Academic Year 2023/24 • Volume Two
CRANE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
A Newsletter for Families, Grandparents, Alumni, and Friends
PURE IMAGINATION!
LOWER SCHOOL SPRING STUDY WEEK
visu al arts
Fourth grade artists painted these loveable portraits of animals from the Santa Barbara Humane Society in hopes of helping them find homes. Artists used resource photos to draw their subjects and gradually built up layers of value and simple shapes to capture each animal’s personality. Finally, students wrote a bilingual description of each pet to reach a larger audience of potential pet seekers.
Below are samples of the incredible UPPER SCHOOL student en plein air paintings of various Crane campus locations. They learned about the history and technique of painting outdoors by researching various artists, including local painter, Crane alumna and parent, Whitney Abbott '86 who presented her most recent art show in Assembly to culminate this unit.
Like most administrators, I started my career in education as a teacher since I loved working with students. For about a decade, I taught at a wonderful school in San Francisco, LickWilmerding High School, and to say I loved every minute of it would be an understatement. As Head of School here at Crane, my day-to-day tasks have changed over time, and I now spend less time with students than I do with adults. My job involves a wide range of activities, including helping with admissions, meeting with families, hiring new teachers, working with Trustees, and fundraising. That said, I’m continuously plotting ways to teach and spend time with our students.
Crane’s kindergarten teachers, Paola Rodriguez and Stephanie Bagish, compiled a wonderful collection of activities down by the wharf relating to their oceans unit of study, including a scavenger hunt, a visit to the Sea Center, and a boat ride on “Lil’ Toot.” My part of the puzzle was to create a sandcastle-building extravaganza. While I have no formal training in sandcastles, I did raise two kids in Santa Barbara, and therefore consider myself a competent sandcastle artist. I arrived at West Beach well before the students, armed with dozens of plastic trowels and colorful buckets – key tools for me to build a good base as a starting place.
This year, I was lucky – between running an engineering workshop before school, going on an Upper School trip, leading an after school Lego class, and chaperoning an overnight adventure to the zoo, I got to spend a lot of time with Crane students. Two key highlights were Lower School Spring Study Week and our latest HEED (Highly Experiential Education Day).
This year’s theme for Lower School Spring Study Week was Pure Imagination (see page 6), and I was thrilled to work with Ciauna Cota, one of our amazing Teaching Fellows, in a workshop inspired by Jackson Pollock. For each of the ten sessions, we made large-scale drip paintings with a group of 15 students armed with ketchupstyle squirt bottles filled with colorful paint. As challenging as that sounds, the results were amazing! The kids were excited to learn about an innovative artist while enjoying the outdoors, and there was a sense of harmony in being part of a collective art project.
Fast-forward to May, and I was honored to be asked to join the kindergarten team for their spring HEED (see page 12). These designated days provide specific opportunities for each grade to do something extraordinary, either on campus or off, and give students rich, exciting, hands-on experiences.
While there had been talk of a special guest, I think my identity was kept a secret. When they recognized me, I heard cries of, “It’s Mr. Weiss!” as students ran from the sidewalk down to the water’s edge. And the real magic? Within 30 seconds, all the kids got to work building and helping with no need for explanation or rules; they jumped right in to create a giant sandcastle. Sometimes a teacher must work hard to bring an idea to fruition, and sometimes kids are drawn to the “lesson” like bees to honey. For almost an hour, kindergartners built walls, dug moats, sculpted turrets, and filled containers with sand and ocean waves. It was a glorious example of group art, reminiscent of the Jackson Pollock effort, but this time, exclusively with five-year-olds!
Experiential education opportunities like this are not only fun and active, but so much is going on internally. Open-ended experiences encourage students to reflect, motivate themselves, and contribute to a group process. Practicing this type of unstructured learning is an invaluable skill since this model of education also spurs innovation. It is important to remember that many of today’s students will end up in jobs that have yet to be invented! It may start with drip painting and sandcastles, but the lessons last a lifetime.
Joel Weiss Head of School
Art is for Everybody was the annual theme and inspiration behind this spring’s Art Show. Art teachers Tray London and Gretel Huglin-Ridge ran with this subject and added new elements to the event. This year students and guests were able to participate in community activities including graffiti art on a wall and upcycled furniture. The open mic performances were a hit again, and a bake sale supporting Guide Dogs for the Blind in honor of our artist-in-residence Cheri Owens and her service dog Martinez was a sweet way for our community to give back. A special invitation was extended to local and visiting Crane grandparents.
On an overcast Sunday in May, thirty-five players met at the Santa Barbara Golf Club to compete in the third annual Crane Golf Tournament. This was a new venue and all attending were eager to play. At the end of the day, the group of Caron ’97, Triplett, Sanders ’02, and Hughes showed up to shoot a low round of 58. Coming in second were two other groups at nine under, one being represented by the Eliassen family and featuring both 2020 alumni Jack and Luke and Jackson Sproul ’11. That team won the inaugural grade level prize, representing the current seventh grade (class of 2025).
Over tacos and beverages Mr. Caron dispensed prizes for closest to the pin and longest drive. The latter went to a current seventh grader, who mustered a drive of over 280 yards on the par four 11th hole to nearly hit the green from the forward tees. Congratulations to all!
Many thanks to our generous sponsors, Flor de Maiz, Opal, OKU, Cafe Telegrama, Sun Sushi, Golf Max, and special thanks to parent Chris Bellamy for providing our grand prize - rounds of golf at Mission Club and La Purisima! We hope to see all of the competitors back next year.
Math SuperBowl
Crane's fourth, fifth, and sixth grade mathematicians shone brightly at the annual Math SuperBowl, securing seventh place overall out of 30 schools! Their dedication and teamwork earned individual and grade-level awards, including fifth grade clinching fourth place in the engineering competition. We couldn't be more proud of our students' stellar performance!
Crane Golf Tournament
Louis Caron ’97
Crane History Teacher, and golf enthusiast
The Eliassen family team
Lower School Spring Study Week
Spring Study Week perfectly weaves together Crane’s five core values into one intentional, interdisciplinary, multi-grade, highly experiential week of learning for students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Annual events at Crane are made even more rich and meaningful when we reflect on their origins and the beloved traditions that they have become, which is true of Lower School Spring Study Week: In the 1980s, the week-long Upper School Trips were taken in the spring rather than in the fall as they are today. Back then, the Lower School teachers decided to create a special week for kindergarten through fifth grade highlighting them during this same time –now known as Lower School Spring Study Week. There are many parts of this program which have both withstood decades (every year since 1984 but for during Covid) and have come to be highly anticipated: each week has a theme (anything from learning about another culture to The Magic of Music to The Rainforest to Food, Glorious Food to this year’s, Pure Imagination). The Lower School teachers work in pairs or individually to offer a workshop that is curriculum-based and includes experiential education, creativity, as well as just plain fun! All workshops are cross-age so that the oldest students (fifth graders) are helping the youngest (kindergarteners). To say the week is magical is an understatement!
Coyote Cares, the Upper School’s community service elective is offered to sixth through eighth graders with the aim and purpose of serving those in our school, local community and beyond. It is led by Upper School teachers Alexa Hughes and Kate Tannous and is now in its third year. Coyote Cares has supported more than ten local and global organizations since its creation, and this year they chose to focus on supporting the unhoused community in Santa Barbara. To support their endeavors, the Coyote Cares students decided to hold a weekend bake sale at a local grocery store with homemade desserts and beverages. The stand was donation-only, and the students were overwhelmed with the outpouring of support from our community. While interacting with customers, the students heard moving personal accounts about the importance of helping the unhoused in our city. In only two hours, the industrious sellers raised $916! Later in the weekend, the students learned that an anonymous donor was inspired by their efforts and decided to triple-match their proceeds making their grand total $2,748.
Upon learning that they had significantly more funds to spend, the Coyote Cares students decided to branch out and use a portion of their profits to make a big impact. Crane dad, Matt Riley, has been a part of the county’s efforts to move unhoused individuals into interim housing through the Dignity Moves project. After the organization’s first endeavor in downtown Santa Barbara was met with great success, they decided to build 80 new units at the former juvenile hall site on Hollister Avenue. With Riley’s encouragement and support, Coyote Cares was able to sponsor the last two available rooms at the new Dignity Moves site. About this outcome, one seventh grader shared that, “It made me realize how many people need these homes and just how many unhoused people there are in Santa Barbara.”
After learning about the two spaces they were responsible for, the Coyote Cares students sprang right into action and created shopping lists of products to outfit the rooms. Then during elective class they took a trip to Target and Home Goods to shop for everything they would need to create warm and welcoming lodging at the interim
Upper School Coyote Cares
housing site. The following Sunday they gathered at the Dignity Moves, La Posada site, and decorated for two hours. They hand wrote welcome notes to make each resident feel valued and cared for, and lovingly placed snacks and harmonious items around the room to make it feel homey. They placed linens and cozy blankets on the bed and hung carefully chosen artwork on the walls. “My favorite part of the day was seeing the finished rooms,” a student said. “Knowing who was going to use them made it even more significant.” After the Coyote Cares’ work was complete, they left the site knowing that residents would be moving in the following day. As one of their notes stated, “This room was made with love and care, and we hope you feel safe, warm and comfortable. Enjoy your new home!”
The elective class will use the remainder of their funds to create Coyote Kits (a bag with toiletries and essential items) to donate to the Rescue Mission before the school year ends. This will be the third year that Coyote Cares has supported the Rescue Mission.
Editor’s Note: Coyote Cares is just one elective of many offered to the Upper School students three times a year. Some of the others are: Anime & Manga, Court Sports, Board Games, Debate Club, Outdoor Adventures, Theatrical Makeup Artist, and VIBES! (Xylophones), Mason Jar Extravaganza, Book Adventures, Ultimate Frisbee, Spill the Tea (the art and history of tea), and Sketchbooking.
Past Parent Reunion
Our longstanding routine of hosting this gathering off-campus was altered this year due to two important developments: our new theater, the Wolf Performing Arts Center (Wolf PAC) was now completed and most of this group had yet to have reason to visit, and we had two honorees who were receiving the important Cronshaw Family Distinguished Alumni Award.
On the first of February, almost one hundred attendees were elated to see one another as well as the new theater in action. We had a few student performers who graced the stage to show-off the capacity of the new lighting and sound systems, and we were able to utilize it for the first time as the venue to bestow our alumni award to Rick Banks ’62 and Sarah W. O’Brien ’82, who both won for their countless hours of volunteer service to Crane!
Track & Field Day
3rd 4th 5th Grade
Seventh grade students find their voice and pursue their passions through Crane’s QED (Quests, Explorations, Discoveries) Project. QED is a chance to explore an interest, pursue a dream, embark on a quest into a future career, or discover a new hobby. Through QED, students identify an area of study in which they are interested and are then paired with a mentor in the community who is an expert in that field. The two work together outside of school and then students present their results, discoveries, and final projects to families and peers. This capstone project perfectly embodies our core value, Doing Deepens Discovery, emphasizing learning as a journey that leads to real transformation when engaging minds, hands, and hearts.
LEFT TO RIGHT Janey Cohen, former Crane teacher and creator of QED; Traci Cope, Librarian and current QED Coordinator; Alexis Fischer, Spanish Teacher and Seventh Grade Dean Click to watch the seventh graders’ QED videos
Spring Benefit
Coming up with the theme of our Spring Benefit has always been both fun and challenging, but this year’s committee, almost the same composition as last year’s creative and dedicated group, had no trouble . . . Crane Into the Future. We launched into another world of laser lights, doggie droids, holograms, haze machines, AND Cybertrucks. As always, we were determined to include the students, who each made a wooden 5-inch robot with LED eyes and wrote their parents/ caregivers notes of gratitude, distributed at the event. They painted nine black canvas panels that lined the walkway to and from the tent, and the sixth graders programmed small dot and dash robots to “dance” to “Copacabana!” At the conclusion of the evening, two simultaneous thoughts became crystal clear: The Future Is Now and The Future Looks Bright!
The Independent Art Project and Presentation (i@pp) is a capstone project in a student’s fifth and eighth grade years that allows them to create a personal piece that best reflects their interests and passions at this time in their lives. Students choose the media, subject, and course of action and emphasis is placed on the artist’s process, time management, problem solving, and perseverance as well as their final presentation and exhibition. It is a wonderful culminating assignment as students show all that they have learned in Lower School and Upper School art.
Debbie Williams
1976-1990
First and Second Grade Teacher
The Long and Winding Road
The 2023-2024 school year is Debbie Williams’ last full-time year at Crane. During her 48 years as our longest-tenured employee, Debbie has served in nearly every capacity of the school including parent, teacher, Head of Lower School, Director of Admissions, acting Head of School, Director of Development, and Director of Advancement. Her long and winding road is marked not just by the positions she has held (often more than one at a time!), but more significantly by the rich traditions she has instilled and maintained at Crane and the relationships she has fostered with families, students, and colleagues whom she has taken under her wing during their time at Crane and beyond.
WHAT A BEAUTIFUL RIDE IT HAS BEEN!
1984-1990
Head of Lower School
Spring 2008
Acting Head of School
Debbie Williams has overlapped with four Heads of School (as pictured from left to right): Joel Weiss (2000-present), Cheryl Hamilton (1989-1994), Selden Edwards (1979-1989), Doris Cottam (1994-2000)
Celebrating Crane’s 90 years in 2018: Joel Weiss, the Crane
1990-2013
Director of Admissions
2011-2022
Director of Development
2022-2024
Director of Advancement
More Debbie!
We are excited that Debbie’s path next year will not veer far from Crane. She will continue to work part-time for one more school year supporting Crane in its campaign efforts.
Coyote, Debbie Williams
Congratulations Class of 2020!
Best of luck next year and be sure to come visit us!
Thank you to those who provided us with the following information.
Hala Abed
Attended: Episcopal High School (VA)
Attending: University of Miami (Herbert Business School)
Graduating with honors
Chloe Adams
Attended: Santa Barbara High School
Attending: University of Colorado, Boulder
Greer Biddlecome
Attended: Santa Catalina School
Attending: University of Miami (economics)
Gold Medal – National Spanish Exam
Outstanding Math Award
Certificate in Global Leadership
Summer Corey
Attended: Santa Barbara High School (Visual Arts & Design Academy)
Attending: University of Colorado, Boulder (Arts & Science major; Biochemistry/ pre-health)
Mel Davidson
Attended: Cate School
Attending: University of California, Berkeley (biology)
Phil Womble 2022-23 Award (highest standard of ethics & sportsmanship)
Cum Laude Society
Peter Cate Cup (all-around best girl athlete)
Kate Deardorff
Attended: Colorado Rocky Mountain School
Attending: University of Southern California after abroad program at Franklin University in Lugano, Switzerland
The Braj Award (Community Service Award)
President’s Volunteer Service Award
Shane Gifford
Attended: Santa Barbara High School (Computer Science Academy)
Attending: Santa Barbara City College Community Service Excellence Award
Christian Gonzalez
Attended: Cate School
Attending: Princeton University
Cum Laude Society
French Language Prize
6 Varsity Letters
Avianna Gordon
Attended: Bishop Garcia Diego High School
Attending: Southern Methodist University
Henry Hagerman
Attended: Oxbridge Academy (FL)
Attending: University of Richmond Cum Laude
Athletic letters in tennis and sailing Played and sang two songs at graduation
Will Hammond
Attended: Cate School
Attending: Pitzer College Student Activities Award
Deacon Johnson
Attended: Thacher School
Attending: University of Southern California, Iovine & Young Academy
Senior Class President
Jack Kane
Attended: AZDL (online school while playing AAA Tier 1 Ice Hockey)
Attending: University of Iowa (Tippie School of Business – double major in Finance & Computer Science) and play hockey
Louis Leclercq
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: Oxford University for one year; then Southern Methodist University
Cooper Lender
Attended: Santa Barbara High School
Attending: Stanford University
Tuohy Foundation Scholarship
Luria Japanese Language Scholarship
Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
Drew Levinson
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: Boston College
Laguna Blanca Scholar/Athlete
Bella Lomeli
Attended: Santa Barbara High School (Visual Arts & Design Academy)
Attending: Santa Barbara City College
Celebrating Crane’s 2020 high school graduates at their reunion at Buena Onda on June 4, 2024
Ingrid Lu
Attended: Cate School
Attending: Barnard College, Columbia University
Cum Laude Society
Joseph Bradley Art Prize Human Development Award
Paloma Lujan
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: University of San Diego
Laguna Blanca Scholar/Athlete
Regina Lujan
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: Santa Clara University
Laguna Blanca Scholar/Athlete
Brody McGonigle
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: George Washington University
Cole Murphy
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: University of Wisconsin, Madison College of Engineering
Laguna Blanca Scholar/Athlete
Tanner Murphy
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: Tulane University, College of Business
Laguna Blanca Scholar/Athlete
Camilla Perkins
Attended: Dos Pueblos High
Attending: University of Southern California
Elizabeth Purdy
Attended: Loomis Chaffee (CT)
Attending: Indiana University, Kelly Business School
Global Studies Certificate
Dean’s Scholarship
Robert Reyes
Attended: Santa Barbara High School/junior & senior year abroad in Italy
Attending: George Washington University (journalism)
Presidential Scholarship
Griffin Rick
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: Boston University
Senior Project with International Medical Aid Program in Kenya
Laguna Alumni Association Science Trophy
Graham Rogers
Attended: Thacher School
Attending: Claremont McKenna College
Luke Sain
Attended: Agoura High School
Attending: Southern Methodist University
Starter on Agoura’s varsity football team
Phoenix Seal
Attended: Stevenson High School
Attending: California Polytechnic State University (SLO)
Charlie Sheldon
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: University of California, Berkeley (Civil & Environmental Engineering)
Basketball: captain and first team all-league honors
Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award
8th Place in International Bridge Building Contest
Leighton Smith
Attended: Santa Barbara High School (Visual Arts & Design Academy)
Attending: Savannah College of Arts & Design (SCAD); majoring in illustration
Sienna Spence
Attended: Santa Barbara High/Appleby College (Ontario, Canada)
Attending: Trent University (Ontario, Canada)
Diego Veras
Attended: Bishop Garcia Diego High School
Attending: Culinary Institute of America (NY); Cornell University; majoring in Hotel Hospitality Business Administration Program
Ganden Walker
Attended: Laguna Blanca School
Attending: Southern Methodist University (Economics)
MVP Tri-Valley League, Volleyball
Laguna Blanca Outstanding Male Athlete 2024
Athlete of the Week Award, Santa Barbara County (2/28/24), Volleyball
Zach White
Attended: Cate School
Attending: Bates College
Varsity Senior Captains Award: Boys’ Swimming
Lily Young
Attended: Santa Barbara High School
Attending: University of Richmond/London (1st term); then to Tulane School of Medicine
Founder of the “Sun Project” providing sun protection for unhoused people
Three 2020 Crane graduates received Cum Laude recognition from Cate School upon graduation: Ingrid Lu, Christian Gonzalez, and Mel Davidson
Seven 2020 Crane graduates were named scholar/athletes by Laguna Blanca School (from left to right): Regina Lujan, Cole Murphy, Ganden Walker, fellow Crane classmate Deacon Johnson (visiting from Thacher) supporting his friends, Drew Levinson, Charlie Sheldon, Tanner Murphy, Paloma Lujan
CLASS OF 2024 CRANE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL
Coco Rautiola, Mimi Power, Julien Drost, Emerson Hill*, Austin Hansen, Mitra Mehrabi, Alastair Ylvisaker, Jasmin Dominguez, Max Marino, Vida Wolstencroft, Alex Eustice, Ceci Duarte, Rex Wolf*, Poppy Kono*, Luke Mackey, Emmanuel Brine, Daniel Kotler, Luke Donahue, James Kono*, James Tosh, Casey Engel, Paulina Hakan*
Shaia Bijan, Chelsea Newlove, Jude Cooper*, Lilly-Bee Butler, Eve Sheldon*, Ella Murphy*, Alaia Muller*, Stella Frank*, Ryan Briggs, Lillie Copus*, Caroline Gifford, Arden Blagden, Aggie McTigue*, Eliott Brun, Elly Edwards, Bradley Duran
* K-8 Crane "Lifer"
All names in order from left to right
front row
back row
The Crane faculty and staff are very proud of the accomplishments of the eighth grade class of 2023 and wish them the best of luck in their high school adventures.
Besant Hill
Paulina Hakan
Bishop Diego High School
Max Marino
Carpinteria High School
Eliott Brun
Jasmin Dominguez
Luke Donahue
Emerson Hill
Cate School
Emmanuel Brine
Elly Edwards
Austin Hansen
Aggie McTigue
Alaia Muller
Chelsea Newlove
Mimi Power
Eve Sheldon
Deerfield Academy
Alastair Ylvisaker
Dos Pueblos High School
Casey Engel
James Kono
Poppy Kono
James Tosh
Laguna Blanca School
Shaia Bijan
Arden Blagden
Jude Cooper
Lillie Copus
Alex Eustice
Stella Frank
Mitra Mehrabi
Ella Murphy
Coco Rautiola
Phillips Exeter Academy
Lilly-Bee Butler
San Marcos High School
Bradley Duran
Daniel Kotler
Santa Barbara High School
Ryan Briggs
Julien Drost
Cecilia Duarte
Caroline Gifford
St. George’s School
Rex Wolf
The Thacher School
Luke Mackey
Ventura High School
Vida Wolstencroft
Head’s Prize
description Awarded to the student who, through leadership, participation, and consideration of others, has served best as an example for us all
recipient Poppy Kono
Amiability Award
description Awarded to the student who showed the greatest cooperation with congeniality toward all
recipient Chelsea Newlove
Art Cup
description Given for exellence in studio art or design that consistently highlights original thought and creativity
recipient Jude Cooper Poppy Kono
Dan McCaslin History Cup
description Given in honor of retired teacher Dan McCaslin to the student that demonstrates outstanding effort, achievement, curiosity, and consistent participation in the study and discussion of history
recipient Aggie McTigue
Mimi Power
David Echols Math Cup
description Given in honor of former Crane teacher David Echols to the student with outstanding performance in mathematics
recipients Emmanuel Brine
Mimi Power
Design & Engineering Award
description Given to recognize the student whose designs have exhibited social consciousness, outstanding skill in fabrication, and technical innovation
recipient Aggie McTigue
Drama Cup
description Awarded for outstanding participation and memorable performance on the stage
recipients Alastair Ylvisaker
Julia Brown English Cup
description Given in honor of former English teacher Julia Brown to the student who has demonstrated the highest achievement and greatest love of learning English
recipient Mimi Power
Katharine Faletti Performing Arts Cup
description Given in memory of Katharine Faletti for outstanding contribution in the performing arts
recipient James Kono
Lejeune Teaching Fellowship
description An annual award for an inspirational teacher
recipient Kate Tannous Upper School English Teacher
Lejeune Language Award (Spanish Cup)
description Given in memory of founding Head of School Arnold Lejeune for outstanding achievement, effort, and enthusiasm in the study of the Spanish language and culture
recipient Emmanuel Brine Mimi Power
Library Award
description Given to the student who shows a voracious appetite for books and reading, who uses the library resources well, and is an avid participant in the summer reading program
recipient Vida Wolstencroft
Music Cup
description Awarded for diligent study and accomplishment in the realm of music
recipient Poppy Kono
Nagle Community Service Award
description Awarded in memory of Frank Nagle, to the student who showed outstanding enthusiasm in community service.
recipient Alaia Muller
Eve Sheldon
Rose Bowl
description Given in honor of former Crane teacher Cathy Rose, to an unmistakably unconventional eighth grader
recipient Vida Wolstencroft
Science Cup
description Awarded to the student who most closely embodies, through outstanding effort and achievement, the popular sentiment at Crane that “science is everywhere”
recipient Vida Wolstencroft
Sheila Davidson Cup
description Given in honor of former Crane Coach Sheila Davidson, to the athlete who best exemplifies commitment, teamwork, passion, and sportsmanship.
recipient Arden Blagden
Rex Wolf
Sports Cup
description Awarded for outstanding performance and participation in athletics
recipients Emmanuel Brine
Austin Hansen
Poppy Kono
Chelsea Newlove
Congratulations Graduates &
Class of 2024 Awards
Talia S. Klein Award
description Given to the student who, in the opinion of the faculty, has been an unassuming force for good recipients Lilly-Bee Butler
Chelsea Newlove
Technical Theater Award
description Given to the student who has excelled in the mastery of all electronic systems used in the theater recipient Paulina Hakan Aggie McTigue
Tower Achievement Award
description Awarded to the student who showed greatest academic improvement through effort and application recipient Ella Murphy
Writing Cup
description Given to a student who has demonstrated significant interest in continual excellence in writing recipient Aggie McTigue
Award Recipients (LEFT-RIGHT)
Arden Blagden
Sheila Davidson Cup
Emmanuel Brine
David Echols Math Cup
Lejeune Language Award (Spanish Cup)
Sports Cup
Lilly-Bee Butler
Talia S. Klein Award
Jude Cooper Art Cup
Paulina Hakan Technical Theater Award
Austin Hansen Sports Cup
James Kono
Katharine Faletti Performing Arts Cup
Poppy Kono
Art Cup Head’s Prize
Music Cup Sports Cup
Aggie McTigue
Dan McCaslin History Cup
Design & Engineering Award
Technical Theater Award Writing Cup
Alaia Muller
Nagle Community Service Award
Ella Murphy
Tower Achievement Award
Chelsea Newlove
Amiability Award
Sports Cup
Talia S. Klein Award
Mimi Power
Dan McCaslin History Cup
David Echols Math Cup
Julia Brown English Cup
Lejeune Language Award (Spanish Cup)
Eve Sheldon Nagle Community Service Award
Rex Wolf
Sheila Davidson Cup
Vida Wolstencroft
Library Award
Rose Bowl Science Cup
Alastair Ylvisaker
Drama Cup
Kate Tannous
Lejeune Teaching Fellowship
& Award Recipients!
alumni news
Anastasia Van Wingerden ’03 Eichorn; Laguna Blanca ’07, University of San Francisco ’11, Bay Area Center for Waldorf Teacher Training ’18; is living in Big Sur with her husband Ben, 3-year-old son Joaquin, and new baby boy Damien, born December 26, 2023. Stasia is a musician/songwriter (stasmari.com) and a teacher who also loves fiber arts and watercolor painting. She and her family live on a small farm that grows seasonal fruits and flowers and tends a small herd of goats. They enjoy exploring the beauty of the coastal mountains and beaches together with their cattle dog, Leilani.
Jennica Gama ’03; Santa Barbara High School ’07; University of San Diego ’11 lived in NYC for nearly 10 years where she lived with fellow Crane alumni, Olivia Mohler, Maggie Mai, Mina Kaneko, and Becky Brinkenhoff (all Class of 2003). She met Derek Wakeen in the lodge at Killington Mountain in Vermont on leap year 2020 and 4 years later they married on leap year 2024. They were married on February 29 in a small ceremony at the Santa Barbara Courthouse with their two families in attendance. Jennica is currently working at Indeed as a senior strategist on the Sales Effectiveness Team. She specializes in CRM Business Strategy. Derek started his own branding business five years ago, Wakeen Design Co, doing brand identity work for small businesses, especially in the restaurant and hospitality industry. They live in Newburyport, Maine where Jennica has been able to experience all the outdoor activities that it has to offer including snowboarding, hiking, beach going, hopping from state to state to explore new towns and, of course, thoroughly enjoying the New England seafood.
Lily Dallow ’13; Bishop Garcia Diego High School ’17; Cal Poly SLO ’21 is an award-winning journalist covering the town and community where she was raised. She currently works full time as the Digital Content Director for KEYT News Channel 3-12, she freelances for Noozhawk and the Montecito Journal Media Group, and she contributes to Jerry Roberts’ Newsmakers show. Despite her short tenure in the industry, Lily has published over 800 stories with KEYT, won a Golden Mike Award for best feature videography, and has made numerous appearances as a panelist and guest speaker in Santa Barbara. In her free time, Lily’s hobbies include reading on the beach, Pilates, creative writing
and learning how to write screenplays. She also spends a lot of her social time with her brothers who also graduated from Crane: Mike Dallow ’11 and Nick Dallow ’15
Kaleigh Flores ’14; San Marcos High School ’18; UC Santa Barbara ’22 and Nico Peluso; San Marcos High School ’19; UC Santa Barbara ’23 were married on November 12, 2023 at Saint Barbara Greek Orthodox Church. They held a small ceremony with 80 of their closest family members and friends. Kaleigh's sister, Alexis Flores ’10, was the maid of honor. Nico and Kaleigh are high school sweethearts and attended UCSB together. Kaleigh studied German language and Nico studied Political Science. They enjoy spending their spare time at the beach and with family. They currently reside in Santa Barbara and enjoy traveling. They hope to live abroad in the future, but always plan to return to their hometown, Santa Barbara.
Stella Haffner ’15; Laguna Blanca High School ’18; University of St. Andrews (BSc) ’22; University of Edinburgh (MSc) ’23 recently moved to England to accept a position as a pre-doctoral research assistant at the University of Oxford. As part of her new role in the Department of Health Sciences, Stella has the opportunity to investigate how lifestyle interventions can help prevent comorbidity and promote overall health. She quickly felt at home with the team at Health Sciences and is grateful to work with people who care so much about their research. Stella is still discovering Oxford but says you can get excellent hot chocolate in town and loves using her staff card to get into the Botanic Garden. On the weekends, Stella also likes to bake with friends, go to the movie theater, and visit the Covered Market for Spanish coffee.
Cosi Arthurs ’19 performed in the play Liar as a freshman at Texas State University.
Arthurs ’22 and Chloe Bellamy ’23 both acted in the production of
Beckett
Singing in the Rain at San Marcos High School.
Peyton Gimbel ’22 was in the Tech Crew for Laguna Blanca’s play Spamalot
Sam Hotchkiss ’99 was a student at Crane from grades 2 - 5 before he moved out-of-state. He took a different path than his classmates dropping out of high school and began a start-up company which ended unsuccessfully. Learning from that experience, he built and sold a product called BruteProtect, described as a popular plug-in that protects websites from brute-force attacks, a method designed to crack a victim’s password by trying every possible combination of characters one by one. Once he sold that, he built “a platform to reduce recidivism and the burden of the criminal justice system” (reconnect.io). Currently, he owns a consulting firm under his name and the services he offers are addressed in his website: https://swh. me/. Sam visited campus recently from his home in Santa Fe and has two boys Noah (6) and Whit (3).
Poppy Brittingham ’13, a Crane lifer went on to Thacher ’17 for high school before settling into Stanford for a BS Earth Systems ’21; her MS Marine Resource Management and Conservation ’24 and is now embarking on her PhD at Doerr School of Sustainability.
As an ocean scientist, it felt like I was walking onto a different planet when I started my first day as the director’s assistant on the tv show The White Lotus. I began my work in that role during the fall of 2020, when Stanford went remote and I took time off to work instead.
I called my godfather, Mike White, and as luck would have it, he had just written the show’s first season and was looking for an assistant to join him in Hawaii. I would never have guessed that position would lead to a 4-year adventure spanning Hawaii, Sicily, and now Thailand! During these seasons, I have learned just how much work goes into creating a production: there are 200+ people on the team; it takes one hour of filming to get one minute of an episode; and all night scenes are filmed during nocturnal 5 pm - 5 am work days. The work ethic and dedication that the whole team brought was never clearer than when we had “night shoots”.
The wonder of seasons 1 and 2 is a direct result of the team’s commitment and Mike’s exceptional leadership. I have never worked for someone who leads with such kindness, creativity, and humor. Most of all, it has been a gift to spend quality time with Mike.
Observing artists and creatives, including Mike, in their field has taught me much about the value of working on something that you love. As I return to the world of Ocean Science this fall for my PhD at Stanford, I will strive to be a little more like Mike in everything I do.
sam hotchkiss ’99
poppy brittingham ’13
Eighth Grade Speeches
The long-standing tradition of the eighth grade speech serves as a powerful embodiment of our core value, Value Your Voice. It is a momentous occasion where our students take center stage and showcase their growth and potential. As they stand before the whole school and their families, they embody the belief that "Each of our students is capable of anything, but that only matters if they know it and believe it about themselves." This program aligns perfectly with our commitment to providing a safe and supportive environment for learning, enabling our students to embrace new challenges and take risks, all while understanding that failure is an essential step on the path to success. Through this capstone project and all public speaking experiences leading up to it, our students build their confidence, foster ongoing creativity, and ignite their curiosity, discovering the transformative power of their own voices.
Here are the topics presented during the 2023-2024 school year:
Scan to watch the eighth grade speeches
kindergarten | E-I E-I OOPS!
second grade | IT’S A JUNGLE OUT THERE!
2023/2024 • Volume Two
I Madonnari 2024 – This colorful design is a joyful celebration of our year-long, all-school study of artist Keith Haring.
