Shelton Theatre Arts Department presents Shakespeare’s  classic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream October 25 – 28. 

Under the direction of Anné Hughes, Director of Fine Arts at Shelton, the mad-cap midnight adventure features a cast and crew of 50 students. From four runaway lovers caught in the middle of a dispute between the king and queen of the fairies, to amateur actors trying to rehearse a play, to the sprite Puck and his love potion intended to make the recipient fall for the first person seen upon imbibing … the stage is rife for things to go amiss.

Led by faculty member Clay Houston, students have entirely built the set, with assistance from volunteer crew members.  To build the set from scratch typically takes around 500 hours or more. 

Students reaped an extra benefit from this production by working with renowned director Rod Caspers, recently retired from The University of Texas at Austin.  Caspers conducted a two-day acting workshop with students October 13^th and 14^th, focusing on staging and character development techniques.  Currently Caspers is staging the new choral passion, considering Matthew Shepard, at Louisiana State University.  Prior to that he directed productions at numerous universities throughout the United States and staged such specials as the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Arena Tour.

Performances take place October 25, 26 and 28 at 7:00 pm in The Commons on Shelton’s campus, 15720 Hillcrest Road, Dallas, TX 75248. 

Come share the magic.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students (through grade 12). Tickets may be purchased online or at the door.  For more information or questions, please contact Anné Hughes (ahughes@shelton.org) or Debbie McCabe (dmccabe@shelton.org).

For more information about Shelton, visit www.shelton.org.  Many Shelton graduates extend their theatrical interests and talents in both college and career. 

Shelton School hosted the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce’s (NDCC) Education Committee September 26th.  The topic for the committee’s monthly meeting was How Schools Are Using Technology.  Tina Larson, Chris Brendel and Blair King, all members from Shelton’s technology team, demonstrated such uses as assistive technology, augmented reality, and computer programming through the use of robots.  Other topics included library media subscription databases, STEM education and more. Richardson ISD principal Henry Hall (Berkner High School) also gave an overview of his school’s uses of educational technology.

Shelton has been a member of the NDCC since 2002 and an active member of the Education Committee.

Coding, robotics, drones, and fun! Beginning this fall, Shelton School will team with Tech EdVentures to expand its computer science curriculum with comprehensive programming that will eventually touch students at every grade level, Pre-Primary (PP) through Grade 12.   Dallas-based Tech EdVentures offers a platform designed to cultivate technology skills through programs whose core competencies are:

1)  Problem-solving – developing solutions to real challenges

2)  Automation – writing computer code

3)  Collaboration – working effectively with peers

4)  Ethics – evaluating technology’s impact on individuals, groups and societies

Shelton first heard of Tech EdVentures through its board member Terri West, then a Shelton parent and a Texas Instruments (TI) executive.  West shared with Shelton Executive Director Suzanne Stell that TI was challenged to find enough Science / Technology / Engineering / Math (STEM)-qualified candidates for their job openings, and Stell replied that she was interested to expand computer literacy to Shelton’s younger students.    West put Stell in touch with Tech EdVentures, and from there, exploration of a collaboration began.  Shelton brought Tech EdVentures on board through after school activities beginning in the fall of 2016. The partnership now formally continues via a three-year initiative. For 2017 – 18, a curriculum pilot will focus on Grades PP – 5.  In 2018-19, Middle School and Upper School will be added.  In 2019 – 20, all grades will have completed revision and expansion.

“It’s no secret that everyone is clamoring for 21^st Century students grounded in the STEM approach,” says Suzanne Stell.  “We are excited to enrich Shelton’s current educational process and explore new approaches together with Tech EdVentures, particularly at our lower grade levels and interfacing with our Montessori approach.  We know our students will work in a world where technology is changing with exponential speed. We’ll be a dynamic duo in teaching to the future. ”

“Prowess in STEM opens doors to great colleges and great jobs, and research shows that the earlier students start, the more likely they are to develop a deep confidence in their own abilities with math, science and computer programming,” says West.  “Tech EdVentures makes STEM fun, and that’s a crucial step toward making students successful.”  

Says Tech EdVentures CEO Allen Selis, Ph.D. at a back-to-school in-service for Shelton staff and faculty, “ We’re going to be a branch grafted onto the tree of Shelton.  We plan to show and teach in partnership with Shelton, ultimately returning all leadership to Shelton at the end of our joint-venture learning process.” 

A Shelton team has worked with Dr. Selis and his associates to lay the groundwork for the three-year project.  Team members include:

Tina Larson, Director of Technology
Linda Kneese, Head of School
Christine Davis, Assistant Head of Upper Elementary
Blair King, Technology Advisor
Leigh Taylor, Faculty Member / STEM Instructor
Clare Stein, Faculty Member / STEM Instructor

Says Selis, “Engineering is a mindset.  We’ll be encouraging third-graders to take things apart, put them back together, and give them high-fives when they make a mistake and learn something from it.  We want to give children their voice in the world as they step outside boundaries and ask, ‘how?’ “

Says Head of School Linda Kneese, “Critical thinking skills are key to our students’ successes.  With Tech EdVentures, our talented students will have additional avenues to embrace computer science, and our teachers will be able to Engage, Enrich and Empower themselves and their students through this new joint-venture.”

“Tech EdVentures’ programming complements Shelton’s multisensory approach beautifully, and our students will thrive on the creative possibilities it offers,” says Stell. “The world and the workplace have changed dramatically, and we need to give our students better skills for adapting to their rapidly-changing future.  Many of those skills will be highly technical.”

Not everyone is on vacation at Shelton.  The school has extensive teacher training going on, summer school beginning in a week, and lots of building and maintenance work getting handled while there are fewer people on the campus.  On May 9th 12-month employees were recruited to help with inventory of The Corral, Shelton’s school store.  Pencils, mugs, key chains, spirit wear of every type, school supplies - you name it, and it was counted.  Kelly Van Den Handel from Shelton’s Business Office provided breakfast tacos to some 16 staff members who counted over 150 categories of items in The Corral.  The school store is managed during the school year by parent volunteers.  Many of the 12-month staff now have a deeper appreciation of what a job it is for volunteers to keep the store organized.  Spirit items are arriving daily for fall and back-to-school.

Shelton School & Evaluation Center is pleased to announce its valedictorian and salutatorian from the Class of 2017.

Harper McKenzie is the valedictorian. She served on the Viator yearbook staff for four years. She was also a part of the Film Club and a two-year member of National Honor Society, serving both organizations as secretary. Harper was the recipient of the Award of Excellence, Outstanding Freshman, Outstanding Sophomore, and the Peer Tribute Award. Outside of Shelton, Harper was a member of the Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas and participated in numerous writing workshops. 

Harper plans to major in creative writing at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts.

Jonathan Rodrigue is salutatorian. He received the Heart of a Giant (Nick Mentesana) Award in eighth grade.  He was voted Outstanding Freshman, received the Peer Tribute Award and was the recipient of the Award of Excellence.  He participated in Shelton’s annual Ethics Symposium.  Jonathan was a member of the National Honor society for three years and was on the A-Honor roll all four years of high school while taking an all honors curriculum.  His activities included varsity tennis, table tennis, playing the piano and being an avid “Words with Friends” aficionado.

Jonathan will attend The University of Texas at Dallas to obtain a Bachelor of Science degree in biology and subsequently pursue his aspirations to enter medical school.

Harper and Jonathan are two of 67 seniors graduating from Shelton on May 27, 2:00 pm, on Shelton's campus.