HRS Magazine, Winter 2022: Teaching and Learning

H E A D - R O Y C E S CHOOL M A G A Z I N E

THE TEACHING AND LEARNING ISSUE WINTER 2022

GOAL S , G R ADE S , AND GROUP PROJECTS:

RETHINKING ASSESSMENTS STUDENTS TEACHING STUDENTS ALUMNI REFLECT ON

THEIR HRS EXPERIENCES SHOWING AND TELLING

OUR OWN STORIES

s t n e t n o C

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Life @ HRS

FEATUR ES

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Showing and Telling Our Own Stories

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Letter from Crystal Land, Head of School

GRADES, GOALS, AND GROUP PROJECTS

A LUMNI

Shifting Assessments at Head-Royce

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Letter from the Alumni Council

ALUMNI EVENTS:

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The Return of Alumni Weekend

Students Teaching Students

MANAGING EDITOR Nichole LeFebvre EDITORS Sarah Holliman Julie Kim-Beal STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE Anika R. ’23

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PHOTOGRAPHY Mariana Avila Llorente Richard Wheeler

Three Good Things

CREATIVE DIRECTION + DESIGN Con Todo | contodo.co PRINTING

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MAKING CONNECTIONS AT HEADS UP

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ALUMNI PROFILES Featuring 10 Alumni

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Alumni Notes

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In Memoriam

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Flashback

Solstice Press VISIT US ONLINE! Discover more about our mission and activities at headroyce.org. @HeadRoyceSchool @HeadRoyce Head-Royce School Magazine is a bi-annual publication for alumni, families, and friends of Head-Royce. Changes of address may be sent to communications@headroyce.org.

LIFE@HRS

LIFE@HRS

MASTERING GENETICS

TAKING TIME

In Dr. Jen Brakeman’s class, juniors teach each other about genetic mutations, which helps to reinforce their knowledge.

In Emily Deams’ class, 1st graders practice the “taking time-in” tool. In the Toolbox curriculum, Lower School students learn to manage their own emotional, social, and academic success—by developing a set of 12 empowering tools, such as listening, courage, and personal space.

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LIVING HISTORY 9th graders in Nancy Feidelman’s history class learn about propaganda in early 20th century communist Russia.

UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Led by Kristin Dwelley ’88, 7th graders prepare to choose a pathogen—such as cholera or ebola—to research and present back to the class.

ROCK THE VOTE Avery J. ’26 gives her presidential candidacy speech to the full Middle School community. She and Samatar G. ’26 won the vote and now serve as co-presidents.

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3D ART Emily Miller’s art students created mosaic planters and installed them around campus. Just wait until spring when those flowers bloom!

RIVER ROCKS In Chris Dunlap’s class, 2nd graders learn about river rocks and sediment in a hands-on lab.

HOW PUZZLING Meanwhile, these curious Lower Schoolers spend recess solving a Rubik’s Cube.

HOLA, AMIGA Students in Gru Janicke Polumbo’s Spanish class partner up for conversational practice.

BRIGHT FUTURES On their tour of the Upper School, 8th graders learn about the college-application process from Director of College Counseling Tania Castro Bradt.

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FROM OUR HEAD OF SCHOOL

Crystal Land teaches her memoir course with guest author (and Head-Royce parent!) Sylvia Brownrigg.

oral storytelling—one of many innovative courses that push students to integrate personal writing with current events; and you’ll read a letter from our alumni council pledging to combat systemic racism in a new strategic plan.

Dear Head-Royce Community: This past fall, I returned to the Upper School classroom to teach a senior elective: Memoir: The Power of Place.

With a group of 18 thoughtful, intelligent, and perceptive students, we explored traditional memoir excerpts as well as new forms of writing such as Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s work World of Wonders, a small book of essays not easily defined by a single genre, but one that incorporates memoir, biology, art, and nature writing.

CURIOUSER AND CURIOUSER! Students in Andie Patterson’s musical theater class learn their blocking for Alice in Wonderland.

Students, in turn, also explored the intersection of place, nature, and personal stories as they wrote their own short pieces capturing spaces (including the Head-Royce campus) that have shaped their identities. One of the most resonant prompts: “What is home?” inspired students to write deeply and personally about backyards and mountains, about moving and relocation.

While not traditional literary criticism, we studied voice, style, and the writer’s craft and students explored opportunities to exercise, with choice and revision as a central part of the

learning process. The final pieces reflected their best work in the form of a personal essay that they chose to polish and publish for a larger audience.

As one of the three pillars of our mission, academic excellence remains a core value and requires teachers who are lifelong learners––continuously engaged in self-reflection and professional development––and students who feel comfortable stretching to experiment, to make mistakes and to grow. As we move beyond the Advanced Placement program and create intellectually complex and challenging new courses in their place, we have an opportunity to reexamine what learning looks like, as well as the role of creative and non-traditional assessment in furthering understanding.

Throughout this issue, you’ll read stories of community members changing and growing. You’ll learn about faculty and administrators who are rethinking assessment styles––moving away from one-size-fits-all exams. You’ll hear about the Middle School teacher who encourages his students to step outside their comfort zones through

In the final essay in World of Wonders, Aimee Nezhukumatathil writes about fireflies: “A single firefly is [trying to tell us something] too. Such a tiny light, for such a considerable task. Its luminescence could very well be the spark that reminds us to make a most necessary turn––a shift and a swing and a switch––toward cherishing this magnificent and wondrous planet.”

When I reflect on that quote, I can’t help but think of how each student, faculty member, and staffer has independent moments of brilliance and light that collectively make Head-Royce what it is, and what it will become.

These magazine stories––combined with our dedicated work to blend the best of our traditions with the innovation ahead––make me confident of the future for Head-Royce. I’m certain that our adaptive, caring community will thrive as the School continues to grow, change, and progress.

Sincerely,

CRYSTAL M. LAND HEAD OF SCHOOL

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Happenings

Happenings

CLEANING UP THE COAST Head-Royce families spent a Saturday in September picking up trash at the Oakland estuary in honor of California Coastal Clean-Up Day. We’re proud of our Jayhawks for their caring environmental stewardship and the tireless organizing efforts of the Center for Community Engagement (CCE).

ACE! Jasmin K. ’23, along with her tennis teammates, served up another fast-paced season.

HISPANIC HERITAGE

HACKING FOR A GOOD CAUSE

In Logan Wallace’s class, 7th graders celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) by reading Latinx poetry to Sue Moon’s 4th graders and Patricia Hernandez’s 1st graders.

Max C. ’24 participated in the Second Chances and Empathy Hackathon, working to develop a classifier that will address racial disparities in California’s criminal Justice system. The Second Chances and Empathy Hackathon brings together students, data experts, lawyers, reform advocates, and public servants for a day of service in which participants share their technology, research services, and prototypes to nonprofits.

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Happenings

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CELEBRATE THE HARVEST In October, the Lower School Harvest Festival was full of fall fun. Our Garden Integrationist, Willie Lucq, in collaboration with the specialist teachers, led a week of garden exploration and seasonal activities, such as pressing fresh cider and making custom tea blends.

GO JAYHAWKS, GO! Back in October, our Men’s Varsity Soccer team beat out the College Prep Cougars in a nail-biting 3-2 match.

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Happenings

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HAPPY HEAD-ROYCE HALLOWEEN At the annual Halloween parade, our community was delighted to see Lower School students and teachers dressed in their wildly creative costumes.

GENIUSES AT WORK 5th graders shared their Genius Hour projects with the full community in December.

Inspired by Google’s practice of devoting 20% of the working week to passion projects, Genius Hour allows 5th graders to explore a

new interest. This year’s class spent time mastering baking and carpentry (yes, that’s a foosball table!) and researching climate change, among many other fascinating projects.

CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPS Our 6th grade girls’ cross country team capped off their winning season in the East Bay Middle Schools West Championship, finishing in first place as a team.

Back row (L-R): Coach Jackson, Coach Barrett. Front row (L-R) are 6th graders: Laila J., Eva P., Gia J., Geneva W., Emilia F., Maya S., Missgana B., and Sasha O. (not pictured: Cristina D., Kara W.).

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Showing AND

Telling OUR OWN

Stories NPR. TED Talks. Netflix. So much of our daily lives rests on the power of storytelling. We tell stories to friends in passing, to crowds at commencement, to potential employers at job interviews. We raise a glass and toast to newlyweds, with a story. At Head-Royce, our English and Fine Arts Departments are equipping students with the tools they need to tell compelling stories and to move beyond a fear of public speaking.

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In Crystal Land’s class, “Memoir: The Power of Place,” students read models grounded in the physical world, such as Head-Royce parent Sylvia Brownrigg’s memoir, and then craft their own based on prompts like “What is home?” or “How can I make sense of this always-changing world?”

“Writing about physical places offers students a way into writing about their identity, their history, and their hopes and dreams for the future,” says Crystal. Guest writers––like Andrew and Sylvia, pictured to the left––amplify the lesson that everyone has a unique story and their own way of telling it.

In October, author and Head-Royce parent Sylvia Brownrigg stopped by Crystal Land’s memoir class. Students asked questions and discussed their own writing practices with the author.

“Writing about physical places offers students a way into writing about their identity, their history, and their hopes and dreams for the future.”

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Memoir and storytelling are throughlines in the 8th grade year,” says Andrew von Mayrhauser, English Department Chair and teacher. Students read memoirs like Jacqueline Woodson’s Brown Girl Dreaming and autobiographical novels like Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, discussing how the characters and dialogue, for example, deepen the themes. They learn the mechanics of what makes a story tick––sensory details, pacing, surprising turns––and begin to think of their lives in terms of narrative.

For the year’s signature writing project, each student chooses two personal episodes that are linked in some way and develop an oral story, akin to those told on stage at The Moth. To brainstorm ideas, Andrew asks the 8th graders to write down potential titles for the chapters of their lives, such as “Chapter Three: Don’t Ride that Bike” or “Chapter Six: Attack of the Spiders.” Students develop what he calls “a book of me.”

From there, the 8th graders plan out significant plot points as “road signs” they’ll use to remember their story.

They write, revise, and practice sharing their stories in groups of three, learning to incorporate peer feedback. Along the way, Andrew also coaches the audience, reminding students how to

be caring, thoughtful listeners, emphasizing that stories help us connect with one another, “finding common ground and appreciating differences.”

“It’s the hardest thing they do all year,” says Andrew. “Even if they’re used to giving presentations and knocking them out of the park, this is different, this is saying here’s something that’s important to me. It requires vulnerability and trust.”

A storyteller in his own right, Andrew has developed a cache of 30 stories he tells to his classes––sometimes as a treat, sometimes as a way of bringing their attention back into the classroom, and always as a model of the power of storytelling.

“The more stories we tell,” he says, “the more aware we are of the present, the more we pay attention to life as we walk through it.”

This fall, Andrew stopped by the Upper School and told a story to the senior creative nonfiction seminars taught

by Crystal Land, Tory Mathieson, and Christiana Cuellar. He told a pandemic story––no, not from the past two years––which he describes as: “what my grandfather says is a true story, that takes place in the 1300s in Europe and is partly how my family got my name.”

“The most important strategies for telling good stories I’ve developed are incorporating imagery and finding your individual voice,” says Anni R. ’22, who was inspired by Andrew’s visit. “He added so much detail that the audience was at the edge of their seat…and after he concluded, the people sitting next to me were buzzing thinking of which stories they wanted to tell.”

Mari M. ’22 adds that “hearing from Mr. von Mayrhauser was such a great experience. After having read

The Book of Delights by Ross Gay, it was a super interesting comparison between what personal storytelling sounds like orally and in text.”

“I loved telling the story to the seniors,” says Andrew. “It was nostalgic since I taught so many of them. And it’s always an honor to have an audience.”

In Tory and Christiana’s class, “Lift Every Voice,” seniors read books by a diverse group of contemporary authors.

From Ross Gay’s short essays that focus on mundane delights to Mira Jacobs’ graphic memoir, which combines text, illustration, and photography, students learn different techniques they can pull into their own writing.

“When the seniors arrive for the first days of class, they’re well prepared in terms of mechanics,” says Christiana Cuellar. “There’s a solid foundation, but they tell us they don’t get a chance to produce that much creative writing. It’s fresh.” With that freshness sometimes comes fear.

“They’ve cracked the code for an analytical paragraph: point, evidence, commentary,” says Tory. “Part of our

teaching is moving students away from the idea of a right answer. There’s no one right answer in creative nonfiction.”

“The whole course really made me rethink what creative nonfiction is,” says Mari M. ’22.

Anni R. ’22 agrees: “Before taking this class, I had a pretty set idea about what nonfiction writing was…books filled with facts and figures. Focusing on memoirs, however, really expanded my vision of nonfiction writing and pushed me to see it more creatively.”

Over the course of the semester, students write ten short creative exercises in their journals. In lieu of a final exam, they choose the journal entries that most resonated with them for “peer editing, revision, and then formal inclusion in the class almanac.”

“Traditionally, an almanac,” write the two teachers, “is an attempt to objectively document what life is like in a specific time or place.” The creative work by this diverse group of students certainly shows what life is like here in Oakland, from varied points of view.

Storytelling is a core component of Andrew von Mayhrauser’s pedagogy.

By the end of the class, the students “feel rooted in the idea that everybody has a story and that your ‘I perspective’ is the lens through which you tell it. That perspective is 100% unique,” says Christiana.

The practice of writing and revising these real-life stories also helps students, “take ownership of their experiences,” says Andrew, “and understand them as significant and worth sharing.”

Andie Patterson, who teaches theater to our Lower and Middle Schoolers, has noticed a similar awakening with her students. In one theater game, she prompts students to turn to a partner and share a time they made a mistake using specific, sensory details. The partner retells the story back, that way each student can feel they were really heard and understood. Next, in small groups, each student gets to “cast” a mini-play version of their story. “They learn to get more comfortable with their mistakes,” says Andie, adding, “That’s a hard skill. It doesn’t have to be an amazing story. It’s about sharing. You’re valuable as who you are.”

As the late Joan Didion writes, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” Our students have lived through a lot these past few years and we can only begin to imagine the stories they will tell, what chapters will populate The Book of Me.

“It doesn’t have to be an amazing story. It’s about sharing. You’re valuable as who you are.”

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GOALS, AND Group Projects S H I F T I N G AS S E S S M E N T S AT H E A D - R OYC E

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Shifts

STUDY I N G FO R F IN A LS .

Waiting for SAT scores. Worrying about AP exams. These are anxiety-inducing activities for most students—and metrics that are meant to indicate their preparedness, their intelligence, their capacity for learning. But do they really? Does cramming, memorizing, or drilling facts reflect “real” learning—the kind that is visible when a student deeply understands a topic?

As evidenced by our Strategic Plan goals, we take these questions seriously at Head-Royce. It’s why we are revisiting our assessment philosophy and refining our roadmap to ensure that our curriculum is student-centered, and provides opportunities for real-world problem solving, creative thinking, and intellectual engagement.

For many years, testing standards such as those mentioned above, have been touted for their ability to demonstrate excellence—not only in students, but also in the schools that prepare them.

Yet, more and more, these high-stakes assessments are, themselves, being put to the test. Assessment-based learning is shifting throughout the K–12 system, and it is to the benefit of students.

Many factors are driving the need

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IN ASSESSMENTS

ONE-TIME SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

HIGH STAKES TESTS

TRADITIONAL GRADES

IN-CLASS ASSESSMENTS

MASTERY OF CONTENT

FREQUENT FORMATIVE CHECK-INS

PAPER-BASED

TEACH TO THE TEST

COLLECTING DATA

THEORY-BASED

TECHSUPPORTED

TEACH TO THE STUDENT

USING DATA

PROJECT-BASED

for change. For high school students, it is rooted in seat-time—namely that the number of hours of classwork and homework equates to the amount learned. Further, the notion of “teaching to the test,” of replacing educational hours with rigid testing curriculum and preparation, places more value on test outcomes and less on classroom instruction. But more broadly, summative assessments focus students of all ages on rote learning rather than on the meaningful engagement of complex challenges.

CORRECTNESS

COMPLETENESS

Summative assessments focus students of all ages on rote learning rather than on the meaningful engagement of complex challenges.

So, how do we change?

polls, self-evaluations, games, and low-stake quizzes––to collect regular feedback on each student and to gather data that teachers can use to develop their lesson plans.

Where one-time final exams and AP tests were once the norm, schools across the country are beginning to see the value of frequent formative assessments––including exit slips,

More radical concepts, such as the Mastery Transcript—that demonstrates the achievement of a competency, through collaborative projects, socialemotional learning, and real-world

application, over the notion of assessing students by evaluating a single number (i.e., GPA)—are also gaining momentum.

While the idea is not ubiquitous, it is growing in popularity among secondary schools and colleges; Harvard, Georgetown, CalTech, and other prestigious institutions have admitted students based on a Mastery Transcript.

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Notably, the shift in assessments is about developing whole students— teaching them to use reasoning skills and work collaboratively to solve problems.

And nowhere is that more apparent than at Head-Royce, where our Strategic Plan focuses our K–12 curriculum on competencies, such as critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, and cultural capability.

HRS TEACHING AND LEARNING

Goal:

Enhance and amplify a student-centered academic program with opportunities for choice, real-world problem solving, creativity, and intellectual engagement.

In the Lower School, where students share family history, create self-portraits, and discuss their identities, project-based experiences have always been a main tenet of the curriculum, and qualitative vs. quantitative feedback has long been a norm. Throughout their time in elementary school, students are introduced to academic concepts that become more complex as they gain both knowledge and skills, such as independence, constructive feedback, self-expression, empathy, and collaborative storytelling.

Or consider 7th grade science, where the pandemic gave teachers the opportunity to rethink their approach to grading and put some of the Mastery Transcript principles into practice.

Based on mastering competencies— such as embracing challenge, visual representation, data analysis, or even growth and development—students are

encouraged to gain proficiency rather than earn a specific letter grade. Focusing on four or five competencies each quarter has shifted conversations from “What do I have to do to get a 90%?” to “How do I develop and demonstrate my proportional reasoning skill to solve this problem?” This question’s depth proves how meaningful this type of learning can be. Veteran science teacher Kristin Dwelley, who is celebrating 25 years at Head-Royce this year says, “I’ve never had 7th graders that are so interested in revising, getting feedback, and taking on more work to do things better!”

By building courses that offer experiential learning, students are able to solve real-world problems in real-world ways. Take History 10, where students use standard skills, like doing research, conducting interviews, and finding sources, and then pull that information together—not in a more traditional essay, but rather in a web page, that gives them an opportunity to use images and storytelling to convey their learnings.

While useful in this context, developing these skills is also a meaningful way to prepare them for future careers.

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One of the best examples is the Global Online Academy (GOA) Catalyst for Change Conference that our 10th graders participate in each year. This core part of the curriculum gives history students an opportunity to address an issue in modern America, analyze the root causes, address the historical underpinnings, and synthesize their learnings into a research project that is relevant and timely. These capstone projects—which often offer meaningful avenues for change in the community—are shared in a public, online forum and receive actionable feedback.

And awards. Over the past few years, numerous Head-Royce GOA student projects have been given nationwide recognition. Addressing issues such as poverty, police brutality, anti-vax movements, and other current day societal issues, HRS students think critically and present their points of view powerfully.

Experiential learning is not limited to the humanities. Students in a recent Head-Royce calculus class produced podcasts based on research and interviews with non-white male mathematicians, while also covering the curriculum. Will this course prepare them for an AP exam or for college-level calculus? Absolutely. But the podcast will be an experience the students will never forget because it allows them to see the application of calculus out in the real world—while exploring their own interests, addressing the problems they’d like to solve, and applying unique solutions.

All of this is not to say that traditional assessments don’t hold any value. Quizzes and exams can help show teachers what students understand and what they still need to learn. But at HeadRoyce we don’t believe in a one-size-fitsall method of assessment. Rethinking our assessment practices allows us to align our teaching practices with the diverse, individual needs of each student.

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STUDENTS

TEACHING STUDENTS

By

Anika R. ’23

As a new 7th grader, I entered the Head-Royce community knowing few people. In the first week of school, a bright sign drawn in expo marker caught my eye. It advertised the Middle School debate team, and hoping to meet new people, I signed up.

Run by a group of high school students, the club served as a Friday afternoon opportunity to eat snacks, argue with friends across grade levels, and improve our skills under the guidance of experienced high school coaches.

Four years later, I still walk to room 518 every Friday after school, but now, I am the high schooler teaching young debaters. As a head coach, I get the chance to educate debaters in the same lessons high schoolers once taught me.

Led by the club’s advisor, Vy Linh Nguyen—also and English 9 teacher—a talented group of high schoolers teach a novice class and an advanced class.

All students participate in a series of tournaments each year, competing against other schools in the East Bay Debate League for team and individual speaker awards. Along with a couple of her friends, Marlow L. ’27 is preparing

[The students] are now able to connect on an intellectual level . . . and also on an emotional level through their friendships and mentoring.”

to attend her first tournament in a few weeks. I remember the combination of nervousness and excitement that I felt before my first live debate. Back then, my older brother, who was one of the high school coaches, helped calm my nerves by reminding me of my thorough preparation and sharing stories of his own tournament experiences, a practice I was able to give back to the current Middle School team.

“I think that getting help from high schoolers is beneficial to us because they are also students, so they can relate to us and understand our opinions,” says Marlow L. ’27. She has appreciated how much she has learned about communication, especially, “how to express opinions in a way that makes people listen.”

Naomi W. ’27 agrees, adding: “High schoolers have more fresh experience, and they know how to relate to us more than adults, so I like learning from them.” Beyond argumentative skills, Naomi cites another club benefit: “Debate improves my listening skills and teaches me how to respond to people eloquently.”

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I think that getting help from high schoolers is beneficial to us because they are also students, so they can relate to us and understand our opinions.”

In another students-teaching-students initiative, Madison H. ’22 reads a story to kindergarteners.

The Middle School Debate Team poses with Upper School Coaches Anika R. and Anay S., and Advisor Vy Linh Nguyen.

When students teach students, we all benefit. Most of the high school coaches have been through the program themselves and genuinely enjoy volunteering their time. “The main reason I love coaching younger debaters is that debate has done so much for me,” says co-head coach Nick S. ’23. “It has improved my critical thinking skills, my executive function, my work ethic, and has provided me with a community.”

Another high school coach Mikey E. ’23, who participated in three years of middle school debate, agrees: “This is a way of giving back to a program that gave so much to me. I was so grateful for the coaches who volunteered their Friday nights to listen to us argue with each other when I was in middle school.”

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As the director of debate since the program began in 2016, Vy Linh has watched students mature in a variety of ways. “So much of learning at a higher level is reflected by your ability to explain your ideas and experiences,” she says, “which is what I love about the connection between high school and middle school. I like seeing how the students have matured and are now able to connect on an intellectual level through debate topics and also on an emotional level through their friendships and mentoring.”

A unique aspect of coaching as a high schooler that I appreciate is watching these students grow, improve, and learn throughout their time in the program––just like Ms. Nguyen. My own Middle School debate team was highly successful, bringing home trophies and making lasting friendships. That trend continues as new, promising debaters enter the program. To quote my teammate Mikey E. ’23: “The future of Middle School debate is bright!”

At Head-Royce, we are privileged to have the ability to learn a skill and teach it back to the younger students in the community, which is one of the benefits of attending a K–12 school.

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3 Good Things

Our Division Heads Express Their Gratitude Back in August, Dr. Dacher Keltner of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center spoke to our professional community and urged us all to establish (or maintain!) a mindfulness and gratitude practice. He shared strategies for welcoming gratitude and awe into the classroom, and throughout the semester, through academic growing pains and the ongoing pandemic, we’ve returned to this grounding practice.

In the spirit of feeling grateful––especially as we prepared to sit down with our families for Thanksgiving––we asked our Division Heads Lea Van Ness, Danny Scuderi, and Ricky Lapidus to list “three good things” from the first semester.

“Three good things” is a simple, effective gratitude exercise you can try at home with the whole family. Each person considers and lists three things that make them feel grateful. You might name a small moment you’re grateful for––like a delicious carrot cupcake (purchased from the Upper School bake sale!)––or a milestone, such as an exciting promotion or your child passing the driver’s test. Some like to journal before bed, others prefer to share their “three good things” over dinner or on a walk. Looking back at the best parts of your week or semester is a fine way to remind yourself of all we have to celebrate and cherish.

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vocally praise their peers’ sometimes hidden artistic talents. And, some of those drawings I swear are photographs!

In Mr. Curtin’s math class, 8th graders studied quadratic and kinematic equations for projectiles in motion, and then built their own mini catapults from popsicle sticks. In addition to learning the math on paper, they were able to work together to build something concrete, and most importantly, they got to launch mini-marshmallows to test the viability of their designs. It was a series of math classes that also incorporated much more, including laughter, challenge, and real-world applications of concepts.

RICKY LAPIDUS

Head of Upper School

I’ve been thinking about the kids sitting in their classroom laughing at Mr. Scott ham it up as they talk about Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. They quickly transitioned from goofiness to an intellectual exploration of what fetters encompass all of us. It was a nice reminder that serious academic pursuits do not need to stay separate from joy. Learning is fun.

The birthday party on senior day was awesome, too. These seniors have spent the majority of high school in a state of constant adjusting––first to distance learning, then to masks, and vaccines. I’m grateful they could simply be together (and maybe even more grateful that they cleaned up after themselves and didn’t leave it for the adults to deal with…!)

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Another bright spot has been watching kids from the Community Engagement Board, our CCE leadership team, as they figure out ways to make a difference in Oakland, not just at Head-Royce. I get to witness the joy that getting outside of one’s own head space and one’s own concerns can bring. In their volunteer projects, students are cleaning beaches, distributing fresh produce, and helping to fix the global water crisis. They’re smart, motivated, caring––and already making a difference in the wider world.

DANNY SCUDERI

Head of Middle School

In Advising, 7th graders started the year with a trophy challenge. Each Advising group worked together to create a trophy out of recycled materials. The challenge culminated in a contest that I

LEA VAN NESS

Head of Lower School

Our 2nd graders headed back to Sausal Creek for actual field trips! I used to take field trips for granted––but now, after watching those excited 2nd graders talk about everything they saw out on the creek is a reminder of how important it is to connect students with Oakland and the natural world.

Our Lower School Counselor, Dr. Rosemary Durousseau had the fabulous idea to challenge our students to a “Boast Rattle,” i.e., boasting about your friend, instead of roasting them (“Roast Battle”). The compliment battle made

us all smile! Why is it so hard to take a compliment..? It’s certainly a little easier in the Lower School these days.

Speaking of smiles, the 5th grade drama classes gave me a lot of joy this semester. Andie Patterson showed her students the masters like Charlie Chaplin to teach what it means to exaggerate and use their bodies and movement to describe actions and emotions without words. In small groups, students created and rehearsed silent scenes and performed them for the rest of the Lower School. Hilarity ensued!

helped judge but that, more importantly, was filled with the benign fervor that only a fun, community-building activity can create. It was so great to see students work together, make connections with each other as an Advising group, and come together as a whole class for the final contest. I may or may not have accepted a cupcake along the way, but only after eating it did I let the students know that I don’t take bribes. I do take cupcakes, though!

The winning trophy (from Ms. Pagel’s group, or as they call themselves, Pagel’s Bagels) has been circulating throughout Advising groups.

Studio Art students recently completed self-portraits in pencil, and the day they went up in the hallway, every Middle School student paused to admire their peers’ work. Since then, that admiration has continued, and it has been purely wonderful to see students silently and

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Heads Up students participate in a variety of activities, allowing them to build academic skills and deepen relationships with mentors and peers.

he Heads Up program offers Oakland public school students a challenging, enriching program combining academics, leadership, and social-emotional growth. These first-generation, college-bound students of color enter Heads Up in 6th grade and graduate after 9th, well-prepared for high school, college, and beyond.

While the Summer Program focuses on core, academic concepts to prevent the “summer slide,” the Saturday Leadership Academy gives students time to connect with their teachers and peers, while exploring a leadership development curriculum.

This year, the Saturday Leadership Academy has added a new focus: connection. For each Saturday program,

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the teachers coordinate a variety of fun activities, working hard to establish the right conditions for friendships to form, deepen, and thrive.

“We know that strong relationships are the key toward ensuring consistent student engagement,” says Heads Up Director Mikki Frazier. “Even grown ups are more motivated when we know we have a buddy waiting for us on campus.”

With connection as the priority, Heads Up is offering extra socializing time, epic games of capture the flag, intentional seating charts, and more discussion groups. “Heads Up families are pretty burned out,” says Mikki. On top of ongoing pandemic stressors, the majority of Heads Up caregivers work on the weekends, so they’re managing an

additional day of drop-off duties for the Saturday Leadership Academy. “Having a good time is a promise we make to encourage participation, but also to support our students’ mental health.”

In October, Heads Up brought back the most popular summer enrichment activities––swimming, arts and crafts, and filmmaking––so students could revisit their favorite projects and people. It was a wonderful day of reunion and deepening connections, talents, and skills. In November, our newest students, the 6th and 7th grade cohorts, participated in a Heads Up tradition: the Sonoma Ropes Course. Each student learned to identify their comfort zone and push past their own limits. The beautiful redwood forest was the perfect place to gather after so many days spent cooped up indoors.

December’s Saturday Leadership Academy was the final gathering of the calendar year and focused on celebrating holiday traditions and praising students’ efforts at their academic institutions. Before the event, students submitted their most recent progress reports. Mikki and her team analyzed the data and found that the vast majority of Heads Up students are performing very well academically and earning high marks on their citizenship contributions as well. As a reward for their dedication, Heads Up students enjoyed holiday crafts and treats and took a field trip to a bowling alley. It was the perfect way to wish each other farewell until the New Year, when these friendships will continue to flourish.

TEACHERS COORDINATE A VARIETY OF FUN ACTIVITIES, WORKING HARD TO ESTABLISH THE RIGHT CONDITIONS FOR FRIENDSHIPS TO FORM, DEEPEN, AND THRIVE.

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Key updates to the Alumni Council Strategic Plan

LETTER FROM THE

A LUMNI COUNCI L The 2021–2024 Alumni Council Strategic Plan

Dear Head-Royce Alumni These past two years have brought about an incredible amount of change in all of our lives. It reminds me of the famous saying: “Change is inevitable, change is constant.” Change, however, is not easy or predictable–– in fact, change is hard.

Change also presents an opportunity. An acquaintance of mine recently asked: “How do we ensure that we don’t go back to ‘normal,’ but return with ‘better’ routines?”

In the summer of 2020, the Alumni Council pledged to combat systemic racism and inequality. We spent the past year focusing deeply (and introspectively) on diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and cultural literacy, and have embraced the opportunity to find ways to be “better.”

We worked with the National Equity Project to learn more deeply about systemic racism and inequity. This work inspired our current effort to not just update our Alumni Council Strategic Plan, but to rewrite it with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging at its core.

The plan below is our first attempt at change: an Alumni Council that centers diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in all that we do. The addition of “belonging” to DEI is very intentional and meaningful. As we understand it, “belonging” is the feeling one has when they are welcomed as their true selves, and not as others wish them to be. Our work will include listening with empathy and creating spaces for healing.

Our Strategic Plan is not intended to be a static document, and we look forward to continuing to improve and update it in the years to come by listening and learning.

Harris Brody ’98 Alumni Council President And Trustee

Camden Louie ’08 Alumni Council Vice–President

Jonathan Barnes ’99 Ariane Chee ’08 Justin Chen ’06 Ryan Diew ’13 Heather Erickson ’95 Sara Herringer ’04 Carolyn McNiven ’82

Travis Pillon ’13 Michelle Tajirian Shoffner ’96 Danny Stein ’04 Laura Terry-Green ’06

The Head-Royce School Alumni Council approved the following plan in September 2021. The plan incorporates input from the Office of Alumni Relations, the Office of Equity and Inclusion, and numerous conversations with alumni and Head-Royce community members.

This strategic plan marks a turning point that is consistent with Head-Royce School’s Anti-Racism Statement and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mission Statement: Head-Royce School stands against racism and hatred in all its forms. Our entire community reflects diversity in cultural, racial, religious, and gender identities, and we are stronger because of it. Our School’s mission is built on the pillars of scholarship, diversity, and citizenship; our commitment to these principles demands that we raise our voices in pursuit of justice. We acknowledge the significant, ongoing pain and violence inflicted upon our Black community, and pledge to embody our mission by taking tangible actions to dismantle systemic racism and oppression.

The Alumni Council commits to embodying this statement not only with words but also with action. We acknowledge that the Head-Royce experience has not been one that has fostered a true sense of belonging for underrepresented alumni and community members. It is our responsibility to listen, create welcoming conditions, and try to right the wrongs of the past. As such, we are guided by Lilla Watson’s quote: “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

VISION We envision an alumni experience that fills each of HRS’ 5,000+ alumni with belonging, pride, joy, and lifelong learning.

We envision an HRS community where alumni actively support one another and current students. Acknowledging the pain and exclusion of underrepresented alumni, we envision an experience where alumni are specifically supported in ways they need. We aspire to be an alumni community where we know and listen to each other across differences.

MISSION The Council’s mission is to foster a sense of belonging for alumni and students in our community by actively listening to all alumni to ensure that they feel personally valued; informing alumni of significant developments at HRS outside of the fundraising process; providing meaningful opportunities for alumni-to-alumni and alumni-to-student engagement; operating targeted programs for alumni and students; and providing a platform for meaningful connections beyond formal programs. Consistent with our vision and values, the Council will always keep central the needs of underrepresented alumni and students.

• Belonging. Fostering a sense of belonging—that everyone is welcomed as their authentic selves— among all alumni, especially among underrepresented groups.

• Equity.* Focusing our efforts primarily on supporting marginalized, underrepresented groups acknowledging that to provide equity in a historically inequitable system, we recognize that each person has different circumstances and may need different resources and opportunities.

• Humility. Understanding what alumni and students need, making no assumptions, and co-creating solutions.

• Significance. Creating durable and significant change, and not pursuing symbolic or one-off actions.

• Accountability. Sharing our goals and results so we are accountable to alumni, ourselves, and the entire Head-Royce School community.

VALUES Values guide how we act. We commit to constantly assessing our actions relative to these values, and to improving. The Alumni Council has agreed upon the following values:

2021–2024 ALUMNI COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLAN: Explicit values that guide our work

Strategies to intentionally address the needs of underrepresented groups

Strategies created with significant alumni input

Programming fostering belonging through alum-to-alum and alum-to-student connections

Focused programming with aligned goals

PAST PLANS: No clearly stated values

Neutral strategies

Strategies created with limited input from alumni

Programming fostering alum-to-alum connections

*“Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities. Equity recognizes that each person has different circumstances and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome.”

Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University https://onlinepublichealth.gwu.edu/resources/equity-vs-equality/

Myriad programs with unaligned goals

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THE ALUMNI COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLAN

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Increasing the quality and quantity of authentic,

2021–2024

intentional, and impactful alumni-to-alumni and

Areas of Work to Increase Alumni Belonging

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Creating and implementing equitable programming and events that are centered on inclusivity.

We will do this by taking into account a diverse range of experiences and viewpoints and actively serving underrepresented alumni and students. We will then seek constructive and authentic feedback so that programming addresses alumni and students’ true needs.

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alumni-to-student engagement.

This will be done with a centered focus on three specific categories: alumni, students, and Head-Royce School as an Institution. In addition, the engagement will be done with an equity lens, committed transparency, and keeping our values and accountability at the forefront.

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representation on the Alumni Council.

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with other HRS efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Understanding that there are several areas of anti-racism work being done by Head-Royce School and within the Head-Royce Community including but not limited to the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the Board of Trustees and the Board DEI Committee, the Council on Equity and Inclusion, parent/guardian, student, faculty and alumni affinity groups, the Alumni Council is committed to partnering and collaborating with these groups when the opportunity is present with the goal of generating a more powerful and lasting impact together.

The Alumni Council recognizes and honors the great diversity within the alumni community and will make it a priority to reflect that within the council and committee membership, with an emphasis on inviting and engaging alumni from historically underrepresented groups.

To support the areas of work, the Alumni Council is committed to gathering additional baseline data over the next year and setting goals accordingly. We will use quantitative and qualitative data to learn and improve.

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Aligning Alumni Council programming

On October 24, 2021, our New York alumni gathered to reminisce with Head of School Crystal Land, Alumni Director Julie Kim-Beal, and History Teacher Paul Scott.

ABOUT THE ALUMNI COUNCIL

Ensuring diverse

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The Alumni Council is a volunteer group, composed of Head-Royce alumni. The Council works in close cooperation with the Office of Alumni Relations and the Council President also serves as an ex-officio member on the Head-Royce School Board of Trustees. Alumni may be nominated for Council membership by fellow alumni and/or other members of the Head-Royce community and are selected by the Council in the Spring.

CLASS OF ’50 REUNION Members of the Class of 1950 met virtually on November 12, 2021 to celebrate their 70th reunion!

The Council currently has three working committees (Mentoring, Young Alumni, Class Agent), which are chaired by a Council member, but can include additional alumni who are not.

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A LUMNI W E E K E ND Thanks to wide-spread vaccinations and COVID-19 tests, we hosted our first on-campus Alumni Weekend and Reunion in two years on November 12 and 13. What a joy to see everyone in person!

Olivia Lucas ’14 accepts the award for Outstanding Young Alumna of the Year.

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Distinguished Alumna of the Year, Nina Auslander Meedhan ‘96, smiles with her former drama teacher Kathleen Ray.

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Thank you to everyone who joined us for this special weekend.

Congratulations to the Class of 1971 on their 50th Reunion!

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A LUMNI PROFI LES

DENISE GAIL SADDLER ’71

LECTURER, UC BERKELEY’S GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION; EXECUTIVE COACH, PRESIDENT, AND CEO OF LEGACY LEADERS, LLC

What was your most eye-opening experience at school?

My whole time at Anna Head was an eye-opening experience. During my time at Head, I had many opportunities to observe student leadership and participate in it. From 1st grade through half of 5th grade, the school was housed in Berkeley. We had Chapel every morning with the whole school.

Today many schools have advisory by grade level. There was something powerful about the way we sat in the chapel: the 1st graders sat parallel to the seniors with an aisle in between.

Our alumni consistently surprise us, teach us, and make us proud with their varied passions and careers.

With so many awe-inspiring stories out there, we decided to share ten short profiles in this issue, rather than our traditional two long-form features. Enjoy!

Each year we moved back a row with the anticipation of circling around until we were occupying the seats of the seniors. Every day we heard something inspirational via spoken word or musically, along with announcements from different people and classes. We knew the upper class persons and received mentoring from them.

My experience as one of the first African American students to attend Anna Head was filled with many lessons about myself, the world around me, and the bold focus of my parents. I was born in 1954: the year of Brown vs. Board of Education and was accepted at Heads for 1st grade (kindergarten was not yet offered). My experience at Heads mirrors the timeline of many major touchpoints of the United States and, more locally, Berkeley

and Oakland history. Integration of schools was a nationwide focus during my first year at the school, and later there were the assassinations of President Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X , and Robert Kennedy; the first walk on the noon; and the Vietnam War. There were some unsung heroes who provided a safety net for me: Ms. Odie Mae Embry, the cook, Mr. Jenkins, the custodian, and a couple other Black workers on site, who made sure I felt safe daily with their smiles and unspoken support. Unfortunately, the teaching staff was really not prepared and I think it was a lost opportunity at Heads and most schools in the country. This is why it is so important to take on the experiences of the past and support students now and the future. I see significant change from my first day at Anna Head to my experience listening to Olivia Lucas (Class of 2014, Young Alumna of the Year 2022) speak at our reunion.

PADMANANDA RAMA ’97

SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL PRODUCER, REPORTER, ASSOCIATED PRESS

What Head-Royce course helped you determine your college major and career path?

STATE OF THE SCHOOL DINNER On November 20, Crystal Land hosted the annual State of the School Dinner for parents of alumni, retired faculty, and former Trustees. Two past Upper School Heads—Carl Thiermann and Cathy Hunter—joined the festivities.

Denise (third from right) smiles with her fellow 1971 classmates as they celebrate their 50th Reunion!

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I knew in high school that I wanted to study journalism in college. Participating in Head Royce’s debate team under the supervision of Matthew Fraser definitely helped inspire me and prepare me to understand multiple viewpoints of an argument or policy proposal. I also spent summers at debate camps with access to university research libraries, which increased my appetite for learning about a wide range of topics. I remember afternoons spent

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at Stanford University studying nuclear proliferation or at U.C. Berkeley’s law library researching constitutional law.

My first time visiting Washington, D.C., where so much of my professional career has ultimately unfolded, was at a debate camp at The Catholic University

our own perspective and speak with confidence about not just what we learned, but also our own theories and academic arguments. Personally, the pressure that Head-Royce created by expecting excellence, while stressful at times, also helped me develop a quiet confidence. It helped prepare me for a very competitive profession, where I ask questions of elected lawmakers and press government agencies for information on a daily basis.

ANDREW KREAGER-SCHREYER ’10 DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR FOR MISSION SUPPORT, THE EPA

What was your most eye-opening experience at school?

When I was at Head-Royce, I was part of the “Green Team,” the sustainability club. It was my first exposure to sustainability and we helped represent the student voice to the administration during the Master Plan process. I became more interested in environmental issues and explored the issue during my free time.

Senior year, I took AP Environmental Science as my elective to continue Crystal Land shadows Padmananda during a stake out for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and learns how Capitol Hill journalists get scoops.

learning about how all of these things were connected. I think it was only the second year the class had been offered

by Gene Vann. At the time the climate situation wasn’t what it was today, but we were definitely starting to see the writing on the wall. I remember discussing the “Tragedy of the Commons” in class extensively and it’s something that stuck with me ever since. This economic theory, in short, says that without some formal rules or structures that govern access and use of a common resource, users will act in their own self-interest and deplete the resource, which is not in the best interest of all users.

I think about this a lot and how the lack of coordination will lead us to the depletion of the resources that we need.

It’s the reason I’ve been so interested in climate issues since Head-Royce.

I joined a similar group to the “Green Team” in college called “Sustainability Leaders.” In my time with that group, I led the first sustainability audit that my school had of various departments. We examined how sustainable their practices were and gave recommendations on how to improve. From there, I started my career at an Oakland-based rooftop solar startup. Eventually, I moved to

the east coast to join Hillary Clinton’s campaign and got wrapped up in politics for the next few years. I’m happy to be at the EPA in our Office of Mission Support and continue on the mission that I started while at Head-Royce.

MARCUS BYRD ’11

BRAND CONSULTANT

Have you ever worked with another Jayhawk on a project or job?

I was fortunate enough to work with three Head-Royce alumni as we scaled our East Coast burrito chain, Dos Toros Taqueria. The company was started

by Leo Kremer ’98, Oliver Kremer ’04, and Tyler Lohman ’04 and I am forever thankful to them for welcoming me with open arms. During my five years at Dos Toros, we expanded from seven to 23 locations, and opened up in places like Chicago, Brooklyn, and even the New Jersey suburbs.

What values and skills do you believe Head-Royce instilled in you that you call on most in your day-to-day working life?

Head-Royce teachers do a great job of encouraging us to ask “why” until we reach the root of an issue, particularly instilling in us that the goal of schoolwork wasn’t just to regurgitate what we had read, but rather to come up with a unique (ideally original) point of view.

I think Head-Royce does a good job of being a conscientious, contributing member of the neighborhood––from community service, to the wide range of assembly speakers they brought in, to our interactions with the Middle and Lower Schoolers. Head-Royce encourages its students to leave the world a better place than they found it.

Head-Royce was one of the most challenging educational experiences that I’ve had, including my time in college.

Our teachers expected excellence from us, but also encouraged us to develop

The bonds I created with many of my classmates are still strong to this day and we regularly see each other over holidays, during vacations, and now, more recently, at each other’s weddings.

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PATRICIA LEVI ’12

PhD IN MANAGEMENT SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING AT STANFORD UNIVERSITY, FOCUSING ON ENERGY POLICY

I think two of the major marks HeadRoyce has left on me were the development of my critical thinking/ analytical skills and also the rich feeling of community I encountered while there.

of America. I never expected that years later I would return as a journalist to D.C. and witness historic events in the nation’s capital. I also would have never been able to afford any of the travel or experiences that the debate team offered without the financial support of Head-Royce through scholarships and aid-based need. Participating in Head-Royce’s debate team allowed me to see different parts of the country, intensified my curiosity for learning, and challenged my ability to swiftly digest and analyze complicated policies––all of which laid the groundwork for my experiences as a journalist.

Andrew pauses for a photo with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Marcus Byrd ’11 (right) was formerly the Director of Marketing for Dos Toros, a burrito chain founded by brothers and alumni Leo ’98 and Oliver ’04 Kremer.

What Head-Royce course helped you determine your college major and career path?

AP Computer Science did not determine my career, but it sure did give me the confidence I needed to join a lab that did scientific modeling in undergrad, which led me to my current career using computer models to study energy policy. I remember that at the beginning of the class I was completely lost–– nothing made sense. Working on assignments in the Head-Royce computer lab,

I had to lean over and check almost all of my commands with another student.

After about two weeks I had quite the “aha” moment, after which the concept of how a programming language worked clicked into place. I’m so grateful I had that experience in high school, instead of in a much faster-paced and independent college course. I went on to thoroughly enjoy the kind of problem solving challenges presented in the class, and I still do today when I sit down and think about how to structure my next modeling project.

I was a STEM kid in high school and college, but one skill I am eternally grateful to my Head-Royce education for is how to write clearly. I recall groaning with friends in the hallways over the tough demands of an “Enelow Essay.” My research these days uses mathematical models of our electricity grid, but I’ve found that my ability to write––applications, proposals, and scientific paper drafts––is just as important as my technical chops, if not more. Dr. Enelow’s class was the single most useful instruction on writing I’ve received, and I am sure that every application, cover letter, grant proposal, and scientific paper draft I’ve worked on has benefitted from it.

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NICO DORADO ’13

PRODUCT MARKETING, LINKEDIN

What was your most eye-opening experience at school?

My time on The Hawk’s Eye student newspaper forged my interest and eventual love for creating a product. As the managing editor, I unknowingly learned how to develop a go-to-market strategy under a strict timeline. There are

OLIVIA LUCAS ’14

SOCIAL IMPACT PARTNERSHIP COORDINATOR, SAN FRANCISCO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

A Head-Royce teacher who influenced my career path was Naoko Akiyama. In high school, Ms. Akiyama encouraged my participation in diversity initiatives and service learning such as Diversity Council and the Student Diversity Leadership Conference. These experiences nurtured my passion for public service inspired me to advocate for communities of color, which is the work I currently do within local government.

Nico with his sister at the LinkedIn offices.

countless parallels of my current job to producing a newspaper issue. Working with my reporters, section editors, and fellow senior staffers, I learned how to establish clear roles and responsibilities.

I was taught how to establish success metrics and firm timelines that would ultimately lead to a finished product.

Finally, I was able to grow and foster my creativity that I utilize everyday.

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PhD STUDENT IN ECONOMICS AT HARVARD

What Head-Royce course helped you determine your college major and career path?

Being in the public policy field, I have found myself having to rely on math concepts I first learned in statistics and calculus classes at Head-Royce in order to measure and evaluate policy impacts.

Another skill I use in my work is analytical writing, and I definitely credit all my courses at Head-Royce for helping me develop strong research and writing skills. In particular, I remember Mr. Schneider’s freshman English class and

Head-Royce taught me how to get stuff done but have fun while doing it. Through the rigorous course load, I learned how to tackle complex problems. However, it is with the quality of your fellow students where you learn to have fun and work together while accomplishing goals.

FIONA CHEN ’17

Olivia with Representative Barbara Lee.

my I-Search Project on homelessness in the Bay Area sparking my interest in directly engaging with community members and non-profit organizations to conduct research for writing papers.

semester when Trump got elected––and the day after his election we spent the entire class period discussing how we felt about the results. I think such a discussion would have been valuable in any class, but I felt it was especially valuable in this class given its theme.

And I feel that it is a theme I carry into a lot of my work today: the research I’m doing and I hope to continue doing is focused on the economic conditions of people who have often been “alienated” from the rest of society, including the poor and racial minorities.

months at Microsoft, I have served as a team captain for the Be Well Games (to promote healthy work-life balance during the pandemic), taken ownership of projects driven towards managing the software of servers in datacenters worldwide, and valued the diversity of skills and background that each employee brings to the table.

Head-Royce has not just helped me develop a positive perspective for work but life as well. I find it easy to think outside of the box, stick to routines, and appreciate the present moment.

ISAIAH MARTIN ’17

What Head-Royce course helped you determine your college major and career path?

SOFTWARE ENGINEER, MICROSOFT

What Head-Royce course helped you determine your college major and career path?

I loved taking 9th grade English and history with Ms. Krier. Growing up, I had always been more of a STEM person, but those two classes dramatically changed my views towards the humanities and social sciences. In particular, I loved reading the book 1984. At the time, stories about the NSA were constantly in the news, and we tied many discussions about government control and privacy in the book to the real world in ways that I thought were fascinating. I’m studying economics now, as I am passionate about working on policy issues through a quantitative lens and I don’t think I would have this interest in the social sciences if it weren’t for Ms. Krier.

I also loved taking the senior elective Alienation with Ms. Yee. In the class, we read texts where the main character–– by nature of their race, or some other aspect of their identity––was alienated from the rest of society. I found it powerful to dive deeply into the way that these characters were thinking and the reasons they made different decisions during our class discussions. It was clear also from the discussions that these themes were not only relevant to the fictional worlds we were analyzing, but also highly relevant to our lives. I took this class in the fall of 2016, the

What values and skills do you believe Head-Royce instilled in you that you call on most in your day-to-day working life?

Head-Royce taught me how to accept and appreciate different people and diverse environments. With a small class size of around 80 students, I felt encouraged to embrace my individuality. Participating in three varsity sports in my senior year taught me the benefits of discipline, fitness, and teamwork. The Upper School curriculum helped me hone my writing style, programming skills, and approaches to critical thinking.

I use all of these skills on a day-to-day basis as a Software Engineer on the Databox Data Science Team within Azure Edge and Platform. In my eight

I was introduced to computer science as a rising 9th grader through a summer program known as the Hidden Genius Project. I was able to carry my passion and interest in the field forward through four advanced computer science courses taught by Mr. Brian Sea. I vividly remember starting a Hackathon Club as a sophomore. Mr. Sea openly offered his classroom for me to encourage students to make products and share ideas related to tech. I took my tech and entrepreneurial interests with me to Dartmouth, where I graduated as a computer science major with internships at three Fortune 500 Companies: Opendoor, Oracle, and Uber. I am now a full-time Software Engineer at Microsoft. I don’t think I would have made it this far without the support of HeadRoyce and my classes with Mr. Sea.

BELINDA TUCKER ’19

RESEARCH ASSISTANT, RESTORATIVE TECHNOLOGIES LABORATORY

What Head-Royce course helped you determine your college major and career path?

Dr. Jen Brakeman’s neuroscience class is the most important class I’ve ever taken! It really sparked my interest in neuroscience. For the grant proposal final project, I proposed an experiment involving electrical stimulation using an array in the brain to allow for movement in paralyzed patients with lesioned spinal cords. When I got to the University of Washington, I talked to one of my professors about my interest in that subject and he directed me to a lab performing that exact experiment!

I’ve been at that lab now for nearly four years, and while I don’t plan on going into research, I definitely want to continue with neuroscience in medicine.

What values and skills do you believe Head-Royce instilled in you that you call on most in your day-to-day working life?

Head-Royce taught me how to advocate for myself. I thought I would be unprepared going from graduating high school in a class of 82 to entering UW’s freshman class of 7,000, but I found myself able to handle the 600+ person STEM classes more than I expected. Having the confidence to speak directly with professors after class and knowing how to keep my class materials organized are such helpful skills that Head-Royce jumpstarted.

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A LUMNI NOTES

LAURA GETMAN ’73 Laura writes that she stays in contact with classmates Natalie Balfour, Celia Olson, Susan Spitzer Bancroft, and many others through Facebook. As the class agent for 1973, she looks forward to the 50th reunion in 2023 and hopes to make it one to remember!

She also reports that she was recently accepted into a PhD program in Communications at a small college in Virginia, which aligns with her clinical speech pathology background and her hopes of teaching at UC Davis. She’s also planning a cruise to Alaska with friends in 2022 if the COVID-19 circumstances improve.

Laura’s extended family is doing well, with four out of seven nieces and nephews getting married soon. They range professionally from ER resident in Dallas’ Parkland Hospital, to two robotics engineers, an innkeeper, SF high tech employees, an attorney, and a psych hospital software developer. Her siblings and in-laws are heavily involved in their careers in medicine, women’s health pharmacology research, non-profit fundraising, and physics.

REBECCA FISCHER ’82

HOLLY HUTCHINS PUECHAVY ’56 Holly shared a photograph of her watercolor, “Ranunculus, 2001.”

Several years ago, I took a leap of faith that I could find a retirement career and make a difference in the world, so I went back to school to prepare for a Master’s in nutritional science. In the process, I became an accidental biologist who specializes in human biology, and found out how much math and science is involved in the study of food. I was accepted to Cal Poly, Pomona’s Master’s in nutritional science, and have been enjoying the challenge of learning new things.

WILL CHAPMAN ’97 Head of School Emeritus, Paul Chapman, welcomes a new granddaughter, born to his son Will Chapman ’97 and his wife Natasha: Ariana Diya Chapman, 8lbs 6oz, 20 inches. Ariana was born on November 4, 2021. Her middle name is in honor of Diwali, the festival of lights.

MADELINE NELSON ’08 Madeline’s family reports that she is currently working towards her PhD in Archaeology at the University of Pennsylvania.

JULIA FRIEDMAN ’09 Julia married Kyle Rosen on August 28, 2021, surrounded by family and friends, which included many, many Jayhawks!

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ANDREA JANUTA ’10 Reuters investigative journalist Andrea, together with four colleagues, received the Pulitzer Prize for their series of articles disclosing how an obscure US Supreme Court doctrine shields police from accountability for use of excessive force. Andrea, a New York-based enterprise reporter, received her Master’s in Journalism from Columbia and interned on the business desk at the Miami Herald. Previously, she was a financial data analyst at Goldman Sachs. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor’s in math and economics from Yale University.

In 2018, she and three Reuters colleagues published a series of reports examining hazardous conditions in privatized US military housing. The series resulted in three federal investigations, new legislation, public hearings before congress, widespread repairs to protect children, and an emergency $386 million program to inspect homes for hazards.

ANNA AND JOSIAH ROYCE SOCIETY

MEMBER PROFILE

Dr. Louise Comfort For Dr. Louise Comfort, parent of Nathaniel ’80 and Honore ’84, it’s never too late to show gratitude. As the newest member of the Anna and Josiah Royce Society–– those who have named Head-Royce in their estate plans––Dr. Comfort is as grateful today for the education her children received, as when they were students in David Enelow’s humanities class.

As a professor of public and international affairs (now emerita) at the University of Pittsburgh and previously on the faculty of San Jose State University, she has long understood and appreciated the value of a good education and she fostered within her children the same love of school and lifelong learning. Her oldest, Nathan, joined Head-Royce in 7th grade, attended UC Berkeley after graduation, went onto graduate school at Cornell to study neurobiology and animal behavior and then earned his PhD in History of Science from Stony Brook University, New York. He is currently a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Institute of Medicine, teaching the history of medicine to medical, graduate, and upper division history students. He is also writing a biography of James Watson, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962 with

ANDREW KREAGER-SCHREYER ’10 Andrew married Zeppa Kreager on November 5, 2021. The two met on Zeppa’s first night in New York City in March 2017 via a mutual friend (who officiated their wedding ceremony).

Andrew worked on Joe Biden’s Presidential campaign with his then-girlfriend Zeppa. Earlier this year, they moved to D.C. to join the Biden-Harris Administration: Zeppa accepted an appointment as the White House Liaison to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Andrew serves as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mission Support at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for their discovery of the molecular structure of DNA. Nathan credits Head-Royce as the locus where he developed a love of science and writing.

Honore pursued a different path and also landed in a career inspired by her time at Head-Royce. After graduation, she attended Wellesley College, where she decided to study architecture. However, as Wellesley did not offer the Advanced Calculus course she required, she transferred to UC Berkeley. After receiving her Bachelor’s in History of Art, Honore received a full scholarship to Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, one of only four universities in the country that offer a dual Masters’ in Art and Business Administration; she accepted a job at the Chicago Art Institute immediately after graduating. While at Head-Royce, Honore traveled to Tunisia and developed a love of international travel––a passion now fulfilled in her work as the Vice President of International Marketing for the Wine Institute.

We are grateful to Dr. Comfort for her meaningful gift that will impact many more Head-Royce students to come.

“I am very grateful to the School that provided scholarships to my children when I was not able to pay their tuition.

Now, at a point when I am able to give something back, FIONA CHEN ’17 Fiona graduated from MIT in 2021 and now serves on the MIT Board of Trustees. A 2021 Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow, she’s pursuing her PhD in economics at Harvard.

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I am happy to contribute to the scholarship fund and enable others to send their children to Head-Royce.”

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Pete also was extremely supportive of Burt’s career, as he founded Avery Construction in 1960 and developed garden apartments and office buildings on the San Francisco Peninsula. Pete and Burt were overjoyed to welcome four daughters-in-law into the family, whom they both loved dearly. They adored their 11 grandchildren, and Pete lived long enough to enjoy the company of her three great-grandchildren.

IN

JEAN HARLOWE RICHARDSON ’39 Jean passed away on March 7, 2020.

BETTY J. WEICHHART ’42 Betty passed away on May 22, 2021. She was born in Portland, Oregon, on March 27, 1925.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband John Weichhart, sister Lynn Hammersmith, son Rexford Weichhart, and grandson Ivan Beekman. Betty is survived by her children Wendy Morgan, Mardy (Jay) Valentine, John “Ty” (Stacy) Weichhart, Jr., six grandchildren, and many great-grandchildren.

MARION PETERSON AVERY ’45 Marion Peterson “Pete” Avery, beloved matriarch, passed away peacefully at age 93 after a brief illness. Pete is remembered for her love of family and friends, keen intellect and wit, natural inquisitiveness, kind and generous spirit, humility, and for her elegance and charm. She was a

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devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and a caring friend.

on the Stanford side. But they quickly decided they preferred to sit together!

Pete was raised in Oakland by her loving family: Otto and Gladys Peterson; stepmother Florence (after Gladys’ death); and older brothers Robert, Richard, and Edward. Many of her lifelong friendships were formed during her early years, later at Anna Head High School in Berkeley, and at UC Berkeley (’49) where she was president of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.

Pete and Burt were a devoted couple and dedicated parents. Early in their marriage they worked nights and weekends together to convert the historic Flood estate horse barn in Atherton into a loving family home where they raised their five sons. The Avery home, fondly known as “The Barn,” was a hub of activity where everyone felt welcome, and there was never a dull moment!

Pete infused every day with humor and grace. Always supportive, Pete and Burt took great interest in each of their son’s pursuits in education, activities, and sports. Once the boys were off to school, Pete could be found helping in the classroom, working with the PTA, or volunteering with the Junior League.

Pete spent many afternoons shuttling the boys back and forth to swim and water polo team practices. She took the lead organizing family vacations and particularly enjoyed their summer excursions to Glenbrook, a special place for the family dating back to that first summer she shared with Burt.

Pete met the love of her life, Burt Avery, on a blind date in 1948. Burt was completing his degree at Stanford Business School after returning from U.S Naval service as an underwater demolition specialist in WWII. Their relationship blossomed that summer at Lake Tahoe where each held a summer job. Pete enjoyed waitressing at Glenbrook Inn while Burt built a house at Rubicon Bay. They married one year later in Berkeley and enjoyed 56 years of wedded bliss until Burt’s death in 2005. At first, when they went together to Big Game, Pete sat on the Cal side of the stadium while Burt was

Strong and active supporters of Stanford, Pete and Burt helped the University upgrade its aquatics facilities and backed groundbreaking immunology research at the School of Medicine. They shared a passion for Early California Art, and they greatly enjoyed dominoes and bridge games with friends.

Pete moved to the Vi, a senior living community next to the Stanford campus, after Burt passed in 2005. She enjoyed connecting with old friends, as well as building many new relationships. Always inquisitive, she attended lectures at the Vi and was an avid reader of fiction and nonfiction. One of her favorite experiences at the Vi was taking a memoir class where she had the opportunity to record personal stories from her entire life. Another great joy for Pete was playing bridge and the deep friendships she developed around the bridge table. And she rarely missed watching the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants, and Stanford football. She particularly loved learning about the players’ personal stories.

Pete will be forever missed by her four surviving sons: Chris, Brian (Tracey), Matt (Kathy), and Regan (Brenda), and

by Laurene, her son Bruce’s widow; grandchildren: Alida Avery McIntyre (Shea) and Tom Avery (Anne); Galen Avery Neidlinger (Matt), and Alex (Janine), Amanda, and Meg Avery; Wade, Gavin, and Weston Avery; Christian and Palmer Avery; and great-grandchildren: Luca and Crew McIntyre; and Reese Neidlinger. Her beloved brothers and husband Burt predeceased her. Pete and Burt’s cherished son Bruce was taken too young in an automobile accident in 2014.

BARBARA RINGO MARTIN ’50 Barbara, age 85, passed away on Thursday, October 26, 2017 in Republic, Missouri. She was born in Michigan on January 23, 1932 to Charles Randolph Ringo and Corrie Jean (Woodward) Ringo. Barbara earned her Master’s Degree from Catholic University in Washington, DC. She was a Christian woman and truly loved her Lord. She was a school teacher for many years.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her son, John Paul Martin. Barbara is survived by her daughter, Mary Susanna Martin, five grandchildren, and friends David and Denise Severance.

SALLY SHALER LE MIEUX ’50 Sally grew up in Berkeley, CA and graduated from the Anna Head School and Stanford University (BA ’54, MA ’55). She taught at East Bakersfield High School and worked as a field executive for the Girl Scout Council in Kern County and Santa Clara County. She lived for 29 years in San Jose and 16 years in Berry Creek, before moving to Oroville in 2006. In her retirement, she enjoyed taking trips, cruises, and tours to locations including Australia, Alaska, South America, and the Middle East. She was a member of the Santa Clara South, Los Gatos, and Orolake congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Sally is survived by her son, John.

SUSAN WELLINGTON BORDNER ’57 Susan Elizabeth Wellington Bordner, born December 23,1939 in San Francisco to James Frederick Wellington and Caroline Wardner Harrison Wellington, passed away on November 15, 2021 at 81 years of age.

Raised in Berkeley and Kensington, Sue, as she was called, attended Kensington Elementary School, Portola Junior

High School, was an active Girl Scout and Senior Girl Scout Mariner, and graduated from the Anna Head School in Berkeley. She attended Pomona College for one year, where she met her husband of 61 years Dalton William Bordner. She transferred to UC Berkeley and became a member of Phi Mu Sorority, and then to UCLA, after marriage, graduating with a BA in Political Science in 1961. She and husband Dalt moved to Fullerton, CA in 1963, where they raised three sons: Robert, Douglas, and Bruce. All of their sons achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in the BSA. Sue was a lifelong volunteer. She served on the PTA boards of her sons’ schools, on the Fullerton PTA Council, and on boards of the North Orange County YWCA and the League of Women Voters.

She served on the City of Fullerton Planning Commission from 1977 to 1981 and was recognized for her service on the Orange County Transportation Commission’s Special 20 Year Master Plan Citizen’s Committee in 1989.

She was a 50 year Honorary Life Member of the American Association of University Women, serving as the Fullerton Branch President in 198586, as Director of Public Policy for the California State AAUW 1990-92, as the State AAUW President 1994-96, and in other state-level board positions.

Women in Action Lobby Day (WIALD) was developed while she was Director of Public Policy. In 1994, the Bordners relocated to El Dorado Hills in Northern California and Sue joined both the Sacramento and Foothills of El Dorado County branches of AAUW. Sue was introduced to Japanese flower arranging (Ikebana) in 1986 while her husband was working in Singapore for Ameron PTE. When they returned to California in 1987, she began taking lessons in the Ikenobo School of Ikebana and in 1990 in the Sogetsu School under the direction of sensei Kimi Kika Shibata in Sacramento. She attained the fourth grade teaching certificate. She served on the board of the Sacramento Chapter #26 of Ikebana International for many years, including time as bylaws chair, newsletter editor, and president.

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She displayed and demonstrated at Sogetsu and Ikebana International events, at the Bloom 1 and 2 shows in Davis, CA, and was a member of the Sacramento Floral Design Guild.

In 2019 Sue and Dalt relocated to South Orange County to the active retirement community of Reata Glen in Rancho Mission Viejo, CA, where she died from cancer. Sue is survived by her husband Dalton William Bordner; sons Robert (Susan) of Seattle, WA, Douglas (Jennifer) of Simi Valley, CA, and Bruce (Christine) of Riverside, CA; grandsons Nicholas, Austin, Travis, and Ryan; granddaughters Caroline, Samantha, Tara, and Addison; and step-grandchildren Mitchell and Kate Duran. She is also survived by her brother, James “Jim” (Cheryl) and several cousins.

PERRIN GRAVES MACEACHERN ’61 Perrin Graves MacEachern, beloved wife, doting mother, and grandmother, succumbed to a breakthrough case of COVID-19 pneumonia on October 8, 2021, at the age of 77 in Virginia Beach.

Born November 8, 1943, in San Francisco, California, she was adopted as an infant by Richard and Maya Graves. She graduated from Acalanes High School in 1961 and met Donald MacEachern at UC Berkeley. They married in 1963 and moved to Virginia Beach in 1967.

Perrin struggled through decades of chronic pain, yet she strove to be lovein-action. The door at the “Funny Farm” was always open to friends and those in need. Perrin lived her faith through music and mothering. She was a longtime choir member at Galilee Episcopal Church and Eastern Shore Chapel. After briefly working as a nurse, she focused on raising her children. She supported their many endeavors, volunteering for and chauffeuring to Scottish dance competitions, Junior Achievement, music lessons, camps, church choir, Boy Scouts, and school clubs. She was a beautiful vocalist but admittedly terrible dancer; voracious reader; road tripper; loyal friend who always meant to write more letters; history buff; yardsale sleuth; font of obscure vocabulary;

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zany gardener; and storyteller.

Perrin is predeceased by her eldest daughter Mary-Margaret Traina, her brother Stephen Graves, and her parents. She is survived by Donald MacEachern, her husband of 58 years; her children Stephen MacEachern, Nell-Garwood Unger, Hylton Tyrrell, Eleanor Mullens, and Jared MacEachern; and nine beloved grandchildren.

HOLLY BORDEN ’62 Holly Elizabeth Borden, loving mother, sister, grandmother, and friend, left this world after a lengthy battle with cancer on November 25, 2021. She was born to Charles Frederick and Madelyn Hughes Borden in April 1944 in San Mateo, California. She lived an idyllic childhood in the lovely hills of Orinda, riding her horses Cookie and Sarge in the sparsely populated area surrounding her home. After graduating from the Anna Head School in Berkeley, college brought her to Idaho, where she graduated from The College of Idaho in 1966 with a BA in sociology.

Soon after college she married and moved around before settling in Portland, Oregon to start family life.

She gave birth to two daughters, Dani and Jenni, whom she shared with her former spouse Gerald Baur. Her girls were her everything, and she was an excellent and caring mother.

Her career began at Riverdale Elementary School, where her daughters attended. She was quickly recognized for her strong work ethic and asked to join a small company named Precision Interconnect. She worked her way up from assistant to the Head of HR, while earning her MBA from Marylhurst University. She eventually made the move to the Seattle area to work for Spacelabs Medical in HR and her final career stop was with Boise State University in Idaho, where she was able to focus on her true interest in HR as Director of Affirmative Action. Immediately she found kindred spirits in the workforce who became lifelong friends.

Holly’s move to Idaho also brought her

many other joys. The home she found allowed her to have a horse on-site and she was able to wake each day to her horse, R.J., calling for attention. The property also allowed her to pursue her lifelong love of gardening, a love she inherited from her mother and a passion she shared with her daughter Dani. Her garden was a meticulously maintained English-style paradise. She created such an oasis for all to enjoy and it was the perfect backdrop for visits with family, especially grandchildren! Another passion Holly found in Idaho was…sports! She found a wonderful group of friends cheering at Boise State football and basketball games––the closer the score the better.

Anyone who was lucky enough to know Holly will remember her as a strikingly beautiful and intelligent woman with class and poise. She always said, “There are two types of people in this world: those who walk into a room and say, ‘Here I am’ and those who walk into a room and say, ‘There you are.’” She may have looked like the “here I am” sort but was most assuredly a “there you are” person. She could talk to anyone about anything and made us all feel comfortable. She loved life, she loved the outdoors on beautiful sunny days, she loved her animals, and she loved her friends, children, and grandchildren.

She is survived by her daughters, Danielle (Paul Akulschin) of Gig Harbor, Washington and Jennifer (Jasen Carrier) of Meridian, Idaho; grandchildren Trent Akulschin, Madelyn Carrier, Christopher Akulschin, and Robert Akulschin; and siblings Joan Shea of Oakland and Rick Borden of Mill Valley. And we cannot forget her pets, her big boy R.J., and her dogs Wally and McGee. She is preceded in death by her parents, Charles Frederick and Madelyn Hughes Borden.

GAIL SUITOR BALZAR ’71 Gail Suitor Balzar, 69, passed away on July 29, 2021 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. She is survived by her husband of 30 years, Robert M. Balzar of Reno; stepchildren Robert A. (Bo) Balzar of Las Vegas, Kimberly Wade of

Ridgecrest, California, and Brian Balzar of Dallas, Texas; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild; her mother, Betty Suitor of Lakeside, California; sisters Peggy Moore of San Marcos, California and Leslie Miller of Kingsland, Texas; and brother, Paul Suitor of North Carolina. Early in life she was involved in special events and music and loved being a special events coordinator at Lawlor Events Center when the big shows in Reno were held there. In 1991, she took on the most important job and helped her new husband raise three wonderful children whom she loved like her own. She volunteered with Assistance League in Las Vegas and recently was a Reno Rodeo Wrangler.

ROBERT C. GAVRELL ’93 Rob Gavrell—beloved husband, father, son, friend, attorney, outdoorsman, adventurist, and Whiffenpoof—passed away on September 25, 2021 at the age of 46 while on an afternoon motorcycle ride through Colorado’s Rocky Mountains.

Rob lived exuberantly, radiating a profound and infinite love for his family and friends. Despite a lifetime of achievement, he was most fiercely proud of being a husband to his wife, Stacey, and a father to his two daughters, Emma and Jocelyn.

He often combined his many passions by serenading them with obscure acapella tunes as they hiked, skied, rafted, biked, and camped in the mountains around their home.

Rob was not only a doting family man, he was an unstoppable hobbyist and adventurer. Just a few of his achievements include hiking every one of Colorado’s 58 fourteen-thousand foot peaks, mastering backcountry skiing in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains, faithfully restoring and maintaining several classic motorcycles and cars, delivering captivating vocal performances for dignitaries around the world with Yale’s Whiffenpoofs, raising chickens, building a thriving and distinguished law practice, and mastering a recipe for an excellent spaghetti bolognese.

Rob Gavrell ’93 with his wife Stacey and their daughters Emma and Jocelyn

Rob grew up in Danville, California, playing little league, riding his bike all over town and finding his love of rowing.

It was as a Boy Scout where he was able to use his ever-growing outdoor skills. Rob also became an Eagle Scout, something less than one percent of all scouts achieve. After graduating from Head-Royce in Oakland, he traveled with his childhood friends throughout Europe before attending Yale University, where he competed in crew and earned a place in the world’s most exclusive collegiate men’s acapella group, the Yale Whiffenpoofs. After earning his undergraduate degree, he moved to Denver and began working for a non-profit environmental advocacy group, which is where he met his wife.

Rob then turned his keen intellect and tireless work ethic toward a J.D. from the University of Colorado Law School.

Shortly afterward, he and his wife decided to trade the cramped confines of urban living for Colorado’s west slope. It was in Glenwood Springs that Rob began his career as a civil litigation attorney, eventually building a highly respected practice. During his legal

career, he served as Vice President and Senior Vice President of the Colorado Bar Association. Rob also served as President of his daughters’ school PTA, volunteered on several boards and commissions, sang in choir, coached mock trial teams, and was a youth mentor.

Rob enriched the lives of his family, friends, clients, and colleagues. Sometimes, the enrichment was a bit overwhelming, like taking a visiting friend fresh from sea level on an “easy hike” that turned into a grueling slog to the top of a snow-covered 14,000-foot peak. Mostly, though, the enrichment turned so many into lifelong friends, scattered across the country. And for those friends, his loyalty and care knew no bounds. Rob will be remembered for all the gifts he gave to his family, his friends, and his community, and for his irrepressible enthusiasm for life.

Rob is survived by his wife Stacey and his daughters Emma and Jocelyn; his parents George and Elaine; his sister Alison; his Aunt Robyn; his cousin Lisa and her husband, Ivan, and their sons John, Robert, and Brian.

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FL A SH B ACK TO 1970

The Future Starts Today

The new South Campus will take Head-Royce to the next level of 21st century learning.

A Welcoming Presence Students, parents, faculty, alumni, and visitors will be graciously and safely welcomed to the Head-Royce campus.

Nature as Teacher Students’ creativity will be sparked by eight acres of lightly developed property with wooded areas, mature trees, expansive Bay views and inviting open fields, offering space for play, connection, and outdoor education.

Doing STEM and Learning STEM Middle parts, microscopes… some things never go out of style!

The new science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) Center and physics labs will ignite K-12 students’ love of learning and serve as the academic anchor of the South Campus.

Stronger Together Students and School community members will flock to the new Collaboration Center for community, connection, and creativity.

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Join us to transform Head-Royce for the next era of excellence.

hrsframingourfuture.org

Head-Royce School 4315 Lincoln Avenue Oakland, CA 94602 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

“T he noblest pleasure is f o y o j e th ” g n i d n a t unders .

– LEONA R DO DA V I NCI