St. Mary's 2022 Spring Magazine

EEP TINKERING

DESIGN THINKING

FIELD STUDIES

2022 SPRING MAGAZINE

BACK &BETTER THAN EVER

ST. MARY’S

4

2

8 2 Classrooms Without Walls Field Studies

8 How The World Works EEP Tinkering

16 Better Than Ever IB Evaluation

WHAT’S

INSIDE?

To Head Of School 6 Tribute Honoring 27 Years Of Dedication 12 Athletics Stronger Than Ever Announcement 14 Leadership Welcome Doug Patterson Thinking 20 Design Thinking Bigger Than Ever And The Falcon Theatre Company 22 Arts Program Flourishes Learning Showcase 24 Student Middle School Students Engagement 26 Parent Thank You For Engaging Finalist & Winners 28 Legacy Father Sillers Legacy Award Updates 30 Alumini Class Notes & Alumni Groups Event Recaps 32 Solid Gold Gala

Golf Tournament

16

2022 SPRING

MAGAZINE Head Of School:

Sharon Taylor Managing Editor:

Heather Wilkins Contributors:

Dustin Mittelsteadt Doug Patterson Patty Siegman Cathy Smith Tom Spence Lauren Sterner Rob Warren Jocelyn Williams Rebecca Zipprich Photography:

Alex Carroll Rick Davitt Patrick Kapterian Patty Siegman Heather Wilkins

© 2022 St. Mary’s School All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission from St. Mary’s School. @stmarys.ib.world.school @stmarysib www.smaa.org

3

Dear St. Mary’s Community, As I read these beautiful pages, one theme is clear and consistent across all aspects of St. Mary’s: we are back and better than ever. We have opened our campus, and all the special and unique ideas and programs that make us St. Mary’s are present and thriving.

You will read about the establishment of the St. Mary’s Falcon Theatre Program, which is a student-led production and performing arts company. Our Falcons have reintroduced live theatre to our community with the performances of Seussical Jr. The musical made its debut with a new venue, empowered student actors and enhanced production elements.

Our youngest Falcons in Early Education embraced a new Unit of Inquiry that challenged and gave each student a chance to experience the design process from start to finish. Students started with an idea, created a blueprint or plan, gathered materials, built, revised, tested, revised again and conducted a final test.

Our students in Lower School were able to participate in our annual Field Study programs.

Students went to AstroCamp, Sacramento and New York City to experience learning outside of a classroom and the real-world application of lessons taught. Our Middle School students bravely hosted our first-ever Student Learning Showcase. Falcons chose a project they felt most connected to and showcased what they learned to parents, faculty and peers. The event is the epitome of an IB education: student centered learning with choice and action.

Our parents have so willingly stepped back onto campus and supported us. From volunteers in the Green Family Commons at lunch to our

phenomenal Gala committee, more than ever our parents are rolling up their sleeves, engaging and getting involved in St. Mary’s. We thank you all because you play an important role in forming our sense of community.

Our IB team masterfully navigated an accreditation process and achieved fantastic results and feedback that will enhance all aspects of our IB Programme. There are so many outstanding academic, social and emotional examples of learning in the following pages.

This is also my last spring magazine as our Head of School. As I reflect, it was my honor to be hired by and work with Father Sillers and our wonderful Founders. I thank God daily for this community and the experiences I have had throughout my time here.

St. Mary’s is in a tremendous and positive place.

Our community is supportive and engaged. Our IB program is flourishing. We are fiscally sound.

Enrollment is strong and our students, faculty and staff are happy and healthy. I feel blessed and privileged to have served our community for 27 years. Thank you for trusting and supporting me. Thank you for sharing your children and your family with me.

Enjoy these pages as they are wonderful examples of world-sized hearts and world-class minds in action.

Warmly,

Sharon Taylor Head of School

1

Classrooms Without Walls Lower School Students Reap the Benefits of Experiential Learning

2

by Tom Spence

Head of Lower School

and I forget.

“II hear see and I remember.

”

I do and I understand.

— Confucius

W

ithin the walls of a classroom, students can read books about California’s government and watch educational videos on the Gold Rush. Outside the walls, students can tour the State Capitol building and actually learn to pan for gold in the same hills where the 49’ers made their fortunes back in the 1800s. What if learning wasn’t just limited to listening to a speaker talk about astronomy, but instead offered students the opportunities to hike through the forest at night gazing at the Milky Way splashed across the sky and viewing Saturn through a high-powered telescope.

Learning about great artists in a classroom presentation is helpful, but what if students could peruse in person the galleries of the Guggenheim Museum and experience a live musical on Broadway? Because St. Mary’s values student-led and cross disciplinary learning, our Lower School curriculum incorporates field studies into the student experience.

Learning about our state’s history has long been a part of the Grade 4 curriculum in California, however, our students dig deeper by examining the gold rush of 1849 within the context of other migrations in history. This engaging IB Primary Years Programme unit encourages Grade 4 students to examine the challenges and opportunities that fortune seekers experienced as they traveled from around the world and how the effects of that goldfueled migration contributed to the growth of California. All of this comes to life for our students during a two-day field study trip to Sacramento.

During this trip our students, along with an accompanying parent, spend two packed days touring the California State Capitol, walking the streets of old town Sacramento, exploring the California Railroad Museum and learning how to mine for gold in the foothills near Sutter’s Creek. Professional guides and docents color our students’ minds and imaginations from the moment they arrive at the airport until they board their plane to head back to Orange County.

3

AstroCamp, it’s a hands-on learning “ At experience. You get to create forces and learn about how they work. You make rovers and rockets and watch them launch! AstroCamp taught me that space is amazing and anything is possible. When you are at AstroCamp, you are open to the wonders of space, forces and adventures! You don’t want to miss it!

— Taylor Alva Grade 5 Student

4

”

In late fall, Grade 5 students head to AstroCamp, an adventure and science camp in the pine forest of the San Jacinto Mountains.

Throughout the camp, students learn from expert instructors and counselors about a variety of scientific topics (planetary and solar science, rocketry, robotics, telescope viewing) while also engaging in physical challenges (ziplining, night hikes, rock climbing and more) and teamwork building activities (building a working propeller, constructing a bottle rocket). In addition to all the unique learning opportunities, AstroCamp allows our students and teachers to go beyond the traditional classroom and cultivate shared experiences. These shared experiences lead to stronger rapport between students and teachers. Our Falcons also form and strengthen friendships that are forged as the entire grade works, plays and lives together for three days.

The magic of the arts are brought to life with the way only New York City could share its world-renowned venues, performances and dining experiences. While on a fiveday New York City field study, Grades 4-8 students (and their parents) embark on a whirlwind adventure featuring a sampling of the best of the Big Apple. The trip

Classrooms Without Walls

includes a stop at the Guggenheim Museum where Falcons participate in a hands-on visual arts workshop tied to current exhibitions and a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where students explore galleries featuring works shared in their IB Units of Inquiry. Students are charmed by performing arts productions at Carnegie Hall, jazz at Lincoln Center, the New York City Ballet or the Metropolitan Opera House. This past winter students hit Broadway and were treated to the captivating actors and soundtrack of live theatre with the performance of Hamilton. One key element that is always a part of this trip is a multicultural dining experience. Time is set aside for students to explore the city on their own. Earlier this year, travelers rode bikes throughout Central Park while some took the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty.

These life-changing experiences and moments inspire students and show them a rich arts world outside of a classroom.

Opportunities to extend learning beyond the classroom in meaningful and relevant ways is at the cornerstone of a St. Mary’s education. Our Lower School field studies enable our students to build skills, gain confidence, collaborate with others and understand the curriculum in a rich and authentic way.

5

Tribute to Head of School

Sharon Taylor

6

Honoring 27 Years of Dedication to St. Mary’s Mrs. Taylor has been an integral and beloved member of the St. Mary’s community for over 27 years. She was hired by our founder Father Sillers, and ever since that day, Mrs. Taylor has worked tirelessly to carry out his mission.

During her time here, Mrs. Taylor has served in many roles, and in fact, all her children were Falcons. Mrs. Taylor has been our Head of School for the past eight years. Prior to that, she held the positions of: Grade 1 and 4 teacher, PYP and MYP IB Coordinator, Dean of Academics, Head of Lower School, Board of Trustees member and long-time parent.

Over a span of three decades, Mrs. Taylor has touched the lives of many, many students.

Alumni frequently come back to visit, and oftentimes their first stop is to say hello to Mrs. Taylor. During her tenure at St. Mary’s she has introduced our school to ground-breaking programming and diverse perspectives including: introducing the IB programme; launching the International Field Studies Program; unveiling Middle School Intersession; forming the Scholar Program; executing and completing Imagine More capital campaign to redesign our campus spaces; led the rebranding initiative and formation of our mission, world-sized hearts, world-class minds; and more. In addition, she has overseen countless accreditations, hiring and molding current leaders and most recently, graciously shepherded our community through a pandemic.

Mrs. Taylor has shaped the culture of our community and what it means to be a part of it. Please join us in thanking Mrs. Taylor for her steadfast leadership and congratulate her as she steps into a new role at St. Mary’s. We look forward to watching her transform the final areas of our campus with the completion of our master plan and capital campaign.

Thank you Mrs. Taylor!

7

How The

Works World Through the Heart and Mind of an Early Kindergarten Student

8

by Cathy Smith

Early Kindergarten Teacher

Tinkering Builds Creativity, Resilience and Problem Solving Skills

H

ow the world works. That’s an interesting concept, especially when teachers are trying to inspire the imaginations of our youngest Falcons.

In Early Kindergarten, EEP faculty took on the challenge. Teachers developed a new planner to inspire students to use individual creativity and problem solving skills. The faculty introduced a new Unit of Inquiry with “How the World Works.” Our team believed by incorporating tinkering, students would better understand how the world works.

The IB philosophy states:

enables students to direct their own “IBlearning pathway and develop the skills and confidence they need to thrive and make a lasting difference. It empowers teachers as the architects of learning excellence, working alongside engaged colleagues.

This new Unit of Inquiry embodies this statement.

”

Tinkering uses a variety of materials to create and build, which lends perfectly to explaining how the world works. The EEP team incorporated a variety of amazing books to create scenarios where our students were either inspired to create their own projects or needed to create something to solve a character’s problem in the stories.

Throughout this unit, students experienced the design process first hand. They had an idea, created a blueprint or plan, gathered materials, built, revised, tested, revised again and conducted a final test.

The students simply ran with this Unit, and their confidence soared. Our teachers soon realized they were learning and exploring right along with our students.

Our students were risk takers, thinkers, principled and communicators throughout this new Unit of Inquiry. Through tinkering, the design process and being open-minded our Falcons have learned first hand how the world works.

9

Ms. Bononi, our Director of Innovation and Technology, joined our investigations by introducing our students to robots and coding. Ms. Bononi taught students how to program KIBO robots to make them move in different ways. The students were able to choose their own commands (forward, back, turn, dance, etc.) and then see their robots in action.

Boxitects, written by Kim Smith, inspired our students to work in collaborative groups to create their own box ideas. Falcons created unique blueprints by gathering materials that outlined what they planned to build. Their student-led creations included a pizza oven complete with a pizza, a dog house with a special place to hold the dog bones and a treehouse with a pool and slide and more.

10

Early Kindergarten students enjoyed the story Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh and then explored the concept of balance. Falcons learned first hand how the center of gravity works by building a rock sculpture. They took this one step further by creating an unstable table and were challenged to balance a variety of small objects.

Faculty introduced scales to students to take experiments one step further and richer in learning.

How The

World Works 11

St. Mary’s Athletics

Stronger Than Ever

More Than 300 Falcons Soar To New Heights

12

Formation of the Falcon Athletic Network

T

he return of athletics to St. Mary’s has brought our community a wave of rekindled energy, passion and support. Falcon Pride fosters connection within our St. Mary’s family. The comradery of teammates, high fiving a coach and the buzz of game day is something our students, faculty and parents have wholeheartedly embraced and welcomed back!

St. Mary’s Athletics helps young athletes foster a sense of confidence, healthy competition and the opportunity to try something new in a safe and encouraging environment. Our student athletes have the opportunity to apply their IB education in a different setting. Each athlete has the chance to experience IB Learner Profiles.

Try a new position: risk rasker. Care for a teammate. Be creative on the court. Balance school and practice schedules. Communicate during competition. And more.

This school year, more than 300 student athletes seized the opportunity to participate in sports. St. Mary’s Athletics program is larger than ever from record breaking numbers of cheerleaders to the volume of our track team. As the sports landscape evolves, St. Mary’s does too. We expanded our program with the addition of two new sports. In the fall, we introduced our first ever E-Sports team. This team rallied together, practiced and won its league!

This spring we took to the sand with our first-ever Sand Volleyball team. The team is fierce and having a blast playing this sport.

Marquee Sporting Events St. Mary’s is a leader - on and off the field.

One way we demonstrate our commitment to leadership is by hosting our own athletic competitions. St. Mary’s Cross Country team was founded in 2016, and already it’s grown into one of the most respectable programs in Orange County. Proof of this is the St. Mary’s Invitational, an annual cross country meet we

by Dustin Mittelsteadt Director of Athletics

host for our local independent schools. It’s one of the highlights of the season. Hosting a meet not only gives young runners an opportunity to compete, it also puts St. Mary’s on the map as a leader in youth running. In 2019, we hosted our first meet at Irvine Regional Park and after a oneyear hiatus, we returned in 2021 better than ever. This past September, we hosted the St. Mary’s Invitational at Laguna Niguel Regional Park. We created a twomile course beside the lake, and six schools participated in the meet. In total we had over 150 runners in Grades 4-8. It was a warm and dry day, and it was a real treat to see students push themselves to do their best before a sizable crowd of families, friends and other runners. St. Mary’s runners were well-represented in both their finishes and their sportsmanship. Be on the lookout for our next invitational coming in September 2022.

Recently, St. Mary’s hosted its 17th annual St. Mary’s Track Invitational at JSerra High School. More than 450 student athletes gathered from five different schools for a day of friendly competition. Students worked hard to successfully pass a baton around a track through relays, and runners learned how to preserve and stay committed in the final meters of their events. This event is also supported by our parent community.

Many parents helped measure jumps and throws, staged athletes and cheered runners to the finish line.

Our St. Mary’s coaches have spent countless hours on Sundays helping prepare Falcons.

All their hard work paid off. Many Falcons stepped onto a track for the first time in their young lives, whereas, others collected hardware and set meet records. Regardless of how our Falcons finished, we are so proud of this beloved tradition. This track meet is undoubtedly at the heart of our St. Marys’ Athletic program. Mark your calendars now for next April 2023.

What started off as a dream has turned into a reality thanks to the hard work and dedication of Grade 7 student Luke Lehman. FAN, or Falcon Athletic Network, live streams select St. Mary’s sporting events on YouTube. Parents and families from all over the country and world can watch their family and friends play. To follow our Falcons in action, subscribe to FAN YouTube channel at www.smaa.org/sports.

Athletics Social Media Channel Follow St. Mary’s Athletic highlights on Instagram @falconathleticsnetwork

St. Mary’s E-Sports xpleague.com

Jog-A-Thon Success Our Falcons took over the St. Mary’s field for our annual Jog-A-Thon! Every student, EEP through Grade 8, is encouraged to run/walk alongside faculty and staff in support of heart health month and fitness. Our event was sponsored by Marque Medical Group, and parent volunteers helped keep our Falcons hydrated.

Thank you to our Falcon community for generously supporting our Jog-A-Thon.

We are thrilled to share more than $26,000 was raised for our Athletic and PE programs. And for the first time we had a record-breaking number of alumni contributions. Every student will benefit from these funds. The classroom in each Division that raised the most was EEP Mrs. Garceau. Lower School Mrs. Po (Grade 4) and Middle School Mr. Campeau’s Grade 7 Advisory.

13

Doug Patterson

Head of School 2022-2023

14

am confident we will successfully navigate St. Mary’s “Iinto the future with grace, gratitude and generosity, while preserving and protecting the legacy of our founder Father Sillers. My commitment to our school and this community is that every day, I will work to make St. Mary’s better, and I cannot wait for what the future holds for us all.

— Doug Patterson This winter, our Board of Trustees announced that after a rigorous two year process to identify our next Head of School, the seasoned 10-person interview team successfully found the best person for the role.

During this comprehensive and thorough search, a candidate from our existing community quickly became an obvious focus for the Head of School role. The results of the committee’s evaluations clearly identified and supported the promotion of a current leader at St. Mary’s. Effective this July 2022, Doug Patterson will serve as Head of School for St. Mary’s.

For the 2022-2023 school year, please congratulate our new Head of School, Doug Patterson. Mr. Patterson has been a member of the St. Mary’s community since 2005. He currently serves as our Assistant Head of School for Educational Innovation and prior to that was the Head of Lower School. Before taking on the Head of Lower School role, Mr. Patterson taught Grade 8 Individuals and Societies for nine years.

Outside of the classroom, Mr. Patterson has influenced many aspects of the St. Mary’s culture, including coaching Flag Football, Basketball and Soccer, mentoring and serving as a Middle School Advisor.

”

where cultivating students’ passions, interests and learning truly comes to life. This unit is steeped in rigorous academics, but students never open a text book. Students learn how to work together and overcome obstacles to build a tangible product that is ready to market and sell. These are the life-long and real world skills our students need to be successful in the 21st century.

He and his wife Courtney have been married for nearly 14 years and share three beautiful children June (9), Baxter (7) and Daisy (5).

They are active members of San Clemente Presbyterian Church and love to explore the great outdoors as a family. Every year the Pattersons embark on a camping adventure to someplace new. Mr. Patterson credits his wife Courtney as the most influential person in his life. “Marrying Courtney was the best decision I have ever made. We have experienced some of life’s highest highs and some difficult lows together. Our marriage continues to shape who I am becoming and who I want to be.

I am deeply grateful for her.”

His dream for St. Mary’s is for it to continue to thrive as a school where all students can feel seen, heard and cared for and that every one of our students becomes the scholar we describe in our Portrait of a Graduate.

Mr. Patterson identifies most with the IB Profile risk taker. He believes you have to take risks to grow, and that growth doesn’t come from being comfortable. His current favorite IB Unit is the Grade 4 Entrepreneur Unit

15

St. Mary’s IB Programme

Better Than Ever

16

To prepare for the evaluation, the St. Mary’s IB team completed the following: • Re-examined evaluation reports from the 2016 evaluation visit.

SEPT.

by Lauren Sterner

2020

PYP Coordinator

by Jocelyn Williams MYP Coordinator

OCT.

2020

Five Year IB Programme Evaluation is a Success

W

orld-sized hearts, world-class minds. How do we guide students to the pinnacle of their education here at St. Mary’s? Every five years, a visiting team from the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO)visits St. Mary’s to assess our implementation of the Primary and Middle Years programmes. During the visit, the assessment team looks to celebrate major achievements and identify areas of growth during the five-year period under review. The MYP and PYP coordinators spend a year evaluating the implementation of the programmes and document the progress from the previous five years. At the end of the visit, a formal report is written outlining recommendations, commendations and any matters to be addressed. The coordinators then draft a five-year action plan outlining the steps that will address the identified areas of growth.

NOV.

2020

FEBSEPT.

2021

• Crafted a detailed questionnaire with the programs, practice standards and expectations, assigning a rating scale of 1 (low) to 4 (high).

• Deployed the questionnaire to all faculty and staff. They were tasked to self-assess and record their findings in the questionnaire, which included feedback on Section A (Philosophy), B (Organization/Resources) and C (Curriculum).

• Collected and sorted data by strengths and weaknesses and met with leadership to review the findings and drill down on standards that received heavily mixed responses.

• Reached a consensus on each standard and recorded it on the self-study.

• Met with the Board of Trustees to complete Sections A and B of the self-study.

• Provided Board members with the opportunity to give free-response feedback regarding their experiences with both IB programmes, as parents and leaders within the school.

• PYP and MYP faculty gathered separately to come up with action plans for those standards that scored in the range of 1 or 2 in Sections A, B and C of the self-study.

• Faculty and staff discussed and brainstormed action plans for improvement.

With the completion of data collection, the team began organizing and completing self-study documentation, which was submitted to IBO in September 2021.

17

St. Mary’s IB Programme

Better Than Ever

Mary’s is a school that doesn’t “St. just check the boxes; they are authentic to the IB Programme and its expectations.

”

—Member of the IB Visiting Team.

The Evaluation Visit

January 31 - February 2, 2022 A team of four IB experts from around the world visited our campus virtually and interviewed groups of students, teachers, parents, administrators and the Board of Trustees to discuss the self-study.

The visit concluded with the IB team verbally sharing their findings with the administrative leadership team, including our Head of School, Assistant Head of School, Head of Middle School, Head of Lower School, MYP and PYP Coordinators.

We will receive the final report this summer. In the meantime, several recommendations have already been implemented, and our school continues to thrive and grow as we look towards the next IB visit in five years.

Some of the highlights from the team’s findings include:

• It was clear there is a strong commitment to the IB Programme by all stakeholders and vertical collaboration • The teachers at St. Mary’s are caring and create classrooms that spark inquiry and are built on respect • We have wonderful families that fully believe in the programmes • St. Mary’s oozes international-mindedness, and all members promote open-mindedness and multiple perspectives • The school culture is inclusive and the programme is for all students • St. Mary’s has a respectful alignment to the programmes with students always at the center

18

What is the International Baccalaureate Programme?

Imagine a worldwide community of schools, educators and students with a shared mission to empower young people with the values, knowledge and skills to create a better and more peaceful world. This is the International Baccalaureate Programme (IB).

IB programmes aim to provide an education that enables students to make sense of the complexities of the world around them, as well as equipping them with the skills and dispositions needed for taking responsible action for the future.

They provide an education that crosses disciplinary, cultural, national and geographical boundaries and that champions critical engagement, stimulating ideas and meaningful relationships.

19

Design

Thinking The Application of Design Thinking Empowers our Faculty and Students to Think Bigger than Ever.

A

s the landscape of education evolves so does St. Mary’s. It was once viewed that a school’s duty and responsibility is to fill students’ heads with thoughts and ideas. However, St. Mary’s believes it is our job to enable students to realize their own potential, to foster ingenuity and cultivate resilience.

A quick look at the UN’s sustainable goals will tell you our world is overflowing with messy and ambiguous problems. More than ever, students need to understand their creative capacity to solve these issues. Design Thinking is a process built to undo the mindsets that limit students and instead encourage students to apply their creative thinking to real world problems.

The first pillar of excellence in the St. Mary’s Strategic Plan is to ensure a transformative learning experience for our students. Creating cross-curricular learning experiences and fostering Design Thinking as a through line in EEP through Grade 8 is a major priority.

This year our entire faculty engaged in multiple Design Thinking workshops. These professional development training sessions were led by a national leader in Design Thinking, Shelley Paul, from Second Circle. Initially, Shelley trained a small group of teachers to be our on-site Design Thinking coaches.

The coaches would help facilitate future training and help guide our teachers as they build more Design Thinking opportunities into their curriculum.

20

During these training sessions, faculty engaged in hands-on activities and walked through each phase of the process and had the opportunity to put their training to the test by attempting to solve real world issues. As a result, faculty across all divisions were able to incorporate Design Thinking opportunities into their curriculum.

Our Early Kindergarten students inquired into how tools and materials can be used to promote creativity, build resiliency and nurture problem solving skills.

Throughout the unit, students read a variety of books, designed and created solutions to problems presented to them from the stories. The students utilized both high tech and low tech strategies including building seesaws and roller coasters out of tubes. For their summative project, students brought in a small stuffed animal “pet” and created a carrier to use in our first annual EK Pet Parade! The students weighed and measured their “pet” before making a blueprint. The carriers were made using a variety of materials and were tested out several times before the parade began. Cheers and shouts of encouragement rang out on the EEP playground as each EK class proudly participated in the parade.

by Doug Patterson Assistant Head of School for Educational Innovation

In Grade 3 Science, students walked through each phase of the Design Cycle as they attempted to design a dream bedroom for someone else. Students interviewed each other to build empathy, used their creativity to meet the needs of their partner, gathered specific feedback, revised their work and eventually shared their creations with their partners.

In Grade 4, students took on the role of entrepreneur and were challenged to design new products that solve everyday issues. As a part of their process, students identified a specific user and were empathetic to that user’s daily life and learned problems he/she faces. Parent mentors worked sideby-side with students as Falcons explored each phase of the Design Cycle. By integrating Design Thinking into the entrepreneur process, teachers and students redesigned how to approach the idea creation phase for the project. Upon reflection, teachers discovered that using the Design Thinking process allowed students to identify a specific user and create a more tailored and effective solution to the everyday issue.

In the Middle School, our Year 2 Design students were tasked to answer the question: how do I communicate through design? For this unit of study, students explored Adobe Illustrator and design techniques used to create unique graphics. With their foundation of skills, Falcons moved on to creating mockups of what they envisioned for their house shirts for the next school year. Students received feedback from peers, adults and Lower School students to help decide which design would look the best when printed. With all of the feedback, Year 2 design students took their vision and turned them into digital graphics to be voted upon by the Middle School staff and students.

Our Design Thinking challenges are not about mastering a technique or strategy, but cultivating a mindset that encourages our students to apply their creativity to the complex problems that exist in our world. Design Thinking truly promotes both the mind and the heart of our students from EEP through Grade 8.

References: Greenberg, Sarah Stein, Creative Acts for Curious People

21

e

m m a r g o r P s t r A e Th

s e s i h r ou l F

Live performances and the arts are such an important part of our lives and of civilization. Gathering and witnessing humans create something beautiful together, sharing stories with each other and responding to them, even just with the energy of listening and watching, is truly a profound experience.

by Rob Warren Director of Arts

22

St. Mary’s School Arts Programme’s mission is to provide students a brave and safe space that encourages curiosity, creativity, collaboration and resilience. Students inquire into the ways we express ourselves creatively, communicate ideas and feelings and understand the impact art has on themselves, others, society and different cultures. We believe the arts constitute a universal language that empowers students to venture beyond their own perceived potential and to develop an authentic voice, life skills and an appreciation for the arts beyond the classroom.

The Falcon Theatre Company

These are truly exciting times for the Arts at St. Mary’s School, and we are very proud of the work our Arts teachers have achieved this school year. Our incredible team has long-term plans to continue rejuvenating and expanding upon our program. It has been incredibly powerful to see our students make music, create art, film movies, design, dance, sing and act on a weekly basis this school year. We are very proud to be one of a very few IB World Schools worldwide that now offers all five of the MYP Arts subjects: Visual Arts, Media Arts, Music, Theatre and Dance.

The Falcon Theatre Company has a no cut-policy and welcomes all Grade 3-8 students to audition for its spring production. For students who were not seeking an on-stage role, students in Grades 6-8 could join the company and participate in directing, stage management, choreography, designing and building sets, lights, sound, costumes, props, puppetry, make-up, publicity, house management and running our box office.

For our younger students who were not in these grades, we added additional Enrichment classes to develop some of the fundamental skills needed in performing and visual arts.

Throughout the fall, the Arts faculty worked diligently on a new endeavor for St. Mary’s School.

They launched The Falcon Theatre Company, a student-run theatre company that currently produces one show a year. In this company, students have the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the production process, working alongside industry professionals. Our goal over time is to increase our students’ involvement in the Arts and develop a rich performing Arts season for the entire St. Mary’s School community.

S

eatre Company h T n o c l a F presents The

eUSSiCALJR TM

.

After a two year hiatus, the beloved St. Mary’s spring musical production returned to sold out audiences. Like many aspects of St. Mary’s, the musical came back better than ever.

On a full professional stage at Coast Hills a cast of 80 won the hearts and imaginations of two sold out audiences in early May.

After hundreds of rehearsal hours, production, prep and more, The Falcon Theatre Company performed an evening and matinee performance for our community.

Congratulations to the entire Company!

Oh, the thinks you can think!

23

by Rebecca Zipprich Head of Middle School

Student

Learning Showcase Middle School Students

24

GR

This spring Middle School hosted its first ever Student Learning Showcase. The Middle School Student Learning Showcase is a new and unique format which enables every student in the Middle School to engage in a demonstration of learning.

Middle School students chose one single project from 14 different subject areas they felt most inspired by this school year. Students wrote about their experiences and prepared an interactive presentation. Allowing our students to choose a project that was meaningful to them is supporting their agency and encouraging their individual passions. Each grade level presented to parents, faculty and the grade level below.

One student from each group project spoke to the entire audience about his or her passion and connection to it. Communicating complex information in a simple, concise and engaging way is a life-long skill we want our students to develop.

It was so exciting to hear about all of the students’ learning experiences through stage and table presentations.

The projects showcased all the types of learning and cross disciplinary connections that are a part of our students’ interests and passions.

A

6

DE

DATA & STATISTICS Gabby Park

In Pre-Algebra, as part of our unit on Data and Statistics, we made an infographic. An infographic is a data-rich collection of graphs like pie charts, line graphs, bar graphs, icons and minimal text that gives an easy-to-understand overview of a complex topic. Using a website called Piktochart, each student in Pre-Algebra created an infographic on one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The goal of creating the infographic was to demonstrate how representing data visually helps identify relationships that can justify decisions on global issues and inspire local action. Throughout the unit, we learned about different data displays, their purposes, how to interpret data and how to create graphs from raw data presented in a table.

In this project, we had five steps: Plan, Collect Data, Analyze Data, Select Data Displays and Design our infographics. One of the important things I learned was where and how to find reliable data about complex issues. One challenge in this project was inputting raw data points individually into a data table to produce different data displays. Some of my favorite displays to make were the scatter plots, bubble charts and line graphs.

I chose UN Sustainable Development Goal 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. I learned about terrorism, human trafficking, human rights, bribery and child labor. This project made me look deeper into my topic to learn things that many people don’t really know or care about. I knew about some of these issues in general, but I never knew how bad it was for many people around the world. After researching the data about these problems, I now understand more deeply just how serious these problems are, how it affects so many people and that we all need to be more active in making change.

I chose this project because it’s one of my favorite projects we did this year because we got to be creative.

Bonjour! Je m’appelle Emily Volk, and I present to you our French class project: La Carte Postale which means the postcard en francais. We studied a Unit of Inquiry called Bon Voyage in which we learned the conjugation of the verb “aller” which is “to go,” to the places in our community such as restaurants, shops and the park. We also revisited verbs from Grade 6 such as “to be,” “to visit,” “to travel” and “to eat.”

The project itself was to make a postcard from a city in France and describe our trip to that city as if we were really there. First we chose our city. I chose the city, Lyon. We then researched our city. We learned about its geographical location, population, food, monuments and the restaurants. Then we made a slideshow with our information to share in class. Finally, we started our postcard.

We made a rough draft and got feedback and then created our final card. It was challenging to get all the grammar correct but getting the feedback was super helpful.

I chose this project because it was fun and I learned a lot. I researched a lot on my city and learned so much about Lyon. I got to be creative with my slides and design the cover of my postcard.

This project was informative, and I really enjoyed it.

GR

A

7

DE

GR

UNIT OF INQUIRY: BON VOYAGE Emily Volk

A

8

DE

NEWTON’S LAWS OF MOTION Alex Bekis and Blake Herman

Roller coasters are incredibly fun structures that go through twists and turns and have massive drops. But there is more to roller coasters than meets the eye. Roller coasters use Newton’s laws of motion. From acceleration to deceleration and so much more.

Learning about roller coasters was an awesome experience. In our Science class, we constructed a roller coaster complete with twists and turns on a smaller scale. In this presentation, we will talk about Newton’s laws of motion and how they affect our experience on roller coasters.

All of Newton’s laws of motions were used in our experiment.

To start, the first talks about how an object at rest or in motion will stay that way unless another force is pushing against the object.

Roller coasters constantly have to deal with air and the friction being caused because of it. The next law talks about how the acceleration of an object is due to the amount of force used. Roller coasters’ acceleration is due to gravity pulling the cart down and the kinetic energy made by electricity. Finally, the third law of motion states that when two things hit each other, an equal amount of energy is applied to both things. When roller coasters come to stops, these stops use the third law of motion to absorb the pressure.

Science explains everything around us. It tells us why cars run out of gas so quickly when it gets cold. This experiment was so fun because I got to create a roller coaster on my own! There was the very long research portion, but then this wouldn’t have been an experiment.

It would have simply been arts and crafts. We chose this project because now when we see an object slow down or speed up, we can use our new learned knowledge to explain the science behind it.

25

LOWER SCHOOL ART

COACHES

GREEN FAMILY COMMONS LUNCH

26

ROOM PARENTS

Thank You!

St. Mary’s Volunteers

GOLF TOURNAMENT

PARENT TEACHER FELLOWSHIP

JOG-A-THON

St. Mary’s would not be back and better than ever without our phenomenal volunteers.

Every day, your world-sized hearts positively contribute to our culture and community!

Thank you for making a difference in the lives of our students, faculty and staff.

Lower School Art Lower School and EEP Room Parents & Classroom Parties Green Family Commons Lunch Jog-A-Thon Care & Compassion Committee St. Mary’s Fund Committee Development Committee Gala Committee Golf Tournament Parent Teacher Fellowship Board Athletic Events Coaches Book Fair IB Hub Theatre/Spring Musical Production Graduation Committee Cultural Celebrations Community Candy Canes Board of Trustees and Committees St. Mary’s Cross Country Invitational St. Mary’s Track Invitational

COMMUNITY CANDY CANES

CULTURAL CELEBRATIONS

27

2022 Father “

St. Mary’s has had a huge impact on my life.

It has prepared me for high school and beyond. I feel thoroughly satisfied with my experience at the buffet of opportunities that have been provided by St. Mary’s.

— Luke Friedl

”

Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award

Filling a Plate of a Lifetime.

T

he Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award honors a Grade 8 student who demonstrates and represents the highest standards of St. Mary’s Four Aces of Leadership through their involvement in school, local organizations and the community.

This spring we recognized 12 outstanding Falcons as Legacy Award finalists, who include Jeremy Ahn, Sara Boswell, Teagan Dumain, Luke Friedl, Briana Gorski, Ella Kraninger, Malia Mazer, Noah Mooney, Thomas Moro, Henry Ontiveros, Mia Wensinger and Emily Zimmerman.

St. Mary’s is honored to share that the 2022 Legacy Award winner is Luke Friedl. Luke has been an active member of our school community since preschool. Since then, he has worked to embody the IB profiles of thinker, inquirer and communicator. Luke holds “Head of School” academic honors, is a long-time Ambassador, the founder of the St. Mary’s Investment Club and is working toward the rank of Eagle Scout. He is an avid runner meaningfully contributing to our cross country and track programs, including mentoring Falcon runners.

In Luke’s words: “My dad told me ‘St. Mary’s is like an all-you-can-eat-buffet. It is your job to fill that plate up to the brim, so you can leave this school feeling full and satisfied.’ Throughout my St. Mary’s career, I have filled up my plate in various ways. But this year, I was given the very special opportunity I had been looking forward to since I was young. I got to apply for the Father Ernest D. Sillars Legacy Award. I was not expecting to win, but I still tried out anyway. When presented with the opportunity to try out for the award, not everyone did. I mean not every 13 or 14 year old wants to write two essays and a resume for fun. But those who did were filling up their plates, taking advantage of all St. Mary’s has to offer. Most kids naturally joined, because as students we are encouraged to take risks, try out everything, learn from mistakes. This was just another challenge to succeed or learn from.”

Congratulations Luke and to the 11 amazing Legacy finalists. We are so proud of you and look forward to hearing all about your achievements when you leave our nest.

28

Important Dates to Remember

2021-2022

EVERY GOOD THING UNDER THE SUN!

SUMMER RESORT THIS SUMMER AT ST. MARY’S!

2022

We are so excited to be able to offer nine weeks of programming this summer! Our camp program has fun, engaging and unique experiences for every student, as young as two years-old through Grade 8. Through inquiry-based explorations students can participate in: Early Education Day Camp, Academic Prep Programs, Specialty Camps, Athletic Camps and more. In a safe and encouraging environment, students can try new things, sharpen skill sets and make new friends.

Early Education Day Camp (Age 2 – Grade K): Fosters students’ emotional, social, physical, cognitive and creative growth in an age-appropriate, safe environment. Students will experience science, art, creative play and so much more all summer long.

July 25–29

Summer Break / School Closed

Sept. 5

Labor Day / School Closed

Sept. 6

1st Day of School for EEP

Sept. 7

1st Day of School for Lower School

Sept. 8

1st Day of School for Middle School

Oct. 7

Professional Development

Oct. 31–Nov. 1

Parent Conferences

Nov. 21–25

Thanksgiving Break / School Closed

Dec. 16

Last Day Before Break

Dec. 19–Jan. 2

Christmas Break / School Closed

Jan. 3

Professional Development

Jan. 16

Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday

LUNCH! Lunch is included in all full day (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.) and PM/afternoon (Noon – 4 p.m.) camps EEP through Grade 8. Our campus has a full-service dining program where we prepare restaurant quality, farm-to-table, house-made food. We will provide meals and snacks prepared in our kitchen by our own chef.

Minimum Day

No School for Students/ Extended Care Open No School for Students / Child Care Open

Minimum Day for All Students No PM Extended Care

No School for Students / Child Care Open

Feb. 20–24

Winter Break / School Closed

March 9–10

EEP & LS Family Conferences

No School for EEP & LS Child Care Open/MS Regular School Day

April 7–14

Easter Spring Break / School Closed

May 26

Professional Development Day

No School for Students / Child Care Open

the coming fall. Each class is designed to engage and reinforce critical reading, writing and mathematical concepts.

Athletic Camps (Grades 1 – 8): Focus on fun, skills, technique, sportsmanship and overall game strategies.

Students can try a new sport or hone their skills on their favorite sport. These camps help prepare athletes for the upcoming season and keep our athletes active over the summer. Athletes in Grades 5 – 8 are strongly encouraged to participate in a St. Mary’s P.A.L. camp prior to the start of school.

Minimum Day

School Closed

Academic Prep Program (Early Kindergarten – Grade 8): Grade-level curriculum to prepare students for

Specialty Camps (EEP – Grade 8): Allow students to pursue new interests or further explore a passion area.

We offer a wide range of camps with the arts, science, cooking, technology and more.

Minimum Day

May 29

Memorial Day Holiday / School Closed

June 7

Last Day of School for Students

June 8

Grade 8 Graduation

Minimum Day for all Students No PM Extended Care

HOW TO REGISTER: Enroll online at www.smaa.org/summerresort beginning April 1, 2022.

Campers are considered completely registered once the enrollment fees are paid. The $40 registration fee is non-refundable. For questions, please reach out to summerresort@smaa.org.

St. Mary’s reserves the right to cancel or combine camps based on enrollment. To request a refund, a written notice (email: summerresort@smaa.org) must be submitted at least two weeks prior to the start of the camp.

RESORT FEES All of our camps are week-long sessions unless noted. Full Day and PM camps include lunch.

CAMP

GRADES

LENGTH

FEES

Academic Prep

EK – 8

Four Week AM Program (9 a.m. – Noon)

$1,050

Day

EEP – K

Full Day (9 a.m. – 4 p.m.)

$440

29

Logan Sullivan ‘12

It is our pleasure to continue to add alumni to our teaching and administrative staff at St. Mary’s.

Logan Sullivan ‘12 has been working for St. Mary’s as a substitute teacher since the fall. Logan works mostly in the Middle School Math Department but has also assisted with various subjects and grades. Logan graduated from California State, Fullerton with a Bachelor of Arts in History in 2021.

Class

Abigail Isaly ‘18

Congratulations to Abigail Isaly, a senior at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, for committing to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for women’s swimming. Isaly is a two-time CIF qualifier in the 100 backstroke and 500 freestyle. A true leader, she is a member of two CIF Division 1 championship teams and two Trinity League title teams. Isaly ranks among the top 20 in the 200 freestyle (16th), 500 freestyle (13th), and the 100 backstroke (19th) while achieving a 3.42 GPA in the classroom.

Notes

Darius Mahjoob ‘19

Jessie Elizalde-Rendon ‘16 participated in the 2022

Rose Parade with the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo engineering team. Jessie is a sophomore studying to become an Industrial Engineer at Cal Poly, and was part of the student team that built the float Stargrazers with her school. The float won the Rose Parade animation award.

The float was first built in the school’s Rose Float lab before moving to Pasadena. Jessie participated in all aspects of the design process while working on the float.

Jessie was also featured on television on a KNBC news about the design process and construction of the float with her Cal Poly university team

Mason Bowles ‘18

is a senior at Mater Dei High School and has been a member of Lion’s Heart for six years. He enjoys volunteering with the Special Olympics with his fellow members, most of whom are St. Mary’s alumni. While at Mater Dei, Mason played football for three years and is a 4-year Varsity track athlete, this year being named team captain. Next fall, Mason will be continuing his education at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction Colorado, where he has committed to run track for the Mavericks. Mason continues to be involved at St Mary’s as a volunteer track coach.

Daniel Palfi ‘18 is a senior at Santa Margarita High School and has committed to Johns Hopkins University for water polo. Palfi is a two-year varsity water polo player and one-year varsity starter. He was selected as a cocaptain this past season and was recognized as second team All-Trinity League and third team All-CIF this past season. Outside of the pool, Palfi is a member of the National Honor Society and the California Scholarship Federation and maintains a 4.8 GPA. Congratulations, we love when our Falcons continue their athletic career at the collegiate level.

30

Thank you to alumnus Darius Mahjoob ‘19, a junior at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, for returning to campus to talk with the St. Mary’s Model United Nations Club (MUN) students. Darius, a former member of St. Mary’s MUN Club, chaired the October Model United Nations Conference at Santa Margarita High School. The conference hosted over 1300 students from 20 different schools, including the St. Mary’s team. Congrats on a job well done.

Gabby Eifrig ‘20 This past fall, Gabby Eifrig, who attends St. Margaret’s placed 11th out of 140 southern section golfers in the opening round of the CIF-SS Individual Tournament at Western Hills Golf & Country Club. Eifrig shot an even-par 35 on the front with two birdies and two bogeys, while on the back she had five pars and four bogeys for a four par side of 41.

“Gabby’s short game and putting were truly remarkable,” said head coach Rocky Parker. “St. Margaret’s went on to capture its first-ever CIF team championship in girls golf.

Brennan Falcy ‘10

a graduate student at University of Massachusetts (UMass), was one of seven out of 7,800 grad students to receive the prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. The award aims to fund research that demonstrates rigorous intellectual merit as well as the potential for broader impacts for our society.

Brennan graduated with a B.S. in Neuroscience from UCLA in 2018. He went to UMass apply his neuroscience background to ask questions related to circadian biology and cellular metabolism. Brennan’s proposed research aims to study the dynamic interactions of astrocytes and neurons over the circadian period. Uncovering how neuronal function is influenced, for example by astrocytes, is critical to understanding emergent functions such as cognition. In his free time Brennan enjoys running and exploring the outdoors of New England.

Alumni Share High School Experiences with Grade 8 Students

A big thank you to alumna Haley Kirchhoff ‘19 for coming to campus to talk with Grade 8 students interested in attending JSerra next year. Matthew Far-hadian ‘20, Mandy Taylor ‘18 and Gabby Eifrig ‘20 also visited campus and shared about St. Margaret’s.

The alumni were able to have lunch with the students and discuss their personal experiences in high school.

Thank you for caring about our St. Mary’s students and making sure they find the right fit for high school.

Alumni Holiday Party

Over the Christmas Break, St. Mary’s hosted an Alumni Holiday Party.

Over 40 alumni attended from nine different classes. The Class of 2017 won with the highest-class attendance with 12 alumni. Faculty enjoyed catching up and learning about all the exciting things our Falcons are achieving in the world.

Alumni Association

Happenings and Events First Parents of Alumni Holiday Party St. Mary’s is excited to start a new

tradition – Parents of Alumni Holiday Party.

We held our first in December and it was wonderful to have so many parents of alumni join us for a festive holiday event in the IB Hub. Many of those attending had not seen the Imagine More campus renovations so it was a real treat to show off the campus. We are excited to watch this event grow into a treasured tradition and offer a chance for parents of alumni to stay connected to the school.

Alumni Continue Model United Nations in High School It was great to see so many alumni,

representing their high schools at the annual Southern California Model United Nations Conference. Pictured: Darius Mahjoob ‘19, Leyton Breese ‘18, Carolina McNamee ‘20, Nora Gamini ‘19, Tatum Tatch ‘18 and Sonja Gupta ‘20. It’s wonderful to see our Falcons continuing their passion in MUN. We can’t wait to see what these future diplomats will achieve.

5-Year & 10-Year Reunions This Summer

This summer we look forward to hosting a FiveYear Reunion for the Class of 2017 and a 10-Year Reunion for the Class of 2012. This will be a wonderful opportunity to get together with your friends and reconnect with old friends and faculty. Join your classmates and teachers for lunch at the Stadium Brewery in Aliso Viejo at 1:00 p.m. We will offer a school tour at 3:00 p.m. for those interested.

Class of 2017 Five Year Reunion – July 10 Class of 2012 Ten Year Reunion – July 17

Alumnae Visit Campus We are excited to be able to welcome alumni back onto campus. Thank you to Jillian Yosenick ‘14 and Nicole DiNicola ‘14 (left to right) for visiting us in March while on spring break from college. Jillian is a senior at Loyola University in Chicago and Nikki is a senior at Texas Christian University.

We want to extend an invite to all alumni to come back to campus and visit. You can even join us for lunch at the Green Family Commons.

We love to see our alumni on campus.

31

St. Mary’s Gala: Solid Gold Success

I

Event Raises Record-Breaking Support for Student Programs

n late March, more than 300 members of our St. Mary’s community came together to celebrate our school, build community and simply Bring Back the Boogie! The St. Mary’s Solid Gold Gala presented by Newport Beach Dermatology and Plastic Surgery took place at the Balboa Bay Resort. Our community fully embraced the theme in their attire! Glitz, glam and disco were very much alive when our community stepped into the transformed ballroom of a chic 70’s disco.

Thank You

2022 Gala

Committee Nicole Bhathal, Jennifer Kite, Tressie Lieberman, Megan Roshan, MaryAnn Samuel, Ali Santore, Ryan Tanaka, Carey Tushin and Alexandra Weed

Guests enjoyed the Disco Inferno signature cocktail, 360 photo booth and vibrant photo opportunities, plated dinner, lovely desserts, Fund-a-Need support, live auction bidding and boogying on the dance floor. This was a very memorable night and one of the best Galas in St. Mary’s history.

While this event is always chock-full of fun and entertainment, it serves as an essential fundraiser for St. Mary’s. Because of the overwhelming support of our event sponsors and community, we were able to raise a record-breaking $695,393 through ticket sales, sponsorships, auction and Fund-a-Need. Thank you everyone who supported this tremendous effort!

For every St. Mary’s Gala, a specific purpose is identified to financially support. The Fund-aNeed for the 2022 Gala was the St. Mary’s Scholar Program. St. Mary’s values and encourages inclusivity. We believe a diverse community equals a stronger one. Because of this, we established the St. Mary’s Scholar Program, which provides full-tuition scholarships to qualified students. Through this funding, not only are the lives of these children and their families changed, our community is also changed for the better. We are so blessed to share our community raised an incredible $507,800 specifically during the Funda-Need for the St. Mary’s Scholar Program.

32

We are so thankful our community could gather in person to celebrate and ensure the long-term success of our school and outstanding programs.

Golf Classic Swinging Success 23rd Annual Event Sponsored by Newport Beach Dermatology and Plastic Surgery

This fall, we welcomed our community back onto the fairways of Marbella Country Club for the St. Mary’s 23rd Annual Golf Classic. Nearly 110 golfers dusted off their drivers and putters to support our school. We were blessed to have Newport Beach Dermatology & Plastic Surgery serve as the presenting sponsor of the tournament.

We are fortunate to have so many gracious families and businesses within the St. Mary’s community that generously underwrote and supported our golf tournament. We also had many volunteers who kindly gave their time and energy throughout the course. Thank you. A special thank you to Kathryn Mayes, our golf chair. She has kindly chaired our tournament for many years and has committed to do it once again in the fall. Look for a date for the 2023 tournament soon.

33

Non-Profit U.S. Postage PAID Laguna Niguel, CA Permit No. 1091

7 Pursuit Aliso Viejo CA 92656

www.smaa.org

ST. MARY’S

2022

SPRING

MAGAZINE

BACK & BETTER THAN EVER © Copyright 2022. St. Mary’s School, Aliso Viejo. Facilities #304270042