Priorities #66: Winter 2017

A Magazine of the Priory · Issue #66

· Winter 2017

Celebrating Father

Pius

Board of Directors Abbot Mark Cooper, OSB Father John Fortin, OSB Father Benet Philips, OSB Father Martin Mager, OSB Father Maurus Nemeth, OSB

Board of Trustees Brian Axe Catherine Boyle Dave Brett Mike Calbert Mike Carusi Laura Cornish Craig Dauchy Eileen DiGiorgio Kathryn Fitzgerald Mark Gainey Cathy Gawne Phil Golden Karen Gregory Sally Harris Eric Harrison Kathryn Henkens Sandy Herz Bob Larson Father Jonathan Licari, OSB Nancy Newman Guy Nohra Stan Pierson Stewart Putney Kari Rust Maureen Sansbury Dave Schinski Sally Screven Edward Sun Phil Young

Priorities magazine is published in the Winter, Spring and Summer by Woodside Priory School for its alumni, parents, students, neighbors, and friends.

Contact the Communications Office at 650-851-6131 or the school at 650-851-8221.

Editor: Kelly Sargent Contributing Writers: Kathy Gonzalez, Kelly Sargent, Thea Sullivan, Al Zappelli Design/Production: Jim Kirkland, Copperline Multimedia Photos: Jose Aguirre, Molly Buccola, Gardner Grout, Jennifer Hammer, Jim Kirkland, Matt Lai, Father Martin Mager, Kelly Sargent, Katharina Stromeyer, Bill Youstra Proofreaders: Diane Lanctot, Matt Lai, Michelle Taffe Printing: Colorprint, Mark W. Allen

Chapel Services

Masses at 7:15 a.m. Monday-Saturday 9:30 a.m. Sundayv11:00 a.m. Sunday Hungarian service. All are welcome.

These last few months have given us a chance to celebrate 60 Years of Being Benedictine.

Father Egon said the first Mass on the Priory grounds in the ranch house on November 11, 1956.

It set the stage for the “beginnings” of a Monastery and a school which is thriving today–thanks to so many of you who have provided the resources needed to grow and prosper.

The Priory as a Catholic Benedictine school and community has lived our mission to spread the Good News and teach students “who will productively serve a world in need of their gifts.” We are very proud of our many domestic and international graduates and their families living the spirit of the Priory in their daily experience. We are humbled by the many blessings and gifts which have allowed us to touch the hearts, minds and souls of thousands of young people over the decades. We are Priory!

This fall our major celebration was on Sunday, November 13 when we gathered as a Hungarian/American community for a Mass of Thanksgiving. We were pleased to have Father Mathias Durette OSB, Prior of Saint Anselm Monastery, as our celebrant and Father Kelemen Saray Szabo OSB, Prior of Gyor Priory in Hungary, in attendance.

The Mass program contained letters from Abbot Mark Cooper OSB of Saint Anselm, Archabbot Astrik Varszegi OSB from Pannonhalma and a Proclamation from the Town of Portola Valley wishing us congratulations. Over 400 people gathered in the Priory chapel to sing, listen, pray and celebrate our Founding Monks and the hand Divine Providence had and continues to have in the flourishing life of Woodside Priory. We know that the founding of the Priory was a dream that became a reality through the Monks who sacrificed to make it happen–Fathers Egon, Christopher, Benignus, Achilles, Emod, Stanley, and Leopold. They have been joined over the years by many Monks and lay people who have kept that dream alive through some very difficult times. They, too, believed in the value of this school for young people of the local and global communities.

Abbot Mark in his letter states, “It is then with great gratitude that we celebrate this milestone” and “we are reminded of Saint Benedict’s admonition to always trust in the Lord for what is not possible by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply by help of his grace.” Divine Providence, again and again when times looked bleak, aided us through the grace of others.

Father Egon, in his book Beginnings says the Priory was truly “an American miracle” as the Monks were immigrants, had very little money and did not know the language and culture. Yet they survived–Halleluiah!

In this issue we honor one of our current Monks, Father Pius Horvath OSB, who arrived here in 1960. He mentioned at the Mass of Thanksgiving in November that when he arrived, he was the youngest and now he is the oldest–and “not sure which is better.” His sense of humor and smiling eyes endear him to faculty and staff. He has a special place in all of our hearts and is loved by all those on this campus, especially the many children who “light up” when they see him. Enjoy the article.

Everything is very green on this 51-acre campus right now, and it is astonishingly beautiful. Such was not the case in August 1956. I am sure when the other six Monks joined Father Egon here and saw the dry, parched earth and the distance from “civilization” they looked skyward and wondered Dear God what did I get myself into? To their huge credit, they did not lose faith but followed the words in the Prologue of The Rule of Saint Benedict and “established a school for God’s service.”

May God continue to hold us in the palm of His Hand, bless us with the riches and gifts of the people who serve here and

by His grace allow us to always–Listen…with the ear of our heart.

All of us at the Priory wish you a blessed New Year!

Tim Molak Head of School

HEAD OF SCHOOL

Dear Priory Community,

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS 4

6-10 11 12-13 14-15 16-17 18-19 20-22 24-29

Fall at a Glance MS Athletics US Athletics Performing Arts Visual Arts Student Spotlight Faculty Father Pius

30-31 32-33 34-35 38-39 40-43 44-53 54-55 56-57

Football Feature Cross Country Feature Faculty Spotlight: Gulliver LaValle Q&A with Al Zappelli Alumni Reunion Class News & Notes Alumni Events Monastery News

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Woodside Priory School Celebrating 59 Years of Benedictine Education

5

FALL AT A GLANCE

1. In September, the Art Building was demolished to make way for the new STREAM building.

1

2. Father Martin stood in the Art Building one last time before it was knocked down.

3. Students created a “Wall of Healing” that allowed the Priory community to post notes of encouragement and hope after the high profile presidential election.

4. Maya Hsu ‘23 brought her pet chicken, Schneeflocke, to the Blessing of the Pets.

5. Father Maurus blessed over 20 animals of various breeds at the Blessing of the Pets.

2

3

6

4

6 5

7

6. Dorm students with Peter Agoston and RF Andrew Downey during a Head of School dinner.

7. MS PE enjoys some time in the pool playing inner tube water polo.

8. Students prepare for a joust competition at Field Day. 9. Alex Yonehiro ‘21 and Saul Mora ‘21 run a tight race on the bungee run.

10. Gavin Thompson ‘20 leaps over the wall on the Field Day obstacle course.

11. Lauren Hurley ‘23 12. Students always enjoy prepping for the photo booth at Homecoming!

and Caroline Tamer ‘23 have their game faces on at the Homecoming carnival.

FALL AT A GLANCE

9

8

13. The faculty and staff cheer the team on with their rally towels!

14. Linnea Martinez ‘21, Bella Deevy ‘21, and Ellie Chang ‘21 get into the school spirit.

15. Charlie Brandin ‘19 on the RoboSurfer.

10 11 12

13 14

15

7

FALL AT A GLANCE

2

1 4

8

6

5

4. The Freshmen and Junior girls teamed up at the annual Girls Football game. They were assisted by their proud coaching staff.

5. The Sophomore and Senior girls football team with their coaches.

1. The MS Musical Theater Performance class

6. Sam McCabe ‘17 narrowly dodges a flag pull

by Lala Nui ‘20.

practiced their dance routine with Ms. Paulson.

7. Halloween was in high spirits this year with

2. Jacey Reed ‘17, Wako Morimoto ‘17, and Ms. Gonzalez encouraged others to join the Daraja Club.

3. Mr. Neale and Joe Petersdorf ‘19 entertain the crowd at the H Block Club Fair.

7

3

lots of creative costumes!

FALL AT A GLANCE SPIRIT WEEK 2016 Spirit Week was filled with fun and creative class themes.

The Junior class started things off with their Junior Jokers day, followed the next day by the hard to find Camouflaged Sophomores. The Seniors got a clue, with their Blues Clues theme, and the MS painted the town red with their Kool-aid theme. The Freshmen class closed things out with their panthers-themed day.

9

FALL AT A GLANCE

1

2

10

1. The Class of 2020 gathered for the Freshman orientation day.

2. The sixth grade class met for the first time in early August.

3. The sixth graders remained energetic during their hike at outdoor ed.

4. Finn Smith ‘22, Remy Fu ‘22, Nik

3

4

Mulligan ‘22, and Liam Chandra ‘22 at the Pinnacles.

5. Sixth grade girls relax in the hallway during break.

6. The eighth grade class during their week in Washington DC.

6

5

1. The MS cross country team at the Coyote Point meet.

2. The JV flag football team went undefeated this season with a 6-0 record.

3. The Varsity flag football team finished their season with an impressive 5-1 record.

4. The offensive line for the JV flag football team.

2

MS ATHLETICS

1

3 4

5. Ben Dyckerhoff ‘22 with the Varsity flag football team.

6. The MS softball team braved the heat and still came out with a victory.

7. Leah Nelson ‘23 prepares to steal a base.

5 7

6

11

US ATHLETICS Cross Country

12

The cross country team had a record 51 members this year! The large team had fun participating in the Moonlight Run in Palo Alto.

Football The football team improved their record to 4-3.

The season was filled with some high scoring victories and nail-biting losses. The team said goodbye to Seniors Yoonho Choi, Daniel Goe, Mike Joyce, and Henry Wise.

US ATHLETICS

4

13 Top: The 2016 Fall Sports All League winners.

Girls Volleyball The girls volleyball program fielded three full teams again this year with Freshman, JV and Varsity squads.

Priory volleyball celebrated Nadia Faisal ‘17 and Daniela Vivanco ‘17 during the big Senior Game.

Girls Tennis Goes Undefeated!

The girls tennis team went undefeated with a 9-0 record to clinch the WBAL Skyline Division. Eight girls were named to the All League team, including Casey Walsh ‘18, who was selected as the league MVP. Boys Water Polo Konstantin Larin ‘17 looks to pass the ball during his final home match for the Panthers.

Milan Pandey ‘19 looks for an open teammate.

FEATURE PERFORMING ARTS 14 14

Much Ado About Nothing All School Show “Much Ado� has been an extraordinary amount of fun and our actors have fearlessly leaped in: mastering language and bending all their intelligence, creativity and skill to make these people come alive.

Our Techies have labored with lights, paint, sound and saws to create the world of this play so you can vividly experience it. ~John Sugden

2. Performers from the Cookies and Classics.

3. The String Ensemble takes a final bow at the Winter Concert.

4. The Concert Choir delighted the audience with their holiday melodies.

5. Led by Ms. Paulson, the Chamber Choir performed at the Fall Concert.

FEATURE PERFORMING ARTS

1. Chamber Choir performed at Filoli as part of their Christmas performances.

2 1

15 15

3

4

5

VISUAL ARTS

Metals: “Metal Skyline” by Ila Lane ‘19

16 Metals: “Kieran Nameplate” by Kieran Pandey ‘17

MS Drawing and Painting: “Water Carafe” by Erik Genet ‘22

Drawing and Painting: “Self Portrait” by Leyla Gillett ‘20

Metals: “Pyramid” by Nadia Faisal ‘17

Drawing and Painting: “Bunny” by Marie Sirenko ‘20

VISUAL ARTS Digital Photography: “Seeing Light Project” by Tessa Geoly ‘19

Digital Photography: “Seeing Light Project” by Tara Kariat ‘19

Digital Photography: “Seeing Light Project” by CT Haesemeyer ‘17

Digital Photography: “Seeing Light Project” by Ada Fathers ‘20

MS Drawing and Painting color wheel Drawing and Painting: “Kitchen Tools” by Rachel Goines ‘17

17 17

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Gamers Programming Academy A Camp Created and Operated by Brothers Jack, Billy, and Bobby Youstra

J

18

1

ack Youstra ’17 loved computer programming so much that he taught himself how to program in middle school and published an iOS app called ActionMath. Jack explained the app’s functionality. “It’s a math app that Elementary Scholars can use to do arithmetic exercises, and it sends the results to a teacher who can analyze the results of every student from the teacher’s desk and give targeted help.” After attending a programming camp in 2013 at Stanford, Jack decided to launch his own camp. The concept was to teach kids how to use Java by operating the popular game Minecraft as the programming platform. Kids would learn programming fundamentals to create their own content to the game, otherwise known as Minecraft mods. The hope was to convert the kids’ love of the game into enthusiasm for creating their own world and thereby introducing them to the creative possibilities of programming. Jack named his camp Gamers Programming Academy.

In December 2013, Jack ran a test 3-day camp in his basement and expanded it to a few week-long sessions in the summer of 2014. He repeated that model, testing out new camps for iOS programming and advanced Java in December before rolling out a new slate in summer 2015. By then, the camps had grown to the point where he had booked several weeks and needed to hire staff, which included his brother Billy ’19 to run lunchtime and outdoor activities, his brother Bobby to help with IT, and Emma Erickson ’17 and Ryan Reiss ’17 to help with instruction. The grade level of the students ranged from 4th to 8th grade. The camp has included programming, development, lectures, lunch, Minecraft playtime and a field trip to Electronic Arts where a career programmer spoke with the campers.

After seeing the camp become a success, Jack considered how to get these skills to kids who lacked a computer in their home, the funds or access to travel to his camp. He saw an opportunity to have local public schools or libraries serve as the home base for the camp.

Jack contacted the San Mateo Superintendent of Schools and quickly got connected to the county head of libraries. A pilot program was

proposed for the East Palo Alto library. Jack’s timing was perfect as the libraries were in the process of reconsidering their role in an increasingly digital world. Jack worked with the local library staff to launch two free three-day sessions in the summer of 2015, which were fully booked by local kids. He also worked with the staff to configure library computers so the kids could continue to program and develop their Minecraft mods after the camp concluded.

Looking back at how the camp got started, Jack has learned a tremendous amount. He learned about teaching, marketing, customer service, hiring, management and paying taxes! So what advice would he give to someone contemplating starting their own camp? “Start early!” Jack suggested. “Marketing is best done at the beginning of January and throughout the month. This is where most of the customers are.” His advice also included, “Respond promptly to mail, and don’t feel overwhelmed by how large the prospect of starting a camp is. Take it one piece at a time, and it’ll all be fine.”

In the summer of 2016, Jack accepted a summer research position at UC Davis and turned the camp over to Billy. Billy promptly hired classmate Kenny Akers ’19 to help lead the camps. As Billy took the reins from Jack, he shared his outlook for the camp. “Our plans depend on future demand. As we have been widely successful with our program of teaching kids Java with Minecraft, we are interested in improving that particular program right now. In the future, if there is interest in either diving deeper into the aspects of Java or learning Java through another game, we will explore how to create a program around that interest.” Billy is also very interested in the satisfaction of the campers. “Despite any challenges or lack of experience in coding beforehand, they were all able to succeed,” he said. “Every one of them came out of it smiling, with a new interest in coding and how it could affect the world around them.”

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

“Respond promptly to mail, and don’t feel overwhelmed by how large the prospect of starting a camp is. Take it one piece at a time, and it’ll all be fine.”

19 2

3 4

1. Camp counselors from left to right, Kenny Akers ‘19, Billy Youstra ‘19, and Bobby Youstra.

2. Jack Youstra ‘17 holds a lecture session during camp.

3. Bobby Youstra and Kenny Akers assist students in the fun camp environment.

4. Campers get some one on one time with Billy, Bobby, and Kenny.

FACULTY 20

New Kids on the Block The 2016-17 school year welcomed eight new faculty members.

To get to know our talented new faculty, we asked them to answer a few fun questions!

1. What was your favorite toy as a kid?

DL: A snowman Christmas ornament named Hermie VanPelt.

MC: I had a chalkboard on wheels–my mom, who is a teacher, bought it for me when I was 4 or 5.

AM: My Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures; I still collect newer versions today!

JM: The Star Wars Millennium Falcon from the early 80's.

DR: Opening and closing jars GS: LEGOS! I really enjoyed how they let me built anything my imagination could come up with.

KU: Big Wheel NW: All the Legos, particularly the Amazon Jungle and UFO sets.

2. Can you play any instruments?

DL: Rock Band Guitar MC: Voice, piano, guitar, ukulele AM: I play lots of instruments that I've picked up along the way since middle school. My favorites are probably the trumpet, guitar and ukulele.

JM: My main instrument through school was the French horn. However, I compose music now and no time to play someone else's music. :) DR: No GS: Yes, many: calipers, micrometers, lathe, Bridgeport mill, TIG welder, carpenter's square, file, hacksaw, etc.

KU: I was once in a steel pan band called the Pandemics.

NW: When I was 13, I tried to play the sitar for a year.

Now, I'm trying to learn the carnatic flute.

3. What is the oldest thing in your refrigerator?

DL: Umeboshi paste?

MC: A small champagne bottle I bought when we moved into our new house four months ago.

AM: I think I have an old bottle of Vietnamese sweet-chili sauce that I haven't touched in a while...haha.

JM: The mustard.

DR: Mustard with olives and herbes de Provence.

GS: Cheese that I bought on a camping trip to beautiful and verdant Humboldt county.

KU: A coconut I brought back from Hawaii in August.

NW: An old bottle of BBQ sauce.

4. What’s the strangest talent you have?

DL: I’m known as “The Baby Whisperer.”

MC: I can sing any song like Snow White. I spent many a party in the 1990's singing Salt N Pepa's "Shoop" as Snow White. Doesn't seem that funny now, though.

AM: A dimple forms on my chin when I flare my nostrils.

JM: I build plastic scale models in my spare time.

DR: Interpretation of dreams (of others).

GS: All of my talents are totally normal and not strange at all.

NW: I make a pretty kick-in-the-face chai.

5. What, or who, are you a “closet” fan of?

DL: The Bee Gees. Dancing With the Stars. Bollywood popcorn.

MC: Law and Order SVU. It's no secret, but it's just odd.

I've seen every episode many times. I can watch it all day... and sometimes, I do!

AM: The Try Guys on Buzzfeed...I don't love admitting that they're funny...but they are.

JM: I am well known as a fan of all things Star Wars. Not many know that I am also a fan of Star Trek.

DR: John Fitzgerald Kennedy GS: I'm really into thorium closed-loop nuclear fuel cycles.

Ask me about them sometime!

KU: Jason Bourne NW: Iron Chef Morimoto 6. What are three things still left on your bucket list?

DL: Tickets to Wimbledon. Meeting Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Opening a vegan cooking school.

MC: Get married. Learn another language. Take my parents to Scotland.

AM: Learn to juggle. I still don't have any tattoos, but I'd like one. I want to sing one note onstage at the Metropolitan Opera (even if it means sneaking in past the guards when no one is around).

JM: Not a whole lot.

DR: A road trip (East to the West coast). Read The Infinite Jest. Go through the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius de Loyola.

GS: Build a tiny house. Design and manufacture a product to be injection molded. Visit the Sonoran Desert.

FACULTY Diane Lanctot

Mary Carroll

Albee Mabeza

Jason McChristian

Media Specialist Librarian

Performing Arts Theology

Performing Arts

Performing Arts

KU: Learn another language. Visit every continent. Skydive.

NW: Drive to the Grand Canyon. Buy my mom a beach house. Climb a tea mountain and have tea at the summit.

7. Do you have any strange phobias?

DL: Not a fan of driving.

MC: ESCALATORS. I can go up them but I can't go down them. Go figure.

AM: I've always been afraid of dropping a guitar pick in my guitar and it never coming out!

JM: I can't think of any strange phobias. Though I recently got stuck in an elevator and I am no so fond of them now.

DR: I do not like decorative objects.

GS: I've recently started being grossed out by how dirty cash is. Did you know that 94% of bills contain pathogens?

KU: No, but I can’t eat cilantro.

NW: Zombies and sharks 8. What was your favorite TV show when growing up?

DL: Brady Bunch, hands down.

MC: The Brady Bunch. I know every episode! And can still do the Silver Platters dance routine.

AM: I was always a big fan of anything on TGIF on ABC from the 90's: Family Matters, Step by Step, Full House, Boy Meets World...man, those were the days.

JM: The British show “Are You Being Served?”

DR: Roots GS: Star Trek: The Next Generation. I really liked Chief Engineer Geordi LaForge, and my nickname growing up was Geordie, so it felt fated for me to become an engineer.

KU: Monday Night Football NW: Tom and Jerry 9. Choose a movie title for the story of your life.

DL: Wuthering Heights MC: There's Something About Mary AM: Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo JM: Star Wars!

DR: Breathless GS: Can't Stop Building Stuff: The Story of an Engineer KU: The Big Short NW: Dreaming of Mountains and Valleys

David Rafoni World Language

George Schnurle Computer Science Robotics

Kyle Utsumi English History and Social Sciences

Nikhil Wadhwani English Residential Faculty

21 21

FACULTY

HEY BABY! 2016 was another big year to welcome new little ones to the Priory community!

Iris Matson July 21, 2016 Proud Parents: Shawn and Christi Matson

22

Rin Sakudo August 27, 2016 Proud Parents: Takeharu and Tomoko Sakudo

Nikolas Albers July 28, 2016 Proud Parents: Brad Albers and Elizabeth Vazquez

Mickey Thomas Somerville October 1, 2016 Proud Parents: Myles Somerville and Korinn Myers

Sagan Lane McChristian December 15, 2016 Proud Parents: Jason and Emily McChristian

CHALLENGE

Priory Takes on the Mannequin Challenge Sports teams, classes, and even the all school play took part in the viral video trend known as the Mannequin Challenge. The Mannequin Challenge consists of people in a frozen, action-like stance while a camera moves around them.

The song “Black Beatles� by Rae Stremmurd is normally playing in the background.

View Mannequin Challenge videos on our Vimeo account at: vimeo.com/woodsideprioryschool.

23

24 FEATURE

FEATURE

Father Pius Remembers:

A Teacher’s Long Journey By: Thea Sullivan

When he was young, Laszlo Horvath—Priory’s own Father Pius—was clear about one thing. He wanted to go to university and become a teacher. “Teaching was always in my mind, even as a child,” he admits.

The quest to fulfill this goal became the defining journey of his life, guiding him over one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after another, driving him out of his homeland and from behind the Iron Curtain, and eventually landing him in California where he’s lived now for fifty-six years.

At almost 87, Father Pius looks back on his choice to leave Hungary with mixed feelings. “I sometimes say to myself, ‘Would I have done that, taken that step of leaving my country and my family and everybody, if I had given it more time to think it over?’ I still don’t have the answer to that.”

But for a young person growing up in Eastern Europe in the turbulent years before, during and after World War II, getting an education was difficult, especially as an aspiring Benedictine priest. There were stops and starts, shifting borders, risks to consider and sudden decisions to be made.

During his school years, an early Communist takeover and subsequent war led to the redrawing of national borders, and the Hungarian village where his family lived was suddenly part of Czechoslovakia. To avoid attending a Czech-speaking school, he had to move in with his grandparents in Hungary.

Painting of Fr. Pius by Zoe Ciupitu, Class of 2009

25

FEATURE 26 At his new Benedictine school, he tutored small groups of younger students. “My family was not well off, so I was trying at least to earn my tuition,” he explains. Though only in seventh grade, he discovered he loved teaching. “My idea, my purpose, was to study to become a priest and a teacher. That’s what Benedictines did,” Pius says.

A few years later, Laszlo’s plans were once again thrown into chaos. In 1945, just as he was starting high school, the war ended and the new Communist regime closed the schools. He moved back home to Czechoslovakia and joined an “underground school” run by Father Christopher, a teacher who, many years later, would help establish the Priory and invite the younger monk to join him in California.

Studying without a school was only half the battle for Laszlo. He also had to cross the border into Hungary to take an annual exam. Permits were hard to come by since the new Soviet regime fomented tension among its satellites to prevent uprisings. Many times, he crossed illegally, swimming across the wide Danube River or scrambling across chunks of ice to get to the other side.

Finally, after four years of piecemeal education and clandestine river crossings, he received his high school diploma.

Next, he entered the novitiate at Pannonhalma, the Benedictine abbey in Hungary, a cause for celebration but also sadness. The seven years of seminary and teacher training would mean a long exile from his family. Given heightening political tensions, a single visit

home to Czechoslovakia might mean never returning to Pannonhalma again.

As it would throughout his life, Pius’s commitment to education exacted a steep price. With only a year to go until his ordination and with teacher training and university finally within his grasp, the Soviet regime cracked down further. The Benedictine order was reduced by three-quarters, and Laszlo was transferred, along with his final-year classmates, to an overcrowded diocesan seminary to complete ordination.

He was luckier than some, but plans for university study were once again on the chopping block.

“I had to take off my scapular,” Father Pius remembers, pointing to his robes, “and dress like a secular priest. That was a heartbreaking experience.”

The seminarians were cold, poorly fed and crammed into a space designed for half their number. And they had to watch what they did and said. “We were spied on by moles,” explains Pius, “including by some of our teachers under pressure by the government.”

They listened to the radio program Voice of America, but it was risky. “It was hard to know who to trust,” Pius says.

Such risks continued as the newly ordained Father Pius was assigned to parish work. “You had to be always careful, who you talked to, how you preached.

Because the system was spying on you,” he says, but he wants it known that he didn’t leave the country out of fear. “I was cautious,” he explains. “I couldn’t always avoid compromising situations, but somehow I managed.”

What propelled him to leave, once the Hungarian Uprising of 1956 temporarily opened the borders, was the same drive that had propelled him across the icy Danube years earlier. “I wanted to be a teacher,” he says, and that meant leaving Hungary to complete his studies.

He remembers saying to himself, “’I will find a university for myself. Someplace in the West. In a free country.’ I didn’t know much about the possibilities, but I knew that there must be something.”

The night he crossed the border into Austria with a classmate from seminary, he sensed the hand of Providence protecting them. The Russian guards drunkenly asked for money, but let them pass. The marshy, wet stretch of land where they crossed was a place tanks couldn’t follow. And a peasant cart showed them the way.

Pius recalls, “All you could see were those ageold trees and the muddy area and the dark sky. And you think, ‘When am I going to see my people, my country again?’”

There wasn’t much time for reflection. That same night, he and his classmate found themselves in Austria, in a school building packed with migrants.

Pius stood up all night, with no place to lie down. “I said, I am getting out of here. I am not staying with this many people.”

He left before dawn to find the local pastor. “It was all dark. I said, how can you find a pastor? Find the church. How can you find the church in the darkness?

Wait until they ring the Angelus bell in the morning.

Follow the song.”

It worked. At the local parish house, he was given dry clothing, breakfast, and bus fare to Vienna, where Pius had the address of a fellow Hungarian Benedictine. That very morning, he arrived and announced to a priest in Vienna that he wanted to go to university in Belgium. “Forget it,” the priest said. “Go to Fribourg in Switzerland. There is a Catholic university there. I already have a scholarship for you, a scholarship for refugees. Be at the railroad station in the evening. They will put you on the train.”

“That same night I was already in a nice, clean, warm bed in Switzerland. It all happened very quickly,” marvels Pius. Was this God taking care of him?

“Always,” he says. “My way was paved.”

Father Pius’s way, though paved, continued to have unexpected twists. After his years at the university in Fribourg, where he mastered German, French, and even the difficult Swiss-German dialect, he hoped to teach in Germany. But his Benedictine superior in Rome had other plans—to send him to Brazil.

“I didn’t want to go to Brazil,” Father Pius says.

The only other option was California, where a Benedictine monastery and school was in the works. Pius knew four of the monks already, including Father Christopher from his high school days, and he could finish his studies at Stanford.

And so his quest to become a teacher led him here to California, to a new continent and a brand new life in another new language.

“I think I was the first Hungarian Benedictine to travel on a jet plane,” he says with a wry smile.

FEATURE

Studying without a school was only half the battle for Laszlo. He also had to cross the border into Hungary to take an annual exam.

Permits were hard to come by, since the new Soviet regime fomented tension among its satellites to prevent uprisings. Many times, he crossed illegally, swimming across the wide Danube River or scrambling across chunks of ice to get to the other side.

27

Perhaps his trademark generosity stems from the deprivations of his youth.

“I know from my own childhood that it can hurt when the grown-ups ignore you.”

Father Pius was only thirty when he first arrived at Priory. He’s eighty-seven now, and his years as a German and Latin teacher are well behind him, but he looks back on them fondly. His first students helped him learn English, including American slang, and when girls arrived at Priory in the early nineties, he welcomed the new influx of energy. They added more “human society,” he says.

Father Pius’s playful smile and affectionate nature endeared him to students, and he’s always forged special connection with the smallest Priory residents, the children of on-campus faculty. Kate Molak, daughter of Head of School Tim Molak, remembers his happy greeting from when she was little: “Hello, neighbor!”

Perhaps his trademark generosity stems from the deprivations of his youth. “I know from my own childhood that it can hurt when the grown-ups ignore you,” Father Pius has said. “Not to hurt you, but just as if children are not yet completely human, which is a great, great mistake. Because kids need a lot of attention and help to build up their egos, (to feel that they) count for something.”

He knows little gestures can mean a lot, as when he sought to connect with one shy seventh grader. “She wasn’t even my student, but somehow we always crossed paths and I greeted her. She’d say, ‘Good morning,’ very shyly. So I started offering her a high-five. And the others watched, thinking what will happen now? She reciprocated.” The memory makes him laugh. “These things taught me a lot, gave me some confidence and satisfaction. Even if you wonder, what am I going to do now? There is something always to give.”

FEATURE He cautions against the mythologizing of monastic life. It’s difficult, he says. “You are not hand-picked by God so you fit together perfectly,” he explains. “You have to work on it.”

Now in fragile health, Father Pius is reflective about his choices, the challenges of living in community, and the state of the world.

He has no easy answers about the future of Priory once the monks are gone. “That’s the great unknown,” he says.

He cautions against the mythologizing of monastic life. It’s difficult, he says. “You are not hand-picked

by God so you fit together perfectly,” he explains.

“You have to work on it. That’s your challenge, because that’s the ideal and the idea you represent toward others.”

And he reminds us it’s not just monks who have to learn to get along. “That’s what human society is,” he says. “You can see today that we are unhappy because we cannot live together. At so, at least compassion, gratitude, that was my response. You try to do what little you can to help people.”

Even today, when he finds himself troubled by the state of the world, or by the persistent gap between rich and poor, he looks for what he calls the “human element,” those moments of connection and compassion that can always be found, no matter how difficult or bleak the circumstances.

“I learned that during the war,” he says.

He remembers when his family lived on the front line and Russian soldiers regularly entered their home to take food or find warmth. “They didn’t burn down our houses,” Pius concedes, “And they would cry when you mentioned their children. You’d say, “Do you have a baby?” and they would show you photographs.”

Then there was the Russian child soldier who’d lost both his parents in the war. “He must have been my age,” Pius says, “Fourteen. And he discovered my sister and myself, and my mother (my father was away in the military), and he needed company. He kept coming. And Mother gave him food. Mother’s cooking was better than the military’s cooking. He had nobody. He was just a kid.”

The family attempted to communicate with him despite the language barrier. Father Pius remembers how the boy’s machine gun scared his mother. “In Hungarian, and in sign language, she said, ‘Put down that damn thing!’ And the boy obeyed.”

Now, after almost two hours of talking, Father Pius is growing tired, and the visiting nurse is coming soon to pay him a visit. But he smiles as he shares one more detail about the Russian boy from over seventy years ago.

“One time he wanted to give me a souvenir. So he opened his pack and gave me a bullet.” He laughs quietly, remembering.

“I’ll never forget Nikolai,” he says.

29

The 2012 undefeated team.

Football Since 2009

W

Head coach Doug Sargent

hen the football program began in 2009, no one knew what would become of the program seven years later. Now as the team prepares to move to a brand new field next year, it’s time to reflect back upon the previous seasons.

When the decision was made to start a football program, Coach Doug Sargent had some specific numbers in mind. “We made a four year commitment,” he said. “We would decide on its future after that.” The inaugural year brought out eighteen young men, six of them seniors, and most having never played tackle football before. The team would go on with a 2-5 record in the Mountain Trail Athletic League (MTAL) for the season. Sargent had some sentimental feelings towards the seniors on the team. “Those guys were the biggest risk takers. I felt bad for them because they played their hearts out and loved the game so much but only got to play one year.” As the years progressed, the team had a steady improvement. “I expected to be very competitive within four years.”

Just three years later, in 2012, they would begin a historical record-breaking season for the football program. The 2012 team, a fairly young roster, surprised everyone and went 7-0 to clinch the MTAL championship. In 2013, the now growing team of twenty-six players continued the winning streak. One of the most memorable games in Priory football history took place during that 2013 season. Sargent described the game with much excitement. “I think for everyone involved, it was the ‘Miracle in Monterey.’ We were on a twelve-game win streak playing Trinity Christian who was also undefeated and favored in the game. With about eight minutes left we were down 28-52. There were several motivating incidents that got the team going. The mood changed and no one wanted to go down easily. A lot happened in the next eight minutes and if you were there, you’ll

If Coach Sargent could draft a fantasy football team consisting of Priory alumni football players, who would he draft? *2009 Inaugural season senior

The first football team in 2009.

never forget. Priory tied the game at the end and dominated in overtime, winning 58-52.” The 2013 team would go on to finish with an incredible 9-0 record, thus keeping a sixteen game winning streak alive and completing back to back undefeated seasons.

The 2014 season was packed not only with another large roster of twenty-six players, but also with the intense pressure of not breaking the winning streak. After starting the season 2-0, Sargent was contacted by the media for his thoughts on Priory earning the state record for the longest active winning streak. Sargent had no idea about the record and knew that this would only add to the stress of each upcoming game, as the team now had a target on their back. The winning streak came to an end that season against a tough Stuart Hall squad. But not before the Panthers would rack up an impressive twenty game win streak.

The program would not have survived without the help and expertise of the dedicated coaching staff. Sargent wanted to express his gratefulness for both the past and present coaches and players. “I have appreciated every player that has played football for Priory,” he said. “I couldn’t have done it without past coaches like brothers Mal and Nick Thurston and Kevin Surber.” Coach Jeff Wise has been the offensive coach since the beginning of the program and Sargent is hopeful that he will continue for many years to come.

The football program was started with the thought that the addition of football would attract multi-sport athletes who were interested in playing football in addition to their main sport. The program has changed since then. “In the early years, playing football was a novelty and a second sport for everyone. Now it’s a main sport and several players train during the off-season and set goals. Football itself has changed over the years and our emphasis is on safety.” The future of the program is unknown, but Sargent is hopeful, “The roster numbers for the future worry me,” he said. “We are hoping for a large freshman group of football players next year or the year after. In 2010, nine of our seventeen players were freshman. That is the group that went on to two undefeated seasons their junior and senior years. Everything happens in cycles. In 2014, we had nine freshman.

They will be next year’s senior class.” Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure.

The 2017 season will be an exciting experience for both players and spectators on the new field.

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS Ricky Dolezalek* (2009- Wide Receiver) Wyatt Farino* (2009- Offensive Line) David Nimer* (2009- Wide Receiver) Ray Ross* (2009- Quarterback) Jeff Souders* (2009- Offensive Line) Will Latta (2014- Quarterback/Defensive Back) James McDaniel (2014- Running Back) Aaron Reiss (2014- Offensive Lineman) Christian Wookey (2014- Offensive Lineman) Christian Kruep (2016- Offensive Lineman) DEFENSIVE PLAYERS Connor Mather (2011- Linebacker/Running Back) Matt Schwab (2013- Linebacker) Tom Latta (2014- Defensive Back/Tight End) Charlie Tidmarsh (2014- Outside Linebacker) Brandon Zarringhalam (2014- Defensive Back) Garrett Weber (2015- Defensive Line) Michael Zhao (2016- Linebacker) SPECIAL TEAMS Scott Turner* (2009- Kicker) Austin Mirabella (2014- Kicker)

SPORTS

Coach Sargent’s Fantasy Football Team

31

SPORTS

A Running History with

Cross Country 32

W

Coach Matt Lai

Just a few of the many freshmen that joined cross country this year.

hat started out as an extremely small cross country team has grown into a program larger than anyone could have imagined.

Head coach, Matt Lai, has been coaching the team intermittently since 2001. He remembered the size of the team back then.

“There were three kids on the team the year before I got there. Two graduated, so we only had one returning runner; Peter Trudelle ‘03. We got eight other students to join and ended up with nine kids my first year–eight boys, one girl.” Fast forward to the 2016 team, which consisted of fifty-one runners, twenty-six of them freshmen, which is over a third of the entire freshman class.

So how does a coach build a sizeable program and convince students to join a sport in which some people see as “punishment?” Lai had a possible explanation. “I think kids come in not really knowing what to expect. Lots of kids grow up doing soccer or baseball or football. Not many grow up running long distance.

But when they start, they realize it’s a lot more fun than you’d think.”

Cross country is more than just the individual runner; they also compete as a team. “Everyone is working together, supporting each other, all trying to improve,” Lai commented. As a team, the cross country program’s first big year was in 2002 when they first qualified for the State Championships. The team had finished third in CCS by barely edging out Valley Christian 102-104. The 2013 team would make school history with both the boys and girls teams sweeping CCS. It was the first CCS win for the boys, and the second CCS win for the girls team.

Looking back, Lai remembers the excitement of the unexpected league finals win by the 2015 girls team. “Our girls came out of nowhere to win. We were walking and cheering on teammates in another race afterwards when they announced it, and none of us were sure if we heard it quite right. Then some parents came running over shouting about it, and everyone just started jumping around.”

SPORTS As individual runners, the program has had a long history of success. Over the past seventeen years, Priory has sent at least one runner to the State Championships for sixteen of those years. The highest place finish in school history was Kat Gregory ’12 who placed third in 2011.

The culture of the cross country program has changed over the years. “When I first started, it was like pulling teeth trying to get kids to work hard,” Lai remarked. “Today, much of the culture is just driven by the kids themselves. Hard work is just expected.”

Strong leadership by both the coaching staff and the veteran team members help to make the program run smoothly. “The new ones quickly learn from the older ones how we do things. I love it during conditioning and core work at the end of every practice because the captains lead it, and they do more than I would make the team do. I sit back and watch them pushing each other. It’s a beautiful thing,” said Lai. Next season, the team will finally be able to train on a proper track. “Having a track helps you dial in your pace a lot and allows us to do intervals more consistently and with less rest. We could never do speedwork on the old ‘track’ because it was short, had 90 degree corners and uneven ground.” It will be interesting to see if the cross country team grows even larger next year with the lure of a new track. One thing is for sure, the cross country team is on a successful path and they are having fun doing it. “We have a very fun atmosphere and culture on the team. There’s a lot of hard work and a lot of laughter.”

The 2013 CCS Championship teams.

Jack Nash ‘18 at the CCS Championships.

The 2012 team in Lake Tahoe during one of their annual team retreats.

33

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT 34

Wait, what?!

Gulliver LaValle’s fans came up with this list to describe him. “He’s helpful and gets us the things we need to succeed,” says Genaro Flores ‘20. Michelle Taffe believes, “he’s extremely empathic to the students and their parents.” “He gets along with people and has a good heart,” adds Brian Schlaak. “He is able to hold the kids to a high standard,” points out Dorothy Kowal, “but students respond because they know how much he cares.”

So where does “annoying” fit in?

Derek Abarca ‘18 explains. “He’ll bother you till you get something done. He really wants to see you succeed.”

Gulliver LaValle holds the official title of Community Engagement Director, which includes organizing Priory’s community service opportunities and running the Access program, which recruits students from underserved populations to apply to Priory and helps them to thrive here once accepted. He also heads the Peninsula Bridge program that provides summer academic growth opportunities.

After graduating with honors from the University of Utah with degrees in anthropology and Spanish, Gulliver stayed on to earn a Masters degree in Teaching and Learning. His first teaching position took him to an alter-

native high school, teaching history to students who had previously been expelled. “The whole reason I got into education,” says Gulliver, “was to help the underrepresented and underserved to have equity and a positive experience with their education.”

In 2007, Gulliver LaValle arrived on the Priory campus, making it his home in the classroom as well as in faculty housing. But it’s not only his home. “I’m the type of person whose house is open to people who are in need of support,” he explains. And open his doors he has, whether it’s for students to stay late studying or even to having students live with his family. “That’s a defining level of commitment,” says Brian Schlaak.

Over and over, students describe Mr. LaValle as a father figure in their lives. “He’s always in the lives of the kids he’s working with,” says Keyshawn Ashford ‘18. “He knows their grades, cares for them all, just making sure we’re okay and at the top level.” Katy Oseguera ‘17 adds, “He treats us exactly the same as his children.

He’s a father figure to us Access kids.” Gulliver’s own son Adrian LaValle ‘18 has grown up experiencing this open-house policy. “He shows his leadership through encouragement and by example,” Adrian states.

Gulliver explains how his goal is “keeping kids focused on the ultimate goal without getting discouraged and allowing the little bumps in the road to seem bigger

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

than they are.” But sometimes achieving this goal can feel like an obstacle course. The biggest challenge, he continues, can be “getting adults to understand the perspective of our students and to adjust their interactions accordingly.”

As the person who organizes the community service week in January as well as the other service opportunities, Gulliver has an excellent sense of how Priory can serve its greater community. Keenly interested in helping students connect with meaningful activities, he puts countless hours into working with such organizations as 49ers Academy, Acterra, Ecumenical Hunger Project, and The Sequoias assisted living. “It’s been great to learn about and find organizations that are interested in connecting with our kids and watch our kids develop their own relationships with these outside organizations that help them express their passion, and thus hopefully develop a lifelong desire to give of themselves,” he states. “If I can help every kid I come in contact with to more clearly see a path that resonates with who they are, whether it be through exposure to outside learning opportunities or individual growth through their school experience,” he continues, “then I would feel happy knowing that it somehow helped propel them to follow their hearts and to live compassionately.”

Gulliver also coordinates Priory’s efforts to understand the broad range of diverse backgrounds represented here. He heads the faculty Diversity Committee, which meets monthly and tackles issues such as how to interrupt prejudicial statements, to developing Priory’s mission statement and increasing the diversity of students and staff. The students have also organized the proactive Dedicated 2 Diversity (D2D) club, which Gulliver LaValle advises. “He’s very passionate about diversity as a construct,” states Brian Schlaak. Gulliver has built this program over six years, and because of it, staff and students have felt increasingly welcomed and heard. Anysa Gray ‘20 believes, “He understands people’s backgrounds and takes them into consideration.”

Gulliver’s own goal? “I hope to accomplish being a guide for kids to discover their passion and feel empowered to turn that passion into action for the purpose of making their lives better,” he says. Katy Oseguera ‘17 adds her own favorite anecdote. “At the year-end Access dinner, he has something nice to say about every senior who’s there.” Gulliver LaValle truly lives the Benedictine belief that every student is known and loved.

35

DEVELOPMENT 36

M

On Track with Building Ingenuity HAPPY NEW YEAR ONE AND ALL! Momentous milestones are ahead for the Woodside Priory School community this year! I hope this issue finds you well rested and ready to take on the challenges and opportunities of 2017!

This month, we dedicate our glorious “Field of Dreams,” the largest landscaping project in the history of the school. Our new front yard is a luscious, verdant green and a beautiful contrast to the regulation red all weather track encircling it. Student involvement in the performing arts increased by ten-fold with the opening of the Performing Arts Center, so we can only imagine how this spectacular setting will impact student participation and Athletics Programs!

The STREAM Center is set in concrete–literally. At the end of the drive, on top of the hill away from the daily operation of school life, Butler Construction is on track to make Father Maurus’ STREAM Dream a reality. The historic Art Building, which over time has housed the school library, a Barber Shop for the monks, history classes, and the student center, was demolished in September.

Trees were removed, the site was graded, the foundation was prepared and, in December, the concrete was poured.

Scheduled to open in November, this 12,000 square foot Science, Technology, Robotics, Engineering, Art and Math Center will provide three new science labs with attached classrooms, a Robotics Lab with an open test space, and four new art classrooms with tool and equipment storage areas. We are Building Ingenuity, creating dynamic, flexible spaces for our students to expand their minds and explore possibilities, to prepare them–yes–for a world in need of their gifts and whatever the future requires of them.

Father Martin, Jennifer and Chris Skarakis, Tim Molak, Eileen DiGiorgio, Stephen and Jami Nachtsheim, and Dave Brett witness the Art Building demolition.

Father Martin strikes the first blow on the campus demolition.

DEVELOPMENT

These two magnificent facilities will complete Phase III of our Building Ingenuity Campaign just in time to celebrate the 60th anniversary of Woodside Priory School. Generous contributions from committed Stakeholder families have funded 75% of this campaign. Our enthusiastic Campaign Leadership Team, chaired by parent Eric Harrison is working on the remaining 25% to get us to the finish line in time for our 60th anniversary celebration. Although we are a small school by design, our culture of philanthropy is vibrant. We are immensely grateful to those families who are supporting these necessary and impactful improvements. While today’s students benefit from the philanthropic support of the parents who have come before us…tomorrow’s students benefit from the philanthropic support of parents today!

With gratitude for your belief in our mission and your remarkable support, we move forward with the hope and the promise of bringing the founding monks’ vision into the 21st century and beyond.

Know we include you when we count our blessings.

The Priory campus deserves these stateof-the-art facilities to complete the core campus, providing a physical counterpart for our exquisite educational program and timeless Benedictine values.

Always we begin again,

Suzanne Couch Director of Development

Priory Awarded Prestigious Edward E. Ford Grant In June, the Advisory Board of the Edward E. Ford Foundation awarded Woodside Priory School a grant in the amount of $50,000 on a matching basis of $1 from the Foundation for every $1 raised by the school within one year. The purpose of this grant is: • To analyze the impact of steps the school has taken to provide balance as a core orienting principle • For educational programs • To support a summer colloquium for other schools to discuss these findings • To underwrite professional development The foundation of the STREAM Center.

See a live video feed of the STREAM building construction at: http://techcam.net/priory/#home

So as not to cannibalize our annual giving program, the parameters of the Foundation’s match required all gifts be made over and above historic annual fund gifts. To maintain focus on the crucial third, and final phase of our Building Ingenuity Campaign, Priory’s Board of Trustees required the $50,000 match be raised internally.

Generous gifts from our Board of Directors, Trustees, Faculty and Staff exceeded the $50,000 match within 7 weeks!

A bold testament to the value and importance our community places on balance!

37

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 38

Al Zappelli takes on a new role: Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives

He shares some insight into his new career and his all-encompassing history of his time at the Priory What is your new job role and what does that mean exactly?

Exactly? Strategic Initiatives can be all over the place, especially as a school with so many unique characteristics.

Let’s start with Senior Director. This means I’ve been around a bit and experienced many things at this special place we call Priory. I’ve probably signed well over 2500 admissions letters. The tapestry of unique and diverse individuals that have come to be known as Priory students has enriched our student body over the years. Having this experience gives me perspectives to work on a number of projects, thus Strategic Initiatives. Priory is at a very important crossroad in its evolution. Part of that is how do we maintain our “Benedictineness” and remain true to our five values. So part of what I’m doing is to work with the international network of Benedictine schools known as the ICBE,–International Commission on Benedictine Education. This initiative will create professional development opportunities for faculty and administrators in Benedictine schools across the United States and internationally. Another initiative is our 60th Anniversary celebration. I’ll be coordinating our founding anniversaries. This year, it’s the foundation of the monastery in 1956 and arrival of the first seven monks.

Next year, we celebrate the start of Woodside Priory School in September of 1957.

Planned Giving is an important part of the development program. I will be speaking with our alumni, alumni parents, grandparents and current parents, building relationships that will lead to their considering bequests and charitable trust donations, leaving a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes. The fruit of this program will be growth in our endowment funds.

What led you to the Priory?

In 1990, I was at a turning point in my career in education. As I looked for opportunities for new challenges, a friend asked if I had ever considered moving back to California where I grew up. There was a school in Portola Valley that was looking for an Admissions Director. This would mean a family move and an interesting career change. While my job experience was in fund development, the enrollment challenges of Priory at the time seemed an interesting choice. Yet, there was something I sensed that this Benedictine school had something special about it, its mission. I knew during my visit this was a place where I could make a difference.

You have been at the Priory for 27 years. What are some of the major changes you have seen over the years?

And what has remained the same? Perhaps the most significant change is in the enrollment. In 1990, Priory enrolled 106 boys. Over half were boarders, grades seven through twelve. Coeducation would be introduced the following year. The next change was to add a sixth grade and eliminate the Middle School boarding program. This began the process of stabilizing the enrollment. Another obvious change is the number of monks on campus. In 1990, there were twelve monks in the community. Today there are three. Lastly, as the enrollment grew over the years, Priory was able to enhance its programs in athletics, extracurriculars and academics. Over the years, the school has been able to keep up with the times and provide an innovative and rigorous academic program. What hasn’t changed is the commitment to student-centered learning and balance. All the while, Priory remained true to its Benedictine mission and its core values.

Is there anybody at Priory that you particularly enjoyed working with?

I’d have to say, Father Martin as a travelling buddy. We’ve been to Asia three times together and another time to Mexico. He is always on the go, recording his travels with his ever present camera. During most of my time as Admissions Director, I had the good fortune working with two enthusiastic and competent persons, Carole Mauss and Camille Yost. For fifteen years they provided the glue that held the admissions program together. I cannot thank them enough.

What are your hopes for your future with Priory?

In my new position, I hope I can help to stabilize the Priory’s financial foundation, its endowment. As with any stable institution, its foundation is what will carry it on to the future. Through planned giving, I hope friends will come forward and provide that important legacy. Beyond that, I hope that my work will enable the Benedictine charism to continue, no matter what form that takes. Priory’s legacy is rooted in its mission: “To be a place where every student is known and loved.” I like that.

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

50% of your new role involves Planned Giving. What does that essentially mean?

39

ALUMNI REUNION

REUNION On September 9-11, Priory welcomed back a record number of alumni for the classes of 1966, 1971, 1976, 1981, 1986, 1991, 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011. It was a weekend filled with many meaningful and fun activities. Alumni had a chance to be Priory students again and a courageous group hiked up Windy Hill to look at Priory from above. In between, there was time to catch up and share many fun stories during Friday’s reception and Saturday’s festive dinner. As one alumnus wrote afterwards, “Thank you for the wonderful Priory experience I had this weekend. Reconnecting with classmates and other alumni, gaining an even deeper understanding/appreciation for the Priory, present and future: a real mix of fun, reflection and engagement.”

40

1 2

3 4

6 1. Jim Goggin ‘66 looking at the JV soccer team photo.

2. Saturday’s reception.

3. André Lhuillier, Grant Rosenquist, Philip Chu, and Jerry Liu ‘96.

4. Father Martin, Tim Molak, and Katharina Stromeyer in action.

5

7

8

5. Reunion wine.

6. Rich Golden, Greg Hampton, and John Cella ‘66.

7. Tori Patton ‘06 and Father Pius.

8. Victoria and Erhard Wegman ‘76.

ALUMNI REUNION

9

10

41

11

12

13

15 14

9. Class of 2011.

10. Class of 1986.

11. Golden Reunion for Class of 1966.

12. Class of 1976.

13. Class of 2006.

14. Class of 1981.

15. Dave Rogers and Mark Apton ‘71 with Father Martin.

ALUMNI REUNION

1

3 2 4

5

42 7

6 8

9

10

11 1. Peter Hurtsubise ‘08, Father Martin and Father Pius.

2. Emily Mangini, Kendall Brown, Jason Kado, and

12

Bryan Quinn ‘01.

3. Vic Leipzig and Anthony Wynn ‘66.

4. Juliana and Kristof Horompoly ‘06.

5. Members of the class of ‘81.

6. Memorabilia.

7. Lindsay and Joe Montero ‘76.

8. Wayne Lee ‘91, with Father Martin and Father Pius.

9. Former Robotics captain Kyle Montgomery ‘11 inspecting the current robot.

10. Engineering class in the Tinker Lab. 11. Environmental Science class in Franklin Garden.

12. Group photo on Windy Hill.

14

ALUMNI REUNION

13

15

43

16

17

13. Father Pius with Associate Director-Alumni Relations Katharina Stromeyer.

14. Reunion dinner ‘86.

15. Jim Gogan and Arthur Dugoni ‘81.

16. Reunion dinner ‘96.

17. Reunion dinner.

19

18

21 20

18. The buffet table at the festive reunion dinner.

19. Reunion dinner class of ‘66.

20. Reunion dinner class of ‘06.

21. Father Pius and his captive audience.

CLASS NEWS & NOTES 44

Congratulations to all our Priory alumni who graduated from college this year!

Best of luck in all your future endeavors. Always we begin again.

1962

Joe Hilbe attended the Priory as a boarder from 1958-1961 and was inducted into Priory’s athletic hall of fame in 2010.

After high school, Joe was a world list sprinter during the 1960s and won two national championships. Later he became head track coach at the University of Hawaii. He was elected as a U.S. team coach several times during the 1980s and was a lead competition official in athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

Joe is now retired as an emeritus professor at the University of Hawaii. He currently serves as an adjunct professor of statistics at Arizona State and as a Solar System Ambassador with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Prof. Hilbe now spends most of his time as President of the International Astrostatistics Association (IAA) and is currently working on his 20th book on advanced statistical modeling.

1969

In mid September the Priory had an unexpected visit from Eugenio Lacayo, a graduate from the class of 1969. Eugenio had not been back to his Alma Mater in nearly a half century. He was joined by his wife, who had heard many wonderful stories of the high school days of Eugenio and his friends so many decades ago. Father Martin spent some time with the couple as they went through the ‘69 yearbook, recalling old friends, adventures and stories of the early days when there were few buildings and a much smaller enrollment. Eugenio was pleased and excited to see the progress of the Priory, although he mourned the absence of coats and ties.

1970

Charlie Hefferman was a former educator and a founding faculty of the NW School in Seattle, where he drew upon his own student experiences at the Priory. Charlie attended one year–9th grade–during 1966-67. Since leaving the education field thirty years ago, Charlie has been engaged in the real estate industry in both the public and private sectors. As a manager at the Port of Seattle in 1990, he placed the very first Starbucks into an airport. Charlie shares that he would enjoy hearing from others who attended the Priory during his year, especially when they are in Seattle.

1976

Phil Golden commented that at his class dinner during his 40th reunion weekend he was struck by what complete and decent people his classmates are. He further mused that it is no coincidence as each received a Benedictine education at Priory.

In the meantime Phil has reconnected with his Alma Mater as a board member. It has been gratifying for him to learn how the school has evolved since he learned to write on a manual typewriter in Angel Simon’s class.

Tim Cain ‘78, Phil Golden ’76, George Stromeyer ’76 and Erhard Wegman ‘76 had a fun time sharing old Priory stories at the Alumni Fall Garden Party.

1978

1-Alberto Coppola currently resides between Cabo San Lucas and San Diego. He returns to Priory frequently to visit his sons: Alberto who graduated in 2015 and Emilio who is a freshman. Alberto Senior has vivid memories of living in the Priory dorm from 1976-78 with Father Martin as his dorm master. Father Martin reports that Alberto was an excellent soccer player and a member of the basketball team. After Priory, Alberto attended the University of Arizona. Alberto was an avid Off Road Racer from 1982-2012 and participated in over 135 races, including the “Baja 1000” twelve times.

CLASS NEWS & NOTES

1962

1976

45

1978-1

1970

1978-1 1978-1

SAVE THE DATE: Priory Reunion Weekend September 15th-17th, 2017 Note: If you would like to become a Reunion Class Agent, please contact the Alumni Office at alumni@prioryca. org or (650) 851-6138. And remember to check out Woodside Priory Alumni Association on Facebook for additional photos and updates!

Reunion Years 1962, 1967, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012

CLASS NEWS & NOTES

1978-2

1985

46

1978-3

2001

1983

2001 2003-1

2003-2

2004

2002

3-Ed Sun joined the Priory board this year and was delighted to reconnect with other Priory Alumni during the Fall Garden Party.

1983

Marc Ausman and Walter (Bud) McElroy came back to Priory for the Garden Party and enjoyed Rick Riebhoff’s homebrewed beer and Father Martin’s delicious homemade pizza on a beautiful fall evening in October.

1985

George A. Willman has joined the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP as a partner in the firm’s Silicon Valley office. His practice focuses on intellectual property, licensing and technology law, including finances, mergers and acquisitions and strategic partnerships.

2001

It has been a busy and eventful 2016 for Mike Bohley who got married in Mammoth Lakes to Laura Cameron in June.

Priory grads Todd Simmons, Jon Del Secco, Bryan Quinn, Jason Kado, Bobby Christian, Paddy Sullivan, Mike Hon, Liz Bohley, and Emily Kirkland attended. Mike also started a new job with Epsilon/Conversant as a Senior Analyst. He loves to spend time with his two dogs and surfs whenever possible.

Matthew Neter visited Priory in September. He is currently stationed at Moffett Field.

2002

Gabor Meszaros visited the Priory from Hungary to reconnect with the monks and some of his teachers. He was delighted to see how much the Priory has grown and changed.

2003

1-Falon Fatemi is Founder and CEO of Node, a team of ex-Googlers building the future of the web by turning the web into a data intelligence layer that powers proactive and personalized recommendations in all applications. Previous to Node, Falon spent five years as a business development executive. Before that she spent six years at Google where she worked on sales strategy and operations focusing on global expansion, Google.org, and business development for YouTube. In her free time Falon is an Innovation Fellow for Mayor Ed Lee, and writes a column for Forbes covering company building in Silicon Valley. She is also a contributor for Entrepreneur Magazine, and has written articles for Fast Company, Wired, Business Insider, Venturebeat, Re/Code, TechCrunch, Huffington Post and more.

2-Michael Yost and wife Corrine welcomed their first child, Ruth (class ‘34). Ruth is the first Priory baby to wear our new Priory bib.

2004

Lori Teraoka started her Physician Assistant program at Duke in August and had a white coat ceremony to begin her program.

CLASS NEWS & NOTES

2-Alberto Navarro is originally from Nicaragua but has been living in Panama for over twenty years. After attending the Priory, he studied at Texas A&M for his undergraduate program and at Texas Christian University and Georgetown for grad school. Most of his career has been in IT in the banking industry. In the past four years he has transitioned into executive coaching and leadership development. Alberto has been married for thirty years to Paula, who is PanamanianAmerican. They have three children ages 26, 23 and 18.

47

CLASS NEWS & NOTES 48

2005

1-Nate Coombs and his bride Jessica Hubbard got married at St. Ignatius Church at USF followed by the reception at the Conservatory of Flowers, Golden Gate Park. They honeymooned in Disneyland. Enjoy the photo with so many of the Priory people who came to celebrate with Nate and Jess. Jess and Nate came to the 10th year Priory Reunion in September ‘15. Nate shares that it was great seeing everyone! Left to right: Father Martin, Ted Tabacco, Brian Mansoor, Jon Kwong, Nate Coombs, Jessica Hubbard, Nick Coombs, Ben Corman, Lauren Frasch, Olin Montalvo, Charles Bussmann (attended 98-03), and Bret Yerkovich.

After graduating from Purdue University, 2-Jonathan Kwong started his career overseas in Shanghai, China as a strategy consultant for a Chinese multinational company. After four years abroad, he returned to San Francisco and joined a boutique investment firm as a financial analyst. He recently relocated to Los Angeles and is now a first-year MBA candidate at the USC Marshall School of Business where he recently had some fun with Charles Bussman with the USC Trojan.

3-Francys Scott and her husband Kevin Tostado welcomed their son, Luke Dillon, into their family this past September.

2006

A happy reunion for Scott Bader, Kendall Bell and Tori Patton with Paul Trudelle over homemade Priory pizza and beer in Priory’s Franklin Garden.

Stephanie Stoll married Howard Lim on May 7th, 2016 at the Molly Pitcher Inn in Red Bank, NJ. The newlyweds reside in Los Angeles.

2007

Alicia Kriewall married Daniel Lopez this past September during a beautiful ceremony in NYC.

2008

1-Laura Christian is currently performing research to obtain her PhD in Immunology from Duke University in Durham, NC. She is enjoying life on the East Coast with her fiancé, Todd, and their 3 year-old rescue pup. They toured the Priory this past September, catching up with faculty members and enjoyed a bottle of wine gifted by the Alumni office.

2-Peter Hurtubise came to the Priory in August before heading back to the UK where he is working toward a PhD at Oxford University. He writes, “If you are ever in the Oxford area, please feel free to contact me so that we can reconnect.”

2008/2010

Sahil Khanna ‘10 with LC Keaton and Connor Waters Pierson ‘08 had fun at the annual alumni dice gathering in the historic North Beach of San Francisco.

2009

Mariana Galvan and the Santa Clara Women’s Soccer advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals with a dominating 3-0 win over NC State! The Santa Clara Broncos were the only non-seeded team to advance to the Elite Eight. Mariana shared: “We lost against Georgetown 1-0. It was a game lost by inches! So proud of how far we have come to making it to the Elite Eight in the whole nation! Forever gonna be proud to be not only a Bronco but also a Panther! Go Priory!”

SPOTLIGHT CLASS NEWS & NOTES

2005-1 2005-3

49 49 2005-2 2006

2007

2008-2

2008-1

CLASS NEWS & NOTES

2010-1

2011 2012

50

2013-1 2012

2013-2 2013-3

2013-4

Adrian Dannis is currently a first-year student at Tufts Veterinary School in North Grafton, MA. 1-Scott Turner is living in Brooklyn, NY and working in Manhattan. He is a consultant with Lerner Solutions managing the network infrastructure of Peloton Cycle, which provides interactive fitness technology. He was also honorably discharged as a Sergeant after four years in the United States Marine Corps, where he spent two years forward deployed.

2011

Alex Schnabel and Marcus Stromeyer had a fun time reconnecting with each other and their former teachers.

2012

Daniel Hoffman graduated last spring from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA and captained the golf team during the last two years, earning all conference honors athletic and academic honors. At Whitman, he majored in Economics and Environmental Studies. Daniel is working as an Assistant Project Engineer for Skanska USA. Alex Reid was a student in Father Martin’s photography class and was interested in his woodworking—specifically his instrument making. The two decided it might be fun and a worthwhile project to build an Appalachian mountain dulcimer.

They came up with a well designed and great sounding dulcimer. They enjoyed jamming when Alex came to campus at the end of August.

Katrina Wang graduated from University of Washington in June with a double major in Psychology and Economics.

Shortly after graduation, she traveled around Southeast Asia before settling down with a full-time job in Seattle. Currently, she is working as a healthcare financial consultant at Mercer. Katrina writes: “Although I graduated a while ago, I am so proud to say that my time at Priory still benefits me to this day. I have met up with Priory alums all over the globe (Berlin, Saigon, or even here in Seattle), and it is truly special that we can stay connected despite our age or graduating year. There is truly no place like Priory.”

2013

1-Cabot Bigham won the Red Bull Global Rallycross Lite Championship by starting the Los Angeles season finale race at the very back of the grid. Ripping through the field, he won the title. It was his rookie attempt.

2-Michael Brett enjoyed visiting with some of his former teachers in September.

3-Shosh Levitt and Jackson Larango connected in New York for a taping of “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

4-Kyle Walden is the proud co-founder of KrafftIT, a company focused on two sensor-based solutions: a smart drinking bottle for the neurologically impaired and a personal monitoring device for visualizing air quality. Kyle and his team were honored and named in a Forbes January 2016 article entitled, “Meet Fifteen of the Brightest College Entrepreneurs and their Innovative Startups.” The company won a regional start-up pitch competition last April and were selected as one of the teams to compete this Fall at the SXSW Eco Startup Showcase in Austin, Texas. Kyle shared that Ms. Faisal’s Engineering course inspired his entrepreneurial spirit. The photo shows Kyle at the RECESS pitch competition which he won for his region.

CLASS NEWS & NOTES

2010

51

CLASS NEWS & NOTES 52

2014

1-Will Galloway enjoyed reconnecting with his former Priory teachers before heading back to college.

2-Lexie Garrity is a Medicine, Health, and Society Major on the Pre-med track. Last November Lexie was chosen to perform a TEDX talk at Vanderbilt university on Learning Disability and the Professor-Student Relationship.

Lexie’s talk is available to watch and share: https://www.tedxvanderbiltuniversity.com/speakers/lexie-garrity/ 3-Chris Gregory studied his fall semester in Tours, France and enjoyed his classes in French, Gastronomy, Music, Theater and Organic Chemistry. On weekends he travelled with friends all over France to deepen his experience and enjoyed sites like the Château de Chenonceau.

4-Non Kuramoto is currently a third year theater major at Northeastern University where she has become involved in the theater community both within school and in the greater Boston area. At Northeastern, she has performed in productions of Antigone, Columbinus, and The House of Bernarda Alba. She has also taken interest in the production aspect of theater, and has done a variety of off-stage work from lightboard operator to designing. Whenever she is not at work or in a theater, she can be found telling jokes as a stand-up comedian in basements of bars and at comedy clubs.

5-Sarah Reid spent her summer in an internship with Morrissey-Compton Educational Center, working with a psychologist on her research. She was excited to return to Princeton to study psychology and Italian in the fall. Sarah and her brother Alex, stopped by to say hello to everyone at Priory.

2015

1-Milla Bevens is a Chemistry (biochemistry) major at Willamette University. She is in the college’s premedical program and volunteers at the local hospital’s emergency department. In her spare time, she has been exploring the Oregon coast and enjoying other outdoor activities.

2-James Phelps enjoyed the visit of Priory’s College Counselor Dorothy Kowal in December at the University of Redlands. James is majoring in Biology with a minor in Chemistry.

2016

1-Nicholas Jaeger decided to defer acceptance to Harvard and will be joining the class of 2021. He has been appointed to a Fellowship at Harvard’s Center of Mathematical Sciences and Applications, where he is working to publish original research on funding in California’s domestic violence prevention infrastructure. Nicholas hopes to share his paper, and to leverage it to further spread the women’s rights conversation and raise more money for the Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA). He was recently elected to a two-year term on CORA’s board of directors. He continues to speak and teach about domestic violence, a cause he was passionate about while at Priory.

2-Mirthia Prince Figuereo has been very busy at Barnard. She joined various clubs on campus including the French Cultural Society, Mujeres, and the Columbia Democrats.

After graduating from Priory, 3-Mike Fitzgerald spent a majority of his summer at his family’s cabin on Lake Ontario in upstate New York. There, he and his sister Shannon ‘19 spent their days swimming, boating, tubing, water skiing, painting a small garage, attempting to play the Uilleann pipes, playing basketball, Pokémon Go, and overall having a great time. He also flew to Cork, Ireland to scout out where he is currently living and attending university for one year.

2014-1

2014-2

53 2014-5

2014-4

2015-1

2015-2

2016-2

2016-1

2016-3

CLASS NEWS & NOTES

2014-3

2016-4

ALUMNI EVENTS 54

Priory Cross Country Alumni running the first mile ever on the new track over the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Photo (left to right): Matt Lai, Nicholas Naclerio ‘13, John Trudelle ‘14, Ross Corey ‘15, Joshua Gutow ‘16, Robert Screven ‘16, Maria Naclerio ‘16, Sarah Halabe ‘16, Hana Marsheck ‘16, Kat Gregory ‘12

Priory Alumnae came back on campus at the end of August to play a fun game with Priory faculty against our Varsity Volleyball team. Pictured (left to right): Kaori Ogawa ‘08, Alyssa Cheung ‘08, Alec Schilling ‘08, Elizabeth Schilling ‘15, Alexa Zappas ‘07, and Kailani Novotny ‘06.

ALUMNI EVENTS

Ora Flora et Labora Garden Event on October 21st

55

More than forty alumni came back on a balmy fall evening to enjoy a relaxed Happy Hour in Priory’s beautiful Franklin Garden over Priory Pizza and Priory Beer. What a happy group!

Regional Alumni Dinners in Asia Some fun alumni dinners took place this past November in Asia while Priory’s Director of Admissions Matt Lai was on the road. Matt shared many stories and showed lots of pictures of our beautiful campus and awesome Priory people. All alumni were quite nostalgic.

Alumni dinner in Taiwan: Photo to left (left to right) Front: Eddie Tsai, Matt Lai, Edward Chen Back: Eddie Tseng, Francis Tsao, Jimmy Chang, Selena Chung, Michael Lo

Alumni dinner in Hong Kong: Photo below (left to right) Front: Max Lui, Lambert Lui, Vanessa Cheng Back: Raymond Lau, Matt Lai Not pictured is Man On Li, who had to leave before the photo was taken.

Alumni dinner in Korea: Photo to right (left to right) Mina Kim, Jennifer Suh, James Sohn, Jay Sohn, Stephen Kim, Matt Lai, Sarah Shin

MONASTERY NEWS 56

Honoring the 60th Anniv

by Al Zappelli On November 11, 1956, Father Egon Javor, OSB, founder of the Woodside Priory and the King Saint Stephen Monastery, in the company of six Medical mission sisters from Cupertino, celebrated the Priory’s first Mass in the ranch house of the former Gillson Ranch in Portola Valley. In commemoration of the founding sixty years ago, on Sunday, November 13th, over 400 members of the Priory community came together for a Mass of Thanksgiving to honor the Priory founders. Representing the Priory’s mother abbeys were Father Mathias Durette, OSB from Saint Anselm Abbey in New Hampshire and Father Keleman Sarai Szabo, OSB from Saint Martin Abbey in Pannonhalma, Hungary. They were joined by the three members of the Priory monastic community, Fathers Martin Mager, OSB, Pius Horvath, OSB and Maurus Nemeth, OSB. A celebratory Benedictine medal was given to each person in attendance to remember the special occasion.

Sixtieth anniversary events will continue for the Priory throughout the next two years, noting the founding of the monastery in 1956 and the Woodside Priory School in 1957.

MONASTERY NEWS

versary of the First Mass

57

GALA 58

Thirty-six years ago

the tradition started. And it continues to this day. This year, the Woodside Priory Gala, The Enchanted Forest, is scheduled for April 1, 2017 at the Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club. We have over forty parent volunteers planning the event. It promises to be a most enchanted evening with cocktails, a seated dinner and live and silent auctions. Mark your calendar, find your fairy wings or flowy dress, and get ready for the Priory’s biggest fundraising and social event of the year.

The Priory Gala is special because faculty, staff, parents and students alike all contribute to the items up for bid. This year, you can look forward to Father Martin’s Tall Clock made out of beautiful black walnut wood. Or, perhaps you want to bid on either Father Maurus’ famous duck dinner or Father Martin’s lobster feast for twenty-four lucky friends. Maybe you’ve been dying to see Hamilton but getting tickets has proven difficult. Or, you’d like to take the family to Puerta Vallarta for a week. These and many other items will be part of the offering this year.

Tickets will go on sale in January. We encourage you to create a table of ten with friends. If you don’t want to create a table of ten, we will do our best to seat you with a parent of a child in your child’s class. It’s a great opportunity to see friends and make some new friends.

This year, all items up for auction will be available through the online auction, except for Live and FundA-Future (this year’s Fund-A-Need auction benefitting Woodside Priory’s financial aid program). The online auction opens Monday, March 27th. If you want to participate in Fund-A-Future or Live Auctions but can’t make the event, please contact dchandra@prioryca.org.

Important Enchanted Forest Gala Dates January 13th: Donation Day. Bring your donation–art, wine or other donation to our Donation Day event the evening of January 13th. Look for details in the Priory Bulletin.

January 20th: Donations Close.

March 27th: Online Auction Opens.

April 1: Enchanted Forest Gala at Sharon Heights Golf and Country Club and online auction closes.

Stay Connected Friend us on our Facebook page where you can keep up to date with the latest Priory events. www.facebook.com/woodside.priory.5 See photos on Flickr of past and current events. www.flickr.com/photos/paxpanther/ Follow us on Instagram @woodsidepriorypanthers. People love our Throwback Thursday photos from the archives. You never know, you might be in one!

View past performances, slideshows and other various videos on our YouTube Channel. www.youtube.com/user/paxpanther ALUMNI!

Let us know what you are up to. We love learning about the interesting things you are doing! Send an email with any address updates or news to alumni@prioryca.org Like and Friend us on our Alumni Facebook page “Woodside Priory Alumni Association” www.facebook. com/groups/22629168008 Connect and network on the Priory Alumni Association LinkedIn page.

Thanks to all who shared photos with us on Instagram! We got into the school spirit with this photo by wps_dorms. Tag your Priory related Instagram photos with #priorypanthers and you may see your photo here as one of our favorites!

Woodside Priory School 302 Portola Road Portola Valley, CA 94028 (650) 851-8221 fax (650) 851-2839

NON-PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE

PAID

MENLO PARK,CA PERMIT #805

Address Service Requested

Protect and Preserve

How are you willing to plan for the Priory’s future for coming generations?

• Through estate planning • With gifts of real estate or other assets • Using charitable trusts • Including Priory in your life insurance and retirement plans These are ways you can make sure Benedictine values live on at the Priory.

Contact our Gift Planning office to investigate ways you can insure your investment in Priory’s future.

Al Zappelli, Senior Director for Strategic Initiatives 650-851-6101 (office) azappelli@PrioryCA.org