Student Standouts: Carpenter ’24, Enyard ’24, Schukar ’24, Green ’25, Sanders ’27, Jan ’25, Katyal ’25, Leyland ’25, Nacke ’25, Cox-Garleanu ’26, Gilbert ’26, Cai ’27, Oliver ’25, Poojari ’25, and Field Hockey Students
Faculty Feature: 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.
Senior Featured in Post Article about Upcoming Boys Lacrosse Season
Willy Carpenter ’24 is featured in an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, talking about the upcoming MICDS Boys Lacrosse season. The article showcases Carpenter’s leadership on and off the field as one of the team’s captains as well as the MICDS Senior Class President, while highlighting his motivation for the season.
Two Students Make the STL Metro Top 25 for Football
Congratulations to MICDS seniors Davis Schukar ’24 and Carter Enyard ’24 for being selected for the STL Metro Top 25 by the National Football Foundation Tom Lombardo Chapter. They will be recognized at a banquet later this spring. Incredible job, Davis and Carter! This is the second year in a row that some of our Rams have made this Top 25 list. Go Rams!
Two Track & Field Athletes to Race at New Balance Nationals
Two of our incredible track and field student-athletes are headed to the New Balance Indoor Nationals! Congratulations to Nicole Green ’25 and Justyce Sanders ’27! Please show support and tune in on Friday, March 8 to support Justyce as she runs in the 400m. Then tune in on Sunday, March 10 to watch Nicole compete in the triple jump. Here is the link for the live broadcast. Good luck to both Rams!
Junior Receives Global Citizen Scholarship
Ryan Jan ’25 was just awarded the Kevin Cessna-Buscemi Global Citizen Scholarship to study in Concordia Language Villages this summer. The scholarship covers the cost for the week-long immersion program. Upon receiving the scholarship, Ryan shared, “I look forward to meeting like-minded people who want to improve their Spanish-speaking abilities and I look forward to visiting Minnesota.” ¡Felicidades, Ryan!
Ram is a Top 10 Finalist through Academy of Science Program
Congratulations to Abhinav Katyal ’25 who was one of the 10 Greater St. Louis Science Fair Honors Division finalists! The Greater St. Louis Science Fair Honors Division, run by the St. Louis Academy of Science, is open to any high schooler science fair project in St. Louis and selects the best projects for further review and presentation at Webster University.
“I had the honor of being one of the top 10 finalists selected this year and attended the Finalists Event at Webster University on February 24,” shares Abhinav. “I had 10 minutes to present my research project, ‘Be-leaf In The Scientific Method: The Efficacy of Antifungal Plant Defensins In Containing The Spread of Botrytis Cinerea In Leaf Clusters,’ to a panel of STEM experts and answer any follow-up questions afterward.”
The top two presentations were selected to represent St. Louis at ISEF (International Science and Engineering Fair), and also receive a $1,500 MOST scholarship respectively, while 3rd place received a $1,000 MOST scholarship. Abhinav received a $500 MOST Scholarship which means he ranked somewhere between 4th and 10th. That money will be used for his future STEM studies.
Abhinav reflects, “It was very fulfilling to see my research work with the Danforth Plant Science Center be recognized in this manner, and all in all, I hope to use this recognition to further fuel my STEM endeavors and further my research passion.” We ‘be-lief’ in your work, Abhinav! Congratulations!
The Artwork of Five Rams Exhibits in Young Artists Showcase
The following standout is being re-run due to the omission of one student and their artwork. Congratulations to all five students included in the at the Young Artists Showcase!
Congratulations to the following Rams whose work was accepted to a St. Louis Artists Guild Show this year: Emily Leyland ’25, Ben Nacke ’25, Isabelle Cox-Garleanu ’26, Layla Gilbert ’26, and Catherine Cai ’27. Their work was selected by Juror Nancy Grimes for the Young Artists Showcase 2024! The selection process was highly competitive with over 400 pieces being submitted.
Visit the gallery now through March 30. The gallery is located at 12 North Jackson Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri 63105. Congratulations, young Ram artists!
12 Field Hockey Stars Make NFHCA All-Academic Squad
- Ella Brauer ’24
- Ellie Coverdell ’24
- Alana Doherty ’24
- Ella Etherington ’24
- Maggie Gonzalez-Navarrine ’24
- Addison Koontz ’24
- Naya Mitra ’24
- Virginia Portell ’24
- Rebecca Sennaraj ’24
- Sophia Goodwin ’25
- Victoria Neill ’25
- Hattie Sloane ’25
Way to go, Rams!
Junior Dubbed Lacrosse Player to Watch
Henry Oliver ’25 is listed as a Boys Lacrosse Player to Watch by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He was a first-team all-state defender for Class 2 last spring and he ranked 12th among area players last season as well. We can’t wait to cheer him on with the full Lacrosse team this season!
Poojari ‘25 Presents to Over 13,000 Attendees at Missouri Health Care Career Day Program
Amisha Poojari ’25, Missouri HOSA State President-Elect, recently presented at the Annual Missouri Health Care Career Day program held on February 23. She presented to an audience of over 13,000+ attendees from all over 31+ states across the nation.
Missouri Chamber Foundation and Missouri Hospital Association partnered once again to host the 3rd Annual Missouri Health Care Career Day program. The program took student attendees virtually inside Missouri hospitals to learn about the hottest careers in health care and engage in real-world learning. This year, front-line professionals included experts on topics including Behavioral Health, Lab, Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine, Radiology, Respiratory Therapy, Pharmacy, Home Health Care, Dentistry, and Emergency Medicine.
Poojari was invited to present on behalf of Missouri HOSA as this year’s closing remarks speaker! Poojari adds, “After an exciting day of hearing healthcare professionals speak on their own experiences navigating within their fields, I thought it was really special to be able to speak for Missouri HOSA. There’s so much students can do even as middle and high schoolers as long as they want to be involved. Opportunities for service, education, collaboration, and experiences are always around us. HOSA has been a very valuable part of my high school journey and sharing what I’ve learned these last few years has been really amazing. It was also my first experience joining the production team’s shoot in their Clayton studio which was really cool!” Check out her recording here and below!
Way to go, Amisha!
Faculty Feature: Elizabeth Helfant Earns ATLIS Pillar Award
A BIG congratulations to our very own Elizabeth Helfant, Dean of Curriculum and Instruction, for being selected as a recipient of the ATLIS (Association of Technology Leaders in Independent Schools) Pillar Award! Established in 2018, the ATLIS Pillar Award program recognizes those often unsung heroes who exemplify the ATLIS mission — to empower schools to thrive through technology leadership. From the ATLIS website: Helfant has contributed through her thought leadership, volunteerism, mentorship, and support of the ATLIS community. Her body of work has made a significant impact on ATLIS and the entire community of technology leaders in independent schools.
“So often, technology leaders work quietly in the background of our schools, making sure our communities remain safe and creating special, impactful moments in our students’ independent school experiences,” said Denise Musselwhite, ATLIS board chair and founder of Tech & Thrive, a leadership consulting firm.
Upon receiving the award, Helfant shared, “The previous Pillar Award winners are folks who have been my mentors and thinking partners, and I am humbled to be included in that group.”
Here is Helfant’s bio as shared by ATLIS:
Following graduation from Davidson College in 1984, Helfant began her career in education teaching chemistry, physics, and mathematics. She has been in education for 34 years, 23 of which have been at MICDS. She played an integral role in implementing a 1-to-1 tablet program in grades 7–12 at MICDS. She recognized that proper use of technology to advance learning required shifts in pedagogy and assessment and helped MICDS look more deeply at the strategies being utilized in the classroom.
Helfant has presented at numerous conferences, including the International Society for Technology in Education, American School of Bombay (ASB) Unplugged, the Lausanne Laptop Institute, and Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools. She presents on a wide range of topics, including exploring best practices in assessment, teaching skills with technology, using brain research in the classroom, and designing student-centered curriculum, engagement strategies, design thinking, and STEM education.
Helfant is also well-versed in designing and delivering professional development for faculty and connecting it to faculty growth aligned to either Danielson’s or Marzano’s frameworks. She has worked as a consultant for the past 15 years with Educational Collaborators and Consilience Learning, providing workshops and conducting school audits. Her past work also includes teaching online courses for ASB, the Online School for Girls, and Global Online Academy.
Congratulations!