HEADx Talks
Our HEADx Series follows Head of School, Michael Saxenian, as he interviews our expert faculty. Each episode provides great tips for parents and takes a deep look into the ways our educators work with students to help them grow and succeed in school, college, and in life.
Click any of the items below to watch our HEADx Talks!
Overcoming Math Anxiety
Gather round for a HEADx Talk featuring Paul Belliveau, our Math Department Chair, and Robyn Wise, a Middle School math teacher. With their combined expertise, we get to the root of common challenges students face in math and demonstrate a few of the ways McLean goes about doing things differently. By utilizing examples students can easily identify with, such as pop culture, and focusing on Growth Mindset, students can shed their math anxiety and evolve their skills.
Amazing Benefits of Children Exploring Music
How does early music education support reading and executive functioning skills? Head of Lower School, Dr. Mary Dickerson, along with Master Reading Coordinator, Dr. Sara Hines, explore the amazing benefits of children exploring music at a young age.
Learning TRY-Angle
Missing assignments and lost school items? Middle School Learning Services Coordinator, Rebecca Stewart, has some ideas to help! In this talk, she gives a recap of her Learning TRY-Angle Community Education Series presentation and outlines how the home and school relationship is a fundamental base for supporting student growth. The Learning TRY-Angle can be a powerful tool for addressing common challenges students face.
College Visits 101
When visiting colleges, what’s the one thing you should make sure to pick up, and the one place you’ve got to visit? Get the answers and more inside tips for the Campus Visit from McLean School’s College Counselors, Kathleen Glynn-Sparrow, and Max Rosner. They’ll also share more about the School’s College Counseling Program.
Fostering A Love of Reading
Middle School Literature Teacher Mark Reyman shares tips and strategies to help encourage a love of reading at home. Hear is thoughts on audiobooks and strategies for helping to make meaning from text.
Building Self Advocacy Skills
Helping students build their own self-advocacy skills is a vitally important part of the McLean School classroom experience — and one that we know promotes academic success. But it can also be an important part of life at home. Hear from Associate Director of Enrollment, Taryn Tenney, and former grade 5 teacher, to discover what you can do as a parent to help foster self-awareness and self-advocacy in your child.
STEM, STEAM, and Robotics
Science Department Chair, Andrew Tran, discusses the origins of the STEM and STEAM curriculum and explains more about McLean School’s K-12 robotics and coding program that not only teaches valuable technological skills, but teamwork, resiliency, and organizational skills, too. Learn how robotics supports the development of executive functioning skills, grit, and resilience
Turning “The Talk” Into an 18 Year Conversation
If you missed our Coordinator of Social-Emotional Programming, Molly Love, give her presentation at Cecily’s Advocacy Conference, you’ll want to watch her recap of Turning the Talk Into An 18 Year Conversation. She discusses ways you can encourage your child’s social-emotional growth through continued, honest discussions at home regarding difficult topics.
Early Warning Signs of ADHD
Lower School teacher Susie Costen, and Reading Specialist, Abby Himmelrich, explore the early warning signs of ADHD, and what schools and parents need to do to best support students with attention challenges. They’ll also highlight the incredible strengths of students with ADHD and what accommodations at school can be most helpful.
Early Warning Signs of Dyslexia
In Part 2 of their HEADX Talk, Lower School teacher Susie Costen, and Reading Specialist, Abby Himmelrich, are back again. This time to explore the early warning signs of Dyslexia. They’ll dig into how dyslexia is diagnosed, and explain what types of interventions and accommodations schools and parents need to employ to support a child with dyslexia. They’ll address what research-based programs are most beneficial and share their insights into the many talents that students with dyslexia have.