Student Standouts and Faculty Feature for October 27, 2023

Senior is a High School Athlete of the Week

Senior Rachel Li ’24 was declared a High School Athlete of the Week this past week for earning her first Tennis State Championship. She won the Class 2 girls singles title, the first in 21 years for an MICDS girls player. Way to go, Rachel!

Middle School Field Hockey Athletes Earn 1st Place

More Gold Medals for Rising Field Hockey Stars

At the Pumpkin Classic Field Hockey Tournament in Lake Forest, Illinois last weekend, Avery Brunt ’32, Analea Linneman ’32, JoJo Mackin ’32, Annie Mileusnic ’32, and Blair Cabbabe ’31 played for Gateway U10 Red, winning gold medals in the top U10 bracket. Gateway U10 Red had an impressive performance, allowing no goals against in this tournament and for their entire season. Linneman played on her birthday and had the championship game-winning goal to secure the tournament win over Windy City for a final score of 1-0. Every MICDS student on the team contributed at least one goal towards their total of 21 for the tournament. The future of MICDS field hockey is bright! Congratulations to these 4th and 5th-grade students on their impressive win over teams from around the Midwest and Texas. Many of our MICDS students participated in the U10, U12, and U14 divisions. Congratulations to all on a stellar performance and on representing our school well!

PRs Galore for Half of Boys Cross Country Team

The Boys Cross Country team’s racing continues to show all the hard work put in this season with half the team setting a personal record time for this year at last week’s Metro League Meet. Congratulations to Wyatt Dickherber ’24, Will Fendler ’26, Jacob Daus ’25, Forest Gong ’27, Alex McCarter ’25, Hale Foster ’25, Colin Martin ’25, Daniel Haas ’27, Lawrence Lee ’27,and Shrey Radhakrishnan ’27 for their well-deserved PRs. Good luck to the runners participating in the upcoming district meet! Go Rams!

Cyclocross Sweeps Podium

Last Sunday, the Rams Cyclocross team swept the podium once again at the Bubba Memorial Cyclocross Series at Bella Fountain Park. Ash Falk ‘26 raced to third place, Joe Intagliata ‘25 got second, and Connor Paine ’24 cycled to first (with a little help from his dog!). Way to go, Rams Cyclocross athletes!

Diving to 1st and 3rd Place

At the MICDS Invitational, MICDS divers did an excellent job! Congratulations to Oscar Sorkin ’25, who won the diving event with a score of 411.35, and to Daniel Kuhlman ’27, who took 3rd with 343.20. Go Rams!

Faculty Feature: Changa Bey Presents at Two Conferences

Our very own Changa Bey, Upper School History Teacher, presented at the Missouri Council for History Education Conference (MOCHE) at the beginning of the month. His session was entitled Thomas Jefferson’s Qur’an and Islam in Early America. Below is the description of the session he led:

Islam in America is often viewed in a contemporary context rather than historical. In this session, we will examine our Founding Fathers’ views of Islam and the role religions outside of Christianity played in shaping early American society and politics. The primary focus of the session will be on Thomas Jefferson and his 1734 edition of the Qur’an. While many scholars attribute the ownership of the Qur’an to Jefferson’s curiosity, it also reflects a profound disconnect in the fact that it is estimated that over 20% of enslaved Africans in America were Muslim. This session will work to unpack this irony and help participants understand the role of Islam in early America.

Bey also spoke at the Freedom to Teach Conference, “The Freedom to Teach: Confronting Complex Themes in Contested Spaces at Flagler College and Sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition.” He was a panelist that spoke to “How the Humanities Can Help Us Navigate Turbulent Times.”

Way to go, Mr. Bey!