Burke.Word

Ed(Mund)ification – Nigel in Bronze

March 11, 2010 by Ramaz

Today Burke.Word begins a new feature, Ed(mund)ification. If we were able to look up the word in some twisted version of the American Heritage Dictionary, we’d see that it means: “To be instructed especially so as to encourage intellectual, moral, or spiritual improvement with respect to someone or something related to the Edmund Burke School.” (Quick! Submit it to Urban Dictionary).

More specifically, dear reader, Edmundification will be a weekly look inside the heart and mind of one of the many celebrities of the Burke community. Patterned on Vanity Fair’s Proust Questionnaire, we ask residents of BurkeWorld — teachers, students, parents, alumni, pets — 15 semi-incriminating questions (or more if they exhibit some resistance to the idea) which they answer… or else. Think of it as what you might get if you combined PBS’s Inside the Actor’s Studio with gossip rag TMZ.

Nigel

Which is why it is most appropriate for us to begin with the heart and mind (or at least the mind) of our own Nigel Hinshelwood, Academic Dean, literature instructor & maven, storyteller, guitar player, author of Losing the Bronze, pool, darts & card shark (well, an all-around shark), mechanic of engines and ideas, and overall spiritual master of the EBS dōjō:

What is the most embarrassing song on your ipod?

Believe it or not, I don’t have one. I do know a lot of embarrassing songs, however. According to my wife, I know only embarrassing songs.

Who’s in your Fave Five people of all time?

Favorite movies, sure, favorite books, I have those. Favorite people? Do I get to troll among the dead? How about Elmore Leonard, Tony Rice, Phillip Pullman, and Brooks Robinson? Also my mother.

I wish I knew how to…

Sail. If Chris Richardson reads this, he knows what to do.

What was the best present that you received when you were young

I am not a very good gift receiver. I am also a miserable sick person. You don’t want to be around me when I don’t feel well. I guess I liked my Lincoln Logs. We also got a bunch of leftover pieces of 2×4s and other scraps from a local carpenter that my brother and I played with more than any other toy I can remember.

Tell us a piece of good or bad advice you’ve received that will stay with you

“Your job is to walk around and try to figure out what happened 45 minutes ago.”

What can’t you live without?

Pool. You’d think after playing for 40 years that I’d be better than I am, but wherever I go I look for a table and some competition.

What do you really care about?

What a loaded question. I care about my family, first. They cared about me when it mattered most. I care about bluegrass and Burke, karate and crime novels. And pool. Did I mention that already? I used to care about poetry, but not as much anymore.

If there’s other sentient life out in the universe – what’s it like?

Going in the opposite direction, obviously.

What mild mannered person at Burke is secretly a super hero? What’s their power? What’s their super name?

I hesitate to call anyone mild-mannered. That could quickly backfire in unsavory ways. I will reveal, however, that Matt Seiler has the power to recall more obscure baseball facts than anyone I have ever known. You can bid on a silent auction item to find out what I mean.

Truth is…

…where all good lies begin.

Who are your favorite fiction writers? Favorite fictional heros?

Charlie Huston. Richard Stark. Jane Austen. Jonathan Lethem. George Eliot. Jhumpa Lahiri and Neil Gaiman, Jack Reacher, Parker, Lyra Belacqua, Henry Thompson, Hiro Protagonist. Jane Whitefield and Huckleberry Finn

If you changed your name – what would it be?

Jerzy Kocerka.

If you could change one thing about education what would it be?

The myth of the schoolhouse.

Tell us about a time when you were really happy.

Three years ago on the beaches of Belize.

What scares you the most?

My sons.

Is violence ever appropriate? When?

Of course it can be. You’ll know it when you see it.

Close your eyes…. Open them. What did you see?

The next to last question.

What question would you like to ask the next Edmundification Celebrity?

How many emails from Ramaz did it take to get you to do this?

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

Hosting Hope

March 10, 2010 by Ramaz

Last Fall my friend Lara talked often to me about how a very close friend of her family was battling cancer. She had known the girl’s family since they grew up in Palestine. Over a period of weeks Lara described how charismatic, lovely, kind and promising this young girl was. She had already been through many treatments in California where she was in school and where her parents had come to live. She and her parents then came to Washington to be part of an experimental treatment program at NIH. Lara and her family visited her regularly at NIH. Ultimately, the doctors recommended a new procedure involving a bone marrow transplant.

The only problem was how difficult it is to quickly find a matching bone marrow donor. 70% of the people who need stem cell or bone marrow transplants do not have a compatible donor in their family and must look in bone marrow registries for an unrelated donor. Lara and her family took it upon themselves to set up blood marrow registration campaigns in Virginia, California and Palestine. Over those several weeks, I saw how Lara became increasingly weary – as she, her family and others worked tirelessly with NIH to set up events to test and register 100’s of potential marrow donors around the world. Everyone came together to do this, knowing that it was likely that a donor might not be found for their friend – but confident that there would now be 100’s more options for future patients.

This past Saturday it was Burke’s turn to help another young woman. The Burke gym was home to a bone marrow donor drive for Team Lindsay. Lindsay, a Duke graduate, contracted Lymphoma and needs a stem cell transplant. Her DC friends pulled together drives in Long Island, NYC, Indiana, Ohio and Burke. Hundreds of Burke and non-Burke people flowed through the gym to sign up and get their cheeks swabbed. It was a simple, yet powerful way to be part of the larger community of mankind. We wish all the best to Lindsay and her wonderful friends. If you want to see how you can be part of the bone marrow registry, click here.

Team Lindsay Burke Registration

Team Lindsay Information Guys

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And now for something completely different…..

March 9, 2010 by jbmahaffie

How many Burke Directors of Technology does it take to change a lightbulb? Why just one, as long as it’s David Panush. Today David rappelled down the front wall of the school to fix a light. We don’t know what the normal procedure for this is. It may involve a ladder, possibly. But David’s feat was enormously entertaining to Florentia’s 6th grade science class, who presumably sought a lesson in gravity and physics, as they went outside to take a look.

Here’s the scene, courtesy of Charlie’s phone camera, with special permission granted during a school day to turn it on!

David changes a lightbulb

Closeup of David Panush Changing a lightbulb

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Burke Partners with Atlas Performing Arts Center for the DC Premiere of the Documentary “ Prep School Negro”

March 8, 2010 by jaqheard

On Friday, March 5^th, Edmund Burke School hosted the D.C. premiere of the film, “Prep School Negro”, at the Atlas Performing Arts Center as part of its Intersections New America Arts Festival. Members of the Burke community as well as others from area independent schools attended the event.

The film focuses on the experiences of a young African-American boy, Andre Robert Lee, who was raised in a poor, inner-city neighborhood in Philadelphia, and gains admission to a prestigious, predominately-White prep school in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lee’s experience alienates him from his family and from his friends back in his old neighborhood. He struggles with his racial identity and social class issues throughout his time as a prep student. Lee returns to his alma mater many years later to discover that many of the African-American students who now attend this same school are still fighting the same battles that he once faced.

Our panel of seven African-American students from local independent schools explored the issues of: race, social class, family, friends, and social interactions during our post-film discussion. Representing Burke was Imani Poindexter, currently in her sophomore year, and Jonathan Goodell, who is completing his junior year. Although the students came from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, their stories were similar as they each spoke about life in their respective school communities. Among some of their concerns were: the small number of minority students and teachers in the schools, social acceptance by their friends outside of school, a curriculum and social environment that is more racially and culturally diverse and inclusive.

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Open Gym Night

March 8, 2010 by jbmahaffie

The Burke Middle Schoolers, with the help of some amazing High School chaperones had a riotously good time on Thursday at Open Gym Night. Mike McQuaid was master of ceremonies in the gym, and kept the kids hopping. Meanwhile, parents gathered for a chance to catch up at a parent social and spend a little time sitting bemused, watching their children interact.

We also had terrific food for the kids and parents, brought by a lot of parents, but orchestrated by Ellen Wilson, Sue Okun, and Eliza Button.

There are some pictures of the activities on Burke’s Flickr page. The good ones are by Mary Taylor. Thanks Mary!

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Boys and Girls PVAC B-Ball All-Stars Play at Barrie!

March 7, 2010 by Ramaz

Burke would like to congratulate the following Burke Varsity Basketball players for being elected to the PVAC All-Star team 2009-2010: Dana B-K, Savannah W., and Arden B. for the Girls side and the Boys side was represented by Jonathan G., Nekkhakhi R. and David F. Each game was played at an extremely high level! We would like to thank and wish good luck to Seniors Arden B. and David F. as they take next dribble on the winding road of life!

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Burke Calls Verizon Center Home Court!

March 7, 2010 by Ramaz

[ED: The following play-by-play is courtesy of the AD (Coach McQ)]

The Edmund Burke Boys Varsity Basketball team had one of its most exciting games of the season playing under the lights of the Verizon Center. Though Burke lost a close one to Avalon, the team played extremely hard throughout the game and started the second half on a 6-0 run that cut the Avalon lead to 4. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the Bengals to be able to play on an NBA court. Every Burke player was able to play in the game and really relished the experience. Go Bengals!

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5 Years Strong for NOLA-Day 5 of Burke Service Week 2010

March 5, 2010 by mrserviceduran

Burke remains committed to not only rebuilding New Orleans, but making sure that the story of Katrina is told in its full complexity, from the botched response to the tales of hopes, survival and resilience. We have traveled to New Orleans for five years now, and in two weeks, 19 students and six faculty will once again travel to help and learn about one of our nation’s greatest cities. We will be working with an amazing organization called ReliefSpark, Inc.

Over the past 5 years, over 80 Burke students and 12 faculty members/parents have traveled to New Orleans and we have provided over 3,000 hours of service to the region.

Since 2007, Burke has also offered a 13 week Senior Values class on Hurricane Katrina, where students have been able to understand how and why Katrina happened through exploring race, class, history, the environment and culture. Part of our work during this trip is to create a documentary to help other schools continue teaching about New Orleans. The worse tragedy of all is forgetting Katrina ever happened.

The faculty leading the trip are Amanda, Cory, Anike, Evan and Iman (Burke’09), and they’ve all developed a curriculum using New Orleans as text. We’ve got classes on Katrina theater, Vodoun (Voodoo), Filmmaking, Hip-Hop in New Orleans and Reflective Writing.

We held our trip orientation last week, and the students are very excited! We have a full agenda which includes serving at ARNO (Animal Rescue New Orleans), McDonough 42-a school in the Treme neighborhood where we will be working on a rooftop garden and a local homeless shelter. We also have a wetland tour planned, a tour of the Lower 9th Ward and of course, some jazz and delicious food.

Enjoy the pictures of last year’s trip and 2010 Orientation and stay tuned as we live blog our trip over break!

[UPDATE: Don't forget to scroll down to see the other posts from Burke Community Service Week 2010.]

Posted in Activism, Community Service | Tagged new orleans | Leave a Comment »

A Place for Friendship-Day 4 of Burke Service Week 2010

March 4, 2010 by mrserviceduran

I’m currently teaching a trimester class required of all Juniors called Activism. At Burke, Activism is about giving the students a space to think about their values, and to put those values in action through service. We start the class by focusing on homelessness, a topic that is increasingly pressing in both locally and nationally . Burke is lucky to have found a great partner to help dispel the myths on homelessness, the Community Council for the Homeless at Friendship Place (CCHFP), located on Wisconsin Avenue. They are one of the few organizations working on homelessness in upper NW and one of the most vocal advocates for the homeless in Ward 3. All Burke Juniors complete their required service hours through helping at the shelter, making sandwiches for the homeless and organizing Open Mic fundraisers and our Annual Homeless Walkathon. I’m also hoping to challenge students’ notions around homelessness. One way we do that is by having speakers who have experienced homelessness come speak to the class. We have heard from both David and George, former CCHFP clients, and learned from their stories.

After learning about homelessness, students then move on to research a topic of their choosing and record 3 minute podcasts PSA’s, educating the public using statistics, stories or examples. Those podcasts will be available in the future. For now, enjoy the pictures of my Activism class helping the homeless through making meals and friendships through service.

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KidPower DC, Burke (and MTV): Day 3 of Burke Service Week 2010!

March 3, 2010 by mrserviceduran

Burke is crazy busy during the school year, but you may be surprised at how busy we are during the summer! Last year, we launched a new initiative at Burke with KidPower DC called the Summer Leadership Academy. KidPower DC is a non-profit organization that provides educational programming for 250 youth from underserved communities in the District of Columbia. In the summer, DCPS students explore advanced civic concepts through academic, artistic, and service-learning opportunities. Organized in conjunction with Burke’s Office of Service and Activism (OSA), Burke serves as the proud host to the four-week program centered on four core subjects (Math, English, History and Science) as well as service, field trips and leadership. The students are selected by KidPowerDC, and Burke students serve as volunteer tutors and teacher aides. We are looking for a new team for summer 2010, e-mail me at diego_duran@eburke.org if you’re interested!

So where does MTV come in? Last summer, and just airing last week, the film crew from the Real World DC decided that the Summer Leadership Academy would be one of the places where cast members intern…check out this link to see a couple of Burke seniors (be warned-there’s some colorful language and imagery throughout the episode in typical MTV reality style…go to the 20:00 minute mark for Burke)

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Food and Friends-Burke Service Week Day 2

March 2, 2010 by mrserviceduran

How does food help heal? What role does food play in terms of access, income and neighborhoods in DC? How does one’s life change when diagnosed with a catastrophic illness and there is no access to a supermarket? For the past six weeks our seventh graders have been exploring these questions by visiting and serving through an amazing organization called Food and Friends. Food and Friends helps deliver healthy meals to individuals living with life threatening illnesses all over the DC area. Burke students help with packaging meals for delivery and actually go on delivery runs with help from our wonderful seventh grade parents. Through classes taught on location by experts from Food and Friends, Burke students learn about nutrition, the costs associated with healthy eating, different illnesses and hear from an actual client benefitting from the food delivery program. Check out the pics of our students serving and learning at Food and Friends!

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Winter Habitat for Humanity-Day 1 of Service Week 2010

March 1, 2010 by mrserviceduran

At least three times per year, Burke Habitat goes out to a parcel in NE DC to help rebuild homes. This past Saturday, a couple of Burke students and faculty braved the cold on a crisp, sunny day to help future DC homeowners. We were led by our amazing Habitat president Hannah Ceja’10, and our dedicated team of Burke students and faculty: Paul Bertram’11, Matt Ragonese’11 and committed faculty member David Panush. The team worked on rebuilding porches and installing drywall. Habitat is just one of the many ways that Burke students give back to their community. Stay tuned for our upcoming Build date in the Spring on May 1st. Also check out the blog this week for a new posting every day on how Burke gives back to DC and the nation in Burke Service Week 2010!

Posted in Community Service | Tagged habitat | Leave a Comment »

This’ll ‘Curl’ Your Big Hair Band

February 28, 2010 by Ramaz

Sadly, the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver come to a close today. Since Greece, the Olympics have given us the “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.” 2010 too has been filled with joy, sorrow, weirdness and excellence.

Nowhere was this more evident than on the Curling sheet. Given that these Games were set in Canada, it was apropos that the ancient, beer-drinking sport, slid its way into our hearts. This year curling even became the obsession on Wall Street as traders tuned into the competition on CNBC after the markets closed and financial broadcasting switched to curling.

Congrats to the Canadian Men’s team who took home the gold on home ice – and to the Swedish Women’s team who squeaked by the Canadians to win the gold. Perhaps they were propelled by their prior victory over the heavy metal hair band, Hammerfall a few years earlier: