A coeducational day school serving students JK-12

M&Ms saying Class of 2025

Having trouble with friends… stressed about an upcoming test... generally feeling anxious… just to say hi... or grab some candy! Those are only some of the many reasons why students might visit Upper School Counselors Jane Knoche and Anneliese Kranz. 

“We want to "normalize" going to see a counselor for all types of support,” said Kranz. “That way, students don't think seeing a counselor is only for helpful for someone who is experiencing ‘issues.’" We want to "normalize" going to see a counselor for all types of support.
Anneliese Kranz, upper school counselor

Knoche and Kranz, both new to Latin themselves, spent a significant amount of time this school year running events for upper school students, especially the ninth grade class, to help support their mental health and wellness and provide bonding time for students to get to know each other. 

“Half of the ninth grade students are new and all of them are coming out of a remote learning year, so offering activities like Cocoa and Cookies and the Scavenger Hunt give them opportunities to bond with each other and get to know us,” said Knoche.

At Cocoa and Cookies, each ninth grade student got some hot cocoa and freshly baked cookies and received a personal handwritten note from Knoche that included a motivational message.

A couple of weeks later, students teamed up with their advisories and participated in a ninth grade scavenger hunt around the city. Below are some of the clues and challenges students were tasked with. However, it’s much more fun to see them in action: check out this slideshow of photos and videos from the day!

  • A picture of your advisory doing headstands
  • A picture of your advisory in front of Twin Anchors
  • A video of one advisory member juggling while everyone else cheers them on
  • A video of your advisory singing the Latin Fight Song
  • A picture of your advisory doing the downward dog yoga pose in front of the Chicago History Museum
  • A video of your advisory saying "Four score and seven years ago" in front of the Abraham Lincoln statue
  • A video of someone in your advisory telling a joke in front of Second City and the rest of your advisory laughing (bonus points for how funny the video is)
  • A picture of the "Class of 2025" written in M&Ms

Affective Education class in the upper school is another way for students, especially ninth graders, to get to know the counselors in a different setting. In the counseling and mental health unit of ninth grade affective ed, upper school counselors explore the following important topics with students: stress and anxiety management; depression and suicide awareness/prevention; substance use/abuse; and healthy and unhealthy relationships. Throughout the course, students engage in relevant group discussions and activities regarding these most prevalent and relevant mental health issues facing teenagers. Additionally, during each class, students learn and practice a new coping skill/strategy, helping them to gain the necessary tools to navigate these issues if/when they arise. 

Knoche and Kranz have other activities for students planned throughout the year to help build class comradery and bond with each other.
 

  • Around School
  • upper school
Student Support from Latin’s Upper School Counseling Office

Having trouble with friends… stressed about an upcoming test... generally feeling anxious… just to say hi... or grab some candy! Those are only some of the many reasons why students might visit Upper School Counselors Jane Knoche and Anneliese Kranz. 

“We want to "normalize" going to see a counselor for all types of support,” said Kranz. “That way, students don't think seeing a counselor is only for helpful for someone who is experiencing ‘issues.’" We want to "normalize" going to see a counselor for all types of support.
Anneliese Kranz, upper school counselor

Knoche and Kranz, both new to Latin themselves, spent a significant amount of time this school year running events for upper school students, especially the ninth grade class, to help support their mental health and wellness and provide bonding time for students to get to know each other. 

“Half of the ninth grade students are new and all of them are coming out of a remote learning year, so offering activities like Cocoa and Cookies and the Scavenger Hunt give them opportunities to bond with each other and get to know us,” said Knoche.

At Cocoa and Cookies, each ninth grade student got some hot cocoa and freshly baked cookies and received a personal handwritten note from Knoche that included a motivational message.

A couple of weeks later, students teamed up with their advisories and participated in a ninth grade scavenger hunt around the city. Below are some of the clues and challenges students were tasked with. However, it’s much more fun to see them in action: check out this slideshow of photos and videos from the day!

  • A picture of your advisory doing headstands
  • A picture of your advisory in front of Twin Anchors
  • A video of one advisory member juggling while everyone else cheers them on
  • A video of your advisory singing the Latin Fight Song
  • A picture of your advisory doing the downward dog yoga pose in front of the Chicago History Museum
  • A video of your advisory saying "Four score and seven years ago" in front of the Abraham Lincoln statue
  • A video of someone in your advisory telling a joke in front of Second City and the rest of your advisory laughing (bonus points for how funny the video is)
  • A picture of the "Class of 2025" written in M&Ms

Affective Education class in the upper school is another way for students, especially ninth graders, to get to know the counselors in a different setting. In the counseling and mental health unit of ninth grade affective ed, upper school counselors explore the following important topics with students: stress and anxiety management; depression and suicide awareness/prevention; substance use/abuse; and healthy and unhealthy relationships. Throughout the course, students engage in relevant group discussions and activities regarding these most prevalent and relevant mental health issues facing teenagers. Additionally, during each class, students learn and practice a new coping skill/strategy, helping them to gain the necessary tools to navigate these issues if/when they arise. 

Knoche and Kranz have other activities for students planned throughout the year to help build class comradery and bond with each other.
 

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photo of Brandel Tanis

Freyja Brandel-Tanis '14 has been named a 2022-2023 Fulbright Scholar. Brandel-Tanis will graduate from Georgia Tech with a master's in city and regional planning and MS in civil engineering this spring.

She has been awarded a Fulbright research award at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway and will be conducting stakeholder focus groups on the role of digital twins in sustainable transportation modeling. Her work will be an early stage in long-term research at NTNU to ensure the complexity of transportation systems is considered in future digital twins.

(Digital twins have established use in manufacturing and rocketry to virtually replicate physical environments and test potential scenarios, and some modelers and officials see their potential to improve on current transportation modeling technologies.)

Outside of her research, Brandel-Tanis is planning to engage with local queer organizations and ride her bike as well as exploring the Trondheim's public transit system. After her Fulbright, she plans to return to the US and work as a city planner/civil engineer before eventually pursuing a PhD.

  • Alumni
Fourth grade student at middle school

It's middle school Project Week, which means it's 4@45 where fourth grade students get the full middle school experience at 45 N. Dearborn!
Students got a locker for the week. They got to meet fifth grade teachers. Fifth graders gave them a tour of the middle school. And they get to have their classes in the middle school building this week. 

Students were greeted by fifth grade buddies, who gave them tips on opening lockers followed by special tours of the Middle and Upper Schools. The fourth graders followed their usual schedule but they also were introduced to the fifth grade teachers and had a special RoundTable class with the middle school counselor. They loved walking independently through the buildings. The highlight was always the lunchtime choices!

Check out some photos!

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Wooden Roman head

Lower School Computer Science and Tech Integration Specialist Fiona Deeney, Middle School Technology Coordinator Mike Demopoulos and Upper School Innovation Studio Manager Shane Enderle offered an inside look at Latin's maker spaces for parents/guardians.

Maker Space Teachers

At the start of the event, the team shared information about each division's maker space and projects created in them. Then they gave a tour of the upper school maker space to show some of the equipment and supplies students can access in all three divisions.

Upper School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutters
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
Soldering Irons and accessories
iPad Pro’s with Apple Pencils
VR Headset

SOFTWARE
Adobe Suite
Illustrator
Photoshop
In Design
Fusion 360
Sketchbook Pro
Procreate
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio

Middle School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printer (x3)
Vinyl Cutter (x2)
Laser Cutter
CNC Router
MacBook Air (x2)

SOFTWARE
PrusaSlicer
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
iMovie

Lower School

EQUIPMENT
3D Printers
Vinyl Cutter
Laser Cutter
Digital Embroidery Machine
Sewing Machines 
LittleBits Pro Library and STEAM Kits

SOFTWARE
Doodle 3D
TurtleStitch
Silhouette Studio
Mint Studio
Drawing Pad

Afterward, parents/guardians got the opportunity to laser engrave on a pre-cut wood roman head. They also visited stations to make leather key chains, play with Little Bits electronics from the lower school, see embroidery and sewing machines in action, and a few physical projects that students have created.

The maker spaces at Latin aid students with designing and problem-solving, as well as develop skills, talents, thinking and mental rigor.

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upper school students on project week

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, upper school project week is back! Students chose to spend the week on one of the 25 in-town projects or 11 out-of-town projects.

The in-town offerings included:

  • Ad-RAP-tation: the Latin School and Q Brothers' Collective
  • Art and Anatomy
  • Chicago: Walking, Food, and Art
  • Code Your Own 2D Games and Build a Mini Arcade Cabinet
  • Curling in Chicago
  • Cycle Chicago: Riding & Wrenching
  • Dancing with culture
  • Design a Chicago Bike Tour
  • El mundo Latino in Chicago: An Exploration of Chicago's Latinx Community  
  • Exploring Chicago’s Queer History
  • Find Your Inner Chef
  • Habitat for Humanity
  • Just for Kicks
  • Make Your Escape (Room)
  • Making Music
  • PADI Scuba Diving Certification and Training
  • Sports Marketing: A Strategic Perspective
  • Survivor
  • Theatre in Chicago
  • The Greatest City in the World Chicago Gospel
  • Treemendous Forest Preserves 
  • Urban Agriculture
  • Wellness: Mind & Body
  • What Makes a Neighborhood?: Art, Advocacy, and Food
  • Yarn Bombing

The out-of-town offerings included:

  • Canyoneering & Rock Climbing Adventure
  • Civil Rights Trail 2022
  • Coral Reef Experience in Florida Keys
  • Cycling Through the Sonoran Desert
  • Detroit: Invention and Reinvention in a Great American City
  • Exploring the Pacific: Oceanography of Southern California
  • Latin Iditarod: Dogsledding
  • Mountain Biking in Moab
  • The Ancestral Heritage of The Land of Enchantment
  • The Raw & The Cooked: A Literary Feast in Michigan
  • There is No Business Like Show Business!: LA TV & Film

Check out more photos and videos from our PWeek take over on Latin's Instagram @latinschoolofchicago at #latinpweek.

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