2015 Bulletin

bulletin

S P R I N G 2 015 VOL.37 | NO.1

Tiana Abdulmissih’11 photographs empowering messages for the emBODYindia campaign | page 43

education that is traditional & transformative Students Take a Tech Timeout | page 7 Launch Grant Program Takes Off | page 32 Reimagining Learning Spaces | page 24

so many ways to stay connected new

SacredHeartSF

@SacredHeartSF

SacredHeartSchoolsSF

SacredHeartSFalumni

The Bulletin is just one way Convent & Stuart Hall keeps in touch with current families, alumni, friends, faculty and staff.

But we have great stories and information to share all year long. Follow us online!

Staff Vice President of Advancement Sarah Leffert Communications & Marketing Director Stefani Blair Communications Associate Director Elias Feldman Layout & Design Beth Ponticello, Center for Educational Design & Communication Contributors Belle Akers Jeanne Asdourian Stefani Blair Heather Cenzer Elena De Santis Jaime Dominguez Joey Elftmann Tony Farrell Elias Feldman Calvin Foss Molly Gallagher Michael Hong Krista Inchausti Fred Jaravata Jeff Jacobson/Kansas Athletics Ann Marie Krejcarek Howard Levin Clay Mills Talbot Moore Ryan Murray Jeff Nemy Ray O’Connor Tracy Sena Rachel Simpson Michael Tellini Leon Tsai Nano Visser Amanda Walker Erwin Wong Emerald Yeh Correspondence and change of address may be sent to: Convent & Stuart Hall 2222 Broadway San Francisco, CA 94115 Phone: 415-563-2900 bulletin@sacredsf.org Printing Rick Weaver, The Printing Business

bulletin news & features 7 |

Taking a Tech Timeout What would you do with your time if you could not use your electronic devices for three days?

32 |

Traditional & Transformative A look at redesigned spaces providing the best kind of learning environment for students.

38 |

Drumming Up Support for Music and Design The Hudson Gibson Endowed Fund and the Raise the Paddle at Celebrate Spring both aim at inspiring the young musicians and artists at Convent & Stuart Hall.

42 |

Convent & Stuart Hall Launch New Alumni Association The former leader of the BASH Committee, Christine Hiler’99’95, will serve as the new group’s President.

around the classroom 18 | Self-Selection by Elias Feldman An impressive (and voluntary) workshop-style writing group of boys meets every Tuesday morning, where the students write for themselves.

20 | Innovative Launch Grant Program Takes Off by Elias Feldman With two $2500 grants up for grabs, 46 teams submitted applications for consideration.

21 | Natural Reserve by Calvin Foss and Leon Tsai Embracing our role as conservators of ecology by traveling to the source of the world’s largest collection of living plants – Kew Gardens.

22 | Building Bridges to Understanding: Engineering in First Grade by Belle Akers Convent’s young learners learn about civil engineering through new bridge unit and marble runs.

departments 6 16 32 36

| | | |

Community News The Bulletin Board Athletics Service

38 42 52 58

| | | |

Beaux Arts Alumni News Class Notes In Memoriam

from the president Dear Convent & Stuart Hall Community, This Bulletin is brimming with snapshots and stories that welcome you into the life of our school. The last publication you received, the President’s Report, outlined our strategic objectives and was filled with statistics displayed in many forms that communicated the progress we are making toward those objectives. In this Bulletin we tell the stories behind those numbers and graphic displays.

Imbedded in these narratives is a basic but not-so-simple construct that ties together the Sacred Heart Experience.

Hours, days and months were put into discussing and analyzing what describes and differentiates a Convent & Stuart Hall education. After all the analysis, dissection and discussion, we found the answer right in the middle of our name: ours is an experience that is paradoxically an “&” – and we are proud of it. Our community is Single-Sex & Co-ed. We value Grace & Grit, and we want to provide a learning environment that is Traditional & Transformative, to produce students who are Confident & Questioning. The “&” represents how our students are being prepared to meet the challenges of the world today and tomorrow.

This new millenium requires our students to understand and experience the paradox of two things that are opposite & true, for example, learning to be Competitive & Compassionate. A unique set of skills gained from this perspective will equip them to work and think creatively, taking a lead in how this new Z-Generation (a.k.a. Boomlets, Plurals and I-generation) will impact the future – theirs and ours.

The ampersand is representative of some of the best aspects of the Convent & Stuart Hall experience. The story of the symbol itself tells of an interesting transformation. It first appeared in Latin script in the form of “et” evolving into a position at the end of the old English alphabet as the 27th letter following the X, Y, Z as “and per se and.”

Transformation came when the “et” became connected with the Caslon typescript and became “&.” Freed from the alphabet, born was a new mondegreen – a slurring of the word “and per se and” becomes “ampersand.”

This Bulletin was also freed as well from a reporting perspective to one that brings the voices of our faculty and students forward to tell the story of Convent & Stuart Hall. From our educators’ philosophy on the 21st Century learning spaces to the influence our alumni are having on the world outside our halls, this communication was designed for you to hear those individuals tell the story.

I hope, as you weave your way through this Bulletin, you will discover and begin to live the rich paradox of what it means to be in our community. Like the ampersand, we find our school proudly relevant, impactful and standing strong against the test of time, although in new and responsive expressions.

Enjoy,

Dr. Ann Marie Krejcarek

Left: Latin script of “et.” Middle: The combination of “et” in Caslon, the first typeset, designed in the 1720s.

Right: Current-day fonts like Trebuchet use a merged “et” for the ampersand symbol.

4

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Above: Ann Marie introduces the $2500 launch grants to elementary students.

Read more page 20.

Below: Reading day brought many guest speakers to first grade

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

5

news Taking a Tech Time Out BY: Elias Feldman, Communications Associate Director

What would you do with your time if you could not use your electronic devices for three days? Students in grades 5-12 found out in February when Convent & Stuart Hall became the first Bay Area school to take the Tech Timeout Academic Challenge. All students were encouraged to participate, completing a pledge sheet where they agreed to abstain from a list of devices for 72 hours.

Parents were also encouraged to participate. “The opt-in is a critical piece,” says Howard Levin, Director of Educational Innovation and Information Services.

Equally as critical, Howard says, is students having a better understanding of their dependence on technology, whether or not they completed the 72-hour challenge. “In some ways the kid that fails has a better chance of being reflective,” Howard says. “We want to create cognitive dissonance among those who join.”

This is the first year that Convent & Stuart Hall has fully adopted an ePack program, designed to provide daily access to a wide range of digital tools, including a 1-to-1 program with the Apple iPad, but encompassing much more than a single device. Howard says that at the heart of the program is a desire to change the ed-tech model from “learn to use” in computer labs to a “use to learn” model where technology can aid in any lesson. The administration encouraged the timeout in part to ensure that students and adults alike continues to use the provided devices in the most effective and mindful way.

“A school like ours that embraces a 1-to-1 program needs to find balance,” Howard says. “We need to also help students not only learn how to use technology wisely, but how to recognize how devices can get in the way of having real conversations and relationships.”

The Tech Timeout Academic Challenge was sponsored by Foresters, and launched on February 12 with a series of assemblies where students in grades 5-12 sealed their phones in envelopes.

News of the challenge launched a fair amount of public discourse, too; about a dozen print and broadcast news outlets covered the initiative.

6

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

Tech Timeout Headlines On the Radio: KQED and MindShift blog: What Happens When Teens Try to Disconnect From Tech For Three Days KGO: San Francisco School Takes Tech Timeout KALW: Teens Digitally Detox On TV: ABC 7: San Francisco Students, Parents Pledge to Give Up Tech for 72 hours KPIX 5: San Francisco School Asks Students To Give Up Tech For 3 Days KTVU 2: Students at School Take Voluntary Break from Technology In Print/Online: SF Examiner: Technology timeout - SF Teens to Take a Break From Devices SF Chronicle: Students Pledge to Not Use Smartphones for 3 days MTV News: These Brave Teens Went Phone-Free For 3 Whole Days And Miraculously Survived Teach Thought blog: Unplugging To Connect: A Tech Timeout For Schools?

Lectura Lab blog: Apagón Tecnológico en una Escuela de California Como Experiencia ‘Tech Libre’ Photos by Elias Feldman and Stefani Blair.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Embracing the Global Perspective Offering the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program in High School BY: Jaime Dominguez, Head of Stuart Hall for Boys

In my role as Vice President for Academic & Co-curricular Alignment, one of my charges is to identify and promote programs that address Strategic Goals of the Strategic Plan. Within this plan the goal to become recognized as an academically preeminent institution has fueled the drive to provide the best academic experience for all of our students, from kindergarteners through seniors.

A few years back, President Ann Marie Krejcarek encouraged me to investigate the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB). She had introduced the program to St. Andrew’s School in Florida and found that it might align well with our mission. However, it wasn’t until I had the opportunity to spend the day visiting Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami that I saw first hand the impact the program could have on a student body interested in high standards and a more student-centered approach than what is generally provided in traditional high school curriculum. What I witnessed were students expected to drive their own learning, literally taking the lead directing the class discussion. I found students who were excited to share with one another their opinions on a range of subjects, weaving together strands of information garnered from several disciplines to address the question at hand. In particular, I spent a little time in an IB art class where the girls were painting portraits of students from a South American village and getting to hear the girls explain the considerations they took into account to insure that their paintings were not only artistically accurate but sensitive to the subjects’ cultural norms. I was hooked. There was no question that IB was a perfect fit with our school’s focus on academic rigor, and our learning experience that moves beyond learning content in a vacuum to one which honors our tradition of challenging students to take responsibility for their own learning with an emphasis on critical thinking, creativity and communication.

Early last year we embarked on the three-year application process to offer the IB Diploma Programme to our junior and senior high school students at Convent & Stuart Hall. The extensive application process provides the necessary time to properly train faculty on the methodology and curriculum unique to the program.

At this point in time, we are mid-way through the process and feel confident that we will be approved to offer the Diploma Programme starting in fall 2016. Our current high school freshman will be the first group of students eligible to take full advantage of this offering in the 2016-17 school year. While the courses are limited to the junior and senior years, faculty from all grades and disciplines will be involved with the implementation of the program in their role to prepare students for the rigors of the IB methodology and standards. While the IB program has been around since 1968 and is offered to millions of students in over 138 countries, Convent & Stuart Hall would be only the second independent school in San Francisco to offer this opportunity. Most importantly, I am excited about the potential impact this program has in creating the

CONVENT & STUART HALL

structure to provide the kind of academically preeminent education for which our schools have traditionally been known.

Why do we like it?

Some of the reasons we feel that the Diploma Programme would be a good addition to the program we currently offer include a focus on: • critical thinking over rote learning • research and learning from peers • communication (oral and written) • second (and third) language acquisition • a balanced and well-rounded curriculum • excellent professional development for faculty • global mindedness • more sophisticated assessments with greater accountability (tests are graded by trained international examiners and graded alongside work from other IB students worldwide) • coursework and requirements that support and complement the Sacred Heart Goals & Criteria • colleges and university look upon the IB Diploma Programme favorably (students who earn the diploma are accepted at a greater rate to highly selective colleges and universities compared to those who attend schools with traditional collegetrack programs).

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

7

news Sophomores Take Cultural and Service Immersion Trip to Costa Rica BY: Elias Feldman, Communications Associate Director

Convent & Stuart Hall sophomores arrived in Costa Rica on January 17 to represent Schools of the Sacred Heart, San Francisco on a week-long service and immersion trip for the second year in a row. The trip is intended to stretch students beyond their comfort zone while engaging with and serving others in an immersive way. Ticos, as Costa Ricans affectionately call themselves, warmly welcomed 97 students and 11 chaperones to a small town about three hours from the capital, San Jose.

With cell phones and other electronics left in the Bay Area, students explored the beautiful countryside and went to local schools to play with preschool and primary-aged children, paint classrooms and deliver supplies.

“Going to Costa Rica was an amazing experience, and a great way for everyone in the sophomore class to become closer,” says Jacob Hubbard (at right). I enjoyed being able to get to know some students that I have not spent as much time talking to, and doing a service and giving school supplies to the schools in Costa Rica.”

8

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

CONVENT & STUART HALL

The Great Texts Canon,

a Web of Thematic Destinations on Our Educational Path BY: Rachel Simpson, Head of Convent High School

Many of us have the story of the “book that changed our lives.”

Recent research provides compelling evidence that the act of reading fiction inspires empathy and helps develop personality. We also know that a rich “diet” of fiction and non-fiction provides an optimal pathway not only for academic success but also to inform an examined life.

The most important choice a teacher makes is what to teach; the texts we select become a critical entry point for student engagement and learning. We ask: how might a text be both personally relevant to students and intellectually generative? Since the great texts philosophy was developed and unveiled last academic year, the entire school faculty has addressed the first challenge of articulating a comprehensive canon of fiction and non-fiction. At our October professional day, all faculty collaborated on building a bucket list of “must-have” texts, generating close to 600 titles. From this point, the list was divided into categories of genre and theme. The texts on the list reveal an enduring taste for the classics (no surprise to see Shakespeare, Fitzgerald, Woolf, Golding and Dahl) and an

CONVENT & STUART HALL

appetite for more recent works of note such as Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis and Dave Eggers’ Zeitoun. Beyond the idea of texts in a traditional print format, our faculty also noted works of visual art and music—texts nevertheless that demand appreciation and analysis.

The next step in this project is to curate the list, developing thematic pathways that invite connections and allow for the creation of a richly generative web of reading experience. How might Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in elementary school translate into Lord of the Flies in middle school and 1984 in high school? Additionally, how might our students engage the canon to develop their own pathway through it and to respond to their own self identified intellectual passions and interests? Involving both faculty and students in this next phase of the Great Texts initiative, we will use the texts as destination points to inspire a K-12 map for learning and discovery.

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

9

news Stuart Hall Goes to Alcatraz Ai Weiwei Exhibit for Values Day BY: Elias Feldman, Communications Associate Director

Stuart Hall High School undertook an ambitious project to explore the concepts of Freedom and Power at the Ai Weiwei @Large exhibit on Alcatraz. The trip was part of an annual Values Day at the school, designed a few years ago as an invitation for students to engage with pressing topics often focused on differences among people.

This year, the themes of Freedom and Power were studied – first in the classroom where the Theology department highlighted human rights issues in required courses for students in grades 9-12 – and then on Alcatraz Island, where 240 students, teachers and administrators took their conversations to an international stage.

Students explored the seven installations while creating digital passports to “stamp” and photograph each exhibit with their smart phones. Throughout the tour, the passports were updated and at the end, students launched into a dialog about how freedom and power were revealed through the images of their experience.

A series of events connected to the Values Day theme included a visit from the San Francisco Human Rights Commission to a senior level Justice: Theory and Society class. Executive Director of the San Francisco Interfaith Council, Michael Pappas, joined the group on Alcatraz and said that, “it’s wonderful to see a faith-based high school addressing issues of human rights…I was amazed at a lot of the insights that the students had as we toured Alcatraz.”

photos by Elias Feldman

10

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Students Help Create Cafe Menu, Enjoy Fresh, Local, Organic Meals When the Broadway Campus’ renovated kitchen and cafeteria space opened in fall 2013, Convent & Stuart Hall started an exciting partnership with Epicurean Group, a food service management company based in the Bay Area. Given the importance of providing a good, healthy meal for students, Epicurean has stepped up to not only prepare fresh, organic and local ingredients, but has also arrived with an openness to work closely with children, parents and administrators to create a balanced menu that everyone likes.

The cafeteria goes by the name Broadway Café and offers breakfast, lunch and an afternoon snack. Zelda Williams, the café’s General Manager, has been running the café since it opened. Dan Mateo, the Executive Chef, was the sous-chef for six months before being promoted. They create a menu based on what is available seasonally and use organic ingredients whenever possible from local farms.

Dan says his ultimate mission is to “ensure the children have a well balanced meal that covers the full food pyramid.” But what he finds equally important is that children gain an enhanced pallet with opportunities to step away from childhood favorites such as pasta and pizza.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of the café is the relationship Dan and Zelda have with the children and the level of involvement they have in determining what they eat. “We are really interested in serving what they want to eat,” Zelda says. Dan agrees that he enjoys hearing from the children and adds, “When they have input it’s always honest.” Students make suggestions during scheduled What’s Hot, What’s Not meetings where a group is called into the café to share their feedback.

One of the challenges for Dan is in preparing lunches that appeal to a wide range of tastes. The café serves children in grades K-12, spanning ages four to 18. Dan draws on the feedback of different groups of children across the spectrum of pallets, to create a meal that most will enjoy. Gluten free and vegetarian options are always available. It comes as no surprise that many favorites are universal among the children. But even though the children love having a say in what they eat, Dan and Zelda review their suggestions to make sure the final menu falls within the guidelines of the Food Advisory Committee, which is led by members of the school administration with faculty and parent representatives.

Epicurean was chosen in part because the Convent & Stuart Hall administration wanted to make the café more than just a place where students would come for lunch. They had a vision of turning the conventional cafeteria into an additional classroom space where the curriculum could be incorporated. “We don’t only want to serve food,” Dan says. “We want to be as hands-on as possible and teach children about nutrition among other things.”

Starting this year, students have become even more involved in planning the lunch menu. They take turns working in small groups with the café staff to create a menu that is published on the school website in advance. As part of the project, children bring in their favorite family recipes and some of them are woven into the menu.

This will help Dan continue to make healthy, kid-friendly recipes the whole school will love.

New Water Faucets and Awareness Help Conserve The four-school Eco-Council, working with students and the Facilities team are singing the praises of new aerators.

With growing drought concerns in California, faucets have become a target for conservation this year. The school invested in new aerators, which have been installed on 65 faucets on both campuses to reduce water flow with minimal loss in pressure. To illustrate the difference: If you ran all of the faucets with the old aerators for a minute, 97.5 gallons of water would collect; running all faucets with the new aerators would collect only 32.5 gallons, according to Geoff De Santis, Plant Operations Director, who closely monitors monthly water use in all buildings.

In March, Geoff visited a Stuart Hall Middle Form assembly and challenged students to cut water

CONVENT & STUART HALL

use by 20 percent over the next month. His current consumption data led the group in conversation about conservation with simple, water-saving tips. Students will revisit the water use target and their personal practices at future assemblies. Geoff plans to deliver the same challenge at an upcoming Convent Elementary assembly.

The Eco Council will launch a special campaign during Earth Week to enhance water-saving awareness in the community. Everyone is urged to monitor their water footprint and cut back where possible.

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

11

news

Rewarding Excellence

Faculty & Staff Honored During President’s New Year Celebration During the President’s New Year celebration in January, five faculty and staff were honored with awards that allow them to pursue professional development or that recognize their contributions to the community.

Sr. Mary Mardel Award

The Sister Mary Mardel Fund for Faculty Excellence was established in 1997 by gifts to an endowed fund, in honor of longtime Sacred Heart educator and beloved administrator.

Each year, elementary faculty apply for the award in pursuit of a specific professional development opportunity or personal enrichment. This year’s recipient: Collette Kenny, Convent Lower Form Religion teacher.

Sr. Ann Conroy Award

The Sister Ann Conroy Fund for Faculty Excellence was established in 2013 in honor of another longtime Sacred Heart educator and beloved administrator. This award application process is open to all high school faculty and Central Services staff for pursuits of personal enrichment.

This year’s recipient: Rachael Kerkhoff, Technology Department administrative assistant.

Esther Rossi Award

The Esther Rossi Excellence Award is given each year to an employee of the school who has made outstanding contributions to our tradition of excellence, focused particularly on Goal 4 of the Goals & Criteria: the building of community as a Christian value. The award was established and continues to grow thanks to the support of members 12

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

of the Rossi family, in honor of their beloved mother, grandmother, aunt and grand-aunt Esther. She was a devoted alumna of the San Francisco College for Women at Lone Mountain, which had been founded as a Sacred Heart college and is now part of the University of San Francisco; when SFCW closed, many alumna like Esther found a home with Convent & Stuart Hall as their connection to their Sacred Heart roots. This year’s recipient: Paul Chow from the Technology Department, known to many for his work behind the scenes to keep hardware like printers and copiers, as well as programs like Google and Haiku, operating smoothly all year long.

The Niehaus Family Award

The Niehaus Family President’s Excellence Award was established in 2013 by Joe and Karen Niehaus, longtime supporters of the school who are parents of a Convent senior and two Stuart Hall for Boys alumni. Additionally, Joe served on the Board of Trustees for seven years, with one term as Chair. The Niehaus family established the fund so that the President could select a recipient each year that exemplifies excellence in their work for the school. This year’s recipient: Sonia Evers, longtime History & Fine Arts faculty at Convent High School.

Cor Unum Award

President Ann Marie Krejcarek this year added a special honor to the program to recognize longtime security guard Ali Nasser, who keeps students safe as they cross Broadway.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Three Convent Students Earn ‘Gold Circle Awards’ for Student Journalism The Columbia Scholastic Press Association has announced the recipients of the Gold Circle Awards for 2014, recognizing the student journalism of Convent seniors Madison Riehle, Madeleine Ainslie, and Rachel Fung from The Broadview staff.

The highly coveted awards for individual work were selected from more than 11,400 entries from collegiate and secondary schools in the United States. Of those entries, 1533 awards were given.

Convent accolades include: • Certificate of Merit for Editorial Writing to Madison Rehle for “Students Misinterpret Change in Policy.”

• Certificate of Merit for Editorial Cartooning to Rachel Fung for “Students Misinterpret Change in Policy.”

• Certificate of Merit for Informational Graphics (a portfolio of work) to Madeleine Ainslie The Broadview also earned recognition as a Finalist for one of the biggest honors in scholastic press: The National Scholastic Press Association’s Newspaper Pacemaker Awards.

The staff of the Broadview have been recognized as a finalist for their category – Broadsheet with 8 or fewer pages -based on the coverage and content; the quality of writing, including in-depth reporting; leadership on the opinion pages, including editorial cartoons; and overall layout and graphics/photography.

Junior Duncan McDonnell Honored by SF Giants Stuart Hall’s Duncan McDonnell joined SF Giants’ pitcher Jeremy Affeldt at homeplate on August 26 as the Jefferson Awards for Public Service Partnership recognized the teen’s community service work. The Jefferson Awards is a national organization dedicated to activating and celebrating public service. Students are often involved with the Jefferson Awards through their Students In Action school chapters, and Duncan is highly involved in Stuart Hall’s SIA group.

Duncan received a Generations United Grant last October to lead an art class with elders at the Institute on Aging, and because of his work with that group, he has also been invited to sit on a panel discussion at the Grantmakers in Aging Annual Conference in San Francisco in October, discussing the possibilities in developing intergenerational programming through technology.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

A ‘Signature School’ in Teaching Digital Literacy For efforts to go “above-and-beyond” in teaching digital literacy and citizenship to young people, Convent & Stuart Hall has been named a certified Common Sense Media Signature School by the national nonprofit organization dedicated to improving kids’ media lives.

Armani Collins Nominated for McDonald’s All-American Game Stuart Hall High School standout basketball player Armani Collins was named a nominee for the 2015 McDonald’s AllAmerican game in January. The 6-foot-4 senior guard is the first ever student-athlete from Convent & Stuart Hall to be nominated.

The nominations feature the best high school senior basketball players in the nation. Armani was the only player from San Francisco to be nominated this year and one of 14 boys and girls in the Bay Area to make the list, a coveted honor for more than 800 high school seniors in the United States who hoped to be tapped to play in the All-American games, this year in Chicago.

“The 823 high school basketball players who were nominated for the 2015 McDonald’s All American Games represent the finest high school basketball talent in the country,” said Morgan Wootten, McDonald’s All American Games Selection Committee Chairman.

Led by four-year starter Armani (20.2 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game), the Knights raced out to a 10-0 start and won two tournaments, defeating perennial state Division V powers Branson-Ross and St. Joseph Notre DameAlameda in the finals. Armani was named the MVP of both tournaments with impressive scoring performances of 20 and 21 points respectively in the finals.

“Armani is a gifted player and he’s a leader by example,” says Charley Johnson, the Knights’ Athletics Director and Varsity Basketball Coach. “It’s been a pleasure having him in the program.”

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

13

news

photo by Stefani Blair

IQ & EQ: Social Emotional Learning as the X Factor of Success BY: Angela Taylor, Head of Convent Elementary

Alongside Convent & Stuart Hall’s laser sharp focus on providing our students with a rigorous and rich academic experience that will prepare them for future success in both higher education and the jobs of tomorrow, we are also committed to ensuring our students have what has been deemed by many as the “x factor” of success: emotional intelligence. Attributes like self-regulation, empathy and self-awareness have been identified as perhaps being just as predictive of a person’s life trajectory as academic and cognitive strengths. Psychologist Daniel Goleman first used the terms “emotional intelligence and emotional quotient (EQ)” to describe this “x factor” in his groundbreaking tome, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (1996). As a result of Goleman legitimizing what used to be considered “soft skills” or “people skills,” more research and work went into cracking the code of emotional intelligence.

With the spotlight on emotional intelligence shining brighter, researchers were finding that people with high emotional intelligence enjoy higher levels of success in their work and in their lives in general. They were the ones that others wanted on their teams. When people with higher emotional intelligence needed help within their organizations, others rushed to their sides. Their ability to understand what motivates others, to relate in a positive manner and to build strong bonds made those around them feel good. This goodwill gives those with high EQ a great deal of social currency both professionally and personally. This social currency is often the “x factor” or “magic bullet” of effective and transformative leaders, and of happy people in general.

With the goal of providing our students with a comprehensive program that would support their emotional intelligence, Convent & Stuart Hall launched a new Social Emotional Learning (SEL) 14

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

curriculum this year for all K-8 students, led by school counselors Megan David (Stuart Hall) and Heather Rael (Convent). The cornerstones of the program are the teaching of empathy, resilience, self-awareness, relationship-building, conflict-resolution and responsible decision-making. SEL lessons are taught formally in every classroom and by every teacher at some point during the course of a school week. Megan and Heather have received feedback from their fellow teachers that they are grateful for the tools and common language to use in the classroom because they are thinking about the emotional well-being of students all of the time and not just when the students work with the counselors.

The commitment to teaching to the whole child—body, mind and spirit—is a hallmark trait of Sacred Heart education and the Religious wrote about it often, although they didn’t name it SEL or EQ. With the addition of a comprehensive, intentional program that focuses on SEL, we have doubled-down on the formula that IQ+EQ=true success.

About Megan and Heather Megan David, counselor at Stuart Hall. Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from USF. PPS Credential (Pupil Personnel Services). Previous experience in public middle and high school, higher education.

Heather Rael, counselor at Convent. Master’s Degree in Counseling Psychology from USF. Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist.

Previous experience in elementary education and social work.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Students Are Captivated by Visit from NASA Astronaut Active NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy gave an inspiring presentation to Convent & Stuart Hall lower form students in Syufy Theatre on November 13. He served for 10 years as a member of the Navy SEALs before being selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in May 2004. During his career, Chris has completed six space walks and was at the International Space Station (ISS) as recently as last year.

Chris talked to students about his most recent expedition and recounted, step-by-step, what it was like to prepare for and carry out the mission. On a big monitor hanging over the Syufy stage, Chris showed photos and video from his time aboard the space shuttle and ISS. Students were also fascinated to hear about the more practical details of what it was like to live in space.

Chris answered dozens of questions, ranging from “How do you have access to water?” to “Have you ever made pancakes in outer space?”

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

15

n i t e l l u b rd a bo Parent s Raise M Association Event oney f The G o r olf Financ s Christm & Tennis C ial Aid lassic in as on Ce B O

nts Pare t) and (lef ir a Ellis g Ch sty ir Sprin K e t ra ent Celeb Presid tion ia c o s As

16

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

roadwa lebrat ctober the ch e Spring in M y in Decem , ber an ance t arch d o get for a involve gave parent great d and s cause.

Chair raise m Ab Je one Associa nnifer Jeff ove: Celebra te Spr y ries an tion Pr ing d esident photo b Kirsty Parents y Molly Gallagh Ellis. er, Elia s Fe ldman

and N ano

Visser

CONVENT & STUART HALL

italize v e R ers Speak Inservice t s e e f Gu /Staf le speakers haarvto y lt u c Fa er of notab he past ye y and

in t mb acult A nu o campus ong f dary m a t n n come onversatio iemer, lege who c R y t li a n spark : Marty so ts short io per paren area rad -winning nd d le r Siri a Seatt the awa ing with ep ech ed direct ntary, Sle ke the T enowned a e r t , m o z u t e ted s u doc ged u ard Rodrig ize-nomina hor n e ll a h h r c ic P aut ut; R Pulitzer Pang, Alfie im Timeo d K ngand ist an essay ; Alex Sooju Addiction; rk r n o w io h ct me o auth Distra of The Ho The Myt e h T , e ly r of t o im h n rece

by T , aut ribed ntry’s Kohn and, most c s e d u d— Myth Spoiled Chil aps the co tion’s h ca e r h u e d t p “ e .” of as of e ic scores it in r z c s te t ] maga utspoken d n a [ o ades most on gr n io t a fix

Record s k a e r und B y week for F l a u rall ion Ann rticipat anuary

the J otal mily pa During ual Fund, fa % and the t g 7 gin n 9 the An w record at 1.7, brin $ f o l a ne e go set a past th n. w le b millio raised over $2 t s ju in i Blair

an y Stef photo b

CONVENT & STUART HALL

rowing Summer Program G

by Leaps and Boundsarts,

in academics, With superior tracks ts, for rising K-6 studen s theater and athletic wn gro s ha ll & Stuart Ha Summer at Convent an th re mo s to include in the past two year schools locally, nationally 40 m fro 300 students ording to Program and internationally, acc ann.

Director Joey Elftm

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

17

classroom

Self-Selection

An impressive (and voluntary) workshop-style writing group of boys meets every Tuesday morning, where the students write for themselves.

BY: Elias Feldman, Communications Associate Director

One morning a week in a hushed classroom, a tight-knit group of seventh grade boys come together to share their writing and accept feedback from their peers. They are part of a writing group that started almost three years ago and now consists of six boys – Maxi Tellini, Gavin McDonell, Devan Paul, Andrew Dolan, Marco Jacimovic and Clay Mills, who recently earned a prestigious Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Silver Key for his poem titled “The Beauty We Don’t See.” Stuart Hall English teacher Dennis Estrada, the writing group advisor, says he first knew the boys as their teacher for a fifth grade writing class. He noticed their passion for writing and asked if they might want an opportunity build on what was already a strong literary foundation. Dennis recalls that they were “very much open to it and ready to go.”

When it started, the group was a natural extension of the workshop-style class in which students learn about different genres of writing. As a parallel track to the more formal writing methods such as literary and personal essays, students are introduced to self-selected writing, an important part of the class as it promotes student ownership, interest and independent application of skills.

In this unit, students are expected to maintain a journal and write every day.

On Tuesday mornings before classes begin, these boys sit around a patchwork of desks and the process starts without fanfare.

Dennis considers himself a participant as much as a facilitator and sparks the dialogue with a simple, “Who’s up?” The boys take turns reading work from the previous week and then wait for their friends to respond. “We don’t shy away from pregnant pauses,” Dennis adds. The writing samples often include poetry, fiction and everything in between.

During his 17 years at Stuart Hall, Dennis has extensively studied the importance of self-selected writing and encourages it as an essential and critical process, especially for boys. He cites Donald Graves, whose bestsellers have revolutionized the way writing is taught in schools, in saying that the perceptions of adults and teachers have a tendency to hold students back from self-selected writing at an early age. Dennis explains that the key to any good writing workshop is to get children to write for themselves first and foremost rather than for a teacher.

“Children want to write. They want to write the first day they attend school,” Graves says in his seminal essay, Writing: Teachers and Children at Work. “This is no accident. Before they went to

18

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

school they marked up walls, pavements, newspapers with crayons, chalk, pens or pencils … anything that makes a mark. The child’s marks say, ‘I am’.”

Self-selected writing involves sitting down with a blank piece of paper to discover what will come out. These seventh graders have not only become more adept at making writing moves, as Dennis calls it, but have “also learned to listen and provide feedback as writers. They’ve learned what it means to respond.”

To watch this give-and-take play out on a Tuesday morning is remarkable and the group seldom misses a week. Some of the boys in the group submit their favorite pieces to select journals and literary competitions each year, but it’s not always easy to choose; they each have hundreds of pages of material to sort through. Last year, Maxi Tellini had a poem published in the Rattle Young Poet’s Anthology, a highly selective national print and online publication dedicated to promoting and preserving the art of poetry. Clay’s poem was recognized this February by Scholastic as one of the best in his age group in the Western United States. Clay, Maxi, Gavin and Devan have all recently submitted to the $1000 for 1000 Words fiction-writing contest and will find out in April if they will be published.

Although he realizes that the demands of high school classes often make it difficult for students to maintain their personal writing practice, Dennis hopes that what the students have learned already “has planted a seed of what writing can be for them.”

CONVENT & STUART HALL

The Beauty We Don’t See

by Clay Mills, Grade 7

Followed by pigeons And an untamable stench A man closes fingers around a newly found meal His bloodshot eyes watch the streets His white beard floats As the cold approaches He huddles within the confinement Of a worn black coat Sitting on stone steps Covered with blankets and shirts Two companions beg For the occasional penny From a passer by And clutch at a self made sign Beneath bridges The wheels of carts screech The men and women talk They are grateful One puts an arm around another One hands another His worn black coat

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

19

classroom

photos by Stefani Blair

Innovative Launch Grant Program Takes Off

With two $2500 grants up for grabs, 46 teams of enterprising students submitted applications for consideration.

BY: Elias Feldman, Communications Associate Director

At the Design Thinking Symposium last spring, President Ann Marie Krejcarek revealed an unprecedented opportunity for Convent & Stuart Hall students: develop a thoughtful and innovative business plan and the school could give you one of two $2500 launch grants to fund the development of the idea. In class assemblies in March, Dr. Krejcarek announced a call for applications and outlined the process to students. All students were encouraged to apply, and from that, four dozen applications were submitted.

Two $2500 awards, supported by a generous gift from the late Rosemary Cozzo, are designed to fund student-led start-up businesses as they pursue their concepts and carry out a plan to bring them to market as viable businesses. Rosemary, a longtime supporter of the school, loved the idea and was enthusiastic about supporting it before her death this fall.

The call for ideas was intended to push students to think more deeply about their entrepreneurial ambitions – each applicant had to describe in detail their product or idea. They also had to explain the relevance of their concept and how it might solve a problem or create an opportunity.

Ann Marie said she wants the process to bring into focus the business application and marketability of the ideas being generated in class. Lead Librarian Amanda Walker is guiding applicants through a research process as they conduct an intellectual property test to confirm that their idea is in fact novel and does not already exist.

20

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

A committee then reviewed all applications and selected up to 10 to advance to the next phase. Selected student entrepreneurs then had to prepare to pitch their ideas in person to a launch grant panel made up of professionals. The school offered workshops to those students to support them as they prepared to elaborate on all the factors outlined in their application. At presstime, the final awards had not been announced but were expected imminently. To read about the students who won and their novel ideas, visit www. sacredsf.org.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Natural Reserve Embracing our role as conservators of ecology by traveling to the source of the world’s largest collection of living plants – Kew Gardens.

BY: Calvin Foss and Leon Tsai, Grade 10

Marking the beginning of our all-new independent study class Ecology & Conservation Botany, our co-ed class ventured to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew in England to start our study of earth’s ecosystems and plant life. For six days, we were given the amazing opportunity to roam around London, visit many historical sites and museums, as well as receive intimate lessons on plants from some of the world’s top botanical researchers. Overall, it was an amazing educational experience, and each member of our team returned home with a new perspective on this oft-understated area of science.

During our visit to Kew, we were led by Dr. Bruce Pavlik and Dr. Lisbeth Louderback. Their knowledge was readily apparent throughout the week’s many activities, ranging from special lectures from world-class ecology minds, visiting the Millenium Seed Bank, traversing the English countryside, searching for anemone pulsatilla in the Ashridge Reserve and “dropping quadrants” (with the help of Dr. Sarah Barlow), and so much more. We deeply appreciate their guidance, and are grateful for them having made the trip a personal experience.

In addition to a wonderful Kew experience, our team had a great time learning about the sites and culture of London and got to see various landmarks. A few of us were even able to visit the grave of our school’s patron, Janet Erskine Stuart. Seeing these sights in person was simply awe-inspiring; there was absolutely nothing that our team didn’t enjoy. Throughout the course of the week we ate great food—ranging from fish-and-chips to Indian cuisine—and visited museums such as the Tate Modern, the London Natural History Museum and the British Museum. Our chaperones included Mr. (Tony) Farrell and Ms. (Rachel) Simpson, the heads of the high school, and parent/Trustee Ms. (Emerald) Yeh. Their emphasis on “wise freedom” was readily felt and much appreciated.

Coming back from London with our increased knowledge of our world around us, we wanted to make our class time with Mr. (Creighton) Helms as much of a success as the trip. Although some of our classmates couldn’t come with us, we are going to educate them about what we did in order for us to work well together. We have many books on the environment to read, and many exciting projects to undertake. Without our trip to London, the class just wouldn’t have the same feel. In the future, we’re ready for our field trips to the U.C. Natural Reserve System locations around California to get another perspective on ecosystems. Our trip to London was unforgettable, and this class will be an experience we can treasure for the rest of our lives. photos by Emerald Yeh

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

21

classroom

Building Bridges to Understanding:

Engineering in First Grade Convent’s young learners learn about civil engineering through new bridge unit and marble runs.

BY: Belle Akers, Convent Grade 1 Teacher

The hands-on approach and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) model emphasizes the power of learning when students are active participants. By engaging the first graders in exploration with materials, we foster their natural curiosity and creativity. They become the problem solvers and design thinkers as they complete challenges from beginning to end (or start to finish). The girls take pride in their accomplishments while learning valuable scientific skills.

Science journals are an integral component in the learning process. Throughout the bridge unit, girls are writing down ideas, making sketches, and recording data in their science journals.

They are deepening their understanding through skills of: • communicating ideas, both verbally and written • using graphics: sketches, drawings, labels • gathering and analyzing data • constructing explanations • applying prior knowledge First graders have been introduced to engineering practices using an Engineering is Elementary kit, “To Get to the Other Side: Designing Bridges.” The girls learned about civil engineering and Javier’s problem with the unstable bridge to his fort in the literature selection Javier Builds a Bridge. In the first hands-on lesson, partners constructed beam, deep beam, and arch bridge models to observe and test the differences in stability.

Using weights to test the strength, girls recorded findings in their science journals for each type. Data from the bridges were compiled on a class chart to find the range of weights that caused the bridge to collapse. Class discussions about the results helped the girls to analyze what contributed to the differences in the numbers of weights used. Two ideas identified were the location of the cup with weights and how much force was being used to drop weights into the cups.

In the next lesson, partners followed the Engineering Design Process to create original bridge prototypes. Applying information they had learned from the building the bridge models, our budding engineers were ready to imagine and make plans together. The girls gathered materials: index cards, paper, sticks, straw, string, tape, and blocks to create their prototype. Partners built, tested and redesigned bridges to meet the criteria of stability and strength.

The girls were all successful in building bridges that met the criteria and allowed two cars to cross without collapsing the structure. Throughout the bridge lessons, the room buzzed with excited conversations and movement as the girls talked about designs, returned for additional supplies, and giggled with delight

22

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

when prototypes passed testing. Snippets of conversations showed their understanding: “Oh, that’s not stable.” “It’s sagging there.” “We need to tape it here.” “Should I get more blocks?”

Fresh from the resounding success of building bridges, first graders were ready to meet their next engineering challenge: marble runs. Teams of girls tackled the marble runs with great excitement and energy in the Spark Studio. Using their knowledge from building bridges, each group collaborated together: testing the prototypes, redesigning when needed and presenting a working marble run. Our first graders have shown that engineering is for all ages.

Belle Akers has attended professional development workshops at the Academy of Sciences and on campus Design Thinking sessions. She presented at the 2014 STEM Conference sponsored by the Council of Math/Science Educators of San Mateo County and will present again there in 2015 along with the CAIS Northern Conference, where she will be joined by kindergarten Associate Teacher Kristin Runco.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

23

feature Traditional & Transformative:

Spaces for Learning Retiring the Sage on the Stage BY: Tony Farrell, Head of Stuart Hall High School

There is a well-worn image in education circles of a classroom with a bearded, wise-looking fellow with a book in front of him, peering out onto a room of students in rows. Some are asleep. Some are talking to each other. Some appear to be day-dreaming. Most are not engaged. In many ways, the overall look of the classroom looks very much like the kind of school depicted in most films from the 1980s … the catch is that this image is from the 14th century.

After 700+ years of a “sage on the stage” approach, with an active teacher and passive students, more and more schools are evolving to a model that you’ll find at Convent & Stuart Hall, where active students take ownership for their learning, and often in places that look nothing like classrooms. Where you might remember such an experience in your own high school years would be the chemistry, biology or physics lab. Yes, you were held accountable for content (and chemistry is much easier to tackle once you have memorized the periodic table), but also you were called to labs where you were no longer sitting in a classroom chair. You were often standing, engaged with the elements, literally, either reinforcing your learning through doing, or encountering a topic more viscerally through direct exposure to the work.

As you read on page 21, last summer, our high school students went to London as part of their Conservation Botany course. They visited with Dr. Bruce Pavlik, the foremost conservation botanist on the planet, at his office in the Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Dr. Pavlik then took the students on a “field trip” to the Chiltern Hills where they “dropped a quadrant” (a square yard) onto a spot on the hillside, feeling the humidity of the earth in their fingertips as they studied various grass and plant life that has been impacted by humans. The “classroom” in this case was no such thing; rather, the students had a botanical garden and a countryside at their disposal. They are continuing their studies with more field work in the University of California Reserve System and eventually with an opportunity to study Shark Bay in Western Australia.

Between the senior boys from the Justice: Theory and Society course spending one class meeting a week at a service learning internship off-campus and our January day focused on freedom, power and international human rights with a trip to the Ai Weiwei exhibition on Alcatraz (page 10), we know exploration is enriched by getting students out of perfectly aligned rows.

24

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

Even without leaving campus, one can readily witness the changes in classroom design. The girls’ kindergarten classrooms have been remade into learning spaces that encourage students to explore, in what look quite tangibly like “children’s gardens” for learning. Another change in the physical make-up can be found in two of our libraries. The redesigns of the traditional libraries highlight the rapid change of the way resources are used given that iPad-enabled students don’t have to “go to technology.” Because students can access eBooks, reference materials and databases from home or anywhere, the spaces’ priorities are less about storage for books and more about “learning commons” where they can access information and technology, and process it together.

What takes place in classrooms is less rigid, too. For example, in Grade 7-8 science at Convent, students are engaged in 20% projects, much like at Google, where engineers are given the chance to use a portion of their work week on a project of their choice. One day a week, students engage in a project of their choosing, provided: it has to involve a skill not already possessed; it has to connect to science; and it includes the use of digital technology. “Integrating the design thinking process into our 20% projects this year has demonstrated the power the project holds in inspiring students to take ownership of their learning,” says science teacher Kellie Mullin.

“I have seen my students learn how to think beyond what they know is possible, resiliently face failure in a constructive fashion, and make strategic plans for how to move forward when things do not go as planned.”

Today’s classrooms at Convent & Stuart Hall look less and less like what you would see in that 14th century image and the results are far more impressive, too. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with thought-provoking designers and architects on these projects, who offered more than we had thought to consider. “If I had asked people what they wanted,” Henry Ford once said, “they would have asked for faster horses.”

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Top: The sage on the stage is being replace with active teaching and learning and the space is a big influence Photo courtesy Public Domain

Right: Convent & Stuart Hall students circa 1940.

Photo courtesy school Archives

Left: Current students in spaces that inspire curiosity.

Photo by Stefani Blair

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

25

feature Front & Center:

Our Youngest Learners BY: Stefani Blair, Communications Director photos by Stefani Blair and Molly Gallagher

“We shape our buildings. Thereafter, they shape us.”

Winston Churchill

The stately Grant House is a century old home, covered outside in classic red brick. Inside, innovation is coming to life in more than one way. The kindergarten classrooms long-since tucked away in the basement were moved front and center to the first floor over the summer.

Convent kindergarten classrooms were re-designed to promote space for our youngest learners to build, create, read, come together, and grow in a garden-themed, light-filled space.

The Hoffman Library space on the first floor of Grant and the kindergarten classes on the lower wing switched places; a suite of kindergarten classes large enough to accommodate the “bumper crop” of young learners at Convent Elementary was designed in the Hoffman footprint. A combination of fresh white paint, the use of the space’s floor-to-ceiling windows and bright new garden-themed furniture makes the entire experience brighter than it had been on the lower level. Those classes for kindergartners opened on the first day of school.

The New Hoffman, which will open later this year, is being designed with an eye toward activity more so than book storage, and will be conducive to reading circles, research, collaboration and reflection in addition to housing the book and resource collections.

“Switching these two locations allowed us to design with intention,” President Ann Marie Krejcarek says.

26

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

CONVENT & STUART HALL

photos by Elias Feldman

High Tech & High Touch:

The New Unkefer Spark Studio BY: Krista Inchausti & Fred Jaravata, Education Innovation Coordinators

The ePack program at Convent & Stuart Hall presented the school with a tremendous opportunity: Now that students have fulltime access to technical devices, what would we do with the common space that the computer lab once occupied? We decided to transform the outdated computer lab into the new “Unkefer Spark Studio”—a place for making, building and coding; a place where teachers from all disciplines come to infuse their subjects with more STEM; a place where our students are free to collaborate, experiment and fail. A glorious, messy learning place where the digital world meets the atomic world. Now the transformation is complete!

Creating and implementing our H.E.A.R.T.S. design process (H=Humanize, E=Explore and Research, A=Assemble Prototypes, T=Test & Tweak, S=Sharing), we designed the space with a great deal of intention. From the windows in the doors to the total mobility of the furniture in the room, it was all designed to encourage innovation and collaboration in our students and our teachers. The equipment in the space—the 3D printers, the robot kits and even the cardboard and hand tools—have inspired curricular innovation in teachers and inspired new interests in our students, just as we hoped.

We had expected collaboration between various groups, but have been pleased with the extent to which people see something interesting happening through the new windows, which sparks others to come in to join: Middle Form faculty popping in to help second graders test a prototype, Central Services staff stopping by to learn more about 3D printing, Middle Form boys helping Lower Form girls with coding. Beyond the increase in collaboration, we have seen an interesting trend in how our students use their free CONVENT & STUART HALL

time during open studio; when given a choice, they seem glad to put their devices down in favor of more hands-on activities such as building robots, connecting circuits, or assembling something with cardboard. As Howard Levin, Director of Innovation, observed, “The more we become technical, the more we become tactile.”

We are all still learning to live in the new Unkefer Spark Studio, but the space is coming to have a predictable daily rhythm.

Students are finally getting comfortable with the idea that they are free to move the furniture and white boards around and they know the particular shelves where they can go foraging for building materials without asking first. Students are asking each other for help and advice before running to an adult for help, and they are seeing adults asking students for help as well. The Unkefer Spark Studio is prompting all kinds of innovation. We have been pleasantly surprised by some of the specific ways the new space, and the thinking behind it, have affected our students, our faculty, our program and our community.

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

27

feature Building Knowledge & Acquiring Information:

Libraries as Learning Commons BY: Amanda Walker, Lead Librarian

“Books will soon be obsolete in the public schools …

Our school system will be completely changed inside of ten years.”

Thomas Edison—yes, that Thomas Edison!—made this remark in 1913. He was attributing this forecasted seachange to educational films, not computers, but his tone and its certainty echo proclamations widely heard today in regard to and within school libraries. And while digital technology has had a profound effect on traditional perceptions and practice of librarianship, this is by no means the first time that libraries have adapted to meet new tools, to meet a seachange. To the contrary, the history of progress in libraries, built now as always upon a staunch protection and active promotion of intellectual freedom and access to all, is the story of successful adaptation to and assimilation of new tools, new tech and new teaching.

To this end, school library tides have recently been turning from a model of “information reserve” to a model of “knowledge center.”

The implications of this shift recognize an inherent difference between information (discrete, accessed and transmitted) and knowledge (connected, contextualized and created in community).

This shift also recognizes that the process of building knowledge, as opposed to acquiring information, is one that is best supported in a space that empowers deep thought, authentic inquiry and collaborative intelligence; that teaches rather than grants access; that seeks to find commonalities within the learning process, within a learning commons.

We moved into our new Carroll Learning Commons at Stuart Hall High School last December and are excited for our colleagues in the elementary library to move into the new Hoffman Learning Commons. In our short time here, we have already seen our deliberate space conversions encourage and allow (make space) for innovation and integration. There has been a transfer of the physical collection (books! not obsolete!) from stacks in the center of the room to the periphery; a transfer of tech resources from dedicated destinations to mobile, modular solutions; a transfer of furniture from fixed to flexible. In addition, the changes have made space for more and more varied needs, allowing for a both/and approach to knowledge-building: both resource- and user-centered; both introspective and interactive; in support of both consumption and creation; in service to both school curriculum and beyond. In keeping with this both/and approach, our Learning Commons has been home to both individual study and class sessions; to both audio recordings for class assignments and an open mic forum; to both a game of cards played in advisory and a Video Game Night; to both constructing towers out of LEGOs and deconstructing Ai Weiwei’s piece, “Trace,” which we saw during our visit to his exhibit on Alcatraz; to both design and scientific thinking; to both book lending and book repurposing, the latter by way of an art project in which each sophomore was given a book weeded from the library collection that he then reimagined in a manner of his choosing (one has a plant growing out of its center!).

And so what of the “library” part of the Learning Commons equation? Are libraries even necessary today? Isn’t everything 28

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

photos by Elias Feldman

on the Internet? Despite, or perhaps owing to, the access to information we now carry in our pockets, the critical thinking skills required to locate, evaluate, analyze, synthesize and apply information—to create knowledge—are survival requirements for thoughtful work and responsible citizenship in our digital age. It is the work of libraries, which exist in service not to resources but to people, to teach the skills and support the behaviors of critical inquiry that allow for information literacy. What’s more, school libraries provide access to resources that appeal to all of the senses, not just visual and auditory but tactile and olfactory, as well, in service to their young learners at different cognitive stages, with different learning styles. Libraries support reading as a core value, not just for information but also for personal growth, compassion, discovery, understanding, lifelong learning, citizenship in the global family, etc. Fiction is a fundamental component of knowledge, and libraries are primary sources for stories, the windows to imagination, to wonder, to the world.

I see our Learning Commons as a conduit in which students build knowledge and our community makes meaning. The flexibility of the design allows us to better follow where the current takes us, the course of which is determined by new needs, changing interests, advancements in our studies, our patrons, and our world.

This ship, historically and perpetually in motion, is now but easier to steer. As F. Scott closes Gatsby: “And so we beat on …”

CONVENT & STUART HALL

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

29

feature

Sacred Space:

The Mary Mardel RSCJ Chapel In order for space to be both Traditional & Transformative, it must retain traces of its heritage. The work to improve the spaces at Convent & Stuart Hall is not to whitewash everything and start over—as evidenced by the classic architectural elements designers retained, and by the names we choose to give the spaces. During a dinner for current and former Trustees last spring, the school named the Chapel for Mary Mardel, RSCJ, in honor of her decades of work on Broadway. Sr. Mardel has been called “the heart and soul of Broadway” by many affiliated with Convent & Stuart Hall. Former trustees Marcia Syufy and Brenda O’Connor MacLean’63 suggested naming the Chapel for Sr. Mardel, and spoke during the dedication about what she has meant to the community, and Sr. Mardel graciously accepted the honor. She recounted the many hours she spent in the sacred space over the past 75 years, and how that contributed to her own personal growth.

In addition to dedicating the Chapel in her name, the school established an endowed fund in her honor to support the physical integrity of this space and to imbed the spirit of the school’s founding order through education to mission activities. In a letter to alumni, Brenda MacLean and alumnae Christine Hiler’99’95 invited her former students to give to the endowed fund and write a message to Sr. Mardel.

These are some of their kind words.

“There are not enough words to convey to you adequately the many gifts you have bestowed to our family and generations of Sacred Heart students. Trés Bien!!”

“You were a

guiding force in my life.”

“You are an inspiration, Sr. Mardel!”

“Thank you for being so gracious, caring and loving

to all of us.”

“We have all been touched by your and

wisdom

generosity.”

“Mother Mardel was a friend and motivator— always encouraging excellence and accomplishment—yet she was always interested in our home and social life. A blessed experience for a young woman, which has lasted forever!”

30

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

“I have cherished memories, not only of the chapel, but most of all, of you.”

“You were my favorite English teacher.”

CONVENT & STUART HALL

photos by Nano Visser

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

31

athletics

Front Runner

The remarkable tale of a Stuart Hall High School student from Ghana who has become one of the most successful sprinters in school history.

BY: Elias Feldman, Communications Associate Director

On a late fall morning, Stuart Hall senior Bosco Bapuopeleh walked out of the college counseling office beaming with a satisfied look. He had just submitted an application to Concordia University in Oregon, where he hopes to continue his young but prolific running career, and study biology on a pre-med track.

Bosco’s journey to the college counseling office at Stuart Hall High School has been a long one. He grew up with his four sisters and two brothers outside photo by Jeff Nemy a town called Bolgatanga, the capital of the Upper East Region of north Ghana. The town lies in the Red Volta River Valley, which serves as a major migration route for elephants. Bosco’s family had to walk two miles in each direction just to get water from a well. He describes the area as “kind of like an empty space.”

When Bosco was nine, he befriended a young Peace Corps volunteer named Kip Clifton, who moved next door to his family.

Kip was assigned to the village to build a computer center and teach the locals computer literacy. “That was the first time I saw a computer,” Bosco says. “Kip taught me how to type.”

After his three-year term, Kip offered to bring Bosco and his brothers back to the United States to help them receive a better education. They landed in South Carolina, where they lived with Kip’s mom for three years. When it was time to go to high school, Bosco and his brother Benjamin followed Kip to San Francisco and enrolled at Stuart Hall.

One of Bosco’s new friends encouraged him to try American football. “Football is the only sport we do in Ghana, we play as much as we can,” Bosco says referring to the game most Americans call soccer. “It’s a way for us to become someone.” But Bosco was curious about other sports and Stuart Hall had a new eight-man football team.

Stuart Hall teacher and track and field coach Mike Buckley watched Bosco play in an early season football game. He noticed his pure speed and approached him after the game to see if he would be

32

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

interested in track. Bosco was hesitant at first, but after consulting with Kip, decided to accept the offer.

As it turns out, Bosco is a natural sprinter. Since stepping on the track for the first time in his life freshmen year, he has won every 100-meter and 200-meter league race except for one. Bosco came in second in the 100-meter league final last spring and says it’s because he was working on a new technique. “It slowed me down,” Bosco says with a big grin. “I guess I was doing high knees.”

Bosco’s fastest 100-meter time is 10.82 seconds. When he set a new personal best in the 200-meter last spring, Coach Buckley gave him a big hug. His time was a spellbinding 21.72. It’s no surprise that both times stand as school records.

For all of the joy he finds in running, Bosco’s goal all along has been to become a doctor. “When I used to get sick,” Bosco says, “my mom would walk one mile just to find a pharmacy and sometimes she would come back without medicine because they were out.”

His vision is clear—he wants to return to Ghana to help improve the healthcare system. “As long as I have the knowledge to cure sickness,” Bosco adds, “that’s all I need.”

Without hesitation Bosco says that Honors Biology II with Creighton Helms is his favorite class. In a recent model-UN style presentation, students were asked to research and explore the Ebola outbreak from several different perspectives. Bosco and his brother Benjamin, who is also in the class, represented the local Western African civilian population and talked about many of the public health challenges they witnessed in Ghana. They also made recommendations for improving the system.

One of their suggestions was to allow sick children to stay home from school. “I always went to school even when I was sick, otherwise we would get punished,” Bosco says. “Staying home would be better.” Bosco admits it was difficult to tell his classmates about how things work in Ghana. But he says, “Mr. Helms said it was strong of us to present about the situation in West Africa.”

Bosco has one more track and field season before heading off to college. His goal is to run the 100-meter in 10.50 seconds and the 200 in 21.20. In addition to Concordia, he applied to Wofford College in South Carolina, where he recently chose to attend because Kip’s uncle went there and suggested it.

When Bosco returned to Ghana for the first time last year, he told his father that he had found a new sport. “My father said he also used to run—I didn’t know that,” Bosco says. “I said, whoa, ‘you ran too?’”

CONVENT & STUART HALL

The Accidental Tennis Star A Convent junior gives tennis a try and becomes an All-League player.

BY: Elias Feldman, Communications Associate Director

If anyone had told Isabelle Armstrong her freshmen year that she would eventually be named First Team All-League in doubles tennis, she probably would have laughed. She had never even played competitive tennis and didn’t know it would be in her future. She focused on basketball and soccer from an early age and recalls being on the cover of the JCC magazine once, highlighted for her abilities on the soccer field as a six-year old.

Isabelle, a junior at Convent, has played three sports since starting high school. In addition to basketball and soccer, she played volleyball her freshmen year but decided to give tennis a try as a sophomore because a few of her friends were on the team. “I didn’t even know how to keep score or what deuce meant,” Isabelle says.

As she started to get a feel for the new sport, she played exhibition matches where her scores were not counted during the regular season. She waited patiently for a chance to compete in a “real” doubles match and her opportunity came when one her teammates was sidelined with a cold. Isabelle was glad to be paired with a senior who was “very supportive” because she admits her serve needed a lot of work. “I bounced it over just hoping it would go in,” she says. “But I learned a lot in those early matches.”

Last summer, Isabelle trained with Convent tennis coach Ion Vlad, who she credits for helping her learn many years’ worth of skills in just a few months. Isabelle played doubles this year with fellow junior Samantha Lee and was much more confident on the court. The pair worked well together and were playing their best tennis going into the postseason. After beating San Domenico School in straight sets in a first-round playoff match, Isabelle and Sammi faced The Urban School in a match that lasted two days.

At the end of the second set, Isabelle says it was so dark that “we couldn’t see where the ball was going.” They returned the next day on fresh legs and closed out a very strong Urban team.

Isabelle doesn’t allow her busy schedule as a three-sport athlete get in the way of her other interests, the biggest being service, travel and photography. “I like to procrastinate but it doesn’t really work with sports,” she says. “I like planning things—I’m a take-charge kind of person and I think I learned that from sports.”

Isabelle traces the roots of her love for service back to seventh grade when she was required to complete 10 hours of service following her communion. Most of her hours were spent cleaning a church kitchen, but toward the end, she had a chance to teach children in a Sunday school program. An aha moment came when Isabelle realized “service could be more than just hanging pots and pans.”

Isabelle says she enjoys finding service experiences on her own, mostly during the summer when she has more time. Last summer, she and a friend volunteered with a Salvation Army literacy program they found online. They worked as tutors to help children CONVENT & STUART HALL

photo courtesy Hilary Armstrong

who are below grade level in reading. Isabelle thinks she wants to focus on computer science and business in college, but has always been fond of teaching.

In the spring of her freshmen year, Isabelle picked up a pamphlet on campus explaining various service trips. Given her love of service and travel, she followed her heart and enrolled in a program called Rustic Pathways. She has been to the Dominican Republic to teach English and Cambodia to build houses. She plans to go to India this summer to work in an orphanage and take a photography expedition. After all, the photography work she’s done in a junior year independent study art class has left a strong impression.

On the Convent campus, Isabelle is a proud board member of Simple Gifts, the student-run club that raises money for women and children’s charities. She looks up to a group of senior leaders who elected her and anticipates next year when she will be part of a committee that does outreach to try and procure clothing donations for their annual fashion show fundraiser.

It might come as a surprise that Isabelle has no interest in playing sports at the next level, even after she and Sammi were named First Team All League in doubles tennis this fall. Isabelle acknowledges that she was shocked when Athletics Director Elena De Santis presented the award and says it’s bizarre to look back on her younger years as an avid basketball and soccer player and to think that her first All League honor came in a sport she started just last year.

After writing off any chance of playing a sport in college, Isabelle takes a long pause and reconsiders what she just said. “If I were to play an intramural, tennis would be my first choice. I’ve come to love it.”

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

33

athletics

SPORTS HEADLINES

fall sports headlines ¡ STUART HALL SPORTS Knights football scored 50 or more points six times en route to 7-1 mark, best record in program history.

All League players led Knights soccer to NCS championships in big bounce-back year.

Clay Mills, Gr. 7, won the BAIAL Cross Country Championships finishing four seconds off course record.

After undefeated regular season, JV soccer claimed No. 1 seed going into playoffs.

The Gr. 7 CYO soccer team won a dramatic playoff game on penalty kicks to earn trip to final.

Top Middle Form golfer Elliot Kob led the Lions to 2nd place finish in inaugural Cathedral Golf Classic.

¡ CONVENT SPORTS The high school golf team defended its title with another BCL West championship in impressive undefeated season.

Behind senior Alex Wood, Cubs volleyball outlasted Marin Academy in electrifying five-set playoff match to earn trip to league final.

Senior Allison Watts finished high school tennis career with perfect 8-0 record in league play.

The Gr. 6 volleyball team topped off a dominant season with the CYO championship.

¡ CO-ED HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS Hard offseason training program prepared the cross-country teams to finish in top half of BCL West.

winter sports headlines ¡ STUART HALL SPORTS Knights varsity basketball 30-win season included first ever NCS basketball title, five straight playoff wins and a trip to the NorCal semifinals.

Knights wrestlers won their championship meet and finished as league co-champs.

The Gr. 8 basketball team finished an undefeated season with second BAIAL varsity title in last 15 years.

¡ CONVENT SPORTS Cubs varsity basketball charged into NCS tournament and won a first-round game before closing out another strong season.

The Gr. 5 soccer team went undefeated and won the CYO championship in the top division.

The Middle Form varsity BAIAL basketball team made an exciting run to the league playoffs.

Middle Form JV volleyball team won the BAIAL championship after impressive back-to-back upset wins in playoffs.

Daniel Connolly Commits to Play College Golf at SMU Daniel Connolly, a junior at Stuart Hall, has given a verbal commitment to play college golf at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, starting in fall 2016.

He was heavily recruited by several prestigious universities, but felt SMU was the best fit and a place where he could balance his education and social life with golf, just like he has at Stuart Hall. With an impressive campus and state-of-theart golf facility, which will be ready in 2016, Daniel says he couldn’t be more excited.

34

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

After qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship in 2013 and 2014, the highest-level tournament for players under 17, Daniel has been on the rise in the junior rankings, and he is currently at No. 41 on the Golfweek/Sagarin list for the class of 2016.

His next goal is to qualify for the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship in August. “I have a vision of where I want to be and how I want to do it,” Daniel says. “Golf has showed me that we get places because of hard work.”

CONVENT & STUART HALL

photos by Elena De Santis

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

35

service

Social Awareness that Compels to Action Students in all divisions have dedicated hours to volunteerism this year.

New Elective Takes Students to Surrounding Community Arriving in Ray O’Connor’s office minutes before his Service Learning Elective period is like walking into a very lively student lounge. A group of 12 sophomores and juniors enter the room and head straight for the M&M vending machine. They deposit a quarter in the slot, catch their candy as it funnels out of the opening and then turn around and head out into the world.

Ray has directed the Service Learning program at Stuart Hall High School for 13 years. It includes a required senior-level theology course, in which students engage in an integrated, year-long academic service learning experience. However, this is just the second year that the Service Learning Elective has been offered and it’s available to all students. “We try to meet the needs of our local community, that is, agencies and schools that are within walking distance that would welcome our students,” Ray says.

Within minutes of leaving Ray’s office, students are through the door and busily working at their service location. “Students choose what service they would like to do and they usually pair up with a friend,” he adds.

On one particular Thursday morning, sophomores Achilles Arnold and Giggy Andrew serve tea to a group of elderly women at the Kimochi Home. As many of the ladies take slow sips from a steaming cup, Arnold and Giggy caringly help them, one at a time, to a chair in the middle of the room. The boys give a handful of ping-pong balls to the contestant who tries to bounce them across the tile floor into a row of muffin tins. When one goes in, the whole room erupts with laughter and clapping.

Down the street at Nihomachi Little Friends, juniors Colin Carr and Lucius Johnson play with children. This hidden preschool actually has two separate rooms on the same campus and so Colin and Lucius split up and spend time with different groups.

“The children love him. He has a great rapport with both the children and teachers,” says Naomi Miura, the Site Manager for the school, as she gestures towards Lucius. “He’s a good role model, he’s always smiling and he just gets right in there.”

36

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

photo by Elias Feldman

Other students, who are in the elective, spend their hour-long period at Redding Elementary School and Stuart Hall for Boys.

Keeping with the Goals & Criteria of a Sacred Heart education, students at Stuart Hall High School complete 75 hours of service by the end of junior year as a prerequisite for the senior-level Justice class that includes a service internship. Most far exceed the base number.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Exploring Hunger in America

photo by Talbot Moore

Convent & Stuart Hall 7th graders spent October 15 volunteering at the San Francisco Food Bank during their co-ed Goal 3 Day, a follow-up to a unit on Hunger in America. Before the students spent the afternoon working a three-hour volunteer shift packing oats, they evaluated causes and effects for hunger, and learned about the concept of food insecurity. The students discussed the importance of both short-term help for those who suffer from hunger as well as total eradication of hunger in America. They also viewed the documentary “A Place at the Table” (2013) about America’s food crisis and researched topics related to childhood hunger for mini multimedia presentations.

7th Graders Help St. Anthony’s

photo by Molly Gallagher

Convent 7th graders volunteered during Winter Break at St. Anthony’s Foundation, which provides food, clothing, shelter and much more to those in need in San Francisco. Convent students helped sort and label donations for a program that provides free likenew clothing to thousands of men, women and children each year.

Co-Ed High School Trip Continues to Help NOLA Rebuild

Stuart Hall Partners with Local Elementary Schools for Service Day

photo by Ray O’Connor

photo by Elias Feldman

The Stuart Hall High School community of 200 students almost doubled in size on March 6 when its students reached out to children from two public elementary schools for a day of activities. Four-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott energized the crowd as he delivered an engaging talk about the importance of service. The Jefferson Awards Foundation’s Freda Statom and the One World Play Project’s Arnold Ambiel opened the day by addressing Stuart Hall students. Then, led by its Students in Action team, Stuart Hall students met at Redding and Rosa Parks elementary schools and walked hand-in-hand with 130 fourth and fifth graders back to their campus. “We reached out in particular to Rosa Parks and Redding because we have established a relationship with these two schools over the course of 10 years,” says Ray O’Connor, Service Learning Director. With at least one Stuart Hall student paired with every elementary child, everyone participated in a series of workshops and activities focused on leadership, community, citizenship and art.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

During the seventh annual New Orleans service trip, Convent & Stuart Hall high school students and faculty began a new partnership this year with Youth Rebuilding New Orleans, a group that renovates distressed and damaged homes and then sells them to teachers in need of affordable housing. The 14 boys and girls, along with three faculty chaperons (Ray O’Connor, Anne Guina, and Sergio Vasquez), worked with other volunteers and staff members to demolish the inside of an abandoned corner store and remove large amounts of debris. “As half our group was breaking down the walls of plaster and the wood behind it in one building, the other half shoveled disheveled wood planks and trash out of a small house,” says junior Cat Heinen. “Both groups filled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow with the ruins from Katrina to bring out to a dumpster.” The most challenging part of the project involved climbing into the rafters of the old store to take down the ceiling. After three days of hard work, the inside of the building was stripped and ready for rebuilding.

Before leaving, the students helped to pull weeds and remove large plants from an overgrown garden outside the structure. “I learned how much of an impact a small group like ours could make,” says junior David Alvarez. “The people we worked with were amazing and worked with us the entire day.”

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

37

beaux arts

Drumming Up Support for Music & Design photo by Nano Visser

The Hudson Gibson Endowed Fund Hopes to Inspire Students in the Performing Arts.

Last spring, Convent Elementary alumna Nora Gibson and her husband Bill Hudson made an endowed gift in support of the arts. Their sons Peter and Henry are in the lower form at Stuart Hall and the Hudson Gibson family wanted to provide support for an Artist-in-Residence program where each year a gifted artist could work with Stuart Hall second grade students in a special unit that will culminate in a theatrical performance. The first iteration of this program is happening this spring; Lincoln Center performer Susan Thomasson has been working with the second grade teaching team so that students can experience their Native American curriculum through movement and literature-based dance. All year the students have explored “por quoi” tales, or myths that explain why the world is the way it is, such as the Navajo folktale How the Stars Got Into the Sky. Susan’s weeklong onsite work with the students this spring aims at connecting them with the folktale through dance and ultimately a performance for their parents and guests at Grandparents & Special Friends Day.

38

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

Raise the Paddle Supports STEAM The movement to add art and design to STEM -- science, technology, engineering and math -- aligns with the work Convent & Stuart Hall administrators are doing to grow the Beaux Arts program. During the 2015 Celebrate Spring Live Auction & Gala, the Raise the Paddle item at the end of the evening asked the audience at Bimbo’s 365 Club to support the arts. Money raised during that portion, President Ann Marie Krejcarek said, could help the school build out the woodwind and percussion sections of instrumental music, with classrooms sets to include piccolos, bass clarinets, baritone horns, bassoons, trombones, jazz drum kits, electric guitar, electric bass and mallet percussion. The funds would also go toward modular practice rooms. And, recognizing there is more than one way for students to be producers, the idea of adding a woodshop and additional design space surfaced as another way to extend the Beaux Arts. The live audience enthusiastically showed support for those initiatives, raising $150,000 that night; nearly $10,000 additional was raised through a 48-hour flash campaign emailed to the entire community that weekend.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Top: High school musical 42nd Street.

Photo by Michael Hong.

Left: Middle Form production of Robin Hood.

Photo by Molly Gallagher.

Right: 4-School Orchestra Performance.

Photo by Erwin Wong.

Bottom: High school drama Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Photo by Stefani Blair.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

39

beaux arts

Turning Down the Volume with Art By creating acoustical panels that represent the five Goals & Criteria, we hope to improve the cafeteria experience for our classmates.

BY: Michael Tellini, Grade 11

For the 2013-14 school year, the Art+Architecture Elective for Convent & Stuart Hall high school students had us put ideas together to create the colored panels that can now be seen in the cafeteria on the Broadway campus. The project was led by Fine Arts Faculty Ms. (Patter) Hellstrom. The elective met twice a week to work on the panels. The goal was to reduce the noise level of the cafeteria. Earlier in the year, the noise levels of the cafeteria had been measured around 90 decibels during the busiest times of the day, about the same noise level experienced when three feet from a subway. After some treatment of the ceiling, the noise level was reduced slightly, but not down to the goal of 80 decibels. The panels that the Art+Architecture team designed reduce the level of the noise in the cafeteria both directly and indirectly. Not only do they absorb some of the vibrations in the room to dampen the sound, but they turn down the volume visually with colors and design aimed at calming the mind and evoking peacefulness.

The team underwent several stages to complete the project. After creating initial designs on paper, the students were tasked with converting their images to digital files. They then met with leaders from all four schools including members of the student councils, the respective heads of each school, and the president. This allowed students in the elective to take a leadership role and present their work to the leadership team assembled to critique the designs. The next stage was to try for an approval. The team created mockups using paint and hung them in the cafeteria to show the intended effect visually. This proved pivotal and allowed the team to gain approval and proceed to final editing of the digital files.

Because the files needed to be so massive to be printed onto the large panels and still look sharp, several tedious hours were spent making these adjustments. Ms. Hellstrom and then-senior Xa Conrad took charge on this part of the project and helped get the files ready for printing.

On design, the team chose to use a similar color scheme on each of the five panels. After noticing that there were five panels, five goals in the Sacred Heart tradition, and many of the premature designs related to the body, the project was titled Art+Architecture: The Goals Embodied. Each of the five panels involves aspects of the body such as hands or a head. While the art on each of the panels

can be interpreted many different ways, they each evoke a specific Sacred Heart goal.

After overcoming hurdles related to pricing, funding, coordinating delivery and setup, the project was completed. The Art+Architecture team had a final day to meet with Dr. Krejcarek following the panels’ installation. We reiterated the thoughts behind the project and were commended on a job well done. We hope the panels will be a part of the Broadway Café for years to come because of the practicality and beauty they possess. Not only did the panels dampen the volume of the space, they will continue to remind the students of the school’s mission through artwork.

photos by Stefani Blair

40

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

CONVENT & STUART HALL

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

41

alumni news

photo by Stefani Blair

Convent & Stuart Hall Alumni Association Launches Christine Hiler’99’95 will lead the Convent & Stuart Hall Alumni Association to serve former students and families.

Through the work of the Strategic Plan, the school administration—along with a Sustainable Relationships Work Group of alumni and past parents—has worked to examine how the school connects with the “extended community” and evaluate resources offered to alumni. Throughout 2014, the group conducted research on comparable alumni associations and industry standards; conducted focus groups with alumni; surveyed alumni; and worked closely with Christine to facilitate transitions and build the new alumni structure at Convent & Stuart Hall.

From this work, the school has partnered with alumni to launch the new Alumni Association in 2015. This summer the Work Group will solidify the structure of the Alumni Association and identify alumni leaders in various areas so that we may all work toward a meaningful and productive association with the school community.

Christine is senior counsel at Hanson Bridgett, where she specializes in litigation with a focus on insurance recovery. After Convent High School she attended the University of Southern California for her undergraduate degree and then the University of San Francisco Law School. Christine’s sister Amanda Hiler’98’02 and brother Kevin Hiler’04 are also alumni of the school.

42

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

Photo: Christine Hiler (right) with fellow alumnae running the Gingerbread Workshops during Christmas on Broadway.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SF Alumna Launches App To Connect the Sacred Heart Network After years of running a software company in Silicon Valley and serving as an angel investor and advisor, Margaretta Colangelo’79 wanted an easier way to make connections for herself and for those she advises. She had already recognized the power of the Sacred Heart network through various alumni groups on LinkedIn. But she wanted something more.

Working with designers she knew from other projects, Alumnifire was designed to be a next generation digital alumni network platform that is private and secure. Alumni from colleges connected to Margaretta and her team, such as the University of Pennsylvania, Vassar and Princeton, have also been invited to use the app, but she says it is perfect for the vast number of digitally active alumni of Sacred Heart schools around the world; so far, Sacred Heart schools are the only K-12 institutions invited to join.

Alumnifire syncs with LinkedIn and Facebook, so when you sign into Alumnifire for the first time, you may choose to sign in with LinkedIn or Facebook. Doing so will pre-populate your

Alumnifire profile and approve you for immediate access to the site.

A simple interface allows users to connect with others from their own school as well as other Network schools to search for jobs, set up informational interviews, hire interns and find mentors. Those interested in joining are verified to be former students of the school and can opt to have an update of their contact information then sent directly to Convent & Stuart Hall. Alumnae and alumni from 91st Street, Greenwich and Woodlands Academy are already online.

Check it out at www.alumnifire.com.

Mary Forsyth to be Next President of National Alumni Association At the national conference in Boston in April, the Associated Alumnae & Alumni of the Sacred Heart inducted Mary Lococo Forsyth as their new President. AASH is the national organization for former Sacred Heart students at the 24 Network of Sacred Heart Schools in the U.S. and Canada. Mary is known to many Convent & Stuart Hall families as a teacher and administrator who spent 27 years in San Francisco and at Sacred Heart Schools in Atherton, most recently as the Interim Head of Convent High School during the 2012-2013 school year. Mary’s daughter Erin also attended Convent High School.

Mary is an alumna of the former Sacred Heart high school in El Cajon, CA, as well as San Francisco College for Women, Lone Mountain (now USF).

She served two terms as AASH’s Western Regional Director and one term as AASH Vice President, and has served as the Vice President of the AASH San Diego Alumnae Board.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Mary Forsyth with her daughter Erin on Broadway

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

43

alumni news

this one ran long by 52 words

Young Alumnus, Video Game Maker Named “Ones to Watch” by BAFTA Kevin Wong’12 and his talented team behind Chambara, a multiplayer video game, took home the “Ones to Watch” Award at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts video game awards ceremony on March 12. The prestigious award recognizes breakthrough talent in the video games industry. We talked to Kevin about the game, his experience making it and how his interest in video games developed during his time at Stuart Hall.

When did you know you wanted to design video games?

When I started at Stuart Hall, I blogged extensively and thought I wanted to be a journalist/activist. I liked video games and started writing about them. When Brown v. EMA, a videogame legislation case, hit the Supreme Court in 2010, I dabbled in advocacy and drafted a petition to Senator Leland Yee, who was a huge proponent for game restrictions at the time. When that was successful, I decided to take the video game thing and run as far as I possibly could with it.

I still haven’t stopped.

How did your interest in video game design and development evolve during your time at Stuart Hall?

I tried to bring video games into my studies here at Stuart Hall. For a my papers, I would find ways to tie the subjects that we were learning in class back to games, which I hoped could enrich the conversations that went on around games. In Mrs. Hellstrom’s art classes, I themed a lot of the work I did around my relationship with games, culminating in my senior year when Baard Sodal and I tried to prototype a game in her Advanced Art 2D class.

For a game designer, there is no useless knowledge, and every class that I took at Stuart Hall ended up being helpful in some way.

But things that stand out in particular are Mr. Grant’s AP Computer Science class, and Mr. Campos’ and Mr. O’Connor’s Ethics and Social Justice classes. Comp Sci taught me the fundamentals of programming, which has been extensively useful when working with digital games. The theology classes introduced me to concepts about feminism, privilege, and oppression, all of which have been crucial to handling the social and cultural issues in games culture and lent me a strong awareness of the socio-political expressions in my work.

You wrote extensively about video games in the Stuart Hall newspaper. What kind of responses did this bring about from your classmates?

I wrote game reviews and articles with Diego Otero-Caldwell for the Roundtable and that was a lot of fun and helped me work out and grow my perspective on games. With those articles, I hoped to elevate and enrich the dialogue that went on around games at Stuart Hall and transform the culture of the school in some small, nudging way.

Explain the concept behind Chambara.

Chambara is a first person fighting game with only two colors.

The world is entirely dichromatic and so are the players, which means that players can seamlessly camouflage themselves with the environment to sneak up and ambush each other. In essence, it’s a game about moving stealthily and spatial awareness in regards to your position in relation to your opponent and the environment.

44

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

What was your specific role in the creation of the game?

I was the team lead and was responsible for general design, production, and communications with Dare to be Digital staff and our composer. I also handled budgeting, testing, some programming and 3D art and animation. Basically, my role was very fluid and changed according to the needs of the game on any particular day.

What was your reaction when your group won the BAFTA, in this year’s “ones to watch” category?

So, the last time I felt the way I did prior to the presentation at the BAFTA’s was at Stuart Hall cross-country races. When you’re waiting for the gun to go off at the starting line, you’re incredibly nervous with anticipation and every itch, urge, and pain feels accentuated a thousand-fold. You have a bunch of feelings about the moment when the gun goes off, or in this case, when that envelope is opened.

When the winner is announced, you’re not quite sure what you’re feeling. It’s hard to put into words because there is so much happening at once. It’s total emotional overload and a lot to process.

As you rise to stage, you don’t really feel like you’re walking up there on your own volition, but rather you’re being pushed by a thousand hands – the energy of the entire world is nudging you forward.

The category is linked to the Dare to be Digital competition run by Abertay University, which gives contestants nine weeks to create a prototype.

What was the process for creating a game in such a short period of time?

I’ve done game jams before where I’ve been tasked with making games in periods of 48 hours, so I’m familiar with working within constraints. Nine weeks is substantial, and with game development, it’s important to construct the essential heart of your game as soon as possible, and improve upon that core as much as you can. There’s a self-illuminating shader and scripts for first-person movement included in the Unity game engine, and with that, we prototyped Chambara’s camouflage mechanic on the first day and spent the rest of the competition polishing and iterating upon that core.

To what do you attribute the early success of your development team, Overly Kinetic?

I think we owe a lot to our mentors and professors. The part of our team that came from USC took the Intermediate Games course at USC the semester prior to Dare, where you’re tasked with making a finished game with a partner over the course of three months. That taught us a lot about prototyping, testing, and scoping, all of which were crucial to Chambara’s success. It was a game scoped perfectly to what we could achieve.

What are you studying at USC and what is your dream job for after you graduate?

I’m studying Interactive Media at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and I graduate soon after I finish a capstone game. I’m not certain what the future holds for me, but I am determined to go indie and work with my friends to finish up and release Chambara.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Alumna Leads Women’s Rights Campaign from Behind her Camera Since her days at Convent, Tiana Abdulmassih ’11 has been busy with a wide range of interests at Harvard University. In addition to her academic and athletic pursuits, Tiana is one of the organizers of the emBODYindia project and recently led a photo campaign that attracted international attention. We talked to Tiana about the project and about her experience as a photographer for The Harvard Crimson newspaper. And she reflects on her time at Convent and looks ahead to her first Boston Marathon as a runner.

What was your experience at Convent?

I studied at Convent from Kindergarten through 12th grade and would not trade my time on Broadway Street for anything. My two older sisters also completed K-12 with me, and my younger sister will soon join us as graduates of Convent as she is currently a sophomore. For many, Convent is a family – but for me, Convent was a family that included my own. Not only was I able to make incredible friends and form close bonds with my teachers, but it was an integral part of developing relationships within my own family. I do not know many people who can say the same of their school.

What have you been doing since graduating from Convent?

After graduating from Convent High School in 2011, I started my studies at Harvard University. I was recruited to Harvard for the Crew Team, and rowed for two years before sustaining a careerending injury. I have since become a long-distance runner and am so excited to run the Boston Marathon for the first time this coming April. Throughout college, I worked as a staff photographer for The Harvard Crimson newspaper and served as the photography and videography editor for 2014. Entering college with no idea of what I wanted to study, I was able to find my academic interests. I started as a Government major and later switched to Studio Art after developing my passion for photography. I am currently finishing up my senior year and enjoying every moment.

Explain the emBODYindia campaign, as well as your inspiration and goals for this project. emBODYindia started as a response to the ongoing objectification, harassment and abuse of women in India. In October, the Times of India published a series of photographs of a famous Indian actress’ cleavage. My roommate, who is from New Delhi, came to me completely enraged and wanting to do something to show women back home that she and the rest of the Harvard community supported them and their rights. The emBODYindia photo campaign was born. The campaign includes photographs of Harvard students and faculty members of all ethnicities holding slogans in support of women’s rights. We want to convey the simple message that a woman’s body is her own, and her clothes are never an invitation for judgment or harassment. Our campaign is aimed at the Indian community, but our message is a global one that has reached around the world. [See all of Tiana’s photos on theemBODYindia Tumblr page.]

CONVENT & STUART HALL

What role does photography play in your life and how has it changed in your time at Harvard?

I had taken AP Studio Art at Convent High School, but my focus had been in drawing and painting. I joined The Harvard Crimson’s newspaper staff as a photographer as an extracurricular and to try something new. It did not take long for me to really become interested in visual storytelling. I had always taken photographs for fun, but it was not until I photographed the Boston Marathon bombings and lockdown in 2013 that I really saw the power and importance of photojournalism. Through my studies and work for The Crimson, my love of photography has developed into a life-long passion and pursuit to bring about change through photography.

What are you studying and what is your plan or vision for life after college?

I am studying Studio Art with a minor in Economics and a citation in French. I have no set plans for post-college life, but want to be able to apply both my artistic and business skills to the best of my ability.

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

45

alumni news

Remembering Sr. Sally Furay and Sr. Ellen Hoffman Two incredible Religious of the Sacred Heart left us this January after contributing significantly to the success of Convent & Stuart Hall.

Sally Furay, RSCJ, Current Trustee Sally Furay, RSCJ, a treasured and impactful member of the Board of Trustees at Convent & Stuart Hall, died in San Diego on January 10, after suffering a stroke. Sr. Furay served on the Board at Schools of the Sacred Heart San Francisco since 2010, serving on the Committee on Trustees and the President Search Committee in 2011, and was key in helping to revise the Board’s bylaws in 2010. She traveled to San Francisco from her home in San Diego for every Board event and enjoyed her time on the campuses of Convent & Stuart Hall.

“Sally was a woman who embodied wisdom, strength, common sense and humor -- all greatly appreciated in a board room,” says President Ann Marie Krejcarek. “Her heart was truly a Sacred Heart, making real the love of God to all who encountered her. There was never a need to guess the purpose or the passion of Sr. Furay.”

Serving the Society of the Sacred Heart as a school trustee was just one of her many passions; she was a teacher and student of law, she helped to found a law school, and she was a respected member of many leadership governances, including a member of the Legal Services Review Panel of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Sr. Furay was also very involved with Sacred Heart collegiate education at the University of San Diego, where she held the title of Provost Emerita, having served for 25 years as Academic Vice President and Provost, as well as Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. She taught English and law at USD, and is credited by many for facilitating the 1972 merger of the San Diego College for Women with the San Diego College for Men and School of Law into what is now USD. Many organizations appreciated her legal and community service leadership, some of which led to accolades like the Bernard E. Witkin Award, given by the Law Library Justice Foundation of San Diego County “for civic leadership and excellence in the teaching, practice, enactment, or adjudication of the law.” In 1994, Sr. Furay helped lead the effort to develop USD’s Trans-Border Institute, which holds an annual Sister Sally Furay Lecture event in her honor to bring greater attention to issues related to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Sally Furay entered the Society of the Sacred Heart in June 1944, after graduating from Duchesne Academy in Omaha, and made her first vows in 1947, with final profession in Rome in 1952. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Duchesne College in Omaha in 1949, a master’s degree in English from San Francisco College for Women (Lone Mountain) in 1952, a doctorate in English and American literature from Stanford University in 1955 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of San Diego in 1972.

46

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

photos by Nano Visser

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Ellen Hoffman, RSCJ: Teacher, Principal & Library Namesake Ellen Hoffman, RSCJ, a beloved Religious who taught and volunteered in the Convent & Stuart Hall community over the span of 50 years, died peacefully on January 19, at the age of 98.

Sr. Hoffman lived at Oakwood, the retirement community for the Religious of the Sacred Heart in Atherton, California.

Sr. Hoffman was known for her love of art and water color painting, and for her devotion to help our youngest learners thrive with curiosity and know the love of God. She served as a teacher and as an administrator, serving briefly as Convent’s Principal (Pre-K to Grade 6) in the late 1960s, when Mary Mardel, RSCJ, was Director of Schools.

A master teacher, Sr. Hoffman became a mentor for young educators; by 1970, the school was a mix of 64 lay faculty/staff with 21 RSCJ in the community and Sr. Hoffman was an inspiration to many educators who came to embrace the Sacred Heart mission.

She loved to prepare students for their first communion and confirmation, and she coordinated the religion curriculum. She served as a learning specialist to our elementary boys and girls and was the assistant librarian. She spent many years as a volunteer in the elementary library and in the school’s archives. She loved the library and its resources, and the way it inspired young students to want to learn. Her love for the library, and the community’s adoration for her, prompted the school to include the Ellen Hoffman RSCJ Library in its first capital campaign in the mid-1980s. Over the summer in 2014, work began on the “new Hoffman,” a reimagined library space that not only houses books and collections, but provides the necessary space for small group and collaborative work. The new Hoffman Learning Commons will open later this year, with Sr. Hoffman’s blessing.

Sr. Hoffman was born September 28, 1916, in St. Joseph, Missouri. She entered the Society in 1938 and made her final vows

in 1943, both at Kenwood, near Albany, New York. While teaching at Sacred Heart schools in the midwest she earned a teaching degree from Duchesne College, and later earned a master’s in education psychology from Lone Mountain College for Women (now USF).

She spent her entire life in the ministry of education, including teaching education and child psychology at Lone Mountain, at Duchesne College and at San Diego College for Women (now USD).

After retiring from her full-time work at Convent & Stuart Hall, she remained an active student in many fields of study at USF’s Fromm Institute.

photos by Convent & Stuart Hall Archives

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

47

alumni come home

photos by Nano Visser

Homecoming weekend in September featured a Stuart Hall High School football game, a cocktail party at the Flood Mansion, Mass in the Mary Mardel RSCJ Chapel and hundreds of former students returning to the campuses to reconnect.

48

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

CONVENT & STUART HALL

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

49

alumni news

The Class of 2014:

Where are they now?

Last year’s graduates are nearly finished with freshman year. Here’s the list of college acceptances, and where they enrolled.

Convent High School University of Alabama College of Alameda Allegheny College American University (3) American University of Paris University of Arizona Bard College Barnard College (2) Bates College Belmont University Berkeley City College Boston College (2) Boston University Bucknell University University of California at Berkeley University of California at Davis (2) University of California at Irvine University of California at Los Angeles (3) University of California at Merced University of California at Riverside University of California at San Diego University of California at Santa Barbara University of California at Santa Cruz California Lutheran University California Polytechnic State University, Pomona California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo California State University, Channel Islands California State University, Fullerton California State University, Long Beach California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Monterey Bay California State University, Northridge Carleton College Chapman University (3) College of Charleston University of Chicago Clark University University of Colorado at Boulder Concordia University Connecticut College Cornell College Creighton University 50

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

University of Denver DePaul University Dickinson College Drew University Drexel University Duke University Earlham College Elon University Fordham University Furman University The George Washington University (4) Georgetown University Gettysburg College Gonzaga University Goucher College Hampshire College University of Hartford Harvard University University of Hawaii at Manoa Hofstra University Howard University Humboldt State University Indiana University at Bloomington James Madison University University of Kansas University of Kentucky Lafayette College Lake Forest College La Salle University Lewis and Clark College Linfield College Loyola Marymount University (3) Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Maryland Loyola University New Orleans Manhattanville College Marymount Manhattan College University of Massachusetts, Amherst Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Services Massachusetts Institute of Technology McGill University University of Miami Michigan State University Mills College University of Mississippi Mount Holyoke College Muhlenberg College University of Nevada, Reno

University of New Hampshire New York University Northeastern University (3) Northern Arizona University Notre Dame de Namur University Occidental College (2) Oklahoma State University Oregon State University University of Oregon (2) Pace University University of the Pacific Pennsylvania State University Pepperdine University Pitzer College Pomona College University of Portland Princeton University University of Puget Sound University of Redlands Regis University University of Rhode Island Rockhurst University Saint Louis University CONVENT & STUART HALL

Saint Mary’s College of California Salve Regina University San Diego State University University of San Diego (3) San Francisco State University University of San Francisco (4) San Jose State University Santa Clara University (4) Sarah Lawrence College Scripps College Seattle University Simmons College Skidmore College Smith College Sonoma State University University of Southern California (3) Southern Methodist University Southern Oregon University St. John’s University Stanford University (2) Suffolk University Susquehanna University Texas Christian University Trinity College Trinity University Tufts University Tulane University University of Tulsa University of Vermont Villanova University Wake Forest University Washington State University University of Washington Wentworth Institute of Technology Wesleyan University Western Washington University Wheaton College Whitman College Whittier College Willamette University Xavier University Yale University

Stuart Hall High School Arizona State University Aurora University Belmont University Boston College Boston University Brandeis University California Maritime Academy California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (2) California State Polytechnic University, Pomona California State University, Chico California State University, Monterey Bay Chapman University Colgate University Colorado School of Mines Concordia University Dartmouth College DePaul University Fairfield University Fordham University Georgetown University Holy Names University Humboldt State University Lewis & Clark College Loyola Marymount University Loyola University Chicago Marymount Manhattan College Menlo College New York University Notre Dame de Namur University Occidental College Pacific Lutheran University Pennsylvania State University Portland State University Post Graduate Year- IMG Academy Princeton University Providence College

Saint Mary’s College of California San Diego State University San Francisco State University (2) San Jose State University Santa Clara University Seattle University Sonoma State University Southern Methodist University St. John’s University Stanford University Syracuse University The Ohio State University The University of Alabama The University of Arizona Universidad de las Americas University of California at Berkeley University of California at Davis University of California at Irvine University of California at Los Angeles University of California at Merced University of California at Riverside University of California at San Diego (2) University of California at Santa Barbara University of California at Santa Cruz University of Cambridge University of Hawaii at Manoa University of La Verne University of Michigan University of Minnesota University of Missouri University of Nevada, Reno University of Notre Dame University of Oregon University of Portland University of Puget Sound University of San Francisco University of Southern California Villanova University Wake Forest University Washington University in St. Louis Western Washington University Whittier College Willamette University

photos by Stefani Blair

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

51

class notes Convent High School 1950s

Suzanne Murphy Parsons’59 reports that a number of classmates got together in September to mark 55 years since they graduation, at the Lakeside Country Club. The group included: Barbara Cain Miller, Barbara O’Dea McGettigan, Jeanne Fitzpatrick Glennon, Anne Carroll Wooliever, and Brielle Johnck.

1970s The Class of ’73’69 marked their 40th reunion in August 2013, with friends and family gathered at the waterfront Russian River summer home of classmate Lana Costantini. About 27 alumni were in attendance. The weather was to perfection for outdoor activities of swimming, boating, and fishing. The event was so much fun, it just might become an annual event! If you are interested in finding out more about our monthly get together or participating in upcoming events with class of 1973 alumni, contact Cindy Morris at cindymorris@astound.net.

Patricia Feeney Gallagher’76’72 is the Director of Development & Communications at St. Anthony’s Foundation in San Francisco and recently helped with the re-launch of their new kitchen, feeding the underserved in the city. She was happy to host the Convent Elementary seventh grade class for a day of sorting clothing (see article on page 37).

Jeanne Asdourian’79 is chairing the 2017 AASH conference in San Francisco. The Associated Alumni and Alumnae of the Sacred Heart is the national group for all former Sacred Heart students in the U.S. During the 2015 conference in Boston, the group inducted Mary Forsyth as its President (read more on page 43). Jeanne is the Lead Student Conduct Advisor and Administrative Assistant at Convent High School.

52

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

Convent High School students in the Food & Justice Club were invited to be part of the studio audience for the Jacques Pepin culinary show Essential Pepin on KQED. There they were met by two Convent alumnae who work at KQED: Janet Lim Young’79’75 and Jennifer Harrison’94.

1990s Lia Alioto Schmidt’92 was interviewed as part of a December Broadview article on programming: “After my classes at Convent, going into a college class of 20 where I was one of the only two girls, I felt confident and prepared because it is almost unheard of for high schools to offer computer programming classes. …

Schmidt, a venture funds lawyer who graduated from Stanford University, said the skills she picked up in computer programming prepared her for college courses, and are valuable in her daily life at work today. “When we draft agreements everything must be clear as it was stated and well organized,” Schmidt said.

“Computer programming helped me think logically and organize my thoughts so I can be exact, because there is no room for error.”

2000s Colette Gunn-Graffy’01 returned to Convent High School in fall 2013 to teach English for her alma mater. Gunn-Graffy has an English degree from Yale University and a Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia.

Erin Dress’02’98 was featured in the Broadview for her work during the 2013 Fashion Week in New York. Erin, an associate brand manager for Unilever, who double majored in English and history at Yale University, helped create ads for TREsemme hair products that appeared on billboards and giant video screens in Times Square and in the pages of InStyle and Vogue magazines.

She has previously worked on campaigns for deodorant, soap and shampoo.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Abby Miller’05’01 served her alma mater as an interim History faculty in 2013 and helped produce the archival artwork in the stairwell to the Flood Mansion third floor Center. She has an undergraduate degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree in social work specializing in non-profit administration from Columbia University.

Marisa Conroy’09 was elected the Rose of Tralee for 2015 during a March Festival at the United Irish Cultural Center in San Francisco. She will now be competing in Ireland with young women of Irish decent from around the world. The 2014 Rose of Tralee from San Francisco is also a Convent girl: Margaret Rose (Rosie) Keehann’08.

Scarlett Kirk ‘10’06 finished her collegiate athletics career with a number of honors at Middlebury College (VT) in 2014. During her senior year, a last-minute score by Scarlett prompted the Panthers berth in the NCAA Final Four for women’s soccer for the first time in that school’s history. She holds school records for number of goals scored in a single contest and was a big producer for the women’s basketball team as well, where it was not unlikely for her to score 20 points and pull down 18 rebounds in a game. She came onto the sports scene “in spectacular fashion” according to a 2010 article in the campus newspaper, recounting her first soccer game against Amherst featured a frantic comeback, with three goals in nine minutes to tie the game (two of which were Scarlett’s) and a golden goal in overtime to win it (also Scarlett’s).

Isabelle Pinard’12 is a junior at the University of California San Diego, where she is a cognitive science major and has been winning sabre-fencing titles as a Triton, including back-to-back Intercollegiate Western Region Championships in 2013 and 2014.

She is a UCSD “College Fashionista” Style Guru Reporter and was selected to represent UCSD to attend the PowerSave Campus Summer Forum and California Higher Education Sustainability Conference.

Molly Gallagher’09’05 and Kirsten Chan’09’05 are both working in the Convent & Stuart Hall Advancement Office; Molly is the Advancement Coordinator and helps to make sure gifts made to the school are acknowledged and recorded, and Kirsten offers part-time help in all of Advancement’s services. Both ladies helped out with Celebrate Spring this year. Molly graduated from the College of the Holy Cross in spring 2013 with a degree in Chinese Cultural Studies, where she also played rugby. Kirsten graduated from the University of California at Davis with a degree in Food Science Technology and recently became a certified personal trainer.

Claire Cannon’09 graduated from Colby College in May 2013 with dual degrees in English and Cinema Studies, where she also ran varsity cross-country and track. She currently lives in San Francisco and works at a software company.

Mikaela Esquivel Varela’14’10 moved to Boston in the fall to begin studies at Harvard University, hoping to pursue biomedical engineering, as well as art history. The big move follows a very busy senior year at Convent High School, including running track and resurrecting the Science Club to expose other Convent students to a broad range of science fields, as well as to marry science with community service wherever they were able. Interest in Ray Cinti’s Conservation Biology course led to an internship she began the summer before her senior year at Stanford University’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine; working with mentor and researcher Michael Hu, Mikaela explored the various delivery methods for imaging and measuring how stem cells from the fat of mice could aid in human wound healing. She was then invited to present her research at an academic surgical conference in San Diego and submit for publication in wound healing journals. “Ultimately I see myself becoming a surgeon, possibly a pediatric surgeon. I think that medicine is one of the best ways to use my knowledge to help others in a dramatic way. After I become a doctor I hope to travel to with Doctors without Borders to give back to communities that need so much,” Mikaela says. “Convent has given me the confidence to jump into completely unknown territory and be able to swim around, and not drown.”

Savannah Carroll’09’05 graduated from The George Washington University in May 2013 with a degree in Public Health and just recently became a Registered Nurse after graduating from the NYU College of Nursing in Winter 2015.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

53

class notes Convent Elementary School

on the team. Alumni defending their honor included: Charles Greene SHB’66, Randolf Arguelles SHB’82, Michael St. Marie SHB’99; Paul LaLonde SHB’02, Justin Wong SHB’03, Justin CostaRoberts SHB’03, Gianfranco Panasci SHB’03, Charles Dallape SHB’13, Robert Eklund SHB’13, Wyatt Favia SHB’13, Nikola MacLean-Vernic SHB’13, Casey Merryman SHB’13, Brandon Sapalo SHB’13, William Seward SHB’13, Kyle Wilkinson SHB’13, Bradley Ley SHB’14, Tyler Makras SHB’14, and Michael Silva SHB’14.

1960s Hannah Sears CES’08 returned to Broadway in January 2015 to perform with Shades of Yale, the university’s youngest undergraduate a cappella group. The group was in the midst of their annual 10-day winter tour, and Hannah was the tour manager. Convent & Stuart Hall elementary students were treated to performances by the group and Convent High School’s choir participated in a singing workshop. In addition to teaching the choir many of their warm-up exercises, Hannah says that Shades planned to collaborate with the Convent choir to sing one tune from their diverse repertoire. Their songs fall into a wide-range of genres including R&B, pop, hip-hop, gospel, soul, jazz and funk.

Hannah recalls discovering her love for singing while part of the school choir. She performed in two musicals while at Convent and continued to pursue singing in high school where she worked with a private voice coach. Both of Hannah’s younger sisters also graduated from Convent Elementary (Lydia CES’14 and Natalie CES’11). Not only does Hannah find venues for Shades to perform in while on tour, she also works with soloists in the group as a solo coach, helping them find new and creative ways to perform and deliver what are often traditional songs.

Amanda Dilena CES’09 is a sophomore at The George Washington University Business School in Washington, DC. She has been interning for Congressman Steny Hoyer, the Minority Whip, and absolutely loves living in DC.

Stuart Hall for Boys

Ron Conway SHB’66 headlined an all-star group of presenters at the Convent & Stuart Hall Design Thinking Symposium in May 2014 for students in grades 7-12. Ron is the legendary angel investor who helped to fund start-ups like Google, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Airbnb, and Square -- all of which have grown into mega-successful tech giants. He offered a document to the students that he normally gives to people who pitch to him at SV Angel, which outlines key characteristics he and his team look for in successful ventures. Read more about the Launch Grant program that Convent & Stuart Hall is using to inspire the entrepreneurial spirit on page 28.

Alumni from many classes returned to the Herbert Center Gym in March to take on the 8th graders in an annual basketball challenge. This year’s 8th grade team finished the season undefeated and with a BAIAL league championship – the first Stuart Hall team to win the title since some of these alumni were

54

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

CONVENT & STUART HALL

1970s

Nick McSpadden SHB’98, from the Tech Department at Convent & Stuart Hall, was a featured speaker at the MacTech conference in Los Angeles. Nick is considered an ed-tech leader and presents frequently at local and national conferences. At Convent & Stuart Hall, he is responsible for the deployment of all workstations and devices, including faculty laptops and the school’s ePack 1-to-1 iPad Program.

2000s Brayden Borcherding SHB’05 was awarded a prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarship in 2013. He spent a year as a teaching assistant at the University of Cartagena in Colombia. In May 2013, Brayden graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a double major in International & Area Studies and Spanish, along with a minor in Political Science.

Three Stuart Hall for Boys alumni joined the Class of 2014 for their Alumni Breakfast last June as their sons were all part of the 8th grade class: Joe Bertain SHB’73, with son Robert; Erik Hom SHB’79 with son Nick; and Joe Syufy SHB’79 with son Ben.

1990s As part of the Stuart Hall for Boys Veteran’s day assembly, Lt. Mark Swartz SHB’97, who is currently serving in the U.S. Navy, shared with the boys what it means to be a veteran and some of the jobs that military personnel hold.

Ray Oppenheimer SHB’97 is an electrician and lighting designer for the theater shows, and helped build the control systems for the pneumatic cannons for the 2010 Vancouver winter Olympics.

He is featured on the blog Instructables, on which people who tinker, explore, build and invent post projects they’ve done, document the process and share their creations. When asked: Where do you get inspiration for projects and how do you keep coming up with fresh ideas? Ray said: “Usually I find a skill I want to learn, like how to make meatballs or how to use a sandblaster.

Then once I have the basics of the new skill down I start to see the other possibilities for that skill. I also do a fair bit of free form doodling. ... As for coming up with fresh ideas, it can be hard in this day and age of the internet. It is easy look out there and say “Well, everything has already been done.” That may well be true but not everything has been done by you. So I like to bring a bit of myself or my personal tastes to everything I do. I mean if you do a Google search for stuffed Cthulhu you can see there are a lot of them, but only one like mine. So I guess I find things I think are cool or inspire me and I try to create a project that is my own.”

Read more by visiting www.instructables.com and searching for Tinkering Productions.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Brady Dilena SHB’05 graduated from the University of San Diego with dual degrees in Business Administration and Finance in spring 2013. Brady is a Client Associate with Merrill Lynch in Santa Rosa.

Kyle Chong SHB’09 has been highly involved with the Student Senate the University of Puget Sound, working as an ally of victims of sexual violence, gender-based discrimination, and other kinds of power-based personal violence on campus. He helped organize a forum for the campus community to come together and create innovative solutions to campus sexual violence. His work in the Senate just approved the distribution and mandate for genderneutral and ADA-accessible bathrooms throughout campus. He is also part of a startup called Zansker. He and his partners hope to make educational wearable technology and apps for students and artists, although they are in the planning stages now.

Scott Dilena SHB’13 is a sophomore at Culver Military Academy in Indiana. He is on the wrestling team and is a member of Culver’s Color Guard unit. Scott now knows what cold weather really feels like.

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

55

class notes Stuart Hall High School 2000s

Troy Dangerfield’07, a young filmmaker, made a short film with a friend (about 7 minutes) called “We Four Queens,” which was shown at the San Francisco Black Film Festival last spring. Troy wrote and produced the film, and his friend directed and also produced. The film was screened at the Jazz Heritage Center at Yoshi’s on Fillmore. Most recently, Troy has been working as a production assistant on the ABC show Castle.

Jonathan Hemelberg’04’00 had an exciting exhibition of his art in 2014 at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland where he is in a graduate program. The exhibit, “Across, From Wall to Wall,” featured a mural of wooded area that stretched from ceiling to floor in a large square room of a blank canvas that had display windows to the street. Passersby were able to see his forest-scape, which evoked connection with John Muir, the Scottish-born naturalist and preservationist for whom so much preserved space in Northern California is named. The piece included such Muir quotes as “Not all culture is equally destructive.” Jonathan then joined a Google hangout with Stuart Hall High School students in January 2014 to show students his work and talk through what inspires him.

John Orofino’05 lead the Knights to Golf NCS Championship as head coach last spring, but it was something he did off the course that caught the attention of so many. In summer 2014, John backpacked the entire John Muir Trail in an effort to raise money and awareness for ovarian cancer after his mom Karen died from the disease in May 2014. He covered 211 miles in 23 days. As the NBC Bay Area and ABC7 News teams discovered, John’s determination came from seeing his mom survive six rounds of chemo over the course of 19 months; when she felt up to in, she would hike the Marin Headlands. They had enjoyed hiking together. In addition to doing something that made him feel closer to her even after she was gone, John’s hike raised awareness through media coverage and (at press-time) nearly $65,000 for ovarian cancer research at UCSF’s Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. To learn more and see pictures from his journey, go to www.facebook.com/walkingforkaren.

Jack Gallagher’05’01 lives in San Francisco and, on the heels of working as the Regional Field Director & Deputy Political Director for the No on E: Coalition for an Affordable City campaign, has joined Mayor Ed Lee’s campaign staff as Campaign Organizer for the 2015 election.

56

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

Frank Duncan’10, the right-handed pitcher who led the Stuart Hall Knights to two league championships, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in spring 2014 and played ball last summer for the Jamestown Jammers, the Pirates’ minor league team in the New York-Penn League. After leaving Stuart Hall, Frank found tremendous success playing ball at the University of Kansas.

Perfect Game scouting service placed him at No. 46 on the list of top 100 college baseball seniors in the country during his final year. He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians organization in June 2013 but elected to stay at Kansas for his final year, and then was drafted in the 13th round by the Pirates.

Nick Berardi’12 was a star soccer player for the Knights and he’s continuing to make a name for himself at Chapman University.

Now a junior, Nick is majoring in Business Administration and is the Chapman Panthers goal keeper.

Jean-Luc Seltenrich’13 is a sophomore at Cal State San Marcos in Southern California and is a Criminology major. Jean-Luc was one of the many muralists who contributed art around the Stuart Hall High School building.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

from the archives

RSCJ Account of 1906 Earthquake Aftermath From the Archives: a riveting nine-page handwritten account of the days following the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco. The unsigned letter explains in great detail the moments that followed: from the chaos of wreckage, to hiding relics and fleeing, to seeing evidence of human kindness throughout the city. When their house was spared, the RSCJ worked quickly to open an emergency hospital, for just a few days. Because it was the only “academy” left standing, then-Archbishop Patrick Riordan encouraged the RSCJ to reopen quickly, and they did so. Below are excerpts of the letter.

Damage at 925 Franklin Street It is impossible to describe the shock: the house swayed from side to side and seemed about to be torn from its foundations. The chimneys fell, breaking the roof; plaster in nearly every room fell or was badly cracked. ... The parlor gas fixtures were broken off and thrown to the opposite side of the room. In the chapel everything was swept off the altars, except the state of our Lady, which turned and faced the east window, as if to overlook the scene of the disaster. … There is not a crack in the shrine of Mater Admirabilis, even the vases of flowers there were not overturned.

Fleeing Home About 6:30 [a.m.] neighbors came to tell us that our house was on fire; two young men got pails of water and went out on the roof, but it proved to be a false alarm. At seven, The Rev. Fr. Ramm came to say Mass and we received Holy Communion thinking it might be our Viaticum, for other shocks followed the first, though they were much less severe. … At 10 a.m. Archbishop Montgomery and Fr. Cantwell came to tell us to pack our papers and everything we could carry for it was feared the city was doomed. Each one put on warm clothing, her Sunday habit, and tied up her blanket. At 11, a Jesuit father came with the (Blessed) Sacrament as St. Ignatius Church was in danger. At 1 p.m., it was in flames. We watched it burn, and saw that the fire was slowly but surely coming nearer to us. ...

Watching Over Us It would be impossible to say what a friend The Rev. Fr. O’Ryan proved. All day long he went back and forth between our house and the Cathedral, but at 9:30 p.m. he told us we could stay no longer … Patrick and Fr. O’Ryan guarded the house all night, they buried everything they thought most precious. Fr. O’Ryan took the Stations, Relics and harps to a “place of safety” which was afterwards burnt and we are still ignorant of the fate of these articles. Our reception at the home of the Little Sisters [of the Poor] was most cordial ... Their house, however, was far from safe. … At 12 [midnight], Margaret, our cook, brought us news that the house was still standing. At 1, the Marists came saying that the French church was on fire; at 3 [a.m.] we learned that Chinatown and the Mission were doomed. Mass and H.C. (Holy Communion) were a great comfort after these hours of anxiety. ...

Thursday morning, Rd. Mother and two others drove to 925 in the wagon of the Little Srs of the Poor. They got out provisions and packed several trunks with what was best. ... In the afternoon, Md. Lynch drove in for some of the trunks but the wagon was stopped at Jefferson Park and she was told no one could approach as the house was to be blown up with dynamite. … it was thought it might prevent the fire from going further west. But the (Sacred Heart) CONVENT & STUART HALL

watched over His own and the fire did not cross Van Ness Ave, nor Eddy Street.

Thursday afternoon the cross on the Cathedral spire caught fire.

The firemen were powerless but Fathers O’Ryan and Ramm climbed the steeple and chopped down the cross, thus saving the building and indeed the rest of the city. …

Courage & Confidence Friday morning, Rd. Mother made another attempt to reach 925 and this time was successful. ...

Martial Law was established in the city. No fires allowed in any of the houses and no lights. … On our return Friday, Rd. Mother learned that the Archbishop and Cathedral priests had not had a meal since the earthquake, so she invited them to dinner. We built a fire in the back yard and there we have done our cooking ever since. … Sunday morning Mass was said in the open air in many parishes and on the front steps of the Cathedral. We count it one of our special graces to have had two or three Masses every day during the past week. ...

Archbishop Riordan’s return was a great consolation. … His Grace came upstairs and as we advanced to meet him, his eyes filled with tears and for a few moments, no one could speak.

Archbishop Montgomery was with him and the conversation that followed was interrupted more than once by the tears of these noble men, who are so deeply afflicted by the sufferings of their people. ... In Fr. Mulligan’s parish, there is not a house standing. We have had many consolations in the midst of our misfortunes. … A great spirit of charity and kindness is manifest everywhere ...

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

57

in memoriam

Schools of the Sacred Heart send sincere sympathy to the following: Teal Watkins SHB’93 for the loss of their paternal grandmother, Helen Buchanan.

Katrina Stone (Gr. 3) for the loss of her grandfather, Tim Bergevin.

Carlos Fiatarone (Stuart Hall faculty) for the loss of his cousin, Jason Zarri, and the loss of his grandfather, John Brna.

The friends and family of Molly Benvenuti Anderson CES’85.

Jeanne Asdourian’79 (Convent High School staff) for the loss of her mother, Josephine; Adriana Asdourian’06, Elisa Asdourian’09 and Alex Asdourian’12 for the loss of their grandmother.

The friends and family of Connie Campbell, RSCJ (Director of Schools, 1976-79).

Janice Macchia (Elementary Library staff) for the loss of her mother-in-law, Ines Crociani Ragghianti.

William White (Gr. 5), Maggie White (Gr. 1) and Mira White for the loss of their grandfather, William White.

Connor Herrmann (Gr. K) and Alexandra Herrmann (Gr. K) for the loss of their paternal grandfather, John W. Herrmann and their maternal grandfather William “Joe” Gilday.

Luke Righetti SHB’12, Brittney Righetti (Gr. 7) and Nick Righetti (Gr. 8) for the loss of their paternal grandfather, Dr. Milton Righetti.

Alexander Arguelles (Gr. 7) and Ethan Arguelles (Gr. 3) for the loss of their maternal grandfather, Roberto Ganzon.

Luke Yakominich (Gr. 7), Nicole Yakominich (Gr. 4) and Matthew Micheli SHB’06 for the loss of their paternal grandfather Roger Micheli.

Andrea Scott (Gr. K) for the loss of her grandfather, Robert E. Scott Sr. William Franklin (Gr. 4) for the loss of his paternal grandmother, Angela Franklin.

Abrams (Gr. 8) and Caroline Abrams (Gr. 5) for the loss of their maternal grandmother.

Ella Patzer (Gr. 1) for the loss of her maternal grandfather, James “Jim” Shook.

Audrey Morrison (Gr. 4) and Georgia Morrison (Gr. 1) for the loss of their maternal grandfather, Arthur “Jay” Joseph Fritz, Jr. Ainsley Smith (Gr. K) for the loss of her paternal grandmother, Judi Smith.

The friends and family of Sally Furay, RSCJ (active member of Board of Trustees).

Jack Sheehy (Convent Elementary faculty) for the loss of his uncle uncle, Colonel Leslie Armend (USAF).

The friends and family of Ellen Hoffman, RSCJ (Former Convent Elementary Principal and Teacher).

Sofia Houts (Gr. 6), Adriana Houts (Gr. 3), and Alisa Houts (Gr. 1) for the loss of their uncle, Joe Sharit.

58

bulletin |

SPRING 2015

Nancy Smith and friends and family of David Smith (former Convent & Stuart Hall controller).

The friends and family of Kathleen Laugenour CHS’54’50.

The friends and family of Joan McKenna’50, RSCJ, and Kathy McKenna’64.

Carla Fracchia and Francesca Leschin CES’84 for the loss of her mom, Ann Escobosa Wharton’58’54.

The friends and family of Mary Helen Pirsch, RSCJ, former Head of Convent Elementary.

Lincoln Mitchell SHB ‘81 for the passing of his brother, Jonathan Mitchell SHB’79.

Ann and Gordon Getty for the passing of their son, Andrew Getty SHB’81.

Stephanie Di Marco CES’71 and Susan Di Marco CES’70 for the loss of their sister, Ramona Di Marco.

Patricia Feeney Gallagher’76’72 for the loss of her mother; Andrea Feeney’73 for the loss of her mother-inlaw; Jack Gallagher’05’01, Nora GallagherCES’04, Molly Gallagher’09’05, Joe Feeney SHB’00 and Claire Feeney CES’03 for the loss of their grandmother, Lucille Feeney.

The friends and family of Sr. Dorothy Owen’53’49.

Erika Kumli (Gr.2) and Michaella Kumli CES’14 for the loss of their father, Kurt Kumli.

Please send In Memoriam notes to alumni@sacredsf.org

CONVENT & STUART HALL

Give Every Year, Make a Difference Every Day Thanks to your generosity, the Annual Fund in 2014-15 has crushed its goal of $1.7 million. To date, you’ve helped us raise

$2,002,713 Nearly 1200 donors gave to the Annual Fund, including: 97% of current families (a new record), 100% of Trustees, 100% Employees; and 240 alumni, parents, grandparents, and friends have joined the Director’s Club, offering leadership gifts of $4000 or more.

Thank you for making a difference.

CONVENT & STUART HALL

SPRING 2015

|

bulletin

59

Nonprofit Organization U.S. Postage Paid San Francisco, CA Permit No. 9313

2222 Broadway | San Francisco, CA 94115

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Save the Date: Redesigned Spaces Open House Thursday, May 14, 2015 | 4:00-6:00 pm Tour the new Kindergarten Suite, the new Unkefer Spark Studio, the New Hoffman Learning Commons, and the renovated historic Flood elevator.

More information to follow on www.sacredsf.org