Latin School of Chicago

Dear Latin Community, I hope seeing this incredible fish on the cover of our spring issue was enough for you to open it up and find out what it's all about. If so, your curiosity was the exact sort of response we were hoping to elicit. After five years at Latin, I know that it is not just our students who love to learn about new and different things. at active, curious questioning is what also drives our faculty to develop classroom experiences that push kids to dig deep. As I stated in the introduction of our Strategic Plan, "the best learning happens when it takes us beyond ourselves, when it goes beyond preparation to action, beyond knowledge to skills…" One of the most impactful ways to foster this kind of learning is by developing experiential learning opportunities. is is not a new idea at Latin. What some schools now refer to as innovative teaching, has been a part of the Latin experience for decades. It is part of the culture of our school. Today, thanks to the paths forged by teachers like Ingrid Dorer Fitzpatrick, Greg Baker, Dave Fript and Steve Sommers, we have unique, memorable experiential learning happening in every grade and in every discipline. Adding to these experiences are the many technologies now available to students. e maker movement – an educational shift to hands-on learning – is rooted in experiential learning. Much more than surrounding kids with gadgets, at Latin these tools are a means to an end. As you will see in this magazine, our students are not only making things that go, but using these instruments as a way of developing critical 21st century skills such as agency, ownership and creativity. Of course all of this work – particularly the work with technology – still relies heavily on the face-to-face interactions with skillful teachers who know how to integrate the learning and bring every student to a point of mastery. Although a 3-D printer, a Makey Makey and simulation software may sound like a departure from the type of learning tools that existed at Latin decades ago, I propose our most recent innovations are only an enhancement of what Latin has always done best – engaging students deeply in learning so it becomes a part of who they are and will be. And just look at that fish. My best, Randall Dunn Head of School Words from the Head Words from the Head 2

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