H O M E S T R E T C H 838 KEARNY PROJECT THE CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
At Sterne, we know that there simply is not a one-size-fits-all educational approach in a world where everyone’s learning profile is unique.
DIGITAL FILM CLASSROOM featuring a wraparound green screen and a lighting and editing station.
Once the Gym and Digital & Performing Arts Center is completed, it will feature: GYMNASIUM to accommodate interscholastic athletics (basketball, volleyball, and team handball), recess and physical education.
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Over $400,000 in emergency funds were expended, creating more space for students, installing safety measures, and — critically — increasing Sterne’s ability to provide tuition assistance to families impacted by the Pandemic. We are thrilled to have re-opened our Middle School in November 2020, and welcomed our High School students back in March 2021.
In March 2020, the COVID-19 Pandemic forced Sterne School to close its doors and transition to a distance-learning protocol. In the intervening months, the school leadership and facilities teams spent countless hours re-imagining the campus for a new, post-COVID-19 world, an unanticipated capital project that took priority over the ongoing campus renovation.
The Home Stretch is the third and final phase of the campus buildout, funding a long-awaited Gymnasium and Digital & Performing Arts Center. Upon completion, our 10,000 square-foot lower level will be entirely dedicated to Sterne’s arts and athletics programs. We have embarked on this campaign to ensure that our students will always have access to arts and athletics programs that inspire their learning and ignite their passions. With the creation of these spaces, our students will gain the confidence to challenge themselves physically and artistically in new ways, and deepen skills in areas they already love.
DRAMA & CLASSROOMMOVEMENT with movable stage and space that can accommodate up to 40 audience members and be used for small performances as well as drama instruction and movement.
WELCOME CENTER , a bright and intimate space for welcoming visitors to our campus and hosting small gatherings of our diverse student, alumni, parent, and friend communities. BATHROOMS & STORAGE SPACES for instruments, theater materials, and athletics equipment.
Sterne’s Mission is to build on the foundation of individual strengths to discover and nurture each student’s version of greatness.
MUSIC CLASSROOM with a RECORDING STUDIO and adjacent REHEARSAL ROOM .
Sterne transforms the lives of children in a supportive, nurturing, and diverse environment. Sterne is a place where children are not only encouraged to be who they are but also celebrated for it.
Sterne School has undertaken a series of projects, over two phases, to build out our campus at 838 Kearny and strengthen the innovative, individualized curriculum we provide to our exceptional students.
▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ W ATHLETICS + PHYSICAL EDUCATION PROGRAM OVERVIEW
“The new space will help build a sense of community by creating places where everyone can come together.”
ATHLETICS
Through participation in team sports, students come to understand the importance and rewards of cooperation, healthy competition, and self-discipline. Athletics provide an avenue for students who already possess strong athletic skills to shine, and a way for students who are still developing their athletic abilities to gain strength and confidence.
Building a Gym will enable Sterne students, busy families, and other members of the Sterne community to fully participate in practices, home games, and tournaments. The new Gym will also facilitate community-building, serving as a multi-purpose space for a variety of functions such as parent gatherings, all-school assemblies, and school dances, meeting a critical need.
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
ProvidesIMPACTSterne with a tool to recruit students for team sports, retain current student athletes, and attract transfer students from other schools. Supports additional open Gym time for teams to practice onsite. Students will enjoy an expanded Physical Education program. Students will have year-round Physical Education classes, regardless of weather. Students will not have to travel to practice facilities.
The new Gymnasium will give Sterne athletes a home court and allow Sterne to accommodate greater student interest in athletics by providing more gym time for additional team practices and games. The new Gym will support the expansion of Sterne’s athletics program and create a key recruiting tool for Sterne, thereby feeding the high school sports program.
Sterne sports teams will be able to host home games and have home court Studentsadvantage.willhave space for afterschool activities such as Fitness and Running Club. Provides a gathering place capable of hosting up to 393 people.
– Jeannie Fraise, Parent of Kai, Lower School student
e know that athletics and physical activities are important to a child’s development, behavior, and performance both inside and outside the classroom, as well as for creating lifelong healthy habits and decreasing anxiety. Research shows that children need to move!
Physical Education (P.E.) classes take place throughout the day on the roof of the school, weather permitting. The Upper Elementary and Middle School P.E. program is enhanced through pull-out programming that provides students with opportunities to participate in alternate activities including gardening, yoga, and swim lessons at the local YMCA. Pull-out programs assist Sterne students in exploring various activities and finding one (or more) they truly enjoy.
– Cassie and Jim Bahan, Parents of Audrey, High School student
The Drama Club will have space to meet after school.
Sterne will have space to host visiting theater groups and small performances.
Drama, music, and digital arts are offered in both the middle school and high school, and an 11th-grade course in Art and Design combines elements of Design Thinking and the creative process to help students develop and practice important skills that are essential for a variety of careers including marketing, graphic design, architecture, project management, animation, and advertising.
DRAMA and MOVEMENT CLASSROOM
Currently, drama classes take place in a standard classroom, which is not optimal since it cannot replicate the experience of performing on a stage. Due to cost and logistics, students are not able to rehearse in a real theater space until the day before their performance.
| OPTION 3 DRAMA CLASSROOM
SterneIMPACThigh school students will enjoy an expanded drama program, dive deeper on theory and concepts, and try new genres. Students will be able to rehearse in a true theater, learning how to project their voices, find their light, and understand stage movement.
Students will have more rehearsal time with audiences during previews or dress rehearsals. Students will learn theater etiquette and gain firsthand knowledge of theater production.
Sterne will be able to grow the program and add a theater tech component in which students will learn to run sound and lights. Ideally, we will eventually expand the program further to include stage management, costuming, and set and prop design.
“The completion of the gym and performing arts center cannot happen fast enough. It will be the heartbeat of the school: a gathering place for dances, events, sports and true community.”
he arts are a vital part of Sterne’s curriculum. Our students thrive in an environment that provides opportunities for growth and expression, and enables them to find their voices, discover new strengths, and develop confidence in their abilities.
Each arts course culminates in a showcase that provides students with opportunities to take risks and overcome fears, while discovering and celebrating their many talents.
▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ T THE ARTS AT STERNE
DRAMA
The new Drama & Movement Classroom will be used for teaching, rehearsals, previews, and small performances.
“Finishing the lower level of the school will make Sterne feel complete and enable it to offer all the things that other schools offer, in addition to its amazing teachers and learning program.”
The vocal and instrumental music program at Sterne helps students discover and develop their musical talents and skills. Students of all levels participate in a variety of music classes as an elective or an after-school club. The program could potentially be expanded to provide music instruction to students who prefer not to perform and include quarterly recitals for those who enjoy performing.
MUSIC CLASSROOM, RECORDING STUDIO, and REHEARSAL ROOM
– Jamen Howe, Parent of Harriet, High School student
The Music Classroom will provide Sterne with a dedicated classroom for music instruction for the first time. This space will open up cross-curricular program opportunities such as podcasting and literary readings/recordings. The new Recording Studio will amplify the music program by providing opportunities for students to learn songs for performance, as well as how to record, mix, and produce — or even score music for film projects. The Rehearsal Room
TheIMPACTmusicprogram will have a dedicated classroom for instruction that can also be used for Studentspractice.willhave a soundproof room for music rehearsal. Students will be able to record their Studentsperformances.willenjoyan expanded music program that includes the recording process: mic placement, equalization, mixing and mastering.
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Most private schools do not have filmmaking as part of the arts curriculum — this is a unique opportunity for our middle school and high school students, and we want to strengthen and expand this program to reach more of our students.
DIGITAL FILM CLASSROOM
SterneIMPACThigh school students will be able to take the high-demand film class for the first time. Creates potential for launching a morning news program and much more, produced and hosted by Sterne Studentsstudents.willreceive a more robust learning experience. Students will have the option of working with our music department to score their films. The Film Club will have space to meet after school. US Through your generosity and involvement, we can make this vision a reality and deliver on the promise of our mission. We ask that you join us to transform Sterne the way Sterne transforms lives. Your philanthropic investment in the Campaign will make an enormous difference in the lives of Sterne students and future generations. Many students discover, for the first time, a joy for learning and the confidence to succeed at Sterne. At the conclusion of our Home Stretch Campaign, Sterne students will have the facilities to match the innovative, toptier education they receive and deserve, with expanded opportunities to engage in the arts and athletics that this project will provide. To learn more about our Campaign and how to make a gift, please contact Sterne’s Director of Development, Lea Wood, at lwood@sterneschool.org or (415) 922-6081 x105.
The film program does not currently have a permanent classroom, requiring the class to find available space each time they meet. Building the new Digital Film Classroom will give the program a home and provide students with a professional Hollywood-type studio, including a permanent green screen, and more professional lighting, computers and other equipment needed for students to produce and edit film. The new classroom makes it possible to offer a film class at the high school level, a Film Club, and other activities for students who are passionate about this medium. Mastering the “language of film” is incredibly powerful for Sterne’s population, particularly for students who have trouble expressing themselves through writing; these students often excel in expressing themselves visually.
“I’m amazed at Sterne’s ability to attract energetic and engaged teachers.... everything is so positive. Letting our kids have the space to be who they really are is wonderful. The inclusive and positive language lets the kids know they are accepted.”
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– DeAnn Biss, Parent of Lily, Lower School student
▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ FILM OPTION 1 JOIN
Sterne’s film program is in high demand among students: Sterne students win awards at the EdRev every year and won first place in 2019. Film is a popular elective at Sterne and is currently only available to middle school students. In film class, students acquire visual literacy through learning pre- and post-production filmmaking, using iPads along with movie-making and special effects applications. Students learn storyboarding, composing shots, lighting, acting, editing, special effects and sound design as well as critical and sequential thinking skills.
OUR HISTORY
— John and Janet Kunze, Parents of Jack, Lower School student
838 Kearny Street San Francisco, CA 94108 Lea Wood, Development Director 415 922 6081 sterneschool.orglwood@sterneschool.orgx105 S
terne School was founded in 1976 by educator Valerie Anthony, who, along with her husband Xen, operated the school in a storefront in the Inner Sunset before moving the school to a home on Jackson Street in 1982. For much of its 45-year history, Sterne was staffed by six or seven teachers and enrolled 30 to 60 students. Former Head of School, Ed McManis, took the helm in 2008 ushering in a period of staggering growth at Sterne, with the High School expanding to a separate campus and the student body quadrupling in size.
The Anniversary Campaign, launched in 2016, enabled Sterne to move into its new home at 838 Kearny and bring all grades (4-12) under one roof. At the time of the lease signing, the new campus had roughly 14,000 square feet of undeveloped space — a capital project totaling $9 million over three phases. During the past two years, Sterne has steadily raised $4 million in capital funds in tandem with the first two phases of construction. In 2018 the school completed a Science Lab, Fine Art Studio & Gallery, multipurpose library, and program center on the building’s 3rd and 4th floors. Two years later, under the leadership of our new Head of School, Melissa Myers, these spaces have significantly elevated Sterne’s curriculum, program develop ment, assessment, and science instruction.
“Coming to Sterne was game-changing for us, a revolution. Sterne provides real individualized attention and an empathetic community.”
Over the years, Sterne’s dedicated community of educators, parents, and our Board have come together to support various capital projects that have allowed Sterne to grow and expand its student-centric program to serve more students.