St. Mary's 2023 Spring Magazine

MARY’S

SERVICE TO THE WORLD

THE GALAPAGOS, COSTA RICA AND HERE AT HOME

Head Of School: Doug Patterson

Managing Editor:

Heather Wilkins

Contributors:

Carmen Anderson

Virtue Byrd

Jim Cox

Christine Downie

Kim Dzwonkowski

Brandi Hartigan

Kristie Kender

Dustin Mittelsteadt

Lauren Sterner

Jillian Kearney

Patty Siegman

Marie Stone

Leila Volkmann

Photography:

Heather Wilkins

Patty Siegman

Rick Davitt

Alex Carroll

Patrick Kapterian ©

@stmarys.ib.world.school

Dear St. Mary’s Community,

As an International Baccalaureate school, we are inspired by the IB mission: to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. This philosophy is woven into our curriculum and approach to learning across all grade levels.

I am proud to share the 2023 Spring Magazine. This editorial articulates the inspiring work happening every day at St. Mary’s. This magazine’s theme is service in action throughout our community, locally and globally and a reflection of our strategic initiatives and priorities.

Within the article, “Flexing Our World-Sized Hearts” we learn how Grade 1 students take action to make a positive impact on animals in the rainforest and then how our Middle School students are given the opportunity to travel to Ecuador for a service based trip. I was blessed to be a part of the Galapagos Field Study and witnessed first-hand the incredible work St. Mary’s students and faculty do to improve the environment. This trip is life changing, and I am so grateful for my time in this special place.

Service is evident in many parts of our campus— from the PTF modeling service in action to our new Board members volunteering their time and expertise. Our community continues to support our school with significant financial contributions. This year we experienced record breaking funds at the Jog-A-Thon, Gala and the St. Mary’s Fund. Thank you to everyone who supported these programs and events—every student benefits from your generosity.

Throughout all divisions, our Falcons are learning, acting, playing sports, assuming leadership roles, making friends, challenging each other and more. We are fostering future generations of well-rounded people, service-minded leaders and I couldn’t be prouder of our students, faculty and staff.

I hope you will come to campus to experience all St. Mary’s has to offer from Design Night to graduation celebrations. Enjoy these pages as they are wonderful examples of our students making an impact on the world right now.

Head of School

St. Mary’s Welcomes Two New Trustees

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of St. Mary’s School.  Board composition reflects the strategic expertise, resources and perspectives — past, present, future — needed to achieve the mission and strategic objectives of the school. As such, the trustees are volunteers from diverse backgrounds within and outside the St. Mary’s parent community. Individual members serve a threeyear term and participate in ongoing trustee education, evaluation and board leadership succession planning. The Board works to ensure all members are actively involved in the work of the Board and its committees.

St. Mary’s is grateful for the service and commitment of Serena Benson (Board Chair) and Board members Catherine Anderson, Rayna Herman and Francisco Morales. Congratulations and welcome to new trustees Susan A. Chaney and Andy Kief.

Susan A. Chaney

St. Mary’s grandparent, Susan A. Chaney joined the Board of Trustees in March 2023. Early in her life she reaped the benefits of private education coupled with her personal experience at Castilleja School in Palo Alto, Calif. Both of these forces influenced the trajectory of her life as a servant leader. She is an alum from UC San Diego where she graduated with degrees in History and Economics. Her children Derek and Hunter attended St. Margaret’s Episcopal School where Ms. Chaney served on the Board of Trustees, including two years as the Board President during a pivotal time in the school’s history.

Currently Ms. Chaney is wrapping up her six-year term as the Board Chair at the JF Shea Therapeutic Riding Center in San Juan Capistrano. She is also a Board member of the Mission Hospital Foundation. Ms. Chaney takes great joy in being “Birdie” to St. Mary’s students William (Early Kindergarten) and John Steffien (Early Preschool).

“It is such a tremendous honor for me to be joining the Board of Trustees at St. Mary’s School. As a newer grandparent to the school, with two fledgling Falcon grandsons thriving in the EEP program, it quickly became apparent to me what a truly meaningful educational experience St. Mary’s provides. I feel blessed that I am able to represent the many Falcon grandparents who are an integral part of the St. Mary’s community.” — Susan A. Chaney

Andy Kief

Andy Kief joined the St. Mary’s Board of Trustees in March of 2023.  He currently serves on the Master Planning and Finance committees. The Keif family—Andy, Lauren, Jack (Grade 1) and Lillian (Pre-K)—have been members of the St. Mary’s family since 2018. They love all types of activities, including swimming, horseback riding, golf and chess.

Mr. Kief is President and Co-Founder of Cuesta Construction, a leading Orange County commercial general contractor specializing in retail, office, apartment and resort projects. Over the past 35 years, Cuesta Construction has completed more than 1,200 projects for many top Southern California landowners, including The Irvine Company, Hoag Hospital, LBA Realty and others. Prior to starting Cuesta, Mr. Kief worked at Price Waterhouse in Century City. Mr. Kief was born and raised in San Luis Obispo and comes from a family of teachers. He received his undergraduate degree in Business from Cal Poly—SLO and his MBA from UCLA.

Parent Teacher Fellowship Modeling Service

In Action

Every St. Mary’s parent is a member of the Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF). The PTF is a dynamic and powerful group of parent volunteers who make a positive and valuable impact on our community. We value building community through volunteering and planning meaningful events and activities on campus. Being actively involved on campus is a great way to make friends and become more ingrained in the St. Mary’s Community.

Our PTF Board is a leadership group that commits to serving our school in various positions to ensure we fulfill our mission of supporting the educational, fundraising, cultural, physical and spiritual needs of St. Mary’s.

“The PTF is vital for bringing parents together, fostering a service-oriented mindset that strengthens the school community. Getting involved with the PTF Board has numerous benefits, including forming new friendships, familiarizing yourself with St. Mary’s and contributing positively to the lives of your children. Parental engagement in a child’s education significantly influences their long-term success. Children with involved parents tend to achieve higher grades and test scores, develop better social skills, exhibit improved behavior, maintain regular school attendance and are more likely to graduate from high school and pursue higher education. I encourage you to become an active member of our amazing Falcon community!”

—Mahdis Bormand, PTF President

Parent Teacher Fellowship (PTF) Board of Directors

President: Mahdis Bormand

Secretary: Nancy Hermansen

Communications Director: Laura Clifford

PTF Events Directors: Joanne Ho & Mariko Nordhoff

EEP Room Parent Director: Mingying Gu

LS Room Parent Director: Carey Tushin Vile

MS Parent Directors: Leslie Murphy & Alexandra Weed

Volunteer Director: Joy Wang

Outreach Directors: Sheila Hoffmann & Koren Hubbard

Care and Compassion Director: Nancy Hermansen

Faculty/Staff Appreciation Director: Liz Chayes

Father-Daughter Dance

On Friday, February 3, over 200 Falcon fathers and daughters enjoyed a special night of dancing “Under The Big Top,” an event hosted by the PTF Board. The St. Mary’s Gym was transformed into a magical circus ring for this fan favorite event. Fathers and daughters enjoyed breaking out their best moves on the dance floor, showcasing big smiles for the photo booth and playing carnival games. High flying fun was had by all who attended!

Teacher Appreciation

On behalf of the St. Mary’s Community, The PTF Board shows their gratitude to our dedicated faculty and staff throughout the year with special breakfasts, coffee service and themed treats served in the teachers’ lounge. During teacher appreciation week, May 1 - May 5, Lower School parents brought in special gifts of appreciation such as cards from students, flowers and personalized treats each day of the week for teachers and instructional assistants. Middle School teachers also received special gifts of appreciation such as treats, gift cards and thank you notes throughout the week coordinated by ASB through a raffle where every MS teacher was a winner! The PTF Board also chose one day during teacher appreciation week to personally hand out an extra special gift to all faculty and staff on behalf of St. Mary’s parents. Our faculty and staff are so loved and appreciated!

Mother-Son Game Night

On Friday, April 21, over 200 Falcon mothers and sons enjoyed an evening of fun competition and camaraderie with interactive games and activities on St. Mary’s Field. Mothers and sons bonded over games of dodgeball, capture the flag and tug of war. Other fun activities included skateboarding, inflatable skeeball, building with jumbo legos and mini excavators. Mothers and sons also enjoyed the food trucks and sweet treats. Many thanks to the PTF Board for hosting this event!

On Saturday, March 25, St. Mary’s School held its annual Gala at the Balboa Bay Resort in Newport Beach. The fundraiser themed “Let’s Rock the Boat” treated more than 300 St. Mary’s community members to a lively evening of cocktails, dinner, dancing, fundraising and more. The event was generously supported by the presenting sponsor, Greenlaw.

Record Breaking Support for Student Programs

This event is an essential fundraiser for St. Mary’s. Thanks to the overwhelming support of event sponsors and the Falcon community, over $525,000 was raised through ticket sales, sponsorships, auctions and Fund-a-Need. The silent and live auctions specifically brought in record breaking numbers—$194,000! Many thanks to our families and community members for their generous donations. Without you, this success would not be possible.

The Fund-a-Need for the 2023 Gala goes directly toward funding the St. Mary’s Scholar Program. The Scholar Program provides full-tuition scholarships to qualified students. Through this funding, not only will the lives of these children and their families be changed, but our community will be changed for the better. We raised an incredible $220,000 specifically during the Fund-a-Need for the St. Mary’s Scholar Program!

“The 2023 St. Mary’s Gala was a tremendous success. We are so blessed to have such a generous and

supportive community that annually comes together to celebrate our school. Thank you to all of the families who participated and supported the Gala. A special thank you to our event sponsors and our talented Gala co-chairs Megan Roshan and Lindsay Dickhout and their committee,” said Doug Patterson, Head of School.

Falcons Rocked the Boat!

Wow, what a night! Guests enjoyed a cocktail reception with “Three Sheets to the Wind” signature cocktail, a champagne wall, appetizers, photo opportunities, silent auction, dinner, dessert, live auction, Fund-a-Need and celebrating on the dance floor to dancing to Undercover Live with treats from the dessert bar!

Thank you to our fabulous 2023 Gala Committee’s Co-Captains Megan Roshan and Lindsay Dickhout and committee members Nicole Bhathal, Jamie Goodman, Cathy Green, Tonya Johnstone, Jennifer Kite, MaryAnn Samuel and Carey Tushin-Vile.

St. Mary’s Gala St. Mary’s Gala St. Mary’s Gala St. Mary’s Gala

In February, St. Mary’s held its 23rd annual Jog-A-Thon where we raised a record-breaking $62,000. This event is all about fun, promoting physical fitness and building school spirit while raising funds that support our extensive athletic programs. The Jog-A-Thon actively involves our students and allows them to share a sense of pride and accomplishment by contributing their own “sweat equity” to improving our school. The funds raised enable us to enrich and supplement our Athletic and Physical Education programs. We are so thankful for our healthy, active and competitive Falcon community.

As an incentive for our students, St. Mary’s recognized the top fundraising students by grade and division. Some of the prizes included Falcon Pride Wristbands, Free Dress Passes, Dairy Queen Blizzard Party, All-School Fun Friday and Free Summer Resort Athletic Camp.

This year we used a new pledge platform, PledgeStar, to make it incredibly easy to share and collect donations for the Athletic and PE programs. With the funds raised from the Jog-A-Thon, the Athletics Department was able to purchase new sets of jerseys for many sports to roll out next year and a variety of new equipment including lacrosse goals, soccer nets, volleyball carts, lacrosse backstop, lacrosse sets, portable scoreboards and more.

Our young EEP students had some requests of their own and ended up with Snuggle Pod Tree Swings, Treehouse Pulley System, flying discs and more. Our Outdoor Education educator commented, “At first glance, these swings seem like they are just cute and snuggly, but they are also a great tool for supporting vestibular development. They are a hit!” You can peek over the fence to see them in action.

The PE department utilized the funds raised to incorporate several new GOPHER pieces of equipment for our K-8 Physical Education curriculum. The most exciting purchase was a very large 72” diameter inflatable ball that the students have been having a blast with in the Gym. With this giant ball, we have played games such as “Keep it Up” and “Run the Gauntlet” which are extremely fun, but also aid in students’ cardiovascular fitness since the games involve running and jumping. We purchased 12 new anti-tip scooter boards, which have been awesome and safe for the students in games such as “Hungry Hungry Hippos” and a variety of relays that encourage hand eye coordination and teamwork. In addition to these two items, we purchased over 25 great quality 7” foam balls that have and will be used in several different throwing and catching games such as Medic, Mat Ball, Star Wars Tag and many more. Some of the dodgeballs even glow in the dark and come with large inflatable barriers to hide behind, so we hope to get a game of glow in the dark “capture the flag” going in the gym soon!

When asked about the Jog-A-Thon, Jeremy Haworth, Grade 8 student athlete shared,

Athletics Social Media Channel

Follow St. Mary’s Athletic highlights on Instagram @falconathleticsnetwork.

Formation of the Falcon Athletic Network

What started off as a dream has turned into a reality thanks to the hard work and dedication of Grade 8 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.

“It’s a tradition, and it’s great to be a part of it and its impact on our Falcon community.”

2023 St. Mary’s Track Invitational

Participation in athletics continues to soar with over 40 teams participating in our Parochial Athletic League this year, which is an all time record. Hundreds of Falcons are learning about Falcon Pride through Athletics. Most recently, more than 110 students represented St. Mary’s at our annual St. Mary’s Track Invitational. On April 29, our school hosted seven PAL schools at JSerra Catholic High School. Our Falcons ran, jumped and threw their hearts out in a variety of events.

This event would not be possible without the tremendous support of our alumni and parent volunteers. The track program is so blessed to have alumni volunteers at our Sunday practices and the annual meet. A big thank you to alum Luke Friedl. This year, Luke helped lead distance practices and ran point on the behind-the-scenes work at the track meet. Another huge thank you to Don Keena. Don has been the lead track parent volunteer for many years helping with practice every Sunday and with the annual track meet. This is his final year at St. Mary’s (his daughter Megan is graduating this spring). Thank you Don for your dedication and support.

SLIDE INTO SOME SUMMER FUN!

THIS SUMMER AT ST.MARY’S!

WELCOME TO ST. MARY’S SUMMER RESORT

JUNE

JUNE 20- AUGUST 25

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.

Academic Prep Program (Early Kindergarten – Grade 8): Grade-level curriculum to prepare students for the coming fall. Each class is designed to engage and reinforce critical reading, writing and mathematical concepts.

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.

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.

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.

HOW TO REGISTER: Enroll online at www.smaa.org/summerresort beginning April 1, 2023. 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

Flexing Our World-Sized Hearts

The International Baccalaureate (IB) develops lifelong learners who thrive and make a difference. The IB mission, coupled with St. Mary’s: world-sized hearts and world-class minds — inspires our teachers to ensure all learning experiences are thoughtfully and purposefully designed to create students who care about the world around them. When our faculty can capture the hearts of our students,’ the mind quickly follows.

We believe exercising a student’s heart is an important component to a well-balanced education. St. Mary’s provides many engaging, hands-on experiences for students to grow and make a difference in their local and global communities. Service learning is woven into our curriculum to give students opportunities to take what they have learned in the classroom and apply it in real-world situations and within a global context.

Grade 1 Takes Action

This year in the Grade 1 Sharing the Planet unit, students investigated the Central Idea, “We have a responsibility to protect the rainforest.” During this transdisciplinary unit, students learned the difference between a temperate and tropical rainforest and mapped all the areas in the world where tropical rainforests exist. Students also wrote their first Research Report on a selected rainforest animal. They worked with Ms. Mimi, learning research skills, note taking and MLA Notation and then wrote impressive teaching books in class about their animals. During literacy centers, Grade 1 Falcons participated in Book Clubs focusing on poison dart frogs, toucans, jaguars, capybaras, sloths and orangutans. Destruction of the Rainforest was an immense focus of the unit. Students had to identify problems (deforestation for homes, palm oil, raising cows, animals losing homes, endangered animals, the release of carbon dioxide in the air every time a tree is cut and the loss of oxygen, heating up of planet, etc.), solutions (plant trees, only buy palm oil with RSPO label, support a plant-based diet, support animal organizations like JRC, reduce, reuse, recycle, etc.) and why the rainforest is important (many medicines and foods come from the rainforest).

Throughout these discussions and learning experiences, students continued to ask questions about deforestation that is happening in so many areas and how we as humans are impacting it. They were devastated when they heard that many animals are losing their homes for various reasons and wanted to take action to make a change. The teachers introduced them to The Jaguar Rescue Center in Puerto de Talamanca, Costa Rica. Faculty were so inspired by the work at this Center, that a visit was incorporated into the spring International Field Study to Costa Rica.

Students went home to find ways to earn money by doing chores, helping neighbors, lemonade stands and beach clean-up playdates to earn the money.

Students raised a record breaking $1,337.72 and adopted a sloth named Mamma Mia who had been electrocuted climbing power lines, losing her right arm and being burned so badly she could never be released back into the wild. We were also able to buy 18 pounds of powdered goat milk. During the Costa Rica Field Study, our Middle School students delivered the money and supplies to the Jaguar Rescue Center and got to meet Mamma Mia in person. All of Grade 1 were able to virtually meet their special girl, Mamma Mia, via Facetime. This was a transformational experience for both our Grade 1 and Middle School students.

As we continue to develop students with worldsized hearts and world-class minds, these types of experiences are vital to our program and allow our students to become engaged and active citizens of the world who are motivated to change this ever changing world.

“

I am thankful for the opportunity to make an impact on the Galapagos community. The trip had an impact on me physically and mentally. I enjoyed the challenge of working on the farm and making a positive difference on the environment. We planted trees to help slow global warming and collected trash at the beach and ocean to help fight climate change.”

“The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service of others”

– Gandhi

Finn Wilkins, Grade 7

Global Service Learning

This spring, over 30 students departed from St. Mary’s to the countries of Costa Rica and Ecuador on International Field Studies. While both trips focused on service activities, the primary purpose of the Galapagos Field Study was to improve and preserve the islands through service-based work.

The Field Study to the Galapagos Islands encourages students to direct their energy into a variety of activities such as environmental conservation, community service and social programs. Students stay at an organic farm and are completely immersed in the environment around them by staying and working 24 hours a day. Falcons worked in an organic greenhouse, cared for cattle and chickens, collected seeds, planted trees, tended to giant tortoises and collaborated with the Science Department of the University of Ecuador on multiple projects. This field study expands education and fosters an intercultural exchange of ideas in addition to the positive, unique and life changing experiences that our students get involved in on these beautiful islands.

Students’ world-sized hearts were in action during their service work that included reforestation and the eradication of invasive species. Students helped eradicate wild berries to help create a suitable living environment for the reintroduction of the Galapagos Giant Tortoise. Students helped maintain the farm’s organic garden, milked the cows, cooked traditional dishes of the Galapagos and helped with composting and collecting products from the farm. Our students’ service expanded to the reintroduction of an endemic flowering plant only found in the Galapagos Islands, lecocarpus darwinii. Students prepared 200 bags with soil and planted the seedlings of this plant as part of the reforestation project on the highlands of San Cristobal. Students collected and planted seeds of Scalesia spp. an endemic species to the highlands of San Cristobal. Some of the zones where this plant is located are threatened by the introduction and spread of invasive species. The Galapagos National Park works in conjunction with the University of San Francisco Quito (USFQ) to restore the habitat of the Scalesia spp. in the Galapagos. Our students took part in this tremendous effort to increase Scalesia’s forests in the Galapagos Islands. We planted 42 Scalesia plants as part of the reforestation project in an area that a forest once existed. Our students worked directly with the University of Quito to help count, tag and collect data of more than 1,200 trees located on the highlands in San Cristobal.

Our group visited Opuntia, a pristine beach with no public access. We obtained a permit from the National Park Service to remove the plastic items present on this beach. The group ultimately collected 66 pounds of plastic.

During many afternoons after working in service projects, we had the opportunity to explore the town at the base of the island, Puerto Baquerizo Moreno. We visited the Charles Darwin Research Station in Santa Cruz Island, an international non-profit organization dedicated to scientific research and to promoting and securing the conservation of Galapagos and the Giant Galapagos Tortoise.

Local Community Service Learning

St. Mary’s has a long-standing relationship with our local branches of the Boys & Girls Club. It is our goal to develop community and provide opportunities for the students from both of our organizations to join together for educational and play-based activities.

This spring with the generous support of the Los Angeles Chargers, St. Mary’s was able to host an NFL Play 60 training event. Students from the Boys & Girls Club, St. Mary’s football coaches and spring football academy came together for an afternoon of football and camaraderie . Grade 8 student, Evan Leddy commented, “It was rewarding to see all of us come together because of athletics and help each other.”

Members of the Chargers Youth and High School Football program led football drills, including “Justin Herbert’s Elusive Escape” and “Keenan Allen’s Receiver Relay.” Groups of students moved from drill to drill as they trained just like the pros.

Nicole Watson, Associate Executive Director, Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley shared, “The Play 60 clinic taught Boys & Girls Clubs of Capistrano Valley (BGCCV) members football skills through a variety of different exercises. The Play 60 team recognized youth for being team players and challenged youth to give it their all. Thank you to St. Mary’s for coordinating this remarkable opportunity for our members.”

Based on the feedback and success of this event, we are looking forward to more opportunities in the future to support the Boys & Girls Club and partner with the Los Angeles Chargers.

by Kim Dzwonkowski Outdoor Curriculum Coordinator, Early Education

Not A Dragon

Iplace a pile of blocks onto a table. A child asks me, “What is that?” I set out a bin of wooden mallets next to a bouquet of flowers slightly past their prime. A child asks me, “What is that?” I put out slime. I put out fabrics. I put out scoops and soapy water. Children ask, “What is that and that and that?” I put out a cardboard box. Silence. A child kicks it. Someone daring sits in it. Others wishing to be daring clamor to sit in it too. No one questions it. No one asks me what it is at all. That is because the cardboard box is magic. One of my favorite story books that celebrates this is Not a Box by Antoinette Portis where a simple cardboard box transports a playful bunny to a variety of imaginative worlds. The cardboard box is a rocket, a race car, a pirate ship and a skyscraper. It is everything but a box. So, what happened on the EEP playground when I asked Chef Todd for a collection of his sturdiest food boxes a week before the all-school Lunar New Year assembly? What happened when I gathered those boxes into a pile and taped a print out of a lion dancer in full costume beside it? That pile of boxes became a dragon, and that dragon became a bridge that connected multiple IB units and design thinking to a triumphant community celebration.

Early Preschool handled the pile of boxes first. After stacking them and sitting in them for several minutes, they took my bait— frisbees with paint. No one covers surfaces in multiple layers of paint faster than a gaggle of giggling two and three year olds, who often abandon brushes for hands, elbows and even feet. I left the detail work to Preschool. Deep into their unit of inquiry on recycling, I challenged them to cut out facial features to match the mask of the real life lion dancer using a variety of empty snack boxes and several rolls of tape. Once complete, the dragon face featured moody eyebrows made of egg crates above googly eyes drawn onto the white insides of a cut-up cookie box. It boasted rouged cheeks, the hue of Welch’s fruit snacks, and a long, orange Cheez-It box tongue. Body bling was next. I filled the sensory bin with safety scissors, paper rolls, skeins of yarn, bits of ribbon, sequins, colored painters’ tape and streamers. Well into their unit on tinkering, Early Kindergarten crafted tassels to adorn the dragon’s back. They assembled paper roll rabbits, dangling streamers from them so that they caught the wind once fastened to the dragon’s sides. They taped on sequins as scales. They cut out feet from an unused snack box and secured bright red manicured nails onto the claws because this dragon was fancy. Fancy dragons need to dance. An impromptu measuring experiment with Preschool revealed that the dragon, at five boxes long, was longer

than any student and any teacher, even Mrs. Harmon, who followed strict orders to drop her clipboard of work and lay down next to the dragon because comparing her length to that of a dragon puppet with a snack box face was far more important than anything else the head of EEP needed to do. None of the boxes were heavy, but they were large, so making this dragon move took patience and teamwork. We assigned dancers to each box. We agreed to keep our dragon head and body parts in order as we moved. We blasted lion dance music through our playground speaker. And off we went! A triumphant start! Look at that dragon soar! Oh, wait. The belly is down. Oh, no. The shoulders are sagging. Oh, dear. The head is sideways. The tail is catching up. Nope, the tail has surpassed the rest of the body. The dragon is now dancing across the yard bottom first, and its head is in the wood chips, Cheez-It tongue dramatically thrown to one side. Dragon down. I repeat, dragon down.

Once we recovered, Preschool sat around the dragon to figure out what went wrong. Elle observed, “It’s easier to hold the boxes when they don’t have a bottom.” She guessed it would be even easier if there were handles as well. So, we hollowed out each box and sliced in grips on every side, big enough to fit a whole hand through. Oliver mused, “It’s hard to stay in order.” Others agreed.

“I can’t remember which part goes first.”

“I got carried away by the music.”

“It’s hard because some friends are taller, or faster or stronger.”

We wondered if it would be easier if we connected all the pieces together. I presented the case to Early Kindergarten. We attempted to perform the dragon dance with the pieces in order just as Preschool had, and when we also sat down to reflect on how we could make it better, they backed their Preschool engineers—connection was key.

“The connection has to be strong,” I offered. “The puppet can’t break apart during the dance or we end up back where we started, a dragon with a runaway bottom.” Early Kindergarten tinkerers had many suggestions ranging from hilarious to practical. More tape! Slime! Gum! Legos! Glue!

Until Isla threw her hands up to the sky and said, “You guys, what about a rope?” Hollowed out with handles and a strong rope spine, the dragon puppet rose. Dancers stayed in unison. The energy around the puppet was palpable, so we added instruments and silk scarves. Our dragon

was alive, so alive, it caught the eye of Mr. Camargo as he passed by the playground. Inspired by our play, he offered us the chance to dance our dragon around the football field at the Lunar New Year assembly as an opening act to the lion dance troupe coming to perform for the entire school.

Mrs. Smith’s EK class rehearsed diligently for days. On the morning of the assembly, our dragon puppet, the culmination of a week’s worth of collaborative art with loose parts and play, soared. This project bridged Preschool’s recycling unit to EK’s tinkering unit and transformed small design failures into giant triumphs in design thinking. EEP dancers sailed it across the field, proud face first, to the applause and encouragement of lower and middle school students, teachers and celebrating families, joyfully demonstrating the transformative magic of the simple cardboard box. When we returned to the playground, I saw Preschool had pushed the dragon into the shade, flipped it, and several students were sitting inside the boxes, relaxing in their newfound oasis from the hot sun. “What have you done with the dragon?” I asked, delighted.

“It’s not a dragon,” Wilson replied. Skylar agreed, “It’s a train.”

Elle offered, excitedly, “We’re on a lazy river!”

“No, we’re camping,” Sunny added.

“These are our beds!” Ollie offered. There was one thing they all agreed on —there wasn’t a cardboard box in sight.

The first pillar of the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan challenges St. Mary’s to deliver a transformative learning experience for our students. To ensure we fully meet this goal, it’s imperative our academic program is preparing students to thrive across all divisions and, ultimately, for higher learning environments and beyond. To achieve this and set St. Mary’s on a long-term trajectory of academic excellence, we identified the need to appoint a dedicated educator to serve as our Dean of Academics.

When seeking a Dean of Academics, we were determined to find an experienced leader who would build clear and consistent learning experiences as students bridged from division to division. We have thoughtfully selected a current faculty member to serve in this role. St. Mary’s is thrilled that for the 2023-2024 school year, Lauren Sterner will be the Dean of Academics.

Throughout Mrs. Sterner’s 19-year tenure at St. Mary’s, she has a consistent, demonstrable record of success. She has been a teacher for five years in Grades 2 and 4 and has held her current position as PYP coordinator for 14 years. Mrs. Sterner has successfully navigated three IB evaluation visits and is responsible for the professional development for the IB Primary Years Programme across all of Lower School and EEP. She works closely with the EEP and Lower School Division heads to manage all curriculum. Mrs. Sterner also introduced our Middle School Dance program to St. Mary’s four years ago and today oversees our Song team.

Mrs. Sterner has successfully built a strong academic program beginning in Early Education and continuing through Grade 5. As the Dean of

Dean Of ACADEMICS

Academics, she will be charged with strengthening the vertical articulation from Lower to Middle School. Mrs. Sterner will establish school-wide academic programming that will prepare and equip our students with the appropriate tools and experiences to set them up for success in high school and higher learning environments.

“I am looking forward to supporting all our teachers in creating dynamic, meaningful learning experiences while assuring we have uniformity in academic standards across all divisions,” said Mrs. Sterner.

Mrs. Sterner will oversee the IB coordinators and is responsible for our academic program. As Dean, she will be responsible for enhancing and implementing a consistent and well-rounded reading, writing and math curriculum that ties to our IB Units of Inquiry; overseeing all standardized testing (e.g., ISA, MAP, etc.) and all accreditation approvals; and supporting the academic integrity of every student and faculty member. She will continue to serve as the PYP coordinator for the 2023-2024 school year. We will look to fill the PYP IB coordinator position for the 2024-2025 school year.

“I am really excited for Lauren to lead our academic programming,” said Doug Patterson, Head of School. “In this role she will reflect on the academic program to ensure a cohesive curriculum, provide clarification and support to teachers while setting school-wide goals intentionally created to promote collaboration and communication among all divisions.”

Dean

Lauren Sterner

of Academics

In Lower and Middle School our students participate in two primary forms of standardized testing. The first is the NWEA™ Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) Growth Math Test and the second is the International Schools’ Assessment (ISA). The purpose of these tests is to inform instruction and highlight the strengths and opportunities for growth in our program.

MAP ASSESSMENT

The NWEA™ Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) Growth Math Test is a computerized assessment that measures students’ proficiency and knowledge in mathematics. The test is adaptive, meaning the questions’ difficulty level changes according to the student’s previous answers. This ensures that the test is uniquely tailored for each student to show his or her individual academic progress irrespective of grade level in algebra, geometry, statistics, probability and complex number systems.

ISA ASSESSMENT

The International Schools’ Assessment (ISA) is designed for students in Grades 3–10 in international schools and schools with an international focus. The ISA assesses how well students can apply skills to situations relating to real life in the 21st century. The ISA extends beyond multiple choice; it includes open-ended questions and writing tasks which provide a better insight into students’ thinking processes. The questions often require students to construct a response, explain their reasoning, find evidence or justify their opinion.

Field Trips: An Exploration of Science

Grade 2, as part of their Paleontology unit, visited the La Brea Tar Pits. It is one of the world’s most famous fossil sites where thousands of ancient animal bones have been discovered in the sticky tar pits. Students also explored the museum’s exhibits, which showcase the discoveries made at the site and explain the science behind the excavation process. Students learned about the history of the Ice Age and how it affected the animals that lived during that time. They also learned about the science of paleontology and how scientists study fossils to understand the past.

2GRADE

by Brandi Hartigan Science Department Chair & Teacher, Lower School

Science field trips offer unique opportunities for students to experience science in a handson, interactive way that simply cannot be replicated in the classroom. By visiting museums, science centers, nature reserves and other educational sites, students can learn about scientific concepts in a real-world context, observe the natural world in action and engage in interactive activities and experiments. These experiences can spark curiosity, inspire enthusiasm and encourage a love of learning that can last a lifetime.

Science field trips also provide important opportunities for students to develop key skills such as observation, critical thinking and problem-solving. By participating in experiments and activities, students can learn to formulate hypotheses, design experiments and draw conclusions based on their observations. These skills are essential not just in science but in a range of settings.

St. Mary’s is proud to offer such an extensive range of field trips that support our science curriculum for students in all grade levels. Here’s a few highlights from the 2022-2023 school year.

GRADE

KKindergarten had the opportunity to visit the Environmental Nature Center. This experience was an excellent way to promote a five-senses curriculum as it provides various opportunities to engage and stimulate all five senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. This field trip also focused on developing a deep appreciation for the environment and an understanding of the importance of conservation efforts.

1GRADE

Grade 1, as part of their Rainforest unit, will embark on their annual Wilderness Walk to Aliso Viejo Wilderness Park. Nature walks provide an opportunity for students to explore the world in a new and different way. They can touch different textures, smell different scents and hear different sounds. This can help enhance their sensory experiences and help them develop their sensory processing skills. This trip will allow them to observe nature, learn about local flora and fauna and understand the importance of conservation. Being in nature can spark a child’s curiosity and encourage them to explore their surroundings.

4GRADE

Grade 3, as part of their Water unit, will visit Harvest Solutions Farm. Students will learn about water use, irrigation, conservation and perform service learning work. This experience is designed to help students develop a deeper understanding of the importance of water conservation. By observing firsthand how farmers use techniques such as drip irrigation, crop rotation and soil management, students can learn how to use water more efficiently and sustainably in their own lives.

3GRADE

Grade 4, as part of their Entrepreneurship unit, visited Stewart Surfboard Shop in San Clemente. There they learned about the realities of entrepreneurship from the founder of the local surf shop, Bill Stewart. By observing how the entire shop operates, students learned about different aspects of running a business, such as managing finances, marketing, production, distribution and customer service. Students observed how the business owner has solved problems and overcome challenges, which can inspire them to think creatively and find innovative solutions to problems.

Grade 6 visited the Catalina Environmental Leadership Program where they studied climate science, environmental protection, composting, ocean organisms, ocean currents, as well as native and invasive species. The program is designed to teach students about environmental conservation and sustainability. Students learned about the fragile ecosystems of Catalina Island and the ways in which human actions can impact them. In addition participants work to develop leadership skills that can be applied in various contexts, such as teamwork, communication and decision making. These skills can be useful not only in environmental fields but also in other areas of life.

5GRADE

Grade 5 students attended the AstroCamp field study as part of their Space unit. AstroCamp is an educational and immersive program that offers students a unique opportunity to explore the universe and gain a deeper understanding of space science. While there, students participated in hands-on learning opportunities, which allowed them to apply their knowledge and skills in a real-world setting. Students were given access to state-of-the-art equipment and technology, which enabled them to conduct experiments, analyze data and draw conclusions. Students had the opportunity to interact with experts in the field of astronomy and space science. These interactions may help students gain a deeper understanding of space exploration as well as provide them with insights into potential careers in the field.

Field Trips: An Exploration of Science

6GRADE

8GRADE

7GRADE

Grade 7 students explored the Yosemite National Park to study its ecology, environment and to see what makes Yosemite special. This field study focuses on environmental science and it offers students the opportunity to engage in inclusive, hands-on learning experiences in one of the world’s most iconic national parks. Students explore deep valleys and grand meadows while challenging themselves physically, building meaningful relationships and discovering a caring relationship with the natural world. Students hike to Vernal Falls, walk through narrow rocks, test the water quality of the Merced River and learn about climate change. Students also participate in hands-on learning experiences. By conducting field research projects, such as water biology, students are able to observe and analyze the complex relationships between the environment and the various habitats found in the park. Students are empowered to see how their actions impact their community and the world around them through service-learning projects, such as removing invasive species that threaten the biodiversity of the park.

Grade 8 students visited the National Air and Space Museum as part of their annual trip to Washington, D.C. It is a fantastic venue to spark an interest in science, technology, engineering and math. The museum has exhibits that showcase the history and evolution of aviation, as well as space exploration. The interactive exhibits, films and activities provide an opportunity for students to learn about STEM concepts in a fun and engaging way.

In addition to grade-level field trips, the Middle School’s intersession provided a wide range of science focused or science included activities. One out of four activities focused or included science as part of the itinerary.

All of these field trips provide valuable learning experiences for students, allowing them to engage with the world in a hands-on way that goes beyond the classroom. These experiences can help enhance students’ understanding and appreciation of science as well as other subjects they are learning about, while providing opportunities for them to develop important skills such as critical thinking, problem solving and teamwork. By exposing students to a range of different environments and experiences, these field trips can also help foster a sense of curiosity and wonder about the world around them, which can inspire lifelong learning and exploration. As we near the end of the school year, teachers and administrators continue to search for learning opportunities beyond the walls of our school community.

Consider the seismic shifts our world has undergone within your child’s lifetime. CRISPR technology now allows scientists to edit our genes. Self-driving cars have navigated our roads for almost a decade. SpaceX launches reusable rockets. Artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots are gaining ground. Within the last six months alone, ChatGPT upended our understanding of sentience — all this alongside significant geo-political and cultural turbulence. Now imagine how life might look when your child enters the workforce.

Little about our future is certain except this: 20th century teaching techniques are no longer enough in a 21st century world. The skills that once served our students — memorizing facts, stats and figures — are largely irrelevant when those answers lie inside their pockets. Even foreign language skills may soon be obsolete. The questions, however, have become more complicated and urgent than ever.

This new world requires new ways of thinking. And while we cannot anticipate every problem that will arise in our children’s lifetimes, training their brains on how to approach these challenges and giving them a framework for addressing them needs to start young. Enter Design Thinking.

Educating Today’s Child For Tomorrow’s World

How Design Thinking Prepares Students For Any Future They Choose

by Marrie Stone

The Origins Behind Design Thinking

The term “Design Thinking” first emerged in the late 1960s, but its origins can be traced to both the industrial revolution and WWII. Those globally disruptive events toppled the technological ecosystem, much like the agitation we’re experiencing today. They gave rise to “Wicked Problems,” a term coined in 1973 by design thinkers to describe multidimensional and complex challenges. As the world grew more interconnected, and as scientific and technological advancements began outpacing our ability to adapt, industries increasingly relied on empathy and collaboration to address collective concerns. Think about how those Wicked Problems have accelerated. How fast did “climate change” become a “climate crisis?” How quickly did AI eliminate entire sectors of business? Wicked Problems demand nuanced strategies that address actual human experiences.

St. Mary’s recognizes that retraining an already formed mind is difficult. By introducing Design Thinking at the youngest possible age, this empathic approach becomes ingrained. Regardless of their fields of study or chosen careers, students will be equipped to tackle the unique challenges ahead of them.

“The problems our kids are inheriting, the world they’re inheriting, is significantly more complicated and yet more connected than ever,” said Doug Patterson, Head of School. “If we’re not allowing students to exercise their creativity, we’re not setting them up for future success. I feel a responsibility to graduate students who are prepared with these crucial skills. That’s why we need Design Thinking.”

Design Thinking involves a five-step process that starts with empathy. Students seek to understand another individual’s wants and needs through a series of interviews and listening sessions. Then they identify a problem they might solve. By reflecting on the problem, they generate several ideas to address it and test their concepts with prototypes, experimentation and refinements. Once they successfully complete this cycle (which may require several attempts), they present their final product.

Experiencing the full cycle of trial, error, failure and success at each grade level and across a variety of academic circumstances means students are well equipped to face whatever future challenges come at them.

A Time-Tested and Proven Approach

The design and consulting firm IDEO brought Design Thinking into the mainstream in 1991. Designers began marrying left and right brain thinking to create a human-centered, holistic approach to problem solving. The artistic engineer, or the mathematical artist, could arrive at both complicated and elegant solutions to difficult problems. Companies like Airbnb, UberEats, Netflix and Oral B are everyday examples of Design Thinking at work.

Today, St. Mary’s collaborates with IDEO, the Stanford d.school and similar strategists to deliver the most up-to-date techniques and applications to our students. By teaching them to identify problems, empathize with the user, imagine a solution, design a prototype, create a product and present it for feedback, St. Mary’s students have already created a variety of useful inventions. Examples include: automatic dog feeders, illuminated pet collars, distraction-free glasses and car locators. The forthcoming Design Center itself is a product of Design Thinking. “Design Thinking blends perfectly with our existing IB program because students are already challenged to ask questions, investigate and propose solutions to problems,” says Sharon Taylor, St. Mary’s Chief Advancement Officer. “Design Thinking allows this process to be hands-on and gives students tools to work through those problems.”

The Elegant Design Behind Design Thinking

St. Mary’s cultivates reflective practitioners and creators instead of mindless consumers. Reflective practitioners allow themselves to experience surprise and curiosity in uncertain situations. Reflection (as opposed to frustration) requires not only tolerance for failure, but excitement in the face of challenge. But those traits aren’t usually innate. They’re taught. Because frustration and failure are critical components of the design process, St. Mary’s provides students with a robust toolkit to manage obstacles and transform disappointments into opportunities.

The Kindergarten classrooms, for example, contain shelves of stuffed animals intended to comfort discouraged students. After one student’s recent project got knocked down, he headed straight for the shelf. “He overcame his frustration, knowing he could rebuild,” said PYP Coordinator Lauren Sterner. “He had both the blueprint and the strategy. Now he could build it better. That reflection was an important part of the process.”

Experiencing the full cycle of trial, error, failure and success at each grade level and across a variety of academic circumstances means students are well equipped to face whatever future challenges come at them. “So much growth happens through understanding that disappointment is part of the process, and sometimes the outcome may look different, but it’s a better plan than the original. There’s a lot of beauty in that,” says Sterner.

At St. Mary’s, failures represent important stones on the path to success. Not only are design missteps allowed, they’re encouraged. Design Thinking, after all, is not a linear progression. It’s a circular process. Administrators are even considering a “failure wall” in the new Design Center, so students can see their classmates’ struggles and grow comfortable with disappointment.

Strengthening the Empathy Muscle

According to social scientists, children begin seeing situations from another person’s perspective by age four. Cognitive empathy (the ability to recognize and understand another’s mental state) begins rising at age 15. And although there is a temporary decline in affective empathy (the ability to share the emotions of others) between 13 and 16, it recovers in the late teens. But behaviorists believe empathy is also a skill that can be taught and strengthened. St. Mary’s instills empathy immediately. By kindergarten, students are asked to bring their favorite stuffed animal to school. Some arrive with gigantic teddy bears, others with tiny puppies. Then they must imagine being their animal and understand its needs to construct a comfortable pet carrier. Can they transport it inside their pocket, or do they need a giant sled? In second grade, students design dream bedrooms for one another, asking detailed questions to understand their classmates’ needs. By fourth grade, students become entrepreneurs and launch their own businesses. They learn about real estate, marketing, budgeting and design.

“Students reflect at the end of the project, deciding what they would have changed,” Sterner says. “Design Thinking happens throughout many of our units of study and blends beautifully to our curriculum, which always incorporates empathy and encourages them to work through the process.”

Building Toward Success: Announcing a New Design Center

More and more medical and legal professionals lament that current graduate students can repeat information, but they have a hard time delivering imaginative solutions. They’re afraid to deviate from existing norms. Yet the future we face demands it. Antiquated educational systems drain creativity. Our new Design Center will foster it.

Plans for the Design Center are underway. The new facility will be purpose-built to complement our Design Thinking mindset. The two-story, 28,000-square-foot building will include a state-of-the-art Early Education Center, replacing the existing portables, and complete our campus Master Plan. The plan also includes a new parklike outdoor area and community gathering spaces. While the Center is a few years away, planning and fundraising have begun, and we’re excited to share its vision with our community.

The Design Center represents a natural progression of St. Mary’s current curriculum, but the possibilities it promises are limitless. The Empathy Lab, Idea Lab, Garage, Falcon Workshop, Tool Shed, Art Studio and Gallery are each designed to maximize innovation and hands-on experimentation. “The Design Center connects to students’ existing units of study,” says Taylor. “These spaces are intended to enhance what students are already doing in their classrooms, but we’re leaning into this building as a space to be creative.”

Design Thinking

The Empathy Lab: This research-based, human-centered space encourages students to ask each other questions and understand another person’s lived experiences. Quiet alcoves foster conversation. Students can conduct research, do interview intakes and begin the work necessary to focus on the human element of their design.

The Idea Lab: This creative room provides collaborative opportunities for students to generate solutions to the problems they identify. It’s also a space to develop their STEM and tech-based skills. Young scientists will have access to virtual and augmented reality. They will explore the implications of AI and grapple with how technology can enhance their designs.

Makerspaces—The Garage, Falcon Workshop, Tool Shed and Art Studio: St. Mary’s doesn’t stop at the theoretical. Students are trained to be practical. Practicality requires them to create prototypes of their designs and test their ideas. These four makerspaces are designed to do just that.

“We want to graduate creators, not consumers,” Patterson says. “The process of making something with your hands is a highly valuable skill. It’s also high in rewards and satisfaction for students.”

The Garage provides hands-on, real-world experiences enabling students to work with larger machines like laser cutters and 3D printers. An actual garage door rolls open, giving the space an industrial feel with state-of-the-art equipment.

The Falcon Workshop, designed for the youngest students, includes flexible furniture and everyday materials intended for imaginative play. Legos and marble runs are low-risk, high-reward experiences allowing kids to test their theories with little need for supervision.

The Tool Shed is an old school woodshop with workbenches and traditional tools, all designed for hands-on experiences in a safe and controlled environment.

“What I love about this Center is that in one room, students will produce with saws, hammers and nails. Next door, kids will be exploring artificial intelligence and working with 3D printers and laser cutters,” Patterson says. “The Center will pull on every part of their brain and result in some incredible work.”

The Gallery: Finally, students need a dedicated space to showcase their successes. No longer relying on the gymnasium with its poor lighting and echoing acoustics, the Gallery will elevate the environment and incentivize students to strive for greatness in their work.

Today’s Investment Pays Tomorrow’s Dividends

Consider this. The telephone took 50 years to enter the mainstream. The World Wide Web was widely adopted within seven. ChatGPT took two months. Can we prepare students for rapid technological change in a human-centric world? The answer lies in how, not what, they are taught.

“Education, like every sector, is undergoing a massive evolution,” Patterson says. “St. Mary’s has always been at the cutting edge of change. Now is not the time to

“The problems our kids are inheriting, the world they’re inheriting, is significantly more complicated and yet more connected than ever.”

Doug Patterson, Head of School

Helping Children Cope

With Disappointment

by Dr. Carmen Anderson School Counselor

As parents we often encourage our children to be risk takers, to take advantage of every opportunity at their disposal. We see endless potential and dream about what could be. During those musings we envision the best possible outcome and rarely consider how we’ll handle moments that end in disappointment. And yet, the care and attention we provide our children during those moments are as impactful, if not more so, than situations that end the way we want. Consider for a moment your child doesn’t make the sports team they want, get cast as the character they wanted in a production, win the award they were hoping to receive or earn the grade they wanted on a test. How will you show up for your child to guide them in a way that helps them grow and be a better human as a result of that experience? While some might immediately think of turning their attention toward children first, I want to encourage you to pause. Ask how you’re feeling about the situation. If you’re bitter or resentful at the outcome or if you feel as though the situation is unfair, it may be wise to work through your own feelings before helping your child wade through their feelings. Once you’ve considered your own reaction, find an appropriate outlet to get the support you need. It’s rarely helpful to completely blame others for your children’s disappointments, and doing so doesn’t allow you to show up for them in the way they need. This is also an important step because children often mirror our reactions to situations. We want to teach children that having big emotions is a part of life, but that doesn’t give us the right to act however we want. Creating space before responding to your children’s disappointments will allow you to be the best version of yourself as you try to guide them through their heartache.

Once you’ve dealt with your own reaction, remember that being let down doesn’t always lend itself to a quick fix. Rather, encourage your children to label and have their feelings. Show lots of empathy and let them know you feel disappointed on their behalf. Share about times when things didn’t work out the way you had hoped and how you got through those moments. This approach is important because feelings will always find a way out. If we don’t create the space for children to open up to us, they’ll either go elsewhere for support, hide their true feelings or resort to less effective coping strategies. This is easier said than done because it can be difficult to tolerate seeing our children hurt. It may also seem as though our children will stay stuck if we don’t move them along. However, feelings are temporary and leaning into them ultimately leads to a better outcome. A little ice cream never hurts either, but don’t shower your children with treats, special outings or surprises at the expense of allowing them to work through their feelings.

Once your children are feeling less emotional about the disappointment, it can be helpful to look for the lesson. Use the wisdom from your own experiences to guide your conversations. Determine if it would be helpful to encourage them to look at the situation from a different perspective. Teach them not to doubt themselves but to be curious about making necessary adjustments should they find themselves in similar situations in the future. Ask if there’s anything they’d do differently. Encouraging children to reflect is important because we want them to feel empowered and to know they are not simply at the mercy of their environment. We want them to understand that disappointment is a part of life and not a reflection of who they are at their core. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” Be your child’s biggest cheerleader, remind them you love them, believe in them in spite of their disappointment and help them pick up the pieces one at a time.

Once your children are feeling less emotional about the disappointment, it can be helpful to look for the lesson.

2023 Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award

On March 24, St. Mary’s held its annual Tribute to Leadership Assembly at Coast Hills Church. This event is a special tradition at St. Mary’s where we recognize student leaders and present the Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award. Student speakers from each grade level, bravely and beautifully articulated their own experiences and interpretations of service, kindness and the ASB theme “ordinary to extraordinary.”

The assembly culminated with the naming of the 2023 Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award. The Legacy Award honors a Grade 8 student who demonstrates and represents the highest standards of St. Mary’s Four Aces of Leadership through involvement in school, local organizations and the community. Congratulations to the 12 Legacy finalists: Lacey DiNicola, Evan Leddy, Luke Lehman, Logan McGann, Reese Murphy, Gianna Nadruz, Kayla Pedigo, Keagan Rollo, Davin Sharifi, Emily Volk, Emma Withycombe and Eric Zhang.

We are honored to share Lacey DiNicola is the 2023 Legacy Award winner. Since preschool, Lacey has proven to be a caring, balanced and principled IB learner. She has actively been involved in St. Mary’s by participating in MUN, serving as an ambassador, supporting the school yearbook team and representing Falcon pride as a student-athlete in volleyball, basketball and track. Lacey spends her free time serving the greater community through her church and National Charity League.

Congratulations to Lacey, the Legacy finalists and the student leaders in our Falcon community.

Lacey DiNicola

ST. MARY’S STRATEGIC PLAN PROGRESS 1

• Planned and will host inaugural Design Night this spring (May 24).

A Transformative Learning Experience For Our Students.

• Developing an all-school Design Thinking Scope and Sequence; EEP through Grade 8 currently has units incorporating skills attached to each phase of the design cycle; Scope and Sequence will be in curriculum for 23/24 school year; plan to be published in fall 2023.

• Increased the Middle School technology and design faculty and spaces to include two full-time Design Thinking Teachers and two fully equipped Design Classrooms.

• Summer 2022, added a Media Arts Room and Design Room to support Middle School.

• Fall 2022, privacy hedge planted along Pursuit to ensure the safety and privacy of our community.

• Launched Ruvna — safety communication platform — to our entire community in fall 2022; fully prepared to use this system in the event of an emergency.

• Winter 2022, added a Lower School world language classroom.

• Winter 2022, completed the installation of drop shades for Lower School classrooms to enhance outdoor learning experience.

• Completed in winter 2022, installation of the new no-climb safety fencing.

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• Consulted with multiple, third party school safety experts to ensure our safety practices and facilities are current and effective.

• Launched in fall 2022, Middle School CARES program.

• Enhanced the Middle School Advisory program; designed and implemented human centered design approaches to service as action during the Advisory period.

• Currently in EEP through Lower School, conducting intensive unit analytics study of character development and approaches to learning skills across all units of study. Based on results, we will continue to refine our character enrichment program.

PILLAR ONE

PILLAR TWO

An Innovative 21st Century Campus That Is Flexible And Environmentally Responsible.

PILLAR THREE

A Broad Educational Program That Develops The Whole Child.

PILLAR FOUR

A Premier International Baccalaureate (IB) Programme.

The Strategic Plan

Last year, we introduced our 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. We are very proud of the significant progress made thus far toward the implementation, steps and the goals we set for St. Mary’s. Our progress is outlined here.

• Continuing to offer IB 101 series in Lower School.

• Introduced In the Middle education series specific for parents; held four sessions this school year; topics ranged from the Middle School mind to IB in the MYP.

• EEP through Lower School, conducted an audit to ensure all learner profiles are addressed in units of study.

• Continuing to grow the Global Conversations program, we have held three events this school year (Hispanic Heritage, Indian & Italian) and will host a total of six events by June 2023 (winter/spring: Vietnamese, Portuguese & French).

• Weekly, every faculty member has dedicated time for thoughtful Professional Development, ranging from planning to grading to creating new IB unit planners.

• Every faculty member has participated in at least two full days of Professional Development sessions.

• Administrative leadership attended IB Global Conference before the start of the 22/23 school year.

• Enrolled approximately 10 Lower School faculty in IB specific training at regional and national conferences throughout 22/23.

• Faculty have participated in external conferences and training, including science, technology, athletics, arts, etc.

• During pre-week, IB training provided for the entire Middle School faculty and subject groups. Additionally, subject-specific training for Individuals and Societies and the Sciences occurred in the fall of 2022.

PILLAR

Exceptional Professional Development

For Our Faculty And Staff.

• Continue to support the Scholar program; this school year we have four enrolled scholars and last spring our first scholar student graduated.

• Held our first Winter Market in December where more than 500 community members gathered to celebrate the holidays and support local businesses.

• After a thorough RFP process, in spring 2022 we hired a nationally recognized educator and consultant; Dr. Valaida Wise will conduct an audit to help St. Mary’s assess and better understand our school community.

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• Held multiple alumni events this fall and winter including holiday alumni and parent parties.

• Middle School faculty and Discovery program continue to support local Boys & Girls Clubs; this spring, St. Mary’s will host arts and athletic offerings for local community clubs.

PILLAR SIX

A Continued Sense Of Community Among Students, Families, Faculty, Staff & Beyond.

CLASS Notes

Blake Mellgren ’03

graduated from St. Mary’s as a charter class member in 2003 and attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School. For the last seven years, he has been the owner and Executive Chef of the Craft House in Dana Point. Craft House opened in March 2016 with a focus on local sourcing, sustainable seafood and a commitment to the craft of making delicious food and drinks.

Blake’s love for cooking began at a young age. In middle school, while his friends talked about what they did during the weekend, Blake described the meals he’d prepared for his family. He began working in the restaurant business at age 16, starting as a host and busboy at Mangia Bene in Laguna Niguel. He later worked at Savannah Steak and Chop House. He began working in the kitchen at the famed Chez Melange in Redondo Beach and graduated from Loyola Marymount University in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. He worked in New York for a few years, enrolled in the International Culinary Center and completed courses in Restaurant Management. These courses gave him deep insight into all aspects he would need to become a restauranteur. In March 2016, Blake realized his dream of opening his own place, the Craft House in Dana Point. Make sure you say hi next time you are at the Craft House.

Daniel Katzman ’14 graduated from Santa Margarita Catholic High School in 2018 and LSU in May of 2022 with an Agricultural Business Finance degree and a minor in Business Administration. He loved his college years in the South, but he knew he wanted to return home to start his career and be around family. He works in finance at New York Life out of the Newport Beach office. He works with a wide variety of clients doing holistic, comprehensive financial planning. He is a member of the Mission Viejo Activities Committee, a team mentor for Spirit League, an Ambassador for the Mission Viejo Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Mission Viejo Yacht Club. Katzman states, “I love my career because it allows me to help people achieve their goals and be a helping hand to the community.”

Courtney Rodriguez ’15 graduates from Baylor University this May with a degree in Sociology and minors in Child & Family Studies and Spanish. One of her favorite parts of college has been spending summers overseas in places like Dubai and India. She will travel to South Korea this summer and spend another summer overseas on a mission internship. After returning to Texas, Courtney will step into a full-time administrative job at her church overseeing church initiatives, facilities and missions. In college, she developed passions for people, religion, world cultures and social issues and plans to continue pursuing these passions.

Libby Katzman ’16 is a junior at Columbia University, where she studies Chemical Engineering with a concentration in Climate, Energy and Environmental Solutions. She currently works in a lab doing research on energy storage devices, including lithium-ion batteries, and she will be in Germany this summer doing similar research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology. Outside of the lab, she spends her time with the Columbia Women’s Wrestling Club team and Ecoreps, Columbia’s largest sustainability group. Libby is very grateful for the learning opportunities she had available at St. Mary’s and for the people who supported her.

Tatum Tatch ’18 graduated from Santa Margarita Catholic High School in May 2022. She achieved a full IB diploma, a GPA of 4.7 and was awarded Magna Cum Laude. At SMCHS, she played soccer for three years and ran track for one year. She was a four-year Model United Nations team member and National Honors Society recipient. After graduation, she moved to Madrid, Spain, to brush up on her Spanish at a total immersion Spanish school. She just began her first semester at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University, where she is rushing into the sorority Sigma Kappa.

Kendall Memoly ’19 from Santa Margarita Catholic High School, has committed to Colorado College for women’s soccer. Kendall is the cocaptain for the Santa Margarita varsity team and is a starting center attacking midfielder. She received the All Trinity League Honorable Mention last season. Kendall plays club soccer for the So Cal Blues ECNL team and is her club’s team captain. Additionally, Kendall was the junior varsity MVP in her first season playing soccer at Santa Margarita. She participated in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy during her freshman year, which precluded her from being able to play for the Eagles soccer team. During that time, Kendall played basketball for Santa Margarita, was named team MVP and received the Eagle Award for her contributions. Kendall is a four-year scholar-athlete in the classroom and maintains a 4.1 GPA.

Minka Martinez ’19 from St. Margaret’s Episcopal High School has committed to study and play lacrosse at NCAA Division I Penn State University in University Park, Penn. Minka, a four-year starter in lacrosse for the Tartans, was an All-CIF and All-Orange County award winner in 2022. At the club level, Minka has played for Victory, Mad Dog and Renegade lacrosse clubs. Minka has volunteered her time with Special Camp and as a coach for Renegade Lacrosse Club.

Angelina Moschetti ’19 from Santa Margarita Catholic High School has committed to the University of Colorado (Boulder) for women’s soccer. Angelina is a four-year varsity starter as an outside back. During her standout career for the Eagles, Angelina earned second-team All-Trinity League and first-team All-Trinity League honors while being recognized as both the SMCHS defensive player of the year and Trinity League, defensive player of the year. Angelina has been a member of one of the top club teams in the nation, helping the squad to a national championship in 2021 and reaching another national final in 2019. Additionally, Angelina keyed her club to two Washington state championships and a CalSouth championship in California. She was named to the ECNL All-Southwest Conference second team for her efforts in 2021. Angelina maintains a 4.05 GPA in the classroom.

Jake Tatch ’21 is currently a sophomore at JSerra Catholic High School. He is excelling academically and making many new friends. He just completed his second season on the Boys’ Varsity Soccer team. As a freshman, Jake was a crucial contributor in the playoffs, and JSerra made it to the finals of Division 1, Southern Section CIF, losing in penalties to Servite High School. This year was different. He was a starter for the whole season, and his team had a dream season. JSerra Boys’ Soccer won the Trinity League, Division 1 Southern Section CIF and the State Regional Championship; his team finished the season ranked #1 in the nation. He will continue his studies at JSerra while returning to club soccer with the Pateadores ECNL Academy. He will then travel to Porto, Portugal, this spring with a scout for a showcase tournament.

Olivia Le left St. Mary’s in Grade 7 to attend the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA). Now a sophomore at OCSA, Olivia has won the California Poetry Ourselves competition with an original poem she submitted as part of the state’s Poetry Out Loud contest. In addition, Olivia has made it through the first two rounds of the recitation portion of the competition and is a Poetry Out Loud finalist. Olivia won the right to compete at the state level by winning the county’s regional Poetry Out Loud competition, co-produced by ArtsOC and the Orange County Department of Education.

Heidi Galloway, St. Mary’s Language Acquisition Teacher—French, was invited by Olivia to a Poetry Slam held at OCSA. Ms. Galloway states, “To launch a night of amazing poetry, Olivia recited her original poem My American Alphabet, exploring the conflict between growing up speaking English (the American alphabet), but never really learning Vietnamese, the language of her heritage. Olivia shines as a thinker and a communicator.” Galloway continues, “In grade six, Olivia stood out as a committed student of Language and Literature and a highly talented writer. She actively sought feedback and experimented with new techniques and creative approaches to writing structure. She fell in love with poetry. As her teacher, it was my privilege to encourage her reading and writing; now she excels in both.”

Special Thank You

St. Mary’s wants to thank Angie Yogaratnam ‘16 for speaking at the 2023 St. Mary’s Gala. Angie introduced the Fund-a-Need for the Gala, which was the St. Mary’s Scholar Program, by sharing about her St. Mary’s experience. She referenced many teachers and how they shaped her academic and life journey. After a standing ovation for Angie, we raised an incredible $220,000 during the Funda-Need for the St. Mary’s Scholar Program. The Scholar Program provides full-tuition scholarships to qualified students for all three Middle School years. Through this funding, not only will the lives of these children and their families be changed, but our St. Mary’s community will be changed for the better.

Holiday Events for Alumni & Parents of Alumni

Thank you to the over 25 alumni who attended our annual Alumni Holiday Party at Stadium Brewery in Aliso Viejo. It was wonderful to spend time with friends and celebrate the season together. The alumni enjoyed sitting down to dinner with fellow alums and teachers. We also hosted our second annual holiday event for Parents of Alumni in early December. It was wonderful to have so many parents of alumni join us for a festive holiday event in the IB Hub. We plan on hosting additional Parents of Alumni events, like a wine tasting night, so stay tuned.

Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award

Our entire student body gathered on Friday, March 24, for our annual Tribute to Leadership Assembly at Coast Hills Church. The assembly culminated with naming Lacey DiNicola as the 2023 Father Ernest D. Sillers Legacy Award winner. The 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. We were honored to have previous Legacy Award alumni winners attend the assembly. (pictured left to right).

Alex Gonzalez ‘10, Sidney Morales ‘20, Lacey DiNicola ‘23 winner, Luke Fridle ‘22, and Devin Walsh ‘13

Five-Year Reunion This Summer: JULY 9, 2023

This summer, we look forward to hosting a Five-Year Reunion for the Class of 2018. This will be a wonderful opportunity to get together and reconnect with old friends and faculty. Join your classmates and teachers for lunch at the Stadium Brewery in Aliso Viejo at 1 p.m. We will offer a school tour at 3 p.m. for those interested.

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Alumni Continue Their Model United Nations Involvement in High School and College

St. Mary’s Alumni Leads First Original Student

Written and Produced Musical At JSerra

St. Mary’s alumni and current JSerra Catholic High School senior Haley Kirchhoff ‘19 wrote and produced an original, full-length musical. The JSerra Theater Company performed the musical during a five-show run in January. The musical, ‘Caught in the Thorns,’ is a murder-mystery set in an 1820’s French opera company and is the first-ever student-written, composed and directed show at JSerra. Haley worked with fellow St. Mary’s alumni Trinity Lee ‘20, who directed the musical, taking the idea from page to stage. In addition, other St. Mary’s alumni were heavily involved in the production, including Stage Manager Ashley Moro ‘20, Assistant Stage Manager Logan Mickelsen ‘20 and Actor Ruth Wu ‘20 (Pictured left to right: Ruth, Logan, Trinity, Haley and Ashley)

St. Mary’s student delegation to the February 25 Model United Nations (MUN) Conference at Laguna Hills High School was greeted by St. Mary’s alumni and former St. Mary’s MUN students. These included Marcus Vlok ’20 and Calvin Howard ‘20, juniors at Crean Lutheran High School, and Darius Mahjoob ’19, a Santa Margarita Catholic High School senior. The alumni are sophisticated delegates and team members for their high schools, all having participated with MUN for years at St. Mary’s. Leyton Breese ‘18 graduated from Santa Margarita Catholic High School and is now a freshman at UCLA, where he helps lead UCLA’s Model United Nations (MUN) program. In November, UCLA hosted a MUN Conference, and Leyton was there to greet the delegation from St. Mary’s. A big THANK YOU to Leyton for his effort in hosting this fabulous conference and for graciously welcoming our Falcons.

(Angie Yogaratnam and Senor Valdez pictured that evening)

For the 2022-2023 school year, the St. Mary’s Fund has raised a remarkable $894,000 for our students and programs, with this number continuing to grow. We are grateful to our community of supporters—parents, faculty, alumni and grandparents.

Every gift to the St. Mary’s Fund is meaningful. It supports our strategic plan, provides professional development opportunities and introduces new programming and experiences. It allows school leaders to say YES to new ideas. St. Mary’s Fund’s contributions are used immediately to provide impact where needed, enhancing the St. Mary’s experience.

Below are a few examples of how gifts have impacted the St. Mary’s student experience and various aspects of school life.

Program Enhancements

• The Fund supports programs like Middle School Intersession, allowing us to offer unique local and international opportunities.

• The Lower School implemented a new Passport Program at the beginning of the school year to outline clear social and emotional behavioral expectations for the students.

• The Fund supports the Sillers’ Seeds Garden, used schoolwide, enhancing the curriculum and providing produce for the Green Family Commons.

• Thanks to the Fund, we formed the Discovery Program in Middle School, a robust offering of classes where teachers can continue cultivating our students’ hearts and minds and building passion, interest, knowledge and skills.

Professional Development and Additional Faculty

• Thanks to the Fund, we hired additional Instructional Assistants (IAs) for each Grade 4 and Grade 5 class. Every grade, Early Preschool through Grade 5, has a full-time dedicated IA.

• The St. Mary’s Fund supports professional development for our beloved teachers.

• Our entire Middle School team attended a two-day IB training class over the summer, and this spring our Lower School lead teachers received additional IB training.

• We added a new Design Teacher to the Innovation Department to support its growing program.

Technology Upgrades

• This year, we added a second Innovation Lab to supplement the growing Design Programme.

• We purchased a new laser cutter for our Innovation Lab.

• We purchased a new software platform, Toddle for Middle School to implement a more robust IB grading system.

If you have yet to give, it is not too late. Every gift matters and helps us achieve our 100% parent participation goal. You can pledge now and have until May to fulfill that pledge.

Make your gift at www.smaa.org/give.

MAKE A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE

Arts Program

• We have enhanced and added new offerings to the Arts Programme, including Media Arts and Dance.

• This year we added new performances to the Performing Arts Program in all grades.

• We introduced a new annual Winter Market, which showcases many of our Arts programs, including the holiday performance.

• The Arts Department will host a Film Festival in June.

Safety and Facilities Improvements

• We added shade structures outside the K, Grade 2 and Grade 4 classrooms. The system provides shade to the classrooms and allows greater outdoor space utilization.

• The Fund provided a no-climb fence along the back property line and additional campus lighting for increased security.

• We added a new media arts room to support our newly enhanced Media Arts Programme in Middle School.

Supporting our Youngest Falcons

• Thanks to the Fund, our EEP has benefited from an enhanced social-emotional curriculum, including a growing library.

• During Halloween, each EEP classroom was “booed” by another teacher, resulting in getting items from the teachers’ wish lists — such as games, Lincoln Logs, magnetic cubes and much more.

• Thanks to the SMF, the EEP playground has a reading area with appropriate-sized seating and furniture and a stage equipped with musical instruments and a karaoke machine — loved by all students.

• The EEP program has a teacher dedicated to helping students with fine motor skills. The Fund provided professional development for this role and supplies needed to work with the students.

The St. Mary’s Fund Impact

Important Dates to Remember 2023-2024