Stories from the Ridge, The McCallie Podcast

Recent graduates David Dalton '22 and Rowdy Stephens '22 talk with Skip Brock '68 about their shared passion for cars and racing. The discussion is hosted by the Director of Digital Communications Deanna Luna, of McCallie's Communications and Marketing Department. In August 2021, David and Rowdy expressed an interest in re-restarting a car club at McCallie, and serendipitously, alumnus and Board of Trustees member Skip Brock had expressed an interest in working with students on building a race car. Thus began a year-long collaboration. In the episode, the students discuss their process for building the car, including meticulously documenting each step, as well as their first foray into taking the car for a spin on a track.

In this edition of Stories from the Ridge, Head of School Lee Burns ’87, talks with two of McCallie’s most respected teachers, Chet LeSourd ’72 and Bob Bires. Mr. LeSourd will retire at the end of May after 43 years on the Ridge, and Mr. Bires retired two years during the first phase of the COVID pandemic when the school was in lockdown and it was impossible to give him a proper send-off. Prior to recording the podcast on May 16, 2022, Mr. LeSourd gave his final Upper School Chapel talk as a member of the faculty, an event attended by many former teachers who worked with Mr. LeSourd over the years. A video of that Chapel talk can be viewed here.

The latest edition of Stories from the Ridge features the new Head of School at GPS, Megan Cover, in a conversation with McCallie’s Head of School Lee Burns ’87. The two discuss the special relationship of McCallie and GPS and share ideas for enhancing some coordinate programs in the future. And Ms. Cover shares with the McCallie community the story of her professional career, from a French/German teacher in Philadelphia to the head of one of the nation’s top girls’ schools.

With the varsity baseball stadium being named the Kenny Sholl Stadium, and the dugouts being named for Hank Hopping and Bill Eiselstein, the three titans of McCallie baseball sat down on a recent spring afternoon as the baseball team was practicing and shared their thoughts and stories about baseball at McCallie. Steve Hearn ’74, Vice President of Advancement, hosts the discussion, which is full of laughs and wonderful memories.

Ranked as the top high school team in the nation, McCallie’s Blue Tornado Tennis Team is off to a great start this year. Head of School Lee Burns ’87 and Varsity Tennis Coach Jeff Clark ’91 recently sat down to discuss the number one ranking and the team’s prospects, and that lively, informative discussion is available in the latest edition of McCallie’s Stories from the Ridge podcast series. The two, who were both top-level tennis players at McCallie to discuss the 2022 team, its season so far and the prospects for the remainder of the season, and they recall other great McCallie tennis teams (such as the top-ranked 1977 team) as well as their own tennis careers. The podcast was recorded on March 23, 2022.

McCallie School is a place in which boys are comfortable, and one of the duties of teachers is to make them uncomfortable. That is what creates learning and growth, and it is something done with care and intention. That’s one of the many observations about McCallie’s academic program made on a podcast featuring three top administrators – Head of School Lee Burns ’87, Assistant Head of School Kenny Sholl, and Dean of Faculty and Curriculum Sumner McCallie – that discusses the school’s faculty and academic program.  The informative and entertaining discussion of the academic program is the conclusion of a series of podcasts that examine McCallie’s eight academic departments. (Those podcasts can be found below.) Mr. Burns, Mr. Sholl, and Mr. McCallie discuss the departmental podcasts, play short clips, and tie them into the objectives and practices of teachers on the Ridge. They discuss how the curriculum and the teaching styles of faculty members are balanced between the strong traditions of McCallie and the changing global environment in which McCallie boys will enter as adults. Here are the 14 Habits of Mind, as discussed in the podcast.

McCallie’s innovative Tornado Term, which allows Upper School students to take a deep dive into special interests or topics over a two-week period every January, has become one of the most popular parts of the school’s curriculum. In the latest episode of McCallie’s Stories from the Ridge podcast series, that topic is discussed, especially the most recent T-Term (as it is informally called). In the podcast, Chris Carpenter ’96, Dean of Student Academics, who oversees the T-Term program, discusses the concept and implementation of T-Term with Spanish Teacher Chip Arnold ’90, who leads a T-Term course on Southern rock music, and students Joseph Mason ’22, who served an internship in cybersecurity, and Harry Carter ’24, who participated in the Horsemanship class.

Stevie Ray Dallimore, Director of Theater at McCallie, will head to New York in the next few days where he will be the understudy for actor Daniel Craig in the upcoming Broadway production of Macbeth, directed by Sam Gold. In this episode of Stories from the Ridge, Mr. Dallimore discusses his role as understudy, what it entails, and how he got the offer. He also reflects on his nine years leading McCallie’s theater department and how that experience has helped him as an actor. He plans to return to the Ridge once the show ends its 15-week run.

The many and varied music offerings, from the pep band to private vocal lessons, is the topic of the latest in a series of podcasts examining McCallie’s academic departments. Michael Ake, Chair of the Music Department sits down with Sumner McCallie, Dean of Faculty and Curriculum, to discuss the various offerings and objectives of the department. Mr. Ake uses the annual Christmas performance known as Candlelight to highlight the many aspects of the Music Department, and how practice, practice, practice, results in outstanding performances by groups as varied as handbells, the McCallie/GPS Chorus, and classical guitars.

Classes that are fun, flexible and filled with humility is the objective of McCallie’s History Department, say three of the school’s history teachers in the latest podcast series that examines McCallie’s academic disciplines. The podcast is part of McCallie’s Stories from the Ridge growing podcast series and can be found by searching for “McCallie Stories from the Ridge” on major podcast platforms. In the podcast, the teachers let us in on some of their professional secrets they use to keep students engaged. Joining Dean of Faculty and Curriculum Sumner McCallie for the timely discussion are Department Chair Randy Odle, Dr. Duke Richey '86, and Bart Wallin '99.

McCallie’s Stories from the Ridge podcast series that has focused on the academic disciplines continues with a look at the Fine Arts Department. Three of the school’s arts teachers discuss how arts are taught at McCallie, how creativity is nurtured, and how arts are used as a springboard for self-discovery and problem solving for McCallie boys. The podcast, featuring Department Chair Paul Merrion and teachers Suzanne Mortimer and Will Givens, is hosted by Dean of Faculty and Curriculum Sumner McCallie.

Math at McCallie is not an exercise in learning numbers and equations, but instead, it is “a philosophy, a practice of logic” and a “way to think.” And it is fun. That’s the message of four of McCallie’s math teachers as they discuss their academic discipline in the latest edition of McCallie’s podcast series examining the various academic departments at the school. Hosted by Dean of Faculty and Curriculum Sumner McCallie, this podcast features Department Chair Rob Lyons and teachers Cary Hubbard, Andrea Odle and Byron McCague.

As the McCallie community prepares for the Blue Tornado football team’s game Thursday, December 2, for the state championship, Head of School Lee Burns ’87 sits down with Coach Ralph Potter ’81 to discuss the upcoming game, the legacy of football at McCallie, and the prospects for the game against Montgomery Bell Academy. Coach Potter shares his coaching philosophy, and the two stress the importance of the McCallie community cheering the team on as they play for the championship in Chattanooga’s Finley stadium.

A new book (his fourth) by Dr. David Eastman, the Sherril Chair of Bible and head of the Bible Department, is the topic of the latest in a series of podcasts examining the various academic departments of McCallie. In this episode, Dr. Eastman is joined by Dr. Sal Musumeci, one of McCallie’s history teachers, as well as Sumner McCallie, Dean of Faculty and Curriculum, in a discussion of the book, North African Christianity, Turning Points in the Development of the Church. They also talk about the Bible Department, how McCallie teaches Biblical subjects to students of many different faiths, and why teaching about religion, faith, and ethics is an important part of McCallie’s pedagogical philosophy. This is the fourth in a series of podcasts examining the academic departments at McCallie. Other podcasts in this series will be posted throughout the remainder of 2021.

McCallie’s goal is for students to not simply “learn” a second or third language, but to “acquire” it, and by doing so to understand the cultures and personal perspectives of people in other parts of the world. That’s one of the themes touched on in a podcast discussion among four language teachers at McCallie. The discussion is part of McCallie’s Stories from the Ridge podcast series on academic departments. The latest podcast features Dean of Faculty and Curriculum Sumner McCallie talking with the language teachers about their teaching methods and the importance of language proficiency in today’s global world. Joining Mr. McCallie are Frank Watkins, Spanish teacher and chair of the department, Paul Cudd, German teacher, Jason Jones, Latin teacher, and Carson Murphy, Chinese teacher.