2019 REPORTPRESIDENT’S CONVENT & HALLSTUART
Convent & Stuart Hall educates mind, Heart and body, animating a zeal for discovery, inspiring a passion for justice and nurturing the strength to transform. OUR MISSION FRONT COVER: Stuart Hall kindergarteners actively participate in a Spanish class. LEFT TO RIGHT: Head of Convent Elementary Angela Taylor builds structures with Convent first graders. High school juniors in IB History class.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from the President What’s on Your Desk? Spirituality in Education Unveiling a New Inclusive Lunch Program A Culture of Conversation and Inclusion Author Visit During Cor Unum Week Great Texts: Voices on Campus Key West Reflections A Stuart Hall Gentleman Our Outgoing Board Chair Fundraising Success Students as Producers Athletics Highlights New Faculty Spotlight Convent Head Receives National Award Did You Know? Faculty Awards Alumni Spotlight: On the Frontier of Medicine Our Board of Trustees Message from the Board Chair454240383736343224222120181716108643 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 1 Watch the President’s Report video for a closer look at strategic plan initiatives. sacredsf.org/presidents-report
— President Ann Marie Krejcarek
A Sacred Heart education is indeed a gift and a blessing, not only to the students who engage with it, but also to the world that receives our graduates.
CONVENT & STUART HALL
2 President Ann Marie Krejcarek greets students before the school day begins.
The school’s strategic work is focused on living fully into the charge from the Religious of the Sacred Heart Provincial Team, which asks each Sacred Heart school in the U.S. and Canada to reflect on how the criteria within the five Sacred Heart Goals might be revised to “reflect our timeless values in a timely fashion.”
Krejcarek President Convent & Stuart Hall
The process of revising the Goals and Criteria of Sacred Heart education happens every 15 years, and the new version of the Society’s Goals and Criteria will be released in 2020. As we imagine the criteria that will serve the education of our children through 2035, the Provincial Team offers the following insight in their letter dated December 2018: “To move into their future with courage and confidence, our students will need to develop a multiplicity of skills that enrich the human person, such as interiority, creativity, reflection, imagination and personal agency. Their education will need to cultivate the aptitude to take on responsibilities such as caring for the world, acting for justice and responding with compassion.”
In the pages of this President’s Report, I hope you will see how the school is delivering on many of these charges. Membership with the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education has engaged our community with empirical evidence of the positive effects of living a spiritual life and developing a spiritual practice. Additionally, influenced by the work of David Whyte and Edgar Schein, the school is building a “Culture of Conversation” — inviting genuine and sometimes challenging engagement among the members of our community and developing an aptitude of Robust Vulnerability for an ever-changing world. Our Speaker Series and the launch of Cor Unum Week invite a critical and formative opportunity for the community to explore diverse perspectives and worldviews, testing one’s place in and responsibility to the world.
MESSAGE FROM President Ann Marie Krejcarek 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 3
Dr.Sincerely,AnnMarie
Dear Convent & Stuart Hall, Welcome to the 2019 President’s Report. We are pleased to share stories of progress on our strategic objectives as well as highlights of everyday life on campus.
Confident that students of all ages are capable, creative and competent, we share with you stories of our “Students as Producers” — from their earliest years at Convent & Stuart Hall to the work one alumna is now doing in the field of cancer prevention. A Sacred Heart education is indeed a gift and a blessing, not only to the students who engage with it, but also to the world that receives our graduates.
In closing, I want to take this moment to congratulate Jaime Dominguez on his appointment as Head of School at the Oakwood School in North Hollywood. He has been a wonderful and positive force in the lives of hundreds of students at Stuart Hall for Boys throughout his 14 years at the school. We wish him all the best and send our deep gratitude for his contributions to our community. Also, many thanks to Gabby Parcella who finishes her term as Board Chair this year and who has exemplified what it means to be a strong and visionary leader. Schools of the Sacred Heart San Francisco is better for the work of these two incredible people.
WHAT’S ON YOUR DESK? President Ann Marie Krejcarek reflects on items in her office that provide daily inspiration. CONVENT & STUART HALL 4
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SPIRITUALITY IN EDUCATION
NOVEMBER 2015: Convent & Stuart Hall teachers head to New York to participate in the Educational Practices & Youth University.College,ConferenceDevelopmentatTeachersColumbia
SPRING 2015: The Spiritual Child is published.
In 2015, Convent & Stuart Hall hosted author and psychologist Dr. Lisa Miller to discuss her book The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving, a text through which parents and educators can learn how to support and encourage children’s development as spiritual beings. This spiritual strength helps children feel connected to something larger and become more resilient while preparing them for handling life’s challenges. After reading Dr. Miller’s book, President Ann Marie Krejcarek wanted her to see how our school approaches spirituality with the chance to observe chapel services and speak with students and faculty directly. Upon visiting our campus, Dr. Miller noted, “You have dealt with this head-on, but you are the minority ... Your students know how to do the most important work of all, which is to say ‘what does my spiritual heart have to say about the landscape of being an Shortlyadolescent?’”afterDr.Miller’s
KATHLEEN ESLING Associate Librarian
visit, she invited us to send several members of our faculty to attend The Spiritual Child: Educational Practices & Youth Development Conference at Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Miller found our school’s approach to spiritual education to be exemplary, and we were the first school within the Network of Sacred Heart schools to engage in this work, with Patricia Fagin from Stuart Country Day School, Rik Dugan from Princeton Academy and nine other schools later joining us at the table for the November 2015 conference. Ann Marie says it is quite wonderful to be involved in this work, identifying and embracing best practices for supporting the spiritual growth of our Dr.students.Miller’s use of science to support her research gained the attention of Frank Peabody and Steven C. Rockefeller. Rockefeller, a scholar of John Dewey and his philosophy of education, was particularly interested in Dr. Miller’s mission to merge spirituality into public education. As a result, Peabody and Rockefeller joined Dr. Miller in founding the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education. Paul Pryor Lorentz, Community Life Chair and Religion,
OCTOBER 2016: The National Council of Spirituality in Education meets at Magnificat High School in Cleveland, Ohio.
OCTOBER 2015: Dr. Lisa Miller visits Convent & Stuart Hall to speak to students, parents and faculty. Dr. Lisa Miller with Mary Mardel, RSCJ (left) and Clare Pratt, RSCJ.
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SPRING 2019: The Collaborative for Spirituality in Education conducts field research and enhances its online presence with a new list of 10 characteristics of a spiritually supportive school.
Thelabyrinth.collaborative meeting also began the process of developing a Spiritually Supportive Pedagogy, which will be shared with 30 public schools that are interested in building the spiritual lives of their students. Paul notes that as a Catholic school for families of all faiths, our community is eager to contribute to a curriculum that any school can use to strengthen their students’ experiences of and with spirituality. Sharing observations from our faculty’s labyrinth walk is one way we have been able to contribute models for spiritual engagement with other schools that are applicable in any context regardless of religious affiliation. Our community looks forward to continuing to contribute to this endeavor. Paul explains that a “roadmap” for the Spiritually Supportive Pedagogy is currently underway, and representatives from our school will attend The Future of Spirituality in Education meeting at Teachers College, Columbia University later this year.
Theology & Spirituality Department Chair, who attended these meetings, explains that this collaborative was formed specifically to bring together independent schools that excel in the area of spiritual education. This group is creating a curriculum model for public schools, with spirituality being understood as its own concept and helping students recognize that they are part of something “bigger.”
SUMMER 2018: Heads of School, Theology and Religious Studies Department Heads and religious educators of the independent school cohort meet to develop a usable curriculum for public schools to adopt. OCTOBER 2018: President Ann Marie Krejcarek represents Convent & Stuart Hall at the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education summit at the Pocantico Center in New York.
This past October, heads of independent schools participating in this collaborative gathered at the Pocantico Center of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund to discuss various case studies from participating schools. One such case study came from our own community: Over the summer, the school acquired a labyrinth modeled on the one from the Chartres Cathedral in France. Roughly the size of the floor of the Reception Room, the labyrinth has given faculty the chance to practice reflection and moving meditation. This experience of spirituality regardless of faith background is one way we are addressing our strategic plan, namely, Area of Impact I, Strategy C: “Engage and develop a spiritual interiority while building a strong intellectual foundation.” We are currently in the process of creating more opportunities for students and parents to walk the
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NOVEMBER 2019: The independent school cohort and a group of select public schools will gather to discuss The Future of Spirituality in Education at Teachers College, Columbia University.
SPRING 2018: Three members of the National Council visit Convent & Stuart Hall to see the school’s spirituality in action and speak with faculty about mental health, wellness and spirituality.
When school starts next fall, all K–12 students will enjoy fresh, nutritious lunches served daily by SAGE, the school’s lunch provider, and a revamped fullservice kitchen on the Pine/Octavia campus. The most important benefit, however, may be the arrival of a lunch program that is included in tuition for Aeveryone.surgeof enthusiasm for delicious food options, coupled with Education of the Body as a strategy in the current strategic plan, inspired these enhancements to the student dining experience.
The move to SAGE in fall 2017, with its focus on local sourcing and an emphasis on allergen awareness, ushered in a new era aimed to elucidate the ingredients in every dish. Easy access to daily menus allows parents and students to filter for common allergens like wheat and dairy. In 2018—19 the school pivoted away from a retail model with a daily purchase option to an allinclusive lunch meal plan that is not limited by portion size and includes all food and beverage items offered on both campuses. To facilitate the improvement, the plan required that families purchase a meal plan for the year or semester. The new program, which ensures that students have the nutrition they need throughout the day, also allowed the school to offer lunch to faculty and staff as a benefit of
UNVEILING A NEW INCLUSIVE LUNCH PROGRAM
With the start of the 2012–13 academic year, dining services on the Broadway campus began operating out of a remodeled kitchen and cafeteria space, funded almost entirely by gifts to the Framework for the Future campaign. Since then, the school and its food service providers have continually refined the dining fare and payment options in hopes of providing the highest quality experience.
Inemployment.February,the Board of Trustees announced that 2019–20 tuition will include the school lunch program for all students, a first for Convent & Stuart Hall. “We believe nourishing the body is essential to success in school, and we are pleased to be in a position to add this benefit to our community,” wrote Board Chair Gabriela Parcella in a letter to parents. This major program enhancement requires the addition of another full-service kitchen on the Pine/Octavia campus. A complete renovation of the community space started this spring and will continue over the summer. SAGE has already been praised for its exceptional service and food quality; the new kitchen space will allow its staff to serve more students and deliver an even better dining experience.
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LEFT TO RIGHT: Stuart Hall first graders and Convent Middle Form students enjoy healthy new lunch options. 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 9
RSCJ: To aim at the best and to remain essentially ourselves is one and the same thing.
DENNIS ESTRADA Janet Erskine Stuart,
THE SPACE BETWEEN: DESIGNING AND CREATING A CULTURE OF CONVERSATION
Poet David Whyte
Stuart Hall for Boys Literature & English Language Faculty On the back cover of the Looking Ahead with 2020 Vision strategic plan insert is a profoundly simple yet inspirational quote from
speaks to Convent & Stuart Hall faculty and staff about the importance of having Robust Vulnerability. 10 CONVENT & STUART HALL
A closer examination of Mother Stuart’s words reveal yet greater wisdom: In the subtle space between striving to become our best selves and remaining true to who we are, there exists a place of transition and newness, where our aspirations take root and eventually begin to shape who we are becoming. Some call it “liminal ground.” And the vision set forth in the 2020 strategic plan positions the school right in the middle of this territory. Truth be told, it is where we want to be. As we turn to strategic initiatives that seek to “create programs that equip all constituents to live and engage in a diverse world” and to “integrate fully and pervasively the school’s philosophy of diversity and inclusion through every facet of the school experience” (Area of Impact I: Students, Strategy D), we understand that rooted in this call is an ever greater need to create an “inclusive culture of conversation,” where listening to one another, entering into robustly vulnerable dialogues and engaging in the essential conversations define this “space between.”
In the fall of 2017, the Strategic Plan Committee was formed at the behest of President Ann Marie Krejcarek. Teachers and staff who voluntarily take part in this group have been meeting quarterly to work directly with the president to help interpret and deliver strategies set forth in Looking Ahead with 2020 Vision. Realizing the implementation and embodiment of the strategic plan were first and foremost conversational in nature, a subcommittee took on the task of crafting an aspiration statement for what it means to encourage, strengthen and cultivate a culture of conversation. After much dialogue and the sharing of ideas, a segment of the school’s Leadership Team was formed to create a Philosophy of Diversity and Inclusion Statement that will serve to guide our future work as “we see, honor and celebrate our differences and shared humanity.”
In April 2019 on the Broadway campus, as part of the school’s first Cor Unum Week, the school partnered with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change to deliver a two-day, “train the trainers” model of workshops on using dialogue to create attitudinal change and openmindedness. The training served to equip the 60 participants — administrators, faculty and high school students — with new skills and tools in the art of dialogue Alsofacilitation.aspart of Cor Unum Week, idea-generator-inresidence Chris Riley, author of After the Mass-Age, engaged the school’s Leadership Team, faculty, students and parents around the topic of “the essential new conversations,” those that help us be innovative and creative as we welcome the challenges facing our lives in the age of social media and globalism. Mr. Riley, an avid proponent of learning from cultures rather than learning about them, emphasized the importance of not only listening to others but creating an authentic conversation/ dialogue with those from whom we desire to learn.
11 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
There is a saying commonly invoked by those in the field of leadership and change, and it is this: Energy follows focus. If this is true, we only have to look to where our strategic blueprint has thus far directed our attention in order to discover what is presently emerging for the Convent & Stuart Hall community.
On the first day back for faculty and staff after the 2018 summer break, David Whyte, poet and founder of Invitas: the Seven Elements of Conversational Leadership, came to campus to engage us around the year’s school-wide theme: Robust Vulnerability. According to Whyte, being robustly vulnerable is “to invite what you do not expect” so that you can be at the frontier of what is emerging. In its essence, the call to live with vulnerability is also the call to inhabit the “space between.”
Being in a liminal place can be challenging and uncomfortable for all the obvious reasons. What it signals, though, is the entering into unfamiliar territory where transformation is possible. This “space between” where we find ourselves is where the new takes root and can begin to flourish. If we are to realize the vision set forth in the strategic plan, we will need to interact with one another, and those interactions will require honest dialogue and essential conversations. This culture of conversation we seek is still in its early stages, but we rest assured knowing that what we have been attending to has yielded a bountiful crop. It is certainly work well begun.
We know adolescents grapple with questions of “Who am I?” and “Where do I fit in?” In fact, feeling a sense of belonging in a school setting may be the most important predictor of student success. This is no less true for faculty and staff. LEFT TO RIGHT: Plant Engineer Hector Flores. High school faculty, staff and students attended diversity conferences last fall. BUILDING COMMUNITY ELIAS FELDMAN Multimedia Communications Director CONVENT & STUART HALL 12
So it was a little strange last fall when Hector walked into a crowded room at the People of Color Conference in Nashville, where hundreds of educators had gathered for their first individual group session. In a place where Hector should have felt a belonging among hundreds of Latinx participants, he stood out as the only facilities staff member in a conference populated by teachers, students and administrators. “People were shocked at first,” Hector says, “but also amazed that our school would send someone like me to an education conference.”
Over the course of the two-and-a-half-day conference, Hector pushed his boundaries by engaging in difficult conversations about identity, equity and social justice. So did five other Convent & Stuart Hall faculty and staff, as well as five high school students, who were among 1600 student leaders from across the globe at the Student Diversity Leadership Conference. Led by trained adult and peer facilitators, students attended workshops, lectures and group sessions designed to help develop effective cross-cultural communication and leadership skills. “When you’re trying to express concepts that you don’t know how to name, it is very difficult to make another person understand your experience,” says Convent junior Malinalli Cervantes. “I wanted to better navigate my own identity in a school where not everyone looks like me.”
What it amounts to for Hector is a much different picture of how he views himself within the school community. “It has changed a lot for me,” he says. “I feel like I’m more valuable and am more comfortable being vulnerable.”
You have likely encountered Hector Flores on and around the school campuses. When he is called away from the work of keeping Convent & Stuart Hall’s historic buildings in optimal functioning order, he may have stopped traffic for you at one of the busy Broadway intersections.
The Costa Rica trip is full of immersive experiences — in nature, culturally and as a school community. The evenings typically culminate in dancing and a fun sharing of talents among the student-faculty group. At one evening dance session, Hector remembered how on the first trip, he would have watched from afar. In contrast, this year, he stepped confidently to the middle of the floor, the cheers of students and faculty ringing in his ears as he did so. “I’m not just a maintenance person anymore,” he says. “Little by little, I see people changing with me. I hope everyone has an opportunity to experience the huge impact the conference has had.”
In the safety of his individual group — a space designed to encourage interaction with members of the same racial or ethnic background — Hector had an opportunity to think about all aspects of his identity. “We talked about how we are judged and how we often judge other people before getting to know them,” he says. “It made me realize that we have to get to know people for what they have inside, not how they look.”
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What you may not know is that Hector is the longesttenured member of the facilities staff. Although he’s been at the school for 16 years, Hector admits he often felt reluctant to speak up because of his accent. “At times I felt like I didn’t belong,” Hector says.
To his colleagues, though, Hector has always been seen as hard-working and generous. In 2014, he received the Esther Rossi Excellence Award, given each year to an employee who has made outstanding contributions to the “Sinceschool.day one, Hector has brought a positive attitude and a spirit of pride to his work,” says Geoff De Santis, Director of Physical Plant, who has worked with Hector for 11 years. “While Hector might be the elder statesmen of our department, he treats everyone as an equal and will always put the needs of others ahead of his own.”
When Hector first chaperoned the sophomore Costa Rica cultural immersion and service trip in January 2014, he was more comfortable supporting and leading from the sidelines, mirroring the role he felt he played in the school community.
Following the conference, however, Hector stepped into a different role, and during this January’s Costa Rica trip, he fully engaged with the chaperone cohort, led by President Ann Marie Krejcarek, providing guidance and support and working to make the most of the experience for the students.
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AMANDA WALKER CES ’91
Hoffman Librarian and Library Department Chair
Our Network’s foundress, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, is credited with saying, “For the sake of one child, I would have founded the Society.” I recently learned from Sister Carolyn Osiek, a provincial archivist for the Network, that tradition has amplified this dictum. Sophie’s actual statement was about a student from Mexico named Ofelia, who embodied both the ability and dedication to serve others that Sophie hoped a Sacred Heart education would activate in all of its graduates. “For an Ofelia, I would have founded the Society.”
At Convent & Stuart Hall, we uphold this foundational tenet through our work to further define and integrate a framework for anti-bias education and experience for the sake of every child, each one who is today, as always, Sophie’s Ofelia. This work, called forth in the 2020 strategic plan, began during our most recent school accreditation, in which conversations and reflections shared within our school community helped to identify and name a desire to live fully into a relationship of inclusivity for all as an institutional strategic priority. We have since engaged in envisioning, drafting and testing a philosophy statement that acknowledges our confirmation of human dignity and our commitment to maintaining a community in which each member finds the safety and support to engage, with robust vulnerability, in conversations that develop fluency in the language of identity, difference and accountability.Drivenbythe
The Board of Trustees and members of the Leadership Team are currently working to finalize and share a statement that encapsulates our institutional foundations and aspirations. This statement will remain dynamic and in-process and alive, as it must if we are committed — and we are committed — to challenge narratives that promote binary views of the world, to seek complexity, and to further develop brave spaces in our conversations and within our community.
FOR THE SAKE OF OFELIA
strategic plan and buffered by our development of a Culture of Conversation, the process to articulate and integrate an explicit framework for diversity and inclusion has followed a community-wide and iterative approach, with input sought from administration, faculty and staff, the Board of Trustees, the Parents Association, and student groups alike. This work calls forward the desire to craft a dynamic guiding statement and to remain in conversation and constant development of critical consciousness with regard to identity, diversity, justice and action. As worlds within and without contract and expand, so too must our institutional willingness to identify the conversations to stop having This practice — an awareness of institutional narratives and the readiness to change them — is the first of seven elements of Conversational Leadership, to which we have been introduced through our work with the poet David Whyte. Another element is the cultivation of robust vulnerability through asking for visible and invisible help. In this process of developing a Philosophy of Diversity and Inclusion Statement, we have benefited from the help and experience provided by a number of outside individuals and organizations. Most recently, this included dialogue training with the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and investigations of multiple-dimensionality and diverse perspectives with author and idea generator Chris Riley. This work took place during Cor Unum Week, an experience designed to develop conversations and leadership within students, faculty and staff that will continue to move us forward. Cor Unum, meaning One Heart, is claimed by the Religious of the Sacred Heart (RSCJ) within their motto, mission and vocation. We are reminded that the practice of inclusion and the promotion of diversity has been a foundational principle of Sacred Heart education since its inception. Indeed, the Society recognizes its long history of internationality, which the RSCJ defines as “living without borders, [which] requires openness, mutual respect, an acceptance of differences and an attempt at understanding those differences through dialogue,” as foundational to the precept of Cor Unum and necessary for trust, growth, acceptance and joy. It was Ofelia’s embodiment of Cor Unum that Sophie recognized and wished for every child of the Sacred Heart.
Convent Elementary Kindergarten Art From the Heart. 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 15
— President Ann Marie Krejcarek
COR UNUM WEEK
As global citizens, we are called to recognize our shared and equal humanity as well as our differentiated experiences and histories.
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LEFT TO RIGHT: High school students interview Chris Riley after his presentation during Cor Unum Week. Author Rowan Ricardo Phillips and Warriors General Manager Bob Myers with school leaders after a high school assembly. Bill Jennings with author Joseph Cassara at the Key West Literary Seminar.
The first Cor Unum Week at Convent & Stuart Hall culminated with keynote speaker Chris Riley speaking to students, faculty and parents and leading workshops about his book, After the Mass-Age. Mr. Riley is a strategic thinker, educator, presenter and writer who has been part of creating some of the most successful brands in the world. He has led the strategic planning process at Wieden+Kennedy and Apple, and his clients include Shiseido, Nikon, Uniqlo and Facebook. Leaning on this experience, Mr. Riley’s global seminars and workshops ask the important questions of how to create productive dialogue today among a wide range of perspectives and how to communicate and create trust in a fragmented world. The answer, according to Mr. Riley, is “learning from.” He says: When we learn from cultures and not about them, we participate in deep listening and genuine collaborations that benefit the many rather than enriching the few.
Amanda Walker CES ’91 Hoffman Librarian and Library Department Chair
DISTINGUISHED AUTHORS RECENTLY HOSTED BY CONVENT & STUART HALL: Mac Barnett E.B. White Medal
Henry H. Neff Northern California Book of the Year finalist
Rowan Ricardo Phillips PEN/ESPN Award
GREATPROBLEM.TEXTS VOICES ON CAMPUS 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 17
At the Key West Literary Seminar the authors are available to sign books, but I didn’t have any physical books to sign. I had a choice: buy all the books again or skip the line altogether. I decided on a third plan.
Jacqueline Woodson National Book Award, Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Medal
Just before Emily Wilson, Victor LaValle and Joseph Cassara were set to sign books, I opened their books in my Kindle app on my iPad Pro. I found the cover images and made a screenshot. Then I opened the screenshot of the book cover in my Notability app. While I waited, I tested out writing on top of the cover image with my digital stylus. It worked! I was able to show Emily, Victor and Joseph how to sign my iPad, and even how to change the color of the font. None had ever signed an iPad at a book signing before. Over the course of the entire seminar, I was able to get nine books signed digitally; the authors were also happy to pose with me while holding my iPad with their signed book cover. Bill Jennings Convent Elementary Dean NO BOOK? NO
Drew Daywalt California Young Readers’ Medal, E.B. White Medal
Jennifer L. Holm Newbery Honor
George O’Connor New York Times best-seller Matt de la Peña Newbery Medal
In addition to local bookstore recommendations and personal connections, the Key West Literary Seminar has become a valued and valuable touchpoint within our cultures of conversation and reading at Convent & Stuart Hall. Our attendance over the past three years has connected our school community to new voices and added inspirations within our Great Texts Canon. It has also connected us to exceptional writers, thinkers and presenters, three of whom have visited campus and engaged with our community: Billy Collins, George Saunders and Rowan Ricardo Phillips. The latter spent an invigorating day with us last November, during which he ran journalism and writing workshops, as well as presentations. As Mr. Phillips took the stage during a moderated talk with our high school students and faculty, he expressed how moved he was to see a stack of finished copies of his newest book, The Circuit. Still a week shy of publication, we were able to secure copies through his publisher for early sale. After his visit, he took the time to let us know that the book, which charts a year in men’s professional tennis, was awarded the prestigious PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sports Writing. In his message to us, Mr. Phillips said, “The Circuit began its life out in the world at Sacred Heart. And it was a special time for me. And so I’m happy to share this good news with you and everyone in the Sacred Heart community.” We are grateful for the chance to join in congratulations and conversation with deep thinkers and deft writers such as Mr. Phillips.
Billy Collins Poet Laureate of the United States
Andrea Beaty ABA Picture Book Hall of Fame inductee
Naomi Shihab Nye National Book Award finalist
George Saunders Man Booker Prize, National Book Award finalist
reflectionsonefromthethemeofhaddays,wasTheREFLECTIONS37thannualKeyWestLiterarySeminarheldinJanuary2019.Overfourreadersfromaroundtheworldtheopportunitytolearnfromsomethebestwritersoftoday.Withthisyear’sfocusingontheclassics,UnderInfluence:ArchetypeandAdaptationHomertotheMultiplex,weaskedofourresidentexpertsforherontheliteraryexperience.
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KEY WEST
MARY BLUM Stuart Hall for Boys, Modern & Classical Languages Faculty Many epic poems that come to us from the oral tradition begin with an invocation of some kind, a plea to the muses for inspiration and facility with language. Dan Simmons’ translation of The Iliad begins thus, “Sing, O Muse, of the rage of Achilles.” Stanley Lombardo, in his millennial translation of The Odyssey, writes, “Speak, Memory, of the cunning hero,” but perhaps more engaging is Emily Wilson’s translation of these same lines, “Tell me about a complicated man. Muse, tell me...”. Often thus do great stories begin: Speak. Sing. Tell me. What makes a story great? What renders a poem or a narrative worthy of being retold, year after year, generation after generation, civilization after civilization? Why are stories from centuries before their first written forms still so compelling? How is it that we can still be gripped by a tale that saw its beginning in the minds of humans so far outside of our own contemporary framework? The simple answer is because language is magic, and those who shape language, scop or troubadour, poet or singer, skald or novelist, are magicians in the original sense of magistri¯, masters of meaning, mages of words and worlds. This year’s Key West Literary Seminar, held at the sanctuarylike San Carlos Institute from January 10 through 13,
ABOVE:
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began with an incredible magic act. Margaret Atwood, acclaimed Canadian poet and novelist, gave the keynote address to a packed house. People chattered and visited in the theater, awaiting her opening remarks, being, as people in a crowd are, noisy and opinionated and large. And then she stepped onto the stage, opened her mouth, and we all fell silent into one rapt being. Sixty minutes flew as a single heartbeat as Ms. Atwood invoked the power of the muses through her own power over language. She spoke to the theme of the seminar, titled Under the Influence: Archetype and Adaptation from Homer to the Multiplex, by exploring three of her own works: The Handmaid’s Tale, The Hag-Seed and The Penelopiad. She spoke of the archetypal figures that live deep within our collective unconsciousness; she spoke to the way that the writers of antiquity inform the writers of today; she spoke to the augury that writers engage when they tap both those archetypes and the times within which they and we live. She spoke subliminally through her melodic language and her and left magic in our minds included Victor LaValle, Emily Wilson, Kevin Young, Joyce Carol Oates, Dexter Palmer, Geraldine Brooks, Danielle Paige, Michael Mewshaw, Valerie Martin, Eric Shanower, Nicole Galland, Madeline Miller, Stephanie Powell Watts, Naomi Novik and Rowan Ricardo Phillips. The assembly of archetypes ranged from the hero to the witch, from the baby to the troll, from the muse to the witness. Words burned like glyphs leaving faint traceries of blinding light behind. In wonder and delight we spent a handful of days suffused with the magic of language and the power of these mages, and then we turned from the east and the rising sun of Key West to wander back to our westerly Pacific place, perhaps not as wise as Aeneas, as wily as Ulysses or as powerful as Circe, but renewed and on fire with the need to share this magic with our students. Speak. Sing. Tell me. From the very first words of [Ms.] Atwood’s opening address and continuing with each new Books written by authors at the Key West Literary Seminar are available in the Mother Williams Library.
— Roman DegliAntoni Grade 12
His motivation to know people, to build connections and lead with a positive attitude is something that I will never forget.
A STUART
— Ann Gigounas Stuart Hall for Boys Literature & English Language Faculty
— Leet Miller Grade 12
Jaime Dominguez, Head of Stuart Hall for Boys, has been an integral part of Convent & Stuart Hall from his very first days in July 2005. His character and practices have permeated the campus, community and beyond, most especially with the 14 classes of gentlemen who have graduated under his leadership.
Mr. Dominguez is inspiring, respectful and compassionate. The way he fostered a culture of admirable and respectful “young men” was incredible.
Jaime is supportive, approachable, fun-loving, calm and caring. He leads by example and is not afraid to get his hands dirty.
Jaime listens, absorbs information and is accessible to everyone. His openness is how Jaime is able to make changes in positive ways, even for those of us who preceded him here. Jaime has a keen intelligence, a sense of humor, eclectic interests, and a true sense of what is important in life.
GENTLEMANHALLOnbehalfoftheentireConvent&StuartHall
— Daniel Fishman Stuart Hall for Boys Literature & English Language Faculty
Mr. Dominguez’s omnipresence – whether greeting students in the morning, introducing assemblies, or attending student art shows and an eighth grade English class – exemplified positive leadership, communication and active community-building.
— Ari Nagle Grade 12
community, we are deeply grateful to Jaime for the lifelong impact he has made. We wish Jaime and his family all the best with their relocation to Los Angeles, where he will serve as the Head of the K–12 Oakwood School.
— Ann Marie Krejcarek President
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— Eric Gordon Stuart Hall for Boys History & Social Sciences Faculty He believes that it is our responsibility to encourage all kinds of boys to find their voices and passions.
Jaime has exemplified what it means to be a Stuart Hall gentleman. I cannot thank him enough for all he has brought to Convent & Stuart Hall. Jaime has impacted so many lives during his years at Stuart Hall for Boys — students, teachers and colleagues. His positive contributions will be felt for years to come.
2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 21
Convent & Stuart Hall is grateful to Gabriela (Gabby) Franco Parcella for her devoted service as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for the past three years. With her peers on the Board, she has worked diligently to implement our current strategic plan, Looking Ahead with 2020 Vision. Gabby’s wisdom and professional experience have effectively contributed to our school community and our mission to “educate mind, Heart and body, animating a zeal for discovery, inspiring a passion for justice and nurturing the strength to transform.”
On behalf of Convent & Stuart Hall, we thank Gabby for her dedication and service.
THANK YOU TO OUR OUTGOING BOARD CHAIR
Raised in El Paso, Texas, Gabby is a first generation Mexican American who studied business administration and accounting at the University of Texas at Austin and earned a JD at Stanford Law School. She went on to have an impressive 20-year career at Mellon Capital,
advancing from General Counsel to COO and then to Chairwoman and CEO. Since 2018, Gabby has served as Executive Managing Director at Merlone Geier Partners and as an independent director at Terreno Realty Corporation (NYSE:TRNO). Gabby is a celebrated professional who was recognized in 2016 by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the area’s Most Influential Women and was named the third most powerful Latina in Corporate America in 2017 by Fortune Gabby and her husband, Mark, have two sons at Stuart Hall for Boys.
ourHallVision,LookingcurrentInUPDATEFUNDRAISINGthesecondyearofourstrategicplan,Aheadwith2020Convent&Stuartisontracktomeetfinancialgoals. $257,000 raised for faculty enhancements from Fund A Need $2,829,999 raised from the Annual Fund, an increase of over 10% from 2017–18 $6,043,390 pledged toward a $20 million major gift effort, led by Trustees, in support of the strategic plan CONVENT & STUART HALL 22
LEFT TO RIGHT: The Fall Classic, Celebrate Spring Gala & Live Auction, Annual Fund Rally Week, Celebrate Spring Gala & Live Auction and Director’s Club milestone honorees. 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 23
Stuart Hall first graders become information explorers during their polar unit. In class, the boys learn about polar habitats, flora and fauna. After studying more about these chilly climes and the creatures who live there, they design their own snowshoes which they then test on the sand at Crissy Field.
ASSTUDENTSownership.”PRODUCERS
Librarian CONVENT & STUART HALL 24
At Convent & Stuart Hall, our community focuses on providing students with opportunities to practice designing, creating and producing work on their own, an approach to learning in which students exercise initiative in their studies. Describing “Students as Producers,” which appears as a strategy in Area of Impact I of the strategic plan, President Ann Marie Krejcarek says: “At five years old, you have the ability to be an author or design your own science investigation. We are opening a landscape and experiences for students to do real-world work, engaging them in solving real-world problems. What you produce is you: it’s your intellect, your mastery, your artistry. The focus is putting students at the center of what they’re able to do and give them those opportunities to claim
Student-Driven Design and Innovation
Second grade boys and girls collaborate on a cardboard arcade, a project inspired by Caine’s Arcade — a short movie about nine-year-old Caine Monroy and the arcade he built out of cardboard — as well as the Global Cardboard Challenge based on Caine’s story. Students are divided into teams, and each team designs a game for younger students to play. Students are given no instructions; instead, they must collaborate and figure out what will work. This year, eighth grade boys and girls are engaging in a new program designed to make them identify, understand and work to solve a challenge in San Francisco. Students have a lot of freedom in terms of what they can do: They can design a labyrinth for contemplative walking, organize a food drive to help those in need, establish a basketball tournament for underserved children, and more. At the end of the year, students will present a TED-style talk, discussing their projects and solutions.
KATHLEEN Associate
In the 2014 15 school year, Convent & Stuart Hall introduced a launch grant program that invited students to develop, prototype and pitch an actionable design to a panel that in “Shark Tank” fashion selected award winners. This format continued through 2016–17 and was redesigned last school year. The next iteration of the program, called the Design to Action Scholar Program, will launch this fall for students in Grades 9–12.
ESLING
STUDENTS PRODUCERSASLEFT TO RIGHT: Convent & Stuart Hall second grade cardboard arcade games. A snowshoe created by a Stuart Hall first grader. Stuart Hall Middle Form students in art class. 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 25
STUDENTS PRODUCERSAS
LEFT TO RIGHT: The animation showcased in the high school play Metamorphoses. Three dancers performed their own choreography in the high school musical Love’s Labour’s Lost.
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2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 27
Margaret also opened up an opportunity for high schoolers to mentor Middle Form students, initiated when junior Trip Gorman was looking for an opportunity to volunteer. According to Trip, “If you love something, you should find opportunities to teach it; it’s the best way to learn.”
Students also work with teachers in a process of selfassessment, responding to questions such as: What did this assignment show you about your own knowledge? What are you proud of? What could you do differently next time? Stuart Hall Middle Form Dean Talbot Moore explains that at the root of this process is the idea that students are stakeholders in their own education; they must join in the work of strategizing ways to grow their strengths while also focusing on ways to improve areas that need it. Ada, a Convent seventh grader, says, “I like leading my parent-teacher conferences. It’s a little nerveracking, but it gives me a sense of leadership and
Mentoring
Student Ownership and Responsibility
A group of 20 students in Grades 5 –12 participated in a new visiting artist apprenticeship program this fall and worked with Visual Arts faculty David Nyquist, a poet and semi-abstract artist who brings the natural world into his craft. While working with David, students learned about how he connects with nature through his art. The students put this into practice while on a field trip to the Marin Headlands. “While down at the beach it occurred to me that we could work together and create a giant mandala in the sand,” David says. “It gave me joy to watch students work with very little instruction, filling the mandala with objects, shapes and meaning.”
Middle Form students have the opportunity to claim ownership of their education in student-led parent-teacher conferences. “It enables our students to make meaning of their experiences in school and to create forward-looking narratives that ask them to powerfully step into their educational lives,” says Sharanya Naik, Convent Elementary Director of Studies. “The students become the owners and architects of their learning.” At the start of each semester, students set goals and then collaborate with their advisers to create actionable plans to achieve them. Then, students join and lead the conversation between their advisers and parents at semi-annual conferences.
Within the arts, students often pursue collaborative and individual projects, learning how to design and produce different forms of artwork. Sixth grade boys in Will Jaggers’ art class design their own small graffiti-style paintings that are combined like a mosaic into one large piece. Next door in Convent Elementary art classes, students make connections across the curriculum. Fifth graders, curious about Convent & Stuart Hall’s history, visit the school’s archives. Religion, Theology & Spirituality faculty Valerie Zander collaborates with Visual Arts faculty Suzanne Miazga to deepen the girls’ understanding of stained glass windows. Students then create their own stained glassstyle designs.
TheStageindividuality.”Partners:PowerofPeer
Members of the cast and crew of the high school fall production, Metamorphoses, then volunteered to work with Middle Form students. As a result, interest in mentorship for the spring musical doubled. From Trip leading actors in warmups to Anya guiding crew in using the light board, high school students are able to pursue their passions while passing those same skills on to younger students. Mentoring is also occurring between high school students.
Students as Producers can also take the form of a contemplative practice. “The apprenticeship created a space to recognize themselves and their place in the world, somewhat like a rite of passage to their next direction,” says Rachel McIntire, Visual Arts Department Chair. David’s approach supports this idea: “As technology rapidly changes the world, I think it would be impossible to overstate just how useful it is for students to learn the art of contemplation. The opportunity to create and hold sacred spaces with our young people is an essential part of supporting their emerging spirituality.”
Collaboration in the Arts
Inspired by her high school alma mater in Larkspur, Theater Programs Director Margaret Hee has implemented an intern and mentorship program for students working on drama productions. Along with Theater Manager Chris Miller and guest artists, Margaret has given high school students a space to take the lead as designers for sets, lighting, costumes and sound effects. Convent sophomore Anya Hilpert, for example, is the student lighting designer. While she can go to Krissy Kenny, a lighting designer and guest artist, for guidance when needed, it is up to Anya to run the light board for shows.
Senior Delaney Tobin created animations for both Metamorphoses and the Middle Form production of Wind in the Willows. This semester, she was responsible for all of the choreography in Love’s Labour’s Lost, the spring musical. She is mentoring sophomore Grace Krumplitsch to take over the role of choreographer next year.
Startup In Residence Juniors Annabelle Applegarth and Dennis O’Donnell, along with their classmates, are collaborating with a team from Atlas, a mental health and wellness startup. The collaboration, made possible through funding from The Edward E. Ford Foundation and an individual donor, is working toward building an app for high school students to practice and strengthen their mental wellness. Working with Atlas requires that the students carefully examine the team’s new ideas every other week, determining what will work in a high school population and what needs to be changed. Dennis explains, “[The team] wants us to say, ‘What if this worked a little better?’” When things do not go as expected, Dennis adds, “You just have to weigh the risk against the reward. I just think, that’s just one small glitch versus the reward of sharing this with hundreds of thousands of kids, potentially around the globe. The reward completely outweighs the risk.” Annabelle says, “It’s a team effort. You’re learning to be a team player where you can’t have control. You’re learning collaboration and how to put your idea out there and balance it with other people’s ideas.”
LEFT TO RIGHT: A Convent first grader outside the new workshop adjacent to Herbst House. A Convent third grader collaborates with high school students on a physics project. High school students in a brainstorming session guided by Atlas.
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STUDENTS PRODUCERSAS 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 29
Vivienne, a Convent seventh grader, had the opportunity to stretch herself as a writer last spring when she entered her short story, The Downward Spiral, into the 2018 Convent Middle Form Prix Barat Writing Contest. Guest judge George O’Connor, author and illustrator of the Olympians graphic novel series, said, “I was really impressed how, while reading this, my own sense of anxiety rose. It felt very honest and true but also terrifying.” Vivienne’s work earned her the award for fifth and sixth grade authors. Alex, a Stuart Hall fifth grader, is writing a novel about a villain named Conny the Clown who terrorizes villages and towns for thousands of years. The Incomplete History of C.T.C. is at 22,000 words and counting. Alex, who started writing when he was eight years old, reflects on what inspires him: “The reason that I wanted to start writing books was because if you write a 300-page book, you have another thing to be proud of to add to the list of [your accomplishments].”
The HistoryIncompleteofC.T.C. by Alex Stuart Hall, Grade 5 A.T.M. Arron the Major by Ryan Stuart Hall, Grade 5
The Downward Spiral by Vivienne Convent, Grade 7 Taking Initiative to be a Writer
Eighth graders at Convent are using their English classes as a launching point for their own ideas. After finishing the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird, students respond to the question “Why do we read To Kill a Mockingbird ?” in a medium of their choice, including short stories, paintings and poems. In the spring, they adapt Romeo and Juliet into any storytelling form (e.g. films, stories, graphic novels and podcasts) for modern audiences.
Alex’s classmate, Ryan, is also an author of historical fiction. With one book completed so far, Ryan continues to research people, places and eras he is interested in to build his fictional world. “My favorite genre is historical fiction,” he says, “because you can look up people from the past or places and events from a particular time period and get ideas from it.”
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STUDENTS
PRODUCERSAS
Morning Star Narrative: Reflect, Recover, Reimagine by Leet Miller Stuart Hall, Grade 12
1887 by Rose Larkin Convent, Grade Self-Publishing12
Success 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 31
Stuart Hall senior Leet Miller followed his interest in the history of the Morning Star building on the Pine/Octavia campus to produce the book Morning Star Narrative: Reflect, Recover, Reimagine. “The visual aspects of our school’s architecture have always fascinated me,” Leet says. “Even in kindergarten at Stuart Hall, I remember sketching floor plans of imaginary buildings that drew inspiration from the Flood, Hammond and Siboni.” Leet’s book tracks the history of the building from its earliest uses to today, observing, “Our campuses’ ‘new’ and ‘old’ spaces blend so well that many of us barely notice our physical transitions from historical to modern space. I wanted to learn Morning Star’s history so that I could better understand its relationship with our present.” In addition to researching and writing this book, Leet also designed lamps to “illuminate” his book’s narrative, lamps that he then installed in the Carroll Learning Commons. Reflecting on his creative process, Leet says, “In tailoring Morning Star Narrative, I did not create a finished product but a foundation for more questions, research, and conversation.”
The Finch by Trevor Blanc and Eli Mundy Stuart Hall, Grade 12
Convent senior Rose Larkin has also created and distributed an arts publication, 1887 , this school year. The journal features original art and poetry submitted by over 40 Convent & Stuart Hall high school students. In her editor’s note at the start of the journal, Rose writes, “This spirit of inclusivity creates an environment in which students — regardless of their backgrounds or talents — can bond through the arts and express themselves creatively.” Rose hopes the publication will live on and continue to inspire students to discover their artistic voices.
Stuart Hall seniors Eli Mundy and Trevor Blanc collaborated to produce The Finch, a print and digital publication that tracks their favorite musicians and their new work, while offering commentary on the music industry in general. Eli says, “We were inspired to create The Finch in order to fill a void of artistic representation in our community. We both love listening to and dissecting music and wanted to take this opportunity to put our affinity for music into words.”
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Led by All-League First Team performers Elizabeth Worthington (Gr. 12) and Peyton House (Gr. 11), Convent High School golf won the BCL West Tournament championship to earn a team berth to the NCS tournament.
With a mix of seventh and eighth graders playing together, the Convent varsity volleyball team won the CYO championship. The JV team capped a oneloss BAIAL season with a hard-fought title. The 5-5 volleyball team clinched a CYO title with its seventh win, compared to just one loss.
CONVENT &
STUART HALL HIGHLIGHTSATHLETICS
As the No. 2 seed, Convent High School varsity volleyball won four consecutive home matches without losing a set to claim its first-ever NCS Championship.
In a Senior Day matchup between two 7-0 teams, Stuart Hall High School football captured the North Central League (South) championship to finish its first unbeaten season. Among six First Team All-League selections, senior quarterback Jonathan Newsome was named Offensive Player of the Year.
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Senior Miles Amos was named BCL West Player of the Year, while Nigel Burris was the only sophomore on the All-League First Team.
Convent junior Lauren Barrabee finished second in the 100-yard backstroke and third in the 200-yard freestyle at the BAC swimming championships, while Stuart Hall freshman Kailer Tom touched the wall in second place in the 100-yard breaststroke. Both swimmers qualified for the NCS Championships.
A 28-win season for Stuart Hall High School varsity basketball included BCL West regular season and playoff titles, an 18-game winning streak, an unde feated record in league games and a trip to the second round of the Nor Cal Division III tournament.
In another banner season, the Stuart Hall seventh grade basketball team defended its CYO and BAIAL championships in the top division with an impressive 17-1 overall record. In a field of 21 teams, Stuart Hall track & field won the BAC Championship and claimed its sixth straight BCL West title. Two Convent juniors set new school records on the track. Adele Bonomi clocked 12.91 in the 100-meter dash and 26.70 in the 200-meter, and Isabelle Thiara finished in 2:23.27 in the 800-meter run. Convent junior Nyxa Aquino-Thomas set a new school record in the shot put with a mark of 29'10". In the high jump (5'0") and long jump (15'10"), senior Kiki Apple leaped to new records.
Willa Via ’07’03 Stuart Hall Grade 2 Faculty
What is your educational background?
This is my sixth year as a teacher and my fifth year with second grade. What subject(s) do you teach? As a second grade classroom teacher, I have the privilege of covering math, reading workshop, writing workshop and social studies. I also host a variety of SEL and community-building components such as morning pod and class meeting. What drew you into education, and what attracted you to Convent & Stuart Hall? Convent & Stuart Hall is my home in every sense of the word. I attended both Convent Elementary as well as Convent High School and absolutely loved my education. For me, school was magic. I remember walking into my classroom around the holidays and suddenly believing the room had transformed into the Christmas tree itself. I’ve shared countless stories of hands-on experiments that involved batteries and light bulbs or chocolate chip cookies and pipe cleaners. Learning was fun, tangible and steeped in tradition and Sincecommunity.Ibeganmy
WILLA NEW FACULTY SPOTLIGHT CONVENT & STUART HALL 34
Denise Reitz High School Sciences Faculty Let’s start with where you’re from. Where’s home for you? I’m originally from New York. What is your educational background? I received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Stonehill College and completed a graduate level Teacher Certification Program at The University of Rhode Island. How many years have you been teaching? I have been teaching for 30 years. What subject(s) do you teach? I am teaching Grades 11–12 IB Biology and Human Biology. What drew you into education, and what attracted you to Convent & Stuart Hall? I discovered my passion for science in elementary school during a watershed project that required students to go out into the field (the woods behind the school), make observations, collect and analyze
Where’s home for you?
Let’s start with where you’re from.
I earned my bachelor’s degree from the University of San Diego, where I majored in art history and doubleminored in communication and gender studies. I then went on to earn my master’s in Childhood Education and Special Education at Touro College in New York. How many years have you been teaching?
I spent my first five years in New York City and then moved to San Francisco to start my Kindergarten year.
teaching career six years ago, I’ve had my heart set on returning to Sacred Heart as an educator. This year my students and I have not only continued beloved traditions from my childhood but have created dozens of our own. I walk into the Flood every day knowing my students and I are one small part of a great big family.
What drew you into education, and what attracted you to Convent & Stuart Hall? My fourth grade teacher, Ms. Green, was the first teacher who truly saw me for who I was. This experience inspires and reminds me to be that person for someone else. Having always been a polymath, I want to instill the same awe and wonder I feel about the world into my students. I particularly enjoy working with those for whom academics don’t come easily so we can find the code that unlocks their learning Conventpotential.& Stuart Hall was an attractive choice for me as I was exploring my options last year. Though unfamiliar with the school except by reputation, as I was guided through the buildings and observed the children, the sense of joy, camaraderie and excitement was palpable. The kids were polite, friendly and accessible. I knew this had a lot to do with the relationship established with the staff. data and report findings to school administrators. Spending days outside digging in the dirt and counting critters in the stream felt more like play than work, but the learning was enduring. I have spent the last 30 years creating similar experiences for my students. I love designing and implementing lessons that spark student interest, encourage active engagement and stimulate curiosity. After spending most of my life on the East Coast, my husband and I followed our daughters out to San Francisco. I am thrilled to be teaching at Convent & Stuart Hall, and I truly appreciate the warm welcome from my students.
DENISE 35 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT
Paul McNees Convent Elementary Educational Therapist Let’s start with where you’re from.
What is your educational background?
PAUL
I was born just outside of St. Louis, Missouri and stayed there until I was 24. From there, I relocated to Los Angeles for seven years and finally made my way up the coast to the Bay Area.
I started my teaching career in 1991 and in earnest in 1993. That’s just about 27 years. What subject(s) do you teach? Currently I’m working with Grades K–5 and am focused on math and literacy skills. There is nothing like the feeling of a child with dyslexia reading their first sentence! And when the light bulb goes on with a tricky math concept, one can’t help but feel a little spark of joy.
As an undergraduate at the University of Missouri St. Louis, I began my academic life as a mathematician, but I changed my major to art and music. I moved to Webster University where I continued a study of art and music and graduated with a degree in audio/visual art.
Where’s home for you?
I later went back to school to get my master’s degree, earning a master’s in Philosophy from California Institute of Integral Studies and a master’s in Educational Therapy from Holy Names University in Oakland. How many years have you been teaching?
Scholastic Journalism & Media Director Tracy Sena nominated Rachel for the administrator award, while Visual Arts Department Chair Rachel McIntire and The Broadview editors-in-chief, seniors Cece Giarman and Josephine Rozzelle, submitted letters on her behalf.
InTHEADMINISTRATORNAMEDOFYEARearlyNovember,RachelSimpson,Headof
HEAD OF CONVENT HIGH SCHOOL
The prize is handed out to schools that support, teach and honor the First Amendment and allow student publication editors to make all final content decisions.
The Journalism Education Association, which selected Rachel out of nominees from across the country, presents the annual award to an administrator who demonstrates exceptional support of journalism Witheducation.Rachel’s “respect for preserving authorial voice,” as she calls it, Convent High School, with its award-winning student-run newspaper, The Broadview, won the First Amendment Press Freedom Award for the fifth time this year, more than any other private school nationwide.
“We must teach students to ask questions, to gather the facts, to interrogate those facts, and to make sense of multiple narratives,” Rachel concluded. “Helping [students] find and use their voice to inform and inspire a better world is what I am called to do as an educator in the Sacred Heart tradition.”
Convent High School, stood in front of a large audience at the National High School Journalism Convention in Chicago to receive the 2018 Administrator of the Year award for her role in actively protecting student expression. Rachel seized the opportunity to praise the mission of Sacred Heart education and its Five Goals for creating a culture where student voice matters.
“In our school’s culture,” Rachel said in her acceptance speech, “I see the protection of press freedom and having confidence in students saying what they need to say as an expression of Goal 5.”
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She went on to explain the spirit of “wise freedom” at the heart of Goal 5. “Holding the space for students to feel and express what they are feeling and thinking — and making room for a diversity of perspectives and opinions — is at the core of our work.”
The Rare Book Collection within the Convent & Stuart Hall Archives contains over 1,000 rare books dating from the 1800s through the late 1900s. With over a century of printed works, the collection provides a rich history through the lens of literature. Many of the texts are written in Latin or French and were utilized in the education of the young women who attended Convent & Stuart Hall, formerly the Academy of the Sacred Heart. The book pictured here, Itinéraire de Paris à Jérusalem (1811), which translates to Route from Paris to Jerusalem, was written by the French author and diplomat François-Auguste-René, vicomte de Chateaubriand. It is an account of his travels throughout the Mediterranean beginning in the summer of 1806 and returning via Spain in 1807 and acted as an early version of a travel guide through the region. The Rare Book Collection covers topics such as poetry, religious works, history and grammar. While the books are not part of the circulating collection within the library, they are accessible to students, faculty and researchers interested in exploring these rich texts.
ARCHIVES LEFT TO RIGHT: Rachel Simpson, Head of Convent High School, in dialogue with current students. Itinéraire de Paris à Jérusalem, one of the many treasured books in the Convent & Stuart Hall Archives.
DID YOU KNOW?
2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 37
FACULTY AWARDS
38 CONVENT & STUART HALL
20192019
LEFT TO RIGHT: Christine Yuen, Zoë Scott, Paul McNees, Doug Grant, Samantha Tabarez, Reba Sell. Not pictured: Arnaz Raj.
On February 6, 2019 during the President’s New Year assembly, faculty and staff celebrated the Year of the Pig. An annual tradition, this gathering provides an opportunity to honor some with awards that support professional development and recognize others for their contributions to the community. Over the past seven years, five new awards have been added to create a total of seven, all of which are supported by endowed gifts.
The Niehaus Family President’s Excellence Award: Doug Grant Digital Literacy & Design Faculty
Sister Mary Mardel Fund: Paul McNees Convent Elementary Educational TheTherapistSister
ProfessionalFaculty Development Awards
The following faculty members received this year’s Fusco Family Awards: The Ellie Fusco Heart of an Educator Award: Zoë Scott Convent Elementary Grade 3 Faculty
Esther Rossi Excellence Award: Samantha Tabarez Alumni & Constituent Relations
Sister Ann Conroy Award: Reba Sell Associate Librarian and Archivist
TheDirectorEsther
The Fusco Family Awards in Support of Educational Excellence
In November 2015, the school received a gift from the estate of Elvera “Ellie” Fusco, a beloved friend of the school and graduate of San Francisco College for Women at Lone Mountain. Her bequest established an endowed fund to support faculty salary and benefits. President Ann Marie Krejcarek, in collaboration with the estate trustees, wanted to honor Ellie’s passion for education through the establishment of three awards presented each year in honor of Ellie, her sister Mildred (Millie) and their brother Lorenzo (Larry). The Fusco Family Award in honor of Ellie Fusco is presented to a faculty or staff member who has the true “heart of an educator,” someone who gives his or her all in the classroom while making sure the hearts and minds of students are activated and engaged. The award in honor of Millie is presented to a faculty or staff member whose work with students inspires passion and aspiration. The award in Larry’s honor is presented to a staff person who shines in his or her work with students as a coach or service learning mentor.
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The Sister Ann Conroy Fund for Faculty Excellence was established in 2013 in honor of another longtime Sacred Heart educator. This award application process is open to all high school faculty and Central Services staff for pursuits of personal enrichment. Reba plans to travel to England to attend a course of Philosophy in Literature at the University of Oxford. “The knowledge that I would gain through this course,” Reba wrote in her proposal, “would enable me to better prepare students and faculty for evaluating literature and philosophy in texts for both International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme and college preparatory courses.” Recipients
2019 Awards and
Mary Mardel Fund for Faculty Excellence was established in 1997 by gifts to an endowed fund, in honor of the beloved Sacred Heart educator. Each year, elementary faculty apply for the award in pursuit of a specific professional development opportunity or personal enrichment. With this award, Paul will travel to Finland, where he plans to spend one week studying the curriculum and pedagogy, or “the magic,” as Paul puts it, behind Finland’s schools.
The Niehaus Family President’s Excellence Award was established in 2013 by Joe and Karen Niehaus, longtime supporters of Convent & Stuart Hall whose children attended the school. 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 who exemplifies excellence in his or her work for the school. Doug was introduced as “an inspiration to generations of students to be their best and to joyfully engage their learning.”
The Fusco Family Award in honor of Millie Fusco: Christine Yuen Stuart Hall Middle Form Mathematics Faculty The Fusco Family Award in honor of Larry Fusco: Arnaz Raj Convent & Stuart Hall Middle Form Sciences
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 and Criteria: the building of community as a Christian value. The award was established and continues to grow thanks to the support of members of the Rossi family, in honor of their beloved mother, grandmother, aunt and grandaunt. She was a devoted alumna of the Sacred Heart and generously supported the San Francisco College for Women, which was founded by the Religious of the Sacred Heart. Before being presented with the award, Samantha was described as “the ‘force’ behind so many community events,” who is “welcoming and inviting to all generations of Children of the Sacred Heart.”
On the Frontier of Medicine
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Briefly describe a few milestones in your career journey. I initially enrolled in medical school at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine [Yeshiva University, New York City] as a regular student in a four-year program. However, I did not find the curriculum stimulating enough and did some research after the second year. My mentor told me to look into obtaining a Ph.D. degree, and I found out that my medical school offered an alternate pathway to the M.D.-Ph.D. program in which one can apply during the second year in medical school. I applied and was accepted. What is your current position and area of research? I am a Professor of Pathology in the College of Medicine, a Co-leader of the Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences (CPPS) Program at the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, and the current Drs. Mae and Anderson Nettleship Endowed Chair in Oncologic Pathology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. My longstanding research interests have been studying the immune responses against HPV infection, which has led me to develop an HPV therapeutic vaccine. As a co-leader of the CPPS Program, I oversee a group of physicians and scientists whose research interests are focused on cancer prevention through understanding cancer risk factors at the population level and through promoting cancer prevention and screening measures such as HPV prophylactic Dr. Mayumi Nakagawa ’78 is a professor and the Nettleship Chair at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, who specializes in HPV and cancer research.
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vaccine, Papanicolaou test, mammography and colonoscopy. In 2017, I was fortunate to be endowed with the Chair which enables me to direct funds for research in addition to grants I receive. Why HPV immunology? How did you decide to make it a focus of your research? I was always fascinated by the ability of the immune system to shrink cancerous tumors. In the past, these occurrences were rare and happened sometimes spontaneously, and sometimes as rare good responses to treatments. So, I wanted to explore how to make such successes more commonplace. When I finished my residency training at University of California, San Francisco, there were worldrenowned experts in HPV who I decided to work with and to focus on HPVassociated cancers. Explain your latest project, a Phase II clinical trial testing the effects of a vaccine for treating patients with cervical dysplasia or precancer. After vaccinedemonstratingsafetyinPhase I, we obtained a go-ahead from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to start a Phase II clinical trial of PepCan. Two treatments are being compared: PepCan and Candidaalone. It is a randomized doubleblind study, so we would not know the results until after the clinical trial is completed. The goal is to regress cervical precancer by stimulating a women’s immune system so she can avoid surgery. Such surgery is used in routine medical practice and is very effective but it also has a side effect of increasing the chances of having premature babies later on. We plan to vaccinate a total of 80 women in Phase II. If efficacy is demonstrated in Phase II, then a Phase III clinical trial with a larger number of subjects would need to be conducted before an FDA approval can be obtained to make this vaccine widely available. What advice would you give to students interested in pursuing a career in medicine? Sometimes requirementsthefor biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics may seem daunting, but if you work at your pace one step at a time, it is really not that difficult. Seek out help from someone who can help you, like going to office hours of the professors and/or graduate assistants. What do you think you’ve carried with you from your Convent days? Great friends and good skills in reading, writing and mathematics, which were necessary to succeed at UC Berkeley as a pre-med student.
Thank you for your gift to the Doug Grant endowed fund. Is there a story or memory about Mr. Grant that compelled you to contribute to the fund in his honor?
When I went to Convent, I had just moved from Japan a few years earlier. In Japan, I did not receive good grades in mathematics. However, it was easier in the United States since the material was advanced by one year in Japan. Dr. Grant allowed me to be on selfstudy and complete multiple years of curriculum during the first year. I also took computer classes from him, which taught me the basics of coding. This early exposure gave me a good foundation and confidence to pursue a career in science and medicine.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Dr. Nakagawa working in the lab. Doug Grant, Digital Literacy & Design faculty, instructing students. Last year, an endowed fund for Computer Science was established in his honor.
OUR BOARD OF TRUSTEES Kirsty Ellis Geoffrey Dillon, SJ Lokelani Devone ‘74’70 Mark Farrell SHB’88Gabriela Parcella, Board Chair Sameer Gandhi Todd Chapman Nora Gibson CES’80 Ed Conlon Sean Jeffries Ann Marie Krejcarek, President Mary Finlayson, RSCJ CONVENT & STUART HALL 42
Nancy Morris, RSCJ TomMartinaRobertsLauterbach Don St. Pierre Roger Wu Ted Ullyot Mark Zanoli Holden Spaht Lisa Zuckerman Paula Toner, RSCJ Jennifer Tulley Dawn Vroegop Maureen Sullivan 2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 43
On a school trip to Los Angeles this spring with fellow high school art students, senior Anna Doggett had a chance to see firsthand the work of transcendent Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Inspired by Kusama’s work, Anna created these pieces for an installation of hearts layered on top of text. The artwork was on display in the Flood Mansion during the K–12 Spring Art and Design Expo.
CONVENT & STUART HALL 44
Parcella MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD CHAIR
2019 PRESIDENT’S REPORT 45
The higher we want to fly, the greater the risk, but that is the glorious part of it.
Dear Convent & Stuart Hall Community: It is with deep gratitude that I write my final letter as Board Chair. As I look back on my last three years as Board Chair (and seven years on the Board), I am as excited as ever about the strategic work that has been done and what lies ahead. I was fortunate to join the Board at the same time that Ann Marie was hired as school president and have enjoyed a wonderful partnership with her. I would like to thank Ann Marie for her endless energy and passion for the school. Through a lot of hard work by Ann Marie, her senior team and the Board, we have transformed into a truly integrated K–12 Convent & Stuart Hall community. In line with our mission, we are proud to have maintained tuition with moderate annual increases, to provide an inclusive lunch program starting next year and to be one of the highest providers of financial assistance in San Francisco. There is always more work to be done, and our strategic plan, Looking Ahead with 2020 Vision, is guiding that work. One of the most important jobs of any leader is to ensure there is a strong successor who can take the organization to the next level. I’m so pleased that Holden Spaht has been elected as our next Board Chair. Holden will be terrific, and I look forward to reading his letters and other updates next year. As the year comes to a close, I’d like to thank the Trustees who are completing their service. Four Trustees are rolling off the Board, each one serving in an impactful role as a committee chair during their term. I’d like to thank them for their dedication and service to Convent & Stuart Hall. Sameer Gandhi is currently chairing our Tech & Innovation Committee and was previously the chair of our President Evaluation & Compensation Committee. Sameer’s creative insights have kept us on the leading edge strategically as we plan for the long-term future of the school. Mark Zanoli served as chair of our Business & Finance Committee. Mark’s deep financial expertise and analytical skills advanced our financial planning and tools. Lisa Zuckerman serves as chair of the Investment Committee. Lisa’s investment acumen and fiduciary lens resulted in an institutional quality investment policy that will guide our investing for years to come. Roger Wu is chair of the President Evaluation & Compensation Committee. Roger’s intellectual insights and kind heart have been critical to supporting Ann Marie and ensuring her success. It has been such a privilege and honor to serve as your Board Chair. Thank you to the entire Convent & Stuart Hall community and, in particular, to my husband Mark and my sons, Franco (Gr. 8) and Marco (Gr. 6), who have continually supported my dedication to the Board and its GabrielaWithmission.gratitude,Franco
— Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ
Contributors: Mary Blum, Kathleen Esling, Dennis Estrada, Elias Feldman, Bill Jennings, Gabriela Parcella, Reba Sell, Amanda Walker CES’91 Editorial Contributors: Kathleen Esling, Elias Feldman, Sarah Leffert, Rachel Simpson, Samantha Tabarez, Amanda Walker CES’91, Robyn Wilkinson and Lisa Wong
Office at Convent & Stuart Hall. We are grateful to our many contributors. Special thanks to the following:
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Photo Contributors: Scott Chernis, Collaborative for Spirituality in Education, Elena De Santis, Michel Edens, Elias Feldman, Erik Hom, Michael Hong, Krista Inchausti, Chris Jackson, Karen Cammack Photography, Karen Lenardi, Peter Locke, Magnificat High School, Rachel McIntire, John Metz, Leet Miller, MugsyClicks, Alva Murphy, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Shutterstock, Jermaine Standfield, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Nano Visser, Robyn Wilkinson and Lisa Wong Design: Peter Locke President Ann Marie Krejcarek greets students at the start of the school day.
