In the News

Pictured Above: Archer students wait for the space shuttle Endeavour to pass over the campus on the flight to LAX before being moved to its final destination at the California Science Center.

Head of School Featured on HuffPost Live Head of School Elizabeth English appeared on the Huffington Post Live to participate in two discussions with other educational leaders, teachers, and students on the value and state of the American education system. Links to the archived footage are available at www.archer.org/news. National French Week Essay Winners Congratulations to Archer 10th grader Maria Gelabert and 8th grader Lulu Cerone on their award winning essays for the National French Week Essay Contest, coordinated by the American Association of Teachers of French. Gelabert placed second in the high school division and Cerone received the third place award for the middle school division. Felicitations! Sophomore Wins Young Eco-Hero Award Zola Berger-Schmitz ’15 was recently awarded second place in her age group for the Action For Nature 2012 International Young Eco-Hero Awards. Her biggest effort focused on supporting the adoption of “marine protected areas” along the coast of Southern California. To help create these areas, Zola spoke at multiple public hearings across California, circulated numerous petitions, produced a short film, spread the word to peers, and spoke up from a young person’s perspective about preserving marine life on California’s coast for the benefit of future generations. She later started a Green Team at Archer and has become a youth activist in fighting for legislation to ban single-use plastic bags.

Student Selected by NCGS to be a Delegate at Australian Conference Archer Junior Rita Shrestha was selected as one of two delegates for the National Coalition of Girls Schools (NCGS). In January she traveled to Australia to attend the Student Leadership Conference organized by

The Alliance of Girls’ Schools. In her application, Rita

described how she has “witnessed the power behind females in leadership and what they can accomplish when working together. Girls collaborating are more than just capable; we are intelligent, confident, creative, and resilient.”

Science Teacher Granted a NSTA Grant: 1 of 3 Awarded Nationally Archer Science Teacher Crystal Sengstaken was one of only three high school teachers in the country to receive the Vernier Technology Grant from the National Science Teachers Association. The award was given to three teachers who will use the funds to incorporate the innovative use of data-collection technology using a computer, graphing calculator, or other hand-held device in the science classroom.

NOLS Continues to Empower Students As part of the curriculum, Archer students in grades 7, 9 and 11 go on a week-long backpacking course with the highly-acclaimed National Outdoor Leadership School. Many return expressing that the experience >>

changed their lives. This summer, Archer senior Alessandra Sternberg will go one step further and take a month-long course.

Literature Magazines Win Awards Archer’s Upper and Middle School literary magazines both received awards from the National Council of Teachers of English. Pillars of Salt, the Upper School literary magazine, was rated “Superior,” the highest ranking. Archer was one of only 13 schools out of the 417 magazines submitted in California to receive this honor. Write in the Middle, the Middle School literary magazine, was rated “Excellent,” the second highest ranking, which means it was ranked in the top 20 out of the 417 magazines submitted in California. Not only that, Archer was the only middle school on the list!

Around Campus

Archer Senior Blogs for Huffington Post, Gets Tweet from First Lady Michelle Obama Archer Senior Nahal Shakib has been keeping busy writing for the Huffington Post, discussing a wide range of topics. And congratulations to Shakib on a post being tweeted by First Lady Michelle Obama to all of her 1,479,591 followers!

Student Recognized with Citizenship Award In December, Archer senior Annie Krepack received the Brentwood Youth Citizen Award, an honor given by the local Brentwood Community Council to deserving youth under the age of 18 who have demonstrated initiative, leadership, innovation and are dedicated to improving the lives of others in their community. More than a dozen students from area schools were honored at the monthly meeting held at Kaufman Library. Each recipient received a certificate of commendation from the local council office, Assembly member Mike Feuer, the Los Angeles City Council, and Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles.

Soccer Player Signs with Duke Archer Senior Krysia Sikora recently penned her name on the dotted line of a National Letter of Intent to play soccer for the Division 1 Duke Blue Devils. For more information, please see pages 20-21.

To read about the most up-to-date news and Archer accomplishments, be sure to visit www.archer.org/news.