Breakout Session B – 2024 ICGS Conference

Conference Overview | Registration | Schedule of Programming | Pre-Conference Workshops | Networking Opportunities | Keynote Speakers | Breakout Sessions | INSPIRE! Sessions | Post-Conference School Visits | Hotel Accommodations | While You’re in Baltimore | Sponsors | Participating Schools/Organizations

Breakout Session B
Monday, June 24
3:40-4:30 p.m.

Building Self-Worth in the Age of AI
If feeling like a valued contributor increases a student’s sense of belonging in the classroom, how do we make sure students feel like they have value to contribute to the world in the face of technology that can “do it all”? In this session, we will discuss how and why developing self-worth and honing students’ voices will be the most valuable currency for girls growing up in the Age of AI. And furthermore how the ideas and perspectives that they voice, create and put forth into the world will be the foundation for countering bias in these models.

Presenter: Anjulee Bhalla, Computer Science Teacher | The Bryn Mawr School (United States)

Audience: Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners

Teaching Chemistry with 3D & Augmented Reality at an All Girls High School
In this session, we plan to engage participants in 3-dimensional (3D) and augmented reality (AR) experiences custom-created for an all-girls high school (HS) Chemistry class. Students’ at an all-girls school utilized these 3D and AR experiences with their mobile devices. This presentation will include hands-on engagement with some of the AR/3D HS Chemistry experiences and students’ perceptions of using AR/3D to learn HS chemistry. Participants will walk away with considerations for the potential use of AR/3D integrated lessons in an all-girls’ classroom. Mobile devices are recommended.

Presenters: Katheryn Ure, Teacher of Chemistry, Department Chair | St. Paul’s School for Girls; Irene Bal, Assistant Teaching Professor | Loyola University Maryland (United States)

Audience: Upper/Senior/High School; Teachers/Faculty; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs; Technology

The Power of Purpose: How Meaningful Connection Emerged as a Key Strategy in Raising $75M
An interactive discussion about the intentional engagement that precipitated the success of Miss Hall’s School’s historic Be Bold campaign. Moderated by Head of School Julia Heaton, the panel features purpose-driven thought-leaders and collaborators ranging from campaign counsel, to a change facilitator, to a visionary designer, and an alum. The focus will be on bold outcomes and takeaways, what the School will leave behind and what will carry forward.

Presenters: Merritt Colaizzi, Director of Advancement; Julia Heaton, Head of School; Viola Quiles ’23, Student | Miss Hall’s School; Nicole Antil, Principal | Graham-Pelton; Darrel Frost, Founder | Frost Creative, LLC; Elizabeth Zeigler, Founder | Claremont (United States)

Audience: Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Communications/Marketing; Development/Advancement; Alumnae Relations

The journey to becoming the Destination for All Girls Athletics
This presentation will focus on the Miss Porter’s Athletics journey over the last six years. Changing the conversation, internally and externally, continues to be motivation when evolving an all girls sports program. We have shown that we can combine excellence in and out of the classroom and create an environment where our students embrace leadership and strive to be successful. We have invested in facilities, coaches education, and yielded high imapct athletes along the way. Our ‘why’ is to be the destination for all girls athletics, and this presentation will show the journey, we have taken to get there.

Presenter: Avi Dubnov, Director of Athletics | Miss Porter’s School (United States)

Audience: Upper/Senior/High School; Senior Administrators; Admissions/Enrollment; Communications/Marketing; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs

Unlocking Student Success: The Parent-School Connection
City of London School for Girls will present on the challenges facing parents/carers in relation to their children’s mental health and wellbeing. We will then ask how schools can usefully engage with parents by looking at CLSG’s 5 Keys to Positive Parenting and our increasingly popular two-day Coaching for Parents course.

Presenters: Susie Gilham, Deputy Head Pastoral; Julian Murray, Head of Coaching | City of London School for Girls (United Kingdom)

Audience: Elementary/Primary/Lower School; Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Teachers/Faculty; School Counselors; Student Life; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners

Radical Retention: A Case Study at The Agnes Irwin School
If “enrollment is everyone’s job,” what does that look like and who owns retention efforts? The Enrollment Management Team takes the heat from the board when numbers are down, but does the team have agency to make changes and hold divisions accountable?     The leadership and enrollment teams of The Agnes Irwin School collaborated with Jill Goodman Consulting to create a radical, re-imagined, proactive approach to retention that is tied to the school’s overall strategic plan and mission.  It is holistic, intentional and meets families and students individually to retain, re-enroll, and minimize attrition.

Presenters: Jill Goodman, Founder | Jill Goodman Consulting; Merritt Weber, Family Engagement Coordinator | The Agnes Irwin School (United States)

Audience: Early Childhood; Elementary/Primary/Lower School; Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Admissions/Enrollment; Communications/Marketing; Student Life

Building Confidence and Leadership through the Wisdom of Accomplished Women
Fostering leadership in the next generation of women is crucial to solving the complex and ever changing problems affecting our communities and the world at large. This session will present academic and inquiry research conducted over a year at an independent girls school and through conversations with nine powerful female leaders. Specific strategies and practices for how to build leadership capacity in young women will be explored in this presentation. While the emphasis of this session is on adolescence, this presentation applies to girls (and women) of any age.

Presenter: Lea Hunerkoch, Middle School Assistant Director | Holton-Arms School (United States)

Audience: Elementary/Primary/Lower School; Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty; School Counselors; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners

Anti-Grooming Approach to Relationship Building
1 in 9 girls under 18 experience sexual abuse or assault. What does this have to do with relationship building? Everything. Modern day grooming tactics purposely resemble educator trust-building. Educators must grasp clear student boundaries, not for ourselves, but for our students; so our students are able to develop skills in identifying and curtailing inappropriate adult behavior. This session will explore an anti-grooming approach to student relationship building that strikes a balance between trust-building and setting crucial boundaries for student’s safety and well-being.

Presenter: Denise Parker, Director of Wellness | Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy (United States)

Audience: Early Childhood; Elementary/Primary/Lower School; Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty; Admissions/Enrollment; School Counselors; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs; Alumnae Relations; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners

45 minutes
This presentation will lay the foundations of mindfulness and explore opportunities to visit this during the school day. It will give an overview of various examples of mindfulness practices. It will also go over how to implement a Mindfulness Day at your school, including preparation and execution. The heart of the presentation will be focused on what research says about mindfulness practices and how they can help reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression and stress in teens and adults.

Presenters: Jessica Randisi, Head of Student Life/ Dean of Students; Hillary Horgan, Director of Counseling | Maryvale Preparatory School (United States)

Audience: Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty; School Counselors; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs

Assessing the Impact of Aspects of School Life on Well-Being in Girls’ Schools
Girls’ schools have unique opportunities for fostering supportive relationships and bolstering well-being. Indeed, surveys administered to over 140,000 students, including over 11,000 students at girls’ schools, show that rates of clinically significant depression and anxiety are higher among female students than among male students nationally. In this session, we will examine survey findings to highlight the aspects of school life most linked to student and educator well-being at girls’ schools. Attendees will gain an understanding of the current state of girls’ mental health and of best practices gleaned from a school that has used data to prioritize well-being.

Presenters: Nina Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO | Authentic Connections; Denise Labieniec, Institutional Researcher, Science Faculty | The Winsor School (United States)

Audience: Middle School; Upper/Senior/High School; Heads of School/Principals/Presidents/Headteachers; Senior Administrators; Teachers/Faculty; Communications/Marketing; School Counselors; Student Life; Extracurricular/Co-Academic Programs; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Practitioners

The Impact of Structured Collaboration on Writing Confidence and Ability
Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education Research Presentation
Research shows that student competence in producing academic text is declining. Learn how girls in their final year of schooling harnessed a collaborative approach to build their confidence and skill set in writing. This session will focus on how thinking routines and structured approaches to writing led to improvements in student confidence and willingness to engage in writing.

Presenters: Natasha Isbel, Dean of Research & Practice and Social Sciences Teacher | Wenona School (Australia); Isobel Barczyk, Assistant Head of English | Baradene College of the Sacred Heart (New Zealand)

Beyond the Curriculum: Collaboration in Student-led Initiatives
Global Action Research Collaborative on Girls’ Education Research Presentation
Collaboration outside of the classroom walls demonstrates an increased level of agency and empowerment in student-led initiatives. Learn how two schools developed frameworks that elevated secondary and high school girls’ ability to collaborate productively, joyfully, and in settings that provided opportunities for individual and collective growth. This session will focus on how thinking beyond the curriculum encourages healthy risk-taking for girls as researchers and innovative problem-solvers, together.

Presenters: Paige North, Director, SPIRITUS Scholars Program; Educator, Global Goals Program | St Paul’s School for Girls (United States); Sophie Sissons, Head of Geography, School Consultant Teacher for Teaching and Learning | Oxford High School (United Kingdom)