Greetings From Epiphany!
Dear Friends,
It's hard to believe it's already the end of August and Epiphany School is back in session! A lot has happened over the summer. Renovations started at 232 Centre Street to provide our Teaching Fellows with an upgraded living and learning space, and the new greenhouse was installed and is almost ready for use. For our newest venture, we worked tirelessly through the licensing process for Epiphany's Early Learning Center and its newly hired staff was trained and is ready to welcome the inaugural class of early learners in September.
Speaking of September… please join us for Sunday in the Schoolyard , on September 16, 2018. This fun and festive “foodie” event, featuring Jody Adams and Ming Tsai, will benefit Epiphany’s Kitchen, Greenhouse and Gardening programs.
We love to host visitors at our middle school and new Early Learning Center. Please come visit us for a Tour and Lunch to see all that is happening at Epiphany. Click here to schedule a visit. We are eager to see you!
With Gratitude,
Barb Fletcher
Business Manager
Corporate Partner Spotlight: American Tower
This month’s spotlight goes to our friends at American Tower and the American Tower Foundation. Their support has been instrumental in allowing us to grow our STEM (Science, Technology and Math) curriculum and related sustainability programming at Epiphany, including our expanded Garden and Greenhouse education program. Several American Tower employees have supported Epiphany for many years, and we are honored to be one of the first grantees of the newly formed American Tower Foundation.
In addition to the generous grant to STEM programming at Epiphany, American Tower also donated twenty laptops to the school. Our current students and our graduates have been using them for workshops, schoolwork, and more. Thank you, American Tower and American Tower Foundation!
Epiphany Stars: Graduate Profile
Johnny Wilson '04
This month’s Epiphany star goes to Johnny Wilson! Johnny graduated from Epiphany in 2004 and returned last year as the Co-Director of High School Placement. This year he will also support Mr. Penney as the Dean of Students and co-lead The Brotherhood with Mr. Deleveaux.
After his middle school years at Epiphany, while in high school, Johnny enrolled in Summer Search where he travelled to Colorado and then Poland for two summers. Reflecting on this time in his life Johnny smiled and said, “this experience transformed my life, I was able to meet people from different parts of the world and it opened my eyes.”
Johnny went on to attend Brandeis University and received a degree in Women and Gender Studies and Health Policy. He then came to Epiphany as a Teaching Fellow before returning to Brandeis as an Operations Specialist in the Department of Student Activities. As much as he loved his job, he felt unfulfilled and missed the Epiphany community very much and now he is back with us.
We are fortunate to have him in the building and back on our team. He is an essential member of the community, always willing to lend a hand, and help out with a smile and a positive attitude that can’t be beat!
Learning is Cool: Epiphany Curriculum Highlights
Welcome new 5th Graders!
On August 13th, we welcomed 22 new 5th graders to Epiphany. During their orientation, the students engaged in community building activities, participated in IOWA testing (one of the standardized tests used school wide), and worked on class projects including a garden activity with the new Greenhouse and Garden Program Director, Ms. Ashleigh Inglis, where they harvested vegetables and herbs for their lunch and planted fall crops.
Epiphany News
Cooking with Chef Tey and Sabrina ‘08!
Chef Tey and Sabrina Correia ‘08 launched their first Cooking Course this summer at Epiphany! As the graduate support team was planning for Meaningful Summer and placing graduates in jobs and internships, they noticed that a handful of them were interested in cooking and baking. Unfortunately, most cooking programs were expensive and they didn’t want to place graduates in programs they wouldn’t be interested in. “I was part of Kids can Cook during my time at Epiphany and I loved it” remarked Sabrina, “I really want students to experience what I did when I was a student at Epiphany – these types of programs helped me grow and they shaped me into the person I am today.”
For three weeks, Monday through Wednesday, from 2pm until 5pm, Sabrina and Chef Tey taught students the essential skills necessary to cook healthy, nutritious and simply put – good meals. They started off by learning what was planted in Epiphany’s new garden. They then learned how and when to pick the produce. Once they harvested all their produce they moved to the kitchen to wash, cut and prep the ingredients for a delicious meal. We were able to taste the mac & cheese, oven baked chicken and fried tomatoes they made...what amazing flavors!
The revived “Kids Can Cook” program went really well this summer. The students learned valuable skills and are already asking to take the class again next year.
Project Icarus trip to Italy
Darrell McLean, Mr. Finley’s former student from Nativity Prep, recently started a foundation called Project Icarus and wanted to bring it to Epiphany. As a high school student, Darrell was part of an “Education First Tour” where he discovered his passion for traveling. He continued to travel during his college years and ultimately wanted to start his own foundation to bring the joy of travel to others. Providing an opportunity to travel for kids from low income families has been his goal, and this summer he was finally able to achieve it.
On June 25, eight graduates travelled to Italy with Project Icarus to explore a new country and culture. They visited several cities including Verona, Venice, Florence and Rome. Our graduates were the first group Darrell took under his wing. This was the first time that most of our graduates had ever left the country “I was able to immerse myself in different cultures and try new things,” Jaden Falaise ‘15 beamed when talking about the trip. We are so grateful and happy our graduates were able to be part of this journey!
Upcoming Events
Good food for a great cause! Join us on Sunday, September 16 for our 3rd annual Sunday in the Schoolyard foodie event.
Buy your tickets before Labor Day (9/3) and be entered to win a $100 gift card to Row 34, one of the best seafood restaurants in the Seaport district.
We are grateful to Ming Tsai and Jody Adams for helping us host this event and for all of the restaurants that donate amazing food for the evening! Among the many restaurants who have joined us over the years, one of the most loyal is Loyal Nine who will be participating for the third time this year!
