Capturing the Magic

In the JTerm Secret Messages, students learn all about codes in different environments. “We learned not just about encryption, but also things that were encoded in our DNA, and that was a very fulfilling and diverse curriculum,” said junior Nico Christianson. But along with the curriculum, he learned some things that extended beyond the classroom. “Our final projects were on really difficult topics and we had to learn the important skill of self-teaching. For example, my project was about quantum mechanical methods and cryptography. Part of the final project was discerning what was important, and finding out how to convey that.” He went on to comment on JTerm in general, saying “JTerm is more than just a more specific focus on what you’re interested in than would be possible during the school year, but rather, it diversifies your knowledge within the topic and broadens your understanding of it.” Sophomore Amalie Hipp appreciated JTerm for much the same, but also some extra reasons. “This JTerm class taught me that it’s OK to make mistakes. I felt really supported by my classmates and not afraid to take academic risks.” Expanding on this, she felt that the relationships she made in JTerm were meaningful. “I normally wouldn’t have been exposed to this group were it not for JTerm. It’s good to broaden your horizons like that.”

EA Choir J-Term Takes New Orleans by Storm

The EA students who participated in the New Orleans J-Term arrived back in Philadelphia a few days ago after their astounding visit to the charter schools that were affected by Hurricane Katrina. During their trip, they performed eight concerts over the span of six days, a marvellous feat. They learned what it’s like to be musicians on the road; always moving, waking up early, eating hotel food, and performing in front of hundreds of people at least once a day. Also, they performed daily for various charter schools that were damaged by uncontrollable effects of Hurricane Katrina. In addition, they visited the French Quarter, the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, to learn about the culture of the magnificent city and to sing for the public. On their way home, they sang in the airport and even on the plane ride for the enjoyment of the other passengers. The New Orleans J-Term truly gave back to a damaged community and provided much needed inspiration for Music City.

Yesterday, the Making the Magic Jterm wowed their audience by performing their final projects. Working in 4 groups, the students put their knowledge of physics and theatre to the test by creating their own illusions from different movies.”Making our illusion was really fun… we had a lot of physics lessons, and then we had to learn how to use all of the different tools in the workshop in order to make our design, and of course we had to test it lots of times to make sure it actually worked,” says Eleanor Campbell, III Form. The different performances included the mirror scene from Phantom of the Opera, Mary Poppin’s magic bag, "Drewdini’s Magic Box of Wonder," and a breathtaking chandelier drop from Phantom of the Opera.

Three years later and our connection with Haiti only grows stronger. Watch this video to see this year's Haiti J Term and what they thought of the trip, and what you can do to get involved! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_bUGRU_h1k

Haiti J Term This video is about the Episcopal Academy J Term trip to Haiti and EA's relationship with St. Marc's School

The students in the Capture the Magic Jterm have all progressed remarkably since Day 1. From speaking with several news reporters to visiting NBC Studios and Twitter, they have learned so much over the past 2 weeks. “My Jterm has not only taught me all about the aspects of journalism and public relations, but that it is important to follow a lead by any means possible and that persistence pays off and that same persistence is reflected in your work,” says Ben Baturka, VI Form. They have had several projects every day, and the experience they've gained is exhibited through how much more professional their works have become. And now that Jterm has come to an end, they have all learned how to truly Capture the Magic.

The J-Term Sacred Spaces was required to complete what seemed to be an impossible task of constructing memorial chapels. They started with nothing and over the two-week period all of the sixteen students were able to build their own chapel. The first week the students were gathering the “ingredients needed for their recipe.” They visited many churches, including the old Episcopal campus, to observe the different types of architecture. The ideas of all the churches were then used to make the site plan and the plan of the buildings. Each step the students took led them closer to completing their final project. Sophomore Ashani Williams stated, “I never thought that I was going to be able to make my own building, but with the help of the teachers and each of the little steps we took, I was able to create a building that I am really proud of and it gave me a sense of accomplishment.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvzrJ_O_thg
Advertising EA! A look inside the wonders and excitement at Episcopal Academy.

Final project J-term

Aspiring Journalists Take J-Term by Storm

The Capturing the Magic J-Term, filled with young, aspiring journalists, has been tasked to report on the various other courses that are taking place at EA. The students utilize different types of media to market and recap J-Term. From short movies to radio spots, the aspiring reporters take advantage of the technology around them in order to get their word out there. Throughout the two weeks of J-Term, Dr. Locke’s news team has used movies, articles, tweets, photos, radio spots, stories, interviews, Facebook posts, and photo books as mediums for both communication and journalism. These young journalists are publicizing J-Term and EA by utilizing the media at their fingertips. Hopefully, the Capturing the Magic students can take these skills into college and beyond.

Digital Storytelling was offered in J-Term again this year. They began J-Term by interviewing lower schoolers, and creating a story based off their answers. They continued creating stories throughout their J-Term about various topics including their trips to New York City, and Washington D.C. Digital Storytelling’s final project consisted of groups creating a video story about themes they learned about throughout the past two weeks. I focused on one group in particular that made a video about relationships and friendships. “Through this J-Term, I’ve learned that relationships are circumstantial. You don’t necessarily get to choose who you meet however you do get to choose how you treat them.” Another quote that covers J-Term and the importance of friendship is, “My J-Term taught me the ins and outs of the digital media. Through picture, video, audio, and story telling you can portray any message. This J-term is a great way to learn about the media and the direction journalism is heading.” Relationships play a major role in our J-Term and our life.

The India: Service and Social Education class to a trip to Pune, India to perform volunteer work and work with a third grade class. They met with kids and those students in India received letters from one of our third grade classes. This showed that even in the poorest of cities, we can still make connections all around the world through education and social engagement. Their final project was to make a powerpoint describing their trip and the relationships between Newtown Square and Episcopal and the Ashraya school. These powerpoints included the many pictures that exemplify the work of Episcopal students. In total they created arts and crafts projects, made friends with the students, helped them with their English, and even helped write letters back to the Episcopal third graders.

Forensics: CSI at EA is an immersive course that gives students an opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and experience what it’s like to be a forensic scientist and investigate crime scenes. Immediately after entering the classroom for the first time, the students were all surprised with a crime scene and the task to solve it. After learning how to properly record and analyze fingerprints to creating fake blood and measuring splatter radius, they were able to experience what they previously witnessed on TV. When asked to summarize the course, Simon Smerconish, a freshman in Forensics stated that he has “learned so much over this short two-week period and…[it has] sparked a new interest” for him. All this was in preparation for their final JTerm project: designing their own elaborate crime scenes for their classmates to solve. From collecting DNA samples to investigating suspect alibis, students were able to showcase how far they had progressed in their knowledge of forensics through solving the crime and submitting a professional report. This amazing experience was perfectly described by freshman Robbie Copit, “By far creating a crime scene was my favorite activity of the course as it challenged us and allowed us to apply the principles and techniques we learned throughout the course.”

Students are literally "making the magic" by creating unique movie effects! Check out their final presentations!

https://youtu.be/pnFvW6NL9uY

Making the Magic J-Term