2021-22 Giving Impact Report

Pinewood students seek knowledge,

demonstrate character, build confidence, and experience joy in an uplifting community.

Each year, I look forward to sharing our financial and development statistics with the Pinewood community. The reason for doing this is twofold, I want to recognize the generous support that you have provided to Pinewood and inform you about the careful stewardship of your donations for the benefit of your students. This year’s Giving Impact Report focuses on the impact of your philanthropy. Whether you supported the school by making a gift to the Annual Fund First campaign or the Benefit Auction, your generosity enables Pinewood to curate an exceptional learning experience for our students.

Your donations to the annual fund support teacher salaries, help our faculty create experiences that expose students to the wonders of the Bay Area and beyond; support our ability to invite guests to the campus to supplement in-class learning; allow our students to learn in a classroom environment equipped with the very best instructional materials; enable us to expand our program offerings in order to meet the needs of a twenty-first century education; and improve our technology offerings to faculty and students.

Your support of the Benefit auction helps our teachers demonstrate life long learning by participating in professional development opportunities and undertake graduate study to become experts in their field.

Our goal is to ensure that all funds received are utilized in a way that impacts the educational experience of your student in the most meaningful way. In the pages that follow, you will see examples of money well spent. I hope through these stories, we can relay to you the critical role your philanthropy plays in Pinewood’s ability to fulfill its mission of nurturing our students desire to seek knowledge, demonstrate character, build confidence and experience joy. I am humbled by your generosity. On behalf of our teachers, staff, Board, and students-Thank you!

Sincerely, Scott Riches President and Head of School

STUDENT IMPACT

The Annual Fund supports critical programs that help our students flourish— those that we cannot fund with tuition alone. Donations to the Annual Fund are put immediately to work in the classroom to provide your student an exceptional education. The Annual Fund is the school’s main fundraising priority each year.

STUDENT TRIPS Academic and Social Connections

Off-campus student trips connect classroom learning to the real world and are therefore an integral part of learning at Pinewood. Beyond the benefits of academic reinforcement, excursions provide our students with opportunities to develop social connections and establish lasting relationships through shared experiences. A few trips from the 2021/22 academic year:

Bodega Bay - 6th grade class trip to build class bonds and prepare students to be campus leaders.

Chinatown and Angel Island - 6th grade students connect their English and History studies about immigration to real-world landmarks.

Upper Campus Class Trips - These kick-off trips allow for fun memories and help build trusting relationships, which contribute to Pinewood’s sense of joyful community.

Elkhorn Slough - High school marine biology students travel to Moss Landing to observe, photograph, and record many kinds of marine life.

PERFORMING ARTS

Building Confidence On and Off the Stage

At Pinewood, we believe in the power of performance! In 1959, Pinewood founder Gwen Riches saw that when children build confidence on the stage, their confidence in academics, relationships, and life flourishes as well. We structure programming from kindergarten through 12th grade to allow for top-notch opportunities in the performing arts made possible by the generous support of our community. Each year, every class at Lower and Middle Campus presents a theatrical performance complete with choreography, costumes, and curtain times.

Upper Campus offers a robust performing arts program that provides students with opportunities to excel on the stage and find community around it.

COLLEGE COUNSELING Going Above and Beyond to Ensure Success

Pinewood’s College Counseling program offers tailored services to each student as they navigate the college admissions process. We invite parents and students into the conversation as early as freshman year. Students are offered personalized advice with regards to testing, applications, and college choices best suited for their academic and extracurricular interests. Gifts enable us to offer this high level of individualized care and guidance toward one of the most important decisions in our students’ lives.

A Tech Program Equipped to Inspire Excellence

Your support of the Annual Fund First Campaign allows Pinewood to offer excellence in all areas of your student’s education. Contributions toward the annual fund are spent in the current academic year and therefore have an immediate impact on your student’s experience.

LOWER CAMPUS

Enhanced Tools and Programming

Pinewood is one of the few local independent schools that introduces coding as early as kindergarten. This year, we added more KIBO robots to our kinder classrooms, which help spark their interest in Computer Science and Engineering. This year we offered our 1st and 2nd graders classes in coding and design/engineering and our 2nd-grade classrooms received upgraded Ozobots.

MIDDLE CAMPUS Reinforced Tech Foundations

As part of our core curriculum for 3rdthrough 6th-grade students, Pinewood offers computer science, programming, and design/engineering providing a strong foundation for our students in preparation for courses and electives at Upper Campus. This summer, we added eight new 3D printers to the iMaginarium, and 11 Lego SPIKE Prime robots.

UPPER CAMPUS Building Bigger

The tech program at Upper Campus guides students through more sophisticated programming and computer science concepts. All students in 9th grade take the Exploring Computer Science class, then can choose from challenging courses such as Mobile App Development, Advanced Computer Science, and AP Computer Science Principles. This year, Upper Campus updated some of its equipment in the Engineering and Design Lab including a number of new engineering tools and supplies, several dual extruder 3D printers, a professional-grade Ultimaker, and an Epilog Laser Cutter.

FACULTY IMPACT

Pinewood faculty lead by example when it comes to being lifelong learners. Professional development funded through the Annual Benefit Auction allows teachers to further hone their craft by learning from experts in their field. Our faculty pride themselves on staying up to date with state of the art teaching methodologies through continued professional development.

I am very grateful to Pinewood for funding my participation at the California Teachers’ Reading Workshop and the 2021 National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention--Equity, Justice, and Antiracist Teaching. I recently attended the Reading Workshop which focused on increasing reading comprehension skills while adding the concepts of diversity, equity, and inclusion to our students’ understanding. It was exciting to see authors such as Margarita Engle, a Cuban-American poet, present their newest books. Her book, Light for All, gives light into the process of becoming interwoven and accepted into our country as an immigrant. My students were mesmerized by the beautiful poetry as they listened to Margarita’s words reflecting the importance of being accepted in our communities.

These professional development experiences were inspirational and a great way for me to learn new ways to help my students learn and practice compassion, kindness, and inclusivity, all qualities that set Pinewood students apart and help them develop into productive members of any community.

LOWER CAMPUS LANGUAGE ARTS Jeanne Bates

MIDDLE CAMPUS LEARNING SPECIALIST

Ashley Zmuda

I attended the SMARTS Executive Functioning Conference that focused on using executive functioning strategies to build resiliency and equity for all students. Executive Functioning processes are essential for most aspects of daily life and in the past 2 years, many people have felt stressed and overwhelmed. Ultimately when this happens, your brain feels clogged and struggles to focus.

Based on what I learned at the conference, I partnered with Mr. Swift in the 5th and 6th grade SEL classes for a few sessions in January to help students learn about time management to feel less stressed and more in control of their schedules. We had students talk with their parents and gather a list of their after school commitments and activities. From there, the students put those into a visual weekly after school schedule. Next we had them identify free windows of time. This helped the students visualize how busy they were with after school commitments. Many students realized they had more time after school than they thought. Going forward, we plan to prioritize the development of these skills on a more consistent basis in SEL and look for opportunities to reinforce executive functioning strategies across the curriculum.

UPPER CAMPUS WORLD LANGUAGES

Olivia Bradely

The Learning to Love Assessment Workshop I attended offered a new perspective into assessing student learning. It introduced a variety of strategies for the world language classroom that focused on proficiencybased learning and went beyond the traditional exam. I also learned about current second-language acquisition theories to be considered when planning assessments and activities. It allowed me to reflect on the important language skills students should have and how I can ensure they are gaining those skills.

I walked away with a variety of strategies for assessments in my classes. I now believe that the end of a unit should be a celebration of what students have learned and not a high-stress exam. Students should be offered multiple ways in which to show their learning as well as various opportunities to show mastery. I am so grateful to have had this professional development experience and I will now be more focused on standards-based skills versus grade points. The workshop presented revolutionary ideas that will directly benefit my students.

Our Class of 2022 met with five current college alumni who shared their experiences beyond the halls of Pinewood. Reilly Brady ‘20, Abbey Liao ‘20, Riva Rubin ‘20, Jack Ahrens ‘18, and Vikram Bharati ‘18 met and chatted virtually with our students in Zoom breakout rooms.

but we also played soccer and added an alumni football game to our day!

COLLEGE ALUMNI DISCUSSION PANEL

In the 2021/22 fiscal year, more than 1024 people gave to Pinewood

Of 1070 supporters, 1024 gave to the Annual Fund

234 534 2.02MM

2021/22 donors help raise a record $2,028,065

Last fiscal year, 234 new donors gave to Pinewood

534 donors gave at the President’s Circle Level

PANTHERS TO PANTHERS

We brought back our very successful virtual event, “Panthers to Panthers: A Conversation with Our Alumni,” for families interested in learning more about our students’ lives after Pinewood. Our current and prospective families were able to ask questions, connect with students, and learn about the insider perspective on life at Pinewood.

We traditionally invite an alumni to be our eighth grade graduation guest speaker. This year, we also welcomed an alumnus for our high school graduation. Max Darrow ‘12 and Dr. Jeffrey Bien ‘06 shared their journey and words of wisdom with our Classes of 2022.

DOUBLE CELEBRATION

ANNUAL BENEFIT AUCTION

The Annual Benefit Auction is a celebration of community and philanthropy. Over 250 Pinewood community members gathered at the Computer History Museum on April 9th, 2022 for an evening of food, fun, and giving. The Pinewood community honored the faculty by raising over $300K towards Faculty Professional Development and the Graduate Study Reimbursement Program.

Many companies match charitable gifts to independent schools. If your employer has a matching gift program, you can often double - in some cases, triple - the impact of your support with a simple form.

A gift of long-term, appreciated securities helps save you taxes twice. Such a gift provides an income tax deduction and a capital gains tax savings. It is often the best asset to give.

Volunteers make a meaningful difference at Pinewood School. Your gifts of time and talent are vital to our community and offer an opportunity to meet fellow parents, students, and staff. There are countless ways to volunteer; parents can help plan events or assist during the activities.

The 100-Day Campaign for the Annual Fund First (AFF) is the cornerstone of Pinewood’s philanthropic efforts. The AFF campaign is the most critical source of immediately available flexible funds and is crucial to the financial health of our school.

Donors at the President’s Circle level, with gifts of $2500 and above, are invited to the President’s Circle Reception in the fall of the following year. This fantastic event is held on campus.

Donors at the Ad Astra Society level, with gifts of $10,000+, are invited to the Ad Astra Society Reception in fall of the following year. This recognition event allows us to thank our leadership donors for their generous support of the school.

DEVELOPMENT OFFICE

327 Fremont Avenue Los Altos, CA 94024 650-209-3041 | development@pinewood.edu www.pinewood.edu Federal Tax ID# 94-1527492