March 2024 News
Fixing Up by Mr. Marsh at Muncie Civic Theatre
Friday, March 1, 2024
Muncie Civic Theatre’s Casazza Family Studio Theatre will feature Fixing Up, a comedy written by Mr. John Marsh, Associate Lecturer of History, with his wife, Jenni on March 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, and 17. John and Jenni wrote this play several years ago and it won the 2014 MacLaren Comedy Playwriting Festival. In addition, they will be co-directing the production. A previous play they had written, Cat’s Pajamas was performed at the Muncie Civic Theatre last season. Dr. Dain Kavars, Executive Director of the Indiana Academy, said, “Having watched their previous play, I can attest that John and Jenni are excellent playwrights! This is a show you will not want to miss.” Tickets are on sale and can be purchased at munciecivic.org/fixing-up.
Academy Instructors Receive Lilly Endowment Fellowships
Friday, February 24, 2023
We are extremely proud to announce that Academy Instructors David Haynes, John Marsh, and Sean Scott have each been awarded a Lilly Endowment Teacher Creativity Fellowship! To have three teachers from a small school receive the fellowship in the same year is an incredible accomplishment. The credit, of course, goes to Mr. Haynes, Mr. Marsh, and Dr. Scott for the hard work they put into preparing their applications and the dedication they have to their Academy students.
David Haynes’ fellowship, “Made in Massachusetts and the Editing Room” expands cinematic education by creating an audio-visual memoir of his family’s origins and experiences in Massachusetts, creating a wholly personal film from inception to completion.
John Marsh’s fellowship, “Seeking Educational Theater and Classroom Inspiration in Britain” inspires the creation of youth educational theater scripts through a transformative journey across Great Britain.
Sean Scott’s fellowship, “A Hoosier Historian’s European Grand Tour” deepens historical knowledge through visiting some of the most iconic landmarks, museums and cathedrals of England and France and hiking portions of the Tour du Mont Blanc, Swiss Alps and Scottish Highlands.
Congratulations to all three on this wonderful news!
Academy Instructor Premieres New Play
Thursday, October 6, 2022
Mr. John Marsh, Lecturer of Social Studies and award-winning playwright, has a new play being produced this month at Muncie Civic Theater. Cat’s Pajamas is a screwball comedy set in the Roaring Twenties, with a ghostly, mystery vibe, and should be fun for the whole family. As a newly developed work, the director will introduce the concept of a staged reading before the show, and then invite feedback from the audience after the performance.
Mr. Marsh co-wrote the play with his wife, Jenni. Their previous play won the McLaren Comedy Playwriting Festival and was produced in Midland, Texas, but the Marshes say they wanted to start at home with this one.
There will be evening performances at 7:30 p.m. on October 21, 22, 28, & 29, plus a 2:30 p.m. matinee on Sunday October 30. If you are interested in tickets, here is the link:
Teaching During a Pandemic – a Century Ago by Mr. John Marsh
Monday, April 27, 2020
A recent article written by Social Studies instructor Mr. John Marsh, “Teaching During a Pandemic – a Century Ago,” has been published on the home page of History News Network. HNN is perhaps the biggest professional history journal online with 1.5 million page views per month.
Read the article on the History News Network website.
A different version of the article with more Muncie-specific information and a photo of Mr. Marsh’s grandparents’ business was published a few weeks ago in the Muncie Journal, and was picked up by Google News and Newsbreak, also reaching a national audience.
Read the Muncie Journal version of the article.
Academy Instructors Receive Bell Education Grants
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
The following Academy instructors received a Robert P. Bell Education grant from the Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County Inc.:
- Tom Arnold – $238.04 (Election of 1896 Posters)
- John Marsh – $450 (Build an Escape Room)
- Stephanie Nagelkirk – $356.29 (Harlem Renaissance Party)
- Evan Ward – $108 (Ancient & Medieval Medicine Science Fair)
Each of these instructors has been awarded a similar grant in the past, and we are proud of their continued efforts in securing funding for innovative projects for our students.
John Marsh Named Recipient of Inaugural Robert P. Bell Creative Teaching Award
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. has announced that John Marsh has been awarded the inaugural Robert P. Bell Creative Teaching Award to recognize his innovation in the classroom.
Marsh, a history teacher at the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, was nominated by Indiana Academy’s Director of Academic Affairs, Dr. Jeff Smith, for his execution of three recent Robert P. Bell Education Grants.
This past May, for example, Marsh led his students to recreate three important historical caves along with art to establish an exhibit called “the Cave of Time.” The Bell Grant was used to build the set and create the artifacts within the caves. As part of the project, students wrote scripts to be used to lead tours for several hundred students and Muncie community members.
“These projects are major building events and require the close coordination of numerous students and adults,” wrote Smith in his nomination. “The projects also serve as significant education events for other children (and adults). I think you would be very hard pressed to come up with a teacher who has had more impact on not only his students, but also on the much larger community for Muncie and Delaware County.”
Smith also explained that beyond the projects associated with his Bell Grants, Marsh’s World Regions class is very popular and always has maximum enrollment. In this class, students identify, research, and build a model of a religious artifact. The artifacts are put on display along with background information on the artifact and associated religion. Indiana Academy students and staff take time to view these projects extending the lessons from the classroom to the entire school community.
Marsh was selected for the Robert P. Bell Creative Teaching Award because he has demonstrated a commitment to education through creative and innovative projects in his classroom. This was illustrated by his well-developed projects funded through the Robert P. Bell Education Grants and his desire to extend the subject matter learned by students to the community at-large.
Marsh was surprised with the award in front of students, administrators, and family at the Indiana Academy on September 11.
The Robert P. Bell Creative Teaching award was established to compliment the Robert P. Bell Education Grants program and honor teachers who have gone above and beyond to use creativity and innovation to enhance learning by their students. The annual program rewards, recognizes, and encourages extraordinary educators who have applied for, received, and executed a Robert P. Bell Grant from The Community Foundation in their classroom.
To commemorate the award, The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County awarded a $1,000 grant to Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities to be used by John Marsh in his classroom. For more information about the Robert P. Bell Creative Teaching Award, please visit The Community Foundation’s website at cfmdin.org.
By Kallie Sulanke, Community Engagement Officer, The Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County
Explore the “Cave of Time” at the Indiana Academy
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
Students at the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities are currently involved in May Term, a unique two-week program that happens at the conclusion of every spring semester.
May Term is a graduation requirement for Academy students and provides them with opportunities to take in-depth courses on special subjects, travel, and participate in internships. Each year brings new courses and experiences. This year there are over 20 different courses including Forensic Science and Japanese Manga as well as travel opportunities ranging from Australia to Yellowstone National Park, to name just two trips.
One of this year’s May Term projects, the “Cave of Time” is led by John Marsh, Instructor of History, and explores the wonders of four of the world’s most famous caves. Visitors to the exhibit will encounter the prehistoric artwork found in Chauvet and Lascaux caves in France, Cueva de las Manos (Cave of Hands) in Argentina, and the exquisite Buddhist artwork of China’s Dunhuang Caves along the Silk Road.
The “Cave of Time” was constructed by 16 students, who will serve as tour guides. During the tours, the student guides will share the meaning and the stories behind the amazing works of art as visitors take a museum-quality, flashlight journey through winding passages with rough walls, dripping water, and a partially excavated burial site.
The exhibit is free and open to the public from 4-7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 23 with no reservations in Room 209 of Burris Laboratory School. Tours run every 15 minutes.
Financial support is provided by a Robert P. Bell Education Grant through the Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, Inc. In-kind support is provided by Gill Bros. Furniture and the Back to School Teachers Store.
Located on the picturesque campus of Ball State University, the Indiana Academy is a nationally ranked two-year public high school for high ability juniors and seniors coming from anywhere in the state.
Indiana Academy Instructors Awarded Robert P. Bell Education Grants
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
Robert P. Bell Education Grants are awarded to teachers and counselors for innovative ideas, programs, or classroom projects. Administered by the Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County, four Indiana Academy faculty members, Michael Mayfield, John Marsh, Jennifer Robinson, and Les McSparrin were awarded a Bell Grant.
Students in the Human Anatomy and Physiology course taught by Michael Mayfield, instructor of life sciences, are studying the human cardiovascular system. As part of this study they will be dissecting a preserved sheep heart and illustrating the external circulation and internal structures. They will use computerized probeware to produce a three lead ECG (electrocardiogram) of their own heart. To help in mastering the material, they will transfer their drawings onto the front of a t-shirt along with a tracing of their ECG on the back. From this activity, Mayfield hopes the students will better understand the physical structures of the human heart and the flow of blood.
John Marsh, instructor of history, is another recipient of the Bell Grant. Marsh created a mock election process that expanded beyond the standard classroom teaching on the nomination process, electoral college, candidates, and issues. Students trained in the roles of the various poll workers, and then the polls were open during the nearly identical period as the official polls in Indiana on Election Day. Students followed the complete procedure when they came to vote. Through hands-on participation and responsibilities, the end result for students was a broad understanding of the election laws and procedures regarding this most central of citizenship rights.
French Instructor, Jennifer Robinson, instructor of French, had a variety of things happening during National French Week (November 4-10) and the grant assisted with and Arts & Crafts event during that week. For that event students focused on the hand-painted pottery traditions in the Brittany region of France. Their pottery pieces were decorated using permanent markers, and they created personalized signatures following the example of the true Quimper artisans. Finally, to extend the reach of this project beyond the walls of the Academy, each student made one pottery item for themselves and a second to offer to someone in the community. Each item includes a student-produced card explaining the Quimper tradition, an explanation of the significance of the chosen design, a brief biography of the student artisan, and some facts about the French language.
Students in biochemistry are embarking on a 5-7 week course with Les McSparrin, instructor of chemistry, to explore a real-world laboratory project that is problem based. The students will be isolating the DHFR protein from transformed E. coli colonies. What makes this a “real-world” project is that the students will be using the same procedures and apparatuses that are currently in use in biotechnology labs across the United States. Student won’t just be learning about the function of the protein itself, but they also will be learning techniques that will carry over to college and/or the workplace. Since the field of biochemistry and biotechnology is growing at such a rapid pace, students will have a considerable advantage over other students who don’t have this skill set upon graduation. He wishes to enhance in-class discussions of DHFR and other protein folding with hands-on experiences.