THE
MARKER
THE MAGAZINE OF MARK DAY SCHOOL
Spring 2017
Mark Day School discovers and nurtures what is finest in each child in a vibrant, inclusive learning community. Innovative and full of heart, Mark Day School strives to develop well-rounded critical thinkers in a challenging program that fosters academic excellence and responsible world citizenship.
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Shalu Saluja, President David Anderman Sharina Belani Trent Boorman ‘03, Alumni Representative Amie Dewane Louisa Ransom Gloger ‘92 Alexander Fraser Phil Gutierrez Joe Harvey, Head of School Robert Hee, Vice Chair JT Herman, Treasurer Dan Kalafatas, Assistant Treasurer Andrew Kawahara Tom Levine Michelle Mulkey Deborah Pannell, Faculty Representative Stephanie Parker, PA President Sam Parker Steve Polsky Terry Powers Carl Reichardt Andrea Salmi, Trustee Emerita Eileen Sheldon Nicole Stanton HEAD OF SCHOOL Joe Harvey DIRECTOR OF ADMISSION Mandy Tachiki DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
The Marker is produced once a year and sent to current and alumni families and friends of the school. Please send address changes to: Editor,The Marker, 39 Trellis Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903 or sshulman@markdayschool.org
THE
MARKER
THE MAGAZINE OF MARK DAY SCHOOL
Contents
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23 FEATURES
NEWS
15 The Buddy System 29 In the Garden 33 Into the Wild 39 The Future in the Making
EDITORIAL & DESIGN Sophie Shulman’02 Director of Communication
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Letter From the Head 2016-17 Highlights Campus News GPSFD 2017 “I Made it in the Lab” What Does SEL Look Like? Teacher Feature: Tim Evans
ALUMNI NEWS Christine Maguire Associate Director of Development
PHOTOGRAPHY Chad Forrester Media Specialist
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Seas the Day Making Music Students + Screens About Those Bioswales Heading to High School Stay Connected! Alumni News
PRINTING AlphaGraphics Inc. alphagraphics.com
Letter From the Head In the introduction to the 2014 Strategic Plan, we wrote, “Our understanding of the world we inhabit teaches us that we are a part of a living, connected system and that our educational program must reflect and reinforce that connectedness, between society and nature, among people, across human cultures, between ideas and action, between responsibility and joy.” The three years since drafting the plan have only heightened the importance of Mark Day School’s commitment to educating students for the challenges and opportunities of today’s world. We recognize the need for citizens with social and emotional literacy skills to manage their own emotions, to balance careful listening with standing for what they believe in, and to lead with empathy and openness. We need students who not only tolerate difference, but who seek out and advance diversity and inclusion because they understand that excellence depends on it. Particularly with global threats to peace and our environment’s health, we need citizens with the intellectual discipline to research and understand, and with the ethical discipline to use that understanding to guide their decisions. Most of all, we need citizens who do not turn their backs on, but rather activity engage with their local, regional, and global communities--including the biotic communities that sustain us--and make decisions to strengthen the health and resilience of those communities. We are dedicated to raising these kinds of citizens at Mark Day, and we
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continue to see Mark Day graduates take what they learned here and excel in high school, college, and beyond. Much of what we do at Mark Day School falls into the category of guiding and shaping students to build habits that will serve them well today and throughout their lives as people, learners, and doers. It turns out that we as humans have only a limited supply of willpower. We can build it up, certainly, and willpower is very important. But habit is much more important in the way we actually live. Making one’s bed in the morning, getting up to take a run, noticing what we are grateful for, taking notes in class, or vetting the sources of information we find on the internet are all things that are, or can be, habits. And habits, while they can be difficult to form, are actually much easier to follow. What makes a bad habit hard to break is exactly the same as what makes a good habit so powerfully productive. It is here that students form the habits that allow them to reach excellence. This is not a new idea: it stretches back at least to Aristotle’s words, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.” Mark Day is a life changing experience. I encourage you to read on to discover some of the ways that joyful work occurs, day in and day out, here on campus.
Sincerely,
Joe Harvey Head of School
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2016-17 Highlights A snapshot of the school year at Mark Day School
ONE-MILE CHAMPIONSHIP RUN
spirit day October
november
On Halloween, all K-8 students came together in teams of blue and gold to participate in some friendly competitive games such as cornhole, bowling, and a relay race.
Fourth through 8th graders lined up to run as fast as they could for the annual one-mile championship run that has become a Mark Day tradition.
FALL PLAY NOVEMBER
This year’s fall play was Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It featured an enchanted world of fairies, a band of laborers who attempt to perform a tragedy with hilarious results, a worker who is transformed into a half-donkey, and four star-crossed youngsters.
A MARK DAY TRADITION NOVEMBER
Faculty and staff faced off against 8th graders for the annual soccer game, cheered on by younger students.
colonial day NOVEMBER
Fifth graders read Blood on the River and then worked in groups to create a series of original scenes they performed in front of an audience.
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Filled with long standing traditions and new experiences, the 2016-17 school year has been one to remember. As we look toward the closing of another successful year, we remember the incredible memories we have made so far.
BOOK EXCHANGE
ART SHOW april
january
The annual Art Show featured student-created work in multiple media, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, and more.
Over 160 boxes of books were collected for families to choose from.
beijing delegation february
48 students from our partner school Er Xiao came to campus.
SPRING MUSICAL
MEDIA LIT WEEK
march
february
Students chose a topic and studied how it is represented in the media. They collaborated to conduct research, create a video, and present to their peers and a faculty panel. Topics included neuromarketing, race, climate change, and gender inequality.
A Mark Day take on the classic story, The Lion King, Jr., with special help from our KYP friend, Thando Bezana.
PASSPORT DAY march
Students explored our South African partners with gumboot dancing, storytelling, drumming, art, and more.
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CAMPUS NEWS
Alum Cooper Helfet ‘03 visited campus to speak at assembly about setting goals, achieving dreams, and how his experience at Mark Day School helped shape his work ethic. He also brought his Super Bowl ring!
Upper Division students led a celebration of International Women’s Day, which included handmade pamphlets, spotlights on renowned women’s rights activists, informational tables, and a march around campus.
This year, the 7th grade girls volleyball team won the Marin County Middle School League Championship, 7th Grade Division. A new championship flag now hangs in the gym to mark this achievement.
Rhona Lovett, Director of Finance and Operations, is retiring. She has been a part of the Mark Day community for 15 years. Her careful management and open collaboration with the Board’s Development & Finance committee provided a crucial part of the foundation for the work that we do with students. Rhona has been active in diversity and inclusion work and dedicated to our global partnerships. We are so grateful for her work and wish her the very best. Thanks to the class of 2016, there’s a new addition to the gym. Located on the east side of the gym, the TV display will rotate content such as photos and event information. Next time you’re on campus, check it out!
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Mark Day’s media literacy program was featured in National Association of Independent Schools’ NAIS magazine in December.
GRANDPARENTS & SPECIAL FRIENDS’ DAY April 21, 2017 After assembly, students brought their grandparents and special friends to the classroom, where they showed off their recent work and presented some of this year’s academic activities. They also traveled around campus to the Open Lab, Art Show, and Organic Garden.
The day began with a welcome from Head of School Joe Harvey during breakfast, followed by musical performances, Kindergarten New Years resolutions, a tinkering demonstration, 7th grade speeches, and a presentation about community engagement.
At closing assembly, grandparents and special friends were treated to this year’s video yearbook, joke assembly, student presentations on solving math equations and learning from our global partners, as well as a 2nd grade musical performance of Mail Myself to You and an excerpt from the spring musical, The Lion King, Jr.
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“I MADE IT IN THE LAB� The Open Lab is a place where students tinker, work together, discover, and have fun. Whether they come for a class or on their own at lunch or after school, students from all grades are welcome. David St. Martin, Tinkerer-in-Residence, and Tatian Greenleaf, Associate Director of Technology, are on hand to help inspire students to discover their inner tinkerer. 9
Students from our partner schools also experienced what it means to design and tinker at Mark Day School. This student from Pan-American School in Costa Rica created her own drum set after learning how to design and laser cut wooden pieces using vector-drawing software.
Fifth grader Rachel C. works on solarpowered machines as part of a science unit.
Third graders build a prototype of a wind tube to experiment with airflow and gravity during Maker Explorations.
Fourth grader Shane W. builds a catapult during Maker Explorations
First graders designed bubble wands and experimented with rapid prototyping and testing using the Design Thinking process.
Second graders investigate how wind works as part of their weather unit. Students designed their own anemometers; here, a team designed blades to help catch the wind and create a spinning motion.
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SOCIAL EMOTIONAL & LEARNING by Theresa Hall, School Counselor & SEL Coordinator
Practice, practice, practice. It’s an old adage that in many ways sums up the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program at Mark Day School. Like many of our curricular programs, SEL education spans a nine-year arc, helping to solidify these skills slowly over time. The groundwork is laid in kindergarten, when students learn how to use basic “Toolbox” tools to appropriately navigate their emotions, solve problems, and manage conflicts. By the time they enter the Upper Division, students are prepared to face more sophisticated experiences as they move into high school and beyond. It has been proven that when anxiety decreases, academic performance improves. So how does our SEL program achieve this? What makes the SEL program at Mark Day School unique are the daily morning practices, weekly 11
SEL lessons in each grade, and involvement by all members of the community. This might include music teachers selecting a song that goes with the monthly SEL theme, 5th graders creating skits about SEL tools to perform for 1st graders, and Joe Harvey taking a deep breath with students during assembly. I work in collaboration with teachers to create and implement engaging lessons and activities that help students learn. From developing monthly SEL themes that promote a common language to bringing palm-sized bugs into the classroom, the entire team at Mark Day School works hard to help every student feel included, secure, and equipped with the tools they need to succeed in life. What follows are classroom examples of the SEL program in action.
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Facing Fears In 6th grade, students are in the midst of preparing for the transition from Middle Division to Upper Division. SEL discussions have grown increasingly sophisticated through their years at Mark Day. For example, science and SEL are merged during a lesson on genetics, bringing the question about whether fears and phobias are learned behaviors or genetic. Taught with 6th grade science teacher Tim Evans, the lesson starts with a discussion around the questions, “if you have learned to be afraid, can you unlearn it?” and, “if it’s genetic, can you manage it?” I work in conjunction with San Francisco-based organization savenature. org to bring exotic insects into the classroom, where students get to notice any fears they may have and practice their SEL skills to manage them. Students can gently hold the insects or pass if they wish. Every year, students surprise themselves by how well their SEL skills help them when a fear emerges.
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Mindful Moments
Health and Wellness
For kids and adults alike, it is often difficult to force ourselves to have a meditative mid-day moment. But it has been proven that even a few minutes of steady breathing in a quiet, safe place can be incredibly beneficial for the brain--specifically, it stimulates the brain to be more productive and creative. Here at Mark Day, 2nd and 3rd graders practice “Mindful Moments.” This is a time when students go to a place in the classroom where they feel they can calm their bodies and breathe deeply. They can lie down or sit on the floor, or relax at their desks. With their eyes closed, they use their breathing tool while listening to calming music or envisioning their quiet safe place. Afterward, students feel relaxed and ready for the rest of the day. It is not uncommon to hear students request to have a mindful moment.
Life is more complicated as students become young teenagers. Upper Division equips them with skills to navigate the challenges inherent in this stage of their lives, such as dating, sexual orientation, and depression. Through the SEL Health and Wellness lessons, students deepen their understanding of their emotions and the nuances of their family and romantic relationships. In a class about depression among teens, students may participate in a “silent conversation.” Realistic scenarios on the topic are written on large butcher paper and placed on tables. In silence, students move from table to table writing their thoughts, questions, or comments about each scenario. This activity allows students to equally participate in thinking, asking questions, and getting answers.
Personal Space Tag One lesson young children begin to understand is how important it is to respect others’ personal space, and have their own personal space respected. Not surprisingly, 1st graders often struggle with personal space. Though we recognize this as part of their normal development, it is an appropriate time to learn these skills, and we take special time to focus on it throughout the SEL program. Children begin to learn about what personal space is, why it matters, and how we have different “personal space bubbles” for different situations and people. One fun activity we use to teach this is a game of personal space tag. Students each wear a hula hoop, which represents their personal space bubble, then try to tag their peers with their hula hoop without getting tagged
“Though we recognize this as part of their normal development, it is an appropriate time to learn these important skills.” themselves. Tagging each other requires focus on both their own space bubble and each other’s. This is a fun and engaging way to recognize their space in relation to others.
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the
system
BUDDY At Mark Day School, friends cross grades, genders, interests, and roles. Unforgettable bonds are formed between students, contributing to an atmosphere of caring and support.
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Kindergarten & 8th Grade Buddies The kindergarten and 8th grade buddy program has been a long-standing and cherished tradition at Mark Day School. It has become an anchor for incoming kindergarteners and an anticipated privilege for 8th graders. Buddies meet at least once per month to read, play games, and do art projects. This year, they shared with one another special belongings from home like stuffed animals, family photos, and heirlooms, picnicked together, made Halloween masks and valentines, and collaborated to participate in community service projects. After graduation, many buddies continue to keep in touch, often meeting again outside of Mark Day School.
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Being an 8th grade buddy is a privilege. It is so nostalgic to be around kids that are at a young, exciting age--one I used to be eight years ago. As an older buddy, I feel like a big example for my buddy. My role as an 8th grade buddy is to show my kindergarten buddy how to be respectful when he gets older. --Adrian V., 8th grade
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Admission Ambassadors Led by 7th graders, over 30 students meet monthly to discuss ways to welcome new students who join the community, including how to apply SEL tools and plan orientation day activities. 18
Recess Leaders On Tuesdays and Thursdays, 5th graders visit the Lower School playground during recess to ensure that every student has someone to play with. It is a great opportunity for 5th graders to serve as leaders, utilize their SEL skills, and establish deeper friendships with Lower School students.
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I feel it is important to serve the Mark Day School community as a Recess Leader because I want to respect and take care of other members. I am very grateful for all that the Mark Day community has done for me over the years, and being a Recess Leader is a wonderful opportunity to give back. --Katherine S., 5th grade
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1st and 5th Grade Buddies The 1st and 5th grade buddy program is another opportunity for students to build relationships and practice good leadership. This year, 5th graders focused on helping their younger buddies establish their social emotional learning (SEL) skills. For example, they created banners with positive messages to display throughout the school and acted out “problem solving” skits demonstrating how to use Toolbox tools. They also learned how to gumboot dance on Passport Day, created a special Earth Day gift for adult members of the Mark Day community, and had fun on the playground. 17 19
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TEACHER FEATURE
Tim Evans
Sixth grade math and science teacher Tim Evans has been part of the Mark Day community for 20 years. He has served many roles, including faculty member, parent, and faculty representative to the Board of Trustees.
What’s your favorite teaching moment? I love seeing “aha moments” in students. The moment when the imaginary lightbulb appears above their heads and something they didn’t understand just seconds before becomes clear to them. You can see it in their faces. I enjoy it every time it happens, and it never gets old. What initially drew you to teaching? During kindergarten and 1st grade, I had a difficult time learning how to spell and read. Going into 2nd grade, I was labeled as a “low-level reader.” Instead of running with that label, my 2nd grade teacher, Mr. Rehlaener chose to point out and nourish all of my strengths as a student. He altered the way I viewed myself as a student at age seven. He instilled in me a sense of confidence that carried me through my elementary school years
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and beyond. Though I had a number of jobs before becoming a teacher, I never felt like I was making a difference in the world. Mr. Rehlaener showed me that teachers can and do make a difference in people’s lives. What do you value most about teaching at Mark Day School? Although it might sound cliche, I don’t feel like I am a teacher at a school, I feel like a member of a vibrant, dynamic, caring, and forward-thinking community. I have worn many hats at this school, from faculty member to Board member, and value each and every one of the roles I have been fortunate enough to play. I love that I get to work alongside an extremely talented and passionate group of teachers, staff, and administrators. The Mark Day campus feels like a second home. What’s something about you that Mark Day students and families wouldn’t know? While many kids dream of being professional athletes, I used to dream about being a sports broadcaster. Specifically, the voice of the San Francisco Giants. I dabbled in radio when I lived in Los Angeles--I even had my own hour-long show on a small station in West Hollywood for a year or so. I did end up doing radio play-by-play at a few softball tournaments in California and Oregon, which was a thrill for me, but that career never really got off the ground.
Seas the Day
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t this year’s auction on March 25th, 300 parents, faculty, staff, and relatives had a whale of a good time socializing among the nautical decor, dancing the night away, and supporting Mark Day School at Peacock Gap Clubhouse. It’s been a school tradition since 1981, and this year didn’t disappoint. There was a full oyster bar, photobooth, and Soul Surfrider game for all to enjoy. In addition to the silent and live auctions, there were also a Giving Wall and Winner’s Choice Raffle offering four incredible trips. Thanks to our generous donors, Mark Day netted about $120,000 in unrestricted funds, with an additional $90,000 for furniture, fixtures, and equipment for the new Learning Commons and Creativity Lab. At Mark Day School, the world is our students’ oyster thanks to all who came, danced, volunteered, and donated.
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The Mark Day School spring fundraiser is just one wonderful way that the parents, guardians, faculty, and staff come together to support our school. Always a very festive occasion, it is a great community builder and an instrumental means of raising money for the school operating budget. - Kathryn Freeman, Auction Chair -
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music making
At Mark Day School, music is everywhere. It can be heard on a Friday morning assembly, during classroom lessons, and on the playground. It marks the first and last days of school and unites the community in song. On its surface, music is an opportunity for students to express themselves and discover their own creativity. But it also runs much deeper. As with all curricular programs at Mark Day, the study of music is carefully prepared for each grade and learning style so every student has the chance to become musically inspired.
In Lower School, music is experimental in nature. Younger students learn to feel the music by moving with it. Founded in the philosophy of Orff Schulwerk, lessons are created with accessibility in mind. The Xylophone is one of the first instruments they play in class. Because it is an easier instrument to play and has fewer notes, it provides a great introduction into the world of music.
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As students move up in grade, they start applying more traditional music education techniques and diving deeper into specific skills. Longer melodies are introduced, as well as improvisation and more varied accompanying parts. By the 4th grade, students are learning traditional note reading on the music staff and playing more complex instruments such as boomwhackers and the recorder. In 5th grade, they begin playing the ukulele and learning chords, and in 6th grade, students gain practice blending a variety of instruments with modern pieces. In the Upper Division, music is offered as an elective, which comes in the form of drumming, guitar, rock band, singing ensemble, and more. Recently, music at Mark Day has reached beyond students. In 2014, Music Teacher Lili-
“The arts are for the soul. It’s about nurturing every student and hoping to spark something and inspire them in some way.” --Richard Navarrete, Music Teacher anna Parker began offering ukulele lessons to parents in an effort to bring music into the home. Parents even perform at assembly a few times per year! Whether learning how to play the recorder or rocking out in garage band after school, music at Mark Day brings the community together. “The arts are for the soul,” says Music Teacher Richard Navarrete, who has been running the Mark Day music program for 35 years. “It’s about nurturing every student and hoping to spark something.”
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A close look at at a long-term, project-based learning activity in the Upper Division.
Students + Screens
As one of the four cross-disciplinary literacies at Mark Day School, Media and Information Literacy is an integrated part of the curriculum across all grades and units. This year, Upper Division students took a step back and analyzed their own media usage as part of a long-term math project guided by Math Teachers Beth Bonzell and Norm Lyons. Critical to mathematics, academic learning, and other creative endeavors, data analysis and analytic thinking were the driving forces behind the creation of this project. “We also really wanted students to design much of this project on their own, with minimal guidance from their teachers,” says Mr. Lyons. “We wanted to give our students as much leeway as possible to control the project development and execution process, make mistakes along the way, and continually reevalute their thinking.” After researching the issue of young people’s screen time usage behavior and watching the documentary Screenagers, students addressed the project’s driving question: What kind of effect does the amount of screen time usage have on individuals, peers, and adolescents, in general? In order to answer this question, the stu-
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dents needed data. Seventh and 8th graders, respectively, created a master database and devised a plan to collect the data necessary to populate that database. They identified different variables they wanted to test such as gender, the type of electronic screens students use and how they are being used, and the content they access. Because 8th graders had to complete the project within one year, they decided to capture data solely from their own classmates, whereas 7th graders planned to collect data from grades two through seven, and will analyze that data during the 2017-2018 school year.
A slide from a student presentation about survey findings.
“ Once 8th graders collected their data, they then divvied up their questions for analysis and finally, presented their findings to peers and teachers. They made connections across various screen usage behaviors, including tying demographic categories to certain types of screen usage. Among their conclusions, students discovered that most 8th graders use their devices well into the late evening and that most respondents use social media between one and three hours per day. Additionally, the vast majority of female students prefer texting over calling, while the majority of male students prefer calling over texting.
Early in the school year, 7th graders spoke with Michael Robb, Director of Research at Common Sense Media, via a Google Hangout session to jumpstart their research process. Students had the opportunity to ask questions that included, “How can we best confirm that the answers we collect are honest?” and “What is the best way to present the data that we gather?” With the knowledge gained from speaking with an expert in data gathering and data analysis, students were able to begin constructing their survey questions.
“Many students realized that how they worded their survey questions, for example, affected the data they received,” Ms. Bonzell explains, which was one of the objectives of the project. “They reflected on how they could have improved those survey questions to make the subsequent data analysis easier and more accurate.” In the future, Ms. Bonzell and Mr. Lyons would like to have students plan a school-wide campaign to bring awareness about their findings; for example, they could institute a “no screens day” for all grades. For now, 7th graders are excited to analyze their crossgrade data next year.
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You might be wondering: what’s that big hole near the Media Center? It’s a Bioswale, a landscape element designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water. The current design of the new building includes five bioswales around campus--next to the Media Center, alongside the new Quad, behind the new buildings, next to the art room, and the largest one along the ring road exit.
ABOUT THOSE
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Our bioswales play a dual role: keeping Marin County’s watersheds cleaner and serving as outdoor learning laboratories.”
BIOSWALES BY ATASHI CHAKRAVARTY, CAMPAIGN COORDINATOR & MULTICULTURAL FELLOW
Minimizing our environmental impact and building a sustainable new space was a top priority for the Mark Day School Board of Trustees when planning began for the building in 2013. At a minimum, the new spaces will be certified LEED Platinum (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), which means that they are designed and built with sustainably-sourced materials, will operate using less water and energy, and will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Why is it important that we have these new bioswales on campus? Mark Day School’s campus is part of the Gallinas Creek Watershed, and we are part of a larger ecosystem that is impacted by our actions. The bioswales on our campus will be landscaped Gallinas Creek Watershed, County of Marin, Department of Public Works, marinwatersheds.org. with native and drought tolerant plants to minimize the need for irrigation. The water’s flow path is designed to maximize the time water spends in the swale, which aids the trapping of pollutants and silt. There are several classes of water pollutants that may be collected or arrested with bioswales. These fall into the categories of silt, inorganic contaminants, organic chemicals, and pathogens. Bioswales slow the flow of silt and organic contaminants and reduce the cloudiness of the runoff into waterways to improve the habitat for aquatic life. Our bioswales play a dual role: keeping Marin County’s watersheds cleaner and serving as outdoor learning laboratories. They tie in perfectly, for example, with the 3rd graders’ Social Studies unit on Marin County and their science unit on local watersheds and estuaries. In the fall, Eileen O’Hare’s class recreated a watershed using a shower curtain and colored water (see photo). They observed, in real time, how a bioswale can filter out debris before it reaches the open waters of our bay. Future classes will be able to study the school’s bioswales as students grow into environmental stewards and build awareness and understanding about the world in which we live.
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Garden in the
Unearthing the Wonder of Nature
by David St. Martin, Garden Teacher & Tinkerer-in-Residence
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In a pie-shaped corner of the Mark Day School campus, hidden behind an exuberance of kiwi vines and roses, lies a whole world of life. Plants grow. Compost composts. Chickens talk among themselves. Lizards bask in the sun. Sometimes it feels completely hidden and separate from the goings-on of regular school life. But these moments of sacred isolation never last long, because Mark Day teachers are keen on giving their students a chance to experience the natural world. As our Tinkerer-in-Residence and Garden Teacher, I see our natural spaces as the perfect place to cultivate a sense of wonder among students. That wonder quickly translates into a deep curiosity which leads them to further discoveries. In a self perpetuating cycle, small discoveries lead to an eagerness to get their hands in the soil and further observe first-hand (literally) the processes of nature. The garden lends itself to the kind of project-based teaching we love to do here at Mark Day School. First graders come to the garden to see worms in action and harvest worm castings during their curriculum unit on worms, and 6th graders attempt to make stone tools as part of their early human unit, for example. But it is also a welcome place to visit as a way to reconnect with nature and gain skills that apply across disciplines. Lately, we ‘ve been doing a lot of planting as we prepare for a long growing season. Students have been digging in the soil, gently handling the root ball of the seedlings as we place them in the garden beds. They examine the strange bugs we find and together we talk about their unique life cycles and how they fit into the garden ecology.
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More playful lessons that teach observation skills are also a significant part of students’ time in the garden. For example, when the garden is in flux during season changes, I love to ask kindergarten or 1st grade students to create a color collage by finding colors in nature that they wouldn’t expect. I bring a large collection of random colorful objects such as plastic parts from the Open Lab, paint chips from the hardware store, silly toys, and beautiful trinkets. Students take an object and disperse around the garden in search of a matching color in nature. Great discussions about what constitutes a match ensue. So far, there hasn’t been a color we couldn’t find a match for! We tend to be blind to things we don’t know about, but once we’ve clued in to those “hidden” things, we see signs everywhere and the world becomes richer and more wonderful. Students who spend time in the garden become experts at observing nature and take those skills back out the garden gate into the larger campus and, hopefully, the community. They also take that sense of wonder with them as they head back to the classroom. There it is clear that the effect isn’t isolated to garden subjects, because they know the world is full of amazing things just waiting to be unearthed!
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Wild
into the
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O
utdoor education at Mark Day School gives students the opportunity to learn and grow outside of the classroom. A long-standing program for grades 3-8, it is an essential part of the nine-year curricular arc that seeks to develop well-rounded critical thinkers equipped to face the challenges of the current century. From Walker Creek to Coloma to Yosemite, students learn how to become independent, adventurous, and brave. In these unfamiliar settings, they build everlasting bonds with their peers. What follows are stories and memories of these experiences told by the students themselves.
7th graders hike through Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite. Photo by Joe Harvey
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3rd Grade: Walker Creek Ranch “I loved learning new ways of nature. My favorite time was when we made monkey leaf prints. A native plant from California, a stick monkey leaf is a small leaf with one sticky side. You press it into your skin for one minute and when you take it off, there is a pretty leaf print on your skin. I also liked the night hike. My favorite part of the night hike was that it was dark--everything is more fun in the dark.” -- Sophie S.
4th Grade: Coloma “Coloma was super fun. We are so lucky to have gone on the trip. It taught us more about the Gold Rush and how to work together as miners. Some people had to overcome challenges like sickness and fears. We all came together to make everything work and keep everyone happy. Younger kids should really look forward to this trip.” --Gabby R., Yasmin H., Indigo P., Roshan B., Caroline E., Cole G., and CJ H.
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5th Grade: Point Reyes “When I was in Point Reyes, I learned that working as a team is much easier and faster than working alone. On the hike, we each had to carry a piece of the lunch that we would eat. For one person to carry all that food would have been really heavy, but it was much easier for each of us to carry only one ingredient. Also, when we got tired of hiking, we played a game where the student in the front of the line would stop and cheer everybody on until , one by one, he or she reached the back. This repeated until everybody had been to the front and back of the line. The team game made everybody happier and excited to reach the top of the mountain.� --Zachary R.
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6th Grade: Pinnacles National Park “It is so easy to be afraid. It is terrifying up there, when you are so high that the people below you seem so small and the next rock feels as far away as the horizon line. You see that rock and you think, ‘How could I possibly get up there?’ Then you look a bit further and there is the triple carabiner holding you up. Then there’s your goal. The reason you’re up there. You look back at that rock and suddenly it doesn’t feel so far away. In fact, if you put your foot here, and your other hand there, suddenly you’re up. Then you look past your belayer and over the cliff, and you see the rugged beauty of the mountains and the valleys, or the river and the cliffs, or the icy wonder of the glaciers and you feel so free.” -- Evelyn E.
7th Grade: Yosemite “It was lightly windy as our group approached Middle Young Lake. The air was crisp, and the sound of sparrows chirping broke up the silence of the foggy day. The jagged peaks above us stood in majesty. The fog crashed into them, sending swirls of cloud around the highest peak.” -- Ben R.
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8th Grade: Deschutes River “At night, we’d sit in a circle and share appreciations about each other. There were a lot of compliments, and they were all connected to real things that we all had to do in order to support each other. In a raft, everyone needs to listen and do their job in order to get through a rapid, so we really had to depend on each other and we couldn’t slack off. We used real teamwork that we normally wouldn’t use at school. The lasting impact of this trip is that it reminds me that people will depend on me to do things and I need to do them. Also, by living more closely with people, I’m reminded that we often have a lot more in common with each other than we think.” --Margo C.
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The Future in the Making
This year, we’ve watched the new Learning Commons and Creativity Lab rise from the ground. We’ve seen the foundation poured, beams secured, and crews hard at work--and we could not be more excited to fill these new learning spaces with live when we move in midfall. While the building comes together, and the quad and amphitheater are being renovated, faculty and students have been preparing for a smooth transition when it is complete. Kindergarteners through eighth graders have continued to explore, build, and tinker in the Open Lab, ready to take full advantage of the new opportunites the Creativity Lab will bring. Faculty have regularly worked with Associate Director of Technology Tatian Greenleaf and Tinkerer-in-Residence David St. Martin to bring tinkering into the classroom and weave it into curriculum. Additionally, our Interim Library Specialist Beth McMurphy has been the driving force behind our temporary Library Annex and has ensured that Mark Day students had easy access to books and opportunities to discuss them. Thank you to our entire school community who has supported the mission of Mark Day and joined us in creating the campus of the future. We are beyond grateful, and can’t wait to share these new learning spaces with the community. As we head into the last phase of the project, we are visibliy within reach--and we continue to turn to the Mark Day community to help bring the project fully to life.
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The Creativity Lab will feature a think tank, a workshop area, and a variety of tools to build, explore, and learn.
By the Numbers
$6.1 million
raised by Mark Day families, alumni, grandparents, and friends--thank you!
95%
toward our fundraising goal of $6.5 million
219
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donors to date
We are ALMOST there! Thank you to the Mark Day community for your support. We have nearly reached our fundraising goal--and we need your help.
donate today!
www.markdayschool.org/WeCreate
For a tour of the site, contact Wendy Levine, Director of Development
Making Their Mark Students, faculty, staff, administration, and Mark Day families had the opportunity to sign one of the beams that will hang above the breezeway of the new building. Using silver sharpies, each class collected outside of the gym to sign their name and make their mark. Throughout the construction process, students have had several opportunities to participate, stay informed, and tour the space.
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Heading to High School
Class of 2017
- High School Placement -
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Biotech Academy San Marin (1)
Tamalpais High School (1)
Graded School Sao Paulo, Brazil (1)
Terra Linda High School (2)
Marin Academy (12)
Thatcher (1)
Marin Catholic (2)
The Bay School (2)
Marin School of the Arts (3)
The Branson School (7)
Redwood High School (5)
The Urban School (1)
San Domenico (3)
University High School (2)
San Rafael High School (1)
Wilson High School (1)
Like us on Facebook
Come to the Alumni Reunion
facebook.com/MarkDaySchool & Mark Day School/ Saint Mark’s Alumni group
December 10, 2017 Terrapin Crossroads
Like us on Instagram @mark.day.school
Visit us on campus
Follow us on Twitter
39 Trellis Drive San Rafael, CA 94903
@Mark_Day_School
Email us Alumni, share your news and updates at cmaguire@markdayschool.org or alumni@markdayschool.org 42 44
ALUMNI NEWS CLASS OF 1994
CLASS OF 2004
Corey Putnam Oakes has a new teen fantasy novel, Witch Town coming out on July 17, 2017.
Anna Bischoff lives in Monrovia, CA and started work with an environmental consulting firm. She lives with her partner of eight years and enjoys hiking in the mountains and deserts of Southern California, playing board games, and reading comic books.
CLASS OF 1995 Liz Sklar is an actress, wife, and mother to Olympia. Her latest role was in the Cal Shakes production of Othello, playing Desdemona.
CLASS OF 1999 Katherine Dee Medicis is a music director at Holy Family School. For the past four seasons, Medicis has been the assistant artistic director and is now the director of the Kantorei and Preludio choirs. Currently, she teaches elementary general music and chorus at Holy Family School. Alex Varner was one of six Marin residents to finish the 2017 Boston Marathon under three hours. His time was 2:34:22.
CLASS OF 2001 Derek M. Lawson was transferred to London for two years to take over the foreign currency option trading desk for Bank of America/Merill Lynch.
CLASS OF 2002 Alex Boodrookas is working on his Ph.D. in History and Middle Eastern & Islamic Studies at NYU, and received a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship. He is spending the year visiting archives in the UK, India, Oman, and Kuwait. Sophie Shulman is enjoying her second year as the Director of Communication at Mark Day School. In her free time, she is writing her third novel, which she hopes to formally publish soon.
CLASS OF 2003 Cooper Helfet, now training with the Oakland Raiders as a tight end after four seasons with the Seattle Seahawks, visited campus for assembly to talk about achieving goals and dreams.
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Alexandra Kamler served as our guest and speaker at the annual Donor Appreciation event in October. Emily Shulman (now Emily Guttenberg) is graduating from UC Berkeley School of Law in May. After taking the Bar Exam and honeymooning in New Zealand and Hawaii this summer, she will join Morrison & Foerster as a corporate associate in the fall.
CLASS OF 2005 Matthew Bourhis is finishing his third year of law school at UC Davis. Last summer, he completed an internship for the California Supreme Court working on death penalty cases. He recently traveled on a month-long trip to Israel, Jordan, and the UAE.
CLASS OF 2007 Bobby Bourhis graduated from Washington State University last year in business/sports management and sociology. He is currently working at his dream job in San Francisco at Bleacher Report, a sports media company, doing sports statistics. Emmeline Hill is finishing her second year teaching 9th grade science in Nashville, TN through TFA while she works on her teaching credential and Master’s degree at night.
CLASS OF 2009 Andrew Bourhis is finishing his last years at Tufts in electrical engineering. He is working bioelectronics and has received his second patent for an invention in bio-feedback. Katy Lee was awarded the fourth annual Axinn Foundation/ Anna Quindlen Award for Creative Writing at Barnard College. The prize is awarded annually to a graduating senior, who receives $25,000 to support her creative writing. It is given by the Joan F. and Donald E. Axinn Foundation in recognition of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen ‘74, her ou-
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standing contribution to American life and letters, and her sustained support for the education and development of young people. The luck of the Irish was with Brian Perry-Carrera as he was newly crowned the first place over-21 winner at the World Irish Dance Championship in April. This was his final competition--he is moving on from dancing regularly. However, he plans to remain involved and will take a test to become a certified Irish Dance instructor next semester. Brian is a senior at Duke University and is majoring in economics with a finance concentration and a certificate in Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He also leads the Duke Irish Dance club, and he wants to give the club more attention with his newfound free time.
CLASS OF 2011 Sam Reinertsen plays baseball with the Davidson College Wildcats in North Carolina.
CLASS OF 2012 Dylan Woodhead was named 2015-2016 Academic All-American by USA Water Polo. Last September, Dylan led the USA Men’s Youth National Team, for whom he is the captain, finishing in 10th place at the FINA Youth World Championship after dropping a 12-10 decision to Spain on the final day of competition.
CLASS OF 2013 Ashley Delgado signed with Tulane to play beach volleyball in 2017-2018. Gaby Rodriguez coaches gymnastics students at GymWorld in San Rafael. Her program, Gimnasia Para Todas, offers instruction to girls, many in the Canal area, who face financial barriers to classes. Lindsay Noah competed for the US Rowing team at the Junior Rowing World Championships for the second time this past summer. Henrik Reinertsen signed with University of the Pacific to play baseball in 2017-2018. Angelo Zorn is a senior at Marin Academy and four-year standout in baseball. He’s set for a strong MCAL season this spring.
CLASS OF 2014 Lizzie Ferguson was named 2015-2016 Academic All-American by USA Water Polo. Ethan Strull was nominated as Center for Volunteer & Nonprofit Leadership Youth Volunteer of the Year for his work with
Youth Grants Board. Quinn Woodhead won a silver medal this past July competing on the USA Cadet Men’s National Team at the 2016 UANA Junior Pan American Championship games in Edmonton, Canada. Quinn was also named 2015-2016 Academic All-American by USA Water Polo and 2015-2016 MCAL water polo player of the year.
COLLEGE MATRICULATION: CLASS OF 2013 Sarah Ashe: Brown University Ming Bacharach: Richmond, American International University in London, USC for 2nd year Alex Barbey: Boston University Travis Bonini: University of Hawaii at Manoa Tommy Dawson: Rhode Island School of Design Dustin Decker: Purdue University Ashley Delgado: Tulane University Nico Dennis: University of San Diego Max Fisher: Claremont McKenna Gabe Fisher: Claremont McKenna Jason Gabianelli: College of Marin Samantha Horick: Gonzaga University James Hynes: Santa Clara University Lani Kamler: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Jack Kirckpatrick: Butler University Tatum Korol: University of Wisconsin, Madison Sophia Leswing: UC Berkeley Larkin Levine: Washington University in St. Louis Tylor Nowell: Union College Marielle Lyons: Occidental College Maria McKinney: Yale University Lindsay Noah: UC Berkeley Caroline Noble: Harvard University Kobe Peery: University of Miami Henrik Reinertsen: University of the Pacific Elaine Shaw: University of Portland David Shea: Washington University Claire Smythe: Stanford University Parker Snipes: Swarthmore College Corey Suh: Tulane University John Sutro: Colorado College Zoe Wedge: Tulane University
GOT NEWS? We want to hear from you! Contact Christine Maguire, Associate Director of Development (cmaguire@markdayschool.org, 415.472.8000 x1016) at any time with alumni news.
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39 Trellis Drive, San Rafael, CA 94903
Parents of alumni: Please forward this publication. If your son or daughter no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Development Office at 415.472.8000 or alumni@markdayschool.org.