News

Oaks Participate, Take Home Medals in Chess Tourney

5/1/2023

Shoutout to our Oaks who participated in this weekend's chess tournament sponsored by Hampton Roads Chess Association. The Kindergarten through Grade 12 event saw four Oaks participate and even placed in the event.

Shoutout to Mark K. '32, Hayden M. '33 and Rachel B. '33, all of whom are part of our lower school Chess Enrichment Club which meets on Mondays and is open to our Kindergarten through Grade 5 students.

Middle school student Duncan M. '29 also participated in the event and took home a medal. Also, incoming Oak, Elias N. '27 took home a medal as well.

Way to go, Oaks!

Senior Student-Athletes Commit to Play for Colleges, Universities

5/1/2023

Eight members of the Class of 2023 will continue their athletic journeys this fall as they swap their blue and white jerseys for the colors of their colleges and universities throughout the United States.

These student-athletes were recognized during their last school meeting for taking their talents to the collegiate level. They are:

Sam C. '23 will be playing lacrosse at Hampden-Sydney College
Winston C. '23 will be playing tennis at Randolph-Macon College
Colby F. '23 will be playing volleyball at Emory University
Ethan H. '23 will be playing baseball at Salisbury University
Charles H. '23 will be playing tennis at Louisiana State University
Jackson H. '23 will be playing lacrosse at the University of Mary Washington
Clara M. '23 will be sailing at the College of Charleston
Colin P. '23 will be playing baseball at St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Way to go, Oaks! We can't wait to see you represent your new teams this fall!

NJHS Inducts 26 New Members

4/26/2023

Norfolk Collegiate’s Heath Chapter of the National Junior Honor Society, NJHS, inducted 26 new members into their chapter today, Wednesday, April 26, 2023. NJHS is a national organization that recognizes outstanding seventh and eighth grade students who meet academic and service requirements.

Congratulations to the following students: Liam A., William A., Taylor B., Messiah B., Mallory C., Lucy C., Jonas E., Ella H., Makenzie H., Cleveland J., Ethan K., Lexi L., Colin L., Jeremie L., Rheagan L., Jacob M., Graham M., Sophia M., Taylor N., Samuel S., Quincy S., Michael T., Corinne T., William V., Michael W. and Brayden W.

Students Take Inventions in "Shark Tank"-inspired Class

4/3/2023

Eighth grade students recently put their inventions to the test in a “Shark Tank-" inspired class. Their inventions ranged from mashed potatoes in a tube for those on the go to an online custom sneaker shop where customers put their creations online for someone to make.

After about a week and a half of research, product development and pitch preparation, students took to the stage and pitched their inventions to several sharks. Like the TV show, students had to ask the sharks for their investment in their companies and the sharks had to outbid other sharks for the business.

The bidding was fierce at times, but in the end, all of the students came to the table with creative and marketable ideas.

Student Pottery to be Sold at Empty Bowls Charity Event

3/27/2023

Fourteen Pottery and Advanced Pottery students, along with middle and upper school art teachers Ms. Emily Pope and Mrs. Cathy Wright, donated soup bowls to be sold at this weekend’s Empty Bowls charity event at Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU).

The Empty Bowls project is an annual event dedicated to raising money for feed-related charities to assist the hungry in their community. Local artisans and crafters make bowls and donate them to the event.

Collegiate’s students were challenged to make two bowls each—one to give and one to keep—experimenting with different shapes and surface decorations, such as texture, slip trailing, engraving and additives. They then did some sample layering with the high-fire glazes on some pieces that had been left in the studio and finally glazed and fired their pieces.

Administrators, Faculty Gain Better Understanding of Experiences of Students of Color During Professional Development

3/24/2023

Dr. Jackson Collins, Prep for Prep executive director, shared insight on the importance of lived experiences and a sense of belonging for students of color in their school during a recent professional development workshop. The session delved into research conducted on the experiences of students of color in independent schools in which they were the minority.

Faculty and staff worked together to share how Dr. Collins’ story affected them and to share their stories using “Cards on Race,” which is a deck of cards that helps individuals “develop racial literacy, empathy and the healthy racial coping strategies needed to navigate everyday world and our most challenging conversations on race,” according to CardsonRace.com.

Dr. Collins’ workshop was one of many that Collegiate faculty, staff and administrators are participating in as part of our comprehensive Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice Initiative to create a more inclusive and supportive learning community for all students, families, faculty and staff.

Student-Produced "Into the Woods" Hits the Stage April 14-16

3/23/2023

Norfolk Collegiate is proud to present Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s “Into the Woods” at 7 p.m. on April 14 and April 15 and at 3 p.m. on April 16. The student-produced, student-teched production is musically sophisticated and weaves fairytales together for a twisted adventure.

“Being a part of the cast is hard work. We're memorizing lines, music, choreography, blocking and more while making sure to keep up with school and extracurriculars,” said Alexa B. ’26. “Luckily my class, Theatrical Production, revolves around our musical. We're responsible for designing and building the set pieces.”

Experiential Learning LEAPs With TowneBank Support

2/28/2023

Mr. Scott Kennedy, head of school at Norfolk Collegiate, was joined by students Colby F. '24, Bailey W. '24, Addy R. '24 and Sarah M. '24 to receive a generous gift of $100,000 from TowneBank in support of experiential learning-a cornerstone of the Collegiate student experience.

Presenting the generous gift from TowneBank is Karen Priest, executive vice president of commercial banking, and Dawn Glynn, chief experience officer. In addition to the check presentation, our guests toured both campuses to see experiential learning in action and enjoyed lunch with the above-listed students who shared some of their exciting LEAP projects.

Faculty, Administrators Attend Flagship People of Color Conference

2/9/2023

Five of Norfolk Collegiate’s educators and administrators attended the National Association of Independent Schools’ People of Color Conference in San Antonio. This year’s theme, “Elevating our worth, our agency and our excellence,” had attendees focusing on “our” and looking at how they can incorporate their experiences into their schools.

“I feel very much inspired,” Dr. Nefertiti Makeda, Collegiate’s director of diversity and inclusion, said to her colleagues following the conference. “We could see that we are on the right track. That gave me confidence and made me feel really good and I appreciate all of you. We have been collaborating, and we’ve done so much this year.”

Meagan Starks, modern and classical languages chair, said the conference made her look at her and her daughter and their Black girlhood experiences in predominantly white school systems. “It showed me some of the challenges she’s facing, and I faced, and how we can support black girls and how we can support one another.” She’s also looking at incorporating more diversity, equity and inclusion into the school’s advisory curriculum.

“This was a really fulfilling conference,” said Kindergarten Teacher Lourdes Roman. “There were so many sessions…one I really enjoyed was learning about how schools incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion and self-learning into their curriculum.”

Michael Johnson, middle school science teacher, also attended and had a wonderful experience. One of the workshops he attended addressed code-switching which “focused on how we should be speaking in an academic setting and how people switch how they speak based upon their setting.” As a result, he better understands the importance of and is looking for ways to create more safe spaces for students and faculty to be their authentic selves.

For Dr. Kristine Varney, director of instruction, it was an immense privilege to be able to attend the conference, which she had heard about for years as a flagship event for independent school leaders. She cited “getting to connect with my colleagues from Norfolk Collegiate and hearing more about their experiences” as a highlight. She spoke to her colleagues about her renewed commitment to energizing the school’s professional development programming based on what she learned.

The conference is an annual opportunity for educators and administrators “to gather in a safe space for leadership, professional development and networking for people of color and allies of all backgrounds in independent schools,” according to the conference’s website. It’s full of “seminars, a master class and more than 100 workshops on diverse topics relevant to people of color in independent schools.”

To learn more about the conference, contact Dr. Makeda at nmakeda@norfolkcollegiate.org.

Students Learn About Cultivating a Beloved Community

2/9/2023

Mr. Ian Elmore-Moore, director of the Beloved Community Leadership Academy, spoke to middle and upper school students about how they can cultivate a beloved community mindset.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Center’s Beloved Community Leadership Academy works to develop compassionate, courageous, conscientious, nonviolent leaders who think critically to solve world issues.

“We’re in the process of becoming,” Elmore-Moore told students. “We’re here to share our world together. To speak up when there is injustice.”

As such, he challenged students to be the change.

“Change starts with me. Change starts with you,” he said. For example, recent violent events have been linked to violence at an early age, especially through the use of violent video games. He challenged students to think of ways in which creators can make video games and social media platforms to be nonviolent.

“That’s what the beloved community leadership academy is doing,” he said. They are using the Kingian Nonviolence philosophies to provide people with the knowledge to resolve problems and conflicts peacefully using the six steps below.

Information gathering: This is the way you determine the facts, the options for change and the timing of pressure for raising the issue is a collective process
Education: This is the process of developing articulate leaders who are knowledgeable about the issue
Personal Commitment: This means looking at your internal and external involvement in the nonviolent campaign and preparing yourself for long-term and short-term action
Negotiation: This is the art of bringing together your views and those of your opponent to arrive at a just conclusion or clarify the unresolved issues, at which point the conflict is formalized
Direct Action: This occurs when negotiations have broken down or failed to produce a just response to the contested issues and conditions
Revolution: This is the mandatory closing step of a campaign, when the opponents and proponents celebrate the victory and provide joint leadership to implement the change

Learn more about the King Center Beloved Community Leadership Academy here.

Natalia '24 to Represent Collegiate in Regional Poetry Out Loud

2/7/2023

Friends Natalia C. ’24 and Lilia M. ’23 are no strangers to the spotlight. Both active theater performers gave their all and went head-to-head for a chance to represent Norfolk Collegiate in this year’s regional Poetry Out Loud competition.

Poetry Out Loud is a national poetry recitation competition that encourages students to learn about and memorize great poetry. The goal of the competition is to help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence and learn about literary history while exploring contemporary life.

Each year, students participate at school, regional, state and national levels. This year Lilia and Natalia participated in Collegiate’s competition with poems they chose from the Poetry Out Loud anthology. Both delivered poignant renditions of the top picks. Natalia, who was last year’s runner-up and is a veteran Poetry Out Loud contender, selected “They Buried Their Son Last Winter” by Serhiy Zhadan and “This is the Honey” by Mahogany L Browne.

Lilia, also a returning participant, recited "Smoke in Our Hair" by Ofelia Zepeda and "Diameter" by Michelle Y. Burke.

Natalia will now compete in the regional competition this Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. The competition will have the top three from each semi-final round moving on to the state competition in Richmond.

Good luck, Natalia!

Design Thinking Students Create Interactive Wall

2/3/2023

Middle and upper school design thinking students have been hard at work creating an interactive play wall, dubbed the Magnificent Magnetic Maze, for students to enjoy.

The wall was inspired by an exhibit Design Thinking Teacher Brendan Hoyle saw while on last year’s San Francisco LEAP Term trip.

“It’s constructed of PVC, sheet metal, 3D printed specialty pieces as well as handmade pieces,” said Sarah M. ’23, one of the students involved in the project.

The wall will eventually live in the Stanton Library, where they hope it fosters an environment for communication and learning, as well as give students something to tinker with during their downtime.

“The purpose is to benefit upper schoolers and middle schoolers by introducing an interactive, fun exhibit to the school and to increase the number of people who visit the library,” said Adrianna B. ’24.

Students made the pieces using 3D printers in the MakerLabs. As they played with it, they created new pieces to extend the opportunities involved. They even created different challenges to prompt students to interact with the wall. For example, students could find the fastest route to the bottom or complete a maze route using the least number of pieces or only specific pieces.

Lower school students took it for a spin during their Global School Play Day on Feb. 1, and it was a hit. Accompanied by old students, they moved pieces around and played their hearts out.

“We had a blast,” said Hoyle.

FIRST Tech Challenge Competes in States Qualifier

2/2/2023

This past weekend, the upper school FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Robotics team participated in the FIRST Chesapeake Tech Challenge qualifier. The daylong event hosted 22 teams from across Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts in a qualifier for the upcoming state event later this year.

How Does it Work?

Teams are challenged to design, build and operate robots to compete in a head-to-head challenge in an alliance format. Teams are paired with mentors to help them experience engineering problems solving first-hand using a robot that performs Java-based programming. The mentors and students work for months leading up to the competition on building their robot and programming it to complete the challenge.

Norfolk Collegiate’s team, O.A.K.S., is comprised of students Sarah M. ’23, Jackson D. ’23, Porter F. ’23, Carleigh L. ’24, Parker H. ’25 and Joshua T. ’26. The team consists of two driver operators, an experienced player, a coach and a robot. Each match is played with two randomly selected alliance teams, so your opponent in one match may be your alliance team in another.

Students Take Educational Games to the Next Level

1/30/2023

The assignment may sound boring, but creating an educational board game turned out to be anything but for Design Thinking 8 students.

They had to go back to the drawing board more than once and seek input from their teachers, but the fun was evident when they tested their inventions on their classmates.

The Assignment:

Design Thinking 8 students were tasked with interviewing teachers and students to identify what students could use the most help with in their classes. Then they brainstormed games that they could make to help teach those tricky subjects. Once the idea was born, they had to bring it to life with a playable model.

Alumnae Speak to Students about Using Their Voices for Change

1/27/2023

On Jan. 13, 2023, the upper school welcomed alumnae Dr. Taraneh Azar '85 and Afsaneh "Affie" Azar Ambrose ’88. The sisters emigrated to the United States from Iran following the Iranian Revolution and spoke to students about using their voices to change the world.

“We reached out to open up a topic of understanding,” said Head of School Scott Kennedy in his opening remarks. “One of the key parts of the school’s philosophy is to make sure you have an understanding of global events. Having an understanding and appreciation of the complexity of what happens around the world makes you better global citizens, which is something that we strive to do.”

The program came to life after Ava M. ’26, an upper school student, saw images of Iranian women and the men supporting them being mistreated for voicing their opposition to the Iranian government’s oppression. The student approached David Buckingham, interim upper school dean, and asked if there was something that she could do at the school. They joined forces with Dr. Nefertiti Makeda, Collegiate’s director of diversity and inclusion, and together, they were able to bring Dr. Azar and Ms. Ambrose to campus.

Student Council Association Purchases New Recess Equipment

1/25/2023

Shoutout to our lower school Student Council Association! They recently purchased several new pieces of equipment for our lower school students to enjoy during their daily recess. The new pieces include pop-up soccer goals and new soccer balls, portable cornhole boards and a bean bag game similar to Skee-Ball®.

The new equipment was a student-driven initiative following SCA campaign speeches and ideas from the representatives. The funds came from the SCA’s account, which is funded by initiatives such as the Lower School Birthday Program.

We love that our students saw an opportunity to impact their fellow Oaks in such a fun and positive way and acted on it so responsibly. Way to go, Oaks!

Blake C. '29 Takes Top Honors in Middle School Spelling Bee

1/18/2023

This year’s middle school spelling bee saw 34 students face off for the first-place honors, competing in 10 rounds and spelling 187 words. In the end, it was the word “urchins” that stumped all but Blake C. ’29, who took home the title of spelling bee champion.

Third place was awarded to Grace O. ’29 and second place went to William V. ’28.

Student Artwork on Display at Norfolk International Airport

1/12/2023

The artwork of 16 middle school students is on display at Norfolk International Artwork this month for travelers and you to see and we could not be prouder of their pieces.

“Each month, a local school is invited to feature artwork to display at the Norfolk International Airport. Norfolk Collegiate middle school was asked to display student artwork for the month of January,” said Emily Pope, middle and upper school art teacher.

Pieces include scratchboard sugar skulls, Huichol yarn paintings, color theory mandalas and more. The artwork was chosen based on craftsmanship, creativity and the use of the elements of art.

AP Literature Students See "The Piano Lesson" on Broadway

1/9/2023

AP Literature students ventured to the Big Apple with Mrs. Babkov and Mr. Owens to experience “The Piano Lesson” on Broadway this weekend.

“The Piano Lesson” is the fourth play in playwright August Wilson’s century cycle and part of the AP Literature curriculum. Students recently concluded their August Wilson author study which explores “The Piano Lesson.” After reading and discussing the original text, students watched a Hallmark version of the film and then took to the city to view it on Broadway to see the different adaptations of Wilson’s work. The current Broadway adaptation stars Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington and Danielle Brooks.

“This was an opportunity to see one of his works on the stage, which doesn't happen often,” said Sarah Babkov, AP Literature teacher. “Wilson is known for his gritty realism." His project was “to depict the African-American experience and he focuses on each decade of the 20th century," of which “The Piano Lesson” examines a family in the 1930s that is haunted—literally and metaphorically—by their family history.

Babkov hopes this opportunity not only provides a unique experience for students but also gives them a review for their upcoming AP Literature exam in which students may opt to highlight “The Piano Lesson.”

In addition to seeing the revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play, students also took in some of the sights and sounds of the city.

Students Gear Up for First LEGO League Robotics State Competition

12/8/2022

Two weeks ago, Norfolk Collegiate hosted the regional FIRST LEGO League (FLL) competition. Robotic enthusiasts from area schools and homeschools packed Collegiate to hopefully earn their place in the state competition. However, it was Collegiate’s team who took home first-place honors in Robot Design and earned a seat at this weekend’s state competition.

Students Jonas E. ’28, Cleveland J., Bea D. ’29, Sam S. ’27, Zack H. ’29, Jeremie L. ’28 and Toby W. ’29 are competing in the FLL state competition this weekend at James Madison University. If they win, they advance to national FLL competitions, and the students are hoping that their hard work over the last few months will secure their place in the national competition.