THE
CARDINAL 2021 EDITION
S T. J O H N ’ S E P I S C O PA L SCHOOL MAGAZINE A N I S S U E O F G R AT I T U D E
Head of School Welcome St. John’s Episcopal School Community & Friends, As we look back on the 2020-21 school year, St. John’s Episcopal School has lived into its identity as an independent Episcopal school more than ever before. Unlike other schools that report to a district or diocesan offices for funding, program, regulation, and oversight, St. John’s Episcopal School is on its own—and we are more than enough. Last year, we engaged our Cardinals each day within the most extreme circumstances of the pandemic, always striving to achieve our Mission. But that Mission is not achieved without the support of our entire community. While tuition is an investment in your children, it does not cover the full cost of providing a top-notch STEAM program, infused with meaningful Cardinal Character development, built on our Episcopal identity, to all Cardinals. Instead, we rely on philanthropy to meet our lofty goals. Because of your support in the 2020-21 school year, St. John’s was able to… •
Hire additional faculty & staff to provide in-person and remote learning within strict safety restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic for our 450+ Cardinals
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Flex our learning spaces in and beyond our classrooms to ensure safe, personalized learning environments for our Cardinals’ academic and social-emotional growth
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Equip our entire campus with ultra-fast wifi, streaming stations, cameras, hardware and software to engage our students’ learning experiences in multiple modalities
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Support our unparalleled faculty and staff professional development and growth during the most challenging time of any educator’s career
St. John’s success last year was palpable in ways large and small. While the “loss of learning” during the pandemic at other schools is only now coming to light, our Cardinals annual standardized test scores, including ERBs and High School Placement Tests have stayed consistent throughout the pandemic—which is also to say, they’ve remained among the best that our local high schools see of its incoming applicants. While others faltered, we have maintained our high standards. Success is a virtuous cycle, and we are poised for greater achievements and opportunities, together. As we enter the 21-22 school year, the future is bright and guided by our newly approved Strategic Plan—The Cardinal Mindset—which will further cement St. John’s as an unequivocal leader in independent schools in Orange County for decades to come. Please join me in sincere gratitude and appreciation of our entire Cardinal Family—our students, faculty, staff, families, and alumni— who make this community truly one-of-a-kind. Go Cardinals!
Patrick McHonett Head of School
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THANK YOU TO OUR SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEMBERS 2020-2021 School Committee Erica Bogardus, Mike Casey, Kelli Cheshire, Charles d’Arcy, Bill Hageman, Russ Hennings, Cameron Jonsson, Dirksen Lehman, Melissa Lukowski, Stephanie Peters, Lydia Schimmelpfenig, Andy Sulick, Perry Valaskantjis, Scott Vickers, Shannon Wernemar
2021-2022 School Committee Erica Bogardus, Natalie Boyd, Laura Breaux, Mike Casey, Kelli Cheshire, Celia Coulter, Patty Cyr, Charles D’Arcy, Russ Hennings, Damian Mate, Allen McNamee, Stephanie Peters, Andrew Schneider, Andy Sulick, Perry Valaskantjis, Scott Vickers, Shannon Wernemar
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The St. John’s School Committee is a group of volunteers charged with the long-term strategic vision and financial health of the School. These volunteers are parents of current students, parents of alumni, members of the St. John’s Episcopal Church, and members of our community who believe in the vision for and value of a St. John’s education.
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The School Committee’s primary duty and responsibility is to ensure the School remains faithful to the highest demands of both the Mission and the academic community.
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If you have any questions for the school committee, please reach out at www.stjohns-es.org/about/school-committee
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STRATEGIC PLAN Our aspiration is to maximize the Growth Mindset of every Cardinal where each individual believes in their unlimited potential, views challenges as opportunities for growth, and are intellectual risk takers. Organized through the pillars of program, people, and place, the administration and the
School Committee will collaborate to achieve excellence in academic, character, and faith education.
The St. John’s Episcopal School Mission: Grounded in the rich history of diversity and excellence in Episcopal education, St. John’s fosters every child’s full intellectual, physical, and spiritual development. A nurturing learning environment and programs built on an ideal balance of tradition and innovation encourage our students to pursue lives of service and purpose.
Vision Statement St. John’s provides a world-class STEAM education that combines academic rigor with individualized instruction and meaningful character development, where each Cardinal is known, valued, and feels a sense of belonging. As an independent school, St. John’s engaging programs, coupled with our inclusive, faithbased culture, enriches each student’s mind, body, and spirit, resulting in exceptional academic trajectories and extraordinarily happy individuals.
Strategic Pillars:
STEAM Curriculum
Character Development
Faith Education
Seamlessly integrated through Growth Mindset foundation
Strategic Plan Update Over the course of the 20-21 school year, the School Committee undertook a comprehensive, inclusive strategic planning process, which incorporated countless hours and significant feedback from members of the SJES community, including current students, families, faculty, staff, church members, and alumni. The School Committee worked with SJES administration through the summer to draft the finalized plan, which was unanimously passed by School Committee vote in late-September. The Cardinal Mindset is purposefully constructed to support St. John’s Mission, and is organized around the pillars of Program, People, and Place. The efforts over the course of the coming years will seek to maximize continued growth and excellence in each of these key areas, to the benefit of all Cardinal community members.
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FOOTBALL
Service learning Projects
6TH-8TH GRADE ELECTIVES
LACROSSE
TITLE St. John’s outcomes
SOCCER
• NEGU Joy Jars
• Broadway Bound
• Sports/Games
TRACK AND FIELD
• Coding
• Study Hall
VOLLEYBALL
• Makers
• TV Production
• Gleaning in Irvine Fields • RSM Food Bank
• O’Neil Park Clean Up • Music Technology • Visual Arts • Birthday Boxes John’s education is a valuable investment in your child’s future. You want the best for your child and the %AofSt. eligible students • Robotics • Yearbook playing a sport education at St. John’s will prepare your child for success in high school and beyond. With access to Water highly • Students for Safe
76%
• Speech and Debate trained teachers, state of the art facilities, and a well-rounded STEAM education, •students St. John’s are Soles foratSouls exposed to some of the most innovative educational experiences in Orange County.
Full time Registered Nurse and Assistant HS matriculation
% Parochial School Honors matriculation
2019-2020
2020-2021
SMCHS
60%
73%
JSERRA
6%
9%
ST. MARGARET’S
9%
4%
OCSA
0%
0%
PUBLIC
17%
6%
SAGE HILL
2%
2%
CREAN
0%
2%
OTHER
6%
4%
(INCLUDING BOARDING)
21%
23%
40%
63%
HONORS IN 4 AREAS
HONORS IN 3 AREAS
HONORS IN 2 AREAS
AT LEAST 1 HONORS
*ST. JOHN’S CLASS OF 2021 MATRICULATION DATA FOR SMCHS AND JSERRA
OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
Overnight class trips
testimonials 6 – PALI INSTITUTE TH
INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERS
• 4th grade field trip to Sacramento • 3rd grade community & business trip to Wendy’s
7 – SEA CAMP the homeless Catholic “St. John’s not only prepared• Feeding me for the homework load, Workers but also TH
8TH – WASHINGTON D.C.
They feel more Chapman University prepared for high school than their peers from other schools
• Applied Medical Tour
prepared me for the leap into high school.”
-St. John’s alumnus and current high school student
Admissions Deadlines
“After carefully and thoughtfully considering all options available in
St. John’s graduates Applied Medical tell us:
They are confident in approaching their teacher about a grade or assignment
Stay connected
Orange County for our son’s education, we chose St. John’s Episcopal
Current family sibling They are confident November 30 application deadline School. The School’s combination of passionate and caring teachers, RSVP/ schedule tour:
helping a peer with a
www.StJohns-es.org/admissions difficult situation dedicated administrative and support staff, and forward thinking and Applications due
February 1
highly skilled leadership produced a “Renaissance” experience for our
International Student Like us on Facebook! applications due and engaging academics, but son. Not only was he provided rigorous
They are comfortable navigating Followtechnology us on Twitter! and online curricula
@StjohnsRSM
the school also encouraged him to develop his artistic side. St. John’s was the best investment we could have made.” -William and Bertha, former St. John’s parents
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They are comfortable managing their homework and extracurricular activities
THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR DONORS WHO GENEROUSLY GAVE TO THE CARDINAL FUND IN THE 2020-2021 SCHOOL YEAR.
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Last year was a record year for participation in the 2020-2021 Cardinal Fund. We had 100% participation from faculty and staff, the School Committee, and PTF Board. Our overall parent participation was at 73%. At St. John’s we focus on parent participation as every gift makes an impact no matter the dollar amount. The Cardinal Fund is the most important philanthropic effort for the school. Thank you to all of our families that have made 2021-2022 Cardinal Fund in the first half of the year. There is still time to give to the 2021-2022 Cardinal Fund. Click Here for more information. www.stjohns-es.org/support-us/cardinalfund
Friend
Anonymous (26) Jon Achee Ruth Acosta Tiffany Adair Susan Adame Sharon Alston Gail Altergott The Anderson Family Andre Banales The Bell Family Missy Blye Jenny Bochenek Cheryl Boesch Melissa and Larry Bonhall Allix Bosanko The Boyd Family Madyson Boyd Russell Boyd Mr. and Mrs. Eric S. Boyd In Honor Of Mrs. Birte Brandt Ann Buccola Amy Cabiles The Cabiles Family Julie Caito The Campbell Family The Canchola Family Erin Candolo Greg & Kelli Carpenter Susan Cervantes The Chandler Family Shelley Chretin 5
Deb Cole Susan Corbett in memory of Ann Petersen The Cortinas Family The Coulston Family Austen Courter Mr. and Mrs. Rod and Mary Daryabigi Mr. & Mrs. Hank/Berni Degener Janice Dennis Yingying Diamond Kelly Dietz The Dietz Family The Doddridge Family The Eckert Family Lisa Edwards Joe & Chanelle Lopez The Fernandez Family Heather Flynn Holly Galus The Gao Family The Garrett Family The Garrett Family Connie Girolamo Mr. & Mrs. Godoy Alyssa Golles Susan Gomez The Greene Family Jesse Greenhalgh Sheryll Grogan Kailey Grubbs Laura Guethlein Cheri Haggard
Terrance & Mary Hall Suzy Hardy In Memory Of Philip, Meryl, and Evan Hashimoto Chrissy & Russ Hennings Fiona Hsu Julie Johnson James Jordan Kaila Kaczmarek Lorraine Kamholz The Keil Family The Kemmerle Family Peter Keseric The Knierim Family Michele LaCour Weishan and Sarah Li Angelina Liu Mr. and Mrs. Loel Alex Lopez Zach and Stacey Lundin Melissa Lytle The Magruder Family The Reverend Karen Maurer Nadine Maxwell Kirsten McDowell The McLennan Family The Mendoza Family Joe Miramontes Behrouz Mohseni The Muthu Family Joe and Marne Nettinga The Novellino-Ashley
Family Morgen O’Connell Fatima Ozcelik The Pacios Family Erika Pedersen Fernando Pedraza Patti Peebles The Perez Family Bill and Stephanie Peters Anonymous in Memory of Ann Petersen The Pokrass Family The Price Family Glenn & Annette Llopis Yvonne Priore Cindy Putman Mary Reinhard George and Angela Reynolds The Rodriguez Family Max and Betty Rodriguez The Rolan Family Jason Rowe Jodi Sabako The Sales Family Brian and Jill Sampson Christy and Bob Sanders The Tavares Family The Sarachman Family Katie Scott Alicia Scrimger Annette Shellhorn The Sherwin Family
Ramez Shohdy The Shook Family The Shuy Family Brian and Melissa Singleton Mr. and Mrs. Smith The Spiegel Family Patty Stoecker The Teitelman Family Dimitri Tiatia-Garaud The Tidwell Family Deb Tilmont Brian & Anna Tilton The Tootikian Family Michele Townsend The Trueman Family Darlene Tucker The Turner Family Caylie Vinsick The Wabs Family The Warner Family Kathy Weber Kathy Wegner The Whitley Family Jordan Williams Bryan Winn The Winslow Family Mr. & Mrs. Hu Katy Yarter The Tao Family Kerry Young
CARDINAL FUND DONORS Patron
Anonymous (10) Nevein Amer The Applebaum Family The Beckman Family Jeff & Kristina Hellinga William & Caroline Crowel The DeVoe Family Cynthia Drennan The Frantz Family Yigang Fu The Ganem Family The Yang Family The Gao Family Karyl Gately The Gizzi Family The Graves Family Zhihao Chen Family The Haldeman Family The Shi Family Mrs. Hu and Mr. Guo Quentin Huang’s Family The Kaminski Family PK Don and Cindy Tefft Shanshan Li Laura and Amanda Li Sean & Abel Li Lisa Li Devin & Amy David Ding The Tse Family The Mangano Family The McPartland Family The Meisenzahl Family The Meng Family Yan Meng Family CA Signs The Miller Family The Nelson Family The Peirce Family Rev. Christopher Potter, Vicar John and Taylor Roth The Schimmelpfenig Family The Shea Family The Simons Family 6
The Sullivan Family JinQi Miao The Toffer Family The Ha Ha Family The Wang Family The Zahr Family The Zalzali Family The Zupanski Family Phil & Noelle Zvonicek
Benefactor
Anonymous (10) The Berthiaume Family David & Christine Booher Jeremy & Brandy Born The Breaux Family The Carlton Family The Castellanos Family Carina Chen & Roger Lo Sean & Margaret Colleran Nick & Kim Cottrell Patty Cyr and Jason Chambers Charles & Kim d’Arcy Phil & Kandi de Carion The Eckstein Family The Elliott Family David & Lindsey Guest The Hu Family The Huang Family Liran Jin The Jonsson Family Steve and Lisa Kakoullis The Kelner Family Mr. Wang The Lukowski Family The Meixner Family The Meng Family The Famoso-Morales Family The Naisbitt Family David & Frances Yang The Orlando Shen Family The Nouri Family Diane Oliveira The Pacheco Family Brian and Marianne Pitterle
The Plain Family Su and Chris Plamondon The Orlando Shen Family Proud Parents of Connor Parlet The Sun Family Yuka Sun’s Family Mr. and Mrs. Tan Haydee Tello Taylor and Allison Wood The Xanthos Family Rick and Jenny Xu Daquan Tan and Liqun Yang The Youssef Family The Gao Kow Family The Yale Shen Family Capella and Miranda Zhang The Zhao Family The Zou Family
Cardinal Club
Anonymous (2) The Adams Family The Boden Family The Cheshire Family Mr. and Mrs. Tran Chris & Tanya Freeman Heidi Fries The Gao Family Chang & Chao Gao The Gonsalves Family The Gruenberg Family The Hageman Family The Harmon Family The He Family Mr. Qingfang Huang Boyd & Jeanne Kelly The Kuang Family The Kurz Family The Kwaan Family The Mays Family The McHonett Family Bill Mecklenburg and Christine CondinoMecklenburg Sarah & Matthew Mester The Mulroy Family
The Patrick & Leah Patterson Family Rose and Andrew Schneider The Vickers Family Mr. Xiao Bing Wang and Mrs. Ling Han The Xu Family Mr. Dachao Zhang & Mrs. Yue Cheng
Shield Society Anonymous (4) Santa Margarita Catholic High School Synchrony Financial The Ning Family The Echtenkamp Family The Getzlaf Family The Mate Family The Vernon Family The Wernemar Family
Head of School’s Circle Anonymous (2) The Duan Family Perry and Christy Valaskantjis
Cardinal Fund Giving Levels Friend (up to $499)
Patron ($500-$999)
Benefactor ($1000-$2,499) Cardinal Club ($2,500$4,999)
Shield Society ($5,000$9,999)
Head of School’s Circle ($10,000+)
CARDINELLA 2021 Thank you to everyone who generously supported Cardinella, the annual school benefit of St. John’s Episcopal School. This year’s event was unlike any other, and we enjoyed sharing a drive-in style event with our families and community partners. This special evening included cirque performers, comedic entertainment, and a live auction paddle raise.
Thank you to our amazing sponsors! All States Engineering CA Signs
D’Arcy & Associates
Fuzion3 Audio Inc. Graves Construction
A special thank you to our Cardinella chair, Annette Prieto-Llopis, and the Cardinella team, for their dedication and hard work in planning a successful fundraising event for St. John’s.
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Santa Margarita Catholic High School
SoCo Tax & Cloud Accounting Services South County Plumbing
THANK YOU TO ALL THOSE WHO SUPPORTED TITLE THE PARENT GIFT AT CARDINELLA The 2021 Parent Gift supported the creation of a Faculty and Staff Collaboration Space. Our faculty and staff had been requesting this gift for years, we are grateful to the following donors for making that happen! This space has allowed our faculty and staff to: • Come together to share knowledge and collaborate on important student learning initiatives • Facilitate brainstorming • Have a forum for knowledge exchange between colleagues
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The Achee Family
The Hashisho Family
The Rodriguez Family
The Beckman Family
The Crandall Family
The Rolan Family
The Berthiaume Family
The Hellinga Family
The Sabako Family
The Breaux Family
The Hennings Family
The Santos Family
Jordy Breaux
Jenna Hilal
The Shea Family
The Brown Family
The Jin Family
The Stoecker Family
The Canchola Family
James Jordan
The Sullivan Family
The Casey Family
The Keil Family
The Sun Family
The Castellanos Family
The Kelly Family
The Teitelman Family
The Cheshire Family
The LaJoie Family
The Tidwell Family
The Cortinas Family
The Lamb Family
The Tilton Family
The Cottrell Family
Anonymous
The Turner Family
The Coulston Family
The Llopis Family
The Vickers Family
The Cyr/Chambers Family
The Loel Family
The Vittetoe Family
The d’Arcy Family
The Lopez Family
The Wabs Family
The Elliott Family
The Lukowski Family
The Wachli Family
The Greenhalgh Family
The Lysek Family
The Warner Family
The Frantz Family
The Mandel Family
The Wernemar Family
The Freeman Family
The Mate Family
The Wood Family
Jeff Frieden
The Meng Family
The Xu Family
The Garrett Family
The Peebles Family
The Zahr Family
The Gonsalves Family
The Perez Family
The Zalzali Family
The Gruenberg Family
The Peters Family
The Zand Family
The Grumet Family
The Plamondon Family
The Zhao Family
The Haldeman Family
The Price Family
The Zupanski Family
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2021! Elizabeth Magruder
Mackenzie Busch
Jacob Lutterloh
Triston Tilton
Orbit Freyou
Katherine Carpenter
Sierra Miller
Aveen Vahidi
Clara Booher
Wenjin (David) Ding
Aramis Perez
Ava Wernemar
Jack Jones
Delaney Flynn
Delmar Perez
Morgan Mecklenburg
Chloe Gruenberg
Eric Pitterle
Jake Pacheco
Mason Hawker
Gavin Price
Tamer Wachli
Ryan Hernandez
Devan Simons
Johnny Tran
Kian Honarvar
Helen Song
Mfundo Keehn
Diana Hu
John Sullivan
Layla Amer
Carter Jones
Pedro Tavares
Link Canchola
Dylan Bartolucci
Jillian Lehman
Cole Tefft
Sofia Fernandez
Arabella Beacock
Xinqian (Laura) Li
Jackson Thun
Katherine Lee
Jonas Wernemar Jesse Zou Nickolas Zupanski Mattias Zvonicek Claire Patterson
A Message from our Head of School, Patrick McHonett Our Class of 2021 is, by all accounts, a special group—one who’s reputation precedes itself: 47 talented, hardworking, kind, resilient, creative and loving students who have enriched our campus community in countless ways. And, while that was true even before the pandemic, we have benefitted from their character immensely during this extraordinary year. Over the course of the last year-plus, the Class of 2021 has been the standardbearer for our community—teaching us and each other how to roll with things, always with a healthy balance of grit and a smile. They’re resilient, forward-looking, and incredibly thoughtful. To our graduates—the St. John’s Episcopal School Class of 2021—you’re ready. You’re ready for the next chapter— into high school, and the world beyond. You’ve been educated in mind, heart, and soul—and you carry our hopes with you for a brighter tomorrow. Use your voices and actions for good, and live our values. Just know you’ll always have a home with your Cardinal Family.
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