Student Standouts: Shelar ’26, Baseball, Boys Tennis, and Girls Track & Field
Faculty Features: Broberg, Campbell, Crowder, and Helfant
Congratulations to this week’s standouts below. Way to go #RamNation! And as always, if you have a story to share, please email weeklynews@micds.org.
Sophomore to Compete at State Speech & Debate Competition
Sophomore Yash Shelar ’26 will represent MICDS at the state-level Speech and Debate competition this month. He will compete in the Lincoln – Douglas style debate. According to Molly Beck, Ladue Speech and Debate Head coach and District Head, MICDS has never sent anyone to State in Debate. Please join us in cheering on Yash April 18-20! Go, Yash!
Baseball Continues Winning Streak
On Saturday, our baseball team defeated Bishop DuBourg 14-1. The game is recapped on MaxPreps here. Cameron Cooper ’25 is in the spotlight for his four runs and two stolen bases. Andrew Clifford ’24 is in the spotlight for his three runs and one stolen base. Also, Colin Hutton ’24 scored a run and got on base in three of his four plate appearances.
The MICDS Rams Baseball team is in an article on MaxPreps, which previewed their game against Burroughs on Tuesday. Through that game, our Rams continued their streak of wins this season with a victory over JBS, 9-4. MaxPreps recounts the game here, calling out pitchers Tyler Enyard ’25 and Andrew Clifford ’24. Also, Henry Cordes ’24 scored two runs and stole two bases, while Henry Clay ’24 scored one run and stole one base. Go, Rams Baseball!
A Strong Tournament Appearance for Boys Tennis
Congratulations to the MICDS Boys Tennis team who brought home the Metro League Championship this week!
The MICDS Boys Tennis team participated in the Metro League Tennis Tournament on Tuesday at Westminster Academy. The Rams had finalists in seven of the eight flights and championships at No. 3, 4, and 5 singles. Owen Kizer ’26 won at No. 3 over JBS. Max Padratzik ’27 and Louis Niemeyer ’24 won at No. 4 and 5 singles respectively over Burroughs as well. Padratzik at No. 4 and Niemeyer at No. 5 were then both victorious again. Jai Patel ’25 made it to the championship match although he was defeated.
Arjun Puri also won the #2 singles flight tournament and Abhi Madala ’26 won his singles flight at #8 singles. In doubles, we won doubles flights #2 (Arjun Puri ’25/Padratzik), #3 (Niemeyer/Armaan Chandak ’24), #5 (Dhruv Krishnan ’24/Amey Parwal ’27) and tied at #1 (Patel/Kizer). Go Rams!
Two New Records Set by Girls Track & Field Runners
At the Skippy Keefer Track & Field Relays on April 6, two school records were broken! Justyce Sanders ’27, Nicole Green ’25, Morgan Macam ’26, and Grace Coppel ’25 broke the school record in the 1600M Sprint Medley with a time of 4:30.10. The previous school record was 4:39.02 set in 2017.
Narya Phatak ’26, Grace Coppel ’25, Justyce Sanders ’27, and Frances Applegate ’27 broke the school record in the 4000M Distance Medley with a time of 13:00.20. The previous school record was 13:07.56 set by Lexi Walsh ’17, Krysten Holmes ’19, Palmer Mihalevich ’20, and Colleen Sliney ’17 in 2017.
Way to run, Rams!
Broberg Presents at Conference
Diane Broberg, JK-12 Math Department Chair, was one of four MICDS faculty members who recently presented at the Summit for Transformative Learning conference hosted by Woodward Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. She presented two workshops.
Her first workshop, “Building Thinking Classrooms,” was created to help teachers design ways for students to engage in mathematical thinking. It is based on the book by the same name that was written by Peter Liljedahl.
Her second workshop, “Engaging Students with TI Technology – Using the NSpire & Navigator,” was designed to introduce teachers to the features of the TI Navigator to engage students in math class. They explored data collection and distribution along with formative assessment.
“It’s always rewarding to return from a presentation to emails from participants who are excited to use what they have learned,” Broberg shared. “Several participants sent messages about their Wednesday lessons and how they used activities that we had done together on Tuesday.”
Two Faculty Members Present on Learning Through Authentic Thematic Units
At the same conference, the Summit for Transformative Learning in Atlanta, Georgia, First Grade Homeroom Teacher Robin Campbell and Lower School Literacy Coordinator Liz Crowder gave a presentation called “Learning Through Authentic Thematic Units.” Their session was described as follows:
Thematic units incorporating literacy, math, science, and art are powerful tools for creating engaging, authentic, student-centered learning experiences. These units can effectively build curiosity in students and allow them to explore a topic across various subjects while also providing ample opportunities for students to demonstrate their knowledge of a topic and make meaningful connections across different areas of study.
“The feedback Liz and I received from the class participants was overwhelmingly positive and truly validated that the work we are doing with our Lower School is of the highest quality,” reflects Ms. Campbell. “Several participants commented that the activities we shared seemed engaging and thought-provoking, and they were extremely excited to try the activities with their students.”
Thank you for sharing your best wisdom with fellow educators!
Elizabeth Helfant Receives ATLIS Pillar Award
This week, Elizabeth Helfant, Dean of Curriculum & Instruction, was formally recognized as a recipient of the ATLIS (Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools) Pillar Award! The ATLIS Pillar Award program recognizes those often unsung heroes who exemplify the ATLIS mission — to empower schools to thrive through technology leadership. Helfant was honored onstage and joined at the conference by MICDS employees Sudha Venkatachalam, Lynn Mittler, Stewart Crais, and Jason Ulrich.
Read more about this significant accomplishment in Faculty Features from March here (scroll down). A very BIG congratulations to you, Ms. Helfant! MICDS is so fortunate to have you!
