School Ties - Fall 2017

SCHOOL TIES SAN DOMENICO

The Innovation Era Issue Fall 2017

FALL 2017

FEATURES 38

Teaching in the Innovation Era

40

When the Only Way Out Is Through: A Seventh

Grade Journey to Better Understanding Islam

44

Re-enchantment of the World: Why Meaning

Matters 50

52

56

A Parent Perspective:

To Create Lasting Pillars Critical Media Literacy:

Equipping Students to Respond to Stereotypes Nature as Teacher:

Learning through the Lens of Sustainability

59 Growing Citizen Scientists

and Ecoliterate Problem Solvers

Editorial Staff: Kimberly Pinkson, Courtney Phillips, Lisa Hilgers, Sonya Evans, Wynn Richards, and Kirstie A. Martinelli

DEPARTMENTS 06 08 12 14

Admissions Faculty Profiles SD Fund Update On Campus SD in Quotes

We Asked Events

Art Wall Graduation

28 Outings 30 Service 32 Athletics 60 Alum Profile 62 Alum Gatherings 64 Class Notes 69 Remembrances 71 From the Archives

HEAD OF SCHOOL Dear Community Members, For this issue we chose to focus on Education in the Innovation Era. There are not a lot of schools that were founded in 1850 that are still around today, 167 years later, and there is no question that our founder’s great vision and willingness to adapt to meet the needs of the times has continued a tradition of innovation.

As is evidenced by this year’s college acceptances, our innovative program continues to thrive. I am proud of our seniors, who not only reflected our core values of study, reflection, community, and service during their application process, but also found tremendous success in their journey.

During the 2016-17 college admissions process, our students took time to reflect deeply on the qualities and opportunities they wanted in their next community, as well as the goals to which they aspire. They considered how they had thrived in SD’s diverse and international community and often sought to continue at colleges and universities that reflect our values of diversity and inclusion. This kind of dedicated and focused effort is not new to our seniors who have excelled at San Domenico. From stage performances and athletic accomplishments, to social justice service projects, and many hours spent fully-engaged in their classes over the past four years, their efforts were rewarded with acceptances at some of the country’s most selective colleges and universities.

This year our 45 seniors had 231 acceptances at 118 different colleges and universities from across the nation and around the globe. This fall our graduates are attending a wide array of colleges, from large universities such as U.C. Berkeley, Stanford, Cornell, and Georgetown; to small liberal arts colleges such as Pitzer, Scripps, and Colby College; to conservatory programs, such as the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. They will be studying everything from Engineering to Hotel Management to Musical Theater. We also saw acceptances from internationally-ranked institutions including University of British Columbia, McGill University in Toronto, and the number-one ranked Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne.

We are happy to report:

• 30% of the class was accepted to a top-25 ranked University or Liberal Arts College*

• 80% of our students were accepted to a top-50 nationally ranked University or Liberal Arts College*

• More than $8 million in scholarships was awarded to the class • Over 80% will be attending one of their top choice colleges

* Rankings from US News and World Report 2016

I am so very proud of the incredible accomplishments our graduating students have achieved during their years at San Domenico. And of course, no innovation in education would be possible without our teachers and staff. I hope you will join me in thanking them and welcoming those new to our SD community this year. We look forward to another great year!

Cecily Stock ’77, M.A., J.D. Head of School

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VERITIES A Passion for Possibility Following opening gatherings of faculty, parents, and students, the 2017-18 academic year is underway. It’s always a time of transitions, change, and great hopes for the year ahead. I love listening to faculty describe their meaningful programs for the new year; I smile to see students hugging one another with great joy at reuniting, and I’m inspired by parents’ belief in and hope for the opportunities and possibilities their sons and daughters will experience in the year ahead. Our hearts are all truly filled with a passion for possibilities that lie ahead for each of us.

The purpose of a San Domenico education is to invite students to open their minds and hearts to what is truly right and good, and to respond in truth, Veritas, the motto of the Dominican Order. Our Dominican education leads students to find their purpose, through inquiry, through engagement with their teachers, families, and peers. It is a constant call for pursuit, a constant search for truth in all things.

Individuals who seek truth embody a passion for possibility. At San Domenico that search for truth inspires us to push our boundaries and the possibilities for deeper understandings – in our own lives, our work, our future. As we embrace that search for truth and for possibility through study and reflection, we bring strength to our community, ready to respond to one another in dialogue, through challenge and support, through discourse with each other for the common good. We bring an inner knowing, excitement for what can be, and confidence to embrace each new day.

Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish philosopher, theologian, poet, and social critic believed in “The passion of possibility – a yearning to see possibility that can encourage and move us forward with a passion for the possible.” Further, he wrote, “We must bring eyes that are eternally young and eyes that are yearning for possibility.”

Saint Dominic, the founder of the Dominican Order, who lived 800 years ago, responded to issues in France in the 1200s, going out into the community to meet the people, as Jesus did, as Buddha and other religious leaders did – addressing the issues and challenges of their time to speak the truth as they saw it. What Dominic saw was a path very different from his training as a canon in the church. With courage and passion for what he saw as a possible new way, he went forth, through difficulty and opposition as well as success. Women and men began to follow, and the small band grew into the global Order that it is today – from its origins in France all the way to California in 1850 – and now we trust our children will embrace the possibilities and opportunities that arise before them to address, with Veritas, the challenges of this time.

Sister M. Gervaise Valpey, O.P. President Emerita

FALL 2017 5

ADMISSIONS Enrollment Update

BY JENNIE NASH, DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT

Reflecting back on the 2016-17 admissions season, with yet-again increased applications and interest in our School, it is clear that the word is out about the magic happening here at SD. As Nastassia Fulconis ’17, who is attending Georgetown this fall, shared at a Board of Trustees meeting in June, “San Domenico is vibrant in a new way now; we just need to make sure we continue to enroll students who make our School what it is, students who care about each other and the future of our world.” We agree with

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Nastassia and we are thrilled to share that the incoming students and families will indeed enhance our vibrant community.

Incoming scholars, artists, athletes, and every combination thereof make up our stellar group of newly-enrolled San Domenico students. They are a talented, diverse, and international group of young people. In keeping with our commitment to diversity and inclusivity, our new students come from a range of backgrounds. All share a deep commitment to, and love of, education and learning. New parents and students alike have expressed gratitude for the opportunity to join our SD family, with our core values of study, reflection, community, and service at the foundation of who we are.

We achieved many milestones this admissions season.

Some highlights include:

•

• We had record attendance at our Open House at all levels

• 18 San Domenico students from our 2017 eighth

Applications to the Upper School increased by 50% over the previous year

grade class have selected SD as their high school of choice

• • Of the freshman boys enrolled, 15 are boarding

We opened this academic year with 74 freshmen

students

•

Students in the freshman class come from 44 different middle schools

• Applications in Lower and Middle School increased to

unprecedented numbers this year, with waitlists at many grades

• Lower School applications were up 15% • Applications for sixth grade were up 20% • Our Kindergarten class comes to us from 15 different

feeder pre-schools

Most importantly, the exceptional caliber of student applicants and families at all grade levels was impressive.

Competition was stiff this season and the students we accepted will brighten our days and enrich our community as they take their well-deserved place here at San Domenico.

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FACULTY PROFILES Kali Baird What are your goals in your new position as Associate Director of Teaching and Learning?

In this new position, I am focusing primarily on two areas of our School, the Library and the 3D Lab. One of my goals is to really understand each program and what they do for San Domenico. Then the next goal would be to continue to collaborate and create a vision and plan for each program, answering the question, ‘What will our program look like over the next three to five years?’

also learn how to proactively provide feedback. We have teachers who comfortably flip their classes to allow students to learn the materials at their own pace. Other teachers utilize a fully-interactive presentation tool, in which the teacher or student can set the pace, students use virtual tours to explore far away locations, watch

How do these goals relate to the School’s goals?

As a school, we are always looking at all of our programs to see where we can improve and innovate. We have an amazing, dynamic, all-school curriculum and exploring every little part of it keeps it alive, progressive, and exciting for our students!

In this vein, taking a deeper look at the Library and 3D Lab allows us to really be able to connect each to our K-12 curricula.

Since you are now the Director of Education Technology and Associate Director of Teaching and Learning, where do you see SD shine in the purposeful integration of technology in innovative teaching?

Our students create digital books, movies, questionnaires, surveys, poetry, essays, and more, while reflecting on their learning process. They post digital artifacts for others to see and

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What is the tie between your two positions? How does your skill set aid your ability to integrate these two roles?

Last year we rolled out two new systems, PowerSchool, our gradebook and report card system, and Canvas, our learning management system.

Much of the training that I did with the teachers for these systems aligned with the curriculum articulation work that everyone was doing. For example, the material that teachers input into the Unit Overviews was also reflected on their Canvas page. While setting up gradebooks, we were able to continue the discussion about what is graded at each grade level and subject which ties into our ongoing examination of how we assess our students.

targeted info clips, ask and answer questions, and show understanding on their iPad. At our Middle School and Upper School, teachers and students use a digital learning management system, which increases ease of communication, work delivery and submission, and can even be a platform for deep philosophical discussions.

How will the work you do, and the changes you implement, impact the students? Having been a classroom

In digital citizenship, which spans all grades, our students learn about keeping safe online, how the internet works, how to be an upstander in cases of cyber-bullying (or mean comments in general), how to understand and spot gender stereotypes online, how to avoid digital drama and copyright, and more.

At SD, we talk about carrying on the traditions of ‘inquiry, respectful discourse, a striving toward peace and social justice, and an inspired sense of purpose and service’. These aspects support our foundation as a school and are reflected throughout our curriculum. Both of my roles support processes that feed into each of these traditions. Students are very

teacher for over 20 years, I have a keen understanding and insight into the student experience. Now as an administrator, everything I do is anchored by the concept of improving the student experience at its heart.

All School

comfortable using technology and get excited to work on digital projects in which they can personalize their learning and expression of knowledge

gained. In particular, when they create an ebook or even a movie to reflect on their learning process, they have an

opportunity to discover more about themselves as a person and what they have to offer, their sense of purpose.

New San Domenico Faculty For this ‘Education in the Innovation Era’ issue of School Ties, I am reminded of the Chinese proverb, “Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time.” In a recent talk by our new Innovation Chair, Upper School Philosophy and Global Studies teacher Aran Levasseur spoke of the new paradigm in teaching, wherein students teach themselves as much as teachers guide them. After all, in this age where anyone can pull up any data fact within a matter of seconds on their mobile device (see Mike Berry’s feature on p. 38), it is more critical that a person knows how to use information to innovate, than to simply memorize and reiterate. The current educational paradigm was created in large part to prepare a workforce for the assembly line. Today, our children must graduate prepared to innovate rather than follow; they must be prepared for an unknown future. Meet just a few of our new faculty members who will lead the way in providing innovative education to our students. - Cecily Stock

Welcome to all of our new faculty and staff including (L-R): Shari Byrnes (Lower School Administrative Assistant), Christina Klein (Middle School Counselor), Adam Casias (Middle School Math faculty), Ann Marie Errickson (Lower School faculty), Kristin Runco (Lower School faculty), Melissa Martin (Co-Director of College Counseling), Cuong Ta (Upper School Math faculty), Ken High (Upper School Humanities faculty), Claire Neuner (Middle School Learning Specialist), Kirstie A. Martinelli (Marketing and Communications), Katie Ulvestad (Admissions), Iphy St. Juste (Upper School Administrative Assistant), Dorie Akka (Admissions), Kristian Noden (Lower School faculty), Dan Beam (Lower School faculty).

FALL 2017 9

FACULTY PROFILES New San Domenico Faculty Butch Malec Our regional and international 9-12 boarding program is a unique aspect of the San Domenico educational experience, and we are thrilled to welcome Francis “Butch” Malec, Ed. M. as our new Dean of Resident Life.

Butch comes to us most recently from Stevenson School in Pebble Beach where, as he shares, “I have seen firsthand through my more than 13 years of teaching experience that students thrive when they are members of a community that values diversity and integrity alongside academic excellence.”

Butch’s depth of teaching ranges from college upperclassmen to middle school students, in both day and boarding schools. For the past five years, he has been at Stevenson School where he taught Latin and history, led a dorm team in their residential program, headed the Faculty Symposium, and coached junior varsity football.

Butch recently received a Master of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, with a degree from the Klingenstein Center’s program in independent school leadership. His research there was centered on the sleep habits of boarding school

students, which his team presented at The Association of Boarding Schools 2016 conference.“I understand the importance of admitting and retaining students that make strong cohorts while staying focused on the School’s mission,” says Butch. “I am committed to the culture of a school that includes a boarding program, as it is always a

Cuong Ta Cuong Ta joins us as an Upper School Math teacher, with more than 20 years of teaching and school administrative experience, most recently at Bentley School in Lafayette, where he was the Mathematics Department Chair and a Computer Science and Ceramics teacher.

In addition to having taught the full range of upper school math courses,

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joy connecting to students of every age and connecting them with each other. At SD, we are looking forward to being part of a community that values inclusiveness, sustainability, intellectual inquiry, and global citizenship. We are confident that it will be an ideal place to work and for our family to live.” In addition to teaching, Butch has spent many summers excavating at archaeological sites, including two sites in the Republic of Macedonia, mostly at Bylazora, a major city of the Paeonian people, and two years outside of Rome, near the town of Vacone in Italy.

Butch has an M.A. in Classics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Prior to his tenure at Stevenson School he taught at Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, CA and Concord Academy in Concord, MA. Butch, his wife, Peigi, and their daughter, Minerva, live on campus.

Cuong has also served as department chair over the past 12 years, facilitating the growth of the curricular program as well as supporting teachers. He is passionate about examining pedagogy in mathematics education and has continually worked to embolden students to engage in achieving mastery and to help them internalize a growth

mindset. More recently, Cuong has integrated his artistic life with his school life by teaching ceramics through the Advanced Placement level.

Outside of school, Cuong has developed a successful career as a ceramic artist, having shown at Bay Area galleries and merchandising his work

Christina Klein Christina Klein is a San Anselmo native and grew up just down the road from San Domenico. As a K-12 alumna of SD, Christina is excited to be returning to the school that played such an pivotal role in her personal and professional development. Since her days as a student, when her interest in the field of counseling first began, Christina has developed her skills as a therapist and school counselor, and will be serving as the Middle School Counselor for grades 6-8.

in museum shops such as the de Young Museum, the Oakland Museum, and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. His installation work can also be seen prominently in the entry of Emeryville City Hall. He has participated in recent conferences including the 2017 California STEM Conference, 2017 Stanford

Design School, 2016 National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts, and the 2015 AP Conference on Computer Science. Cuong holds a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric from U.C. Berkeley.

Christina graduated with a B.S. in Human Development from U.C. Davis, and earned her M.S. in Counseling, with an Emphasis in M.F.C.C. and School Counseling, from San Francisco State University. She is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and specializes in many areas including

child and adolescent development, health and human sexuality, and conflict resolution.

In her free time, she enjoys trail running with her husband, spending time with her two adorable nieces and admiring the family of spotted owls that live in the trees above her house.

Kristian Noden Kristian Noden joins our Lower School team as a third grade teacher.

Kristian hails from Bentleigh East, Australia, where he taught most recently at Coatesville Primary School.

Kristian completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Recreation Management at Victoria University and went on to complete Master of Teaching and Master of Education degrees at the University of Melbourne. As an educator, he strives to nurture and enhance the development of critical thinking, growth mindset, and international mindedness in students.

He has previously taught sixth grade

Kristian encourages students to openly discuss and share literature.

and has spent the last three years teaching third grade.

Always aiming to promote a love of books and a passion for reading,

He believes in inspiring and nurturing the development of students as global citizens who are empathetic, mindful, and resilient. He is a collaborative practitioner who aims to establish a caring and open-minded learning environment. As a “dedicated life-long learner who is always seeking professional development to enhance my teaching, I am so happy to be at SD, working in a collaborative, supportive, and caring team environment,� states Kristian.

FALL 2017 11

SD FUND UPDATE Your generosity helped us surpass the 2016-17 San Domenico Fund goal of $800,000 for a final total of $802,274. With gifts from 880 donors ranging in size from $5 to $25,000, San Domenico remains positioned to provide a transformative educational experience.

Thank you for your generous support!

DOES YOUR EMPLOYER MATCH GIFTS?

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Americans leave up to $10 billion in charitable matching gifts on the table every year.

More companies are taking part in matching gift programs than ever before – you may be able to double or triple your gift to San Domenico by filling out a simple form and emailing your HR department. To find out if your employer matches gifts, visit sandomenico.org/matchmygift or call San Domenico’s Annual Fund Manager, Haley O’Malley, at 415-258-1990 ext. 1143.

2016-17 San Domenico Fund

At a Glance

880

Donors

319

Parent Gifts

$802,274 Total Raised

23

Corporate Matching Gifts

289

Alumni Gifts

100%

Trustee Participation

ve the D a S

#SD2 Annua Givi l ngD ay ce m b er 6 nd

De

For the 2017-18 academic year, our San Domenico Fund goal is $850,000. This increased goal reflects our appropriately raised sights: with enrollment at 671 students (the highest in SD history!) and increasing alumni engagement, we hope that every family will give what they can towards strengthening San Domenico. When our community members make San Domenico a top philanthropic priority, SD continues providing education rooted in purpose and cultivating the next generation of leaders.

Faculty/Staff Participation

ate

THE 2017-18 SAN DOMENICO FUND

100%

Every year, volunteer fundraisers contribute immeasurably to a successful annual fund drive. This year, several of our Class Captains are parents who are new to the SD community. We so appreciate their willingness to jump right in.

Our volunteers are always enthusiastic advocates, and this year the Advancement team is especially excited about the opportunity to get to know you better! When Class Captains and SD Fund volunteers – a team of alums, parents, Trustees, grandparents, and former Trustees – reach out, friendships are formed and our community ties strengthen.

When you respond generously with a San Domenico Fund gift, SD remains at the forefront of excellent education.

We look forward to working alongside you to create another year of opportunity at San Domenico. Please join us with your gift to the San Domenico Fund today!

Visit us at sandomenico.org/giving to donate. Thank you!

FALL 2017 13

ON CAMPUS “ I’ve gotten to know so many cool

people this year! It has enriched my life tremendously. Can you include a wink/smile icon with that? ”

– JOSH ESPULGAR-ROWE ’20

“Reflecting on the past year, I’d have to say

my favorite event was the Middle School Renaissance Faire, and especially, teaching Archery to so many kids who had never tried it before.” – SCOTT FLETCHER, DIRECTOR OF LIBRARIES

“ That was the cutest thing ever! I can’t believe the little kids made us cards for graduation.”

– MISSY CARLSON ’17

“This year was hard but it was good.

I made it!”

– KAL O’REILLY ’19

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SD in Quotes “ I went to Seattle “ The best part about this year? Friendships. ” – CURRAN THOMPSON ’19

“Spartan and Athenian spirit rallies are my favorite days here! ” – ELIJAH VAUGHAN-LEE ’23

this summer for an internship to build apps. ”

– NICOLE CASARTELLI ’18

“We’re seniors. Yea, we’re seniors!!!! ” – SOPHIE SALVADORI-ROAM ’18

“ “I like my

friends here.”

– KIAN MAINLAND ’29

FALL 2017 15

ON CAMPUS

Dedicated.

L What do you Enthusiastic. think is the Compassionate.

Kind. Inv key to education in this time in history, which is Humble.

Open-minded.

P commonly referred to as Emp Enthusiastic.

Listens.

THE INNOVATION ERA? Kind. Involved. Confident Passionate. Involved. Ded Listens. Empathetic.Comp “ Confident. Humble.

Ope Kind. Involved. Enthusias ” Compassionate. Kind.

Inv The key to education, especially at this point in history, is to be patient and inclusive regardless of who the person is. This is especially important because education is freedom and everyone has the right to be free.

Open-minded. Passionate.

- SIENA GREENBERG ’19

Listens. Empathetic.Comp 16 SCHOOL TIES

We Asked

Listens. Empathetic. Kind volved. Confident.

Listen “ Passionate. Kind. Involve pathetic. Compassionate ” t. Humble. Open-minded dicated. Enthusiastic. Kin mpassionate. Kind. Involve “ ” en-minded. Passionate. stic. Listens. Empathet Humb volved. Confident. “ ” . Dedicated. Enthusiastic mpassionate. Kind. Involve To profit from technology in education, it must be used as a support for learning. Simply put, carrying out the work with shortcuts can close our minds, but using it in the proper/appropriate way is beneficial in accordance with the change in the times. With every new invention and discovery, we advance.

- ALEJANDRA CHANGEUX ’18

Adaptability.

- DIANE CAMPBELL, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS AND ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT

Collaboration and empathy.

- CARRIE ROBLEY, DIRECTOR OF THE MIDDLE SCHOOL

FALL 2017 17

ON CAMPUS Day on the Green

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Events

FALL 2017 19

ON CAMPUS Throughout the year our students use the community chalkboard to display and discuss art, the world, and themselves.

In the fall, faculty shared their intentions as educators.

A winter art project reminded our community of the light in the darkness.

In the new year, students, faculty, and staff shared their pledges for 2017.

In the spring, our ninth grade explored a deeply personal theme: How do our imperfections reveal our true inner beauty?

The students wrote personal reflections and created a beautiful piece of art.

To end the year, our eighth and twelfth grade students created a final commemoration of their time at San Domenico. The proud graduates wrote loving memories and inspirational goals for the future.

-Mirza Khan, Director of Philosophy, Ethics, and World Religions

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Art Wall

FALL 2017 21

ON CAMPUS The Class of 2017 commencement exercises were held on Saturday, June 10 at 12:00 pm on Kesterson Field. It was a beautiful day honoring a stellar group of young people. Below are the commencement addresses by Head of School Cecily Stock ’77, Board of Trustees Chair Amy Skewes-Cox ’71, Senior Class President Nastassia Fulconis, who will matriculate to Georgetown University, and Student Body President Madison Dempster, who will attend St. Lawrence University.

Head of School Address Good afternoon and welcome to our Board of Trustees, Dominican Sisters, Parents, Faculty, Friends, and soon-to-be graduates. Thank you all for joining us today to celebrate this incredible group of young women! I would also like to congratulate all of our teachers, families, and friends, for helping these fine students reach this milestone – students, let’s give the people who have supported you a round of applause!

It is a truly great day and we are blessed to share it with you. The end of high school, but the beginning of everything else. It might be a cliché, but it truly is the “first day of the rest of your lives.”

Reflecting on this past year, and what many of you have shared about how global events have impacted you, I am reminded of the quote by the German philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Albert Schweitzer who said, “You can rarely control what happens to you but you can always control how you respond.”

So as you step out into the “adult world” you have to decide what deserves your attention and what you are willing to do about it.

50 years ago high school graduates faced similar decisions, perhaps with less information – after all, there was no Internet – but with a sense that the world they were about to inherit was complicated. Many felt that their leaders failed to explore more creative or diplomatic options when reacting to the problems of the day, such as combating the spread of communism by waging a vicious war in Southeast Asia.

While not all of these young people understood complex geo-politics, they did know that many of their friends, brothers, and husbands were heading into war, never to be seen again, or coming back broken, often literally. The contentious environment led to protests and even riots

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on campuses as close to us as U.C. Berkeley. It also led to a movement that sought to cut through the political complexity with the simple message from bands like the Beatles, that “All You Need is Love.”

It became a movement that started 50 years ago in 1967, in what later would be called the “Summer of Love.” And while the 60s are famous for a lot of things, the message of unity, community, love, and of fighting brute force with what Dr. King called “Soul Force” still resonates around the world.

So what does that mean for each of you, as you leave the beauty of this secluded and glorious spot, and step into a world that is no less complex or contentious today than it was back in 1967? Which side should you take? Join the “establishment” or drop out? Build walls or bridges? Or is there another path? Your path?

Perhaps you will harness the natural intelligence San Domenico has helped you fortify with knowledge and the creativity honed by discipline, coaching, and practice to imagine solutions to the seemingly intractable problems of poverty, unequal opportunity, war, climate change, and . . . the list goes on.

Perhaps the extremes we “incumbent adults” like to throw at you are really false dilemmas: We can’t have clean air and cheap power, or a fast car that doesn’t pollute, or disposable forks that you can recycle. We can’t. Until we can.

Perhaps your generation will see a different path, one that doesn’t end up with the least common denominator, but the best solution for all sides. Solutions based on collaboration not contention.

Based on what I have seen firsthand and heard from your teachers, coaches, advisors, and directors, I believe that you

Graduation

can. I’ve seen how you have grown over the past four years, nurturing your natural talents with focus and dedication while pushing yourself to explore things that may not come as easily. Let me share a bit of what I learned about you along the way: that a ROSE Project can be really difficult and heartbreaking, but that true learning and true giving comes from embracing the most difficult tasks in life; how a sensitive and caring heart can bring life into a remarkable performance; that with enough practice and dedication, you can learn to express yourself eloquently in a second language; that confidence, risk-taking, and full commitment can lead to an award-winning performance; that if you have a voice to sing, you should share it with the world; that poetry doesn’t have to follow the rules to be worth speaking out loud;

that you can apply just as much energy and enthusiasm to teaching a 5-year-old how to swim as you can to your own academic pursuits; that true dedication to an art form can bring transcendence; that ballerinas can become mountain bikers; and, that sometimes those with quiet voices have the most to say.

So you now get to decide, what is it that you most want to do? And how do you want to respond to the challenges of our time?

Whether your life puts you in a position to work on global issues, or problems closer to home, if you keep the core values you have learned here: study, reflection, community, and service, in your front pocket, I have every confidence that you each can BE that change that you wish to see!

Thank you and congratulations on your considerable achievements!

- Cecily Stock ’77, Head of School

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ON CAMPUS Board of Trustees Chair Address Thank you Cecily, Sister Gervaise, and our Upper School administration and faculty who worked together to host graduation and to prepare our graduates for their next chapter.

Let’s start by having the Class of ’17 give yourself a hand . . .

Wow! You’re graduating!

You may not know this, but I sat where you are in 1971 – pretty cool that I was class of 7-1 and you are class of 1-7.

And I don’t remember one word of what was said that day, and you very likely also won’t remember a lot of what you hear today (except for the people who follow me!).

But what you will remember are those sitting next to you.

You may not understand the value of these relationships until much later in your life. You are soon to take a lot of new journeys and you will make many new friends along the way. But the friends who sit beside you today are some of the most important you’ll have in your life.

In these past few years, you’ve been separating more and more from your parents – not in the sense of less love – but as you’ve become your own person. You’ve been forming an identity for yourself, setting specific goals, discovering the person you really are and want to be.

I know now how valuable those high school ties can be. I still have four very close girlfriends from San Domenico whom I see about every four to five months. We bike together; we hike together; we drink wine together. We don’t necessarily share the same political beliefs, but we share a lot of laughter and a lot of life experiences that go way way back.

And I’ve also learned that those friends can change over the years – often for the better as we each get a bit more comfortable in our own skin. In my days in the late 60s, I was very involved in protesting the Vietnam War. I used to get into political arguments with the other girls in my carpool on the way to SD and one morning before class, while standing near the lockers, one of my carpool-mates called me a communist. A bit in shock, I shrugged it off. But, you know what?

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. . . that same person lives down the street from me now and she’s a huge Bernie Sanders fan. We share our political lives back and forth on Facebook all the time and we’ve had some great laughs. Who would have known back then?

So you’ll find yourselves in your 30s and older and look back at these friendships with not only your peers, but with your teachers as one of the strongest times of bonding. You may not see each other for many years – but you will get together far down the road and feel as if no time has passed.

And you’ve been jumping through a lot of hoops for many years now – partly set by you but often set by others. As you move forward now, you will be setting those hoops for yourselves.

I’d like to end with a quote from Bob Dylan’s lyrics for his song “Forever Young.” It goes…

May you grow up to be righteous May you grow up to be true May you always know the truth And see the lights surrounding you May you always be courageous Stand upright and be strong And may you stay forever young.

Thank you and I wish you the best of luck on the road ahead.

- Amy Skewes-Cox ’71, Board of Trustees Chair

Graduation Senior Class President Address My first day at San Domenico Upper School was not an easy one. I missed the bus, did not realize that summer homework existed, and had no school supplies. I had just landed from Europe and jet lag was setting in. I arrived in the high school building to find that my locker was assigned to a girl named “Natasha.” Needless to say, I felt unprepared and unwelcome. I remember being terrified of not making friends, hating all my teachers and classes, or simply not fitting in. I am up here today because apart from that first day, I have loved every minute at San Domenico, and have collected many memories along the way. Here are a few of my favorites: Each year, San Domenico offers a week-long alternative education trip. Sophomore year, we went to Catalina Island and found ourselves face-to-face, or rather face-to-horns, with a bison, who was taking a stroll around our campgrounds. Although we all wanted to scream, the entire camp fell dead silent, as the fear of a charging bison overrode our ability to produce sound.

In chemistry class Junior year, we baked chocolate chip cookies to learn about limiting reactants. Most of us did not get the connection between the two, but no one complained either.

The support San Domenico has given all of us has been truly uplifting: from Laura’s constant supply of candy to Dr. Brown’s life lessons, we thought it was only right to repay the school for all it has provided us. So just last week, in the spirit of our all-girls class, we hung up bras at the entrance of the school with a sign that read “Thank you for your support!” This couldn’t be a more appropriate way to end our four years of all-girls education, in true San Domenico style. All jokes aside, if you have any doubts that we, the class of 2017, are unprepared for our next step, let me tell you: we are going to change the world.

formed Othello in front of a national audience. We have been accepted to music conservatories and been published in Rookie magazine and the San Francisco Chronicle. We have raced in the NorCal league, we have volunteered in the Special Olympics and we have danced and sung in the Mountain Play. We have presided over the Marin chapter of Youth and Government, won national awards in horseback riding, completed and surpassed multivariable calculus, and founded the Latino League. We speak seven languages, and our nationalities span five continents. We have dreams and aspirations we used to think of as unachievable.

I can assure you, my last day is infinitely harder than my first. Today I am once again terrified, but this time it is because I am entering into a whole new world of firsts, and I am leaving behind what has become my second home.

I have not only found a place on this beautiful campus, but also among the 45 talented young women from around the globe whom I have had the pleasure of calling my friends.

It is in this community that we have all grown, in our hearts, in our height, in our bra sizes, and in maturity. Soon, our diplomas will be in our hands, and the familiar San Domenico campus will be missing 45 brilliant women, off to greater adventures with the confidence and strength of a true Panther.

To all the families and friends present today, thank you – you have given us the world, and you should be extremely proud of what we are and will do with this gift . . . To the faculty and staff, we are truly blessed to have received your wisdom, you have inspired us more than you know.

Class of 2017, it has been my privilege to be by your side these past four years.

Thank you.

-Nastassia Fulconis ’17, Senior Class President

Together we have created two non-profit organizations, we have played the monster in Young Frankenstein, we have won the Heart of Marin award, and we have per-

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ON CAMPUS Student Body President Address Hello Dear Families and Friends, As you just heard, my name is Madison Dempster and these fine classmates honored me this year by asking me to be their Student Body President. My aim, today, is to honor them.

Four years ago, you dropped off awkward, wide eyed, uncertain, gangly girls. Today, you retrieve intelligent, talented, confident, and powerful women.

Ok — families, friends, students — in just a moment I’m going to need your high, high energy.

Now . . . I’d like to ask every member of the faculty, the staff and the Dominican Sisters to please stand. Much credit to these young women’s success goes to their own bravery, their own passion and their own determination.

But, the real credit goes to these amazing people that stand before you. So, everyone, please stand and let out an embarrassingly loud expression of appreciation.

These are the fabulously talented and generous people who forged your daughters into academics, artists, athletes, and advocates.

These are the people who bestowed the San Domenico values and guided us in every way imaginable that served us well both inside and outside the classroom. From all of us to all of you, thank you - thank you - thank you!

Voice is the singular goal I had in mind from the first day that I ran for Student Body President. Not my voice, theirs (points to classmates). It’s been my mission to carry your voices, to hear your words, to put those words into actions, to guide those actions in order to create change.

26 SCHOOL TIES

These past few weeks, many of you have come to me with very kind words, saying, “You have been such a good president, you actually made things happen for the School, thank you so much.”

I am humbled by your gestures. But, it is really I who should be thanking you. It is your voices that have made the changes. It is your voices that spoke out when something wasn’t right. You are the ones who made things happen for San Domenico.

Through my presidency I have endeavored to amplify your voices.

To demonstrate that they really do matter. That you can make an impact, no matter if it is big or small. Your voices have been personal. They’ve been quiet and observant. They’ve been loud and defiant. They’ve been everything in between.

Each one of you has an individual voice. They haven’t always involved standing up to give a speech. They’ve involved expressing your voice in your own way. For example . . . (points to classmates) I love it. Each of you is finding your passion and each of you is owning it!

Continue to embrace it. Show it to the world! Be proud of who you are and what you love. All of your voices will incite positive change.

As you seek to make the world a better place, I’d like to impart my deep wisdom and knowledge that would have a material impact on the course of your future. But, I have none.

I don’t have much in the way of worldly experience.

However, a few guidelines have served me well that, perhaps, might be helpful on your journey.

Graduation 3) Adapt

Things do not always go as planned. I think this is something everyone here can attest to. I certainly can, more times than I care to admit. I learned quickly that endless worrying about something having gone wrong isn’t a solution. But, embracing my obstacles, learning from my mistakes, and adjusting my path has always made the pieces come back together again.

4) Follow Through

Coming up with extravagant ideas and plans for change can be the easy part. Seeing them through to the end can often be the really hard part. Having the intellect or creativity to conjure up pathways to change needs to be matched with will and determination. To keep pushing, even when it seems everyone is saying “no, it can’t be done.” Sometimes pushing and following through is the only way it will get done.

5) Everyone is a Leader

1) Be Kind

It is so important that we all carry kindness for one another.

It not only feels good to give and receive kindness, but it also builds trust, loyalty, and respect within relationships and communities. I have learned that even the smallest acts of kindness can make a big difference. You never know what impact you may have on someone’s day.

2) Be Open-Minded

By being open-minded, you are admitting that you are not all-knowing. You allow yourself to let go of control, experience changes, make yourself vulnerable, and make mistakes. An open mind makes it easier to find solutions to problems. If you’re willing to consider that there are many effective ways to deal with an issue, you open yourself to more options when you’re trying to problem solve. This is what makes room for change. Real changes happen from the inside out.

One of the most important lessons I have learned is that, to be a leader, one doesn’t have to hold a title or position of leadership. Leading simply requires upholding the qualities I have mentioned – kindness, open-mindedness, adaptability, and following through.

By doing this you become a role model to those around you. They can be inspired to mirror you to take on these qualities as well.

President Barack Obama once said, One voice can change a room. And if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city. And if it can change a city, it can change a state. And if it can change a state, it can change a nation. And if it can change a nation, it can change the world.

Your voice can change the world.

To all of you here today and to all of my peers with whom I graduate, I urge you to let your voice be known to the world.

Let it be loud and clear. Let it be you. Thank You. - Madison Dempster ’17, Student Body President

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OUTINGS

From Yellowstone to Catalina and beyond, students enjoyed a wide range of outdoor experiences during Spring Discovery and Backto-School Orientation trips.

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SERVICE SD’s Youngest Students Impact the Community In addition to the 1,139 service hours SD K-8 students shared with the community, the Kindergarteners visited the retired Dominican Sisters at Lourdes in San Rafael. “The kindergarteners were each matched with a special Sister to whom they had written a letter, which they hand-delivered with love.

Afterward, each child read stories to his or her Sister.

Many of the Sisters were teachers or administrators at SD or other schools and all provided an attentive and thoughtful audience. We ended the visit with cookies (kindly provided by the Sisters) and hugs all around. Next year, as first-graders, the children will be paired with the same Sisters and will continue to nurture this sweet connection with letters and visits.

- Gail McCallister, K-8 Service Learning Coordinator

The Middle School Service and Eco Clubs participated in a beach clean up at Horsehoe Cove in Sausalito. Local Surfrider Foundation Chapter Director Scott Tye and SD alumna and Surfworks Director Whitney Huff spoke to the group about the impact their work would have on sea life and the environment.

The group filled two large trash bins. After the cleanup, Scott pointed to their work and said, “You saved dozens of sea animals today.”

We hope all the students left inspired to continue their positive environmental work individually or with their families.

- Annika Osborn, Middle School Teacher and Eco Club Lead

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In addition to the 2,000+ hours of service seniors completed for their ROSE Projects, Upper School students also served the local and international community via the Social Justice Club and projects for the Annual Oxfam Hunger Banquet, Annual One-Billion Rising V-Day event for violence against women and girls, Annual Adopt-a-Family for Winter Holidays, Fundraisers for Refugee Organization (Save the Children), Bracelet Sale for Podcasts for Peace in Nicaragua, Families Serving Families, Service on Saturdays at St. Vincent de Paul, Children in Need, Special Olympics, and beach clean up days.

- Kristen Levine, Upper School Teacher and Service Learning Coordinator

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ATHLETICS San Domenico Athletics Wrap Up 2016-17

By Dan Gilmartin, Athletic Director

As the Athletic Director at San Domenico, I am honored to be part of this era at SD, where the robust Panther athletics program is moving to a whole new level. Reflecting back on the past year, I am very proud to share that our Men’s JV Basketball team is the 10-0 undefeated BCL Men’s Junior Varsity Champion, and the Women’s Varsity Basketball team finished with an impressive 11-1 season, qualifying for a spot in the CIF-North Coast Section Playoffs. It’s an exciting time to be a scholar-athlete at SD!

The baseball team is coached by none other than myself.

I played professionally with the Milwaukee Brewers for more than five years, and at the collegiate level at Sonoma State University. I have coached baseball at the high school and collegiate levels, to league titles and Divison V playoffs. I have coached more than 30 players who have gone on to play baseball at both the collegiate and professional levels. I hold a B.A. in Sports Psychology and an M.A. in Physical Education.

In addition to our 24 sports teams across 12 sports, we’ve introduced both lacrosse and baseball to our Upper School spring sports program. The baseball team is playing at the Varsity level in the Bay Area Conference (BCL), Central Division. The team practices at San Domenico and home games are played on Lefty Gomez Field in Fairfax. For our premiere baseball season at San Domenico, we were happy to get some wins on the board and look forward to an even stronger showing next year!

Lacrosse

Lacrosse was introduced to Middle and Upper School students during gym and other recreational times. We initiated a club team to play competitive games last spring against other club teams in and out of the area, positioning SD athletes for our first Men’s and Women’s JV teams in the spring of 2019. Concurrently, we will grow a club team for Middle School athletes.

After-school and summer programs will be available this year.

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Our Lacrosse teams will be coached

by Greg Rose, whom we are thrilled to welcome to our community. Greg played lacrosse for Mary Washington College and went on to work with the English Lacrosse Association to coach and grow the game in Manchester, UK. Upon returning to the States, Rose continued coaching youth all-stars for Marymount University and Wootton High School in Maryland, where he led his team to the state championship.

In addition to his work with San Domenico, Greg is a leading coach with the East Bay ACES, an all-star team based out of Berkeley, the CEO of a lacrosse company teaching young athletes how to string their own sticks, a US Lacrosse Certified Referee, and a new dad. Greg’s athletes have gone on to play for such reputable lacrosse schools as Georgetown, Ithaca, Lynchburg, UVA, Cal Poly, Sierra Nevada, High Point University, Cal Berkeley, Lynchburg, and more.

Men’s/Women’s Varsity Cross-Country Nicki Bissey was our top female runner this year. She won one of the league meets, and placed second and third in two others. Due to an injury, she did not finish the championship race but was credited with Honorable Mention for the League All Stars. Thomas Kunze was our top male runner this year. He lowered his 5k times by two minutes from last year and was the first boy to break 20 minutes in a 5k race. Our boys placed 9th and our girls placed 7th for the final league standings.

Men’s/Women’s Varsity Track and Field Nicki Bissey made 2nd team for our league in the 3,200m this year. Julia Bentum was also 2nd team for shot put.

Paige Bentum was Honorable Mention for the 100 meters. The men’s team placed 7th in the league and our women were 5th. This is based on the three league track meets as well as the BCL Championships.

victories and several nail-biters in their efforts this season and look to compete for the league title in 2017.

Women’s Varsity Soccer This year’s soccer team highlight was a 3-2 victory over SF Waldorf. This program and team will continue to improve with the core of sophomores and some incoming freshmen.

Men’s Varsity Tennis Tony Wang and Jeremy Cai led this year’s Varsity tennis team, and we had our first win in school history over Bay, 4-1. Tony and Jeremy placed as the 4th seed in the league individual tournament.

Women’s Varsity Tennis Vicky Lin, 2nd team all-league, won the league individual back-draw tournament for the second time.

Women’s Varsity Volleyball The Varsity Women’s Volleyball team welcomed alumna Nicole Frias ’12 as Head Coach.

Women’s Varsity Golf San Domenico Golfers qualified once again for the NCS D2 Championships this year. Seniors Linda Bu and Ayah Abdul-Hadi played Rooster Run GC in Petaluma, a flat course with a par of 72. With a field of 82 golfers, Ayah shot 111 (57th place) and Linda shot 117 (65th place) respectable scores for the field as only half the players broke 100.

Men’s JV Soccer In their first season at the JV level, our Men’s team competed in a tough Fall BCL Soccer league. The team had two

Hoops versus Cancer Classic, then placing second in the World Youth Basketball Tournament in Kona, Hawaii.

Women’s JV Volleyball The JV Team added many new players and looks forward to a robust team this coming year.

Men’s JV Basketball The Men’s Junior Varsity Basketball team was the 10-0 undefeated BCL Men’s Junior Varsity Champions.

This is only their second season since the program’s inception and it has been a real success story!

Men’s/Women’s Varsity Badminton The 2017 season was the very first coed team for San Domenico Panther Badminton with a team of 24 players.

Four players from our team competed in the North Coast Sections. David Wan and Tony Wang took second place in the Championship match, with over twenty schools competing. Lisa Liu and Leslie Wang made it to the semi-finals in the consolation bracket, which includes the top six teams of the day.

Ellen Zhu and Lavender Yang also made an impressive showing.

Post-season had David and Tony earning Boys Double Championships and taking the First Team All League, while Leslie and Lisa played in the Second Team All League.

Men’s Varsity Baseball Women’s Varsity Basketball The Women’s Varsity team finished with an impressive 11-1 season, qualifying for a spot in the CIF-North Coast Section Playoffs and made good on Coach Stephanie Buchner’s early season forecast. They took home the trophy at the Marin Academy Tournament, finishing Top 3 at the

The Varsity Baseball team defeated Pescadero High School twice and played several tight games this past season. With only seven freshmen and four sophomores, the team competed at the Varsity level facing many well-developed programs and teams lead by juniors and seniors.

Freshman Henry Ludlow led the team

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ATHLETICS in hitting with a .364 average, winning the Silver Bat Award.

Freshman Max Ray was named to the BCL All-League Central 2nd Team.

2016-17 Athletic Awards

Men’s Varsity Golf

Most Improved

Coaches Award

San Domenico Men’s Golf is officially in the record books.

William Ma, a freshman from Hong Kong, participated in the annual Bay Links Challenge on March 9th at Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland. This marks the first time in school history that a male athlete competed for the SD Panthers in a golf tournament. This was also William’s first competitive round of golf, making this milestone a ‘two-fer’.

Parker Bizjack (Baseball) David Wan (Cross-Country) Helena Bland (Golf) Bryan Min (Soccer) Yuki Wang (Tennis) Livie Harvell (Volleyball) Charlie McPhail (JV Volleyball) Parker Bizjack (Basketball) Cindy Zhang (Badminton)

Alejandra Changeux (Cross-Country) Josh Espulgar-Rowe (Cross-Country) Ayah Abdul-Hadi (Golf) Josh Martinez (Soccer) Isa Twist (Soccer) Norika Terasawa (Tennis) Julia Berman (Volleyball) Luna Katai (JV Volleyball) Nik Axelson (Basketball) Cate Olrich (Basketball) Isabella Engler (Basketball) Charlene Zhang (Badminton) Mark Yang (Badminton) Patrick Liang (Baseball)

Nichi Jackson (Mountain Biking) August Mesarchik (Mountain Biking) Lily Cummings (Soccer) Josie Goodman (Swimming) Bryan Min (Tennis) Nicki Bissey (Track and Field) Thomas Kunze (Track and Field) Zen Williams (Badminton) Joe Zhou (Swimming)

William Ma (Golf) Luna Katai (Mountain Biking) Katrina Aronovsky (Soccer) Nichi Jackson (Swimming) Bryan Min (Tennis) Alejandra Changeux (Track and Field) Josh Martinez (Track and Field)

The Panther Athletic Awards were distributed at our annual Athletics Dinner, a celebratory gathering of all athletes, coaches, and family members.

Men’s/Women’s Mountain Biking After podium placements were awarded for the April 29 NorCal North Conference Race, the league presented several special endof-year awards in recognition of standout volunteers, riders, and coaches. San Domenico brought home two awards. Robin Huffman, Upper School Chemistry teacher and Mountain Bike Team Head Coach, was awarded the NorCal League 2017 Coach of the Year, and Luna Katai, Class of 2017, was awarded the NorCal League Soul Rider of the Year.

34 SCHOOL TIES

2017-18 Athletic Teams Most Valuable Player

First Team All-League

Nicki Bissey (Cross-Country) Thomas Kunze (Cross-Country) Aviva Yang (Golf) Joe Zhou (Soccer) Vicky Lin (Tennis) Kwan Limbhasut (Volleyball) Julia Bentum (JV Volleyball) Max Ray (Co-MVP Basketball) Grey Snyder (Co-MVP Basketball) Kayden Korst (Basketball) Angel Li (Badminton) David Wan (Badminton) Max Ray (Baseball) Curran Thompson (Mountain Biking) Anna Valadao Defaria (Soccer) Alex Dalsager (Swimming)

Kayden Korst (Basketball) Nicki Bissey (Basketball) Sophie Keith-Brown (Swimming) David Wan (Badminton) Tony Wang (Badminton) Aviva Yang (Golf) Ayah Abdul-Hadi (Golf) Linda Bu (Golf) Helena Bland (Golf)

Second Team League Isabella Engler (Basketball) Vicky Lin (Tennis) Nicki Bissey (Track and Field)

Fall Cross-Country (M|W) Golf (W) Soccer (M) Tennis (M|W) Volleyball (W)

Winter Basketball (M|W)

Spring Badminton (M|W) Baseball (M) Golf (M) Lacrosse 2018 team debut (M|W) Mountain Biking (M|W)

Sophie Keith-Brown (Swimming) Jeremy Cai (Tennis) Julia Bentum (Track and Field) Ray Qin (Track and Field)

Soccer (W)

Julia Bentum (Track and Field) Lisa Liu (Badminton) Leslie Wang (Badminton) Sophie Keith-Brown (Swimming)

Track and Field (M|W)

Panther Strong

Year-Round

Ray Qin William Ma Joanna Zhang

Swimming (M|W) Tennis (M)

Equestrian (M|W) Strength and Conditioning (M|W)

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ATHLETICS Panthers Swim Alongside Olympians In early 2015, San Domenico Head Swim Coach Gadi Shamah put in a bid for a training slot at the U.S. Colorado Springs Olympic Training Complex (CSOTC), the flagship training center for American Olympic swimmers. In February of 2017, Gadi received word that he and his team had been granted a slot! Over Memorial Day Weekend, Gadi, Assistant Coach Marco Farahmand, and 12 San Domenico Development Team swimmers traveled to Colorado to share the pool with no fewer than 12 U.S. National Team swimmers.

Over the course of four days of training, the Panthers received 12 hours of long course pool time. At an altitude of 6,035 feet, the slogan is “No air, no problem,” shared Gadi, reflecting on an “amazing time in an an amazing facility.” The CSOTC provides housing, dining, training facilities, recreational facilities, and other services for more than 500 athletes and coaches at one time in the complex. Athletes are selected to train at the facility by their respective national governing bodies. As a USA Swimming Program, our swim team was eligible for this incredible opportunity, but it was thanks to Coach Gadi’s foresight that the opportunity came to fruition.

“The swimmers stayed on the compound, which really is like a small college campus,” explained Gadi. “The kids were giddy, and really, so was I. You walk in and it’s just incredible with USA and Olympic signs everywhere. We got to our first training and the Cal Men’s team was right there training alongside us. I saw a few of my swimmer’s mouths hit the floor when Ryan Murphy, who holds an Olympic backstroke record, walked by with his Olympic ring tattoos. Michael Phelps’ Coach, Bob Bowman, was even on deck.” It was a bonding trip, a learning trip, and a very successful trip our swimmers will forever remember.

Back in California, the team had a long course senior meet in Pleasanton the following weekend. The meet was nearly perfect with everyone achieving best times. Several dropped as many as 26 seconds in one event; most of the time drops were double digits, and overall, the team dropped over 400 seconds! Special congratulations to Emma Keith-Brown who won the 400 IM with a time of 5:16.34. With her victory, Emma qualified for Sectionals, which is the first level of national competition. “Several of our swimmers are close to making sectionals...we will see who is next!” explained Gadi. “We’re going for national times and titles. We may be a few years away, but we’re on track. The unique thing about having a program like this within a K-12 school is that in one pool, and at one facility, we can go from our Lesson Program in Pups, all the way up to National Levels, all on one team.”

Congratulations to Coach Gadi and all of our swimmers on a brilliant season!

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Our SD Coaches: Fun Facts!

Women’s Varsity and Men’s Junior Varsity Soccer

Men’s JV Basketball

Head Coach Mike Fulton

Head Coach David Briceno

Coach led the College of Marin Women’s Basketball program to the state playoffs six out of seven years.

FUN FACT

He was a former profesFUN sional International soccer FACT player for Greece and United Arab Emirate Leagues, 1st Division.

Men’s Varsity Baseball

Head Coach Dan Gilmartin While in the minor FUN leagues, he once played FACT all nine positions in one game, and his nephew, Sean Gilmartin, played for the New York Mets and is now a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Women’s Varsity and Junior Varsity Volleyball

Head Coach Taylor Crowhurst

FUN FACT

This will be her first season as Head Varsity Coach at San Domenico. Welcome!

Women’s Varsity Golf

Head Coach Daley Cort He coached the Drake Boy’s golf team to league championship and NCS Division 2 Championship in 2016, the same year he received Coach of The Year.

FUN FACT

Men’s and Women’s Varsity Tennis

Head Coach Rob Jessen Playing tennis since the age of six, he was the USTA Area Training Center Coach and coached at Ross Valley Tennis Club for more than 20 years.

FUN FACT

Men’s and Women’s Varsity Swimming

Head Coach Gadi Shamah

FUN FACT

He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and is rated in the top 15% of coaches nationally.

Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country and Track & Field Women’s Varsity Basketball

Head Coach Mark Churchill

Head Coach Stephanie Buechner Coach Steph played in three different college basketball programs, and is a huge fan of the Golden State Warriors.

Coach Churchill won the Vermont State Championships for distance running four years in a row.

FUN FACT

FUN FACT

Men’s and Women’s Varsity Mountain Biking

Men’s and Women’s Varsity Badminton

Head Coach Robin Huffman

Head Coach Julie Lanzarin

She has traveled all over the US, Costa Rica, and Europe riding, and helped San Domenico create the first and only all-girls high school mountain biking team in the country.

FUN FACT

She has been a member of the Marin Athletic Foundation Hall of Fame since 1998 (holding the record for most points scored in one basketball game - more than 50!).

FUN FACT

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Teaching in the

Innovation Era A

BY MIKE BERRY, UPPER SCHOOL PHYSICS TEACHER

s we look around in our daily lives, we see what the previous decade or two of innovation has given us: we operate our cars through the use of computers, sensors, maps, cameras, and touch displays; our homes have a myriad of technological advances; appliances now talk to us; we can control our home’s heat from anywhere in the world; we can use our phones to control lighting and open our garage doors, or even remotely access cameras to see what is happening when we are not there. Perhaps the most ubiquitous advance over the last decade, however, is the introduction of smartphones. It is impossible to go anywhere where people are present and not see them interacting with these devices. Smartphones rose from obscurity just ten years ago to take their place in a rapidly developing field. In the lives of the average person, there has been a paradigm shift in those ten years from a less-complicated life to one with more options and opportunities. As educators we must ask ourselves: “What does education look like in the Innovation Era?”

We start by teaching students to be creative, independent thinkers who collaborate effectively. Students need to learn to use the tools available to them to critically think through problems in order to create, develop, refine, and communicate solutions. Teachers can no longer disseminate information while standing in front of students sitting in orderly rows. In our contemporary learning environment, students not only need to learn content, but also the skills necessary to help them to create. Understanding an idea is important, but understanding an idea and being able to create something with that idea, generate more ideas, or engage in meaningful disagreement about that idea is critical to education today. At San Domenico, we believe that what students do with their education is as important as their academic performance. San Domenico has made these 21st century skills a priority of the education earned here, recognizing that education is not merely an end to itself, but a means towards a bigger, and at times undefined, goal.

Students come to understand more deeply the process of learning, rather than simply memorizing information.

About five years ago I was working at an independent school in the East Bay. The head of the school was speaking with the entire staff, explaining that we had an amazing and challenging task ahead of us: to prepare students for careers that don’t even exist. How could we do that with innovation and changes occurring so quickly? As teachers, we need to keep up with those changes while helping our students to develop the skills that will allow them to find success in any environment.

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San Domenico became a pioneer of the 1:1 iPad program in 2010. Today, it is important to see that students are not only learning how to use these devices and apps, but that they are using them for the larger goal of creation, generation, and communication. Students use their iPads to record a video in the Garden of Hope for a biology class, to work on a Spanish project in the library, or to make a film for history class. Students create memes on their iPads for a discussion on social issues, or use video analysis to accurately measure the time it takes for a ball to fall from the balcony to the ground in Physics class.

In my Physics in Engineering elective, I introduce a particular physics topic. Students are then broken into teams and given a challenge to create a physical object incorporating/ utilizing/exploring this physics principle. They engage in a process of researching and brainstorming solutions, developing and building those solutions, testing them out, refining them until one meets the designated criteria and finally, communicating on their process, solution, and results. These are 21st century skills. While we apply this process numerous times in the class, perhaps the most memorable application is the trebuchet project.

For those who are not up on their medieval siege weaponry, the trebuchet is a device to launch objects: it is a cross between a catapult and a sling. We build our trebuchets during our study of projectile motion and energy transformations. Students design and build trebuchets to launch tennis balls as far as possible using five kilograms of counterweight. This is an in-depth process in which students work in groups of three to examine other versions of trebuchets, develop their own designs, and then build them. When building something from scratch, however, where they begin and where they end up is often a long and twisty road. In the end, students acquire important skills as they complete their work, developing independence and fortitude, which are crucial to their education.

The Robotics Club, which competes in a challenge laid out by an organization called First Robotics, also emphasizes these educational ideals. The challenge comes out in September, and the Robotics Club spends three months designing, planning, programming, and building the robot to meet the required challenges. This kind of

challenge requires students to create a solution to a problem with no recipe, only guides to follow. They use all of their intelligence, thoughts, and resources to generate ideas and come up with solutions to create a robot ready to compete. These skills prepare them for life in the Innovation Era. As an educator I, and many of my colleagues, are excited by skillbased teaching. I see it in the English classes when students examine and discuss a topic that gets them to question their own prejudices and beliefs, such as an article on dumpster diving written by a homeless person. Engaging in meaningful Socratic style dialogues and debates require important skill building and development.

These skills are also commonplace in Global Studies and Philosophy where students are required to provide evidence for their assertions. There is also room for this kind of skill development in a class like AP Physics, where students do not present solutions; rather, they present the questions to the class, followed by hints and guidance which help students find the answers on their own. Students come to understand more deeply the process of learning, rather than simply memorizing information.

In this quickly-changing Innovation Era, we make these changes in our teaching to grow in our students the skills necessary to prepare them for anything that comes their way, even if we don’t yet know what that might be. Innovative education marries content with the ability to apply said content, placing value on the joy of discovery and the fulfillment that comes with true understanding. Teaching and learning in new ways is not always easy, but it is highly rewarding and helps ignite the future lives of our students, and ultimately, of our world.

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When the Only Way Out Is Through:

A Seventh Grade Journey to Better Understanding Islam

I

BY NATASHA MCKEOWN ’87, MIDDLE SCHOOL HISTORY TEACHER

t is a sunny morning in February and the Faith Y. France Lobby is buzzing with the chatter of excited students as they set up their exhibits. At one booth, students are adjusting the sound levels on a large-screen TV where images from news reports about 9/11 flash by. At another booth, students are arranging a colorful display of headscarves.

One group standing anxiously by the door cheers when a teammate shows up with Ethiopian coffee and a guitar. With just a few minutes left until the doors open, the students all stand in front of their booths nervously fidgeting with their ties or hair and tucking in their shirts. Then, as parents, faculty, and a large group of high school students enter, they jump into action and I hear more than one student use the line we practiced: “Hi! Would you like to learn about my project?”

Their assignment was to design and present a creative interactive public service announcement (PSA) project about Islam. Specifically, they were asked to acknowledge the reasons why many Americans currently have concerns about Muslims living in the United States and to present the positive aspects of the religion, culture, and history of Islam about which the audience might not be aware. The idea for the project originally came from the guidelines for the California State Standards for Social Studies, or perhaps more accurately, what was not in the standards. The standards require that students learn about the origins of Islam and the many innovations that sprang

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from the Islamic Empire. However, each year I have taught this unit, a student has inevitably asked me some variation of this question: If Islam means “peace,” why are so many Muslims terrorists? There is so much to unpack in response to just this one question and having only a single class discussion cannot do the topic justice. In the past, I had been reluctant to spend too much class time discussing this issue because it felt like I would be opening a Pandora’s box about a very complex issue with a constituency of twelve-year-olds. Did I really need to share this misunderstood side of the world with these young minds quite yet?

With each passing year, though, I noticed an increased sense of urgency to the students’ questions. I also noted that over time their questions became much more pointed. They were asking about specific events, such as the shootings in Florida, or in San Bernardino.

They wanted to know who exactly was ISIS, or why there are so many Muslim refugees fleeing to Europe and the United States. I eventually realized that with access to cell phones and social media, some students were now getting newsfeeds with headlines about events throughout their waking hours.

Where once they would have had to seek out the news for details, the news was now coming to them. Clearly, if I was worried about a loss of innocence, it was too late. The lid to this Pandora’s box had already been pried off. Moreover, it became apparent that I now had a responsibility, as an educator, to help give these young

people some context for the information with which they were being saturated, especially as it related to our curriculum.

As a result, I decided that this year instead of sidestepping the controversial questions about terrorism and immigration, we would dive right in. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in 2017 asked Americans to rate members of nine religious groups on a “feeling thermometer” from 0 to 100, where 0 reflects the coldest, most negative possible rating and 100 the warmest, most positive rating.

Overall, Americans gave Muslims an average rating of 48 degrees, similar to atheists (50 degrees). My goal was for the students to consider multiple perspectives and come to understand not just the media-byte-of-the-day about Muslims and Islam, but to know the positive attributes of one of the world’s major religions.

I was nervous as I was planning our unit. It was a politically volatile time for this topic. President Trump had just been elected and the media was awash with voices both strongly in support of and against his proposed policies to limit the number of Muslims allowed to enter the country. I was unsure how both our students and parent body would react to the project. However, one day just before we launched our unit, I was talking with a student after class about family traditions and she shared with me that she was Muslim.

Later that night, I received an email from her. In the email, she asked me to please not let anyone know that she was Muslim because she did not want her classmates to think she was not “a good person.” Her email broke my heart. It

also made me realize that this was exactly why we needed to face these questions head on. As Robert Frost said, “The only way out is through.”

We needed to dive deep for students to come to a balanced perspective and create a community where everyone can feel seen and understood.

Diving deep into the topic with seventh graders was definitely a challenge. I did not want to fully unleash them to the Internet to search for information. Just typing in “ISIS” and clicking on “images” immediately brings up absolutely horrific scenes. Fortunately, our School subscribes to an excellent resource, Newsela, which curates articles on a wide variety of topics and makes them accessible to readers at a variety of levels. Even the information in those articles can be overwhelming, though. It is difficult for any reader to fully digest the statistics presented, such as the facts that 12.5 million people have been displaced by the war in Syria and 1,200 westerners were killed in ISIS attacks in 2016.

I wanted students to be able to make a more personal connection to these issues.

Fortunately, I had connected earlier in the year with Cleary Vaughan-Lee, the mother of one of our sixth graders. She and her husband, Emmanuel, who is a filmmaker, are the founders of the amazing Global Oneness Project. Through photo essays and short films featured on their site, they provide an opportunity for their audience to learn about huge issues affecting people across the world by focusing on individuals or small communities. In other words, they curate media that personalizes topics that otherwise might seem too overwhelming. After getting an overview of the causes of immigration from many Muslim-majority

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countries via Newsela, the students watched “Welcome to Canada,� a beautiful film by Adam Loften and Mary Fowles about Mohammed Alsaleh, a Syrian refugee who fled to Canada after being tortured and imprisoned by the Assad regime. His story touched and moved many of the students to tears, giving them an opportunity to understand the issue from a universally human perspective.

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Once the students had a better grasp of the conflicts in our modern world, we began to reach back into history to explore the roots of Islam.

The students learned about the life of Muhammad and about the basic tenets of faith, such as the Five Pillars of Islam. They also learned about the growth of the Islamic Empire and the many achievements of Islamic scholars during the Golden Age. This was

standard curricular material, and yet, I felt that to really understand what it means to live the faith of Islam they needed to see it from the inside out.

I sought out Mirza Khan, our Director of Philosophy, Ethics, and World Religions, to ask him if he could refer me to someone in our local Muslim community. Mirza suggested that instead of inviting someone like an Imam to the classroom, I should reach

out to one of our own high school seniors, Ayah A., whose family is Muslim, often does community outreach, and would most likely be happy to talk with my students.

He could not have made a better suggestion. Ayah turned out to be the perfect speaker. As the only student in the school to wear a hijab (headscarf), she was someone the students had already noticed, and as a member of the community she was accessible and relatable. Beyond that, she is an incredibly articulate, confident, and warm person. She patiently and openly answered their questions from the practical (Where do you pray during the day on campus? What if you are in the middle of a test?) to the personal (Why do you choose to wear a headscarf?) to the political (How do you feel about President Trump?). For many students, it helped them connect the dots between religious ideals and what it means, at least for one person, to be a Muslim.

Finally, it was time for students to bring all of this information together, to design a creative project acknowledging the very real reasons that some Americans might have negative perceptions of Muslims, explain how this perception impacts Muslims in our communities, and then share positive information about the religion, history, and culture of Islam. The projects they designed varied greatly and showed a huge amount of creativity. The video with the 9/11 footage highlighted the impact the media has on our perceptions of Muslims. The headscarves were part of a presentation that focused on the misunderstanding or pre-judgements many have about women who wear them.

The coffee and guitar the students brought in were part of a larger display about the contributions of the Islamic Empire.

At the center of the gallery was a table with takeaways for our audience. I had challenged the students to create an artifact that the audience could take with them to share with others in the larger community. There was a poster that a student voluntarily designed with a motto for the event: “Love the World Equally.” Below that was a quote by Kofi Annan: “We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.” The students asked attendees to take a picture with the sign and post it on social media so that the message could be passed on. As for their personal takeaways, the students were incredibly proud of all they had learned and even more about the opportunity to take that knowledge and use it to make a positive impact on their community. Probably the biggest highlight of the day was when Ayah stopped by to see their presentations. You could see in their eyes that they were anxious, hoping they had accurately and fairly presented information, and very appreciative of the fact that she had taken the time from her own school schedule to look at what they created and give them what ended up being all positive feedback.

For me, that moment of knowing that the whole project had been the right choice came when reading feedback from the students. So many of them thanked me for giving them the opportunity to learn about and start to understand the events happening around them. One student said that she felt “empowered.” It seemed clear that embracing the challenge of learning, understanding, and creating through these projects about Islam had given the students the chance to go beyond simply learning information. It helped them push through towards a deeper understanding of the world around them and perhaps even see the role they can each play in shaping a more positive future for us all.

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Re-enchantment of the World: 44 SCHOOL TIES

Why Meaning Matters

BY ARAN LEVASSEUR, INNOVATION CHAIR AND UPPER SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY AND GLOBAL STUDIES TEACHER

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I

n Douglas Adam’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a colossal supercomputer is designed to solve the “ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything.”

But the computer takes seven and a half million years to do this, and by the time it delivers the answer everybody has forgotten the question. The answer, which turns out to be 42, doesn’t mean anything because without meaningful questions, answers cease to be answers.

In a similar way, we are increasingly turning to technology for answers: the internet, smartphones, GPS, social media, genetic engineering, robotics, nanotechnology, to name a few. Yet as the modern world increases in technological knowledge, the exponential delivery of this knowledge is making the world a lot more unpredictable. This increased uncertainty is making it much more challenging to meaningfully navigate this emerging alien landscape of self-driving cars, crypto-currency, gene therapy, social media cocoons, and the ascendancy of the Internet as a surveillance state.

As a teacher at San Domenico, I am part of a community of educators who believe an exceptional education requires not just academic excellence but also meaning and purpose. Recent research is confirming the central role meaning plays in our lives. In fact it has been demonstrated that it is more critical to good health than even happiness.

As Emily Esfahani Smith has reported in The Atlantic, “People who are happy but have little-to-no sense of meaning in their lives have the same gene expression patterns as people who are enduring chronic adversity.” Smith goes on to explain that, “Being happy is about feeling good. Meaning is derived from contributing to others or to society in a bigger way.”

Living with meaning and purpose requires having an orientation toward something bigger than the self. It starts with identifying your own beliefs and your own values, hence the value of an education anchored by spiritual exploration.

Throughout most of human history, when people wanted answers to life’s ultimate questions – Why are we here?

What does it all mean? – they looked to their sacred texts or to their traditional myths (if they were an oral culture).

Since the rise of modern science however, we have been increasingly turning to science for answers to life’s ultimate questions. In many respects this is understandable. Science

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is clearly one of the most potent methods that we have developed for discovering truth. While science has revealed a thrilling evolutionary tale that stretches back almost 14 billion years to a flaring forth of time, space, matter, and energy, it doesn’t have much to say about what it all means.

Religion has been, and remains, the greatest force for generating meaning. Yet religion has fallen on hard times in those parts of the world deemed most Westernized: secular, liberal, and steeped in scientific and technological literacy.

The forces that produced liberal democracies also started to erode the influence and role played by religion in Western society. Historians have debated the origin of this decline, and some have found the rise of scientific rationalism during the Renaissance to be the primary cause. Others have pointed to the skepticism and secularism of the Enlightenment. Still others say the theory of evolution and the Industrial Revolution provided the tipping point. While

the origin and cause may be debatable, the declining role of religion in Western society is agreed upon. The impact of this decline can’t be overstated. The moral, intellectual, and spiritual heart of our culture began to dry up under the empirical gaze of rationalism. As the lifeblood of our culture became desiccated, a vast emptiness took its place.

The emergence of modernity, with its emphasis on rationality, science, bureaucracy, and secularism, lead to what the German sociologist, Max Weber, called the “disenchantment of the world.” Myth, ritual, and the sacred were slowly eclipsed as we fell under the sway of scientific materialism. While science may be able to map neuronal connections and the electrical activity in the brain with remarkable precision, it is silent about what this all means

from a subjective perspective. We don’t experience our synapses passing electrical signals to other neurons. We experience beauty, love, anger, anxiety, reverence, despair, laughter, and loss. Our ability to generate meaning from this mental and emotional “electricity” is profoundly significant for our wellbeing.

The Philosophy, Ethics, and World Religions program at San Domenico, in many respects, aims at re-enchanting the world for students on both an intellectual and experiential level. While we have immense respect for the spectacular achievements of modern science and technology, we believe that truth without meaning is inanimate. This is why the world’s religions have value in our scientific and technological society: they are a rich repository of stories and practices that shed light on perennial themes of suffering, peace, love, death, freedom, oppression, joy, and meaning.

Our intention isn’t to proselytize a specific religion, but to

foster an authentic relationship with the literal meaning of religion, which, in Latin, means to link or bind together. We want students to develop meaningful bonds to their community, to social justice, and to the cosmos as a whole – from the golden spirals found in nautilus shells to galaxies containing billions and billions of stars.

The Christian existentialist philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, believed that it is the responsibility of the individual, not society or religions, to give meaning to life and live it authentically and passionately. In our age of individuality and mass customization, Kierkegaard’s sentiments capture the ethos of our time. Meaning shapes and directs our lives. But there aren’t ready-made answers to life’s ultimate questions.

Rather, in today’s world, the answers must be customized

to the heart and mind of the one asking the questions. This is why we have students contemplate and articulate their personal creed at various times in their K-12 experience.

Twenty-five hundred years ago Diogenes said, “I am not an Athenian or a Greek but a citizen of the world.” One of the challenges of today is to make those words our own.

We provide scaffolding for this challenge by examining the philosophies and theologies found in the world’s sacred texts: the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita, the Buddhist Sutras, and the Tao Te Ching.

Like the ancient Jews, we can find meaning in suffering by not falling prey to its pain but in learning how to creatively respond to our circumstances. For this transformation to take place we may need to acknowledge the psychological insight the Buddha pointed to in his first Noble Truth: that much of our suffering arises because we crave and cling to impermanent states and things. Suffering may be an inevitable facet of life but so is love. We can learn to rise above our differences and love our neighbors and enemies as Jesus counseled. We can take a clue from Bhakti Yoga, the practice of love and devotion to a personal god, whereby the aspiration of oneness and harmony with the Divine may encompass all life.

Some questions we ask our students that you may find of interest to reflect upon: What values have a centering power in your life? Where do you find the sacred?

What makes life worth living? What does it mean to be a good person? It’s truly gratifying to read such thoughtful, creative and heartfelt responses.

Meaning develops embryonically, by learning to live the question. As the poet Rilke advised, “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

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Q & with A Aran Levasseur on his new position What does innovation mean to you, and why is it an important aspect of education in a K-12 school?

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines innovation as a “new idea, device or method.” We can easily conjure up seminal innovations beyond modern computing: the emergence of monotheistic religions, democracy, the printing press, impressionism, photography. But I think what’s most interesting about innovation is how it emerges. It seems to me it’s a result of cross- pollinating from a range of disciplines. This is why I think it should be an important aspect of education. The ability to cross-pollinate from a range of disciplines implies interdisciplinary knowledge.

Not solely learning about the sciences and humanities in a “siloed” way, but seeing how they are interconnected, takes an ability to synthesize. There are a number of reasons why this is important, but chief among them is that the world is requiring innovative solutions in energy, economics, politics, and along social lines. The ability to synthesize won’t guarantee that someone will therefore be innovative, but it will help establish a cognitive framework that is essential to be innovative.

San Domenico has a long history of innovation, so what makes this chapter in our School different? Why the need for an Innovation Lead?

Life is dynamic. It’s always changing. Therefore we are all called to adapt with the changing times. The last 100 years have produced staggering scientific, technological, environmental, and social changes. This has yielded both good news and bad news. The changes keep coming at breakneck speed; I think it’s the rate of change that makes our times unique. As a school, part of our mission is to prepare students for the world of tomorrow. But, we don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so comfort with uncertainty is essential. Learning to adapt and pivot in new directions based on reading the changing environment is an emerging life skill. And an ability to connect disparate dots is very useful for wayfinding in the world of today and tomorrow.

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How will your approach to incorporating innovation into education change in this upcoming school year?

I will be designing a new innovative senior elective that’s titled the Wisdom of Chaos. It sounds like an oxymoron. This is because we have a strong aversion to chaos, e.g. randomness, disorder, disruptions, so it’s hard to imagine that anything good or wise can come from it. Yet, chaos theory has demonstrated that nature uses randomness, disorder, and disruptions to create stellar nurseries, weather patterns, coral reefs, and new adaptive traits in organisms. And, chaos theory is now being applied to a range of other fields: computer science, sociology, economics, environmental science, and management. Chaos is evolving from a scientific theory into a cultural metaphor. We’ve been living by mechanistic metaphors (compliments of the scientific revolution) and this has helped create our fixation with controlling the world around us. But chaotic, nonlinear systems – such as nature, society, and our individual lives – lie beyond all our attempts to predict, manipulate, and control them. Chaos theory reveals that instead of resisting life’s uncertainties and randomness, we should embrace the creative potential they offer.

How will innovation play a role in the Makers program? How does this relate to the integration of Design Thinking into the curriculum?

What’s innovative about Makers programs and Design Thinking isn’t so much what is created (although the product can be), but the process that is used to solve problems, accomplish goals, or reframe learning. In other words, it’s the pedagogical approach that is innovative. The dominant model of learning in schools is one where teachers provide knowledge to students and then students mirror back that knowledge. With Design Thinking, students learn by solving problems in critical and creative ways. It is the process of figuring out how to approach a designated challenge that yields learning, not solely reproducing information.

Once students have learned something, catalyzed by the

as Innovation Chair

BY NICOLE STOCK, MS ’11

questions or problems they’ve framed, they then need to interpret what they’ve learned and determine how to demonstrate their knowledge, i.e. what to build or make. So the making really only comes at the tail end of the process.

the topics that will be covered, such as curiosity, creativity, collaboration, emotional-intelligence, and grit, are traits that researchers and employers have increasingly identified as being essential for citizens to be successful.

What are some of the most important topics the monthly ‘Learning Matters’ blog will cover and why?

In what way do you think innovation can play a role in how comparative religions, ethics, and philosophy are taught?

The Learning Matters blog will be focused on addressing one overarching question: What does it mean to be

The most innovative role the humanities can play in today’s world is making them relevant to students’ lives.

The sciences focus on object truths. Humanities focus on meaning. So to the degree that the humanities can offer insight into the most meaningful facet of our lives – relationships, education, work, money, and belief itself – then not only will they be deemed innovative but, more importantly, truly useful.

How does San Domenico’s approach to the link between innovation and education set it apart from other schools?

well-educated in the world of today and tomorrow? The answers to this question have changed throughout history.

We only need to think of different types of societies – hunting and gathering, agrarian, industrial – to get a sense that what it meant to be well-educated has varied tremendously throughout human history. We are now living in a digitally-networked information age. As the social and economic realities are being reconfigured in the image of the digital age, it’s only natural that what it means to be well-educated in this world is changing as well. Some of

Our approach to religious studies is a real differentiator. The great traditions are used as a way for students to explore ultimate questions – Why are we here? What does it all mean? – and then glean wisdom from the various traditions that resonates with them.

The ancient Greeks had a term for what they considered the highest human good and the goal for a education: eudaimonia. This can be translated as human flourishing. One of the primary factors that leads to human flourishing was virtue, or moral excellence. This rings true for what’s at the heart of a San Domenico education: human flourishing that is rooted in meaning, purpose, and moral excellence. But these aren’t predetermined qualities with which students are indoctrinated. Our Philosophy, Ethics, and World Religions program helps students explore and discover what is meaningful and purposeful in their lives.

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“

Commit to

“Our family is really blessed,” Robyn explains, “And one way to express that gratitude is to consistently look for ways to be better and to do better.” “We want our kids, all the kids in the world, to think like that,” adds Martin. It’s one of the reasons their family resonates with SD’s commitment to education that instills a sense of purpose, and one of the main reasons he founded the Take Me To the River Education Initiative that uses the power of music to inspire a deeper understanding of history, culture, a n d t h e m e a n i n g o f c ro s s generational and inter-racial collaboration. ‘Take Me To The River’ was first an award-winning fullI first met Robyn and Martin when they

BY KIMBERLY PINKSON, length documentary film that Martin DIRECTOR OF MARKETING opened up their home to host an event AND COMMUNICATIONS directed and produced. The educational for my former company, EcoMom. The foundation grew out of the film, and TODAY Show came by. So did Marin Magnow brings its Common Core approved azine. We bonded. Several months later curriculum to “students, teachers, and Robyn called and said, “Let’s organize a the community to bring history to life fundraiser in support of Women for Womand foster a deeper understanding and en (WFW) – we’ve got to raise awareness respect for all cultures, genders and genabout conflict minerals and the violence erations.” The film and outreach bring against women in Congo!” “Great,” I said. multiple generations of award-winning A few weeks later a hundred or so of us Memphis and Mississippi Delta musigathered for a screening of The Greatest cians together, including icons such as Silence, Lisa Jackson’s film about rape as a Terrence Howard, William Bell, Snoop weapon of war as tribal peoples and outDog, Mavis Staples, Otis Clay, Lil P-Nut, Charlie Musselwhite, side investors vie for power over natural resource mining in Africa. Many of us still support WFW and Robyn is always Bobby “Blue” Bland, Yo Gotti, Bobby Rush, Frayser Boy, The on the lookout for the next way she can make a positive dif- North Mississippi All-Stars, and many more. Running this ference. She and her kids have remodeled numerous apart- program is an almost-full-time job in and of itself. They are ments for Homeward Bound, and she is currently involved in currently working on Take Me to The River NOLA to continue the story. the Women’s Earth Alliance (WEA). communicate, and agree to cooperate, which allows for collaboration that creates big beautiful accomplishments and forms the foundation and pillars for a strong and lasting community.” That’s the point of it all, say Robyn and Martin Shore, parents of SD eighth grader Jada. While some people say, “Something needs to be done,” and others ask, “What can I do?”, Robyn and Martin Shore just get things done. With five children between them, taking care of this family would be enough to keep most folks’ dance card full, but not the Shores. In this SD family, innovation and impact are the name of the game.

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A Parent Perspective:

To Create Lasting Pillars

When the Shores talk about “their kids,” you’re never really sure if they mean their immediate family or the kids they are impacting through TMTTR, WFW, WEA, or any one of the other organizations with which they work. “We believe everyone is born with the potential to have great ideas, to make a difference. They just have to be empowered to listen to that little voice within, to believe that anything is possible,” explains Martin. “We work mainly with young people in less-advantaged areas around the country and the world, but the more advantaged kids around here, in Marin and San Francisco, they need it too,” adds Robyn. “They all need to know they can open doors and go in positive directions to make this world a better place. It’s up to us adults to find innovative ways to empower them.”

JOIN US

Watching Jada on the basketball court you know she’s been raised with this “anything’s possible” mantra. The determination is in her eyes as she stalks the court, makes a great play, and then throws her head back with a laugh, followed by a high five for a teammate. This is a girl who has grown up believing in Girl Power. This is the daughter of Martin and Robyn Shore.

For both Robyn and Martin, film, music, community, and collaboration are the pathways of choice these days. “One of the key factors in being able to make a difference is the ability to tell a story,” states Martin. “And there are many languages and art forms in which you can do this.” He will be working with some of the students in SD’s Film and Digital Arts program this year to talk about film and music as platforms for positive expression and impact.

On September 19, Take Me to the River Education Initiative kicks off a 40-city tour at The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.

On October 14, San Domenico will welcome members of the TMTTR Tour for a film screening and Q & A with SD parent and filmmaker/director Martin Shore along with 2017 Grammy Winner William Bell, Stax Music Academy alum Andrew Saino, Stax Soul Legend and Academy Award Winner Frayser Boy, and Critics Choice Award Winner Al Kapone.

6:15-6:45 pm: Appetizers, music, and socializing 6:45 pm: Take Me to the River movie screening 8:15 pm: Filmmaker Q & A Carol Franc Buck Hall of the Arts For more information and ticket reservations visit sandomenico.org/TMTTR

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Critical Media Literacy: Equipping Students to Respond to Stereotypes RHIANNON SALTER ’05, GLOBAL STUDIES TEACHER

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n today’s media and political environment, critical literacy skills are more important than ever before.

The media is the watchdog of democracy and as such holds incredible power. If information is power, then the people who control that information have extraordinary power over the narratives that dictate how we live our lives and perceive others. With privatization, profit margins, audience metrics, and sponsored content, much of media’s message has been muddied.

As a Global Studies teacher, I have the privilege of exploring the history of the ancient world through the lens of the five major world religions. A recent unit, Media Literacy/Islam and the Middle East, emphasized this very relevant topic, one that many Americans grapple with today: what does it mean to be media literate? What is real news compared to fake news? I call upon my students to dissect a story, to think and create content freely, and to combat ignorance, stereotypes, and single narratives. When do I know I have had an impact in my teaching? When my students’ understanding of the world around them shifts and grows, as they realize that things are not always as black and white as they first perceived them to be.

“The problem with stereotypes is not that they are inaccurate, but that they are incomplete.” This quote from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story” TED® Talk framed our exploration of the ways that single stories or narratives shape our understanding of complex issues. Many of my students escape to their screens every chance they get. Whether it’s getting the latest trends from Instagram, celebrity gossip on Twitter or Snapchat, or stories about the latest terror attack, algorithms and

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screens mediate their world. This is problematic when ‘fake news’ masquerades as legitimate, and accurate information sources are difficult to discern. While our experiences are shaped by peers, friends, family, teachers and mentors, my students agree that it is the media that plays a disproportionate role in shaping their ideas about current events. With the democratization of the media, anyone can generate and distribute content, which makes reputable sources difficult to decipher. According to the Pew Research Center, by age 18, a teenager will have seen 350,000 commercials. Some are hidden in the hashtag of an Instagram post (#ad), a YouTube video or a blog post, while others more blatantly exchange their likes for dollar signs and social capital. Student’s screens mediate their world so that less is experienced directly, and more is facilitated and curated by others. Sniffing out authentic content is a 21st century skill that students need to exercise daily on social media platforms, but are they using it in an academic environment or to decipher fake news from real news? And once they are able to identify inaccurate or inauthentic information, then what? While deciphering what is authentic is the first step, the most important step is then responding to and combatting misinformation by creating original content.

Last spring, my students examined the roots of Islamophobia in America post-9/11 in our Islam and the Middle East Unit. We explored the structure of the major media conglomerates that direct our news and the single narrative that has developed around Muslims in America.

We examined existing stereotypes about Muslims and where they come from, comparing “legitimate” news sources to false ones. Students were shocked to realize that

all media messages are constructed. As a class, we developed criteria for identifying fake news versus reputable information. Students then had a choice of project-based learning: craft a creative “Response to Islamophobia” poster disproving a stereotype, or create an informative media literacy poster that would help their peers to identify “fake news” and how to seek out reputable sources of information.

Several students developed flow charts that helped to identify characteristics of “fake news.” These included

Other students chose to address negative stereotypes about Muslims by creating a creative response, some including artwork or poetry in their designs.

Critical Media Literacy will not only help them to identify good sources for their next research paper or conversation about current events, it will also help them think twice

inflammatory language, biased or partisan language and tone, spelling mistakes, or misused punctuation.

The common conclusion was that education is the best weapon against fake news, but useful tools or skills included promoting cross-referencing information across news and media outlets, using common sense to sniff out outrageous claims (i.e. are aliens really controlling Hillary Clinton?), selecting reputable sources that attempt to present neutral information or at a minimum acknowledging any bias, and utilizing sources across the “bias” spectrum.

about sharing stories with titles like “Giant Squid the Size of a Whale!” or “The Onion” posts on their social media accounts. This will save them social embarrassment, as well as maintain their academic credibility and integrity.

As educators, we must create assignments that include a call to action, so students respond to inauthentic information in a way that makes them creative thought

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leaders, rather than passive consumers of hype, or promoters of fear-mongering. We must call upon them to live up to our Mission Statement: “We recognize what it means to be human in a global community and respond with integrity to

the needs and challenges of our time.” We must collectively expel the single story narrative and not grow “purveyors of fake news” but rather “peddlers of authenticity.”

SIX QUESTIONS TO ASK OF ANY MEDIA MESSAGE 1 Who made – and who sponsored – this message and for what purpose?

2 Who is the target audience and how is the

message specifically tailored to that audience?

3 What are the different techniques used

to inform, persuade, entertain, and attract attention?

4 What messages are communicated or implied about certain people, places, events, behaviors, lifestyles, etc.?

5 How current, accurate, and credible is the information in this message?

6 What is left out of this message? that might be important to know?

SIX KEY CONCEPTS OF MEDIA LITERACY

(from the Center for Media Literacy)

1 All media messages are “constructed.”

2 Each medium has different characteristics, strengths, and a unique “language” of construction.

3 Media messages are produced for particular purposes, including profit, persuasion, education, and artistic expression.

4 All media messages have embedded values and points of view.

5 Different people may interpret the same media messages in different ways.

6 Media and media messages can influence beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, and the democratic process.

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Nature as Teacher:

Learning Through the Lens of Sustainability

BY SHELLEY FLINT, DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY

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e live in a world that is rapidly changing and we face pressing concerns such as waste and resource depletion, biodiversity loss, global inequality, and climate change. It is clear that our use of current systems are leading to an unsustainable future and it is imperative that today’s educational paradigm includes ecoliteracy as part of the program. The term ecoliteracy was coined by American educator David W. Orr and physicist Fritjof Capra in the 1990s and refers to the understanding that with nature as our guiding force, we can create tools to correct our adopted paths of the last several hundred years or so and develop innovative solutions that work with nature rather than against it. According to Capra, “In the coming decades, the survival of humanity will depend on our ecological literacy – our ability to understand the basic principles of ecology and to live accordingly.”

In this modern age, we spend so much time indoors, focused on the busyness of our lives that we have become disconnected from the larger issues that plague our society. Ecoliteracy as a grounding paradigm in education leads us to once again ask the critical question: How do we become active citizens who live in a way that supports the well-being of the people in our community, and our world, with a strong economy, and a healthy environment?

Many of the answers to our human problems may be right in front of us. “Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better. When we examine how nature exists, we discover an intricate symphony of relationships that support life,” wrote Albert Einstein. Earth’s ecology operates as interdependent, co-evolving systems, driven by feedback loops and constant interactions. As educators we can help our students understand the processes that drive these systems and increase the possibility of unveiling new lenses with which to see the world.

Through math, science, comparative religions, history, art, music, and really all educational curricula, we can provide our students with a deep sense of one fundamental process in nature: that of interconnectedness. Nothing exists outside its relationship to other entities. Everything relates to everything else at all points and at every moment. From this perspective, we understand that

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each individual system is an integrated whole and, at the same time, part of a larger system. Changes within a system can affect the sustainability of larger systems in which they exist. Systems educator Linda Booth Sweeney says, “There are living systems on all scales, from the smallest plankton to the human body to the planet as a whole.

When we understand what constitutes a living system, we see that a family, a business, even a country are also living systems.”

and the damaging effects of mass food production on our health, economy, and the environment. Students learn how food is grown and how it travels through the system to reach our plate, and the difference between whole and processed food. They learn about the natural systems that affect the production of food in their area and demonstrate the differences between sustainable and unsustainable food production. Through this experiential learning we begin to change our unsustainable cultural narrative.

The lessons we can learn from nature are vast and can give us great insight into how to solve many of the challenges our society faces today.

Biomimicry is an emerging science that seeks sustainable solutions to human challenges by emulating nature’s timetested patterns and strategies.

Through biomimicry, scientists have discovered endless ways in which we can use nature’s wisdom to solve human problems.

For example, we are learning how to collect water from the air like a Namibian beetle, how to create more efficient wind turbines by mimicking whale fins, how to grow food in resilient ways from the diversity of prairie grasslands, and how to design high-rise buildings that cool and heat themselves like termite mounds. Janine Benyus, co-founder of the Biomimicry Institute says, “‘Doing it nature’s way’ has the potential to change the way we grow food, make materials, harness energy, heal ourselves, store information, and conduct business. The answers to our questions are everywhere; we just need to change the lens with which we see the world.” Teaching through the lens of sustainability allows us to think about issues differently.

San Domenico students graduate as ecoliterate global citizens with an understanding of natural systems and our connection to them from an economic, social, spiritual, cultural, and health perspective. If we are in the outdoors often enough to watch and experience the seasonal changes, we learn about “place,” natural cycles, and changes within an ecological setting, and we can learn to emulate that which we see working in front of us.

The best way to learn from nature is to immerse oneself in nature. SD’s Garden of Hope provides a wonderful context in which to examine the complexity of our current food system: the pros of locally and seasonally grown food,

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With frequent positive outdoor experiences, we provide the opportunity for students to develop an emotional connection to the place they live and inspire them to have a deeper understanding and respect of the systems that support life.

John Burroughs stated that, “Knowledge without love will not stick. But if love comes first, knowledge is sure to follow.” According to Burroughs, “Outdoor learning experiences are the foundation of raising the next generation of active citizens who take care of their natural and human communities.”

Nature is a mirror, inspiring and teaching us, deepening our sense of belonging in the world. Wherever you look, you can see that our human patterns and the patterns of the natural world are really the same. If we choose to open our eyes and follow the natural rhythms of the earth we may find that we can revitalize and restore our relationship to, and place within, the natural world.

Growing Citizen Scientists and Ecoliterate Problem Solvers

BY HILARY STAPLES, MIDDLE & UPPER SCHOOL SCIENCE CO-CHAIR AND UPPER SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHER

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ith over 500 acres of beautiful rolling hills, a creek, and our Garden of Hope, on any given day at SD you may see students taking a hike or a mindfulness walk through campus, studying nature’s patterns in math class, sketching plants in art classes, investigating critters in the creek, or planting food for harvest. Here we are growing citizen scientists and ecoliterate problem solvers. iNaturalist is an online social network of people sharing photos of living organisms observed in nature. A crowd-sourced species identification platform and a way to record how often a species is observed in a specific area, iNaturalist’s goal is to connect people with nature and help instill the importance of biodiversity and the non-human world. A secondary goal of iNaturalist is to generate scientific data from personal experiences. The overarching goal of the platform is to instill a wonder of nature and cultivate a community of individuals who care about protecting our natural world.

These same goals of conservation of the natural world and connection with the living world are shared by the Science Department at San Domenico so it was a natural choice to connect students to this platform.

During the spring ecology unit, Upper School Biology classes participated in a campus BioBlitz. Using iNaturalist, students worked in small teams to document the variety of species that can be found around our campus. It is fortunate that at SD we can walk just a few steps away from the manicured part of campus and step into natural ecosystems.

Students are able to explore the different plant life along a natural stream, under redwoods, and in the oak woodlands.

Together with Biology teacher Mary Churchill, we set up a 2-day project on iNaturalist during which, Churchill noted, “We challenged ourselves to find out how much biodiversity is all around us.”

Each class explored a small section of the open space around campus for 40 minutes. Without even getting up into the hills of our 500 acres the student-teacher teams recorded over 900 observations and, with the help of iNaturalist scientists, identified over 160 species. “It was a good experience to see how much biodiversity there is on our campus,” shared student Thomas Kuntze ’19. Students’ observations ranged from collecting pictures of the pervasive Pacific poison oak and wildflowers present this season, to documenting our resident barn owl, a gopher, turkey vultures, salamanders, and myriad varieties of lizards, many species of grasses, and numerous insects. The diversity of species that was observed generated a great deal of enthusiasm and interest in our student body. “I really liked how scientists and members of the community commented and helped us,” shared sophomore Irene Wan. “It was really satisfying to get one of your observations upgraded to Research Grade on iNaturalist, too.”

The coming together of technology and nature is surely one key to a healthy, happy, and sustainable world and it is inspiring to see this happening on our campus.

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A STEM Internship:

Bringing Life Skills and Creativity

BY AUDREY WEBSTER ’16

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s a student planning to pursue a Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) degree, I recently came across a startling statistic.

According to Xianglei Chen of the National Center for Education Statistics, “A total of 48 percent of bachelor’s degree students and 69 percent of associate’s degree students who entered STEM fields between 2003 and 2009 had left these fields by spring 2009.” This is often attributed to heavy memorization coursework and lack of creative opportunities in the classroom. I was drawn to Oberlin, a small liberal arts college, for its commitment to hands-on and innovative learning, and even as a freshman, I was fortunate to find an opportunity to participate in a science-based research project that also integrated creativity. The idea that creativity is only valued in the arts is highly Audrey Webster ’16, misconstrued; creativity is Oberlin College ’20, Biology Major and an essential element to engiMath Minor neering, yet it is not promoted enough.

During my first semester, I participated in the Seminar Program, “Creativity and Design,” the goal of which was to provide a space for students to delve into the creative process, identify how the creative process can be applied in our education and daily lives, and hopefully peak students’ interest in engineering. Upon completion of this course, my professor, Taylor Allen, asked me to join him in applying

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what we had learned in the seminar to a summer research project on creativity in education and papermaking. We would work with two organizations, Plantables, “a worker-focused business in Hudson, WI, that utilizes the skills and talents of its workers to create products that will beautify your garden and enhance the environment for bees and other pollinators,” and The Harrison Cultural Community Center (HCCC), a non-profit with “a vision to provide strong literacy-based and social services programs for needy children and families in Lorain County.”

The ultimate goals of the research would be to: 1) organize an outreach program for children ages 5-13 in the art of papermaking to stir interest in the creative process and STEM fields, 2) generate a project for higher level biology students to design tools for the employees with disabilities at Plantables, and 3) establish a module course that would reestablish a love for science in students dropping out of introductory biology and chemistry courses.

The creative process of this research closely mirrors the engineering design process that I first learned my senior year at San Domenico in Mr. Berry’s engineering class wherein we learned to: 1) ask a question and define the problem, 2) research and generate ideas (divergent thinking),

Alum Profile

Back to the Classroom 3) come up with a plan (convergent thinking), 4) test out the plan, usually failing, changing and improving the plan, and finally, 5) share the results. The process is not linear but rather works as a cycle with many smaller problem-solving cycles occurring within the larger process.

In this research the problem was this: how to teach creativity to students to keep their interest in STEM fields?

By the time this article goes to print, I will have immersed myself in the world of literature on making paper and gone

to learn both classroom and life skills. Author Tina Seeling sums up these thoughts in her book, What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20. How can students be expected to succeed upon graduating when, “For most people, the world is quite different than a typical classroom?” The fact that schools are asking the questions of why students are not succeeding and how to bring creativity back into the classroom is a step in the right direction of bridging the gap between the classroom and “real world” experience and in retaining student interest in STEM sectors.

The idea that creativity is only valued in the arts is highly misconstrued; creativity is an essential element to engineering, yet it is not promoted enough. through the journey of planning, testing, failing, and (hopefully) improving, as I taught myself to make paper with varying pulps (bamboo, abaca, blue jean, etc.), styles, and techniques and prepared for the outreach program with the HCCC. I will have become familiar enough with making paper on my own that I can lead others through the process. I will have prepared curriculum for the college biology courses working on the tools for the Plantables’ employees.

The purpose of education is to provide students with the skills and knowledge to succeed in the world outside of the classroom, and yet many skills that are taught in the classroom prove to be irrelevant in the workplace. Meanwhile, the skills critical to life outside the classroom are often neglected in the curricular experience. Furthermore, students who learn to solve problems by following a singular process to find a singular solution, to take solely closed-book tests, and to avoid failure are discouraged from exploring and accessing their creativity, their resources, and their ability to take risks, learn from their mistakes, and continue to persist. With this research project I’ve had the opportunity

Drying Paper made of blue jean and Abaca Paper with embedded plant material

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ALUM GATHERINGS Bolinas Alumni Retreat: A Reflection MARY BRADLEY QUINLAN ’70

On Friday, March 24 through Sunday, March 26, fourteen alumnae from across class years gathered at the Dominican Sisters’ Bolinas, California home for San Domenico’s 2nd Annual Alumni Reflection Retreat. Hosted by Sister Gervaise Valpey, O.P., and Alumni Relations Manager, Emily Garlock, this mindful gathering focused around the retreat reflection topic, Mary Magdalene: An Apostle for Our Times, as facilitated by Kayleen Asbo, Ph.D. For all in attendance, the weekend was deeply meaningful and provided a restorative sense of self and community.

Just the mention of Bolinas conjures up memories of the youthful exuberance of my Class of 1970. We would gather at cliff’s edge at the Bolinas House sharing dreams and confidences with the spontaneity of life brimming as young women on the cusp of adulthood. I have longed to return

there where the vast view of the ocean once served as a metaphor for our whole lives lying ahead of us.

So, when the invitation to the March 2017 Alumni Retreat there surfaced in my email, I knew I had to attend.

Besides my memories, the theme of the retreat, Mary Magdalene: An Apostle for Our Times, spoke to me. It was impossible in my youth, with the given name ‘Mary’, to identify with the perfection of Mary, the Mother of God; yet, my Upper School education enabled my awareness of Mary Magdalene. She was emotional, made mistakes and

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was forgiven, and was the good friend of Jesus. She became my gal and was ‘everywoman’ to me. I wanted to know her message for these turbulent times.

Fourteen of us, from classes ’57 to ’79, gathered over two days on a beautiful spring weekend. We bonded through our Dominican/San Domenico experiences and friendships, and through the many roles in which we’ve found ourselves, as women, since Upper School. Our beloved Sister Gervaise was the loving, vital force that joined us together as one group of a shared legacy. She and Emily Garlock, Alumni Relations Manager, were gracious hostesses, seeing to our every comfort; the house gleamed, somewhat unchanged, and was fresh and crisp with care and natural light.

I was not prepared for the many connections between us and the enlightenment and joy they offered us. The weekend became a bright spot following a harsh winter and amidst national and global uncertainties.

On the sunny Saturday, we cuddled in the embrace of the living room as Kayleen Asbo, Ph.D. led us through the historical revelations of Mary Magdalene in literature and art through the ages. Jesus tells Mary Magdalene, “Do not cling to me,” instructing her to find love within and go be the greater good. There is evidence that, following Christ’s death, Mary Magdalene traveled to the South of France and lived on the cliffs of the Holy Mountain of Baume in contemplative life. Early translations of the Bible depict her as ‘anthropost’ or ‘fully human’. As the first contemplative, her message to us, as women, is to bring joy where there is darkness.

Mark your calendars now for the

2018 Bolinas Alumni Reflection Retreat:

March 9-11, 2018 More information to follow.

Our weekend culminated with a delectable dinner graciously prepared and served by SD junior, Ellie Lewis ’19, and her wonderful mother, Carrie. As evening faded with vibrant conversation, the weekend was brought full circle for me, as we listened to Ellie share her happiness of being at San Domenico, excited and full of interests, while contemplating her future. This delightful young woman, sitting where we once sat, is full of hope, joy, dreams, and goals as her life

expands before her. I saw my ’70 classmates reflected in her.

The Dominican tradition continues through Ellie, and all of us. From the cliffs of Sainte-Baume Monastery to the cliffs of Bolinas, Mary Magdalene challenges us to be fully human with compassion and to not be led astray by the distractions of our time. I believe the Dominican tradition of Veritas has instilled in us Truth, to be the greater good and bring joy where there is darkness.

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CLASS NOTES 1960s Aloha from Yvonne Taylor Everhart ’63! Yvonne lives on the Hawaiian island of Molokai, and has been

On June 8, Barbara Hansen Reding ’63 visited campus to attend the Senior Transitions Lunch, as we welcomed the Class of 2017 into the San Domenico alumni community. Barbara was there specifically to honor her cousin, Marlee Mesarchik ’17, and bestow her with an alumni pendant.

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Alice Washburn ’63 has been busy celebrating family lately.

She enjoyed a great visit with her twin granddaughters in San Francisco in June, and joined her youngest daughter, Alicia, in celebrating both her birthday and receiving her Masters degree from Rutgers on the same day!

We want to hear from you!

Please submit your class notes and photos to alums@sandomenico.org to be featured in an upcoming edition of School Ties!

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enjoying recreational outrigger canoe paddling for the last 13 years.​Yvonne was invited to join the Women’s 65 yearold crew, which included women who have been paddling together for 30 years, have crossed the Ka’iwi Channel, and have paddled at the World Sprints in Brazil and in Australia.

Yvonne completed her first Regatta in June, and her crew qualified for the state race in August. She is thrilled with the opportunity to paddle with experienced paddlers, and proud to be competing at the age of 71. Yvonne wonders if her classmates from the Class of ’63 remember the day Sister Karen Marie made her and Patsy jog around the hockey field, and then play center forward because they had been avoiding the hockey field during PE? Thank you for sharing your memories, Yvonne, and good luck in your State race!

1940s & 1950s

Mary Lois Jones Brunk ’64 and her husband, Mike, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 2015. Since then, she and Mike sold their business and moved from Colorado to southwest Florida to enjoy the white sands. Mary has four children (located in California, Colorado and Maui), nine grandchildren, and one great-grandson, and even though they are far spread out, all are happy and healthy. She enjoys having one of her granddaughters close by, attending a Miami-area college on a volleyball and academic scholarship. In their free time, Mary and Mike have taken up a hobby they love: serving as American Kennel Club licensed dog judges, after over 15 years of showing and breeding English bulldogs. They have judged all over the world, in Tokyo, Columbia, Sao Paulo and throughout the U.S., and never dreamed that their shared love of dogs would take them so far!

1970s The younger daughter of Jean Futscher Meersman ’70 was married on June 10.

Lisa Douglass ’71 wrote to say she moved to a small farm property in Lodi, and is finding the peace and tranquility nourishing to her soul. She loves the animals – ponies, pups, and chickens! – and enjoys gardening, swimming, biking, and kayaking. Lisa’s daughters, Alison and Melissa, are now grown and both live in the Bay Area. She also has a granddaughter, Merritt (age 2), who is a “wonderful, special, very smart little girl.” Lisa recently completed a graduate degree at Saint Mary’s College, and provides college and career-readiness advising, currently with the Benicia Unified School District. Lisa is grateful for the chance to offer important information to young students and their families, and appreciates all that San Domenico has provided her. She is looking forward to returning to campus for a future Reunion!

1980s Ana Maria

Iturralde-Vazquez ’84 checked in from their rural home outside of San Diego where she and her family live.

Ana and her husband find it the ideal location for their daughter, Anasofia, who rides horseback competitively.

Anasofia and her horse “Leonardo Da Vinci” a.k.a. “Leo” compete in the Greater San Diego Hunters & Jumpers Association. Ana Maria and husband Roman will celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary this December.

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Joshua Smith, son of Sarah Ann Maleady Smith ’75, married Ashley Goff in a garden wedding at Sarah and husband Paul’s house in Hope, Maine on July 15.

On May 11, Courtney Benoist ’77, Rita Nederman Gilbert ’77, Nina Anne Greeley ’77, and Helen Greeley Recinos ’78 visited and toured campus with Sister Gervaise, and enjoyed lunch in the Dining Hall with Sister, Head of School Cecily O’Byrne Stock ’77, and Alumni Relations Manager Emily Garlock.

During the campus tour, they met graduating seniors Paige Bentum ’17 and Ogechi Egonu ’17 – whom they were thrilled to congratulate just days after Ogechi won top honors in the National Shakespeare competition in New York City on May 1.

Lucia Tatiana Sinclair Dauchy (Mills) ’86 and her 9-year-old son, Francis, stopped by to visit campus and say hello to Sister Gervaise on June 14, all the way from Hawaii! Lucia was so grateful to reconnect with Sister Gervaise – her former Religious Studies teacher – and share the experience with her son. s

Jackson Klein, son of Kate Supple Klein ’75 and husband Thomas, graduated from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication on June 18, and was drafted in the 34th round of the MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals (pick No. 1,020). He is currently in training camp in Arizona.

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CLASS NOTES 1990s Valerie Lundy-Wagner ’97

has been back in the Bay Area for two years, after almost a decade living on the East Coast in both Philadelphia and New York. While she misses the proximity to her brother who lives in Brooklyn, she is enjoying her return to the Bay Area. She currently lives around the corner from fellow alum, Yeri Caesar-Kaptoech ’96 in Richmond, and is “learning more about how to fix up an old house and maintain cherry, peach, plum, avocado, grapefruit, and apple trees than I ever would have imagined!” Valerie works for Jobs for the Future, a Boston-based, national nonprofit that focuses on economic mobility, and her position allows her a lot of travel and time spent supporting collaboration among California’s public K-12 schools and community colleges. Valerie also tries to keep up with her mom, who lives just a few miles from her, and who has become an active runner, hiker, and line dancer – a true inspiration!

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Lara Howenstine ’99 visited campus with her sister, Sabrina, in July. Lara, an interior architect, and her musician husband are expecting a baby boy in September.

Delilah Island Allman Kurtom ’99 is currently finishing a Masters degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner at Georgetown, and has been accepted into a Doctoral program at Frontier Nursing University. She and her husband, Khalid, have two children: son Rami is 6 and daughter Isis is 4. She and her family currently reside in Maryland, located about an hour outside of Washington, D.C., and she is a post-anesthesia care nurse at Easton Memorial Hospital.

2000s In March, Lexy

Fridell ’00 starred in Sonoma’s Transcendence Theatre Company’s production of “Best of Broadway Under the Stars” at the Marin Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael. The show featured a mix of musical theater classics, Broadway

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hits and mash-ups, and humor . . . something Lexy enjoys performing most! She was recently profiled in the Marin Independent Journal, where she attributes the beginning of her love of performing to the three years she spent at San Domenico, and our

“amazing theater department.”

During her time at San Domenico she performed in “every show she could, from Jo in Little Women, to Anne in Anne of Green Gables.” Lexy lives in Sausalito with her husband.

Julia Palter Dey ’02 and her husband, Andrew, welcomed their first child,

daughter Olivia Margaret Dey, on January 6, 2017. Congratulations Julia and Andrew!

On April 28, Lindsay Bochner ’05 came to campus to speak to the freshmen during class meeting. She shared with our students her experiences during her time in the Naval Academy, and while stationed in and off the coast of Japan. Lindsay helped with the relief efforts after the Japanese Tsunami of 2011, and was able to share her story of avoiding the nuclear cloud, while she helped to coordinate the flight deck distribution of aid and supplies,

and driving the ship as an officer. Lindsay is currently getting her M.B.A from the University of Washington, and is getting married this summer on Orcas Island in Washington.

SD teachers Ian Sethre and Jill Hoefgen caught up with Jazzmina Moore ’05 during Spring Break in Oahu, Hawaii.

These days, Jazzy works as the staff

RN for the Marimed Foundation, a nonprofit that provides residential rehabilitation and therapy programs for teenage boys who have had legal or behavior problems, usually involving substance abuse. Marimed delivers ocean and land-based learning experiences that empower youth, adults and families and strengthen communities.

At the core of each of these programs is a 96’ tall-ship, SSV MAKANI OLU,

which serves as a platform for earning activities, skills-building, and extraordinary — potentially transformational — experiences.

Rosie Weiss ’06 checked in to let us know that after three years at Patelco Credit Union, she recently received a promotion to full-time Member Solutions Specialist. Rosie is in her last year at Dominican University, and plans to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management in May 2018.

Mariel Kamp ’07 continues to live in San Francisco, working in the music industry.

While she never strayed too far from the Bay Area, she did study abroad in Ireland, before graduating from Dominican University in 2012 with a degree in International Business. Her current position is Box Office Manager for Live Nation for Northern California venues, where she works summer festivals, and helps out with various music tours throughout the year. She has a Blue Nose Pit Bull

named Prince, and still loves photography, sports, and traveling. Mariel keeps in contact with many of her classmates, and feels there is truly nothing like the bond between San Domenico “sisters.”

While strolling through Clarion Alley in San Francisco’s Mission neighborhood in April, looking over the murals with a group of San Domenico students, Dirk Weiss and Ian Sethre crossed paths with Jamila Keba ’07, working on her

second mural in two years – 10 years after she was on Spring Discovery with them in that same neighborhood! A few minutes later, Christina Simpson ’07 (not pictured) also turned up for a little impromptu reunion. s

Congratulations to our Middle School Class of 2009 on their recent graduation from colleges and universities around the country!

Will Cook MS ’09 graduated from USC with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in May. Annika Hoy MS ’09 graduated cum laude on May 12 from the Dornsife School of Arts & Letters at USC with a degree in Applied Mathematics and minors in Entrepreneurship and Spanish.

She was also a Renaissance Scholar and graduated with honors, all while working in the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles’s

Marine Biodiversity Center and leading the USC Equestrian Team. And a unique congratulations to Andrew Buie MS ’09, Ally Byer MS ’09 and Samantha Huff MS ’09 who graduated from Duke University on May 14, 2017. Having all attended the Branson School after San Domenico, they have been in school together for 18 years, since their Pre-K start at San Domenico!

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CLASS NOTES 2010s Graduates Lauren Huff

’11 and Daisy Gutierrez ’14 joined the Senior Transitions Lunch on June 8, to honor their sisters Whitney Huff ’17 and Vanessa Gutierrez ’17, and the entire Class of 2017, as they became the newest members of the San Domenico alumni community.

Matthew Geffen MS ’13 recently had the unique opportunity to interview Chelsea Clinton, which was featured in an April article at FastFoward.com. Matt and Chelsea conversed about her 2015 publication: It’s Your World: Get Informed, Get Inspired & Get Going!, and her ongoing efforts to encourage youth activism and awareness, and expanding opportunities to elevate youth voices. Read the full interview at fastforwardweb. com/index.php/magazine/interviews/514-chelsea-clinton-interview.

On June 6, Lily Hansen ’14 stopped by campus to visit with teachers, Sister Gervaise and the Alumni Relations Office.

Lily is attending the University of Wisconsin, Madison and plans to graduate in 2018. She is also a member of the University of Wisconsin Women’s Rowing Team and President of the Sign Language Club. Lily is very deeply involved with the deaf, and the deaf community nationwide, including those who only sign, and those who have cochlear implants, hearing aids, bone anchored hearing aids, middle ear implants, and auditory brainstem implants. She is currently based in Dallas, Texas while pursuing two internships in different countries, and being mentored by world-renowned female leaders in the field. She is passionate about what she does, and is grateful to San Domenico for setting her up for her current successes.

Erin Wiens St. John ’15 recently earned a Fulbright Scholarship and will be attending Oxford next spring. Congratulations, Erin!

Introducing our 2017 Class Representatives!

Gracie Kolb ’17 “I was raised in West Marin, and have grown up among the redwoods.

During my time at San Domenico I was involved in the Music Conservatory as a concert pianist, theatre arts, Student Council, and the National Honors Society. What I will miss most about San Domenico are the relationships cultivated between students, teachers, and administrators. Next year, I will be attending the University of Southern California, where I plan to major in Human Development and Aging. I am excited to follow my dreams of becoming a doctor.”

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Vicky Lin ’17 “I’m from Guangzhou, China and at SD I was actively involved in the Children in Need Club, Varsity Tennis, and Swimming. I have participated in the Berkeley Model UN for three years, and was a Prefect in the dorm for two years. I have learned so much from my friends and SD teachers – indeed, this is the most important thing that I will miss about SD. This fall, I will attend Pitzer College in Claremont, California. I’m interested in Environmental Studies and International Studies.”

REMEMBRANCES

In Memoriam

Patricia Whittle Sitkin ’43

Jean Pope Carlsmith ’50

Juanita Daussat Adamina ’38

Martha Raggio Beaver ’45

Susan Eiden Bick ’57

Lorraine Cazenave Pearson ’38

Louise Carbone Colombatto ’47

Maria Ramos ’76

Francesca D’Anneo ’50 on the death of her brother, Paul Francis D’Anneo.

Lisa Picarelli ’70 on the death of her father, Rudy Picarelli.

Gretchen Reichardt Pullara ’85 on the death of her father, Carl Reichardt.

Mary Donohue Ciocca ’59 on the death of her husband, Dennis G. Ciocca.

Terry Jackson ’71 on the death of her father, Donald Jackson.

Elena Henderson Keating ’86 and Joan Henderson MS ’76 on the death of their brother, Jim Henderson.

Kathleen Keith ’65 on the death of her father, Richard E. Keith.

Betsy Walton ’72 on the death of her mother, Mary Elizabeth Lee Walton.

Pamela Ward Cooper ’67 on the death of her brother, Michael Jeffrey Ward.

Lori Cagwin ’73 on the death of her father, Tom Cagwin.

Elizabeth Brown Heyne ’67, Margaret Brown Stucka ’68, Christine Brown Palmquist ’69, and Su Brown Pechtl ’77 on the death of their brother, Dan Brown.

Kathleen Hannan Jamison ’74, Mary Claire Hannan Jones ’77 and Carolyne Hannan Witt ’82 on the death of their mother, Josephine Hannan.

In Sympathy

Terry Feinberg Spodick ’68 on the death of her mother, Lorraine Cazenave Pearson ’38.

Maureen Pasha Larson ’81 and Mary Jane Pasha ’85 on the death of their mother, Janet Pasha.

As of July 31, 2017

Ashley La Shelle ’87 on the death of her daughter, Victoria La Rocca.

Lisa Howey Wilson ’88 on the death of her mother, Christine Howey.

Catherine Rossi Davidson ’99 on the death of her husband, Drew Davidson.

Delilah Island Allman Kurtom ’99 on the death of her father, Gregg Allman.

Marie Ackerman ’02 on the death of her father, Ken Ackerman.

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REMEMBRANCES Janet Pasha July 21, 1939 – July 16, 2017 On July 16, 2017, we lost one of our School’s beloved and committed friends and supporters.

Janet Pasha was a parent of graduates, a grandparent of three current San Domenico students – Russell (9th) and twins Emily Anne and Ryan Pasha-Maxstadt (7th).

Jan was an inspiring and engaged trustee for two, six-year terms becoming a Trustee Emerita in 2015. Jan’s mantra was, “How can we make this work?” She, along with her husband, George, provided a gift in the last capital campaign for one of the named courts in our Katherine Kaime Gaspar ’38 Gymnasium, completed in 2002, and established the Pasha Family Endowed Fund for Scholarships in 2007.

Jan’s continuing interest in all aspects of San Domenico, as a parent during her children’s Pre-K through Upper School years, included her creative ideas, vision, and personal planning for the annual Women’s Symposiums of the ’80s to her continued enjoyment of recent School events. Jan’s networking skills for making events thoughtfully successful will be greatly missed. Her extraordinarily generous spirit remains rooted on our campus and will be felt for years to come.

Janet Ryan Pasha Grandparents Day, 2016

Molly McGovern

October 11, 1943 – June 30, 2017 To have experienced Molly as a teacher, as a colleague, or as a friend was a complete gift.

An educational leader here at SD for more than twenty years and a true asset to early education, Molly was a person of deep values, with concern for each student and family.

She exuded a constantly joyful spirit, and as former Primary School Principal Carole Chase once shared, “Anyone who ever met Molly was touched by her grace, her kind and loving presence, her support and care, by the ever-present sparkle in her eye, and her Irish humor.” “In essence, she was love,” said her jusband Terry.

“She was courageous beyond words. Keep her in your heart, and she will live forever.”

Molly McGovern with her students beneath the redwoods.

70 SCHOOL TIES

1983

FROM THE ARCHIVES

34 Years of Environmental Innovation . . . and Counting San Domenico was founded in the same year that California became a state, and innovation has long played a key role in our School philosophy. One of the most innovative and forward-thinking projects at San Domenico was the introduction and development of our Sustainability program.

In 1983, the Dominican Sisters and teachers at the School launched the design and construction of our Garden of Hope, to introduce “a means for growing produce and flowers, as well as a site for teaching students.” An eco-literacy and sustainability program followed in 1994, thanks to the perseverance, determination, and detailed research of a team of experts and SD community members, led by Sister Gervaise and including renowned environmental architect Sim Van der Ryn, whose grandson is now a junior at San Domenico. The Garden of Hope became the focal point for students at every grade level to connect to the environment through study, research, and getting their hands dirty. In 2009, as a result of a student ROSE Project, the School installed 2,358 solar panels which offset nearly 85% of the School’s electricity needs. In 2014 SD was named a Green Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education, an honor recognized as “long overdue” by Marin County Superintendent of Schools, Mary Jane Burke. The appreciation of our environment and the desire to leave places better than when we found them is threaded throughout every day at SD. From middle school students hauling compost to the garden, or maintaining a beehive on campus, to AP Environmental Science high schoolers identifying and labeling plant species along the cross-country trail, to fourth graders creating a video encouraging less food waste, it is evident that for the entire SD community, environmental innovation continues to thrive at SD!

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Please forward this publication. If your son or daughter no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please notify the Advancement Office of his or her new mailing address by calling 415.258.1931, or emailing alums@sandomenico.org.

MISSION STATEMENT Dedicated to being California’s leading independent school, serving Kindergarten through twelfth grade students of all faiths, San Domenico is committed to excellence in education, preparing the next generation of global leaders.

Founded in 1850 by the Dominican Sisters, San Domenico reflects our Dominican Catholic heritage which calls us to uphold the values of study, reflection, service, and community.

In the Dominican tradition of Veritas (truth), We inspire inquiry and provide a strong academic foundation for lifelong intellectual growth.

We explore and develop the unique gifts of each individual in mind, heart, body, and spirit.

We celebrate diversity, recognizing God’s presence in ourselves and in all of creation.

We recognize what it means to be human in a global community and respond with integrity to the needs and challenges of our time.

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