Highlander Spring 2009

spring 2009

stages of writing

alumni class notes

telling stories in liberia

Artwork from the Clay Lab

departments

volume 21, number 1 spring 2009

3

Guideposts Headmaster Marcus D. Hurlbut introduces

Open Spaces: Student Fiction

the new Highlander

Read “A Destination Worth the Risk,” in this

22

space reserved for student work

4

News & Notes Get the scoop on what’s been happening at

25

Test how well you know your campus

St. Margaret’s lately

8

Side by Side

Where at SMES?

34

Alumni Perspective Glow-in-the-dark fireflies stand the test of time

Student and staff share their perspectives of Virginia Woolf ’s To the Lighthouse 35

Class Notes Find out what the old gang is up to, and read

11

By the Numbers: Learning Languages

about their favorite clothes then and now

Learn the stats on the language program and read a student’s remarks about Japanese class

39

Looking Forward A student muses on the future of the economy and transportation

20

A Day in the Life Of . . .

A Preschooler

40

Looking Back

See what the little ones are doing during

Photograph from our school’s past shows us

days filled with learning

where we’ve been

features

>>

spring 2009

1

features

6

Stages of Writing A teacher reveals how young writers develop their craft

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School Marcus D. Hurlbut, Headmaster

Telling Stories in Liberia

12

Hope and sadness intertwine during a

librarian’s service in Africa

Time to Kiln With a lot of work and a lot of heat, clay jewels

16

emerge from the classroom’s kilns

Snapping the Surf Alumnus Russ Hennings views life through a wide-angle lens

26

Highlander magazine is published by the Communications Office as a St. Margaret’s Episcopal School community magazine.

Highlander Editor

Andrea Canfield Editorial Board

Andrea Canfield, Jeannine Clarke, Stephen Harrington, Marcus D. Hurlbut, Anne Mack Contributors

Ingrid Andrews, Chriss Bonhall,Victoria Burnett, Cortney Carlisle, Dorothy Clendenin, Edie DeAvila, Andy Forquer, Chris Helm, Russ Hennings, Marcus D. Hurlbut, Kasey Jong, Griffin McMullen, Anne Mack, Lisa Merryman, Jennifer Perez, Michele Silverman, Ian Tacquard, Leslie Tanaka, Clay Westrope Please send comments, questions, letters to the editor, and student submissions of fiction or poetry for consideration for “Open Spaces,” to:

Highlander magazine St. Margaret’s Episcopal School 31641 La Novia San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675-2752 (949) 661-0108 communications@smes.org www.smes.org Please include your name, address, e-mail address and phone number with your letter or submission.

Letters and “Open Spaces” may be edited for content and grammar.

St. Margaret’s publishes responsibly. Highlander magazine is printed on Forest Stewardship Council certified paper that contains 25 percent postconsumer recycled content, using soy-based inks made from renewable resources such as natural pigments and vegetable oils.

Highlander,Volume 21, Number 1. Spring 2009.

Yesterday, St. Margaret’s . . .

Today the World

30

For world traveler Clay Westrope, the journey never concludes

2

highlander

ON THE COVER

These pieces from the Clay Lab stand ready to be packed and submitted for consideration for a juried art show, the Color It Orange K12 Student Art Exhibition.Thirty-one works were accepted for the exhibit.

G U I D E P O S T S

By Marcus D. Hurlbut, Headmaster e are pleased to welcome you to the Highlander magazine, the magazine of St. Margaret’s Episcopal School. In the pages that follow, we present important snapshots of the overall St. Margaret’s experience. Our focus on daily instruction and the stages and processes of learning illustrates a few of the many ways we help our students develop. From preschoolers learning by playing, to Middle School students discovering how to write short stories, to alumni applying skills learned at St. Margaret’s, our mighty Tartans develop, achieve and learn throughout their lives. Our mission is carried out on our campus and in faraway places, as illustrated by the story of Victoria Burnett’s journey to serve in the schools, orphanages and libraries of Liberia.

W

It is my hope that this publication will leave you with an even stronger sense of our school community. St. Margaret’s is the center of a network of people from diverse backgrounds brought together by a shared commitment and a common purpose. In a world of uncertainty, our school community serves as a source of support, inspiration and hope for learners of all ages.While each of us brings our own special gifts to this equation, we are united in our commitment to serve our children and each other and to use the gifts we have been given to make our world a better place.

As we all know only too well, the future is difficult to predict, but here in our school we have the priceless opportunity to make small but important contributions to ensure that our students have the best tools to build their futures.We understand that the best preparation for whatever comes their way is in developing a strong spirit and a resilient nature that looks for opportunity brought about by changes and answers the call to service in a compassionate and responsible way.

It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. Only a community with a strong framework and a united purpose can instill a set of core values that will act as guideposts to our children as they grow into their futures. I believe that St. Margaret’s is such a community.Whether it is in the arts, academics, or athletics, our students shine.These pages bear witness to the spirit, the intellect, the wit and the selfassuredness of the students who play on the fields, walk the halls and study and learn on the campus of St. Margaret’s.

“It has been said that it takes a village to raise a child. Only a community with a strong framework can instill a set of core values that will act as guideposts to our children as they grow into their futures.”

spring 2009

3

&

N OT E S

St. Margaret’s Day

When the St. Margaret’s Tartan Varsity Football team won their third straight CIF Championship, setting a new record in Orange County varsity football for the longest winning streak, fans rejoiced. Not stopping there, the Tartans added a new title to their history-making season: State Champions.

The Tartans ended a perfect season with a resounding victory in the inaugural Small Schools CIF State Bowl Game.

Headmaster Marcus Hurlbut announced, “today is a historic day for all of us at St. Margaret’s.”

Each year, St. Margaret’s honors St. Margaret of Scotland, the patron saint of education, and commemorates the school’s founding. In November 2008, the celebration included the founder of St. Margaret’s Episcopal School,The Reverend Canon Ernest D. Sillers, and the second Headmaster, Markham B. Campaigne. Headmaster Marcus D. Hurlbut’s address detailed the school’s history from its opening in fall 1979 with 79 students. He noted, “the history of St. Margaret’s Episcopal School is a powerful statement of what faith, vision and determination can accomplish. Relatively speaking, we are still a young school, but we have come a long way in a short period of time. . . .We are profoundly fortunate to be firmly rooted in the Episcopal tradition, a tradition that appreciates the mystery and breadth of God’s love, inspires debate, welcomes diverse ideas, values ambiguity and paradox, and respects all religious traditions.”

Rogue Artists Ensemble, part of the Orange County Performing Arts Center Arts Teach roster of educational assembly artists, performed an adaptation of The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone for Lower School and Preschool students in January. Life-size puppets taught that friendship can be the greatest treasure of all.The assembly was brought to Sillers Hall by the Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF) Arts Alliance.

Rogue Artists Ensemble

4

highlander

CIF Football Championship

N E W S

Girls Tennis CIF Championship In November 2008, St. Margaret’s Girls Varsity Tennis team won the CIF Championship.This was the second CIF title for the tennis program; the first was in 2002.The team went undefeated, finishing a perfect season 23-0, with support from Coach Rick Trager and Assistant Coach Gretchen Miller.

Valentine’s Day

Tartans Sing Ali Solon, grade 10, and Desi Staples, grade 12, accepted an invitation from the Honorable San Juan Capistrano Mayor Mark Nielsen to sing the national anthem at the annual State of the City address, for more than 200 business and government leaders.The girls also closed the event, singing their original harmony of “America the Beautiful.”

The theme for this year’s Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF) Spring Fundraiser was “Tartan Americana,” and the homespun country fair character came through, from the line dancing to the home-style victuals.The rootin’ tootin’ good fun was also for a good cause, with more than 350 cowpokes donning their cowboy boots and hats and gathering together for a meal, entertainment, and a live and silent auction to raise funds for scholarships and grants.

Dance Recital

To read more St. Margaret’s news, visit the “Tartan Today” online at smesnews.org/today.

Tartan Americana

On Valentine’s Day, all school divisions participated in a collaborative service project to bring Valentine’s Day wishes to local seniors, with flowers donated by St. Margaret’s families. Lower School students arranged flowers in vases, and made Valentine’s Day cards using stickers and colored paper.

Middle School and Upper School students made floral arrangements during lunchtime. Student groups visited with residents in local senior centers and delivered more than 300 floral arrangements and handmade cards.

The Winter All-School Dance Recital featured about 125 dancers in Preschool through Upper School. Ballerinas and dancers in flowing outfits shared the stage with secret agents and reindeer, as the talents of student dancers and choreographers left the audience in awe. From the graceful “Waltz of the Flowers” to the folksy “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” St. Margaret’s students of all ages displayed a range of talents.

New Heights Ryan Dahlem, Director of Admission and Financial Aid at St. Margaret’s, spoke to Middle School and Upper School students about his Himalayan climbing expedition to Cho Oyu (elevation: 26,906 feet), the sixth-highest mountain in the world, during September 2008. He gave an inspirational talk and offered this advice: “Challenge yourselves.Whatever it is for you, find your mountain and climb it.” In conjunction, St. Margaret’s Library exhibited items from and related to the climb, including the St. Margaret’s pennant Dahlem took to the peak. spring 2009

5

Stages of Writing

Stages of Wri From Ideas to Print, Learn How Authors Hone Their Craft B y M i c h e l e S i l v e r m a n , E n g l i s h Te a c h e r

Writing is challenging. Even if students plan to put some words on paper and consider their creative writing assignment done, they soon find that writing involves a time-consuming, labor-intensive process of figuring out how to choose words that express what they want to say. In the English class I plan collaboratively with English teacher Jeni Johnson, writing a short story is part of our literature instruction, and students learn about the stages and challenges of writing firsthand.

6

highlander

The thought of expressing their ideas in a short story appeals to many students. But young authors soon learn, perhaps while staring at blank paper or an empty computer screen, that a story is more than the sum of its parts. It helps to know that a plot should start with an exposition, lead through rising action to a climax, and then continue through falling action to a resolution. Regardless of the format, however, an author must make many important and personal decisions during each stage of the writing process.

So, where to start? Before writing, our students brainstorm character ideas, filling composition notebooks with details about possible realistic characters of different ages, backgrounds and habits.

Next, the young authors pick characters and think about what their goals might be, and what obstacles they might have to overcome.To write their character-driven, realistic short stories, our authors creatively consider these aspects and more even before they begin their first drafts.

Of course, inspiration helps. Student author Chris Helms, grade 7, was inspired by Gary Paulsen’s adventure stories, and he wanted to write a survival tale. His character, Matt, experiences a train crash on his trip to reunite with his mom.

As part of the process, students outline their stories in graphic organizers.They draw a diagram of the beginning, middle and end of their stories, and the stories start to take shape. In class, the writers help each other by providing a supportive audience. Chris says, “In class, I peer-edited with other students. They gave me ideas about how I should write some of the paragraphs in my story.”

Finally, the actual act of writing a story:With a general outline, students transfer half-formed ideas onto paper in a way a reader could, and would want to, follow.Writers consider their audience and decide how to hook readers at the beginning, keeping them continually engaged by moving the story forward. As Julianna Coleman, grade 7, says, “Even though some people don’t have as elaborate circumstances as my main character Caroline does, I wanted readers to relate to her. My goal was to make my characters realistic.”

While drafting their tales, authors write and rewrite, employing storytelling conventions, incorporating dialogue and adding correctly formatted quotations.The detail work follows, including making word choices, and using active verbs and consistent verb tenses. Juggling all these elements, we teach how to weave in figurative language such as simile, metaphor, and personification. As Chris realizes, to connect with readers, “I needed to create a short story with lots of description and active verbs.”

Good writing has applications beyond our classroom. Chris recognizes how the stages of writing he used in English help him in other courses. In World Geography, for example, Chris says, “we’ve had to write reports and using the writing process helps me make the reports more creative and interesting. On a recent report on the European Union, the writing process I learned in English really helped me make the report sound fluent.”

The results of the students’ hard work on their writing were well-crafted, incredibly diverse and engaging short stories.

Why not try to write your own story today, using the same methods? Then, read the story Chris wrote,“A Destination Worth The Risk,” on page 22, and go online to read Julianna’s and other students’ stories in the “ Tartan Today.” ●

spring 2009

7

S I D E

B Y

S I D E

Meeting the Challenge of Finding Meaning

By Andrea Canfield, Highlander Editor eading Virginia Woolf ’s To the Lighthouse is a challenging experience, especially for young scholars.This modernist work published in 1927 is replete with complex philosophical themes and imagery, figurative language, and potentially confusing grammatical and linguistic choices by the author.There are challenges inherent in discussing a novel based on introspection, containing little dialogue and none of the action or intrigue of current novels or films. In addition, this novel focuses on an era and geographic location unfamiliar to most students: a family’s visits to the Isle of Skye, in Scotland, during the early 1900s. It might be simpler to use class instruction and lecture notes to repeat a instructor’s point of view, but in St. Margaret’s classrooms, students build their confidence by applying new concepts and analytical tools in stages, and they gradually achieve mastery of expression of their own ideas.

R

Assigned to write a paper examining Woolf ’s language, advanced preparation English students were asked to develop their own topic, but to provide evidence for their argument in a close analysis of the text, while noting figures of speech, imagery, diction, or other important elements of the way the book was written. Discussing “close readings” in class, students

8

highlander

learned to investigate a text, going several steps beyond simple descriptive ideas about plot and character to deliver, instead of a traditional book report, insights into how the book illustrates certain styles and elements of literature.

In the same way that Woolf ’s novel presents characters in the act of thinking or speaking, rather than presenting a narrator to make sense of it all for the reader, students learn to approach the text with their own independent act of analysis, without relying on an instructor’s rote explanation.

This level of learning takes time and practice. In class, while studying, while writing in a journal, during the act of choosing an essay topic, writing drafts, and having their drafts critiqued by their peers, St. Margaret’s students travel a long and winding road from reading and appreciating literature to understanding, interpreting and discussing their different interpretations.

The following student essay uses To the Lighthouse to discuss the theme of persistence toward an elusive goal. It contains insights and interpretations that the author, Leslie Tanaka, grade 12, formed independently using the analytical skills she developed in stages during her English class.

To the Lighthouse: The Heroics and Folly of Persistence

By Leslie Tanaka, Grade 12

here is an inherent sadness within the optimism of youth.The slightest glimmer of chance in spite of the odds inspires a confidence and certainty that may be doomed for later disappointment. James Ramsay, a child when introduced in Virginia Woolf ’s To the Lighthouse, is the embodiment of this initial flare of hope unsullied by the collecting soot of hardearned experience.

T

James’ long unsatisfied wish to visit the lighthouse seems inconsequential at first.Though a child’s impulse, in its lack of fulfillment lies a bitter truth.The title To the Lighthouse, James’ personal mission and the essence of the entire novel itself, is illustrative of life as a limited and human being. Every character of this text, and of humanity, suffers the same experience: longing and struggle toward an elusive goal, painfully beyond reach.

Like a ship lost at sea searches for a signal, relying on anything that stands out in the darkness, we imagine faint glimmers of chance as our own lighthouses, fashioning them into beacons we can trust. Like an answer to a collective distress call, James’ mother transforms herself into a lighthouse, projecting “love distilled and filtered. . . . Love which . . . was meant to be spread over the world and become part of the human gain”

(p. 47).Yet there is “something frightening about” Mrs. Ramsay, because “she [is] irresistible” (p. 101). She shines and beckons to the desperate, the gullible, and the helplessly ignorant, drawing lost ships to her ideas like moths to a flame.

Her husband’s predictions of thick clouds and stormy weather threaten Mrs. Ramsay’s promise that they will visit the lighthouse, but she never changes the pattern of her signal. “ ‘Perhaps you will wake up and find the sun shining and the birds singing,’ she said compassionately, smoothing the little boy’s hair, for her husband, with his caustic saying that it would not be fine, had dashed his spirits she could see” (p. 15).

As a gesture of defiance against her own feelings of fatalism, Mrs. Ramsay continues,“sheltering and fostering the still feeble pulse as one might guard a weak flame with a newspaper” (p. 83), hoping to prolong the light of innocent expectation in James for as long as it can last. “She was certain that he was thinking, we are not going to the Lighthouse tomorrow; and she thought, he will remember that all his life” (p. 62). She hesitates to admit the truth because he does not look “ready” for the jarring transition; no one ever is.

The best protection she can provide for her son is, as she knows, only temporary.

>> spring 2009

9

Mr. Ramsay, on the other hand, regards this as folly. It is to him an outrage that she should knowingly lead the ignorant on shortsighted and ill-fated voyages; that she would let James go forward unprepared in an unforgiving world. He is cognizant of our semblance to lost ships, scattered and voyaging alone on a dark, turbulent sea. He acknowledges our inescapable condition of living and our ultimate fate of dying without reaching the fanciful lights we invent in the mind’s eye.

As his wife strives to maintain conviction and persistence, Mr. Ramsay resolves to be living evidence of uncompromising and steadfast truth in the face of darkness.The structure of a lighthouse seen from great distances “shrinks” and is negligible, lost; only its core essence and purpose, the illumination, remains visible. Mr. Ramsay, serving as a beacon and example of truth in the face of mankind’s ignorance, sacrifices his own identity in the process of preserving this “intensity of mind” that seemingly no one else can house or project. He is an inspirational, “profound,” and reassuring symbol; yet because he has no fantasies and idealistic daydreams of his own, he is callous and frank: “He was incapable of untruth; never tampered with a fact; never altered a disagreeable word to suit the pleasure or convenience of any mortal being, least of all his own children, who . . . should be aware from childhood that life is difficult; facts uncompromising; and the passage to that fabled land where our brightest hopes are extinguished, our frail barks founder in darkness (here Mr. Ramsay would straighten his back and narrow his little blue eyes upon the horizon), one that needs, above all, courage, truth, and the power to endure” (p. 4).

“Like a ship lost at sea searches for a signal, relying on anything that stands out in the darkness, we imagine faint glimmers of chance as our own lighthouses, fashioning them into beacons we can trust.”

As a young boy, James resisted his father’s discouraging reiterations, which clashed with his mother’s careful constructs. But in all the years it took James to at last see the lighthouse for himself, that suggestion of disappointment never left him: “‘It will rain,’ he remembered his father saying. ‘You won’t be able to go to the Lighthouse.’The Lighthouse was then a

10

highlander

silvery, misty-looking tower with a yellow eye, that opened suddenly, and softly in the evening. Now— James looked at the Lighthouse. He could see the white-washed rocks; the tower, stark and straight; he could see that it was barred with black and white; he could see windows in it; he could even see washing spread on the rocks to dry. So that was the Lighthouse, was it?” (p. 195).

The capitalization of Lighthouse places special significance upon its imagery. In this context it is not only the physical beacon on the ocean’s edge, but a representative of every unattainable goal in human experience. James, taunted by views of a distant lighthouse on the horizon, at last discovers the discrepancy between his idealistic impressions and a reality almost vulgar in its detail. Such disillusionment, hints the narrator, is the rite of passage for every human being. As we approach the focal point for our naïve dreams, the appeal is lost. “So it was like that, James thought, the Lighthouse one had seen across the bay all these years; it was a stark tower on a bare rock” (p. 203).The end goal up close seems like nothing but an empty shell, meaningless and useless.

Longing is a paradoxical state.We are strung between despair and hope, but such agony of discontent is indispensible for our survival: It forces us to continue, to persist.We train our eyes on the flickering beacon to stay afloat and to keep moving, but still keep in mind the danger of the cliffs, so that we will not be foolish in our hope.We must expect to see darkness whether we feel ready to do so or not.When we at last draw closer and witness reality unadorned, a sense of pessimism saves us from disappointment, and fatalism protects us from destruction. Mrs. Ramsay had sheltered and fostered the diminutive flame of hope in her son as he grew older, saving his life on a daily basis, but it was her husband who prepared him for the day he passed into adulthood and saw the lighthouse for what it was.The point of this journey lies not in the satisfaction of reaching an end, but in the agonizing and vital process of strife itself. We move forward, hoping for the best and expecting the worst, with our eyes always, forever turned to the lighthouse. ● All references are to:Woolf,Virginia. 1927. To the Lighthouse. New York: Harcourt, Inc.

B Y

T H E

N U M B E R S

five languages. Spanish has the highest enrollment, followed by Latin, and then Japanese and French, and Chinese.

St. Margaret’s offers instruction in

Ron Lanning, Spanish Teacher and Foreign Language Department Chair, explains that “Foreign language study involves cooperative learning and cultural studies, and develops in students the capability to think outside their own cultural perceptions.The ability to establish positive relationships with people from varied cultural backgrounds is valuable on personal and professional levels. As our global community expands and becomes more and more inclusive, communication skills are great assets as students advance their careers and form new friendships.”

68% 39 25 261 647 43

of students in French classes are female

students are enrolled in Chinese

students are studying Spanish with Honors

students are learning Latin

students are enrolled in language classes at St. Margaret’s

students are studying Japanese

spring 2009

11

Telling Stories in A Librarian Encourages Us to Share the Best of Ourselves “Once upon a time, when I was very young . . . �

Victoria Burnett, a St. Margaret’s librarian and artist in residence, stood onstage in an orphanage school in Liberia, in West Africa.While teaching young students the art of telling stories, they had asked her for one of her own.This simple question was more than idle curiosity; it was an invitation to bridge the gap from stage to audience, to build a community between strangers. It was an opportunity to blur the lines between traveler and resident, family and outsider, self and other.

12

highlander

In this area that was so recently a war zone, with a generation whose tales of infancy were lost in their parents’ graves, Victoria and the children shared stories of themselves.

Our stories are more than descriptions of past events.What we choose to tell and how we tell it reveals elements of our inner selves as we relate our personal tragedies or comedies.

Those things we have chosen to remember, to record, to retell, are encapsulated within our lost vantage point of innocence and shamelessness, and sharing stories of childhood successes and fears, embarrassments and accomplishments can be a courageous act of trust and intimacy.

Victoria came here in service to the children of this warravaged land; in service to Liberia, a nation founded with the motto “The Love Of Liberty Brought Us Here;” and in service to the Liberian librarians and teachers tasked with providing educational opportunity and resources to the generation that will rebuild the infrastructure and lead the governments in the future. And she taught the children how to tell their stories.

1980.With hope for Liberia’s future and in the spirit of service to others,Victoria gave storytelling presentations at Liberian schools and orphanages, encouraging youthful audiences to remember and relate their own tales. She says, “I have always had a desire to share my love of reading and my commitment to encouraging an understanding of the importance of sharing the best of who we are through storytelling, on a global basis.”

Liberia In January 2009,Victoria traveled to Liberia with a group of American teachers hosted by Restoration of Educational Advancement Programs (REAP), a humanitarian organization founded by Christine Tolbert-Norman, the daughter of president William R.Tolbert, Jr., who was assassinated in

With alternating levity and gravity,Victoria now speaks of her time in Africa.Traveling into Liberia, she left behind the freedom to walk to a store in the night, or even to believe that the interesting and friendly children she met will grow up to have long, healthy lives. She left that behind and entered a protected compound with views of the pristine beaches through fences coiled with barbed wire.

>>

This mbira, an instrument made of a gourd, metal bars, and beads made from strips of aluminum cans, was given to Victoria Burnett as a gift during her time in Liberia.

spring 2009

13

During her three-week stay,Victoria and the other teachers ate the local fare, a Liberian brown rice, and fish, which serves as the main protein staple.They talked with local teachers and exchanged ideas about education and about politics, and they visited the outdoor markets and historic sites. But the most touching and memorable portion of their trip was the time spent at the orphanage schools.Victoria shares her experience: “After I shared my story, many of the older children in the orphanages would weep.They said they had no memory of their parents or their history. Most did not have a picture of their families. I assured them that they all had an important story to tell.They could share the stories of their friends that they have lived with, who are like family to them: the funny tales and the sad. Most importantly, they could determine the outcome of their stories through education and how they choose to respond to the challenges of life.”

In a tiny journal with a Scottie dog on the cover, she kept a record of her feelings and perceptions. Back at St. Margaret’s, in her library office surrounded by books that would be considered precious resources in Liberia, she flips through the journal’s pages, finding a description of a library that the group visited to help catalogue and organize the holdings.

Some books there were slated for destruction, the pages so black with mildew that the text was indecipherable.The local librarians would allow only the most contaminated books to be burned.The rest were painstakingly cleaned, with partial to moderate success, and placed back on the shelves, to serve as important and irreplaceable resources for students and other library patrons. She recalls the Liberian teachers, who with high spirits and festively decorated classrooms greeted the team and attended teaching workshops. She remembers the audiences as she told stories and sang at nine schools, two universities, a church, two orphanages, and at the Office of Affairs at the United Nations Headquarters in Liberia.

The kindness and community sentiment in the orphanage schools left a lasting impression on her and the other teachers.

She describes how the children cared for each other:“In one orphanage, all the children were in the assembly together.

Even three-year-olds showed such respect for those who were visiting. It was the other students, in some cases 16- and 17-year-old boys, who took care of the little ones. Children are treasured and there is a much broader sense of family than in the United States. I pray we don’t have to discover that sense the way that they did.”

This lesson is one for all of us. As we make choices on a grand or minor scale, we might ask ourselves what a later tale would tell about us. Are our actions informed by a giving nature and concern and consideration for those around us?

Will we gladly share our stories with others, and will they reflect well upon ourselves and our community as a whole?

Victoria, for one, has stories to tell of her service in Liberia, and these stories reflect well upon the St. Margaret’s community, her “dear friends from St. Margaret’s School and Church,” who supported her while she raised funds and planned the trip. She took supplies, her teaching expertise, and a new hopeful perspective. She came back with something to treasure forever:“I returned with the gifts of their gratitude.”

The St. Margaret’s Library has a display of Liberian textiles, currency and other items that Victoria brought back with her. In April, the display was expanded for Volunteer Week, and since then,Victoria has spoken to Lower School, Middle School and Upper School students at Convocation about the importance of being of service. ● Photographs by Victoria Burnett

14

highlander

Liberia Fast Facts Located in Western Africa, Liberia faces the North Atlantic Ocean, 6,000 miles from the East Coast of the United States, between Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone.

......................

Liberia is approximately the size of Tennessee.

......................

The climate of Liberia is tropical: hot and very humid.Winter days are hot and dry and the nights are cool and wet; summer days are cloudy and often rainy. Saharan winds typically blow desert dust and sand from December through March.

......................

The Liberian terrain is primarily flat, but rolling plains at the coast turn to rolling plateau and low mountains in the northeast.The highest elevation is Mount Wuteve, at 1,380 meters (4,527 feet) high.

......................

Important natural resources in Liberia include iron ore, timber, diamonds, gold and hydroelectric power.

......................

Only 3.43% of Liberia’s land is arable.

......................

Environmental concerns include tropical deforestation, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and pollution of coastal waters.

ppp

LIBERIA International Boundary County Boundary

★

National Capital Road

Learning About Liberia B y C h r i s s B o n h a l l , H i s t o r y Te a c h e r Liberia means land of the free.What words could be more significant to an American slave in the 19th century? Freedom was precisely what the American Colonization Society (ACS) offered to freed American slaves from 1820 to 1847. During that period, the ACS had the goal of repatriating the former slaves to Africa, with the blessing of the United States government.

The colony gained its formal name in 1824, and the small settlement known as Christopolis became the nascent country’s capital, Monrovia.The name was derived from that of the fifth American president, James Monroe, who served from 1817 to 1825.

In 1847, Liberia declared its independence from the United States and was recognized by the international community, although the United States waited to recognize Liberia until 1862.The new nation’s government was democratic, modeled after that of the United States. Its flag was reminiscent of the American flag, with stripes representing the eleven signers of the Liberian Declaration of Independence, and a star symbolizing African unity.

Liberia was inhabited by emancipated American slaves, but also emigrating to Liberia were a number of African-Americans who had never been slaves.Together the population became known as Americo-Liberians, and today, many Liberians can trace their ancestry to the original settlers.

For more information about Liberia, visit the CIA’s “The World Factbook,” at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/li.html.

spring 2009

15

Student artwork, left to right,

by Madisen Clanton (grade 8), Lauren Smith (grade 8), Matthew Faris (grade 10) and Farrah Kharazmi (grade 10).

T IME TO KILN The Clay Lab Helps Students Mold Ideas Into Art In a small room in Wallace Hall, two shiny metal kilns stand ready to receive clay artwork in its early stages. Here, in the Clay Lab, stacks of dull reddish-brown clay blocks await their transformation. Bottles of glaze and paint sit next to ceramic test tiles that reveal how the treatments appear after firing. Images on the walls show famous artwork, and new student art with dull unfired patinas line up for their time in the kilns, alongside newly fired works. Overall, this room is serviceable and unassuming, with workstations designed to safely facilitate projects that are small or large, formed individually or in groups. During their visual arts courses, students approach these sturdy tables and austere blocks of clay: Blank slates on which to form their projects.

16

highlander

Art teacher Josh Friedman brings his education, expertise, and patience to each class, as he encourages students to develop techniques that will allow them to achieve the expression of their creative visions. He instructs students in traditional and contemporary techniques and mentors them while they learn to apply the principles of design as they form their creations.

A recent project allowed students to develop the clay-building techniques of coiling, pinching and slab construction, as they were challenged to create cultural architectural structures.

Students learned patience as they approached the complex concepts of scale and proportion and met with the inevitable problems presented by gravity.

Stage 1: Outside the Clay Lab. Art does not form in a vacuum. Students began their cultural architecture project in the St. Margaret’s Library, across campus from the Clay Lab.They researched building styles from different periods of architectural history, considered how a structure’s physical characteristics relate to its cultural origins, and they were challenged by their instructor to stretch their understanding of what a building is. Students considered their immediate surroundings:They discussed campus buildings, Mission San Juan Capistrano, and local planned communities.

They considered distant environments:They viewed images of the Great Mosque of Djenné, the largest adobe building in the world; the buildings of Austrian artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser, a painter, sculptor, and architect; and contemporary French-Chinese artist Huang Yong Ping’s large-scale ceramic sculptures, Pentagon and Colosseum.

Stage 2: Forming an Object.

Students worked in groups and independently to create their cultural architecture.

Stage 3: From Greenware to Bisque.

Josh uses the kiln to fire greenware (unfired clay projects).The temperature inside the kiln will reach about 1,987 degrees Fahrenheit during the bisque firing, which slowly burns water and organic materials out of the projects. Pyrometric cones (three-sided pyramids placed inside the kiln that droop as they are heated over time, providing a visual indication of the conditions inside) help determine when the temperature within the kiln has reached the desired range.

Josh brings the kiln to cone 03 during this stage.The kiln fires for one school day and it takes another for the kiln to cool.

>>

It’s important to complete both bisque and glaze firings. Skipping the first firing and applying glaze to a piece of greenware before it is bisqued is dangerous and can be disastrous. If there are air pockets in the project, the greenware may explode in the kiln, leaving glazed clay shards fused to other projects and to the interior of the kiln.

spring 2009

17

Stage 6: Class Discussion and Evaluation.

Students discuss the assignment and give constructive critiques of the works of their colleagues. Josh adds, “Students take good notes in their sketchbooks and record the glazes they use on their projects.We have dozens of glazes and many look similar before they are fired in the kiln.” During the last five minutes of each class, Josh strongly encourages students to record and reflect in their sketchbooks what has been accomplished in each class.That observation, critical thinking and documentation are all crucial parts of understanding and developing their creative process.

Stage 4: Imagining a Finish.

Students selected glazes by referring to prefired test tiles that show how the finished product may appear.

Stage 7:The Show.

At the 2008 2-D and 3-D Art Show, students gathered around their projects during an open house in the Clay Lab. They displayed their works next to statements explaining their inspiration, fielded questions from fellow students and discussed their work with the St. Margaret’s community of teachers, staff, and parents. In addition to this show, the clay works were displayed in the 2009 All-School Art Show in the Gateway Building, and selected works were accepted into the juried Color It Orange art show of works by Orange County public and private school students.

Stage 5: From Bisque to Glaze.

Out of the kiln, bisqued and cooled, the artwork is ready to be glazed and fired a second time. St. Margaret’s Clay Lab uses clay formulated to fire between 1,830 and 1,945 degrees Fahrenheit.These are considered low-fire clays. Midrange fire clays must reach 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit; high-fire clays reach more than 2,200 degrees.

To purchase and set up the kilns, art teacher Josh Friedman applied for and received a grant from the Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF). Built during summer 2008, the lab was first used during the 2008–2009 school year.

18

highlander

Stage 8: Reflection.

Students don’t stop thinking about the elements of design when they leave the Clay Lab, and they don’t stop thinking about a project once it is done.The technical skills and philosophical lessons they have learned stay with them and influence their work in other scholastic areas and their future art projects. ●

After a few days of thinking about cultural architecture and not getting any results, I decided to follow my heritage.

I aimed at building a mosque. Halfway through the project, I realized that my “mosque” was taking an unusual turn.

It slowly morphed into a gazebo of sorts, although the inscription allah rested at the hub, signifying that whatever turn my project did take, it would be in God’s hands.

Being a perfectionist, I can name nearly a thousand things I find “wrong” with my project, yet I believe that all these imperfections give it a sort of character and express a new shade of color in my life that had never before been present.

So, when I am asked if I am happy with my piece, the answer is true, clear-cut, and revealing:Yes.Yes I am. Reaching the end of your goal, although exhilarating, in my view is not as important as how you got there. It is the memories I make, the lessons I learn, and the doors I open along the way that really matter.

Sanam Saghafi, G ra d e 1 1

My inspiration is that I strive to be different.

Everything has beauty; some people just don’t see it. I am very content with my project, because there is a reason why I made it that way. I loved the way it turned out, and I love how everything about it is absurd. It makes you look twice and it also makes you ask yourself, “What possessed this person to create such a bizarre piece?” It’s not the attention it grabs, but the personality it shows off.

Olivia Dolan, G ra d e 8

spring 2009

19

A A

DAY I N T H E L I F E P R E S C H O O L E R

O F. . .

“What did you do in school today?”

“I had

fun!”

he Early Childhood Development Center at St. Margaret’s provides three-year-olds and four-year-olds with the chance to develop vital cognitive, physical, social, emotional and creative skills through self-guided and teacher-guided learning. It might appear as though children are simply having fun, but fun here is anything but simple.While using a hole-punch or a stapler in the art room, children are developing the same muscles they will use to hold a pencil.While building structures with giant-size blocks on the outdoor playground, children are testing the physical integrity of their imagined concepts.These children are in an environment designed to support learning through action and interaction.

T > > 8 a.m.

Parents and children sign in.

They are greeted in the front hall by Ingrid Andrews, Director of the Early Childhood Development Center, and welcomed by the teachers in the classrooms.

20

highlander

In classroom Learning Centers, there are construction projects in the works; children are manipulating puzzles and games, and counting and sorting objects; dramatic productions are being created, rehearsed and performed; young artists are exploring their creativity; and students are listening to stories using headphones.

Whether weighing and sorting materials gathered on the playground or using a flannel board to retell a story heard earlier in the week, quiet or busy, playful or serious, students have support when needed or requested, as they construct their own learning.

All this happens every day in the Preschool.

9–9:15 a.m.

10:15–10:35 a.m.

Circle time.

Circle time.

8:10–9 a.m.

9:15–10:15 a.m.

10:35–11:30 a.m.

Classroom time with Learning Centers.

Outdoor time.

Learning Centers resume.

Outdoor time.

Classroom time.

Students enter their classes, wash their hands, and choose an activity from one of the Learning Centers. Parents are welcome to stay a bit to help their children transition into the day, while sharing a book or a game.Teachers have designed these classrooms to provide enriched environments for individual and small-group learning experiences. Some activities are facilitated by the teachers; others are self-directed by the children. Matching their learning style and skill level to their options, they stay motivated and focused.

During outdoor time, children may bring their vision and creative expression to the open-door art room, which art facilitator Lillian Whitney keeps well-stocked with supplies of all kinds.They may elect to play outdoors, where activities and facilities have been planned by Perceptual Motor Teacher Shelley Harmon to help build the brain-body connection and develop motor skills. Music plays in the background while children explore the garden, the barnyard, or play with sand, bubbles, balls, construction blocks or hoops, or on bicycles, swings or slides.The potential for learning and discovery surrounds them.

The art room.

The art room is filled with tools the children might need to achieve their own visions.Together, two children stand at easels.

One paints a smiling heart; the other paints two smiling hearts.

Art facilitator Lillian Whitney expresses joy at such a sight: “It is a reflection of how they feel. I call this their inner smile.”

Circle time.

Hand-washing.

During Circle time, children form a circle and plan their day, enjoy stories and music together, take turns talking, and gather around the “surprise bag,” a way to connect home and school while practicing listening and cognitive skills. A student takes the surprise bag home, bringing it back with an object and clues inside.The rest of the class listens to the student’s clues, raising hands to make guesses. Whether it’s a lemon-juicer or a soccer trophy inside, the surprise bag activity leads children to think about the attributes of an appropriate guess, and to gain confidence as they speak in front of a group.

Children wash their hands upon arrival, when coming in from the playground, before meals and after using the restroom, after touching animals, after blowing their nose, after messy play, and before and after playing at the water table.

11:30 a.m.–12 p.m.

12:30–1:15 p.m.

2:30–2:45 p.m.

Lunchtime. Students bring a packed lunch.

Rest time.

Clean up playground; snack time; quiet play in the Learning Centers.

12–12:30 p.m.

1:15–2:30 p.m.

2:45 p.m.

Outdoor time.

Outdoor time.

School is out. Parents pick up their children.

spring 2009

21

O P E N

S PA C E S

A Destination Worth the Risk

By Chris Helm, Grade 7

ark pine trees arched over the frosty track, stretching on into the unknown.The last rays of sun, touching the tops of the massive Cascade Mountains, watched a towering storm front advance from the mountains to cover Oregon in darkness. Shadows slowly crept over the quiet, remote valley, as the heavy rain began.

D

Four hours earlier . . .

The only interruption to the endless din of King Street Station was a crackling speaker announcing arrivals and departures. Matt listened intently for his train to be announced. He heard: “The

22

highlander

2:30 p.m. Coast Moonlight is now arriving on platform four,” and rushed toward the platform, shoving through waves of people. “All aboard!” shouted the conductor, as Matt stepped into the brightly painted, two-level railcar. Just after he settled into his seat, he felt a lurch and the platform slowly fell behind the accelerating train.

Matt made himself comfortable, preparing for the long trip to Los Angeles. Just that morning, Matt persuaded his father to allow him to visit his mother.They had been divorced since he was five, and Matt went to live with his father in Washington. Unfortunately, his father was so overprotective that he hadn’t seen his mother since. Matt was now 15.

As the building and roads of Seattle flew by his window, Matt’s head swirled with mixed thoughts and feelings. He was excited that he would finally see his mother and nervous about seeing her for the first time in 10 years. Matt pushed the thoughts out of his mind, and e-mailed his mother from his laptop, telling her that he was on his way. As he reached into his backpack to pull out a book, he caught sight of a distant storm brewing in the mountains.

Rain started to snake down the windows as the train flew through the wilderness. Screeching on the steel rails, the cars were beat with a steady rain, a chorus with the clacking of steel against steel. Suddenly a violent lurch shook Matt from his reading. Looking out the window, he saw a roaring river, churning under the shaking wood trestle the train was sliding across. Another jolt and Matt watched a heavy wood support crash into the torrent below.With a deafening crash, the entire bridge gave out, while the train plummeted into the churning abyss below. Matt watched his life flash before his eyes.

Freezing water swirled through the sinking train, trapping Matt in the car, gasping for breath. Darkness engulfed him as the river pulled the train downstream. Matt struggled with the emergency door, with water about to rise above his head.

Hiss! The hydraulic door opened, freeing Matt from the destroyed train just as it crashed into a wall of logs and branches stacked against two boulders.The train was pulled down under, trapping everyone else inside. Matt could do nothing to save them. He struggled to the bank and huddled on the ground, shivering.

Bright sun woke Matt.The river that had been a swirling torrent peacefully sparkled in the morning light.Wreckage sprawled in the shimmering water, a harsh reminder of the night before. The massive storm clouds were far off, shining in the sun. No one else had survived. Matt had no idea how far downstream he was and he didn’t have energy to hike very far. He was stranded somewhere in the Oregon wilderness, alone.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Matt’s mother settled down to watch the morning news.When the TV clicked on she heard, “Just last night the Coast Moonlight went missing somewhere in rural Oregon.The last place that the route planning center heard from the train was crossing one of the many timber bridges along the route, when the radio signal went dead.We will bring you more of this developing story. In other news, large storms . . .”The TV screen went blank, as

Matt’s mother ran to the phone. She punched in Matt’s phone number, knowing he had been on that train. Ring . . . ring . . . beep! Looking down at the phone, Matt’s mother saw the message she had been dreading: this number no longer exists.

Matt shoved through the wreckage, looking for anything that could help him. So far he had found soggy books and hopelessly destroyed electronics. As he pushed through a crumpled doorway, he saw the best sight he could hope for: the cafeteria car. In the water were vacuum-sealed sandwiches and snacks, and an endless supply of water and other drinks bobbing with their caps just above the surface. Carrying out heaps of food at a time, Matt soon had enough to feed himself for months. He opened a bottle of lemonade, and drank it all.

“Rain started to snake down the windows as the train flew through the wilderness.

Screeching on the steel rails, the cars were beat with a steady rain, a chorus with the clacking of steel against steel. Suddenly a violent lurch shook Matt from his reading.”

In Portland, police and rescue stations were buzzing with helicopters and planes preparing to search for the Coast Moonlight.The captain of one of these stations, Commander Baker, climbed into his Blackhawk rescue helicopter and warmed up the engine. He lifted off, followed by a small fleet of helicopters, to scout out the route the Coast Moonlight took through Portland. Unfortunately, the crash site was located in the wilderness between Salem and Chemult.

At about noon, Matt ventured into the forest to see what he could use for shelter and firewood.Within a few hours, he had built a kind of square bunker, made with a frame of sticks and covered with pine branches and blankets from the train. Splashing through the half-underwater train, Matt found a suitcase that had miraculously stayed dry. Inside was a heap of clothes and, at the very bottom, a lighter. Soon, he had a roaring fire to keep him warm. Despite his resourcefulness, Matt felt depressed, lonely and empty inside. He tried to cheer himself up thinking good thoughts about being rescued, but they hardly helped.The sun began to set and darkness slowly crept down the snow-covered peaks toward him.

>>

spring 2009

23

A distant whir halfway roused Matt from his sleep, but when he managed to pick himself up, it was gone, and the only sounds came from chirping birds and the steady flow of the river.Wispy fog hung over the river valley like a curtain, blocking the deep blue sky.Wondering what the noise was, Matt walked to his food pile, only to find it torn apart and mostly gone. He suspected bears and cursed himself for not thinking about them. Matt felt emptier than ever.

Inside his twin-propeller, eight-seat plane, Greg Morgan radioed the control tower of the nearest airstrip, describing the odd sight he had just seen: “I think it was a bridge out,” he said. “I thought I saw smoke a few miles downriver, but there was too much fog to make anything out.” Everyone at the control tower had heard of the disappearance and relayed the radio call to the news and rescue services. A full rescue squad was already making its way toward the destroyed bridge.

All day, Matt’s mother had been watching the news, listening for any new discoveries. Pouring a cup of coffee, she rushed to the TV when she heard, “We have just received new facts about the Coast Moonlight disappearance. It appears that excessive rain and flooding have caused a bridge along the train’s route to collapse, sending the train into the river.We have yet to hear if there are any survivors.”

Matt added new wood to his fire and wondered what he would do with no food. He had nothing to hunt with and didn’t know what berries were good to eat. He sat on the bank with his head in his hands.Then, Matt heard a growl behind him and turned around, staring straight at a bear. Matt stood up and slowly backed toward the river, with the enraged bear advancing toward him. Just as the bear was about to charge, an incredibly loud whirring drowned out all other noises, and the bear ran back to the woods. Slowly descending to the ground in front of Matt was a rescue helicopter, ready to take him home. His spirits lifted as high as they could possibly go as he climbed in. Matt landed at an airstrip just outside Salem, and was taken to a jet bound for Los Angeles International Airport.When he landed, a waiting taxi drove him all the way to his mother’s house, where he walked up to the front porch and rang the doorbell. As soon as the door opened, his mother ran out and embraced him.

It had been a destination worth the risk. ● Students, submit your work for “Open Spaces.” See page 2 for details.

24

highlander

W H E R E

AT

S M E S ?

areas for quiet study and all-school pep rallies.There are trees to read under, fields to play on, rooms to create in, laboratories for scientific investigation, a Chapel to reflect in, and facilities and resources to support student At St. Margaret’s, there are

?

learning, community gatherings, staff professional development, and parent involvement.

Do you know where these places are? Check your answers below.

Answers: (left to right) paper in the Copy Center; Middle School Highland Hall lockers; Lower School handball courts. spring 2009

25

THE

Snapping

An alumnus seeks his dreams through a viewfinder Surfing, drag-racing, golfing, football: If it’s a sport, Russ Hennings (class of 1996) has probably photographed it.What began as an interest in black-andwhite photography when he was an Upper School student at St. Margaret’s has developed into a vocation that combines his athletic abilities and love of travel to provide him with what he calls “the best job in the world,” Senior Staff Photographer for Oakley.

After studying photography and learning the ins and outs of the darkroom while a St. Margaret’s student, Russ’ career began at Surfing Magazine.There, under the mentorship of Larry “Flame” Moore, he learned the vagaries of taking pictures of shore, sand, sea, and surfers. Russ recalls how his interaction with Moore helped shape his professional trajectory: “I was one of his last students, and we had a relationship so tight he called me one of his sons. He was diagnosed with brain cancer a couple of years into our relationship, and he knew it was a terminal condition. He stepped down as the

photo editor of Surfing Magazine as his condition deteriorated.

At that time, he was contacted by Dino Andino, who was then the surf team manager at Oakley. Dino asked him for help finding a photographer who could shoot not only surfing but all the other Oakley sports. Dino brought me in for an interview with the global marketing director, Scott Bowers.

Scott also was close to Flame and respected his opinion. Now I’ve been at the company for more than four years and I couldn’t be happier. I’m living my dreams, thanks to Larry.”

>> spring 2009

27

The path to living your dreams often starts with your daily routine.The life lessons Russ learned at St. Margaret’s filtered into his everyday life, impacting his interaction with others and providing experience forming respectful interpersonal relationships. He explains, “When I graduated, there were 52 students in my class. Having such a small class created tight bonds between us and taught me to get along with all different types of people.”

Since becoming Senior Staff Photographer for Oakley, his daily routine takes him far from home more than half of each year.This spring, Russ photographed surfers in Australia, where he reports that “the sun blisters your skin purple if it is not covered,” before heading back to the United States to shoot Major League Baseball during spring training. His schedule for the rest of the year may take him to local or remote venues for Oakley sports including beach volleyball,

28

highlander

cycling, fishing, golf, mountain biking, sailing, skating, and motor sports. Russ doesn’t find the grueling schedule too daunting. Instead, he says, “I love the challenge of producing quality images every time I go into a shoot. Having the pressure to perform drives me and gives me a great sense of accomplishment when I am successful.” Gauging the quality of an image is not a black-and-white matter. Russ explains that whether a photo is “perfect” is in the eye of the photographer: “That is up to the person who took it. Photography is subjective.To place constraints or guidelines on what makes a photograph perfect seems to defeat the point of expression.”

Fourteen years ago, Russ’ form of expression was developed in a small darkroom during the infancy of St. Margaret’s photography program.Today, his work is displayed in Oakley stores on posters and hangtags, in print advertisements and on billboards, and in magazine articles. His interests as a student and his success as a practicing photographer have distinguished him as an alumnus, and set an example for current and future St. Margaret’s students who strive to achieve personal growth through their own experiences in the visual arts. ●

Photograph by Chester Maharaj

An Early Start to a Photo Finish Back in 1995, St. Margaret’s Upper School did not offer as many visual art courses as it does today. An interested student named Russ Hennings really wanted to learn traditional black-and-white photography. I had been an active photographer since high school, and I offered to teach an independent study class for Russ.We met on campus for the first few sessions, then we found a darkroom in downtown San Juan Capistrano where we rented space to begin developing and printing film. It was a fantastic experience for me to work one-on-one with such an interested and talented student.

Since then, St. Margaret’s photography classes have grown by leaps and bounds.The program blossomed with the expertise of Nadyne McClurg, and it now continues to flourish with the skills of photography teacher Karen Poffenberger.

Mary E. Mayer, V i s u a l A r t s D e p a r t m e n t C h a i r

Photographs by Russ Hennings

spring 2009

29

Yesterday,

St. Margaret’s

. . . Today, the

Love of Adventure and Desire to Serve Takes an Alumnus All Over the Map When Clay Westrope (class of 2001) was in Mrs. Cullinan’s honors English class in 1999, he might have daydreamed about faraway places, world travel and exotic destinations, but as he was learning “to think for myself and write effectively,” he probably didn’t consider that these lessons would give him the self-confidence and self-reliance to one day travel throughout the world, immersing himself in other cultures and putting those effective writing skills to work in his own travel journal and online travel blog.

30

highlander

Clay listened attentively to Ms. Haidinger’s lectures on environmental science in 2001, learning the importance of being himself and gaining “a curiosity for learning and travel.” During his freshman year, a trip to Costa Rica for an environmental studies course “opened his eyes to the world.”

But he might not have imagined that he would one day teach English in China, or that he would find himself working for Amnesty International, writing press releases regarding human rights issues.

These and other challenges and adventures began for Clay as he broadened his view of the world while studying abroad at Universita di Parma and Universiteit van Amsterdam while attending Boston College, and, after graduation, while teaching English and living in Tongliao, China. Now, a seasoned and confident traveler, he finds such personal satisfaction on the road or in the air that his “happy place” is “on an airplane or in an airport traveling someplace new.” The ability to interact respectfully with different cultures while pursuing goals in the face of potential risk developed from skills he learned at St. Margaret’s. Clay explains, “The faculty at St. Margaret’s consists of some of the best mentors I have ever had.They all gave me the foundation upon which to build my interests and skills and the confidence to push on even with setbacks.”

communicating important government policies and legislation.

He has carried with him in his travels and during his time at home a “dedication to service to my fellow man, satisfaction in hard work, and a commitment to thinking for myself.”

His devotion to service and his adventures and learning experiences as a world traveler have distinguished him as an alumnus, and set an example for current and future St. Margaret’s students who strive to experience and understand other cultures and improve the situations of humanity the world around.

>>

Even with his global vision, Clay has focused on making life better for those here at home. As part of the Global Justice Project at Boston College, he created programs and dialogues to educate his school community about injustices worldwide; during the same period, as a member of Boston Partners, he tutored local underprivileged children. For two years, he was part of the Appalachia Volunteers, committing to a year of poverty education and local volunteer work in Boston and dedicating his spring break to providing services to a povertystricken area of the United States.

World Today, as Press Secretary for the office of U.S. Senator E. Benjamin Nelson (NE), Clay lives in Washington, D.C., but he continues to serve those at home and abroad. He describes how his humanitarian interests led him to where he is today: “I moved to Washington, D.C., and began an internship with Amnesty International in their Government Relations Asia Advocacy department; then I took a position in their Communication Department.When I learned that the Press Secretary position in Senator Nelson’s office was available, I applied based on a whim and a new interest in national policymaking.This position has provided me with an incredible opportunity to meet people and make contacts that will be helpful as I move through my career. It has been an immense honor to work for the people of the United States, and specifically Nebraska, and to be a part of some very important legislation at a very exciting and important time in our nation’s history.”

At St. Margaret’s, Clay learned life lessons that have, literally, taken him far. He remains devoted to travel and to appreciating the world’s cultures, and to improving our nation by

spring 2009

31

■ When Paris Grows on You “I got a fungus on the top of my foot from sleeping on the floor of a Paris hostel.The fungus grew to the size of an apple and turned purple and green. I was sleeping on the floor because every day the owner of the hostel would take the beds out of the rooms.”

■ Pilgrimage to South Bend “I traveled to South Bend, Indiana, in an RV with eight of my best friends from college to watch the Boston College Eagles trample the Notre Dame Irish.This is an annual pilgrimage that both Notre Dame and Boston College students and alumni make (depending on whether the game is at Boston College or Notre Dame). It’s known as the ‘Holy War.’”

Photographs by Clay Westrope

Though Clay has achieved much, given much, and traveled far, his journey is still far from over.

This fall will take him to Brandeis University. Clay has been accepted to a Master’s program in Sustainable International Development.This two-year program involves one year of residency at Brandeis, and a second year of fieldwork in a developing country.This will be a fitting new chapter in his story of service and adventure. Clay had planned on continuing his education, and he expresses why this program in particular is fitting: “It will bring together the experiences I have had thus far teaching English in a developing country, working for an international grassroots advocacy group and working within the U.S. Senate on making policy. It will also satisfy my desire to help those struggling in developing countries to realize their potential.”

Wherever Clay’s travels lead, his education, cultural experiences, and active dedication to service will help him as he pursues opportunities for enriching the lives of others, both at home and abroad. ●

32

highlander

■ Hiking for Longevity in China “In April 2006, my traveling companion Emma and I arrived at Tai’an, the city at the foot of Tai Shan, to begin our journey to one of the most sacred mountains in China. “Why is it so sacred?” you might ask.Well, I will tell you.This mountain has served as a place of pilgrimage for Taoists and Buddhists alike for centuries. In the creation story of the world told in ancient Chinese texts,Tai Shan is the head of the fallen creator.The other sacred mountains in make up his hands and feet.The Taoist Goddess of the Azure Clouds is also said to be a resident on the mountain and said to have kicked the founder of Buddhism off of the mountain many centuries ago. A climber who reaches the top in the traditional manner of hiking the entire way is said to live to be 100 years old.

Many emperors tried to climb the mountain, as their rule would be proven to be divinely ordained if they did so, but only four managed to make it all the way to the top. (Emma and I made it to the top).”

■

■

■

Where Clay Has Been Antwerp, BELGIUM

Tokyo, JAPAN

Kauai, HI, USA

Bruges, BELGIUM

MEXICO

Kearney, NE, USA

Brussels, BELGIUM

Chefchaouen, MOROCCO

Kennebunkport, ME, USA

Phnom Penh, CAMBODIA

Fez, MOROCCO

Las Vegas, NV, USA

Siem Reap, CAMBODIA

Tangier, MOROCCO

Lincoln, NE, USA

Montreal, CANADA

Nijmegen, NETHERLANDS

Los Angeles, CA, USA

Toronto, CANADA

Utrecht, NETHERLANDS

Maui, HI, USA

Beijing, CHINA

Malaga, SPAIN

Miami, FL, USA

Dalian, CHINA

Marbella, SPAIN

Nashville,TN, USA

Guangzhou, CHINA

Bangkok,THAILAND

New Orleans, LA, USA

Harbin, CHINA

Chiang Mai,THAILAND

New York, NY, USA

Hong Kong, CHINA

Ko Phangan,THAILAND

Oahu, HI, USA

Shanghai, CHINA

Ko Samui,THAILAND

Omaha, NE, USA

Shenyang, CHINA

Albuquerque, NM, USA

Philadelphia, PA, USA

Xi’an, CHINA

Atlanta, GA, USA

Phoenix, AZ, USA

Xiamen, CHINA

Baltimore, MD, USA

Prescott, AZ, USA

COSTA RICA

Boulder, CO, USA

Providence, RI, USA

Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC

Buffalo, NY, USA

Raleigh, NC, USA

Aswan, EGYPT

Charleston, WV, USA

Rehoboth Beach, DE, USA

Cairo, EGYPT

Chattanooga,TN, USA

Reno, NV, USA

Luxor, EGYPT

Cleveland, OH, USA

San Diego, CA, USA

Paris, FRANCE

Dallas,TX, USA

San Francisco, CA, USA

Dublin, IRELAND

Denver, CO, USA

Savannah, GA, USA

Assisi, ITALY

Flagstaff, AZ, USA

South Bend, IN, USA

Capri, ITALY

Grand Island, NE, USA

St. Louis, MO, USA

Florence, ITALY

Hanover, NH, USA

Chau Doc,VIETNAM

Milan, ITALY

Honolulu, HI, USA

Cu Chi,VIETNAM

Naples, ITALY

Houston,TX, USA

Ho Chi Minh City,VIETNAM

Parma, ITALY

Ithaca, NY, USA

Phu Quoc,VIETNAM

Rome, ITALY

Jackson Hole, WY, USA

Vinh Long,VIETNAM

Venice, ITALY

Jacksonville, FL, USA

spring 2009

33

A L U M N I

P E R S P E C T I V E

Ref lections on a Free-Dress Shirt

By Andy Forquer, Class of 2004 y favorite free-dress ensemble at St. Margaret’s featured my now-infamous black T-shirt covered with glow-in-thedark fireflies, worn with faded jeans and sandals. It was purchased en masse for my entire family, to be worn for the group picture at our annual East Coast reunion. Most of these shirts endured only temporary use before finding their way to the thrift store, but mine somehow found incidental sanctuary in the corner of my closet.There it lay, dormant, for more than 10 years before reemerging and taking a firm place in my “nerdrobe.”

M

Its dominance was more firmly established during my college years as it went from garnering snickers to gaining actual praise from hipsters and fashionistas alike for its ironic qualities (think Flight of the Conchords). It was my go-to shirt for many house parties, and like flies to a light, it has always attracted conversation.

34

highlander

Now it has status like that of Batman’s suit after he retired, or Jerry Seinfeld’s supersoft yellow shirt that he affectionately calls Golden Boy. As with Seinfeld, I hesitate to wear it down through use and washing, yet I refuse to give it any special treatment as if it were a cashmere scarf. It goes in with the regular wash, towels and all—but no hangers!

A decade earlier, it had sustained dark periods of neglect in my wardrobe for its incongruity with fashion; now it patiently sits reserved in quiet, neatly-folded meditation in the back of a bureau. Every once in a while I can’t help but call on this semiretired all-star to spice up my already dynamite fashion sensibility. I can dress it up for dinner by layering it under a subdued black collared shirt and dark jeans, yet in the same night I can take off the overshirt, like Clark Kent, to let the flies shine across a fevered salsa dance floor.●

C L A S S

N OT E S

By Cortney Carlisle, Director of Advancement and Alumni Relations

1986 ................................

Class of

Mark Campaigne, Jr. In January 2009, at Camp Pendleton, Mark received the Meritorious Service Medal, a military award presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States. Notable recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal include Wesley Clark and John McCain.

professor.While at Concordia I was asked to start a tennis team.The new commissioning involved a new role as assistant professor and full-time faculty. I finished my Ph.D. in English, focusing on Shakespearean drama and Reformation theology, in January 2008. I am now teaching and coaching at Concordia University.The tennis teams are very strong, going into our fourth season. I was promoted to associate professor last month.

I married a lovely girl from San Juan Capistrano in 1998.

We now have a seven-year-old boy, Jack, and a five-year-old girl, Naomi.We live in Ladera Ranch.

I am active on Facebook, and I have kept in touch with several of my pals from SMES, as well as some of my former SMES junior high students.

Class of

1989

................................

John Norton After SMES, I went to college on a tennis scholarship to Point Loma Nazarene University, in San Diego. After college, I tried the ATP tour, but failed miserably! I started teaching tennis at Marbella Country Club, in San Juan Capistrano.

The teaching really suited me but I wanted some additional mental stimulation, so I started studying for a Master’s in English at Cal State Fullerton.

Class of

1990

................................

Daniel Campaigne Dann and his wife Suzanne are the proud new parents of Jordan Renee Campaigne; she was born at 9 p.m. on February 5, 2009. She weighed 8 pounds, 12 ounces.

After three years at the country club, I had grown weary of long hours on the court, so when an English post opened up at Capistrano Valley Christian Schools (cross-town rival), I took it. After one year at CVCS, I was recruited by David Boyle to teach English for grades 6 through 8 at St Margaret’s. I took the job at SMES; it was great to go home!

SMES was really good to me.

After five years at SMES I started a Ph.D. program at Sheffield Hallam University. Near the end of my studies I was hired by Concordia University to be an adjunct English

spring 2009

35

Class of

1992

1996

................................

................................

Hilary Albers Bush I live in San Diego with my husband, Matthew, and the newest member of our family, James Timothy Bush, who was born September 13, 2008. Recently I retired from the Navy after 12 years, as a Lieutenant Commander, to be a stay-athome mom.We are hoping to move to Houston,Texas, in the future. Currently my husband is still looking to take orders as the Officer-in-Charge of the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19), based in San Diego, California.

Brooke Ziccardi Last year was a busy year! Last June, Brooke got married to her best friend.They had an intimate ceremony and celebration on the island of Lana’i, Hawaii. A few SMES alumni, including Sean Feely (class of 1996), Kim Helms (class of 1996) and Brad Beacom (class of 1993) helped them celebrate their special day.This year is equally busy, as Brooke has just recently became a Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP), which allows her to provide a better understanding of sustainable/green design for her residential and corporate interior design clients.

Brooke travels abroad to work on international interior design projects in such places as Jordan, Morocco, Dubai, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, etc. As a newlywed, Brooke really enjoys working on residential interior design projects located close to home, here in Orange County!

Class of

1995

................................

Kristin Helms McDaniel Kristin and her husband, Evan, are enjoying life in California and time with their two-year-old, Jack. Kristin teaches at St. Margaret’s and recently vacationed in Hawaii. She loves hanging out with her SMES alumni friends and hopes to meet many more on Facebook!

Emil Popov Emil lives in Irvine and works as a cost consultant in the Healthcare construction industry (on military leave deployed to Afghanistan), and he is also a pilot and Commander of a helicopter unit in the California National Guard, consisting of 12 CH-47D Chinooks.

36

Class of

highlander

Class of

2001

................................

Crandall Kermott On February 22, 2009, Crandall Kermott married Alexis Crouse at a ceremony in Dana Point, California. Crandall recently moved to San Francisco to become an Account Executive for NetSuite.

Margaret Shipstead Maggie graduated from Harvard University in 2005, and from the Iowa Writers’Workshop in 2008, with an MFA in creative writing. She was the coauthor of the Hasty Pudding burlesque musical HPT 157:Terms of Frontierment, and, at Iowa, she received Truman Capote,Teaching-Writing, and Leggett-Schupes Fellowships. Recently Maggie received the very prestigious Wallace Stegner Creative Writing Fellowship to Stanford University.This fellowship is seen as the Holy Grail for creative writers, and Maggie is now joining the ranks of others who were bestowed this honor, such as Ken Kesey, Raymond Carver,Tobias Wolf, Robert Stone and Thomas McGuane.

Michelle Wolff Michelle Wolff married Derek Jones on August 16, 2008.

Michelle is very grateful to fellow alumna Trisha Balicanta (class of 2001), who introduced them to each other while at Westmont College. Michelle is currently finishing her Master’s degree in theology with an emphasis in gender studies at Duke University. She later hopes to get her Ph.D. and become a theology professor.

2003 ................................

Class of

Lauren Groux Lauren has lived in New Zealand and Western Samoa, has fallen in love with a Brazilian guy, has worked with tons of amazing people who are refugees and homeless and has learned so much from them. Lauren is now home, finding her way back to her California roots.

Andrew Wood After graduating from Stanford University, Andrew began working as an AmeriCorps Hbitat for Humanity volunteer in Orange County. Andrew is currently attending UCLA School of Law and, barring any unforeseen disaster, will graduate sometime in 2011.

2004 ................................

Class of

Shireen Heidari I graduated from SMES in 2004, went to UCLA for my undergraduate study in English literature, and I am currently a first-year medical student at Boston University.This will be my last official school summer, after which medical school will be year-round.

2008 ................................

Class of

Max Sutro Max is currently a student at Southern Methodist University, in Dallas,Texas, with hopes of becoming a business major.

Recently, Max and fellow alumus Dan Morrison pledged for the fraternity Phi Gamma Delta. Nick Grayden, Costa Kontoulis and Matthew Furman are all St. Margaret’s alumni who are active members. It is a rare occurrence to have five St. Margaret’s alumni all in the same fraternity at the same time!

spring 2009

37

Then & Now Then: What was your favorite free-dress ensemble?

Now: What is your favorite outfit?

Class of 1987

Class of 2005

Joe Kennedy Then: Just free dress. It was great to wear my own clothes instead of polyester.

Now: Shorts, flip-flops and a classic Hawaiian shirt, even in February.

Shunsuke Scott Fujii Then: Hoodie and shorts (not short shorts, but definitely not baggy).

Now: Jeans, dress shirt, pointy leather shoes.

Class of 2002

Class of 2007

................................

................................

Ariel Beverly Then: My favorite free-dress outfit was not a particular outfit but rather the “outfit” I tried to put together when I realized that I forgot it was free-dress day.”

Class of 2003

................................

Lauren Groux Then: I didn’t have a favorite free-dress outfit, besides being able to wear those flip-flops and my bathing suit to school . . . dreaming of going to the beach as soon as I turned in my final papers for the year!

Now: I don’t have a favorite outfit now either, but I do have some fav items, including my flip-flops, jean shorts, and woven hippie-esque slippers.

Class of 2004

................................

Terence Huang Then: Polo, shorts, loafers.

Now: A business suit (the work attire of a career in finance).

38

highlander

................................

................................

Melissa Wohlgemuth Then: Jeans,T-shirt, sandals.

Now: East Coast preppiness.

Parker Phillips Then: For free dress I still enjoyed wearing my uniform with the occasional quarter-size logo on the front.

Now: I still pretty much stick to the SMES uniform.

Milana Trimino Then: We all used to look forward to free-dress days in high school so we could wear our nice new jeans and a cute top, and probably spent way longer planning it out than necessary.

Now: Oh my gosh, how my perception of free dress has changed! These days, if I get the choice to wear whatever I want, I would totally take advantage of the opportunity and sport some sweats!

L O O K I N G

F O RWA R D

A student offers his perspective on the future of the economy and transportation.

By Griffin McMullen, Grade 10

s you’re driving down the freeway, you might see the big signs on major national chain stores that read close-out sale, everything must go. It seems that more and more of these signs are popping up all over the place. Mainstream shops are closing down, and even megashops that seemed virtually invincible are being crushed by the harsh hammer of our country’s recession.Where will the economy lead us, and the greater community, in five years or even 10 years?

A

Every morning on the way to school, I see the construction of a new bridge in Dana Point, and I wonder how the city can afford to spend time and money on a project that seems to serve few immediate needs, in times like these. I question it, but it reassures me that some public funds must be doing well, if money is being spent on new projects.

In five years, we may very well still be feeling the effects of this economic climate.There might be job losses in our community, but St. Margaret’s will do its best to work with families. I believe that if our families are able to make it through this economic crisis, our school will be able to as well.

In a broader sense, a lot could change in five years.With all the shops closing down today, there is potential for a whole new array of shops and businesses to arise.The shops that are going out of business could be replaced by new ones.The construction of public installments like the new bridge in Dana Point will probably continue on at the current pace, because I think if local cities are able to afford things like the bridge now, they will still be able to afford them in five years.

We might see a greater shift to more fuel-efficient cars, especially in Orange County, as hybrid sports cars are starting to pop up on the market. It might seem like a stretch that all

this could happen in five years, but at the rate things are changing and progressing these days, I wouldn’t be surprised.

In 10 years, we could be looking at a completely different world.The economy will most likely have got back up on its feet and running better by then, and businesses will continue to expand, possibly at a much more rapid rate than ever before. Shopping could shift from local shopping to more online shopping, as business continues to become more globalized and products from around the world become more accessible. In 10 years, people will most likely still be driving cars, although there will probably be fewer people driving, as gas prices will rise once again and probably become higher than ever before. I hope that countries, especially the United States, will look further into developing public transportation systems so that demand for cars will subside. I also hope that, as the effects of our environmental misbehavior become more evident, people will be encouraged to give up driving.

I could go on forever about all the changes that the world and all its billions of citizens may see in the upcoming years.

For now it’s safe to say that I really don’t know for certain what the future has in store for us.Then again, that’s the beauty of life. ●

spring 2009

39

L O O K I N G

B A C K

Aldine Sillers, St. Margaret’s first librarian and the wife of founding Headmaster Ernest Sillers, thought that every library should have a fireplace, so visitors would have the opportunity to read in front of the hearth. In this photograph taken in October 1982, a construction worker is applying stucco to the chimney of St. Margaret’s first library.This building still greets guests warmly, now providing office and activity space for St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church.The current St. Margaret’s Library does not have a fireplace, but it does have a Web site that provides online resources to the St. Margaret’s community, 50 computers and a 21st-Century Learning Lab with capabilities for videoconferencing, wireless technology and an interactive whiteboard.

40

highlander

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, sexual orientation or national and ethnic origin in the administration of its educational or hiring policies, admissions policies, financial aid, athletic or other school-administered programs.

“. . . to educate the hearts and minds of young people for lives of learning, leadership and service.”

St. Margaret’s Episcopal School 31641 La Novia San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 Change Service Requested

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID Mission Viejo, CA Permit #834