News
01.13.12
Sandy, Utah (PRWeb) – 16 January, 2012 — The Waterford School is pleased to announce its charter membership in the Cum Laude Society. Waterford is currently the only school in Utah to have this distinction.
Beginning with the Class of 2012, the school will select a group of students each year to be inducted into Cum Laude. These students will be recognized for their academic achievements across all disciplines.
“Waterford has a long tradition of commitment to the ideals of liberal arts education. One of those ideals, is academic excellence: true and deep achievement in a broad range of disciplines. This is a wonderful opportunity to recognize our finest scholars with a distinction that will carry weight at a national level,” said Dr. Brandon Bennett, Waterford Academic Dean.
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01.12.12
Paula Getz, one of this year’s Educator Prize winners, teaches Class V, and this year heads up the Lower School Robotics program. Paula has been teaching at Waterford since 2001, after a brief stint working on the development of a grammar program at the Waterford Institute. She hails from Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania. Recently, we caught up with Paula, to talk about her philosophy of teaching, her experiences teaching in the inner city, and sea-kayaking in Alaska. Following are excerpts from the interview.
So what was your own experience of fifth grade like? Was it wonderful, and you wanted to recreate it for others, or was it horrific, and you wanted to fix it?
I had a pretty dry teacher, named Mrs. Snyder. She was very strict; she wasn’t much of a role model at all. I looked forward to Science, which was much more hands-on, and had a lot more variety; it was a big change from Homeroom.
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01.11.12
A selection of recent images from the Waterford community:
Grandparents’ Day is always fun. Photo: Andrea Reynolds
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01.11.12
By Nancy Heuston, Head of School
On Monday the 26th of December, we held our Alumni Holiday Dinner in the Concert Hall Gallery. As in past years, our returning students are as we remember them, and so much more. I suppose that is to be expected; I know it is to be relished.
Our delight is in reconnecting beyond the screen image and the abbreviated message. Meeting new spouses and children now out of arms and taller, hearing about completed degrees and professional training, peering ahead into their hopes for the future is the best part of the evening. To spend time with these fine adults is a gift.
Our graduates are interesting people. Their resumes are impressive — with Brandon working towards his PhD at MIT, Andrea running a business with her husband Jason, and Mika a lecturer in Sweden. Conversations reveal that they are as we remember them — persons of great curiosity and energy, and a desire to give back.
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01.11.12
The Waterford Educator Prize was created in 1995 to honor members of the Faculty for the quality of their teaching and for their professional contributions to their colleagues and the School. Faculty and Staff submit nominations in the Fall, and the winners are announced in December. Each receives a monetary gift toward the pursuit of an interest or a dream that is important to that individual. The winners are asked to speak at the April All Schools Faculty Meeting, reflecting on their teaching — how they came to it, how they keep it vital, and insights they have acquired along the way.
Congratulations to the 2011 winners, named below. We have included for each a snippet from the tribute by Head of School Nancy Heuston.
Paula Getz: “Generous among her grade-mates and colleagues, witty and quick, never one to draw attention to herself or her accomplishments, Paula is a trusted member of our faculty and an articulate spokesman for the School she calls hers.”
Andrew Cole: “Scrupulous in his attention to each student and to every question, his classroom is a place where young scientists develop tools to probe and to explore.”
Greg Miles: “He cares deeply that every part runs smoothly, so that the School’s resources can be tightly focused on every child learning, every day.”
