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.
Elizabeth Austin ’20, a junior at Middlebury College in Vermont, has been selected for a Udall Foundation Scholarship. She will receive a $7,000 grant to focus on her research in the emerging field of conservation paleontology.
Rising juniors and seniors who are part of four myExperience cohorts in Hutchison's Institute for Responsible Citizenship – global civic engagement, entrepreneurship, STEM, and art and design – explored their respective fields of study on trips to New York and Boston.
The 15-year student and recent recipient of the Ideal Hutchison Girl Award credits Hutchison for providing opportunities for her to delve deeper into her interests and helping her become a strong student and creative innovator.
The National Merit Finalist and 15-year student has distinguished herself by pursuing challenging academic opportunities in math and science and following her various interests along the way. She credits Hutchison for fostering her intellectual curiosity and love of learning.
Fifteen-year student and National Merit Commended Student Brooke Fair ’23 is an award-winning singer-songwriter who has released an album, an EP, and several singles all before graduating high school. This talented artist also is a dedicated student whose music accomplishments have come while achieving academic success.
Fifteen-year student Emmy Walton ’23 has put her heart into becoming a rocket scientist one day. After developing her interests in science and math through various STEM opportunities at Hutchison, she will follow her dreams at one of the nation’s top schools for engineering, Purdue University.
The National Merit Finalist was challenged by Hutchison’s various academic and extracurricular activities. From the tennis court to the courtroom to the classroom, Sarah is a well-rounded, hardworking Hutchison student who lives up to the school’s mission of inspiring girls to go anywhere they can imagine.
Eve-Elyse Hall ’23 has been known for setting up her teammates on the volleyball court throughout an excellent high school career. Now she’s setting herself up for a bright future after choosing to sign to play volleyball at Asbury University in Kentucky.
Hutchison world language students participated in the 2023 U of M 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 21 students win awards at the fair.
Note to the State of Tennessee: If you want to get legislation passed, put Hutchison girls in charge! Seventeen juniors wrote and presented six bills at the 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.
JK girls aren’t scared of these bones! They were fearless and loved being scientists as they took a closer look at the animal bone collection of Lauren Pharr Parks ’02, alumna and mom to Patty Mae ’36.
Seven upper school students will participate in high-intensity summer programs in subjects including computational physics, international studies, and visual arts at universities across the state.