St. Mary's 2021 Summer Newsletter by St. Mary's School

ST.MARY’S

SUMMER 2021

NEWSLETTER St. Mary’s Welcomes New Faculty Leadership

WHAT’S INSIDE? CLASS OF 2021

MOVES ON TO HIGH SCHOOL

ALUMNI:

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

SPECIAL EVENTS

ARE COMING SOON

Early this summer, four extraordinary leaders joined our faculty. After an extensive search filled with countless interviews, St. Mary’s unanimously found the right leaders to shepherd respective divisions. Over the coming months you will have the opportunity to meet and get to know each of them. Please help us welcome Tom Spence, Head of Lower School; Rebecca Zipprich, Head of Middle School; Abeni Bias, Director of Enrollment Management; and Rob Warren, Director of the Arts.

Tom Spence, Head of Lower School With 30 years of education experience, Tom Spence joins us from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he was the Elementary Principal at the distinguished Mont’Kiara International School. While there, Tom successfully guided his school through a rigorous accreditation process, fostered relationships with school stakeholders and implemented game changing curricular programs. He has worked in five international schools on three continents ranging from International Baccalaureate programme roles to key leadership positions. He is a Westmont College alum and holds a Master of Arts in Educational Administration. Tom’s passion for an IB education, rich administrative experience and love of teaching will enhance our Lower School program.

Rebecca Zipprich, Head of Middle School With more than 20 years of leading and teaching in urban and international school settings, Rebecca departed the Bay area where she served as the Head of School for the well-respected Shu Ren International School. Prior to that, Rebecca spent most of her career in Shanghai, China, where she played critical roles that involved leading and guiding schools through the accreditation process, establishing IB curriculum across all divisions, developing strategic plans and working closely with both faculty and parents to foster strong relationships. She has two master’s degrees, the most recent from Arizona State University in Educational Leadership. Her dedication to developing learner-centered environments that prepare Middle School-aged students to thrive coupled with her immense hands-on IB experience, assure us Rebecca will lead our Middle School with integrity while successfully preparing our students for the next stage in their education. Story continues next page.

Continued from front cover.

St. Mary’s Welcomes New Faculty Leadership

W E L C O M E

Abeni Bias, Director of Enrollment Management Before joining us Abeni was the Director of Admission at Echo Horizon School in Culver City, Calif., and served on the steering committee for the Los Angeles Independent School Admission Directors Consortium. Prior to that, she was Assistant Director of Admission and an advisor at The Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, Calif. Abeni holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a Masters of Arts in Sociology from California State University, Fullerton. She believes everyone plays a role in admission and plans to include our entire community (parents, students, faculty and staff) in her efforts. Abeni relocated from Los Angeles to Orange County. Her children will join her this fall as Falcons in Lower School and EEP.

Rob Warren, Director of the Arts Originally from the United Kingdom, Rob relocated to Orange County from Atlanta where he was the Director of the Arts K-12 at the distinguished Atlanta International School. While there, Rob helped build the IB Primary Years (PYP), Middle Years (MYP) and Diploma (DP) Arts Curricular Programmes that allowed each student to thrive in four bespoke, real-world focused Arts offerings in each year. While at Atlanta International School, Rob also helped develop and lead their K-12 Co-curricular Arts Program, which included a band, orchestra, choir program, a student-run theatre company, a film festival and a Visual Arts Curator Program. Rob is currently a Principal Examiner in DP Theatre for the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), a Theatre Workshop Leader and a member of the International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) Board of Trustees. He believes the arts are a universal language, where skills are developed not only physically but also cognitively. Rob is thrilled to be joining the St. Mary’s School community this year. He shared with us, “To offer educators solutions for creating cultures of thinking and developing opportunities for student-centered inquiry-based learning inspires me on a daily basis. To teach is to discover. The best classroom is not about the teacher, but it is about the students and their own inquiry and discovery. The arts are a safe and brave place where students support each other and feel confident to take risks, make mistakes and have the capacity to reflect and grow from them.”

Welcome to the nest!

682

83%

Students Benefited

77%

Average Gift

$884,000 Raised

100

Donors Increased Their Gifts

Leadership Donors ($3,000+)

159

2,240

Of Parents Gave

New Donors

Of New Families Gave

519 Donors

St. Mary’s Fund Record-Breaking Giving! THANK YOU! On behalf of all our current and future students, thank you to everyone who generously donated to our record-breaking 2020-2021 St. Mary’s Fund. The St. Mary’s Fund made a world of difference for our students, faculty and programs by raising $884,000 — more than ever before. A list of all donors can be found at www.smaa.org/smf2021. St. Mary’s offers a transformative educational experience for all our students who cannot be funded through tuition alone. The St. Mary’s Fund allows us to do even more and grow stronger as a school. Each year we ask parents to partner with a gift to the St. Mary’s Fund. These gifts help support new programs and initiatives, send our faculty and staff to professional development workshops, keep class sizes small and so much more — making a meaningful difference in each child’s education every day. More importantly, this year the St. Mary’s Fund supported all the efforts made to keep school open safely for all our students and faculty who cultivate world-sized hearts and world-class minds day in and day out.

Thank you to our St. Mary’s Fund Committee Catherine and Matt Anderson Committee Co-Chairs

Serena Benson Chair, Board of Trustees

Jeff Minhas Chair, Development Committee

Cara Acker Barbara Balossi Jordan Floriani Jamie Goodman Liz Kraninger Susan Lew Judy Ma

Ines Micali Dawn Steele Kristin Strong Joy Wang Mary Wattenberg Kelly Zeigler Jinging Zhu

St. Mary’s Class of 2021 On June 9, 2021, St. Mary’s held its 27th Grade 8 Commencement Ceremony. Students, families, faculty and staff assembled in-person to celebrate the Class of 2021. Class Valedictorian, Mia Chen delivered world-sized remarks to her classmates. IB Scholar Jesse Lew thoughtfully reviewed and shared insights from each of the IB learner profiles. Attendees also heard from ASB President Grant Conroy, Legacy Award winner Maibre Edwards and Salutatorian Leo Francis. Graduate, Ellis Adams sang and played the guitar to “We’ll meet again.” This year we established a new tradition for our Grade 8 graduates. St. Mary’s created a Class of 2021 blanket for each graduate. This blanket officially welcomes our graduates to the St. Mary’s Alumni Association. We wish the entire class success and look forward to seeing you on campus soon!

Graduates High School Commitments

17% ATTENDING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

83%

ATTENDING PRIVATE SCHOOLS

Ellis Adams Daana Al-Ali Kaylee An Kai Barbee (Kylie) Andrew Barley Caiden Barnes Alma Bayat Lola Benhabiles Hayden Benson Maria Bernoldi Aiden Bird Grace Bori Michael Bristow Allison Bucaro Miles Burton Holly Carter Jenny (Boeun) Cha Will Chambliss Elizabeth Chan Mia Chen Grant Conroy Kellen Cox Cameron Craycraft Angelica Del Conte William Doppenberg Kieran Dumain Casey Ecker Maibre Edwards Tylie Fanticola Maya Farrish Taylor Flynn Kylie Foerster Leo Francis Anna Gabriel Gabby Gottschalk Gavin Grant Julian Haworth Alden Hubbard Hanna Jafarpourmoghaddam Oliver Jones William Kante Isabella Knuff Audrey Lehmann Jesse Lew Grant Manahan Alicia Mendoza Liam Miller Michael Nadruz Brady Ng Tyler Olsen Alexandra Orradre Thomas Orsini Andre Owens Jackson Pangborn Alessandra Phillips Leala Sadeghi Justine Sanchez Preston Simpson Sophia Staff Aliee Stewart Jake Tatch Aiyana Tuteja Charlie Vogel Ryan Volk Evelyn Vos Ryan Wagner Kerry Wang Elizabeth Wattenberg Andrew Whitehead Athena Widney Imogen Wodtke

JSerra Catholic High School Sage Hill School Beverly Hills High School Aliso Niguel High School TVT Community Day School Santa Margarita Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School Sage Hill School Santa Margarita Catholic High School Laguna Hills High School JSerra Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School St. Margaret’s Episcopal School Corona del Mar High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School Orange County High School of the Arts Laguna Hills High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School Orange County High School of the Arts Dana Hills High School JSerra Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School Bishop Kelly High School Mater Dei High School Dana Hills High School JSerra Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School Sage Hill School Santa Margarita Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School Sage Hill School Sage Hill School JSerra Catholic High School Capistrano Valley High School JSerra Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School Sage Hill School JSerra Catholic High School Laguna Beach High School Northwood High School JSerra Catholic High School Gap Year JSerra Catholic High School Sage Hill School JSerra Catholic High School Santiago Charter Middle School Santa Margarita Catholic High School TVT Community Day School Santa Margarita Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School Sage Hill School JSerra Catholic High School Sage Hill School JSerra Catholic High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School Mater Dei High School JSerra Catholic High School Oaks Christian School Sage Hill School JSerra Catholic High School San Juan Hills High School Santa Margarita Catholic High School

Top Private School Commitments

22 17 SANTA MARGARITA

Class of 2017

College Bound Falcons When our students graduate and leave the nest, we continue to support them from afar. We are proud of the St. Mary’s Class of 2017 and wish them health and happiness as they embark on their college journey this fall. Quin T. Baldwin-Favorito Caitlin G. Ballantyne Emma H. Ballantyne Bryce T. Blattman Justina M. Brandt Emily K. Bush Matthew J. Charles Clara E. Cherney Nicolas J. Codet Sabrina E. Cormie Glenn W. Cunningham Amytis A. de Montfalcon Jillian M. Duarte Declan M. Edwards Jaden A. Eun Logan D. Ewert Quentin N. Francis Orlando J. Garcia Katelyn S. Ge Naveen A. Gupta Tanner W. Hall Morgan O. Horvath Burke D. Kaese Alexander N. Kashkarian Lauren E. Kramer Lindsey E. Krugh Julia N. Le Alexander C. Lemieux Kaylin G. Maddox Kirsten S. Malecka Lily E. Matteson Lauren M. Memoly Cailyn E. Mickelsen Michelle V. Mitov Christopher J. Petersen Joseph V. Purcell Kale A. Sandland Madison M. Santley Isabella L. Scarano Ryan S. Shihabi Makenzie L. Stanton Alexia Taylor Lachlan J. Treister Madison A. Vacca Daniela I. Valdez Alexia L. Van den Bosch Reese F. Wensinger Tyler C. Wetmore Jack R. Wharrie Hayden A. Woodburn Steven Zhou

University of Washington, Seattle University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Santa Barbara University of California, Irvine Fordham University Emory University Stanford University University of Rochester San Diego State University Texas Christian University University of Chicago University of Miami Texas Christian University Emory University Texas Christian University Penn State California Polytechnic State University, SLO University of Colorado, Boulder Claremont McKenna College Southern Methodist University Concordia University Loyola Marymount University Rochester Institute of Technology University of Arizona Southern Methodist University Michigan State University University of California, Los Angeles University of Arizona University of California, Berkley University of Utah University of Alabama Texas Christian University Pace University New York University University of Washington, Seattle Arizona State University William & Mary University Southern Methodist University University of Oregon Chapman University Point Loma Nazarene University Lafayette College Penn State University of Washington, Seattle University of Washington, Seattle University of Southern California Baylor University Arizona State University University of California, Los Angeles University of Denver University of California, Riverside

St. Mary’s Community Supports Scholar Program Our mission is to cultivate all our students’ worldsized hearts and world-class minds. Because of this, St. Mary’s is more than its curriculum and facilities. A major tenet of St. Mary’s education is our community. We value and encourage inclusiveness and believe a diverse community equals a stronger one. To wholly bring diversity and inclusivity to our school, we established the St. Mary’s Scholar Program. This program provides full-tuition scholarships to qualified students and funds and supports their engagement in student life. Through these scholarships, not only will the life of these children and their families be changed, but also the entire St. Mary’s community will be changed for the better. The goal of the St. Mary’s Scholar Program is to further develop a learning environment that prepares students to thrive within a diverse, interconnected world. This program enables us to provide our students with opportunities to learn from and build relationships with people whose experiences, beliefs and perspectives may be different from their own.

We currently have two outstanding students enrolled and supported by the St. Mary’s Scholar Program. We are fortunate that a very generous St. Mary’s family helped start our program by underwriting a student’s entire Middle School experience. St. Mary’s launched this program this spring and raised more than $112,000 thanks to the generosity of our community. These contributions in conjunction with funds provided by the school contributed to our ability to enroll an additional student in St. Mary’s under the Scholar Program. Thank you to everyone who has supported this effort. While we launched the St. Mary’s Scholar Program this spring, we are fully committed to making this a continual giving opportunity for families. If you would like to learn more about or contribute to this program, please contact Christine Downie, Director of Development at christine.downie@smaa.org or 949-448-9027 x324.

Enhancing Learning Through Diversity

Alumni Updates Kristen Jones (Flanagan) ‘10 graduated from JSerra Catholic High School in 2014 and received a BA in elementary education from Iowa State University in 2018. At Iowa State, Kristen spent her time tutoring students in low-income areas, volunteering in schools and helping at a daycare. She spent her summers working at Yosemite Sierra Summer Camp and Emerald Cove Day Camp. Since graduating, Kristen has spent the past three years as a 1st grade teacher at St. Luke the Evangelist Catholic School where she helped with the track team, Spanish club and coordinated the spirit week/talent show. She married in June 2021 and is moving to Chicago with her husband where she will start her job as a Kindergarten teacher this fall.

Emma Ballantyne ‘17 graduated from St. Margaret’s

Episcopal School and will attend the University of California Santa Barbara this fall, where she will major in Communications. In 2021, Emma was inducted into the Cum Laude Society.

Wilson Cunningham ‘17 graduated from JSerra Catholic High School. Wilson was a National Merit Commended Scholar, a member of the National Honors Society and the California Scholarship Federation. Wilson was in the Medical Magnet Program, an AP Scholar, and served in JSerra’s Caritas Christi. Wilson played varsity baseball as a pitcher. He received the Gold Math Department Award and the Trinity League Scholar Athlete Award. Wilson is one of the newest players for the Chicago Cubs. Tanner Hall ‘17

graduated from San Clemente High School and has committed to play lacrosse for Concordia University. He plans to major in Economics.

Morgan Horvath ‘17 graduated from JSerra Catholic High School and will attend Loyola Marymount University in the fall, where she plans to major in Psychology. While at JSerra she was a member of the pep squad all four years. During the pandemic, Morgan started the non-profit Masking OC (@maskingoc) that makes masks for a variety of charities. Masking OC made more than 1,400 free protective masks for the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton, Brestlink, Sun Mar Nursing Center, Orange County Rescue Mission and other local organizations. Her company Masking OC was featured in the Orange County Business Journal, OC Register and KTLA News. Burke Kaese ‘17 graduated from Capistrano Valley High School and will attend the Rochester Institute of Technology this fall. Burke will be studying Advertising Photography at the School of Photographic Arts & Sciences. While at Capistrano Valley High School, Burke studied photography and was a member of the Yearbook staff. As a member of Lions Heart, he has contributed over 110 hours of volunteer service in the community. He is a member of Saddleback Church High School Ministry. Burke has started his own portrait photography business.

Kelly Lester ‘15 graduated from Sage Hill School in 2019 and is currently a junior at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, majoring in English. Kelly always thought that one day she would be back at St. Mary’s and that day has come. This spring Kelly began working at St. Mary’s as a campus supervisor and is currently helping with Summer Resort. Riley Orcutt ‘16 is a sophomore at the University of Georgia and a pitcher on the Division 1 softball team. As a freshman Riley and her team made it to the NCAA World Series finals. Go Dawgs! Kaylin Maddox ‘17

will attend the University of California, Berkeley next fall to study Microbial Biology as a Pre-med student. Kaylin is the creator and founder of Tutors for Trinity Foundation and Vice President of Pretend City Youth Leadership Council. She is a member of the National Honor Society and a National Merit Scholar. Kaylin graduated from Santa Margarita Catholic High School, where she was awarded the prestigious IB Student Scholar award from the IB California Association of World Schools (CAWS). The Student Scholar Award is given to one California student for embodying the IB learner profiles, being globally concerned and learning in and out of the classroom. This is quite an honor — we are so proud of her IB accomplishments.

Josie Masters ‘17 graduated from Mater Dei High School and has committed to University of Colorado at Boulder for soccer. We love to watch our Falcons soar and continue to play their sport in college. Madison Santley ‘17

graduated from Mater Dei High School and will attend Southern Methodist University this fall studying Sports Management and Special Education. While at Mater Dei she received many academic honors including Principal’s Honor Roll, National Honor Society and the California Scholarship Federation. She was a member of ASB for all four years of high school and participated in the Mater Dei Dance and volleyball team. Madison has participated in the National Charity League for the past six years.

Ally Taylor ‘17 graduated from St. Margaret’s Episcopal School and will attend Lafayette College this fall where she will major in Government & Law. While at St. Margaret’s Ally played varsity lacrosse all four years and was the Varsity Team Captain. She was also an active member in the National Charity League for six years. Ally was the 2017 recipient of the St. Mary’s Father D. Sillers Legacy Award. Tyler Wetmore ‘17

graduated from Santa Margarita Catholic High School and will attend Arizona State University this fall, majoring in Psychology and Psychological Sciences. While at Santa Margarita he won the Milton Friedman Award for having the most outstanding work habits.

Falconers ! Forev We are excited to share achievements and happenings from our alumni. We are so proud of the positive impact they are making in their local and global communities.

Calista McCanna ‘18 & Luca McCollumVanHoosear ‘18

Congratulations to Calista, a junior at San Juan Hills High School and Lucas a junior at Orange County School of the Arts for being named as semifinalists for the 2021 OC Artist of the Year in dance. Calista is a dance semifinalist in the specialty of commercial dance and Lucas in the specialty of world/cultural dance. We are so proud of our Falcon artists!

Alumni at Summer Resort Every summer alumni come back to campus to support our Summer Resort program. We appreciate our alumni who help provide a fun and unique experience for our campers. Thank you, Kelly Lester ’15, Julien Kechejian ‘19, Matthew Kechejian ‘19, Kellen Cox ‘21 and Maggie Cox ’18. Alumna Maibre Edwards ‘21 also joined Madame Forte for two weeks to assist with her cooking

Ashley Prentice, Daniel Palfi & Leyton Breese ‘18

Congrats to Ashley, Daniel and Leyton (all ‘18 alumni) for meeting the requirements to enter the 2022 National Merit Scholarship program. These juniors at Santa Margarita High School took the 2020 Preliminary SAT/ National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test and have shown outstanding academic potential. Each of these students is among 50,000 of the highest-scoring participants who will be recognized as either Semifinalist or Commended Students in the fall.

Sophia Elizalde-Rendon ‘20 attends Santa Margarita Catholic High School and will graduate in 2024. Even during this difficult year, Sophie participated in the Track and Field program at Santa Margarita Catholic High School where as a freshman she was selected to compete at the varsity level. She and her teammates worked countless hours and were able to win another Trinity League Championship. Sophia received an AcademicAthlete Award from Santa Margarita.

classes. Thank you alumni for returning to the nest to support our Falcons!

Save the Dates 2022 Parent Education Series We are excited to announce this year’s Parent Education Series speakers. We will communicate with you moving forward. Please know these opportunities will be a mix of virtual and in-person events. Each speaker will offer a Q&A after his/her presentation and is chosen based on parent input and key topics relevant to our community. As life-long learners, we are looking forward to providing our parents additional education on these important topics.

Dr. Dan Siegel

The Whole-Brain Child

Thursday, Feb. 17, at 6 pm Dr. Siegel is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine and the founding codirector of the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA. He is also the executive director of the Mindsight Institute, which focuses on the development of mindsight and teaches insight, empathy, and integration in individuals, families and communities.

2021

Linda Charmaraman

PhD, Youth, Media & Wellbeing

Wednesday, April 27, at 9 am

Jessica Lahey The Gift of Failure

Thursday, Oct. 6, at 6 pm Teacher, New York Times best-selling author and columnist, Jessica Lahey is inspiring audiences with her rallying cry to allow children to experience failures as an integral part of becoming successful, resilient and self-reliant adults. Her breakthrough manifesto, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed, has become essential reading for parents, educators and coaches and declared a “must-read” by magazines as varied as Working Mother, Fortune and Education Week.

(EEP-Grade 4 Parents)

Thursday, April 28, at 6 pm (Grades 5-8 Parents)

Linda Charmaraman, PhD, is a senior research scientist at Wellesley Centers for Women and director of the Youth, Media, & Wellbeing Research Lab. She is currently funded by a three-year National Institutes of Health grant to follow middle school students and their parents longitudinally to determine longer term health and wellbeing effects due to social technologies, including early smartphone use, social media use, YouTube and gaming. Dr. Charmaraman will present two webinars plus Q&A. Tailoring these sessions for both Preschool-Grade 4 and Grades 5-8 youth and families, she will provide an overview of how social media can be used in risky and resilient ways from childhood through adolescence, signs to look for when intervention may be necessary, different strategies for parental monitoring depending on age and stage of child’s social media use and how to promote positive digital environments.

St. Mary’s Board Thanks Trustee for 27 Years of Service

GOLF CLASSIC 2021 Monday, Nov. 8, 2021 Marbella Country Club This year’s St. Mary’s Golf Classic is being held at the private golf course Marbella Country Club in San Juan Capistrano on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021. This is a wonderful opportunity to come out with your fellow parents, grandparents and friends of St. Mary’s to enjoy a day of camaraderie and school spirit.

ST. MARY’S 2022 GALA Saturday, March 26, 2022 Balboa Bay Club Resort Save the date for St. Mary’s 2022 Gala on Saturday, March 26, 2022, at the Balboa Bay Club Resort. This is a wonderful time to come together as a community for a night of fellowship, celebration and an opportunity for us to raise significant contributions toward key programs that enhance our school.

2022

BALBOA BAY CLUB RESORT

ST. MARY’S GALA

St. Mary’s has been blessed with the tremendous guidance and knowledge of longstanding Board Trustee Mary Beth Dougherty. She is stepping away from our Board after 27 years of support. At the beginning of her time with St. Mary’s, Mary Beth developed a close friendship and connection with our Founder Father Ernest D. Sillers. She has served as a mentor to our Board Chairs over the years. During her tenure, she has both led and been a part of many key Board committees and a trusted advisor to our Heads of School, most recently, Sharon Taylor. “We are so appreciative of Mary Beth’s longevity on our Board and her dedication to the growth of St. Mary’s,” said Sharon Taylor, Head of School. “Her rich school-specific insights coupled with her strong convictions have encouraged me and guided our Trustees. Mary Beth has helped mold and build St. Mary’s into the extraordinary school it is today. Thank you Mary Beth for your encouragement and support.” Mary Beth feels now is the right time for her to step away from St. Mary’s. She believes the school is in a very healthy place and the current Board of Trustees are extremely capable to manage and advise St. Mary’s on its current course. “I love St. Mary’s. If I had children, they would have come here. This school prepares students for the world they live in. Doug Patterson shared some words that really resonated with me. He said, ‘St. Mary’s is not just teaching curriculum; we are teaching kids connection.’”

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