. Mr. Koshi is currently the head of our world languages department, a Spanish teacher, a resident faculty member, and head coach of our girls’ soccer team. He lives on campus with his wife Sarah, who is our director of community education, and their two children, Collins ’33 and Grayson. He joined us at Stevenson three years ago from Taft School (CT), where he served as a class dean, dorm head, and helped develop and teach their health and wellness curriculum. He is deeply respected by our students and his colleagues. I encourage you to watch this video to observe how the news of his appointment was received by our student body. In his new role, Mr. Koshi will lead a [...]

allison2022-06-06T10:37:34-07:00March 4, 2022|FYE22, News, PB news & events|

Dr. Kevin Hicks ’85

Dr. Hicks has been the president of Stevenson School since 2015. Raised on the Monterey Peninsula, he graduated from Stevenson in 1985. Prior to returning to Stevenson, from 2010 to 2015, he served as dean of faculty and then head of school at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT. From 2005 to 2010, he served as dean of Berkeley College at Yale University, where he also taught in the English department. Over the course of his thirty-year career, he has taught, served as an administrator and admissions officer, and coached at a range of other schools and universities, including Princeton University, Brown University, Boston University, Trinity College, Bennington College, Endicott College, Wellesley High School, Middlesex School, Avon Old Farms, and The Peddie School. Dr. Hicks received his BA in religious studies from Yale University (1989) and a Ph.D. in English from Princeton University (2005). He and his wife Cornelia [...]

allison2022-06-24T15:44:44-07:00November 27, 2021|Hide from News|

Teaching Teachers Technique: Lower School Faculty Participate in Orton-Gillingham, Structured Literacy Workshop

In August, all lower division faculty participated in a workshop focused on the Orton-Gillingham method: an approach to teaching literacy based on a comprehensive body of research that has revealed how we learn to read. The workshop, created by the Institute for Multi-sensory Education (IMSE), was directed by Amy Gulley, a dyslexia specialist. Its main goal was to demonstrate the power of structured literacy, an umbrella term that refers to the most effective, powerful methods for helping all students develop literacy skills and become better readers. For years, educators mainly applied plans like Orton-Gillingham to students who struggled to read. However, research shows that these methods are effective for readers of all skill levels and abilities, and that they can be incorporated into every classroom. “Structured literacy programs—which include Orton-Gillingham methodology—provide a multisensory and building block approach to reading,” explains Kate Bitter, dean of the lower division. “By providing [...]

allison2022-06-23T15:23:34-07:00November 23, 2021|Alumni, FYE22, Lower Division Academics, News|

Building a Winning Robotics Program at Stevenson, with the Help of Alumni Support

This year, Stevenson Robotics students participated in their first-ever Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center ROV (remote-operated vehicle) competition. Students designed and constructed an ROV, submitted technical documentation about their project, delivered engineering presentations to STEM professionals who serve as judges, created poster displays that explain their ROV design, and described the real-world problem the ROV is supposed to solve. This year’s participants were tasked to design and build an ROV that would address plastic pollution, global warming, coral bleaching, or the management of healthy waterways. Students on the RLS team came from a range of grade levels and academic interests. They worked together virtually for the majority of the year. For the seven consecutive Saturdays prior to the competition, eight dedicated team members worked full days together in person—then, in the two weeks leading up to the event, they met every day. To accommodate the School’s academic calendar, [...]

allison2021-12-07T11:28:14-08:00March 7, 2021|News|

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