Contact: Jenni Brockman Thirty-three seniors have left the St. Margaret's School campus to participate in two-week independent study projects commonly referred to as ISPs. Each year senior students are given an option of designing an independent study project to conduct during the academic break (February 22-March 3) between the second and third school trimesters as part of the SMS minimester program. ISPs generally take the form of serving an internship with an organization, institution or business in which the student has a special interest. In previous years, students have arranged internships with: the Office of the Governor of Virginia, The Nature Conservancy, Rolling Stone magazine, The Washington D.C. City Paper and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. This year, students are conducting ISP research in the following areas: social work (Alexes Anderson); recreation (Garnett Ashworth); museums (Laura Austin); elementary education (Lauren Cannon and Kendall Pettigrew); radio broadcasting (Alexandra Cornwell); law (Chase Craven); fashion design (Lauren Cupp); internet services (Mary Emery); government (Jessica Fram); physical therapy (Bo Hammond); diagnostics (Katie Hawks); presidential campaign administration (Yin-Chien Hou); Chinese art (Ellen Hsieh); outdoor adventuring (Sara Pirtle), architecture (Catherine Redfearn); meteorology (Kym Register); parenting (Emily Reich); interior design (Cameron Sgroi); business management (Jamie Shelor); photography (Pie Terry); science (Ellen Totten and Sara Wagner); journalism (Carver Weakley); fiber optics/accounting (Margot Whisnant); desktop publishing (Beth Wilson) and a travel agency (Lacey Wright). In addition, two students are conducting ISPs on subjects that are of particular interest to local residents. Catherine Redfearn, a day student from Kinsale, is studying achitecture as her independent research project. Catherine is expanding knowledge she obtained by taking a course, taught by SMS history teacher Grace Rhinesmith, titled "Rubble With a Cause" during minimester 1998. Catherine will analyze the awe-inspiring architecture of the historic Menokin house, built by Francis Lightfoot Lee (signer of the Declaration of Independence in 1796), and his wife, Rebecca Tayloe Lee, of the historic Mount Airy home in Warsaw. Sara Wagner, a boarding student, will work at the Marine Science Museum in Virginia Beach. Sara, a Hampton Roads native, will assist in caring for the fish and invertebrates tanks. Sara is an advanced biology student of SMS science teacher Andrea Robinson, who also serves as her ISP sponsor. "Sara's internship directly relates to many of the marine science subjects we are studying in class," says Ms. Robinson. "She also wants to be a marine biologist or an environmental engineer so this is a grand opportunity for her to learn about these disciplines outside the classroom." Increasingly, students have begun to participate in internships well beyond the boundaries of the 48 contiguous states. Many have set up impressive international projects. This year might be a record. Seven students have arranged internships in five foreign countries and the island commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Ashley Colen will travel to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where she will work at a local museum. Katie Farmer, a day student from Miller's Tavern, will study school structure at St. Margaret's School-Berwick near Melbourne, Australia. Yin Chien Hou, of Taipei, Tawain, will return home to get involved with her country's elections and compare the process to the United States presidential campaign in her final written report. Ellen Hsieh, also of Taipei, will study Chinese painting at Xiamen University in Fujian, China. Hyun Jim Kim will return home to Seoul, South Korea to work with LG International Trading Company. Amy Laskar and her roommate Truc Pham will "shadow" Amy's aunt, a pediatrician, at her medical practice in India. "Independent Study Projects are a good life lesson for our girls," says SMS
ISP coordinator, Mollie Conklin. "They really help to answer the what-do-I-think-I-want-to-be-when-I-grow-up question and 'jump-start' the thinking process about life after St. Margaret's." Mrs. Conklin, who teaches ecology to juniors and seniors, also noted that the program offers the additional benefit of providing students an opportunity to "test drive" a career before committing themselves. They develop initiative and a sense of responsibility by setting-up projects on their own. "We don't hold their hands," she says. "Just getting someone to call you back on the telephone can be a real accomplishment. It's good that our seniors are able to do this [outline a project, set goals, make arrangements, and so forth] themselves…it's definitely a worthwhile educational experience." Although students do not earn formal credit for ISP participation, they are richly rewarded through gaining practical knowledge of the working world. Students may choose whether to write a paper or give an oral presentation summarizing their experience. A notation of the student's performance - Honors, High Pass, Pass, or Fail - is documented on her final transcript.
Telephone: 804-443-3357 (w); 804-443-3357 (h)
Fax: 804-443-6781
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
St. Margaret's Seniors Conduct Independent Study Projects
Independent Study Project coordinator, Mollie Conklin (r.), with Spanish teacher, Luisa Miguez-Perez. Ms. Miguez is Kendall Pettigrew's ISP sponsor. Kendall is working at the Early Childhood Learning Center in Wilmington, NC as a teacher's assistant for two-weeks during minimester (Feb 22 - March 3).
