DCDS welcomes new faculty members to the Upper School New

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The Day Times
2 2 3 0 5 We s t T h i r t e e n M i l e B e v e r l y H i l l s , M I 4 8 0 2 5
Vo l u m e L XXX I s s u e N u m b e r 1 S e p t e m b e r 2 0 1 5
New common spaces provide a warm welcome for students
The 2015 school year
brought exciting new changes
to the campus. Over the summer, the Upper School campus was full of activity in order to create the new spaces.
A new Commons room
for the juniors and seniors was
created in the former art hallway.
The Morris Gym has been renovated into an expanded art studio.
The former computer
lab turned into the language lab,
and the addition of new classroom
spaces allow some teachers to finally get their own classrooms.
A newly constructed
multi-purpose turf field is available
to the many sports teams DCDS
has. The Eisenberg Studio Theater
facility is complete and ready to
be used for various theatre productions and classes. With all the new
spaces available to students,
students have to adjust to
the changes and successfully
navigate around the school.
One major change is
the Commons room, which was
renovated into a quiet study area
featuring an assortment of colorful furniture. Vibrant panels
hang from the ceiling in all different shapes in a visually appealing way. A tall countertop
provides additional space for
students and offers a different
perspective than the usual chair
and table. The comfy movable
chairs and stools allow students
to easily congregate in groups to
study or work on group projects.
Another highlight of
the new spaces is the new art studios. Students taking art classes
have the opportunity to be the
first ones to use the space. The
new art studios feature more work
space and a second floor mezzanine. The expanded art studio
allows students to have more
room to expand their creativity literally and metaphorically.
In addition, the former Morris Gym contains an
art gallery and also houses the
middle school art classrooms.
The newly revamped
Commons room offers a space for
the juniors and seniors to socialize with their fellow classmates.
The modernized space has several comfortable sofas and tables
for students to relax and hang
out. Flat screen T.V.s with airplay
will be installed in the near future
along with charging stations for
students to charge their devices.
These exciting new THIS MAP HIGHLIGHTS the new changes made to the Upper School campus. From left to right: Black Box Theatre,
changes will add to a memo- Junior & Senior Commons Room, Language Lab, Baseball diamond, Art Studio and Common area and the Computer Lab.
rable year for DCDS students.
Map Courtesy of Hanna Wink
by Stephanie Yim
Editor-in-Chief
DCDS welcomes new faculty members to the Upper School
The start of the 2015-16 school year brought with it many exciting changes and additions to the Upper School, including the new art facilities, new commons room, neew DCDS logo, and even
new faculty. Although we lost some of our vital faculty members last year due to their retirement, we are excited to welcome the newest faculty additions to our DCDS community.
Mrs. Erin Vettraino
Mrs. Erin Vettraino is
the new AP Statistics and regulatr
Algebra II teacher. She has previous
teaching experience as a math teacher at Regina High School and has
taught advanced algebra, trigonometry, and pre-calculus. In addition
to teaching, she will be serving as
assistant coach for varsity cheerleading and will also be leading the
recycling club. Vettraino attended the
University of Michigan, where she
earned a BS in actuarial mathematics and statistics as well as an MA in
educational studies. ​
Hobbies: Playing the piano and
guitar, reading, watching high school
and college football, watching the
Michigan Wolverines in general
Fun Fact: Mrs. Vettraino got married
over the summer!
Quote: "I have a deep appreciation
for the commitment to individualized
learning at DCDS. With small class
sizes and colleagues who are constantly evolving their craft, I know
that I will have the resources and
support to meet students' needs both
inside and outside of the classroom."
Ms. Christina White
Ms. Christina White is
the new english teacher. She brings
with her much teaching experience,
as she previously taught a freshmen
composition english class at Central
Michigan University. Even prior to
teaching, Ms. White was involved in
marketing communications and professional writing for five years.
She received her undergraduate degree in English at Hope College and received her Master of Arts
degree in English Language and Literature at CMU.​Aside from teaching
English, Ms. White will be coaching
the JV women's tennis team.
Hobbies: Completed a mini-triatholon called the M22 challenge in Glen
Arbor this year and the past two years
Fun Fact: She has a wonderful little
rescue dog named Cloud
Quote:"I chose to work at DCDS
because I love teaching, and I know
this is an institution committed to
its students. Because I have experience teaching at the collegiate
level, I seek to offer my DCDS students the opportunity to prepare for
collegiate expectations."
Mrs. Jennifer McGinnis
Ms. Wendy Strip
Ms. Christa Branchick
Ms. Wendy Strip is the Mrs. Jennifer McGinnis, Ms. Christa Branchick is the
director of advancement, and her
who has six years of experience
new annual fund manager, and her reworking in administration in the responsibilities will include fundrais- sponsibilities include increasing money
ing, alumni relations, and marketing in the annual fund as well as increasing
Troy school district, is the new
administrative assistant to the Up- and communications. She brings much participation from families, students,
per School Director and Assistant experience with her to DCDS, as she alumni, and faculty in order to benefit
Director. She will be working in was previously vice president of de- the DCDS community. She previously
the academic office, assisting with velopment and communications for the served as a community manager for
Greater Michigan Chapter of the Al- the American Cancer Society, where
tasks that relate to the directors,
zheimer's Association. Strip graduated she was involved in volunteer managestaff, students and parents.
from American University in Wash- ment, fundraising, and special events.
McGinnis graduated
ington DC with a bachelor's degree in Branchick has a BA from Central
from Michigan State University
with a BA in clothing and textiles.​ international relations. She also has a Michigan University. ​
master's of public administration from Hobbies: dancing, working out/cross
McGinnis also has two kids,
the University of Pittsburgh.​
freshman Michaela and junior
fit, cooking
Connor, who currently attend the Favorite Things: chocolate, traveling, Fun Fact: She will soon be an Army
National Public Radio
Upper School.
wife and is getting married in October
Hobbies: gardening, cooking, and Fun Fact: She traveled to London this so her name will change to Christa
summer with her two daughters
attending sport games
Reid next month.
Quote: "I'll be working closely with Quote:"I chose to work at DCDS
Quote: "[I chose to work at
DCDS] because it offers a presti- Mr. Shilling and the Executive Leader- because my parents, who were both
gious academic environment for ship Management Team, along with teachers, always stressed the imporstudents with amazing faculty and the Advancement Committee of the
tance of education, and I truly believe
staff. I am most excited to get to Board of Trustees, to carry out Vision in DCDS as a school, its mission, and
know the students! I hope to use 2020, our strategic plan. Essentially, its positive impact on students' lives. I
my expertise and skills to continue our goals are to deepen the culture of am most excited about getting to work
creating a welcoming, warm, and philanthropy, increase the endowment, with and meet family, students, alumni,
friendly environment with our team and otherwise support the excellence and faculty that help make the DCDS
that is DCDS."
in the academic office."
community exceptional."
Photos Courtesy of Hanna Wink and Hannah Hansen
Compiled by Pranati Movva
Editor-in-Chief
2
The Day Times
BACK TO SCHOOL ISSUE
How to Survive High School 101
Stephanie Yim and Shruti Bramadesam
Editors-in-Chief
Yom Kippur (No School)
Freshmen
•
Make an effort to form a relationship with •
your teachers
Don't be afraid to step out of your comfort
zone. Try things that you've never done before, •
and you'll be suprised when you end up enjoying them.
A B is not the end of the world. Work hard and
keep on improving.
•
Courtesy of Photobucket.com
•
Sophomores
Although you're not at the bottom of the
DCDS hierarchy, that doesn't mean you
can go into the Commons Room.
Now is the best time to take driver's ed.
Get it out of the way so that you can get
your license and drive to school in no time.
Juniors
•
•
•
Seniors
SAT/ACT start early and get it done!
• College Apps. Get them done. Now.
Manage your time wisely
• Have fun! This is your last year of high
Sleep at every opportunity. Free block?
school, so make the most of it.
Sleep. Advisory? Sleep. Bus Ride? Sleep • Hang in there, you're ACTUALLY almost
Hang in there, you're almost done.
done.
•
Dates to mark on
your calendar
Sept 23
Parent Conferences (No School)
Faculty AIMS conference
(No School)
Spirit Week
Oct 9
Oct 19
Oct 12-16
Homecoming Dance
Oct 17
Opening night of Dracula
Oct 23
Halloween Parade
Oct 31
Goal 1 meeting (No School)
Nov 13
Thanksgiving Break
Nov 25-30
DCDS students get a glimpse of college life over the summer
by Shruti Bramadesam
Editor-in-Chief
Although summer may seem like a time to ditch the books and hang with friends, many DCDS students find the perfect way to learn while having a good time. Summer college programs are
the best ways to pursue different interests while being immersed in the college culture. Junior Selina Mohanty, Senior Abby Jordan and Senior Jalen Wang are just a few of the students that
exemplify the balance of work and play. These students took advantage of their time off from school to find their passion and potentially dream schools while having the time of their lives.
Whether it may be business, leadership, or the sciences, there are a variety of college programs that can keep one busy.
Jalen Wang
Senior Jalen Wang attended Columbia University over the
summer where he attended the
Entrepreneurship and Innovation:
New Product Development program.
During the course of this 19 day program, Jalen had to design a product
with group of four students. His group
consisted of high schoolers from
around the world, including Germany,
Italy and India, allowing for an international perspective on their project.
They had to figure out manufacturing costs, target audience and other
essential details needed to launch a
company, Wang's group product was
magnetic clothing inteded the assist
the physically disabled. Examples of
his intended target audience include
people in wheelchairs who find it difficult to stand up. Similiarly, people
with Alzheimer’s would find it hard
to button up their clothes, so magnetic
clothing would allow these people a
greater sense of independence.
An additional aspect of their
project was determing the percentage
of people who would buy their product and calculating the appropriate
retail price. Wang's group then compiled their research into a 200 slide
powerpoint and pitched their product
to successful business figure Michelle
Greenwald and the Dean of Columbia.
“Columbia’s summer program not only offered me an opportunity to work alongside a leading
entrepreneur figure and collaborate
with international students, culminating a broader perspective of the world,
but also allowed me to experience an
eye-opening perspective on a future
career path,” Wang said.
Abby Jordan
Selina Mohanty
While a college program of
two weeks gets students used to the
campus and college life, imagine how a
six-week program would makeyou feel.
Senior Abby Jordan attended Boston
College for six weeks and was enrolled
in a summer semester at BC. There, she
took college level courses in microeconomics and a class called Personality
Theories of Psychology, where students
study the factors that make up someone's
personality, for college credits.
“I got to really experience life
as a college student, which will help
Junior Selina Mohanty attended Johns Hopkins University to participate in a ten-day National Youth
Leadership Forums:(NYLF) Envisions
Advanced Medical program. There, she
learned about future careers in medicine
as well as patient care, and diseases.
As well as learning in the classroom,
Mohanty got to get hands on experience outside the classroom working with
cadavers and visiting the University of
Maryland’s Trauma Center.
“The biggest thing I took away
from this program was that in order to
make that transition easier for me next
fall,” Jordan said. “I also learned how
to be independent, seeing as all my
assignments and exams depended on
my completion of them without someone ‘holding my hand,' which will definitely help me keep on top of my work
this year.”
In order for a student to be
successful in a university's summer program, they must be independent and willing to work hard. Jordan will be able to
apply what she learned at BC to her daily
studies at DCDS.
achieve my dreams of becoming a successful doctor," Mohanty said. "I need to
work hard and set goals for myself.”
Setting goals and working
hard is a fundamental of succeeding
in life. Leadership programs stress the
importance of getting a good education and applying knowledge in the real
working world. Mohanty was able to
experience and learn the importance of
setting goals in real life. There are countless leadership programs that students
can participate in and gain lessons that
can apply to other aspects of their life.
DCDS fall sports teams start off the season on a good note
by Syona Varty
Managing Editor
A core component of DCDS is the
sports present at the school. Most fall sports
start their practice in the middle of August.
Both the football and the mountain biking
team have already had some games and races.
The football team won their home game
against Port Huron 38 to 7, and the mountain
biking team had a biker take second place at a
home race.
The cheerleading team is off to a
great start this season, and has successfully
adjusted to the change in coaching staff. The
team now is working with last years assistant
coach, Coach McMinn as the head coach.
The team has been and will continue to attend
football games and perform various cheers
and stunts to get the Barnyard cheering for the
football team.
Everyone has undoubtedly noticed
the many changes made to DCDS over the
summer. With the new art studios, the new
classrooms, the new commons room, and the
Eisenberg Studio, the mountain biking team
may have to alter their course.
“It will make a huge difference in
how we train the middle and upper school riders,” head varsity coach Mr. Dougherty said.
This year the mountain biking team
has three senior captains: Melissa Connop,
Mia Fitzner, and Filip Stankiewicz. With three
experienced captains the team is sure to go far
this year.
“I'm really looking forward to
spending time with the team over the next
two months, especially on our weekend trip to
Canada,” Connop said. “Our eight-hour relay
race always builds camaraderie. We have a lot
of new freshmen this year, so I am looking forward to watching their progress as the season
moves forward.”​
The women's field hockey team has
been working hard this year to win as many
games as possible in hopes of making it to the
state final game this season. The team has won
four games, lost one game, and tied their game
against Forest Hills in Grand Rapids.
"Our most successful game was our
game against Regina," varsity field hockey
head coach Katie Geyman said."We played on
grass and the girls came out focused and ready
to play."
The women's swim team embarks on
their long season with the addition of twelve
new freshmen.
"It's a lot of fun to have double
the amount of members on the team," junior
Jiwon Yun said. "It was hard to get to know
all of them, but our team bonding trip at Camp
Tamarack really helped us work together as a
team as well as bond together also."
"Although swimming seem like an
individual sport, it's more of a team sport
because we have to motivate each other in
practice and during races," senior captain
Cassidy Tynan said.
Like many other sports teams, the
volleyball team faces many upcoming challeges. Recently, they won against Cranbrook
in their annual fundrasiing event Hits fo Hope.
"We have two new coaches who
bring a lot of new energy and new ideas to the
team," senior captain Neha Baddam said. "The
team gets along really well and there's a newfound energy in the volleyball program. We're
working hard so we can tell it's going to be a
great season."
With the loss of many talented
seniors on the varsity men's tennis team, the
other members have to work extra hard to keep
the winning streak going.
"We've been doing pretty well,"
junior Michael Khaghany said "There's a lot
of work to be done before regionals and states.
We're really looking forward to our first match
with Cranbrook."
"We have a tournament this weekend in which we are looking to solidify out
lineup for states," senior varsity men's tennis
captain Adam Junn.
The men's soccer team has had a successful season so far with a win at Williamston
tourment and a tie against Cranbrook last
weekend. The men's varsity team consists of
15 seniors, 2 juniors and 5 sophmores.
“We play hard and have several
players who have gotten injured, but we have
a big team with people who can step up and
take over if someone goes down,” Men’s
Varsity Head Coach Steven Bossert said. “We
had a set back against Brother Rice, but we
responded well and won six games in a row.
The goal was to try to get better at each practice and each game.”
Although not all the fall sports were
metioned, The Day Times wishes luck to all of
the teams, both varsity and junior varisty, for a
successful rest of the season with many more
wins to come.
All Photos Courtesy of Hanna Wink