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Watkinson School

Author: Jenni French

  • Upper School Head Published – Watkinson Private High School

    Watkinson’s Head of Upper School Ryan Reese was recently published in the University of Chicago’s Journal of Education, Schools. He co-authored an article called, “School’s the Right Place for Love, or Why We Keep Teaching” with Charles Logan from Ohio State University and April Peet Vos from the Maple School in Northbrook, Illinois.”

    In the article, these three educators 12 years into their careers discuss what they’ve learned about teaching. The educators, all of whom attended the same undergraduate institution and completed their student teaching together, begin by reflecting on their training experience and how it prepared them (or didn’t) to face the daily challenges of the classroom. The conversation turns to significant failures, proudest moments, and the vital role creativity plays in teacher longevity before settling on reasons these educators keep teaching despite the fact that more and more people are leaving the profession or avoiding it altogether. By the conversation’s end, a message of hope emerges, one that identifies imagination and community as fundamental to a teacher’s long-term success.” — from journals.uchicago.edu

  • City Scholar Program Receives Support from United Bank Foundation

    City Scholar Program Receives Support from United Bank Foundation

    Watkinson School is pleased to announce it has received $2,500 from United Bank Foundation to support the school’s City Scholar Program. Watkinson’s City Scholar Program provides scholarship funding for Hartford students who are college-bound but not yet college ready to attend The Academy.

    An extension of Watkinson’s unique approach to education, The Academy is a pre-college year that combines honing skills through classes at Watkinson, acquiring confidence through earning college credits at the University of Hartford and developing maturity through engagement with other areas of personal interest. Academy private school students collaboratively design their own program of targeted academic study, learning about themselves and the world around them, resulting in an enhanced ability to thrive independently in college and beyond. 

    For more information on United Bank’s commitment to corporate and charitable giving, please visit their website at www.bankatunited.com and click “Charitable Giving” in the “About” section of the website.

  • Jess Testani Named Athletic Trainer of the Year

    Jess Testani Named Athletic Trainer of the Year

    Our incredible trainer, Jess Testani was recognized today by the Connecticut Athletic Trainers’ Association (CATA) as the secondary school Athletic Trainer of the Year! The award, given annually since 1994, is given to one trainer in all of Connecticut for outstanding contributions to the Athletic Training profession in Connecticut.

    The Connecticut Athletic Trainers’ Association (CATA) strives to improve the quality of health care for athletes, patients, clients and individuals and enhance the profession of Athletic Training, through leadership, education, and cooperative efforts with other organizations and allied health professions.

  • Joe Kotler ’85 Visits – Our Watkinson School Private High School Alumni

    Joe Kotler ’85 Visits – Our Watkinson School Private High School Alumni

    Joe Kotler ’85 had a wonderful visit at Watkinson and reunited with his favorite Watkinson private school teacher, Chip Apfelbaum. Joe owns his own business, Independent Restaurant Solutions, which provides web-based solutions to family-owned restaurants.

  • Our Watkinson Private High School Students – Social Justice Day 2019

    Our Watkinson Private High School Students – Social Justice Day 2019

    by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern

    Wednesday, April 10th wasn’t just another Wednesday at Watkinson, but rather Watkinson’s second annual Social Justice Day. Once a year, a mixture of our CT private high school students and special guests run socially conscious workshops to bring awareness to issues or subjects that they find important.

    These topics are discussed in a classroom setting with teachers and students alike sharing ideas and values that they find critical to understanding a given issue. Senior, Oliver A., who wanted to discuss all of the angles surrounding gun violence, ran a workshop in the global studies room. Here, he spoke with about 20 students and 2 faculty members about how they feel gun violence should be handled and why. Not only did Oliver deliver a great workshop, but also the students were engaged and curious as to the implications and restrictions on guns in America.

    Another on-campus workshop was run by Leadership Greater Hartford’s Destiny Davis. Her workshop was based on building leadership and cultural skills while teaching the students to remain respectful of each other’s core values and ideals. This included a number of exercises organized by Destiny to ensure that each student understands what happiness is and how each person’s idea of happiness or success is different. By the end, it was apparent that each student got something out of the workshop and was ready to apply what they’d learned to a world outside of the classroom. Oliver and Destiny, alongside the others who ran workshops, helped to make this year’s social justice day a special one.

  • Watkinson Baseball Is Back!

    Watkinson Baseball Is Back!

    Watkinson Baseball returned to the diamond yesterday. Coach Dietelbaum says, “Playing again was awesome in and of itself, but winning 11-7 at Avon Old Farms was pretty sweet!”. Highlights included

    • Jack N. ’21 spun a gem, pitching a complete game, striking out 10, and allowing only 2 earned runs;
    • 8 different Watkinson players reached base, and 7 different players scored;
    • Lamiah S. ’22 made school history by being the first female to play in a Watkinson baseball game;
    • We had the largest Watkinson crowd ever for an away baseball game.
  • Upper School Model UN heads to Dartmouth

    Upper School Model UN heads to Dartmouth

    Watkinson’s upper school Model United Nations attended Dartmouth Model UN (DartMUN) last weekend (April 5-7) with 8 private high school students. Jackson F. ’21 won an “outstanding delegate” award for his work representing the Chief of Staff for the Philippines Navy (PN) – Carlito Galvez Jr.; his committee was the Duterte Administration.

    DartMUN was comprised of students playing the roles of specific real people, with President Duterte largely communicating with them via Twitter.

    Heartfelt thanks to alumni private school parents Kasha and Peter Novak (parents of Caroline ’13) for their consistent generosity; they have donated the use of their house in Quechee for the past 6 years for the team to stay in, which makes for a great group experience and a very affordable trip.

  • Watkinson Private School Senior Manages Successful Eagle Scout Project

    Watkinson Private School Senior Manages Successful Eagle Scout Project

    by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern


    Watkinson private school senior, Oliver A., enacted a large-scale service-learning initiative as part of his Eagle Scout project. Oliver decided to partner with Chrysalis Center’s Freshplace Program, which provides healthy, fresh foods to families in need in the North End of Hartford. For those who cannot physically make it to the pantry, though, Freshplace brings food straight to their homes in sturdy, metal, wheeled carts; this is where Oliver comes in. His goal was to raise $745 to purchase 20 carts for Freshplace. After 22 individual donations by friends and family, Oliver proudly reached his goal and then some. In total, he was able to raise $1,510, which will purchase a total of 40 carts for those in need. This past Saturday he helped to assemble the carts that will be delivered to Freshplace. Oliver is a Global Studies Diploma Program student and his commitment to service-learning has also included a three-year commitment to Watkinson’s Dominican Republic Service Team. Congratulations, Oliver!

  • Watkinson Private School Senior Thalia P. Has Original Play Read at Hartford Stage

    Watkinson Private School Senior Thalia P. Has Original Play Read at Hartford Stage

    Thalia P. ’19 was chosen to participate in Write On, Hartford Stage’s Annual Young Playwrights’ Competition. The competition is open to all Connecticut residents in grades 9-12. Among these applicants, 5-6 are selected to participate in the program. The program is modeled on Hartford Stage’s new play development process, and Write On playwrights have the unique opportunity to learn about professional play development first-hand. Accepted students work with a professional playwright to turn their ideas into ten-minute play scripts. Thalia developed her play, “Escape Room”, in intensive writing workshops held at Hartford Stage. The program culminated with a reading of the ten-minute plays performed by local actors and directed by professional directors who worked closely with the young playwrights.

    Thalia is a member of Watkinson’s Creative Arts diploma program. Private school student artists who have demonstrated serious interest and strong ability may be accepted into the Diploma Program based on an audition or portfolio review, a written statement of intent, and an interview. Many of these students plan to enter careers in the arts; graduates have gone on to some of the world’s leading dance and theater companies, galleries, and symphony orchestras. This program combines rigorous practice schedules with an individualized course of requirements under the guidance of an art advisor. Students may study off-campus if necessary during the day. The C.A.P. faculty provides liaison with leading arts institutions, including Hartford Stage, the Hartford Art School, Hartt School of Music, and Juilliard.

  • Global Studies Students Attend UConn Event “Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor”

    Global Studies Students Attend UConn Event “Letters to My Palestinian Neighbor”

    by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern

    This month, the upperclassmen will have a big opportunity with global impact. A global studies event held at the University of Connecticut will give the students the
    societal tools they need to understand other cultures as they move into the collegiate world. This Global Studies Event will be a conversation between students and bestselling author/journalist Yossi Klein Halevi, alongside Palestinian authority advisor Ghaith Al-Omari. 

    Both men are critically acclaimed for their work making it a unique and informative experience. University of Connecticut professor and Vice President of global affairs Daniel Weiner will moderate the Q&A and students will be able to ask questions at their leisure. The conversation will surround the current political and social climate of the Middle East and why it is so difficult for Israelis and Palestinians to find peace in their native countries. Our private school students will be asked to prepare questions ahead of time and will get a chance to ask them to the panel directly. The event will be held at the University of Connecticut Storrs campus at the Konover Auditorium at Dodd Research Center on March 25th.

  • The Future Perfect Project at Watkinson

    The Future Perfect Project at Watkinson

    by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern

    Announcing an extraordinary opportunity for the Watkinson community: the nationwide “Future Perfect Project” brings its LGBTQ initiative to Watkinson. The Future Perfect Project is an ongoing series of workshops, designed to provide LGBTQ high school students and student allies with songwriting and storytelling techniques and the opportunity to express their unique stories to their community. The workshops take place at various schools and community centers across the U.S. and are facilitated by performance artists James Lecesne and Ryan Amador.

    To date, James and Ryan’s efforts have stretched over 15 states in which they have helped hundreds of teenagers become comfortable with who they are through activities and discussions designed to empower students’ individuality.

    The week of March 4th-8th, students will have the opportunity to speak with James and Ryan at multiple events throughout the week. They will be meeting directly with the SAFE Alliance, Upper School instrumental ensemble, United Through Differences student club, and Upper School chorus and will be giving a special presentation at All School on the Friday of that week.

  • Shamarla K. ’20 Scores 1000th point

    Shamarla K. ’20 Scores 1000th point

    by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern

    This time last year, Alexsia R. ’20 was the 10th private school student in Watkinson’s history to score 1000 points in basketball. Now, almost one year later to the day, Watkinson is proud to add yet another name to that list. Junior Shamarla K. scored her 1000th point against Miss Porter’s School on Monday night.

    Family and friends came out to support the team, as they knew that Shamarla was only 16 points away from her milestone after scoring 23 last Saturday. Her stellar performances all season have helped Watkinson to 12 wins out of their 18 games played so far this season.

    Shamarla was recognized at All-School for her achievements, where she received a standing ovation for her accomplishment. She was presented with the game ball that she had her teammates sign, marking the beginning of a well-deserved tradition.

  • Preparations For SPHERE Are Underway

    Preparations For SPHERE Are Underway

    by Harrison Richman, University of Hartford Communications Intern

    Watkinson’s SPHERE Summer Program is entering its 47th summer with the goal of helping Hartford elementary students discover that learning can be achieved through varied creative and recreational activities. Each summer, Watkinson School enrolls 80-90 Hartford children, grades 1-5, in SPHERE and gives them a chance at a more focused and seasonal-based education program at Watkinson’s 40-acre Hartford campus.

    The five-week program consists of academic activities such as weekly trips to the 4-H education center, and special guest readers among classes that align with Common Core State Standards consisting of literacy, math, science, reading, art, physical education, and computers. In addition to the knowledge-based tasks, students will be able to partake in seasonal activities including the Sphere Olympics, picnics, and sprinkler Fridays.

    Having the program tied in with Watkinson means our private school students can be involved too. Watkinson students in 11th and 12th grade may apply to be counselors, while 9th and 10th-grade students may apply to be counselors in training or CITs. The SPHERE program not only gives children a chance at a better education but ALSO helps young adults in the Watkinson community learn what it takes to lead a group first-hand.

    Returning campers/students have an application deadline date of March 10th, 2019. While new campers/students have an application deadline of May 22nd, 2019. The Watkinson SPHERE program is a special and invaluable program for both the prospective counselor and the prospective student.

    The application for campers and counselors is here.

  • Our Private School Sophomores Were Chosen to Speak at Leadership Greater Hartford’s Common Ground Graduation

    Our Private School Sophomores Were Chosen to Speak at Leadership Greater Hartford’s Common Ground Graduation

    by Alexa Miano, University of Hartford Communications Intern

    On December 11th at 6pm, Leadership Greater Hartford (LGH) had graduation proceedings for Common Ground program participants at the Lincoln Financial Group located in Downtown Hartford. Watkinson’s Head of School, Teri Schrader, was represented as a local leader and chosen to be the keynote speaker at the event this year. Two other Watkinson private school community members were also picked to speak, sophomores Anders A. and David E. who were two of the graduates participating in the event. Eight schools were represented that evening, and of the 27 members graduating that night, Anders and David were two of five student speakers chosen to present their speeches about how the program impacted them. Anders and David were joined by two Watkinson private school classmates — Olivia C and Shamarla K. — making a total of four Watkinson students in the group of 27 graduates.

    On having the opportunity to represent his peers, Anders said he was “grateful” to have been picked, and when asked about the message he relayed in his speech, he said, “Common Ground is a really cool thing, and it can benefit anyone who believes in themselves and wants to improve as a person. I thought it was important since leadership skills are not necessarily taught in the regular curriculum, and this program helped us to develop those skills.” Leadership Greater Hartford is a non-profit organization whose goal is to build a leadership capacity for people of all ages. The Common Ground program reaches the youngest audience LGH works with, specifically high school sophomores and juniors.

  • Our Watkinson Private School Sophomore Represents CT at Facebook Competition

    Our Watkinson Private School Sophomore Represents CT at Facebook Competition

    Our CT private school student, sophomore Angelique P. will compete with Girls For Technology, Inc. and represent the State of Connecticut at Facebook headquarters to compete in the final round of the Engineer For The Week Challenge (EFTW) to further develop Artificial Intelligence (AI), EBONI – a Chabot for young Black professionals.

    In the fall of 2018, Facebook announced a national open call for teens to design a working tech product and develop computer science skills by solving real-world problem. Girls For Technology created a team of four high school girls who met over 35 hours after school at the Wilson-Gray YMCA to create an artificial intelligence-powered Chabot. The girls created EBONI – a chatbot that is designed to help young Black professionals navigate the workplace while also promoting culturally competent workplaces. 

    The Engineer For The Week challenge both inspires girls in tech while simultaneously teaching girls software development skills. In October, Facebook executives were so impressed with the girls’ progress that their Education department director flew from Silicon Valley to meet with the team. The Girls For Technology team will advance to the final round and is invited to Facebook Headquarters from May 2nd to 3rd. Angelique is one of four high school girls on the team. 

    During their visit to Facebook, the team will further develop their product, participate in a Hackathon with Facebook engineers, and tour the Facebook campus. Finalist teams will take home tangible prizes along with the Good Deed award including $50,000 in cash prize donations to 10 select non-profit organizations.

  • CAP Students in New York for Broadway Workshop

    Our Watkinson private school CAP students did a Broadway workshop last Friday in New York City at the Pearl Rehearsal Studios with Hamilton cast member Thayne Jasperson. Jasperson has been in the Broadway smash-hit musical since it opened, playing Samuel Seabury, singing and dancing in the chorus, and understudying the role of King George. Jasperson has also been on Broadway in Newsies and Matilda and was a featured dancer on So You Think You Can Dance. Students learned the words and choreography of a section of “The Schuyler Sisters” and had the opportunity to speak with Thayne about his career.

    Other highlights of the day included a visit to the Eugene Richards show at the International Center for Photography and a performance of the Tony Award-winning musical The Band’s Visit.

  • 6th Grade Watkinson Student Makes a Difference Following Tragedy

    6th Grade Watkinson Student Makes a Difference Following Tragedy

    by Alexa Miano, University of Hartford Communications Intern

    6th grader Julia S. heard about the tragic shooting that took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on October 27th. She felt concerned about attending classes at her synagogue the following morning. This motivated her to start thinking about what she could do to help those who were affected by the shooting. She developed the idea to make postcards and collect donations that could be sent to the community at the Tree of Life Synagogue. This also inspired her idea for her Bat Mitzvah project.

    Julia started collecting donations at Watkinson and ended up making 57 postcards that she plans to send. Her family helped her collect donations; her parents collected while at work and her sister Jade, who is a 10th grader at Watkinson, helped her collect at school. To show her appreciation to those who made a donation, Julia made goodie bags filled with candy and a pin that says #TogetherAgainstAntisemitism. In two weeks, Julia raised approximately $235, and she will still be continuing to collect donations for two more weeks. When asked what she learned from getting involved, Julia said, “Fear may drag you down, but there will always be other people in the world to help bring you hope.” Julia is a great role model in the Watkinson private school community. She demonstrated her selflessness by taking action to help others, and also by bringing awareness by getting involved with something about which she became passionate.