Mes Amis Magazine Fall 2017

mes Amis

Fall 2017

The

Magazine

The Center for Girls an innovative approach to educating young women

for

the

Forest

Ridge

C o mm u n i t y

mes Amis The

Magazine

for

the

Forest

Ridge

C o mm u n i t y

Editor Strategic Communications Coordinator Peggy O’Connor Alumnae Relations Director Julie Lundgren, Honorary Alumna Contributors Stacy Caiarelli Brown Palie Cantu Christopher Creese Jack Foley Trudy Hall Cheri Higman Mercy Hume Catherine Kuo ’13 Molly Lambrecht Concepción Lindgren Julie Lundgren Tom Manion Alison Seaton Christine Sweet Maritza Tavares-Brown, Ph.D. Marcy Tufarolo ’73 Erika Reinitz White ’04

Board of Trustees Campbell Mathewson, Chair Julie Thenell Grasseschi, Acting Head of School Amy Anderson Nikki Danos, Faculty/Staff Representative Megan Gaudette Fairchild ’97 Mary Frances Feider Marie-Louise “Bunny” Flick, RSCJ Marina Hernandez, RSCJ Tom Lee Melissa Mathewson, Parent Association Co-Representative Bob McLaughlin Arul Menezes Mary Moeschler Darci Moreau, Parent Association Co-Representative Casey Hall O’Rourke ’90, Alumnae Representative Mary Magnano Smith ’61 Krysta Svore ’97 Bill Uyeda Diana Wall, RSCJ

Design CHM Graphics Printing Litho Craft, Inc.

Printed on recycled paper

4800 139th Avenue SE Bellevue WA 98006-3015 425-641-0700 | PHONE 425-643-3881 | FAX www.forestridge.org

contents 4

The Center for Girls

By Gabrielle Demarco

14

17

Explore, Dream, Discover Ricordando l’ Italia 2017 Commencement

By Alison Seaton

By Tom Manion

8 10 30 31 46 50 57

32

And So I Did Project

By Catherine Kuo ’13

Uncompromising Excellence

By Trudy Hall Branding: Honing the Forest Ridge Brand

By Jack Foley One in a Million Elnora Eddy Davenport’s Gift to Forest Ridge When Half a Steer Bought an Education

By Julie Lundgren Alumnae Reunion Weekend Class Notes In Memoriam

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

1

LETTER FROM THE ACTING HEAD OF SCHOOL: Julie Thenell Grasseschi

Dear Friends, I am pleased to have this issue of Mes Amis magazine as a medium through which I may bring you up to date on what has been an extraordinary few months at Forest Ridge. I am thrilled to report that our campus was alive with a variety of engaging and learning activities during the summer months.

It was equally gratifying to observe Forest Ridge students and faculty share good work and great ideas throughout the world as we continued to expand the relationships that are a hallmark of Sacred Heart education.

Here are just a few snapshots: Global and Experiential Leadership: Eleven Middle and High School students taught English and worked in a community garden through the Seattle area International Rescue Committee (IRC). Five High School students traveled to Germany to connect with global issues of peace, reconciliation, migration, social justice and equity. Two High School students traveled to Rwanda to learn and partner with Gashora Girls Academy. Seven High School students traveled to the Dominican Republic to learn about global health issues.

Six High School students studied the flora, fauna, landscape and sustainability while traveling in Alaska.

Sacred Heart Connections: Four faculty attended Roots that Give Us Wings in St. Charles, Missouri. One faculty member attended the ceremony for St. Philippine’s Star on Walk of Fame in St. Charles. Two High School students attended Sacred Heart Spirituality Conference in St. Louis. Some 21 choir members and 21 faculty, parents, alums and family members traveled to Italy to perform, tour and travel. More than 50 young alumnae attended the August Paint and Sip to celebrate Tom Manion and FR Visual Arts, and 40 alumnae participated in a campaign event for Jenny Durkan ’76, newly elected Mayor of Seattle.

2

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Around Campus: More than 135 Elementary and Middle School students attended week-long Summer Experience classes. We welcomed 22 international students as they spent four weeks at 2017 English Immersion Summer Program. More than 150 students, parents, faculty and friends watched the Solar Eclipse with our own “Dr. T,” Dr. Maritza Tavarez-Brown. Finally, in July we experienced the first-ever FR honey harvest: 50 pounds of Forest Ridge brand honey.

Autumn has been no less eventful. After months of study, we embarked on a rebranding process that you can see in the materials we are using for outreach and recruitment and indeed, is visible in this magazine.

At the same time, High School faculty, staff and administration have done a great deal of solid, intensive work on curriculum and instruction, culminating in the foundation of a new curriculum – an Integrated Global Curriculum – that will continue evolve under the leadership of High School Lead and Curriculum Coordinator Maritza Tavarez-Brown and High School English Teacher and Curriculum Coordinator Judy Pettet.

Most exciting was the summertime launch of The Center for Girls, dedicated to discovering a new type of woman leader – the one within each girl. Building off decades of experience in growing girls who lead, The Center for Girls uses girl-focused programming and hands-on learning opportunities to help every girl who enters our classrooms learn to lead from her strengths. It is a type of leadership training distinctively Forest Ridge. Designed specifically for our girls, The Center takes a unique and specific look at her individual needs and leadership development from ages 10-18. Betsy Briardy, Middle School Dean of Students, was hired last spring as The Center’s director.

You can read more about these programs and the rebranding – and see photos and stories about our girls’ summer activities – in this issue of Mes Amis magazine. I am grateful for your ongoing interest in and support of Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. Our busy summer and remarkable fall have given us great momentum and energy to take on the school year. Time flies quickly when the days are so full.

So, whether you are an alumna, parent or other friend of Forest Ridge, I hope you will enjoy this edition of Mes Amis. Please accept my best wishes for a blessed and peaceful Christmas season.

Gratefully,

Julie Thenell Grasseschi Acting Head of School

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

3

The Center for Girls: Finding the Leader in Every Girl

It is an elusive title. Leader.

Exclusive by its very nature.

Leaders must necessarily have followers.

Surely, not everyone can be a leader?

Or so the story goes.

By Gabrielle DeMarco

4

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

5

The Center for Girls

“The Goals and Criteria for Sacred Heart Schools speak to the kind of leadership that our world needs from us,” says Acting Head of School Julie Grasseschi. “And at Forest Ridge, we believe our girls can do what is necessary to effect change that brings about healthy communities across the world.”

In its first year, The Center for Girls has already taken under its wing several successful Forest Ridge programs including the robust advising program, local and global leadership trips, leadership classes, global-issue experiences, community service opportunities and student government.

In addition to taking on existing Such a unique form of female programming, the center expands leadership has in fact been engrained and creates new programming that in the graduates of Forest Ridge for grows a girl’s leadership skills, skills 110 years, says The Center Director she can reach into again and again and Middle School Dean of Students throughout her lives, according to Betsy Briardy including, most Betsy. Much of this programming recently, with the successes of the Sophomores Caroline Shoemaker and Kimberly Banyadith with Jessica Secan, High School Dean of Student Experiences. happens directly in The Center integrated Women as Global Leaders itself. program. For Betsy, The Center, which is located right in the heart of the Once a high school classroom, it was important that The Center not campus, is simply the very intentional evolution of this vision of maintain its classroom feel. Standard desks and chairs were removed leadership for a new generation of girls. and replaced with wide-open spaces calling out to be filled by group work and moveable desks and furniture that allow the space to mold to “There was a natural opportunity to expand and bring together a the changing needs of the girls. wide variety of programming across the entire school,” Betsy says.

“Parents kept looking for one spot for their daughter to have this And it is already buzzing. Among its many visitors, College 101 classes leadership experience. ‘If my daughter does this, then she is a leader.’ fill up the space on Mondays and admission ambassadors meet So we knew it needed to be more of a conversation and integrated regularly to practice that most essential of personal leadership skills throughout the whole school.”

— presence. Taking a cue from the theater department, the ambassadors were even given a crash course in improvisation.

Both a program and a place, The Center for Girls will impact girls in grades five through 12 through direct interaction with the physical “Girls often want to be so prepared before they speak and improv is a space as well as programming and resources created to build the great practice field for being unprepared,” Betsy says. social/emotional toolkit girls need to lead. But, Betsy, cautions, this will not be a one-size-fits-all program. Not only will programming Improv is just one tool in the complete toolkit of leadership skills the change based on age and development — woven throughout the Center seeks to equip each girl with during their time at Forest Ridge. middle and high school experience — it will change based on the Other areas addressed by its programming include risk-taking and type of leader lives in each Forest Ridge student. conflict resolution. Through workshops, speakers, and experiential programming, The Center will give girls a safe space to learn and “Every girl can lead and they are going to lead in very different practice these new skills, which can often be hard to try out for the ways and they are going to lead from their strengths,” Betsy explains. first time.

“There is not just one style of leadership and The Center will connect leadership to every girl on campus and help her grow forward in her leadership.”

6

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

The Center for Girls “We want to have a conversation with girls, teachers and parents to help the girls go through the discomfort and help each girl learn these skills, rather than just help her get comfortable again,” Betsy explains.

Parents will play a big role in this new program. The Center will bring parents along on their daughter’s journey through a series of workshops and talks that are part of newly designed and launched Parent Education programming.

“Parent education is vitally important,” Julie says. “We want to make sure we are supporting parents as they support their daughter in taking her talents, interests and passions into the world to create change and impact her community.”

Following The Center’s launch, the next steps will be to integrate its leadership experiences and practice throughout a girl’s time at Forest Ridge and not simply while in The Center.

“Leadership is a practice field,” Betsy shares. “It is not a destination.

It happens all along. Girls need to be picking up the little crumbs that evolve into this skillset they can fall back on because they have practiced it enough.”

Julie echoes this belief. “The work of the Center is not last after the academics, it is integrated in the academic day, spanning grades 5-12.

Whatever journey she is on in an academic program, we are attending to her skill development as a Woman Who Can as a woman who leads,” she adds.

And this is a distinctively Forest Ridge version of female leadership.

It a version of leadership embedded with a sense of personal leadership and contribution found directly in the Goals and Criteria, according to Betsy.

“We want each girl to leave Forest Ridge with a deep and lasting knowledge of who she is as a leader — a knowledge so strong that she will have the confidence to direct her life and offer her gifts, passions, strengths and talents to the world in a way that is both unique to her and a powerful service to her community.”

As The Center continues to expand, there is a sense of limitless possibility on what this can mean for each girl moving forward.

“We will be in dialogue with the girls on how we build the next level of programming so it can remain a fluid and open space. We want The Center to name and claim what Forest Ridge has been doing for a very long time, while at the same time always having the capacity to grow that impact as the needs of our girls grow and change.”

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

7

Uncompromising excellence rides the wave of sea change High School designs new ‘Integrated Global Curriculum’ Trudy Hall Interim Director of High School, Director of Strategic Initiatives

w

When schools thrive for decades — and, in the case of Forest Ridge, for over 100 years — there is one simple reason: educators within them are uncompromising in their expectation that each new iteration of educational excellence is grounded in the core mission and values of the school. Over the last year, that is precisely what has been happening at Forest Ridge.

In 1982, David Buerge, then a teacher of English, Theology and Marriage at Forest Ridge, penned a history of the school. In its pages, one finds ample testimony of the spirit of re-invention of the school over the decades. More important, one also finds evidence of the commitment to scholarly rigor since the school’s earliest beginnings on 1013 15th Avenue North in Seattle. By 1906, the academic reputation of the emerging Sacred Heart network of schools in the United States, was well known, even in the hinterlands of the Pacific Northwest. The vision of Madeleine Sophie Barat included the integration of service and spiritual reflection in the educational program of each school, and, here at Forest Ridge, those expectations were intricately woven into the fabric of the school from its inception.

Freshmen participate in an immersive “world-building” experience.

8

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

It was to be expected then, that in February of 2017, over a century later, the faculty of the High School, after engaging in four months of study and debate, would enthusiastically recommend to the Board of Trustees that Forest Ridge join the emerging wave of superb educational institutions across the United States moving away from standardized curriculums such as the International Baccalaureate or Advanced Placement in secondary education.

Over the previous decades, the High School had designed their own curriculum, the much beloved Global Seminar program through which students received college credit at Seattle University, and taught both the Advanced Placement (AP)program offered by the College Board, and the International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization. They had experienced the plusses and minuses of these distinctive college preparatory programs and were especially well-equipped to design a new program.

As this research and study period unfolded, led capably by Dr. Maritza Tavarez-Brown, IB Coordinator and veteran faculty member, Forest Ridge had also completed its most recent Sacred Heart Commission on Goals visit. This visit is best explained by the Network of Sacred Heart Schools as “…the Sacred Heart Commission on Goals initiates, oversees and officially responds to a process of institutional self-reflection, by which each school at regular intervals is able, not only to determine where its strengths lie in relation to the Goals and Criteria, but also to express the concerns it has regarding how well it is living the vision expressed in them.” The process, when done well, is transformational for a Sacred Heart School community, as the school engages in frank dialogue and reflection in a carefully constructed inclusive process. Most certainly, it had been transformational for Forest Ridge.

It is their intent to emphasize academic skills and dispositions of learning that extend beyond the traditional “boxes” of the academic disciplines, offering increased opportunities for project-based learning, experiential learning, internships and advanced independent studies available to juniors and seniors that permit an in-depth study of a keen academic interest.

Sophomore Marianna Morales

As the SHCOG process unfolded, it was clear that life in the High School was about to change substantively. While there was no doubt that the IB program was academically rigorous, the High School faculty saw the greater academic possibilities in collaborating to integrate academic disciplines in more impactful ways. There was an emerging sense that they could deliver the Goals and Criteria with greater meaning and impact if all elements of the program were coordinated into a more cohesive whole.

S

Since the decision last year, the faculty have begun a series of intentional conversations, guided by both Maritza Tavarez-Brown and Judy Pettet, another seasoned faculty member who has taught all three curriculums. Judy and Maritza were appointed last spring to share a newly created role of co-curriculum coordinators, which calls for them to remain in the classroom even as they lead the curriculum design process. This work has already incorporated a review and rewrite of departmental standards, based upon national standards across the curriculum, and will also include the design of a new schedule that permits greater engagement with the Middle School program as an integrated 5-12 program is imagined.

The High School faculty is currently collaborating on the language that best describes their creative efforts, settling on the phrase: Integrated Global Curriculum.

T

The very first order of business was to launch a new introduction to high school for the entire Class of 2021, the 9th grade class: an immersive world-building experience, during which the new 9th graders were given a future scenario in which an asteroid has hit the Arctic Circle.

It was their task, working in groups designated to represent countries around the world, to imagine how the impact of that event would unfold globally. In other words, they needed to “build the new world” that would exist after such an incident. Over the course of three days, they engaged “other countries,” and with teachers of every academic discipline, were introduced to the new digital media lab and modeled scenarios in the school’s Shop, a facility that has been designed for manipulating all manner of materials. Just as the faculty who designed it had hoped, it was both integrated and global, engaging a new generation of Forest Ridge girls in the latest iteration of substantive academic rigor at Forest Ridge.

Curriculum design of this magnitude unfolds in stages. As this year’s seniors complete their IB diploma requirements, the academic program that replaces it is already being imagined by the faculty. Their confidence in the project comes from the traditions of academic strength embedded in the school culture since classes were first taught, in that small frame house on 15th Street, by Reverend Mother McMenamy and the eight courageous RSCJs who brought Sacred Heart education to Seattle.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

9

Clarity: Honing the Forest Ridge brand There have been a number of good questions about our decision to launch our “Women Who Can” brand. Some have wondered how an all-girls school can claim the use of the term “women.” Others have wondered just how it is that we comfortably include in the new logo that we are “the Sacred Heart School of Seattle,” as their look at our mailing address suggests that Forest Ridge is more accurately in Bellevue. Yet, we have found the work of Jack Foley, which unfolded over the course of last year and came to fruition in the past three months, to be compelling. Quite simply, he talked about our wonderful school community in language that authentically resonated.

We knew that the only way to do justice to an explanation of our new logo and language was to have Jack explain his work to you in as personal and authentic voice as we could imagine. What follows is a piece that he has written for you, the Forest Ridge community. We are confident that you will “hear” in his words his passion for the process that lead to these solid conclusions, the people who are the ”heart” of our school community, and the distinctive work that we all make happen at this Sacred Heart School on this beautiful ridge. Indeed, he has given us the encouragement we have needed to own with pride the truth and reality of Forest Ridge: girls become women who “can” in this special place.

Julie Thenell Grasseschi, Acting Head Trudy Hall, Director of Strategic Initiatives/Interim High School Director

10

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

My name is Jack Foley. I am a Brand Strategist in Boston who works with schools across the country. I am humbly privileged to collaborate across all categories of schools in many different places to help them compete and communicate. These are independent, international, lab, LD, private, progressive, public, and transitional schools in places like Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Somewhere-inthe-Woods, New Hampshire and Tucson.

Our diverse experiences have opened our eyes to the real magic teachers can conjure in a classroom, and to the increasing competitive challenges private schools like Forest Ridge face today.

In August 2016, I was introduced to Forest Ridge by another Head of School. Forest Ridge was seeking to more clearly position itself in the minds of current and potential families. It also wanted to take advantage of great work recently facilitated by a school parent with expertise in branding and advertising.

By Jack Foley Special Writer

We reviewed this work — and it was better than great, in fact — and then we conducted some additional research of our own. I personally interviewed about 50 faculty, staff, students and parents. All told, more than 170 voices were heard as part of this positioning effort.

Today, more than a year later, three things still stand out about those interviews.

First, everyone with whom we spoke had a point of view. People were passionate.

More than a school, Forest Ridge is a second home to many people. To others, it is a near-sacred place that forever changed the trajectory of their lives. Second, Forest Ridge is a school with brilliant, creative and committed faculty, and remarkable, indomitable alumnae. Third, and significantly, I don’t think anyone beyond the School community knows any of this.

Why? Because in spite of all of these things, Forest Ridge is humble.

If you take away anything from this article, please remember this: Forest Ridge cannot compete by being humble, especially in a market like Seattle that brims with confident and forward-thinking schools.

A school’s brand is like a place in a parent or student’s mind. A school can choose the place it wants to own in someone’s mind, or it can hope that parents and students find that right place on their own, incidentally or accidentally. (Note to Reader: they usually won’t).

Last year, Forest Ridge decided that it wouldn’t hope anymore. Instead, it dedicated itself to intentionally choosing the place it would own in everyone’s mind and actively planting its ‘flag’ there. continued

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

11

Clarity: Honing the Forest Ridge brand continued

Forest Ridge’s brand strategy was never about change. This is a school that isn’t going to contort itself to appeal to a faction of potential parents. It isn’t going to chase a trend.

While ever-evolving in the classroom, Forest Ridge is proudly and resolutely Forest Ridge.

Ultimately, this brand strategy is about clarity. But where should Forest Ridge plant its flag?

Some schools plant their flags on academics (i.e., “We offer 72 AP classes.”). Some schools plant their flags on athletics (i.e., “We win more conference championships each year than any school north of Antarctica.”). Some schools plant their flags on culture (i.e., “We are a close-knit community of community-oriented people who value community.”). Some schools plant their flags on college matriculation (i.e., “102 percent of our students are accepted by Harvard each year.”).

Some schools just plant their flags on category (i.e., “We are an all-girls school.”) and expect this to differentiate them. Incidentally, there are a lot of good all-girls schools in Seattle.

The more Forest Ridge or other all-girls schools promote this category as their singular differentiator, the more they draw attention to it and other competitors within this category.

Put another way, when a school like Forest Ridge exhausts resources convincing people of the efficacy of an all-girls education, it is actually helping its all-girls competitors, as well.

Some of these competitors might be more convenient to a potential parent’s commute, or their tuition might be less.

With so many options and opportunities — Forest Ridge supports great academics, fields competitive athletics, sustains a rich culture, and delivers a superior record of college matriculation — where should the School plant its flag?

Let’s go back to those 170 voices we heard.

They told us that the story of Forest Ridge is really the story of its students, and the story of its students is really the story of Forest Ridge. With that in mind, Forest Ridge is choosing to plant its flag next to the women who have been graduating from its classrooms since the School first opened in Seattle in 1907.

THEsE ARE WOMEN WHO CAN. A s described in a Brand Story crafted by the School: She is an aeronautical engineer who designs machines that fly faster and further than any in history. She is a middle school teacher who convinces a struggling boy that he can achieve anything, no matter what people say. She is an emergency room doctor who saves the lives of strangers. She is a researcher who designs quantum algorithms to revolutionize computing and man’s understanding of everything. She is a U.S. Attorney who relentlessly pursues terrorists across the Pacific Northwest. She is a wife, partner and mother. She is humble, graceful and ever-true to herself. An alumna of Forest Ridge, she is a Woman Who Can.

12

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Jack Foley

There are sure to be questions about the new descriptor, The Sacred Heart School of Seattle. There may even be a few raised eyebrows. What should you do if someone asks about this particular brand element? We all know the School resides in Bellevue today.

First, welcome the question. As a school community, we want to inspire inquiry. We want questions.

Questions are an opportunity for everyone to share their personal stories of Forest Ridge. They are a one-onone invitation to introduce the Society of the Sacred Heart and to describe what this identity means and why it matters.

But let’s be very clear: Forest Ridge is of Seattle. It is the School’s origin. Some people may have forgotten that; some may not even be aware of it. Seattle’s place branding is also recognized throughout the state, across the country and around the world. When many of us point to a map to describe where we live, we probably don’t point at Bellevue, Issaquah or Kirkland. We point to Seattle.

There is a maxim in brand strategy that your brand isn’t everything about you. Instead, it’s just about what makes you, you. “The Sacred Heart School of Seattle” is fundamentally part of what makes Forest Ridge, Forest Ridge. No one else in Washington — really, no one else in the world — can own it but you.

Let’s remind people of your origin. Let’s remind people of your identity. Let’s remind people who graduates from Forest Ridge. If not now, when?

Beyond the new tagline and descriptor, you may begin to notice subtle and not-so- subtle changes in how the School communicates. From its website to its collateral, from Facebook posts to video web stories, the School will seek to tell its story to more people in more ways.

There is another maxim in brand strategy worth mentioning: you cannot be chosen if you are not a choice. It’s time now — right now — to make Forest Ridge a clearer choice.

As an alumna, you might wonder if there is anything you can do to promote the School. Our sincere hope is that you continue to live the example of St. Madeleine Sophie, and to ‘leave acts, not words’.* After all, the best stories about Forest Ridge are really your stories — you, the alumnae. So keep innovating.

Keep leading. Keep parenting. Keep creating. Keep protecting. Keep loving. Keep competing. Keep teaching.

Keep pioneering.

Keep being Women Who Can.

*This quote of St. Madeleine Sophie still hangs on my office wall here in Boston, having been introduced to me during our work with Forest Ridge.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

13

Expl o re.

Dream.

Di s cover… ‘

’

… don’t be a bonehead.

Retiring faculty Tom Manion’s commencement speech to the Class of 2017

A while back, when I was asked to give this talk, I had to really think about it before I said yes. I’m a back-stage person. Being on stage makes my hands sweat. I talked to Mrs. Manion and she convinced me with one sentence. “You can’t say no, these are your kids.” So, here I am with sweaty palms and a racing heart, ready to impart 67 years of wisdom.

While I am here to talk to you, my kids, I’d like to direct my first comments to your parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles and all those people who are here because they love and support you.

To all of you, I say thank you. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to work with and become friends with these incredible young women. You have done an amazing job. Never forget, that their successes are your successes and you should be so proud. Proud of them and proud of yourselves.

Well, here we are. I have to start this talk by telling you how proud I am of you. I have always been impressed with your kindness and honesty and incredible work ethic and loyalty and humor and patience.

Oh, my goodness have you been patient! You’ve made my life, (and the lives of a lot of others) these past four years wonderful. And while we all have had our ups and downs, the ups far surpass the downs. I have had the privilege of watching you grow from gangly middle schoolers to the young women before me.

I’ve listened to conversations about math and science and politics and art that have truly impressed me and caused me to wonder, how do they do this? How do they keep all this information in their heads at one time and are able to access and synthesize it all at a moment’s notice? I have seen you tilt at windmills when you observed injustice. I’ve seen you cry when you think all is lost and soon after watched you rise up and confront the demon that had held you back earlier. You are incredible.

Post-graduation excitement is evident in those smiles.

14

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Isabella Tavarez-Brown ’17 with former Head of School Mark Pierotti and Krysta Svore ’97, past Chair of the Forest Ridge Board of Trustees.

A group of happy, new alumnae surrounded by family and friends.

I’m not sure if I want to give you any advice. You are at the time of life where everyone is giving you advice. And, if you are anything like me, the more advice people give, the less I listen. It’s sort of a sensory overload thing. When we were pregnant with our first son, my family (especially my mother) freely gave advice about EVERYTHING. Joanne is a genius. She knew how important it was to listen patiently, smile, say thanks and then do what SHE thought was best. If mom ever suspected, she never let on. I lied. I can’t not give advice. I must impart several “Pearls of Wisdom.” I can’t help myself. It’s in my DNA. I am my mother’s son.

Goal I deals with an active faith. I don’t care what your religious affiliation is but it seems to me that you have to believe that there is something out there bigger than you, something that keeps this crazy world from spinning off its axis. If you want proof, just look at the complexity of life around you. It’s mind boggling. None of this is by accident.

1. Whatever you decide to do, give it your best shot. Don’t do anything important, half way. There is a quote that relates to this that has stuck with me throughout the years. “You can’t leave footprints in the sands of time while sitting on your butt.

And, who wants to leave butt-prints in the sands of time?”

Just ask yourself, wouldn’t you rather be the person who is remembered for the things you accomplished or did well?

Goal III deals with social awareness. The world needs you. People need you. My sister lives in Los Angeles. She is one of the most giving people I know. She’s on the board for several charitable organizations and devotes a lot of time to them. But there’s one thing she does that really impresses me. Because she works downtown and there are a lot of homeless people there, she keeps a bunch of dollar bills in her pocket and whenever someone asks for help, she has ready cash to help them. I asked her once why she does it. She said, “I’ve got to. One of them might be Jesus.” Don’t forget to see Jesus in everyone around you.

2. Remember and hold dear, the Goals and Criteria of SH Education. They aren’t just for Forest Ridge. They’re for life.

They ground us. They guide us. Whenever you doubt a decision, look to the goals. If you can fit that decision into that framework, you’ll be golden. Being a child of the Sacred Heart is a gift. It’s a gift you can both use and pass on for the rest of your lives.

Goal II deals with intellectual values. Never stop being curious.

Keep digging for information. DON’T STOP READING AT THE HEADLINES? Get as much information on a subject as you can.

Be informed. The world is full of dummies. Don’t be one of them.

Goal IV deals with building community. Community is family.

It’s that simple. Don’t just go to school or work. Be a real part of it.

Help it keep moving forward. Let those around you know you are there for them. continued

The Eighth-Grade Promotion Ceremony was held June 13. Congratulations to the Class of 2021.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

15

Explore. Dream. Discover…

continued

Tom Manion, who retired this past June, finishes his commencement speech to the Class of 2017 and their families.

Goal V (my personal favorite) deals with wise freedom. I’ll give you my father’s words of wisdom for me, “Don’t be a bonehead.” My father was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. Of course, I was in my mid-20s before I figured that out. Later, when we could talk without arguing, he passed on one of his most important “pearls” to me. Don’t be a bonehead meant, THINK! Use your head!

Absolutely nothing you do in life is done in a vacuum. It will have an effect on something else. There is a theory that a butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world has an effect on the weather in another. It’s a little far-fetched but it serves to illustrate my father’s point. Think before you speak or act. Consider the ramifications of your actions.

3. Take what you do seriously but don’t take yourself too seriously.

Be willing to laugh at your own mistakes and faux pas. Maintain your humor. It will get you through the toughest of times. God knows it’s helped me. I’d be lost if I couldn’t laugh or make a bad joke at an inappropriate moment. It helps me keep my bearings.

4. Work hard. Play hard. Make time to relax and decompress and have fun but know that when it’s time to work, IT’S TIME TO WORK! In my freshman year of college, I took an art history class. I’m not really the best history student. A group of us started a study group in a diner across the street from campus.

We talked about the textbook, looked at photos and memorized dates, all while paying pool. I flunked the class. It’s the only class I flunked in college. The important thing was I learned my lesson and while I still played pool, I didn’t try to study at the same time. That’s also the time I learned I couldn’t multi-task.

5. Remember that the Golden Rule really works. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Love and respect for others is so important. Don’t leave people wondering whether or not you care for them. Tell them. Show them. Those two acts will be returned to you a thousand-fold.

So, I’ll leave you with a few quotes from people who are a lot smarter than me.

If this was my Kairos talk, I’d start by saying, ‘This is important. You should write this down.’

Anatole France said, “To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.” My favorite part of a Mark Twain quote (which is now used in a car commercial) said, “Throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Now get out there and knock their socks off!

Thank you and congratulations.

16

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Ricordando l ‘Italia (Remembering Italy)

In July 2017, a 2016 invitation to the Forest Ridge Chamber Choir came to fruition when 42 excited and happy travelers – faculty, staff, parents and the Choir – boarded a plane to Italy.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

17

18

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Italy. The home of Mater. The Center of Roman Catholicism in the world. An important part of our Sacred Heart traditions. What better chance to hear the Forest Ridge Chamber Choir sing in St. Peter’s Basilica? What better time to expand the travel group and open the journey to the greater community?

Ricordando l ‘Italia (Remembering Italy)

“The trip was everything we had all hoped for and more,” says Music Director Alison Seaton. “First of all, 42 people on a bus was actually fun! While the adults toured the cities, the choir had a full rehearsal and concert schedule. We performed solo concerts in Florence and Rome, and combined with the Montclair University Choir to perform Vivaldi’s Gloria – all during one of the worst heat waves in 20 years in Italy!

“The choir was simply stupendous: showing their commitment, community and professionalism as they gave beautiful concerts in heat that topped out at 107 degrees,” Alison adds.

The tour began with a visit to one of Italy’s famed hill towns, Montepulciano, where the group took in fabulous medieval architecture … and some delicious gelato! “We were humbled when we visited Assisi and quietly sat in the tomb of St. Francis,” Alison recalls. “Later, seeing the statue of David had us all awestruck, as did the Parthenon, and the plentiful water that poured out of public drinking fountains in Rome that have been left to us by the ancient Romans,” she adds.

The group also discovered that Italian ‘fast food’ is far better than American fast food! (Fresh pasta with pesto at auto grills off the freeway – really!)

The group had an exceptionally wonderful time at St. Peter’s Basilica, which is the largest church in the world and the burial place of St. Peter. They also enjoyed a tour of the Vatican museums which ended at the Sistine Chapel. Later in the day, the group sang Mass at the Basilica – a truly amazing experience for all.

But the capstone experience of the trip was the group’s visit to Mater.

“We were warmly welcomed by the Rector of the Chapel, and the Head Mistress of the Trinita dei Monti, our sister school in Rome, where Mater is located,” Alison says. “As all 42 of us gathered in her small chapel, we were overwhelmed by her gentle, loving presence. Overwhelmed to sit where St. Madeleine Sophie once sat. We sang an Ave Maria for her and wept with joy to be with her and with each other.

“It was an astounding experience.”

“By the end of the trip, we had walked miles and miles, sung beautifully and had our hearts expanded by the beauty and friendliness we encountered in Italy,” Alison says. “We ended up with a Forest Ridge group of 42 people that became family and was augmented by 25 more family members who traveled on their own to hear our concerts. We all ended the trip in a state of gratitude and amazement for our Forest Ridge community and for this opportunity to extend our participation and understanding of our global community.”

Students toured Florence and Rome despite the 107-degree temperature.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

19

G lobal L eadershi p tri p s :

A hallmark of Sacred Heart education Forest Ridge students and faculty shared good work, great ideas and the love of the Sacred Heart this

summer as they participated in a variety of experiential leadership opportunities throughout the world – from as close as the Puget Sound area to as far away as Rwanda.

Experiential Leadership experiences are meant to give students a sense of a global issue that they can learn about and make an impact on locally, nationally or globally.

Alaska –

Top: The natural beauty of Denali National Park in Alaska.

Students walking on Exit Glacier.

20

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Resource Sustainability and Climate Change Six Forest Ridge students and three faculty members spent a week in Alaska in June, observing the impact that global warming has had on that state’s resources. Rising sophomores Clara Rhodes, Dani Baxter, Cindy Zhang, Angela Zhang, Christia Fisher and Ariana Tucker, and faculty Cheri Higman, Corina Rahmig and Molly Muller visited Denali National Park and Kenai Fjords National Park. The group spent their first four days in Denali National Park learning about the flora and fauna with specialists in the park. They partnered with the Murie Science and Learning Center camping 19 miles in the heart of the park, discussing how climate change is changing the landscape and altering behavior in the park life.

The team then moved south to Kenai Fjords National Park where the girls walked on Exit Glacier and took an all-day boat tour to see a calving glacier from the sea. The trip helped open eyes to real implications of our warming world.

Dominican Republic –

Global Health High School Faculty Member Concepción Lindgren and Middle School Staff Member Molly Muller led the Global Health Dominican Republic trip that included seven student participants: Catherine Nguyen ’18, Harege Kebede ’18, Eva Jacroux ’18, Isabella Garcia ’18, Olivia Mathewson ’19, Elle McConkey ’19 and Camila Schonander ’19.

The goals for this experience were to explore health care delivery in a developing country, build relationships through homestays in Naranjito, meet with experts in the public, private and not-for-profit health care sectors, and make connections between Sacred Heart goals, social justice and global health.

The Global Health team spent their week in the Dominican Republic.

Below, the Forest Ridge group.

At right, below, the group tours health facilities.

The group also visited the Anaisa School, a school supported by MUDHA (Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico-Haitianas). MUDHA’s mission is to improve the living conditions of vulnerable communities, especially for women and children, while implementing various human development programs.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

21

G lobal L eadershi p tri p s

continued

Touring Germany was a highlight of this experience.

The Peace and Reconciliation team at their sister school in Germany.

For nine days in June, High School faculty leaders Patrick Kuster and Mercy Hume and five rising juniors and seniors traveled to Germany to explore how that nation has dealt with issues of peace and reconciliation after World War II, German reunification and the EU, as well as long term reconciliation effects on German engagement with social justice for immigrants and migrants. The trip began in Hamburg, where students and teachers participated in a Sacred Heart Network exchange and a shared day of presentations, as they were hosted by peers at sister school Sofie-Barat-Schule. In Berlin, students visited a concentration camp, observed basic German classes for new immigrants at a public school and discussed Germany’s current role in the EU at the Bloomberg News offices. One highlight was each student’s Reflective Piece; from a blog to a video to a collection of reviews (museum to restaurant!) from the trip, each was creative and showed how students engaged differently and deeply with the trip goals.

Germany – 22

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Peace and Reconciliation

Rwanda –

Unite and Renew

High School faculty members Maritza Tavarez and Dana Van Reeth, accompanied by two students, Fathi Mahdi ’19 and Natalia Fors ’19, spent a week in early July in Rwanda. After touring the capital city of Kigali, they spent four days at the Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology (GGAST), where faculty held workshops on Project-Based Learning and Growth Mindset, and observed and visited with GGAST faculty. The students lived in the dorm and attended classes with their Gashora counterparts.

Despite being on the other side of the world, commonalities quickly surfaced and the girls and faculty felt as much at home as they are at Forest Ridge. Students and faculty forged new ties with friends and colleagues and left Rwanda with joyful hearts and hope for continued cultural and pedagogical exchange of ideas, faculty and students between our two schools.

Top, the girls enjoyed a dorm stay at the Gashora School in Rwanda.

In this photo, Natalia and Fathi as they made a presentation to Gashora School teachers and students.

The group just after they arrived in Rwanda.

At right, Dana and Maritza pose with Gashora faculty.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

23

G lobal L eadershi p tri p s

continued

IRC Summer School and New Roots Garden –

Middle School students at work with refugee children in the Namaste Garden at St. Thomas Church in Tukwila, Washington.

Below, Forest Ridge students help tutor young refugees.

24

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Puget Sound area

This summer two girls from the Class of 2020, three girls from the Class of 2021 and six girls from the Class of 2022 participated in a week of service through the local Puget Sound chapter of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The girls learned about the refugees settling in the Seattle area and the work of IRC in helping refugees begin a new life in the U.S. The primary service was helping IRC interns teach recent refugee children ages 5 – 18 basic English and prepare them for school in September. Using fun, hands-on learning games to teach children literacy and math, Forest Ridge girls worked in groups of two or three to create experiential learning station lessons for the refugee children. “Watching our girls work in small groups with eager children was incredibly satisfying,” said Group Leader and Forest Ridge Math Teacher Palie Cantu. One student wrote in her reflection, “It was such a wonderful experience seeing the kids’ eyes glow while we taught them new things.”

The group also volunteered to work with Middle and High School refugee students at Tukwila’s Namaste Community Garden, another IRC endeavor.

The sponsoring church, St. Thomas, provides space for 100 small plots where refugee families can grow their own vegetables. After meeting a few older refugees who spend their time at the garden growing food as they did in their home countries, students worked on three projects to improve access to a new greenhouse. One student remarked in her reflection, “It was a really cool experience getting to see how much food can be grown in such a limited space, and to meet such hard working, passionate people.” The group’s last day was spent shopping for school supplies and backpacks to help refugee children be ready to attend school in the fall.

St. Charles, Missouri –

Roots That Give Us Wings Conference

Middle School teacher Christine Sweet and her colleagues Matthew Zahler, Elizabeth Yandl and Nicole Hall participated in the Roots That Give Us Wings Conference in St. Charles, Missouri. Christine Sweet wrote about the experience, noting “Attending the induction of Rose Philippine into the St. Louis Walk of Fame was a great honor. It was so exciting to be together with other members of the Sacred Heart Community from all around the country and see the impact this one woman has had on so many lives. How cool is it that Rose Philippine will join the ranks of so many other greats from St. Louis and be honored for years to come?

I’m excited to carry my flat Philippine with me on all my travels and experience the world with her by my side,” she said.

Christine also called The Roots Conference “an amazing experience.”

“I loved getting to know educators from many different places throughout the world. I was able to learn so much about our history as a school in America and gain passion and new insights for the future of Sacred Heart education. I loved seeing how other schools live out the Goals and Criteria in their lives and buildings.

I returned with excitement and ideas around how I can live out the mission of the Sacred Heart and inspire our girls to do the same,” she added.

Top, Christine Sweet with “Flat Philippine.”

Forest Ridge faculty Matthew Zahler, Elizabeth Yandl, Nicole Hall and Christine Sweet at The Roots Conference.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

25

26

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Forest Ridge has Parents Who Can! A hugh thank you to the Forest Ridge Parent Community for saying ‘YES We Can’ to the Forest Ridge Fund at the start of the school year. Board of Trustees and Faculty and Staff led the way with 100 percent participation and the Parents pledged their support early and achieved a phenomenal 93 percent participation in five short weeks! The fifth grade earned Ms. Cantu’s cupcakes for reaching their grade level goal first, followed by sixth and eighth grades.

Tom and Connie Young, eighth grade parents, lead the parent success. They rallied a volunteer team of enthusiastic class captains and each grade made a positive and impactful difference for the Forest Ridge community. Together their hard work and commitment to a Sacred Heart education helped achieve participation results that can only be described as Parents Who Can!

The fifth grade class

Parent Class Captains Who Can! A special thank you to the following parents for their leadership: 5th Grade: Emily Studebaker and Jim Fishburn 6th Grade: Angie and Chris Sharp 7th Grade: Bobbi and Rick LaBoy 8th Grade: Tana and Jim Ridgeway 9th Grade: Celeste and Eric Martinez 10th Grade: Inger and Jay Deutsch 11th Grade: Jean Schlinger and Dan Hines 12th Grade: Maria and Norberto Garcia Connie Young, Parent Chair of the Forest Ridge Fund.

2016-2017 Annual Report

Thank you for giving generously during the 2016-2017 school year. Your gifts supported the core mission and values of educating all girls. We are pleased to share the Forest Ridge School 2016-2017 Annual Report with you, available online at www.forestridge.org. Printed copies are available upon request through the Office of Institutional Advancement.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

27

28

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

million One in a

Elnora Eddy Davenport, library assistant, 1975 – 1998

In the summer of 2016, Forest Ridge received notice that Elnora Davenport, a former library assistant, left a $1 million estate gift to the school in her will. Retired Librarian Joanne Boerth, who worked with Elnora during the 1990s, and Jean Bryan, the librarian who hired Elnora in 1975, graciously offered their memories of their former colleague. Joanne Boerth remembers this quiet and humble woman who gave so generously to the institution in which she believed.

Elnora Davenport was a person who gave without expecting much in return. She was a very private, humble person who worked for no fanfare. She loved the mission of St. Madeleine Sophie without being Catholic, and she loved the open and accepting type of Catholicism that made people of all religions feel welcome at Forest Ridge School. She was smart, sometimes acerbic, and didn’t suffer fools easily.

People like Elnora remind us of St. Madeleine Sophie’s wise words:

“ Let us leave acts, not words. Nobody will have time to read us.”

In the early 70s, Elnora and her husband Harry were one of the first people to build a house on Somerset Avenue, right below the school. Elnora had begun work toward a library degree but was unable to finish it because Harry was a career military man and they moved around too much. Knowing there was a newly built school in her neighborhood, Elnora walked up to Forest Ridge’s Bellevue campus and asked if there was a library that needed a volunteer.

Jean Bryan, the librarian at that time, was organizing what was just a room full of books into a real library, staying late every day and taking books home to catalog them. Elnora’s offer to volunteer every Tuesday to help catalog the new library’s books was a Godsend!

Elnora soon became a school employee but always worked part time, first one and then two days a week. Jean Bryan recalls that Elnora was a very hard worker who accomplished more in one or two days than many people do in a week. While Elnora preferred to work in the back room, she loved the students and the idea that she was helping them indirectly by improving the library.

When Joanne Boerth arrived at Forest Ridge in 1989, she came to know Elnora as an intelligent, quiet, funny, diligent and helpful person. “She made my years working with her more fun, more collegial and more productive. She taught me a lot about working at FR. I feel lucky to have gotten to work with her,” Joanne adds.

f o r es t r i d g e . o r g

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

29

Alumna Profile: Sonya Quitslund ’53

When half a steer bought an education

By Julie Lundgren Director of Alumnae Relations

In June of 1947, 12-year-old Sonya Quitslund ’53 first heard about Forest Ridge Convent from a neighbor and decided she wanted to go. Her application was rejected because no child of previously divorced parents could attend the Convent. Sonya’s mother, Leona, appealed to the family priest who convinced the nuns to make an exception for her. Sonya happily enrolled in the middle school that fall semester.

When Sonya’s family later moved to North Bend, Mount Si became her high school. The only way she could continue to attend Forest Ridge was to board during the week. By then money was tight for her parents. Providentially, the nuns accepted half a steer from her father, Phelps, in lieu of the $800 tuition for the first year.

Upon graduating from Forest Ridge, Sonya received a scholarship for Duchesne College in Omaha where she attended for a year. This was particularly poignant for Sonya as she had the opportunity to take her mother and introduce her to a branch of her family she had never met before as a thank you for the years at Forest Ridge.

Sonya returned to Seattle to continue her studies at Seattle University. There she earned her B.A. magna cum laude in English literature in 1958 and her M.A. in 1964 in religious studies, followed by a Ph.D. in 1967 from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. Sonya was the first in her family to earn a college degree.

Forest Ridge opened doors for Sonya and gave her opportunities she wouldn’t have had otherwise. Through her friendship with classmate Marilyn Seering Cass, she was introduced to the

30

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Sonya and her brother, Garnie, with a baby calf.

Dominicans and the Third Order* which led to graduate school in theology and scripture. Sonya recalls, “Had I remained at Mount Si High School, I doubt that would have happened.”

In l967 she became professor of Bible and Religious Thought at George Washington University in D.C., where she remained for 28 years. She founded the Christian Feminists and served as core commissioner of the Women’s Ordination Conference.

Her book Beaudin A Prophet Vindicated won the College Theology Society’s book of the year award and was reviewed on the front page of the New York Times Book Review section.

Sonya is an activist, feminist, committed Catholic, advocate for the underrepresented, and foster parent of 48 children over the years. She has welcomed numerous refugees into her home and served in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary for over 35 years.

Sonya’s parents, Phelps and Leona Quitsland.

Sonya’s high school graduation picture and school ID card.

The Coast Guard recently honored Sonya for her work with the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Reflecting on her life, Sonya recently decided to start a scholarship to honor the memory of her parents for making her education at Forest Ridge possible. As first-generation immigrants from Sweden and Germany, neither finished high school, but both recognized the value of a Forest Ridge education. She explains: “I was certainly enriched by the experience and only wish I had realized earlier in life how much I owed to my parents for making this all happen. Setting up a scholarship in their honor is a feeble attempt to express how much this experience has meant to me and testimony to the lasting relationships and friendships that resulted from these sacrifices.”

Sonya offers, “Initially, when trying to decide what legacy I wanted to leave, I ruled out Forest Ridge, because the presence of the nuns had all but disappeared. But then, as I attended a few reunions, read the accomplishments of the current students, and met the leadership, I became convinced that Forest Ridge definitely has a future and I wanted to be a part of it by helping students enjoy the same values and excellent education that I had experienced.”

Yes, Forest Ridge has only one nun on campus and half a steer could not be accepted for tuition today. However, it’s the generosity and gratitude that our alumnae have for their Sacred Heart education that ensures the next promising student who comes along will have the chance to attend Forest Ridge. * A Third Order are men and women who do not take religious vows but participate in the good works of the order and may be allowed to wear at least some elements of the order’s habit, such as a scapular.

To find out more about named scholarships or to leave Forest Ridge in your estate plans, please contact: Julie Lundgren, Director of Alumnae Relations, at jlundgren@forestridge.org.

It was Holy Week of l950 or 1951, long before girls were allowed to be altar servers. Brigid & I snuck into the sacristy, took the cassocks and surplices, added berets (no girl would dream of entering the chapel with head uncovered) and presented ourselves to Mother Bourret as French acolytes, offering our services for Holy Week. She was amused but didn’t hire us, and we didn’t get into any trouble. We were in St. Madeline Sophie’s choir and so had the privilege of singing at the Holy Week services while the rest of the school started Easter vacation.

Sonya Quitslund Sonya and her cousin, Brigid, dressed as altar servers.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

31

Women Who Can: Catherine Kuo ’13

And So I Did Project

By Catherine Kuo ’13

Last January, I spent a month traveling throughout Northern India. Since then, I’ve been in contact with a small village and together, we created a health initiative for young women. Feminine hygiene has been a challenge for girls across India, with many young girls missing school because of it. Essentially, my project would help educate girls on their personal hygiene, give them “starter” hygiene packages, and fund the proper resources needed so that they can sustain themselves in the future. In March 2018, in honor of International Women’s Day, I hope to return to this village to help kick start the project.

32

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Catherine Kuo with children from the Northern India town of Chandelao.

I created this project in honor and in the spirit of Forest Ridge. This project not only allows me to exercise my passion for healthcare, but to live by a life-long commitment to Goal III, a social awareness that impels to action. To me, this isn’t so much a service project, but a campaign – all girls deserve to dream the wildest dreams, to know no such thing as fear. I’ve only ever wanted to support young women in the same way that Forest Ridge supported me.

I learned a lot about myself during the summer before my senior year of college. Knowing that with each passing summer day, I was just one step closer to my last year of college and more importantly to closing yet another chapter in my life. I obsessed over the question “So what’s next?” and became so caught up with unrealistic expectations for my future self. I disregarded past accomplishments, somehow convincing myself that maybe some of my dreams were a little too big. The bottom line is that I lost faith in myself because I let fear get the best of me. That is, until my mom gave me a bracelet. It’s inscribed with the words:

“She believed she could, so she did.”

I rarely take it off. It’s more than just the common mantra. It serves as a daily reminder that no dream is too big and that even during the lowest of lows, I am capable. No one can tell me otherwise — not fear, and most especially, not myself.

Fast forward to halfway through senior year and I found myself traveling throughout northern India for a monthlong course at my college. It was in the small village of Chandelao that a little girl came up to me, grasped my wrist, and pointed to my bracelet. She didn’t speak English, but I read her the inscription anyways. It was at that very moment that those words became so much more than a common mantra.

My bracelet not only belongs to me, but to every girl and woman out there. continued

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

33

And So I Did continued Beyond its goals, my project is a campaign for girls and women. They deserve to dream the wildest dreams, to know no such thing as fear, to believe in themselves – because they are worth it. It is incredible to know that gender equality, a concept that was incomprehensible years ago, can be attainable in the near future. Once a girl is given the chance, all she needs is her own voice in her head telling her, “I believe in you.”

I know this for a fact because it worked for me.

Even if absolutely no one in this world believes in me, then why can’t I be the one to believe in myself?

Out of all the lessons I learned that summer, the most important was realizing that the craziest and seemingly impossible dreams can become reality if I just find a way to believe in myself first.

And so I did.

There’s a disconcerting number of girls and women around the world who are not given the opportunity to succeed. In many countries, feminine hygiene remains one of the most challenging issues to resolve. More specifically, out of the 355 million women in India, an estimated 12 percent use sanitary napkins. Lack of accessibility and education are the two main reasons for such a low percentage. What is even more troubling is that due to poor hygiene standards, girls consistently miss school during their cycles; some girls end up dropping out of school, which spirals into an entirely new problem.

To face this challenge, beginning in the city of Chandelao, I’ve created a small project with three main goals:

The Need

1. Distribute feminine hygiene packages and provide education on menstrual and maternal health.

2. Help fund the resources needed for the women of Chandelao to sustain their own project that increases feminine hygiene awareness through the production of their own sanitation kits and educating other women outside their community.

3. Eradicate any fear or misconceptions concerning feminine hygiene.

The town of Chandelao.

For more information, go to www.andsoididproject.wordpress.com

34

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

ComingHome to Forest Ridge

A letter from the Alumnae Board President It is my pleasure to serve as Alumnae Board President for Forest Ridge. Having been involved with the Alumnae Association off and on since 1996, I have discovered the community I found and loved during my time as a student is still very much present.

One of the main objectives of the Alumnae Board is to help alumnae connect with each other and the school. Many of us have found the friendships we created as students continue to grow and extend to other alumnae from different ages, backgrounds and careers.

As an Alumnae Board, we continue the values we were taught of community and service. We begin our year by preparing and serving a meal for the homeless men at St. Martin de Porres Men’s Shelter. We then plan for the Spring Luncheon and Reunion including nominating and voting on the 2018 Distinguished Alumna and Sacred Heart Award recipients for this year. This year we will learn more about St. Philippine Duchesne as the network celebrates her Bicentennial of when she first came to St. Charles, Missouri, to bring the Sacred Heart education to the United States. Finally, we help fundraise for our amazing institution through a phonathon/writeathon in the Fall and a social media campaign in the Spring.

Now that I am also a parent of a current 6th grader, my appreciation of the school’s traditions and offerings continues to grow. In my daughter’s first year at Forest Ridge, she has thrived academically and has enjoyed amazing experiences including team sports, sleep-away camp and volunteering at a food bank. Admittedly, one of my favorite memories was my daughter climbing into the car after school and gushing over her first Congè! If you have a child or know of a family that may appreciate Forest Ridge, please don’t hesitate to reach out to the school’s Office of Admission.

The 2017-2018 Alumnae Board

President: Casey Hall O’Rourke ‘90 Vice President: Samantha Totton ‘09 Secretary: Lauren Cruickshank ‘07 AASH Representative: Marcy Tufarolo ’73 Members at Large:

Mary Whitney Burns ‘77 Heather Coles ‘99 Cathy Walsh Fisher ’88 Jessica Gil ‘06 Amber Gmerek ‘09 Malena Harrang ‘10 Sue Heffernan ‘72 Mary Jenneskens ‘76 Susan Benton Meier ‘81 Marian Brown Middleton ‘72 Janet Jenkins O’Neil ‘76 Grace Scarella ‘06 Jane Whitaker ‘78 Julie Lundgren, Honorary, Alumnae Director

If you have any feedback, suggestions for alumnae events or are interested in serving on the Alumnae Board, contact me at caseyhallorourke@gmail.com or Julie Lundgren, our Director of Alumnae Relations, at jlundgren@forestridge.org Casey Hall O’Rourke ‘90 Alumnae Board President

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

35

Ten After Ten:

Mackenzie Day Caroline Beyer

Caroline attended Boston College, where she studied international relations with a focus on social justice and ethics. Her search for a meaningful vocation that would pay a salary eventually led her to medical school.

She has completed her third year at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. New York has been a fascinating place to live and learn medicine, but she misses trees, mountains, and the free time to enjoy them. Currently, Caroline is taking a year off of school to do research on child mortality with Partners in Health, a Boston-based global health organization, and the University of Global Health Equity in Rwanda. She says she is thrilled to be working on the same team with Lisbee Mumford ’05, another FR alum! When she returns to medical school, Caroline plans to apply to family medicine residency programs, with a particular interest in social activism and women’s health.

Elle Glenny

Mackenzie Day migrated south after Forest Ridge and has spent the past 10 years studying geology. From knee-high salt crystals in Death Valley to fossiliferous riverbeds in the bayou, Mackenzie’s field sites include a wide range of Earth’s sand-traps. And why stop at Earth? Intrigued by the Red Planet, Mackenzie spent four years as a member of the Mars Science Laboratory team helping operate the Curiosity rover. While investigating sand on Mars she developed a passion for planetary science and now specializes in the motion of sand on other planets. Mackenzie loves academia, and having just finished her 21st year of school by receiving a Ph.D., she will be spending the next year as a researcher at the University of Washington before heading to UCLA to begin a tenure-track professorship in Earth, planetary and space sciences. Outside of science, Mackenzie became a certified wilderness EMT and now feels slightly better when she hikes, rock-climbs, and explores the back country with her adventurous friends and family.

Louisa Fish-Sadin

Louisa Fish-Sadin is in her final year of a Masters of Divinity program at Harvard Divinity School, where she is studying spirituality and climate change as well as religious literacy in education. She graduated in 2012 from St. Olaf College, where she studied dance and earned a degree at the Center for Integrative Studies. After college, she wanted more experience and training in education, so she completed a graduate certificate in education, environment and community through a partnership between the UW and Islandwood environmental education center. She spent the following years teaching in various settings and traveling, including a year in which she both taught 5th grade at Forest Ridge and lived on the island of Iona in Scotland for two months! Louisa looks forward to moving back to the Pacific Northwest after finishing her graduate studies and returning to teaching, dancing and working through her ever-growing reading list.

Building on a nascent interest in global health that emerged while at Forest Ridge, Elle graduated from Cornell University in 2012 with a major in human biology, health and society and a minor in global health. An undergraduate research field experience in Chile led her to seek post-graduate opportunities abroad. In 2013, Elle accepted a Fulbright award to teach English at a secondary school in Malaysia. The year was chock-full of teaching, enveloping herself into her neighborhood community, and traveling throughout Southeast Asia. Not ready to end the adventuring but ready to find a cooler climate, she moved to Tahoe for a winter to work as a ski instructor at Squaw Valley. She is now a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina in the School of Public Health where she is pursuing a degree in nutritional biochemistry. Her specific research interests focus on gut bacteria in the context of malnutrition. When not in the laboratory, Elle is outside playing Ultimate Frisbee on a competitive women’s team and coaching it at a local high school, or backpacking in the beautiful Southeast forests.

36

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Stories from the Class of 2008 Sunny Sinco

Brianna Hartzell

After graduating from UCLA in 2012, Sunny returned home to the Pacific Northwest and began teaching language arts and social studies at Dimmitt Middle School. While there, she earned her M.Ed. from the University of Washington. Last year, she joined the founding team at Destiny Middle School, a Green Dot Public Charter School in Tacoma.

In addition to teaching, she’s writing curriculum, coaching other teachers and collaborating across schools to continue to improve educational opportunities and access throughout Washington State. This school year, she will start her National Boards, an advanced teaching credential that recognizes instructors whose practice meets national standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do. Outside of the classroom, Sunny spends her time cheering on her Bruins, traveling with her husband and baking FR’s famous pumpkin chocolate muffins every chance she gets.

Brianna lives in Leavenworth, Washington, and works at Alpine Lakes High Camp, an off-the-grid backcountry resort near Stevens Pass. It’s a recreation paradise, and affords her time to run, hike and sit contemplatively by the wood stove with her pup, Freya. In the winter, she is on ski patrol at Stevens Pass, helping injured skiers, maintaining ski trails, and monitoring avalanche control. In her own time, she is a backcountry skier, writer and banjo player. “I’m so grateful for my time at Forest Ridge, where I gained a powerful voice, allowing me success as a strong woman in historically male professions,” Brianna says.

Whitney McKelvey

After eight glorious years on the Ridge, Whitney ventured to Gonzaga University earning a degree in public relations and continuing her passion of sports and volunteering. Whitney took on a term of AmeriCorps during her senior year of college and stayed for a second term working both as the volunteer coordinator for ESD101 and community outreach coordinator for local nonprofit Rebuilding Together Spokane. The travel bug bit Whitney young in life while studying abroad in high school and her life was forever changed after backpacking down the coast of Central America and exploring the small villages and Serengeti of Kenya and Tanzania. Since returning Whitney has begun minimizing her life into a tiny house on wheels; you might have seen her episode on HGTV’s Tiny House Hunters. Now living in Oregon, Whitney just earned her master’s degree in teaching from Pacific University and looks forward to challenging students in the classroom and coaching volleyball. Whitney often returns to Washington to help facilitate classes at her mom’s art studio in Enumclaw. Whitney says will forever be grateful to Forest Ridge and the amazing teachers/coaches who helped her find her voice. She hopes to coach at FR one day soon ... Go Ravens!

Annie Saunders

Sacred Heart Goal #3 — educate to a social awareness which impels to action — has been a guiding principle for Annie since graduation. Through engineering, Annie has worked extensively in regions with broken or nonexistent infrastructure to increase the capacity and quality of healthcare delivery in marginalized communities. Annie earned a B.E. in mechanical engineering from Dartmouth, where she had the opportunity to pursue a number of the real-world engineering projects. As a member of Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering, she spent three months in Tanzania assessing a fuel-efficient cook stove project, and for her capstone study, she designed a water supply system for an off-grid hospital in rural Haiti. She returned to Seattle for a year to work at PATH, designing and testing devices targeting global health needs. However, her prior work in Haiti quickly pulled her back out of the PNW. Annie is now a project engineer at Build Health International, a non-profit design and build company headquartered in Boston that develops appropriate and sustainable health care infrastructure for other non-profits.

She spent last year living in rural Haiti, installing a hospital’s water supply line and supervising the construction of a surgical center. Outside of engineering, Annie still finds time to play soccer or lace up a pair of ice skates, and when she finds herself near the mountains, she will be hiking or back-country skiing every weekend.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

37

Ten After Ten: Amy Taylor

continued

Amy studied nursing at the University of San Francisco and fully enjoyed the opportunities and experiences that college life and living in the city afforded her. She feels especially grateful for an internship that allowed her to spend a summer working in a small community hospital in Kara, Togo.

As a new graduate she took a job at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle taking care of mothers and babies after birth. Amy loved working as a postpartum nurse in Seattle, but when her future husband was transferred to Europe, Amy decided to go too. She lived and worked in Edinburgh and Madrid for almost two years, during which time she traveled around Europe and learned to speak fluent Spanish. In April, she married Enrique Mendoza Mayo in León, Spain. After finishing their honeymoon in South America Amy and Enrique will be moving back to the States. Amy is looking forward to being close to friends and family again and returning to nursing.

38

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Justine Thomas

After graduating from Forest Ridge, Justine moved to sunny California, where she studied Italian and French literatures at Stanford. Her classes allowed her to combine her love of history and language, and gave her the opportunity to spend six months studying abroad in Florence, Italy. She continues to make the trip back to Italy every couple of years to visit her host her mom and eat gelato three times a day, but happily calls the Bay Area her home. After working for a short time at a social media marketing startup, Justine joined Google as a program manager and has been there ever since. In addition to working on projects like Google’s Academy for Ads and the Google Science Fair, Justine is also making progress on her 500-hour yoga certification and teaching vinyasa yoga classes at a local studio. When she’s not on her yoga mat, she enjoys spending time exploring nearby mountains with her boyfriend and taking the occasional horseback riding lesson.

AASH National Conference 2017

St. Philippine, Olympians and Dancing

By Marcy Tufarolo ’73

Last April, eight Forest Ridge alumnae traveled to San Francisco to attend the National AASH Conference. There they spent an unforgettable four days with other Sacred Heart alumnae/i as they renewed old friendships, made new ones and emboldened their understanding for the power of a Sacred Heart education.

Highlights included a debut of a film celebrating the bicentennial of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne’s arrival in North America and hearing from Olympians Katie Ledecky and Lea Neal from Stone Ridge and Kelly Crowley from Atherton. Learning more about the pioneering spirit of St. Philippine in the 1800’s, about her drive and ensuing sacrifices to bring a Sacred Heart education to the United States, was inspiring. Listening to how this education made a positive difference in the lives of Katie, Lea and Kelly, brought home how relevant and important Sacred Heart values still are today.

Above: Sister Suzanne Cooke and Marcia O’Dea, rscj ’56 at the Conference Gala event.

Top left: Three Olympians with Sacred Heart connections were on the panel at the AASH Conference.

Top right: Sister Mary B was a special guest at a gathering of Forest Ridge alumnae from near and far.

The conference offered many opportunities to witness how the Sacred Heart lives out its mission through visits to our sister schools in Atherton and in San Francisco. In Atherton we toured the sprawling and bucolic campus, visiting their newly restored historic main building as well as their state of the art technology and science buildings, aquatic center and farm complete with rabbits, chickens and goats. The Atherton campus is also the home to Oakwood where the retired sisters live. There were many hugs of gratitude and love for all the nuns have given to educating girls and providing the spiritual foundation for thousands of students over the years.

Forest Ridge alums had their own gathering where 20 alumnae, including Sr. Mary B. Flaherty ’49 and Sr. Marcia O’Dea ’56, came together for a rousing good time! Alums representing all age groups enjoyed each other’s company and their special bond.

The grand finale found us enjoying our final evening together at the Gala at the Broadway campus in San Francisco. There is no better way to end an AASH National Conference than on the dance floor in the stunning Flood mansion dancing the night away with nuns, alumnae/i both young and mature, heads of school and friends all sharing in the love of the Sacred Heart!

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

39

2017 Distinguished Alumna

Maureen Pleas Brotherton ’72 Each year at the Forest Ridge Alumnae Association Induction Ceremony and Spring Luncheon, the Alumnae Board honors a Distinguished Alumna. In May, they voted Maureen Pleas Brotherton ’72 as the 2017 recipient of the award.

Twenty years ago, Maureen founded TIPS, Teens in Public Service, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting teens with life-changing opportunities and internships at nonprofit organizations. An idea that started at the family dinner table when Maureen was 40 years old, had five children and in her words, a crazy dog.

Maureen went for it. She earned a master’s degree in nonprofit leadership, then, with the help of her then 16-yearold daughter, she launched a pilot program to combine workforce gaps in charities with one of our most precious resources, teenagers.

The TIPS program thrives today.

Every summer teenage students apply for paid summer internships to work for organizations that feed the homeless, comfort the elderly, tutor the young, and restore the environment. The students learn valuable community leadership skills through training and community service projects. Over the past 20 years, TIPS has placed nearly 1,000 teens with more than 150 nonprofits, making it a leader in Puget Sound for employing teens.

40

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Maureen Pleas Brotherton ’72 and her husband, Joe.

We all have been blessed to be a blessing to others.

That is something I learned at Forest Ridge.

Twelve years ago, TIPS qualified Maureen to join Seattle Rotary which opened a new chapter of global service for her. With only two weeks’ notice, Maureen jumped at the chance to travel to Ethiopia with the Rotarians to administer polio drops to children living in remote villages. There she was introduced to Ethiopian business men and women and made global friendships that changed her life.

Maureen also discovered Uganda through Rotary where she learned firsthand of the atrocities of their civil war and the steps taken to bring back life to the country. She has gone back to Africa every year since 2005.

One trip included taking 10 women friends from Seattle to meet the friends Maureen had made in a remote Ugandan village. Together they shared an unforgettable week of learning from each other and building bridges of understanding about solutions to universal problems that all women share.

Believing in community involvement, Maureen has held many volunteer positions in Seattle: former President of Seattle Rotary Service Foundation’s Board of Trustees, board member on the Children’s Hospital’s Uncompensated Care Board, and the former Chair of Seattle University’s Board of Regents.

Maureen and her husband, Joe, are also the proprietors of Doe Bay Resort & Retreat located on Orcas Island.

Maureen joined Forest Ridge in the first grade when it was called Forest Ridge Convent of the Sacred Heart and located in Seattle. The year was 1960, when most teachers were nuns and Primé happened every Monday. Primé, as many recall, rated students’ behavior for the week as either Tres Bien, Bien, Assez Bien or “no notes.”

Students moved between classes in rank and in silence called by the sound of castanets and sex education was taught in the 5th grade by a nun.

In her senior year, the school moved to Somerset in Bellevue. Maureen has the distinction of being a member of the first graduating class from the new campus in 1972. She recalls, “I think that with that move came an even greater change that we just barely got to taste. The 1970s were a time of social change and the institution of Title IX. We had some very cool teachers at the new school, one who taught revolution and another who taught a class on war. More attention was given to discussions and dialogue about politics, peace and conflict.

The world was changing and the importance of women along with it. The shift began to evolve into a new Forest Ridge where girls are now encouraged to “innovate, invent and tinker.”

Forest Ridge left an imprint on Maureen’s heart. She says the biggest gifts were the friends she made. Maureen believes, “You will find life long bonds that will come back to you time and time again. You will treasure these friends and the teachers who inspired you and cared about you.”

“We are blessed to live where we live and have the education that we have had,” Maureen says. “Forest Ridge produces strong women by fostering compassion and teaches us to lead in many different ways. We all have been blessed to be a blessing to others. That is something I learned at Forest Ridge.”

‘

Dani Baxter ’20, right, at work as a TIPS intern this summer.

’

Incredible experience

Danielle Baxter ’20 spent the summer working as a TIPS volunteer for the non-profit Young Women Empowered. As one of 300 teens to apply, Dani felt very proud to be chosen as one of the 50 TIPS interns.

“TIPS this summer was an absolutely incredible experience,” she says. I learned so much about what it means to be in a nonprofit and to work in an actual job. And, I was so excited to know that Maureen Brotherton, the 2017 Distinguished Alumna, went to Forest Ridge too. Knowing that we come from the same school and to see someone doing all the good that she does, was very inspiring to me.”

Maureen with members of the Classes of 1972 and 1973.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

41

FRAA Induction Ceremony and Spring Luncheon Ananya Tomar ’17 with her parents, Simran Bedi Singh and Dharmesh Singh.

Lindsey Otta ’09 with Honorary Alumnus Tom Manion.

Each senior received a fleece logo blanket as a gift.

Above left: Enjoying the luncheon from the Class of 2009, are from left, CJ Jaeger, Spring Luncheon Chair Samantha Totton and Lindsey Otta.

Above right: Emily Felix ‘17 and parents, Millie Edmonds ‘82 and Jeff Felix.

42

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

The Forest Ridge Alumnae Board members welcomed the Class of 2017 to the Forest Ridge Alumnae Association on May 12, 2017 at the Newcastle Golf Club. Alumnae, many of whom were sisters, mothers and family friends, bestowed alumnae pins on 42 seniors in a moving ceremony as these young women were welcomed into the Alumnae Association. Sr. Marcia O’Dea ’56 blessed each of them as they stood together as newly inducted alumnae.

Maureen Pleas Brotherton ‘72 was honored as the 2017 Distinguished Alumna. Art teacher Tom Manion was inducted as an Honorary Alumnus.

Top: The Class of 2017.

The luncheon brought together alumnae, soon-to-be alumnae and their families as a community of people who share in the love of the Sacred Heart. We welcome all alumnae to attend and hope to see you there next year on Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at the Newcastle Golf Club.

Above right: Susan Benton Meier ‘81 and daughter Hannah Meier ‘17.

Above left: Oluchi Anunobi ‘17, Janet Kelly Shaw ‘58 and Josephine Anunobi.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

43

Members of the class of 1967 enjoyed a tour at the “old school.”

44

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Alumnae Reunion

Alumnae spanning the years of 1942 to 2011 came back to Forest Ridge to celebrate their reunions at the Annual Alumnae Reunion on Saturday, June 3, 2017. This year was particularly special as Sally Sue Coleman ’42 celebrated her 75th reunion which she shared with her daughter, Molly Coleman Madson ’67 who celebrated her 50th (pictured at left).

The weekend started off with a tour of the old school for the Class of 1967 in Seattle — the Forest Ridge Convent as it was known then — on Friday, June 1. Many hadn’t seen each other for years, and many had not been back to the school since they graduated. They eagerly walked the halls of their beloved school, exploring the nooks and crannies as bit by bit memories of their time there came flooding back. Now the Seattle Hebrew Academy, the school has changed significantly since the late 60s.

Uniforms from the 50s!

The recipient of the 2017 Sacred Heart Award, Janet Jenkins O’Neil ’76, is joined by her family, aunt June Rogers Kennedy ’54, husband John, children Cameron and Macaully and mother, Clair Rogers Kennedy ’46.

2017

Elizabeth Park Luis ’46, Sheila Lyons Leewens ’49 and Sonya Quitslund ’53 came together from Bainbridge Island. Here, they are enjoying stories with Julie Thenell Grasseschi, Acting Head of School.

The following day, the Alumnae Reunion started off with Master Classes taught by Sr. Marcia O’Dea ‘56, Mr. John Fenoli and Mr. Dean Shoemaker. As lifelong learners, Forest Ridge alumnae enjoyed being back in the classroom. The evening continued with a wine & cheese reception, and a dinner program that included honoring the Sacred Heart Award recipient, Janet Jenkins O’Neil ‘76. This service award acknowledges alumnae whose dedication to Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart has called her to serve, giving generously of her time and talent.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

45

Alumnae Reunion

2017

Sr. Marcia O’Dea says grace.

First Communion dress of Mary Alice Morrow Bartell ’57.

Alumnae attend a Master Class taught by Mr. John Fenoli.

46

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

The Class of 1957 celebrates their 60th Reunion: Mary Alice Morrow Bartell (dec.), Judy Ballard Acarregui, Barbara Day Kasle and Patty David Oscar.

Members of the Class of 1987 celebrate their 30th Reunion: Cheryl Cherkas Black, Tina Allen Neiders, Christina Smith Dudley, Eileen Demetrio Butcher, Dana Kapela Fick, Holly Tomashek, Ann Lackland, Belinda Bond Kindschi and Gretchen Haase Frederick.

Laurie Boyle ’82 travelled from Hawaii and joined Carolyn Clancy Goodwin ’82 and Nancy DiJulio Kissler ’82 to celebrate their 35th Reunion.

Class of 1972 – first class to graduate from the Somerset campus – celebrated their 45th reunion: Front: Janet Reilly Beard, Marian Brown Middleton, Marcy Tufarolo ’73; Back: Jeanie Collins Boddy, Cynthia Fraser Carnahan, guest, Sue Heffernan and Mary Smith Smith.

The Class of 2007 celebrating their 10th Reunion: Tegan Klein, Nadia Jessa, Alex Cimaglia, Lauren Cruickshank, Ramya Saraswathi, Raina Chauan, Juliette Peyroux, Karlee Keyser. In front: Lindsey Otta Zachary and Susannah Howard.

Members of the Class of 1967 celebrate their 50th Reunion: Molly Coleman Madson, Sue Pepka Harris, Elizabeth Naughton Baldwin, Mary Case Dunnam, Mary Lyn Hikel and BL Meyer McLaughlin.

After an evening of much laughter and good conversations, alumnae left with a renewed Forest Ridge spirit.

We are already planning next year’s reunion on Saturday, June 2, 2018, where we will celebrate classes ending in an “8” and a “3.”

Save the date, and plan to attend — we can’t wait to welcome you home!

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

47

classnotes Email or mail your class notes and let us know what you’ve been doing. And don’t forget to send us a photo!

Have you recently moved? We’d love to have your new mailing address. Email it to Julie Lundgren at jlundgren@forestridge.org Email: forestridge.org Write us: Class Notes Alumnae Office Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart 4800 139th Avenue SE Bellevue, WA 98006-3015

50s

Elizabeth Radner Hansen ’50 keeps busy volunteering for the Jesuit Volunteers Encore, is an active member of St. Pat’s Parish in Seattle for 33 years and is the mother of four, grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of four.

Mary Kraft Chiechi ’57 writes, “Our FRC 60th class reunion was held at Mary Kraft Chiechi’s home last June. We had a wonderful celebration with good conversations, memories, hors d’oeuvres, and a great dinner prepared by Douglas Chiechi, Mary Kraft Chiechi’s husband.

There were 14 of us who could make it. Barbara Hoeffler Requa had to leave early to attend her grandson’s college graduation. It was a very special day for all of us – so overwhelming! 60 years!

Front row from left to right: Virginia Favero Helbing, Mary Alice Morrow Bartell, Karen Kidd Thomason, Madeleine Neupert Morrison, Kathy LeFor Weiner, and Penny Steiner. The back row from left to right are: Mary Kraft Chiechi, Barbara Day Kasle, Mary Hanify Andrews, Pat Harrop Schumacher, Judy Ballard Acarregui, Patty David Oscar, and Eulalia Johnson Sexton.

Left to right: Penny Steiner, Mary Kraft Chiechi, Barbara Day Kasle, Judy Ballard Acarregui, and Kathy LeFor Weiner.

48

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

f o r es t r i d g e . o r g

60s

I am including a conversation she had with her parents on the morning after her first day in Kindergarten. I thought all my fellow FRC graduates would appreciate her astute comment – certainly brought a smile to my face!!

Misha Alma Leendertsen ’61 and her husband Howard celebrated 50 years of marriage with children and grandchildren at Figure 8 Island, North Carolina, saying, “It was a wonderful week filled with joy, sun and waves and lots of great memories!”

Mary Magnano Smith ‘61 and some of her classmates met on Camano Island where Julie Maher Anderson hosted a get together.

“Julie and Sharon Sylvester Smith put out crab pots and served fresh Dungeness crab for a delicious lunch together. It was fun to catch up on what we were all doing.”

Bonnie Munroe Ackles ’64 writes, “I have retired as a nurse practitioner and case manager.

I volunteer as an advocate for seniors, and volunteer as a Certified Food Care Nurse at Senior Centers.”

Scottie: Mom, Dad, we pray every morning at school.

Leendertsen Family Reunion

Parents: What do you think about when you pray?

Scottie: We don’t think about anything. They talk and we repeat.

As my son said – “A good Catholic girl in the making”!

Class of 1961 - Mary Magnano Smith, Lynn Teplicky Hennagin, Mary Cay Wood Murray, Karen Howick Meadows, Julie Maher Anderson, Sharon Sylvester Smith and Lucy Martin Lynch.

Carolyn Gorham Prince ’67 writes, “Seventeen of our classmates met June 2 for dinner at Broadmoor Golf Club on a lovely warm evening for our 50th reunion. We have accomplished much and had much to share, lots of laughter down memory lane!

Mary Ann Rosellini Flynn’s granddaughter, Scottie Flynn

Mary Ann Rosellini Flynn ’65 shares, “Having raised three boys and never thinking about having a child at a Sacred Heart School, here is my grand-daughter, Scottie, who has just begun her first year at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in San Francisco. f o r es t r i d g e . o r g

(Back row, left to right) Betty Lou (BL) McLaughlin Meyer, Pat Schindler Haigh, Nancy Way Boyd, Catherine Bell Wendell, Mary Case Dunnam, Molly Coleman Madson, Sue Pepka Harris, Linda Miller Leigh, Kathleen Munger Nelson and Cheryl Carras Wicklund; (front row, left to right) Colleen Pleas Raymond, Elizabeth Naughton Baldwin, Margaret Rose Olson, Gerri Kellogg Caswell, Janie Pival Walton, Carolyn Gorman Prince and Mary Lyn Hikel.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

49

classnotes

80s

A group visited the old Forest Ridge to see the changes and reconfigurations that have taken place and basically only the gym remains the same. The consensus was that it was a fun evening and perhaps we should not wait another 10 years to enjoy one another’s company.”

Cheryl Linder-Spuck ’88 started a new job in October working for Accenture Management Consulting as Principal Director, Strategy and Innovation.

Arden Clise ‘80 is pleased that her business, Clise Etiquette, is nine years old and thriving.

And, she is very happy that after several years of off and on writing she published her first book: Spinach in Your Boss’s Teeth: Essential Etiquette for Professional Success. Available on Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. Arden reflects, “All of that writing angst with Sister O’Dea paid off.”

70s

Mary McKay Vial ’70 writes: “The fabulous class of 1970 celebrated their 65th birthdays on the deck of Mary McKay Vial’s home this past September!”

Class of 1970 Reunion

Lesley Shanahan ’72 shares, “I am somewhat retired, doing a little caregiving but mostly enjoying my three children and traveling. Also enjoying seeing classmates from FRC, the good old days!”

Sandy Emerson MacLean Uberuaga ’72 writes, “I have two children: Ian, age 34 and Katie, age 32, and one granddaughter, age 15 months, with another grandchild on the way. I am an audiologist and president of two businesses: Washington Audiology Services in Seattle employing 25 employees and providing hearing loss prevention services and Alaska Occupational Audiology and Health Services, employing four employees, based in Anchorage.

Sandy Emerson Uberuaga in Alaska 50

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Class of 1973: Mary Kay Zech Perrigo, Joanne McKay Fleming, Carol Gilmore Sauter, Marcy Tufarolo, Jennifer Roberts Merrick, Zits Biondi and Laurie Keefe LeMay.

I travel throughout Alaska providing services. I followed my heart to move North in 2000 and have been a resident ever since.

I am married to Richard Uberuaga and we love to hunt and fish especially at our cabin in the bush, along with our two German shorthair pointers. We still maintain a home in Ballard and spend a fair amount of the winter there as “Rainbirds.”

Marci Tufarolo ’73 writes, “Several classmates gathered to celebrate Zita Biondi’s birthday last

May. We shared lots of stories from our past days at Forest Ridge and had many, many laughs. It was a great time together and a fun birthday for our friend Zita.”

Karen Fitch Ballard ‘78, a Commercial Officer with the U.S. Foreign Commercial Service, has just completed her two-year assignment to Sydney Australia and is now in Washington, D.C., for language training before heading to her next post in Buenos Aires, Argentina in July 2018.

Susan Benton Meier ’81 writes, “This summer I traveled to Sweden with my sister and mother to visit my mother’s cousins. My second daughter graduated from Forest Ridge in June and I hiked the Teton Crest Rail in the Grand Teton National Park.”

Shannon Underwood ’81 (see photo at right) has just completed her term as Commodore of Meydenbauer Bay Yacht Club and gotten her third child off to college. Shannon and husband David Gartland continue their work as commercial property developers in King and Snohomish counties. Their daughter, Kylen Gartland ‘13 has begun a Ph.D. program in Anthropology at the University of Oregon.

f o r es t r i d g e . o r g

Sharon Carey LeeMaster ’53 and Kriss Turner Towner ’81 discovered they are both members of the UW Communications Department Alumni Hall of Fame. Sharon was inducted in 2015 and Kriss this year. UW honors outstanding alumni who are making a difference in their careers and in their communities. Not knowing each other, they were thrilled to meet at the awards reception.

Sharon has the distinction of being the first woman intern at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer which lead to an illustrious Photo by Caean C o u t o career in reporting, public relations and fundraising. Sharon has received multiple awards for her work, including the Outstanding Development Professional from the San Diego Chapter of Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP); Outstanding Woman in Communications from the Theta Sigma Phi (now Women in Communications) and was named “One to Watch” by San Diego Magazine.

Kriss is a television writer and producer. She has written for Cosby, The Bernie Mac Show, Everybody Hates Chris, Living Single, Whoopie and Sister, Sister. Her latest production is the upcoming Amazon drama series, The Romanoffs. Kriss has been honored for her writing with a Peabody, Humanitas and NAACP Award. Her first feature film, Something New, won a Black Filmmakers Award for best screenplay.

Alani Kalfayan ‘99 and Samantha Motta ‘99.

Shannon Underwood ’81

90s

Heather Coles ’99 married Katie Baker on Hood Canal.

In attendance were classmates Alani Kalfayan ’99 and Samantha Motta ’99.

f o r es t r i d g e . o r g

Heather Coles and her wedding party.

Josalyn Alston Ford ’99 married Cemal Ford, a teacher at University Child Development School who hails from Brooklyn, New York, in September. They will honeymoon in Fiji next April.

Samantha Motta ’99 shares, “this June I married a wonderfully talented and kind person named Hugh Graham Findlay IV. We were married in the Kenton neighborhood in North Portland

at an art gallery and Hugh built the altar we were married under.

And of course, Alani was in my wedding party!” After an amazing honeymoon in Portugal and Spain (where we met up with Anne Rudolph Flores ‘99 and her husband Matt), we ended up purchasing our dream home and moved in last week. It’s been a whirlwind of a summer for us and we’re so excited about what’s to come!”

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

51

classnotes

2000s

Jamie Keller Walters ’00 and her husband Ben relocated from Seattle to Paris several years ago and just recently welcomed their first child, Lily. Now that Lily has started at crèche, Jamie has returned to managing Pure Paris, where she creates personalized itineraries for visitors coming to Paris.

Emily Castle ‘02 married Dustin Fitzgerald Bemis on April 30, 2016 in the Forest Ridge Chapel. The reception was held at the Newcastle Golf Club. Michelle Philbin, also class of 2002, served as a bridesmaid.

The couple became an aunt and uncle when Emily’s sister welcomed baby Joel Patrick Tarantino last year. Emily has moved to teaching in the Bear Creek middle school in Redmond.

This summer, she graduated with a Master’s in Educational Leadership at Seattle Pacific University and also earned a Washington State Principal Certificate.

In July, Kristen Orlowski Christensen ’03 and her family of six traveled to Frankfurt, Germany, to visit her parents, Walt & Karen Orlowski who are currently serving an LDS public affairs mission there. Their travels included site-seeing in Amsterdam, Netherlands; Brussels, Belgium; Salzburg, Austria; and Nürburg, Prien am Chiemsee, and Munich, Germany. Pictured in Salzburg, Austria from left to right: Kalenn Christensen, Karen & Walt Orlowski, Alex, Kristen, Kambria, Kat and Delson Christensen.

52

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

Sheena Reed ’04 married Michael Hill in a beautiful gulf coast wedding in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi, on June 9, 2017.

Michael is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a graduate of Mississippi State University, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, and an excellent grill master.

This fall, Sheena also started another adventure as the new Director of College Counseling at Metairie Park Country Day School in the suburbs of New Orleans, Louisiana.

Alexis Chong Farris ’06 married Brian Farris in a Wonderlandinspired ceremony at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obisbo, California on September 4, 2016. Her sister, Jillian Chong ‘09, and Ankita Mishra ‘06 were bridesmaids. Also in atten-

dance were Laura Camacho ‘05, Brooke Bussone ‘06, Gena Brigham ‘06, and Nicole Mahoney ‘06. The couple whisked off to Hawai’i after the ceremony for a week-long adventure.

Lily Saffer ’06 is engaged to Charlie Fancher, a doctor in physics who works with the Naval Research Lab. They will be married in Spring 2018.

Lily practices family law in Fairfax, Virginia.

Grace Scarella ’06 is a community engagement professional in the Seattle area, and her work is inspired by her many servicelearning experiences while studying at Forest Ridge. Grace is excited to give back to the Forest Ridge community through joining the Alumnae Board this year!

Lily Saffer ’06 and her fiancé.

Kristin Orlowski Christensen ’03 and family in Austria.

f o r es t r i d g e . o r g

Nina Sharp ‘15 spent this summer working as an IT Intern at Baker Boyer Bank in Walla Walla, where she co-led a working group to improve part of the bank’s Client Relationship Management software, and managed record merges and data cleanup. Now a junior Economics major at Whitman, Nina is currently serving as a Resident Assistant and was recently accepted to study abroad in Copenhagen, Denmark next spring!

Alexis Chong with her sister Jillian Chong ’09.

Mitra Raman ’10

Jesse Gil Verge ’06 shares, “I am currently working for Robert Half Legal. It was a busy summer for family weddings with Sandra ‘09 getting married a couple weeks after me. When I’m not working I am staying busy as a new member of the Alumnae board and as a provisional member of Junior League Seattle.”

After a few months of figuring out the business model and nailing down the recipes, she officially launched The Buttermilk Company in June 2017. The name hits close to home — Mitra’s parents immigrated to the United States from India and buttermilk is used in many traditional South Indian dishes that she grew up with.

She hopes that the food she provides will make customers feel at home, too. She can’t wait for people to try the authentic Indian dishes that they’ve prepared! She’s excited to open up the Beta to the Forest Ridge community. To sign up, go to www.thebuttermilkco.com.

Sandra Gil Ernst ’09 married Christopher Ernst in Enumclaw, Washington, over the summer.

Sandra shares, “We spent just over two weeks traveling through Thailand for our honeymoon.

We are counting down the days until we can return! I am currently a second grade teacher for the Kent School District and Chris is an accountant for PACCAR.” Mitra Raman ’10 had been working as a Software Engineer at Amazon since graduating from college with a B.S. in Computer Science for two years when she got an idea to help people make authentic, fresh ethnic foods with just 10 minutes and a pot of water. f o r es t r i d g e . o r g

Grace Lacy-Hansell ’11 shares, “I just got back from a two-month backpacking trip through Europe and was lucky enough to have a chance to visit Trinità dei Monti in Rome during my travels. I was absolutely moved by Mater Admirabilis. I am so thankful for my Sacred Heart education and all it has brought to my life through friendships, inspiration, and strength.”

Nina Sharp ’15

Grace at Trinita dei Monti.

Kathleen Larson ‘13 has begun graduate school as a Ph.D. candidate at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She will be studying biomedical engineering and researching quantitative imaging methods in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a means to improve its efficiency and quality of as a diagnostic tool. She hopes to become the first Dr. Larson in her family (5 years later)!

Kathleen Larson ‘13

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

53

54

|

mes

amis

FALL

201

in memoriam John Beyer, father of Becky Beyer Canterbury and Jean Beyer McCourt, June 9, 2017.

Mary Alice Morrow Bartell ’57, mother of the late Maura Bartell Magnan ’85 and sister of Kitty Morrow Meredith ’58, Susie Morrow Gleason ’60 and Mary Lou Morrow Amen ’66, September 6, 2017.

Norm Calvo, husband of Marcia Waldron Calvo ’62, on October 22, 2017.

Milton Peter Clampitt, father of Colleen Clampitt Boughton ’76, Cristi Clampitt Aigner ’77 and Cathleen Clampitt ’85, April 9, 2017.

Norma Denzer Cugini, mother of Crissa Cugini ’78, and Cathy Cugini O’Neill ’80, July 17, 2017.

Rosemary Kuschell Eldred ’66 (El Cajon), January 5, 2016.

Mary Ann “Garby” Elmore, mother of Rita Ouillette ’76, Kathy Ouillette Madden ’77, Theresa Ouillette Rehn ’80 and Ann Ouillette Fitzmaurice ’81, September 21, 2017.

James Patrick DiJulio, father of Christine DiJulio Smith ’74, Mary Lynn DiJulio Thompson ’81, Nancy DiJulio Kissler ‘82, Darcy DiJulio Schuster ’85, father-in-law of Barbara Bradley DiJulio ’82 and grandfather of Lisa Kissler ’99, January 7, 2017.

Joan Allene La Fontaine DiJulio, mother of Christine DiJulio Smith ’74, Mary Lynn DiJulio Thompson ’81, Nancy DiJulio Kissler ‘82, Darcy DiJulio Schuster ’85, mother-in-law of Barbara Bradley DiJulio ’82 and grandmother of Lisa Kissler ’99, March 28, 2017.

Edward William “Ned” Flohr II, father of Jeanne Flohr ’81 and Sue Flohr Harvey ’85, September 1, 2017.

Milton John Furness, father of Megan Furness Berger ’85, Alexandra Furness ’86, Stacy Furness ’88 and Paige Furness MacMillan ’93, April 27, 2017.

Victor Giuliani, father of Tina Giuliani ‘76, Jill Giuliani ‘80, and the late Gail Giuliani ‘82, August 25, 2017.

Louis Hoffer, father of Dawn Hoffer ’87, father-in-law of Shannon Robinson Hoffer ’82 and grandparent of Alice Hoffer ’17 and Emilia Hoffer ’20, July 2017.

Barbara Jarvis ’70 on April 4, 2017.

Woody Jepson, husband of Helen Doyle Jepson ’49, June 25, 2017.

Deirdrei L. Keegan, stepdaughter of Sydney Andrews Keegan ’60, March 9, 2017.

Sally Gagner McGlynn, mother of Mavourneen McGlynn ’75, July 1, 2017.

Virgilio Mendoza, father of Christina Mendoza ’82, Bernadette Mendoza Hanay ’83, Victoria Mendoza Zeisner ‘85, and grandfather of Veronica Mendoza ’19, April 4, 2017.

Mary Abernethy McKillop ’38, grandmother of Megan McKillop Kraman ’89, July 22, 2017.

Susie Odermat ’83, September 2, 2017.

Lou Pepper, husband of Mollie Venables Pepper ’46 and father of Margy Pepper ’74, December 27, 2016.

Garnie Charles Quitslund, brother of Sonya Quitslund ’53, March 24, 2017.

Marti Reinhart Savarin ’65, June 20, 2017.

John F. (Jack) Sullivan, Jr., father of Louise Sullivan Sportelli ’76 and Patricia Sullivan Stanford ’79, and grandfather of Emily Stanford ’10, March 19, 2017.

Tierney Salter ’75, sister of Tracey Salter Isaacson ’76 and Erin Salter Chesledon ’74, August 25, 2017.

Mari Guinan Stamper ‘52, mother of Mary Stamper Lynam ’75 and Anne Stamper ’77, April 26, 2017.

Shirley Peters Trulson ’40, July 21, 2017.

Kathy Wald Visich ’71, mother of Carole Visich Roane ’94 and Renee Visich Kurdzos ’97, May 6, 2017.

FALL

2017

MES

AMIS

|

55

Brides & Babies

1

4

2

3

5

1. Alexis Chong ’06 married Brian Farris on September 4, 2016.

6

2. Sandra Gil ’09 married Christopher Ernst on July 7, 2017.

3. Sheena Reed ’04 married Michael Hill on June 9, 2017.

4. Emily Castle ’02 married Dustin Fitzgerald Bemis on April 30, 2016.

5. Samantha Motta ’99 married Hugh Graham Findlay on June 3, 2017.

6. Jessica Gil ’06 married Adam Vergne on July 13, 2017.

7. Josalyn Alston ’99 married Cemal Ford on September 3, 2017.

8. Heather Coles ‘99 married Katie Baker on September 9, 2017.

Genevieve Burns ’08 married on August 12, 2017.

Lucy Myers ’05 married Greg Heflin on September 10, 2017.

7

8

9. Megan Gaudette Fairchild ’97 welcomed Thomas Vance Fairchild on January 15, 2017.

10. Elizabeth Massa Horsley’ 05, welcomed Abigail on April 29, 2017.

11. Erika Reinitz White ’04 welcomed Calla Isabel on April 2, 2017.

9 56

|

mes

amis

FALL

2017

10

11

She is a woman who can.

4800 139th avenue se, bellevue wa 98006-3015 forestridge.org

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Seattle, WA Permit No. 6781