Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Winter 2008 | Page 9

www.thorntonacademy.org

Science Teachers Receive National
Semiconductor Science in Action Award
Thornton Academy teachers
Beth Bussiere and Matthew Amoroso won the National Semiconductor Science in Action Award.
The pair has been granted $5,000
for their winning project, “Physics in Motion,” which will make it
possible to expand the laboratory
work that students conduct in a
freshman science course. Using
new equipment—which was delivered in February—students can
better understand concepts basic
to physics. Sensors along a car
track can be hooked into student
laptops, for example, to measure,
gather and interpret data that advance understanding of Newton’s
three laws of motion.
The cutting-edge technology in this pilot project will get
Thornton Academy students
ready for higher-level classes,
promote interest in scientific
inquiry and build technology
skills relevant to college life and
beyond.
“We’re very excited about this
award,” said Headmaster Carl J.
Stasio Jr. “Thornton views science and technology as key to
preparing students to be productive members of this century’s
work force.”

Amoroso and Bussiere, encouraged by science department
chair Christy Lajoie to apply for
the grant, will split an additional
$2,000 personal award, which
recognizes the extra work that
goes into expanding curriculum
in innovative ways.
The teachers are thrilled to
be among the award winners in
2008.
“This is equipment that we
can use for years,” Bussiere says.
“And if all goes well this spring,
we can use it in all our freshman
science classes this fall.” Higherlevel courses may also benefit
from the technology in the future, she adds.
Amoroso points out that
without the 1:1 student-to-laptop
initiative that was rolled out in
science classes last year, teaching
“Physics in Motion” would not
be possible. The laptop initiative was made possible through
donations to the Thornton Fund,
chiefly a grant from the Sam L.
Cohen Foundation.
“If we didn’t have the laptops in our classes, we couldn’t
do this project at all,” Amoroso
says.
Stasio agrees. “The Cohen Foun-

Photo by Jennifer Hass

Thornton Academy teachers Beth Bussiere and Matthew Amoroso won the
National Semiconductor Science in Action Award.

dation grant, which allowed us
to purchase 25 laptops for each
of our science classroom, is
enhanced by the National Semiconductor award and gives our
students even more hands-on
classroom research opportunities.”
Each year, National Semicon-

ductor Corporation grants the
Science in Action Award to educators in Maine, California and
Texas, states where the company
has major facilities. Information
about the 2008 National Semiconductor Awards may be found
online at www.nsawards.com.

All-Boys Class Addresses the Gender Gap
Thornton Academy’s faculty
and staff are always looking for
ways to meet students’ changing
needs, and a new all-boys English
class demonstrates just that.
Students were selected last
summer at random to join the
College Prep English course, and
parents were notified before
the 2007-08 year began that it
included boys only. Anyone could
opt out and join a mixed-sex class
with identical curriculum but
none chose to do so.
Within our school community
and beyond, the initiative is
sparking discussion about how
to bridge the achievement gap in
reading and writing between boys
and girls. Educators, members
of the media and visitors from
Bates College and the Maine Boys
Network have sat in on the class
and agree there is much to be
gained through this educational
experiment, which is unique in
both Maine and New England.
Grades and test scores will
be analyzed once the school year
ends. Until then, the academic
impact on this group of 19
freshmen will remain unknown.
An abundance of testimonial
evidence, however, indicates that
the male students enrolled in the
course are enjoying themselves.
It’s great news that all but one
of the students say they’d take
an all-boys class again. What’s
greater is that some have become
more engaged with reading and

writing than ever before.
“I wasn’t that interested in
being in here at first, but now I
prefer it,” says Mike McDonald
’11. “I think I’ve done better in
here than in some of my other
classes.”
Other students say that
it’s just easier to learn without
females in the room. Greg Dumas,
who’s teaching the class, says it’s
easy to understand why: Males
entering their freshman year may
be smaller than girls physically,
they’re just discovering what

it means to have an interest
in the opposite sex, and the
changes boys experience during
adolescence can lead to feelings of
intimidation.
“They like the class,” Dumas
says. “I think some do because
it’s led by a male teacher or
because they know it’s something
special here. Others seem to really
respond positi