Whether the effects are large or small, every person will make an impact in their community, and through their community, the world. At Hutchison, we teach our girls the importance of making a difference in the world from the start. And our first graders are doing just that through their Bridging Gaps in Our Community project!
The project began as the girls were studying bridges in their science class. As the girls learned about forces and balance of weight, it lead them to a discussion of gaps they saw in our Hutchison community. Using the design thinking process, the girls discovered areas that needed improvement and came up with methods to bridge those gaps to make Hutchison an even better place for living and learning.
Part of our mission at Hutchison is to prepare our girls for lives of integrity and responsible citizenship. This project is a clear example of how our first grade girls are beginning their lifelong journeys to become connected, responsible, and active citizens in their communities.
Their ideas for the project included:
Cleaning up the playground and reducing litter
The girls put up signs around campus to encourage people to not litter. Girls also volunteered to spend part of their recess time on Wednesdays to help pick up trash on the playground.
Making the courtyard more beautiful
The girls met with Hutchison Assistant Head for Operations Mr. Randy Olswing to request the money they needed to buy flowers they could plant in our school courtyard so everyone could benefit from the extra oxygen the plants would provide.
"Goosinator"
The girls covered a remote-control car with a cardboard box designed to encourage the geese to stay in areas around the lake instead of the walking paths to minimize the amount of goose poop on campus.
Other ideas included:
Getting more library books for the lower school library
Taking the class outside to learn
Collecting more recyclable materials for the Innovation Lab
Keeping the water fountains clean
Spreading joy around campus with beautiful banners
Respecting the art in the hallways by not touching the paintings
The girls' hard work earned them first place in the Go Green category of The Beautify Your School Channel 3 Go Green Contest for their efforts to better their community. The first place winners in each category were recently showcased on WREG Live at 9. Watch our future engineers as they talk about their project.
Hutchison Now highlights recent graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Catherine Owen ’17, who works at a sustainable oyster farm owned by Aubrey Sanders ’04 on Edisto Island, South Carolina.
Starting down a new path can be hard for anyone, especially for a high school student moving in the middle of junior year. Wylly Willmott '22 said Hutchison's welcoming atmosphere and the supportive staff both in the classroom and out made her feel at home from the start.
National Merit Finalist Annabelle Bridgforth ’22 is a disciplined, hardworking student who has excelled in the classroom while building relationships through sports and songwriting.
Hutchison Now highlights recent graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Katie Hussey ’16, chief of staff for Goldman Sachs’ two global leaders of Consumer and Wealth Management.
Hutchison Now highlights recent graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Kate Christenbury ’07, supervisor of a multi-state telecommunications team for ConocoPhillips.
Hutchison world language students participated in the 2022 Virtual Language Fair, sponsored by the University of Memphis Department of World Languages and Literatures. Demonstrating their knowledge of Spanish and Chinese, Hutchison had a total of 38 students win awards at the fair, the most out of all independent schools that competed.
Meet Renee Grinder, who has been a kindergarten teacher at Hutchison for four years. Before she had her own classroom, she served as an assistant in pre-kindergarten for two years and a substitute teacher for two years. Her experiences as a parent inspired her to come back to the classroom at Hutchison.
Morgan Schrier ’22 is a dedicated student of the Chinese language who chose to continue to learn after completing AP Chinese. This year, she has been assisting Hutchison Chinese teacher Lynn Tian in the classroom with her fifth-grade students. Outside of helping girls learn Chinese, Morgan serves as a member of Peer Council and Morgan mentors 8th- and 9th-grade students adjusting to upper school. She also is heavily involved in her Jewish youth organization.
Note to the State of Tennessee: if you want to get legislation passed, put Hutchison girls in charge! Twelve sophomores wrote and presented five bills at the 69th annual YMCA Youth in Government conference in Nashville. All of the bills made it onto the Senate and House dockets and one was signed into law.
Ella was among the 23 high school girls honored as a Girl Who Means Business by the Memphis Business Journal for exemplary academic and extracurricular achievements and community involvement.
Five Hutchison scholars will participate in high-intensity summer programs in subjects including computational physics, international studies, and theatre at universities across the state.
Hutchison Now highlights recent graduates early in their careers who embody how a Hutchison education can lead anywhere you can imagine. We spoke with Katie Daniel ’14, a writer for animated film and television.
Ava Dickson ’22 is from Jonesboro, Arkansas, which is an hour and 15 minutes away. Hutchison wasn't the most convenient choice for Ava, but it turned out to be the best choice.
Meet Maggie Blake. Ms. Blake researched baboons in South Africa and worked as a park ranger at several national parks. Now, she is imparting her love of science to students as an 8th-grade physical science teacher in her first year at Hutchison.
Zoe Zerwig Ford '23 is one of two students in Tennessee and one of 40 students nationwide to receive the award from the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT).
Meet Kim Knauss, Hutchison's middle school learning specialist. In her role, she is poised to help each girl maximize her learning through intentional and personalized support.