The Ridge Report for May 2014

Report

The Ridge

May 2014

2nd annual FR Summer Fellowship for Creative Thinking and Action As May draws our school year closer to its final days, I’m thrilled to announce the renewal for a second year of a special program: Forest Ridge’s Summer Fellowship for Creative Thinking and Action.

Through this program, I want to tap into the talent of our students and allow them a chance to propose a new idea, research and detail its creation and suggest a path toward implementation that could potentially change the way we do things at Forest Ridge. I’m excited about what all of us — and our students, too — will learn on the way to making us an even better community!

Applicants should write a brief proposal and submit it to me by May 29. The proposal should briefly outline the student’s idea and the work she would do to address one of the questions in the three subject areas. The work done over the summer must produce a tangible outcome that can be implemented during the school year.

I will select the best proposals for each topic. The students will work independently on their topics.

Other details:

• E ach student will be notified by June 10, whether or not her proposal has been selected.

• E ach fellowship recipient will receive a $500 stipend for her work over the summer.

• F inal work is due September 15, 2014.

Specifically, fellowship recipients will focus on creatively addressing one of the following questions: Technology Integration/Blended and Online Learning: What enhancement can be made in the use of technology at Forest Ridge that can positively change the learning experience for students?

Campus Life/Community Experience: How can Forest Ridge demonstrate appreciation of its diverse, talented student body in an effort to live the Goals and Criteria more fully?

Internships/Mentorships/Off-Campus, ExtendedCurriculum Experiences: How can Forest Ridge enrich the classroom experience by providing off-campus opportunities to supplement the academic program? Some questions to consider: How would this work? What are some options?

How would it be scheduled?

Encourage your daughter to submit a proposal to the Summer Fellowship for Creative Thinking!

Mark Pierotti Head of School

Planning for our Future

A

s a research scientist at Microsoft Research (MSR), my daily life consists of envisioning the future of technology.

MSR’s charter is to not only identify the Next Big Thing but also to pave the path to its realization. As I survey the ongoing research in MSR, I am confronted with exciting innovation that touches every aspect of our lives. The future of technology includes task automation (even driving), personalized medicine, online education, biological sensors (with behavioral feedback), smart homes, virtual assistants and emergence of new particles in physics.

My career for the last 13 years has been devoted to realizing a Next Big Thing. I manage a research team focused on a nextgeneration computing paradigm called quantum computation.

Our team is devoted to advancing science and revolutionizing our present-day notion of what it means to compute. Our research path extends for a minimum of 10 more years, if not 20. While the long time frame may be daunting, our team sees the mammoth potential of changing how we interact with information. To be successful in our “quantum” pursuit, we require the belief of the scientific community; collaboration among physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists; a team of specialists; and the right infrastructure and equipment to enable progress. We must also commit to a clear vision of our goal and maintain the passion to fuel this vision.

A

s in the case of quantum computing, the path to technology realization often takes many twists and turns, includes stop signs and caution signs along the way, and requires years of work by many people from a variety of fields. The paths that result in the birth of a new technology, or perhaps an entirely new industry, tend to share common factors that enabled their success. These key factors include clear identification of the “killer” application, intense cross-boundary collaboration, highest-quality execution, and support by leadership, in terms of infrastructure, resources and sponsorship. It is also crucial to believe in what is being done and why it is important; otherwise failure is certain.

At Forest Ridge, we are envisioning the future of girls education.

Excellence in girls education is a Next Big Thing whose path dates back to 1800, when St. Madeleine Sophie Barat founded the Society of the Sacred Heart. The path has woven through the industrial age, space age and now information and digital age. At Forest Ridge, our

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vision is “uncompromising excellence in educating girls.” We want to “provide our young women the courageous leadership skills necessary to act with compassion and conviction in embracing challenges of a diverse global society.” As society and technology transform, a successful path requires rethinking the resources, infrastructure and collaborations needed for success.

W

hen I attended Forest Ridge, our path encompassed a laptop initiative. This was revolutionary. Every girl learned how to use technology (a laptop) to enhance her education. Now, most girls have a cellphone, tablet, e-reader and (maybe) laptop with them at all times. They communicate with their friends by text, post or tweet. Research for a paper means going to the Internet, not the hardback encyclopedia in the library.

The next generation of graduates needs initiatives that revolutionize how we teach and learn through the use of technology. Maybe it includes an Xbox in every classroom or the use of 3D printers as part of chemistry class or virtual reality stations to interact with Sacred Heart girls around the world. We have an opportunity to dictate what the future should bring to Forest Ridge.

Embracing innovation and change includes embracing transformations in campus facilities and campus life. Today we are faced with planning the next segment of our road towards excellence in girls education at Forest Ridge. What is required in the next decade to ensure our success? How do we embrace current technology yet remain flexible for future innovation in the classroom? How do we take better advantage of our Network of Sacred Heart Schools with the emergence of technologies to ease international communication?

I don’t have the answers to all of these questions, but I know that with the support of our community, belief in our vision and ongoing collaboration we will together identify and realize the Next Big Thing in our girls’ education.

I am anxious to take that quantum leap with you into our future.

Dr. Krysta M. Svore ‘97 Board Chair

, it s the transition

It’s not the change,

Dr. Carola Wittmann Director of the High School

During April’s Global Symposium Conference, held each year by the National Association of Independent Schools and the Association of Boarding Schools, many speakers and workshop leaders referenced change and transition.

Similar to the research compiled by William Bridges (Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change), these researchers reminded us that it is not the change so much but the accompanying transition, the actual letting go of what is known, that can be challenging.

By the same token, it was encouraging to hear from colleagues and presenters alike that our students are particularly well poised and prepared for transitions.

In fact, they expect transitions and often view them as an authentic challenge.

School life is always affected by change and transitions, some years more so than others. During this past year, the High School has seen the change and subsequent transition from an academic dean model to the model of dean of faculty. We have welcomed a total of seven new high school faculty and staff members and begun a mandatory class to help them make the transition.

On the student side, we worked on intentionally including experiential learning opportunities in our course registration. Many times, by beginning the conversation with the experiential opportunities (Resources and Sustainability trip to Alaska; Peace and Reconciliation trip to Jerusalem; Global Health engagements; Outdoor Education; Sound Design Course; and Code Program-ming Course), students and their families were able to eloquently and clearly voice their preferences and choices. In our meetings with about

75 percent of all current sophomore families, it became evident that each sophomore is planning on taking at least one IB class during her junior and senior years.

College counseling has most likely seen the greatest change and therefore transitional impact. We ended the calendar year with the arrival of Ms. Julie Ball and Mr. Frank Brightwell, who joined us as a college counseling consulting team. In that capacity they immediately began work with the students and parents of the class of 2015.

They also met with a variety of parents, students and other community members in order to propose a strategic vision moving forward. With their support we have decided to double the staffing and hired a new director and an associate director of college counseling.

We know that change is a constant; people move and retire; organizational goals and values widen or shift to mirror student and family needs. But we also know that as long as there is collaborative problem solving, these changes and their subsequent transitions lead to new potential and best practices.

Our students are truly amazing, and they are our best teachers when managing everything that comes with change.

Happy Summer!

The Ridge Report 3

‘All in’

to realize vision of innovative learning spaces for middle school students

When I first joined the Forest Ridge community 19 years ago, I was drawn by the reputation of the school as forward thinking with high standards: a place where amazing things happen for girls. I was thrilled to come work at a school whose hallmark was high professionalism among faculty, progressive curricular and instructional practices and deep and unifying traditions. My mother, aunt and several cousins were graduates of Forest Ridge. Growing up, I had been aware of the closing and sale of the original Forest Ridge building in Seattle and the collective effort it took to locate, purchase and build the current campus, which opened in the fall of 1971. The mission, my family history and the strong reputation of excellence compelled me to drive across the bridge and join a community dedicated to the best interest of girls. I arrived fully committed and definitely “all in.”

Julie Grasseschi Director of the Middle School

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Yesterday

During my first fall as a teacher at Forest Ridge, I entered one of my classrooms and flipped a switch on a classroom wall. Nothing happened. Looking more closely, I saw that the switch was labeled “typewriters”; apparently this was a design feature that would “innovatively” feed power to the electrical outlets in the floor for typing class. We had no typewriters in 1995 (we did have two computer labs), so this innovation was already a bit outdated. At some point the electricity to the floor outlets was re-configured to eliminate the need for a switch. Yet the switch remained.

Another forward-thinking feature on campus was seminar rooms, small window-lined rooms where teachers and students could collaborate in small groups. At the time of my arrival, 1995, expanding programs and faculty growth required that the school transform the seminar rooms into teacher offices for quiet work space and common teacher space to facilitate professional sharing and connection in close proximity to students.

Today

A s our middle school grew from 15 fifth-graders to 30, and from two sections of sixth grade to three (and, more recently, four!), the physical space transitioned from a high school-centric campus originally designed for seventh- through 12th-grade students to a campus that could meet the needs of all our students. We redesigned classrooms, offices and common areas to carve out space, including locker bays and additional classrooms, for middle school students. Over the last 20 years, we have continually revised these original buildings to create middle school-centered learning spaces. Finally, today, we have arrived at the end of our ability to revise the current buildings and their interior spaces.

In the last year, we have begun a process to think big and broad in order to envision what an innovative middle school space could be for our 21st-century students. We have dug into high-level tech integration that includes projection capability and flexible, interactive surfaces on multiple wall locations in each classroom while also future-proofing the tech infrastructure.

We have designed a flow between classrooms that will preserve individual learning space and allow cross-curricular and gradelevel collaboration in a variety of configurations. We have conceived classroom neighborhoods that will include community space for gathering whole grades together for activities, speakers and community-building. New interior halls connect these neighborhoods and teacher offices, bringing the beauty of the Pacific Northwest inside and keeping the elements outside. years ago, the smallest room Tomorrow Tin wenty the #300 Building was a middle school science lab. In the new space, there will be three newly designed, hands-on lab spaces designed around the needs of middle school female scientists. We will have dedicated fine arts creative spaces and a “maker” space where students can tinker, create, problem solve, get messy, design, program, build, leave and return to later. In the last 20 years, music classes have been held in the Gallery, the basement of the theater and the corner of a social studies room. In one of the new buildings, a true choral music room adjacent to a digital design studio will allow students to digitally record music and create their own productions.

The campus renovations proposed for Forest Ridge School will retain and enhance the most important parts of our middle school program, including a strong, grade-level community feel and increased connection between grade levels, by eliminating the distance between them. With the library securely placed in the center of campus, it will hold its place as a center of learning, encouraging students to flow through this place of interaction and collaboration. Finally, the middle school will have a community welcome space. For any of you who have ever wondered how your daughters can be so amazingly cared for in a tiny space that serves as sick room, office and waiting space, envision a gracious, indoor space with chairs for waiting, access to a conference room, room for storage and a private space for sick students waiting to be picked up.

All of this can only happen if we dream big and step up boldly to make it happen. Our girls deserve this learning environment and will benefit from these new designs if every single community member is willing to step in with a full commitment. The same way pioneering families moved a school from Seattle to Bellevue and envisioned a classroom where you could turn on a roomful of typewriters with one switch, we now have the opportunity to create a forward-thinking, innovative learning environment that will serve as a launching point for future global leaders. I hope that, like me, you are “all in” for the opportunities and vision that these new spaces will bring for our girls — those here now and those yet to come.

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What it takes to get there Regina Mooney, Ph.D. Director of Institutional Advancement

As we prepare to take on the daunting task of renewing the

Faith is a posture and a decision all its own, informed by

campus with new construction, we, of course, first set out to

what is real and realistic, but not necessarily limited by it.

investigate funding. The question of how we will

As it pertains to our plans for a new Forest Ridge facility,

accomplish our goal occasionally has me up at night

our faith is not only in a God who can do great things but

wondering, hoping and, yes, praying about our great plans

in our School’s mission and community. We all believe in

for the future and how to make them happen.

Forest Ridge as a place for educating girls for meaningful futures. We believe in the School’s vision, its methods, its

Many of you have seen the conceptual plans illustrating the

teachers and its board of trustees. We believe in its history

facilities and equipment we want to provide so our girls

of risk, adventure and success. And we believe in the core

have the tools to realize their aspirations and meet the

Sacred Heart values that set us on a distinctive path of care

challenges that lie ahead. Our plans are ambitious — in fact,

and meaningful service.

they are the most ambitious plans Forest Ridge has made since the School moved from Seattle to its present location

That is why I have faith in us. It is the alumnae, families and

on Somerset hill.

friends of Forest Ridge who will make this ambitious project succeed. Individually and together we will continue

You might not think that a fundraiser would rely too

to think our plans through carefully, troubleshooting all the

heavily on faith to make a goal a reality, but you’d be

details, safeguarding the School’s health while stretching

surprised by how much we do. All fundraisers do. Of

our individual resources to make this happen. I believe in

course, the numbers, projections and feasibility studies are

us because we are Forest Ridge.

very important to the development of realistic goals and strategies. But oftentimes faith has an even bigger role.

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Meet our Sacred Heart scholar for 2014-2015:

Audrey Jammes The newest Sacred Heart scholar at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart is a young woman who participates in after-school gymnastics, enjoys making pottery and loves social studies and current events because, she says, “comparing history to current problems is what gives me ideas for creative solutions to meet the needs of both sides” of an issue.

Audrey Jammes ’18 has been selected to receive the Sacred Heart Scholarship for 2014–2015.

The Sacred Heart Scholarship is a merit-based scholarship awarded annually to an incoming ninth-grade student. It is a great honor to be named a Sacred Heart scholar — she is considered a leader in her class. Each Sacred Heart Scholarship is renewed annually if the recipient fulfills the duties of the Sacred Heart scholar, acts as a positive role model for the student body and maintains good academic standing. Each scholar is evaluated annually at reenrollment time to assess her standing for the following school year.

The Middle School Leadership Team notes, “We are so pleased with Audrey’s involvement in the community and the example she sets for her peers. Mrs. Grasseschi and Mrs. Briardy tell us that she works hard every day to demonstrate the qualities of a Child of the Sacred Heart. In addition, Audrey’s teachers recognize that she is a supportive classmate and a well-rounded student. Her intellectual curiosity and dedication to her academics are also to be commended!”

Audrey, the daughter of Pierre and Christine Jammes, will be a freshman in the high school at Forest Ridge this fall.

In her scholarship application essay, Audrey emphasizes the importance of being part of a global community. “Belonging to the worldwide Network of Sacred Heart Schools gives me a sense of community because it means that we all have at least one thing in common,” Audrey writes. “A Sacred Heart

education also brings me back to my roots and, because of the Goals and Criteria, teaches me how to look at every side of a problem to create a solution.”

Audrey’s grandmother, Irmihilt Hellmann Mauviet, graduated from Sophie Barat Schule in Hamburg, Germany, in 1960. Being a “legacy” is also special for Audrey. “I am able to talk to my grandmother about the traditions that she experienced and are here at Forest Ridge for me to experience,” Audrey says.

Audrey, who participates in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth program, says she has a passion for science — chemistry, in particular. She is also excited about the possibility of going on exchange through the Sacred Heart Network Exchange Program in high school.

Congratulations, Audrey Jammes!

The Ridge Report 7

Global Health

Begins with Us

In my research of leadership and best practices for cultivating leadership capacity in girls and young women, one truth seems to take center stage: Leadership begins with the self. How we manage our inner critic, how we love ourselves through adversity and how we care for ourselves in times of change are indicative of our leadership styles and the success and longevity of our ability to inspire others.

Kisha X. Palmer Director of Women As Global Leaders

This is a lifetime practice. What better

As we put together the framework for our third experiential leadership pillar, Global Health, this element of self-care will be a prominent feature of the conversation. Our focus in the curriculum will start with the question, What do each of us need in order to be healthy? And then we will apply this lens to larger and larger communities, starting with the greater Seattle and Bellevue area and moving, finally, to whole countries and regions in our world. I am excited about our partnership with Neighborcare ( https://www.neighborcare.org/ ), a Seattle-based community health clinic, which has agreed to partner with us in our Global Health program.

place to begin the In September 2014 we will roll out the first phase,

conversation than

which consists of a self-selected group of high school

Forest Ridge?

students who will work with Neighborcare Health and AmeriCorps volunteers in a few health clinics in Seattle. In calendar year 2015 we will offer an international global health leadership experience in the Dominican Republic in partnership with Somos Amigos Medical MissionsŽ Students will have the opportunity to visit public hospitals, nongovernmental health organizations and women’s health organizations while at the same time learning about and building relationships in a diverse international setting. The objective of the experience in the Dominican Republic is to build on the experiences of the Neighborcare partnership, challenging students to explore issues of access, justice and socioeconomic responsibility in the quest for true global health.

The development of the Global Health offerings has inspired me to look with a fresh eye at our Peace & Reconciliation and Resources & Sustainability curricula. If global health challenges us to look within ourselves to identify what each of us needs in order to be healthy, the same applies to diplomacy and resource management. What do each of us need in order to build and protect our inner peace while at the same time using our resources in a way that ensures longevity and sustenance?

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Welcome!

It’s the Forest Ridge way Jennifer Hotes Parent Association

As a new family to Forest Ridge, I didn’t know what to

A realization dawned on me: We weren’t new to

expect as the first day of school approached last fall. Like

Forest Ridge. We had been invited into the community

my daughter, Bryn, I was nervous and excited, barely able

since that day long ago when we first toured the campus.

to sleep before that first day because my stomach was full

We were new, yes, but at every step of the process, we

of butterflies. Would Bryn find a friend on her first day?

were welcomed with kindness, enthusiasm and, most

Who would sit with her at lunch? Would I know where to

importantly, smiles by all of you.

drop her off and pick her up? Would we be able to get to know other families?

Then, during my first PA meeting, it was announced that the theme chosen for the current school year was

To calm my nerves, I looked back on our experiences to

Welcome! Yes, welcome is the perfect word for how you

date with Forest Ridge. I counted the times that we had

made my family feel. When I had trouble logging into the

been invited to experience Forest Ridge. From the tour in

website, I received quick answers. As I struggled to sign

October, to the family visit, the family interview, the cookie

up on TSV, I was met with patient assistance. When we

social, the spring musical, the weeklong tech camp, and the

couldn’t post funds to Bryn’s lunch account, we got instant

out-of-the-box celebration. We’d been invited into the

help. I don’t know the names of all the angels who helped

community over and over and felt nothing but genuine

us through that clumsy first month, but you made us feel

enthusiasm at each event.

welcome, loved, accepted and part of this special community. I want to express our deep gratitude to all of you, on behalf of my family and all the other new families.

Now, as spring blossoms across campus and summer nears, together let us vow to greet the newest Forest Ridge families with broad smiles, welcome arms and open hearts. After all, it’s the Forest Ridge way.

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Find Yourself at Forest Ridge this Summer!

Sound Design – June 16-July 11 Code & Programming – June 16-July 11

English Immersion Summer Program – July 7-August 1

Chanel Summer’s Sound Design course and Dr. Maritza Tavarez- Brown’s Code and Programming course each run from June 16 until July 11. Classes are from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and will include field trips, guest speakers and independent projects in sound design for games and coding and programming for robots and new technologies.

This program combines Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart’s focused, individualized study in the classroom with activities beyond the walls of the school. In the classroom, students are taught by professional language instructors and class work is designed around the academic needs of each girl.

In the summer, our campus hosts several summer programs for international and American girls, all taking part in the summer learning experience.

Classes are $850 each and financial assistance is available.

Both classes are open to grades 8-12.

Visit bit.ly/1mCY2iQ to register.

Applications submitted online using the Summer English Immersion Program pay by credit card; the $50.00 (USD) application fee will be charged upon submission of the form.

Visit bit.ly/1kXVPyI to register.