Session D: 11:30 – 12:30 p.m.

Midori Oka: Of Ceremonies and Celebrations: Shinto and Buddhism in Japan

This presentation will introduce a variety of Japanese traditions associated with the
two most prominent religions of Japan: Shinto and Buddhism. It will be revealed
that to this day, the practice of these religions is interwoven with an endless array of
Japanese ceremonies, celebrations, rituals, and art. Following a brief introduction of
the religions, different celebrations and ceremonies will be introduced within a
popular Japanese framework, the four seasons—spring, summer, fall, and winter.
The presentation will conclude with a reading of Hats for Jizo, a kamishibai read on
large storycards. Literally meaning “paper theater,” kamishibai were popular in Japan
up until about the 1950s. Related art activities for the classroom will also be introduced,
including creating kamishibai stories.

Museum curator and educator, Midori Oka teaches widely about the art and culture of Japan to children of all ages, adults, and to museum docents. She is a doctoral candidate in the department of art history at the University of Kansas. A specialist of later Japanese painting, her research interests include the influence of western art in Japan, namely during the Edo period (1603-1867). Her exhibition, Stage Idols: Japanese Kabuki Theater is on view at the Peabody Essex Museum until early February 2009. Midori also performs as a storyteller at the museum, creating intriguing stories by incorporating Japanese gallery display objects into her stories.

Gretchen Draper: Writing About Place

Writers like Annie Dillard and Wendell Berry say that who we are is directly related to
where we are. Stories have settings. Memories link us to specific places. We wonder:
What makes a place special and unique? What happens when we create a bond with a
particular piece of geography? Through writing activities and discussion, we’ll explore
the importance of Place – for ourselves, our students, our communities, our cultures,
our natural world. This workshop will be presented in two sessions: one for
elementary and middle school students and teachers, and one for high school ages
and up. Come prepared to write and share.

Gretchen Draper is a teacher, writer and traveler who has worked in the education field over the past 30 years. She is currently a specialist in assessment for local school districts. She is a teacherconsultant with the Plymouth Writing Project, NH’s site for the National Writing Project. Gretchen’s background includes journalism and anthropology studies. She has published essays, short stories, and poems in literary journals, teacher anthologies, and online. She lives in New Hampton, NH with her husband Barry, a science teacher at the Sant Bani School. Gretchen also taught Kindergarten at SBS in the early 1990s.

Ethan Danahy: Improving Education Through Engineering: Bringing Engineering Concepts into the K-12 Classroom

Over the last ten years the Center for Engineering Educational Outreach at Tufts
University has worked at “improving education through engineering” via tool and
curriculum development, engineering education research, and community outreach/
professional development. This talk will give an overview of our efforts, highlighting
the difficulties we have overcome and the successes we have had, while providing
concrete examples of engineering educational methodologies and techniques that are
applicable at all age ranges from kindergarten to grade twelve.

Ethan Danahy (SBS ’96) received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in Computer Science in 2000 and 2002 respectively, and a Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering in 2007, all at Tufts University in Medford, MA. He currently holds the position of Director of Tool Development at the Center for Engineering Educational Outreach within the Tufts University School of Engineering, where he manages tool development projects while researching innovative and interactive techniques for assisting teachers with performing engineering education and communicating robotics concepts to students spanning the K-12 through university age range.

Rose Marie Marinace: Technology and the Developing Brain

Computers and electronic gadgetry are everywhere in modern culture, and are sold to parents both as pacifiers and educators for their children. Can these children simply USE technology, or will they be the kind of student who can create and solve the problems of our future? Come for a survey of modern authors on the subject and the conclusions they lead to.

Rose Marie Marinace has been a teacher at Sant Bani School for 14 years and is certified in Social Studies 5-12. She teaches Study Skills and computer skills in the middle school, and Modern World History, US History, Economics, and Dance in the high school.

Jon Martin: Basic Forest Ecology (for Junior High/High School)

Come learn the basics of forest ecology using our local habitat here on the grounds. Open up a new world to your students and help them see their role within this community.

Jon Martin has been working locally as a forester for about eight years. He has also done school presentations in local elementary and high schools as well as Boy Scout troops. He is a supervising member of the Belknap County Conservation District and the NH Timber Harvesting Council.

Tara Robinson-Holt: Permaculture and Children: Weaving Permaculture Principles into your Classroom Environment

Permaculture is design for living. Its applications extend far beyond the garden and can easily be applied to the school setting – from classroom layout to daily activities and yearly themes. Permaculture can easily foster and enhance a child’s connection to the natural world while enriching curriculum content.

Tara Robinson-Holt is a certified Permaculture Designer and Teacher. She began her work in Permaculture on the Big Island of Hawaii and has continued her work, both designing and teaching, in California and Vermont. She currently serves as Program Coordinator and is a member of the teaching team at the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium in St. Johnsbury, VT.

Chris Bicknell and Hugh Montgomery: Engaging Young People in Hands-on Service to the Land in NH and Across the Country: The Student Conservation Association

In this session learn how young people from our state are being engaged in great conservation, restoration, and other projects across the country through SCA. Also learn about the 30 young people from all parts of the country who come to NH for a 10-month residential program based in a camp facility in the heart of 10,000-acre Bear Brook State Park. These 30 people perform direct hands-on service while building their leadership skills and developing their ethic of service and citizenship. We will share some of the lessons SCA has learned over its 50-year history and talk about the trends we are seeing today in engaging youth in conservation work and the outdoors. How do climate change and “No Child Left Inside” relate? In a growing
digital age with text messaging, instant messaging, etc., upon us, do young people actually want to spend weeks “disconnected” and performing hard physical labor?

Chris Bicknell grew up at Sant Bani School (class of 1987) and went on to attend Middlebury College. He returned to Sant Bani as a teacher, coach, service coordinator, and bus driver, then got involved in development. He went on to law school at Fordham University in New York City where he then worked in the field of Trusts and Estates. Returning to NH he worked with SBS parent Scott Beane at Dana S. Beane & Co. and then headed back into fund raising with a national consulting firm. He now works with the SCA at the national headquarters in Charlestown, NH where he is Director of Development and manages a team of development professionals spread throughout the country. Chris is an alumni representative on the SBS Board of Directors.

Hugh Montgomery attended Phillips Exeter Academy on his way to Middlebury College. He began working at Middlebury in their development office soon after graduating and then made his way to the Putney School in VT where he was Director of Development for a number of years. His former headmaster retired to raise funds for the SCA and after several years left a vacancy at SCA that Hugh filled. Hugh has been working as the Director of Planned Giving at SCA for many years now and serves on the Board of the Planned Giving Group of Northern New England. Hugh’s two daughters attended SCA programs.

Alia Whitney-Johnson: Emerging Voices, Emerging Vision: Engaging Youth in Global Service

Alia will tell her story of founding Emerge Global while in college. Emerge Global is
a nonprofit that works to develop the economic and personal capacity of girls and
women in Sri Lanka who have survived tremendous abuse. Her presentation will
focus on Emerge as an evolving story of inspiration, tremendous obstacles, and
community development. Moreover, she will talk about how educators, students,
and schools can get involved in Emerge’s evolving mission or can begin their own
service learning programs.

Alia Whitney-Johnson is a senior at MIT, studying environmental engineering with a focus on international development. She has helped refine a process for converting agricultural waste into charcoal for use in Haiti, conducted tsunami relief work in Sri Lanka, worked to develop appropriate technologies in Guatemala, and has been a consultant to the World Bank. She is currently an advisor to Worldwide Mobility, an organization working to ensure access to appropriate wheelchairs in developing countries. Her greatest passion, however, lies in her work with women survivors of abuse in Sri Lanka. After traveling to Sri Lanka in the summer of 2005, she founded Emerge Global, Inc. Emerge Global is currently launching its second project: a community with homes, a school, and a women’s cooperative for a group of deserving young women who are currently being sheltered in the Sri Lankan prison system for protection from abusive family members.