Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians,

 A recent report, released by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, entitled “Opportunity for Design: New High School Models for Student Success”, focused on the characteristics of a high-performing secondary school.  Although the report was released to compel schools to reorganize to meet the needs of the common core, the characteristics seem to pull together many concepts that have been discussed over the past two decades.  These are no longer radical ideas, but simply ideas that have woven themselves into many school cultures.  MacDuffie exhibits these characteristics in varying degrees, but two areas stood out for me in particular.

 1.         A high-performing secondary school personalizes student learning to meet student needs.  For students, this involves performance-based formative assessments and real-time feedback.  This is crucial for student success; we’ll spend some professional development time as a faculty to ensure we’re at the top of our game in this area.

 2.         A high-performing secondary school continuously improves its operations and model.  The report points to using performance data and analytics to improve curriculum and instruction. 

An example of this performance data is the survey process for students, parents, and staff. 

 In each of these cases, the report points to a concept that we’re committed to as an institution– data-driven decision making.  This, and other recommendations from the Carnegie Corporation, give me confidence that we’re on the right path at MacDuffie.

 You can read the full report here:

http://carnegie.org/fileadmin/Media/Programs/Opportunity_by_design/Opportunity_By_Design_FINAL.pdf

 MacDuffie Young Alumni Award

On Friday morning, we welcomed Ms. Marta Maleck to our assembly.  Marta is currently working for AmeriCorp in New Orleans, helping to rebuild housing and infrastructure.

 Marta went to the Rhode Island School of Design and went on to work in various prestigious fashion houses in New York.  She decided to drop it all and pursue a life of service. 

 Marta brought a message to students not to be afraid to change their path–that doing well personally and in their community merits consideration, as well as doing well in your profession.  Marta’s mother was on hand to receive the award on her behalf.

 Survey Says!

Thanks to all students who completed their surveys.  Parents should expect an announcement about the Parent Survey in the near future.

 I’m proud to say that two of our areas of focus–community service and food service–have received increased ratings from students. 

 One of our low grades on the student survey this year was our Arts facilities.  That’s why I’m so proud to say that we have completed our renovation of the South Wing, first floor.  We will soon have improved facilities available for our Art, Music and Dance students.

 Diversity Day – Wednesday May 1^st

For those of you who are new to The MacDuffie School community, one of the tenets of our mission is our respect for diversity.  Diversity Day is a great way for us to promote that respect.  People from inside and outside our community develop and lead workshops, as our community comes together to celebrate diversity.  Students can learn about different cultures, and hear about the diverse experiences of others.  We will hear from special speakers, and come together at the end of the day to share what we’ve learned.  Thanks in advance to everyone who prepared to present, and thanks to Greg Vennell for organizing the day.

 Thanks and good luck!

The past few weeks have been a real showcase for the arts at MacDuffie.  Congratulations to those students who have been involved in the Run for Hope, Carousel, and the Dance concert.  Thanks also to MacDuffie families for their support of these events.  Good luck to our musicians, who get to share their talents with us this Friday night. 

 Regards,

Steve Griffin

Head of School

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We are entering into a period of great activity here at The MacDuffie School!  Here are some upcoming dates of interest: 

 In addition, I hope that local families will consider supporting us for some of the following events, where we have the opportunity to come together as a community, and to celebrate the talents of our students:

 The spring athletic term starts next week with home Lacrosse, Tennis, and Ultimate Frisbee matches.

• Our musical, Carousel, runs this year from April 19^th to the 21^st.  See elsewhere in ATC for information on how to secure tickets.  The three shows promise to sell out fast, so make plans to buy your tickets soon.
• Our Spring Dance Concert will be held on Friday, April 25^th at 7 pm at Holyoke High School.
• The 2^nd annual MacDuffie Run for Hope will occur on Saturday, April 26^th at 10 am, and will be followed by our International Festival.
• Our Spring Music Concert will be on Friday, May 3^rd at 7 pm in the Student Lounge.

 I hope to see MacDuffie folks out in support of these wonderful events.  Have a great spring weekend!

 Regards,

 Steve Griffin

Head of School

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to speak with faculty about some aspects of brain development which relate directly to their work with students.  I presented a recent article in The New York Times (“Why Can Some Kids Handle Pressure While Others Fall Apart”) that classifies people broadly as “Warriors” or “Worriers”.  Research shows that there are some simple things that we can do to help both types of people achieve success.

 The pre-frontal cortex is the area of the brain responsible for reasoning, complex decision-making, and risk-reward behavior analysis, among other things.  Judging by this list, you can see why there is little argument that the pre-frontal cortex is not fully formed until the age of 25.  (In some males, my wife would argue, that age might even be the early forties!)

 A particular gene, COMT, is responsible for breaking down dopamine in the pre-frontal cortex.  Too much or too little dopamine makes it difficult for the pre-frontal cortex to operate efficiently.  When stress occurs, the pre-frontal cortex is flooded with dopamine.  Research has shown that there are two variants of the COMT gene – one that breaks down the dopamine more slowly and evenly, and one that breaks it down rapidly.

 Students who have the “slow-release” COMT gene (Worriers) can perform better on every-day tasks but do poorly on tests, while “fast-release” COMT gene students may do poorly day-to-day due to a deficit of dopamine.  These “Warriors” seem to thrive in high-stress situations like tests.

 The good news is that students who are classified as Worriers have hope.  Repeated practice has been shown to be the remedy that allows them to cope with stress.  Indeed, in some of the highest-stress professions, Worriers have overcome the stressful nature of their roles to be some of the highest performers.  At the school level, this suggests that we should not be pulling students who have been identified as having trouble with test-taking, but rather giving them regular “inoculations” to help them deal with the stress.

 The second way in which we can help Worriers is through reassurance.  One recent study showed that a group of students who were reassured that stress is productive – “that uncomfortable feeling that you have about this test can actually motivate you to better performance” – did better in a testing situation than a control group.  A simple step like reminding a student that stress can help motivate improvement might actually make an impact.

 More and more, areas of brain research are being integrated into teaching practice.  The MacDuffie faculty is exposed to this research so that they will incorporate these ideas into their teaching practice.

 On a less academic note, I wish all students a relaxing and rewarding March break, and hope that families take the opportunity to reconnect after a hectic winter term.

 Regards,

 Steve Griffin

Despite all of the snow, we have had a warm and spirited few weeks on the grounds of MacDuffie.  This past week, our bulletin boards were covered with small gifts, as our community celebrated Heart Week – a MacDuffie Valentine’s week tradition.  Students, staff, and faculty provided each other with both a small gift, and a clue to their identity, culminating in a Friday “reveal”.  It was great to see the joy that these small tokens brought to our students. 

Magneto Fantastico, our student-run talent show, doubles as a fundraiser that helps our Journalism class travel to the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association student journalism conference in March.  Our students who did not have the opportunity to attend the event were able to see some of the acts during morning assemblies.  These performances (and my reprise of “18 Wheels on a Big Rig”) remind students that assembly is the best place for students to try out their voice.  Whether it is song and dance, or something as simple as making an announcement, we provide a safe environment for risk-taking–a hallmark of a small-school experience.

 On Friday, students welcomed Tom Ricardi from the Massachusetts Birds of Prey Rehabilitation Center in Conway, MA.  His demonstration allowed them to see (and in some cases, touch) endangered birds that have been injured in the wild.  Students learned that the largest danger to these birds is vanishing habitat, whether the bird is the smallest owl or a giant eagle.  They were also given one thought to take away with them:  if anyone sees an injured bird in the wild, they were advised to refrain from touching it, as the scent of humans is seen as a smell of food from predators such as raccoons.

 Last Tuesday, we welcomed Dr. Kathy Aidala to the MacDuffie Speaker Series to talk about her work in nanotechnology.  I found it fascinating to hear about how Dr. Aidala uses a device that not only captures the nature of the materials that she is studying, but also changes the nature of the material.  Students who may not have been scientists at heart could certainly appreciate the passion that Dr. Aidala brings to her work.  I hope that all MacDuffie students will find their own passion in their work lives, and that for some, our speaker series will help spark that passion.

 Regards,

Steve Griffin

Head of School

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Contact us at (413) 255-0000 for additional information.

Schedule:

Tuesday, December 4^th 7:00 PM

“US Foreign Policy after the election: What should we expect?”

• Vincent Ferraro, Ruth Lawson Professor of Politics at Mount Holyoke College

Tuesday, January 22^nd 7:00 PM

“Curiosity and the Search for Water and Life on the Red Planet”

• Darby Dyar, Professor of Astronomy at Mount Holyoke College

Tuesday, February 12^th 7:00 PM

“Seeing at the Nanoscale: The science of the very small”

• Kathy Aidala, Associate Professor of Physics at Mount Holyoke College

Tuesday, April 9^th 7:00 PM

“Universal and Subjective Distress: Mental Health in a Global Context”

• Amber Douglas, Associate Professor of Psychology and Education at Mount Holyoke College