Kimball Union Academy

• Global Awareness as an Essential Skill - 12/13/2016 - During Thursday`s All School Meeting, Mr. Kardel presented to the community the first of nine competencies, which are essential skills that Kimball Union strives to instill in each of its ...moregraduates. He outlined that each skill has a set of contributing qualities that, when combined, demonstrate mastery. Mr. Kardel introduced Global Awareness by stating the goals and objectives of this essential skill. For example, because of experiences and opportunities through the school`s courses and social programs, KUA graduates can: ...understand and communicate in a second language...express an expanded world view by learning about a diversity of beliefs...explain global events from multiple perspectives...live productively and respectfully in a diverse cultural community...can steward the environment Gavin `17 followed with his Cullman Scholarship presentation about his trip to Cusco, Peru last summer. Thanks to a generous gift from a dedicated Alumnus, the Cullman Scholarships provide funding for students to travel the world to conduct research and service projects. It was clear through his presentation that Gavin`s Cullman Scholarship experience was a great contributor to many, if not all, of the of the goals of Global Awareness, but perhaps the most apparent and striking was his ability to live productively in a diverse cultural community. His anecdotes and tales of service to and with the people he encountered throughout his travels displayed great reverence and understanding for Peruvian culture. "What we saw and what we built was a testament to the generosity and beauty with which these people live: from eating an offering of earth baked potatoes in the Mayrasco hills, to watching the sun set on the peak of Mt. Veronica deep in the Inca Heartland." Thank you, Gavin, for sharing your experience with the community and stay tuned more!hide
• 2015 Girls Varsity Soccer Recognized for Academic Excellence - 12/13/2016 - The 2015 Kimball Union Girls Varsity Soccer team has recently been awarded the Academic Award from the National Soccer Coach Association of America, which recognizes varsity teams who have an ...moreaverage grade point average of at least 3.25. Our 2015 GVS team`s average GPA was an impressive 3.50. "This recognition and honor are well-deserved. The young women in this soccer program are dedicated to the ideal of the scholar athlete. I couldn't be more pleased for them, and for the school," comments coach, Dan Wientraub.The impressive group of 2015 seniors matriculated into a variety of universities including McGill University and Furman University, while goalie Katelyn Fowler has had a successful first season playing for Division 1 Elon University. The current team is looking to secure a NEPSAC tournament spot, and are well on their way with a 12-2-1 record.Congratulations to the 2015 Girls Varsity Soccer Team!hide
• Charlotte '17 Earns Gold Award - 12/13/2016 - Early last month, Charlotte `17 presented an independent research project to the community at All School Meeting in Flickinger Auditorium. She gave an informative and comprehensive presentation about Lyme Disease. ...moreCharlotte explained how the disease is transferred through ticks, how symptoms affect daily life, prevention techniques, heath care legislation around the disease, and related a moving personal story about a close friend affected by the disease. Charlotte`s research had significant personal interest, but also served as a component of her Gold Award through the Girl Scouts, an organization of which Charlotte has been a member for 11 years. "[The Gold Award] is 80 hours of community service that I design, run, and manage and must be sustainable past my time involved in the project," she explains. "I was trying to think of something I was passionate enough about to spend 80 hours on and I`m always telling people about Lyme because people don`t understand that it`s not 2-3 weeks of symptoms." In addition to her extensive research, Charlotte generated a pamphlet that was distributed throughout her local community. "The first thing I did was talk to the parks and recreations manager and developed a really strong relationship. She set me up with people who could give me locations to reach out to the community. I developed the signs and set them up." When asked what she learned during the process, aside from the obvious facts about Lyme, Charlotte says without hesitation, "I definitely learned a lot about leadership. I learned about communicating with professional people, about advocating for myself and finding people, learning that they need time to respond. It was complicated- people take vacations or have full time jobs so they can`t help right away." Charlotte`s project advisor, biology teacher Elysia Burroughs, certainly reinforces this realization, "Charlotte was extremely self-motivated. I helped her practice her speech but aside from that, she worked very independently." Thank you, Charlotte, for sharing your research and congratulations on your Gold Award!hide
• Kip Bordelon at KUA - Black Lives Matter - 12/13/2016 - On the evening of Friday, September 3, Kip Bordelon of the Picardy Group addressed the KUA community in the Flickinger Arts Center auditorium. Inspired by a passion for American history, ...morelaw, and their effects on human rights today, Mr. Bordelon`s career has been devoted to implementing federal acquisition policy through work with the United States General Services Administration. Accompanied by his nine-year-old son Asa, Kip broke the ice by demonstrating his love for 90`s hip-hop music with a dance routine that included `The Running Man` and left the audience cheering.Kip`s keynote speech centered on the theme of the past informing our present day and future realties. After shedding light on several sobering historic pieces of legislation, Kip drew comparisons to modern-day inequalities in sentencing that reinforce poor race relations today. Kip`s message resonated with Willa `20, who asked "One guy gets 11 years for vandalizing a police car and another guy gets off for rape or something worse? It made me wonder, why? I don`t get how people think that is fair."In preparation for group discussions on Saturday, Kip met with student leaders after the talk in the Coffin Meeting Room. They engaged every student in their groups and encouraged everyone to appreciate their own beliefs, while staying aware of facts and irrefutable details. Kip expressed to the community that, while open and honest conversations may initially be uncomfortable, the resulting progress is worth the effort. Trevor `18 believed the talk "forced people who were outside of that Black Lives Matter movement to experience how it effects other people in our everyday lives. It forced people who have heard the term Black Lives Matter to take a really sobering look at what it means to live it first hand."On Saturday morning, Kip visited classes to lead further discussions. Before spreading into groups throughout campus, the entire community reconvened in Flick to decompress and enjoy another dance break. In their groups, students and faculty were asked to identify and make note of positive and negative personality traits that they felt described how other people saw them. They were then asked to trade attributes for others with which they identified. Many quickly realized that others could easily interpret negative traits as positive, and that it could be difficult to trade away undesirable qualities."I think this activity shows us that once you've been branded or labeled by other people it is hard to escape that negative stereotype." Christine Clisura, Faculty "It made me realize that even though people sometimes make mistakes and say something that is racist, it is important to educate them and not label them. I`m okay when people make mistakes because it gives bystanders the chance to educate them, to hear it and say, that`s not okay." Olivia `20The groups then engaged in an open discussion on our All School Read, Ta-Nehisi Coates` award-winning novel, Between the World and Me. Students and faculty explored questions around race and civil rights, addressing topics from the book as well as current news that emerged this summer in the United States. `It was really interesting to see what the rest of the community thought about the book and not just my friends," remarked Gracie `20.Kimball Union offers heartfelt thanks to Mr. Bordelon for engaging our students and faculty in such meaningful conversations. The KUA community is looking forward to continuing the discussion during the rest of the school year.hide

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