Athenian Magazine 2022

Shoshana Ziblatt

Director of

Dora

of

“…the school is uniquely attuned to the needs of students at this moment in time— informed by Athenian’s mission and how students are seen and known by the adults in the community.”

– Jon Nickens Board Chair

Reflections and Beginnings

Message from Board Chair

Jon Nickens

The beginning of the academic year is among my favorite times of the year. Though my school days are long behind me, I still get excited by the sense of possibility in the air. This year, as I start my first year as Board Chair, that feeling hits closer to home. I am grateful to have served side-by-side last spring with Athenian’s outgoing Board Chair, Beth Borchers, as she helped me prepare for this new role.

Like many, my passion for Athenian is linked to my children’s experiences. My daughter Natalie is starting tenth grade, and my son Ryan graduated in June, having spent seven years at Athenian. Ryan credits Athenian for always making him feel safe and finding comfort in being uncomfortable, a delicate balance to strike and one that Athenian does so well. I saw how Athenian challenged, encouraged and supported him at each stage of his education.

Last year revealed some of Athenian’s greatest and enduring strengths. As evidenced by the pages that follow, the school is uniquely attuned to the needs of students at this moment in time— informed by the school’s mission and how Athenian students are seen and known by the adults in the community. These things held true while the world around us was experiencing rapid change and disruption, and during a time of leadership transition at Athenian.

As we enter the second full month of the 2022-2023 school year, I am delighted to welcome back Head of School Eric Niles. I know many of you followed along as he shared about his journey with cancer to receiving a clean bill of health. As he resumes his role this month, I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Interim Head Quincy McLaughlin for her leadership and planning over the summer months and for stewardship Athenian through its first fully in-person opening since the fall of 2019.

Jon Nickens Board Chair

Navigating the Inbetween

Though subject to extra COVID precautions, students participated in class trips and Round Square exchanges, school dances and socials, athletics— with spectators, and performing arts productions— with an audience! Resuming our ordinary and celebrated traditions was simultaneously grounding and disorienting, as we came to terms with just how much the world around us had changed. We navigated the inbetween and began the process of creating Athenian’s new normal.

For schools throughout the country, the return to school post-pandemic was uncharted. While we didn’t know what to expect, one thing was clear from the start of the year: Athenian students, like their peers nationwide, were experiencing heightened levels of mental health challenges.

Viewing this as an opportunity to become better educators and a better school, we began to think deeply about student wellness as an educational priority. We leaned into our strengths including our experiential approach, made some immediate and incremental changes, and set the stage for future growth.

LEFT: As one of several rotations during a spring Focus Day, sixth graders worked as teams to build the tallest and most stable structure possible using dry spaghetti noodles and marshmallows.

Students perform in front of live audience at the Upper School Fall Music & Dance Concert.

Following more than a year full of loss and disruption, 2021-2022 marked the return of some of Athenian’s most treasured traditions.

Continued on page 7

We navigated the inbetween and began the process of creating Athenian’s new normal

Prioritizing Student Wellness in the Classroom

Britt ShlaeGuada, Athenian Science Teacher

Britt SchlaeGuada prioritizes student wellness in the classroom: gathering feedback from students through weekly surveys, co-creating assessment rubrics, and encouraging student advocacy in their class. “I really try to break down the binary between kids and adults by giving my students more agency in their learning,” says Britt. “For example, I designed what I thought was a great assessment on nutrient cycling for my environmental science class, but one of my students pointed out that what I was asking them to do would require them to memorize 25 terms–which was not the goal.” After reflecting on the student’s feedback, Britt revised the assessment to better align with the desired learning outcomes. “I made the decision to provide a word bank so students could focus on knowing how to use the terms versus memorizing them–it was a win for me and for the students,” says Britt. This seemingly simple adjustment has had a big impact on the student experience. Because of frequent student surveys, Britt knows what is working and not working for students and is able to respond in meaningful ways that support their wellbeing.

“I really try to break down the binary between kids and adults by giving my students more agency in their learning…”

Students in Britt’s Environmental Science class working in the on-campus permaculture orchard.

Student Mental Health

Stressed, sad, tired, overwhelmed, unmotivated, and lonely, were just a few themes that emerged when talking to Athenian students this past year. Athenian’s Upper School Counselor, Rose Stoloff noted, “While we saw pretty typical teen stressors as students returned to more “normal” school, the reaction to those stressors was more intense and their ability to deal with them on their own was less.” In the Middle School, Counselor Toneka Webb observed the impact of more time at home and away from peers. “I have seen delays in the typical developmental challenges. For example, things that I’d usually see seventh graders dealing with showed up in eighth graders,” said Toneka. Rose and Toneka both agree that the normalization of mental health was notable this past year in both the Upper and Middle Schools. Students learned to ask for help in ways they hadn’t before which made it possible for us to make adjustments throughout the year.

What we were hearing from our students throughout the year was also backed by data. In late spring of 2021 and 2022, Athenian participated in Authentic Connections’ nationwide mental health survey for high-achieving schools. With over 60,000 student surveys completed since the start of the pandemic (spring of 2020), Authentic Connections

saw an uptick in mental health symptoms including anxiety, depression, and rule breaking during the 2021-2022 school year. Overall, the survey results from Athenian students were consistent with peer schools nationwide, despite students reporting that they felt very supported by their teachers and adults on campus.

Student mental health, particularly at highperforming schools, was on the rise long before the pandemic, as noted by psychologist and consultant Madeleine Levine, PhD, who spoke to our faculty and parents in January of 2022. However, the “sea change” Levine has been calling attention to for years, turned into what she calls a “tsunami” in the prologue to her recent book, “Ready or Not”. These past few years really showed us just how connected mental health is to learning. “When our students are grappling with mental health challenges, their ability to participate in their own learning is hindered,” said Director of Learning Services and Student Support, Jeannine Morales. She added, “The Authentic Connections’ student survey gives us more information with which to focus our efforts. We can help create the best learning environment for students, including partnering with their families.”

When our students are grappling with mental health challenges, their ability to participate in their own learning is hindered.

Students catching up before class and enjoying campus on a

…Navigating continued from page 7

to Student Needs

In the fall of 2021, Assistant Head and Head of Upper School, Meadow Davis, took a deep dive into the prior year’s Authentic Connections’ survey data, and also spent time listening to our Upper School community. Meadow joined Athenian only last year, but being part of a strong team in the Upper School allowed her to quickly hone in on the need to look systematically at ways that we could more effectively support both students and faculty. “We needed to look at our entire experience through a wellness lens and rethink how we approached education,” said Meadow. She added, “We started with small shifts, giving students space

to breathe during the day by adding longer passing times and shifting how we did advisory. Faculty also added more check-ins during class and really looked at their curriculum and use of classroom time.” We made measurable differences while working within the bounds of our current schedule and structure. It wasn’t just about the classroom experience though. “Students needed more joy and fun in their school experience—we built in both structured and unstructured times for them to play together. Spike ball and volleyball during breaks, and more time outside were really important to our wellness focus,” shared Meadow.

• Friday Fun – Nearly every Friday starting in the fall, the school hosted after-school fun activities including: dodgeball, capture the flag, s’mores, art and music, and trivia contests. These events brought students in grades 6-12 together to play, laugh and have fun.

• Wellness Days and a Wellness Week – In response to feedback, the Upper School held a winter wellness day. This optional school day included wellness activities such as yoga, art and hiking, followed by time for students to meet with their teachers for extra help and support. This led to a spring wellness week, with three consecutive days of late starts to school and a culminating wellness day. Both students and faculty reported sleeping more and feeling caught up.

• Classroom assessments and teaching styles – In the Upper School, teachers made adjustments in how they approached assignments and assessments. They adjusted deadlines, used class time to provide more feedback, and greatly reduced work that was not clearly formative or summative. These micro adjustments significantly helped reduce student stress.

• Upper School DEIS interns – Student voice and belonging was fostered by putting students at the center of the school’s work to become a more inclusive and anti-racist school. (See sidebar on DEIS Interns on page 9).

• Restorative circles – The boarding community piloted restorative circles to increase connection and communication within the dorms. (See more on how Restorative Justice Practices support student wellness in sidebar on page 12).

Upper School students enjoying one of the many lawn games during breaks.

Voice and Belonging: Student Interns Make Meaningful Change

One important component of wellness is a sense of belonging. In the spring of 2021, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Social Justice (DEIS), Sanjev DeSilva, put out a call for student DEIS Interns for the coming year. Though Athenian has long supported internships (independent studies) with a faculty advisor, these opportunities have typically been student-initiated, linking a single student’s interest with a faculty member with an expertise in that area. The DEIS internship opportunity was intentionally different from the start. “By creating a distinct role designed for a team of interns, and then extending the application invitation to all Upper School students, I wanted to center the student

experience in the work,” said Sanjev. He added, “Athenian students are courageous, insightful, and passionate, they can teach all of us adults how to stand up for what they believe in and take action if given the opportunity.”

In the inaugural year, the interns worked with Sanjev and the Office of DEIS to: give voice to the student experience as it relates to DEIS, help develop strategies to improve the overall sense of student belonging (e.g. inclusion), and create systems to address incidents of harm (e.g. microaggressions). Sanjev expected four or five students to apply that first year. When he received 23 stellar applications, he decided to make space for them all.

Though Sanjev is returning to a smaller group this year, he has no regrets about the much larger than expected team of interns in year one. “Each student intern brought a unique voice and perspective, giving us a deep understanding of the student experience so that we could prioritize our work as a school and community.” Sanjev will make sure he maintains a broad range of student voice this year, despite a smaller team. “We set out at the beginning of the year talking about a team approach to DEIS and by the end of the year I saw evidence of this everywhere as more students and adults felt empowered to be advocates for change.”

Over the course of the 21-22 school year, the DEIS interns put in countless hours of work as individuals and as a group. Some of their accomplishments were in partnership with adult DEIS Council Members and school leadership, others were fully student driven. They:

• Helped delineate student clubs from affinity groups (shared identity vs. shared interest) and articulated these changes to their fellow students.

• Partnered with the local indigenous community and brought the entire school together for a land acknowledgment as part of the start of the year Convocation.

• Organized and helped develop programming for Equity and Inclusion Week, including two E&I Nights, one in the Upper School and one in the Middle School.

• Called attention to the need for gender awareness training on campus, resulting in an adult and student training by outside experts to improve gender inclusivity and help decrease incidents of misgendering.

• Co-developed curriculum for and helped teach Middle School lessons on the history of the Holocaust in partnership with Upper School teacher, Stephanie McGraw, Middle School teacher, Charlie Raymond, and other Athenian students.

• Highlighted the need for an incident reporting system specific to issues of race and worked closely with Sanjev DeSilva and Upper School Head Meadow Davis on researching and implementing a microaggression incident reporting system (distinct from the school’s STOP IT reporting system, also recently implemented for reporting sexual assault and harassment).

DEIS Interns gather to celebrate the year end and to acknowledge accomplishments.

Responding to Student Needs 6–8

Though less pronounced overall, mental health symptoms were similarly on the rise in the Middle School last year (only seventh and eighth grade participated in the Authentic Connections’ survey).

In response to what they were hearing and seeing, the Middle School took extra care with a focus on fun, community, and belonging. As in the Upper School, there was a need for more organized social activities coming out of COVID. Middle School Dean of Students, Justin Guerra took every opportunity to add an extra layer of fun and connection into the Middle School program. Justin reflected, “It was exciting to rethink ways in which we could foster community in the Middle School. We’ve always placed a lot of value on the familial-style community in the Middle School. In coming back to school full-time, we recognized that it was so important to reinvest in making sure our kids were feeling connected with one another and the adults in the community.”

Structurally, the advisory program was reimagined to include grade-level advisory groups as well as cross-grade Owl Houses made of up three advisory groups, one from each grade. This allowed for important grade-level content to happen in advisory meetings and cross-grade community and school

spirit building activities to happen during the Owl House meeting time. A number of new traditions were added to facilitate connection such as an end-of-semester advisory breakfast, grade-level movie nights, and more DEIS programming in partnership with Sanjev DeSilva and the Upper School DEIS Interns. Middle schoolers also joined upper schoolers for Friday Fun activities, fostering an all-school community.

The Impact of Experiential Learning

Visit the Middle School campus on any given Friday and you won’t see students working in a traditional classroom setting, instead you’ll find them participating in multidisciplinary, hands on, Focus Day programming. A favorite for the 7th graders this past spring was “Risky Bizness” which prompted students to create businesses and attempt to sell their wares and services to other students, faculty, and staff. This year, students tested their entrepreneurial spirits with businesses that included International Delicacies (Polish, Pakistani, and Eritrean food), a coffee and tea bar, a canine cafe, and an incredibly popular Just Dance and candy business. The Tina Nott Peanut was filled with loud and excited students supporting their friends’ businesses while learning the importance of marketing, financial planning, business planning

Adding an extra dose of fun to Focus Days, the sixth grade participated in a game of human Foosball.

and creativity. As Assistant Head and Head of Middle School, Lauren Railey, explains, “Focus Days offer a natural break from the traditional classroom— students engage with the material and interact with their classmates and teachers in entirely different ways on Focus Days—which was something our students needed more than ever in this transition year. Some of our youngest students hadn’t been in a classroom for more than a year.”

Focus Days were a reminder that students thrive when provided space to follow their curiosity and engage deeply and joyfully with their learning. The daily schedule—four days of regular classes and a fifth day for multi-disciplinary, hands-on activities, is designed to support this type of learning.

Like in the Middle School, the Upper School’s experiential approach supported student wellness. As evidenced in the return of our fledgling March Term Program, students’ stress goes down and engagement goes up when given the opportunity to take a deep dive into a single subject matter, especially when it is experientially based. With its inaugural year pre-pandemic, March Term was put on a two year hiatus because of COVID. We were able to resume this 10-day program last spring, while half of the junior class was on AWE. “Students made a documentary in Chinatown, investigated California’s water crisis, designed a recording studio,

and prepared special meals from around the world. The opportunities to be present with one topic at a time was a gift to student wellness,” said Dean of Experiential Learning, Whitney Hofacker. When given the choice, many students gravitated toward courses that required learning a new skill in addition to gaining knowledge and understanding of a specific topic. For example, in the UPcycling course students explored the life cycle of stuff and its environmental impact while learning to use a sewing machine to create new things—bags, hats, clothes—from old materials. The joy, learning and engagement around campus and on the many course trips was affirming. The takeaway? Experiential learning as Dyke Brown envisioned is more relevant than ever and the more opportunities we can provide our students the better off they will be.

Upper School students made new things from old materials in the Upcycling March Term course.

“Student’s stress goes down and engagement goes up when given the opportunity to take a deep dive into a single subject matter, especially when it’s experiential based.”

Restorative Practices in Support of Student Wellness

Chris Crisolo joins Athenian in the 2022-23 school year in the role of Upper School Dean of Student Life, formerly the Dean of Students.

Moving onto campus and through the tunnel with his family over the summer, Chris is still acclimating to the inland heat while getting to know our students and community. Chris was selected for this role from a national search and his experience,which includes implenting Restorative Justice Practices and leading Diversity Equity and Inclusion efforts at Saint Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, will make him a critical partner in student wellness efforts this year and beyond.

Early in his career as an educator and dean of students, Chris was steeped in traditional discipline—handing out detention slips and issuing suspension— the kind of discipline he was familiar with from his own years as a student. As he spent more time in schools and more time with students, he saw a disconnect between disciplinary action and student learning. As he continued his own growth as an educator and became a practitioner of Restorative Justice Practices, he shifted his approach to discipline. Instead of a punitive approach, he began utilizing restorative circles. “When you have a conversation with the harmed and the offender or between friends in conflict, you build empathy which is foundational to lasting behavior change and interpersonal growth,” says Chris. “When given the opportunity to communicate, to face each other, there is a chance for reflection and repair.” He adds, “in most cases, both parties have assumptions about their conflict and the outcomes of their restorative conversation, but more often than not, students are surprised at what they hear from the other person and find they need to hear that to find peace for themselves.” An effective restorative practice has intentional scaffolding; for example, students often engage in pre-work which requires written reflections, and the entire process—especially when used in disciplinary matters—requires a trained facilitator.

Chris has since expanded his use of restorative circles to other areas of student life “Digital devices and COVID have really impaired the ability of our young people to communicate,” says Chris. The face-to-face conversations and listening skills at the center of restorative practices help students navigate their own emotions and better understand and relate to the feelings and experiences of others. He has seen restorative practices support student wellness in a variety of settings, including in the classroom.

As Chris steps into his new role at Athenian, he looks forward to bringing restorative practices into many areas of student life here too. He says, “As an engagement tool, restorative circles can really amplify student voice and provide a structure for students to be seen, heard, and affirmed by their teachers and peers.” Chris envisions it becoming part of student advisory group conversations as well as classroom discussions. He looks forward to partnering with teachers, students, and school leadership in bringing this practice more fully to Athenian and helping to create a more emphatic learning community.

“As an engagement tool, restorative circles can really amplify student voice and provide a structure for students to be seen, heard, and affirmed by their teachers and peers.”

…Navigating continued from page 11

Looking Ahead

In many ways, the mental health challenges of the pandemic have created a stronger partnership between Athenian’s Upper and Middle School resulting in some all-school changes and new collaborations for the 2022-23 year. We anticipate the need to remain flexible and innovative in the years ahead as we discover what it means to be Athenian post-pandemic.

At the start of the pandemic, Athenian was quick to adapt and innovate, seeing opportunity in the most challenging moments. This growth mindset continues to serve us as we emerge from the pandemic and begin to create our new normal. “This is a historic moment and schools and educators are discovering that they need to serve students in different ways than they have in the past,” said Assistant Head of School & Head of Middle School, Lauren Railey. Lauren also served as the Acting Head of School during the spring semester. While in this role, she was heartened

to see that elements of Athenian’s founding philosophy—the application of knowledge—was evident across the grades, programs and classes and was making a tangible difference in our students’ wellbeing. “Creating more opportunities for students to feel a strong sense of belonging and for handson learning in all of our classes will be a priority as we move forward,” said Lauren. As we work to create our new normal, Athenian will use a wellness lens to both strengthen our existing programs and approaches and guide us in creating new programs and support structures to best serve our students.

Outfitted in sun protective clothing, students cover miles of open space by foot in Death Valley. Photo taken by Claudia Fan ‘23 during spring 2022 AWE in Death Valley.

Creating more opportunities for students to feel a strong sense of belonging and for hands-on learning in all of our classes will be a priority as we move forward.

Wellness initiative highlights

• Curriculum and Schedule — The Upper School will continue their deep dive into wellness through a comprehensive look at the current daily schedule and school year calendar. Using data from the Authentic Connections survey, combined with feedback from our students, families, and faculty, we will identify opportunities to increase experiential learning, incorporate 9-12 social-emotional learning, strengthen our advisory program, and ensure that our students’ health knowledge is comprehensive.

• Wellness Team 6-12 — Recognizing that our students will be served best by a consistent wellness focus 6-12, we are creating a team to ensure this happens. Jeannine Morales will serve as our director of learning services and student support and will work closely with the middle and upper school counselors to create a true mental health support model. This team will also work closely with the middle school dean of students, the upper school dean of student life and the school nurse, to create a web of support across divisions.

• Experiential Learning (Adventure Pillar) — Our Dean of Experiential Education and co-directors of AWE are working on deepening the school’s commitment to the Adventure Pillar (one of the six Pillars of Round Square). Starting with fortifying our 6-12 progression of outdoor adventure through our gradelevel orientations, these hands-on experiences will help build to AWE. Tenth grade orientation is now a three-day Russian River adventure modeled after the longstanding ninth grade Point Reyes trip. We’ve also added an outdoor adventure component to the sixth grade orientation and the eighth grade orientation trip is now an overnight camping and whitewater rafting trip on the American River.

RIGHT: 7th graders dressed in medieval costumes creating gargoyles out of clay during a Focus Day.

Hands-on learning in the Carter Innovation Studio: Student designing a remote controlled 3-d camera movement system to allow her to pan, tilt, and dolly a camera while shooting.

MemorableMOMENTS

As we reflect on another historic year for our school, the country and world, we celebrate and share— through images—some of our major milestones, joyful moments, and highlights of engaged learning.

Spirit Week

A week of themed dress-up days and some grade-level competition to fill their class “Spirit-Meters” and show their school spirit. In the Upper School, spirit week culminated with the Color Competition where faculty and staff joined wearing orange!

OCTOBER

Start of School – Point Reyes

A 38-year tradition (only one year missed due to COVID!), our ninth graders spent two nights at Point Reyes to kick-off the year. Start of school orientations are a time to bond as a class and get familiar with the Athenian Pillars of Adventure and Service).

Focus Friday

An integral part of the Middle School curriculum, Focus Days give students the opportunity to leave their class schedules behind and enjoy an interdisciplinary learning adventure.

NOVEMBER

Land dedication

We gathered to acknowledge that Athenian lies on the unceded territory of the Bay Miwok-speaking Tatcan tribe. This newly created 6-12 annual tradition will recognize the land’s history and honor the indigenous people who lived here as we work to build a lasting relationship with the Tribe.

NCS Boys Soccer Championship

Our Men’s Varsity Soccer won the NCS Tournament two-years in a row (with a one-year athletics hiatus due to COVID – 2019 & 2021!

Residential Life

Our residential students, faculty and staff enjoy activities, dinners, and celebrations building a strong family connection across grades, backgrounds, and home countries. Firepits and s’mores were enjoyed many nights after dinner this year!

DECEMBER/JANUARY

Night Owl Cafe

Back IRL (in real life) after COVID, talented members of our community came together to play music, sing, and enjoy each other’s company in the Dase Courtyard outside of the band room. photo credit: Lindsay B.

Middle School Brunch

A new tradition: pre-winter break brunch enjoyed outside by our Middle Schoolers to promote class bonding and celebrate the upcoming holidays.

Blaxgiving

New this year, a multi-generational gathering was hosted for Black community members (students, alumni, faculty and staff) on campus. Nearly 90 members of our community gathered to break bread.

Memorable

MOMENTS

Plates + Soup back at lunch!

After two years of strict COVID-related dining protocols, our community was elated when soup and real plates (not to-go boxes) returned during meal times.

FEBRUARY MARCH

Middle School Career Day

We love when alums come back to campus!

After a break from campus visitors due to COVID, this year, we welcomed back 10 alumni for a Focus Day. Alums spoke to our 8th graders about their Athenian experience, college, their careers, and how Athenian molded them into the people they are today.

Students on Exchange

Students on international exchanges were back in 2021! The Athenian student pictured spent 8 weeks in Colombia. 21 students total participated in 7–10 week exchanges at fellow Round Square schools. We also welcomed exchange students back to Athenian as well!

March Term

Dance/Music performances

Twice annually, our students in music and dance perform the music and choreography that they’ve been working on for the entire community and their families!

March Term embodies the core elements of Athenian’s philosophy of experiential education, shared inquiry and engaged learning. Some courses were on campus, some were travel, and others a mix of the two. The students in the CalWater program, pictured here, explored the complex and controversial role that fresh water occupies in the lives of our 40 million fellow Californians.

AWE Death Valley

The Athenian Wilderness Experience is a pivotal life experience for our 11th grade students. Half of our 11th graders spent three weeks in Death Valley in early Spring, and the other half headed to the High Sierra in the early Summer. Throughout COVID, AWE carried on (with some modifications)!

Run In

The culmination of AWE for our 11th graders is Run In. This year, we were able to have our entire community out on the soccer field to welcome our 11th graders home, including Eric and Margaret Niles, shown here.

APRIL

Garden Parties

Parents, students, alums, and faculty and staff joined together in celebration of our Environmental and Service Pillars each month to help take care of our orchard! Participants have harvested fruit & veggies, worked on irrigation, planting, building swales for water catching and more.

Equity and Inclusion week

Equity and Inclusion (E&I) Week 2022 was honored on campus with film screenings and conversation, “teach-ins” by DEIS interns, National Equity Project training for faculty & staff, and Affinity Group informational and food sharing at lunch. We also had our first Middle School E&I Night.

Middle School Trips (NYC+DC/Pinnacles/Catalina)

Back following a COVID hiatus (again) our Middle School students enjoyed time off campus during their annual class trips! The 8th grade traveled all the way to NYC and DC, the 7th grade bravely endured a rough ferry ride to Catalina, and the 6th grade camped out at Pinnacles National Park.

MemorableMOMENTS

High School Musical

The Owls transformed into Wildcats for the 2022 musical, High School Musical.

Spring into Arts

A multi-day performing and fine arts celebration including a gallery showcasing student work.

APRIL MAY

Wellness Days

Introduced this year to support student wellbeing, Wellness Days included hikes, art, meditation, dancing, coloring and more. Faculty & staff also enjoyed mini-chair massages, an adults only bagel bar, and yoga.

Carter Innovation Studio

An activity in the CIS this year, and a uniquely Athenian experience, students created real, playing instruments out of cigar boxes.

WiSE

An annual student-organized event celebrating women (and everyone!) in science and engineering, WiSE was hosted on campus again this year. Featuring liquid nitrogen dippin’ dots, forensics, rockets, geology and other interactive stations, WiSE encourages all to love and feel comfortable in science and engineering.

Community Service

Students at Athenian participate in community service projects at many times throughout the year. Shown in the photo above, students had the opportunity to work in the Bounty Garden in Danville (founded by Alum Amelia Ambramson ‘12), which grows food for low-income families and is donated to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.

Spring Sports

Building on the momentum of our winter league championship win by the men’s basketball team, our spring athletes had quite the season! An Athenian diver finished 20th in the state, a golfer qualified for the state tournament, and some of our swimmer and track and field atheletes became league champions!

Design Faire

A yearly favorite, the Athenian Design Faire 2022 was packed full of amazing inventions and artistic creations from Engineering 1 and Applied Science and Engineering.

8th Grade Promotion

Marking a milestone in their journey, the class of 2026 celebrated their promotion to the Upper School.

Graduation

The culmination of our students’ time at Athenian and transition to alumni.

Leaving the Nest

The Class of 2022

Self-described as “hard-working, laid back, and funky,” the Class of 2022 will be remembered for its grace and style in flowing with change. The graduates in this class will march to the beat of their own drums and surprise us by the ways they change the world.

Class of 2022 College Matriculation

Arizona State University

Bard College

Baylor University

Berklee College of Music Boston University

Butler University

California Institute of Technology

California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo

California State UniversityLong Beach (Honors College)

California State UniversitySan Marcos

Carleton College

Chapman University

Claremont McKenna College

Cornell University

DePaul University

Gap Year

George Washington University

Howard University

Ithaca College

Kenyon College

Lafayette College

McGill University

Merritt College

Middlebury College

New York University

Northeastern University

Oberlin College

Pennsylvania State University Pitzer College

Pratt Institute

Purdue University (Honors College)

Reed College

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Rhodes College

Rice University

Santa Clara University

Sarah Lawrence College

Sonoma State University

Syracuse University

The American University of Paris

The University of Texas at Austin Tufts University

University of California-Berkeley University of California - Davis University of CaliforniaLos Angeles University of California - San Diego

University of CaliforniaSanta Barbara University of California - Santa Cruz University of Chicago University of Colorado - Boulder University of Oregon University of San Diego University of Southern California University of Washington

University of Wisconsin - Madison Vanderbilt University

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Washington University in St Louis Western Washington University Worcester Polytechnic Institute Yale University

The swing!! It’s definitely the most relaxing and beautiful place at Athenian because it’s so quiet and has the most amazing view.”

– Sarah Felson

“The lounge area adjacent to the main hall is a nice place to relax in between classes and spend time with friends.”

– Arinjay Singh

We asked members of the class of 2022 which spaces on campus leave them feeling nourished and relaxed. Here’s what they said:

The hills.”

– Harry Qian

The benches by the diversity monument because it is a beautiful and calm outside space.”

– Kendall Craig

The Tim Holm Trail, to clear my head.”

– Caitlin Sheen

I like the Dase Center practice rooms just because music is therapeutic to me and it’s not crowded.”

– Audrey Liao

1969

Al Haas has retired from his allergy practice and spends his time gardening, hiking, and writing songs. He lives in Petaluma.

1974

Karen Florsheim Uhlmann is a writer nearing the end of her first novel and “hoping to be a geriatric debut novelist.” Prior to taking on her novel, she published short stories and many magazine and newspaper articles. She just moved to New York from Los Angeles.

1977

Congratulations are in order for John A. MacAllister and Khorshied Nusratty ’81, who married in Sausalito late last year in a spectacular gathering of family and close friends! Several Athenians joined them to celebrate: former teacher Ron Zuckerman, Clare Mooney ’79, Hilary Scott ’81, Danielle Gaynor ’81, Jared Doumani ’81, and Andrew MacAllister ’82 attended as guests. Casandra Beam ’80 officiated.

1984

Late last year, Laurie Easter published her debut essay collection, “All the Leavings”, with Oregon State University

Press. Her essays have been honored with a grant and a fellowship by the Vermont Studio Center, a residency at Playa, a nomination for a Pushcart Prize. She currently lives in southern Oregon, on twenty-eight forested acres in a funky, little cabin on the edge of wilderness with some chickens, cats, and a labradoodle/ bordoodle named Bailey.

1988

Rachel Hanes is a second grade teacher in Oregon and serves on the executive board of her union. She loves teaching about history, environmental justice and organizing for change. She published an article in Rethinking Schools magazine on teaching climate justice to second graders and she has a sweet spouse and a lovely little dog. When she’s not teaching or organizing, she is weaving, reading, or growing vegetables.

1990

Julie Kean is growing her orthotic and prosthetic business “against the current of our current healthcare system” and living in Indiana.

1992

Ilva “Illy” Neumann, who studied at Athenian as an exchange student from Salem in 1991-92, lives in Switzerland,

where she likes to go telemark skiing and trail running, whenever she’s not working.

1993

Tomiko (McDonald) Hale joined us on campus last November for our first annual Blaxgiving celebration, where she was happy to visit with several contemporaries including cousin Walter Griffith ’98 and friend Jamahn Lee ’94. Tomiko’s business, H20 Excursions, was featured on Good Day Sacramento. The Stockton-based boating outfit facilitates excursions in the delta, from jet ski and hydrobike rentals to captained charters and pontoons.

1994

Amanda Malachesky recently published an original online course, The Calm Digestion Method, which she worked on for the better part of a year. It’s a program designed to help people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) symptoms go from food anxiety, endless questions, and second guessing to a personalized plan for calm digestion. She is featured in this issue of the Magazine in our Alumni Spotlight section.

In November, Black students, faculty and alumni gathered for the inaugural Blaxgiving celebration. Pictured here are: Chad McElroy ’22, Walter Griffith ’98, Jamahn Lee ’94 and Terry McElroy, parent.

1995

Susanne Bowen recently moved to Seattle and would love to connect with any Athenians in the area!

1998

Recently, Rebecca Good was promoted to National Vice Provost of Teacher Preparation for one of the largest teacher residency programs in the country. She spent a wonderful evening at Lake George having dinner with former Athenian teacher Toby Brothers last year. In addition, she completed her doctoral degree in Global Education from USC in 2019, the same year fellow Athenian classmate Kwynn Perry ’98 earned her doctorate from USC. They celebrated together!

2001

Alexandra Mugge was recently featured in CDO Magazine as one of the top data executives in North America.

She currently serves as the Director and Deputy Chief Health Informatics Officer with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services. In 2019, she was named by Business Insider as a health care and politics power player as well!

2005

Huge congrats to Pendarvis Harshaw for receiving a Northern California Emmy Award for his work on Dear Beloved. The filmed virtual event, which honored mothers who lost children to gun violence, was made by Sol Development, BE-IMAGINATIVE, KQED Arts and more. Pendarvis is a longtime writer and broadcaster, host of the KQED show Rightnowish, and a columnist with KQED Arts.

2006

Veronica Benjamin has played an integral role on campus and in the local community this year as a leader in seeking justice for the 2018 and 2021

killings of Laudemer Arboleda and Tyrell Wilson, respectively, at the hands of a Danville police officer. She returned to Athenian in the fall to serve as keynote speaker for our fall Equity & Inclusion Night and she’s engaged with interested students around protesting and community organizing. The organization she co-founded, Conscious Contra Costa, will continue to hold events and engage youth volunteers from several schools in the area. To get involved, reach out to her at conscious.contra.costa@gmail.com

We were also pleased to invite Tané Remington back to campus to share her story with students. As keynote for our Middle School Career Day, she spoke to 8th grade students about her path to a STEM career. Students enjoyed hearing how her time at Athenian sparked a commitment to the environment that led her to the critical work of desalination. Tané is the Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Maelstrom Water Technologies.

Teachers Sven Miller and Ted Webb reconnected with Tané Remington ’06, who addressed 8th graders as keynote speaker for Middle School Career Day.

2008

We enjoyed seeing Kevin Tanouye on campus in March as a guest for Middle School Career Day. Kevin lives locally and works remotely as a Senior Product Designer for Hubspot.

2009

Emma (Chapman) Telfer works as a customer marketer in the tech industry in the Bay Area and lives in Walnut Creek with her husband and puppy.

2010

This spring, Meg McClure completed a Master’s degree in Global Human Development from Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service. She spent the summer helping to revamp the World Bank’s gender strategy and considering her long-term options.

2011

Kristine Kwak works for PMC (the parent company of The Hollywood

Reporter, Rolling Stone, Variety, etc.) heading up Audience Development and lives in Los Angeles.

Dylan Smock was recently recognized for his RNA Research along with his co-authors. An article, “Accelerated RNA Detection Using Tandem CRISPR Nucleases,” was featured on the cover of the September issue of Nature Chemical Biology magazine. The article introduces a new approach that makes way for rapid RNA-related testing that would accelerate the reading of results, providing diagnostics in as few as twenty minutes. He lives in Berkeley and is a researcher with the Innovative Genomics Institute.

2012

Kavi Reddy has been on campus a lot this year! She was a guest teacher in Upper School Environmental Science and Entrepreneurship classes; she taught a permaculture design certification course for March Term; and she’s been working to restore our permaculture garden. She also served as a coach for both Upper School basketball and Upper School lacrosse and spoke to Middle School students on Career Day!

New Alumni Trustee

Colette Ankenman ’11 joins the Board as an Alumni Advisory Trustee, a role designed specifically for young alumni to lend fresh perspectives and engage meaningfully around the vision for the school. For the past decade, Colette has had a special partnership with Athenian through the nonprofit she started when she was a student here: Baragwanath Blessings. She leads middle and high schoolers in knitting hats that are distributed to infants and children locally and internationally. Colette is one of only two Athenian students who have ever received the Kurt Hahn Award, Round Square’s highest honor.

Kavi Reddy ‘12, current dance teacher Laura Ellis and Nicola Place ‘76 at Reunion in June 2022.

2013

In relation to his work with the biggest esport team in the country TSM (Team Solomid), Christian Lee was featured in a career talk series for Lenovo. “I actually started my esports career at Athenian,” Christian told us, “starting what we called Team A.G.E. or The Athenian Gaming Experience.” He looks forward to serving as a resource to current Athenian students with an interest in esports. He even mentioned Athenian in his interview!

2014

Chris Farmer opened a martial arts and self defense school in the Redmond, WA area in 2018 and is teaching full time. He is now looking into opening his second and third locations.

Grace Reckers works as a union organizer in New York City, primarily partnering with healthcare and nonprofit workers trying to unionize their workplaces.

2017

After graduating from NYU in 2021, Courtney Curd accepted a position as Communications Director for New York city council member Amanda Farías in District 18 in the East Bronx. She is happy to connect with any other Owls who are currently working or interested in politics and government; feel free to reach out!

Peyton Freeman recently received her Master of Science in Sustainability Science and Practice from Stanford University, where she also earned her Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering. We were pleased to see her back on campus in March when she came to speak to our 8th graders about sustainability and engineering. Eager for a change of scenery, she’s planning a move to Austin, Texas.

2019

Derek Perry continues to pursue outdoor training and recently returned from an experience in which he lived 90 days in the wilderness. It had a backpacking component, a rock-climbing component, a whitewater rafting component, and a hiking component. He aspires to work full-time as an outdoor guide and joined the High Sierra AWE course this summer as an instructor-intraining. He is also studying psychology at UC San Diego.

2020

Senta Hackman is in her third year at Saint Mary’s College as a general psychology major focusing in forensic psychology and psychopathology.

Alumni Day in the Upper School included speakers Jason Hou ’19, Derek Perry ’19, Jordon Dabney ’17 and Meg Sumowiec ’10; Soli Guzman ’20 pictured here.

Ishaani Gokli ’18, Will Harris-Braun, Poppy Northing ’18, Rock Williams ’17, Ryan Keller ’17, and Jordon Dabney ’17 at Reunion in June 2022.

Alumni Spotlight:

Journeys into Wellness: How Amanda Malachesky ’94 Went from Hills to Homestead

Urban Los Angeles never felt like home to Amanda Malachesky, though she lived there as a teen. Her family had moved west from rural Pennsylvania. Only when she befriended Evan Raymond ’93–whom she met at camp on Catalina Island and who told her about Athenian–did she imagine that a nature-focused curriculum was within reach.

The two years she spent at Athenian would not only change the way she thought about learning, but introduce her to her life’s passion. “As a teenager, I was interested in biology. Bruce Hamren was an amazing teacher. Andy Shepard taught earth science and outdoor education. The students went on trips with him, skiing and rock climbing. I even took an American nature writers class with Tom Swope.” After Athenian, Amanda went on to UC Santa Cruz to take up environmental studies with a focus on agroecology and sustainable agriculture. Amanda identifies her study of food as her entry point to wellness. “Food is a place where humans interact with nature on a daily basis. I became interested in the idea of food as a primary way we can take care of ourselves.”

A desire to achieve nature connection through better eating prompted her to

spend the next ten years building her 50-acre homestead on cooperatively purchased land. The goal? To grow her own food, build her own house, and develop it to be a passive solar space. What she doesn’t produce herself, she sources from local farmers, ranchers, and fisheries.

But intellectual passion wasn’t the only factor that drew her to study wellness. She was prompted to seek answers following health struggles of her own, and was influenced by accounts of illness linked to environmental toxins. “Chemicals [in our products] are screened and tested for safety, but they’re tested in isolation. Our real-life exposure is systemic.”

After studying massage and acupuncture, and working with renowned gut health expert, Dr. Michael Ruscio as a researcher and writer, Amanda founded Confluence

Nutrition, a resource center for people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS) and Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). She’s certified as a Functional Nutrition and Lifestyle Practitioner, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach.

“My whole life has been about how to close sustainability loops,” she said. “It seems more important as time goes on. The things that I’ve been talking about for 25 years are happening now.” When we asked her views on other systemic threats to wellness, her answer was immediate: “Screens. They’re sucking our life away. We’ve forgotten how to be bored. We’ve forgotten how to be in our bodies. The thing that everyone–not just kids–needs right now is that nature connection. To get past boredom and arrive at a place of being present. To put down the phones and leave them behind.”

Former Faculty Notes

California”. Obi wooed the audience with his amazing knowledge of flora, fauna, geology, human history and our impact on the region–and how we can still remain hopeful for the future.

the best years of my life were spent there. So many amazing, wonderful students, so many terrific colleagues. I feel so fortunate that Athenian was such a big part of my life!” Robin would love to hear from any former students or advisees at robindareoliver@gmail.com!

Former Upper School Head and teacher Dick Bradford vacationed in Europe this spring, returning to the U.S. just in time to see his daughter, Meg McClure ’10, graduate from Georgetown with a Master’s in Global Human Development. He returned to campus for Reunion to give remarks about the falling of Founder’s Oak and to recite a Robert Frost poem that he’d delivered at Athenian before, “Nothing Gold Can Stay”. Dick also met with with Obi Kauffman ’91 on a coastal hike in Point Reyes National Seashore for an event celebrating Obi’s latest work, “The Coasts of

Former Head of School Steve Davenport continues to write. Most recently, he penned a short memoir of his time in the Navy and recorded the audiobook edition at a studio in Oakland. Both he and Joanna Davenport returned to campus for Reunion in June. Steve gave remarks at a ceremony organized by Shana Levine ’80 memorializing former teacher Art Wadsworth

Retired French teacher Robin Oliver spent part of the spring recovering from a broken leg but looked in fine form when we saw her in June at Reunion. She’s spent the past few years traveling quite a bit, several times to Hawaii and also to Europe. She stayed a month in Brittany, three weeks in Bordeaux and planned a return trip to France for late 2022. She described her love of the language and culture as strong as ever. “I do miss my Athenian friends and family,” she said. “34 of

Former Dean of Students and teacher Tom Swope has been a frequent campus visitor and an integral part of organizing the Athenian archives. Many of the historical campus landscapes and portraits that have been preserved throughout the years are pictures that Tom took himself. He still carries his camera and sometimes sends us photos he’s taken of current-day events.

June 2022 Rededication of the Art Wadsworth Memorial. Art Wadsworth taught astronomy and science at Athenian until the late 1970s, when he became ill with cancer and eventually died. He was a philosopher, and known for talking openly to students about death, and what it meant to live.

Dick Bradford delivered remarks about Founder’s Oak in June.

Former teachers Sile Convery and Joanna Davenport attended the Reunion in June.

Gratitude

Message from Beth Borchers, Outgoing Board Chair

As I reflect on what makes Athenian so special, I always come back to the community. This was more apparent than ever last year, as the Athenian community came together, showing extra care for Eric Niles and his family. From folding 1,000 paper cranes–a Japanese tradition for someone who needs healing–to preparing and sharing meals with Eric and his family, support and love was everywhere. And, as Eric needed to step back from his role as Head of School to focus on his health, the Leadership Team with Lauren Railey as Acting Head seamlessly led Athenian and launched the operational work of the school’s 2021 Strategic Vision. Throughout, the faculty continued to demonstrate their unwavering dedication, a steady presence for our students in yet another unpredictable year of COVID.

My children, now alumni, credit Athenian faculty as some of the most influential people in their lives. This past year, a longtime community member who shares this sentiment of enduring gratitude for the faculty was inspired to make a very special gift in honor of the faculty and staff. The Class of 2022 families joined this effort–you can read more about this beautiful tribute on page 39. Together with the Annual Fund, special gifts like these are yet another demonstration of the strength of the Athenian community. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, my sincere gratitude to all of you for your generosity and commitment to Athenian.

It has truly been an honor to chair the Athenian Board of Trustees these past three and a half years. I am thrilled to pass the torch to one of the most dedicated, earnest public servants I know, Jon Nickens. We are so fortunate to have Jon, a seasoned board member, step into this leadership role. Thank you, Jon! As I told the seniors at graduation, while things shift and change around us, our foundation is strong. Our beloved Founder’s Oak is the perfect metaphor. While its time came to an end, its saplings–serendipitously transplanted by a group of students earlier in the year–live on. The Founder’s Oak saplings will grow strong and carry on the legacy. With gratitude for your partnership and commitment to Athenian,

Beth Borchers

2022-2023 Board of Trustees

Thank you to the Board of Trustees for your leadership and many meaningful contributions to Athenian. We are grateful to our outgoing trustees Michael Connolly ’71, Lori Keith, Michael Knierim, Esha Ray, Susan Reckers, Zohere Tabrez ’12 and Jazy Zhang for their service through June 2021. A special thank you to Beth Borchers who ended her tenure as board chair in June as well.

Nancy Anderson

Musadiq Bidar ’10

Alex Bly

Dana Brown

Chaz Giles

Pavan Gill ’92

Ginna Girzadas

Geetika Goel

Guy Henshaw

Hansol Hong ’06

Angel Lewis ’92

Jill Miller

Tina Vatanka Murphy

Jon Nickens

Matt Okazaki ’06

Russell Patton ’07

Philomel Pena

Leny Riebli

Monica Streifer ’05

Kathy Torru

Jeannine Bell Whittaker ’98

Ruth Winchell-Moyes ’89

Rob Yau

Catherine Yewell

Alumni Board Member

Colette Ankenman ’11

Lifetime Honorary Trustees

Judy Carter

Steve Davenport

Susan Nebesar

Ex-Officio

Beth Borchers

Eric F. NilesNew in 2022-2023

EXPENSES

$4,063,600

Athenian Remembers

Tina Nott

Beloved Middle School math teacher Tina Nott passed away in April 2022. She retired in 2020 after a distinguished career of 38 years. Known for her dedication to making math accessible to all students, Tina famously taught from multiple textbooks, tailoring her teaching style to individuals. Generations of Athenian middle schoolers credit their understanding of math to her.

In addition to spending countless hours after school making sure students who needed extra support got it, Tina also coached and led summertime student trips to South America. A competitive skier, she also enjoyed chaperoning ski trips. As one of the longest-running teachers in Athenian history, Tina had the rare experience of teaching two generations of the same family.

Tina first came to Athenian as a part-time swim coach, a role she took on as she earned her teaching credential. She later joined the math department where she learned from peer contemporaries such as Munzer Afifi, Lester Henderson and Eleanor Dase. She was a co-creator of the Middle School Focus Day tradition, and was an incredible colleague and teaching mentor. Behind the scenes, she was a practical joker, known for her complicity in pranking faculty and staff.

Family and friends from the Athenian community assembled on campus in late May to celebrate Tina’s life. She is survived by children David Nott ’02, Jessica Nott ’03, and the grandchildren she dearly loved.

Nick Bonnell ’83

Nick passed away during the summer of 2021. As remembered by his brother Robin Bonnell ’80, Nick was smart, funny, friendly, helpful, community-minded, and selfless. His love for music and art sustained him. He was an avid cyclist, traveler, and beer aficionado.

Bliss Carnochan

Bliss Carnochan, a former Athenian trustee, and parent of Lisa Carnochan ’74, Sarah Carnochan ’77, and Peter Carnochan ’79 passed away in January 2022. He spent the majority of his career at Stanford, where he taught and researched from the 1960s until his retirement in 1991.

John Finkbeiner ’92

John passed away in September 2021. A guitarist, audio engineer, and a beloved member of the San Francisco Bay Area music community, he is remembered by friends, colleagues and collaborators as a gentle soul and ferocious player.

Elinor “Endy” Stark

Endy Stark, former Athenian trustee, mother of Jeff Stark ’73, Bea Winslow ’75, Thekla Wainwright ’76, and Sarah Stark Ramirez ’79, mother-in-law of Jonathan Winslow ’77, and grandmother of Nate Winslow ’05 and Nora Winslow ’08 passed away on New Year’s Day, 2022. Endy was known for her adventurous spirit, curious mind, and ever-generous heart.

Warren Tai ’05

Warren passed away in late December 2021. A gifted scholar, he devoted his life and energy to his love for mathematics and published papers on advanced topics such as probability theory and statistical physics. Warren is remembered fondly by his former teachers, family and friends.

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