Connections

OUR INAUGURAL ISSUE!

SPRING 2016

connections a newsletter for BHS alumni and friends BHS YESTERDAY

BHS TODAY

Excellence in Education for Over 100 Years BERKELEY HALL STUDENTS

Mission STATEMENT Berkeley Hall School’s mission is to empower children to fulfill their unlimited God-given potential as fearless scholars and conscientious citizens.

love to learn, to be challenged, to work hard, and to grow; they are bright, poised, and motivated; they are joyful and well-rounded; they grow in intellect, character, and empathy.

BERKELEY HALL TEACHERS love to teach; they are creative, flexible, innovative, and collaborative; they foster a love of learning and each student’s individual talents and passions; they educate the mind and the heart.

BERKELEY HALL PARENTS value education; they work closely with the school in a partnership based on transparency, open communication, and mutual respect.

BERKELEY HALL ALUMNI cherish the academic and character education they experienced at BHS; they appreciate opportunities to stay engaged and involved with the school, and they seek ways to ensure the long-term growth and success of the school.

Our Core VALUES HONESTY COMPASSION RESPECT RESPONSIBILITY

Table of CONTENTS

PORTRAIT OF A BHS GRADUATE

Message from the Head of School..........................02 Advancing Our Mission / Alumni Relations...

Outreach... and You................................................03

• Academically prepared and confident

Depth-of-Study Process: Ushering in New Era of Academic Excellence..............................................04

• Critical thinker

Difference Makers’ Series Created to Inspire and Empower Students..................................................06

• Exceptional communicator

Visual Arts Program Earns Statewide Recognition and Awards .............................................................08

• Collaborative leader

Campus-Wide Renewal Initiative: Highlight on Sustainability...........................................................10

• Creative / imaginative • Environmentally conscious • Technologically adept • Culturally sensitive / astute • Globally aware • Positive difference maker

Alex Cook Paints BHS… and Spreads a Message of Unconditional Love..................................................12 BHS Tennis Academy Created... and the Kennedy Tennis Center Renovated! ..........14 Top High Schools Recognize and Seek our Great Students!..................................................................16 From the Archives....................................................18 Class Notes / Alumni Events...................................20 Alumni Connect.....................................................IBC

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ME SS A GE FR O M TH E

Head of School

D

ear BHS Alumni Family, Welcome to our new BHS Connect alumni newsletter! And welcome back to Berkeley Hall School!

I am pleased to report that your foundational alma mater is on the move – growing, innovating, developing, and advancing its mission on behalf of the students, families, alumni, and communities the school was created to serve. Of course, that includes you!

With this new publication, we are so pleased to be back in touch with you. As alumni, you will always be valued members of the Berkeley Hall family. We will keep you abreast of exciting developments and changes occurring at Berkeley Hall, and of the impact your school and your fellow alumni are making in the world.

I have a front row seat from which to witness daily the enthusiasm, energy, dedication, and passion that Berkeley Hall’s students, teachers, coaches, and staff bring to the rich array of activities on campus. Rest assured that Berkeley Hall continues to develop in each student a love of learning, a dedication to achieving academic excellence, a determination to show forth the qualities of character that will provide strength, guidance, and inspiration to others, and a commitment to lead lives of purpose, meaning, service, and accomplishment.

Our new website is designed to make it easy for you to stay connected with your Berkeley Hall family. Here

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you can find old friends and classmates in the directory, contribute “Class Notes” to be published in the newsletter, stay up-to-date with the alumni events calendar, and, most of all, stay connected to Berkeley Hall by updating your contact information and keeping us posted on what’s new in your life.

The Berkeley Hall community is extremely proud of what you have and will accomplish. Our alumni are making a significant, positive difference in the world in a variety of ways, and we hope that, in turn, you are a proud member of our extended family. It is such a privilege to be a part of this wonderful community, and I look forward to hearing and learning from you and other alumni as to how Berkeley Hall could soar to new and even greater heights.

Sincerely,

Lisle Staley, PhD. Head of School

Advancing Our Mission.

“ADVANCE” (VERB): To accelerate the growth or presence of; to move forward; to further the development, progress, or prospects of; to bring forward in time; to improve or make progress.

RANDOM HOUSE WEBSTER’S COLLEGE DICTIONARY, NEW YORK, 2012 Rick Fields, Director of Advancement

What does it take for a school to advance? What will it take for Berkeley Hall to advance?

These are questions that my fellow Berkeley Hall administrators and I have been asking ourselves often this year. Those questions provide helpful guidance in our efforts to ensure that Berkeley Hall continues to grow, thrive, and make a positive, transformational difference in the lives of the students, families, and communities it serves.

As you might have guessed, we’ve learned that there are many critical factors entailed in enabling a school to advance. One of the most important ones is the ongoing input, wisdom, guidance, and support of its alumni. Indeed, the individual and collective support of Berkeley Hall alumni, manifested in many different ways, helps us to carry out our mission of empowering children to fulfill their unlimited God-given potential as fearless

scholars and conscientious citizens. Since this mission is at the heart of everything we do at Berkeley Hall, this means that in staying in touch with our alumni, listening and learning from them – from you – and helping to broaden and deepen the ties that bind us together in the Berkeley Hall community, must be a central focus of our time and attention as well.

This new BHS alumni-directed publication is one step, just one expression, of our desire to engage with you and your fellow alumni, and to help keep you engaged with each other. As you will learn in this inaugural issue, much change and growth are occurring at the school. The same is undoubtedly true with you. Let’s keep each other apprised of how and what we are doing – and inspired by the updates and stories we share – as we advance our missions together.

We look forward to hearing from you … and to keeping in touch!

Alumni Relations…

Outreach… and You. Hello and best wishes to you from Berkeley Hall School!

We want to hear from you! We are collecting class notes for upcoming issues of BHS Connections. Please give us a concise update on what you’ve been up to professionally and personally since your Berkeley Hall days. Tell us about: • Y our post-BHS formal education (high school, college / university studies, other, etc.)

• Y our professional / career pursuits, activities, accomplishments, etc.

• Y our personal/family life, etc. (got married, had children, celebrated an anniversary, etc.)

• A ny stories you would like to share (e.g., completed something off your bucket list) We love photos and so do your classmates, so, whenever possible, please send photos to support and accompany the write-ups and updates you provide.

Sara Swallow, Director of Alumni Relations

You can submit a message or note via email to alumni@berkeleyhall.org, or by mail to: Alumni Relations Berkeley Hall School 16000 Mulholland Drive Los Angeles, CA 90049 We look forward to hearing from you!

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Depth-of-Study Process USHERING IN A NEW ERA OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AT BERKELEY HALL

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pon her arrival in 2011 as the 12th Head of School at Berkeley Hall, Dr. Lisle Staley started charting a course for strengthening the BHS academic program to ensure that our students were fully prepared for a challenging and changing world. She was and is passionate about innovation – about going beyond simply adopting the best education practices to pioneer our own.

That passion, and a simple but important observation, prompted Dr. Staley to develop a new model of faculty collaboration that today has put Berkeley Hall at the forefront of educational best practices. She observed that teachers often return from professional development seminars, conferences, and workshops with a great deal of enthusiasm for what they have learned but with no practical way to share and implement that learning meaningfully with fellow educators. Since most teachers operate independently of each other in their respective classrooms, there is often no opportunity for teachers to learn from one another as to how to address various challenges or how to improve educational outcomes

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regarding a particular student or learning issue.

To overcome this structural challenge, Lisle took a new approach to internal, ongoing professional development. She developed a unique, integrated depth of study model of faculty engagement at Berkeley Hall that provides structured opportunities for our teachers to mentor each other and to grow professionally through in-depth, ongoing collaboration.

Teachers meet together weekly to share ideas, lesson plans, best practices, and insights – all geared to to enhance each student’s learning, development, and growth. This is an in-depth, systematically aligned process, included in the academic calendar, which enables such productive collaboration to occur.

This is a protocol for sustained, substantive collaboration. Our parents and fellow educators call this excellence in action. No matter what it is called, this practice is fundamental to our unique, innovative approach – and results in greater learning and success for our students.

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DIFFERENCE MAKERS SERIES Created to Inspire and Empower Students

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haracter education continues to be a vital component of Berkeley Hall’s mission and academic program,, just as it has been since the school’s founding over a century ago.

Learning to give back, being of service to others, and

making a positive difference in the world are deeply held tenets at Berkeley Hall. To inspire its students to put those tenets into action, Berkeley Hall recently developed and launched what has become its renowned Difference Makers Series.

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Created in 2015, the purpose of the series is to invite speakers and guests from a wide variety of backgrounds to engage the BHS community in significant, thoughtprovoking, and inspiring conversations.

The program features speakers of high ideals and strong character whose insights, ideas, experiences, and/or life stories have made a major positive impact on our times.

Berkeley Hall is confident that the talks presented in this program will inspire its students to think deeply about important subjects, and to devote themselves to living lives of purpose, meaning, service, and

TO READ ABOUT THE INSPIRING “DIFFERENCE MAKERS� THAT HAVE

accomplishment.

BEEN FEATURED AT BERKELEY HALL,

With this new Series, Berkeley Hall itself

PLEASE GO TO OUR WEBSITE AT

continues to be recognized as a Difference Maker in the world of character education.

http://www.berkeleyhall.org/Page/

And that is so appropriate because Berkeley

Difference-Makers

Hall is all about preparing students to go out and change the world for the better.

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Visual Arts Program Skyla Towner, 8th Grade

EARNS STATEWIDE RECOGNITION AND AWARDS The California Art Education Association (CAEA) Exemplary Visual Arts Program was initiated a number of years ago to honor and recognize publicly CAEA member schools who demonstrate excellence in visual art education in California schools, pre-Kindergarten through grade 12. Only a few programs are selected each year for recognition as Exemplary Programs.

Well, BHS alumni, you should be proud to know that Berkeley Hall’s visual arts program has been so recognized by the CAEA! At a special state conference in November, 2015, representatives from the CAEA, the Governor’s Office, the State Superintendent of Schools, and the President of the National Art Education Association honored Mrs. Tracy Cheney and her program at Berkeley Hall School as being one of the truly exemplary visual arts elementary education programs in California.

Emma Donnelly and Raquel Vera, 6th Grade

Congratulations and kudos to Mrs. Cheney! And congratulations to our outstanding student community of visual artists at Berkeley Hall! You both rock!!!

This is just another example of how excellence and education go hand-in-hand at Berkeley Hall!

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Truman Jackson, 8th Grade

Ashtyn Wright, 5th Grade

Dylan Edmonds, 8th Grade

Solana Saffen, 6th Grade

Lauryn Chamberlain, 8th Grade

Danielle Chertok, 8th Grade

Isa McManus, 1st Grade

Jessica Sarmiento & Emily LeVine, 5th Grade

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A

lumni who visit Berkeley Hall will notice entirely new and visually attractive landscaping around the administration, library, Hodges Theater, and the Early Childhood Department (ECD) buildings. The new landscaping is the first part of our BHS Campus Renewal Initiative and includes two sustainability features: a lowwater-use “lawn alternative� and a bio-swale that helps to slow and capture rain water. By including these innovations on campus as demonstration gardens, Berkeley Hall hopes to educate and inspire the entire school community to consider ways we can all do our part to conserve water in our dry, drought-challenged climate.

A description of the plants being used and the purpose of a bio-swale is provided below.

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Carex pansa, a California native plant, also known as Dune Sedge, is a great lawn alternative for Southern California. Originally, it was found from Baja California all the way north to British Columbia, but most of its natural habitat no longer exists. Although it can handle the occasional soggy conditions of a wet, Los Angeles winter, it is also extremely drought-tolerant (once established). It needs only a fraction of the water required by a typical turf lawn to stay evergreen all year. A typical turf lawn needs up to 5,600 gallons of water per month per 1,000 square feet of lawn (that is an area only 20 ft. by 50 ft.). A Dune Sedge “lawn” needs only 50-75% of that amount of irrigation to stay green and lush. It can be watered as little as once every 7-10 days in the summer.

If mowed regularly, it can provide the clean, well-kept look of a graceful lawn. If left unmowed, it can provide a more natural, meadow look. It can handle a fair amount of foot traffic, since it spreads by underground runners that will fill in worn areas.

A “bio-swale” is a gently sloping channel or trench. It is usually planted but it can also be filled with gravel and small rocks or mulch. The purpose of a bio-swale is to collect and slow down rainwater to give the water a chance to percolate back into the ground before it reaches the storm drain system where it will be flushed out to the ocean.

When the water is captured and held in the ground, rather than being lost to the storm drains, it can be stored in the soil where it is available for use by trees and plants so they need less supplemental irrigation. The moisture in the ground also supports a vast community, including bacteria, fungi, worms, and insects that create a living soil where natural composting is taking place and nutrients are being made available to the plants.

In addition to their natural beauty, flowering plants used in a bio-swale can provide food and shelter for pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

So, not only is your alma mater’s campus becoming ever more attractive, it is becoming a leading example of environmental stewardship … as well as an “outdoor classroom” of to one and all!

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Alex Cook Paints BHS …AND SPREADS A MESSAGE OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

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r. Alex Cook spent a week with Berkeley Hall students, teachers, staff, and parents in February as a featured guest of the new Berkeley Hall’s Difference Makers’ series.

Alex Cook is an artist in the truest sense of the word. His art speaks the truth, whether through paint or music, Alex expresses what he feels with honesty and courage. He’s recently focused his artistic expression on painting murals – You Are Loved murals, though he also has five spiritual music CDs to his credit. Recently named a Difference Maker by the Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper The Christian Science Monitor, Alex was commissioned to paint a You Are Loved mural on our campus to inspire our community, and

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speak to our students about the joy inherent in serving others, following one’s passion in life, and in striving to living a life of meaning, purpose, and accomplishment.

Berkeley Hall’s new mural is Alex’s 15th You Are Loved mural in the world.

Alex has said, “Art has the potential to save someone’s life - why be subtle about it?” And he has a story that proves his point: He got an email from someone who was inspired by a You Are Loved mural (on a car) and decided to live his life instead of end it. What a wonderful example of how a message of unconditional love and assurance can truly make a difference!

Berkeley Hall students helped paint the mural on the second day of the week-long process. They will long remember the parts of the mural they painted and always know they contributed to something great. Even more, our students undoubtedly will long remember and be inspired by Mr. Cook’s message and life example.

Note: Videos of Mr. Cook’s presentation to our students and the time-lapsed creation of the Berkeley Hall campus mural are posted on our Facebook page and on our website – at www.berkeleyhall.org. http://www.berkeleyhall.org/Page/Difference-Makers

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BHS Tennis Academy created… and the Kennedy Tennis Center renovated!

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he partnership between a group of dedicated, passionate BHS dads and Berkeley Hall to refurbish the Kennedy Tennis Center came to fruition on Saturday, February 6th, when the school’s beautiful, state-of-the-art tennis courts were publicly unveiled. This grand “ribbon-cutting” event, and subsequent Dads’ and mixed doubles tennis tournaments, represented the culmination of nearly two years of work to improve our tennis courts and surrounding facilities. The highlight of the day was a special ceremony to honor all the people who made the refurbished Kennedy Tennis Center a reality.

Starting in the summer of 2014, a group of BHS dads worked together to raise the money needed to repair and resurface the four Kennedy Tennis Center courts, purchase equipment for enhanced tennis instruction (e.g., ball machines), and to establish a fund for ongoing facility maintenance. By the spring of this year, the dads raised enough money to accomplish each of those objectives – and even to add new outdoor water fountains, multiple shade structures, new equipment storage units, new nets and benches for both player and spectator use.

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The BHS Tennis Academy, founded and sponsored by the Uhlmann Foundation and BHS donor families, is an organization of parent donors whose mission is to support Berkeley Hall in the refurbishing and ongoing maintenance of the Kennedy Tennis Center and the development of BHS tennis programs for its students and donors. Through its donors and Board of Directors, the Academy works with the BHS athletic department and school leadership to develop and support the Athletic Department, Tennis Team, after-school enrichment program (ASEP) tennis clinics, and to help fund and organize BHS tennis tournaments. Additionally, the Academy provides resources to fund state-of-the-art training tools and equipment that supports the development of our Bobcat tennis players.

Thanks to the BHS Tennis Academy, Berkeley Hall now has one of the premier tennis facilities – and tennis programs – among all the private, independent schools in Los Angeles.

See you on the courts!

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TOP HIGH SCHOOLS

Recognize and Seek Our Great Students!

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or over 100 years, Berkeley Hall has prepared its students well, academically, artistically, athletically, cognitively, and socially, for rigorous high school studies and beyond.

Over the years, Berkeley Hall’s effectiveness and success have been increasingly recognized some of the and most selective high schools in the Los Angeles area and beyond. This important track record continued with our graduating class of 2015.

We are happy to report that our graduating 8th graders did very well with their high school admittances last

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spring. Continuing to strengthen our multiyear trends in this area, the vast majority of Berkeley Hall’s graduating class of 2015 was accepted by their first choice schools.

We take great pride in successfully placing our graduates at the best schools for them. This process starts in 5th grade, when both our Head of School and Dean of Academics meet with each set of 5th grade parents to talk about their child’s relative strengths and areas for improvement, as well as that child’s interests, hobbies, and the type of high school environment that would be most conducive to his or her continued development.

CLASS OF 2015

HIGH SCHOOL ACCEPTANCES The Archer School for Girls Brentwood School The Buckley School Campbell Hall School Chaminade CollegePreparatory Crespi Carmelite High School Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences deToledo High School Harvard-Westlake School Immaculate Heart High School Louisville High School Loyola High School Marlborough School Marymount High School New Roads School

The work continues in 7th grade, when both our Head of School and Director of Admissions meets with each individual set of parents to discuss which high schools they should apply to the following fall. The factors discussed include identifying the best school environment for that particular child, AP courses and electives offered, college admission statistics, sports and clubs offered, the geographic location of the school, financial aid support and requirements, etc. Our Head of School and Junior High English and Math teachers write individual personalized letters of recommendation for each graduate over winter break.

Notre Dame High School Notre Dame Academy Oaks Christian School Oakwood School Pacific Hills School Pacifica Christian High School Pilgrim School Polytechnic School Saint Monica Catholic High School Sierra Canyon School Viewpoint School Vistamar School Wildwood School Windward School Bolded schools will be attended

recommendations, and transcripts are submitted to the various high schools involved, the Head of School and a team of BHS faculty and administrators call each high school admissions director about each BHS child who has applied to that high school. This gives us an opportunity to answer any questions that the receiving school may have about an applicant from Berkeley Hall and also to share anecdotes and other observations about each of our wonderful students.

It is quite a focused, extensive, multiyear process, but the results are so gratifying to our graduates, their families, and to all of us at Berkeley Hall!

In the fall, our Head of School holds mock interviews with each 8th grade student to prepare him or her for high school interviews. Then, after all the applications,

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From the Archives: HEADS OF SCHOOL

Robert T. Cheatham 1965 – 1968

Mary E. Stevens 1938 – 1943 Les McCandless 1940 – 1943

1911

1950 Walter O. Willey 1969 – 1973

Leila and Mabel Cooper, Founders

Chauncey B. Nelson 1943 – 1965

1911 – 1938

Hal H. Hoerner 1973 – 1982 18

Edyth Roberts, Principal 1989 – 1994 Maralee Burdick, Principal 1995

Walter Laubscher 1986 – 1989

1990 Craig Barrows 1994 – 2011

present

Patricia Piot 1990 – 1994

Robert T. Cheatham, PhD. IN MEMORIAM We dedicate this inaugural issue of BHS Connections to the memory of Dr. Robert T. Cheatham, who served as Berkeley Hall’s Fifth Head of School (1965 – 1968), and who passed away on March 6, 2016.

Steve Terwilliger 1982 – 1986

Lisle Staley 2011 – Present

Thank you, Dr. Cheatham – “Bob” – for your leadership, dedication, service, and support of Berkeley Hall School, and for the many students, teachers, and staff that you inspired and mentored along the way.

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DAVID BENNETT ’00, PETER BENNETT ‘96 Peter Bennett married Taylor Allen on March 21, 2015. He is pictured on the right with his brother David. (The Dads’ Club Steve Bennett Award, given each year to a BHS Dad, is named for their father in recognition of his service to Berkeley Hall.) BHS alumni and current Faculty/Adminstrators in attendance at the wedding included Ashley Brown, Sarah Colmaire, as well as other of Peter’s BHS classmates. Peter works in the solar industry and pursues photography. David lives in Los Angeles, composes music, performs, and is the lead singer/multi-instrumentalist for the band The Lucky Lonely (theluckylonely.com).

EVAN LIGNIER ‘06 Evan coached BHS students in sports this past school year and now serves in the Peace Corps. A dry, small country in Africa named Burkina Faso, surrounded by six other countries is where you’ll find Alumnus Evan Lignier, Class of 2006. He’s working in a Zigla, a rustic village where families must farm to eat and to sell to survive. His job is to teach preschoolers about basic hygiene, in addition to letters, numbers, and sharing at playtime. Ninety-three preschoolers come to school hungry, but want to learn. Evan says the families bring beans and rice so meals can be made for the children. The need for materials is great, and funding from a non-profit is ending, so the future for the following school year is uncertain.

He’s learning Moore, the local dialect, and also using the French he learned in high school. Check out his students, classroom and life in more detail on our website.

COLIN SPONGBERG ‘00 After graduating from Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Colin attended California State University at Channel Islands and Northridge.

He is currently living in La Crescenta and working in the office of a law firm in downtown Los Angeles, while finishing up his degree in Business Management from the University of Phoenix. Colin enjoys playing golf, snowboarding and mountain biking in his free time.

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SCOTT SPONGBERG ‘02 Scott graduated from the University of Southern California in 2010 with a BA in Jazz Studies. While attending USC, Scott played on the drumline for the Trojan Marching Band and was a rower on the Men’s Crew Team. After graduation he continued working as a TA for the band and performing on drum set with the USC Spring Concert Band. He also played in a local jazz big band, as well as the Laker Band and Clippers Drumline. In 2014 he auditioned and was accepted into the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps. After completing Recruit Training in San Diego and Marine Combat Training at Camp Pendleton School of Infantry West, he was stationed in Washington, D.C. where he is a member of The Commandant’s Own, the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps, musicians for the Commandant of the Marine Corps. The unit travels the world along with the United States Marine Corps Silent Drill Platoon and the Official Color Guard of the Marine Corps as the United States Marine Corps Battle Color Detachment.

JOSHUA CICCEL ‘09 Joshua received a scholarship to play football at Syracuse University, where he is studying video and film production.

JANET DURBIN CRONIN ‘75 Janet writes: “We have three grown kids and have also been blessed with four beautiful grandchildren. We now reside just south of Yosemite, in the foothills of the Sierra Nat’l Forest.

We enjoy gardening on our 26-acre ranch, which we share with our menagerie of animal companions, and the amazing wildlife surrounding us. We also love boating, fishing and waterskiing on several nearby lakes, and skiing and other fun winter activities. If any friends would like to stay in touch, you can find me on Facebook. Love and best wishes to all my BHS classmates!”

MIA SMITH ‘08 I just graduated from the University of La Verne, majoring in Psychology. I graduated a semester early and plan to go to graduate school after taking a semester off. My current goal is to become a Marriage and Family Therapist. I also was inducted into the Psychology Majors Psi Chi Honor Society, and served as secretary on the executive board of my sorority, Phi Sigma Sigma. I’m excited to see what my future holds as I take the lessons that I learned from Berkeley Hall, my high school, and La Verne with me.

JACKIE IBRAGIMOV ‘10 While attending Viewpoint School, Jackie served as a Getty Villa teen apprentice and wrote content for the Getty Museum’s website and social media sites. After receiving the Thelma B. Sitton Award (honoring a student who best upholds the mission statement and the values of the school) and graduating from Viewpoint, Jackie chose the University of Rochester, in Rochester, New York, where she earned a full tuition academic scholarship.

Jackie is double-majoring in Business and Art History and she was the Art Director of ‘ArtAwake’, a one-day arts festival which fills an underused or closed historic building with local artwork, music and food.

KRISTALYN BENSON ‘12 Kris says “I love physics, and have completed two years of it. I am part of an engineering program known as PUIT. I also work at a barn as a wrangler and spend my weekends volunteering with Ride to Fly. I play water polo and am a senior at Palos Verdes High School. I miss BHS though!”

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First Year Out MALEIA ALEJANDRE ‘14 “The five years I attended at Berkeley Hall have really been an important epoch of my growth. The experience and honor of being elected student body president of Berkeley Hall equipped me with leadership skills that I applied in and out of class situations. Learning MLA format at BHS was extremely helpful. After the numerous essays I wrote in 7th and 8th grade, I felt prepared when I had to use the format again at Viewpoint. At Viewpoint I became an active member of Model United Nations. I attended weekly meetings where I discussed global issues, I also participated in a mock Model UN conference, and volunteered to help with Global Awareness Week at school.”

NAOMI BORTNIK ‘14 “Buckley is an amazing school that I am fortunate enough to attend and the only reason that I am managing and excelling in my classes is due to the foundation set for me at Berkeley Hall. Berkeley Hall honestly prepared me for the strong work that has been dumped on my shoulders, but with the help of the incredible teachers at BHS and now at Buckley, I am able to get through and learn from my classes. Currently, in Year 10, I am taking all Honors and AP classes since I would like to acquire as much knowledge as possible. For sports, I am taking soccer and dance and just finished performing in my dance concert! Buckley offers a vast amount of extracurricular actives such as music composition and music theory which I have taken since starting high school. I plan on reaching all of my goals all thanks to the preparation given to me by Berkeley Hall!”

ALEXA LORETIC ‘14 Alexa Loretic, class of ‘14, has played for Louisville High School’s water polo team the past two years. She made the varsity team as a Freshman. Alexa has competed in the water polo Junior Olympics with her club team the past two summers. Her Bruin Water Polo club team is getting ready to compete in the water polo Junior Olympics qualifiers, which take place in June. They expect to qualify and compete in the Junior Olympics again this summer. Along with athletics, Alexa has been excelling in her studies, earning straight A’s this past semester.

Class of 1965 celebrated their 50th reunion The love and appreciation for Berkeley Hall were palpable as classmates from fifty years past met at the Berkeley Hall Country Fair. Eleven members of the Class of 1965 came from all over the country to share their memories and the connection they still feel to Berkeley Hall.

Several classmates left before the Intermediate grades, but expressed strong, special feelings for the school. The group toured the campus, enjoyed a hosted dinner in the library and a slide show of class pictures.

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(Front row, L to R) Charlotte Ferrini Kellison, Elaine Anderson Harbison, Carol Cowen McKinney, Peggy Hank Ricks, Lea Ann McGee Rodan, Cynthia McMahan Hall (Back row) Todd Culbertson, Kerry Lamperts, Mike Eardley, Gary Krisel, and Perry Valantine

PERRY VALANTINE REFLECTED ON HIS BERKELEY HALL EDUCATION “I credit Berkeley Hall with giving me the basics - both academically and socially - for building a happy, successful life. Somewhere between junior nursery and ninth grade, I learned how to share and get along with others, how to work with others to achieve a goal, and how to have a good time while remaining a responsible citizen.

Berkeley Hall prepared me for high school, college, and the professional world by giving me a good academic foundation and teaching me to hold myself to a high standard. It was great to relive some of those experiences at our recent 50-year reunion. It was gratifying to see that my classmates are still the wonderful, loving, responsible people I remember after so many years.”

Mike Eardley, Perry Valantine, Gary Krisel, and Todd Culbertson

Class of 2011 Senior Send-Off

At last year’s Senior Send-Off, the Class of 2011 met at Berkeley Hall for an afternoon of nostalgia. They shared their college plans and have enrolled in the following colleges/universities: Loyola Marymount University, University of Southern California, NYU, Davidson, Bennington College, University of San Francisco, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Sydney, Chapman College, California State University at Monterrey Bay, California Polytechnic at San Luis Obispo, University of California, Santa Cruz, University of Arizona, Berklee College of Music, and Regis University. The students reminisced about their years at Berkeley Hall with Ms. Swallow, Director of Alumni and Parent Relations, and teachers Mrs. Tartaglia, Mrs. OlguinLucas (formerly Salazar), Mr. Miller, Mr. Chandani, Mr. Fontaine, Mrs. Waterson, and Coaches Melanie and Ryan Duffy.

We are proud of their achievements and wish them much success in their educational journey.

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2015 Berkeley Hall Country Fair brings back alumni

Jackson Finch, Lauren Good, Nathalie Taing, Naomi Bortnik, Alexa Loretic, Maleia Alejandre, Amaka Nwankwo, Class of 2014

Former Faculty Vicki Murphy (holding her alumna daughter Ashlee’s Omary Miller’s (‘97) little girl), and former Faculty and Alumna Robin Weller Steinberg ‘75 with Nicole Omary Seidman’s (’98) daughter, Bella.

Max Bell and Max Latham, Class of 2012

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Noor Jahanshahi, Enzo Scardapane, Maricela Arechiga, Class of 2012

Sabrina Walden, Kayla Rogers, Ashley Conte, Hallie Adler, Class of 2013

AlumniCONNECT ALUMNI NOTES What have you been up to lately? Your Berkeley Hall classmates really want to know! Marriages, births and adoptions, new jobs, new pets, traveling, going back to school … whatever you have been up to, let us help you spread the word! Send us your updates via email to alumni@berkeleyhall.org.

Blake ‘13 and dad Rick Peters ‘73

Facebook.com/berkeleyhallschool

Like our Facebook page where you can find out about upcoming alumni events and keep up to date with the latest Berkeley Hall developments and alumni news.

erkeley Hall has its own YouTube channel!

B Check it out for the latest school videos at www.youtube.com/user/bhs1911

Scan through our photos at

www.instagram.com/berkeleyhallschool/

QUESTIONS? Please contact the BHS Director of Alumni Relations with any questions or comments: Yvette Sarkissian Kotchounian ‘90 and son Raffi

Sara Swallow (310) 476-6421, x-206 or at sswallow@berkeleyhall.org

WE WOULD LOVE YOUR FEEDBACK! Please take a few minutes to complete our BHS Alumni Survey! Your insights will help us better understand what Berkeley Hall means to you, and how we could strengthen BHS alumni relations, communications, and outreach.

Ryan Browning and Wakelin McNeel, Class of 2012

www.berkeleyhall.org/page/Alumni/ Alumni-Survey 23 THANK YOU!