Uprep Magazine Vol 1 No 2

VOL. 1 NO. 2

UPrep

SUMMER / FALL 2017

MAGAZINE

Launching Students into the Future ——— Page 8

PG. 4

PG. 16

PG. 28

GLOBAL LINK: THIS YEAR AND NEXT

MANAGING EMOTIONS THROUGH SOCIALEMOTIONAL LEARNING

A GREAT YEAR FOR ATHLETICS

IN EVERY ISSUE 3

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WE’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU:

Message from Matt Levinson, Head of School

Alumni News

Alums, please share your

18 Happenings

23 News Bites

28 Athletic News

34 Class Notes

updates with us via email: classnotes@universityprep.org COVER PHOTO: Jonathan Ramsay ’17 on the stairway of the Suzallo Library at the University of Washington this spring. Photo: Doug Plummer

OUR MISSION

University Prep is committed to developing each student’s potential to become an intellectually courageous, socially responsible citizen of the world.

King County Executive Dow Constantine with University Prep intern, Madi Yi ‘17.

Photo: Richard Brown

FEATURES 4

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Global Link: This Year and Next

Spotlight on Amado Toribio

Social Emotional Learning

By Brian Gonzales

By Lisa Kennedy

By Kelly Herrington and Meg Shortell

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Next Generation Learning

Spotlight on Sarah Peterson

Class of 2017

By Richard Kassissieh

By Lisa Kennedy

8 LaunchPad Takes Off

15 Spotlight on Musical Troika

By Lisa Kennedy

By Lisa Kennedy

Inside back cover New Classes for the Coming School Year UPREP MAGAZINE

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HEAD OF SCHOOL

Matt Levinson DIRECTOR OF UPPER SCHOOL; ASST. HEAD

Ken Jaffe DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE SCHOOL

Marianne Picha ACADEMIC DEAN; DIR. OF STRATEGIC PROGRAMS

Richard Kassissieh CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Susan Lansverk DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS

BOARD OF TRUSTEES David Beitel, President Catherine Allchin Adrian Biesecker Helen Blair Day Christopher Bown Mark Britton Geoff Buscher Devindra Chainani Charisse Cowan-Pitre Katie Davis Laura Domoto

Margie Duckstad Rita Egrari Carl Faucher Jason Froggatt Terry Froggatt Michelle Goldberg Mark Horn Jeanette James Patricia Landy Kate Marks Yazmin Mehdi

Shahina Piyarali Tori Ragen Cheryl Scott Abhi Sheth Paula Simon Patricia Washington Susie Wu Matt Levinson, ex officio

Terri Nakamura DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY

Shavette McGhee DIRECTOR OF ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT

Kathy Mitchell O’Neal

M AGAZINE PUBLISHER | DESIGNER

Terri Nakamura EDITOR

Lisa Kennedy WRITERS | CONTRIBUTORS

David Beitel, Toby Cattolico, Brian Gonzales, Kelly Herrington, Lisa Kennedy, Matt Levinson, Rebecca Moe, Terri Nakamura, Marianne Picha, Meg Shortell PHOTOGRAPHERS

Lisa Bontje, Richard Brown, Lisa Kennedy, Don Mason, Terri Nakamura, Doug Plummer

PARENT COUNCIL President – Laura Domoto Upper School Vice President – Ann Eickerman Middle School Vice President – Tracy Pozil Treasurer – David Higley Secretary – Joanna Beitel Past Executive – Shelly Ogden Sage Advancement Liaison – Margie Duckstad Diversity and Community – Katie Rossbach Governance – Joanna Bargeron At Large – Cheryl Hoffman Herzog Parent Education – Lisa Bontje, Margaret Bolger, Liz Huehnergarth Parents for the Arts – Lizanne Lyons, Amely Wurmbrand, Heather Smith Sports Boosters – Middle School: Glenn Hampson, Miriam Marcus; Upper School: Jennifer Zell, Will Kilbourne 12th Grade Reps – June Arnold, Ali Piyarali, Sara Thomas 11th Grade Reps – Patty Morrissey, Shannon Loftis, Elizabeth Anderson 10th Grade Reps – Kelly Arron, Robert Hardwick, Amy Colando 9th Grade Reps – Kaylene Anderson, Leigh Toner, Anju Rao 8th Grade Reps – Char Kletzly, Barbara Sniezek, Leora Bloom 7th Grade Reps – Linda Bradshaw Labriola, Katie Renschler, Elizabeth (Liffy) Franklin 6th Grade Reps – Stephanie Standifer, Jessica Fosse, Anne Clark

© 2017 University Prep 8000 25th Avenue NE Seattle, WA 98115 206.525.2714 www.universityprep.org UPrep Magazine is published twice yearly by the Communications Office at University Prep.

Comments may be sent to the address above, or emailed to: editor@universityprep.org 2 UPREP MAGAZINE

Eighth Grade Graduation

The Importance of Learning from Peers

Dear UPrep Families, When I went off to college, I had no idea how to manage my time effectively. All of a sudden, I had several hours a day that were unstructured and it was up to me how I would make use of those hours. Newly arrived at a college with heavy academic demands that included hundreds of pages of reading a week, along with the expectation to write frequent papers, I felt overwhelmed.

Within the first six weeks of my freshman English seminar, we were asked to write a 10- to 15-page paper on The Tempest.

I had never been asked to write anything of that length in my life and I didn’t know where to begin. I did go to see my professor for advice about how to craft a thesis statement, but it was a conversation with one of my suite mates that turned the tide for me. He had attended an independent school in Massachusetts and had a lot of experience with writing long papers, including a 20-page paper during his senior year. He was patient with me and helped me break the paper down into its component parts so that it no longer felt so long. He understood organization and time management, and I quickly learned and appreciated peer-to-peer learning.

I slogged through the paper, and shuddered to look back at it a few years later, by which time I had gained the confidence to write longer papers, develop original ideas, and properly source the material I wrote about.

At University Prep, our students begin right at 6th grade with learning how to write, think, organize and manage their time.

This continues right up through graduation. I wish I had had exposure to this type of education during my middle and high school years.

The signature benefit of a University Prep education is the stellar preparation our students receive to be well-positioned for academic success in college and beyond. But what else do our students need to know and be prepared for, especially as the rate of change driven by vast technological innovations continues to outpace human adaptability?

An article in Independent School Magazine highlights a central challenge that faces schools and students today: “…Students will need to know what to do when they don’t know what to do. So that is where we must focus our efforts.” There is not a script to follow where we can magically create the perfect performance with and for our students. Instead, we need to

Matt Levinson, Head of School

continue to cultivate the environment of intellectual inquiry and courage, coupled with social responsibility and global citizenship.

Our students need the opportunity to formulate problems to solve and also know when and how to work with their peers to heighten their capacity to solve these problems. The teacher might not be available, and how a student seeks to build a network of peers can determine the degree to which a student can figure out how to own his or her learning more fully. It took me until college to learn that valuable lesson. I know our students are learning it at University Prep because I see it on display each day in the Commons, the library, in the classrooms, and on Schoology, our online learning management system, where it is not uncommon for a student to pose a question in the online forum and then have a peer jump in to help answer it.

In Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s memoir, My Beloved World, she tells the story of how she learned how to be a better student when she was in fifth grade. She asked the student in her class who seemed to excel at all of the learning activities and received top marks how she did it. The lesson she learned was: “Don’t be shy about making a teacher of any willing party who knows what he or she is doing. In retrospect, I can see how important that pattern would become for me: how readily I’ve sought out mentors, asking guidance from professors or colleagues, and in every friendship soaking up eagerly whatever that friend could teach me.”

May our students do the same.

Matt Levinson Head of School UPREP MAGAZINE

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A

GLOBAL LINK:

fter months of preparation, 38 Upper and Middle School students, led by a dozen trip leaders, traveled more than 78,000 miles during Spring Break to take part in the 11th year of Global Link at University Prep.

We were thankful to rekindle our partnership with the Himanchal Foundation in Nangi, Nepal

By Brian Gonzales after the 2015 earthquake.

We celebrated a dozen years with Falese’ela, Samoa (it actually predates Global Link!), and for the first time, we saw students who travelled on Global Link as middle schoolers head out on Global Link as Upper School Pumas. This year’s group forged new friendships with fellow students at Maru-a-Pula in Botswana, Santa Fe Prep in New Mexico, Keimei Gakuin in Japan, and Prienai Ziburys gymnasium in Lithuania.

They toured castles, museums, coastal towns, mountaintop villages, towering waterfalls, and major metropolitan centers.

From the long flights and unexpected delays to those Global Link Botswana at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe little moments that can only be explained with“You had to be there…,” each Global open hearts and the Lithuanian smile, the children Link group returned to Seattle with smiles on their faces of Samoa, the impact of education on youth in Botswana, and new lifelong bonds with their fellow travelers. the hopes and aspirations of teenagers in Nepal, and the

merging of the traditional and the modern in Japan.

The students were then challenged to tell their stories, And in all of the conversations and recaps, we share their experiences, and show us a little taste of heard the same themes over and over: “Life in my host their host community’s culture. The groups showed off community was so different from my life here at UPrep… traditional dances, local games, and musical performances. but kids are kids. It looks like they lead completely We watched presentations about lessons learned in Santa Fe,

This Year and Next

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different lives than me, but they have the same kind of questions, curiosities, and dreams as I do.”

“I loved getting to know my group and building new relationships with people I didn’t really know when we found out our program placements. We’ll always have this experience together, and I know I’ll always be able to share stories and inside jokes with my Global Link teammates.”

Global Link is just as much about discovering commonalities with those that “seem” completely different than us as it is exploring something “different” and “new.”

It’s about building relationships with new friends and exploring a culture together at the most basic human level. Over tea.

On a front porch. At a bus stop. In a living room.

And just as we close the book on another great year of Global Link, plans are already in motion for next year’s program. We’ve already selected a truly amazing cohort of Upper School students and trip leaders that will head out to Botswana, India, Lithuania, Nepal, and Samoa in less than 300 days! n

GLOBAL SCRAPBOOK

Global Link Nepal in Kathmandu Global Link Japan in Kobe

Global Link Lithuania in Prienai

Brian Gonzales is Director of Global Programs.

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“Hosts with The Most” “It’s such a rewarding experience,” enthuses UPrep parent Marleen Arenivar about hosting international students visiting UPrep under the auspices of our Global Programs.

“I enjoy it for many reasons. I do it because I love to entertain and learn about other cultures and because I feel Julian and Juanpablo that it is good for Julian to be exposed to lots of different people.” Her son Julian Madrid, a rising 10th grader, is equally vocal is his enthusiasm. “I am an only child and I’ve been able to have relationships that are like having a brother or sister,” he says.

GLOBAL SCRAPBOOK

Global Link Botswana

Arenivar’s own first experience with cultural exchange was being hosted by an Indian family during a semester abroad when she was a college student, and she says it taught her how to be mindful and respectful of other cultures. “At UPrep I started out volunteering for short stints,” says Arenivar, “and then as an aunt and uncle for the program.” She and Julian have since welcomed a middle school student from Santa Fe Prep, a Lithuanian senior, several students from Colombia, an AFS student from Pakistan, and two Indian students from Hyderabad.

“The students have come from many countries, and they all have different stories and backgrounds, which has given me a new perspective on life,” says Julian. He takes pride in caring for his guests, and makes sure that they are included in activities at UPrep. He was the one who approached his mom about volunteering to host Juanpablo Pérez Panza, UPrep’s exchange student from Colegio San Jose in Barranquilla, second semester this year. This longer-term hosting experience has been very positive, they all agree. The two boys share a love of soccer and video games, and Arenivar believes that Juanpablo— a dedicated student—has been a great role model.

Global Link Samoa

“Hosting does add a layer of complexity,” says Arenivar, “but it reminds me to be more patient and open, and more communicative. It has taught me to be better at asking as well as giving. I feel that it will all come full circle, and Julian will be treated well when he goes abroad one day.” n If you would like to volunteer to host international students for short or longer stays, email Brian Gonzales, Director of Global Programs, at bgonzales@universityprep.org.

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Global Link Santa Fe

Explore, Question, Develop: Next Generation Learning Initiatives “A rolling stone gathers no moss.”

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By Richard Kassissieh

HIS ANCIENT SAYING admonishes wanderers to settle — proverb down and establish themselves. But perhaps some wanderlust is good for you. The Rolling Stones evidently felt so, inspired by a Muddy Waters song of the same name. Wandering is not so aimless when we call it “exploration” and give it purpose: to experience broadly, appreciate difference, and try new ideas.

In 2015, UPrep set out to explore, question, and further develop intellectual courage, global citizenship, and social responsibility.

First, the UPrep community identified the most promising opportunities for enhancing the student experience. Then, volunteer Research+Design teams surveyed literature, visited schools, presented at conferences, and wrote proposals. As you can see below, we are well on our way toward implementation of our Next Generation Learning Initiatives, which should be fully in place by 2020.

New Models of Time COMPLETED: A new daily schedule that is easy to follow, supports deeper learning and independence, and makes time for social and emotional development.

UPCOMING: Intensives (our working title), in which students take a single course for two-and-a half weeks to think deeply across disciplines, study contemporary topics, and learn in the community.

ULab COMPLETED: Senior LaunchPad, in which all seniors design and engage in an off-campus passion project, and present it to the community. Social Entrepreneurship and Feminism, two new courses that are entirely student-conceived, designed, and delivered. Global Online Academy, in which students have

registered for 50 fully online courses for next year.

UPCOMING: Construction of a dynamic new center to support entrepreneurial thinking and connection to community. The building will feature flexible spaces for independent, group, and class work and house global programs, the Makerspace, college counseling, mentorship, and other student leadership programs.

Social Justice and Educational Equity COMPLETED: A comprehensive review of justice and equity practices in and beyond the classroom. New courses that include social justice topics or represent many cultures.

Coordination among teacher leaders, the Board of Trustees, and the Diversity and Community program.

UPCOMING: Further development of culturally responsive classroom practices, course curricula, student leadership opportunities, and enhanced collaborations among different parts of the school.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) COMPLETED: A detailed review of SEL programs and UPrep needs, multiple surveys assessing students’ emotional health and social skills.

UPCOMING: SEL curriculum built into the new schedule, Advisory for Advisors, and SEL classroom practices.

Intensives/Immersives Design UPCOMING: In 2018-2019, a new school calendar that includes intensive terms in January and June. New courses specially designed for these terms in which students deeply immerse themselves in different ways of thinking, study contemporary topics through multiple lenses, and learn in the community and through travel.

While much of the UPrep program is consistent from year to year, Strategic Plan 2020 allows us to shake off a little moss and develop exciting new opportunities for powerful learning, which will equip our students to wander with purpose into a complex and ever-changing world. n Richard Kassissieh is Academic Dean and Director of Strategic Program Initiatives UPREP MAGAZINE

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Senior LaunchPad Makes Its Grand Debut

By Lisa Kennedy

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n keeping with our efforts to engender student agency, we introduced ULab and LaunchPad. “Our goal was to give every senior the opportunity to do an off-campus project. Many students wanted to do senior projects, so we

developed a framework that gave them the structure and support they needed to make it happen,” says Jeff Tillinghast, ULab and LaunchPad coordinator. The revamped senior projects fit in perfectly with ULab’s mission, as they are both student designed and require direct engagement with the community. In May, students were encouraged to pursue a passion project, and many seniors chose projects far afield from their intended course of college study or future career.

In pursuit of a professional soccer career, Jackson Ragen ’17, left, interned with the Sounders.

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Alex Wilfong ’17 presenting her LaunchPad drawing project

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tudent experiences ranged from traditional job shadowing and internships to volunteering and community service, experiential learning, and creative

risk-taking. Companies who hosted students included Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Blue Origin, Esterline Engineering, Trilogy Search Partners, and Arivale. Students volunteered in public schools, at Rainier Scholars, UW, and King County Public Health, among others. Seniors worked on fixing boats, rebuilding car engines, cooking in restaurants, developing original beauty products, making films, writing blogs, a novel, original music, and pursuing various art projects.

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Vivian Voth ’17 volunteered for the Washington Trails Association rebuilding trails.

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he process of finding a mentor to oversee one’s project gave students the experience of real-world networking and other adult skills that they will

need to draw upon as they move beyond high school. The projects, which also required a daily update with UPrep, concluded with an evening presentation in which the seniors shared their experience with the community.

Madi Yi ’17 interned in King County Executive Dow Constantine’s office.

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Nikhil Deo, Ben Hoover and Malcom Volk ’17 developed an app to help students organize pictures of their class notes.

Yoela Zimberoff ’17 served as an intern crew member on an

Jonathan Ramsay ’17 did research on the effects

educational schooner, The Adventuress, realizing a dream she had

of minimum wage at UW and wrote an editorial on

since freshman year to work and sail on that boat. (photo credit,

the subject.

Jenny Smith)

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Franny Walls ’17 spent two weeks writing a blog about fitness and good nutrition, and sampling many different types of fitness classes around Seattle.

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he new program “is extremely exciting in terms of where it could go as the school evolves,” says last year’s senior class dean Mikayla Patella-

Buckley. “This new approach dovetails beautifully with where we are taking our schoolwide curriculum and student-driven learning.” Next year’s LaunchPad will be tweaked to reflect the benefit of the knowledge gained during its first year. If you would be willing to serve in a mentor capacity or a resource for seniors this year, please get in touch with Brian Gonzales (bgonzales@ universityprep.org) or Jeff Tillinghast (jtillinghast@universityprep.org). n

Thalia Solyanik ’17 worked in a lab in the Department of Microbiology at the University of Washington.

Find all LaunchPad postings at: https://goo. gl/6WUFu6.

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SPOTLIGHT ON

Amado Toribio Creative Approach to Blended Math

By Lisa Kennedy

“I

‘M JUST PART OF A TEAM,” emphasizes Amado Toribio with his usual self-effacement. Amado has taught mathematics at UPrep for the last seven years, and previously for seven years in New York City. Reflecting on the blended math program, Toribio refuses to take credit for the new curriculum and the mixed 6th and 7th grade classes. The changes developed over time, he maintains, and have the imprint of many UPrep math teachers. Former math teacher Liz Sadler was the inspiration, and Toribio and Meg Shortell both proposed and developed the current model. This past year the class was taught by Toribio and Robyn Boothby, who came to UPrep last fall. The two teach class simultaneously, which allows them to swap students between classes, or change configurations to maximize learning. Sixth and 7th graders are partnered with one another, and switched up four times a year so that they get to work with different classmates.

Combining 6th and 7th graders offers big advantages, as you expose both grades to the more rigorous aspects of the material, identify students who have a natural inclination for it, and then move them along at a more rapid pace. Those 7th graders who need more time to see problems repeatedly and

Fans of Blended Learning | Students are fans of the blended model. Peter Esterberg says: “I tend to help others and that helps me because teaching is the best way to learn.”

Anaya West sees social advantages. “It’s not awkward, and you can have a 6th-grade friend in your class.” Sixth grader Haley Hoffman likes the format because, “The 7th graders can help me with some things and I can do some more challenging rubrics.” n

Amado Toribio, mathematics teacher

digest the concepts, on the other hand, are given that opportunity.

And all students benefit from either giving or getting help from their classmates. “Working in the department here, which is such a wise one, has affected how I teach,” says Toribio. “All of our experiences are in the mix. And technology has allowed us to find ways to empower students in their learning.” He likes how the iPad helps differentiate students and lets him create individual pathways for students to navigate.

While Toribio may present a certain formal air, and certainly adheres to old-world politesse with his students and others, his teaching reflects a fluid and open style. On a given day, students might finish a set of problems, volunteer to write out the answers on a whiteboard, and then end the class by playing a team math game against the other classes. “We’ve even made the progress report into a game, so now students can see what they have mastered in both a formative and a summative way. We color code the grade so that it’s really transparent for kids. Green is go ahead, yellow is caution, let’s slow down, and red is stop before going any further,” says Toribio, who never stops thinking about how to improve his delivery.

“It’s now an orchestrated piece between teaching and learning.

Many times the lines are completely blurred, and students often come up with insights that I can use,” says Toribio. As for the students, they all seem to appreciate Toribio’s sense of humor as well as his teaching style. “He’s pretty funny, and it’s pretty easy to learn from him,” says Matthew Sage, “because he makes sure that everybody knows the material.” Sydney Gleason echoes her classmate’s appraisal: “He makes you figure out problems for yourself, but also helps you if you need help.” Her friend Carly Ragen gives him the ultimate 7th grade kudo: “He’s super funny and he poses problems in a life-like way. He’s one of my favorite teachers!” n UPREP MAGAZINE

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PUMAS IN THE ARTS

U SPOTLIGHT ON

Sarah Peterson, center, meeting with students

Sarah Peterson Associate Director of Upper School

Q: Why did you decide to take on this new position after teaching mathematics for 14 years at UPrep?

A: My personal educational philosophy is that the real value of school is the opportunity to create an intentional community. It’s where we can actively teach students how to interact and offer them gentle correction while supporting them in their growth as community members. I felt that in this new job I could live my personal vision in a way that I couldn’t as a teacher, and think in a broader way about issues I care about. I do still teach one course a semester to stay in touch with what it is to be a teacher day-to-day.

Q. What have you achieved that you are particularly proud of?

A. One of the things I’m particularly proud of is creating a consistent mechanism for looking at discipline issues. I believe that when we are working with kids, the goal should always be to explain why their action hurts the community. The consequences, in turn, should have two goals: 1) reducing the chance of it happening again; and 2) repairing the damage done to the community.

Q. Do you see any visible changes in student government since you became associate director?

A. I think that there are visible changes in how inclusive a community we are and how students treat each other. The student government leaders have become more mindful about the impact they have on setting the tone in the larger community.

Q. How do you think you have influenced that?

A. It’s less about specific things that I’ve done than about a stance. I think of students as coworkers more than students. I expect them to do their jobs and they do. My leadership style is to give them information, explain the impact of some of their potential choices, and then let them decide what to do. I help them see things in a way that is more community-minded.

Q. Do you have any blue-sky dreams going forward?

A. I would love for us to re-envision student government and decision-making at our school. Since we value student agency, it would be great to create a new model that gives students more power and different ways of getting involved besides elections that tend to favor popular kids. n 14 UPREP MAGAZINE

PREP’S MUSICAL PROGRAM has three outstanding musicians, all juniors, who have been playing together since their Middle School days. Donovan Bown plays the oboe, Bob La the clarinet, and Kipras Mazeika the bassoon. Each aspires to serious musicianship. At school, they have been playing and performing together in the Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia, the combined orchestra, the woodwind quartet, as well as their own trio for four years.

They are also members of Seattle Youth Symphony, and this spring they all had principal parts in a performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique.

In the last few years, the trio’s musical association has brought new dividends, as they pushed each other in music classes and played in many formal and informal school performances. They competed together at the Elliott Bay Music Educators Association Solo and Ensemble Competition and at the Northwest Orchestra Festival, where they received two second- and one third-place awards—significant accomplishments in these highlevel contests. All three readily acknowledge that music teacher Thane Lewis has played a pivotal role in their development. “He’s a professional musician himself,” says Donovan, “so his advice on that front is really good.

We all play together because of him.”

Kipras admires Lewis’s patience and skill at dealing with the wide range of student experience at UPrep. “He makes it possible for us to play at the highest level we can,” he adds. “He’s a teacher but also a friend,” says Bob, “and he’s really supportive of everything we do.”

Donovan wants to be a professional musician and is looking at conservatories; Bob plans to double major in music and mechanical engineering; and Kipras wants to go to music school. How has the relatively small size of UPrep’s orchestra program worked out for such serious artists? All three view it as a net plus. “It allows us to get a lot of personal attention and creative freedom,” says Bob. “We can play more chamber music and get more one-onone instruction.” UPrep’s association with Metropolitan Music and its wind coach Aaron Jenkins has helped advance the program, which has been steadily growing under the tutelage of Lewis and Jazz teacher Jason Parker, and now numbers more than 80 students. “Mr. Lewis keeps us challenged and makes the class interesting for us despite the wide range of experience in our groups,” says Donovan.

Musical Troika

The trio has its own special energy. “They are all high achieving and demand a high level of musicianship of each other,” says Lewis. “Slight differences in approach between them create the overall effect: Donovan and Kipras with their remarkable attention to details of articulation, sound and phrasing, and their ability to put into words the results they are after, and Bob with his overarching freedom of expression, facility and abandon.” In case you are wondering, the boys do not just play music. Each is also an accomplished student and plays one or more sports. Donovan has run nine seasons of cross country and track; Kipras plays Ultimate and holds school records in javelin, discus, and the high jump. And Bob plays tennis for fun and is a varsity soccer player. n

L-R: Kipras Mazeika, Bob La, and Donovan Bown, all Class of 2018

By Lisa Kennedy

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Social-Emotional Learning: Essential Ingredients for Success

By Kelly Herrington and Meg Shortell

Painting attributed to former UPrep art teacher Klara Weis 16 UPREP MAGAZINE

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t its core, social-emotional learning (SEL) is the intentional teaching and skill development around emotion regulation, self-awareness, self-care, collaboration, and empathy. Over the past year and a half, UPrep’s SEL Next Generation Learning Committee has worked extensively alongside our school counselors to both define SEL at UPrep and create a plan for implementing SEL initiatives. We define SEL as “the process through which students develop skills to regulate, react to, and process their emotions, navigate relationships in a healthy way, and develop selfawareness.” And our school’s practice of SEL is one that “encompasses strategies to support students as they build resiliency, manage stress, develop empathy, clarify their personal values, and make responsible decisions.”

We know it is imperative that every student leave UPrep with the tools to tackle life’s challenges, be kind adults, and make a positive impact on their world. In an article in the March 30, 2017 issue of The Atlantic, V. Clayton stated: “An increased focus on kids’ psychological health may seem like the education world’s flavor of the day, but it’s achieving results.” Our SEL committee not only researched and reviewed best practices, but also generated a blueprint for a coordinated program. What the committee learned is that SEL is not just a flavor of the day, but rather an essential ingredient in student and school success.

Research shows multiple benefits from teaching social and emotional skills. It is largely this empirically based research that is driving UPrep’s SEL strategic planning. A meta-analysis of more than 200 SEL studies published in Child Development (Vol. 82, No. 1) highlighted the following positive outcomes:

• Academics. Young people who

participated in SEL programming had a significant improvement in their academic achievement, classroom behavior, attendance, and attitudes toward school.

• Social and Emotional Skills.

Schools that implemented SEL programs saw increased student skills in emotion recognition and regulation, empathy, problem solving, and decision-making skills.

• Mental Health. Students participating in SEL programs demonstrated an increased ability to manage stress and depression, improved their self-esteem, and reduced risk-taking behaviors.

What is more, a body of research indicates that employers and colleges are often vetting candidates for skills like adaptability, problem solving, empathy, reaction to setbacks, and teamwork, which are all skills SEL teaches. The empirical evidence for happiness and success in both education and work settings relies on fostering SEL. Empowering our students to learn from, and move past, setbacks, emboldening them to make thoughtful decisions, and encouraging them to employ empathy for themselves and others is crucial to their scholastic, personal, and professional well-being.

The long-range goal of the SEL Committee is to support UPrep in implementing a common experience of SEL skill-building, which will be an integral part of the UPrep student experience. The plan will allow SEL to permeate all aspects of student life from the classroom experience to advisory programming, and from sports teams to conversations with parents. While SEL has been a part of the classroom and extracurricular experience at UPrep

since its founding, a coordinated and sequenced approach from 6th through 12th grade is something new. Over the next five years, a more structured and robust SEL program will unfold through advisory and grade-level programming, parent education, cocurricular activities, dedicated SEL time during our new schedule’s “community time,” professional development training, and teachers employing greater SEL activities in their classrooms. The primary focus of this work is constructed around the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning core competencies of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.

What do all parents and educators want for their students? They desire students who are responsible, other-oriented, happy, proactive, hard-working, and balanced.

These are skills, like calculus and essay writing, that can be taught and practiced, and UPrep will endeavor to inculcate excellent social and emotional intelligence in all of our students. Their academic success, mental health, and future happiness requires it.

Big Thanks! The SEL co-chairs would

like to thank all of the faculty members who served on the SEL committee in the 2016-2017 school year; the parents and community experts who served on our Parent Advisory Board; the grade level deans; as well as our school counselors, Andrea Moore and Lindsey Metcalfe, who have remained steadfast in their dedication to this initiative and integral to its leadership. n Kelly Herrington is Director of College Counseling and Student Services. Meg Shortell teaches MS Math and is 8th Grade Dean. They co-chair the SEL Next Generation Learning Committee.

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UPREP HAPPENINGS

ADVANCEMENT UPDATE

UPREP WINS SECOND PLACE TREVOR R. SIMPSON AWARD

Overwhelming Support from Puma Families!

The $1,500 award is designated for the advancement of suicide prevention efforts at UPrep, and students must be the decision makers as to how the money is spent. Thank you to all members of the team for your dedication and hard work.

Congratulations! n

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Thanks to the generous support of the UPrep community, this event raised $506,366, which will allow UPrep to build on a financial aid resource to serve our students for years to come. This event was also an important community builder for UPrep grandparents, parents, faculty, staff, students br ation and alumni. Thank you to the members of the #WeAreUPrep Committee for their hard work in making the event such a success, and thank you to everyone who attended! We hope to see all of you at the 2018 spring fundraiser on Friday, March 2, 2018! n

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• Professional training for the entire faculty and staff • The incorporation of the Forefront curriculum into 9th grade health classes • A parent education evening led by a trained UPrep parent • Peer-to-peer presentations to the entire 9th and 10th grade classes

Building on the success of the fall Puma Fund campaign, this year’s spring fundraiser and community celebration, #WeAreUPrep, was also a huge success thanks to the support and commitment of our wonderful UPrep families! More than 340 guests arrived on Friday, March 10, at the Seattle Art Museum for an evening of student performances, powerful speakers, artwork, and an opportunity to support the Endowed Financial Aid Fund.

Cele

The award is based on the extensive work done this past year by the seven members of UPrep’s Forefront team — consisting of teachers, counselors, administrators, and a parent — and the 14 trained UPrep students from grades 9-12 who became peer-to-peer educators. UPrep efforts around suicide prevention and screening have included:

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his year’s fundraising efforts at UPrep were the most successful to date!

Thanks to generous donations from all parts of the UPrep community, we raised $709,000 for the Puma Fund, which exceeded our goal by more than $50,000. A team of 21 hard-working class agents, led by Puma Fund Co-Chairs Jeanne Gunsolus, Don Paterson, and Caroline and Brad Probst, helped boost parent participation to an impressive 82 percent. In addition, a group of generous UPrep families offered a match for the first 125 gifts of $1,250 received during the fall campaign. The Puma Fund is critical to the UPrep experience, allowing us to live our mission of equity, access and inclusion. We are so grateful to all our Puma Fund donors!

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UNIVERSITY PREP has been named the second-place winner of the Trevor R. Simpson Award for our work with Forefront, an organization dedicated to suicide prevention (www. intheforefront.org/). Leah and Scott Simpson, who initiated efforts to write a state plan for youth suicide prevention with the UW School of Nursing in the wake of their son’s suicide in 1992, will present the award at UPrep this fall.

Attendees at #WeAreUPrep, held at the Seattle Art Museum

New Learning Pathways Program

By Marianne Picha

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recent “fad” around school is the fidget spinner. In case you’ve missed it, the fidget spinner is a three-pronged device with a thumb pad in the center and Marianne Picha weighted prongs that spin around.

It was invented about 20 years ago as a tool for kids with attention issues, but it never took off. Now, lots of kids have them in class and when they are asked to put them away, they protest saying that they are great for focus! In some ways, our Language Training program has followed the path of the fidget spinner.

UPrep’s Language Training program has always been a fixture of the curriculum. It is a program for diagnosed dyslexic and dysgraphia students to receive one-to-one instruction using the venerable Orton-Gillingham (OG) curriculum. The program has typically served Middle School students over a two-year course of work. But like the fidget spinner, the techniques and skills that are taught in language training also translate to a wider group of students to help with focus, learning and comprehension. Hence, the program has been reimagined by the teachers and staff of the program into Learning Pathways.

Learning Pathways widens the scope of students who can be served to include those with reading and comprehension issues, but also looks more broadly at academic support, executive skills instruction, and attention strategies. Over the next five years, as part of the Next Generation Learning goals, Learning Pathways hopes to expand its services to provide writing and math support, writers workshops, study skills support, as well as continue to offer one-onone OG. The program will do more faculty training and outreach to make sure that learning support services are well-delivered in the classroom so that teachers are aware of the best learning techniques that work for not just students with learning differences, but for all students. Like the fidget spinner, there will be benefits for everyone in the new Learning Pathways program. n Marianne Picha is Director of Middle School and can be reached at 206.575.2714, or mpicha@universityprep.org.

Farewell to Alan Hargus and Judy Ghavamian, Long-time UPrep Teachers TWO LONG-TIME UPrep faculty members retired at the end of this academic year. Judy Ghavamian taught at UPrep for 24 years, and Alan Hargus for 33 years!

Hargus came here after being in college for 16 years because he couldn’t bear to stop learning. He was also a journeyman carpenter. Recruited to come teach at UPrep while he was finishing his master’s degree in biology at UW, he has taught 6th, 7th, 8th and 10th grades, and served as Science Department head for five years.

Ghavamian, who started out teaching one class of French, soon secured a spot teaching English and life skills. After working part-time for five years, she became a full-time English teacher, and has taught 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grades, serving as 7th and 8th grade team leader for about a dozen years, and on the Board of Trustees for three.

Alan Hargus and Judy Ghavamian

“It’s been a privilege,” says Ghavamian, “to work at a school where the goal is to free the teachers to do their best work in the classroom.” “Even the ITIP,” adds Hargus, “is driven by the idea of helping you choose how to improve your craft.”

Ghavamian remembers the days when she was buying dictionaries for her classroom because everyone wanted to contribute whatever they could to a common cause. “That spirit is still with UPrep,” says her colleague. “It’s always about how can we become a better school.”

Hargus is especially grateful to have had the opportunity to design and teach new courses, such as ecology and anatomy UPREP MAGAZINE

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UPREP HAPPENINGS New Adventures

Meet Asha Dean, Our New Community Manager

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sha Dean, who has been the division directors’ assistant for the last three years, has assumed the role of University Prep’s community manager. She acts as liaison between the Parent Council and the school, and does outreach to new and prospective families. She also plans to explore relationships with members of our surrounding community as well as organizations in the larger Seattle area. “I’m excited to grow with the school,” says Asha,” and to engage the full parent body in the life of our community.” n

Asha Dean

Forty Years and Counting

Mark Cullen

Alan and Judy, continued

and physiology. For Ghavamian, having the latitude to choose the texts she wanted and to vary her curriculum to work best with the students has been a true gift. She has also treasured traveling with kids internationally, where she got to know them in different settings.

What are they leaving behind as their legacy? Ghavamian says that the 8th grade capstone, which was her “baby,” is what comes to mind first and foremost. The interdisciplinary project is in its fifth year, and promises to be around for many more.

No teacher has been mentioned more than Hargus at graduation, not always favorably, he jokes. His biology class is the stuff of legend, a true rite of passage for upper school students, and he is known for his high standards and challenging material. He feels that one of his major contributions, besides teaching kids how to think, is changing the order in which chemistry and biology are taught, to better serve the students. “The new order is successful in giving students a better biology experience because they are more grounded in the elementals,”

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WE BID A FOND FAREWELL to teachers and staff members who are retiring or pursuing other opportunities.

We thank you for being part of our community, and we wish you the best: Emma Anderson, Matt Budzyn, Greg Conlin, Catherine Civjan, Jamie Court, Jane Cutter, Shelly Ellis, Lauren Feng, Jeff Gans, Judy Ghavamian, Alan Hargus, Ian McInerney, Risna Moy, Dan Perreten, Paul Rudnick, Scott Herrick, Nikia Washington, and Devin Wootton. n

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ongratulations to history teacher Mark Cullen, who marked 40 years of service to UPrep this year! n

he says. Adding two new courses, ecology and anatomy and physiology, are also high on his own list of accomplishments.

Hargus plans to spend a lot of time in the back country, climbing and skiing. “I’m leaving only because I’ve been seduced by the promise of other activities. I would love to come back and teach an intensive field course on Pacific Northwest ecology, geology or natural history,” he says.

“The heart of the school is the constant push to improve, and that’s what I love about it and what I’ll miss. My fellow teachers are passionate about what they teach and getting that through to the kids.”

Ghavamian has plans to enjoy life and pursue a host of projects. She leaves on a high note, she says, because, “our kids have given me confidence in the future. They are thoughtful, kind young people who are concerned about social justice and the fate of the world.”

You can get in touch with Alan Hargus at ahargus@comcast.net and with Judy Ghavamian at Judyghavamian@aol.com. n

CLASS OF 2017 GRADUATION UPDATES

College Summary

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Class of 2017 Matriculation List American University

Reed College

Arizona State University

Santa Clara University (4)

Bentley University

Seattle University

Bowdoin College

Syracuse University

California Polytechnic State

The College of Wooster

University, San Luis Obispo (3)

The University of Montana, Missoula

he Class of 2017 will attend 43 different institutions in 18 states and 1 international institution.

Eighty percent of the class will leave Washington State for college. Of the students attending college in the U.S., 27% will be in California; 36% will be east of the Mississippi River, and 44% of the senior class is matriculating at a college that he or she applied to under an early application program. Two graduating seniors will participate in a gap year before heading to college in the fall of 2018. Each has created an individual year to further pursue their passion. n

CLASS OF 2017 STATS AT A GLANCE

Case Western Reserve University (2)

University of California, Berkeley

Chapman University (3)

University of Colorado at Boulder

Students: ........................................ 74

Claremont McKenna College

University of Denver (3)

Average SAT English: .................. 660

Colorado College (2)

University of Michigan

Average SAT Math: ..................... 640

Columbia University (3)

University of Oregon (2)

Average ACT: 2................................. 9

Dartmouth College

University of Pennsylvania (2)

Mean Grade Point Average: ...... 3.49

Emory University

University of Puget Sound

Georgetown University

University of Southern California (5)

National Merit Commended Scholars: .................... 6

Georgia Institute of Technology

University of Washington (6)

National Merit Finalist: ................... 1

Gonzaga University

University of Washington, Bothell (3)

National Merit Hispanic-Scholar: ... 1

Hillsdale College

Washington State University

Washington State Scholars: .......... 46

Lake Forest College

Washington University in St. Louis

Total Applications Submitted: .... 650

Lehigh University

Wellesley College

Applications Per Student: ............ 8.8

Loyola Marymount University (2)

Western Washington University

New York University, Shanghai

Whitman College (2)

Northeastern University (4)

Willamette University n

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2017 STUDENT AWARDS PUMA PRIDE AWARDS 9th Grade: Lillian Ellis and Jeremy Garcia 10th Grade: Eunsoo Hyun and Jake Zikan 11th Grade: Morgan DeLancy and Michele Matuszewski

This award is given to those students whose quiet contributions have made a significant difference in the life of the school.

GARRY AND ELLEN JONES AWARDS Kipras Mazeika and Ema Bargeron This award is given to outstanding students who have exhibited special qualities in relationships and are a positive force on campus.

DAVID BASS MEMORIAL AWARDS Shakirah Muhammad and David Gonzalez This award recognizes notable academic improvement, which embodies the spirit of growth prized by UPrep.

FACULTY RECOGNITION AWARD Blythe Eickerman This award is given to the senior who consistently cares for others, has a positive spirit, embodies inspirational qualities, and by whose very presence life at University Prep is enhanced.

SILVER TALON AWARDS 12th graders Samia Ali, Nikhil Deo, Jack Schubert and Aisse Torres Torres This award, funded by the Eastly Fund, is given to seniors whose standards of personal excellence and willingness to risk acceptance deserves recognition.

JEANETTE C. WILLIAMS AWARDS Lila Luthy and Sienna Axe This award, open to all Upper School students, is given to recognize exceptional skill in the craft of writing and to reward those students with a desire to risk originality.

DRAMA AWARDS Ana Bogdanovich, Lindsay Carter, Hannah Klein, Joel Meyers, Jon Ramsay, Talia Randle, Isaac Selby and Alexandra Wilfong These recognitions go to students who have been involved in the equivalent of at least four Play Production or Theatre Performance classes and given artistic effort beyond required class time in the craft of acting, directing or theatre production.

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SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT AWARD Vivian Voth This award is given to a student who has demonstrated a passion for environmental issues and has personally taken steps toward leading a less energy-intensive and more sustainable lifestyle.

JULIE CALHOUN COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARD Emily Pan This award is given to a graduating senior who has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to serving those in need.

THE NATIONAL ORCHESTRA AWARD Kipras Mazeika This award goes to a student who demonstrates high levels of musicianship, leadership and dedication to the Chamber Orchestra.

DIRECTOR’S AWARDS FOR ORCHESTRA Eunsoo Hyun, Alexander Lewis and Cynthia Xiao This award recognizes students who demonstrate outstanding leadership and dedication in orchestra.

WOODY HERMAN AWARD FOR MUSICAL EXCELLENCE Joseph Yeung This award goes to a member of the Jazz Ensemble I and recognizes emerging leadership ability and potential.

LOUIS ARMSTRONG AWARDS FOR OUTSTANDING MUSICAL EXCELLENCE Joshua Wah-Blumberg and Jack Schubert This award recognizes members of Jazz Ensemble II who demonstrate strong leadership and strong commitment to improving the quality of our program.

ERICA HAMLIN LEADERSHIP IN MUSIC AWARDS Donovan Bown and Hannah Wist This award recognizes members of the Jazz Ensemble II and the Chamber Orchestra who demonstrate outstanding leadership.

SCHOLAR ATHLETE AWARDS Lindsay McConville and Jacob Richey ATHLETES OF THE YEAR Isabel Duxbury and Kipras Mazeika n

ENROLLMENT FAST FACTS For 2017-2018, UPrep will enroll 109 new students. Here are some fast facts about them: • 53 girls, 56 boys • Coming from 61 schools (50 percent public and private) • 35 percent students of color • 34 siblings • 8 Rainier Scholars (37 on campus and 37 alums) • 12 percent receiving financial aid • 6 percent enrolled in Learning Pathways program n

Rainier Scholars

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ight Rainier Scholars graduated from University Prep this spring: David Gonzalez, Brittany Carter, Julie Xu, Aisse Torres Torres, Gabriel Greening, Samia Ali, Saymirah Cornelius-McClam, and Kathia Vivar Acevedo. The scholars will be attending colleges and universities across the United States.

University Prep has had a close association with Rainier Scholars (www.rainierscholars.org/) since its founding in 2001. The organization offers a 12-year program of intensive academic preparation, leadership development and personalized support, increasing access and opportunity for hardworking students of color. The number of scholars enrolled at UPrep has gradually increased, with a record number of 37 scholars attending in 2016-2017. This fall, we will welcome seven new scholars in grades 6, 7, 8, and 9. n

NEWS BITES Board of Trustees Update THIS YEAR, TWO MEMBERS have departed, William Campbell and Yuval Neeman, while seven new members joined the board as of July 1. We welcome: ADRIAN BIESECKER, an alumnus from the Class of 1995, is the President at BBC Biochemical. He is currently on UPrep’s Finance and Building Committees as well as the Feasibility Task Force.

Adrian and his wife are the parents of Britton ’23, as well as two younger children, Grahm and Lexi.

Adrian Biesecker

DEVINDRA CHAINANI is the Principal Product Manager for Microsoft’s Dynamics 365 Group. He currently serves on UPrep’s Technology Advisory Board. He and his wife Manisha – a member of the UPrep Parent Council – have a son, Ishaan ’18.

HELEN BLAIR DAY previously worked with Arthur Andersen and ACME Business Consulting. Helen serves on the Advancement Committee as well as the Feasibility Task Force. Helen and her husband Jeff – who serves on UPrep’s Technology Advisory Board – are parents of Lucy ‘20, and younger twins Phoebe and Helen.

MARGIE DUCKSTAD works as a legal editor and part-time firm administrator. At UPrep, she has served as co-chair of the Puma Fund and a Parent Ambassador, and is currently the Advancement Liaison on Parent Council and is on the Board’s Advancement Committee. Margie and her husband Kevin are parents of Gus ’19 and Charlie ’22.

MICHELLE GOLDBERG (not pictured) is a partner with Ignition Partners and invests in early stage venture capital. She currently serves on both the Finance and Investment Committees at UPrep. She and her husband Brad have two children at UPrep, Sloane ’21 and an entering 6th grader, Augie.

JEANETTE JAMES serves as Manager for Strategic Initiatives and Projects for the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity at the University of Washington. She is also a doctoral candidate in the College of Education. Jeanette served on UPrep’s Enrollment Advisory Committee this year.

YAZMIN MEHDI became an Outreach Coordinator for Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal in January, continuing a career in public policy after a seven-year hiatus during which she focused on volunteer work. She is currently a member of UPrep’s Next Generation Learning Leadership Committee. She and her husband, Liam Lavery, are parents of Declan ’21. n

Devindra Chainani

Helen Blair Day

Margie Duckstad

Jeanette James

Yazmin Mehdi

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Board News

By David Beitel, Board President

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HE wonderful weather has hopefully provided your family with a great backdrop to a relaxing and fruitful summer. I wanted to provide a brief update from the Board of Trustees. It is a pleasure to lead this great group, which has made a strong commitment to the current health and future success of University Prep.

The board’s work is centered around strategic planning, which sets the goals and direction for the school as we seek to deliver on our mission “to develop each student’s potential to become an intellectually courageous, socially responsible citizen of the world.” Matt has written an excellent update of the ongoing work built upon the current strategic plan. I encourage you to read it (http://uprep.us/2wafeuh).

Of course, the work of the board continues, as we look to refine and further develop this strategic plan and collaborate with the staff and faculty as appropriate. Matt and his team have been busy working on the details of the new schedule and enhancements to the curriculum and cocurricular activities to take advantage of the larger blocks of time it provides. Change can be difficult to implement, and I am happy with the innovation and boldness of the approach we are taking. Your feedback and support are crucial to our success.

This past year, the board: • Focused on how to create an even stronger environment of equity and inclusion. We

published an updated Diversity Mission statement, which helps shape our programs and policies.

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Many trustees serve on committees that are exploring how to set Next Generation Learning goals around Social Justice and Educational Equity, Social and Emotional Learning, Interdisciplinary Learning, New Models of Time, and the ULab. Many schools develop strategic plans, but it is exciting to see University Prep do the hard work to implement the plan and continue to evolve our students’ educational experience.

• Exceeded our fundraising goals for the year with the help of the whole community in our successful Puma Fund and Raise the Paddle events. Thank you

all for your ongoing support, both in time and money. The tuition assistance we provide our students allows us to admit the best group of kids each year.

• Approved a new strategy and policy for managing our financial reserves, including facilities replacement reserves, operating reserves, and strategic initiatives. The financial

position of the school is strong, and we are fortunate to have strong leadership in the Business Office and a steady hand in the operations of the school budget. Our financial reserves are healthy for our size and complexity and able to provide for contingencies should they be needed.

• Reached a milestone in planning for enhanced facilities to support 21st century learning. At the end of June we

filed for a Master Use Permit with the Seattle Department of Planning Growth for the development of a

David Beitel

new 40,000 sq. ft. building across 25th Avenue NE on the Friends Church site, which we have entered into an agreement to purchase.

Many steps remain, but the property acquisition and future development are key elements to the long-term success of University Prep.

• Reached out to all new UPrep families as part of our effort to welcome them, gather feedback, and share the work of the board.

The response has been positive, and we will continue this outreach in the coming years.

With a son who just graduated and is off to college this month and a daughter who is entering 10th grade, my wife and I are thrilled with the experiences UPrep has to offer. Through my service on the Board of Trustees and Joanna’s service as Parent Ambassador and a Parent Council representative, we see firsthand the amazing work throughout the school and the incredible volunteerism of our community.

Thank you for all you do in support of UPrep. I look forward to another exciting year ahead for our board, staff, faculty, and most importantly, our students and their families. n

NEWS BITES Political Advocacy and Engagement on the Rise

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here is no better person to articulate the strengths of a UPrep education than a Puma, and none more eloquent than new graduate Isabel Klein, an editor of the 2017 yearbook. In her introduction to that publication, she writes: “With 551 students and around 300 courses this year in topics from digital music to biotechnology, UPrep is undoubtedly a place for learning and experiencing. What makes these things valuable, though, is in how students can connect what they gather at UPrep to life outside of the classroom or even life after graduation.

The significance of a UPrep education is in the connections it allows us to make to causes, activities or places we are passionate about.”

D.C. Bully Busters I

N THE WAKE of last fall’s election, several UPrep 6th grade girls, along with several friends from Seattle Academy and Seattle Girls School, got together to try to do something about political bullying. Soon a leadership group was formed and an organization, the DC Bully Busters, came to life with the help of a few parents. The leadership group now comprises six UPrep students—Claire Renschler, Julia Cappio, Lucy Carlin, Josephine Burwell, Ella Huehnergarth, and Mia Predmore—and students at six other Seattle schools.

The Bully Busters website states: “DC Bully Busters is a movement started, owned and operated by a group of sixth-grade school girls in Seattle, Washington. The goal of this movement is to stop the bullying in Washington DC politics by teaching politicians what middle schoolers know about bullying.” Quite a tall order for a group of 11- to 12-year old girls, but their accomplishments have already been remarkable.

“The two main goals,” says founding member Claire Renschler, “are to collect 100 signatures from members of Congress and to write 10,000 letters educating politicians about bullying.” The group gets together most Saturdays to sign letters, talk strategy and make phone calls, and regularly attends events around Puget Sound. In March, they traveled to Washington, D.C., to appear at an event on Capitol Hill and collect pledges. Those now number 40.

In early May, the group received its biggest accolade to date when it received Bully Busters continues on page 26

Following are some examples of how learning and experiencing are taking place on and off campus, in and out of class.

L-R: Josephine Burwell, Lucy Carlin, Claire Renschler, Ella Huehnergarth, Julia Cappio, and Mia Predmore show off their Golden Tennis Shoe Award.

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NEWS BITES Bully Busters continued

one of Senator Patty Murray’s three Annual Golden Tennis Shoe Awards, which was presented to them at a luncheon in downtown Seattle.

Lucy Carlin says that her UPrep presidential election class (taught by Mark Cullen) discussed the disturbing language being exchanged by candidates and motivated her to take action. “I wanted to be politically active, and DC Bully Busters was a good opportunity for me to join a group.” Her classmate Julia Cappio had been volunteering since March 2016 on Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and came to the group in the aftermath of the presidential election. “I struggled with the result,” she says, “and I joined the group to make change.”

“A lot of people doubted we could do this,” says Ella Huehnergarth, “but our teachers at UPrep and our peers have been really supportive!” The group has partnered with a D.C. charter school and is considering adding boys to the group. “We now have connections across the country,” says Claire, “and over 1,000 kids who support our cause.

It has really been inspiring to see how far regular kids can get with an idea. It is showing people that it is possible to find your voice and effect change.” n

You can view the video from the event: http://uprep.us/2wZlP7V

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A VOICE FOR CLEAN ENERGY

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reshmen in Moses Rifkin’s Conceptual Physics class capped off their big energy project with a legislative advocacy component.

Librarian Leah Griffin taught students how to find state legislation about energy policy, determine who to contact, and write an impactful personal narrative based on their new knowledge of clean energy. Each student then contacted individual legislators depending on the bill that interested them or where in the process it was. Ninth grader Zoe Rasmussen sent an email and made a phone call to a legislative committee chair. “At first the prospect of calling a council member or representative was scary because I didn’t know how

they would respond to what I had to say, but then after the first sentence of talking it got so much easier. They seemed happy that a high school student was interested in current events.” Even though they can’t vote, these students now know how to make their voices heard, and have the skills to be socially responsible citizens of Washington State. n

GLOBAL ONLINE ACADEMY:

How to Spark Change in Your Community

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IVE UPREP STUDENTS contributed to the second annual Global Online Academy Catalyst Conference: Sparking Change in Our Communities, which took place in late April. The interactive online event for and by students brought together more than 300 students from 61 different schools around the world.

The capstone projects answered the question, How can you use what you’ve learned to spark change in your community?

Carris Clarkson, Genevieve Gottlieb, Franny Walls, and Ana Bogdanovich, all seniors taking the GOA Abnormal Psychology class second semester, made presentations revolving around concrete actions designed to: promote joy in secondary education; reduce the stigmas surrounding mental illness; foster suicide prevention training; and, decrease use of trigger warnings (the research cited supports that they do more harm than good). Senior Zach Beitel, who was enrolled in the Music Theory and Digital Composition class, discussed the transformation of his digital music production from hobby to career.

You can read their contributions and comments made about their work at http://uprep.us/2wpQUEF n

Environmental Ethics, Civics and Advocacy Class

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he Environmental Ethics, Civics and Advocacy class, a new Upper School interdisciplinary class team-taught by history teacher Karen Sherwood and English teacher Christina Serkowski, has taken learning one step farther by combining what was previously an English class with civics and adding an advocacy focus. The class was designed to give students time to consider ways to take action to solve environmental problems.

Early on, students planned advocacy projects, such as how they would run a community campaign to reduce the use of plastic bottles. They did independent research on climate change, diving deep into an environmental issue of their choosing. They even held a three-day climate summit in which they looked at the UN and past treaties, and then engaged in role play and simulations.

In late spring, the class featured a remarkable line-up of speakers, activists and thinkers whose actions challenge the status quo and raise stimulating ethical questions, including: Michael Foster, one of the Valve Turners who is helping the prosecution in the landmark Youth Climate

lawsuits; Margo Polly, a “kayactivist” involved in the #sHellNo campaign to block the departure of the Shell oil rig from Seattle’s port last year; Larry Cushnie, a political science professor at Seattle University and Bellevue College who specializes in resistance movements and government policy; Michael Gillespie, a retired ethics professor from UW Bothell, who works with Tostan, an organization that has reached three million people and is focused on sustainable development and community empowerment in Africa; Derek Hoshiko, who does community engagement for Climate Solutions, a Seattle organization working on sustainable and profitable solutions to global warming; and Carole Tomko, a Creative Director at Vulcan Productions whose films have helped raised awareness of the pressure on many species.

Senior Beck Anderson proclaimed the class his “favorite” of all he’s ever taken. Junior Adam Reid appreciated learning about the philosophical nature of environmental ethics, the concrete policies that are in place, as well as “what action I can take as a citizen to help make the world livable for all beings.” n

L-R: Upper School English teacher Christina Serkowski and Upper School history teacher Karen Sherwood

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ATHLETIC NEWS

By Rebecca Moe, Director of Athletics

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NOTHER GREAT YEAR has come to an end in the world of UPrep athletics. Once again, the Pumas competed locally, regionally and around the state.

We began our school year with games the day after Labor Day, and we ended right before Memorial Day in Cheney with our Boys 4 x 400m relay team on the podium as 7th place finishers at the State Championship. And there were many successful games for the Pumas in between!

Jack Katzman capped his senior year with his third straight singles championship in as many seasons. Jack won as a 9th and 10th grader as well, and took junior year off! He finished his Puma career as one of the most accomplished tennis players in the state and at University Prep.

In doubles, Jasen Mansfield and Christian Keaunui finished 2nd and Josh Wah-Blumberg and Wilson Mosier finished 4th. The Pumas earned enough team points to win the Team State Championship for the third time (previously won in 2009 and 2005). The team was honored by the Seattle Mariners on Spring Championship Night at Safeco Field during the pregame ceremonies before the Mariners/ Twins game on June 7!

Once again, our track team had some top finishes at the League, District and State meets. The following individuals were crowned League Champions in their respective events:

Varsity Boys Soccer Team

The Varsity Boys Soccer players were crowned 1A State Academic Champions by the WIAA — earning the highest team GPA among 1A soccer programs throughout the state.

The boys also made another postseason appearance in the Bi-District Soccer tournament, winning their opening round game in Bellingham and beating Meridian 2-1. The Pumas then faced Overlake in a winner-to-state game that found them scoreless at the end of regulation — only to lose in six rounds of penalty kicks, much to their chagrin!

Boys Tennis competed in the fall and had several entries in the State Tournament held in Yakima in late May. Senior

Varsity Boys Tennis, State Champs 28 UPREP MAGAZINE

State Track Medalists

League Champions Kipras Mazeika — League Champ, Discus, Javelin and High Jump, and two new school records Emily Weintraub — League Champ, 400m Rihan Delora — League Champ, Shot Put Aisse Torres — League Champ, Discus Arie Smidt — League Champ, 800m Relay Teams Isabel Duxbury, Sara Colando, Emily Weintraub, Emily Morrissey — Girls 4 x 400m Alex Lewis, Johnny Kellogg, Caleb Sherman, Anton Shenk — Boys 4 x 100m Arie Smidt, Donovan Bown, Damon Hardwick, Alex Lewis — Boys 4 x 400m The Pumas qualified eight athletes for the State meet in Eastern Washington. The three-day meet yielded many podium appearances as well as new school records for the Pumas.

Arie Smidt, who finished 3rd at State and set a new school record in the 800m

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Arie Smidt — 3rd in 800m and new school record Isabel Duxbury — 6th in 800m Emily Weintraub — 8th in the 400m Damon Hardwick, Donovan Bown, Kipras Mazeika and Arie Smidt — 7th, Boys 4 x 400m Relay, new school record Isabel Duxbury, Sara Colando, Lillian Bown and Emily Weintraub — 8th, Girls 4 x 400m Relay Congratulations to our Puma representatives at District and State!

ATHLETIC HIGHLIGHTS In 2016-2017, the athletic department coordinated 50 teams and managed 69 coaches, providing an educational-based athletic opportunity for 417 students (out of 551), and serving a total of 76% of our student body! Here is the tally of awards for the year: • 1 Emerald City League Tennis Championship — Boys Tennis • 1 District Championship — Boys Tennis • 1 State Team Championship — Boys Tennis • 1 Academic Team State Championship — Boys Soccer • 1 Individual State Champion • 12 State Medalists — Track and Tennis • 10 Individual League Champions — Boys Tennis, Girls Track, Boys Track • 42 Emerald City All League Selections • 3 Emerald City League Coach of the Year Selections • 2 League MVPs • Middle School — 83% Participation • Upper School — 70% Participation • Total Participations — 705

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Varsity Girls Ultimate Frisbee — Vera Leshinsky in white

Middle School Boys Ultimate and Coach Ray Yang

OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM continues to shine with AJ Brooks at the helm. He has been charged with creating systems to ensure our programs are developing and thriving with the newly instituted scope and sequence. Head coaches and Division 1 coaches have been working closely with Brooks to formalize evaluations, tryouts, practice planning and team/ program development. Participation rates held steady at 83%, with 8th grade having the most participants: 72 out of 85! We saw an increase in three-season athletes with 43 participants. The department is looking forward to having many of those eighth graders join our Upper School teams this year.

UPrep teams, above, and coaches, below

There were several fun Pumafest opportunities for our fall, winter and spring sport teams! The athletics department worked closely with the assistant director of Middle School and Sports Boosters to celebrate our student athletes.

Puma Athletic Achievement Awards were given at closing exercises to students who played a sport every season of Middle School, including: Adair Tilghman, Adissem Moita, Aidan Lee, Alex Johnson, Ella Conrad, George Hujoel, Georgia Paterson, Grace Paterson, Ian Ferguson, Jack Houlihan, Jane Morgan, Max Lagunoff, Mitchell Zell, and Nick McHugh.

Thank you for all who attended our events and supported our coaches and students! n

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ALUMNI NEWS

Alumni Board Update This past year, the Alumni Board took it upon itself to review and update its bylaws for the first time in a number of years—quite the undertaking—and many improvements were made. We welcome Rachel (Goodman) Moore ’05 to the board this fall. The focus for the next year will be on engagement with the school through the new Senior LaunchPad program and, of course, our local events! If you have any questions about the Alumni Board, please let us know at alumni@universityprep.org. n

Tubs Subs Tubs Subs has been a staple event for young alums for many years! A number of alums from the Classes of 2013-2016 came to campus on May 26 to enjoy some delicious Tubs Subs and compare notes on the college journey. Several current faculty also joined to say hi and catch up. n

Alumni Weekend 2017 This year’s Alumni Weekend was our most successful to date!

Our annual Friday night Alumni Mariners Game had more than 120 guests — our largest turnout ever!

It was a gorgeous evening to be at Safeco Field, and alums enjoyed drinks and dinner as they watched the Mariners take on the Yankees.

Coach, teacher and alum Alec Duxbury ’86 kicked off the festivities on Saturday with a soccer scrimmage on Dahl Field. Players of all ages gathered together for a friendly game and finished the morning with a skills drill led by Coach Dux. The Alumni Party on campus was a fun celebration with more than 100 guests in attendance. Live music was performed by Jasper Tollefson ’06 with the Plymouth Housing Band, and alums enjoyed lawn games, campus tours, and food and drinks.

Tianna Lee ’16, Griffin Voth ’15, Matan Arad-Neeman ’16, Paul Kiefer ’16, Omar Shah ’15, Andy Pham ’15, and Olivia Heeb ’15

At this event, the UPrep alumni community honored three recently retired faculty, Judy Ghavamian, Alan Hargus, and Scott Herrick.

It was a pleasure to have these beloved faculty members in attendance. The Classes of 2012 and 1997 celebrated their reunions by visiting with faculty and enjoying a private dinner for each of their classes. Thank you to all the alums who helped make this our largest Alumni Weekend ever! We hope to see many of you at the upcoming Winter Party at Metier on Saturday, November 25. Details coming soon!

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Clockwise from top left: The Class of 1997 reunited on campus; Harry Olswang ’03 and his wife Erica Coppel with baby Odin; Namaad Jackson, Kevan Hammer ’00, Zach Collings ’01, and Greg Impert ’98; alumni celebrate Alan Hargus during their party on campus; Friday night Mariners game at Safeco Field.

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—UPREP CLASS NOTES— If you would like to make a submission for our Class Notes, please email classnotes@universityprep.org

ALUMNI PROFILE Jack Kelly ’12 on LaunchPad This spring, I was contacted by two graduating seniors, Jacob Richey and Alex Garcia, who were interested in Jack Kelly ’12 spending their two-week LaunchPad with the Tacoma Rainiers. My role with the Rainiers is as their financial analyst, which mostly involves accounting, but can include the finance side as well. I had been thinking of a project I wanted to do, but just hadn’t had the time to start.

After probably three days, Jacob and Richey were finished with the project and I had to restructure my plans with both of them. I was very impressed by their work ethic during a set-up I was initially skeptical about. These two graduating seniors were told to spend their final two weeks of spring semester off campus, but continue working six hours a day! I was surprised to find that it was them keeping me on schedule instead of the other way around.

I really enjoyed reconnecting with UPrep. While working with Alex and Jacob, I got to hear how the school has changed, and also how it has remained the same since my graduation five years ago. I attended the senior presentation night to see my mentees present their LaunchPad experience, and I also learned about the Ronald McDonald House, LED light engineering, and watched a beautiful visual yearbook that I’m sure the Class of 2017 will love to look back on. It was great seeing faculty and staff that I hadn’t seen in a while, and visiting UPrep for the first time in years.

I look forward to participating next year and seeing what else UPrep’s students are able to accomplish! n

We welcome your submissions to University Prep’s Class Notes. Updates (up to 150 words) and high-resolution photos also may be sent to: tcattolico@universityprep.org.

Class notes undergo minimal editing and do not necessarily reflect the views of University Prep. Subjects in photos are listed left to right unless otherwise noted.

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—1980s— Stephanie Seymour ’80 writes: “Beat breast cancer. My daughter sang at Carnegie Hall. My other daughter worked at the Emmy’s in midFebruary. My son passed away from cancer in 2010.”

Sarah McGregor Horner ’84 writes: “I was recently promoted to Director of Consumer Sales at Montinore Estate in Forest Grove, Oregon. This is a 200-acre biodynamically farmed vineyard and winery that produces cool climate white wines, Pinot Noir, and unusual Italian varieties. I oversee all consumer departments, including the tasting room, wine club and ecommerce.”

—1990s— Deborah L. Stein ’93 writes: “I recently curated an art exhibition in San Francisco with Danielle Satinover on an ecological theme, at the 3rd Street Village gallery in the Bayview.

I am also a practicing ceramics artist.

After having taught at Mills College, UCSC, UCI, UCB, and SFSTATE and having published four peer-reviewed articles, my book, The Hegemony of Heritage: Ritual and the Record in Stone, is forthcoming this fall from the South Asia Across the Disciplines series in conjunction with University of California Press. I’m also a feminist mother of two sons, bilingual wife to a Frenchman, and proud co-worker at my new day job at a famous family-owned arts and crafts store on Haight Street.”

—2000s— Andrew Jarvis ’00 Andrew’s latest poetry collection, Landslide, won a Silver Medal in the Nautilus Book Awards for Nature Poetry.

It is his second full-length poetry collection. Published by Homebound Publications, Landslide and his previous title, The Strait, have received three INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards, as well as been honored by the Nautilus Book Awards. His poetry titles are available at all small and large bookstores nationwide, as well as online. He would like to thank University Prep for encouraging him to write for the past 20 years.

Rebecca Moe, Richard Arechavaleta, Collette Arechavaleta ’04 and Judy Ghavamian

Collette (Hooper) Arechavaleta ‘04 Collette spoke at our Founders Day assembly on February 27 and had a special guest, her son Richard!

Thank you for speaking Collette, and wonderful to meet your son!

—2010s— Owen Camber ’13 writes: “As part of my capstone project at Columbia College Chicago I am leading a team creating Inspiration, a storytelling improv card game. I launched a Kickstarter campaign for the game in May. In Inspiration, players take turns telling stories based off of three Art Cards and a single Subject Card. The games structure is similar to Apples to Apples, in that one player sits out as a judge each round. If you’re around UPrep and would like to see the game, there’s a copy in the Advancement Office at Toby’s desk!”

Helen Chyz ’10 writes: “After three years working in the admissions office at Earlham College (Indiana), and still being ‘college counseled’ by Kelly Herrington, I will pursue a master’s degree in Leadership in Higher Education at the University of Washington starting this fall.”

Elaine Woo ‘10 UPrep was delighted to welcome Elaine Woo ’10 to the stage at the #WeAreUPrep spring celebration.

Elaine spoke about her UPrep educational

Elaine Woo ’10

experience and shared her passion for education equity with UPrep community members. Elaine graduated magna cum laude from Skidmore College with a bachelor’s degree in social work. She will complete her master of social work degree from the University of Washington this year.

We thank Elaine for sharing her story and helping raise awareness about the importance of UPrep’s mission of equity, access, and inclusion.

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—UPREP CLASS NOTES—

Nick Sage ’16 writes: “I recently received a $4,000 grant from the Appel Fellowship based out of Claremont Mckenna College that allowed me to design and fully devote my time to a meaningful writing project over the summer. With the Appel funding, I decided to drive roughly 8,000 miles around the United States, visiting various historical sites (many of which I learned about in Mr. Grant’s U.S. History class) and trying to discuss themes of patriotism with random Americans along the way.

Through this project I hope to show that it is possible to be proud of our nation, while at the same time understanding and taking responsibility for the failures and crimes of our Above clockwise: Nick Sage reaches the Atlantic Ocean, Little Big Horn, and the Stonewall forefathers. Only by viewing our Memorial from Nick’s Medium page (https://medium.com/@nsage20). You can view more history critically can we make images from his adventuress on Instagram (nix_sage). meaningful progress in the future.”

Moses Rifkin made a trip to Walla Walla and had brunch with several UPrep alumni, many of whom played Ultimate while at UPrep.

Kaeley Pilichowski ’15, Brahm Coler ’15, Andrew Walls ’14, Linnea Soo ’14, Pascal Carpentier ’13, Bayard Blair ’14, Alissa Soo ’14, Bess McKinney, Moses Rifkin, Merone Hadush ’16, and Lily Parker ’15

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LOOKING AHEAD

NEW CL A SSE S in 2017 - 2018 Transforming the learning experience

UPREP’s educational leadership team continually review UPrep course offerings, and teachers regularly develop new courses to enhance the student experience and address our strategic plan goals. This year, after peer feedback, revision and presentation to the Academic Council for approval, the following new courses were approved for next year, all of which challenge students to launch down a path of critical inquiry.

FEMINISM: EFFECTS OF SEXISM AND ADVOCACY This is UPrep’s second student-led course, following on the heels of the successful Social Entrepreneurship class last fall. Proposed by juniors Emma Van Deursen and Abigail Donner, this class, which has a faculty advisor, but no full-time teacher, explores advocacy strategies to combat sexism.

INNOVATION AND DESIGN STUDIO This Upper School course gives students the opportunity to design their own semester projects focused on research, advocacy or entrepreneurship. It provides a different option for student-directed learning for those students who want to conduct independent projects, but need some structure and support to succeed.

DIGITAL STORYTELLING This course explores the art of storytelling through various digital media projects and provides 7th and 8th grade students a second English elective. Students have the opportunity to articulate their own design ideas from conception to execution in work ranging from personal to informative narrative, and social critique.

AN INTENTIONAL MEDIA DIET This course for 11th and 12th grades focuses on changes in communication technologies over time and a critical examination of digital media. Students explore what it means to be a socially responsible media consumer and content creator in a digital, globalized world.

CURRENT EVENTS AND MEDIA LITERACY This 7th and 8th grade history elective course examines issues involved in contemporary news production and consumption to empower students to become critical consumers and producers of information.

ADVANCED TOPICS IN WORLD HISTORY: THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2018 This Upper School course examines the key issues and themes surrounding the FIFA World Cup in Russia to be held in summer 2018. The course explores how football became a truly global pastime and how the World Cup became a multibillion-dollar event.

LANGUAGE ELECTIVES Three new electives will replace Spanish 5, 6, and 7. Latinx en Los Estados Unidos: Living in Between; Justicia Social en el Mundo Hispano; and Introducción al Análisis de Literatura y Cine del Mundo Hispano. They satisfy graduation requirements and will also allow heritage students to study French or Chinese for two years and then complete their graduation requirement in advanced Spanish classes if they so choose.

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Nonproft ORG US POSTAGE PAID SEATTLE, WA PERMIT NO. 1268

8000 25th Ave NE | Seattle, WA 98115

How will you shape our future?

The Puma Fund is a community effort that lives our mission.

WHAT IS THE PUMA FUND? The Puma Fund is a school-wide, eight-week effort with a goal to raise $700,000. Whether a student participates in one of our award-winning music ensembles or in our expanded computer science curriculum, the Puma Fund benefits everyone. We invite our community members to participate at a level that is meaningful to them. Please join us!

PUMA FUND CAMPAIGN LAUNCHES SEPTEMBER 14!