The Delphian School

2012-01-16T16:44:00.000-08:00

Because of the individualized nature of the Delphian Program, students may complete the last Form in the program (Form 8) at any time during the school year. Below are our two most recent graduates (the final grads of 2011!)

The Delphian School Congratulates:

Bart Springer, Form 8 graduate, December 9th, 2011!!!!

Savana St. Aubin, Form 8 Graduate on December 12, 2011!!!

Congratulations to Gabe Marrazzo, our final graduate of 2011 on December 13th!!!

You can see from the photos above that when a student completes the Form 8 program, the entire school gathers to witness the announcement and hear the newest graduate speak. Families of the graduate often try to be in attendance as well.

While all the students are recognized as a group at Commencement in June, finishing Form 8 is a momentous and individualized event specifically held with the intent of giving each grad his or her moment in the spotlight and allowing them to share what their journey through the Delphi program was like for them.

Click here to request information about Delphian School or to schedule a visit.

More Good News - Educational Models Based on Proficiency, Personalization, and Individual Growth

2011-12-19T07:38:00.001-08:00

Oregon State Superintendent of Schools Susan Castillo just sent out a report about recent state-wide test results. In her cover letter she wrote, “Education in Oregon, and around the country, has changed dramatically in the past ten years. We are increasing expectations from elementary through high school to ensure all of our students graduate ready for college and career...We are implementing educational models based on proficiency, personalization, and individual growth.”

In my last blog, I discussed the new report calling for replacing seat time with competency. It outlined state efforts and state plans to bring proficiency-based education into more public school systems and expand it where it exists. It envisions “vibrant education system where all of our children experience the joys of learning.”

The article about the report is worthy of note. “We are proposing what amounts to a vital change in current methods of instruction and measurement so that students can move ahead when they demonstrate knowledge,” said Susan Patrick, co-author of the report... “Unfortunately, many states and school districts are still handcuffed by rigid regulations that prevent them from moving toward the student-centered, performance-based approach.”

To repeat:

“Unfortunately, many states and school districts are still handcuffed by rigid regulations that prevent them from moving toward the student-centered, performance-based approach.”

Later from the article:

“Successful implementation of competency-based standards not only will help students have a positive experience with learning, but also will “increase [the nation's] productivity” by decreasing the dropout rate and closing the achievement gap, the report argues.

“With approximately $600 billion spent annually in the U.S. on K-12 education, why wouldn’t we want to create incentives for our schools so that every dollar going to fund education was based on students’ outcomes, performance, and growth in learning toward world-class expectations, rather than on seat time?” the authors ask. “What would it take to unleash innovation to allow practitioners, educators, and administrators to create competency-based pathways of learning for each student, regardless of where or how long they sit?”

“As one participant in the ...forum expressed: “The problem is quite simple—we are measuring the wrong end of the student, related to learning.”

Get it...(smile) [If not, just keep re-reading it!]

Click here to learn more.

SCRAP'ing with the Elementary School

2011-12-16T10:33:00.001-08:00

The Delphian Elementary School went on a very exciting field trip recently to SCRAP in Portland, Oregon. SCRAP stands for School Community Reuse Action Project. SCRAP was started by a group of school teachers who all had the same goal to inspire creative reuse and environmentally sustainable behavior by providing educational programs and affordable materials to the community. SCRAP collects donations of things people don’t need anymore and classifies them so other people can find and buy them for their projects. The Delphian School students toured the entire SCRAP operation and even got to tour the warehouse. They were also able to buy recycled materials that they could then use to build or make new things. Student Chloe Rodgers bought different kinds of fabric to make a shawl. The next day she came to school with her shawl made from only the recycled materials from SCRAP. She said, “I loved this trip so much and I can’t wait to go back to get more things for more projects!” Elementary School Supervisor Javier Montalvo said, “The students loved this trip to SCRAP because it got them thinking about how something new could be made by recycling something old and how that could greatly help the environment.” Article written by Upper School Student Ivana Montalvo Editor's Note: This article is part of a series researched and written by Delphian School students. Each student's educational program involves real-world application of what they learn in the classroom. Learn more about this aspect of the unique education offered at Delphian.

Encouraging Community

2011-12-12T09:03:00.001-08:00

As Delphian encourages community participation from the entire student body, Delphian Scholl students participate a Community Service Day twice a year - once in the fall and once in the spring. This is a day when the entie school reaches out into the local community to help others and give back to their surroundings.

For this term's service day, participating Upper school students were divided into seven groups. Each group went to one of several selected volunteer areas: Natural Connections, St. Vincent de Paul donations center, Dear Meadow Retirement Community, the Sheridan Public Library, West Hills Center, McMinnville Public Library, Habitat for Humanity, and the Gospel Mission Shelter.

“Students take more responsibility for their community and natural environment after they participate in the Community Service day," said Zachary Prescod, the student who was in charge of organizing and coordinating this activity. "By participating in Delphian School's Community Service day, students can spend their time doing something meaningful for others. It’s really our pleasure to support our local community.”

Editor's Note: This article is part of a series researched and written by Delphian School students. Each student's educational program involves real-world application of what they learn in the classroom. Learn more about this aspect of the unique education offered at Delphian.

Click here to learn more.

Art & Education

2011-12-06T07:27:00.001-08:00

This year finds me once again here at Delphian School, but this time on Form 7. That's approximately equivalent to 11th grade, except we don't have grades here—we have Forms, of which there are only eight (Form 6 through Form 8 are in the Upper School), because you do so much more in a Form than you could in a grade.

In my opinion a grade is just another step in building our academic requirements so that we can hurry up and get out of high school. A Form is much more challenging. You gain practical abilities, leadership and communication skills in addition to academic knowledge. I've said before that I've always felt I was mature, but I've matured the most and become much more intellectual in my three years at Delphian. Each Form (especially the Upper School Forms 6, 7 and 8) is in a sense its own journey.

For a long time I've held Form 7 in a very high regard, although I know that Form 8 is amazing, too. I've wanted to be on Form 7 for a while and now I am! I'm on the first course, which is actually a course called Education, and I actually think it's the most interesting thing I've ever studied—or at least it's pretty up there. The course tells you about the history and philosophy of education, how it came to be practiced the way it is today, and it helps you sort out how you should really treat children and teach them: as self-determined individuals.

Also, I'm studying guitar, yoga and art in the afternoons and those are all very fun. I feel I'm really improving in these areas. And of course, how could I forget? Art Seminar. By far my absolute favorite engagement in all of my Delphian history. Last week I actually woke up every morning thinking that day was Wednesday (which is when Art Seminar is held) and then I had to remind myself that it was only Monday or Tuesday. If you've read some other things I've written, you already know that I'm an art fanatic. But in Art Seminar we don't learn technique or talk history or study anything in particular actually. We talk about things like: "what is art really?" and we learn how much we really can create and do. Our abilities are endless. I don't just learn about art in Art Seminar; I learn about life.

Best,

Rae

Click here to learn more

Varsity Choir at George Fox Choir Symposium

2011-11-09T06:59:00.001-08:00

The Delphian School Varsity Choir participated in the George Fox University Fall Choir Symposium last Saturday. Four choirs participated in the morning session and four in the afternoon. Delphian was in the morning session and did a warm up together with all the other groups. Then the students went into a sight reading session with Steve Peter, a highly regarded Portland High School choir director. Mr. Peter went over the choir's knowledge of certain concepts, and then had them do some drilling with a focus on getting better at conceptualizing the music in their heads before they read it.

Then back to the auditorium where the students worked personally with GFU director, Loren Wenz. He worked with the choir on team building in their sections. Each section then worked out goals for themselves and for the choir. This was followed by a fun game where the choir arranged themselves by birthday order—without being able to talk.

The highlight of the day was Delphian’s performance followed by a clinic by Dr. Rodney Eichenberger. Dr. Eichenberger, who resides in Florida but has ties to the Northwest, is an international figure in choral music. Often considered a "choir guru," he spent over 50 years researching and demonstrating the relationship of the conductor's gesture to choral sound, and he worked with Delphian Choir Director Craig Bader and the choir in better understanding that relationship. Craig and the students had a great time working with him. The choir also had the benefit of another classroom lesson where the choir was coached on vocal technique by a member of the George Fox faculty. The students asked questions and then practiced the ideas presented as answers to those questions. The session closed with a very nice concert by the George Fox Concert Choir.

Click here to learn more.

Chemistry and Halloween

2011-10-31T08:09:00.001-07:00

Hi! I went home for the weekend last week. It was so much fun. I got to see my parents, we had Persian food, celebrated my niece's birthday and watched a lot of movies. It felt great to be with my family again. I love them!

I started studying chemistry, and I love it. I never thought I'd say that. I have been terrified of chemistry ever since 7th grade—let's just say I didn't do too well in that subject in my other school. But it is now one of my favorite subjects. I now know why water is called H2O! I like understanding why things are the way they are.

Halloween is coming up this week. It is one of my favorite holidays. I'm going to be a Southern Belle! I better start practicing my accent. I'll keep every one updated on how my costume works out.

Until then, bye!

-Sarah

Click here to read more.

Through the Eyes of Students

2011-10-24T12:23:00.001-07:00

Click here for more info.

Delphian School visits Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland

2011-10-17T07:32:00.001-07:00

The last weekend in September saw many Upper School students participating in Community Sevice, an activity organized by the Upper School Student Council, in which Delphian School students head out into the local area to assist with park cleanup and other volunteer efforts. However, a small group of students visited Ashland, Oregon to take in two plays as part of Ashland's nationally acclaimed Oregon Shakespeare Festival.

Early Saturday morning, the participating students drove to the lovely town of Ashland, in southern Oregon, where they were able to spend time shopping at eating at the town's many upscale shops and restaurants. After dinner, the students enjoyed listening to a local band play before they headed out to the first show, Gilbert & Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance, the famous comedic operetta about a man who was an apprentice to a pirate.

The next morning, the students rose with excitement at the day's first event: a backstage tour at OSF. One of the Shakespearean actors took the Delphian School students on an intimate tour of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival theatres, from the Elizabethan Stage through to their many other theaters. The students learned how the different stages work, where and how the costumes are made, how the actors know when to go on stage—a wealth of insider information usually known only by the thespians themselves! The Delphian students and chaperones enjoyed the tour immensely, and they headed to the day's matinee in good humor.

The second OSF show enjoyed by all was The African Company Presents Richard III, a drama about an African American theatre company in pre-Civil War New York, which was performing Richard III at the same time as New York's premiere theatre company. The play challenged the students with the question, who owns Shakespeare's words?

Overall, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival trip was a huge hit with the Delphian School students. All who attended enjoyed themselves immensely and learned much more about the theater world than ever expected.

Article researched and written by Form 7 student Meagan Fowler-Platt

Delphian and My Success

2011-10-10T11:06:00.001-07:00

When I was asked to contribute to this blog and talk about how my Delphian education has helped me in my career and life, I thought, "Wow, where do I start?" I mean, how can I fit into one small blog post all of the amazing things that have come my way as a result of being taught to be hardworking, professional, trustworthy and an independent learner?

Well, let's start with my career. Basically, I'm doing EXACTLY what I want to be doing. I have a successful custom portraiture business specializing in outdoor, natural light photography of children and families. I get to make money playing with kids in fields and taking their picture at the same time (pinch me!). I decided a few years ago that I was going to follow my dream and actually make a decent living doing it. There were naysayers as there always seem to be when one sets out to do something they've dreamed of doing. They said that I wouldn't make enough money; they said that I was trying to do something thousands of others had attempted and failed at; some even said that it was a stupid decision and I should go back to an administrative job. I didn't agree.

That's when my Delphian education stepped in. The first part was self-determinism and self-confidence. I knew what I wanted, and I believed in myself strongly enough to know, without a shred of doubt, that I was going to start my business and make it successful. The second part came with the ability to do my own research and teach myself. I learned this from the independent study program at Delphian. We had to take ourselves through our own courses and lessons—no one else was going to do it for us.

The third part was the ability to work really, really hard and be a trustworthy, professional business person. I would guess that this is where people usually fall on their face when starting a business. They don't realize exactly how much work it's going to take and, when things don't go quite as they planned, they back off and fail to persist through the dips. Any Delphian graduate can tell you that they only got through the program because they worked really hard, did top-notch work and persisted to the end of the program. That experience, in itself, has been invaluable.

I'm honored to be sharing a piece of my story with you here and I'm so very thankful to my parents for doing what it took to send me to Delphian. Would I send my own kids there? In a heartbeat.

Jill Carmel, Class of '99
Photographer/Owner
www.jillcarmel.com
www.jillcarmel.com/blog

Click here to visit Delphian School's website.

The Nature Trail - A New And Exciting Addition To Delphian's Campus!

2011-09-26T07:27:00.001-07:00

Great news for nature lovers! Thanks to lots of student work, a new mile-long nature trail on campus is now available for everyone to enjoy. Class of 2011 graduate Elizabeth Strickland organized and ran the project as part of her honors program, including supervising 14 fellow students as they worked to restore the trail.

Although much of Delphian School's 800-acre campus is forest land, without a nearby trail, it was hard for students to get out and enjoy the beautiful northwest woods so close outside their door.

Dr. Jay Nunley, Delphian’s Science Curriculum Development Specialist, helped Elizabeth solve this problem. He helped organize nature specialists to work with Elizabeth and the other students. One specialist who helped was Bill Wood, a professional forester who manages Magnus Tree Farm near Sherwood, Oregon. Mr. Wood inspected the trail grounds and helped work out a plan for restoring the trail.

Click here to continue reading.

Back to Business

2011-09-19T07:53:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone!

This year is my senior year! I'm very excited to see what's going to happen. There are so many things happening right now that I don't know where to start. For one, soccer season started again. I'm a Team Captain this year with my friend, Cody Seymour. We have a lot of potential and we are a very skilled and fast-pased team. Cody and I have been planning the season out game by game. We're certain there's a big possibility that we'll make States and even win it. I'll be letting you know about that as we progress through the year.

Also, since this is my senior year, I've been focusing a lot on my future and what I am going to be doing after high school. The more I think about it, the more I realize how many options I have and the endless opportunities I have as I go through the Delphi Program.

I'll try to keep you posted as much as I can! :)

Cristian

Final Post from Kristel

2011-09-12T09:29:00.001-07:00

Kristel wrote this success story for her graduation:

Delphian was incredible. I learned how to do things here that I never thought I could do. Most importantly, I learned how to find within myself things that were always there. I
discovered so many qualities and abilities that I have had for a long time; they were just hiding.

Everything to do with the Delphian School program, the ups and the downs, the good and bad moments, and everything else in between really molds you into the person you are at the end of the program.

I know now there is nothing stopping me from doing anything and everything I want to do. That is a very exciting thought.

Click here to learn more.

What If You Could Challenge Life?

2011-09-06T07:40:00.001-07:00

Content on this page requires Adobe Flash Player 10 or newer.

This video was filmed and produced by Delphian School students. Click here to learn more.

It's Good News, But There Is Something More To Talk About

2011-09-01T12:47:00.001-07:00

The headline in the June 23 issue of eSchoolNews reads: " ‘Instructional rounds’ approach flips classroom evaluations: New method from Harvard researchers analyzes school-wide trends by looking at how instruction is being received". WOW - that a great idea!!! I wish I'd thought of it....(smile)!

The story explains that "a new way of evaluating instruction—one that shifts the focus from the teacher to the students—is emerging. Called “instructional rounds,” the practice is based on the way doctors make their rounds in a teaching hospital, using facts rather than value judgments to determine the effectiveness of instruction." This approach "looks at how well kids are learning rather than how well the teacher is teaching", and it focuses on how teaching is received. Teachers like this approach.

Turns out that this approach has actually been used but not systematically or on a wide-scale basis. But more to the point, we should all be asking why these kinds of obvious improvements aren't more commonplace. Why is this story news? As I continue to ask, why aren't we doing what works and what makes sense? What are the barriers to real school improvement? Why do we keep foisting silly and unworkable new fads year after year onto our education system?

One way to find out is to visit a classroom and ask a teacher? The answers might surprise you.

Click here to learn more.

Replacing Seat Time with Competency - Now That's a Good Idea!

2011-09-01T12:38:00.001-07:00

In a recent blog, I mentioned two articles arriving in the same newsletter. Today I’ll take up the second article “Replace ‘seat time’ with competency, reports says”.

As must be apparent by now, I am an advocate of proficiency-based education, although these days it has many similar labels such as performance-based or competency-based or standards-based learning. When I started my advocacy almost 40 years ago, it was hard to get anyone to listen. Now there is so much is going on in the field of proficiency-based education that I can’t keep up with it. The news in this article is very exciting! It discusses a new report “Cracking the Code: Synchronizing Policy and Practice for Performance-Based Learning ” by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning...

Their site describes the report:

“The report sets a policy framework for advancing performance-based learning and builds on recommendations made during the 2011 Competency-Based Learning Summit ...earlier this year. The report recommends that states begin to transform policies from "rigid compliance" to "enabling policies," by offering seat-time waivers or "credit flex" policies that allow for the flexibility to offer competency-based learning in K-12...”

Wow! That is great!

The Executive Summary says the report’s goal is “to loosen the regulatory environment that is
handcuffing the administrators and educators who are ready to move toward student-centered, competency-based models of learning.”

Click here to continue reading.

Replacing Seat Time with Competency - Now That's a Good Idea!

2011-08-09T09:15:00.001-07:00

In a recent blog, I mentioned two articles arriving in the same newsletter. Today I’ll take up the second article “Replace ‘seat time’ with competency, reports says”.

Their site describes the report:

Wow! That is great!

Click here to continue reading.

Ending the Tyranny of the Lecture

2011-08-01T08:48:00.001-07:00

Today I read two articles in the same email newsletter. They were “hot”! In this blog, I’ll discuss the first article - Ending the ‘tyranny of the lecture’.

It features Harvard University physics professor Eric Mazur who thinks that “lecturing is an outdated—and largely ineffective—strategy for imparting knowledge.” The article said that he asked his audience to think of a skill they were good at, then tell how they got good at it. Not surprising, the lecture method never came up.

He thinks that we need to get past the transfer of information, and that students actually have “to do something with this information to make it stick...to actually assimilate it and take ownership of it, so they can apply this knowledge in a different context. If students can’t do that, he said, then they haven’t really learned anything.”

Hmm...this must sound familiar to anyone familiar with the Delphian School program. I love that others are catching on. This is very exciting.

Professor Mazur points out that schools and colleges focus on information transfer, “while leaving the critical second step—assimilation—to students outside of class”. As you read in an earlier blog about the Khan Academy, the flipped classroom is one approach being tried by many teachers, led by Salman Khan.

Click here to continue reading.

Flipping, Sal Khan & Khan Academy

2011-07-15T07:47:00.001-07:00

Sal Khan (and Bill Gates) get it. Lecturing classrooms of students from the front of the room is "old school" in every sense of the word! Students getting grades is "old school", and "C's" are unacceptable. You can learn about Khan's exciting work at www.khanacademy.org. I suggest starting with his March 2011 talk at ted.com (where you will also find a transcript). You won't be sorry!

You will find some parallels to the Delphian School program. Khan understands one basic of our program -- you don't go past a step until you've mastered it and you fully understand it. He doesn't mention the importance of mastering the meanings of words in what you read or hear, or the other elements of our approach, but it would certainly aid him in reaching and helping more students. He too objects to the current system of grades that leaves its students with an education filled with holes like Swiss cheese.

He advocates "removing the one-size-fits-all lecture from the classroom and letting students have a self-paced lecture at home". Students return to the classroom to do their work, with the teacher's help as needed, which is called "flipping" (doing your homework at school). He describes using technology to humanize the classroom, and actually having students interacting with each other. An environment familiar to Delphian students and parents, he describes a classroom where "every kid works at their own pace." He says, "When you talk about self-paced learning, it makes sense for everyone."

Readers who watch his video learn of the illogical things both Khan and Delphian see in the current system. Delphian students and families will see how our use of Mr. Hubbard's study technology addresses them more comprehensively than the Khan Academy does. Khan's students repeat a lecture until they get it, and redrill problems until mastered. He doesn't address the power of words and the effects of going past misunderstood words, nor the power of demonstrating what you study as you go along (not just after every 10 minute lecture). To his credit, he is doing fantastic things to help improve the education of the children of the world. Khan has great examples of illogical parts of the current system - such as going from bicycle riding to unicycle riding with a "C" in bicycle riding, and the system producing an education filled with holes like Swiss cheese.

I heartily agree with the his viewpoint on the problems students and families face, and I happily share the news of his success in overcoming some of these problems. Sure would like to have him visit Delphian!

Are you flipped?

Click here.

Mark Siegel's Thinking About Education

2011-07-14T08:03:00.001-07:00

The Power of Teachers Unions

Many people ask me about the power and influence of teachers unions. My friend Ron Reynolds heads up the California Association of Private School Organizations. In this week's Mid-Week Mailer he discused the upcoming national six-day event - the National Education Association's Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly. Without further comment, I quote the following from his newsletter:

"To obtain some sense of the political muscle possessed by the NEA and its state affiliates,take a quick look at this table showing revenue and staff information for 2008-09. In that year, combined revenues received by the NEA and its affiliates amounted to a staggering $1.5 billion dollars. That billion, with a "B." NEA headquarters in Washington, DC, employed a staff of 676 people. By way of comparison, although 10 percent of all students in grades K-12 receive their education in private schools, the Council for American Private Education maintains a staff of two.

The NEA's California state affiliate, the California Teachers Association, received nearly $179 million in dues revenue in 2008-09, and employed a staff of 597." [The Oregon Education Association received more than $22 million in the same year.]

Find your state on the list and ask yourself the same question.

Click here to learn more.

Give the Gift of Independence

2011-06-14T07:28:00.001-07:00

Empower current and future Delphian students.

A gift to Delphian is an investment in our students, in their future, and in the future of the School. Your generosity toward the new campus master plan makes projects including the new science lab, athletic facilities, and a new performing arts center possible. Your support of the endowment ensures that Delphian will continue to serve students for generations to come. It also provides scholarships that open our doors to bright students who may not otherwise have the opportunity to benefit from a Delphian education.

There are many ways to give to Delphian. Gifts to the Annual Fund, which is being established for 2011-2012, provide the budgetary support that enables the School to offer an unparalleled education. Gifts to the endowment and for the campus master plan allow Delphian to grow and further its mission. In-kind gifts of products or services provide opportunities that may not otherwise come to fruition.

Gifts may be made online; by cash, check, or credit card; via a bequest or planned gift; or through a gift of stock or securities. For details, please contact Marti Wiggins or April Ott in the Delphian Development Office.

We are fortunate to have such a committed Delphian community. Thank you all for your continued support.

Click here to visit our web page.

Community Service

2011-06-06T07:13:00.001-07:00

Delphi students are continually active in their community, participating in activities such as helping out at the local retirement home, cleaning up local parks and public areas or tutoring neighborhood students.

Each year, Delphi students are asked to sing Christmas carols at specific venues in Portland and McMinnville as well as to paint the background murals for the Mayor of McMinnville's annual gala charity ball. Our students are also regularly found tutoring in nearby elementary schools; their understanding of study basics gives them a unique advantage in helping other students resolve their own uncertainties in their materials.

Individuals and smalls groups of Delphi students have participated in more major community service activities such as building houses for Habitat for Humanity, participating in or contributing to charitable sporting events such as marathons or walk/runs, building facilities for impoverished people in Guatemala, and running educational seminars in rural Mississippi.

Delphi has received hundreds of letters from both the community and non-profit organizations thanking our students for the great work they've done.

Click here to learn more.

For me, Delphian means peace of mind

2011-05-12T12:46:00.000-07:00

"For me Delphian meant peace of mind. I knew that Delphian was taking care of my son in the best possible way on all levels and from all angles.

Technically, Delphian was able to expose our son to a huge variety of activities (such as photography, choir, drama, yoga and interscholastic sports). If I think about myself trying to do that - I can only imagine driving around for hours every day. At Delphian, everything is being offered under one roof, easy access to my son, great exposure and a lot of enhancement for him!

Academically, the school is challenging, demanding and provides an academic curriculum that is very comprehensive. Using the study method taught at Delphian, my son has been able to gain the academic knowledge that he needs as a basic educational foundation for a successful life."

Click here to learn more.

My children have the tools to succeed

2011-05-11T09:08:00.001-07:00

"I'm so happy both of my kids attended the Delphian School and graduated from it. I feel like I have accomplished something important. It's been challenging for us, and we had to overcome many barriers, but all has been worth it at the end.

The Delphi Program is incredible. My kids started from the beginning in preschool at the Delphi Academy in Florida. Then they went to the Delphian School. During the years that they were there, I never felt sad for not having them with me; I felt calm and happy. I knew they were in the best place, and they were so happy and doing so well. It's an awesome feeling for a parent not to worry about what their teenagers are doing in this world today.

As graduates they are masters of literacy and science, well versed in the arts and physical exercise. Most importantly, they can use reason and hold their position when faced with adversity. They can study anything or face any situation in life and handle it. They have become more "themselves" and have confidence in themselves. They have the tools to succeed in Life.

So up there, at the top as one of my life accomplishments is: Both of my kids received a full Delphian education and graduated from the Delphian School."

Click here to learn more.

About Delphi Schools

2011-05-05T11:52:00.001-07:00

Delphi Schools, Inc. (DSI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing education through effective primary, elementary and secondary schools. DSI licenses and provides quality control, marketing and oversight functions to schools in the Delphi Schools Network. Through Heron Books™, all the Delphi schools are furnished with a standardized curriculum, common teaching and administrative methods and a comprehensive curriculum training program that ensures consistency and effectiveness within the network.

While the Delphi Schools network includes seven schools across the country, our Oregon campus is the only boarding campus and the founding school of the Delphi Schools network.

Delphian School is registered with the Oregon Department of Education, is a member of the Oregon Federation of Independent Schools and a candidate member of the Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools. Delphian School is authorized under Federal Law to enroll non-immigrant alien students.

Click here for more info.

Delphian School Jazz Choir takes 2nd at Pleasant Hill Jazzfest

2011-04-27T08:47:00.001-07:00

On Saturday April 16th, the Delphian School Jazz Choir went to Pleasant Hill to participate in thePleasant Hill Jazz Festival.This is the largest school jazz festival in the state and one of the largest in the Pacific Northwest. Jazz bands and choirs from twenty-five high schools and fifteen middle schools from as far away as Idaho participate. Students attend clinics, watch the other groups perform, and are treated to a concert by a professional musician or group.

The choir performed very well at the preliminaries. The judges praised their energy and overall musicianship. Their director was very proud of them, as the group really stepped up and gave their best possible performance.

At the close of the concert, 3rd Place winners were announced as well as the top two schools in each division. Delphian competes in the division where the choir members have individual microphones and high school enrollment of roughly 1000 students or less. Delphian was announced as a finalist in their division, along with Silverton, a 5A school near Silver Falls.

At the finals the choir was required to perform a new song. The choir performed "Trashin' the Camp." Tenor Cristian Vargas stepped up to do some beat-boxing to add a little spice to the song. The group also performed "Stolen Moments" a jazz classic that featured solos from many of the choir members.

Finally the trophies were announced and Delphian was awarded 2nd Place. The choir overall was pleased to have made it that far in the competition with an inexperienced group against much larger schools.

The Delphi Program

2011-04-22T09:48:00.001-07:00

The Delphi Program is a unique, integrated approach to learning. Each high school graduate meets specific ability requirements, all encompassed within these general graduation requirements:

Graduates should have excellent language and communication skills, both oral and written, and be familiar with their cultural heritage through literature.
Graduates should be literate in mathematics as the language of science and technology and be computer literate.
Graduates should have a foundation in science and its applications adequate to permit them to participate causatively in the modern technological environment.
Graduates should have a usable understanding of the subjects of ethics, personal integrity and morals adequate to provide a foundation for their creation of their lives.
Graduates should have an understanding of history and the role of individuals in it adequate to enable them to analyze and evaluate current events and situations against the historical backdrop.
Graduates should be proficient students, and be able to be responsible for their further educations, and for the investigation and evaluation of data important to their lives.
Graduates should understand the basics of planning, and the interrelationship of leadership, responsibility and trust, as well as having competently held a position of trust and responsibility in a group.

The Delphi Program has been designed from the ground up to help students of any age prepare themselves for learning and life. The eight basic principles of the program lay out a fundamental philosophy. Very few things could be more important to a parent or a student than understanding a school's philosophy.

Click here to learn more.

Our Philosophy

2011-04-15T08:07:00.001-07:00

Within a close-knit community and lively campus environment, Delphian students are given highly personal attention from instructors, an individual academic program and a focus on demonstrated competence rather than memorization of facts or time spent in class. Students learn to not only understand what they study, but also to become competent in the use of logic and reason.

Delphian School’s mission is to empower young people with effective study skills, a solid academic foundation, a strong sense of personal integrity and a wide range of abilities.

More broadly, its mission is to send forth responsible, capable individuals who can help build a better world.

What does this mission mean in practice?

Click here to learn more.

Varsity Chess Team Takes 2nd at Oregon HS Championships

2011-04-08T07:59:00.001-07:00

Friday and Saturday, March 11th and 12th, the Delphian School Varsity Chess Team participated in the annual Oregon High School Chess Team Championships. This tournament requires schools to compete as five-player teams. The matches are set up with five chessboards along a table. The teams sit opposite each other, with the best players facing each other across board 1, the second-best players across board 2, and so on. Each individual game won is worth a point for the team; ties are worth a half point. Each team played matches against five different schools.

There were 38 teams from schools of all sizes and from all over the state vying for the title of Oregon chess team champion. Delphian, among the smallest schools in the group, was there with a varsity team led by senior Cody Malick. Delphian’s varsity chess team brought back the trophy for 2nd Place in the OSAA 2A schools. Malick’s teammates were 11th grader Ablai Abdrashitov, and three freshman—Jaime Jose Gonzalez, Michael Clarizio and Arthur Chang. Besides sharing in the team achievement, fourth board player Clarizio took home an individual award for earning the highest score of any 2A player at his position.

In the open team section of the tournament, which included teams composed of 6th-12th grade students, Delphian fielded a team composed solely of 7th and 8th graders: 8th graders Brett Horton, Charles Byrne and Korbin Springer and 7th graders Chad Platt and McKenna Swanberg. Not to be outdone by their older school mates, they won three out of five games and brought back their own 3rd Place trophy.

Click here to learn more.

Like no other school in the world

2011-03-30T09:02:00.001-07:00

Get to know Delphian.

Delphian School is an independent, coeducational day and boarding school located in Sheridan, Oregon. We offer a well-rounded academic program with a strong emphasis on practical learning for primary through high school students. Day students are accepted from age five, boarders from age eight. Additionally, Delphian offers a highly regarded English as a Second Language program.

A brief history.
Delphian was founded in the 1970s by a group of educators who shared a dream of transforming education. They felt that many conventional schools were failing too many bright students, and wanted to create a learning environment that held students to high standards in both academics and personal responsibility. Our goal is to empower our students to take responsibility for their education and their lives.

A unique learning environment.
Here, you won’t find teachers lecturing while students rotely take notes. You will find students actively engaged in learning. The Delphi Program is designed to help students relate what they’re learning to how they will use this information to succeed in life. You’ll find our students living their education from the moment they walk into our school. You’ll see lively one-on-one and small group discussions on works of literature or current events. You’ll see students creating clay models to explain a concept. A student giving a presentation on his apprenticeship experience or a topic he’s just researched. And students heading to the science lab or out into the world to test or explore a theory.

Our faculty excel at keeping students motivated and on track with their studies, and you can be assured that each student receives highly personal attention. Every student in our program is treated as an individual, and we seek to help each of them find their own purpose and use for their education.

Some things you have to see to believe. Delphian is one of them. Contact us to schedule a visit and experience Delphian for yourself.

Delphian School students help Habitat for Humanity Raise $22,000 for Local Projects

2011-03-24T10:50:00.001-07:00

There were thirty seven students involved with the Habitat for Humanity Run, Walk, Ride project this year, and they all assisted in some way. As soon as participating kids started pouring in, Delphian School students were on their toes and ready to help and have fun with everyone. Delphian School students also helped in the adult races helping with route guiding on the 5K and 10K runs.

Overall, and with Delphian's help, the McMinnville Habitat for Humanity event raised over $22,000 which can go toward funding local Habitat projects.

Click here to visit our website.

Come to our Open House & Spring Festival!

2011-03-11T07:17:00.001-08:00

Delphian School invites you to attend an Open House held during our annual Spring Music Festival and Art Bazaar on Thursday, March 17th. The Bazaar opens at 6pm and features fine art, pottery and crafts for sale and on display. The Music Festival begins at 7 p.m. and includes performances from Delphian's award-winning Jazz and Varsity choirs as well as instrumental solo performances. The Music Festival will be followed by a reception with St. Patrick’s Day treats. Tours of the school are available throughout the evening.

Bring the whole family and join the Delphian School community in celebrating the coming of Spring. For more information, to RSVP or to schedule a tour, contact the school at 503-843-3521 or email SueM@delphian.org.

Delphian Students Win at Chess for Success Regional Championships

2011-03-10T07:43:00.001-08:00

The Chess for Success regional championship chess tournament was held at the Delphian School in Sheridan on Saturday, January 29th. Eighty-three of the top K-12th grade chess players from Yamhill and Polk County came to compete for the honor of being awarded the title of Regional Chess Champion for their grade levels and qualifying to play in the State Championships. Only the top finishers of each grade will go on to the States at the Portland Convention Center in March.

Brian Bixler and John Bixler of McMinnville shared the duties of Tournament Director. Competition began at 9:30am with the tournament hall suddenly going quiet as the young warriors shook hands and began their silent battles over mastery of the boards. The tournament went very smoothly, and early in the afternoon the results began coming in.

Click here to continue reading.

Delphian School Robotics Team wins McMinville Qualifier, Competes at States

2011-02-25T07:11:00.001-08:00

For the second year in a row, the Delphian School’s robotics team made it to the First Lego League State Championship Tournament. The preparations began in September, when the team formed up and began designing and building their robot and planning strategy. First Lego League is composed of students aged 9-14 years who are using the Lego Mindstorm Robotics kits to build and program robots.

The qualifying tournament for the Yamhill County region was held at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville on December 5th. Delphian’s team (composed of four 8th graders, two 7th graders, two 5th graders, and one 4th grader) earned the highest overall score in the four categories of the competition. They took First Place and the right to advance to the state championships held at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, where they would face fifty-five of the top teams in Oregon.

Click here to read more.

Delphian School students help raise money at Mayor's Ball

2011-02-24T11:49:00.001-08:00

This past Saturday,February 5th, seven Delphian School students volunteered at the annual McMinville Mayor’s Ball fundraiser benefitting the Kids on the Block Program. As has been the case for the last several years, Delphian School students created the artwork and decorations for the Mayor's Ball, dedicating over a hundred hours of time towards this creation. Delphian School students also served food at the ball and helped behind the scenes, ensuring that the area operate efficiently.

The annual McMinnville Mayor's Ball is hosted in support of the Kids On The Block after school program. This program involves about eight hundred and sixty kids, which is one third of all the elementary students in the McMinnville and Lafayette school districts. Every year the Mayor’s Ball fundraiser helps ensure that the program remains open to all students.

Click here to continue reading.

Delphian School students help raise money at Mayor's Ball

2011-02-11T07:17:00.001-08:00

The annual McMinnville Mayor's Ball is hoted in support of the Kids On The Block after school program. This program involves about eight hundred and sixty kids, which is one third of all the elementary students in the McMinnville and Lafayette school districts. Every year the Mayor’s Ball fundraiser helps ensure that the program remains open to all students.

Click here to continua reading.

February 21st is Visiting Day!

2011-02-10T09:33:00.001-08:00

On Monday, February 21st, Delphian School is offering a "Visit Delphian Day" for prospective Lower, Elementary and Middle School students.

Visiting students will have a "buddy" from the class they visit and will spend the day with their buddy participating in the various activities. During the day the visiting students will attend class, work in the science lab if they are interested and even participate in elective afternoon classes like music, art, pottery, woodshop, and other classes (except for PE).

Diagnostic testing in math, reading, spelling, writing, etc. will be done as the interest of the child allows. Each visiting student will get the opportunity to create a special project to take home at the end of the day.

The spaces are limited. Contact Sue MacKenzie in our Admissions Department at 503-843-3521 ext. 301 for more information.

Mexican Official and Delphian Alum Speaks on Drug Cartel Problem

2011-02-03T12:17:00.001-08:00

The Mayor of Torreon, Mexico and Delphian School alumnus Eduardo Olmos, spoke to the Upper School and then met with seniors in the advanced senior current events seminar, Headmaster Tea, last Friday.

As the mayor of Torreon, Mexico's third largest city (with a population of about 670,000 people), Mayor Olmos talked about his struggles with drug cartel violence in his city. A long article appeared in the Dec 23, 2010 Wall St. Journal, telling of Mayor Olmos replacing his police chief with a retired Army Colonel. Due to corruption within the force, he fired his entire 700-member police force and replaced them with retired army members. As a result of this courageous action, he has been assigned eight body guards by the governor of his state, and the police chief has twenty-five.

Mayor Olmos attributed his ability to confront these issues with integriy and courage to his Delphian education and the tools he learned here (confront, ethics and integrity). His moving story was a testimony to the importance of ethics and integrity at work in the world, and the entire student body was humming with talk afterwards.

Click here to learn more.

Delphian musicians attend District Honor Band

2011-02-01T12:29:00.001-08:00

On Friday and Saturday, January 8-9th, Delphian School students Doh Lertsachanant, Kathleen Yang and McKenzie Blunt represented Delphian School in the Oregon Music Educator's Association District 3 Honor Band.

Meeting in St. Helens, Oregon with 250 Middle and High School students from 16 school districts, the students worked intensively on several advanced pieces arranged for concert band and rehearsing under the direction of master conductors. At the end of the weekend intensive, the Honor Band performed them for an audience of over 500 people.

Said Delphian Director of Arts, Mr. Craig Bader, "Being selected for Honor Band was a great opportunity for our students to work with excellent conductors and participate in a very large band experience."

Click here to learn more.

Delphian School Students Place Well at Art Competition

2011-01-28T08:16:00.001-08:00

Once again this year, Delphian School art students participated in the Willamette Valley Scholastic Art competition. Out of fifteen Delphian entrees, nine were winners, including two Gold Key awards. The
Gold Key winning entries are automatically entered into the national art awards competition, which will be held in February.

Three hundred Oregon students from fourteen Willamette Valley schools participated in the Willamette Valley Scholastic Art Competition. Delphian winners included:

Digital Art, Rachael Kimmel - Gold Key award
Digital Art, Rachael Kimmel - Silver Key award
Drawing, Elaine Ke - Gold Key award
Drawing, Elaine Ke - Honorable Mention
Drawing, Zilong Luo - Honorable Mention
Painting, Ella Rouelle - Honorable Mention
Photography, Ian Carberry - Silver Key
Photography, Ian Carberry - Honorable Mention
Ceramics, Ken Li - Silver Key

Click here to learn more.

February 21st is Visiting Day!

2011-01-20T10:46:00.001-08:00

Posted 01/19/2011 03:15PM

On Monday, February 21st, Delphian School is offering a "Visit Delphian Day" for prospective Lower, Elementary and Middle School students.
Visiting students will have a "buddy" from the class they visit and will spend the day with their buddy participating in the various activities. During the day the visiting students will attend class, work in the science lab if they are interested and even participate in elective afternoon classes like music, art, pottery, woodshop, and other classes (except for PE).
Diagnostic testing in math, reading, spelling, writing, etc. will be done as the interest of the child allows. Each visiting student will get the opportunity to create a special project to take home at the end of the day.
The spaces are limited. Contact Terrie Arnold in our Admissions Department at 503-843-3521 ext. 229 for more information.

Click here to learn more.

Our Philosophy

2011-01-14T08:38:00.001-08:00

Click here to learn more.

Delphian School Students Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day

2011-01-07T07:34:00.001-08:00

On Tuesday, May 4th, Delphian School celebrated Teacher Appreciation Day with student-organized presentations to each Upper School teacher.

Form 6* Head Trevor Ott gave a presentation to all Upper School students about the specific goals of the nationally recognized event. Mr. Ott read a number of well-known quotes from historical figures to orient students to the goals of Teacher Appreciation Day and highlight the role teachers have played in the creation of our culture's past leaders.

He then left it up to the students in each class to determine the best way to acknowledge their own teachers. The students had a great time creating banners, posters, cards and collages with messages of thanks and gratitute. One class took up a collection for an i-pod nano for their instructor. The teachers were happily surprised when they arrived in their classrooms to find these messages of thanks.

*Form 6 is the equivalent of all of 9th and half of 10th grade

Click here to learn more.

Delphian School Students Raise Human Rights Awareness

2011-01-05T07:36:00.001-08:00

Led by the Youth for Human Rights Club President, rising senior Gabe Marrazzo, ten Delphian high school students set up a booth on Third Street in McMinnville with the sole purpose of educating public about their Human Rights. The students showed a copy of the document containing the thirty articles adopted by the United Nations on December 6, 1948 called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They explained how in 1948, following the second World War, the time was ripe for international support of Human Rights in order to prevent a repeat of the atrocities which had occurred during the previous decade.

Delphian students introduced several of the Universal Human Rights articles from the Delcaration and emphasized the importance of Human Rights education. Many local people agreed with them by signing a petition in support of education on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One teacher who stopped by the booth was very interested in the educator’s pack, which presented lesson plans accompanying each of the thirty Human Rights. One parent said, “This is great to start now with clubs and in schools instead of waiting until college to find out about this kind of thing.” The volunteer students collected one hundred and seventeen signatures on Saturday in support of Human Rights awareness.

Click here to continue reading.

Co-Curricular

2010-12-17T08:47:00.001-08:00

All students participate in both sports and art either as part of a group or individually. Since we encourage our students to do everything they do as professionally as possible, these activities lead inevitably to participation in some public demonstration of skill. For sports, it is through interscholastic competitions or individual sporting meets. In the arts, it may be through choir and instrumental performances, plays, or painting and ceramic exhibits.

Co-Curricular activities may include music, art, ceramics, drama, computers, creative writing, video production, photography, woodshop, yoga, weightlifting, and a variety of interscholastic sports such as soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball and tennis.

Click here to learn more.

Announcing the Winter Choral Festival & Art Bazaar Open House

2010-12-08T10:22:00.001-08:00

Delphian School is hosting an Open House during their Winter Choral & Music Festival and Art Bazaar onWednesday, December 15, 2010.

The Art Bazaar opens at 6pm and features fine art, pottery and crafts for sale and on display. The Music Festival begins at 7 p.m. and includes performances from Delphian's award-winning Jazz and Varsity choirs as well as solo acts. The performance will be followed by a reception with holiday treats and a special guest appearance from Santa Claus!

Tours of the school are available throughout the evening. Bring the whole family and join Delphian in celebrating this Holiday Season. For more information, to confirm or to schedule a tour, contact the school at 503-843-3521 or email SueM@delphian.org.

Click here to learn more.

Delphian School senior is semifinalist in National Merit Scholarship Program

2010-11-19T08:18:00.001-08:00

About 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools from around the country entered the 2011 National Merit Scholarship program by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists are expected to advance to the Finalist level and it is from this group that all winners will be chosen. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2.500 scholarships. About 250 corporations and business organizations will provide about 1000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships for Finalists who meet their specified criteria. In addition, about 200 college and universities are expected to finance some 4,900 college-sponsored Merits Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

Click here to read more.

2011 East Coast Business Seminar Field Trip Announced

2010-11-18T11:14:00.001-08:00

This year's 9-day Business Seminar field trip is going to NYC, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. From March 4 to March 12. Sign-up and deposit deadline is December 3, 2010. The information handout and sign-up form is posted in the Resource section of this Porttal.

Contact Mark Siegel if you have any questions about this trip.

Click here to learn more.

Delphian Jazz Choir takes First at Pleasant Hill Jazz Festival

2010-11-11T10:56:00.001-08:00

Pleasant Hill is the largest school jazz festival in the state of Oregon, with about thirty High Schools and ten Middle Schools sending jazz bands and choirs to participate. Delphian performs in the highly competitive Close-Proximity Microphone Division (where each singer has his own microphone). Delphian was in the smaller school division that includes schools who have up to 800 students.

In the preliminary round the choir performed 3 songs. "Time's a' Wastin'" is a blues piece that has solos from vocalists, Guy Eskinazi and Kristel Ehrlich. Then they performed "Here's That Rainy Day" a poignant ballad featuring Jeff Spick and Kristel. They closed with the exciting Brazilian tune "Desafinado". It featured vocal solos by Savana St. Aubin, JJ Pinkus, and Guy Eskinazi and a piano solo from Elizabeth Strickland. They did very well.

Click here to read more.

Delphian School students help Habitat for Humanity Raise $22,000 for Local Projects

2010-11-10T12:05:00.001-08:00

Overall, and with Delphian's help, the McMinnville Habitat for Humanity event raised over $22,000 which can go toward funding local Habitat projects.

Click here to visit our website.

Co-Curricular

2010-11-05T12:08:00.001-07:00

Because there is so much to do in acquiring a full education, physical and aesthetic activities are made a definite part of the Delphi Program so they don't get slighted. Accordingly, Delphi students enjoy a wide variety of elective activities outside the classroom every weekday afternoon. We refer to these regularly scheduled afternoon classes as "Co-Curricular" as they include subjects we consider essential to a well-rounded educational experience.

All students participate in both sports and art either as part of a group or individually. Since we encourage our students to do everything they do as professionally as possible, these activities lead inevitably to participation in some public demonstration of skill. For sports, it is through interscholastic competitions or individual sporting meets. In the arts, it may be through choir and instrumental performances, plays, or painting and ceramic exhibits.

Co-Curricular activities may include music, art, ceramics, drama, computers, creative writing, video production, photography, woodshop, yoga, weightlifting, and a variety of interscholastic sports such as soccer, volleyball, basketball, baseball, softball and tennis.

Delphi's extensive co-curricular program gives balance and rhythm to the curriculum.

www.delphian.org

November 11th is Visiting Day!

2010-11-04T08:11:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, November 11th, Delphian School is offering a "Visit Delphian Day" for prospective Lower, Elementary and Middle School students.

Visiting students will have a "buddy" from the class they visit and will spend the day with their buddy participating in the various activities. During the day the visiting students will attend class, work in the science lab if they are interested and even participate in elective afternoon classes like music, art, pottery, woodshop, and other classes (except for PE).

Diagnostic testing in math, reading, spelling, writing, etc. will be done as the interest of the child allows. Each visiting student will get the opportunity to create a special project to take home at the end of the day.

The spaces are limited. Contact Terrie Arnold in our Admissions Department at 503-843-3521 ext. 229 for more information.www.delphian.org

www.delphian.org

Delphian School students help Habitat for Humanity Raise $22,000 for Local Projects

2010-11-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

Delphian School students have been a staple in the McMinnville area Habitat for Humanity Run, Walk, Ride event for the last several years. This year, our students were given more responsibility. They were asked to be in charge of the Habitat for Humanity Kids Fun Run. Their responsibilities included putting on two races to kids ten and under: a quarter-mile and an eighth of a mile race. The Delphian group was also in charge of coordinating and running different activities for the kids, including face painting, arts and crafts, potato sack races, three-legged races and more.

There were thirty seven students involved with the Habitat for Humanity Run, Walk, Ride project this year, and they all assisted in some way. As soon as participating kids started pouring in, Delphian School students were on their toes and ready to help and have fun with everyone. Delphian School students also helped in the adult races helping with route guiding on the 5K and 10K runs.

Overall, and with Delphian's help, the McMinnville Habitat for Humanity event raised over $22,000 which can go toward funding local Habitat projects.

www.delphian.org

Student Council

2010-10-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

Our students don't just attend Delphi, they own it. These days that may seem unusual, but it is one of the most rewarding points of the Delphi Program. When young people are given responsibility for the operation of their community and its area, they learn a lot about themselves and about the dynamics of a group.

One of the ways our students come to own the school is through participation on Student Council. Student Council at Delphi is a large, active, student-run organization with several levels of membership. The Upper and Middle Schools have their own separate Student Councils.

In the Upper School Student Council, the key administrative officers are juniors and seniors. Upper School Student Council members known as Dorm Captains work under the direction of the Director of Resident Services to ensure the dorms are run well and are maintained in good condition. Bathroom Captains are likewise responsible for overseeing student cleaning crews in dorm bathrooms daily, with students assigned from their respective dorms on a rotating basis.

All on-campus weekend activities are managed by members of Student Council in coordination with the Director of Student Affairs, including planning, organizing, promoting, setting up, cleaning up and actually running the activities. Other jobs in Student Council might include fund-raising for particular projects for the school, helping to coordinate community service projects, or overseeing a dorm Skit Night.

Student Council is an integral part of Delphi's Upper and Middle School programs. By participating in Student Council, students learn leadership skills and develop a sense of responsibility for their group. Student Council offers students insight into real world planning and organization and provides a venue for them to practice and apply what they are learning in school each day.

www.delphian.org

Out of the Classroom, Into the World

2010-10-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

"What are your Human Rights?” Delphian students from the Youth for Human Rights club asked interested McMinnville parents, families and educators as part of Delphian’s Community Service Day last Saturday, April 17, 2010.  Led by the Youth for Human Rights Club President, rising senior Gabe Marrazzo, ten Delphian high school students set up a booth on Third Street in McMinnville with the sole purpose of educating public about their Human Rights.

The students showed a copy of the document containing the thirty articles adopted by the United Nations on December 6, 1948 called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They explained how in 1948, following the second World War, the time was ripe for international support of Human Rights in order to prevent a repeat of the atrocities which had occurred during the previous decade.

Delphian students introduced several of the Universal Human Rights articles from the Declaration and emphasized the importance of Human Rights education. Many local people agreed with them by signing a petition in support of education on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One teacher who stopped by the booth was very interested in the educator’s pack, which presented lesson plans accompanying each of the thirty Human Rights. One parent said, “This is great to start now with clubs and in schools instead of waiting until college to find out about this kind of thing.” The volunteer students collected one hundred and seventeen signatures on Saturday in support of Human Rights awareness.

Delphian students from the Youth for Human Rights club carry on the mission inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt’s words, “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home-so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world… Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

http://www.delphian.org/

Giving to Delphi

2010-10-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

We welcome the contribution of our alumni whether they live locally or around the world. In recent years, our alumni have made significant financial contributions to the school which are enabling the forward progress of our campus expansion. Our alumni have made major contributions to our endowment fund, to the building of a new gymnasium and dormitory, to the addition of a new soccer field, tennis courts and running track, and many other campus facility and expansion projects.
We are also grateful to our local alumni, who offer us support both with fund-raising and in volunteering in various areas of the school.

There are many ways our alumni can contribute. Specific opportunities include:
-Helping with student-run fundraisers such as the annual Dance-A-Thon or the Lower School Bike-A-Thon, either through -donations of time or through sponsoring students.
-Volunteering in co-curricular areas of the school (Athletics, Ceramics, Art, Equestrian, Computers, Music, etc.) or contributing as an expert in one's field by hosting our students in apprenticeships or in speaking at our Advanced Business Seminar
-Hosting Admissions Tours in their area or helping to plan Admissions Events
-Working as a School Representative in their city or as one of our 'Alumni to Call' for prospective families
-Helping to host our annual Business Seminar Field Trip, either personally or at their place of business.

We welcome the contribution of our alumni, whether through our Alumni Association or through any of the many forms of donations mentioned above. Email us for information on becoming an alumni volunteer. For more information on the Delphi Alumni Association, email our Director of School Representatives or the Delphi Alumni Association .

Visit our website! www.delphian.org

Alumni Weekend

2010-10-21T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ask most any Delphi graduate, and they will tell you that Alumni Weekend is an event they look forward to all year, and with good cause.

Alumni Weekend is a celebration. It’s a celebration among graduates of the in-common (though far from ordinary) accomplishment of completing the Delphi Program, as well as a chance to reunite with dear friends. It’s a celebration among returning alumni of a place and people that made a real difference in their lives. It’s a celebration of future—as older alumni welcome the most recent year’s graduates into their ever-growing fold, as new friends are made, and as more and more alumni return with their families, the next generation of Delphi graduates in the making.

The agenda varies from year to year—though we’d be hounded by protest if we ever diverged from favorites such as the Alumni Banquet and 10-year Alumni Roasts. There are now some newer traditions that are finding their way onto the formal agenda, such as the late-night gatherings and games.

In all, Alumni Weekend is three days spent engaged in sharing—whether it’s one’s experiences since graduation shared with eager students at the alumni seminars, knowledge shared with that year’s guest speaker, or just tales shared with friends, old and new.

Delphi welcomes all of its graduates and alumni back with open arms, whether they come every year or every five or ten years.

Visit our website for more information!

www.delphian.org

Delphian School Upcoming Events

2010-10-15T07:51:00.001-07:00

October 15, 2010
All-School Dinner and Movie Trip
Alumni Weekend

October 16, 2010
All-School "Night at Mount Olympus"
Alumni Weekend Continues
ES/MS Student Services

Read more on our website: www.delphian.org

Delphian School students help Habitat for Humanity Raise $22,000 for Local Projects

2010-10-15T07:46:00.000-07:00

Delphian School senior is semifinalist in National Merit Scholarship Program

2010-10-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

In September, officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation announced the names of approximately 16,000 Semifinalists in the 56th annual National Merit Scholarship Program (NMSC). Elizabeth Strickland, a Delphian School senior, has qualified as a Semifinalist. Miss Strickland placed 8th among the 575 semifinalists in the western “boarding school” category, which is comprised of 26 schools in Arizona, California, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington.

About 1.5 million juniors in some 22,000 high schools from around the country entered the 2011 National Merit Scholarship program by taking the 2009 Preliminary SAT, which served as an initial screen of program entrants. The nationwide pool of Semifinalists, which represents less than one percent of high school seniors, includes the highest-scoring entrants in each state.

Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists are expected to advance to the Finalist level and it is from this group that all winners will be chosen. Every Finalist will compete for one of 2.500 scholarships. About 250 corporations and business organizations will provide about 1000 corporate-sponsored Merit Scholarships for Finalists who meet their specified criteria. In addition, about 200 college and universities are expected to finance some 4,900 college-sponsored Merits Scholarship awards for Finalists who will attend the sponsor institution.

Delphian Youth for Human Rights Club Receives Recognition and Grant

2010-10-05T09:00:00.001-07:00

On Thursday, September 23rd, Delphian School Youth For Human Rights Club students were awarded the Harold Schnitzer Spirit of Unity Award by the Wholistic Peace Institute at the Student Peace Summit in Portland. The award was given along with a $500 grant to help the Delphian School Youth for Human Rights group continue their efforts to raise awareness of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and human rights in general.

The purpose of the Wholistic Peace Institute Student Peace Summit is to engage and prepare students to become leaders in the prevention of war and the ending of war. The Summit featured former First Lady of South Korea, Mrs. Kim Dae Jung, whose husband won the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize.

Delphian School students Gabe Marrazzo and Alison Wilson accepted the award and grant on behalf of the Delphian School Youth for Human Rights group. They also gave a short presentation on the group’s activities and purpose.

Youth For Human Rights International is an organization dedicated to informing young people about the Universal Declaration for Human Rights and inspiring them to become valuable advocates for tolerance and peace.

The Delphian School: An Oregon Boarding School with a Personal Approach

2010-09-29T06:43:00.001-07:00

Although we have many day students, living on campus adds an extra dimension to the Delphian Program. Our boarding students form the core of the Delphian community, gaining independence as they learn cooperation, putting knowledge gained in the classroom to immediate use, and increasing their responsibility for themselves and others. In a boarding environment, there is always someone nearby to help, no matter what problem a student faces. In our close, supportive community, lifelong friendships are made. And despite the distance factor, we repeatedly hear from parents of boarding students and the students themselves that their parent-child relationship actually grew stronger and closer during the student’s time at Delphian.

In 2003, the Art and Science Group conducted a nationwide survey of over 2,700 high school students and adults regarding their experiences in high school and their lives since. The survey found that, compared to day students, boarding students:

Read the rest here: www.delphian.org

Colleges & Universities

2010-09-22T14:09:00.001-07:00

Our graduates leave Delphian ready to take on any challenge. For many, it’s college; for others, the arts. And some of our graduates tap into their entrepreneurial spirits to launch their own independent businesses. You’ll also find our alumni putting their skills to work in service efforts aiding the greater community. No matter what path our graduates choose, they are ready to take it head-on.

In recent years, Delphian graduates have been accepted to such highly regarded colleges and universities as:

Read them here: www.delphian.org

The Delphi Program

2010-09-17T12:02:00.001-07:00

The Delphi Program is a unique, integrated approach to learning. Each high school graduate meets specific ability requirements, all encompassed within these general graduation requirements:

Read them here.

Invitation From the Head

2010-09-09T08:15:00.001-07:00

As an educator, it's a pleasure to be able to reach so many people through this virtual environment of the internet, something I never would have imagined when I began my career in education. I invite you to spend some time exploring our website, especially the sections related to the school's philosophy and mission. Then I would encourage you to schedule a time to visit the school, as it is by being on campus and in the classrooms that you will appreciate the true uniqueness of the Delphian School's program and its close-knit community.

At the core of our philosophy is the desire to put students in control of their educations and their lives, and to help them realize that both are theirs to create. From Lower School through graduation, in ways small and large, students are asked to confront tough challenges in an environment safe enough to fail at times—and safe enough to succeed. Immediate success is always rewarding, but oftentimes students experience the most growth from confronting an academic or life problem and persisting until that problem is resolved. We never agree that students have to remain adversely affected by tough situations; instead, we help them use the skills they have learned to get back on track. With that approach, students become more and more causative over their educations and lives.

When I interview our seniors and ask what they have gained from their Delphian years, they often stress two points: that they have achieved an ability to study independently and to master whatever they want to learn; and that they have found out who they are as individuals with their own uniqueness and potentialities. Thus they are equipped to build upon that dynamic foundation.

We warmly welcome you to come and join us on our lovely 800-acre Oregon campus for a tour or school event.

Rosemary Didear
Headmistress

www.delphian.org

First Day of School - What does this mean to us?

2010-08-31T13:34:00.000-07:00

Delphian School began as the dream of a small group of educators in the early 1970s to build a new kind of learning environment. Dr. Alan Larson, the Founding Headmaster of the school and several of his colleagues dedicated themselves to the goal of reversing the downward trending standards in education.

Within a close-knit community and lively campus environment, Delphian students are given highly personal attention from instructors, an individual academic program and a focus on demonstrated competence rather than memorization of facts or time spent in class. Students learn to not only understand what they study, but also to become competent in the use of logic and reason.

Delphian School’s mission is to empower young people with effective study skills, a solid academic foundation, a strong sense of personal integrity and a wide range of abilities.

More broadly, its mission is to send forth responsible, capable individuals who can help build a better world.

Teams & Schedules

2010-08-23T13:02:00.001-07:00

Junior Varsity Girls Volleyball vs. Catlin Gabel High School
Event Type: Regular
Advantage: Away
Date: September 7, 2010
Event Time: 5:00 PM
Transportation: 1 bus for JV and Vars

Varsity Girls Volleyball vs. Catlin Gabel High School
Event Type: Regular
Advantage: Away
Date: September 7, 2010
Event Time: 6:00 PM
Transportation: 1 bus for JV and Vars

Junior Varsity Boys Soccer vs. Riverdale School District
Event Type: Regular
Advantage: Home
Date: September 8, 2010
Event Time: 4:15 PM

We have many games coming up with our superb athletic teams! See you there!

Delphian Athletics

Varsity Girls Volleyball Perrydale Jamboree

2010-08-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

Event Type: Tournament
Advantage: Away
Date: September 3, 2010
Event Time: TBD
Transportation: No. 9 bus

Come join us and cheer for our favorite Varsity Girls Volleyball team!

Amazing Starfish!

2010-08-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

A starfish isn't actually a fish at all. Fish have a backbone. Starfish have exoskeletons (from the Greek exo which means "outside" and from the Latin skeletos meaning "dried out") like crabs and insects. There are about two thousands kinds of starfish (also called sea stars) living in all the oceans in the World.

Starfish are only live only in saltwater; there are no freshwater sea stars anywhere in the world.

The kind we see most often is the five armed type, however there are some that will have as many as forty arms. Most sea stars are about 8 inches across, but some are as large as a small automobile. Most sea stars also have an incredible way to eat. A starfish has 2 stomachs. A sea star eats by pushing one of its stomachs outside of its body. Using tiny, suction-cupped tube feet, they open clams or oysters, and their stomach emerges from their mouth (in the center of the starfish) and oozes inside the shell of its victim. The stomach then surrounds its dinner and digests it while it is inside the shell of its victim. Then the stomach returns back into the body of the sea star and this stomach dumps its contents into the sea star's second stomach.

Starfish breathe through their feet and have little tiny breathing tubes all over their bodies. They have no eyes, but have instead a small eyespot on the end of their arms, so they can tell if it is light or dark. Sea stars are famous for being able to regrow their arms. In some cases their entire bodies can be regrown from just a bit of an arm. This can happen because sea stars have most of their vital organs only in their arms. Sea stars do not have a brain.

Most starfish live for three to five years. Sea stars have been on Earth for about 40 million years.

Read more from our Science teacher here!

Thinking About Education

2010-08-05T07:36:00.000-07:00

All education is individual.

As I often tell people, you can’t teach a "class" how to drive. Each student in the driver education class individually needs to learn to drive very well. Our lives depend on the driving skills of others, so we have a vested interest in good driver education classes.

Despite the fact that folks like to joke about motor vehicle departments, I think they have it right when it comes to the theory of driver testing. First, they ask potential drivers if they know the rules of the road and safe driving. If the potential drivers can pass the written test (now administered by computer in many states), they then have to show they can actually operate a car safely and correctly behind the wheel and in actual traffic. Only when they pass both tests is a potential driver licensed by the state. What a great model.

At the Delphian School, L. Ron Hubbard’s educational breakthroughs shape an even better model, elevating education to a whole new level. While driver license testing consists of passing a percentage of the written test questions (only 70% in Oregon!), and demonstrating a percentage of the required driving skills, Mr. Hubbard said knowing some of it is not enough. The licensed driver who didn’t get 100% on both tests never has to re-study what he missed (and therefore didn’t know and couldn’t apply). Yikes….watch out drivers! At Delphian, students re-study anything they missed, so they end up understanding and being able to apply all that they studied.

How many fewer accidents might there be if drivers had to re-study the questions that they missed and to learn to do correctly what they did incorrectly during the driving test? How much safer might we all be?

More to the point, you can’t teach a class to drive. What I mean by that is all education is individual. Having a classroom full of students all doing the same lesson at the same time doesn’t necessarily work. They don’t always all get it at the same speed. That’s why the 1994 Report of the National Education Commission on Time and Learning Prisoners of Time was reissued by the Education Commission of the States in 2005.

The report noted that:

“Learning in America is a prisoner of time. For the past 150 years, American public schools have held time constant and let learning vary. The rule, only rarely voiced, is simple: learn what you can in the time we make available. It should surprise no one that some bright, hard-working students do reasonably well. Everyone else—from the typical student to the dropout—runs into trouble.”

“…. If experience, research, and common sense teach nothing else, they confirm the truism that people learn at different rates, and in different ways with different subjects. 
“By relying on time as the metric for school organization and curriculum, we have built a learning enterprise on a foundation of sand…”

Call students “Prisoners of Time” is very strong language. Calling our national K-12 education system a learning enterprise built on a “foundation of sand” is very strong language. But the fact is that most students are imprisoned in the system. Proficiency-based education is beginning to take hold in the K-12 arena, but not at the speed needed to address the huge problems we face in education.

Personalized, individualized education will change the education landscape, as it has changed the education of our Delphian students. It works here the Delphian School. It works in the Delphian School network. It works for all the schools in the Applied Scholastics network. It works to a lesser degree in schools that are adopting a proficiency-based approach. It works for licensing drivers, because the system doesn’t care where, when or how you learned it. The system only cares if you can show your knowledge and demonstrate your driving skills. Proficiency-based programs should be put into place in all K-12 environmentsm, and if each student used Mr. Hubbard’s Study Technology, each student could learn it all. If each teacher and administrator learned and applied Mr. Hubbard’s educational approach, the nation’s children would be much better educated, and many more of them that are prisoners of time would become freed by an education system that works. This would be far better than having students as prisoners in a system that doesn’t (and can’t) educate all students.

You can make a difference. You can have your children attend the “old school” and allow the old school model to persist – the one where time is the constant and learning is the variable. Or you can demand your children attend a “new school” and demand that the schools in this country become new schools, where learning is the constant and time is the variable.

Visit our website here!

Student Blogs: Mariandrea - Getting Close to Graduation

2010-07-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

As the year is coming down to its final months, the pressure is on for all of the seniors. We are all working hard to graduate. (At Delphian, you don't just graduate at the end of the school year; you have to achieve a whole list of graduation requirements that aren't just academic but address areas of responsibility, integrity, leadership and application of everything you've learned at the school. So it's a lot of work to make sure you've actually proven that you have completed all of those graduation requirements.)

Spring Break happened two weeks ago and the seniors that are trying to graduate had the option to stay at the school during the break and get ahead on their studies. For those ten days we studied about ten hours a day and worked with staff at the school for two. It was a good push made by us all and it was also a lot of fun. After the break it was time to start working even harder; the time is ticking away and we need to really get moving. Right now the focus is on academics and really working hard.  
 
One thing that makes Delphian’s senior class different from any other school is that we become like a really close family. We support each other through the good and the bad. We might get in little disagreements, but we work hard together to make everyone’s goals. Each individual in the senior class is recognized and acknowledge when they graduate. Every senior will make a speech the day they complete Form 8 (12th grade) sharing their accomplishments and achievements. Although we are a tight group, every single person is as important as the next, and we want everyone to make it.  
 
As the time for me to graduate approaches I'll make sure to post more updates. That’s all from the hill for now.

Read more from Mariandrea here.

Student Blogs: Kristel - First softball game - and we won!

2010-07-22T06:25:00.001-07:00

Today the Delphian Varsity Girls' Softball team played our first game (it was a preseason game) and we won! We played against the local school, Sheridan High School. The final score was 14-10.

I was really proud to be a part of a team that was really excited about playing softball. Throughout the game, all of the girls were cheering each other on, and that made the game really enjoyable. I couldn't help thinking about how awesome it was that I got to play with a good group of girls who really loved being there and were just enjoying their time together. I know that we have a really fun group for this season.

Not to mention, our amazing coach! He makes everything so much fun and he is so easy to talk to. The Varsity Boys' Team was playing against Sheridan as well, and because their game ended before ours, they came over to watch us and cheer us on. It was so great to suddenly have so many more fans who were so loud and supportive. This is a really great group, and I am so excited to play the rest of the season with them!

Read more from Kristel here: My Blog

Student Blogs: Melissa - Poverty and Education

2010-07-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

Did you know that 85% of the world lives in poverty? I didn't know that until recently.

Once a month, Delphian holds an assembly where students who have completed major steps on their academic program are acknowledged and our Headmistress gives an address to the student body on different subjects. At the last HM Address, I found out that I am part of the 15% of people that get to enjoy an education like the one I am receiving at Delphian. An education that any of of those children who are in poverty would love to receive. So I realized there is no reason why I should EVER complain about what I have and the education I am receiving.

Hearing this Address was life-changing. So, I think I can live with having to keep my room clean and the wardrobe I have. Some people out there would love to have what I have. With my Delphian education, I plan on helping that 85% one day.

Great new photos of our Parents Weekend Production of Oklahoma!

2010-07-08T11:34:00.000-07:00

Parents Weekend Production of Oklahoma!

2010-07-02T18:10:00.001-07:00

The Delphian School Drama Department performed two shows of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Oklahoma! for parents, guests and alumni on Friday, June 4th. The musical was touted as "Delphian's best musical ever!" by attendees, and both shows received standing ovations.

Photos from the shows are now available in our Photo Gallery.

Delphian Alumni: Chris Nosko

2010-06-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

"I think the purpose of studying most academic subjects at a higher level is to gain a better understanding of how the world works," says Delphian School graduate, Chris Nosko, when asked about his favorite subject. "Economics provides a set of tools that shed light on the way people make decisions and interact with each other. It influences public policy; it helps provide solutions to poverty; it even provides tools to help us understand seemingly unrelated problems such as crime and cheating."

Chris graduated Delphi in 1996. After a brief stint as a computer programmer, he attended the University of Chicago where he earned a degree in economics and history and went to work for an economic consulting firm in Chicago. Chris's interest in economics grew to the point that he accepted a position with the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and from there applied to Harvard University to earn a PhD in the subject. He was accepted, entering the program in the fall of 2005.

Chris reflects on the role his Delphi education played in getting him there, saying, "This is something that I've realized over time, but my Delphi experience has been incredibly important for me. I found that I had a very singular focus going through my classes and if I really think back about where that came from, it has a lot to do with Delphi. I'm talking about the sense of responsibility you get, the sense of pushing through projects, the sense of being in a position of leadership. I don't pretend that I'll finish my PhD and revolutionize the subject of economics. But I see the possibilities of making positive change through economics as being so vast that even incremental improvements can have large effects. My hope is that I will contribute to economic knowledge and that increase in knowledge will translate into a better world through the role economics plays in our lives."

Student Blogs: Eduardo

2010-06-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

Readers,

The past weeks have been excruciatingly busy. Never mind, let me exclude "Excruciating": the word would not do justice to the fun I have had. Busy? Absolutely. Under the rigorous schedule that I have set for myself, I find that I sometimes just want to sleep. In fact, if I had been forced into this amount of work, or was expected to do it in another school, you most likely would find me not doing it. But here, it is a joy to have so many activities available.

I am participating in the Parents Weekend play this year. Every year there are two major drama productions. One is the Thanksgiving Play. The other is during Parents' Weekend (the last weekend of the year, where Prom, Commencement, and the play take place). I couldn't do the Thanksgiving Play because I was away (I was in England during that time - you can read my post on it if you're interested), but now I am happy to be part of the Parents' Weekend Play. The play for this year is Oklahoma!.

Frankly, I was not too excited at first, given that I did not know what the play is about, and that it is a musical. From the name, I pictured farmland and boredom, and from it being a musical, I thought to myself that it would not be fun, as I have never been in a musical, and I am not an experienced singer. But after finding out how great a production this is, I have to say that I am very excited about it. When I was told my part, I got quite happy, but there was a compromise: I had to join choir.

Choir is a big part of the school. A lot of the students at Delphian are a part of it. I was one of the few that were not. But play came along, and I got a part in it, and my responsibility as an actor dictated that I was to give the best performance possible, and since this year we are doing a musical, it only made sense that my voice should improve so I could sing well when I performed. So it came to be that I joined Choir.

While I love performing, I was a little unsure about my decision to join choir. However, my first day was a revelation: choir is not bad! At all! The short time I have been in it has certainly been fun, and the practice I have received has helped me greatly. It is definitely a decision I do not regret.

So the preparations for the play continue, and every day I am more ready for the awaited performance.

I also have to study hard; being that the end of the year approaches, the overall pressure to work towards graduation increases, and herein lies another part of my busy schedule.

Lastly, I am also part of the Tennis Team. This is another demanding activity that I am a part of, but it has been very rewarding and entertaining. And it is also a good source of recreation, though racquetball remains unbeaten as the sport that is the most fun (in my opinion).

So here my general schedule has been dismantled for you, reader, to see. As I said: it is not excruciating. The truth is, it is unbelievably fun, and I would not change it for a spell of stagnation and lack of production.

- Eduardo

Read more from my blog here.

Delphian Student Life

2010-06-10T08:08:00.002-07:00

Summer at Delphi

2010-06-10T08:08:00.001-07:00

The Summer program is starting soon! Read all about it here.

See you soon!

Delphian Athletics Program

2010-05-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

Delphian students meet with top CEOs on LA trip

2010-05-19T07:32:00.000-07:00

Each year over Spring Break, students at the Delphian School in Sheridan are offered an unusual opportunity in the area of business and economics through the school’s very popular Business Seminar. This year 24 Delphian School students along with some school faculty and parents traveled to Los Angeles where they had personal interviews with a number of leaders in the high-tech and multi-media industries as well as many intimate meetings with Hollywood artists and actors, directors and producers.

At Delphian School, students are challenged to explore ideas thoroughly and to test them out in the real world. Toward this end students are offered a variety of apprenticeships in a wide range of professions: medicine, law, art, culinary, engineering, and the performing and visual arts, just to name a few. In the Business Seminar, students learn about concepts in economics ranging from the basics of supply and demand to corporate formation and securities and commodities trading. But “testing things out in the real world” is taken to an entirely new level with the annual Business Seminar Field Trip.

Each year Business Seminar students travel either to the East or West Coast. This year they were California bound, centering in Los Angeles. They spent ninety minutes with Universal Studios CEO, Ron Meyer, who spoke candidly about his rise to the top. Senior Gal Ezra said of the interview, “Mr. Meyer told us that education is enormously important. His rule of success is to always do everything that he promised. He told us that no one can do what you can do better than you can do it.”

Students went onto the set of the hit TV series Extra and behind the scenes at an Emmy-winning CBS soap, The Young and The Restless. This was not a canned “backstage” tour, where spectators view activities from a distance. Instead, actress Michelle Stafford hosted the group as her special guests. “This was a fantastic chance for us to get exposed to true professionalism,” said Delphian’s Assistant Headmaster and trip leader, Mark Siegel. “We were there for five hours, and they were actually shooting the scenes right in front of us. The stage manager stayed for more than half his lunch hour just to talk to the students.”

This insider treatment held true throughout the trip. Delphian students had a personal interview with Paul Jacobs, the CEO and President of QualComm, a company that designs, manufactures and markets digital wireless telecommunications products and services. They also visited with professors at the Art Center College of Design and with executives at John Travolta Productions, Rockefeller Architects, Boingo Wireless, Solar Reserve, Diskeeper Corporation, Symantec, and Jet Propulsion Laboratory, just to name a few.

Sophomore Tristan Norred summed the trip up this way: “The business trip opened up whole new worlds to us. Many of us realized what we thought we wanted to do maybe wasn't what we really wanted to do after all, and some of us realized just how much we love what we’re doing right now.”

Delphian School Varsity Choir achieves 4th Place in State Competition

2010-05-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

On May 6, the Delphian Varsity Choir participated in the Oregon State Choir Championships at George Fox University. The choir performed a varied program, opening with L'eccho (Echo Song), a renaissance piece for double choir by Orlando di Lasso that featured a group of 8 singers out in the auditorium echoing what the main choir was singing on stage. This was followed by Famine Song, by Matthew Culloden. The song, written to communicate the distress of the Sudanese during a drought and famine during the 1980's, featured a beautiful lament sung by altos Savana St. Aubin and Elizabeth Strickland. The choir followed this with Sanctus, a short joyous piece by Mozart from one of his masses. Other pieces included Dirait-on (So They Say), a gorgeous French contemporary piece by Morten Lauridsen and the spiritual, Wade in the Water, arranged by Moses Hogan and featuring Choir President, Melissa Agrillo as soloist.

After the sight reading portion of the competition, the students got to see the performances of several of the other outstanding choirs that were participating at the state level. After a tense wait for the scores to be tabulated, the awards were announced and the choir was awarded the 4th Place trophy!

Delphian School Students Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day

2010-05-13T06:36:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, May 4th, Delphian School celebrated Teacher Appreciation Day with student-organized presentations to each Upper School teacher.

Form 6* Head Trevor Ott gave a presentation to all Upper School students about the specific goals of the nationally recognized event. Mr. Ott read a number of well-known quotes from historical figures to orient students to the goals of Teacher Appreciation Day and highlight the role teachers have played in the creation of our culture's past leaders.

He then left it up to the students in each class to determine the best way to acknowledge their own teachers. The students had a great time creating banners, posters, cards and collages with messages of thanks and gratitute. One class took up a collection for an i-pod nano for their instructor. The teachers were happily surprised when they arrived in their classrooms to find these messages of thanks.

*Form 6 is the equivalent of all of 9th and half of 10th grade

Delphian Musicians Placed at District Solo & Ensemble Competition

2010-05-06T12:11:00.001-07:00

Chaiwin "Doh" Lertsachanant, alto saxophone; Kathleen Yang, flute; Savana St. Aubin, vocal; and Elizabeth Strickland, piano recently went to Astoria to participate in the Oregon District Solo and Ensemble Contest. At this event, student musicians perform a classical piece for a judge. The judge gives each student a numerical score and rating as well as a feedback on their performance. The finest musicians in each instrumental and vocal category qualify to participate at the state level at the State Solo Contest, which occurs in early May.

Elizabeth Strickland won the piano competition and qualified for States. Savana St. Aubin placed 2nd in the Alto voice category and is the first alternate for States. Doh and Kathleen also performed very well and received valuable advice to improve future performances.

Delphian School Students Raise Human Rights Awareness

2010-04-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

"What are your Human Rights?” Delphian students from the Youth for Human Rights club asked interested McMinnville parents, families and educators as part of Delphian’s Community Service Day last Saturday, April 17, 2010. 

Led by the Youth for Human Rights Club President, rising senior Gabe Marrazzo, ten Delphian high school students set up a booth on Third Street in McMinnville with the sole purpose of educating public about their Human Rights. The students showed a copy of the document containing the thirty articles adopted by the United Nations on December 6, 1948 called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They explained how in 1948, following the second World War, the time was ripe for international support of Human Rights in order to prevent a repeat of the atrocities which had occurred during the previous decade.

Delphian students introduced several of the Universal Human Rights articles from the Delcaration and emphasized the importance of Human Rights education. Many local people agreed with them by signing a petition in support of education on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. One teacher who stopped by the booth was very interested in the educator’s pack, which presented lesson plans accompanying each of the thirty Human Rights. One parent said, “This is great to start now with clubs and in schools instead of waiting until college to find out about this kind of thing.” The volunteer students collected one hundred and seventeen signatures on Saturday in support of Human Rights awareness.

Delphian students from the Youth for Human Rights club carry on the mission inspired by Eleanor Roosevelt’s words, “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home-so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world… Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.”

Delphian School - Supporting the Community

2010-04-28T12:05:00.001-07:00

On Saturday, April 17th, 104 Delphian School students participated in a school-sponsored Community Service day to help the local community. Students help Deer Meadow Assisted Living Center in their gardens, they assisted Head Start with its grounds maintenance. Ten students helped Henderson House with lawn and garden work. A large group worked in Joe Dancer Park helping to prepare the baseball diamond for the upcoming season, spreading mulch on the park trails and doing general cleanup, and they assisted at the McMinnville Public Library and St. Vincent De Paul thrift store, which helps provide for the low-income families in Yamhill County.

Delphian School Jazz Choir takes 1st Place at Pleasant Hill Jazz Festival

2010-04-23T07:23:00.000-07:00

Pleasant Hill is the largest school jazz festival in the state, with about thirty high schools and ten middle schools sending jazz bands and choirs to participate.

In the preliminary round the Delphian Jazz choir performed 3 songs. "Time's a' Wastin'" is a blues piece that has solos from vocalists, Guy Eskinazi and Kristel Ehrlich. Then they performed "Here's That Rainy Day" a poignant ballad featuring Jeff Spick and Kristel Ehrlich. They closed with the exciting Brazilian tune "Desafinado". It featured vocal solos by Savana St. Aubin, JJ Pinkus, and Guy Eskinazi and a piano solo from Elizabeth Strickland. Judge Dave Barduhn, a legendary musician, composer and educator and one of the founders of the Jazz Choir genre gave the Delphian choir high praise for their work and improvement since he last saw them at the Clackamas Jazz Festival in March. He also gave them advice on how to take their performance to the next level of excellence.

In the finals the choir performed a new song, "Home At Last", a Steely Dan classic arranged by director, Craig Bader. This featured solos from Veronika Bschorr, Jake Kretchmar, Jeff Spick, Savana St. Aubin and Andrew Walther, as well as some fabulous work by the rhythm section of Remi Keough, drums, Kathleen Yang, keyboard bass and Elizabeth Strickland, piano. They got an enthusiastic response from the audience.

After the final choirs sang, the trophies were awarded. Kristel Ehrlich was awarded the Outstanding Soloist award in Delphian's division for her solo on "Time's a' Wastin.'" Delphian was then announced as the 1st Place winner.

Delphian's caring approach

2010-04-14T14:22:00.000-07:00

I am very happy about the fact that even though I am far away I am always so well informed by all of you regarding any concern or matter related to my daughter. Delphian's caring approach towards the well being of the students is so praise worthy and has won my heart as a parent. It reflects truly as a whole the essence of integrity of the school.

S.P.

Academics

2010-03-31T12:40:00.000-07:00

In addition to rounding out academic studies in literature, mathematics, writing, science, history and government, Upper School students get practical understanding and experience in the subjects of leadership, integrity, and logic, as well as in management and organizational structure.

Upper School students receive individual academic programs tailored to their academic needs as well as their goals and interests. The curriculum encourages students to apply the knowledge they’re gaining to real life situations, building critical thinking and problem-solving skills, rather than emphasizing memorization of facts or time spent in class. Students are required to demonstrate proficiency in each course of study before moving on to the next course or subject.

By Form 7 (10th-11th grade), students select one of four major areas to study more intensively - Science & Technology, Humanities, Business or Fine Arts - and then focus on academic study and practical experience related to that area in addition to the standard program of required core courses.

www.delphian.org

Student Services

2010-03-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

All students aged nine and older participate in Student Services, a program of contribution to the operation and maintenance of the school. The Student Service program not only helps the school run smoothly, but it also helps the students gain a greater appreciation and responsibility for the work involved and gives them experience producing and exchanging as part of an organization.

Students spend some time each weekday helping out in a variety of areas. For example, students may be asked to assist in the dining room either preparing or cleaning up after meals, or they may be asked to contribute in the computer center, in the classrooms or in the library. Tasks range from simple jobs such as sweeping or filing to more challenging projects and/or community service.

Upper classmen are asked to hold positions of responsibility as their student service, such as becoming a dorm or bathroom crew captain. Students participating in Student Council often have their Student Council jobs as their student service due to the time involved in fulfilling their Student Council responsibilities.

Middle School students participate for 45 minutes a day, and Upper School students for 50 minutes. Student Service time is planned so as to avoid interference with the students' academic programs.

Bend Trip 2010

2010-03-19T12:17:00.000-07:00

Delphian Musicians Placed at District Solo & Ensemble Competition

2010-03-17T09:15:00.000-07:00

Delphian Takes Trophy at US Chess Federation Tournament

2010-03-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

Nine Delphian Chess Club members competed in a United States Chess Federation-rated chess tournament in Corvalis. The Delphian team normally participates in two tournaments of this type a year, both of which are quite challenging.

In the Novice section, Jarod Vincent took 3rd and Gabe Sanders took 2nd. In the Under 800-rated section, Connor Oak took 2nd and Brett Horton took 1st (this is the second tournament in a row that Brett has gone undefeated). In the Over 800 section, Dillon Rivera took 3rd, with Cody Malick and Charles Byrne finishing right behind. Of the nine Delphian players, five brought home trophies for individual competition.

The team competition was likewise very close. The Delphian team, consisting of Colin Malick, Cody Malick, Brett Horton and Connor Oak, scored 16 points, half a point better than their nearest challenger, and took home the trophy for team champion. The second Delphian team, composed of Dillon Rivera, Charles Byrne, Gabe Sanders and Jarod Vincent, scored 15 points and took 3rd Place Team.

Overall, Delphian took both 1st and 3rd Place in the team competition.

Delphian Jazz Choir Performs at Oregon Symphony

2010-03-10T08:01:00.000-08:00

The Delphian School's award-winning Jazz Choir sang at the Oregon Symphony in Portland last Sunday as part of the Symphony's Prelude Program. This program offers music groups from the area a chance to perform as the entertainment for symphony lovers prior to the symphony concert.

The Delphian Jazz Choir members set up in the lobby prior to the performance, where they sang very well and received many compliments. After the performance, the choir members were invited to attend the Oregon Symphony's concert featuring Mozart and Berlioz.

Delphian Senior has Article Published in Statesman Journal

2010-03-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

An essay written by Delphian School senior and Academic All-Star, Joseph Kim, was recently published by Salem's Statesman Journal. The article discusses what Joseph would do if elected Governor of Oregon. Here's the article:

If I were elected governor, I would make spurring new jobs a high priority just as President Obama said in his speech last week. First, I would work to get more public works projects started, similar to what was done during the Great Depression. People could be put to work renovating Oregon bridges, building a new bridge across the Columbia River or modernizing buildings owned by the state to make them more energy efficient. The benefits from these projects would be seen for many years into the future. More people would be working, construction companies would be more successful, and fewer people would be collecting unemployment insurance.

Second, I would offer tax breaks or other incentives to Oregon companies who hired new people. This would encourage existing companies to grow and put more people to work. I would raise taxes on companies that are sending jobs out of the country.

Third, I would have the state economists determine which business areas need more trained workers now and provide government assistance to train jobless people who want those jobs. I wouldn't want to spend tax money training people for jobs that will not exist.

Last, I would talk to governors of other states to find what successful programs they have had that could be used in Oregon. I'd do my best to help more Oregonians get jobs.

Delphian Student Awarded Academic All-Star

2010-02-24T07:09:00.000-08:00

Delphian School senior, Joseph Kim, was named Academic All-Star by Salem's Statesman Journal and was honored at the paper's annual celebration dinner held on Sunday, February 21st. The Statesman Journal started its Academic All-Star program in 1994 as a way of honoring outstanding students for their academic achievements and contribution to their communities.

Joseph and Delphian School Dean of Students, Linda Siegal, attended the reception, which was held at Western Oregon University. Joseph received the Academic All-Star award along with thirty-one other students from the Willamette Valley area. The celebration dinner included speeches from local university presidents and Oregon Senator Jackie Winter.

Of the award, Joseph said, "It is an honor to receive this recognition, and my parents are very proud."

Delphian Creates Artwork for The Portland Youth Philharmonic

2010-02-19T14:02:00.000-08:00

This week Delphian Elementary and Lower School students attended a concert given by the Portland Youth Philharmonic. The students got acquainted with the different musical instruments used by a symphony orchestra and listened to the orchestra perform Mussorgsky's famous suite, "Pictures at an Exhibition."

Delphian School was one of several schools that were given the opportunity to paint a picture to go with a selected movement of the epic suite, which is a representation of pictures the composer saw at an exhibition. Delphian School created a painting for the movement "Ballet of the Unhatched Chicks."

The schools' pictures were put on stage before the orchestra played each movement, and the respective school was acknowledged for its contribution. "What was the most fun," noted Joelle Rothe, Elementary School Head, "was watching the young painters become so excited at seeing their art on stage in front of hundreds of students."

Delphian Students Selected for Honor Choir

2010-02-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

On Feb. 5th and 6th, nine Delphian School Varsity Choir members went to St. Helens, Oregon to participate in the Oregon Music Educator's Association District 3 Honor Choir. About 120 students participated from 14 High Schools in Northwest Oregon, each nominated by their directors. Participating Delphian Shool students included Melissa Agrillo, Alison Wilson, Kristel Ehrlich, Kelsie Myers, Nicole Danko, Elizabeth Strickland, Chance Furgerson, JJ Pinkus, and Andrew Walther.

The pieces chosen for this year's honor choir were in a wide variety of genres. One favorite, "Tres Cantivos Nativos" is a song derived from native tribes of the Amazonian rainforest (complete with jungle sounds and a rainstorm). Another favorite was a song that District 3, with assistance from Delphian Arts Director, Craig Bader, commissioned especially for this event from nationally renowned choral composer Vijay Singh. It was the adaptation of a renaissance love sonnet by Michael Drayton, "On a Bank With Roses."

The closing song was a rousing gospel piece, entitled, "I Will Sing Praises." The song featured Delphian soloists Melissa Agrillo and JJ Pinkus, who were chosen from a group of 40 hopefuls.

As part of the honor choir, the students rehearsed the pieces in sectionals and then with the master conductor, Dr. Steve Zielke from Oregon State University. He rehearsed them intensively for about 6 hours on Friday and Saturday. The students loved Dr. Ziekle's energy and enthusiasm.

The event culminated in a public concert on Saturday. The concert opened with Delphian student and concert pianist, Elizabeth Strickland, performing a Chopin Waltz on the piano. The choir then sang their songs including the closer, featuring the Delphian soloists.

Delphian School hosts Chess for Success Regional Championships

2010-02-10T08:01:00.000-08:00

For the fifth year in a row, Delphian School hosted the Chess for Success regional championship chess tournament. Nearly 100 top players from Kindergarten through 12th grade came from all over Yamhill and Polk County to compete for regional champion honors. Top finishers move on to the state championships held in Portland this March.

Tournament Director, Rod Bixler, of McMinnville welcomed the players and started the competition at 10:00am. The students shook hands and went to work, quietly but fiercely battling for control of the boards. By mid afternoon the results began coming in.

Delphian student Conn McCurry captured the title for 8th grade regional champion. “The competition was challenging," Conn said, "and I didn’t know if I could keep winning, but I just kept playing my best. I think it's so great to be going to states!” Conn’s younger teammate, Brett Horton, placed First for the 7th grade and will be going to the state championships with him.

Other winners advancing to states included Jeb Meaders of Dayton High School for 9th-12th grade; Ammon Jeffries of Talmadge Middle School in Independence for 6th grade; Zebuli Kiggens of Henry Hill Elementary School in Independence for 5th grade; and Roman Gabriel and John Bradley from Henry Hill Elementary for K-4th grade. Elise Morgan of Dayton Elementary School also qualified for states for 5th grade.

For more information about the Chess for Success state championships, visit their website at www.chessforsuccess.org.

Delphian Students Create "A Touch of Magic" at the Mayor's Ball

2010-02-10T07:23:00.000-08:00

Delphian School students have been volunteering at the annual McMinnville Mayor's Charity Ball long enough to become a staple at the fundraiser, which raises money for the local Kids on the Block program.

This year, Delphian Senior Jenna Hanson was in charge of making decorative wall hangings for the ball. The theme of this year’s Ball was “A Touch of Magic.” To coordinate with this theme, Jenna and her project teammate, Leah DeVeau, made eight giant 8'x4' playing cards, which were sketched on canvas and then painted. Jenna and Leah also created and painted 2 posters advertising Houdini and Kellar, which were used as decorations on the upper floor of the building. Delphian Sophomore Andrew Walther created a life-sized wire man which was also on display.  

For the night of the Ball, Jenna coordinated eight other students to accompanied her in volunteering with serving and cleanup. "It was a very fun project," Jenna said. "Doing this gave me a chance to expand my practical and artistic abilities while contributing to something important in the community."