On Campus: Spring 2016

Academic Year 2015/16 • Volume Two

OnCAMPUS CRANE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL

A Newsletter for Parents, Grandparents, Friends, and Alumni

Inside

Visual Arts Leading the Way New Staffulty Spring Benefit Past Parents Events Alumni News Graduation 2016 Grandparents Tea In Memory: Phil von Phul Farewell: Dan McCaslin Milestone Anniversaries Lower School Athletics Theater Arts

2 3 4 5 6 7-13 14-17 18 19 20 21 22-23 24-25 26-27

PHIL VON PHUL October 10, 1942 – December 23, 2015

It was with great sadness

last fall when the Crane community learned of Phil’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis.

As Phil told his doctor, all he really wanted to do was to teach – and that was what he did, up until mid-December, only to succumb to the disease on December 23.

Over 700 members of the Crane

community

came

together for his memorial service on January 30, 2016.

(continued on page 19)

visual arts

lower school

The third graders considered the lemon, with its piquant taste and refreshing fragrance, as well as its health benefits to the early explorers of California. These acrylic paintings feature luminous layers of color glazes and luscious backgrounds.

upper school

These captivating mixed-media portraits of eighth graders were created to accompany their i@pps (independent art projects and presentations), which were showcased on June 9.

Leading the Way Traditions and Transitions “Transition isn't pretty, but stagnation is hideous.”

I was hired to be

Debbie Williams impressed

the next head of Crane

us

Country Day School in

commitment to Crane. This

the fall of 1999 when my

spring we have also enjoyed

recently born son, Elijah,

the sights and sounds of new

was just three months old.

buildings being constructed

Fast forward to today and

in the Oak Tree Quad. And

Elijah is a junior at Cate

much effort has gone into the

School and my daughter

formation of a new Design &

Natasha is enjoying her

Engineering Department for

final

next year.

days

Eighth

of

Crane’s

Grade.

Clearly

all

with

Despite

her

these

40-year

changes

this is a time of transition

and transitions, Crane’s core

for

I

values have never been more

sense something larger,

focused. First and foremost

seeing other important

we are a vibrant and cohesive

transitions at our school

community and that means

my

family,

but

as well.

we treat each other with a great amount of respect. That sense

This has been a year of big surprises. It started with the

of community is nurtured every single day by having a daily

shock of Phil von Phul’s diagnosis of pancreatic cancer,

morning assembly. We also are an educational community that

and that quickly transformed to grief with his passing just

believes in continuous growth and improvement, both to the

four months later. There was also change in the senior

physical plant and the quality of the education we provide. I have

administrative team since Crane was without a Business

never seen a school that is so dedicated to continuous learning

Manager for most of the school year. Surprises continued

and professional development. And finally, we continue to

into the spring with rising concern over the Zika virus,

embrace our core value of being a school built upon providing

leading us to cancel our Eighth Grade trip to Costa Rica. We

high quality learning opportunities for our students – we simply

also learned that our dear colleague Dan McCaslin was going

call it experiential learning, but we know it to be pure gold.

to retire. Yes, some big changes for our little school!

Change takes many forms and we have also seen many beautiful and positive moments. Teachers Bob Ingersoll and Chris Caretto celebrated their 30th years at the school, and

So look at the pages of this newsletter with a sense of wonder.

We are all part of the powerful little school with a very bright future ahead of us.

Joel Weiss Head of School

3

Meet the New Staffulty Don Cook and Kristen MacMurray ’96 2015 – 2016 teaching fellows (l-r): Anne Fierberg, Ryan Long, and Jessica Nichols

NEW STAFF AND FACULTY

Kristen MacMurray ’96 associate director of admission

TEACHING FELLOWS

Don Cook director of finance and operations

Twenty years ago I was a proud eighth

Ryan Long, originally from Connecticut,

grader standing in the Oak Tree Quad as I

received

After many years of living in the Los Angeles

graduated from Crane Country Day School

Vermont College in 2014 with a major

area, my husband and I decided it was time

after nine memorable years. I had no idea

in

to relocate and begin a new chapter in our

what the future would have in store for me,

in Environmental Studies. He just

lives. I tend to be the slow and steady one in

and I certainly would not have imagined

completed his first year as a Crane

the relationship who does not like change.

I would find myself back at Crane in the

teaching fellow having worked with

So after 22 years as the Director of Finance

Admission Office.

Karen Ohrn in the Second Grade. Next

and Operations for Westmark School, I jumped off the cliff and gave my notice that the 2016 school year would be my final year at the school. I had no idea where we would land as we began this journey, but I could not be more thrilled than to be landing in Santa Barbara to become the next Director of Finance and Operations at Crane. From my first conversation with Joel Weiss to my final interview, I knew Crane was a special place where the mission comes alive in every facet of the school community. Not to mention, I love working around children and being in an environment where I can contribute to their journey into adulthood.

I

grew up in Florida and moved to

California in 1988.

I graduated from

Florida Atlantic University with a major in accounting and passed the CPA exam in 1985. I officially start on July 1, 2016, so please stop by the Business Office and say hello when you are on campus. I look forward to meeting everyone and becoming a member of the Crane community.

4

Life

takes

interesting,

and

often

unexpected, twists and turns. After leaving

his

BA

Communication

from and

Southern a

minor

year, Ryan will be co-teaching Lower School Science with Paul Nolan.

the Santa Barbara area at age 18 to further

Jessica Nichols graduated from Bates

my education in Maine, I relocated to

College in 2015 with a BA in Sociology

Massachusetts where I taught high school

and a minor in Education. She has been

Spanish for two years at a traditional

part of the Kindergarten teaching team

boarding school. It was no wonder that

this year alongside Megan ’99 Flannery

my love for the Spanish language, which

and Andrea Soto. Next year, she will

I discovered at Crane School, would first

be assisting Karen Ohrn in the Second

lead me to teach Spanish and then take

Grade.

me to Chile where I lived eight years and

Anne Fierberg

just completed her

learned about languages, people, and

second year as a Crane teaching fellow.

cultures. During my time in Chile, I spent

After a successful first year working

two years living on the remote island of

with the Fourth Grade team of Stephanie

Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

Bagish and Malana Willis, Anne took

Looking back I can now make sense of

on the Upper School — Sixth Grade

the path I have been paving. Crane School

Geography, Eighth Grade American

instilled in me a curiosity and love of

History, and interim Athletic Director

learning that has driven me to different

while Terri Willis was on sabbatical.

coasts and distant edges of the world. I am

We are happy to welcome Anne as a

grateful for these experiences and to be

full time teacher in the fall in Upper

able to return to Crane. It is an amazing

School History as she takes over for Dan

feeling to come full circle.

McCaslin who is retiring after 36 years (see page 20).

Spring Benefit

Jen and Skip Abed, co-chairs To help celebrate the AHOY CRANE theme, Hilda and Francisco Gama made their deliciously famous lunch.

Students were also the lucky recipients of AHOY CRANE t-shirts thanks to the Gumins Family.

Gama Hot Lunch

Co-chairs Skip and Jen with Noelle and Dick Wolf who hosted the second annual Patron Preview Party

PATRON Preview Party

5

Past Parent Event

february 18, 2016 at cadiz

Meredith Brace & Laezer Schlomkowitz

Pat Aoyama & Marianne Sprague

Laura Johnston, Pam & Dave Quenzer

John Blair & Bill Cuttler

Jennifer Miller & Nancy Burgner

Gary Saint Denis, Tricia Koenig, Lana & John McIntyre

Anne Crowe & Margo Barbakow

Betsey & John Moller

Bob Gaines, Jess Bixler, Andee Gaines

Mary Anne Weiss & Joanie Saint Denis

Marcy Mullan & Rolly Lokre

Jill Bell & Susan Jackson

David & Dawn Lafitte

Ann Pieramici

Kathy & Sven Hagen

Jane Spiller & Christina Lomeli

Ryan Bell & Chris Dentzel

Ann Pieramici

class reunions

alumni news

For the first time, Crane hosted a San Francisco reunion in January 2016. We were delighted to have the following attendees. (see photo at left)

san francisco reunion

Top row left to right: Jamil Akoni ’80, Adam Potolsky ’85, Alison Wenz ’84, Bryn Batchelor ’90 Boughton and Sarah Bycel Wachs ’90 Bottom row left to right: Sandra Sanchez, Sugey Gama Bragdon , Michelle Fuhrer, Isabelle Bridges Boesch, and Olivia Sanders (Class of 1996)

The Class of 2005 gathered on December 26, 2015 at Corks n' Crowns Wine Club.

Front row left to right: Michael Bremner, Jay Brooks, Austin Spivey, Holly Fetter, Ashley Sizemore-Smale Back row left to right: Tyler Worley, Willie Radis, Nico Moreno, Jackie Jimenez, Remy Saint Denis, Carter Crowe, Alex Huang

class of 2005 reunion The Class of 2012 gathered at Playa Azul on May 13, 2016.

Front row (l-r): Baylor Randolph, Natasha Feshbach, Phoebe Madsen, Francesca Nash, Rose Lebow, Nolan Cope Center row (l-r): Mark Brown, Bea Tolan, Bridget Mitchell Top row (l-r): Atty Roddick, Christian Fowler

class of 2012 reunion 7

alumni news Congratulations to the Class of 2012 on all your high school accomplishments.

Crane wishes you the best of luck in your future endeavors.

Come back and visit us!

Class of 2012 Hannah Barr

Nolan Cope

Attended: Cate Attending: Georgetown University (pre-med) Graduated with honors

Attended: San Marcos High Attending: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Southern California United Food & Commercial Workers Unions and Food Employers Benefit Fund Scholarship George and Dale Cavaletto/Goleta Rotary Club Scholarship Community Service Excellence Award

Torin Bjorklund Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Undecided Community Service Star Award

Bolden Brace Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Northeastern University Outstanding Male Athlete Mike Moropolous Award (sportsmanship) Full athletic scholarship

Ben Brewer Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Cal Lutheran University Member United States High Performance Squad Competed at Lifesaving World Championships in France in 2014 Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation Community Service Award

Zara Brillo-Sonnino Attended: Bishop Diego High Attending: New York University California Scholarship Federation, Life Member National Honor Society School Marshal (academic achievement and character)

Mark Brown Attended: Laguna Blanca Attending: University of Colorado Boulder Varsity Golf – 4 years Varsity Basketball – 3 years Varsity Football – 1 year

Georgia Caesar Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Colorado State (Equine Science) Volunteer of the Year HEARTS Therapeutic Equestrian Center President’s Volunteer Award Gold Level by Barack Obama Class of 2016 National Charity League key note speaker

Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: The New School Merit Scholarship, The New School Merit Scholarship, Cal Arts

Afreen Fathima Attended: Bishop Diego High Attending: University of San Francisco National Honor Society California Scholarship Federation 100% Membership Bishop Garcia Diego Community Service Award

Natasha Feshbach Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Yale University Distinguished Don Outstanding Female Athlete AP Scholar with Distinction

Eliza Foster Attending: Stephenson College: fall 2017

Christian Fowler Attended: Laguna Blanca Attending: University of Colorado Boulder

Austin Gumins Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: USC Fall Overseas Program (Switzerland) Team Captain of Ski Team Member of Junior Olympics Third place in last ski race

Alexandra Hodosy

Justin Cardenas

Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Undecided

Attended: Carpinteria High Attending: University of California at Berkeley

Blake Ladd

Austin Coombs

8

Ariel Eakin

Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Fashion Institute of Design and Marketing in Los Angeles Graduated with honors from MAD Academy

Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: University of California at Los Angeles National Merit Commended Scholar/AP Scholar State Seal of Biliteracy Award Sundin Music Scholarship

alumni news

Class of 2012 Emily Lafitte

Baylor Randolph

Attended: Laguna Blanca Attending: University of Southern California

Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 3.5 GPA and Above CSF & NHS National Merit Commended Scholar

Rose Lebow Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: University of Michigan National Merit Commended Scholar AP Scholar with Honors / CSF / NHS State Seal of Biliteracy

Logan Lender Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: University of Pennsylvania AP Scholar with Distinction National Merit Commended Scholar Two-time Channel League Doubles Champion (tennis)

Ali Mikles Attended: Bishop Diego High Attending: Southern Methodist University CSF 100% Membership, NHS SB Youth Female of the Year / Global Leadership Connection Pier & Margo Gherini Multimedia Arts & Technology Award

Bridget Mitchell Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Otis College of Art & Design Theatre Award of Excellence & Brooke Van Der Kar Internship Achievement Award SB Scholarship Foundation Scholarship from Otis College of Art & Design / Fashion

Francesca Nash Attended: Bishop Diego High Attending: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo CSF Life Membership & NHS Cardinal Club Student Athlete Award School Marshal (academic achievement and character)

Lexi Parker

Alec Riney Attended: Santa Barbara High Attending: Cornell University 3.5 GPA and Above AP Scholar

Daniel Trujillo Attended: Oaks Christian Attending: Arizona State

Yvette Vega Attended: Cate Attending: University of San Francisco (Nursing and Health Services) Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation Hispanic Scholarship Foundation Univision Network Scholarship

Oliver Welch Atty Roddick Attended: Laguna Blanca Attending: University of Colorado Boulder

Brenda Rodriguez Attended: Carpinteria High Attending: University of California at Davis Academic Excellence Award – 4 years CSF Seal Bearer MVP Varsity Girls’ Water Polo – 3 years

Paige Russo

Attended: Cate Attending: Tufts University (Fall 2017) 10 Varsity Letters Volleyball team captain Sportsmanship Award

Graham Wren Attended: Dos Pueblos High Attending: Northeastern University President's Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence Co-founder of Riviera Robotics FIRST Team 5818 Dean's Scholarship from Northeastern University

Attended: Dos Pueblos High Attending: University of California at Davis (Food Science and Technology) President’s Award for Outstanding Academic Excellence NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing CSF & NHS, Life Member

Dean Smith Attended: Cate Attending: Macalester College Nelson Jones Medal (for humility, integrity, dedication) Beach Soule Award (athlete with best athletic virtues) 12 Varsity Letters

Siena Speirs

Attended: Bishop Diego High Attending: Santa Barbara City College

Attending: Lake Forest College Partial Presidential Scholarship, Lake Forest College National Charity League Volunteer Award

Morgan Pierce

Bea Tolan

Attended: Cate Attending: Juniata College (Math and Business) Tri Valley League MVP his junior and senior year Team captain/co-captain all 4 years Juniata College academic scholarship

Attended: Laguna Blanca Attending: Northeastern University Theatre Arts Award 2015 and 2016 “Spirit of Laguna” Award 2016 Acted in all Laguna Blanca productions (4 musicals, 5 plays)

9

alumni news Toine Overgaag ’86 is back in Carpinteria for the past 15 years after college in Boston and a foray into graduate school and management consulting in Los Angeles. He spends most of his time at Westerlay Orchids growing and selling plants for supermarkets in the western United States, but prefers being home with his wife, Kandie, and children, Renee (3), Wes (2), and Joe (2).

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Sarah and Jesse are living in Fort Bidwell, in the Surprise Valley, the farthest northeast corner of California.

She is running the family cattle operation there while Jesse is the farm manager for the neighboring ranch.

Bennett Barbakow ’96 lives in West Hollywood and became engaged to his girlfriend Jenny

Stephanie Overgaag ’89 Booker

headed

to Ohio in search of a college experience with four seasons, and graduated from

in March. They are planning a wedding in late summer or early fall 2017.

After the

Dariel Cohn ’97 Sidney and her husband Erin

colorful falls came cold winters, so

welcomed their first child, Isla Gayle Sidney,

Stephanie quickly headed back west

a beautiful, strong and healthy girl on April

to San Francisco. There she began her

25, 2016. After Crane, Dariel attended Ventura High School, as well

Denison University in ’97.

career in corporate event planning.

as spending a semester as a foreign exchange student in Argentina.

After working with some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley,

She went on to graduate from Emerson College in 2005 with a

she and her husband, Chad Booker, launched their own technology

Bachelor's degree in Communication

event agency in 2010. Today, they live in San Mateo with their two

Studies.

children, Elliot (6) and Lucy (4).

extensively throughout Europe and has

After college, she backpacked

since been in love with exploring the

Claire (Marie-Claire) Overgaag ’90 Barnaba received her degree from Colby College in biochemistry and her Masters degree in Nursing from Massachusetts

General

Hospital.

While on the East Coast she met her husband, a California native, and decided to come "home." They were married in 2003 and have been living in the Bay Area where she has worked as a nurse practioner in OB/GYN for the past 14 years. She is currently employed by Kaiser Permanente. They keep busy with their three children, JP (10), Sydney (7) and Gracie (4).

Justin Fischer ’92

received his BS from UCSB

before attending the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine where he graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2009. After working at a local emergency hospital and performing relief veterinary services, he was fortunate enough to become a co-owner of the Carpinteria Veterinary Hospital in 2013. Justin currently lives in Santa Barbara with his wife, Whitney. They welcomed their first child, Robert, in March 2013 and are anxiously

world. Currently, she is the Vice President of International Marketing at Athena Cosmetics, Inc. where she gets to combine her love for traveling with business. Dariel and her family currently reside in Ojai.

Allison (Rose) Archer ’98 Decker graduated from UCSB with a degree in technical theater with an emphasis on costumes. She continues to live in Santa Barbara with her husband, Robert. Allison works at SBCC, as well as UCSB, sewing costumes for their dramatic productions. She is very happy for the opportunity to come back to Crane for the third consecutive year to work on costumes for the Upper School Musical. In 1994 she was too young to participate in Crane’s first production of Little Shop of Horrors, but it has been a favorite ever since. Crane is such a wonderful community to come back to and she looks forward to the next opportunity.

Garland Reiter Jr ’00 and Kasey Lundquist also from Santa Barbara will be married at the Santa Barbara Polo Club on August 27.

Garland worked in Baja farming for BerryMex for three years after

awaiting the arrival of a baby girl in August.

attending Oregon State, and then moved to Santa Monica to work

Sarah Perkins ’93 married Jesse Royer in her

program. Kasey graduated from Duke University and received her

parents' garden in Santa Barbara on April 2.

There were many Crane alums dancing the night away, in addition to her brother Elliott

’89, and bridesmaids Kacey Perkins ’91 Tift, Diana Garcia ’91, Melissa Brown ’94 Simpson, and Katie Kochendorfer ’93 Smith. Sarah graduated from Thacher in 1997 and from

for Valley Produce where he implemented their quality control MBA from Northwestern University. She currently works for a start up company in Santa Monica called Vow to be Chic, which rents bridesmaid dresses online.

After the wedding, they plan to move to the Netherlands where Garland will be working for Driscoll’s.

alumni news Max

Barbakow

directed

the

’03 short

movie Duke, based on the life and memoir of football player J.P. Duke. It was shown at the Santa Barbara International

Film

Festival in February as well as the Tribeca Film Festival in April. His brother, Bennett

’96,

Benjamin Samuels ’07

(SBHS ’11, Tulane University B.S. Business

Management ’15) has graduated with a Master of Sustainable Real Estate Development degree from Tulane University School of Architecture ’16.

Ben

has enjoyed living in New Orleans for the past five years and took full advantage to learn about its culture, music, and food. As an undergrad, Ben was the General Manager for WTUL radio, worked for several John Besh restaurants, and this past year interned at Harmony Neighborhood Development, a non-

is responsible for the film’s music. Photo – Crane 2003 classmates

profit focused on housing revitalization in New

and parents who attended the NY screening surround Max; (l-r):

Orleans. Ben is looking forward to his next adventure in Denver.

Olivia Mohler, Becky Brinkenhoff, Mina Kaneko, Maggie Mai, Emi and Bill Kaneko.

Thanh-Liem Huynh-Tran ’08

was one of 25 graduating Stanford

University seniors to receive the J.E. Wallace Sterling Award for

Lauren “LoLo” Blair ’05 Masters

Degree

in

received her

Communication

Scholastic Achievement – one of the university’s most selective academic awards. He will start UCLA Medical School in the fall.

Management from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School

Kate Pincus-Whitney ’08 graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in

for

Journalism.

May 2016. An art and theater major, she had her first one-woman

LoLo’s graduate studies focused on Digital

graduate art show. In addition, she has been the set designer for

Marketing and Social Media. Her thesis

16 theater productions, 3 of them off Broadway in New York City,

was centered on creating a marketing

including The Cave created by Melanie Thomas ’07.

Communication

and

program for a technology company. While completing her Masters degree, LoLo has been working for G/FORE, a golf apparel and accessory company located in Beverly Hills. LoLo is responsible for coordinating digital marketing, social media, and the company’s website. She has enjoyed the transition from being a Trojan student athlete as an undergraduate to the graduate school and workplace.

Michael Bremner ’05

lives in the Bay Area and is working as a

materials engineer for a small engineering company in Milpitas.

His weekend hobbies are rock climbing and soccer.

Holly Fetter ’05

Emma Redick ’09

just completed her third year

at UC Davis where she is studying International Relations and Communications. Along with a 2014 All-Academic award for her work as a student-athlete, Emma has recently become an advisor on the UC Davis Advisory Committee for Student and Campus Diversity. On the track, she is the third leg on the school record holding 4X100 meter relay, has the third fastest time in school history in the 400 meter hurdles, and has just finished her first season as the team

lives in New York City and works in the field of

captain. She and the women's team are fresh off a first place finish at

philanthropy, organizing young people with resources to support

the Big West Championships where Emma ran the third leg for the

social justice movements.

4X400 meter relay that took home the gold.

Nico Moreno ’05

has launched his own publishing company

Holly Blair ’10 recently finished her sophomore year at the University

MorenoPublishing.com, where his team helps authors publish

of Southern California, majoring in Cinema & Media Studies. As

online, handling everything from cover creation to file conversion.

part of the USC Film School, Holly is taking a variety of courses in

In addition, he has also launched an online course that teaches all

production of films and other forms of media. This summer she will

one needs to know to become a self-publishing guru.

be interning for MPCA film production company, participating in the process of selecting which films are funded. Holly was recently

Willie Radis ’05 (see alumni travel page) After his completion of a

cast in an independent film The Bride, which will be released this

thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2015, he is currently living

year. Holly has been involved as a committee

in Santa Barbara and working in both the organic farming and real

member of the Rise Alliance, created to provide

estate industries.

better healthcare services for victims of sexual assault on campus. Holly is a member of Delta

Remy Saint Denis ’05 is living in New York City where he's working as

Gamma sorority and is enjoying living in

a talent agent representing actors in film, TV, and theatre.

downtown Los Angeles.

alumni news Allie Towbes ’10 at

finished her second year

Northwestern

University

with

a

performance as “Viola" in Shakespeare’s

sightings

Twelfth Night. Allison is majoring in theater and minoring in dance. She will be studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London this summer.

2012 alumni Natasha Feshbach, Francesca Nash, Paige Russo, Beatrice

Tolan, and Daniel Trujillo were invited to attend a Crane Board meeting where they were asked to participate in a discussion regarding how Crane prepared them for high school.

Cate’s spring production of Ragtime included Crane alumni

Faha Banks ’85 visited Crane in her official capacity as a Santa Barbara County Probation Officer. She was accompanied by five boys from the Los Prietos Boys Camp to share their stories with

Dean

Smith ’12, Eva Herman, Kate Smith, and Elijah Weiss from the class of 2013, and Diarra Pouye ’14. In addition, Zac Towbes ’13 played bass for

Crane’s seventh and eighth graders. Pictured is Faha with her Crane teachers.

the production.

Beatrice Tolan ’12 was joined by 2014 graduates Camila Lemere and Clay Rodgers, and 2015 graduates Stella Haffner and Jack Whitten in Laguna Blanca’s Seussical production in April.

Zac Towbes ’13 recorded and produced his first EP with his band,

Anna Lowenthal ’90 and her

Walking is Like Running. Zac met bandmates Jeremy Saunders

family visited Crane from

Both Bridget Mitchell ’12 and Jack Whitten ’15 served as

(bass) and Jacob Harelick (drums) at Berklee College of Music’s

their home in Minnesota.

mentors to Seventh Grade

summer program. Zac wrote and arranged all of the songs on the EP

Accompanying her were

students Victoria Reynoso

and will be returning to Berklee this summer as a vocal major.

husband Andy, eldest son Isaac,

and St. John Gerrity

daughter Poppy, and youngest

respectively for their QED

Ezra. Debbie Williams was

projects — sewing and

Anna’s teacher for both First

coding.

Eva Herman ’13 — Stanley D. Woodworth Language Cup; Mason Mackall ’13 — Biology Prize; Olivia Siemens ’13 — Brown University Book Prize; Lauren Lokre ’14 —Edwin Hartzell United States History Prize; Ian MacFarlane ’14

Cate underclassmen earn end-of-year awards:

and Second Grades.

Natasha Feshbach ’12 presented

— Stanley M. Durrant Mathematics Prize.

at an assembly where she explained how she switched

With the help and support of 2014 and 2015 alumni, Crane’s Upper

her athletic prowess from

KiSea Stella Haffner, Tyler Dahneke, Ryan

School Musical, Little Shop of Horrors, was a huge success.

gymnastics to track and field

Horgan was the stage manager, Kopeikin, and Merith Velazquez helped with everything from props to

once she entered high school, and now will be running for

backstage sound to the light board – BRAVO!

Camile Lemere ’14,

a sophomore at Laguna Blanca, received first

place reading Garrett Hongo’s poem The Legend at the Santa Barbara County Annual Poetry Outloud Competition. She went on to the state finals and became a State Champion Semi-Finalist.

Maddy Moore ’15 was ranked in the top ten freshmen (#8) at Thacher’s Gymkhana this spring.

Tessa Denison ’15

Yale next year. Bolden Brace ’12 was the speaker for the kindergarten orientation assembly where he spoke about the skills he learned and the encouragement he received at Crane that helped him succeed in high school such as: perseverance, teamwork, and public speaking. He will be playing basketball at Northeastern in the fall.

Geoff Thorpe ’70 is currently a tax lawyer with Chevron Corporation in the Bay Area. He visited the campus in March, “as with so many things that used to be simple and hands-on, Crane has become more complex and high tech. It looks to offer

and

Maddy Moore ’15

represented their respective schools, Cate and Thacher, at a recent lacrosse game.

a very modern and high quality education, and if I were a kid today, I’d be glad to go there.”

alumni news

living and learning abroad* Cooper Allebrand ’07

After graduating from Roger Williams University in 2015 with a degree in Spanish, I felt the desire to spend an extended period of time in a Spanish-speaking country. I applied to a volunteer teaching program in Trujillo, Peru called, “Espaanglisch,” in which volunteers teach English to impoverished elementary-school students in the area. The program is run by two brothers, one who speaks English, and the other who does not.

Ironically, the main English teacher of the program is the brother who does not speak English. Naturally, he relied on the volunteers to teach the students the language in a manner they understood. My background in Spanish put a lot of pressure on me to be a leader in terms of teaching the children, as I was one of only two volunteers who was proficient in both languages. Without any teaching experience, I was thrust into a classroom with dozens of children screaming at me in Spanish and trying to tackle me to the ground as a group. All of the students were very curious about where I came from and what it was like to live in the US. I was equally curious about their lifestyles, which led to fantastic discussions with the students, teachers, and program leaders regarding the differences and similarities between each other’s day to day lives. After about a month and a half of teaching, I was able to spend an additional three weeks traveling throughout South America. I was able to hike the Salkantay Trail to Machu Pichu, visit friends in Santiago, Chile, and I finished my adventure in Buenos Aires, Argentina, a place where I could see myself living for at least a portion of my life.

Colin Browne ’13

My time in Madrid was an adventure. From late August when I moved into the house of a host family I had only met one day earlier, admittedly I was a little nervous.

But it wasn't long until Spanish hospitality and family life rubbed off on me and where I lived began to feel like home. Before long I was able to navigate my way through a new school, understand (but never quite master) the Madrid train system, and develop a never-ending passion for the iconic Jamón Ibérico, or Iberian Ham, a defining piece of Spanish culture. But it seemed like only a breath after my arrival in August that I found myself at Estadio Calderón cheering on Atlético Madrid with my host dad in October, and exploring the tapas bars of San Sebastian in November. Learning a language, trying new foods, opening your mind to new cultures and ways to look at the world we share, but most importantly stepping outside of your comfort zone and learning to accept people far different from you, these were the things that defined my experience in Madrid.

Oliver Dworsky ’19

When I moved to Barcelona with my family, I didn’t immediately “fit in” with the people who surrounded me. But, as we slowly settled down, we found that it was quite easy to communicate, and I became immersed in the outstanding culture around us. I attend, “The English School,” where they teach us lessons in three languages – English, Spanish, and Catalan (which is only spoken in the province of

Catalunya in Spain). Instead of taking Catalan classes, I get extra classes in Spanish. We decided to live in an urban environment, actually the oldest part of Barcelona, the Born (which is over 800 years old). The Born is a mixture of old buildings, apartments, and shops, with many winding and intriguing alleys. I spend parts of every day skateboarding on the cobbled streets that line the town. One fantastic aspect of living in Europe is the ease with which we can travel to nearby countries. In California, you only have quick access to South or Central America. In Barcelona, I got to travel to Berlin, France, Morocco, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam. This is a great way to explore new cultures you may have not even known existed. I skateboarded in every city. My experience in Spain has been life-changing to say the least. Crane is a great school and I can not wait to be back for Sixth Grade.

Mitchell Kuhn ’09

In the fall of 2015, I took time off from college to travel around Peru and surf its incredible waves. This was definitely a step out of my comfort zone, but a step I am grateful to have taken. Traveling alone for nine weeks, I visited six different towns throughout the North and Central Coasts of Peru, and was able to fully immerse myself in the culture. I surfed the best waves of my life, including the wave considered to be the longest wave in the world, which can be ridden up to half a mile or longer. I have to admit that travelling alone was overwhelming at first, but locals were far more accepting of individuals than groups. By the end of the trip, I realized how much I loved this adventure — Peruvians helped me practice my Spanish, taught me to cook, and invited me into their homes for meals. I can truly say that the two months I spent in Peru were the best of my life — experiencing new things, making friends from around the world, and making memories that I will treasure always. I found travelling alone was a very reflective process, and it allowed me to take a look at where I was in life and establish what was holding me back from growing as a person.

I concluded that I wasn’t enjoying my college life and began applying to schools overseas. I was accepted into the University of Waikato in New Zealand where I am currently majoring in Environmental Studies.

Willie Radis ’05

In late fall of 2015, I rode my bike up to my parents’ doorstep in Santa Barbara, officially completing what I call The Pacific Crest and Coast Loop. Seven and a half months earlier I left home traveling by train to the Mexican Border and commenced a thru-hike of the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail. Hiking along the crests of the mountain ranges I maintained a continuous footpath all the way to the Canadian border (and attended the Burning Man festival en route!). Once reaching Canada, I hitchhiked to Seattle where I bought an old used bike to which I bungee-corded my backpack and rode the coast route through Washington, Oregon, and back to my parents home in California. Throughout the trip I saw some of the most beautiful landscapes the West has to offer — the snowy High Sierra, the remote Northern Cascades, the boundless Pacific Ocean meeting rugged shorelines, but in the end by far the most memorable experiences were my interactions with the people I met along the way. It was definitely a fun (front Morgan Neville ’81,world.

Theo ’19 and Uma ’23 Friesen way tol-r) getdirector out and see a bit more of the (back l-r) producer Caitrin Rogers, singer Lisa Fischer *LIVING AND LEARNING ABROAD female perspective: visit CraneSchool.

CRANE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL CLASS OF 2016

FRONT ROW

MIDDLE ROW

Bella Sanford Daniela Wood Emi Wahlberg Katie Ohrn* Jack Morouse Melina Powell Tommy Brittingham* Rosy Hernandez Mark Huerta Julia Samuels* Macy Christal* Tea Wallmark Luca Wahlberg Paige Levinson* Bryce Jackson* Zoë Silverberg

Owen Jones Natasha Weiss* Juliana Slater Guinevere Samora Spencer Drew Hana Harvey* C-Mo Ridge* Kimberly Rogers Xiaxia Taylor Olivia Trujillo* Ethan Ha Lily Pieramici* Nicholas Riney Connor Trost Ian Brown

TOP ROW

Dylan MacFarlane* Ainsley McGovern* John Geyer Khadim Pouye Chris Tarafa Harry Corman John Rigsby Shelburne* Kerick Walker Asher Sedlin Owen Dexter-Meldrum

* K-8 Crane "Lifer" All names in order from left to right

We are very proud of the accomplishments of the Eighth Grade class of 2016.

The Crane faculty and staff would like to wish the graduating class the best of luck in their high school adventures.

Laguna Blanca

Santa Barbara High School

Bishop Diego

Ian Brown Macy Christal Paige Levinson Ainsley McGovern Jack Morouse Juliana Slater Xiaxia Taylor Luca Wahlberg

Rosy Hernandez Lily Pieramici C-Mo Ridge Guinevere Samora Julia Samuels Bella Sanford Olivia Trujillo Emi Wahlberg

Connor Trost

Midland School

San Marcos High School

Cate

Hana Harvey

Harry Corman Ethan Ha Mark Huerta Bryce Jackson Owen Jones Dylan MacFarlane Khadim Pouye Kimberly Rogers John Rigsby Shelburne Chris Tarafa Natasha Weiss Daniela Wood

Phillips Andover Academy

Spencer Drew Katie Ohrn ZoĂŤ Silverberg

Melina Powell

Thacher

Phillips Exeter Academy

Tommy Brittingham Owen Dexter-Meldrum John Geyer Tea Wallmark

Kerick Walker

Undecided Nicholas Riney Asher Sedlin

Awards Day

Class of 2016

Headmaster’s Prize

Drama Cup

description Awarded to the student who through leadership, participation, and consideration of others has served best as an example for us all

description Awarded for outstanding participation and

recipient Jack Morouse description Given to Eighth Graders with the highest GPA

Dylan MacFarlane Jack Morouse Lily Pieramici Kimberly Rogers Julia Samuels

Bella Sanford John Rigsby Shelburne ZoĂŤ Silverberg Kerick Walker Tea Wallmark Natasha Weiss

Art Cup description Given for exellence in studio art or design that consistently highlights original thought and creativity

recipient

Guinevere Samora

Amiability Award description Awarded to that student who showed the greatest cooperation with congeniality toward all

recipient Emi Wahlberg

Best All Around Boy Athlete description Awarded for outstanding performance and participation in athletics recipient

Khadim Pouye

Best All Around Girl Athlete description Awarded for outstanding performance and participation in athletics

recipient

Macy Christal

David Echols Math Cup description Given in honor of former Crane teacher David Echols, to the student with outstanding performance in mathematics

recipient

John Geyer Kimberly Rogers Kerick Walker

Dean Smith Perfect Attendance Award description Given in honor of Dean Smith to the student who has had no tardies or absences during his/her three Upper School years at Crane

recipient Melina Powell

recipient Jack Morouse History Cup

Academic Achievement Awards recipient John Geyer

memorable performance on the stage

description Awarded for outstanding effort, achievement, curiosity, and consistent participation in the study and discussion of history

recipient

Mark Huerta

Instrumental Music Cup description Awarded for diligent study and accomplishment in the realm of instrumental music recipient

John Geyer

Julia Brown English Cup description Given in honor of Miss Brown, to the student who has demonstrated the highest achievement and greatest love of learning English recipient

Melina Powell

Katharine Faletti Performing Arts Cup description Given in memory of Katherine Faletti for outstanding contribution in the performing arts recipient

Paige Levinson

Lejeune Teaching Fellowship description An annual award for an inspirational teacher recipient Lucy Lombardi upper school english

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

John Geyer Kimberly Rogers

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

Melina Powell Natasha Weiss

Nagle Memorial Award description Awarded in memory of Frank Nagle, to that student who showed outstanding enthusiasm in community service recipient Julia Samuels Natasha Weiss

Congratulations Graduates

Awards Day

Class of 2016

Award Recipients

(alphabetically left to right) Macy Christal Best All Around Girl Athlete John Geyer Academic Achievement Award David Echols Math Cup Instrumental Music Cup Lejeune Language Award

Mark Huerta History Cup Owen Jones Science Cup Paige Levinson Katharine Faletti Performing Arts Cup Dylan MacFarlane Academic Achievement Award

Jack Morouse Academic Achievement Award Drama Cup Headmaster’s Prize Katie Ohrn Tech Award Tower Improvement Award Lily Pieramici Academic Improvement Award

Khadim Pouye Best All Around Boy Athlete Tower Improvement Award

Talia S. Klein Award description Given to the student who, in the opinion of the faculty, has been an unassuming force for good

Kerick Walker

recipient

Tech Award description Given to the students who have

Rose Bowl description Given in honor of former Crane teacher Cathy Rose, to an unmistakably unconventional Eighth Grader

recipient

Natasha Weiss

Science Cup

excelled in the mastery of all electronic systems used in the theater

recipient

Katie Ohrn

Tower Improvement Award description Awarded to that student or

description Awarded to the student who most closely embodies, through outstanding effort and achievement, the popular sentiment at Crane that “science is everywhere”

students who showed greatest academic improvement through effort and application

recipient

Katie Ohrn Khadim Pouye

recipient Owen Jones

Writing Award

Sheila Davidson Cup

description Given to a student who has

description Given in honor of former Crane coach Sheila Davidson, to the athlete who best exemplifies commitment, teamwork, passion and sportsmanship

recipient

demonstrated significant interest in continual excellence in writing

recipient Kimberly Rogers

John Rigsby Shelburne

Award Recipients!

Melina Powell Dean Smith Attendance Award Julia Brown English Cup Library Award Kimberly Rogers Academic Achievement Award David Echols Math Cup Lejeune Language Award Writing Cup Guinevere Samora Art Cup Julia Samuels Academic Achievement Award Nagle Memorial Award Bella Sanford Academic Achievement Award John Rigsby Shelburne Academic Achievement Award Sheila Davidson Cup Zoë Silverberg Academic Achievement Award Emi Wahlberg Amiability Award Kerick Walker Academic Achievement Award David Echols Math Cup Talia S. Klein Award Tea Wallmark Academic Achievement Award Natasha Weiss Academic Achievement Award Library Award Nagle Memorial Award Rose Bowl Lucy Lombardi (not shown) Lejeune Teaching Fellowship

Grandparents Tea

Cosi and Beckett Arthurs with mom Shana Lynch ’84 Arthurs and grandmother Kathy Lynch

Marcia and Gil Retrey with grandchildren Caleb, Zoë, and Noah Silverberg

Hello Everyone!

Student council speakers: Hana Harvey, Jack Morouse, Natasha Weiss, and John Rigsby Shelburne

My name

service, but as my classmates and I helped renovate the little school

is Francesca Nash, and I had the

by painting the buildings and fixing the benches, or just doing simple

privilege of going to Crane for nine

maintenance, a sense of service truly grew in my heart.

years. I am currently a senior at Bishop

So, going into Bishop with all the experiences Crane gave me,

Garcia Diego High School, and I am

I wanted to continue doing service. That’s when I began running

thrilled to be here today to share with

service clubs—that like Mrs. Cohen’s class, focused on gathering like-

you how Crane has impacted me throughout my time in high school, and

minded people, exploring issues that we could help benefit, and then

even promoted some of my long-term aspirations.

executing them. And so we did beach cleanups, raised money for books

You all probably know how special Crane is. But it is once you leave Crane and enter a new school that it really hits you.

for local schools, and so much more. And now I also am the president and founder of the Garden Club, where I have implemented a school

Entering Bishop was a new and exciting experience. Having spent nine

composting program and grow organic vegetables that we incorporate

years—basically two-thirds of my life in one school—one community—and

into school lunches. I cannot take much credit for this, as it was Crane

then jumping to high school was a bit shocking. I started to assimilate, of

that gave me this idea, but I thank Crane for the motivation and the

course, but I could feel the school greatly lacked a key aspect—and that was

tools it gave me to take initiative.

a sense of service. Sure, there was a club fair once a year where you could

And it was with the same initiative and spark of adventure that

sign up to join service clubs and participate within the school, but many of

I decided to go on trips similar to the Costa Rica trip. That’s when I

these student-run clubs fizzled out in about two weeks.

packed my bags and headed off to Fiji for a month, where I did various

Now contrast this to Crane, where students were required to help out

environmental conservation projects. Yes, Fiji sounds like a true

in various ways with composting during lunch and parents had to do their

dream, but I did not go for leisure. I slept on a little mat on the floor

share at Hot Lunches serving the kids.

and would continuously wake up to bugs crawling on my body, and I

And where Mrs. Cohen had a special class dedicated to just

took a real shower only once the entire trip. But it was then that I

service, where all the students could gather and develop ideas

couldn't be happier, and it was then that I found my passion—marine

for who or what they want to help, and then execute it. And let’s

conservation and education.

not forget, of course, the highlight of service at Crane, the 8th grade class trip to Costa Rica.

Now I am entering college with a passion and a goal. Career wise, it is my goal to work in a non-profit that focuses on marine conservation.

There I truly experienced the radiating warmth one receives when

In my life as a whole, however, it is my goal to give more than I take. I

she gives back. At a young age, it seems the world revolves around you.

credit Crane for giving me the solid foundation in service learning

And especially living in such an affluent community as Santa Barbara, it

that so many children seem to be deprived of. For Crane taught me

is more than easy to simply engulf yourself within a bubble. Life is simply

the essential value of giving back. And with the experiences Crane

good here. But having packed our bags, with the books we were to give to

gave me, I was able to build off them and further explore, as well

the children in the school as well, and venturing off to a remote part of

as implement, my passions and broaden my world view. And this

Costa Rica, the bubble began to burst. There was no dramatic realization

is what gives Crane a true spark, that distinguishable spark that

of how entitled I was or how much it would truly impact me to do simple

ignites compassion and motivation in students.

PHIL VON PHUL (1942-2015)

IN MEMORY

On January 30, 2016,

responsibility as trustees is to

nearly 700 people gathered

advance the mission and values

on the Crane campus to pay

of the school and to ensure the

their respects to Phil.

Like many of you here, I was lucky enough to get to know Phil through the experiences of my children.

While I can’t compete with the tenure of Phil, Bix, or Debbie, my husband, Karl, and I have been Crane parents for twenty years. Our oldest three daughters had their eyes opened to the diversity and expansiveness of our globe through the rigors of mastering the world map and to the intricacies of scientific testing while solving the mysteries of sludge.

And this year, our youngest daughter, Charlotte, is a sixth grader and a proud Map Master herself.

One of the great pleasures of having such a long run at Crane has been to re-visit the wonderful academic traditions that remain valid and relevant and form indelible impressions. Another true pleasure is prolonging and deepening our personal relationships with Crane teachers, and this year we were so grateful to be back in Phil’s presence and for Charlotte to have the benefit of his grace, focused attention, and gentle insistence on excellence.

Today,

while

speaking from my heart as a parent, I am also privileged to speak on behalf of the Board as a Crane trustee. Our primary

strength of Crane’s future. The trustees share a deep belief that Phil embodied the best of Crane: our core values of kindness, learning

through

doing,

steadfast effort and a lifelong sense of wonder and curiosity. He was a wonderful combination of old school: riding his bike to school long before it was hip, insisting on freehand drawing of the world map, and relishing sawdust and power tools and new: launching an engineering club with Mr. Weiss and embracing the potential of robotics. As trustees, that is our charge: to strike the right balance between preserving what is best and truest of the old Crane while always looking ahead and planning for the future. Phil struck that balance perfectly.

As most of you know, we are in the process of enhancing Crane’s campus and academics through the construction of the Oak Tree Quad and a new Engineering and Design Building. What you may not know is that Phil sowed the seeds for this Engineering

Center

and

enthusiastically anticipated the expanded program it would allow.

It is a great

honor for me to share that at the last Board meeting, the trustees unanimously voted to name this new facility The Phil von Phul

Phil with wife Colleen and granddaughter Manika

Design & Engineering Center. This quad will serve as the heart of the Upper School, and it seems particularly fitting to memorialize the very special place VP filled in the life and soul of Crane.

Kristen Klingbeil-Weis Crane Trustee 2001-2007; 2010-2016 Parent of Julia ’04, Evelyn ’05, Annie ’08, Charlotte ’18

19

Farewell Memories of Crane Days and Archaic Ways on San Leandro Lane “performance” (experiential education) kool-aid since today he’s a working musician playing in several German bluegrass bands in Bavaria [http://www.munichstringband.com/listen]. He was a shy boy here on the sacred eleven acres, but some of the many plays and the (tiger parent pushing!) piano bits onstage clearly had an impact on him later in life.

I am deeply grateful to this school and this community for the unwavering support of my curriculum and my old-fashioned (not to say eccentric) teaching style, the backcountry mannerisms, and passionate arguments. The debates and discussions remain

Whenever I’m driving or biking in to teach at Crane School,

crucial: all of our students need more face-to-face instruction,

98% of the time I am filled with enthusiasm to be meeting with my

which obliges them to think critically. I acknowledge that by

students “face-to-face” in a round classroom. I’m among the most

Crane keeping our classes small — in the 2015-16 school year my

fortunate of men, although I shudder to write this, and much of

teacher-student ratio in Seventh Grade Western Civilization is 1:14

my optimism comes from the fact that learning and teaching with

— we’ve been able to stay true to our mission to help educate the

youngsters is a noble and exciting life-activity. I mentally review

whole child. When I introduced

lesson plans; I have a political cartoon or newspaper headline in my

the Sixth Grade World Religions

briefcase (to put under my favorite bit of technology: the document

class 19 years ago, it stretched all

camera); I’m rehearsing discussion queries that will stimulate

of us in interesting ways, and led

more student discussion, debate, and yes even argument. Crane

to endless debates over all sorts

students bring an earnest eagerness to learn, and I try to match

of personal-religious choices.

that enthusiasm: I am actually interested in history and the ancient Greeks and…

A young First Grade girl sang John Lennon’s Beautiful Boy in

Among the young, I’m voyaging like Max in Where the Wild

a Crane Spotlight assembly in

Things Are to another world; “childhood” is not a developmental

late May, and many students and

“phase” or a theory, but another actual universe with different

most adults had some moisture

interests and rules. Entering the yurt, I exclaim, “Let the wild

welling around their eyes in Cate

rumpus begin!” My studies in Greek history have shown that

Hall that Friday: purity of voice, melodic charm, practiced skill,

Socrates performed all sorts of antics and silly pranks; he wasn’t

and innocence packed into a six-year-old’s sturdy frame. In my

afraid to make fun of himself, and neither am I. Ask the students.

decades at Crane School, I’ve enjoyed, and indeed loved, well over

Thus, I’ve come to love myriad aspects and scenes at Crane School

5,000 all-school assemblies: the varied presentations (student

for these past 36 years. “What an ideal setting for a little school!”

talks, photo shows, dances, songs, performances, more) and

exclaimed Crane alum Brosie Cramer ’30 when I interviewed him in

inspiring stories (plays, speeches, literary contests) stimulated

the mid-1990s. Aye, this paradise of a property emanates natural

my own personal expression (talks on Lincoln and King, Figueroa

beauties and embraces hordes of teeming children rushing all over

Mountain Four songs, hiking tales).

the green. I revere children and cherish the years I’ve been blessed to

To all my students and former students, those from whom I’ve

mingle with them (over 2,000 students). I align with some European

learned so much: you are the best! Crane Country Day School is

educators who idolize the idea of childhood. We recall that ‘the child

in a strong position today with great teachers and vibrant young

is indeed the father of the man’ and how formal schooling should

students, and I depart feeling much happiness along with some

never get in the way of true education (a drawing out).

sadness at missing my brilliant kids.

My son, Gabe ’96, played piano tunes in Cate Hall assemblies throughout his nine years, and he obviously drank deep from our

Dan McCaslin Upper School History

Milestone Anniversaries 100 Years and Counting May 19 was the assembly to celebrate Chris. The band Whiskey Chimp surprised Chris with some great foot-stomping, hand clapping bluegrass music. Colleagues shared these thoughts about Chris before he was presented with a new mandolin.

One thing that I appreciate about Mr. C is his love of words. He instills in all his students and

2016 has been a banner year for celebrations! Both Chris Caretto and Bob Ingersoll celebrated their 30th years of teaching at Crane and Debbie Williams celebrated her 40th year. The most amazing fact is that none of these three Craniacs are retiring — Chris continues to teach Fifth Grade, Bob continues to teach Eighth Grade

colleagues the value of the spoken word and the richness it brings to our lives. —Gayle Sandell I appreciate Chris for the music he shares in assembly and when you hear him strumming various

World History, and Debbie is continuing in her role as Director of

instruments around campus. —

Development after holding many

Alexis Fischer

other Crane positions. Read below to see how they were celebrated!

Bob was surprised on April 14 when we held a “Bob the Builder” assembly to celebrate him. Various colleagues shared thoughts about Bob: The best thing about Bob is his rich and curious mind —he has a remarkable ability to talk specifics of U.S constitutional policy while repairing an engine, a broken stapler, or any number of mechanical things we bring to his door. — Theresa Gorey The best thing about Bob is that he is solid as a rock – nothing shakes him from his core and he is willing to help anybody with any problem or any challenge – large or small. — Debbie Williams Bob and his wife Whitney were treated to a long weekend in Austin, Texas as part of his celebration.

Debbie was celebrated during the paddle raise at the Ahoy Crane auction on May 7 as well as at a Staffulty get-together at Casa Blanca on May 18. Debbie was given a bag of 60+ handwritten notes from her colleagues and board members and was presented with a Tiffany necklace by Joel Weiss. He stated, “Debbie is growth-oriented and is always willing to evolve and change. If you have ever worked with Debbie on any project, you know that she always demonstrates tremendous attention to detail. Debbie is also one of the hardest working individuals I have ever met.”

On Wednesday, November 18 fifth grader William Schulhof stepped into the role of Head for a Day. William greeted all the students as they arrived at school, led an exciting game show of students versus teachers at assembly, and visited classes throughout the day. William also proclaimed a "No Homework Day" for all the fifth graders. Pictured is William writing a thank you note to a teacher with Mr. Weiss.

HEAD FOR A DAY 21

Lower School Spring Study Week Sands of Time The

arid

landscapes

of

deserts around the world introduced Lower School students to the rich diversity and adaptability that exists in such environments. From flora to fauna, workshops taught them about history, culture, survival, science, and hopes for the future for these amazing lands.

Lower School

second grade

Danger, Danger, Animals in Danger!

many endangered species in math class. Students learned

A Look Inside a Second Grade Integrated Unit

vocabulary words like preservation, poaching, and

What makes a unit come alive? What connects students with

thousands of animals today during social studies. They

the curriculum? How do we teach the academic skills that students

even composed letters to California state representatives

are expected to master at each grade level while keeping them engaged

to encourage them to support legislation that protects

and thinking? At Crane we believe collaborative teaching, integrated

animals.

units, meaningful lessons, and hands-on activities can help make a unit experiential and make learning relevant to even our youngest learners.

extinct while discussing solutions to the threats facing

The students’ passion for protecting animals was evident throughout the unit. Thanks to donations from

This year, the second graders embarked on a journey that took them

our class and the motivation of several Second Grade

deep into the forest, high up to the mountain tops, deep down under the

students to have a lemonade stand, our class was able

sea, far out to the grasslands, and way beyond the arid sand dunes of the

to adopt four endangered animals through the World

world’s deserts. The purpose of this exploration was to learn more about

Wildlife Organization. The second graders are the proud

the plight of endangered animals through investigative reporting.

parents of a silverback gorilla, a red panda, a sea turtle,

The unit was filled with opportunities for students to write, research,

and a very cute koala.

sketch, create, discuss, wonder, and travel. Students read both nonfiction

At the end of the unit, students were excited to share

and fiction stories, watched video clips of animals in nature, read

what they learned with the Crane community at their

articles about problems many animals are facing today, took field trips to

Endangered Animal Symposium. From saving animal

nearby animal sanctuaries to see the sea lions and the snowy plovers, and

habitats and ending illegal poaching, to trying to slow

listened to experts in the field share about what is being done to protect

down global warming, our students explained how human

animals. The more they learned, the more questions they had. Soon our

actions affect all living creatures on the earth.

classroom was transformed to look like the different animal habitats the students were learning about.

One of the ways teachers at Crane help students make connections across the curriculum is through collaborative teaching and integrated lessons. Through the use of Google shared docs, teachers are able to “talk” together and discuss goals, share resources, pose questions, and work together to create a meaningful unit that reaches across every subject area. Not only were the second graders being immersed in their study of animals in the second grade classroom, but in all other classes they attended as well.

When the second graders went to science class, they learned about predator-prey relationships. In computer class, students looked at websites and created an online Voice Thread. While the students were in art class, they made animal prints, wrote animal riddles, and designed animal posters. They sat in the fireside room in the library and listened to tales about animals and famous naturalists like Jane Goodall. When Ms. Calderon came to the classroom for Spanish, she taught them vocabulary for their animals and their habitats. They also learned a poem about animals in Spanish. During music and drama class, students took on animal characteristics and practiced moving like creatures in the wild. We discussed the dwindling numbers and bleak statistics of

Scan the QR code with your mobile device to hear students recite an endangered animal poem in Spanish.

VIDEO

Karen Ohrn Second Grade Teacher

Athletics boys’ basketball Mark Huerta - Eighth Grade This year’s Crane basketball team had an incredibly successful season. Led by Coach Anthony Prieto ’75, the team played incredibly well together, even receiving praise from opponents.

Another school’s athletic director stated, “When the Crane basketball team came out, it was like the ’95 Bulls. They were the best team.” We began practices in November, and instantly we knew that this was a special group. The basketball team played together, crushing all in their paths. The group was full of individual talent, but it was the way that they all came together on game day to win.

We played ten games in the regular season, and we won all of them by over ten points. When the tournament came, Crane was ready to bring home the hardware. We succeeded in doing so, winning the championship handily. We were a group of kids never to be together again: John Rigsby Shelburne, Kerick Walker, Khadim Pouye, Jasper Johnson, Keith Ryan, Ethan Ha, Tommy Brittingham, Spencer Drew, and Mark Huerta.

girls’ soccer Kate Sheldon - Sixth Grade Soccer was filled with work, smiles, hugs, and sweat. The tryouts were tough, full of running and passing and skill-work at breakneck speed, yet through it all we were joking with each other and supporting our teammates. At practices we did a lot of teamwork exercises, and though we were working really hard the entire time, we talked and got to know each other and made bad jokes.

We worked super hard, and that showed. We only lost to one team, but through it all, the rises and falls, we became a team. Lifting up others when teammates were down, covering for a friend when she lost the ball, and making each other laugh even in the toughest of moments. And before we knew it the season was over and we made it to the finals. Though we lost in the championship game, it didn’t feel like we did. As Coach Bix said, “We didn’t lose; we simply ran out of time.” We had fun and enjoyed a marvelous season. We all connected out on the field, and we were there for each other. I am glad I got to make such good friends, doing the sport I love.

boys’ volleyball Owen Jones - Eighth Grade Volleyball is called the schizophrenic game because it can go either way at any time. This season, our team had two defining moments, and they just so happened to be our first and last games. Our first contest was against Santa Barbara Middle School, a tough team with several experienced players. We went onto the court with our starting lineup and played as hard as we could, but we just couldn’t win. We kept our heads high, and our coach sent out our second lineup, who put everything they had into the game and managed to come out on top. At that moment, volleyball’s nickname couldn’t have been truer.

We put in our third lineup and hoped for the best. We somehow played harder than we had the entire match and won again. The second time our team really shined was during our final game. It was against Providence, a team very similar to SBMS, but one that also had a player who could hit a ball like nobody’s business. The game began with our starting lineup versus theirs. We had a powerful lead early on, feeling like we were going to win this easily, but we couldn’t have been more wrong. Once they saw they were in danger, they put in their powerhouse. His presence was fearsome on the court, but I saw many people, including Jack Morouse and John Geyer, stepping up to try to combat him. Though it was a tough game that we lost, it will be known as the game we played our absolute hardest.

girls’ basketball Jaeda Spence - Sixth Grade The Varsity Girls’ Basketball season this year was great fun, filled with lots of learning, laughing, and winning. We only lost to one team the whole season, St. Raphael’s. My favorite moment of the season was when we then faced them again in the finals; even though we lost, it didn’t really matter because of what Coach Anthony Prieto ’75 asked us after the game. He asked if we had tried our hardest, and we answered with a yes. He then told us that as long as the effort was there, it didn’t matter if we won or lost. Although I like winning better, this was still my favorite game of the whole season. I really

Athletics enjoyed getting to know the Eighth Grade girls better and to take

and go until four in the afternoon. They consist of fifteen-minute

part in such an important game in their time at Crane, because it

heats that determine whether you will advance or not. There are

was their last. It was one of the perfect ways to wrap up the season

usually six people in the heats; if you make it into the top three, you

because that was the game where we were all on the floor giving it

will advance. Because of the way the competitions are structured,

everything we had. The season was an amazing experience, and I

they can last all day. They take place in Ventura, Oxnard, or Santa

am so happy that I got to take part in it.

Monica. My favorite part of Surf Team was surfing with my friends, while improving my skills. For example, in my first competition I

flag football Owen Dexter-Meldrum - Eighth Grade

made it to the semifinals for girls’ longboard but unfortunately got

Our flag football team improved with each game. There were people

the semifinals and placed first. Then I went on to the finals and

who had played football their entire lives and people who had never

placed third. This was a spectacular experience, and I am looking

played a game. After a hard opening-game loss to Providence, it

forward to joining the Surf Team again next year.

clicked for a lot of us that we weren’t just going to walk through this season. Everyone buckled down in practice and learned the plays extremely fast. We played very well the rest of the season, winning all of our games with only little bumps along the way.

For our first playoff game, we played Marymount, a team that had the same drive to beat us that we had to beat Providence. It was a tough game, and we did not play our best; however, we managed to come away with the win. Finally, we were in the championship with Providence. Before this game, Coach Anthony Prieto ’75 gave us a talk, encouraging us to make the most of every opportunity that came our way. Everyone listened to instructions on how to make their runs or routes better, and it paid off! It was a close game up until the last few minutes when we scored a couple of touchdowns and pulled away with the victory. I am so proud of everyone for playing their best when we needed it most.

surf team Monica Stoney - Seventh Grade Crane is such an amazing school, and one element that makes it even more incredible is the Surf Team. The Surf Team is group of kids who surf every Wednesday and travel to competitions every three weeks. The competitions start at seven in the morning

fourth place. I did not advance. In my last competition I got into

second grade | Enchanted or Not?

kindergarten | Ferocious Wild Beasts

2016

upper school musical

Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage PAID Santa Barbara, CA Permit No. 430

CRANE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL 1795 San Leandro Lane Santa Barbara, CA 93108 www.craneschool.org

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

I Madonnari 2016

CRANE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL

Academic Year 2015/16 • Volume Two

A Newsletter for Parents, Grandparents, Friends, and Alumni

OnCAMPUS

Tom Kenny President Jill Levinson Vice President John McGovern Treasurer Patricia MacFarlane Secretary Ricardo Calderon Beth Collins-Burgard Cyndee Howard Kristen Klingbeil-Weis Robin Kopeikin Winifred Lloyds Lender Hector Lujan Mike McCarthy Gavin Moores Ann Pieramici Linda Ryu Nancy Sheldon Christine Smigel Erin Eberhardt Spence Mike Walker Honorary Lifetime Trustee Scott C. Brittingham EDITOR Debbie Williams DESIGN & PRODUCTION Lorie Bacon SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER Teresa Pietsch COPY EDITOR Elizabeth Keadle PRINTER Boone Printing