redwood
bark. redwood high school
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Division III Commitments
395 doherty dr., larkspur, ca 94939
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16
volume LVIII, no. 4
Hot Cocoa in Marin
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21
December 11, 2015
Teacher Featured on NPR
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www.redwoodbark.org
Beloved former Redwood Spanish teacher passes away By Heidi Roenisch Former Redwood Spanish teacher Stacey Goodwin died the weekend of Nov. 7-8. Goodwin worked at Redwood for eight years and previously at Tam and Drake, before moving to Ibiza, Spain in January of 2015. Goodwin and her family had returned to the United States to live in Los Angeles in July, where she died. In the weeks since, her husband and two children Vicens Vila, have moved sophomore back to Ibiza. While she took a semester leave for surgery recovery in 2013, details about Goodwin’s death are still largely unknown, as her family has decided to maintain privacy while
they mourn. The information was communicated to the student body through friend and fellow Redwood Spanish teacher Deborah McCrea, who received an email from Goodwin’s husband informing of her passing. Despite her grief, McCrea said that working with Goodwin was an adventure in itself. “ S h e always had something going on in her life––she moved to Spain, she traveled a lot, she was so involved with Spanish culture,” McCrea said. McCrea also shared the impact Goodwin had on her students. “I think her students really appreciated how she really respected them and encouraged
She was so colorful and one of the most vibrant people I’ve met.
Photo courtesy of Deborah McCrea
PICTURED WITH HER daughter is Stacey Goodwin, a beloved former Redwood Spanish Teacher.
and welcomed them,” McCrea said. “She really wanted to make learning fun and interesting for the kids, and would always try to involve them, whether through making them sing or writing mad lib stories.” According to McCrea this energy led to a close relationship between Goodwin and her students. “She would try to get them engaged, and I think that it worked. Kids enjoyed her class. She made Spanish not limited to translations; it was something that would involve all of the students. It allowed them to see that a language can be fun and exciting,” McCrea said. Sophomore Vicens Vila, who was Goodwin’s student his freshman year, said that she left a mark on the Spanish program at Redwood. “She had so much energy that it translated into student enthusiasm, which made things so much better,” Vila said. “While she was a teacher, she was also very much someone you just had a lot of fun with. She was so colorful, and one of the most vibrant people I’ve met.” One of Vila’s favorite memories of Goodwin’s enthusiasm came from the first day of school. “The first day of school, she wouldn’t let us go into the classroom at first and made us go in one by one, and then she would scream our names and we would cheer for and applaud each other as we walked in,” Vila said. “It was a really warm welcome back to school, and it set a tone for a very good semester.” A favorite memory of McCrea’s pertains to Goodwin’s unique teaching style. “We have this really hard tense in Spanish, the imperfect
Photo courtesy of William Crabtree
STACEY GOODWIN died unexpectedly the weekend of Nov. 7-8. Goodwin taught Spanish at Redwood for eight years before moving to Spain in January 2015. subjunctive, and it was really hard for us to make it understandable for the kids, so she took the Enrique Iglesias song ‘Hero’ and created a whole backstory around it where she was a superhero, and then she would run into my classroom and change into a Superman costume and go back to her class and get her kids singing along. She would even get on the desks and jump around,” McCrea said. “Some of the kids thought she was a little crazy, but that was the way she got them invested,” McCrea said. “The kids were willing to put themselves out
there because they saw that she was doing the same thing every day.” Vila also mentioned the impact Goodwin’s teaching style had. “You could hear her down the hallway- you could tell she loved what she did,” he said. Redwood students can make cards or send letters to Goodwin’s family by contacting McCrea. Grief counseling is also available in the Wellness Center.
hroenisch@redwoodbark.org
Fall Arts Spectacular paints a new tradition at Redwood By Pearl Zhong Redwood art students will be hosting the first-ever Fall Arts Spectacular on Wednesday, Dec. 9 from 6-8 p.m. in the CEA. Students from various art departments are given the opportunity to exhibit their works created during the first semester. “It’s a celebration of the arts here at Redwood,” said junior and Artist’s Voice student Eve Anderson. “We have art students from intermediate and advanced classes showcasing their work, one piece per student.” In addition to displaying different works, which range from paintings to ceramics, students will also be hosting an Art Rodeo to fundraise for the arts program. According to Anderson, student artists participating in the Art Rodeo will draw for 30 minutes. Each student’s final piece of work created will be sold for $20 per drawing. “The proceeds will go to the art program, because we need money for field trips, so we’re hoping to get a bus to take us to the De Young or any other sort of art museum,” Andersen said.
Photo by Pearl Zhong
JUNIOR ARTIST’S VOICE STUDENTS Alice Sowa and Megyn Horton work on splatter paint decorations for next week’s Fall Arts Spectacular. Junior and Artist’s Voice student Alice Sowa also said that there will be a community wall at the event for everyone to draw on. “The community wall is sort of like a giant coloring book that people can do
designs and abstract art. There is going to be be paint and markers for anyone to draw stuff on it,” Sowa said. In addition, Film Focus students will be screening student-made films during the event, and Advanced Drama students will
be performing scenes, monologues and hosting improvisation games. Students in the Art Exploration classes will be managing face painting booths, and the music department will be hosting a concert in the Little Theater. Andersen also mentioned that on the same day as the exhibition, the amphitheater will be covered with words and phrases written by Redwood students of what they wish to complete in their lifetime. “It’s an interpretation of Candy Chang’s interpretation of ‘Before I Die,’” Andersen said. “So it’s like performance art, which is great [because] it’s on the same day.” According to both Andersen and Sowa, the idea of hosting the Fall Arts Spectacular originated from the Artist’s Voice class, which meets after school every Wednesday from 6-9 p.m., and is meant to give artistic students another opportunity to get creative. “We’re hoping to do another one in the spring semester, and we’re reaching out to other departments to try and make it a bigger event,” Sowa said.
pzhong@redwoodbark.org