Inspire - Spring 2015 - Eastside Prep

THE EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL MAGAZINE: SPRING 2015 | VOLUME 6 | ISSUE 2

...Students to Create a Better World

COMMITMENT CREATION OVER CONSUMPTION WILLPOWER, PERSEVERANCE, AND MINDSET PARENTING WITH A COMPASS

EASTSIDE PREP MAGAZINE STAFF Vickie Baldwin

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Tina Hadden

MANAGING EDITOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER & LAYOUT EDITOR

Joshua Huisenga

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Amis Balcomb, Doug Blair, Elena S. Blair Photography, Jennifer Boyle Photography, Roberta Christensen, Paul David, Emma Ferguson, Paul Hagen, Amy Hallman, Melissa Hayes, Barbie Hull Photography, Brian Hutcheson, Allison Luhrs, Angelika Mein, Brittany Williams, Wanyi Yang

COPY EDITORS

Dr. Laurie Benaloh, Lauren Formo, Allison Luhrs, Karen Mills, Dr. Elena Olsen, Brittany Williams WEB EDITORS

Jonathan Briggs, Jennifer Cross

SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM HEAD OF SCHOOL DIRECTOR OF INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

Terry Macaluso, PhD Vickie Baldwin

DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS

Doug Blair, JD

CHIEF OF FINANCE

Andrew Boyd

DIRECTOR OF TECHNOLOGY

Jonathan Briggs

ACADEMIC DEAN

Matt Delaney

DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS

Lauren Formo

UPPER SCHOOL HEAD DIRECTOR OF STUDENT LIFE

Bart Gummere Paul Hagen

DIRECTOR OF FINE & PERFORMING ARTS Brian Hutcheson DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

Kelly Moore, PhD

MIDDLE SCHOOL HEAD

Sam Uzwack

2014–2015 BOARD OF TRUSTEES OFFICERS PRESIDENT

Rob Short

SECRETARY

Stacy Graven

TREASURER

Sasha Press

IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT

Byron Bishop

W

E HAD JUST FINISHED A discussion during a leadership team meeting concerning commitment and about what we do to help students understand what it means to make a decision, or to make a promise.

The topic came up because a few of us have noticed that students often take on so much that they can’t really meet the implied commitments they make every time they say, “Yes, I’ll be there on time.” Or “I want to be in the musical—and I know it involves practice on Saturdays and a few late nights.” It seems that we’ve tilted a bit in the direction of quantity over quality. So—we’re tackling the concept of commitment in this issue, with the hope that the messages conveyed will enhance everyone’s thinking about what it means to say, “Yes.” A commitment to sustainability is described in Jeff Boone’s article about our new building. He’s been our architect for the whole project, and throughout the process has demonstrated his commitment to design the building we asked him to envision.

Our eight “Lifers,” pictured on page sixteen, demonstrate, through their decision to attend EPS for grades six through twelve, that choosing a school is making a commitment to enhance it through their presence and participation.

College, student achievements outside of school, sports—even the Coffee House presentations are possible only because people commit to accomplish something. They make a decision to make something happen or to achieve a specific goal.

In this issue we feature Adam Waltzer, a gifted biology teacher whose commitment to Ultimate Frisbee made him a world class champion. He has shared the benefits of that commitment with dozens of students over the years, and the quality of the EPS Ultimate teams, as well as the seriousness of commitment each player brings to the team, is testimony to the power of making and keeping a promise.

By virtue of one’s decision to be a part of something, it is incumbent upon one to support the ethos of the entity. It’s the same thing in a family, or a community…or a school. As you read these articles, think about your own life, and about the commitments you’ve made. Actually…commitment is what makes our lives possible. If that seems like too big a claim, consider the alternative.

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magazine@eastsideprep.org INSPIRE is published two times a year by Eastside Preparatory School.

It is mailed to all current families, employees and donors. To remove or change your mailing address, to submit a letter to the editor, to suggest a topic for an article, or to submit alumni information (text or photographs), contact magazine@eastsideprep.org. © Copyright 2015, Eastside Preparatory School

On the cover: Connor (’15) on the Ultimate field

Terry Macaluso, PhD Head of School

Henry, Ayush, Michael, and Daman (all Class of 2018)

In this issue Focus 5

College and Commitment

30

Diving Deep

Keeping the “PREP” in Eastside Prep

32

8

Chasing Sustainability

10

What’s on Your Bookshelf?

33

A Commitment to Big Ideas

12

Creation Over Consumption

34

Service in Action

14

Commitment to Project-Based Learning

36

The EPS Lifers

16

Willpower, Perseverance, and Mindset

38

Parenting With a Compass

18

Focus on Our Alumni: Trevor Hedges

40

EPSilon Robotics

20

Faculty Profile: Adam Waltzer

42

TEDXEastsidePrep 2015

22

Eagle Recognition

43

Fall and Winter

24

A Focus on Volunteerism

44

Perpetual Design

26

Upcoming Events

46 INSPIRE Spring 2015

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Jeff Boone

Jonathan Briggs

Stephen Keedy

Matt Delaney

Lauren Formo

Bart Gummere

Contributors Paul Hagen

Trevor Hedges

Dr. Terry Macaluso

Gunnar Mein

Jeff Boone is a founding partner at Public47 Architects and is the lead architect for Eastside Prep’s new science and gym building. Jeff writes for this issue of Inspire on the topic of sustainability.

Jonathan Briggs joined the EPS faculty in June of 2005 as the school’s first Director of Technology. In addition to his teaching duties, Jonathan has implemented the school’s laptop program, overseen the technological needs of a growing school community, and has been instrumental to the implementation of learning management and student information systems that serve students, teachers, and parents.

Matt Delaney is Eastside Prep’s Academic Dean. He also chairs the EPS Curriculum Committee and oversees the professional development process for faculty. When not teaching an Upper School history or social sciences class, Matt is also one of the four EPS college counselors.

Lauren Formo is Eastside Prep’s Director of Admissions and has worked at EPS since 2007. In that time, Lauren has had a key role in overhauling the admissions data management process, spearheading the student ambassador program, and restructuring visit days. Lauren is also one of Eastside Prep’s four college counselors.

Bart Gummere joined EPS in the summer of 200 . During his time as Eastside Prep’s Upper School Head, Bart has overseen changes to the program including the opportunity for seniors to design their own course of study and the requirement that they complete a self-designed, multidisciplinary project. Bart is also one of Eastside Prep’s four college counselors.

Paul Hagen has taught at EPS since 2009. In addition to his teaching duties, Paul is also Eastside Prep’s Director of

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Karen Mills

Dr. Kelly Moore

Student Life and oversees the many components of Eastside Prep’s Education Beyond the Classroom (Service Learning, EBC Week, EPSummer). Paul recently completed his coursework for his Masters in Liberal Arts with a concentration on history at Harvard and he is currently working on his thesis.

Trevor Hedges graduated from Eastside Prep as a member of the Class of 2014. He was the recipient of the “Responsible Action Award” at graduation and is an EPS “Lifer.” In this issue of Inspire, Trevor shares his commitment to pursuing his passions.

Brian Hutcheson brings many years of experience to his new role as Eastside Prep’s Director of Fine and Performing Arts. In addition to promoting the arts at EPS, “Hutch” teaches several visual arts classes.

Stephen Keedy came to Eastside Prep in 2012 after working for several years in school districts in Texas. Stephen teaches English at Eastside Prep and also sponsors the newspaper club.

He recaps TEDXEastsidePrep in this issue of Inspire.

Wendy Lawrence was one of the four founding faculty at Eastside Prep. She started as a science teacher and three years later, she became the head of the Middle School. Wendy has moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan but is still very much connected to Eastside Prep. Wendy blogs at TheFamilyThatReadsTogether. com.

Dr. Terry Macaluso has been a division head and a head of school in four independent day schools over a thirty-five year career. In 2002, she guided the Founding Board of Trustees from the earliest discussions about the school that eventually became Eastside Preparatory School, and was appointed Head of School in spring 2004. Under Dr. Macaluso’s guidance, EPS has grown from sixteen to well over 300 students, the campus

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Brian Hutcheson

Wendy Lawrence

Josie Rimmer

Sam Uzwack

has expanded to encompass ten buildings and two major capital campaigns have been undertaken and completed.

Gunnar Mein has worked in the software field for over twenty years and is an EPS faculty member and parent. Gunnar was instrumental in starting Eastside Prep’s Robotics Club. He currently teaches computer programming courses for Middle and Upper Schoolers.

Karen Mills is a founding employee of Eastside Prep and has had many roles during her time at EPS including Director of Admissions, administrative support, and teacher of Info Lit. Karen has created research curriculum in the Middle and Upper Schools and currently serves as Eastside Prep’s Librarian, as a grade-level coordinator, and as a cross country coach.

Dr. Kelly Moore joined Eastside Prep in 2009 in a role that has changed and grown along with EPS. As the Director of Student Support Services, Kelly is Eastside Prep’s school counselor and oversees the Learning Support Program, including Guided Study Hall. Kelly also teaches social emotional curriculum and leads parenting discussion groups.

Josie Rimmer is a current tenth grader at EPS and will graduate with the Class of 2017. She is passionate about spoken word poetry. Josie writes for this issue of Inspire about Eastside Prep’s January Coffee House event.

Sam Uzwack became Eastside Prep’s Middle School Head in July 2009. In that time, Sam has instituted the Middle School laptop program and added regular grade-level parent talks to the schedule to increase communication between the school and parents. Sam also helped bring social emotional curriculum to the Middle School.

FOCUS FOCUS

Saumya and Erica (both Class of 2022) in class

By Terry Macaluso, PhD, Head of School

G

ROWING UP IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE LAST century means that my experience has been shaped by these world historical events: Sputnik, the Civil Rights movement, the assassination of President Kennedy, the Beatles, Neil Armstrong’s walk on the moon, Watergate, the demolition of the Berlin Wall, Columbine, Nelson Mandela elected as President of South Africa, and 9/11—to mention a few. It’s interesting to think about the characteristics and attitudes we develop as they relate to our “generational membership.”

Himi and Cameron (both Class of 2019)

There are various views on how to define the generations regarding age ranges and characteristics. For the purposes of this article, I settled on the following categorizations*: Traditionalist: born prior to 1946 (69 years or older) Baby Boomers: 1946–1964 (age 51–68) Some EPS teachers and parents Gen X: 1965–1979 (age 36–50) Most EPS teachers and some EPS parents

Gen Y: 1980–2000 (age 15–35) Some EPS teachers and some EPS students Post Millennial: 2001–present (under age 14) Some EPS students I’m a Boomer. * Source: http://www.culturecoach.biz/Generations/meetthegenerations.html

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Here are some interesting observations about each of the three generations that largely compose our community: Boomers

Gen X

Gen Y

Influence

Civil rights

Watergate

Digital media

Core Values

Anything is possible; work; team-centered

Balance; independence; lack of organizational loyalty; fun

Achievement; high tolerance; sociability; fun

Attributes

Accept responsibility; live to work; loyal to careers and employers

Angry, but don’t know why; skeptical of institutions; unimpressed by authority

Ambitious, but not focused on work; high speed stimulus junkies; strong sense of entitlement

Family Experience

Mom stayed home

Latch-key; day-care generation

Merged families; coddled kids

Education

A birthright

A way to get there

Incredibly expensive

Value

Success

Time

Individuality

Work Ethic

Driven; high-quality

Balance; skepticism

Ambitious; what’s next?

Focus

Relationships and results

Tasks and results

Global and networked

Source: http://www.wmfc.org/uploads/GenerationalDifferencesChart.pdf

from premise to premise to conclusion—to make something happen. Focus is the capacity without which one’s commitments cannot be met; it’s the sine qua non of productivity and accomplishment.

One could argue that our interest in and/or capacity to focus has diminished as we move from Boomers to Gen-Y’ers. Or, one could take the position that focus just means something very different in each age group. The characterizations of Value, Work Ethic, and Focus—taken together for each generation—sends a clear message about what changed. We moved from intense focus on success in the workplace with a high premium on quality and the preservation of relationships, to a more skeptical perception of the organization, a desire to control one’s time, focusing on tasks and results. Finally, we observe that success has become individuality, and development and preservation of relationships has given way to global citizenship with an expectation that the next thing will be engaging and fun.

The standard Boomer argument about “kids today” is that technology has done them in. I’m trying to avoid the glib argument that “it’s TV or video games” or whatever we try to pin it on from one generation to the next. In the early 1950s, it was Elvis’ moves that threatened the youth of America. Today, it’s Minecraft.

I do believe that Generation Y is losing the capacity

Sean and Chase (both Class of 2016) engage in a classroom discussion.

So—what does any of this have to do with focus?

Look at that last row, and then read up in each column. The shift from one generation to the next is a study in the redefinition of being in the world, and that speaks to the question about what focus actually is.

I think focus is the capacity for attentiveness coupled with an intuitive sense of commitment. It’s the ability to “intend” an object or an idea. It’s the desire to move 6

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

to focus—but not because of computers, smart phones, or video games. We (Boomers and Generation X) have failed to set the expectation that focus matters. And as far as modeling goes…we’re guilty of all the same distracting behaviors. Raise your hand if you’ve never checked your phone or answered an email message in the middle of a meeting.

We’ve been hosting parent coffees at EPS since the school opened. We do that because we like to know what parents are thinking about­—and because we want to know if something needs to be explored or altered in some way.

In every parent meeting since 2003 (the first year EPS existed), the topic of “media as distraction” has surfaced.

Here are some examples:

commitments for themselves. This happens when the Ultimate player is also in the school play. Commitment needs to be more explicit; we should do a better job of helping students understand what it means when they make a commitment—and then don’t deliver.

When Boomers were doing homework, we needed a book, a pencil, an eraser, and some paper. And STILL, we found ways to distract ourselves! When Gen-Y does homework, the screen looks like this:

1. Homework is taking too many hours to complete.

Is it HOMEWORK that’s being done, or might there be something happening in addition to homework? Studying together is fine­—it might even enhance understanding.

The problem isn’t the computer or the telephone; it’s focus.

2. Text messages are being received throughout the night—sometimes ALL night.

This is an excellent example of a cultural disintegration of “being here now.” Smart phones and computers allow us to be anywhere—everywhere—at any moment. But we ARE, physically and temporally, in a space—at a time. Doing what one is actually DOING has become less and less the norm. We tweet or text the instant a thought occurs. We expect a response immediately. This expectation is an invitation to avoid focus.

3. I don’t know what my son/daughter is looking at online—neither do I know who’s looking back.

This is a serious problem that we are not likely to solve any time soon. The internet is not regulated. This requires focus of a different kind. If children are old enough to have free access to the internet, they’re old enough for straight talk about the very real dangers lurking in the seemingly anonymous, yet ever-enduring virtual world. Focus in this context has to do with being intentional and insistent about speaking—openly—about that which one prefers not to speak.

4. My child cannot focus long enough to get anything done­—at home or at school during study periods.

Is it focus or will? There’s an interesting relationship between focus and commitment. As I think about it, focus best describes directing of one’s attention to a specific object or endeavor. Commitment strikes me as something of a promise to maintain focus. This is where I think we have the greatest difficulty. Students frequently create conflicting

Is it truly reasonable to expect to do a geometric proof with infinite images, words, sounds and colors a mere click away? Of course not.

Do we REALLY not know what’s going on here?

Remember this: Generation Y is characterized as:

Ambitious, but not focused on work; High-speed stimulus junkies; Strong sense of entitlement Here’s what we need to do: Expect yourself—and everyone else—to do what we say we’ll do. Counsel your sons and daughters not just to choose—but to commit. If being the lead in the play is a priority, do it. Commit. But don’t take on a varsity sport at the same time. It’s not just about you. Every time you decide to do something you have made a commitment. Your actions impact others. If your presentation is due on Tuesday, you cannot NOT show up. If your English teacher has worked with you through three drafts of a paper, you cannot NOT submit it on time. Make it clear that you understand your obligation to the team of people who are supporting you— and counting on you. Whether it’s Ultimate or the group science project. BE in what you’re doing. FOCUS on one thing at a time. COMMIT to completing what you start— and remember that you’re just one of the people involved.

All that smart “stuff ” we own and use to our distraction’s content isn’t smart enough to shape our character. ¢ INSPIRE Spring 2015

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DIVING DEEP THINKING DRIVES

Dylan (’21) conducts an experiment.

CONTENT

By Sam Uzwack, Middle School Head

H

OW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU’VE LEARNED something? You know, really learned it. I suppose it depends on the task. If you are learning to throw pottery, the results are tangible: I made a pot. Or, I made something that looks like a New England Patriots’ football. But what if you are learning the chemistry behind pottery? Or the history of pottery? Or the anthropological implications of the development of pottery? How do you know…that you know?

Hold onto that thought.

When I was in graduate school earning my Masters in Teaching, my most influential professor was Dr. Sam Wineburg.

He challenged just about every assumption I held about learning, people, and life. (It was he who, after I spouted some frustrations with some of my quieter peers, put me in my place with a warm yet stern, “Sam, what you have to remember is that not everyone is Sam.”) One of our initial exercises was a quiz we took early in the course. I remember it so clearly. If you’d like a go at it, it’s just to the right. uu As our class took this quiz, initial confusion soon morphed into new understandings. First off, we all aced it, as our sixteenplus years of education primed us to perform at the highest level. And none of us had a clue what we were talking about.

The Montillation of Traxoline Traxoline is a new form of zionter. It is montilled in Ceristanna. The Ceristannians gristerlate large amounts of fervon and then bracter it to quasel traxoline. Traxoline may well be one of our most lukized snezlaus in the future because of our zionter lescelidge.

Checking for Understanding 1.

2.

3.

4.

What is traxoline?

Where is traxoline montilled?

How is traxoline quaseled?

Why is it important to know about traxoline?

Attributed to Judy Lanier

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For decades, learning has been measured by the accurate transmission of content. A teacher provides access to a discrete set of content—the pupil “masters” said content by repeating, either through oral or written form, back to teacher. It does not matter whether it is history (“The Civil War represented the ultimate referendum on American Federalism!”), or math (a2+b2=c2), or science (and this is a personal favorite, a fact I acquired in seventh grade—

“Osmosis is diffusion through a cell membrane”).

All three of those statements are variations on the traxoline theme. They can be stated, but are they truly understood? It is worth noting that some disciplines have less of an issue with the display of understanding. You know when a kid can play the trumpet…or not. You know when a lay-up is made…or not. It happens…you see it.

Now we come to the central theme of this piece: the fundamental aim of our approach to teaching and learning at Eastside Prep is not just to ensure accuracy of knowledge, but genuine and applicable depth of understanding. We do not want to settle for what Harvard Graduate School of Education Professor Howard Gardener dubbed the “correct-answer compromise.” He explains: Most schools have fallen into a pattern of giving kids exercises and drills that result in their getting answers on tests that look like understanding. It’s what I call the “correct-answer compromise”: students read a text, they take a test, and everybody agrees that if they say a certain thing it’ll be counted as understanding.

Above, left: Olivia, Kiran, and Connor (all Class of 2021) in class.

Right: Diana (’22) focuses on her work.

But the findings of cognitive research over the past twenty to thirty years are really quite compelling: students do not understand, in the most basic sense of that term. That is, they lack the capacity to take knowledge learned in one setting and apply it appropriately in a different setting. Study after study has found that, by and large, even the best students in the best schools can’t do that.1

The implication of this approach is to learn fewer things more deeply. We will not cover every single event in American history. But the topics we do cover will be done so in a more complex, rich, and detailed manner.

Due to advances in technology, there is no longer a point to learning something at the surface level. After all, I can look up everything on the surface level in 2.3 seconds on my Surface.

What I can’t do in 2.3 seconds is give a careful consideration of why Lincoln’s actions during the Civil War cemented the federal level of our government as supreme; I can’t prove to you why Pythagoras was right; I can’t explain what osmosis and diffusion are, how they work, why they are important, and the reason they are worth learning.

Depth over breadth. You want breadth? Buy a smart phone. You want depth? Come to EPS. How do you know you’ve truly learned something?

This is the question that will continue to drive our future work at EPS, and it is what makes our work with students all the more fulfilling. ¢

1 Educational Leadership “On Teaching for Understanding: A Conversation with Howard Gardner” INSPIRE Spring 2015

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CHASING SUSTAINABILITY “Eastside Prep operates in ways that conserve and improve human well-being, the school’s resources, and the health of the earth’s life-systems on which we depend.

We do not waste resources, and we re-use and recycle to minimize our impact to our natural resources. Our intention is to make our human impact on the world conscious, deliberate, and constructive.” – EPS Family Handbook

By Jeff Boone, Architect

R

ESPECTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND creating a sustainable, renewable facility are the buzzwords of our generation. The concepts are easy to buzz about but challenging, at best, to put into practice.

Often times, we lose sight of the bigger picture and a holistic view of resources. In the interest of being green, we sometimes find ourselves saving one resource and wasting another. So to be truly sustainable and minimize our impact to the environment, we must look at all the pieces including our time (human resources), the costs (financial resources), as well as the impact on our environment.

The design team’s approach to sustainability for the new science and sports building construction adopted four strategies to create a high-performance building. Here’s the approach we took: • design a simple, appropriately sized, and lasting structure • focus on daylighting and natural ventilation to avoid energy use (after all, a light bulb that is off is most efficient) • develop a building envelope to reduce heat loss and gain • seek project-specific opportunities to include sustainable and budget-appropriate strategies that are integral to the architecture

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EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

Chasing Simplicity—Striving for Quality Every new school building should accommodate growth and endure the test of time. For any project to be sustainable over time, it must be adaptable to the changing needs of its inhabitants. Those needs are impossible to predict, but the design of this new facility—with an exposed structure and systems—will be relatively easy to adapt and modify over time. In addition, the facility will provide a range of teaching spaces, from a contemporary classroom configuration to classrooms that integrate media set-ups found in many creative corporate environments.

An amphitheater space provides a teaching and gathering space that can adapt to a range of activities from robotics to presentations to informal student group meetings, while also bringing daylight down to the physics and maker space.

The new project will include showers for students and staff members. While these will mostly serve the fitness center, we hope the on-site showering facilities will help encourage staff to commute to school on bike. Who’s next to commute by bike?

Chasing Daylight Daylight is a valuable resource in the Northwest, with our gray days from August to June. Daylight may be overlooked as a resource, but it is even more precious to Northwest architecture. Thoughtful use of natural daylight, Above: A rendering of the exterior of the new science and gym facility.

especially for an educational and athletic facility, can help create enlivened, enjoyable spaces to inhabit while at the same time minimizing energy use and operational costs.

The new building will have generous windows in the classrooms, common spaces and gymnasium.

The benefits of having thoughtful daylight zones gives the building the opportunity to choose natural daylight over artificial lighting. The lighting system in the new science and fitness facility will use daylight controls that will sense light, and automatically dim or shut off the lights when they are not required. The light fixtures will use energy-efficient bulbs, a mix of fluorescent fixtures and state-of-the-art LED lamps that have the longest life span. This is particularly useful in the gym, where replacing fixtures is further complicated by the high ceilings.

A High-Performance “Skin” The new science building will be built with a high-performance envelope (the “skin” of a building), improving the energy efficiency and the long-term durability of the complex. A continuous layer of insulation will wrap the structure, creating a better-performing therA rendering of mal blanket around the building the gymnasium that reduces the heat loss/gain for the facility, and the energy to heat and cool the structure. Mineral wool insulation will be used rather than the more ubiquitous rigid insulation. Mineral wool is less toxic, and allows the rainscreen to breathe better.

A high-quality envelope is only as good as its weakest component. Often, windows create a thermal sieve, negating the benefits of the insulated envelope. For the new science building project, the windows will have a similar look to the aluminum windows around campus. However, they will be a more energy-efficient fiberglass window system and will perform about forty percent better than aluminum windows.

Making Good Choices Responsible and healthy materials will be used on the interior such as the use of recycled materials and low-emitting carpets, adhesives, paints, and cabinetry, helping to provide good indoor air quality. Carpet will meet some of the highest standards for indoor air quality. No formaldehyde glues will be used in the cabinetry. The gym floor will be finished with a low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compound)

finishing system. Utilizing materials with good air quality characteristics is a common sense strategy for any project, especially school projects.

Project-Specific Opportunities The office park that EPS inhabits was designed in the 1980s when parking took priority. The new science building helps restore some of the site to a more natural state, increasing the campus open space adjacent to the building.

Asphalt will be reduced, especially at the fire access lane, and replaced with green space planted with low water-use species. This helps reduce the heat-island effect of paved

areas, as will the building’s white “cool” roof.

This green space will also be used for storm water infiltration for the project. Infiltration of storm water is one of the most sustainable ways to replenish groundwater as well as reduce discharge flow from the property. The project is also utilizing best management practices (BMPs) to help reduce sediment from running off the site during rain events. Silt fences, wattles, and collection systems are in place to help capture runoff and reduce erosion.

In order to reduce the energy footprint of the project, the team is also managing the construction process to reduce waste, and energy use in the building of the new facility which can be a significant portion of a project’s energy footprint. Starting with the demolition of the old building, Schuchart’s team has taken care to sort through the materials, diverting the majority of the construction waste from landfills to be recycled.

From design choices to construction practices, we’re all proud to build on the EPS heritage of a focus on conservation and sustainability. ¢ INSPIRE Spring 2015

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a co m m i t m e n t t o

By Brian Hutcheson, Director of Fine and Performing Arts

T

HE 2014–2015 SCHOOL YEAR STARTED WITH many new beginnings in the Fine and Performing Arts. We welcomed a new music teacher, Ginger Ellingson, and a new Director of Fine and Performing Arts, Brian Hutcheson (that’s me). With so many new people we had the opportunity to try something different with our drama productions, so we made a commitment to a thematic big idea—freedom and oppression—under which all of our productions would fall.

Why commit ourselves to a self-prescribed limitation in production choices? What kind of benefit comes from this artificial restriction?

I get similar questions from students on a multitude of projects: “Why can’t we just make whatever we want to make? Why do we have so many restrictions?” The simple answer is that restrictions help breed creativity. Total freedom is often just as stifling as a very limited range of options or no freedom at all. Having just the right amount of structure helps create a setting in which you can be empowered and motivated to create. I like to call this the Goldilocks Theory: not too cold, not too hot, but just right.

In addition, this big idea allows us to set a context and baseline for students to connect the drama productions throughout the year and to associate work in all disciplines to what is happening in the arts discipline. All of this facilitates greater opportunities for collaborations, and

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EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

connects what is happening on stage and at school to what is happening in the world.

We’ve begun part of that collaboration within the arts discipline already. As part of the Middle School production of The Conference of the Birds this fall, the Upper School Drawing and Painting courses worked with play director, David Holmes, to create visual images inspired by lines of text from the play. These images served as backdrops for several scenes in the play and were also displayed outside of the theatre space to help set the mood for the entire Levinger-Poole Commons during the production.

For the Upper School production of Vaclav Havel’s The Memorandum in February, the Graphic Design courses created propaganda posters connected with the content of the play that complement the bureaucratic communist-like setting. Mr. Holmes also invited in Eastside Prep’s own Marcela Winspear (who was born in the Czech Republic), to speak with the cast of the play to help give greater context to the culture from which the author and the play is derived.

Our next step in this process is to engage other disciplines in the thematic big idea so that they may make connections in their curriculum. We are very excited about the all-school musical in the spring, Urinetown, as there are numerous opportunities to connect and collaborate with the political and environmental big ideas it explores,

from connections to inherent freedoms in western culture, to stewardship of our precious natural resources.

We are very pleased with how this small change has had dramatic (pun intended) repercussions in our curriculum, opening the door to a multitude of authentic interactions and collaborations. Looking forward to the 2015–2016 academic year, we intend to make our commitment to a thematic big idea much earlier and

communicate that to our community in a much more meaningful manner. With more lead time to allow the thematic big idea to sink in, we are confident that we will see even greater opportunities to make dynamic connections between the arts and other disciplines. ¢

Above, clockwise from top right: The Conference of the Birds artwork

by Jamin (’17); The Conference of the Birds artwork by Claire (’17); The Memorandum artwork by Sofia (’16); The Memorandum artwork by Jamie (’18); Jill (’15) and Chris (‘17) perform in The Memorandum.

Lower row, from far left: The Conference of the Birds artwork by Sari (’15); Ms. Winspear discusses the Czech Republic with students; Piper (’20) and Ellie (’21) in the play The Conference of the Birds; Noah (’19) and Ethan (’20) in Stagecraft class; The Conference of the Birds artwork by Jamie (’18)

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Konstantin (’15) and Nels (’16) perform trail maintenance with Washington Trails Association.

Aurora and Saoirse (both Class of 2020) with Washington Trails Association.

Service in Action “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Paul Hagen, Director of Student Life

E

ASTSIDE PREP’S VISION IS CLEAR. WE EXIST to inspire students to create a better world. Despite its brevity, this vision statement is anything but simple.

It implies first that we live in a world that is in need of betterment and secondly that our school can actually be an instrument of positive change both locally and globally.

There is certainly value in vision—it gives direction, sets goals, and encourages progress—but vision without any action is rather useless. We can dream about how we want to inspire students and how nice it would be if those students bettered the world, but without action, without taking specific steps, that dream will shrivel and die, and our vision will be nothing more than an empty talking point. We have always worked hard to avoid this pitfall by committing ourselves to action over rhetoric.

Audacious as it may be, we actually believe in our vision statement and are dedicated to fulfilling it. This is evident throughout EPS, most notably so in our Service Learning program. Through this program, we demonstrate that 14

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our vision statement is not just a collection of hollow words, but rather a description of who we are as a school community—a reflection of our committed action.

Since the school’s inception, our Service Learning program has been one significant way in which we strive to inspire students to create a better world. The thinking was simple: hold a number of all-school service days designed to get students off campus in service to their community.

The results were profound. Students worked together to better the world, and made real progress toward that goal.

Our students served the homeless in Seattle, restored local parks and green spaces, and served at local charitable organizations throughout the region. Through these experiences, students were exposed to different needs throughout the community and the seeds of lifelong service were planted.

Despite its success, however, there was room for improvement in the program. So, this year we redesigned our Service Learning model to include a curriculum intended to introduce students to issues facing their community and world—issues like poverty, climate

change, and animal abuse. This newly developed curriculum then asks students to investigate solutions for these problems. With a high emphasis on our mission points, students think critically about the issues facing the world, act responsibly and lead compassionately as they work to address these issues, and innovate wisely as they imagine wholly new solutions to persistent problems. With a focus entirely on solution-based service, students learn that it is not about counting the hours of service but rather committing oneself to a need and seeing it through. The result is a robust Service Learning program that includes an intentional advisory-led service curriculum, guest speakers at assembly, multiple all-school service days, and plenty of time for reflection. Middle School students progressively learn more about a variety of needs that face their local and global community, while Upper School students are given individual choice regarding what type of service they would like to commit to for the year. Consequently, there is greater interest in and commitment to service, and students find greater inspiration to serve than ever before.

For many students, however, the Service Learning program is just a starting point. The deliberate commitment to service at Eastside Prep leads to a culture of service that is evidenced beyond the school itself. As a result, students recently formed their own Service Club that meets weekly to discuss, plan, and perform service throughout

the community. Additionally, many of our students have taken their commitment to create a better world beyond our walls. One of our students has volunteered nearly 500 hours at a local green space, while another is committed to working each week at a neighborhood food bank. Together, and of their own volition, dozens of students encouraged kids at Seattle Children’s Hospital by donating a mountain of toys. Our students have delivered soccer equipment to a village in Ghana, started social venture projects, planted trees, served the homeless, and invested immense time and energy in service around town and around the globe.

Indeed, the list of EPS students who are actively engaged in service outside of school is long and ever-growing, and the types of service they are committed to are as diverse as the individuals themselves.

This is our vision in action—students inspired to serve are taking it upon themselves to create a better world. ¢

Clockwise from top right: Upper School students enjoy their efforts at 21 Acres; Himi and Luca (both Class of 2019) prepare lunch at Compass Housing Alliance; Veronica, Max and Ayana (all Class of 2019) purchase groceries for the lunch they will prepare at Compass Housing Alliance; Members of the Class of 2019 (along with their peer mentors) made blankets for a youth sleepover sponsored by Peace for the Streets by Kids from the Streets.

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COMMITTED TO EASTSIDE PREP

THE EPS LIFERS

By Wendy Lawrence, Former Faculty

F

ROM AN ADULT’S PERSPECTIVE, SIXTH through twelfth grade might not count as a lifetime.

But when Eastside Prep looks at the students who have been here since sixth grade, “lifer” seems the only appropriate term. When these eight students joined EPS, they were eleven years old. Now, they are eighteen.

When they joined us, they were just coming out of the cozy educational experience that is elementary school.

Now, they are headed to the great unknown that is a university education. When they joined us, they were at that age at which adults seem to know everything. Now, they know better.

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When this group of lifers is asked about the differences in their education as a senior and a sixth grader, many of them mention freedom. Braydon Hall loves “the greater agency given to seniors. The ability to develop what my education looks like to a greater extent has done wonders.”

Izzi Durham not only loves being able to take two history classes, but also enjoys the ability to study at Starbucks during her free periods. Like the others, she sees herself as more committed to her work now than when she joined the school. “My casual curiosity has grown into a love for learning and academics. I’m a lot more compassionate.”

Akshay Chalana loves that he’s had “the opportunity to

refocus myself on doing the things I love: math, programming, theatre, etc.” Akshay also says, “I credit the vast array of opportunities which EPS has provided me with driving the person I am today. More than being significantly more confident and motivated, especially in specific disciplines that interest me, I am significantly more conscious of both my world and my actions. While my impact depends on what I end up doing, I’ve started to see the role I can and should have in the world.”

This freedom, along with other EPS traits, has helped Luis Salazar’s work ethic. “I definitely work harder now than in sixth grade. Most of this has come from my teachers encouraging me to put in my best effort. I also take more pride in my work.”

Josh Lucero has always worked hard, but does it better now. “I cared a lot more about grades in Middle School. I was way more stressed out about tests. Now I know how to deal with these things better.”

During their time at EPS, these lifers have committed themselves to a wide variety of activities. For Josh, that was primarily Ultimate, but also theatre and basketball. Izzi has participated in “every play available to me—that adds up to sixteen shows now.” Will Hamilton has similarly been involved with “almost every single theatre production” and also loves the time he spends playing music with friends in the Rock and Roll Club.

Akshay is committed to a lot of EPS clubs, mainly Student Government, and says as a whole “my commitment has been to take advantage of the flexible EPS system to make it the best school it can be for everyone it serves.”

JP More has focused on a lot of different sports, including basketball, Ultimate, and track. Cris Gammill says he’s

committed to his friends. “I long to stay connected with as many of my classmates as I can. I’m eager to see where they go in life,” says Cris.

As for their plans for college? They have a lot of ideas.

Akshay is interested in computer science, specifically data science, and some kind of entrepreneurship. “I really don’t know where I’ll end up, just that I’ll be sure to have an impactful, unique role there.” Josh wants to be an executive producer of a popular TV show. Braydon’s goals are more expansive, “to further invest myself in diversity of thought.”

Izzi plans to double-major in computer science and cognitive science and is interested in a career in programming or web design, possibly leading to work with artificial intelligence or translation programs. Will wants to be a professional actor. Luis Salazar wants to study neuroscience. “The brain and human cognition is a relatively new area in science, and there are a lot of opportunities to do research that has positive real-world applications.”

Cris plans to continue his flight training and attend an aviation university. “I couldn’t be more excited and motivated for what the future has to offer and I am ready to continue my hard work.” JP is more philosophical about his goals. “I want to go where the river of life takes me.”

There’s a lot they will remember about EPS: the lifelong friendships, the teachers who have encouraged them, the classes that have challenged them. But for most of them, it’s a lot of little memories (like the one below) that will stick. ¢ Opposite: “Lifers” of the Class of 2015 (Back row: Josh, Akshay, Braydon; Middle row: Will, JP; Front row: Luis, Izzi, Cris); Below: Current twelfth graders on their eighth-grade overnight trip.

“I will remember our eighth-grade overnight. We had just had a long day of walking around and seeing all the sights on Vashon Island, writing in our field journals. We went down to the beach and we could see the Northern Lights. The water was full of plankton that would light up blue when disturbed by motion. They let us go kayaking and we watched as the water turned bright blue when we stuck the paddle in.” – Will Hamilton

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Parenting With a Compass

Left: Dr. Kelly Moore leads a parent discussion on mindfulness; Right: EPS parents attend one of the series of Mindfulness Workshops.

By Dr. Kelly Moore, Director of Student Support Services

R

AISE A HIGH-ACHIEVING, EMPATHIC, balanced but highly skilled, self-reflective, competitive, creative and critically thinking child. Oh, and make sure you have dinner together every night. This is a mere sampling of the mandates given to parents in this highachieving and competitive culture. On a sane day, we realize we can’t do all these things, nor can our kids. There are other days, however, when we lose track of what is possible and even what we want for our kids, for our families, and for ourselves. On those days, we are more susceptible to the fear out there about our children’s futures, about the possibility of them getting into the right college, getting the right job, and becoming the person we had always dreamed they would be. The big question is—what IS that?

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What do we really care about when it comes to raising our kids?

Whether we are running a family, a multi-billion dollar company, a school or a research grant, we all need an anchor. We need to know what we are doing and why we are doing it. Organizations call them mission statements. As defined by Business Weekly, a mission statement “declares the purpose of an organization and defines the reason for the company’s existence. It provides the framework and context to help guide the company’s strategies and actions by spelling out the business’s overall goal.

Ultimately, a mission statement helps guide decisionmaking internally while also articulating the company’s mission to customers, suppliers, and the community.”

A good organization actually uses their mission stateto ask questions and draw out further thought, showing ment to guide their decisions. Eastside Prep is a great that creativity in thought is something of importance to example of an organization whose mission statement is them. Neither of these examples are easy—we are likely the cornerstone to everything we do. We are committo get very anxious in either of these situations, but being ted to those eight words; we all know them and we run committed to our “most important thing” helps us see the every decision we make through their wisdom. When I big picture and keeps us on track. Having a north star also was in graduate school, I had a professor named Dr. Sam comes in handy in the parking lot when other parents are Taylor. We all referred to him as “Happy Sam.” He taught talking about grades or college or whether or not their us all the ins and outs of behavioral research but what kids are allowed to have cell phones. I have seen the most stuck most was his axiom: “Know the lobster biting your secure parent walk away from these conversations quesbehind.” Conducting behavioral research, or any kind of tioning themselves and their decisions they make as a famresearch, will elicit enormous amounts of data which can ily. Being clear about what rises to the level of importance take you down a multitude for us helps us in these of circuitous routes if you conversations—it allows us aren’t careful. But, if you to listen to others, respect know what your big questheir decisions and values, tion is, a.k.a., the lobster while holding true to our that is biting your behind, own. Having a compass you won’t get as lost and that guides our decisionyou will consistently have making process as a family something to ground you also acts as a role model among all the chatter of for our kids. When our data. Suffice it to say, I have kids see us stick to our never forgotten his words own value system despite of wisdom nor the crass what all the other parents EPS parents at a discussion led by Dr. Kelly Moore image of a lobster biting are doing, it demonstrates one’s behind. integrity and alignment of Likewise as parents, we what we value and what need a lobster—we need we do. Kids need that level to know what it is we are of conviction to help them most committed to, what decide not to follow the matters most in raising crowd, whether that’s what our kids. While this focus everyone else is doing at a can and should change party or when everyone else as our kids get older as is posting negative com– Shunryu Suzuki well as vary greatly from ments on Instagram. family to family, having a Less important than fundamental and clearly the temporally specific articulated north star that guides us, can be a source of value that resonates with us is the long view. We don’t get strength and wisdom throughout the developmental stages as confused. We have a home to return to when things get of a family. For example, there are families for whom stressful. We are less prone to being swayed by the constant relationship is central. Those parents are clear that through barrage of anxiety we face on a daily basis. Whether that thick and thin, the most important thing is a solid relaanxiety is about the future our children will be inheriting tionship with their son or daughter. So, when their child or the myths that getting into a good college is no longer arrives home after curfew for the first time, their response possible. It’s easy to get thrown if we don’t have something flows from the fundamental question, “How do I respond bigger to look towards and aim for. A solid mission is not to this and maintain a good relationship with my child?” going to eliminate questions and uncertainties that are Another family might consider independent thought as bound to present themselves—that would be impossible. the most important value. So, when their child comes However, that focus has the potential, in times of great home and rails against the political beliefs of their famuncertainty and stress, to bring us back to the very simple ily or claims education to be bogus, the parents will want but effective question, “What is most important now?” ¢

“The most important thing is to find out what is the most important thing.”

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EPSilon Robotics in its second year

By Gunnar Mein, Technology Faculty

I

T IS ALMOST 6:00 pm ON A SUNDAY IN EARLY January, and Fisher (Class of 2016) and the team are trying to stay awake through the awards ceremony at the USFIRST FTC Robotics Interleague Championships. It has been a long day—we arrived at 8:30 am—and the team is a little exhausted after six rounds of qualifying play, watching the playoffs (which we didn’t make), and now waiting for the last of six judged awards to be presented.

“The next award rewards innovative design…” our team’s heads perk up a little. Hey, they built a nice robot; this award is not out of the question—“…as well as the quality

Eastside Prep’s USFIRST FTC robot in action

of the engineering notebook.” A collective groan goes through the bleachers around me. We all know that our notebook is not going to earn us any awards. And so we tough it out and we applaud and cheer the very deserving winners of the playoff rounds and judged awards. Our goal for this year had been to play every game element—can we go further?

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USFIRST was started in 1989 by Dean Kamen, better known as the inventor of the Segway personal transportation device. His vision was to create an organization around the FIRST acronym: “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology.” STEM, argues Kamen, needs to become as “cool” and as celebrated as any of our major sports events. Today, there are over 10,000 teams world wide in four leagues covering grades K through twelve. In our league (First Tech Challenge or FTC for short), there are 140 teams in Washington State alone.

I came across FTC when I first started wondering what entices young people to enter the fields of science and technology today.

I attended a meeting of a robotics team mentored by a former Microsoft colleague.

Team Swerve had been competing in the FTC league for a decade. I was impressed with how poised and invested all these kids were in what they were doing—about an equal number of boys and girls building robots, designing strategy, and organizing outreach.

A couple of years later, I found myself at a lunch table with an illustrious group of administrators at EPS—“Tell us more about this robotics stuff.” Four weeks later, in October, we had the first meeting of the EPSilon FTC robotics team. It wasn’t much of a team at first. None of us knew how to build a robot, or program it, or how to play the FTC game by the rules and we were weeks behind other teams in gearing up for our first competition.

For all its sports-like competition, there is something that sets USFIRST apart: it’s concept of “gracious professionalism.” Students are expected to display it at all times by helping other teams, giving credit and recognition where it is due, competing vigorously but always shaking hands, and remembering why everyone participates. In short, create the atmosphere you would like to work in one day.

Our goal for the first season was to show up with a working robot, compete, and score. The team managed that beautifully—and the students rebuilt the robot two times in the course of that season.

For our 2014–2015 season, we set a goal to score in every game element this season. This was not easy; the main challenge was to grow, from an eighteeninch cube initial shape, a lift that could pick balls off the floor and reach almost fifty inches high to deposit them in goals.

Learning was plentiful: the students researched T-slot profiles, pulley lifts, scissor lifts, and chain drives, among others.

They gained much hands-on experience as they 3-D-printed dozens of specialty brackets. Cutting acrylic parts on the laser cutter became the backbone of many efforts.

Between the two robots, the team played twenty-two qualifying matches this season. Both robots had matches during which the students accomplished everything they wanted to do. They made attempts at almost every game element, and scored in most. Perhaps we didn’t win as many games as we should have. But when I look at these two robots today, I am very proud of the engineering work that was done.

As we enter the post-season, we now have a solid group of students who understand how to build robots, how to compete, and that you truly get out of it what you put in. Fun season starts now—we will invite other teams to some post-season play at EPS, explore advanced designs that we could not have comprehended a few months ago, and generally get ready to hit the ground running next September. We will probably register two teams next season.

Students grades seven and up who are looking to be part of this group and make a contribution—in designing, building, managing and organizing, documenting, or outreach—are always welcome. No technical skills are required. Bring your spirit and your “gracious professionalism!” Too young for FTC, or not quite ready for that group? We are also starting a team in the middle school league (The FLL or LEGO League) coached by Sarah Hollingshead.

For next season, I am incredibly excited about what the team can do. As we stand to acknowledge the winners of this year’s Interleague Championships, I say to the team “Wouldn’t it be a good goal to be in that circle next year?”

They start quietly nodding their heads. This is not beyond our reach at all. ¢

From top: EPS students work on their robot before a competition; A USFIRST FTC Robotics match; Eastside Prep’s USFIRST FTC robot.

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TED EastsidePrep 2015

EastsidePrep 2015

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Left to right: Jonathan Briggs, Vat Jaiswal, Scott Young, Dr. Ilene Schwartz, Dr. Avnaesh Jayantilal, Rainesford Alexandra, Jason Adams

By Stephen Keedy, English Faculty

O

NCE A YEAR EASTSIDE PREP HOSTS A TEDX event in which faculty, parents, and members of our broader community gather to collaboratively explore a theme connected to our school’s development. Marking our fifth annual TEDX, we met on March 20 at the Impact Hub Seattle, a space designed from the ground up with collaboration in mind. This year, six speakers shared their thoughts centered on the theme of Emergent Properties and explored the differences between complex versus complicated systems. They highlighted the benefits that are often the result of engaging in a complex system and reinforced Aristotle’s adage that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”

Collaboration at EPS is a complex system and the emergent properties of our acts of collaboration were the topic of many discussions.

RAINESFORD ALEXANDRA: Education advocate Rainesford shared her thoughts on some of the pitfalls of higher education and explored why she advocates for adding “to our definition of what it means to be educated.” For many, the transition between high school and university is a seamless one but for others the first year of university is one that stifles creativity and allows for little individualization.

Rainesford noted the benefits of gap years and trade

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schools, citing that while they are often looked down upon in the United States, they can actually offer some students a rich and personalized experience.

She suggests that we could all benefit from thinking “outside the desk.” Many of Rainesford’s articles can be found on The Huffington Post at www.huffingtonpost. com/rainesford-alexandra.

DR. AVNAESH JAYANTILAL: Activity Director for Alstom Grid Dr. Jayantilal discussed his experience in Africa developing microgrid projects with a goal of increasing the availability of electricity. By the year 2100, the estimated population of Africa will be around 3.5 billion so developing complex and effective systems now is imperative for future sustainability. Many Africans walk for miles to charge cellular phones and lack basic amenities due to their rural locations. Dr. Jayantilal worked with the nonprofit kilowattsforhumanity.org and Seattle University to begin providing electricity to these rural communities. One success was The Community Microgrid at Kristy’s Cape Academy, a school where wind turbines, solar panels, community charging stations, and personal battery kits allow individuals to access electricity as well as engage with the community.

DR. ILENE SCHWARTZ: Professor at the University of Washington Dr. Schwartz works in the area of special education at the University of Washington and discussed misconceptions of what inclusion in the classroom means. Inclusion is not a set of strategies or placement issues; it’s about belonging to a community. She teaches that a strong sense of community coupled with developing interaction skills at a young age is what will bring about genuine inclusion in the classroom and society. If we want students working together in the classroom, in college, and in the workplace, education centered on authentic inclusion must be fostered at a young age. Dr. Schwartz’s publications can be found at education. uw.edu/people/faculty/ilene.

the generosity of others made tackling a language as different from English as Mandarin much easier. By the end of three months, they were able to have basic conversations with native speakers. While it might not be feasible to take a year off to travel, they encouraged everyone to find one person that speaks another language, begin using a translating dictionary, and speak to that person minimizing the use of English. Check out Scott’s blog at www.scotthyoung.com/blog/ and Vat’s at www.vatjaiswal.com.

SCOTT YOUNG: Blogger, speaker, and author VAT JAISWAL: Aspiring filmmaker and architect Scott and Vat dedicated one year to learning four foreign languages.

Together they traveled to Spain, Brazil, China, and Korea spending three months in each country to see how learning a language can be designed differently. They found that eliminating the use of English abroad and relying solely on a translating dictionary and

JASON ADAMS: Writer, editor, and media consultant Jason left his role as Executive Editor at Entertainment Weekly to, as he put it, “embrace the cliché.” People are often taught to avoid certain acts that seem unoriginal and trite but Jason has found that embracing them often has unforeseen rewards. He stressed the importance of actively seeking and working with dynamic groups of people to create a “group genius,” a complex system in which powerful emergent properties

Attendees check in at TEDXEastsidePrep.

can form. Just as important, however, is the understanding that there is time and a place to go solo. These moments are some of the most daunting and confusing but they often offer a personal satisfaction that working with a group lacks. When you’ve got your solo act down, don’t be afraid to look for another group. Jason tweets often at twitter.com/jasonadamsrules.

Thanks to all who were able to attend this year’s TEDXEastsidePrep (speakers and audience members) for helping us continue to meet our goal of “exposing our community to outside ideas and new ways of thinking.” If you missed it, we hope you’ll join us next year. To see videos from this year’s event, go to www.tedxeastsideprep.com. ¢

Below: Attendees at TEDXEastsidePrep

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An EPS tradition, the ALL SCHOOL PHOTO brings together our entire community—325 students and eighty-two faculty and staff.

Fall and are very busy at All EPS students travel on FALL OVERNIGHT trips to solidify relationships with fellow students and faculty members.

PANCAKE BREAKFAST To celebrate the end of a successful (and short) fundraising season, parents, students, and alumni were invited to attend a pancake breakfast served

by Dr. Macaluso, Mr. Gummere, and Mr. Uzwack.

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THE WINTER SHOWCASE highlights the musical talents of EPS students.

Winter

WINTER RECEPTION Parents, faculty and staff gathered in the Commons for a special French-themed evening with great food provided by Chef Ragudos and his staff.

Eastside Prep‌

SENIOR NIGHT Another EPS tradition, Senior Night celebrates the twelfthgraders on our basketball and volleyball teams. This year at the basketball game, underclassmen spoke about each of the seniors (who also received special EPS athletics t-shirts) and the mother of each senior was honored as well.

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Ms. Sobel and Elaine (’20) in Spanish class

By Matt Delaney, Academic Dean

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PERPETUAL DESIGN REFINING ACADEMIC DISCIPLINES AT EPS When students apply to our Middle School, they’re asked to participate in a small group activity called the Marshmallow Challenge (marshmallowchallenge.com/Welcome.html).

In this simulation, the group of stuMimi (’16) in dents is provided a number of differbiology class ent items: spaghetti sticks, marshmallows, and string. In eighteen minutes their task is to construct the highest tower possible. This simulation has been tested hundreds of times by the researchers who developed it with groups of kindergartners, architects and MBAs, and what has been found is that kindergartners generally perform better than the MBAs. The reason for this is not that the kindergartners have smaller fingers for making finer adjustments, but that the kindergartens are less risk-averse and more likely to try a number of different solutions over the course of eighteen minutes. Compare this to the MBAs who tend to use all of their time to develop and risk everything on one right solution.

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RGANIZATIONS LIKE IDEO AND the Stanford d.school (the d is for design) focus on what is called humancentered design—an iterative process that mirrors the ethic of the kindergartners to develop products or experiences for specific sets of users. IDEO is famous for designing the first mouse for Apple and the first ergonomically designed mouse for Microsoft.

Borrowing from the design process developed by David Kelly for both these institutions, EPS focuses on student-centered design to continually reimagine our academic disciplines. Our work starts and ends with thinking about student experience both inside and outside of the classroom. We ask questions like: What will students be doing at EPS in five, ten, and fifteen years? What do our current students need at each grade level, and as individuals? And how can we better connect the experience and the knowledge students gain in our classrooms to the world outside of school?

We understand that knowledge is deepest when it is formed answering a question or solving a problem, connecting ideas from one academic discipline to another, and applying that knowledge to new and relevant situations. We work to evolve our academic disciplines. One of the ways we do this is by bringing each discipline through a three-year Discipline Design Process. Our first six-year cycle is detailed on the next page.

The Five Stages of the Discipline Design Process* The process focuses on five stages or steps: empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, and testing. In it, we focus on what students need right now, what we know they will need when they get to college, and what they will need beyond school. We focus on refining the content in our courses and the methodologies we use to teach that content, and we know that whether you want to build a better computer mouse or English classroom experience, you have to start with the user in mind.

*Concepts here are adapted and excerpted from d.School An Introduction to Design Thinking: Process Guide

STAGE ONE / EMPATHY Considering the Student Experience “The Empathize mode is the work you do to understand [students], within the context of your design challenge. It is your effort to understand the way they do things and why, their physical and emotional needs, how they think about the world, and what is meaningful to them.”

The more intimately you know your students and the tools they use, the better you can craft a robust learning experience for them. During this part of the design process, teachers in each academic discipline investigate and think about the experience of students in their classrooms, and the overall experience of students in each segment of the fifth- through twelfth-grade program. For example, our Director of Fine and Performing Arts, Brian Hutcheson,

Emme (’21) in science class

2013–14 Spanish English

Empathize, Define, Ideate (Year 1)

Math Science F&PA Social Science Technology P.E. Co-Curricular Activities

recently interviewed a number of students to better understand their experience in the arts program. He asked them about their motivations and interests and what makes classes engaging. The sum of these interviews provided a composite picture of student experience, and from there our music, theatre, and visual arts teachers started talking about how student needs could be better anticipated and met in the arts program.

This stage of the process also includes a review of seminal and current literature and research on how students learn best in each discipline.

STAGE TWO / DEFINITION Defining the Challenge Each Academic Discipline is Working On “The goal of the Define mode is to craft a meaningful and actionable problem statement…to articulate a point-of-view by combining three elements—[student], need, and insight—in an actionable problem statement that will drive the rest of your design work.”

The definition stage provides a shared focus and touchstone for teachers to return to as they plan, implement and reflect on solutions. Teachers determine what changes make sense to pursue and what directions are worth following. They employ How Might We statements to frame their discussions. In the case of our Spanish discipline, the answer to the question How Might We create more opportunities for our students to use their Spanish? was a shift to a focus on spoken Spanish in both our Middle and Upper School programs.

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

2017–18

Prototype, Test (Year 2)

Refine, Reflect (Year 3)

Empathize, Define, Ideate (Year 1)

Prototype, Test (Year 2)

Refine, Reflect (Year 3)

Empathize, Define, Ideate (Year 1)

Prototype, Test (Year 2)

Refine, Reflect (Year 3)

Empathize, Define, Ideate (Year 1)

Prototype, Test (Year 2)

2018–19

Refine, Reflect (Year 3)

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STAGE THREE / IDEATION Brainstorming Many Solutions and Pursuing a Select Few “You ideate in order to transition from identifying problems to creating solutions for your [students]. Ideation is your chance to combine the understanding you have of the problem-space and [students] you are designing for with your imagination to generate solution concepts…Ideation is about pushing for the widest possible range of ideas from which you can select, not simply finding a single, best solution. The determination of the best solution will be discovered later.”

Ideation is the third stage and it’s about…IDEAS. To generate as many solutions as possible, EPS faculty members work to let any and all ideas emerge without critique.

From those ideas, they focus on the best ones. For our English teachers, a current goal is to come up with as many solutions to the question How Might We better prepare students for communication and production in a digital world?

From the one hundred solutions they generate, a handful will help direct what English education looks like for EPS students over the next five years.

STAGE FOUR / PROTOTYPING Trying Your Solutions and Seeking Feedback “The Prototype mode is the iterative generation of [content options, activities, and experiences] intended to answer questions that get you closer to your final solution. A prototype can be anything that a [student] can interact with.”

Once a problem statement is established, How Might We questions are posed, and the number of possible solutions is narrowed at the close of the ideation stage, the goal is to prototype as many solutions as possible. EPS faculty break out their figurative spaghetti, marshmallows, and string, and work to find a hundred ways to improve student experience and learning. Similar to the kindergartners, this iterative prototyping or working on smallscale solutions quickly provides more feedback waiting to see if one homerun solution works. Low-risk trial and error helps us fine-tune our current academic program to engage students, preparing them for the next grade and ultimately for their lives beyond school.

The early stages of prototyping might be broad­—asking questions such as “Do my students enjoy solving problems individually or in groups?” Here, EPS math teachers might employ a number of quick activities and small tasks and then ask for feedback in effectiveness from their students and fellow teachers. In later stages, their 28

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Ms. Ellingson and Ms. Balcomb gather ideas during a Program Development Day.

prototypes may take the form of larger projects that have been designed with feedback from the initial, smaller activities or tasks. In similar fashion, designing a Spanish program that has more spoken Spanish opportunities necessitates trying a number of approaches and activities, and identifying which resonate most deeply with students while helping them develop their language skills.

STAGE FIVE / TESTING Seeking Feedback and Refining “The Test mode is when you solicit feedback about the [content options, activities, and experiences] you have created from your [students] and have another opportunity to gain empathy for the people you are designing for. Testing is another opportunity to understand your user…continue to ask “Why?”, and focus on what you can learn about the person and the problem as well as your potential solutions.”

The testing stage is where the rubber meets the road.

During both the prototyping and testing stages, teachers in each academic discipline take time to meet frequently (both with students and each other) to discuss their prototypes and tests, and to make sense of the feedback that they’re getting. In the testing stage, final refinements and adjustments are made, projects are assigned, and labs are engaged.

Throughout the process, the student experience is the central focus, and iteration is the mantra. We embrace the knowledge that we are never done pursuing engaging content and improving instruction. Each day when class starts, we deliver what is best in that moment for these EPS students; the next day, we improve it. ¢

By Josie Rimmer, Class of 2017

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HE FIRST EASTSIDE PREP COFFEE HOUSE, ON FRIDAY, January 9, went off with a bang. With over eighty audience members, seventeen performers, and four painters, the cozy theatre was packed with students and faculty members bonding over a common thread—art. Among the performers was our featured poet Clint Smith, a 2014 National Poetry Slam champion, an Individual World Poetry Slam finalist, and a teacher in public schools and prisons in Boston. He has served as a cultural ambassador for the U.S. Department of State and is currently studying at Harvard University. When Smith’s not studying, he says that he enjoys wool socks and burritos—a true poet’s lifestyle! Smith uses poetry as a way to free himself and to encourage honesty.

The evening was filled with comfortable couches, warm lighting, poetry, music, and of course, coffee! The goal of the event was for students and faculty to connect through poetry and music, and to create an environment in which people felt safe enough to share their stories. Performer Alden (’15) said, “The feeling of really being able to open up and perform something personal was an incredible feeling.” Poetry, music, art—whatever medium one chooses to express themselves in, allows us to free ourselves. Zach (’16), an audience member at the event, said, “Seeing our teachers share their own stories, sharing themselves with us, allowed me to connect with them at a deeper level.”

The Coffee House gave the community a space to relate to each other, to share our stories, and be validated in a space of acceptance. “The Coffee House gave me a platform to share my music, which I have never been able to do before. It was an extremely empowering experience,” Will (’15) said after having performed his first-ever song in public. What more could we ask for? The event brought a community together to remind us that we all need something that allows us to free ourselves, and having a group of people who were so willing to be a part of it was truly extraordinary. ¢

From top: Lara (’16) paints during the Coffee House event; Sadie (’17); performs at the Coffee House event; Students and faculty enjoy the performances; Featured poet Clint Smith; Students, faculty and Clint Smith.

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C

OMMITMENT, LIKE EXCELLENCE, CAN BE seen in a variety of ways. As College Counselors, we see the way in which commitment makes a difference as one applies to college, and more importantly in success in college. We thought it might be interesting to

University of Washington states, “Commitment is a strong indication that someone can see something through that requires sustained effort, focus and gumption.”

So how do colleges measure such commitment? As with so many factors in the holistic review done at most

College and Commitment

By Bart Gummere, Upper School Head and College Counselor, and Lauren Formo, Director of Admissions and College Counselor

Addie (’17) and Daman (’18)

ask some admission officers at a diverse set of colleges and universities two questions: How does genuine commitment show itself in an applicant? Amongst the many subjective qualities you value in candidates, where does commitment fit in your assessment? Their answers left little doubt about the value of this “commodity” in a candidate. Dr. Phillip Ballinger, Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admission at the 30

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selective institutions, there is no simple answer. “Generally, the difference between involvement and commitment, or between interest and passion are simple levels of degree.

Where one draws the line probably depends on one’s own perspective. It is not measured neatly in the number of hours per week, or the number of weeks per year, and it is pretty hard for one person to distinguish between interest and enthusiasm and unrestrained passion in someone else.

Some people are more subdued by nature—does that make them less passionate about what they care about?” reflects Peter Osgood, Director of Admission at Harvey Mudd College.

Jay Smith, Associate Director of Admission at Linfield College elaborates; “More isn’t necessarily better, and quality over quantity, are what instantly comes to mind. Colleges appreciate learning about the depth of sincere commitments rather than a laundry list of accolades. Should you volunteer at a soup kitchen once or twice? Yes. Join a school club? Yes. Offer to tutor a classmate? Yes. However, what are you sincerely committed to and passionate about? That’s what I, as an admission officer, want to learn about and share with our admission committee.”

Mike Sexton, Vice President of Enrollment at Santa Clara University, highlighted a different component to demonstrating commitment in an application: “It may sound simplistic but, in reviewing a college applicant, we talk about whether an application “hangs together.”

By that, I mean we look to see if what the student says in the application, and demonstrates with a transcript, matches with what others say about him/her. It’s not enough to simply self-declare an interest. In a holistic application review, there is a need for both evidence and corroboration to truly demonstrate commitment.”

A student at EPS engages with adults in school much more than the typical college applicant.

Recommendation letters here are first-hand corroboration of a student’s commitment. As college counselors, we aren’t meeting and getting to know students for the first time as juniors. When it comes time for us to write for a student, we’re not just looking at an academic record—we draw from personal experience with a student, whether that be deep class discussion, conversations around a campfire, coaching experiences, or interactions shared while travelling together.

An EPS student sends a message of academic commitment by choosing to be a part of this community.

The degree to which colleges will see that commitment demonstrated is up to the student. If something lights them up, they should act—read the next book on that subject, have the extra conversation with a teacher, look into an immersive extracurricular or summer experience, consider a seminar or Independent Study.

In the end, colleges are looking to find students who further pursue things that compel them. They want to project what that applicant will accomplish on their campus over the next four years. So the question to ask is—what inspires your student and what has he or she done to explore that? ¢

Yael, Jake, and Alena (all Class of 2018); Emma (’19); Julian, Logan, Miguel, and Chris (all Class of 2017)

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KEEPING THE "PREP" IN EASTSIDE PREP Talia and Bresh (both Class of 2017) work in the Commons.

By Dr. Terry Macaluso, Head of School

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HEN WE LAUNCHED OUR NEW BLOCK schedule this year, we knew we’d have a few new matters to manage. It’s possible to have a full day of classes on Tuesday, and only two classes on Wednesday.

That would mean that for two class periods—170 minutes—a student could be free. This unstructured time can be a problem for Middle School students—who haven’t yet learned how to manage unstructured time—and we’ve done what we can to mitigate the occurrence of extended free time for them. However, not only are these blocks of study time an advantage for Upper School students, the time probably should even be considered free.

College students spend— maybe—sixteen hours per week in classes. Upper School students with six classes and one elective spend nearly twenty-five. In addition, Upper School students often have clubs, activities or sports after school—each of which prolongs the amount of structured time in a student’s week. So how do we prepare students to actually manage their unscheduled time? We encourage. We model behaviors. And we give them the opportunity for success (and even failure) while still in the relatively safe environment of Eastside Prep.

We want students to study privately, to work together 32

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collaboratively, and to seek out faculty members for conversations. We want them to read quietly or to sit with a small group to have a social conversation. We want them to have access to space that invites them to use their unscheduled time in as many ways as they can imagine.

In the 30,000 square feet of space we’re adding right now, we have only one or two “traditional classrooms.” By that I mean that the spaces in the new building have been designed for very specific purposes—not for generic ones. There are small furniture groups to encourage conversation. There are “phone booths” intended for a single person to work quietly and privately. There are tables and monitors available in small and large group configurations. These spaces are all designed to help students (and faculty) use time outside the classroom to extend their learning.

We can offer all the college preparatory classes imaginable, but unless we’re willing to allow students the space and time to manage themselves, we’ll be offering only the academic experience necessary to succeed in college.

Remember…college students are in classes around fourteen to sixteen hours per week. It’s a good idea for them to get a head start on what to do with the other one hundred and twelve. ¢

Center: Harry and Liam (both Class of 2022) make good use of some free time.

The Upper School Edition

What’s on Your Bookshelf?

For this issue of Inspire, EPS Librarian Karen Mills asked a few Upper School students what books from their “playlists” they would recommend to other readers. Below are their recommendations, with subject matters as interesting and diverse as the students who recommended them.

Emma (Class of 2018), recommends The Geography of Bliss

by Eric Weiner. Emma describes the book as a travel documentary with “more of a conversational tone” in which “a grumpy middle-aged man sets out on a quest to find the happiest countries on earth to brighten his days and outlook on life.”

Julian (Class of 2017) recommends the “action adventure/fantasy” book Sword Art Online by Reki Kawahara. In this book, the players of the online role playing game Sword Art Online become trapped in virtual world until they conquer all levels of the game.

If you want to be “immersed in a totally foreign world,” Marnie (Class of 2016) recommends Rumo and His Miraculous Adventures by Walter Moers. Marnie endorses the book for all ages—she read it first in sixth grade while her grandmother first read the book at sixty! The unique writing style and interesting storyline make this one of Marnie’s favorite books.

A book that is often considered the first hard-boiled detective story, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, is recommended

by Nathan (Class of 2017). The book’s strong characters, complicated story of double crosses and secrets, and depression era slang make it a great read.

American Shaolin: Flying Kicks, Buddhist Monks, and the Legend of the Iron Crotch: An Odyssey in the New China by Matthew Polly is recommended by Ayush (Class of 2018). The book details the journey of an American man to Shaolin in the hopes of learning Kung Fu, and Ayush promises lessons to be learned from the author’s adventures (and a sense of humor) as the narrator “explains his daily antics with such hilarity that it’s hard not to laugh when reading it!”

Upper Schoolers presented two options for science lovers.

Kevin (Class of 2017) recommends The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene.

Kevin promises this book on theoretical physics, cosmology, and string theory “will change the way you view the universe forever.” And Che (Class of 2018) recommends The Quantum Quark by Andrew Watson which explains one of the leading theories in physics—quantum mechanics.

Ryan (Class of 2017) recommends The Things They Carried

by Tim O’Brien, considered one of the finest books about the Vietnam War. The book’s narrator follows a platoon of infantrymen through the jungles of Vietnam and beyond. Ryan suggests that the book’s themes are just as relevant today.

The Inheritance series by Christopher Paolini is recommended by Ethan (Class of 2018). Ethan promises that the books, set in a fantasy medieval era, have something for everyone— magic, swordplay, action, relationships, science and mystery.

Two members of the Class of 2017 recommend two science fiction classics. Trevor suggests ninth through twelfth graders will enjoy J.R.R. Tolken’s “mystical and magical adventures” in The Lord of the Rings trilogy while John recommends George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones for its “interesting characters, stunning twists, and thrilling action.”

For edge-of-your-seat excitement and “characters with complicated and diverse personalities,” Sadie (Class of 2017) recommends Extinction Point by Paul Antony Jones. Emily, the narrator in Extinction Point, is the only survivor as an unexplained plague sweeps the planet.

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CREATION over

CONSUMPTION

By Jonathan Briggs, Director of Technology

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NE OF THE NICE THINGS ABOUT SPEAKING at Open Houses is that you are forced to synthesize years of thinking into one to two minutes of presentation.

One of the trends we allude to in the presentation is highlighted by the nearly two billion dollars that was invested in ed-tech startup companies during 2014. There are hundreds of new companies popping in and out of existence every year and our focus has shifted over the years from seeking out education-enhancing tech, to sifting through the noise to find concepts and/or products that fit the way we do school at Eastside Prep.

In pursuit of thoughtful tech integration into our school, we use three guiding principles: long-term over short-term gains, creation over consumption, and 34

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creativity over conformity.

In aggregate, these principles lead us towards engaging and empowering solutions for both our teachers and students.

Perhaps the most nuanced concept, and the one that I’ll expand on here, is creation over consumption.

Consuming media and information is important. We always want our students reading, for example, and we want them writing. None of our students are going to write the next great American novel in seventh grade but the process of writing makes them better Sean and Maya (both Class of 2016) in class readers. In particular, they read with an eye towards writing better the next time.

The same process applies to writing and using software programs, watching and creating videos, speaking and listening to Spanish and so on. In the analog world this is fairly clear. Students learn more by trying to build a bridge out of toothpicks than they do watching a documentary on the Golden Gate Bridge. It doesn’t mean that you can’t watch the documentary (it would be a nice complement to the project) but the documentary should not be primary.

While this is somewhat obvious in the analog world, it can be lacking in the ed-tech space. Often we see products that are just textbooks or videos with added features that lack the ability to demonstrate knowledge. Some of the products are beautiful and make for great demos but they are fundamentally subpar in engaging students. As an example, a click-through slide show of an experiment being done in a physics lab would never be as compelling

THE VISION OF EASTSIDE PREP IS TO INSPIRE STUDENTS TO CREATE A BETTER WORLD. THAT IS ONLY POSSIBLE IF THEY LOOK AT THE WORLD AS MALLEABLE AND SEEK TO UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS WORK.

as a simulator that allowed a student to construct an experiment in multiple ways to get the result. The slides will always have higher production value and more wow factor, but students learn best by making hundreds of small decisions combined with feedback.

way you look at the world. When you consume something that is designed well, you start thinking about how it was put together—whether it is a movie or watching the construction of the new building. This doesn’t happen by accident. The natural flow of society is to put us all in a

While much of what we see has consumption as a primary focus, there are some great counter examples—Legos being the most famous. While they come with directions, clearly Lego is solving the problem of enabling creation over having the prettiest models. They even went so far as to reduce the number of bricks the master builders were allowed to include in sets to support that idea. Minecraft is the video game equivalent of Legos (or can be, depending on how you play the game) and it has certainly struck a chord with students across the world. That isn’t to say that students should play it constantly, but in terms of time spent in video games, it is far more creative than most.

Other software in this category include Scratch, Project Spark, Kerbal Space Program and arguably Sim City.

The big win is having students and faculty in a creation mindset. When you are in that mindset, it shifts the

consuming frame of mind (that’s roughly the purpose of advertising); keeping creation as a primary focus takes intention. The more often you are exposed to that intentionality, the easier it is to keep yourself there.

The vision of Eastside Prep is to inspire students to create a better world. That is only possible if they look at the world as malleable and seek to understand how things work. That takes years of practice building things from presentations to projects. It takes an environment that is safe to share your ideas in and one that helps you get back up when you fall. When it comes to tech solutions, at EPS we choose solutions that help you create. ¢

Above, left: Fina (’16) asks a question; Above, right: Ms. Cross addresses her Web Design class.

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Commitment to Project-Based Learning Fifth Grade In the second trimester of each year, Daria Brandt guides fifth-grade students through what may be their first major research project. As a prelude to study of the colonization of the New World and in order to better understand how the New World was discovered, students are asked to investigate an explorer of their choosing.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION What connection is there between individual stories and the historical narrative?

PRODUCT Students gather their written research and images, including a timeline, into a poster. Images must include examples of primary sources (diaries, maps, etc.) that historians might use in their research.

Zheng He

By Kalie Uberti

RELEVANCE AND RESEARCH Students are charged with “finding a voice” for their explorer by researching and writing about their background and their expeditions from the first person perspective. In order to process the learning experience, students are also encouraged to add their own voice to the research by reflecting on the explorer’s failures and successes from their own twenty-first century perspective.

36

您好! My name is Zheng He. But when I was born, my name was Ma He. Zui Di, the prince (and later the emperor of China) bestowed the name "Zheng" upon me. Anyway, I was born in 1371 and I grew up in Yunnan providence, China. In 1381, my father died at the age of sixty‐two. That was also when I was captured to serve the Prince. I was fortunate to serve the prince, for he educated me. I was skilled personally in ba�le and I was wise in the ways of war. When Zui Di rose to be emperor, he ordered a "treasure eet" to be made. I was chosen to command it.

So, in 1405, I set off for Calicut, India. On one of the stops along the way, I met the Cham people, with whom I traded. I set sail again, and on the way to Java and Sumatra I learned that the pirate Chen Zuyi had taken over the Strait of Malacca. I ignored this problem though, and con�nued sailing to Java. The Java people were friendly and treated me and my men to stories and bamboo jous�ng. Then we sailed to Ceylon where a deeply religious king tried to hurt me, maybe because I had not brought a gi� for the gods. We quickly got out of there and nally reached Calicut where the people were very nice and sophis�cated. Then, on the way back to China, I fought and captured Chen Zuyi. On our way back to China, we got caught in a terrible storm but, when we called out to Tianfei, the patron of sailors, the storm stopped. It was a miracle.

I did not go on the second voyage of my ship. I felt in debt to Tianfei, so I asked that she be given a �tle. I wanted her to be called the “protector of the country and defender of the people.” The emperor agreed. I also wanted to help repair Tianfei's temple so I missed the next expedi�on of my ship. But I went on the third expedi�on. We were to go to Tamping and make a few stops along the way. We went to Parameswara to bring them the new seal of Zhu Di for Parameswara had sworn it's allegiance to Zhu Di. Then we went to Ceylon to try to make peace with the Ceylonese by bringing a tablet praising Buddha, Siva and Allah. But what I did not know was that Ceylon was warring. When we made it to Ceylon, we found a warrior and offered him the tablet but he was offended by it and chased us back to our ships. We returned to China a�er that in 1411.

I feel that my most successful voyage was my fourth voyage so I be�er tell you about it! In 1413 I set sail for the Persian Gulf, and we made our rst stop at the Maldives (as you can probably tell, we made a lot of stops along the way) to purchase ambergris and cowrie shells. Then, we set sail for Hormuz. When we got there, we were delighted by what we saw. Everyone there was rich! So, there were plenty of riches to trade for and to take back to China. Also, we brought back a lot of exo�c animals, including some Arabian horses for Zhu Di. We returned to Nanjing in 1415 a�er maybe our most successful trip.

My �h trip was successful like my fourth trip but my sixth trip was different, as it was mainly for the purposes of explora�on. I explored the coast of Africa. Unfortunately, I am 644 years old and my memory is fading so I cannot remember much about my sixth trip. But I do remember that on my sixth trip, a terrible tragedy occurred. Zhu Di died from sickness. His son, Zhu Gaozhi took the throne and banned all voyages and the construc�on of ships. Fortunately, Zhu Gaozhi only had the throne for a bit before he too, fell sick and died. The next emperor, the son of Zhu Gaozhi, allowed voyages again and ordered another voyage of the treasure eet.

The goal of this voyage was to restore peace between Siam and Malacca and to inform "distant lands beyond the seas" of the new emperor’s reign. We traveled to a lot of different places, nally arriving in Calicut where I stayed, due to my failing health and let my men con�nue my trip for me. My men traded with the Arabs and then sent representa�ves to Mecca and Medina and then… I died. I died at the age of sixty‐two, coincidently the same age my father died at.

I feel that my life was very successful. I found many riches and brought them to the emperor. I traded with the Indians and brought back many useful materials. I may have even found America! But that's my opinion. The emperor didn't think I was successful. The emperor burned all of my documents, intending to delete me from history. But my story s�ll lives on.

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PERFORMANCE/PRESENTATION Students bring their explorer to life by presenting their first person narrative in costume on camera.

RESULT The outcome of this three-weeklong intensive integration of the English and history courses is a more meaningful learning experience for students. They discover where their research subject fits into, and how he influenced, the broader historical narrative.

From top: Ms. Brandt discusses the research project with her class; Alana (’22) gives voice to her research subject—Francis Drake; Kalie’s (’22) Explorer Project poster about Zheng He

E

ASTSIDE PREP HAS A LONG HISTORY OF COMMITMENT TO PROJECT-BASED LEARNING FROM Middle School (sixth-grade Materials Project, Rube Goldberg Project, seventh-grade Research Project) to Upper School (Capstone Project, Independent Study, Senior Project). From fifth grade through twelfth, students deepen their understanding and sharpen skills through the projects they create. Some projects are prescribed (as in the case of the fifth-grade Explorer Project highlighted here) and some are studentdirected and student-driven (as is the case in Cris Gammill’s Independent Study Project featured here).

Twelfth Grade During their final year at Eastside Prep, seniors are offered the chance to participate in two project-based learning opportunities—an optional Independent Study and a mandatory Senior Project. Seniors choose their topics and work with a faculty advisor in both cases. Cris Gammill chose to pursue his passion for aviation and began working on his Independent Study in the spring of his junior year.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION What decisions and innovations contributed to the development of the Boeing 747?

RELEVANCE AND RESEARCH Cris began with the topic of aviation history but quickly narrowed his focus to a more defined theme—the Boeing 747.

Cris built a relationship with Mike Hallman (then Chairman of the Board at the Museum of Flight and grandparent to EPS student Sarah ’20) and was granted access to research materials contained at the Museum of Flight. Cris also toured the Boeing factory and spent time talking to professionals steeped in the aviation industry—the CEOs of both Boeing and Alaska Airlines and the son of the founder of Boeing.

PRODUCT Cris created a website to house his research and findings. The website can be found at boeing747story.webs.com.

PERFORMANCE/PRESENTATION Cris presented his findings to the EPS Curriculum Committee and then to the Eastside Prep Board of Trustees.

From top: Cris Gammill (’15) and Kevin Gamill at the Red Barn Heritage Award dinner.

RESULT Project-based assignments provide many opportunities to further and deepen learning. Cris redesigned his project along the way, but his original goal “to not just learn facts but to learn what they mean,” remained the same. ¢ INSPIRE Spring 2015

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THE COMMITMENT QUOTIENT:

Willpower, Perseverance, and Mindset

Kiran (’21) conducts an experiment.

By Matt Delaney, Academic Dean

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HO KNEW THAT MARSHMALLOWS HAD SO much to tell us? (See my other article on the Discipline Design Process in this issue.) In the 1960s and ’70s a professor at Stanford University, Walter Mischel, did a series of experiments on delayed gratification. In one such experiment, a single marshmallow was put on a table in a room. A child was brought into the room and told that if he or she could wait a few minutes for the researcher to come back before eating the marshmallow, the reward for waiting would be two marshmallows instead of one.

Surveying these children when they were adults, Mischel found that a child’s ability to forgo the first marshmallow and delay gratification was predictive of greater success later in life. In later studies, Mischel and his team were able to teach children mental tricks that helped them to not only delay gratification for the first marshmallow but to do so for as long as fifteen minutes. Referencing the changes in the children’s ability to wait, Mischel explains, “Once you realize that willpower is just a matter of learning how to control your attention and thoughts, you can really begin to increase it.”

Angela Duckworth, a former seventh-grade math teacher and psychologist from the University of Pennsylvania, has researched a multitude of people in challenging settings from the corporate world to classrooms. She relates in a recent TED Talk that in each of those contexts, “One characteristic emerged as a significant predictor of success, and it wasn’t social intelligence, it wasn’t good looks, physical health, and it wasn’t I.Q. It was grit.” She explains, “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future day in day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really 38

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hard to make that future, reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon and not like a sprint.” This doesn’t mean that a factor like intelligence isn’t significant, but that it is the grit and perseverance behind things like intelligence that fuel success.

Duckworth also cites Carol Dweck’s work at Stanford University on the concept of a growth mindset: “…the belief that the ability to learn is not fixed and that it can change with your effort.” Dweck’s research shows that “when kids read and learn about the brain and how it changes and grows in response to challenge, they’re much more likely to persevere when they fail because they don’t believe that failure is a permanent condition.”

Faculty Modeling and Student Success Jonathan Briggs, our Director of Technology (who knows a fair amount about perseverance and grit from his background in physics and programming), recently shared a story with me about an interaction he had with a teacher when he was in the seventh grade that echoes the work of Dweck. He said that his teacher explained what perseverance was and that he could develop it. In that moment it struck him that perseverance wasn’t something that you just had, “it was something that you could get.”

I comment often to friends and family that one of Eastside Prep’s distinguishing characteristics is the quality of its faculty and how much faculty members enjoy working with each other and with students; and further, that the flexibility and adaptability each faculty member wields in his or her teaching reveals highly developed habits of perseverance and grit. For EPS teachers this is not limited to the academic arena, but is also revealed in what they pursue, and how they pursue it, outside of school. Whether

climbing mountains, running down Ultimate Frisbee fields, running trails, performing with musical instruments, or writing poetry and prose.

Sometimes it is nice to have common sense confirmed by research. A few years back, a study conducted by researchers at Stanford University established a correlation between the success of students in a school and the happiness and connectedness of their teachers. This finding is not dissimilar to the idea that children thrive in family environments that exhibit a high degree of connectedness.

Part of what contributes to this condition at EPS is that faculty are practiced in perseverance and they model that to students on a daily basis—perseverance that translates to academic lives and lives outside of school.

Thinking and Reflecting on Perseverance, Not Grading It In the previous edition of this magazine, I wrote an article explaining how we think about the connection between academic achievement and what we call responsible action. These are the same kind of attributes (i.e. the ability to persevere in the face of a difficult problem) that Mischel, Duckworth, and Dweck explore in their research.

At EPS, we elevate five indicators that we know are predictive of success in the classroom.

In a hierarchical progression they are: (1) preparedness, (2) engagement, (3) perseverance, (4) self-advocacy, and (5) collaboration. While we define perseverance in this sequence as the ability to stay focused on more involved tasks and/complex ideas, more broadly perseverance, or grit, is the foundation for each of the other indicators.

The logic follows that students’ grit manifests in their ability to consistently: • • • • •

prepare: complete assignments on time and arrive ready to learn engage: ask questions, show interest in the material and actively pursue understanding persevere: focus and put forth best effort to learn regardless of the difficulty of the material self-advocate: act on teacher’s feedback and suggestions for improvement, pursuing help when needed collaborate: enter group work ready to contribute and open to exchange

At EPS, we ask students to assess themselves on these

measures at the end of each term for each class, and then to reflect more globally on their experience over the term. We do so with an understanding expressed by Vicki Zakrzewski, the Director of Greater Good Science Center: “A closer examination of the actual research on grit reveals that there are many missing pieces to the grit puzzle. And if we’re not careful, encouraging our students to be gritty or, perhaps even worse, grading them on their level of grit…may do more harm than good.” Our rationale for highlighting responsible action measures with students is to provide them with pathways to work on skills that relieve the anxiety that often surrounds academic grades, not to create five additional reasons to splinter their attention to quality by putting heavy focus (or pressure) to creAbove: Shirahn, Claire, and Sky (all class of 2016) confer with Mr. Wassink.

ate perseverance in specific settings. We work to help students identify, celebrate, and develop an understanding of where they are naturally prone to “stick to things,” applying their grit to the things that are important to them—school being one.

Walking through the Levinger-Poole Commons the other day on my way to see Mr. Uzwack, I spied a tray full of chocolate chip cookies. I suppressed my desire to stop and buy one. Forty-five minutes later I walked back across the same Commons floor, saw the same tray case, but this time my self-control wavered. I bought the cookie; I ate the cookie. At that moment in time, I would have self-assessed my ability to delay gratification at about a three out of five in combination for both situations. I note that the cookie was good. Walking by the case the next day, I didn’t have one. At EPS, we focus on what we can do going forward— one cookie, marshmallow, and task at a time. ¢ INSPIRE Spring 2015

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Focus on Our Alumni:

Trevor Hedges Trevor Hedges graduated from Eastside Prep in the Class of 2014. Trevor recently sat down to answer a few questions about pursuits of his academic passions.

Here are his responses.

“After a few months of thinking it over, I woke up one day and decided I wanted to major in Aeronautics and Astronautics.”

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Trevor, tell us what you’re doing at school right now.

“I am currently a freshman at the University of Washington, and a direct-admit to the Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering program.”

How did you become interested in the field of engineering?

“My initial passion for engineering came about when I started learning calculus during junior year at EPS. I expected a very steep learning curve, but the subject came a lot easier than I expected it to. This gave me the encouragement I needed to pursue engineering, which is often regarded as a difficult field to major in. Also at the beginning of junior year, I started playing a computer game called Kerbal Space Program which simulates space travel in a highly realistic manner. Through this game, I learned how real-life space travel works. During Thanksgiving break that year, I spent a huge amount of time on YouTube watching videos from the Apollo moon missions. After a few months

EASTSIDE PREPARATORY SCHOOL

of thinking it over, I woke up one day and decided I building, as she worked for a year at a company that makes wanted to major in Aeronautics and Astronautics. small drone airplanes and knew just about everything that “In senior year, I did question my original intention to could go wrong (which she warned me about as I built my go into the aerospace field, and so I went through phases airplane).” where I explored other engineering majors including Mechanical, Electrical, Bio, and Computer Engineering.

Beyond your current classes, how else are you working Ultimately, I decided that I feel at home with the Aero/ to continue your commitment to aeronautics?

Astro field because I am deeply interested in space exploration and its importance to humanity, and I have already “During the summer between high school and college, I learned a lot about it because both of my parents work in got the chance to write some aerospace-related computer the field—and this certainly won’t stop me from pursuing other passions later in life.”

Were you able to pursue your passion for aeronautics and astronautics while at EPS? “At EPS, the major opportunity I had to pursue my passion in the Aero/Astro field was my Senior Project. This field contains two distinct subfields—that of aircraft and that of spacecraft. Although I do consider myself primarily interested in the field of space exploration, I know that it is not exactly feasible to send objects into space without millions of dollars in funding, so I decided to instead create a project involving aircraft. I decided to build my own Radio Controlled airplane from scratch, although I previously knew nothing about how RC airplanes work. The Trevor presents his Senior Project to the EPS community.

Senior Project is a great opportunity for students to pursue anything they want in great detail and feel the benefits of their hard work. In my case, all I wanted was to have a flyable airplane by the end of the year. Although programs as an intern for a business, which helped me it was a challenge to squeeze this in to my already diabolito pursue this passion with a real-life experience. Next cal senior-year schedule, I was able to make an airplane fly summer, I have an undergraduate research program at pretty well!”

UW in mind. In addition, I am currently a member of the UW Robotics Club and the Design Build Fly (RC airplane) Are there people at EPS who helped you in the pursuit of Club. I am always actively looking to join other activities your academic passion? that pursue engineering in some really cool way, and I often try going to new club meetings or activities, so it is “There were multiple members of the EPS community who hard to say where exactly my passion for engineering will helped me pursue my passion for engineering in general. take me by the time I graduate.

This would definitely include Ms. Behrmann for success“It is extremely hard to predict what I will do after my fully teaching me calculus, and Mr. Cross and Mr. Waltzer undergraduate degree, but some form of grad school and for science, which obviously has important applications in PhD is almost certainly in the plans. After that…well, for engineering. I’d also like to shout-out to my mother, Linda, now I am leaning toward up-and-coming work that pushes for helping me with the difficult aspects of RC airplane the boundaries of current technology.” ¢ INSPIRE Spring 2015

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FACULTY PROFILE

Adam Waltzer We all know that Eastside Prep faculty members are dedicated to their students, and Adam Waltzer is certainly no exception. But Adam has another passion that might just share equal billing with education—Ultimate Frisbee. Adam has been committed to Ultimate for many years and has shared this passion with EPS students as a coach to our teams since 2006.

By Wendy Lawrence, Founding Faculty

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ALTZER FIRST STARTED PLAYING ULTIMATE for college PE credit and hasn’t stopped since. He would say that his competitive playing days are over, but don’t let that fool you—Waltzer is as committed to the sport as anyone could be. He still plays, and he coaches.

He’s also on the Board of Directors of Disc Northwest, the nonprofit that governs local leagues.

In his playing days, Waltzer won a bronze medal in the World Championships. He was playing on a team in Japan with a group of Americans, Europeans, Australians, and Japanese. They played as a team for five years and appeared once at a national tournament, Adam and a friend were invited to play on the Japanese national team in the Masters Division. Japan was hosting the World Championships that year and they got to go.

Like any sport, Ultimate brings people together. When Waltzer returned to Japan with his family this summer, he saw a lot of his former teammates and even played a game with them and his son Jake (’21).

But Ultimate isn’t like any other sport. “First and foremost,” says Waltzer, “it’s a self-refereed sport. That means the responsibility is on the players to mediate disputes. For a Middle School team, it’s a remarkable daily exercise in conflict resolution.” One might think coaches would have to intervene, but they don’t. In fact, unless the kids have a question about the rules, they stay out completely.

EPS Alum: Steven Benaloh Eastside Prep alum Steven Benaloh (’14), who started playing Ultimate at EPS, was recently signed to a professional Ultimate Frisbee team—Seattle Cascades.

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But no refs? How does that work? Waltzer might challenge you to think about the last soccer or football game you watched on TV. All those flags and arguing with the refs? “When there are no referees,” he says, “it brings out great sportsmanship. When there’s a ref, you see how much you can get away with. And then later, you blame the ref.”

Ultimate even has a name for this kind of player responsibility and cooperation: the spirit of the game.

Waltzer describes what this is: “In Ultimate, you play for the spirit of the game. Sure you want to win, but there is a constant emphasis on this spirit.”

At Eastside Prep, Waltzer has coached many different ages and teams, and he asks a lot of them. “In the Upper School, we expect students to be at practice five days a week. Even if they are injured and can’t play, they come to be a part of the team. We’ve seen a real cultural shift in the last couple of years. It’s hard because students can’t always do other activities at the same time, but the students are responding and the program is benefiting. The level of play and the condition of our athletes is tremendous.”

Waltzer’s commitment was recognized in the Fall of 2013 when he won a Coach of the Year award from the league. “The award is shared completely with Ryan Winkelmann,” says Waltzer. “It also recognizes how well our students play together as a team.”

In the past few years, the Ultimate program at EPS has taken off. This spring, the EPS Middle School alone will have four teams (comprised of seventy students)! After coaching the boys’ varsity team in the fall, he’s excited to coach the Upper School girls this spring. “Most of that team’s members were eighth graders last year when I coached Middle School, and I wanted to stick with this group because they are incredibly enthusiastic and committed.”

By the way, about that bronze medal? Don’t ask him how many teams were in his division. J ¢

Eagle Recognition Eastside Prep students receive recognition for their achievements outside the classroom.

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A. Brie (’22) is an avid swimmer who has set records for her swim team and who medaled in all eight of her events at the 2014 Pacific Northwest Swimming (PNS) Short Course Championships.

B. Josh (’17) will be attending a language immersion program this summer for three weeks in Escuela Mexicana in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The program includes a homestay, cultural excursions, daily classes, and community-based volunteering.

C. Mason (’16) was admitted to a by-invitation-only eight-week-long summer program at Stanford University. Mason will be choosing his own courses and earning college credit through the program.

D. Dean (’16) is dedicated to park and freestyle skiing and spends many of his weekends at Stevens Pass. Dean started skiing ten years ago and has entered several competitions.

E. Both Fina (‘16) and Cris (’15) have recently been recognized as Bellevue Rotary Students of the Month.

F. Nika (’22) competes on a First Lego League robotics team. In a league of 450 teams, Nica’s group finished sixth in the state and won the Judges Award in the FLL State Championship Competition in January.

G. Alli (’18) was invited to sing the National Anthem at the Seahawks rally held in Kirkland on the day before the Superbowl.

H. Marisa (’21) has been a member of Bel Canto (Columbia Choir’s competitive choir) since kindergarten. She will be traveling to Disneyland this month to perform.

Has your child accomplished something exciting outside of school? If so, we’d like to highlight his or her efforts in an upcoming issue of Inspire. Please contact Vickie Baldwin at vbaldwin@eastsideprep.org.

INSPIRE Spring 2015

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A Focus on

Volunteerism

Members of the Parent Association Executive Committee: Sona Mulye, Mathy Lustig, Laurie Goetsch, Kim Merino, Leigh Ann More, Angela Kavounas, Elaine Sakamoto, Heather Burkey. (Not pictured: Susan Cameron and Anne Corley)

By Wendy Lawrence, Former Faculty

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HEN WE TALK ABOUT A SCHOOL, WE often start with the students. Then we might talk about faculty and staff. But there’s another group at Eastside Prep dedicating time behind the scenes and building foundations. This group, of course, is the Parent Association (PA) at EPS. The parents featured in this article are this year’s PA Executive Committee, who give so much of their time and energy to support our school.

volunteers. Elaine gets right to the point. “Volunteering gave me an opportunity to be an active part of our community.”

Susan Cameron also reflects her efforts back onto the staff. “I don’t know that my commitment specifically has changed the school, but I do hope that the faculty and staff get a sense for how much we all love and appreciate what they do for our children!”

Active Support

Community Involvement

These volunteers don’t go looking for recognition. In fact, when asked how they have helped change the school, they were unanimous in not taking credit. But they were happy to help give the credit to others. Heather Burkey hopes her support allows new ideas to take root at EPS, and Mathy Lustig agrees, not even caring if all she’s doing is grunt work. “If something I do allows a teacher to focus on what’s important, it makes me happy.” Plus, she loves being able to enthusiastically support her children’s education. This was a theme that resonated with most of our

Anne Corley started volunteering at EPS to connect with other parents. “I found myself surrounded by interesting, energetic people who wanted to help make EPS a great place.” Heather loves that volunteering helps her interact with staff and families. “I love being able to wander around school and say ‘hi’ to so many familiar faces— and actually know their names!” And what message do the students receive when they see their parents on campus?

Sona Mulye thinks it sets a good example. “I hope they see the importance of giving back to our community.”

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“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

– Margaret Mead makes everything more fun and a whole lot easier. Heather says that one of the great things about volunteering at EPS is that “it’s a team effort.” No one is alone.

Commitment Beyond EPS

Susan Cameron and Leigh Ann More at a staff appreciation event

Elaine Sakomoto loves to see the behind-the-scenes work, something that gives her another level of appreciation for EPS. “I’ve overheard college counselors talk to college recruiters about specific students they thought would be a good match for their schools—telling them about the individual’s interests and activities, not just grades and test scores.”

When you are as involved as these parents, volunteering becomes basically a full time job…but without the pay and benefits. Does it get overwhelming? “Yes, it gets overwhelming! But I’d rather have my hands full than empty,” says Kim Merino. Susan agrees and adds, “It’s so worth it!”

Anne says, “I’ve been thinking about returning to the work world, but I’m too busy to work! The key is to make sure you volunteer for something you really care about… that makes the commitment absolutely worthwhile.” Sona agrees, “If it’s important to you, you just make the time!”

Volunteering with people you care about also makes it easier. Leigh Ann More and Susan Cameron co-chair Staff Appreciation, and Elaine and Sona co-chair the Hospitality Committee; all of them agree that working with a friend

Obviously these volunteers are committed to Eastside Prep. But people who practice commitment in their lives tend to do so in more than one place.

Anne and Susan are both deeply committed to the sport of rowing, practicing three times a week with their teams and independently on other days. Anne also volunteers for her team on the board, as a fund raiser, and as the chair of their construction committee. Isn’t that exhausting? Maybe. “But when I get on the water with my teammates, that all slips away and I feel rewarded.” Susan feels similarly. “Not only is it a time commitment, but it is a commitment to being the best that I can be—for my personal reward and for the benefit of the team.”

Leigh Ann chairs the Teen Docent program at the Bellevue Arts Museum, which trains fifteen to twenty high school students each year to lead tours, research exhibits, and get firsthand knowledge of museum careers. Kim commits time to a boxing gym that gives athletic opportunities to middle and high school students. Mathy agrees it’s important to be involved and has been volunteering for a long time, starting in New York City with Meals on Wheels and the Cancer Society.

These volunteers don’t let a lot stand in their way.

Laurie has coached her daughter’s soccer team for two years now—despite never having played a team sport.

But when no one else stepped up, she figured it out. “We focused on having fun and teaching basic skills and strategies—most of which we ourselves had just learned! And the girls had a great time and noticeably grew in their soccer abilities.”

Eastside Prep is lucky to benefit so greatly from the commitment, dedication and perseverance of this exceptional group of volunteers. ¢ INSPIRE Spring 2015

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UPCOMING

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OLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE UPCOMING EVENTS AT EASTSIDE Prep. For a complete listing of EPS activities and events, visit our website (www.eastsideprep.org/calendar) and filter All-School Events category.

MAY 7–8 ALL SCHOOL PRODUCTION (Invited Dress Rehearsal on May 6)

JUNE 1

ALUMNI PARENTS AND SENIOR PARENTS RECEPTION

27 MUSIC CONCERT

7:00 pm Levinger-Poole Theatre

7:00 pm Kirkland Performance Center

Alumni and their parents are invited to join EPS faculty and staff as well as seniors and their parents at a reception in the LevingerPoole Commons from 4:00 pm–7:00 pm.

Urinetown, book and lyrics by Greg Kotis, music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann; presented by EPS grades 5–12. This funny and irreverent musical shows us that sometimes even the most basic human needs (or bodily functions) can be taxed when those that make the rules abuse their power. (Limited seating capacity.) For questions about the production, contact Brian Hutcheson, Director of Fine and Performing Arts (bhutcheson@eastsideprep.org).

At the end of each trimester, the music program showcases the work of students who have been actively studying, rehearsing, and creating music. This showcase features Middle and Upper School Instrumental Ensembles and Choirs. For questions about the concert, please contact Ginger Ellingson, Instrumental and Vocal Music teacher (gellingson@eastsideprep.org).

11 MIDDLE SCHOOL CONTINUATION CEREMONY

Kirkland Performance Center (by invitation only)

12 GRADUATION CEREMONY Kirkland Performance Center (by invitation only)

OUR MISSION is to guide students to think critically, act responsibly, lead compassionately, and innovate wisely.

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EVENTS AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

24 UPPER SCHOOL SPORTS SEASON BEGINS

2–3 PARENT-STUDENTADVISOR CONFERENCES

Parents and students meet with the student’s advisor to discuss the upcoming school year.

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NEW STUDENT ORIENTATION 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Practices for Upper School Athletic teams start the week of August 24.

24 ROBOTICS SEASON BEGINS

Regular meetings for the EPSilon First Tech Challenge (grades 7–12) and First Lego League (grades 5–8) teams start the week of August 24.

25 FALL HARVEST

Students new to Eastside Prep are invited to attend an orientation intended to assist in the smooth transition into Eastside Prep.

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FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

10–11 FALL ORIENTATION TRIPS

WEEK OF AUGUST 31 GRADE-LEVEL PICNICS

EPS parents, faculty, and staff are invited to attend the annual Fall Harvest event. This highly anticipated evening features great conversation and wonderful food.

29 MIDDLE SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

An opportunity for Middle School parents to meet each of their student’s teachers while following their child’s daily schedule.

OCTOBER 6

UPPER SCHOOL BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT

Students travel on grade-level trips to build relationships with faculty, advisors, and fellow students.

Parents and students are encouraged to attend grade-level picnics held during the week of August 31 to September 4. Details for exact date and time will be communicated by Parent Association representatives.

An opportunity for Upper School parents to meet each of their student’s teachers while following their child’s daily schedule.

INSPIRE Spring 2015

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10613 NE 38th Place Kirkland, WA 98033

Call us today at 425 822-5668 or visit www.eastsideprep.org

Photograph by EPS student Melody (’22)