NWS Magazine Spring 2017 by The Northwest School

Health & Wellness A Publication for Alumni & Friends

Spring / Summer 2017

The Northwest School is an international college preparatory and boarding school for girls and boys, grades 6-12. Inquiries for academic year admission should be directed to Douglas Leek, Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management. douglas.leek@northwestschool.org 206 682 7309 Inquiries for international admission should be directed to John Lloyd, International Program Coordinator. john.lloyd@northwestschool.org 206 682 7309 Inquiries for global partnerships and programs should be directed to Dmitry Sherbakov, Director of Global Marketing and Programs. dmitry.sherbakov@northwestschool.org 206 816 6202 The Northwest School Magazine welcomes alumni notes and photographs by alumni, parents, and friends. Please email to alumni@northwestschool.org.

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Mike McGill Head of School Margie Combs, Editor Director of Communications Walter Long Director of Development Rose Bellini Assistant Director of Development Sarah Graham Courson Alumni Program Manager Jen Schlobohm Development and Volunteer Coordinator Peter Woodburn Website and Digital Media Coordinator Contributing Writers Margie Combs Alice Shahan Peter Woodburn Sarah Graham Courson Walter Long Contributing Photographers Diane Cassidy Stefanie Felix Jenn Ireland Tino Tran Peter Woodburn NWS Faculty, Students, Parents, and Alumni Graphic Design Barbara Chin

Table of Contents 04

Head’s Message

Archiving Our History

News and Notes

Breaking Ground on Green Space

Art Students Support Standing Rock Pipeline Protesters

Don’t Be Absurd! a Smashing Success

2016 Dance Showcase: All Grades Take the Stage

Boys’ Basketball Team Captures League Title

Northwest School Cross Country Athletes Named Best in Nation

Passionate Opinions in World Court Debates

Students Map Their Own Islands

Winterfest 2016

In Service to an Ideal A Conversation with Chance Sims, Upper School Director

Health & Wellness: Managing Stress in a Driven World

Alumni Profiles

Mimi Johnson (Peterson) ’01

Gurusewak Khalsa ’93

Maya Jackson ’16

Class Notes

Philanthropy Profile: Anne Gould Hauberg

Alumni Happenings

“

T We impress upon students the larger purposes of education, reminding them that the name on 01 one’s college diploma is irrelevant when seen next to the value of a life-long love of learning. Mike McGill Head of School

”

hough concern about growing levels of stress among American adolescents had been building for some time, awareness of the problem exploded with the publicity surrounding the documentary film, “Race to Nowhere,” back in 2011. Today, it’s virtually impossible to open an educational journal without finding an article devoted to the phenomenon and, though the sources of heightened teen anxiety cut across socioeconomic class, many of the culprits, including an increasingly competitive college selection process, constant exposure and access to social media, and highly involved parenting, are endemic to independent schools where high achievement—and the pressure to achieve—is often assumed.

As we set out to create Northwest’s new academic schedule, one of our principal goals was to slow the pace of life in The House, reducing the number of classes kids experience on a given day, the number of transitions between them, and the homework load they generate. According to research, these features are among the most effective means of combatting student stress. The schedule we designed also allows for a more robust advisory system and a brand new integrated (and thus integral) health and wellness program that is changing the way we think about traditional physical education (or PE). In the following pages, you’ll read more about this program, as well as others that, together, reveal how Northwest is approaching adolescent development in the 21st century, allowing our students to continue thriving in these challenging times—which give no indication of improving anytime soon.

I want to take a few moments here, though, to underscore some of the organic ways Northwest has, since its founding, built and supported a healthy counter-culture. Many readers are likely unfamiliar with the school’s so-called Goal Values (“Continually striving toward [them] … helps us accomplish our Mission”), which include “Engagement,” “Collaboration,” and “Balance.” Collectively, they provide a powerful reminder of our educational priorities. Among the many intentional decisions made over the years that have helped foster a healthy climate in The House, two stand out. First, we chose to create a community built on collaboration and cooperation instead of one based around competition. As such, Northwest: • has never given awards (the bane of many a graduation ceremony), which elevate one individual above others; • has never had an “Honor Roll” or “Dean’s List” (though, truth be told, Kevin Alexander does keep a lot in his head!); • has always eschewed high-stakes tests (including comprehensive finals) as a key assessment tool; and, • has forever nurtured the idea that peers ought to be considered a source of mutual support, not as opponents to be “beaten” or outachieved in order to gain admission to that highly selective college (for example). Second, and just as important, we perpetually impress upon students the larger purposes of education, reminding them that the name on one’s college diploma is irrelevant when seen next to the value of a life-long love of learning and the firm belief that, in the words of our mission, such learning enables them to have “a positive impact on the world.” It turns out that these beliefs and practices, adopted in 1980 as alternatives to the educational mainstream of the day, also have a powerful insulating effect on our students as they negotiate a world of increased pressure and stress unforeseen 37 years ago.

0 1 Felix D. ’17 (left), with Mike McGill

at the 2016 Winterfest rocket launch 0 2 Archivist Alice Shahan, at work on

Northwest School’s archives

This year marks the beginning of an exciting new project: The Northwest School is creating an official archive of the school’s history. Professional Archivist Alice Shahan has come on board to guide the project and ensure that we follow best archival practices in preserving documents, photos, and oral histories. Here are her first impressions.

t’s not often that an institution takes steps to establish an archive while some of the founders and many long-term faculty are still with us. To receive an introduction to the school’s history and character through oral history interviews with Ellen Taussig, Mark Terry, Glen Sterr, and many other faculty is quite a compelling way to begin. What’s more, by recording these conversations, we have started to capture some of the insights and perspectives not always present in records. My next move has been to conduct a records survey to broadly define what we have. I do not look at every document the school has produced; rather, I review and summarize groups of records from departments, such as the Head of School or Communications Office. It is a dusty and arduous task, digging into boxes of inactive documents, but it is crucial to identify the document types, extent, preservation or conservation concerns, and gaps in the holdings. At this stage, I move through the records quickly, skimming through materials and earning a few paper cuts on the way. While this is not my favorite part of the

photo: Pemco Webster & Stevens Collection, Museum of History & Industry

process, it is exciting to discover evidence of subjects covered in oral history interviews and to recognize artifacts that demonstrate some of the personality of the school. I had to laugh when I came across a collection of faculty minutes, 1980-1983, housed in a binder that is itself endearing, due to its weird, late ’70s earth tone and the stickers that decorate both sides. (One of the stickers pictures a hooded, cherubic figure drinking from a teaspoon. Another shows a unicorn in profile.) We also have a massive, alphabeticallyarranged index card file of potential donors and board members that Paul crafted in the early days. In my interview with Ellen, she discusses Paul’s methodology and intent in creating it. There are some remarkable documents from Paul, Ellen, and Mark’s tenure at The Oakwood School and The Overlake School, which show the development of the Humanities program. It has been fascinating to unfold the story of an idea that was equal parts simple and incredibly ambitious. The oral history interviews will continue, and with the survey now complete, archival processing of the documents is next. This is when I transform the sundry boxes and piles of documents into a proper archive, with shelves of documents organized in well-labeled and archivally-sound housing. Establishing the archive provides the foundation, and from there we build it by collecting materials of enduring value to the history of the school. I am grateful for the support the community has shown for this project and look forward to digging into these files! If you have pertinent photos or other materials you’d like to submit to the archive, please email me at alice.shahan@northestschool.org.

Archiving Our History by Alice Shahan Northwest School Archivist

“By involving students in the process we know this new space will be something that students actually want to have,” says Emma. “We want to do as much as we can to make that come true.”

Breaking Ground on Green Space

he West Court is getting a makeover this spring! Spurred on by the Environmental Interest Group (EIG), the West Court will be divided in half, one side remaining as a basketball court, and the other becoming a brand new outdoor green space for the Northwest School community. With the assistance of the EIG, seniors Emma B. and Leah M. have worked with every grade level in the school to find out what the community wants in the new green space.

The EIG worked closely with Jenny Cooper, Northwest’s director of environmental education and stewardship. Emma and Leah made presentations to each grade level, soliciting feedback and asking for rough visualizations on some of the ideas. They narrowed down all of those ideas into three purposes for the new space: educating about sustainability and food justice, offering outdoor education space and expanded green space, and providing food for the students and the school. The process has resulted in a new look for the West Court, where half of the court will be decorated with a gazebo, a sitting space, picnic tables, raised beds, and room for an outdoor classroom space. The project is scheduled to break ground in mid-March, utilizing the talents and expertise of Northwest School parents and faculty. “We are trying to keep it within the community as much as possible,” says Leah. “We might have to bring in outside help to finish some things, but we want the project to be community-designed and community-built.”

News & Notes

I 01 From left: Director

of Environmental Education Jenny Cooper chats with EIG members Ada B. ’17 and Leah M. ’16 02 Student sketches of

green space layouts 03 One of 16 posters

lining the PVC pipe art installation in the Commons

n December 2016, Northwest School Public Art students demonstrated their solidarity with the Standing Rock protestors by creating an art installation in the Commons. The Standing Rock protestors were fighting against the Dakota Access Pipeline, which they believe threatens their water supply and control of sacred lands.

“The Dakota Access Pipeline is an environmental issue, a social justice issue, and a global issue—all fronts of our mission,” says Public Art teacher Curtis Erlinger. “This project demonstrated how students can activate our mission through art.”

Art Students Support Standing Rock Protestors

“We intentionally divided the Commons and created a structure that people have to walk over and notice, because that is what the pipeline is doing,” says Zoe T. ’19. “It The urban art project exhibited a black PVC is important that the installation is in the pipe slicing down the middle of the Commons. Commons so everyone has to see it.” All along the pipe, students installed 16 Students studied the merging of art and posters with slogans and images relevant social justice for the entire Trimester 1. Curtis to the Standing Rock protest. The posters introduced the work of Barbara Kruger and ranged in style from text-heavy images Jenny Holzer, two artists who use text in their to designs referencing a map of America. politically-charged art. Students researched what protestors at Standing Rock said so they could attempt to “I’ve had multiple conversations with other reflect the protestors’ voices in the posters. students about the Dakota Access Pipeline According to Curtis, the class created the generated from this installation,” says Zoe. project organically as students formulated “It has definitely sparked interest in and the concept and carried out the installation. awareness of the issue.”

News & Notes

Don’t Be Absurd! a Smashing Success

n Dec. 8-11, 2016, The Northwest School Theater Department presented the Upper School Play Production of Don’t Be Absurd!, directed by Ellen Graham.

Each night of theatre featured four plays, all of which focused on communication (or lack thereof). The four plays were Words, Words, Words, The Girls, The Great Leader, and The Bald Soprano. 01

Words, Words, Words, by David Ives, ponders the idea of the infinite monkey theorem, the notion that if a monkey is given enough time with a typewriter it can eventually produce the complete text of Hamlet. The Bald Soprano, by Eugene Ionesco, takes a proper English couple who welcome their proper English guests, only to watch everything go up in flames. The Girls, by Heidi Heimark, is set in a monkey penal colony where monkeys dance to “Girl from Ipanema” and wonder about the outside world. The Great Leader, by Dan Tarker, finds disgruntled citizens outside of a café, wondering how to build a leader when the world runs out of them. The latter two plays were commissioned by The Northwest School and were performed for the first time.

0 1 Atticus M. ’20 (left) and

Becca S. ’19 in The Great Leader 0 2 From left: Massimo A. ’18,

Azure H-F. ’18, and Rae H-S. ’18, in Words, Words, Words 0 3 From left: Linus B. ’18,

William C-S. ’17, John (Jack) D. ’18, and Ray M. ’17, in The Bald Soprano

early 115 Northwest students from all grades participated in the 2016 Dance Department Showcase on Dec. 14, 2016, at the Broadway Performance Hall. The evening of performances featured the Middle School Jazz Dance, Middle School Hip Hop/ Contemporary Dance, Upper School Social Dance, Upper School Creative Dance, and Upper School Performing Dance Ensemble classes.

04 Melia M. ’20

(foreground), performing “Water Dance”

05 Lily P. ’18,

(center front) leads a dance by Performing Dance Ensemble.

A majority of the work was choreographed by Northwest students, with additional guidance provided by Dance Department faculty members Ellie Sandstrom, Maya Soto, and Sedia Bayard. Students danced to music by the Sugar Hill Gang, Herbie Hancock, Missy Elliott, Rhianna, and M.I.A, and a particular favorite of the evening was a jazz number to “Hot Honey Rag.”

2016 Dance Showcase: All Grades Take to the Stage

Boys’ Basketball Team Captures League Title

he Northwest School boys’ basketball team captured the Emerald City League championship for the first time in the school’s history! Because they clinched the league title, the team earned an automatic berth to the 1A State playoffs in March 2017. “Our team is incredibly excited to have earned a trip to the state tournament, but we are approaching the next few weeks with the same focus and determination we have had all year,” says Head Coach Sam Fein. “Overall, our kids and the coaching staff are really humbled by the support we have received from the Northwest community.”

This season, Isaiah J. ’19 and Nick M. ’17 led the Northwest team, each averaging 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists per game. Jamie C. ’18 chipped in 11 points per game and was shooting 50 percent from the three-point line. The long-range shot was kind to Northwest all season, with Isaiah, Jamie, and Ethan K. ’17 each hitting over 30 three-pointers this season. Northwest truly shined on the defensive end of the game. As a team, Northwest gave up the least amount of points in the entire state for the 1A classification. Says Sam: “This team has been special because of how well-balanced we are on the offensive end and how disciplined we are on the defensive end. Our team takes a great deal of pride in playing great team defense and sharing the ball offensively. As a coach, I could not be more proud of the way we compete on both ends of the floor.”

01 Leo P. ’17,

drives around his opponent during a game against University Prep. 02 Gabriel R. ’18,

going for a clear layup at the hoop

H 0 3 The 2016

Northwest School girls’ cross country team 0 4 Tibs P. ’17,

reigning 2016 Washington State cross country champion

igh school coaches around the nation voted the Northwest School girls’ cross country team as the top Division II squad in the entire country in November 2016. The National High School Coaches Association individually honored Isa M. ’18 and Macenna H. ’19 as the fifth and sixth best runners, respectively. “These awards are exciting, and they solidify the hard work put in by everyone, day in and day out, by all the runners and the coaches,” says Cross Country Coach Allen Wood.

It was another highlight for a stellar 2016 season by the girls, who garnered their second consecutive Washington State Championship in November 2016. The girls’ stellar season was mirrored by senior Tibs P.’s final season with The Northwest School. Tibs successfully defended his title as reigning boys’ state champion, crossing the finish line with a final time of 15:22.4. That was the beginning of a slew of honors for Tibs. He was named the Gatorade Washington Boys Cross Country Runner of the Year in January 2017, and was named the best Division II boys runner in the nation by the National High School Coaches Association in November 2016.

Tibs recently committed to run cross country at the University of Washington. Says Cross Country Coach Joe Bisignano: “It’s obviously fun for a cross country coach to work with an athlete with talent like Tibs. He approaches this sport and this team with a level of commitment and joy that is both unprecedented and contagious. What Tibs has done for this boys’ program, including four straight trips to state as a team, is remarkable, and trust me, his influence will last for years to come.” In other fall sports highlights, the fall 2016 season was the first time in school history that girls’ volleyball, boys’ ultimate, girls’ soccer, and both cross country teams all played in the postseason in the same year.

Northwest School Cross Country Athletes Named Best in Nation

News & Notes

Passionate Opinions in World Court Debates

hree groups of seventh graders captivated their peers with lively arguments during the annual World Court Debates on Monday, Oct. 31, 2016. The debates were the culmination of a unit on world history in the 1800s. Seventh graders broke into teams and researched France, Spain, England, Russia, and First Nation peoples to best argue why they deserved to own the Pacific Northwest territories. The grand finale featured First Nation, Spain, and England engaged in a formal debate with opening statements, rebuttals, and closing statements.

“The hardest part about the debate was the rebuttal, and taking notes while you are talking,” says Simon H. ’22, a member of the winning Spain team. “But that was also the part I loved the most. It was fun to communicate as a team, listen for what we needed to respond against, and make a plan right on the spot.”

The World Court Debates introduce students to the art of rhetoric, and provide an introduction to the impact of politics on the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest. The expansive project teaches a multitude of skills to the students. Humanities teachers Julie Kim and Tamara Bunnell work with Northwest School Librarians Suzanne Fox and Alicia Kalan to help students effectively use databases for research and learn how to synthesize material from multiple sources. Students also learn the nuances of writing persuasive pieces and how to effectively speak to an audience. The debate format allowed teams to engage in various strategies to make their case. Simon’s team focused energy on proving Spain was a better option than England. In an appeal to win over some undecided audience members, Simon employed metaphor. He used a story about divvying up a limited amount of fry bread to illustrate England’s intention to take, rather than share, land and resources.

“I thought the metaphor would be helpful because it is something people can connect with, and that is important,” says Simon. “We learned in the first round that interacting with your audience is important because they feel like they are with you instead of just being talked at.” Tamara and Julie lauded the approaches students took to sway their classmates’ opinions. “I was really impressed with the political spin students put on the facts they found,” says Julie. “For example, Spain did a great job tying their educational system to good governance and human rights, and it was great to see that analytical leap.”

01 01 From left:

Elshaday M. ’22, Gabriella S. ’22, and Gabriel S. ’22 prepare for rebuttal in the World Court Debates. 02 Owen T. ’23,

03 Bella D. ’23, 04 Evan N. ’23, and 05 Scout N. ’23, present their island maps to sixth grade classmates.

n October 2016, a new batch of vibrantly-colored relief maps adorned The Northwest School hallways as sixth graders completed their first major project of the year: the annual Island Project.

The Island Project was the culmination of a major unit on geography. Students studied five geographical elements, including location, place, human/environment interactions, movement, and regions. Drawing from these elements, students then imagined and created their own island, researching a realistic climate and environment, and then designing a topographical map built to scale. Maps had to include the coordinates of the island’s location, a legend, and labelled features. Finally, students presented their map and information to their classmates. “The students love the creative aspect of this project,” says Humanities teacher Heather Hall. “There are parameters in place that the students have to meet, but we also encourage them to be creative and demonstrate what they have learned about geography.”

As usual, this year’s project yielded a diverse array of islands. Some were created with modelling clay, while others were built with plaster and cardboard. As the final piece of the project, students created a travel brochure for their island. Composed of five paragraphs, the brochure revealed the island’s history and highlighted various landmarks.

Students Map Their Own Islands

Winterfest 2016 02

0 1 Sintayehu C. ’20 and Scout S. ’20, winners of the Catapult Contest, pose with their catapult and the contest judges (left to right) Jeremy DeWitt, Sophie Daudon ’09, and Andy Meyer. 0 2 Mosey B. ’19 (left) and Serin C. ’19, enjoying a game of Blokus 0 3 From left: Audrey H ’18, Ruby D. ’18, Josie B. ’18, Eliza J. ’18, and Lily S. ’18 demonstrate a chemical reaction. Background image: Becca S. ’19 holds ﬂames in her hands while Atticus M. ’20 looks on.

WinterFest

04 04 A rocket comes to rest on the roof of the House. 05 Students and faculty follow the flight of a rocket out of the West Court. 06 It was an incredible year for the 8th grade balsa wood Bridge Project! Hannah P. ’21 (left) steadies bricks for 2017 Bridge Contest Winner Logan S. ’21. Logan’s bridge held 19 bricks — a new Northwest School record! 07 Josh C. ’23 demonstrates his Rube Goldberg machine for Naomi F. ’22 (front), art teacher Curtis Erlinger, and Camilla H. ’22

In July 2016, Chance Sims stepped into the positon of Upper School Director at The Northwest School. Magazine editor Margie Combs caught up with him to hear his insights about education and his thoughts on what makes education meaningful to adolescents today.

With all of the current talk about STEM and the so-called trend away from Humanities, what is our responsibility as teachers today – what should we be teaching kids?

In Service to an Ideal A Conversation with Upper School Director Chance Sims

The role of STEM, the Humanities, and the liberal arts in the future of education is a debate we’ve been having for a very long time. The usefulness of English or literature in a post-modern period, or history, what is its purpose, what is its function, what is it preparing people for? Debates about what we should be teaching are nothing new—and I still don’t know if that’s the right question. A better question is how do we prepare people to be engaged citizens and, beyond that, how do we prepare people to participate in civil society, to contribute? This broader question allows us to move away from whether or not we should put an emphasis on math or science or computer programming. What does an educational program look like that is preparing students for a world of many different fields: the human field, such as teaching and medicine, and the technical disciplines, such as engineering and computer science? It’s not what people know, it’s how they’ve been trained to use the knowledge they possess, because clearly, whether it’s climate change or social problems, there is a need to reimagine how we live in this world, how to take care of it. That requires teaching differently.

01 Chance Sims 02 Chance, with Bronwen P. ’23, during Environment.

Are you saying, rather than ask what students should learn, ask why students should learn?

If not in service to God or country, what is it that a sixteen-year-old will feel is a meaningful reason to come to class?

Yes. If you look at parochial schools, there is a clear purpose for going to school every day—whether you believe in God or not, the purpose of learning is to be in service to something greater than yourself. Likewise, public schools were created to promote the development of citizens in service to country—something greater than the individual. To be sure, those were imperfect educational institutions and still are: they were segregated, they embody all the social problems that exist in society—all the problems we continue to face today were part of schooling then. But if you asked the child, ‘Why are you in school?’, he or she could tell you why: ‘I’m going to school to serve God,’ or ‘I’m going to school to serve country.’ I fear we are in an age when the average high school student, if asked that question, will tell you: ‘So I can go to college’ or ‘So I can get a job.’ Neither of which is an aspirational purpose. Even as we sit here in an independent school with a very clear mission, I hear too often from students and families that their principal concern is college and not some purpose that is greater than the individual. So that question of why is for me the question, and should inform everything we do. Too often we are caught up in the day-to-day struggle of running schools and teaching, and we forget to ask, ‘Why are we doing this?’

I spend a lot of time talking about social justice and this school’s commitment to doing something good in the world—preparing our students to go out in the world and make a difference. I believe we leave the question of how? and for what? open-ended because we don’t have a particular idea of what they’ll do, but we hope we are graduating thoughtful, caring people who will go out and serve the world, to serve a purpose that is greater than themselves. I believe that is what is embedded in the social justice ethos of this school. Social justice is really about studying and working in service to an ideal that helps you make sense of the world. I think that has been part of this place since its founding.

How do you see that being taught here? We don’t offer a class called social justice. It shouldn’t be understated that the language, the conversational language, of this institution is one that is focused on social justice issues, whether it’s around the environment or race or sexual orientation, etc. It is part of the school’s vernacular. Now, I don’t always see that commitment to humanity lived out in the daily life of the school. Getting teenagers to live what they believe—any of us, really, to actually live our beliefs, our values—is hard. That said, I’m impressed with how our students talk about their commitment to important ideas and important social causes. We have a Humanities curriculum that is informed by commitments to social justice ideals. The faculty share a common commitment to a particular view of the world that presages taking care of the planet, making sure that everyone has a voice, and that we treat people fairly. So certainly, the mission and values of the school are lived out in many places.

Expand on what students of this developmental stage are facing today. What is causing the heightened student stress that many educators are talking about? Students are under more pressure today to perform than I’ve seen at any time in my professional life. At the same time, there is more uncertainty about why they are doing what they are doing and where it is they are going. So, not only are they working harder and under more pressure, students have more uncertainty about why they’re doing any of it. That’s one challenge. I also think because of our exposure to media there is more pressure to fit a sort of normative definition of success. You might think that with greater exposure to different lifestyles, experiences, and identities, that the picture of what it means to be a successful person has expanded. But, despite all of that diversity of representation, the picture has narrowed. Getting into the right college, taking the right classes and, let’s go further back, getting into the right pre-school—for students there is this attachment to a very narrow definition of success. And that, combined with greater anxiety about what it all means, has created an existential crisis for students. You see this played out in the college admissions process every year.

So what is the answer? How are we to help students manage so much incoming information? The third piece of it is, there are competing demands on student time and attention. I was talking to a colleague the other day and I said I couldn’t imagine what high school would have been like for me if there had been Facebook! I mean, the biggest deal for me was a wireless phone: Oh my god, you mean I can actually leave the room and go where my parents can’t spy on my conversation? That was big! And then, there was the debate about whether you were going to get a phone in your room, or in the family room. The demands of my time and attention on that one technology were really limited because it was policed and supervised—my mom was always in the background saying ‘get off the phone!’ Now, the privatization of children’s lives—by that, I mean the ability to take multiple worlds into private spaces—has changed their lives in ways we can’t even grasp. For a typical student to sit in their room with their laptop and their cell phone and their music device, all demanding their attention, and the Facebook post and Snapchat and Instagram, I really don’t know how they do it.

0 1 Chance, pausing for a chat with Fred W.’19

I’m not sure we know yet. I do think a school like Northwest will always struggle with managing or attempting to manage these outside demands on our students’ attention because we value conversation, and we value collective decision-making. I’ve heard people remark how great it is to have the dining hall a cell-phone-free zone. That was a small but really important institutional decision for this school, and pretty controversial— we still hear from students saying ‘why can’t this be decided by everyone?’ But we will have to make difficult decisions independent of student voice if we’re going to have any impact on the intrusion of technology in their lives at school.

In Service to an Ideal

So is the answer to impose restrictions? Well, therein lies the struggle. I don’t believe you can adopt policies or rules to control people’s behavior. This gets to the strength of this place. I really think that our best response, our role as an educational institution, is to form relationships that will serve to stimulate a new communal response to these challenges. I’ve argued for a long time that all learning is relational—meaning we learn from people because we have a relationship with them. If you’re not investing in the relationship as a teacher, you’re limiting what students will learn from you. Our institutional and community response to some of these challenges will come out of those relationships and not from the administration saying we’re going to do this or that. If we value our relationships, and we are centering our relationships in decision-making about when and where it’s appropriate to have cell phones, the issue becomes easier to address. If, as a student, what’s most important to me is my connection to my peers, to my teachers and my learning, then yeah, I probably shouldn’t have my cell phone out in the classroom or in the dining room. If what’s most important to me is the relationship, then it becomes much easier for me to make decisions about how to manage my phone or my Facebook account.

Are there other ways you see us actively promoting relational connections? I see it in how we occupy this main building. Part of that is the geography of space: faculty members don’t have private offices— they’re either participating in a class where their desk is or they’re in the hall. I’ve never worked in a school where faculty spends so much time in public, shared spaces. That sort of accessibility and proximity to the faculty is really important for students. Yeah, you’re still going to hear students talk about the faculty in a way that somehow elevates them—that’s always going to be the case. But faculty and students share physical space here, and that does promote an awareness of the humanity of both faculty and students, that we are in this together.

Looking back over the last two semesters, is there a favorite moment when you truly felt you were here at The Northwest School? My favorite moment was when I was absorbing Tina’s Chang’s Upper School Chinese language class. As I was observing the activity in her class, I could also hear a student playing a violin in the Commons, as well as some middle schoolers outside the room, chatting in the hallway. All the charms of this place were bundled in that one moment: the global culture, the warmth of the student-teacher interaction, and the fact that this was an Upper School class but I could hear middle schoolers ruminating about something in their pre-teen voices, and finally, this wonderful violin playing in the background. It was a magical moment that I think about nearly every day. I don’t think there are many schools where that moment happens. It requires a deliberate, very intentional commitment to a global approach to teaching and learning, an investment in the arts, the sort of openness of a six-throughtwelve school where middle schoolers and upper schoolers occupy the same space without conflict or disruption. I love that part about the school, where I see sixth graders hanging out in the same space as seniors—that doesn’t happen in most schools. I love that moment. That’s why I’m here.

Health & Wellness: Managing Stress in a Driven World 01

iology tells us stress is a part of life. It releases cortisol and adrenaline, two ancient hormones that essentially call us to rise up and act. Stress boosts the heart rate and drives us to focus. It is a large reason we have successfully hunted and scavenged beasts larger than us over the last hundred-million years. But sustaining high levels of chemicals in our bodies is decidedly unhealthy. Over the long haul, high levels can take a toll on the functionality of organs and immune systems, and most importantly, on developing minds. Stress can hamper the act of learning.

In 2014, The American Psychological Association reported in “Stress in America: Are Teens Adopting Adults’ Stress Habits?” that teens’ stress habits have surpassed what they believe to be healthy. “High school kids today are under a lot of academic stress—their future planning is magnified, pressure is magnified, the pressure of having the right outcomes is magnified— good grades, participating in the “right” activities, doing it all,” confirms Northwest School Counselor Megan Reibel, who holds a master’s in School Counseling from Seattle Pacific University. “There has been a rise of mental health needs in the world of higher education and we are seeing that here, too.” Northwest was founded on the opposite of high-stakes testing, and the belief that the most valuable learning comes from process rather than product. Students’ academic success comes from asking good questions, solving problems, taking risks, failing and trying again, and developing resilience. However, in other ways, Northwest students are exposed to the same competitive forces stressing out kids all over the country. “Overload is a big part of the problem,” says Northwest Cross Country Coach Joe Bisignano, who devoted his 2015 sabbatical to studying the effects of diet and sleep on brain function. “We all ultimately know the challenge of being a student, friend, athlete, musician, college-bound senior, all at the same time—the challenge of all of this opportunity just being too much.” Not only are students overloaded but some of those healthy resets that were part and parcel of previous generations are fewer and farther between today. “When I was the age of my students, getting outdoors just was,” emphasizes Joe. “Walking outside, hanging out with friends, dinner with the family. Today, these are less a part of the norm. We don’t do these things anymore—we have too much on our plates.”

The Necessity for Balance This year, for the first time in the school’s history, Northwest launched a formal Health and Wellness Curriculum. Every student, from sixth through twelfth grades, is spending dedicated time learning about the essentials of time management, sleep, nutrition, relationships, and balance in their daily lives. Directed by Joe, the program is taught by thirteen physical education faculty members who received additional training as health and wellness specialists. Every week, these specialists partner with advisors during advisory and flex time, covering health and wellness concepts targeted to the students’ developmental stages. At any one time, depending on the age group, students are learning a number of strategies: how to prioritize activities and homework, how to identify what makes them happy and build that into their daily routine, how to navigate social dynamics, how to take breaks, get up and move, go outside, breathe. “Basically, we want to give them a tool box,” explains Joe, who holds a Master of Science in Contemporary Curriculum from Barry University. “They may not use everything in it all at once, but they’ll have it with them as they go on into their lives.”

0 1 Miles H. ’20 (front) and

Aspen A. ’20 practice Yoga during a Health and Wellness class. 0 2 Ninth grade students

learn exercise is a stress busting tool.

0 3 Health and Wellness

Director Joe Bisignano encourages students to move and stretch to relieve stress. Background from left: Jarod P. ’20, Joe, Kovit V. ’20, Peter C. ’20, Cees S. ’20

Health & Wellness

Time: How to Manage It? One of the central focuses of the program is to help students learn to manage activities and time schedules as well as build in breaks. According to Joe, one of the hardest things for both students and faculty to learn is that a mindful approach will actually help them get more done. “The myth is that we are getting more done because we are always busy doing it,” says Joe. “But research shows that productivity is hampered by rushing around, being distracted with information, having too much to do and too little time to reflect, being interrupted by our mobile devices. We are in fact getting less done than ever before.”

Ninth grade is a crucial year for students to adopt time management skills that will carry them through the four years of high school. The Health and Wellness program starts with the Goldilocks Exercise, whereby students fill out a chart with three columns:

1. Too Little: I would be happier and/or healthier if I did more of the things on this list.

2. Too Much: I would be happier and/or healthier if I did less of the things on this list.

3. Just Right: I am happier and healthier because I spend the amount of time I want on the list below.

“Right now, every student is working to move something over into the next column,” explains Joe. Through the exercise, students realize they can make choices to balance their daily lives, including leaving something off the list. “We are having them look at time and see that they cannot do everything. If there is something they want to do more of, they have to figure out what they are going to do less of.”

0 1 Peer Mentor Josie B. ’18

discusses health and wellness principles with Angelo E. ’21. 0 2 School Counselor Megan

Reibel (left) and Ray M. ’17

Peer Mentors: Cultivating Gratitude

Dovetailing with Northwest’s Health and Wellness Curriculum, the Peer Mentor Program provides another layer of health and wellness for students. Approximately 21 juniors and seniors every year are trained to act as mentors to other students. The goal of the program is to provide student-tostudent support for navigating the emotional landscape of adolescence. “There is different power in hearing self-care strategies from peers,” confirms Northwest School Counselor Megan Reibel, who teaches the Peer Mentor program with Northwest Counselor Erin North. All ninth graders are paired with a Peer Mentor, as are new incoming sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and every international student. If they don’t happen to be together in environment teams, mentors are charged with carving out free time to be with mentees. In addition, mentors interact with middle schoolers, visiting flex time sessions and leading small-group discussions about social dynamics and self-care strategies.

Becoming a Mentor Because mentoring is a big responsibility that requires maturity and understanding, Peer Mentors begin their training by going on a September retreat to identify issues they want to know more about. At this year’s retreat, mentors identified the following topics: body positivity, sexuality, relationships, how to cope with stress, drugs and alcohol, and mental health. “In order to be a resource for other people, you’ve got to be comfortable with yourself,” explains Megan. “Whether that means now or going on to college and into health professions. So the first step is to get Peer Mentors in touch with themselves.”

Three Good Things To heighten self-awareness, mentors identify an item that represents self-care and bring enough duplicates to share with all other mentors. Among the items last year were a seven-minute workout, a bouncy ball, a handmade magazine, different kinds of tea, and a list of good books. In addition, they learn and practice new self-care strategies, such as keeping an ongoing “gratitude” journal.

“We have these moments of cultivating and expressing gratitude and it makes us happy,” says Megan, noting that these moments often get swept away in the busyness of life. “We ask mentors to ponder how do you know what these moments are in life? When is it the right time to express gratitude? Who is the right person to receive it?” To get in touch with gratitude, mentors identify and record in their journals three things that went well for them since they last met in class. Additionally, they must provide an explanation for why those things went well. “It’s not enough to simply do this exercise in your heads,” Erin North reminds mentors in a February class. “It’s important to create a physical record of good moments by writing them down. We ask you to make this exercise a part of your daily routine.” The ultimate goal is to equip each Peer Mentor with a wellness tool box that is highly robust and effective, both for themselves and their mentees. Says Megan: “Our kids are so knowledgeable and aware of what’s going on in the world. They have this ferocious intellectual curiosity. But we don’t just want to know what they think about an issue, we want to know what they feel about it. We encourage them to go beyond thought to create a safe emotional space for themselves and for other students. It’s about creating safe community.”

Health & Wellness

In the summer before senior year, students participate in Northwest’s College Jump Start Program. The goal of the two-day workshop is to have every student emerge with a completed college application. College admissions representatives and several Northwest writing teachers come to help with essays and revisions.

College Anxiety Many a high school student worries about securing college acceptance. Northwest Director of College Counseling Erin Miller says today’s students cannot help but feel the college application process growing more competitive every year.

“It takes practice to break out of the academic essay mold and write something more personal.” says Erin, noting that Humanities teachers Harumi LaDuke, Sarah Porter, and Priscilla Lindberg have been invaluable to the Jump Start program. “They know how to bring out the best in our students’ writing.”

“Students are applying to an increasing number of colleges, and many are applying to the same 50 schools,” says Erin, who has a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration and Student Affairs from the University of Vermont, as well as ten years of admissions and college counseling experience. “There is more fear among students and families that you have to get it right and every decision will determine the rest of your life. This fuels the false perception that only a handful of most selective colleges can set a student up for success.” Erin and Associate Director of College Counseling Lori Jones focus on diffusing this worry for both students and parents through careful guidance, preparation, and process. They create a scaffolding for families to support them throughout the two-year process. Students begin in the fall of eleventh grade by exploring broadly and experiencing what it feels like to be in different college environments. “We pull from the selfknowledge that students already have and focus on what sparks their interests,” explains Erin. “We support them to do college research, to make productive campus visits, and to present themselves effectively in interviews and the application.” Much of Erin’s and Lori’s work centers on helping students search for colleges that resonate with them. They express to students that the process is not just about getting into a college but about finding a next launching pad. Says Erin: “Our end game isn’t college per se, but helping our students lean into the opportunities that will take them to where they want to go in life. We want them to feel at home in college and be surrounded by peers and mentors who will care for and inspire them.”

Above all, Erin and Lori want all students to be educated leaders in this college application process, learning how to manage a complex bureaucratic process and becoming empowered by their choices. “We don’t get students into college—they get themselves in,” confirms Erin. “We love that we get to be a part of that unfolding process. Sometimes we try to ask the right questions to help the students sort out the information in front of them and come to a decision. Sometimes we give pep talks, pass Kleenex, jump up and down, and we always celebrate successes.”

In April 2017, Erin and Lori will be collaborating with colleagues at SAAS, Bush, and University Prep to help families see the process from the admissions point of view. Participating families will read mock applications, an exercise that helps them to see how the pieces of an application fit together and to develop an understanding of the tremendous undertaking that admissions officers are tasked with. “Admissions officers are not cold, unfeeling gatekeepers. They’re real people who want to connect students to the right schools,” assures Erin. “It’s very helpful for students and families to see that. It humanizes the process.”

“Fight or flight is not a creative process; it’s a primal process,” clarifies Joe. “For creativity and learning you need to reset, to take a deep breath.”

Lower Stress = Better Learning 01 Director of College

Counseling Erin Miller (left) and Sarah D. ’17 02 Eliza J. ’18 (left) and

Adele M. ’18 take part in the “wristband” exercise. 03 From left: Science

teacher Kathryn Wallace, Lexi R. ’18, Savita W. ’18, Maya L. ’18, and Linus B. ’18 label wristbands with words associated with positive emotions.

Most of us would agree that too much stress makes us unhappy. There is neurological evidence that unhappiness can hamper learning. According to “The Neuroscience of Joyful Education,”an article in a 2007 issue of Educational Leadership, neuroimaging and electroencephalography studies have shown that when information is perceived, the limbic system, which houses our emotional centers, is activated. Under stressful conditions the limbic system restricts information from higher cognitive functions for memory consolidation and storage.

Resetting in the middle of a busy day or an assignment deadline often seems daunting, if not impossible. For that reason, the Health and Wellness Program focuses on simple exercises that are easy to practice and remember. A prime example is the exercise recently given to the entire eleventh grade. Several dozen words associated with positive emotion, such as awe, savor, nature, love, friend, were flashed on an overhead screen. Students were asked to pick one word that resonated with them, write it on a neon orange wrist band, and wear the band for several hours or even days, referencing the word whenever they felt stressed or fatigued. A few days later, the eleventh graders were encouraged to connect with sixth graders who had done the same exercise and were now wearing their own bright “intention” wrist bands. “We’re helping students build habits into the school day that are not about academics,” says Emily Zukowski, Northwest PE teacher, ultimate Frisbee coach, graphic design teacher, and health and wellness specialist. “These are small steps that help them balance life, including doing more of what they love to do, and having the mental clarity to understand what their processes are and what they’re experiencing. Ultimately, we’re exposing them to a new mindset, helping them attach vocabulary to something they’re already feeling.”

Health & Wellness

01 0 1 School Counselor

Erin North (left) guides Gabe O. ’23, Julien K. ’23, Dhara G. ’23, and Ursula T. ’23 in a Health and Wellness session.

0 2 From left:

Qian G. ’20, Bena T. ’20, Olivia L. ’19, Vesper Z. ’19, Annalisa L. ’20, Dean of Residential Life Amy Berner-Hays, and Violet J. ’20

Connection: Stress Buster

Patience and Practice

Alongside practical exercises, the Health and Wellness Program facilitates psychological supports that effectively decrease stress.

Since this is the pilot year for the Health and Wellness Curriculum, Joe Bisignano is circumspect about expectations. But he is clear about what he would like to see by the end of the year; namely, most kids will have integrated a few constants into their day, such as playing soccer, playing music, having dinner with family—things they recognize they need as a part of staying in a good frame of mind. Also, each student will have identified one to two “go-tos” for when they’re feeling stressed, such as stepping outside, taking a run, calling up a friend. In addition, each student will be equipped with two good coping strategies, including one good emergency strategy. And finally, every student will learn that these tools need to adapt over time.

“Data shows that having caring relationships with adults is a huge protective factor for our young people,” reveals Megan. “My hope is that every one of our students has at least one adult to whom they can turn.” This year, School Counselor Erin North, who holds a master’s in Social Work from University of Washington, joined Megan in the counseling office. Both participate as specialists in the Health and Wellness Program. Meeting regularly with advisory groups, Megan and Erin get to know the students and provide a non-demanding adult presence. “I’ll take one group out on a walk, or do some yoga, or just hang out and talk,” says Megan. “It means we are consistently present with those kids and can build relationships. The important thing is to have kids realize that adults see them and know how much is on their plates.”

“My biggest hope is for everyone in our community to recognize that we’ve started something that needs more work, both personally and institutionally,” emphasizes Joe. “We all need to practice.” The good news is that we have historical, scientific, artistic, and religious wisdom to guide and remind us that we fare better with healthy practices. “There are lots of ways to approach good eating and sleeping,” confirms Joe. “The problem is when we ignore them.”

Supporting Students Away from Home In addition to teenage hormones and social complexities, international boarding students are adjusting to the culture of America, the culture of Seattle, the culture and expectations of the school, the rules of the dorm, the complexities of rooming with another person, and what it’s like to have a fever when they’re 6000 miles away from home. All of this on top of tackling an academic program in a second or third language. “Whatever stress domestic students might be feeling, multiply that times ten,” says Dean of Residential Life Amy Berner-Hays, who holds a BA in Values, Technology, Science, and Society from Stanford University. She points out that many international students are coming from countries where structure is imposed and they have very little autonomy when making decisions. “Then, they come to Northwest and we expect them to manage their lives, to make good decisions and self-regulate, whether anyone is watching or not,” says Amy. “Many of them have never had that experience. The adjustment is enormous.”

The Northwest School Boarding Program aims to ease the stress of international students and support their acclimation to life at the school. Soon after arrival, students have a dorm orientation, walking through the basics of operating the washing machine, signing out of school, and navigating the neighborhood. Additionally, their first Saturday is devoted to an all-day dorm retreat with new and returning students. “We go to a park in the city, a beautiful space to play together for the day, get to know each other, and share some of the students’ goals for the year,” says Amy. During their first year, new international students attend a Residential Life Class every Sunday, which helps them further adjust to Northwest School’s culture. They learn why we go on grade-level trips, why we practice courtesy and common sense, and why we care about social justice and the environment. “We have a lot of conversations with them,” testifies Amy. “Our whole discipline philosophy is very different—the idea that we want them to take responsibility for their behavior and think about how it impacts the community. A lot of times I sense they would rather we just punish them and move on—but we won’t. Instead, we are asking them, ‘why do you think it’s important to us that you are honest and respectful to other people and to yourself— why does that matter?’” To help students feel less overwhelmed, the dormitory is divided into five houses by color: green, blue, orange, yellow, and red. Each house is led by a Student Residential Advisor and, over the course of the year, each house works with the kitchen staff to put on a formal dinner for the dorm community. At the first dinner in the fall, everyone draws a name and shares a compliment about that person. “It can’t be about their appearance or their possessions—it has to be about their character,” explains Amy. “The author remains anonymous, but we name the recipient and we read the compliment out loud.”

Thanksgiving dinner is a big deal. Students and faculty bake 25 pies the day before. At the dinner, everyone shares what they are thankful for. “That is always really lovely; they are thankful for their families, their teachers, roommates, friends,” says Amy. “It’s really nice for them to publicly show their gratitude.” Certain times of the year are more stressful for dorm students than others, especially before and after vacations, when they must transition from one culture to the other. Lunar New Year is particularly hard for Chinese students since that is a two-week holiday back in China, and other kids are home with their families. This year, Northwest School Counselors Megan Reibel and Erin North began holding Monday afternoon office hours, just to hang out with students and offer an ear, and then stay through dinner. A few years ago, Northwest RAs developed a Maslow’s hierarchy of dorm student needs and developmental stages. Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist whose theory of psychological health was predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization. The pyramid-shaped chart shows Northwest dorm students starting out at the base with a wide range of needs and challenges, and then advancing their way up to the apex of courtesy and common sense. “Living up to our standards is hard because we’re asking a lot,” confirms Amy. “I’ve been here long enough to know it’s a process: students change and grow. It’s slow, but they eventually get there.” On the way, international students bond with the RAs and make lifelong friendships with fellow students. “Our international alums often come back to Seattle just to see each other,” testifies Amy. “This is home to them—they grew up here.”

n this era of high ambition, rapid pace, and long work hours, it can seem difficult to maintain a healthy body. Diet and exercise are often approached like a work assignment, requiring radical measures and intense bursts of effort toward a specific goal and deadline. Mimi Johnson ’01 believes health and wellness come from the exact opposite approach: consistency and moderation. As the owner of Health Kitchen, a holistic health and wellness service, she works one-on-one to help people make lasting behavioral changes that promote better health.

“There are so many different components that affect someone’s health, you can’t focus on just one area,” says Mimi, who holds a master’s in Health Education from Columbia University. “I like to start with where people are and we slowly make changes that are meaningful to them. I could just say ‘do xyz,’ but this may not be what my client deems important. I’m really their coach to help guide them in making slow meaningful changes over a long period of time.”

Small Changes Bring Success While pursuing her master’s degree, Mimi focused on behavior modification around physical activity and food. During that time she also did a lot of work with obese children in New York City. Now her clientele tends to be 40 years and older, and referred to her by physicians, physical therapists, and nutritionists. “I make sure to work with my client’s healthcare providers to ensure we’re all on the same page with our client’s care,” she says. A recent example of how she successfully works with clients is a man who wanted to lose 100 pounds. “We just started with consistent exercise five days a week, together. Then we talked about changes in the home and at work: a lot of his health issues were stress-related.” When she discovered her client was not eating until 4:00 PM, Mimi suggested adding a meal after exercising. “He started to eat lunch every day and added that into his daily routine.”

Mimi Johnson (Peterson) ’01 Holistic Health Educator

She also learned he was staying up very late and binging on candy and chips, so she worked with him to find a healthier alternative: cut-up fruit.

A Doable Diet Mimi’s client not only lost 100 pounds, his healthier habits resulted in a drop from nine medications to four at the lowest dosages. The combination of small consistent changes in behavior, plus working through some family and work issues, made the difference. “It took him three years to lose the weight and stabilize. One hundred pounds is doable but has to be supported by what’s happening in the rest of your life, or day, or this week, or this morning.”

Alumni Profiles

Good Health = Independence Some of Mimi’s most enjoyable clients are elderly men and women. Most of her senior clients need supportive exercises that help them in their activities of daily living. Many are sitting a lot, so she works on posture, balance, and getting them to move as much as possible. Also, there is a social component. “A lot of my elderly clients are isolated so my coming to their homes to work with them is valuable,” confirms Mimi. Her oldest client is 96, and many others are in their 80s. “Being independent is the goal: they want to be able to stand, walk, and take care of themselves so that they can enjoy their lives fully. That means a lot to them,” says Mimi. “I’ve seen them improve and move onto whatever was next in their lives.” In 2012, Mimi married Chris Johnson, a physical therapist and running expert who owns a physical therapy and performance space in Seattle. Last year, they had a daughter, Liv, who is now one year old. Mimi’s experience with pregnancy and motherhood has inspired her to expand her clientele to more mothers. She also has visions of doing more with food and cooking as part of her consultation service. “I love cooking, and I’d like to focus on helping families get yummy healthy food on their dinner tables,” she says. “The hardest part is the planning. I hope to make that part easier for parents.”

Becoming a Health Educator Throughout her four years at The Northwest School, Mimi was a competitive gymnast, training at Seattle Gymnastics Academy and with a club team at Seattle Pacific University. “Northwest was very supportive—we arranged it so that, instead of music, I was able to participate in gymnastics.” Mimi developed a great love for photography while working with Northwest photography teacher Lyn McCracken, and remembers many other teachers with fondness. “I loved Paul Raymond; he was a joy to be taught by. Jim Hall and Mark Terry, too. Everyone was great.” In addition to staying in contact with many of her Northwest School classmates, including Lynda Lopez ’01 (Turet), Jaki McQuiston (Dixon) ’01, Nari Baker ’01, and John Niederegger ’01, Mimi embraces other parts of Northwest in her daily life. “Just the other day I used ‘courtesy and common sense’ in an email to a friend,” testifies Mimi. “The Northwest School’s focus on contributing to the community has made a big impact on who I am today as a mother, wife, and small business owner.”

0 1 Mimi Johnson, 2017 0 2 Mimi, with

her husband, Chris Johnson, and one-year-old daughter, Liv.

Alumni Profiles

Aiding Refugees in South Sudan

Gurusewak Khalsa ’93

In 2014, Gurusewak was hired by the International Medical Corps (IMC) to work in South Sudan for 18 months. IMC’s mission is similar to Doctors Without Borders (DWB)— going into destabilized conflict zones and providing health and support services—but there is a major difference: DWB is focused on short-term emergency care, and IMC is about setting up sustainable long-term services.

Mental Health Across Cultures

In South Sudan, a new initiative was starting to integrate physical and mental health services, and Gurusewak was there to get the mental health program up and running. “I worked with an Ethiopian psychiatrist and we traveled and set up mental health programs and trained staff. We called them ‘mental health officers’ and we trained them to do diagnosis and work with community members in the mental health clinic.”

n some countries around the world, the idea of mental health counseling is altogether foreign. In those countries, translating U.S. ideas and treatments for mental health can be extremely challenging.

The biggest program was up north, along the border. When South Sudan got its independence from Sudan, a line was drawn across the middle of the country. Those in the north who were aligned with South Sudan had to flee south across the border. Now, 150,000 refugees are spread out over four camps. The majority of Gurusewak’s first year was spent in that area, during which he experienced some startling epiphanies.

“We’re talking about more than a language barrier,” says Mental Health Specialist Gurusewak Khalsa ’93, who has a master’s in Counseling Psychology from Antioch College, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Counseling Psychology at the University of Northern Colorado. “It’s a barrier in the fundamental ways people see the world. How they manifest symptoms of mental illness and how they treat it, how the community and culture understand and see these things is very different than in the U.S.” Gurusewak is focusing his doctoral work on the growing field of multicultural psychology. He is looking at how mental health manifests and is understood differently across cultures. His interest rises from first-hand experience: He spent five years setting up health programs in both Afghanistan and South Sudan.

Tending to Orphans in Kabul In 2006, after a few years of working as a social worker with at-risk youth and children with behavior disorders, Gurusewak volunteered to work for Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Services for Afghanistan (PARSA), a private non-governmental organization working directly with the disadvantaged people of Afghanistan. “PARSA was trying to start a new program of psychosocial services and I wanted to help design it,” says Gurusewak. Focusing on orphanages, Gurusewak helped set up a support program, training staff in childcentered approaches. The goal was to help caregivers be more engaged.

Learning the Language of Health

Taking a short break to come back to the States and get a master’s degree, Gurusewak worked in Seattle with refugees and homeless families. Then he went back to Afghanistan with PARSA for two more years. “By then, PARSA had tripled in size and I came back to help turn the newly expanded resources into a nationwide program,” explains Gurusewak. Afghanistan proved to be an incredibly difficult environment. According to Gurusewak, it takes twice as long to get work accomplished there. “It’s very hard to get traction. You start over multiple times. Because education does not have a strong foothold due to the war, you have to start at the beginning level.” Nevertheless, Gurusewak believes the effort was well worth it. “I saw many good teachers trained. It’s a matter of adjusting expectations and looking from a broader viewpoint.”

“We would get clients in the clinic who would say, ‘Every time there is a full moon in the sky my child acts strange and falls down.’ Not until a seizure happened right in front of me did I realize this was epilepsy,” recalls Gurusewak. “That was a big lesson for me.” Epilepsy is classified by the WHO as a mental illness in South Sudan, mostly because it gets treated that way in the community. “I realized I needed to learn more about what the community understood and how it talked about mental illness, including how did people talk about pain and depression?” Another stark realization involved privacy. In the U.S., counseling rooms are fairly private and confidential. But attitudes toward privacy differ greatly in South Sudan; just expressing the need for confidentiality is difficult, and the idea that the whole family will not be involved is unheard of. “We advocated for a private room but ended up being in very open rooms,” recounts Gurusewak. “We were up against a very different paradigm. At some point, I realized I have to adjust or this is not going to work. I had to get with the reality the community was living in.”

Skateboarding in Kabul and Mazar e Sharif In 2012, while working with PARSA in Afghanistan, Gurusewak Khalsa ’93 seized an opportunity to work with Skateistan, a grassroots initiative that uses skateboarding to engage kids. “We’d go out to public spaces and start skateboarding and kids would just gather around—even the girls,” says Gurusewak. “No one knew enough about skateboarding to tell the girls they couldn’t do it.” Skateistan members built skate parks in Kabul and up north in Mazar e Sharif, and the organization provided shoes, pads, and equipment. Kids would come and skateboard for one hour, then sit in academic class for one hour.

Growing Up Sikh Gurusewak’s parents converted to Sikhism before he was born (his mom is Canadian; his dad, American) and when he was in the second grade, he moved to India where he went to Sikh boarding school for eight years. “I grew up in that tradition and it’s still a central part of my identity,” he says. When he came back to the States at age 16, however, Gurusewak experienced enormous culture shock. He was adjusting to a new country and a new school. The Northwest School was where he entered as a tenth grader. “At the time, I was the only Sikh in the school—I dressed like a Sikh,” says Gurusewak. “Looking back, NWS was a tremendously supportive and safe place for someone like me to go to school. My classmates were open and friendly and accepting—it was a small miracle.”

0 1 Gurusewak (foreground),

setting up psychosocial services in Afghanistan in 2006 0 2 Gurusewak (standing left),

establishing a mental health program in South Sudan, 2014

Waking Up the Mind Coming from schooling in India, which he describes as fairly mechanical, with rote learning and memorization, Gurusewak says Northwest was the first time he experienced his own intelligence. “I began to recognize my strengths. I found myself engaged and actually excited to learn science and math,” he says. He especially remembers participating in Winterfest. “It was a revelation that you could have a lot of fun doing science. Also in art classes, biology, and chemistry, I had these really dynamic and engaged teachers and classmates talking about previously dry subjects and explaining them in ways that made sense to me.” Gurusewak credits Northwest with instilling his social and political awareness and nurturing his ability to cross borders, both geographically and culturally. “I fully incorporated NWS ideals and values into my life,” says Gurusewak. “Just the idea that you can go to Afghanistan and South Sudan. You can do that. Northwest lets people know it’s a big broad world and there are many opportunities.”

“The kids were excited to come learn and hang out and skateboard,” testifies Gurusewak. “There’s quite a bit of racial and religious conflict in Afghanistan, but you didn’t see it at the skate park. You’d have a kid from the street teaching an upper class wealthy kid how to skateboard. It was an amazingly safe place where these kids could come and develop friendships.” Part of the program focused on working with parents, who often pulled their kids out of school to either sell things or beg on the streets. The few bits of money gained each week was the justification for keeping kids out of school for long periods of time (in some cases, years). Skateistan brought the kids in to learn skateboarding, and while there, put them through an accelerated learning program at the facility to get them caught up to the appropriate grade level for their age, then re-enrolled them back in school. Explains Gurusewak: “We engaged parents to help them understand the long term benefits of education. For the girls, especially, it was a transformative experience.” Ultimately, the parents were able to see that the experiences and opportunities Skateistan provided were worth more than the money the kids would have earned in those two hours on the street. “Skateisan is fundamentally the same idea as Northwest School,” observes Gurusewak. “Students feel safe and supported in finding out who they are, rather than being told who they should be.”

Alumni Profiles

s an NCAA Division 1 athlete, Maya Jackson ’16 trains four-and-a-half hours every day. From 1:00 to 2:30pm she runs track with her teammates at Portland State University in Oregon, and from 3:00 to 4:00pm she lifts weights. Every weekend, she runs in a competitive track meet. “When we travel to away meets, we leave on Thursday or Friday, so I miss a lot of classes,” reveals Maya, who is partway through her freshman year studying for a degree in Political Science. “Being a Division 1 athlete is a lot more work than I thought. You have to keep your grades up, it requires more hours, there is more pressure, and you need to put in more effort.”

Maya Jackson ’16

NCAA Athlete, Political Science Major

Far from being intimidated by these challenges, Maya has set high goals for herself as both college scholar and athlete. She sees herself graduating from Portland State four years from now and going on to law school. At the same time, she plans to stay healthy and viable for her track team and continue to improve her times in the distance medley relay 400m, open 400m, 200m, and 4x400m relay.

Managing Time According to Maya, her four years at Northwest helped prepare her for the demanding lifestyle she now leads in college. “At Northwest, I was taught to study really well, and I learned which study techniques worked best for me,” testifies Maya. “I learned to be efficient and organize my time and came away with a lot of time management skills. And I learned to work well with other people—we do a lot of group work here at Portland State.” At the end of Maya’s freshmen year at Northwest, she already knew that she wanted to get a track scholarship to college. “It was my high school dream; I knew what I wanted and I worked hard to get there,” she says. As a Northwest sophomore, junior, and senior, Maya took home the Washington State title in the 400m. “As an athlete, Northwest taught me to be strong and believe in myself, and to know that the work I put into practice was really going to help me,” recalls Maya. “The community and the coaches were very supportive and knew what my goals were but were careful not to push me past my limit. I felt my health and my teammates’ health was in the coach’s minds and that helped us all achieve our goals.”

Balancing Body and Mind “There are times when you just want to take a nap,” admits Maya. “But you just have to remind yourself every day, this is what I want. Just knowing what I want helps me organize and get through the days. It helps when your coaches really want you to succeed.” 0 1 Maya Jackson,

2017 0 2 Maya, with her

father, Kevin Jackson

Because workouts claim every afternoon, Maya must fit all academic classes into the morning. This means rising early and managing back-to-back classes until she heads to the track. Two strategies she uses to sustain her energy and concentration are keeping priorities clear and being fully present. “My main goal is to get a degree and go to graduate school, so that’s my priority while I’m in classes,” explains Maya. “Then, when I get to practice, I have to be there fully—when I’m on track I’m on track. Social life is last.” Even though social life is third on her list, Maya knows it is part of a healthy mindset, and she finds time to watch Netflix with friends. “It’s important to take time for yourself and do things you enjoy,” says Maya. “Balance is important.”

Taking a Step Back To illustrate, Maya points to her senior year at Northwest, and in particular, the week before the 2016 Washington State Track and Field Championships. “Those were supposed to be hard workout days,” recounts Maya. “My shin was hurting a lot and my dad (Northwest coach Kevin Jackson) told me to stop. He said you need to be at your best. He was thinking of the future and my college athletics and he told me to step back and take it down a notch. It was the right advice.” When asked what her advice would be for young athletes who might be looking up to her, Maya responds, “Nothing is going to be given to you, nothing is going to be easy. And your support system is as important as anything else you’re doing.” Applying that attitude, and a careful, mindful approach to her college training, is working in her favor. Says Maya: “So far, the worst thing I’ve had this year is a blister.”

Class Notes

Class Notes Jeff Williams ’87 Alumni Council Member It has been a busy year for me. I sold my house in Seattle and bought a house in Portland. My son, Alex, is in the 8th grade at Northwest so we still need a place to live in Seattle. We’ve settled into a nice apartment on Capitol Hill, a block from the school. I left SecureWorks after four years as Director of Security Strategy and am now Head of Security Operations for The Standard, headquartered in Portland. I am also in the process of starting a pro-bono security and privacy consultancy for activist organizations with a number of industry friends (more on that in a future update). The biggest and most important change this year is that I married a woman I had a crush on at Bennington College. She and her 11-year-old son and I live in Portland together and Alex joins us on breaks and in the summer.

Tonia Hume ’89 (01) I live with my husband, 9-year-old daughter, and two pugs in Snohomish County. I keep busy as the district manager of a local coffee company with four cafes. Life is nice!

Brian Reich ’96 (02)

My new book, The Imagination Gap, will be published on March 6th (Amazon link here: https://www. amazon.com/Imagination-Gap-BrianReich/dp/1787142078). I’m gearing up to promote the book with speeches, events, workshops, and more, all over the world. If anyone is interested in having conversations about imagination, let me know. (Maybe I can find an excuse to come and speak at NWS someday as well).

Amy Wales ’97

Alex Pemoulie ’02

Cole Roberts ’12

I recently joined Weber Shandwick as vice president of their Health & Social Impact Practice. There, I lead a global team in service to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, driving communications and advocacy initiatives in the spaces of Women and Girls, Water Sanitation and Hygiene, and Financial Services for the Poor.

I recently sold our restaurant in New Jersey and moved back to Seattle with my husband, Kevin, and our 2.5 year old daughter, Vivian. In December, we opened a sandwich shop in Ballard called Mean Sandwich. I’m there almost every day, so come by and say hi!

Cole is graduating from Western this March with a BA in English, with a creative writing concentration. She is concurrently pursuing an associate’s degree in Digital Gaming and Design from Lake Washington Institute of Technology. With these two degrees, she is combining her love of visual arts and creative writing with computer skills in modeling, 3D rendering, and computeraided design, as well as computer programming, bringing it all together to work in the field of computer games and virtual reality. Submitted by parent, Tamara Roberts.

Ani Raymond ’99 (03) Nearly one year ago, our daughter, Ellis Lou, was born. In the time since, I have joined the faculty at Relay Graduate School of Education. My role provides me the opportunity to visit classrooms in schools across New York City to support and develop teachers’ practice. I’m intrigued by the range of approaches that different schools and networks employ to boost student achievement. Ultimately, my growing family is looking to move home to the Pacific Northwest, but for the time being, we are invested in our work and happy with our life in Brooklyn.

Lee Anna Tucker ’00 (04) I’m thrilled to have welcomed twin girls, Hala Lily and Marta June Halabi, born healthy and beautiful in December 2016! Also in 2016, while traveling abroad for work with the Department of State, I was pleasantly surprised to meet a fellow NWS alumnae: Jill Hutchings ’90! We had been working together over the phone for months before we met in person abroad. By some happy coincidence the topic of our high school experiences arose, and it turns out she graduated from NWS several years before me.

Adrienne Foley ’11 (05) Adrienne is living and working in Valencia, Spain. Submitted by parent, Janet Foley

Luke Winship ’11 (06) Luke sang bass in the men’s a cappella group at Kalamazoo College and graduated in 2015 with a BA in East Asian Studies. During his junior year, he ate too much while studying abroad in China as a Boren Scholar. Luke is glad to be back living in his childhood neighborhood in Washington, D.C., and is pursuing an MA through the Security Studies Program of Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. In his free time, Luke enjoys cooking in his apartment’s dinky little kitchen and wandering the National Gallery of Art. Submitted by parent, Bob Winship

Charlie Truxal ’12 I’m currently a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. I’ve moved to the East Coast and am living in Virginia. I currently work on the Senate House Armed Services Committee.

Zachary Schneider ’12 (07) Zachary is finishing his film degree at Cornish College of the Arts as one of the first students in this new program. He spent two years at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, studying physics and game design. He interned with Whidbey TV last summer and is busy writing, directing, and sound engineering original works, and continues to pursue theatre. Submitted by parent, Deanna Duncan.

Class Notes

Talia Connelly ’13(08) A few months before the start of my final year of textile design at Rhode Island School of Design, I received an opportunity to intern at Vivienne Westwood, the London fashion house. The internship was sponsored by Red Carpet Green Dress (RCGD), a fashion initiative founded by former actress Suzy Amis Cameron in 2009 to support emerging designers who aim to incorporate environmental awareness into their creative practice. After my work with RCGD concluded, the rest of the year was spent volunteering through the organization World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) in South Tyrol, an autonomous Italian province located in the Alps. Working on a fiber farm in a town of 200 residents, I gained an appreciation of local traditions through visits with local spinners, felters, natural dyers, weavers, wine makers, leather workers and spiritual healers.

Shu-Hung (Jacob) Lin ’13 (09) It has always been a tough journey for me personally despite the fact that, in the end, the results seem successful. I have sacrificed days and nights, in the worst case, health, for everything I desire in college: getting into the major, securing internships, and finally landing a full-time job at Google. All while trying not to lose all the fun of being a student surrounded by peers and friends. So I would not say it’s an indication of success, but rather, perseverance. Never lose faith, because it eventually will work out!

Isobel Rubin ’13 (10) I am currently in my last semester at Willamette University, majoring in Sociology with a minor in Civic Communications and Mass Media. I am enrolled in the university’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management Business School 3+2 BA/MBA program, with a focus in Human Resources and Marketing. I will be graduating from Willamette this May, and in May of 2018, I will be graduating from Atkinson Graduate School of Management. I hope to be interning in Seattle this summer.

Nicholas Schneider ’13 (11) Nicholas will graduate from The University of Redlands in California this April with a degree in Environmental Business and a minor in Geographic Information Systems. He interned last summer with The Nature Conservancy and plans to work in socially- and environmentally-conscious global leadership. Submitted by parent, Deanna Duncan.

Selene Canter ’14 (12) Selene left Wesleyan for a weekend to present at the Greater Philadelphia Philosophy Consortium’s 28th Annual Undergraduate Philosophy Conference in March. There she discussed a paper she wrote on unconscious sexual assault and its repercussions. Selene, using feminist philosopher Cressida Hayes’ exploration of unconsciousness as a lived experience, shares that “My aim is not only to reify the seriousness of unconscious sexual assault and the loss of human agency that comes with it…but to push for a posthumanist, agentic-materialist perspective and language surrounding unconsciousness that can help us in our ethical challenge to ‘contribute to a world where victims’ subjectivity can be rebuilt—not only destroyed.’” Submitted by parent, Francoise Canter

Noah Litov ’14

Sam Cook ’15 and Josie Gillett ’15 (13)

After graduating from NWS, Noah put a pack on his back and travelled to Europe, and then spent 6 weeks in the Middle East meeting wonderful people and running to bomb shelters daily for safety. After being enrolled at Rensselaer Polytech, but not having enough funds to attend, he took a ‘gap year.’ He began taking engineering classes at three different local community colleges and landing a fantastic paid engineering internship which turned into an engineering job. In addition to that job, Noah recently has been hired independently to do software development for an international start-up. He has decided to stop pursuing a formal degree right now to pursue his independent contracting business. Noah presently lives with a great group of friends in Lynnwood and is happy with the road less travelled. Submitted by parent, Lara Litov.

Josie and Sam captained their teams last summer at the World Junior Ultimate Championships in Wroclaw, Poland. A total of 29 countries from around the world were competing: from New Zealand to Mexico, Russia, Columbia, Japan, and Taipei, as well as many European and Eastern European countries. The U.S. Women’s Team garnered a silver medal in a closely contested match in which Canada won in universe point; a final point rally that lasted 17 minutes! The U.S. Men’s Team brought home the gold, beating the Canadian Men’s Team 15-11 in the finals. Josie is continuing her sophomore year at Bates College, where she is studying Environmental Science, and Sam headed south for his sophomore year at University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering. Submitted by Sam’s parent, Susan Cook.

Sheenie Yip ’14

Willa Serling ’16 (14)

Sheenie is interning in Hong Kong at a PR agency, making others laugh really hard at her bad Cantonese and pocketing as much “hongbao” Chinese New Year money as she is offered. She will be venturing into Beijing to start her study abroad, being immersed in Mandarin, 24/7, very soon. Submitted by Anita Chung, Sheenie’s parent.

I am in my first year at Colorado College, and am interested in studying anthropology, global health, and pre-medicine. This semester, I’m traveling to San Diego, Palo Alto, and Austin, with my ultimate team for tournaments and seeing NWS alums at my games! I will be studying abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, for seven weeks this summer, learning about global health.

Development

Barbara Johns, a former chief curator of the Tacoma Art Museum and author of Ms. Hauberg’s biography, Fired by Beauty, said, “Ms. Hauberg’s determination was often met with resistance, but she got things done. She would take on causes. She was wonderfully imaginative.”

01 Anne Gould

Hauberg

This imaginative drive aligned so well with Northwest in the school’s early days. Johns goes on to say, Ms. Hauberg “saw it all as a fabric—the landscape, the architecture, the built environment. All of it as part of a whole. That drove her whole vision.”

Anne Gould Hauberg A life and legacy driven by the beauty of the arts

A bequest is a gift that costs a donor nothing in his or her lifetime, but is a powerful giving vehicle capable of leaving a lasting legacy... it allows a donor to magnify their giving potential.

t the heart of our success as a school stand the people who make up our community. Students and parents who see our mission as a light in the darkness; educators who value creativity, curiosity, and discovery; and volunteers who give tirelessly of their time, their talents, and their resources. These volunteers are very often working behind the scenes with little or no recognition, but their efforts have helped our school to blossom and grow. Yet, even among our amazing volunteers, there are those who stand out for their personal contributions to The Northwest School and the city that we call home. Anne Gould Hauberg, a trustee of The Northwest School from 1981-1983, was the embodiment of a Northwest School family member. In the early days of a new organization, it takes a special type of grit and creativity to help guide a board, manage passionate founders, and lead the complex operations and finances of a growing school. In 2004, Ms. Hauberg told The Seattle Times, “Why the arts? Because as my father said, ‘If you don’t support them, you won’t have them.’” This commitment to the arts was clearly in lockstep with the vision of the founders and faculty of The Northwest School. And, thanks to the support of Anne and so many others, a commitment to the arts is one of the key values that has come to define the Northwest School experience over the last 36 years.

Anne lived an amazing life and her legacy is visible across Seattle and Washington. Though many at Northwest today might not recognize her influence, it is evident in the classroom and across our curriculum every day. Anne’s ability to see the threads running through the fabric of an institution became evident once again when, a few months after her passing, The Northwest School was notified of a generous bequest provided through Anne’s estate. The beauty of a bequest is its simplicity. A bequest is a gift that costs a donor nothing in his or her lifetime, but is a powerful giving vehicle capable of leaving a lasting legacy for a school like Northwest. A bequest is also a vehicle that allows a donor who is dedicated to a school, or nonprofit organization, to magnify their giving potential. During her life and beyond, Anne provided for those organizations and causes closest to her heart. Thanks to the forethought and generosity of Anne Gould Hauberg, The Northwest School will add more than $100,000 to the growing Raymond Taussig Terry financial aid endowment. Over time, this gift will allow more students to benefit from all that Northwest has to offer, from the Humanities, arts, and sciences to the Environment Program. Perhaps this gift will inspire in our students a passion like that shown by Anne Gould Hauberg, a woman whose life and legacy were driven by beauty and art as a guiding force.

Alumni Happenings

Holiday on the Hill On Sunday, November 20, alumni and faculty reconnected at Little Oddfellows for happy hour. Many attendees continued the evening together by stopping in at Elliott Bay Book Company to take part in the Holiday on the Hill event. A percentage of proceeds from both benefited The Northwest School library.

Regional events 03

The Northwest School Alumni

nwsalumni

We’ve been having a blast connecting with alums across the U.S. and internationally, with stops in Portland, Bangkok, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and New York City. Head of School Mike McGill has enjoyed sharing current NWS news and reminiscing about past stories with so many alums.

Alumni Basketball Games We rang in another new year with the annual Alumni Basketball Game. On Saturday, January 7, NWS friends, families, and faculty came to cheer on the players of the Men’s Alumni Game and Women’s Alumnae Game vs. Varsity Girls. Win or lose, a good time was had by all.

Save the Date!

0 2 Spotted: Kendall Lawrence ’07 and Mari Smith ’07,

perusing Elliott Bay after the alumni happy hour 0 3 Alums in the New York City area gathered in Brooklyn

for happy hour with NWS cofounder Ellen Taussig and Head of School Mike McGill. 0 4 The Women’s Alumnae vs. Varsity Girls Basketball Game 0 5 The Men’s Alumni Basketball Game

Join us back at the House for the 2017 Alumni Reunion on Saturday, June 24. Festivities will include drinks and dinner on the 401 rooftop, opportunities to connect with beloved faculty, and time to walk down memory lane in The House. Rumor has it there might be a dance party in the upper hall! Open to all, and celebrating class years ending in 2 and 7: ’82, ’87, ’92, ’97, ’02, ’07, and ’12. More information is at northwestschool.org/alumni/events, or contact Sarah Graham Courson: 206-816-6266, sarah.courson@northwestschool.org.

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage

1415 Summit Avenue Seattle, Wa. 98122

Seattle, Wa. Permit No. 10921

www.northwestschool.org Front Cover: Maya Jackson ’16, NCAA athlete at Portland State University, takes her mark at the first indoor track meet of the 2016-17 season.

Above: Lia C. ’19 performs with her classmates in the 2016-17 Dance Showcase at Broadway Performance Hall.

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