Congratulations Faculty and Staff Anniversaries
PRISMS Publication Celebrates
25th Anniversary
As we welcome the ideas and energy of new faculty and staff this year, we also want to express gratitude for the dedicated service of existing community members. A place is only as remarkable as the people who bring it to life. We celebrate many anniversaries of our committed faculty and staff, each of whom make SJND a wonderful place to work, lead and serve.
40+ YEARS
15+ YEARS
3+ YEARS
Gail Rodriguez
Verdell Alexander Paula Cekola Daniel Curry Jolie Johnson Andrew Reed
Angelica Bailon Vicki Bargagliotti Mark Castillo Adam Chaffey Marel Grunt Julie Guevara Michele Johnson Michael Kamplain Gabriela Lippi Dessiree Lozano Christen Morrison Tina O’Connor Jessica Park Chris Pondok Sean Rhatigan Kenneth Rodrigues Lauren Rosi Ryan Rosso Stephanie SemolicPortillo Jason Shelton Jennifer Stein
30+ YEARS Elizabeth Norris
20+ YEARS James Fong Didi Kubicek Catherine Reed
10+ YEARS John Gunty Don Lippi Michael Loring Andy McKee Mark Ritter Kristina Taylor
Photo Courtesy Julia Park Tracey. Natalia Layson, Karina Leon and Elizabeth Norris show off the 25th anniversary edition of Prisms
Kudos to PRISMS, the literary-art magazine published by students of SJND, as it celebrates its 25th year in 2015. A signature program of SJND, it all began when the English Department received a generous gift from faculty member Mr. David McCord. The gift was intended for a creative project of the department’s choosing. Mrs. Elizabeth Peláez Norris offered to produce a literary magazine, which was called PRISMS, a sister publication to the newspaper Kaleidoscope and yearbook Reflections. Since the spring of 1991, PRISMS has grown to an 84 page publication, a collection of Spanish prose and poetry, art, digital photography and musical compositions. It has won numerous literary magazine contests and awards. This year, PRISMS again won the “First Place with Special Merit” award in the American Scholastic Press Association’s annual magazine competition, and Julian DeGuzman ’15 received “Best Photographer.” The ASPA called PRISMS “a model for up-and-coming magazines.” PRISMS is proud of its over 100 Star Society of Creative Writers members whose work has been published or won awards outside the school community. From this stellar group, 5 Poets Laureate have emerged: Sarah Su ’10, Tia Gangopadhyay ’11, Robin Levy ’13, Amelia Khoo ’14, and Karina Leon ’15. That first gift of PRISMS has become the gift that keeps on giving: it is shared and enjoyed by our school community, and each SJND family receives a free copy. A “rainbow refraction of light,” PRISMS reflects the diversity of the SJND student body across different media, genres, and languages. n
Fall 2015 Update 9