Author Archives: Julie Rust

“ . . .  motherhood narrowed me, but it has also focused me. It’s made me as clear as I’ve ever been about what matters—and what doesn’t. I spend so many more of my moments on what does. I let go. I let go. I let go.” (Courtney Martin, 2015) Sometimes, when writing an emailContinue reading “Parent Hat”

Authored by Hannah Williams-Inman We’re back with another installment of “If Only You Knew”, where I try to pick the brains of some lucky (?) kiddos around the middle and upper school, and see what kind of insight I can gather about the parts of their school experience that their teachers may not always beContinue reading “If Only You Knew (Part Two)”

Authored by Jessica Parker-Farris I grew up attending a church of roughly 2500 people, and, when I was nine, I was selected to try out for a lead musical role along with two other little girls. When the day of the audition came, I was ready. I’d practiced nonstop. I knew every line, every lyric.Continue reading “What the World Needs . . .”

Authored by Matt Luter Last week, my AP English 11 classes and I spent a week working with several poems by Emily Dickinson–as any good American lit survey would. I assigned them a handful of more familiar, frequently anthologized poems to read as class prep. Then I gave them another option and had them makeContinue reading “[Randomly Generated Title Here]”

Authored by Taylor Davis. About 17 years ago I was lucky enough to land a job at this place. This place where I grew up, all my friends grew up and I knew one day my children would attend. My first year I was surrounded by so many of my former teachers and even aContinue reading “Robbie”

Sentences I’ve heard/thought a lot about since I started at St. Andrew’s:  “I just need to know where we are as a school.” “Where do we draw the line?” “I’m so glad we are living into who we are.” “I feel as though this school has taken several steps [in a particular direction] without meContinue reading “School Identity as Figured World”

Authored by David Kelly and Marie Venters But first, a quick note from Julie: Are you the type of person that grabs a program for a show and then stuffs it under their seat, or are you the type of person that reads every word, cast bios and all? If I actually make it myContinue reading “Director’s Notes”

Authored by Rachel Scott This year has been quite a change of pace in the Makerspace and PBL world at the Lower School. Not only are students engaging in a more integrated approach in the classrooms, 1st through 4th grade students are also spending scheduled time in the Makerspace workshop each week. Throughout the year,Continue reading “Little Makers in the Makerspace: Focus on 4th Grade”

I admit it. I used to assign those teaching philosophy statements to my poor undergraduates. I can’t quite count the number of times I talked students through how problematic “gardening” metaphors were, as in: “I believe that children are like seeds and my job is to nourish and water them so that they grow intoContinue reading “A Case for Educational Philosophy: On Mirrors, Windows, and North Stars”

I have shared extensively about my myriad failures and falling shorts with my senior English class.  This is because I am honest to a fault, and I am that peculiar brand of person that both hates not being perfect and learns a lot when I make space for my imperfection.  But let me act outContinue reading “This One Thing I Know: Cultivating Communities of Writers”

Okay, let me run two scenarios by you: Scenario 1: Over two weeks ago in class I gave students this very clear, scaffolded assignment sheet and timeline for their literary analysis paper.  We worked on chunks (thesis, evidence building, drafting) in class.  Yesterday was our peer review day in which they were asked to bringContinue reading “Much Ado About Deadlines”

If you are anything like me, you are in no way facing a dearth of ideas for teaching.  There are so many things to cover! There are so many WAYS to cover them! I just learned how to turn any old boring worksheet into Capture the Flag! Thanks, Teacher Tik Tok! (Yes, I did justContinue reading “End of Quarter 1: A Time to Reflect”

It was just a few weeks ago, at about 4:20pm on a Wednesday. I ran into Matt Luter in our collective dash to the post-PD-time parking lot.   I blurted out my predominant feeling at the time: “That was TERRIFYING!”  Any story involving blood, unconsciousness, emergency medical situations gets my heart going.  I am not inContinue reading “We Learned More than CPR: Lessons about Teaching Gleaned from Our PD Training in September”

I’ve already shown off the wrist  x-ray that signifies my past summer of “oh yeah you are middle aged, not a figure skater.” You know, this one: (Good news side note: the x ray was clean. It was just nerve damage!) But there’s a part two to that story.  Several weeks past the injury, IContinue reading “Why Asking for Help is a Superpower”

Authored by Hannah Williams-Inman As teachers, we’ve probably all had moments where students were just maybe a little too honest with us. Maybe it’s our “course evaluation” survey, and the teenagers see it as an opportunity to air their grievances, or maybe it’s when we found out that Sally’s “mommy said a no-no word,” andContinue reading “If Only You Knew, Part 1”

Authored by Jessica Parker-Farris I’m on a personal mission to find joy! While on my journey, however, I’ve noticed that rather than being kind to myself, I often torment myself for my lack of perfection in all things. This caused me to ponder both the literal and possible unconscious semantics of one word I useContinue reading “Jazz Steps: Dancing into the Joyful Unknown”

Authored by Taylor Davis When I taught kindergarten I truly had no idea how much time a three year old teacher spent in the bathroom…really no idea! I continue to find myself uttering phrases that few adults have ever strung together. “Get the beads out of your nose. You have blue energy but you needContinue reading “A Glimpse into Early Childhood: ECC SPOTLIGHT #1”

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again.  The magic of our school is all wrapped up in the magic of the humans that are here. Hey, here are some cool humans: Taylor Davis (PK3), Jessica Parker-Farris (Lower School Art), Hannah Williams-Inman (Middle School Spanish), and Matt Luter (Upper School English). What could theyContinue reading “Introducing . . . TEAM, 2023-2024!”

It is quiet. It is loud. Hours ago, we were smiling and shaking hands at meet-the-teacher like half-trained politicians. We laughed too loud, had myriad awkward social situations. (I almost tripped Andy. ) Children rushed about on orientation scavenger hunts and colleagues huddled around copy machines like cold warriors around a fire in the darkeningContinue reading “4:48 PM, First-Day-of-School-Eve”

This post was authored by David Kelly. What does authentic student centered learning look like in the performing arts? Theatre is amazing because it can be completely centered on the student experience and bring out a range of perspectives. This is at the heart of learning at St. Andrew’s: student centered and authentic learning.  ImagineContinue reading “Using AI (Authentic Intelligence) in Youth Theatre: Elementary Summer Camp ‘23 Arts Blog”