RE Log - Spring 2020

On Campus A Meaningful Exchange Students from Ransom Everglades and Booker T. share experiences, friendships St. Alban’s Day The longtime holiday tradition brightens both campuses During the annual weeklong exchange between Ransom Everglades School and Booker T. Washington Senior High, students from both schools wel- comed their partners from across town, step- ping out of their com- fort zones to look at school life from a new vantage point. The student ambassadors attended classes together, shared stories and laughs, and built friendships. Twenty-four students, all juniors and seniors, participated from the schools, each pairing up with a peer on the other campus. Half of the students remained on their home campus, the rest traveled across town; all accompanied their part- ners to classes and other activities. RE students enjoyed BTW's state-of-the-art Space Place Planetarium. BTW students More than 450 children from local schools visited Ransom Everglades for the annual holiday carnival known as St. Alban’s Day, enjoying train rides, visits with Santa, face painting, snow dissected pigs with their partners in Dr. Claudia Ochatt’s biol- ogy class. "I was new this year, so I know how scary it can be to walk into a new place," said Valeria Solorzano ’21 , who hosted a BTW student at RE. "I introduced [my partner] to everyone – my friends, the teachers when we walked into class. I wanted to make the transi- tion as smooth as possible. I wanted her to have a good time and feel welcome." Mateo Jolivert ’21 traveled daily to Booker T. Washington. "Everyone was super-warm," he said. "It was a really dif- ferent environment, but the differences only highlighted our similarities. We are all students striving for the same types of things. We all have goals, want to go to college. We have many of the same interests. It's been a great experience." RE's Director of Inclusion and Community Engagement Carla Hill, Head of the Upper School Patricia Sasser and faculty member Jeannine Lehr helped ensure the week ran smoothly. The exchange, in its seventh year between RE and BTW, originated as an exchange between Ransom Everglades and Miami Northwestern Senior High. Ransom Everglades and Booker T. Washington are each historically signifi- cant in Miami; RE was founded in 1903; Booker T. Washington was founded in 1926 – it was the first high school for black students in the city. The students enjoyed a concluding dinner with faculty and families on Jan. 23, 2020, in the RE upper school dining hall. “When you're spending every second of the day with a person, you really get to know them,” Solorzano said. “It creates a special bond. For sure, I made a friend.” machines and much more on both cam- puses on Dec. 6, 2019. Some 300 chil- dren from five schools spent the morning at the middle school while about 160 kids from St. Alban’s Child Enrichment Center visited the upper school. The traditional RE winterfest was organized at the upper school by the sophomore class under the direction of faculty member Jenny Carson ’03 . At the middle school, the Student Government Association took the lead with assistance from faculty members Pete DiPace, Ali Fisher and Frances Alexander. SGA reps Lauren Zanarini ’22, Mather Davidson ’22, Dillan Kaye ’22, Shang Wang ’22, Erick Gross ’24, Francisco Gomez Rivas Vazquez ’24 and Mackenzie Buckner ’24 were instrumental in shaping the day. At the upper school, Santa arrived on a City of Miami fire truck; a train circled the entry loop; and each sophomore advisory ran a carnival booth – one of which included snow for the first time. The Science National Honor Society and the robotics teams hosted STEM booths; Matt Acosta ’22 stood in for Santa in the Pagoda; the dance team and RE Singers performed. Head of School Penny Townsend’s advisory made sure that each campus guest went home with a backpack that included two storybooks and a preschool workbook. At the middle school, children from Centro Mater, Phillis Wheatley, Tucker, Santa Clara and Holmes kindergarten or pre-K classes each received a gift bag and many enjoyed visits with Santa, train rides, a petting zoo, snowfall and more. Isabel Chong ’24, Alexander Fernandez-Andrew ’24, Isaac Sokol ’24 and Raines Knight ’24 stood in for Santa, and Jake Perdigon ’24, Diana Gonzalez ’24, Jaerla Sajous ’25 and Kate Khvorostriana ’25 offered extensive assistance. 36 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2020