Faculty Room Podcast

Instrumental Music Teacher Thane Lewis envisioned a Fine Arts basement recording studio for high-quality audio- and audio-visual projects long before Dragonfly Studio opened in December 2019.

"The studio is a center for creative endeavor that is open to all voices and creative uses," said Thane, noting that the space was first used during the 2020 Songwriting intensive. "Recently, my classes used the space to make trailers for Harry Potter Night and for Upper School Winter Concert. My students record their state auditions in here, as well as recordings for their college applications."

Within the last year, a history class and a Chinese class recorded podcasts here; Play Production students recorded radio advertisements that were used in the play On the Air that premiered in December 2023; and students from the Global Link Alabama intensive recorded summaries of their January 2024 trip. Thane also records The Faculty Room, a podcast that features discussions between adults in the UPrep community.

In anticipation of the article "Community Builders: Julie Smith & Rebecca Moe" from the 2024 winter issue of UPrep Magazine, Thane discussed community with Julie and Rebecca on The Faculty Room podcast. As part of the Integrated Learning Office, Julie works with juniors and seniors who have diagnosed learning differences that require classroom and standardized testing accommodations. She partners with students, advisors, teachers, and family members to understand each student’s learning profile and how to best support them. Director of Athletics Rebecca started at UPrep 25 years ago as the assistant athletic director and assumed the director role 18 years ago. During the 2022–2023 school year, three out of four Pumas played on an athletic team.

Listen to Considering Community featuring Director of Athletics Rebecca Moe and Learning and Testing Specialist Julie Smith: