Throughout the academic year, Melinda Giampietro, Options Founder/President, will share some of her favourite things. Melinda loves reading, data, research, and following academic and adolescent news around the world.
Melinda’s May Book Pick
I recently finished Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I LOVED THIS BOOK. It reminded me a lot of the quirky humour in Where’d You Go Bernadette (another favourite). It follows Elizabeth Zott, a 1960’s chemist, through her unexpected career transition. It made me thankful for all of the working mothers before me, charting the path. The book is laugh-aloud funny and thoughtful in its reflections on gender stereotypes. It also reinforces all the cool applications chemistry has in everyday life! It’s a super summer read.
Melinda’s May Cookbook Pick
I love the Half Baked Harvest franchise. Tieghan Gerard cooks all day in a barn in Colorado, and this is her second mention in Founder’s Feature. In April, she released a new cookbook, Half Baked Harvest Every Day. Her recipes are easy to follow, beautifully photographed, and simply fun. I have just cracked the surface of the 120 recipes, but recent successes include: blueberry lemon poppyseed muffins, mozzarella bites, saucy garlic peanut noodles, spiced paprika chicken, and herby avocado steak salad. I love breakfast sandwiches, and her naan breakfast sandwich with soft scrambled eggs and honey is amazing. A weekend must try!
Melinda’s May Article
I enjoy reading articles by professional writers about their craft. The article “Why Simple is Smart” by Derek Thompson in The Atlantic resonated with me. Reading about the writing process helps me guide my students better in their narrative writing. This is my favourite quote:
“Find the right skin thickness. When I was getting started in journalism, I was terrified of being wrong to the point of paralysis. A spicy bit of criticism from a reader or an anonymous Twitter jerk would always derail my day and send me into a spiral of self-doubt. I had thin skin. Several years into my career, I read an interview with a famous, past-their-prime journalist—nope, not telling—who said they dealt with criticism by ignoring negative feedback from readers. That’s a great way to protect one’s self-esteem was the first thought I had, followed by No wonder you suck at writing now. This journalist had the opposite problem that I had. Their skin was too thick. I wish there were a formula for growing one’s “ego epidermis” to the perfect level of thickness. There is not.”
Melinda’s May Humour
As I gear up to start another US application cycle, I am constantly reading narrative accounts. These make excellent examples for our students. The Common App essays (the link can be found here) are confirmed to remain the same for 2022-23. I loved this cute article in which famous Shakespeare characters write their own Common App essays. In the office, we all agreed that Juliet totally understood the assignment, but we have some questions for Hamlet.
Melinda’s May Updates
British Columbia will begin requiring a four-credit Indigenous-focused course as a graduation requirement for independent and public schools in the 23-24 school year. We have seen many schools begin coordinating their curriculum around this requirement. For full details see here.
Huron’s Bachelor of Management and Organizational Studies program added two new majors for fall 2022. Read about them here: Business Intelligence: https://huronatwestern.ca/sites/default/files/HUR2233_MOS-Business-Intelligence-One-Pager-FA-Digital-1.pdf Marketing & Sustainability: https://huronatwestern.ca/sites/default/files/HUR2233_MOS-Marketing-Sustainability-One-Pager-FA-Digital-1.pdf
