Report
The Ridge
May 2012
Our Sacred Heart Commission on Goals [SHCOG] Action Plan has been approved! In the April Ridge Report, I wrote at length about the SHCOG
members, who generously participated in the many meetings
process and our work as a community for the past 18 months,
and conversations: Shana Rolax Abner ‘94, Betsy Briardy,
culminating in the development of a multiyear action plan to
Melissa Jones, Tanya Lange, Heather Mirczak, Stephanie Nicols,
help guide our conversations and growth for the future.
Kisha Palmer, Teresa Sekac, Mike Smith, and Sr. Diana Wall ’82 (Broadway).
Our work was approved without any modification; so, as they Our plan is a dynamic, well-paced approach to improving
say, we have a plan!
the overall experience for every member of the Forest Ridge The three major items we have committed to working on for
community. It is the keystone of our ongoing process not only
the next three years are ones that resonated throughout our
to meet accreditation requirements and maintain our high
own reflections, the visiting team reflection and our response
Sacred Heart standards but to live them with great credibility.
from the Province:
3 Communication — both personal and institutional;
3 Community — participation in, responsibility to and for, and expectations of;
3 A deepening understanding of our Catholic identity and
The Plan includes everyone — all segments of our Forest Ridge family. So, we’d like to hear from you.
• Read our Action Plan and offer suggestions.
• Participate: F ind an area of interest and join us! Even if you have only five minutes, you can contribute.
role as a Sacred Heart school. I want to thank the members of the committee who have worked hard to consider where our best work should be done for the next few years. The meetings have been inspiring, positive, grace-filled and focused on our future. I am grateful for everything that these men and women offered — all with one ideal in mind: to make Forest Ridge the best Sacred Heart community we can be for others and for ourselves. Please join me in thanking the committee’s leadership team: Sara Konek and Cindy Murphy, along with the committee
• Be a builder of community. Together we can build a better Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart!
The link to the SHCOG Action Plan can be found on our portal. I look forward to working with you on this exciting plan for our community. Mark Pierotti Head of School
An Update on the New Residential Life Program at Forest Ridge Diana C. Wall, RSCJ, ’82 (Broadway) Director of Advancement
This fall, Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart will welcome
Renovating the convent for the Residential Life Program
22 international students to its new Residential Life Program.
offers a perfect opportunity for Forest Ridge to take
True to the adage that history repeats itself, we are returning to
advantage of a spacious, 7,000 square-foot home on a
our roots. In 1907, when the original school opened on Capitol
spectacular piece of land with breathtaking views of the
Hill in Seattle, until the school moved to the Somerset campus
Puget Sound. The new international students will bring
in Bellevue in 1971, Forest Ridge took in boarders.
life to campus, and the home will be filled with a community of girls living and learning together – true to the Society’s
As an RSCJ, I am thrilled about this news. A Residential
mission to educate young women!
Life Program offers Forest Ridge an exciting opportunity to accommodate the demand from international students to
RSCJs will continue to be part of Forest Ridge education
obtain a Forest Ridge education; and, in fact, there is a waiting
by serving as members of the school’s Board of Trustees.
list. I envision this program attracting students from all over
In addition, we are privileged to have Sr. Marcia O’Dea, who
the world including those from current families who desire a
will continue her ministry through teaching, and Sr. Mary B.
boarding school experience for their daughter(s).
Flaherty, who will continue assisting with alumnae outreach and the Children of Mary Sodality.
Additionally, the Society of the Sacred Heart has intentionally been moving toward “right-sizing” our communities around
As Religious of the Sacred Heart, my sisters in community and
the country for the past seven years. It is no secret that since
I are proud to be part of this incredible next step for Forest
Vatican II, the number of religious has dwindled, and we simply
Ridge, and we believe St. Madeleine Sophie is indeed guiding us
do not have young nuns to fill the positions of those retiring.
to this end. We look forward to showcasing our remodeled
Therefore, it is in the best interest of the Society to see that
building to you on August 30 at the PA’s annual back-to-school
our school’s facilities are used properly and that we are good
Family Picnic.
stewards of our resources.
2 The Ridge Report
RESIDENTIAL LIFE PROGRAM TIMELINE 12/12/11 Board of Trustees approve the establishment of a Residential Life Program and a plan to convert the convent into a boarding residence 3/1 – 6/1/12 Remodel the convent into the residence for the Residential Life Program 6/1/12
Complete construction
6/1 – 6/30/12 Prepare the residence to receive students 7/1/12 Director of Residential Life and Residential Advisors take up residence 8/22/12
Students arrive
8/30/12 Hold Open House from 4:00-5:00 p.m., before back-to-school Family Picnic
Construction Progress Report: as of 4/23/12 • Replace entire Fire Sprinkler System: 50 percent complete • Replace Interior Circular Stairwell: Old stairwell removed per building code New interior stairwell put into place Existing rear bedroom sub-divided to accommodate new stairwell • Create New ADA Bathrooms: Demolish existing bathrooms on first floor Drainage rerouted Interior studs placed Plumbing completed Electrical completed Installation of flooring and fixtures – in progress • Construct two Resident Advisor Rooms (on first floor): Studs in place New electrical in place Insulation installed Removal of exterior wall to repair water damage Studs placed Electrical in place Water envelope in place • Remodel Kitchen: Kitchen demolished Pergo flooring installed Cabinetry installed Electrical upgraded
SAVE THE DATE Residential Life Program Open House preceding the PA Family Picnic Thursday, August 30 from 4:00-5:00 p.m.
• Convert building from all electric to gas Plumbed interior laundry and kitchen for gas Plumbed hot water tank for new gas boiler • Update exterior wood decks: Small rear deck: wood surface removed and replaced Large front wraparound deck: joists and surface decking removed • Create handicap-accessible parking and ramp: In process • Replace sewage line: In process The Ridge Report 3
Residential Life Program: an Admission view Diana C. Wall, RSCJ, ’82 (Broadway) Director of Advancement
The vision of developing a Residential Life Program on the Forest Ridge campus is fast becoming a reality. As the convent remodeling takes shape and the excitement of creating a vibrant living space for approximately 25 boarding students gets closer, I am excited about the future for Forest Ridge. The primary importance of offering a Residential Life Program, a
• Offers Forest Ridge flexibility in our very popular Exchange
boarding school experience, at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred
Program within the Network of Sacred Heart Schools. It will
Heart is that it allows us to enhance our educational mission by
connect Forest Ridge students with peers in 23 schools in the
extending our reach on a global basis. This program helps Forest
United States and more than 200 schools internationally,
Ridge meet one of its strategic initiatives as outlined in the
representing 44 countries throughout the world (for more
Strategic Plan: Road Map 2008-2013: “to make a Forest Ridge
information see next page).
education accessible to those qualified students who wish to attend.” Last year, we successfully took on the strategic initiative:
• Affords an opportunity for international students to
“Affordability and Accessibility” with our Endowed Scholarship
experience an American education, which in turn, provides
Campaign. The Residential Life Program is consistent with our
our students a more global perspective.
efforts in extending our accessibility, but in a new way – by enhancing our reach to meet the growing demand from those
• Supports our International Baccalaureate Programme. Forest
outside our geographic area who would like a Forest Ridge
Ridge offers an IB academic program to those high school
education for their daughter(s). Tactically, it complements our
students who would like and value it.
existing and very popular Exchange Program, the IB Programme and the needs of those in the global community looking for an educational experience in the United States.
• Provides parents flexibility in allowing a seamless continuation of their daughter’s education. Many of our parents are corporate executives with multinational corporations who
Staying on the cutting edge of this ever-evolving educational
sometimes travel overseas for several years at a time. Indeed, in
milieu will provide the Forest Ridge community with some of
August 2011, a father with three Forest Ridge daughters was
the following advantages. The Residential Life Program:
transferred abroad for two years. He stated: “If you had a boarding option, I would have kept them at Forest Ridge.”
4 The Ridge Report
GLOBAL EXCHANGE: Did you know? The Forest Ridge community is, without a doubt, an international one, as evidenced by our robust Sacred Heart Exchange As one can appreciate, uprooting one’s child from a school community and social network of friends can be stressful.
Program. The Forest Ridge educational experience has always been highly desired, and, in fact, Forest Ridge has the highest number of exchange students in the Network of Sacred Heart Schools,
A Residential Life Program can help alleviate some of this
both nationally and internationally. Since 1985, Exchange Program
stress for both the parent and the student.
Coordinator Audrey Threlkeld and her predecessor has arranged for 398 students to participate in this life-changing experience.
• Extends our reach to those alumnae who desire a Forest Ridge education for their daughters but do not live near our
Many of our families have graciously hosted these students, and, thanks to their hospitality, Forest Ridge is the number one
campus. For example, we have an extensive alumnae base on
Exchange Program destination in the Network!
the West Coast. I have heard numerous times from alumnae
This year, 43 students participated in our robust international
both from Forest Ridge …and other network schools that if
Exchange Program. Eighteen Forest Ridge students attended
only there was a boarding program on the West Coast, they
Sacred Heart schools in the following countries:
would like for their daughters to enjoy the same experience
• Australia (4)
they had. They always mention that some of their best friends
• Austria (3)
are from their boarding school days and that those have been
• Japan (1)
life-long, significant relationships in their lives.”
• Mexico (1)
• New Zealand (1)
• Peru (4)
• Spain (3)
• USA (1)
• Complements our Catholic identity by creating an environment that is conducive to serious academic pursuit, which in turn, nurtures the desire for Truth. The Residential Life Program will strive to give each student a sense of dignity
And, 25 students came to Forest Ridge from network schools
and self-worth, and it will be characterized by an atmosphere
from these countries:
of faith, mutual trust and a Christ-like concern for each
• Australia (3)
• Austria (3)
• France (1)
• Japan (4)
• Mexico (3)
• Peru (4)
Schools a boarding opportunity. It affords Forest Ridge
• Spain (3)
flexibility with our Exchange Program. Forest Ridge’s
• Taiwan (1)
• USA (3)
person living in the boarding residence.
In essence, the Residential Life Program will offer parents, alumnae and others in the Network of Sacred Heart
culture and identity are bound inextricably to the vision set forth in the Goals and Criteria for Sacred Heart Schools in the United States. These values form the moral compass that influences the choices made within our community and therefore our Residential Life Program.
Please note: Our Residential Life Program offers another option for hosting these students, but it will not take away the opportunity for parents to host an international student in their homes. That will still continue. One Forest Ridge student stated: “I left Australia with a positive outlook on life. At the end of the day, it is about the people we
Learning to draw upon these values in a different way
meet and the impact they have on us. I am incredibly grateful to
during their boarding experience, these students will
build community on the other side of the planet while growing in
become women of conviction, courage and confidence.
be part of the Sacred Heart family, having had the opportunity to an atmosphere of wise freedom.”
The Ridge Report 5
technology
The implications of
Joanne Boerth Librarian
Most years, I have a book that I consider my “favorite” of the year. Usually it’s fiction (The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell; Bel Canto by Ann Patchett); sometimes it’s biography (Seabiscuit or Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, both by Laura Hillenbrand). But this year it has been nonfiction (The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains, by Nicholas Carr). You know how it is when you read a book that clearly states things that you have thought about in an unfocused, incoherent way? That’s what The Shallows did for me — it clarified and expanded one of my trains of thought about our use of technology. Nicholas Carr wrote The Shallows (which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 2011) because he found himself less and less able to do something he calls “pondering,” or spending time in deep, sustained thought. He suspected that his use of technology was connected to this difficulty, and since he is a rather wellknown technology writer, he decided to research and write about his concerns. He feels that, in general, we love and crave information; our brains get pleasure (dopamine is released) from discovering new information. We can obsess about keeping track of data; we glance at our iPhones or Blackberries even while talking directly to others (or we think about checking them, even if we don’t do it). Being alert to new information was useful when we lived in prehistoric times and were in danger of being eaten; we needed that skill to survive. We don’t need it now in the same way, yet we crave it. Our short-term, working memory is pretty small, only capable of holding two to four items at one time, and if we take in too much too fast, we have to jettison some other information to make room. We call this “cognitive overload;” you can’t focus (pay attention) to any one thing for very long. We have learned to skim and scan information online but not how to pay deep attention to one idea for very long. This has personal and practical implications. On a personal level, Carr feels it hurts our creation of memories. It doesn’t allow us to transfer information to long-term memory, which allows us to make connections that give richness to our thought.
6 The Ridge Report
on our brain and creativity
Soon we lose the ability to discern the important from the trivial — we only recognize new information. We have difficulty focusing on the important, and we lose the ability to filter. People who electronically multitask a lot think they are being productive, but when this is tested, we find they are less productive than people who can focus on one task at a time. This persists even after the computer is turned off. But the biggest loss from multitasking is a loss of our creativity. Creativity requires time to jiggle an idea around and let it percolate and develop, away from other distractions. Nicholas Carr says that one of our most difficult technology skills to learn is knowing when to turn it off. He quotes studies that show that we tend to read in an “F” pattern online: We read the first couple lines of an article completely, then we skip down and read parts of a few lines, and we read less and less as we scroll down. Most of us spend far more time each day in front of some kind of screen than we do reading print. Yet we read print more slowly and with more concentration that we usually read online information. Print shields us from distraction — think of the joy of being immersed in a book you are loving reading. As a librarian, I want to safeguard that experience of being immersed in a book to the extent that you sneak the light back on after your parents have told you to turn it off and go to sleep. Nicholas Carr does not focus on education in his writing, but the implications for educators are obvious. We want our students to grapple with big concepts. As Sacred Heart educators, we have committed ourselves to a deep respect for intellectual values, which includes creative use of the imagination (Goal II, emphasis is mine). We want students to explore their relationships to their God and to have a sense of hope for the world (Goal I). Our classes encourage collaboration, and we want our students to think deeply and wisely and to be able to listen to and really hear others. We expect our students to be the ones to figure out how to change our world for the better. To do those things, we have to help them know how to train their brains to find these difficult answers. And I’m becoming persuaded that means sometimes turning the computer off.
Our Sacred Heart Tradition Julie Grasseschi Middle School Director May and June are filled with Sacred Heart traditions across campus. To a newcomer, the traditions can seem simple, but to Children of the Sacred Heart, they are rich with meaning. Each May, the juniors received their Sacred Heart rings in the long standing tradition of Ring Ceremony. As the seniors walk in dressed in their full white gowns, white nylons and white sandals, I am always reminded of when those same girls arrived on campus for the first time in their perfect dress uniform to join their fifth or sixth grade classmates. The senior girls chose one junior to call forward and to whom she will present a class ring. The ceremonial exchange of pink and red carnations and the careful walk back to the long line of juniors and seniors, is a visual reminder of the growth and development of each girl across her middle and high school journey at Forest Ridge. Each year an alumna speaks to the class about the benefits of her Sacred Heart Education and how she continues to meet alums from across our Sacred Heart Network of Schools. I am always moved by what the young alums say to the current juniors, seniors and the entire student body. Of course, I remember how each of these girls was formed and shaped by their Sacred Heart Education at Forest Ridge and I am never surprised by the wisdom and vision of the speaker. Middle School students will continue to community at their end of year retreats through May and June and will celebrate their growth across all five of the Goals and Criteria when we close the year with the tradition of Prize Day on the last day of school. Prize Day is a time to recognize and honor academic growth, hard work and achievement while also highlighting
our shared commitment to service, faith development and creating community together. We close the year in the same way that we started the year – each girl is called by name and stands to be recognized by the community. Each member of the community is integral to who we are and what we can accomplish together. Our final Middle School Sacred Heart ceremony of the year will be 8th Grade Promotion. This ceremony mirrors high school graduation, but instead of white gowns and red rose, a graduation tradition for one hundred years, the 8th grade students wear perfect dress uniform and carry small bouquets of flowers. Each girl is recognized with a small paragraph of middle school highlights as she comes forward to receive her promotion certificate and the entire class sings and prays together as a way to thank their parents and teachers for support and assistance during their middle school journey. The Sacred Heart ceremonies that mark the beginning and closing of our school year are different from other school ceremonies. They are embedded with personal reflections and recognitions that highlight student growth and commitment to faith, service, intellectual curiosity and community. More than 100 years of Forest Ridge graduates and alums share our vision that a Sacred Heart Education changes lives and empowers young women to bring their best selves to the world. We are honored to have your daughter with us this year as we worked to make the mission of Sacred Heart Education alive and vibrant in the Pacific Northwest.
The Ridge Report 7
The Hunger Games,
global leadership and a reflection on the value of resilience
Kisha Palmer Director of Women as Global Leaders Program
I gave in. After weeks of overhearing students discuss “the odds,” the “tributes” and the “Districts,” I gave in to The Hunger Games trilogy. I started reading the series with the intention of being semi-informed about the latest literary obsession of some of the students. I finished the series because I became intrigued by the trilogy as a metaphor for American culture today and as a literary fiction perhaps meant to inspire and encourage a certain kind of strength and resilience in young women. This is interesting to me as I close the third year of developing the Women as Global Leaders Program and continue to pursue the question, “What makes a young woman a global leader? What qualities? What opportunities and experiences shape her self-knowledge and global citizenship confidence? What makes us different from men in the world arena besides our gender?” The premise of The Hunger Games is a familiar theme in young adult literature: a post-apocalyptic world, one where a return to rituals of human sacrifice and the laws of fiefdom are reinstated, and where young people battle for good or lose themselves to darkness. The heroine is a young woman by the name of Katniss Everdeen. Katniss, an archer, is forced to hunt, outside the law, for sustenance for her family, then forced into a lethal game of survival. In the process, she discovers romantic love, moral dilemma and the spectrum of human vulnerabilities, most especially her own. It’s no surprise she is such a hit with some adolescent girls. Her circumstances mirror some of the realities of being raised in a Facebook-RealityTVIM-What’s-Your-Status?-Friend Me-TweetThis-and-Tumblr-that world. It’s a world with immediate access to what the outside world is doing/thinking/externalizing, with constant pressure to conform to a norm that is unattainable, unrealistic and oppressive, and with adult rules and authority that seem to flex and bend without reason or warning. But Katniss is resilient, and that is inspiring. In a previous Ridge Report, Mark Pierotti wrote about resilience as a necessary component of global leadership. Dr. Wittmann also references resilience in her reflections on the takeaways from Challenge Success. Girls need to be resilient. Women as Global Leaders has been cultivating opportunities for resilience building and leadership challenge through multiple avenues, including Peace and Reconciliation, support of student-led advocacy awareness days and sponsored Parent Conversations with notable regional experts in “GirlWorld” such as Julie Metzger, Ph.D., and Rosetta Lee from Seattle Girls’ School. Looking ahead, Women as Global Leaders will be exploring another leadership experience class for the high school, this time focused on resources and sustainability. Together with high school teachers John Fenoli and Nui Nishida, we will meet with fishers, oil drillers and Gwich’in Athabascan Council leaders in Alaska, in exploration of the question, “What do young women as global leaders need to understand about Native wisdom and cultures, resources and rights as they learn to be stewards of our Earth.” The plan is to offer the class second semester in the 2012-13 academic year, with a class experience in Alaska immediately after school ends. This will be open to frosh and sophomores. The vision is to have three Women as Global Leaders experience classes available by the 2013-14 school year: Peace and Reconciliation, Resources and Sustainability, and Global Health. Per my earlier articles in The Ridge Report, the destinations within each class are subject to change, but the global issues are the core. These are areas of study and learning that require resilience and deep understanding on the part of both students and faculty. Each global issue has a multitude of perspectives, and depending on where you stand, the view is different. The hope is that students will be able to engage with these issues as a team of collaborators on a mission to handle the most pressing issues of our time with solid knowledge, firsthand experience and the ethical compass of the Sacred Heart Goals and Criteria. What would Katniss do with that in her tool kit?
8 The Ridge Report
On giving and spending of oneself
Outdoors:
Heather Mirczak Outdoor Education Director
“The truth is that in one important sense, adventure, however much it may be concerned with physical conflict and danger, is really of the mind …. It makes more sense, therefore, to consider the spirit of adventure, rather than adventure. What is so valuable and formative in an adventure is the commitment it invariably calls for in one way or another. There is always, somewhere, a point for girding up one’s loins, taking a deep breath, and making a step into the unknown involving a giving of oneself and a spending of oneself.” —Tom Price This month I want to share stories from both the Florida Marine Biology trip and the Smith Rock Spring Break trip. Both weeklong trips offered our students opportunities, in different environments, to gird up their loins and step into the unknown, giving and spending themselves. In Florida, on one of our paddle days, we covered 11.5 miles. It was hot and sunny with a mild breeze that provided calm water but little cooling. In the last two hours we hit a low. People were tired and wilting from the sun. There was one canoe in particular whose gregarious chatter had turned to silence, drooping bodies and a slightly desperate aura. These are the moments of adventure that call for commitment. They are not the images that draw us to adventure, but they are an integral part of the experience. These girls dug down and found it inside themselves to give a little more than they believed they had. Our low lasted for an hour, and by the time we were in our last mile to camp spirits had risen (being surprised by an alligator near our boats helped), and we pulled into
camp after 6 hours of paddling. Quite an accomplishment for our second day on the water! We had a few hours of daylight to swim and relax. Later, everyone could acknowledge that part of the day as difficult, yet not debilitating. They made it through. They were surprised and proud to realize they were plenty capable of a paddle of that length. On the Smith Rock trip we were given some weather challenges. What we’d hoped for —sunny and 70s — was instead temperatures in the 50s (and lower), rain, hail, some thunder and lightning along with sun breaks. Wednesday morning we woke up to rain. That is an immediate downer on a climbing trip. I have seen it send students into a downward spiral. The students hinted about going to an indoor pool; some commented about getting back into sleeping bags or the van. But the reality was that we put on packs and went on an adventure: rappelling and cave scrambling. In fact, this would turn out to be one of the highlights of the trip for most of us! Setting out down the road in the cold rain, each girl had a choice of how she wanted to respond to the conditions. Despite discomfort and the unknown, they each chose to breathe into it and give themselves over to the adventure! This actually led to us doing a 160-foot rappel a little later in the week. Talk about “girding our ... loins;” stepping off the edge on that rappel was a commitment! Each time I participate in a trip I am honored to bear witness to students as they face a challenge. I consider how raw I can be when I’m pushed to the edge or am out of my comfort zone. I recently heard a student say, “When you are cold, hungry, tired, scared, you can’t be ’cool,’ and it doesn’t matter.” I concur; in fact, not only are we raw, the people we are with witness our struggle. There is no hiding. We end up finding commitment and a “giving of ourselves,” which pays rich rewards — like discovering our inner strength, building our confidence and recognizing that being vulnerable and opening ourselves up to the unknown is part of the spirit of adventure. The Ridge Report 9
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage
PAID
Seattle, WA Permit No. 259
4800 139th Avenue SE Bellevue, WA 98006-3015
Parent Association selects 2012-2013 Executive Board
Amy Anderson and Cynthia Seely PA Co-Presidents, 2011-2012
We are thrilled to announce the Parent Association Executive Board for the 2012-2013 school year! Four women will continue in their positions for another year, ensuring a smooth transition. Once again, two people, each of whom has served on the Executive Board in the past, will share the role of president. Drum roll, please: Co-Presidents . ........................................ Monica Parikh and Ann Rillera Vice President ......................................... Susan Meier (continuing) Communication Coordinator ............... Charlotte Longson (continuing) Technology Coordinator ....................... Teri Pollastro (continuing) Volunteer Coordinator . ......................... Luann Desautel (continuing) High School Coordinator ...................... Jo Ann Kobuke Middle School Coordinator .................. Elaine Sakamoto Social Clubs Coordinator ...................... Margaret Williams We have two final events of the year. The first is the Volunteer Appreciation Tea, which YOU are invited to attend on Thursday, May 24 from 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. in the Ackerley Conference Rooms. In the past, we have held a luncheon off-campus, but this year we decided to have an afternoon tea on campus so that we could include more people and make it easier for the administration to attend. This tea is our opportunity to say “thank you” to everyone who has volunteered their time and energy this year to support our girls at Forest Ridge – whether it was by serving as a parent representative or bringing snacks on testing days or stuffing envelopes for the Admission Office. Please join us in this celebration of the parent volunteers of Forest Ridge! Lastly, the Parent Association hosts the Faculty and Staff Appreciation Luncheon for the faculty and staff. This is an adults-only event, when the teachers and administration get to “let their hair down” and celebrate the beginning of summer. Leslie Kellogg is chairing this event; she will need lots of help to make this a special luncheon for the amazing teachers and administrative people who help our girls. Please watch for details in Post It and assist us by bringing a beverage or a dessert or by helping at the luncheon. Thank you for your continued support! It has been a great year for us as co-presidents. Enjoy your summer.