Fall 2018 | Vol 3 | No. 1
Connect A Magazine for the Eton School Community
Journeys Around the Sun
This year Eton School Celebrates Its 40th Year As you can imagine, we are extremely proud of our school, the education we provide for children, and the community that has developed within Eton School. Becoming an excellent school is not easy. What Pat Feltin accomplished in founding Eton School took hard work and dedication. Even more impressive is the level of excellence which she and the staff at Eton attained in a relatively short time. Maintaining an excellent school is equally difficult. No school can afford to rest on its laurels and become complacent. For any school to maintain a level of excellence, a question must be repeatedly addressed: “How can we improve on what we do and how we do it?” This means always challenging the status quo and engaging in a constant and consistent cycle of school improvement. This year, however, is an important milestone in the history of Eton School. So, while we will not stop seeking ways to improve, we will also take time to celebrate the 40 years of Eton School as a leading school on the Eastside. During the course of the year, we will have celebrations commemorating our anniversary, written pieces recalling milestones from the school’s history, and the 40th year of Eton School will provide the backdrop for many of our traditional events. We hope you will join us in celebrating the first forty years of Eton School as we reflect on our past and prepare for the next forty years!
Russell Smith, Head of School
Connect A Magazine for the Eton School Community
Journeys Around the Sun The Montessori Journey in the Pre-elementary Environment by Pre-elementary Teachers................................................................................................................. 2
Imagination and the Cosmic Journey in the Lower Elementary Classroom by Lower Elementary Teachers............................................................................................................ 4
Cosmic Fair: Lower Elementary (Grades 1-3).......................................................................... 8 A Purposefully Designed Journey by Sonja Everson.................................................................................................................................... 10
Journeys Around the Sun...................................................................................................................12 Eton Parent Council (EPC)................................................................................................................ 14 Annual Fund: A Year of Growth by Monica Maling....................................................................................................................................16
The Operational Side of School by Jason Mallon.......................................................................................................................................18
Welcome New Faculty and Staff................................................................................................... 20 New School Year Brings Changes................................................................................................. 21
Life‑Long Learners Alumni Update........................................................................................................................................ 22 Connect Authors and Contributors............................................................................................ 24
Fall 2018 Volume 3 | No. 1 © 2018 Eton School www.etonschool.org 2701 Bellevue‑Redmond Road Bellevue, WA 98008 Phone: 425.881.4230
Pre‑elementary (Age 3 through Kindergarten)
The Montessori Journey in the Pre-elementary Environment by Pre-elementary Teachers
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Wide-eyed or perhaps a bit bashful, eager to explore or perhaps wanting to stay close to Mom or Dad, every young child enters his or her Pre-elementary Montessori environment at Eton School with the basic human need of wanting to belong to a community. The communities of our youngest students are beginning to expand; first, it was the child’s nuclear family, then perhaps to a small day-care environment and now to a class that is part of a school. These communities will continue to expand throughout the rest of the child’s life, and the need to feel included is constant. Children feel most included in a community when they get to meaningfully contribute to that community. When the children begin their Montessori journey, they immediately are provided with opportunities to contribute, and they learn that their contributions are of value. Self-esteem and independence begin to strengthen. Knowing that they are capable of folding clothes, sweeping the floor, pouring their own beverages and washing their own dishes at age three builds the confidence needed for tackling story problems in math and creative story writing in language when they are older. It is independence and confidence that enables one to be innovative and willing to take on new challenges as an adult. The exercises in Practical Life honor the child’s time and need for repetition. Learning to cut a strip of paper may take a few minutes, a couple of days or several months. Letting the child patiently work through this challenge helps the child develop persistence. Persistence is definitely needed when learning to jump rope, make a map of Africa, or compute four‑digit multiplication. Tweezing grains of rice builds concentration. This same concentration is
“When the children begin their Montessori journey, they immediately are provided with opportunities to contribute, and they learn that their contributions are of value.” needed for building a pattern with one hundred pieces of material from the Sensorial shelves or counting out beads to find the cube of nine. Carrying a pitcher filled with water refines coordination and control. This control comes in handy when one participates with a group, both inside and outside the classroom. Cooperative learning and collaborative teamwork naturally occur in all curriculum areas. From helping a classmate pick up spilled beads in Practical Life to playing “Go Fish” games to learn about inventors, landforms, or buildings in Cultural Studies. From writing “research reports” in Language to playing the “Bank Game in Math and organizing “Freeze Tag” games during recess, the students are continually working on group organizational skills that include flexibility, self-regulation, leadership and conflict resolution. It is through guided lessons from their teachers, observing older role models, and participating in daily experiences that occur naturally that help to build and strengthen these skills. All of these skills guide a positive learning community, a peaceful social community, and as the child’s journey continues to adulthood, a purposeful work community.
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Lower Elementary (Grades 1-3)
Imagination and the Cosmic Journey in the Lower Elementary Classroom by Lower Elementary Teachers
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Imagine you are in a vast, blacker than the black, expanse of nothingness. You, your family, your extended family, the earth, the planets, the solar system, do not exist. All that exists is a tiny singularity in the vast, cold darkness. That tiny singularity held everything that was to “become.” Then, BANG! The singularity flared and flashed sending subatomic particles, the building blocks of the universe, flying out into the blackness. The particles floated around bumping into one another, joining one another, creating the possibility of all things we know today. Thus, begins the Cosmic journey for Lower Elementary students. What is Cosmic education? What is this Cosmic journey? In Montessori it means learning about all time and all space, looking at the universe around us, diving deep to see how it all began and everything that took place before they were born. Through careful observation and knowledge of human development, Maria Montessori created the Five Great Lessons for students in first through third grade. These Great Lessons speak to the students' imaginative self as it leads them on a cosmic journey through story-telling, hands-on experiments, and projects when they are beginning the conscious search for who they are as individuals and how they fit into the world around them.
the teachers introduce the concept of a scientific theory—through science, much can be determined, but the actual beginning of the universe is a theory based on how the puzzle pieces seem to fit together.
“The Cosmic Journey is one of storytelling, projects, and immersion into another time and place. The goal is to strike each child’s imagination by “…feeding the hungry intelligence and opening vast fields of knowledge to exploration.” The First Great Lesson, Coming of the Universe, begins the journey through time and space. After hearing a version of the story (related above in the opening paragraph), the students are introduced to a variety of lessons such as astronomy, chemistry, physics, geology, geography, and meteorology. Students explore these subjects based on their interests and ability levels.
A global vision of cosmic events fascinates children, and their interest will soon remain fixed on one particular part as a starting point for more intensive studies. As all parts are related, they will all be scrutinized sooner or later. Thus, the way leads from the whole, via the parts, back to the whole. The children will develop a kind of philosophy which teaches them the unity of the Universe. This is the very thing to organize their intelligence and to give them a better insight into their own place and task in the world, at the same time presenting a chance for the development of their creative energy.1 The students’ journey begins first with the reading of creation stories from around the world. These stories touch on the lives and questions of early people with a purpose of creating an atmosphere of respect for others’ beliefs and customs. Activities might include writing a personal creation story, creating art around a favorite story, reading additional creation stories on their own, or researching about countries or civilizations. After finishing the creation activities, 1
Polk Lillard, Paula. Montessori Today: A Comprehensive Approach to Education from Birth to Adulthood. (New York: Schocken Books-Doubleday, 1996), 75.
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The Coming of the Universe flows into the Second Great Lesson, The Coming of Life. Earth has the elements it needs in the atmosphere (hydrogen and oxygen) to combine, fall, and cool the surface of the planet. The initial lesson involves heating up tomato soup to a boil demonstrating lava or the molten surface of the earth, then putting it in a container representing the planet surface, and then covering the container with plastic to create a mini-environment. As the lava bubbles, precipitation gathers in the atmosphere and falls to earth, cooling the lava. Within days, mold (life) starts to grow. Excitement reigns as students see, in action, the beginnings of life. With this lesson, the students are introduced to the biology of life on earth— microorganisms, plants and animals, the diversity of life and the vital job each living thing brings to our world. The Third Great Lesson, The Coming of Humans, introduces students to the study of history and the progress of human civilization. The lesson begins with the march of the Hominids. The students enjoy learning about Lucy, an Australopithecus Afarensis female, discovered in 1974 and who was only three 6 | Eton School
feet five inches tall. Another set of remains, Ardi, an Ardipithecus Ramidus, found in 1994 is a female only 3 feet 11 inches tall —the height of some of the students. There is an immediate connection as they compare their height to Lucy and Ardi. Books, materials, and research help the students visualize and connect to early humans who made our present civilization possible. The Third Great Lesson also centers on the needs of humans, and research leads the students to discover that although all humans have the same basic needs, those needs look very different depending on where in the world one lives. The Coming of Language, the Fourth Great Lesson, tells the history of language development. A favorite story that has evolved over time and that the students love to hear again and again is the story of Wa. A long time ago, on the continent of Africa, there was a nomadic community. As the people traveled from place to place to find food and water, they carried simple shelters on their back to erect when they stopped. Rain had not fallen for days and a drought set in. They could not find water. The people did not have a language, and they communicated with one another through hand symbols. Fall 2018
“Cosmic Education is intended to help each of us search for our cosmic task as a species and as individuals. To do this, we must understand ourselves in context. It is only against the background of our place in the universe, our relationships with other living organisms, and our understanding of human unity within cultural diversity, that we can attempt to answer the question, ‘Who am I?’ ”21 As they traveled, some members started to fall behind due to thirst and fatigue. One of the youngest, smallest daughters of the community fell further and further back. At the crest of a hill where she paused to catch her breath, she heard the quiet sound of a small stream. The rest of her group were at the bottom of the hill when they heard a strange sound. It was something they had never heard before. The young girl was waving her hands, stomping her feet, and yelling, “Wa!” “Wa!” Astonished, they rushed up the hill because they thought something was very wrong with the girl. She pointed in the direction of the sound and said, “Wa” again. The group walked through some scrub and found the stream. Soon people in the community would point at the water and use the sound “wa.” This story demonstrates to the students the importance of language in everyday life. While working on this Great Lesson, the students explore the evolution of language along with the development of symbols and alphabets. The Fifth Great Lesson, The Coming of Math begins with a story of how in a small village, in a remote part of the world a long time ago, a young boy had the important daily job of keeping track of his families’ flock of sheep. Since he couldn’t keep track of all the sheep, he only took a few sheep at a time to the river. One day when he was walking to the river with three of the sheep, he kicked a stone. It gave him the idea of gathering a stone for each sheep, and this would help 2
Michael & D’Neil Duffy, Children of the Universe: Cosmic Education in the Montessori Elementary Classroom. (Hollidaysburg, PA: Parent Child Press, 2016).
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him keep track of all the sheep in his care, especially when he took them to the river. Archaeologists have unearthed piles of rocks known as calculi, an early form of arithmetic. As part of this study, students learn about computation, number facts, geometry, story problems, fractions and more. Students also learn about the evolution of number sense throughout history. The Cosmic Journey is one of storytelling, projects, and immersion into another time and place. The goal is to strike each child’s imagination by feeding the hungry intelligence and opening vast fields of knowledge to exploration. Students use the many interesting materials in the rich Lower Elementary Montessori learning environment to explore these big questions. The Five Great Lessons help each student find a passion for learning as they make connections from the past to the present. It is this sense of self‑discovery that is an important part of the learning strategy in a Lower-Elementary Montessori classroom. Connect | 7
Cosmic Fair: Lower Elementary (Grades 1-3)
A Journey Through Montessori’s Great Lessons
Every year families are invited to travel through time during the Cosmic Fair. The Lower Elementary students study and work over a number of weeks gathering information and preparing display boards based on the Montessori Great Lessons: The Coming of the Universe, The Coming of Life, The Coming of Humans, and The Coming of Language and Math. An educational focus in the Lower Elementary classrooms is concentrated around these Great Lessons that start with the universe and end with how humans communicate with language and numbers. Enjoy these photos from last year’s Cosmic Fair and plan on taking the journey at this year’s event on April 5, 2019 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Lower Elementary Classrooms at the Main Building.
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Admissions and Enrollment Management learn; I focused most of my energy into making sure Upper Elementary continued to nurture that internal drive and deep curiosity that the students came equipped with. But now I have stepped out of the Upper Elementary classroom and into the role of Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management. In my new role, I am constantly in and out of classes at all the grade levels, and I have begun to gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the “Why” behind Eton’s Upper Elementary and Middle School students’ internal motivation, love of learning, and success in the classroom.
A Purposefully Designed Journey by Sonja Everson Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management
There is one particular moment I look back on from my first year of teaching at Eton School that makes me laugh. It was the first week of school, and all of the fourth-grade students had just settled into their work time. Students were spread throughout the classroom, some reading in pairs in the library corner, some sitting at their desks working on a vocabulary assignment, and others writing their homework in their planners. There was a nice, busy hum of learning in the classroom. A parent popped her head into the doorway requesting to talk with me. I stepped into the hallway, and, midway through our brief conversation, a sense of sheer panic set into my stomach—I wasn’t leading the class! I envisioned squealing students standing on their desks and paper airplanes whizzing through the air. In my moment of desperation, I quickly abandoned the conversation, jumped back into the classroom expecting to find a scene of total anarchy. My eyes quickly scanned the room, and I was greeted not by the chaos I expected, but by little Emma looking up from her book, giving me a quick, concerned smile, asking, “Are you okay?” I released my breath and relaxed my shoulders. I scanned the room once more, only to see students deeply engaged in the business of learning. I chuckled to myself and thought, “What is this magical place I’ve found? I think I’m going to like it here!” During my eleven years teaching at Eton, I never put much thought into why my students loved to 10 | Eton School
Think of the skills you need to be successful in a middle school. An eighth-grade student who is confronted with a challenging math problem must be able to make connections across topics she has learned, concentrate on the task at hand, and have the self-discipline to overcome difficulty. Similarly, a fifth-grade student composing an essay about his weeklong trip to NatureBridge must order his thoughts, collaborate with peers to revise his written work, and tap his self-confidence to believe his experience is worth communicating to others in the first place. The seeds for these skills are purposefully planted and nurtured throughout Eton School’s program. In our Pre-elementary Montessori classroom, a three-year-old in the practical life area pours water from one pitcher to another. On face value, this seems like a simple task, completely unrelated to the work in a middle school. This impression holds true until you understand the purpose is not to get the water into a different vessel; the task’s real purpose is to help a child build precision, focus, order, and independence, foundational skills that are needed for more complex thinking. A young student shares an object of importance during group time, building her confidence and voice. The manipulation of math materials gives students a beginning understanding of how to arrange quantities and that numbers are not just symbols but a language used to represent our world. Maria Montessori designed each lesson for the pre-elementary classroom with these deeper goals in mind, setting the foundation needed for later success. The confidence that started in Pre-elementary carries over into group projects, presentations, and performances in Lower Elementary. Students at this level are capable of longer periods of concentration, have the ability to organize priorities, and ask big questions. During their self-directed work time, students solidify their internal motivation for learning. Through the five great lessons, they investigate topics of interest and are Fall 2018
so enraptured by the stories of how life came to be that they learn not because the teacher tells them to, but because they cannot help but be invested in the topics. When you walk into a Lower Elementary classroom, the busy hum of learning is ever present. Multiage groups of first-, second-, and third-grade students work to research fascinating people for their historical Halloween projects. A group of firstgrade students sits together during an artistic lesson about the parts-of-speech, while another group of third-grade students practices memorizing lines for the Lower Elementary musical. It is internalized in Eton students that learning is not something that has to be done because a grown-up says so, rather learning is intrinsically necessary and exciting because it is how you become connected to the world. When the third-grade students complete the three-year cycle in Lower Elementary, they join together to form the fourth-grade class and join the fifth-grade class as part of Upper Elementary. They are ready and excited for the complex work of the advanced grades—academically, socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Eton’s Upper Elementary students are confident and independent, which is on full display during their overnight trips to IslandWood in fourth grade and NatureBridge in fifth grade. During these trips away from home, they take care of themselves and each other. Eton students love to learn, and this is only strengthened throughout Upper Elementary as they make connections across subjects and begin to understand their own strengths as learners. In class, Upper Elementary students collaborate to investigate the depths of the ocean trenches, support each other as they deepen their understanding of characters’ perspectives during novel studies, and begin to finalize their move into the abstract understanding of mathematical concepts. With each opportunity of success, Eton students move through the Upper Elementary grades, building the confidence and academic skills needed to confront the next challenge of Eton’s Middle School head-on.
trip. The Middle School students take on leadership roles throughout the school and community, serving as role models in the Pre-elementary and Lower Elementary classrooms where the seeds of their own learning were sowed so many years before. On graduation day, each eighth-grade student delivers a speech, summing up their journey through Eton’s program. They often speak nostalgically of their first memories at Eton: I remember walking into Mezzo A, scared of not knowing anyone, and being welcomed and encouraged. Teachers and families sit in the audience, pride stuck in their throats at having had the privilege to witness, step-by-step, this awe-inspiring journey of that timid three-year-old growing into the confident eighthgrade student now standing on the podium before them and about to head out to high school and beyond. As I tour prospective families through the various levels of Eton School, it has become apparent to me, now more than ever, that Eton School’s eighth-grade graduates represent the culmination of a joyous, purposefully designed journey that starts at age three. Every step of the way, the goal is never simply to get water from one vessel to another or to solve a single math equation. The goal is that through this purposeful journey, Eton students become curious, confident learners who have passion for learning and are poised to contribute to the world. Eton School is truly a magical place that I feel so lucky to have found.
In this tight-knit Middle School community, the older students know they are valued, that they have a voice deserving to be heard and the power to work for a greater good. The seed of confidence, planted so long ago when sharing an object during group time in Pre-elementary, has grown into the strength to stand in front of a ballroom of adults to give a presentation on the class’s scientific findings that were gathered while conducting research on a sailing trip through the Salish Sea during their seventh- or eighth-grade VOL 3 | NO. 1
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Journeys Around the Sun Celebration of 40 Years (Party) 2018–2019 Friday, May 3, 2019 | 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Perrigo Park | Redmond
Revised Logo and Brand Colors 2014–2015 Celebration of 35 Years 2013–2014 All-School Photo in Shape of 35 and Re-accreditation by NWAIS and AMS New Head of School 2012–2013 Dr. Russell Smith Head of School 2011-2012 Dr. Patricia Feltin Retires Converted to Nonprofit 2010–2011 with a Board of Trustees Celebration of 30 Years 2008–2009 Special 30 Year Logo on Sweatshirts
Celebration of 25 Years 2003–2004 Playground Murals Created by Students Re-accreditation by PNAIS (now NWAIS) 2002–2003 and Accreditation by AMS
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1978 Founded by Dr. Patricia Feltin 1978–1979 Inaugural Academic Year
1983–1984 Celebration of 5 Years 1986–1987 Moved from Ashwood (Downtown Bellevue) to Bel-Red Road Campus
1988–1989 Celebration of 10 Years
Installation of Flag Pole
1991–1992 Recipient of United States Department of Education's Blue Ribbon School Award
1993 Celebration of 15 Years 1994–1995 Accreditation by PNAIS (Now NWAIS)
1998–1999 Celebration of 20 Years
Bear Sculpture Creation
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Eton Parent Council (EPC)
Parents/Guardians are an essential part of our robust Eton School community, and all are members of the Eton Parent Council (EPC). From organizing all-school events, such as ice skating at Sno-King to offering parent learning events, the EPC supports our school community. Some of you have already participated in this year's EPC events. On their first half-day of school, we held our Welcome Picnic for families new to the school, as well as those starting a new level in their Eton journey. Everyone enjoyed the lunch provided and the time to get to know other parents/guardians from the classroom as well as the greater community. The last week of September held our first evening business meeting with the Volunteer Kick-Off. We had high attendance and enthusiasm for volunteering at the
meeting. Thank you to all who participated. November brought our annual Family Game Night. Uncle's Games provided games both new and old for all age levels to play. During the evening, EPC provided a variety of snacks in the Science Room for everyone to enjoy. In addition, families had an opportunity to purchase a variety of games from Uncle's Games special sales table with ten percent of the sales benefitting Eton School. We hope you will join us during the third week in January for the All-School Ice Skating Party as well as the Learning Event. Also mark your calendars for the Annual Meeting and Volunteer Thank You in May as well as our End of the Year Family Picnic on the last day of school. Meanwhile, we look forward to seeing you at the First Thursday Coffees (monthly except January) in Casa I-II after morning arrival for coffee and conversations.
Eton Parent Council Events
January 21, 2019 All-School Ice Skating May 15, 2019 Snow-King Ice Arena, Kirkland 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Provided: Admission, Skates, and Snacks
January 23, 2019 EPC Business Meeting and Learning Event: Childhood Development, Anxiety, and Depression with Dr. Christine Clancy 6:15 p.m., Main Building Complimentary Childcare 14 | Eton School
EPC Business Meeting and Volunteer Thank You 6:15 p.m., Main Building Complimentary Childcare
June 12, 2019 EPC End the Year Family Picnic Come celebrate a great school year and the beginning of summer! 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Perrigo Park, Redmond Bring: Lunch and Drinks Fall 2018
Welcome Picnic
Family Game Night
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Annual Report 2017-2018 program but they are also learning empathy, problemsolving, and social and emotional competencies which help them flourish in school and life. Your generous donations to the Annual Fund go to work in the current school year and support teachers in providing exceptional, transformative experiences for all students. Every year, participation in the Annual Fund grows with more parents understanding the importance of how it assists in strengthening our robust program. In 2017-2018, a group composed of the Eton School Board of Trustees and friends of Eton School made an inspiring challenge to parents/guardians. They challenged parent/guardians to donate $35,000 collectively by the end of October, and then they would match that amount. Parents eagerly took on the challenge, and not only succeeded in reaching the set amount but also achieved 70% family participation!
Annual Fund: A Year of Growth by Monica Maling Director of Development
Most of the cost of maintaining our independent school is the people, and they, in turn, are Eton School’s most important asset. Our talented and dedicated faculty and staff are responsible for providing a rich and challenging curriculum and fostering a love of learning in your children. Our focus on educating the whole child means that not only are students given a strong academic
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Many thanks to the Annual Fund committee parents/guardians and students who handed out giveaways and talked to parents about the importance of making a gift during arrivals. We are also very grateful to our Annual Fund Ambassadors who emailed parents at their level, sharing their reasons why they give to the Annual Fund and inspiring other parents to provide. Thank you to the Ambassadors who significantly contributed to the increase in participation in giving to the Annual Fund: Franziska Eckerlin (Pre-elementary), Michelle Gadot (Lower Elementary), and Susan Pappalardo (Upper Elementary and Middle School).
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Thank You 2017–2018 Fiscal Year Annual Fund Donors Pawan Agarwal and Tanu Mutreja Vipul Aggarwal and Mila Mihova Mahadev Alladi and Vandana Gummuluru Anonymous (12) Arvind Arasu and Janani Arvind Muthukaruppan Annamalai and Vaishnavi Sannidhanam Benjamin Arazy Bilal Aslam and Olga Ivanova Prakash Balasubramanian and Lakxmi Gurumurthy Niranjan Baligar and Divya Bhagavan Chaitan Bandela and Sujatha Chappidi Michael Barta and Cynthia Shelly Wenjie Bao and Shuang Li Sierra, Tyler and Kaiden Bonilla Lenox and Trudy Brassell Daniel and Stephanie Brown Suzana Canuto and Mario Guimaraes Sarat Chandra and Harshitha Digumarthi The Charter Family Hui Cheng and Ying Li Jren-Chit Chin and Lixia Liu Julia and Scott Cole Gagan and Rashmi Chopra Mark and Kit Craig Sunny and Sonia Dhillon Sanjiv Dobhal and Jyotsna Krishan Alexander and Franziska Eckerlin Ibrahim Eden and Semiha Kamar Jiamian Feng and Jia Li Darren Firth and Samantha Webb Robert Frangooles and Anne Pace Jessie Fu, James Zang and Chris Zang Michelle Gadot Le Gao and Yingying Chen Tianxiang Gao and Shan Zhu The Garris Family Shoubhik and Nivedita Ghosh Arif and Nausheena Ghouse Boris and Mitchelle Gonsalves Ashit Gosalia and Dharini Iyengar Sriram Govindarajan and Rukmani Gopalan Zhijie Guan and Yin Liu Miguel Guerrero and Violeta Arroyo Anica and Rick Harris Hao He and Zhen Zhang Magnus and Heather Hedlund Gabriel and Raluca Hera Noah and Eric Heutchy Aaron Holm and Saira Khan Brian Hondowicz and Audrey Park Rob Horwitz and Jodi Minkin Bruce and Bridget Horne Blair and Kathleen Hotchkies Bing Hu and Jie Feng Lifeng Hu and Christine Han Jaeyoung and Taeok In Gordon Jiang and Cheryl Wang Thomas and Dell Johansson Anand Kancherla and Madhuri Kottamasu Pavel Karpovich and Svetlana Gromak Saleem Khan and Aparna Yerragudi
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Brett and Lori Kilty Jeff Kizner and Allison Hastings Raja Krishnaswamy and Madhu Krishnan Thomas and Peggy Ku Nishant Kumar and Vineeta Arole Eduardo Leal Tostado and Magali Guerrero Hannah Lewbel Kirill and Nadia Levanidov Jie Li and Honghui Guo Ning Li and Xiafei Kong Hongkang Liang and Na Li Yasha Li Yuqing Li and Hongan Chen Weipeng Liu and Xiuyu Zhou Ian and Poppy Louthan Marian Luparu and Laura Onu Ashok Madala and Pavani Gudapati Attilio Mainetti and Jia Na Mike and Lin Marcelais Maxim Mazeev and Nadejda Poliakova Nadeem and Uzma Merchant Ivan Mladenov and Irena Andonova Julian Morelli and Denise Harvey Rajesh and Prachi Munshi Sanjay Nagamangalam and Savita Krishnamoorthy Aravind Narasimhan and Santoshsubha Krishnan Linda and Thomas Nguyen Michael Nguyen and Andrea Doan Gor Nishanov and Anzhela Nishanova Kip Olson and Martha Riggers Michelle and Joe O'Malley Bulent Ozdemir and Mutlu Kurtoglu Andrei Pascovici and Qun Guo Todd and Erin Parsons Rahul and Aruna Patil Hanchuan Peng and Fuhui Long Pedro Perez and Katie Stone Perez Tamara Pesik and Olivier Garamfalvi Pascal Pinck and Erika Flesher Vaqar and Manizeh Pirzada The Polenska Family Gaurav Poothia and Varsha Khanna Khurram and Nikki Rehman Sushant Rewaskar and Uttara Korad Ted Roberts Michael and Susan Robinson Peter Roppo and Berengaria Winkler Roppo Svetlana Rowell Ferdous Rubaiyat and Farah Farzana Brad and Julie Sauvage Baris Saydag and Ferdane Bekmezci Fnu Sidhartha and Ritu Singh Saurabh Sinha and Soumya Sharma Hunter Su and Yun Chen Lei Sun and Xue Han Aravindh Sundaragopalan and Uthraa Manohar Gautam Thapar and Shivika Garg Desney Tan and Angela Ting Derrick and Roxana Tzau Ranjit Varkey and Maya Subramanian
Shobha Venugopal and Sunil Gowda Fei Wang and Juan Tian Robert Wang and Xiaomei Zhu Brad Weed and Susan Pappalardo Ning Wei and Ningxin Zhang Dan and Ally Weisman Harald Winkmann Wilbur Wong and Kim Zhang Patrick and Kristin Wyatt Cheng Xu and Lili Man Fan Yang and Hua Li Yongqing Ye and Xiaoya Xu Kevin and Nancy Yim Jinbai Yin and Lan Tang Joerg Zender and Kirsten Steinhauer-Zender Jim Zhang and Fengna Gu Ping Zhang and Xiaonan Lu Wei Zhang and Chunping Li Minyi Zhong and Jiayan Tian Weiyu Zhu and Xiaochun Tan Xinli Zou and Dong Wu
Friends of Eton School
Mostaq Ahmed Anonymous Diana Butler Andrew and Tricia Enfield Vic and Pat Feltin John Griffin Leo Hu Ellanora and Ahmed Jaddi Fahad Khalil Carol O'Connell Sameer Shamsuddin Alumni Families Vibhas and Aru Chandorkar Neil and Smita Jain Mary Murfey Steve and Sue Petitpas Philip and Rosalyn Rourke Yi Tang and Hui Sun
Corporate
Amazon Google Microsoft T-Mobile Wells Fargo
Eton School Board of Trustees
(100% Participation) Beth Bazley Karl and Michele Dehmer Viki and Chris Dragich Bob Frangooles and Anne Pace Judi Hoskins and Joe Suty Minnu and Mohan Kotha Peter Roppo and Berengaria Winkler Roppo Nasreen and Shams Shamsuddin
Eton School Faculty and Staff 100% Participation
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Annual Report 2017-2018 The Operational Side of School by Jason Mallon Chief Financial Officer
Every year I get the opportunity to talk to you, Eton’s community, about the operational side of the school. I live and breathe school numbers day-in and day-out. To me it is a picture, and as the saying goes “a picture is worth 1000 words,” or in this case 463. Eton’s enrollment for the 2017-2018 school year was 262, which was our lowest enrollment since 2014-2015 (272). In 2015, the school had a net loss from operations, and some changes needed to be made. As you can see on the next page, the school posted net income from operations in 2018 even though we had ten fewer children enrolled. The school was able to achieve this success because Eton employees have been thoughtful regarding the school’s spending, while at the same time maintaining our high standard of program excellence. However, the enrollment drop raised a bigger question: Is 262 Eton School’s new normal for enrollment? In last year’s article, I discussed key performance indicators (KPI) and how we utilize them to help the school manage sustainability. Decisions made over the last twelve months illustrate the value of paying close attention to KPIs. One particular KPI which we monitor closely is the annual attrition rate and the trailing five-year average. This helps us more accurately forecast enrollment over future years, and last year the attrition between Kindergarten and first grade became a point of concern.
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Another important KPI relates to current enrollment numbers and the level of demand for each grade level. A look at the data confirmed that there was a much higher demand for the Pre-elementary program than we could accommodate. It became apparent that we would need to leverage this high demand for Pre-elementary to improve enrollment at higher grades and ensure sustainability. With the collaboration of the entire Eton employee community, we decided to open a new Preelementary classroom to help re-write the script of our current and future enrollment. Opening this seventh classroom worked with great success and our current school year enrollment is 284 and growing. This higher enrollment allows the School to continue to reinvest in our program and facilities and ensure we are delivering the level of service you have come to expect. Lastly, I wanted to recount some of the summer projects we completed. Our facilities department continues to do an exceptional job maintaining our facilities and managing a multitude of projects. Summers for the business office are always busy, and this summer was no exception: • We repainted the Main, Mezzo, and Casa building exteriors to provide a consistent pallet across the campus. • On the Main Building playground, we installed new playground equipment and replaced the pebbles with wood chips. • We installed a beautiful Labyrinth in the back corner of the Pre-elementary playground. • We managed the replacement of the HVAC system for the Main Building.
Fall 2018
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Welcome New Faculty and Staff As we grow, we continue to add new members to our faculty and staff. Please join us in welcoming the following new faculty and staff for the 2018-2019 Academic Year. Stefani Brand joined the fourth‑grade team and being at Eton School completed her search for a teaching environment that values individual student growth and creativity. She is excited to once again focus on her passion for teaching literacy and her love of Social Studies.
Jessica Canchola started at Eton School this year as Staff for Pre‑elementary. She assists in the classrooms during lunchtimes and after school in Mezzo Clubhouse. She is also working on completing her Montessori teaching requirements.
Brian Carpenter became a Teacher in Upper Elementary after this year started. In his own words, “My passion is helping students find the fire that will make them lifelong learners.” He holds a Master’s in Education from the University of Washington.
Kimberly Dacorogna is the new Teaching Assistant for fourth and fifth grade. She is from Geneva, Switzerland and is a native French speaker. She attended college in Boston and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Minors in Writing and Theatre.
Corey Franklin joined Eton School as a Teaching Assistant in Lower Elementary right after school began this year. During the school day, he works with teachers and students in two classrooms—Mrs. Tadeja and Room 4 students as well as Mrs. Sauvage and Room 5 students.
Jenny Louthan is the Teaching Assistant in Lower Elementary's Room 3. She loves working with students and the classroom teacher, Ms. Kim. She also enjoys commuting with her sister inlaw, Poppy Louthan and seeing her nieces and nephew around campus during the day.
Audra Patterson was ecstatic to join Eton School this year as the Support Staff Supervisor. She has a background in early childhood education and management and enjoys monitoring students when their conversations and imaginations are most entertaining.
Yinglin Perrera joined Eton School last year as a parent of a Lower Elementary student who moved to Upper Elementary this year. Sparked by her Montessori training, she applied for and accepted the position of Intern Teaching Assistant in Pre‑elementary.
Susie Walden joined Eton School as a Senior Accountant and Human Resource Specialist during this past summer. She is a native of Washington State and graduated from the University of Washington with a Business Degree.
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Fall 2018
New School Year Brings Changes From year to year, changes come about with faculty and staff. This year there are a few familiar faces with new positions and one with a new name.
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Sonja Everson has left the classroom after being the fourth‑grade language arts and social studies teacher at Eton School since 2007, to take on a new role as the Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management.
Dennis Koval has worked in facilities at Eton School with his dad, Igor Koval, for several summers. This year when a school year position opened up, he accepted a Staff position. He helps in the classrooms during lunch time and after school in Mezzo Clubhouse.
Daony Moua started at Eton School as a Pre-elementary Classroom Assistant in 2017. This year, she moved to Lower Elementary as a Teaching Assistant in Room 1. Also, she meets and greets both students and parents as the Main Clubhouse Supervisor before classes begin.
Chris Music started at Eton School as a teaching assistant in Room 1 while pursuing his Montessori training. When the opportunity to be a co-teacher with Mrs. Farmer after her second son was born came about, he gladly accepted. He really enjoys working with students and being a lifelong learner.
Lucy Sharman taught Latin to students in fourth through eighth grade before heeding the call of her Montessori roots and moving to Lower Elementary as a teaching assistant. Her true passion lay in the Pre-elementary world, and after completing her Montessori training, she became the teacher in Mezzo 2.
Ashley Tadeja originally started as a substitute at Eton School in 2015. When a teaching position opened up, she quickly jumped at the opportunity to have her own classroom. Although this is her fourth year teaching at Eton School, it is her first year with her new married name, Mrs. Tadeja.
Jo Weise became a fourth-grade teacher this year after being a Teaching Assistant in Lower Elementary for the past four years. She went to college in Nottingham and did her Post Graduate of Education in Brighton, East Sussex. She previously taught for eight years in the Elementary School system.
Eleanor Withrow joined Eton School in 2017 as support for our Music and Performing Arts program and as a Teaching Assistant for our Middle School. This year she continues her teaching assistant duties and is the Music and Performing Arts Teacher for all grades.
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Alumni Update own interests. In Megha’s case, this meant she was able to pursue an interest in the South Asian dance form, Bharatanatyam. Through her years at Eton, Megha was part of a dance company called From Within Academy, and she also had time to paint and play sports.
Megha Murali attended Eton School from first through eighth grade. She has begun her second year at Syracuse University where she is studying to earn a Bachelor of Architecture degree. When she started at Eton School, she was an extremely shy little girl who could not talk in a large setting. At Eton, she had opportunities to become confident with her own voice. With the individual attention that teachers at Eton School provide, she was able to grow out of her shell. She feels that these experiences that led to her personal growth gave her the confidence to enter the dramatically different field of architecture which requires one to speak up and even defend their own creative ideas. She is eternally grateful to Ms. Everson in fourth grade for encouraging her to speak up in every class. Without the extra encouragement from the teachers of Eton, she would have never been able to pursue her passion in such a rigorous and creative field. Her fondest, and most recent, memories of her time at Eton School were in middle school. In sixth grade, the class took their first overnight field trip across the country! In Washington D.C. the whole class bonded, and rather than being a learning environment, school became a second home, and her classmates grew to be her brothers and sisters. Even in eighth grade, when she was the only girl in her class, the thought of leaving Eton hadn’t even crossed her mind (until the principal and her parents discussed it to make sure she felt comfortable) because the school was like her family. Because of the positive association with school, Megha has grown to love learning as a hobby. Even when she went to Nikola Tesla STEM High School, she was up to facing the challenges because of the preparation that Eton School had provided her. Because of the tight-knit community at Eton, the teachers are able to care for the students and be there as guides to whom students can go to for help. The teachers are accessible and understand each student’s 22 | Eton School
For her eighth-grade project, she researched the endangered Mountain Gorillas. This sparked a love for animals and she is planning to volunteer part-time with the Humane Society, and she is exploring volunteer opportunities in Thailand, in particular working with elephants. She gives credit to Eton School for teaching her skills during her foundational years such as time management, understanding her learning style, and networking that gave her the confidence to pursue not only these exciting volunteer opportunities but a career in architecture as well.
Sheila Houlahan attended Eton School from Preschool to fourth grade. She credits Eton School's unique approach to her professional success. Some of her favorite memories include science class, kindergarten with Ms. Humphry, and the music and drama courses with Miss Mary. Eton's emphasis on fostering critical thinking, creativity, and drive in every student allows each one to develop as self-actualized individuals. Sheila definitely would not have been able to feel so comfortable in an ever-changing market of acting and theater without those skills! Fall 2018
After leaving Eton School, Sheila continued her education at Forest Ridge, where her love of music and drama were fostered further. She went on to pursue a Bachelor's in Music from the Manhattan School of Music with an emphasis in opera and classical music. She has sung all over the world, from South Africa to Japan to Europe, and had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall, at Benaroya Hall with the Seattle Symphony, and even at The Venetian in Las Vegas! Sheila can be heard on the soundtracks of video game Destiny 2, Cirque du Soleil show VOLTA and various other films. She's had the pleasure of working closely with legends such as A. R. Rahman, Christopher Plummer, Robin Eubanks and more. Sheila never lost her love of acting and is grateful that Eton helped foster this love through the various performative annual traditions (such as Historical Halloween!). Sheila began working as a professional television actor in 2014 and can be seen in programs such as in Paradigm Studios' film Wallflower, as Ghania in the new superhero television show Exceptionals, as Kate Johnson in Investigation Discovery's The Wonderland Murders and in Beloved Beast by
director Johnathan Holbrook set to release on Hulu. Also, she has done commercials for McDonald's, T-Mobile, AAA, Intel, Microsoft, and Amazon. Sheila is an advocate for mental health awareness and is vocal about her own experiences. She did an interview for New York Times journalist Aimee Lee Ball on her battle with an eating disorder and confronting racism within the medical field. She is an ambassador with the periodical WorthLiving and campaigns for national organizations such as National Alliance on Mental Illness and local programs like Creating Peace With Food. Sheila is combining her film and musical skills with her advocacy and cannot wait to share these projects with her Eton family. She is working on two Lemonade‑style films that aim to confront the stigma against mental health care in our society with a corresponding album of original songs. Shelia now lives in Los Angeles and is represented by Cabrera Talent Company and Shifrin Management. She credits her ability to create new ventures to Eton School's educational approach and is so grateful to be an Eton alumna!
Alumni, Let's Stay Connected! Although you have moved beyond the walls of Eton School, you are still part of our community! You are important to us, and we want to build your connection with Eton and the alumni community. We invite you to drop by the school to visit and say hello. Check out our events on our website calendar and then plan to attend. You are always welcomed at Eton School! Have some news to share? We love hearing about what you have been doing since you left Eton School. Please email your news to our Director of Development, Monica Maling at mmaling@etonschool.org.
Alumnus played chess with his dad during Family Game Night 2018.
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Alumni volunteers at Eton's Community Gala on February 10, 2018.
Alumnus joined in a game with his brother at Family Game Night 2018.
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Connect Authors and Contributors
Susan Baccellieri Pre-elementary Teacher
Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management
Sonja Everson
Lindsey Farmer
Holly Fleming
Angela Kim
Madeline Lee
Michelle Lee
Monica Maling
Chris Music
Lynette Oshiro Pre-elementary Teacher
Lower Elementary Teacher
Ashley Tadeja
Sudha Vaghul
Kalsom Wali
Lower Elementary Teacher
Alice McNeer Director of Communications and Marketing
Russell Smith Head of School
Pre-elementary Teacher
Lower Elementary Teacher
Lower Elementary Teacher
Lower Elementary Teacher
Pre-elementary Teacher
Pre-elementary Teacher
Pre-elementary Teacher
Kris Gaskins Assistant Head of School
Jason Mallon
Director of Development
Chief Financial Officer
Julie Sauvage
Lucy Sharman Pre-elementary Teacher
Pre-elementary Teacher
“We dedicate ourselves to lifelong learning.� ~ Eton School Mission 24 | Eton School
Fall 2018
40th Anniversary Eton Community Gala Saturday, February 9, 2019 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Join us at the swanky W Hotel in Bellevue for a special evening celebrating our fantastic community while we raise funds to enhance the educational experience for students. This year marks Eton School’s 40th Anniversary, so expect a fun, fast paced evening sprinkled with ‘70s throwbacks! Your night begins with appetizers, drinks, a silent auction, live entertainment and games like foosball. Next enjoy an elegant dinner where you can bid on one‑of-a kind items in the live auction. 5:00 p.m. Appetizers & Beverages Gala and Childcare* Check-In Silent Auction and Games Open Raffle Tickets for Sale Special Raffle Using the Names Entered on the Fourth Line of the Silent Auction Bid Sheets
6:00 p.m. Dinner Stations Open
6:15 p.m. Silent Auction Closes
6:45 p.m. Live Auction Begins
Heads or Tails Game Live Auction Items Raise The Paddle
7:30 p.m. Dessert Stations Open
RSVP: bit.ly/etongala19 $85 by January 25, 2019 ($100 After) *Complimentary childcare (ages 3 and up) for the first 50 preregistered children.
2701 Bellevue-Redmond RD Bellevue WA 98008
Vision In educating the whole child, Eton School inspires creative, confident thinkers who have an enduring passion for learning and are poised to contribute to the world.
www.etonschool.org
