Report
The Ridge
May 2013
Consider a FR Summer Fellowship for Creative Thinking As May draws our school year closer to its final days, I’m thrilled to announce a special program: Forest Ridge’s Summer Fellowship for Creative Thinking. Through this program, we hope to tap into the talent of our students and allow them a chance to propose a new idea, research and detail its creation and suggest a path toward implementation that could potentially change the way we do things at Forest Ridge. We’re excited about what we — and our students — will learn on the way to making us an even better community! Specifically, fellowship recipients will focus on creatively addressing the following two questions: Technology:
hat enhancement can be made in the use of technology at Forest Ridge that can W positively change the learning experience for students?
Campus Life: H ow can Forest Ridge demonstrate appreciation of its diverse, talented student body in an effort to live the Goals and Criteria more fully? If your daughter is interested she should: Write a brief proposal and submit it to me by May 30. The proposal should briefly outline her idea and the work she will do to address one of these subject areas. The work done over the summer must produce a tangible outcome that can be implemented during the school year. The proposals of four students, two for each topic, will be selected from the proposals submitted. The students will work independently on their topics. I will appoint a team to review the proposals and recommend two proposals in each area. Other details: • Each student will receive a $500 stipend for her work over the summer. • Students will be notified by June 10 whether or not their proposal was selected. • Final work is due September 3, 2013. Encourage your daughter to submit a proposal to the Summer Fellowship for Creative Thinking! Mark Pierotti Head of School
May Transitions Are Also
Dr. Carola D. Wittmann Director of the High School
In this last Ridge Report article of the 2012–2013 academic year, we want to express appreciation and welcome. It is indeed with great gratitude that we celebrate the years of accomplishments by Mrs. Audrey Threlkeld, High School Academic Dean. In the tradition of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, Mrs. Threlkeld has consistently devoted her attention, expertise and talent “for the sake of one child,” for the sake of every young woman in her care. Thus we celebrate Audrey, grateful that she remains connected to Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart: she has generously agreed to continue to oversee and manage our high school’s thriving Exchange Program. Looking forward, we extend a very warm welcome to Ms. Alicia Ballé — incoming High School Dean of Faculty at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart. The Dean of Faculty position is new to the Forest Ridge community. At its core, it reflects my deep conviction that it is the education in the tradition of the Sacred Heart Network, combined with our single-gender identity, that makes Forest Ridge the high school of choice for young women in the Puget Sound area. The faculty brings these values to life, and it is in the long-term support of their efforts and talents that this position was created. From among more than 20 candidates, Ms. Ballé impressed the committee with her insight into transitional leadership and all that entails. More than once she reminded us that “by devoting time to first learning the school culture and earning the trust and respect of the community, I believe I will begin forming the lasting relationships that are essential to finding long-term success as an impactful administrator at Forest Ridge.”
2 The Ridge Report
Celebrations
Having concluded her administration training three years ago, Ms. Ballé comes to us from her current assignment in the Lake Washington School District. A graduate of the Overlake School, she held teaching and leadership positions at the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences as well as Holy Names Academy. As Dean of Faculty, Ms. Ballé’s primary responsibility is support of excellent teaching and learning. Throughout multiple interviews and conversations, as well as during an all-day on-campus visit, we were particularly impressed by Ms. Ballé’s commitment to instructional leadership and dedication to nurturing a positive school climate. A believer in highly collaborative structures, Ms. Ballé has been instrumental in implementing Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) as well as data and research- based teacher practices, all of which have one goal in mind: the continuation of a teaching and learning culture that celebrates each student in her own right and supports all faculty members in the practice of their craft. As we celebrate accomplishments, graduations, retirements and new beginnings, we do so in the spirit of Life at the Sacred Heart:
Sacred Heart education aspires to make you open-eyed, alert to the needs of others, generous and courageous in service. (Life at the Sacred Heart, p. 9)
Decisions, Decisions! Every year at this time, the college counselors –— along with the entire senior class and their parents — excitedly await the outcome of the fall and winter college application process. Emerging from March madness, when everyone is still waiting to hear, to early April gladness, our students receive a flurry of letters, emails, texts and phone calls. April means Decision Time. By May, every student must make a single choice from among her multiple acceptances. The Class of 2013 represents diverse interests and strengths, and the quality of the colleges where students were accepted demonstrates their remarkable qualities. It’s been a banner year for acceptances to schools that have been on the Forest Ridge radar for several years. With their excellent grades, impressive test scores, leadership experiences and extracurricular activities, along with a number of IB diploma candidates, this graduating class has achieved extraordinary success! Although May 1 was the deadline, in April our students were rapidly and happily making their commitments to schools that have offered them admission, and, in many cases, significant financial reward. Current awards based on merit alone exceed $3.8 million. Although a few seniors are holding their decisions until they hear about waitlist outcomes, most have made their final choices from among their excellent possibilities. This year’s college acceptances are below. The colleges in boldface are choices to which students have committed as of April 25. Congratulations to the Class of 2013! Stay tuned for an update about where they have all decided to matriculate! American University Amherst College Barnard College Baylor University Beloit College Boise State University Boston College (College of Arts & Sciences) Bowdoin College Bradley University Brandeis University Brown University (School of Engineering) Bucknell University Butler University California Lutheran University Carleton College Carnegie Mellon University Champlain College Chapman University Claremont McKenna College Clark University Colgate University College of the Holy Cross Colorado State University Honors College Cornell College Creighton University Dartmouth College Dominican University of California Drake University Drexel University Emory University Fordham University Franklin College Switzerland Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Gonzaga University Hartwick College Johns Hopkins University Knox College
La Sierra University Lehigh University Lewis & Clark College Linfield College Loyola University Chicago Macalester College Manhattan College Manhattanville College Marquette University Middlebury College Montana State University, Billings Northeastern University Northern Arizona University Northwestern University Occidental College Oregon State University Otterbein University Pace University, New York City Pacific Lutheran University Pomona College Pratt Institute Regis University Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rhode Island School of Design Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Saint Mary’s College of California Santa Clara University School of the Art Institute of Chicago School of Visual Arts Seattle University Seton Hall University Simmons College Smith College St. John Fisher College St. John’s University - Queens St. Olaf College Stanford University The Catholic University of America
The George Washington University The University of Arizona The University of Findlay Trinity College Tufts University Tulane University University of California at Berkeley University of California at Davis University of California at Los Angeles University of California at San Diego University of California at Santa Barbara University of Denver University of Idaho University of Kentucky University of Michigan University of Notre Dame University of Oregon University of Portland University of Puget Sound University of Redlands University of Rochester University of San Francisco University of Southern California University of Victoria University of Washington University of Washington (Honors Program) University of Wisconsin, Madison Vanderbilt University Vassar Washington State University Washington University in St. Louis Wellesley Western Washington University Honors Whitman College Willamette University William Woods University Xavier University The Ridge Report 3
Being of service in the wider community Maureen Gardner, Tom Koning, Jenny McGovern, Patricia Waltner Middle School Faculty
“Throughout the year I learned so much about human dignity and acceptance. These [special needs] kids are just like me. The teachers in this room really needed me. There are a lot of kids in there, and they require a lot of attention. I was needed, wanted and used. However, I truly believe that I got more out of this experience than the teachers.“ —Eighth-Grade Student Being of service in the wider community is a critical part of a Sacred Heart education. Goal III calls Sacred Heart schools to offer all community members opportunities for service, but it does not stop there. Schools are challenged to go beyond direct service into advocacy and creating reciprocal relationships with the poor and marginalized. This means encouraging students to see themselves in relationship with the people they serve: to be not only givers but also receivers. To this end, our students’ service experiences must happen off campus. Going out into the community and creating relationships with partners there allow students a unique opportunity to discover what they have in common with the people they serve. When students feel connected to a project that needs what they have to offer, their enthusiasm grows, as does their gratitude for some of the basics they may have taken for granted in their own lives, such as education and abundant, healthy food. This connection becomes the heart of their service. Every grade level has a relationship with a local community service agency that students support, through both fundraising and direct service. Fifth-grade service focuses on environmental sustainability. Students visit a working farm to learn about local, organic food production and work in our own school garden. Sixth-grade service also focuses on food and access to food. Students volunteer at the Food Bank @ St. Mary’s in Seattle. Small groups of students go to the food bank weekly to sort and pass out food for Seattle’s hungry, and the class coordinates a food drive to support the food bank in November.
In seventh grade the focus is on literacy and education. Once a month, the entire seventh grade travels to Lake Hills Elementary to work with the first grade classes. They spend the morning reading with their buddies, practicing math skills, conversing and coloring. These buddy relationships are rewarding, ongoing ones the girls nurture throughout the year. One seventh-grader reflects, “[W]hen I am with my Lake Hills buddy I can see their joyful and grateful reactions, and it makes me feel good that I am helping them.” The eighth-grade service program is unique among the middle school classes in that, after a trimester of study, each student is placed with a local school or agency that she visits weekly for the remainder of the year. Going off-campus and into the community on a weekly basis takes an enormous amount of coordination and wouldn’t be possible without the support of numerous parent drivers. However, the experience is well worth the effort. The chance to be a leader in a kindergarten classroom, at a candle-making workshop with developmentally delayed adults or at a food bank is a highlight of the eighth-grade year for many students. Through service, students learn about and practice crucial leadership qualities like being self-directed, communicating well, keeping commitments and putting the needs of others before their own. Who would have imagined that the simple idea of being of service to others and sharing the gift of education that St. Madeleine Sophie spoke of two hundred years ago would have such a meaningful impact on our students today?
“Your example, even more than your words, will be an eloquent lesson to the world.” —St. Madeleine Sophie Barat 4 The Ridge Report
Creativity, Action, Service at Forest Ridge
Tanya Lange Campus Minister
In addition to my role as Campus Minister, I serve as coordinator for CAS in the high school. CAS stands for Creativity, Action and Service. It is the service-learning component of the International Baccalaureate Programme (IB). A wonderful group of Forest Ridge teachers and staff members have helped me oversee this new venture during the past two years. They each mentor a small group of students as they plan their programs. CAS allows students to choose their own service opportunities while urging them to try new things. Students are not held to a certain number of hours per se, but they are required to meet eight learning outcomes in each of the three areas (creativity, action, service). The learning outcomes challenge students to plan activities, engage in an issue of global importance, consider the ethical implications of their actions and gain new skills — just to name a few.
I am impressed with the variety of activities students have engaged in over the past two years. I’d like to share a few with you: Creativity: • A number of students participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). This event takes place every November. Over the course of the month, each participant writes a 50,000- word novel. Most writers set a daily word goal. Students reflected that this activity was a lesson in commitment, especially on days when they were plagued with writer’s block. • A number of students participated in NaNoWriMo Students have reflected on their participation in Dance Company, school plays and One Acts, as well. Action: • Coaching is a popular activity to meet the action requirement. Stephanie N. learned a lot by coaching middle school volleyball, and Nicole T. assisted with after-school conditioning. Other students set goals such as improving her tennis serve or trying yoga. Service: • Last spring, Anna Z. and Nikki L. helped Forest Ridge host a blood drive. From coordinating details with Puget Sound
Blood Center to scheduling donors, Anna and Nikki planned and carried out the whole event. Additionally, they created a manual so that future students can more easily coordinate blood drives. The drive raised awareness among students of the importance of donating blood. • I n response to the need they saw in Bethlehem, a few students who went on the Peace and Reconciliation trip last year collected schools supplies for our sister students at St. Joseph School for Girls. Our students created tags for the Giving Tree in December, and we able to deliver the pen, pencils, markers and crayons during the trip in February. • M ichelle K. volunteered at Seattle Children’s Research Institute last summer in a lab that tested immunotherapies used to treat cancer. • O ver the past year, Cailyn G. became an important part of Teen Link, a toll-free, confidential help line that helps young people make healthy decisions. She underwent hours of training and preparation before she was able to take her first call. She is looking forward to continuing this volunteer position when she is in college.
At the end of May, we will have a lunch-time celebration to honor the girls for all of the work they have done over the past two years in CAS. I look forward to this opportunity for the students to share their projects with one another and raise awareness about causes that have become important to them.
The Ridge Report 5
Stereotype Threat
and Female Leadership
I am reading Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do by Claude M. Steele. http://www.amazon.com/Whistling-Vivaldi-Stereotypes-Affect-Issues/dp/0393339726
Kisha X. Palmer Director of Women As Global Leaders
In the book, Steele explores the impacts of stereotype threats (the tendency to expect, perceive or be influenced by negative stereotypes about one’s social category, such as age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, profession, nationality, political affiliation, mental health status, and so on) on people and their performance in school and in the workplace. Initially, I was drawn to this book for its exploration of the psychological impacts of stereotypes of race. Then I found myself considering what gender stereotypes are in effect for the girls and young women of Forest Ridge and how these stereotypes may impact their abilities to lead effectively to the fullness of their strengths and gifts. Essentially, what is it that our community cannot see or believe about women simply because we have internalized cultural stereotypes about girls and women? It’s a challenge to engage in this discussion because it flies in the face of how we endeavor to educate the young women of Forest Ridge. And it challenges us to consider the invisible barriers we may unconsciously impose on each other. In theory this is part of the reason why families send their daughters to an all-girls school — to provide them the opportunity to learn without the competition and sometimes inhibiting participation of boys and young men. But how do we as adults in the community perpetuate the stereotypes of “girls” and “young women” in ways that may limit their full engagement? For example, according to Steele, certain negative stereotypes about African-American students negatively impact their performance in certain institutions of learning and higher learning. The reasons are complex, but they hinge on the threat to personal identity and the effort it takes one to perform in spite of and above and beyond a stereotype. Gender stereotypes are insidious and pervasive in our language. It is commonplace for female beauty to be publicly praised, for female aspect to be acknowledged. What happens when a young woman lives outside of this paradigm? What happens when a young woman is always inside of it? What limitations exist on both sides? I remain fascinated by the impacts of internalized sexism through participation in cultural norms we take for granted. How is it possible to truly liberate the potential of female talent without hobbling some part of a young woman through stereotype threat? This summer’s learning opportunity with Chanel Summers, audio designer for film, commercials, television and video games, will challenge all of us to think about the ways we limit ourselves and encourage us to design a world through sound first. What an amazing opportunity! Chanel was a featured speaker at our TEDx event on March 8, and she has agreed to teach a class for our high school students this summer that loosely follows the syllabus of the class she teaches at USC. The invigorating and inspiring aspects of Chanel are not only what she is able to share in terms of knowledge but exist also in the way she constantly urges the world to pay attention to the female designer. It is exciting to think that here at Forest Ridge we will be pushed again against the walls of what is possible and allow new thoughts and creations to take place on campus. Stay tuned for class details and registration information via PostIT. I am excited about the learning that will take place this summer through the Resources and Sustainability trip to the Arctic Circle from June 13–20, the Audio Design class with Chanel from June 24–July 16 as well as the carefully selected professional development opportunities and community engagement events we have scheduled for next academic year 2013–14. I hope you, too, are looking forward to the spiritual, emotional and intellectual growth that will happen this summer.
6 The Ridge Report
Gratitude
as Gift and Discipline Regina Mooney, Ph.D. Director of Institutional Advancement
I look forward to receiving the New York Times each
we feel capable of doing. Yet we can all name times when
morning, particularly on Tuesdays. I know; you would think
gratitude poured over us like a spring shower in sunshine,
I’d look forward most to the Sunday paper with its many
completely upending present expectations and concerns.
in-depth feature articles in every section. It’s Tuesday’s
And it was the game changer of the day.
edition, though, that has the regular weekly section called “Science Times.” A few weeks ago an article in that section
Gratitude is what I am experiencing as I complete my first
summarized research conducted on people’s approach to
year at Forest Ridge. I am grateful for all the help I have
being thankful. The conclusion was that those who have a
received from staff, faculty, students, parents and alumnae,
regular disposition toward gratitude seem to be healthier and
who have been so generous with their time, wisdom and
live longer. Of course, there was caveat after caveat indicating
friendship. I am grateful to be working in an environment
that more research was needed. But, at least in a preliminary
in which girls come first and spiritual values guide our
way, the author of the research confidently asserted that, for
interactions with each other.
those who practiced gratitude, the data clearly pointed in the direction of health and longevity.
Moving to Bellevue from Amherst, Massachusetts, was, indeed, a big move. Joining the Sacred Heart Network
And why not? Isn’t it the case that if you are truly grateful,
represented the biggest change I have made in my career,
your experience is one of happiness and ease? Isn’t it far
far bigger than merely stepping into a new position. Learning
preferable to the daily worry of to-do lists, bills and
to fully understand the Sacred Heart culture and getting to
appointments? To be sure, these things are important.
know new friends and colleagues has been both exhausting
That’s precisely why we worry. All the more reason to
and energizing. So at the end of my first year, the discipline
experience gratitude with regularity.
of keeping myself grateful has relaxed into the gift of gratitude, which seems to stay with me now as I appreciate
Sometimes being grateful is a discipline we inject into our
how dedicated everyone is to the success and growth of
routines. To ensure against negativity, we give our brains
Forest Ridge.
an attitude adjustment by telling ourselves to be grateful, to say thank you to a colleague, take time to appreciate a spouse
As our institutional and financial challenges evolve for our
or offer thanks to God, for the simple opportunity to get
next academic year and as we welcome new students, families
through a day. Some days this discipline is an easy exercise
and colleagues, gratitude is a habit of the heart some days and
as we get up in the morning, take a moment in the day or
at other times a gift, seemingly out of nowhere, on a day we
murmur to ourselves before sleep. Other times, when the
most need it. Either way, I’m looking forward to more health
pressures, trials and exigencies of our worlds loom over us as
and happiness with you all.
a dark, constricting specter, feeling gratitude is the last thing
The Ridge Report 7
Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage
PAID
Seattle, WA Permit No. 259
4800 139th Avenue SE Bellevue, WA 98006-3015
Please Welcome Our 2013–14 Parent Association Executive Board Ann Rillera and Luann Desautel Parent Association Co-Presidents It is our pleasure to announce the Parent Association Executive Board for the 2013–2014 school year! Three women will continue to serve for another year, ensuring a smooth transition. Ann Rillera, our current co-president, will serve as vice president next year, and Elaine Sakamoto and Laura Noble will continue in their positions as middle school coordinator and secretary. Co-Presidents .........................Roopa Satagopan and Molly McConkey Vice President ..........................................................................Ann Rillera Secretary ..................................................................................Laura Noble High School Coordinator . .....................................................Salima Jiwa Middle School Coordinator ......................................... Elaine Sakamoto Communications Coordinator ..........................................................TBD Technology Coordinator ........................................................ Tracy Ficca Volunteer Coordinator .............................................Melissa Mathewson Social Clubs Coordinator ........................................................ Julie Davis We would also like to thank members of the current PA Executive Board for their time and commitment this school year. It has been a pleasure working side by side with each of you. We appreciate the effort that you have all put forth in your roles to make this a successful school year!
Two final events remain for this year. The first is the Volunteer Appreciation Tea, which YOU are invited to attend on Thursday, May 23, from 1:30-3:00 p.m. in the Ackerley Conference Rooms. 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 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 Forest Ridge parent volunteers. Lastly, the Parent Association hosts the Faculty Staff Appreciation Luncheon for the Forest Ridge faculty and staff. This is an adults-only event when the teachers and administrators get to let their hair down and celebrate the beginning of summer. Molly McConkey and Roopa Satagopan are chairing this event. They will need lots of help to make this a special luncheon for the amazing teachers and staff members who help our girls. Please watch for details in Post IT and assist us by bringing a beverage or dessert or by helping at the luncheon. Thank you for your continued support! It has been a great year for us as co-presidents. Have a wonderful summer!