Pantherbeat

PARISH EPISCOPAL SCHOOL NEWS

SUMMER 2015

Welcome to the Pantherbeat, the official quarterly news publication from Parish Episcopal School.

We took the best of The Corner magazine you remember and rebuilt, remodeled and designed it to become the Pantherbeat to give you a snapshot into the images and stories that make our school unique. > continues on page 3

. . . “Students in Action” video . . . a glimpse of what Parish students are already doing . . . hear the excitement from our community as they dream alongside them.

WISDOM

|

HONOR

|

check it out at https://vimeo.com/124102365

SERVICE

PAGE 2 | SUMMER 2015

PARISH PANTHERBEAT

Parish online

parishepiscopal.org Celebrating National Poetry Month With 3rd and 4th Graders See who won Poetry Madness which featured a bracket of 16 poems.

The students took home copies of two poems each night and voted on the winner. parishepiscopal.org/parishlifeblog

Parish Life Blog

#parishleads Leadership Inst @parishepiscopal supporting our partner @TCUNeeley team at #valuesandventures

SPELLING BEE Award Winning Cast Featured in Dallas Morning News-Richardson Insider Check out this great article in the Richardson section of the Dallas Morning News!

It’s a great read with great quotes from the students who won at the Schmidt and Jones Theatre Awards. parishepiscopal.org/artsblog

Parisharts Blog

@dmonaco

School Reimagined.

Tremendous energy was evident as 40 Upper School students joined me for an hour in January to discuss the skills required for tomorrow’s world, what they would preserve in Parish at 50, and how they would reimagine the school experience. davemonaco.wordpress.com

Dave’s Blog

Hendrix College, Seton Hall University, Millsaps College, Harvard University, University of North Texas, Washburn University #NationalSigningDay

Spring Lunch & Learn videos with Monaco students Mr. Monaco turned over his Lunch and Learn series to Parish students this past spring and asked them to give updates on projects they worked on this year.

Check out the exciting things our students are doing! vimeo.com/channels/parishlunchandlearns

Parish Vimeo

New Addition:

Jennifer Wilson, new head of Lower School Ms. Wilson will begin her responsibilities at Parish on July 1. Watch for her at several fellowship events throughout the summer and join us in making her feel welcome to the Parish Panther Family!

Learn more about Ms. Wilson’s background online at http://goo.gl/rL8Sxi

Parish Episcopal school welcomes Ms. Jennifer Wilson as new head of Lower School beginning in the fall of 2015.

HIGHLIGHTS - Began her teaching career in 1998 - Eight years teaching 4th grade, 6th grade and Kindergarten.

- STARS Award recipient in 2004-2005, bestowed annually to 10 superior Richardson Independent School District teachers for innovation, creativity and superior results in the classroom.

- B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Baylor University - M.Ed. in Education Administration from the University of North Texas - Completing her Doctor of Educational Leadership at Dallas Baptist (2018).

WISDOM

|

HONOR

|

SERVICE

PARISH PANTHERBEAT

SUMMER 2015 | PAGE 3

From page 1

Welcome to the Pantherbeat Like the School’s spirit chant – “hey we got the beat, we got the Panther beat, it goes…”– the Pantherbeat will celebrate Parish. Our focus will be on our thriving community – students, teachers, parents, administrators, traditions and events. We will answer the biggest questions we hear around campus in our “Ask Pete” section, and make sure you have the latest fundraising news in our “Giving” section.

Looking ahead, you can expect the Pantherbeat to be a welcome editorial full of good news and happenings around our campus.

We will keep you up to date on our greatest athletic achievements, individual and team.

This past year we crowned several Panthers as state champions, including our Varsity Football TAPPS Division II championship team. We have new Panther state champions in Tennis, Tae-Kwon-Do and Pole Vault. Our athletic department news will be as generous as our talented, competitive Panther spirit.

The Pantherbeat will be a great source for all academic achievements, from our Lower School students taking on more individualized, and in some cases more advanced, math learning to our program awards in Middle and Upper School.

This year our Rover Team, headed by Jenn Makins, won the Neil Armstrong Award for Best Design from NASA at the Human Exploration Rover Challenge. Our Debate team brought home dozens of awards, including three individual honors and 1st place team sweepstakes at the Northwestern University 13th Annual Tournament of Champions in Extemporaneous Speaking.

Parish Speech and Debate students Davis Larkin (’15) and Mark Wilson (’15) were the top winners at the national competition this year.

Our rich Parisharts programs will take center stage in the Pantherbeat, featuring our thespians, dancers, visual artists, forensics teams and musicians. This year two students’ art pieces were recognized for display. Zoe Castinerias, Class of 2016, was awarded the grand prize in the annual Congressional High School Art Competition, and her acrylic painting on board titled “Desert” is displayed in the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Parish 5th grader Abby Jackson donated a very special painting, 18 months in the works, to Medical City Children’s Hospital. Abby began the concept of the piece in 1st grade when she was taking art from Lower School art teacher Ruth Keefer, who helped her to transfer the image to a 20 x 30 canvas to hang prominently in the Hospital.

WISDOM

|

HONOR

|

SERVICE

PAGE 4 | SUMMER 2015

PARISH PANTHERBEAT

Continued from page 3

Welcome to the Pantherbeat We’ll tell you about our most recent partnerships and collaborations with esteemed leaders in our community, businesses and educators. The pioneering relationships with organizations such as George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, Perot Museum of Nature and Science, and World Leadership School have already enriched student experiences on the Parish campus, and this year was a banner year for several new partnerships.

Together with Café Momentum and Chef Chad Houser we now have concepts evolving from our Upper School students to the Fleeger Kitchen in the Beasley STEM Center at Hillcrest. After cooking with young Parish students in the Lower School, Chef Houser helped lead an inspiring event to involve our older students in diversity work. Parish also formed a key relationship with Texas Christian University (TCU) in Fort Worth that will serve students and faculty members as well as teachers from across the region through high school leadership programming and middle school STEM-based training. In addition to these promising partnerships, Parish was awarded a generous $250,000 matching grant from the prestigious Edward E. Ford Foundation. Parish will partner with the new Institute for Leadership Impact at the Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development at Southern Methodist University to rethink, redesign and recreate transformative professional development experiences for high-potential school teacher-leaders.

The Pantherbeat will bring you many stories of Service, reminding our readers that our tenets of Wisdom, Honor and Service are the foundation for our most important news. Starting this issue with our youngest philanthropists in Kindergarten, students raised and donated over $2000 this trimester to Dallas Zoo’s Adopt An Animal program. In the classroom, they worked on coin identification and concepts related to money, and those skills were put into practice when the Kindergarteners sold animal crackers to raise money for their cause. Also in the spirit of Service, this summer (August 21 – 23) our school will again play host to the Feed My Starving Children mobile packing event, where Parish faculty, staff, parents, students and others throughout the DFW community will come together to pack 1,000,000 meals for children across the world (registration opens July 10).

The Pantherbeat will bring you many stories of Service, reminding our readers that our tenets of Wisdom, Honor and Service are the foundation for our most important news.

WISDOM

|

HONOR

|

SERVICE

PARISH PANTHERBEAT

SUMMER 2015 | PAGE 5

As we continue to Reimagine School we will talk about the skills required for tomorrow’s world, what we plan to preserve in Parish as we close in on 50 years, and how our leaders are shaping and reimagining the school experience.

Our school is primed to become a coveted community space for academic competitions, athletic events, speaking engagements and arts performances as we look toward a new arts and community center and second gym. This year our Midway campus was honored with hosting the 7th Annual North Texas FIRST® LEGO® League Championship Robotics Tournament. With 56 teams invited to the championship event, and approximately 500 robotics students from across North Texas participating, it was a campus event to remember.

With each issue of the Pantherbeat, we want to inform, inspire or just simply entertain. While in a classic newspaper fold that creates a nostalgic feel of reading the paper on a quiet morning, the Pantherbeat is intended to be a quick read for busy families to keep up to date on Parish happenings. Our community traditions will be mainstays in each issue, and our exciting new stories will be ever changing across our energetic campus. We hope you enjoy this inaugural issue and many more to come!

Ask Pete Volunteering at Parish – what’s it like?

At Parish, we love our volunteers and rely on them to help keep our community strong, vibrant and active – they are what make our school great!

Sign up to volunteer by logging on to the parent portal and clicking on “Volunteer Requirements” to complete your background check and training. If you’ve swiped your license at either Midway’s or Hillcrest’s secure check-in, you’re half-way there and just need to take the training!

Once you’re cleared, get ready to have some fun with your fellow Panthers!

Have a question for Pete? Email communications@parishepiscopal.org, subject line “Ask Pete,” for a chance to have your question answered here.

WISDOM

|

HONOR

|

SERVICE

PAGE 6 | SUMMER 2015

PARISH PANTHERBEAT

Parish Alumni Notes

Linda J. Meyer Scholarship

PDS Class of 1986 Anthony de Bruyn works at the University of Virginia and is the Deputy Chief Communications Officer.

PDS Class of 1993 Michelle Lloyd Morales and her husband, Carlos Morales, welcomed son Samuel Lloyd Morales into the world at 4:59 a.m. on Wednesday, June 18, 2014 in Phoenix, AZ. He weighed 5 lbs. 9 oz., and was 18.5 in. long.

PDS Class of 1994 Nicholas “Nick” Seaman and Crissi Seaman announced the birth of their daughter, Sophia, born December 22, 2014. Crissi is a 4th grade teacher at Parish.

PDS Class of 1995 Alicia Jones Kiszka is an Assistant Professor/Attending Physician of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

PDS Class of 1997 Josh Webber became engaged to Jessica Trapp August 2014.

The wedding celebration will take place in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on October 30, 2015.

Allen Meyer family endows 4-year scholarship

PDS Class of 2000 Gregory Aldridge currently resides in Marina Del Rey, California.

He is employed as a Producer for Sanborn Media Factory.

Class of 2007

For 27 years, the Allen Meyer family has been an active supporter of Parish Episcopal School and integral to its growth and vision.

In memory of the late Linda J. Meyer, Allen Meyer, Parish Board of Trustees member Emeritus, and his family, through The Dallas Foundation, have endowed a multi-million dollar, need-based academic scholarship fund. The fund will provide a full scholarship to an incoming freshman (current or new student) each academic year.

By 2018, there will be at least four Linda J. Meyer Scholars, each receiving full tuition aid for all four years of their Parish high school careers. The scholarship program is designed to run in perpetuity.

Learn more about the Meyer family’s legacy of giving, online at http://goo.gl/5PbiwZ The first recipient of the Linda J. Meyer Scholarship, Marley Evans (‘19), truly embodies the characteristics of a qualifying candidate for the scholarship a student who demonstrates academic success and showcases a commitment to citizenship within and outside the Parish community (local, regional, national and/or international).

Class of 2008 Rachel Jones Clark married Josh Clark at Nature’s Point Venue in Austin, Texas on November 29, 2014. Rachel is a Tax Associate for PwC in Dallas.

Marissa Gonzalez resides in Dallas and works at Family Connection Rainbow Days, Inc. where she is a Children, Youth and Family Services Specialist. Kathleen Melton, currently residing in Dallas, is an Insurance Auditor at Gator’s Auto Sales. She is engaged to be married in 2016. Molly Plummer is finishing her first year of graduate school at UT Arlington working toward a Masters in Landscape Architecture. Upon graduation, she plans to work for a landscape architecture firm, ideally creating community gathering places, urban green spaces, and other places that enrich the community and foster social interaction.

Class of 2009 Jean-Claire “Mandi” Powe Dillon, a graduate of Hampton University in Virginia, is attending medical school at UT Southwestern in Dallas.

She married Kevin Dillon on April 18, 2015 in Dallas. Rebecca Stockdale Shwarts tied the knot with Ross Shwarts on May 24, 2015 at the historic Cotton Mill in McKinney, Texas. Conrad Smith is a graduate of EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University with his degree in Aeronautical Science.

Kristen Stevenson recently completed her first year as a medical student at William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Parish high school sweethearts Rhino Simons & Allyssa Taylor ‘10 were engaged in December 2014.

Kimberli Guillory, Marley’s MS advisor and Parish humanities faculty member, highlights why Marley - who also received this year’s Middle School 8th grade Panther Leadership Award deserves the Scholarship: Marley truly stands out as a young person of integrity, academic excellence and quiet strength.

Class of 2010

She is the student who watches with wide eyes and listens intently, then offers that special idea that changes the course of the discussion or project. She pursues learning like an athlete works toward breaking a record. Marley is humble and kind. She rushes to the aid of others who she senses [is in need.] If one of her peers needs a tutor, she is there. If [a teacher] needs help with something, she volunteers without being asked. Marley stands out at Parish as a student who leads with a quiet dignity.

It is the Meyer family’s hope that this scholarship will help fulfill academic dreams and develop students, such as Marley, into creative learners and bold leaders.

WISDOM

Mandy Sigman English and Paul English were married February 7, 2015 at The Joule in Dallas, Texas. Jesse Hernandez is a first year medical student at UT Southwestern in Dallas. See his Alumni Spotlight on page 8.

Bridget Lynch is the MBA Admission Coordinator at UT Dallas.

Cassidy Schaffner is a registered nurse in the Congenital Heart ICU ward at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Dallas.

|

Sydney Ariagno is a 2014 graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. This Spring, Sydney completed her first year of medical school at Cornell Medical College in NYC. Jennifer Bailey, currently residing in San Diego, California, serves as an Environmental Staff Assistant at San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.

Alayna Boyd is a UT Austin graduate currently living in Orlando, Florida, working on the marketing and brand management team for Darden Restaurants with brand management focus on Olive Garden.

HONOR

|

SERVICE

PARISH PANTHERBEAT

SUMMER 2015 | PAGE 7

Josh Webber PDS ’97 became engaged to Jessica Trapp August 2014.

Mandy Sigman English ’07 and Paul English ’07 were married February 7, 2015.

Wendy Peraza ’10 lives in New York and currently works onsite at Google.

Alex Yonks ’12 is a student at Chapman University, majoring in film production.

Molly Plummer ’08 is finishing her first year of graduate school at UT Arlington.

Sydney Ariagno ’10 completed her first year of medical school at Cornell Medical College in NYC.

Rachel Jones Clark ’08 married Josh Clark on November 29, 2014.

Kristen Stevenson ’09 (left) at her White Coat Ceremony at WCU College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Kelsey Nicol ’11, a UT student, studied abroad in England in the fall of 2014.

L to R: Jack Leslie ’13, Meghan Leslie ’10, Kendall Leslie ’15 at Kendall’s Parish graduation ceremony May 2015.

Ellen Vance ‘14 (bottom right corner) at her first ever powerlifting meet with the OU Powerlifting Club.

Kiley Faulker is a University of Arkansas communication graduate and a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. She currently resides in Dallas and works for the State Fair of Texas as a Public Relations Coordinator.

Meghan Leslie is a 2014 graduate of Texas Christian University, receiving her B.S. in Registered Nursing. She completed her boards in January 2015, and began her nursing career in February 2015. Wendy Peraza is a Legal Studies graduate from St. John’s University, living in New York and currently working onsite at Google NYC in the Music Rights/Licensing department. She specifically works for YouTube (PPS Music Rights OpsVaco) where she also focuses on intellectual property by doing research and maintaining copyrights.

Class of 2011 Charles Cook graduated from Yale University in May 2015 with a major in Economics. He is a former linebacker for the Yale football team and played center field during Yale’s baseball season. James Cook graduated in May 2015 from UT Austin. Jannet Hernandez is currently a student at UT Dallas, majoring in marketing. Brandon January recently graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, with a degree in economics. He is also a former running back for the college. Kelsey Nicol, currently a student at UT Austin, will graduate in December, 2015 with a degree in international relations. As a part of her major, she studied abroad in England in the fall of 2014. Austin Odell is a student at Villanova University, majoring in computer engineering. Randal Robins is a 2015 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. Samantha Springer graduated in May 2015 with her B.S. in Civil Engineering at the RoseHulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. Samantha will be working for Hensel Phelps Construction Company. Coleton Stymiest was named Heartland Conference Defensive Player of the Year and All-Academic team as he captained his St. Edwards soccer team to a conference championship and #11 national ranking.

WISDOM

Jean-Claire “Mandi” Powe Dillon ’09 married Kevin Dillon on April 18, 2015 .

|

Rebecca Stockdale Shwarts ‘09 tied the knot with Ross Shwarts on May 24, 2015.

Charles Cook ‘11 with Ellen Cook (mom) on graduation day from Yale University.

Coach Savage hosted the annual Parish Alumni Soccer game over Thanksgiving break 2014.

Rhino Simons ‘09 & Allyssa Taylor ‘10 became engaged December 2014.

L to R: Charles Cook ’11, James Cook ’11, Caroline CookGlaser ‘16 at James’ graduation from University of Texas.

Former Parish Panther Softball players gathered at Tadewald Field over Christmas break 2014 for some friendly alumni competition.

Class of 2012 Elianah Gorin is a student at the University of Arkansas, majoring in hotel restaurant innovation. Elianah recently received a food and beverage internship at the Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Alex Yonks is a student at Chapman University, majoring in film production with an emphasis in directing. Alex has an internship with Warner Brothers for the summer of 2015.

Class of 2013 Ryan Ragnell is currently a student at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, majoring in computer science with a focus in software engineering and a minor in business administration. Zach Shelley is entering his junior year at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, majoring in management. He is currently the running back for the Harding Bisons football team. Harding had 14 players named All-Great American Conference in November 2014 and Zach became the first Harding football player ever to earn conference Freshman of the Year.

Class of 2014 Alec Kirazian finished his freshman year at Pace University, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting. Katie Rostamo plays soccer for the Kansas Jayhawks. Her team hosted Missouri in the first round playoffs in November 2014. Cara Santucci is a student at UT Dallas where she made the top 10% Dean’s list. She is majoring in undergraduate studies, a staff writer for the student newspaper and is on the competitive rock climbing team. Ellen Vance finished her freshman year at the University of Oklahoma. She is a member of the Delta Gamma sorority and studies biotechnology under chemical engineering.

In Memoriam Adam Spector ‘96 died in Dallas, Texas on December 26, 2014.

HONOR

|

SERVICE

PAGE 8 | SUMMER 2015

PARISH PANTHERBEAT

Alumni Spotlight:

Jesse Hernandez ’07 Jesse is a 2011 graduate of University of Notre Dame, with a degree in Psychology.

I’m currently in my first year of medical school. This summer, I am doing a clinical research study in the Emergency Department (ED) at Parkland Hospital regarding the implementation of a new disposition protocol to standardize ED patient discharge. . . so that patients have the proper knowledge and understanding of home care instructions..

Biggest accomplishment so far?

The coolest one by far was participating in UT Southwestern’s First Annual Shark Tank (pretty much like the TV show). I gave a presentation regarding my summer research project and was critiqued by four “sharks,” including the Dean of UTSW and the CEO of Parkland. I was the only medical student presenting and came away with second place. I received enough funding to cover expenses to present my findings at a conference.

Biggest lesson learned to date?

Volunteer Spotlight: Randi

Shaw

This year’s Bondy-Lee award recipient for most outstanding parent volunteer proves that every job matters - large or small.

When this year’s nominations came in from our faculty and staff, we could tell that Randi Shaw was exceptional.

Randi and her husband Doug have three children who attend Parish.

Many times, you can find her in the Hillcrest workroom, laminating, organizing or filing classwork. Her passion for volunteering shows no time limit, and she is always looking for the faculty members who need an extra hand.

You can’t live without…?

“Our teachers give so much of their time, and it doesn’t stop when school gets out,” said Randi. “They stay late, and often take their work home with them, and I saw a need that parents could help with.”

Would you like to give a shout out to anyone at Parish?

For Randi, volunteering isn’t about a specific committee or group, or even for her own children’s classrooms. To Randi, it’s all about the teachers, the students and the connections with those who are devoting their time to her children each day.

The stuff I learn in class actually does come up in practice.

The support of my family and friends. It’s invaluable to have such a great support system that I can lean on during this journey.

Coach Savage; I always enjoy coming back during alumni soccer games, connecting with all the guys and having fun dominating the current senior squads. Soccer is definitely the one sport where we’ve all managed to stay in touch and Coach Savage deserves all the credit for making us such a tight-knit group.

Favorite memory of Parish?

Well, I still hate our 7th grade SPAM trip… just because, well, it had SPAM! So, my favorite memory at Parish is the first soccer playoff run during my senior year. 2nd round in our playoff debut, we were a minute away from winning that game, which was sent into double overtime and PK (Penalty Kick) shootout. Definitely a great time!

“I actually got to know every student in all the classes during my lunch shifts, and could say hello to each one by name,” said Randi.

“Those small things can mean a lot to some kids, and it was a great way to turn a typical volunteer shift into something more personal.”

Randi said she will continue with her classroom volunteer service this coming school year, and would love to see more regular parent volunteers dropping in to help the teachers.

PARISH EPISCOPAL SCHOOL NEWS

SUMMER 2015

What’s inside:

Giving Update parishepiscopal.org/give

Welcome to the Pantherbeat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Parish Fund ’14-15 exceeds $1,300,640.00 in pledges and gifts.

Students in Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 New Addition: Jennifer Wilson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Parish Online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Thanks to Sheri and Scott Burnecke, Parish Fund ’14-15 chairs, for leading the charge, and to all who have supported and volunteered for this critical fundraiser.

Ask Pete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Allen Meyer family endowment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Announcing Parish Fund ’15-16 Chairs: Becca and Rob Bruant (children Lainey Brown ’20, Hope Brown ’22, Polly Brown ’24 & Trip Brown ’26)

Parish Alumni Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Alumni Spotlight: Jesse Hernandez . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Volunteer Spotlight: Randi Shaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Pantherbeat is the magazine of Parish Episcopal School | 4101 Sigma Road | Dallas, Texas 75244 | parishepiscopal.org

WISDOM

|

HONOR

|

SERVICE