Pegasus Magazine — Spring 2020

The Pegasus School

Issue 16/Spring 2020

IQ

Meets EQ

Pegasus Magazine Spring 2020

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Pegasus Now

Features

05 Head’s Message 06 AT THE Heart of Pegasus

08 A Unique Path to Success

and Happiness

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24 Home Court Advantage

SEL Insights

14 Creativity Defined 16 Pegasus E-volves 20 A League of Our Own 22 A Transformative Experience 28 Those who Soar 30 Alumni Connections 35 In Honor of Nancy Conklin 36 Mark Your Calendar

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spring 2020 www.thepegasusschool.org

EditorIAL BOARD

Nancy Conklin, Director of Admission Rick Davitt, Photographer Jennifer DeGrave, Director of Advancement Jason Lopez, Head of School Shalini Mattina, Communications, Design and Website Specialist J.J. McGawn, Editor and Writer Nancy Wilder, Middle School English Teacher Writers

Benjamin Jenkins Jason Lopez J.J. McGawn Marrie Stone Contributing Writers

Brooke Baum Malinda Bryant Michelle Carr Jennifer Green Christopher Mahon Tita Nguyen Devin Seifer Damon Wright Mission Statement

The story of Pegasus begins with intellectual curiosity and compassion. We are a vibrant academic community that inspires bright, motivated students to discover and develop their unique gifts. Teachers and students build trusting relationships that foster self-reliance, confidence, and innovative thinking. A Pegasus education equips students to achieve future academic success and make a positive impact on society.

Be Kind to Self: Self-Awareness, Self-Management Be Kind to Others: Social Awareness, Relationship Skills Be Kind to Future Self: Responsible Decision-making The Pegasus School is committed to a community-wide culture of respect where inclusiveness, kindness, integrity, and empathy are deeply valued. Pegasus embraces a framework which prioritizes the social emotional well-being of our students. We are dedicated to fostering a safe and trusting environment for the continual development of self awareness, social-awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision making.

Academically Confident Well Balanced Critical Thinker Exceptional Communicator Collaborative Leader Responsible Citizen

Shalini Mattina Graphic Design

Kristen Winstead, Sund Studio Photographer

CORE VALUES

PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE

Creative and Art Direction

Environmentally Conscious Technologically Adept Economically Astute Versed in the Arts Globally Aware

Rick Davitt Printing

Orange County Printing

Pegasus Magazine is published annually by the Office of Advancement at The Pegasus School. It is archived on the school’s website: thepegasusschool.org. Visit us online for additional information.

We welcome your feedback! Please address queries and comments to Shalini Mattina at smattina@thepegasusschool.org.

Pegasus Pegasus Magazine Magazine Spring Winter 2020 2020

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Head's message

Equipping

Students for Success

This past November, I gathered a group of fourth and

fifth grade Battle of the Books (BOB) students to discuss Kelly Yang’s Front Desk. It’s one of 20 books they’ll read for this year’s competition, chosen partly because it tackles difficult issues relevant to our current social discourse. Ten-year old Mia lives in a motel where her parents, Asian immigrants who manage the motel, hide refugees in the vacant rooms. The story allows young readers access to a nearby world that feels pretty foreign.

Yang lets them walk around in shoes that might fit, but were worn by someone else.

While the book raises several tough topics, our students met them with curiosity, empathy, and an emotional intelligence that struck me. One boy read the book three times, never without crying. Another recognized the difference between a motel and hotel, and realized his family never stayed in motels. They saw themselves inside the characters.

Many also saw their own privileges. We talked about justice, fairness, and why certain characters weren’t treated the same.

The conversation, more than educational, felt very poignant.

And very “Pegasus.”

What makes Pegasus different? I hear this question often.

The answer is simple: Pegasus educates engaged citizens in addition to curious scholars. We emphasize compassion as well as grit; empathy alongside resilience. We test students’ hearts as much as we stretch their minds, and explore who they are as individuals while recognizing their place in a complicated world. But simple answers are often challenging to execute.

In this edition, we explore some of these challenges. Our two feature articles introduce our Social and Emotional Learning program and how we’ve addressed concerns raised by our alumni about the stress, anxiety, and pressure they felt as Pegasus scholars. We explore the importance of creativity in our intellectual journey. And we highlight the insightful work of Dr. Michele Borba, who we brought on campus last fall to address the concept of empathy. Dr. Borba also made us aware of the ambivalent role of technology in both our children’s current lives and their future.

I take enormous pride in this community and its willingness to adapt and engage in important discourse. This edition explores many of these adaptations and evolutions. Pegasus educators don’t flinch. No one shies away from tough topics.

No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.

Instead, we address them head on—with curious minds, open hearts, empathetic ears, and – Theodore Roosevelt an eye for creative solutions.

At the end of my session with our BOB group, one student said, “My favorite page was the one that announced the sequel.” Pegasus continues to write its own sequels, each chapter building on the one that came before.

Education is a conversation. We listen and respond, as we’ll always do.

I hope you’ll see yourselves in these pages—your place in our community and our conversation— just as our BOB scholars did in Front Desk.

Jason Lopez Head of School

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At the

Heart of Pegasus

Tita Nguyen

A Strong Foundation of Rings Caring little if anyone else notices, Luke Ring sees his sister Charlotte across campus, runs to embrace her and instantly receives the reward he bestowed upon himself and his younger sibling. Thirdgrade teacher Chressa Fancher has known Luke to be “kind and helpful to all his classmates.” She considers Luke an “always polite, amazing young man with a huge heart.” When his fourth-grade environmental class, studying native tribes, was tasked with selecting a leader with good judgment and character, they collectively decided he would serve well, perhaps in affirmation of his spontaneous kindness to them.

Pam Conti, Director of Environmental Sustainability, reflects how difficult it would be for all three children in one family to

be “the whole package of kindness, goodness, and humor,” but confirms Sam, Charlotte, and Luke deliver. First-grade teacher Shelley Ward affirms Charlotte is equally gracious with her time and support for others, always caring and generously lending help under any circumstances, even if those circumstances are not necessarily ideal for her.

All three extroverts enjoy hiking, biking, surfing, snorkeling, basketball, flag football, lacrosse, baseball, golf, dance, swimming and softball. You name the activity, they can, and do, have fun playing it. Even in a competitive environment, they each thrive from being a teammate, helping others, working with people, and are being spontaneously kind in the process.

Luke, Sam and Charlotte look to parents, Molly and Seth Ring, and cousins, alumni Maggie Pietsch ’15, a prior Sullivan award recipient, and Ellie Pietsch ’12, for great guidance and modeling. But, the Ring siblings are already themselves revealing their own strong foundation of good character and nature. Confucius said, “When there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character.”

Rock-In’-It Scientist Even a short visit to Lisa Calvin’s eighth-grade science classroom will have any watchful visitor feeling her enthusiasm for teaching and her experience as a scientist. Always loving math and science, this college-trained geologist also fell in love with teaching when she began tutoring fellow students.

Armed with another passion, Calvin obtained a teaching credential and a master’s degree in education. Until 2011, she taught earth science, chemistry, and physics to high schoolers at Mater Dei. Thereafter, she began making a difference for curious Pegasus scientists.

In keeping with the Pegasus spirit, Calvin’s teaching philosophy is simple — prepare Pegasus graduates with challenging curriculum that will equip them to be responsible students to meet future challenges, such as honors and advanced placement science, with skilled confidence. She acknowledges the work of her colleagues who pave this path for students. For example, Jamie Kunze-Thibeau teaches her sixth-grade class to write a laboratory report together as a class, and in Julie Warren’s seventh-grade class, smaller student groups complete laboratory

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reports. By eighth grade, students will have independently recorded their own high school science level curriculum. Her enthusiasm and experience is marked by how she prepares daily for her classroom and adapts to her students’ needs, whether by spending more time to ensure success or assigning work in advance to spark curiosity.

Alumna Sierra Green ’16, current high school senior, and newly published scientific author, well illustrates Calvin's dedication. Noting Sierra’s ambitious seventh-grade Spark Day chemistry project, Calvin allowed Sierra to utilize the lab and supervised Sierra’s experiment. As Sierra reflects, Mrs. Calvin “saved” her in AP Chemistry!

And it seems Calvin is just as inspired by her students as she is inspiring, describing Pegasus children as appreciative, advanced, and fun to teach. Calvin often finds that Pegasus students exceed expectations and successfully transform into scientists capable of grasping complex scientific principles.

HEART of pegasus

Kind at Their Core Legendary martial artist Bruce Lee said, "Knowledge will give you power, but character respect." While ardently learning, Sascha Pirghibi is also steadfastly earning the respect of his Pegasus community.

Last year, his teachers and peers demonstrated their appreciation for his good character by rewarding him with the Sullivan award.

While maintaining an excellent academic standard, Sascha represents Pegasus on the Associated Student Body Council, as well as competitively, in soccer, flag football and robotics. He finds time to play club soccer and learn Mandarin. A member of the Math Field Day team for three years, Sascha placed first in his fifth-grade math class and in the top five percent nationwide for the Mathematical Association of America (MMA) AMC 8 examination, and he received a first-place trophy in the Mathematical Olympiads for Elementary and Middle School (MOEM) exam for two years.

He took second place in the Pegasus Geography Bee.

It's no wonder Sascha reminds Seth Bartels, third-grade teacher, of a "Renaissance man." Years ago, Sascha impressed by being a well-rounded student. He continues to impress, not only academically, but more notably, with natural and polite kindnesses, always having time for a hello and smile. Nadeane Cooper, Lower School Science and Math Teacher, also describes Sascha as "a well-rounded Pegasus student," with "a tenacity for discovering new knowledge" and as someone who "finds a balance between the rigors of academia and of being a vital member within his peer group. He’s endearing and so sweet!"

Lucky for Sascha, his parents, Beau Pirghibi and Sanam Esmaili, lead his way. His mom is gracious and sets a personal goal to be a good friend and better person each day. Twice a room parent and having other roles, Esmaili has served for six consecutive years on the Spring Benefit design team. She also co-chaired and raised record-breaking funds during the school's 2015–2016 RUN.GIVE.SERVE. event. Like his mom, Sascha’s positive, caring attitude is a gift to the Pegasus community. “It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.” –Dali Lama

Kindness and Curiosity This may only be Nicole Roady’s third year teaching at Pegasus, but this first-grade teacher has a forthcoming smile and generous spirit that shows she is a true Pegasus teacher.

If you’ve ever wondered whether anyone really knows when they are young what they would be as an adult, just ask Mrs. Roady!

At the impressionable age of six, she had decided. She would contribute in a meaningful and productive way while having fun.

Roady’s kindness and curiosity eventually led her to Teach for America, a program directed at serving the country’s lowest socioeconomic areas. She strengthened her resolve and resiliency teaching kindergarten and first grade in South Los Angeles, while concurrently working toward a master’s degree. After two years, her diligence was rewarded with an M.A. in Reading Instruction from Loyola Marymount University. Later, teaching third grade in Bellflower, she sought a closer knit, stronger community of colleagues and students. Looking for a change, she searched and found Pegasus.

As is common among Pegasus teachers, Roady views her students as if they were her own children. She believes in the whole child approach to education, providing her students with diverse learning opportunities. Mrs. Roady also believes in students learning from failures and celebrating one another's

successes in what she describes as a "second home" environment.

Roady also believes exposure to diverse experiences and cultures informs one’s decisions and builds character and understanding. In her pursuit of connecting with numerous people on multiple levels, she generously shares celebrations of Vietnamese Lunar New Year, to dirt biking and camping with members of her family, to the excitement of planning her wedding last summer.

Fellow first-grade teacher Christine Olson considers Roady a wonderful friend and colleague, who is gentle and kind but also gives her students clear expectations. She is a superstar teacher and a problem solver with a wealth of knowledge. Roady’s commitment to her students and their education is infectious, and her students reap the benefits.

Tita Nguyen Le is an attorney and a veteran criminal prosecutor who also served on Sen. Barbara Boxer's Judicial Advisory Committee. Tita and her husband Michael are the parents of Isabella (’22) and Victoria (’25). Contact: titamichael2004@gmail.com Pegasus Magazine Spring 2020

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A Unique Path to Success and Happiness Social and Emotional Learning at Pegasus Damon Wright and J.J. McGawn

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feature

There must be something buried deep within our DNA…a

dormant nucleotide suddenly activated and instructed to usurp all rational thinking the moment we become parents. Not only do we immediately experience an overwhelming feeling of love, but we also instantly become relentless in our pursuit to do whatever it takes to ensure our child has the best opportunities for success. For many, that quest begins in the first few weeks of infancy, with “educational” toys quickly introduced into the crib as the first critical step on the path to that coveted Ivy League University. A sudden urge to scramble to fill out applications for the top pre-school or secure the leading math tutor may rapidly develop. Why didn’t you do this years ago, and have you forever impaired your child’s opportunity to succeed?

Hopefully, at some point you stopped your mind’s madness, took a deep breath, and pondered what success really means.

You likely defaulted to the traditional metrics of achievement, such as perfection on the SATs, state championships in robotics or debate, and rapid ascension up the ranks of the latest, hot Silicon Valley start-up.

Scoring these critical tally marks are the objective on the success chart of many. However, recent studies show the relentless chase of these hallmarks of success are leading to all-time high levels of stress, anxiety and depression in our children. U.S. News reported earlier this year that “adolescent depression is on the rise,” and quoted a National Institute of Mental Health report showing “about 3.2 million 12- to 17-year-olds have had at least one major depressive episode within the past 12 months.”

Christopher Harrington, Director of Admissions for JSerra High School, confirmed these worrisome statistics.

“We are seeing greater levels of stress and anxiety in our applicants than ever before,” says Harrington, who attributes these troublesome indicators in-part to a lack of balance in the curriculum of many middle schools, with students unequipped to handle the increasing pressure. “Students need to appreciate everything life has to offer and better understand what a healthy existence looks like. Balance is critical and must be introduced at a young age.”

Fortunately, there is a growing realization within the educational community — and among parents — that traditional metrics of achievement may not be the best gauges of success. Many are coming to understand that true success is measured by one’s happiness.

For Pegasus, this is not a new concept or a quick shift to follow the latest education trend. Rather, integral to Dr. Hathaway’s vision over 30 years ago was providing a stimulating environment to embrace and grow the whole child, including a focus on non-cognitive competencies. For example, our middle school advisory program has always provided an opportunity for students to check in with themselves, their peers and teachers and engage in meaningful discussions. This approach has

not been limited to the classroom, and many students likely remember Pegasus retiree Coach Tyler’s booming voice on the athletic field telling them, “Feel good about yourselves.” The educational community has recently redefined this approach to education, success and true happiness, coining the term: social and emotional learning (SEL).

Jason Lopez, Head of School, reflects upon some early observations when he arrived six years ago, “Pegasus had a commitment to encouraging the practice of non-cognitive skills such as kindness, but things were just kind of chugging along like they always had and intentional outcomes were not a part of our vocabulary.” Some of the more subtle differences between objectives and results, however, did not come to light until Lopez’s second year in 2015 when Pegasus began its latest accreditation process with the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), designed to assist “in reviewing and clarifying the school’s purpose and goals for students.”

We didn't get this growing up. We are learning along with our kids.

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feature

Lopez recalls, “This was tremendously important for us, requiring a year’s commitment to deeply explore the roots of our educational foundation, our mission and vision. CAIS pushed us to determine exactly what we stand for and how Pegasus’ curriculum should be structured to best impact the lives of our students, now and in the future.”

The real eye opener came when reviewing the results of a required alumni survey. “Things suddenly got interesting, and not in the way we expected,” Lopez remembers. “It was no surprise our graduates described the school as challenging and competitive, but what came as a shock was hearing many did not realize they were actually smart while attending Pegasus because so many peers scored better or received more recognition. These students may have been #1 in math, but because they were not top in English, they felt like failures.”

Tremendous stress and anxiety were also reported, related to significant pressure to succeed and stand out among such accomplished peers. “Poor self-esteem was a common theme,” Lopez said, “which meant we were failing at fully delivering on our Founder’s intent.”

Lopez recalls sitting down with some faculty members to review the survey results and feeling stunned at the level of self-doubt reflected by our alumni. “The feedback was like a shot of freezing water to the face,” Lopez said. “Clearly our students were not getting everything they needed. It was a time to rethink our approach; we’d always had a focus on kindness to others, but what about being kind to ourselves?”

These reflections led to redefining the Pegasus Strategic Plan

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to include: A restated commitment to our students that their experience at Pegasus will be transformative. Additionally, as a separate part of the CAIS accreditation recommendations, the Mission Statement was rewritten. The Statement includes much of what has always been present at Pegasus, as reflected in Dr. Hathaway’s original vision, as well as the SEL component of compassion: The story of Pegasus begins with intellectual curiosity and compassion.

The new Strategic Plan outlined two specific personnel dedicated to working toward the SEL health of our students.

Pegasus hired Dr. Alison Englar-Carlson, Educational Psychologist, and Christine Lopez, School Counselor, as support for the students. Englar-Carlson focuses mainly on lower school and helps align intentional SEL actions with the school’s school's mission. Mrs. Lopez, a licensed counselor, teaches a middle school rotation class specifically based on instilling SEL skills and acts as a sounding board for middle schoolers. “Now that we have both these professionals, we're able to address the need that was highlighted by our alumni feedback,” says Jason Lopez.

The Pegasus SEL Committee, faculty and administrators have excelled at executing these important SEL Core Values of the curriculum. According to Christine Bridges, Activities and Athletic Director, who helps lead the SEL program along with others, Pegasus specifically decided not to adopt one of the many off-the-shelf programs. “We wanted our teachers to continue to bring SEL into the classroom organically and provide as much flexibility as possible.” Christine Lopez strongly agrees, “We couldn’t just try to layer SEL teachings on top of our academic rigor. It needed to be intentional and infused in our students, something they are experiencing daily whether they realize it or not.”

The SEL committee provides our teachers with resources for age-appropriate lesson plans, programs, and SEL professional development opportunities. Englar-Carlson explained that the committee presents SEL strategies and techniques, along with common language, for use in the classroom. “Pegasus teachers are passionate and creative. We give them the freedom to use the materials as they see fit.”

Fifth-grade teacher Shannon Vermeeren explains that some SEL lessons are explicit, such as Englar-Carlson’s once a week SEL classes for pre-K through second grade. Third graders receive direct SEL curriculum once a rotation, and fourth- and fifth-grade students experience the Health and Development class with our P.E. teachers. Englar-Carlson recalls teaching pre-K students earlier this year how to recognize the feelings of their peers by labeling different facial expressions seen in pictures. Our pre-K students were spot-on most of the time, noticing that a child was angry when “their eyebrows pointed down” or “their arms were crossed.” An observer could see the wheels turning in the students’ heads as they thought about

feature

Social Emotional Learning at Pegasus JSerra places significant value on the types of non-academic skills Pegasus students are learning.”

Other top schools are also seeking these non-cognitive skills.

Sage Hill High School Director of Admission, Elaine MijalisKahn noted, “At Sage Hill, we prioritize social and emotional health and balance, which we believe are key components to effective learning and a positive high school experience. We see our applicants as far more than their grades.”

Our children are letting us know it’s working. When Michele Borba, author of Unselfie, interviewed four middle schoolers ahead of her September presentation, Christine Lopez recalls all four students mentioning the focus on SEL and their advisory experience among the top things they appreciated about Pegasus.

Jason Lopez sums up well what has been achieved over the past couple of years, “Pegasus has always stood out as the best at preparing students academically, but now we are also leading the way at providing the non-cognitive social and emotional skills they need to be successful and happy throughout their lives.”

As guardians of our children’s future, we are certainly fortunate to have the opportunity to provide our progeny with the Pegasus experience: a unique path to true success…and true happiness. how they would feel or act when personally experiencing these feelings they were seeing in the pictures.

In middle school, the advisory program has also evolved.

“We were already engaging our students with SEL even though we did not label it as such,” said Kristen Brady, Middle School Learning Specialist. “Now it’s more intentional.” Brady ensures that all students are comfortable in lessons involving SEL competencies. This is often as simple as using non-verbal participation by asking students to hold up a colored card reflecting their mood. When an advisory is ready, it will move those SEL-based activities to student-led discussions. “My sixth-grade students are responding well to the SEL curriculum,” said Jaime Moore, who joined Pegasus this year to teach social studies and advisory. “Participation can be slow, but it is rewarding to have a more reserved student feel safe enough to speak up and voice how they felt during an exercise.”

Christine Lopez notes that the seeds of SEL are being planted in every activity and every classroom. “We’re encouraging our students to learn more about themselves and teaching them to manage their emotions and effectively communicate with our faculty and their peers,” she said.

If you haven’t seen a change in your child, others certainly have. “Pegasus students show up differently,” commented JSerra Admission Head Harrington. “They stand out when they visit our campus. They are incredibly self-aware and exude a calm confidence not always seen in middle schoolers.

Jessica ("J.J.") McGawn, mother of Brady (’20) and Janie (’22), practiced law for several years in Colorado before moving to California with her family. Contact: jjmcgawn@gmail.com Damon Wright heads investor, government and corporate communications for Irvine-based Ingram Micro. He defines happiness as crushing powder in Colorado and fly-fishing for trophy cutthroat trout in Wyoming with his wife Mary and daughter Tegan (’22). Contact: damon.wright@ingrammicro.com

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INSIGHTS

SEL Insights We asked parents and students about their impressions on social emotional learning as they understand it and here is what they said: Atoshi, Parent “In our generation, many people felt that they needed to always be feeling good on the outside even though they may be feeling differently on the inside.

It is important for people to know that it is ok to talk about your feelings, what you need, and how others can help you."

Daniel, Grade 7 “Being a good friend is when you are there for each other when one is sad or upset. We help each other.”

George, Parent “Our daughter is an only child, so it is a growing experience for her to learn how to work with other kids.

The other kid needs to be understood too; if they are saying ‘no’ to her, she needs to know where they are coming from and why they said ‘no.’”

Kainani, Grade 8 “Getting freaked out about a test or presentation isn’t good for you. You know the stuff; just be confident.”

Ethan, Grade 5 “Even a small act like holding the door for someone helps them feel good.”

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INSIGHTS

Maya, Grade 5 “If I’m having a bad day, I have learned to channel my emotions into something else. I take deep breaths and refocus.”

Meredith, Grade 8 “A person can learn to be kind, but he/she has to put in the effort.”

Mo, Parent "Being challenged academically and exposed to high level academics is important for our children, but I want my children to be able to get back up when they fall. They can get sad, or mad about whatever happened, reflect on their emotions and move on.

That resilience and grit is so important for them to develop at this age."

Ryan, Grade 7 “When my friends help me out, it feels good, like when they grab my backpack for me so I’m not late for class.”

Cordelia, Grade 6 “I am kind to myself when I don’t rush to class. Then I don’t get stressed.”

Sailee, Grade 5 “If a person learns to care for other people and is nice to them overall, then she will be treated with kindness and feel better.”

Laura Hathaway, Founder “All the intelligence in the world is inadequate and unsatisfying when you lack integrity, sensitivity to others, respect for yourself and a commitment to making a difference in the world.”

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Devin Seifer

Upon entering my classroom, you will see a large sign that dominates the front wall and proclaims, “PENCILS AND MINDS SHARPENED HERE!” The sign is made from pencil shavings dyed in various colors and pressed into a thick layer of glue. Twenty years ago, I began collecting the pencil shavings from the electric sharpeners in my classroom. I had no idea what exactly I would do with this mathematical jetsam, but I knew there was an art project in there somewhere. The idea finally came from a dim memory of some first-grade Mother’s Day card made from glue and sparkles, and an almost equally ancient elementary science lab involving food coloring.

When was the last time you were creative? I don’t mean the last time you made a unique series of menu choices on an app, or when you searched for an idea on the internet. When was the last time you encountered a problem that you had no idea how to solve…and then you solved it anyway? Where did the

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solution come from? How did it feel?

Creativity is really hard to define and even harder to teach.

To put your mind at ease, you should know that in researching this article, I carefully analyzed all 1.2 billion hits from a Google search for “creativity definition.”

In many ways, our technological society is less geared for promoting creativity in children than it used to be. With almost instant and effortless access to information and the ideas of others, students rarely have the opportunity to spend minutes, hours or even days pondering a problem. In addition, many students have much of their “non-school” time taken up by video games, social media and adult-structured activities. Without much opportunity for free-play, where is the time for just thinking? It has, therefore, become more important than ever for teachers to encourage students to think for themselves, take intellectual risks, and make creative and productive mistakes in the search for understanding.

My definition of creativity comes in two parts: the “what” and the “how.”

The “what” is that creativity is the ability to shuffle, bend, stretch, and recombine all the things that you know in an effort to solve a problem in a new way.

The “how” is going to take a bit longer to explain. I believe that there are three brain mechanisms at work in creativity. The first is a massive, chaotic sea of information consisting of facts, beliefs, ideas, and experiences. This sea is constantly churning, warping and re-linking everything that you know into new combinations and arrangements. The vast majority of these new combinations are unworkable, unhelpful, or just plain ridiculous.

The second brain mechanism is a subconscious link to a conscious effort at problem-solving. Possible problems could range from “How am I going to decorate the living room?” to “How can I get along better with a friend?” to “How can I design an experiment to disprove the existence of dark matter?”

We claim to place a high value on “out of the

The subconscious link sifts they allow a box do all of their through the sea of recombining thinking for them? box” thinking, but how are information, discarding most I wish I could tell you people supposed to learn of what it finds in search of that I had a recipe for new ideas that just might have teaching creativity in our how to think outside of the a chance to work. When a tech-dominated society. I potentially interesting idea is pulled don’t.

The best we can do is box if they allow a box do out of the muck, the conscious brain to provide opportunities for all of their thinking takes over (mechanism number three) students to develop it on their and tries to forge the idea into an actual own. We also try to model it for for them? solution that can be put into effect. our students with how we design Here, therefore, is the sentence that justifies teaching materials. If I had another 882 putting you through the previous paragraph. Since words to play with, I would list some of the creativity starts with recombining information that already many ways that we do these things at Pegasus. In the exists in your brain, you cannot be creative unless you actually interests of space, however, I encourage you to ask your child’s know stuff! teacher(s) to provide some examples. I’m sure that they would It is not enough that you know where to find information; be happy to do some bragging. the information must already be inside you. So the answer By the way, I still have about five gallons of pencil shavings to the dreaded question, “Why do we have to learn this?” is sitting in a cabinet just waiting to be transformed into a new that the more knowledge you acquire, the more raw materials mathematical art project. If you have any creative ideas, then you have to fuel your creativity. And this is true even if you let me know. are firmly convinced that the odds of your ever using the knowledge in its pure form are extremely low. We claim to Devin Seifer has guided about 1,400 Pegasus middle school place a high value on “out of the box” thinking, but how are students through the perils of algebra and pre-algebra over the last people supposed to learn how to think outside of the box if 20+ years. Most survived. Contact: dseifer@thepegasusschool.org

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Pegasus E-volves Christopher Mahon

The Pegasus School was founded in 1984, with core values of educating children in dynamic and creative ways as unique as the children themselves. Over the past thirty-five years, the world has changed in profound ways, and the challenge is to evolve through those changes while embracing what the world offers.

Changes in technology impact students� learning, teaching, parenting and education. Ironically, the feeling that changes to technology are taking over our lives has existed for over a century. In his article, “Can Smart Wood Help You Log Off?,” published in the October, 2019 issue of The New Yorker magazine, author Andrew Marantz noted that, “George Simmel, a German sociologist, wrote that the sensory overload of modernity—‘the intensification of nervous stimulation...the rapid crowding of changing images’—might warp everyone’s personality. That was in 1903. Simmel was worried about streetlamps, murals and the occasional honk of a horn.” It is reassuring to know that as parents, our fretting about the over stimulation of technology isn’t new. Teachers at Pegasus mindfully incorporate these developments in technology while staying true to the school’s core values.

Stories from veteran Pegasus teachers best illustrate how respect for custom and zest for new horizons combine the best of the school’s legacy and its promise of a progressive

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education. Pegasus teachers bridge traditional and contemporary teaching methods skillfully. Timeless traditions are preserved with a vital library and reading program as cornerstones. Michelle Carr, Lower School Reading Specialist, leads this effort and she explains, “Our team has created a balanced reading curriculum. It is very fluid, always evolving depending on the needs of our students. Our actual reading sources have evolved, from hardbacks to paperbacks to e-books all of which are actively utilized in our classrooms.”

The library preserves that smell and feel of the printed page which is not an accident. Carr explains, “I do value even more the use of the actual book when reading. Research has shown that you are able to grasp more emotion from the hardcover book, creating the wonderful and long-lasting hook for the love of reading. Observing a three-year-old trying to read a hardcover book feels priceless to me, rather than watching her try to swipe an e-book.” Reading tools are also employed in technology to add fun in learning. For example, lower school students use a Bee Bot, a programmable floor robot, to assist them in spelling, sentence structures and higher-level thinking. “We have an adorable gadget called a Bee Bot, a programmable floor robot. It gives students an opportunity to use their higher-level thinking skills to program the spelling of a word or to formulate a sentence.” Carr concludes, “I welcome technology, however, as it relates to reading, quite cautiously. Yet, the ultimate goal is success in reading and critical thinking through old and new ideas.”

The science curriculum at Pegasus continues to evolve, too.

Jaime Kunze-Thibeau, Sixth Grade Science Teacher, explains that the science curriculum is “about the process; teaching students to learn, while also supporting them as they create, innovate, and think critically about the world around them.”

The science curriculum is keeping pace with a generation for whom environmental issues are a real presence in their lives. “We were one of the first schools involved in the Ocean Institute Watershed Conference, one of the first to have students attend the POPS (Persistent Organic Pollutants) Youth Summit, the only Pre-K through Grade 8 school in the Blue Water Task Force, one of the first to have a school garden, outdoor classroom, an aquaponics system, and adopt a zero waste program.” These programs provide hands-on experiences for students who will carry that increased awareness as a critical survival tool for theirs and future generations. KunzeThibeau also leads the Algalita Environmental Science initiative at Pegasus which started out as a club and is now an elective in middle school. If you have not heard about Algalita, it is a marine research foundation launched to clean up the “plastic plague” in the Pacific Ocean. Their mission is to inspire the next generation of visionaries to believe in a better future.

Karen Hurst has spent many years in service to The Pegasus School. First, as a parent whose five children graduated during the years from 2002-2012. During that time, she was active in the school’s administrative governance, serving as PTO Board President for three years after various stints as a classroom parent.

When the swine flu swept through Southern California in 2009, Hurst, a nurse by profession, accepted the post as the first full-time staff nurse at Pegasus. Since her hire, “Nurse Hurst” gets visits daily in the Health Office. Whether it’s an upset tummy, twisted ankle or a parent seeking guidance on required immunizations, for example, all visits are treated with a professional and reassuringly deft hand. Although most visits to the Pegasus Health Office are for non-life-threatening complaints, the role is critical for a student population of over 570. Hurst’s position is an example of the responsiveness of Pegasus leadership to critical needs as they have presented themselves over the years.

These evolutions at Pegasus allow the school to grow and thrive while remaining true to its core values. Nancy Conklin, the school’s long time Director of Admission sums this up well: “While we have been innovative in computer science, engineering, robotics, and 3D printing, we do not want to omit how important, indeed vital, the social and emotional learning piece is. Be kind to yourself, be kind to others, be kind to your future self.” Today’s mantra blends seamlessly with Laura Hathaway’s seminal teaching that, “All the intelligence in the world is inadequate and unsatisfying when you lack integrity, sensitivity to others, respect for yourself and a commitment to making a difference in the world.”

Dr. Hathaway’s guidance and core values continue to lead and inspire the Pegasus community navigating today’s world.

Christopher Mahon is a retired real estate executive and the father of Mei (’23). Contact: christopher.cbmahon@gmail.com

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Knowing that there is a home away from home where our daughters are loved and nurtured academically and emotionally has been the greatest gift to our family. – Carin Meister, Librarian

Whole embracing the

Child

All in the Family Dr. Laura Hathaway founded Pegasus to give her own child an education she couldn’t find anywhere else. An intellectually challenging education that also nurtured her child’s sense of self. Pegasus faculty and staff with currently enrolled Pegasus students pictured here, are emblematic of that Pegasus community today.

League Own

A of our Brooke Baum

“Absolutely not.” These are the words that led Carin Meister, Pegasus librarian, to pull out of the interschool Battle of the Books league to which the school has belonged for over a decade. The message was delivered in response to Meister’s suggestion to the league to add The Magic Misfits to this year’s reading list. When the other schools refused as a result of the book’s brief mention that a character has two dads, Meister was faced with a dilemma. Should she remain a quiet bystander in the presence of discrimination? Absolutely not.

When Meister became the Pegasus librarian thirteen years ago, she inherited Battle of the Books—or BOB—a voluntary

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program in which students read twenty books and participate in an interschool competition. But to Meister, the competitive aspect of the program is hardly the point.

“The purpose of BOB,” she says, “is that kids discover books they might not have ordinarily encountered on their own. Reading should prompt a discovery of different genres, different kinds of people, and different ways of life.”

However, Meister recently learned that the league did not share this philosophy when she received an email in which it was stated unequivocally: “We will not read any books with gay characters.” Meister was shocked. “For me,” she says, “seeing it in writing was a huge wake-up call.” When Meister tried to defend the book at the league’s annual meeting, not only did the league uphold its decision, but it also rejected a second of Meister’s titles because of the book’s mention of reincarnation. And so, she decided it was time to take a stand—to stand up for our students’ right to read diverse texts and for families of all kinds to see themselves reflected in the books we read. Meister made the decision to drop out of the league.

Though she felt it was the right decision, Meister was concerned the Pegasus community would be disappointed to lose the competition that had become somewhat of a rite of passage for many of our fourth and fifth graders: “I was worried that people would be upset about losing the competition aspect because our kids are usually so successful.

And we didn’t have a backup plan.” But when Meister told the administration of her decision, she says, “Both Jason [Lopez] and Jen [Green] said, ‘No question, we are behind you.’”

The support did not stop there. After Pegasus pulled out of the league, a second school walked out, ready to join us in the formation of new league. So there would be a competition after all, but would our parents and faculty get on board?

“The response,” Meister says, “was an incredible amount of support. It made me feel like we did the right thing on behalf of the students.”

During a lunchtime meeting in the library, Meister informed the students of the decision. With students crowded around tables and peeking over bookshelves, Everyone should she told the news to the packed room.

Charlu held a special assembly Meister says, “The students were during which they spoke get to read a book flabbergasted. They could not believe of their own experiences as and think, ‘hey, this the other schools wouldn’t read those Indian-Americans and served books.” The room filled with murmurs food from their family’s region is me,’ otherwise, it’s of disbelief, while some children shared of India. After reading Ahimsa, exclusion and that’s that they have friends with two moms Maya hurried into the library or two dads, and they couldn’t believe to share her excitement that the not what Pegasus that their friends were being discriminated main character’s name is Anjali, her is about. against. Whatever lingering doubt Meister mother’s name. had about her decision disappeared in that

All students deserve to see library full of fourth and fifth graders as they themselves in the books they read. And showered her with wholehearted support. Fifth grader all students deserve to read and learn about Maya D. says, “I agree with Mrs. Meister’s decision. When experiences that are unlike their own. Through exposure to she told us the reason, I was shocked, and later I was really diverse literature, our students develop empathy for others mad because students need to be exposed to all varieties of and affirmation of self. Meister knows that the purpose of people! It changes your view of the world.” Word even spread Battle of the Books is not simply about the pages read or to middle school, prompting eighth grader and former BOB competitions won; the purpose is the kind of profound champion Meredith S. to sprint to the library in a show of growth that only literature can foster, and which changes a support. “Everyone should get to read a book and think, ‘Hey, child for a lifetime. “A lot of the reward in teaching literature this is me,’” Meredith says. “Otherwise, it’s exclusion and is actually something that comes much later,” Meister says. that’s not what Pegasus is about.”

“You give a kid a book and hope it’s the start of something With the formation of a new league, Meister is now free to greater.” For now, Meister is witness to 72 students—our select books that she feels better reflect the needs of the whole largest group ever—as they encounter rich, diverse literature community. This year, the reading list contains stories of and see themselves in a book for perhaps the first time. And Indian freedom-fighters, undocumented Chinese-American that, indeed, is already something great. immigrants, and, of course, a girl with two dads. These more diverse stories have received an overwhelming response of support and engagement from our community. In response Brooke Baum is The Pegasus School's Library Assistant. When to Save Me a Seat, a book about an Indian-American boy’s she isn't reading the latest graphic novel, she is baking cookies, or if she feels brave, bread. Contact: bbaum@thepegasusschool.org experience of immigration, Pegasus parents Arpi and Bobby

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A Transformative Experience

Jen Green & Michelle Carr

In the School’s strategic plan, Pegasus recommits to providing students with a transformative experience. A promise for academic rigor is implied, and teachers at Pegasus want even more for students. We also commit to providing a space for our students to learn and grow socially and emotionally.

Two years ago, our faculty read Dr. Michelle Borba’s bestselling book, UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-AboutMe World. Our Pegasus family culture focuses on empathy, kindness, positive social skills, and strong communication and has since our founding. When parents and teachers partner together, we know this works best.

How did we bring Borba to Pegasus to speak to our staff and parents? The partnership mentioned earlier was just the right path. Led this year by Sharlene Grover and Leila Cesario, the PTO PEGtalks program is starting its fourth year of bringing speakers to our community. Through a professional development opportunity, Michelle Carr, Reading Specialist, made a connection with Borba and her staff. With a bit of magic and teamwork among parents, teacher leaders, and administration, we knew this opportunity to host Borba at Pegasus would help all of us grow as educators and parents, and continue our focus on social emotional wellness and developing empathy in our children.

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Borba’s visit affirmed and inspired our faculty. When touring campus, Borba took pictures that confirmed her work: a Kindergarten classroom bulletin board that had a garden with bees pollinating the flowers with empathy, and some of Dr. Hathaway’s favorite quotations in the rose garden that recognize what a visionary she was when it came to social emotional learning over 35 years ago. Borba shared the nine essential habits of empathetic children with both faculty and parents.

While she saw examples of students and teachers showing empathy on campus and learned more from interviewing some of our middle schoolers, we identified even more ways that we could build these skills in our students.

Nine Essential Habits Emotional Literacy From greeting teachers at the door, to utilizing eye contact during public speaking presentations, we’ve got this one covered.

Interpersonal skills are developed through class meetings in the lower school and through our middle school advisory program.

We recommend that parents practice these skills by making time for family dinners a few times a week and setting devices aside.

Moral Identity From day one in our pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten programs, students are taught that the number one community promise is to “Be Kind.” Their identity as Pegasus students and relationships with teachers help them feel connected and safe. Borba recommends developing a family slogan or motto. Additionally, we recommend describing a child as a helper (noun) instead of helping (verb). This simple act results in a child being more likely to help and feel more acknowledged.

Perspective Taking & Moral Imagination Reading and discussion develop perspective taking and moral imagination. Our fourth-grade program has a year-long theme of “Perspectives” as they study the storied history of California from the perspective of Native Americans, explorers from Spain and Russia, the Missionaries, and later, the settlers from the East Coast. Beyond that, parents and students only need to visit our library. Books on our Battle of the Books List such as Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan develop alternative ways of thinking and cultural understanding. Eighth graders read both The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee to work on this skill. We recommend that families regularly visit our library for family hour and to hear advice from librarians, Carin Meister and Brooke Baum.

One example of this occurred in the library when a mom checked out a picture book called The Rough Patch. Baum explained to the mom that the book was incredibly sad, and the mom said, “I know. I did that on purpose.” Then the mom explained that she learned from the Borba talk that literature can be a way to expose children to many different emotions and increase their emotional literacy. Parents are actually putting her advice into practice.

Self-Regulation Dr. Borba shared that self-regulation can be a greater predictor of success than I.Q. This is precisely why teachers share notes both about academics and about a child’s classroom behavior.

On our SEL wheel, two of the five competencies, selfawareness and self-management, fall under the self-regulation umbrella. Teachers continue to help students grow in their practice of mindfulness to learn various ways to manage emotions and distress. We recommend that families consider mindfulness. Apps such as Calm and Stop, Breathe, & Think Kids are two suggestions.

Practice Kindness Teachers seek ways to recognize students for practicing kindness. Our teachers take an active stance on this by pointing out kind acts, recognizing students with kindness stickers, and by sending home postcards to families to recognize students who are showing our core values. We recommend that instead of asking your child at the end of the day, “So what did you learn today?” ask “What’s something kind that you did today?”

Collaboration Teamwork abounds at Pegasus. ASB members work together to plan dances and lead school events, while our sports teams, robotics, and debate teams work together to shine in their respective areas. In the younger grades, teachers pair and group students to engage in conversations about reading or collaborate on group projects. At first, roles may be assigned, but we hope to help students develop the “we” mindset as opposed to the “me mindset” as Borba outlines. Participating in community service and athletic programs outside of school extends and enhances this skill.

Moral Courage & Altruistic Leadership Teachers speak the language and encourage the upstander to shine. This is modeled through role play and read alouds. The middle school community service and PTO’s leadership in cultivating service for families and kids continue to help our students focus on making a difference for others. Our mission prepares students to “make a positive impact on society.” Our hope is that you will also point out and celebrate examples of people who are changemakers.

Following her visit, Borba wrote, “I came home rejuvenated.

I continue to rave about your school — you are doing something really special. I love so much of Pegasus. There’s hope. Your school community is stellar...I felt it.” We couldn’t agree with Borba more about our wonderful school and we thank our parents for incredible partnership in building wings for our bright (and empathetic!) learners.

Jen Green is the Lower School Director and has two daughters attending Pegasus, Maya and Makena.

Contact: jgreen@thepegasusschool.org Michelle Carr is the Lower School Reading Specialist and alumni parent to Brandon, Tracy and Sam. Contact: mcarr@thepegasusschool.org

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Home Court Advantage The

Marrie K. Stone

Reinforcing Social & Emotional Learning at Home Pegasus School Counselor Christine Lopez recently engaged a group of students around the topic of empathy and active listening. “Have you ever been in a situation where you’ve tried talking to someone about something important,” she asked them, “and the other person isn’t paying attention?” Without hesitation, several students blurted out: “Yeah, with my parents.

They’re always looking at their phones.”

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FEATURE

We’ve all been there. I’m ashamed to admit my own daughter often played the enforcer of the no-phones-duringdinner rule. Between work demands, after-school activities, club sports, homework, the needs of spouses and siblings and pets, and a phone that never stops buzzing, we’re busy. How much can we multitask while giving every family member our undivided attention? The problem for us as parents—in every move we make—is that our kids are watching.

However much we lecture about the pitfalls of social media, the traps of technology, the importance of balance and mindfulness and empathy, kids are still more likely to do what we do over whatever we might say. They internalize the questions we pose, the facial expressions we make, the tone of our voice, and the roll of our eyes. We provide the cues for how they react, and while we can’t control their emotions, we can have a surprising impact by controlling our own.

There’s even more good news. Modeling desirable behavior for our children will reinforce healthy habits for ourselves. A little time and attention go a long way. And empowering our children to be their own best advocates will be easier on us parents—not only in the long run, but perhaps in the short run as well.

The pressure for perfection, the feeling that one misstep might defeat a child’s dreams, that their future selves can’t tolerate today’s mistakes—it’s not only unrealistic, it’s misguided. Slip-ups are lessons, not failures.

“Recently, I have been thinking about the stories we tell our students,” says eighth-grade English teacher Nancy Wilder.

“Do we tell students only stories of success, or do we tell them stories that will help them feel comfortable about their mistakes? Do we have the courage to share our own struggles, so they know everyone has difficulties? When a student gives a wrong answer, I often respond by saying, ‘No worries. You will continue to live a beautiful life.’”

Being vulnerable enough to say, “I messed up” or “I’m sorry,” is powerful modeling, Lopez says. “Teaching them to make mistakes is important. Telling them, ‘I make mistakes, and I expect you to make mistakes, too,’ takes enormous pressure off them.”

“We need to model reality,” Wilder adds. “Praising students for working hard is much better than praising them for being smart. Are parents looking only at grades, or do they look at the effort behind the grades? Are we modeling the values of perseverance, determination, and a curious mind?”

Monkeys See, Children Do

Tips from the Pros on Practicing Social Emotional Learning at Home

The old adage about the monkeys took a small blow in a psychological study conducted by UK scientists in 2003.

Chimpanzees taught to open a box through a complicated and unnecessary process skipped the superfluous steps. “If a chimpanzee is shown an irrelevant action, they won’t copy it—they’ll skip right to the action that makes something happen,” reported psychologist Mark Nielsen. Children, by contrast, imitated every needless motion. The study concluded, “Most of the children copied what the adults did, even if they’d been given the opportunity to play with the box first and figure out how it worked.” This mimicking behavior, observed in children across geography and cultures, became known as over-imitation, a universal human trait.

What can we make of this? For children, adults’ actions not only speak—they scream. How we model behavior may be even more powerful than we’ve known all along.

Before getting down to what we can do about it, Christine Lopez encourages parents to check in with themselves and ask a few baseline questions. Are we the parent who yells? The parent who apologizes? The one who blames others? Do we isolate ourselves when facing stress, or do we seek out help? “Just being mindful of ourselves, and what we’re modeling to our children, is helpful,” Lopez says. “Are we expecting something different from our kids than we expect of ourselves?”

No one needs reminding that life is messy. Despite what’s often portrayed on social media, there’s no such thing as perfection. And that’s okay. “It’s how we address our imperfections that’s important,” says Lopez. “How we model our management of life’s difficulties for our kids. That means cutting ourselves a break, and cutting our kids a break, too.”

In addition to the obvious ways we should watch how we act (paying attention while our children talk to us, staying off our cell phones during mealtimes, etc.), there are endless everyday interactions that provide opportunities for modeling healthy social behavior and promoting emotional wellness at home.

Modeling Self Talk Kristen Thorson, author of the article “Extending Social Emotional Learning into the Home,” advises parents to look for mundane situations that might invite modeling.

For example, when stuck in traffic or waiting in line, name your emotions and express how you intend to react. “I wasn’t expecting this delay. I’m feeling frustrated. Can you take a deep breath with me and help me calm down?” This allows children to identify their own emotions and take control over them. Even if they’re powerless over the situation, they’re not powerless over their response. “The words you use will become your child’s inner monologue when they’re faced with similar situations,” Thorson says.

Active Listening: Keep the Solutions to Yourself Listening sounds simple. In practice, for most parents, it’s extremely difficult. When your baby cried, did you simply sit and listen? Doubtful. We’re biologically programmed to alleviate our children’s fears, address their problems, and ease their pain.

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Be the parent who’s a listener, and not a problem solver.

Active listening doesn’t mean taking action. “Be the parent who’s a listener, and not a problem solver,” Lopez advises.

“Children want you to be empathetic. They want to feel heard.

That’s about being present.” It’s enough to say: “I hear you,” “What a nightmare!” or “Geez, what do you think you’ll do?”

This simple act takes pressure off both parent and child. It keeps the control in their court, and lets the parent off the hook of having to take charge and responsibility.

For one alumni parent, this realization didn’t come until her daughter graduated from high school. Whenever her child confided a problem, the parent’s instinct was to either diminish it or solve it. “I always pointed out how it wasn’t that bad, things could be worse, or I’d turn the problem into a positive,” she says. Like any mom, she wanted her daughter to feel better. But her daughter didn’t feel heard. Her new response? “That’s awful!” Her daughter’s reply? “Right?”

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Translation: thank you.

Parents who jump in to solve problems communicate to their kids that they’re not capable of solving things on their own. Children build self-doubt instead of resiliency. “It’s such a disservice to students,” Lopez says. “It makes them feel their parents don’t trust them.”

But what if your child doesn’t want to talk? Lopez says it’s enough to tell them: I’m here when, or if, you’re ever ready. I’m here to just listen.

“Comparison is the thief of joy.”

Last fall, Nancy Wilder wrote Theodore Roosevelt’s wellknown quotation on the board: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” The conversation came alive. “Students spoke about how they feel when their parents compare them to their siblings (we have two sets of twins and two sets of triplets in the grade)

FEATURE

of social media accounts. Waiting as long as possible to give a child a phone—eighth grade was the goal, while third grade seemed to be the reality—paid dividends. Following their children’s social media accounts, keeping the phones in the parents’ bedroom overnight, all these rules calmed down their kids.

Favor Conversations Over Lectures Plenty of parents are happy to supplement their children’s academic education: Kumon, language immersion, academic boot-camps, and outside tutoring. We check our child’s grades more often than their social media accounts. We’re more in tune with their academic lives than their social and emotional lives—maybe because test scores are a quantifiable barometer; or maybe because emotional check-ins are hard for both parent and child.

“It’s about conversations,” Lopez says. “Not interrogations.

Ask questions like: Would I like Snapchat? What’s the benefit of Instagram? What are some interesting comments you’ve received?” Ask questions in a calm tone, and educate yourself without judgment or criticism. “Knowledge is power,” says Lopez. We’re not in the dark about homework and grades. We should be even more curious when it comes to social media.

Likewise, when opportunities arise in the real world—a bad call at a baseball game or a controversial world event— talk through your thoughts with your child. “Engage your child in conversations that help them identify problems and design solutions,” says Thorson. “When kids work through the problem-solving process with you, they grow their ability to think critically on their own.”

Homework for Mom

and with other students,” Wilder says. “The bottom line: they feel pretty lousy.”

The students also spoke about having negative views of themselves. “They drive themselves to accomplish more and more in order to reach their personal goals or the perceived goals set before them,” Wilder says. The outside pressures, coming at them from every direction, are enormous.

Social media exacerbates the problem. They’re not pretty enough, not perfect enough, not rich enough. Nothing about them seems okay. Our children receive hundreds of subtle (and not-so-subtle) messages each day, and parents are largely unaware of the impact. “People have the anonymity to say horrible things without consequences,” Lopez says. “Our kids are stuck with that, and they typically don’t talk about it.”

Of the several alumni parents I polled, all of them advocated for rules around cell phones and strict monitoring

Several years ago, when my own daughter was in fourth or fifth grade, we walked across a grocery store parking lot. I saw an acquaintance down the way, called to her, and waved.

Nothing. I was sure she saw me, but she turned and got into her car without a word. Sulking from the perceived slight, I started feeling sorry for myself.

“She probably didn’t see you,” my daughter said. “Or she’s got stuff on her mind.”

“Maybe,” I said without conviction.

“Not everything’s about you,” she said. “Get over yourself.”

I asked how she got so wise. She shrugged and said, “School.”

If we listen to the lessons our children bring home—not just the math, science, and history ones—we might learn even more than we teach.

Marrie Stone is a local writer, interviewer, the Co-Host of “Writers on Writing” at KUCI, 88.9FM, and the mother of Haley Rovner (’15). Contact: marriestone@gmail.com

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THOSE WHO SOAR

Arch Journey

The of the

Madeleine Seidner ’05

What higher praise for an academic institution than to inspire a student to be a teacher? For a student’s experience to be so positive and inspirational, that she be moved to pursue that path for herself speaks volumes. Such is the story of Madeleine Seidner.

In Madeleine, The Pegasus School sparked a love of learning, but more broadly, a love of the educational environment as a whole. She credits the overwhelming positive attitude of the students—for learning, for intelligence, and for their school in general as a motivating force. “At Pegasus,” Madeleine says, “it is absolutely cool to be smart. Students don’t try to hide their intelligence or academic abilities.” Recognizing this is not the norm, she

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Malinda Bryant

also praises how much Pegasus students love their school, and support each other’s unique and individual gifts. “Pegasus is a learning community of smart and unique people, creative teachers and learning opportunities that definitely inspired me to want to be an educator.”

Madeleine graduated from Pegasus with the class of 2005 and went on to continued success at Mater Dei High School. At Mater Dei, in addition to acting as Editor-inChief of their student newspaper, Madeleine supported her community by founding the Operation Smile Club with fellow Pegasus alumna, Kendra Eaton ’05. Operation Smile is a non-profit organization helping to fund life-changing surgeries for children in need. She was honored for her hard work with a service award for performing over 400 community service hours during her high school career.

During this time, and through her charity work, Madeleine’s love of working with children and helping those less fortunate continued to blossom.

After graduating from Mater Dei in 2009, Madeleine went on to Gonzaga University where she majored in Communications and Public Relations with a minor in Sociology. She intended to pursue a career in public relations for non-profit organizations. After various PR internships and a short stint in the corporate world, Madeleine quickly realized the corporate environment was the wrong path for her. Her passion was working with students, and she belonged in a classroom. She followed her heart, and obtained her Master of Arts in Teaching Secondary English at the University of Southern California.

In regards to her gravitating toward teaching English specifically, Madeleine cites her love of reading that was fostered and nurtured at Pegasus. She has fond memories of Mrs. Gorsage reading to her class from The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankwiler in the fifth grade. Madeleine believes “being a reader makes a person a lifelong learner.” She revels in her position as a freshman English teacher to be able to bring a similar love of reading to her own students.

Returning to her roots, Madeleine has been teaching English at Mater Dei since 2015. In addition to teaching English and Honors English to freshman, she is also the Lower Level Class Activities Advisor for freshmen and sophomore students.

THOSE WHO SOAR

Michael Rouleau ’11

Michael Rouleau, Pegasus Class of 2011, has taken the Pegasus motto “Where Bright Minds Soar” to heart. As an astronautical engineer, he is reaching for the stars on a daily basis. And while the connection between elementary and middle school education to space engineering may seem tenuous at best, Michael credits The Pegasus School with many of the driving forces behind his success.

Michael believes that Pegasus taught him to be proactive in seeking out the help he needs. Teachers were not only available, but students were encouraged to interact directly with them in finding answers to their problems. He learned not to be intimidated in interacting with people of all skill sets and levels of authority, and not to be afraid to admit when he needed help. This self-advocacy has helped him in academia and on into the workplace.

Michael also gained an understanding at Pegasus that everyone learns differently. Recalling struggles with memory and focus early on, Michael remembers Ms. Olivadoti’s third grade as a turning point. He recalls, “From her class, I was able to better understand my own limitations and strengths and... to balance them.” Not only has this helped to understand how he best learns, it has expanded his awareness of how to communicate best with others.

Perhaps most importantly, Pegasus left Michael with the priceless gift of a willingness to try and fail. The atmosphere at this school encourages students to try new things, to follow their curiosities, and to take the path less travelled. Michael says, “I think a lot of the biggest and most significant moves I

have made in my life...have stemmed from my willingness to put myself out there in a position where I don’t always know the outcome and have to trust my gut instinct.”

After graduating from Pegasus, Michael went on to Sage Hill School, where he focused on math and physics classes and was the founding member of the Robotics Team. From there he matriculated to the University of Southern California majoring in Astronautical Engineering. While at USC, it was his decision to join the USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory that has shaped his career path.

The USC Rocket Propulsion Laboratory is an undergraduate organization wherein students design, build, and fly the largest rockets ever operated by any university group—recognized as one of the foremost engineering teams in the United States.

Michael was honored to be a part of the program last Spring that constructed a rocket that was the first student-designed rocket in the world to successfully reach space. For Michael, this project has defined his journey.

Michael is currently working with the Northrup Grumman Corporation as a propulsion manufacturing engineer on several large space programs including the James Webb Space Telescope. He is also pursuing his masters degree in Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Management – originally at USC, and continuing at Purdue University in the Spring.

For further information on this project, please see their website at www.uscrpl.com.

Malinda Bryant, alumni parent to Rachel (’14), Jackson (’16), and Carter (’19), is a long-standing supporter, volunteer, and advocate for the Pegasus community. Contact: malindab@mac.com

From Ms. Olivadoti's class, I was able to better understand my own limitations and strengths, and to balance them.

Pegasus Pegasus Magazine Magazine Winter Spring 2020

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Alumni Connections Benjamin Jenkins

Kellee Kim '04 on the most recent season of the Emmy-winning CBS show, Survivor, which aired last fall.

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Alene Tchekmedyian ’02 is a writer for The Los Angeles Times who covers the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Previously, she wrote about the county’s criminal courts and breaking news throughout California. Before joining The L.A. Times in 2016, Tchekmedyian reported on crime and policing for the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader. Tchekmedyian grew up in Huntington Beach and graduated from UCLA.

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Kellee Kim ’04 earned an MBA from the Wharton School at the University

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Sue-Ling Choquette '11 at her graduation from the University of California, Davis.

of Pennsylvania. She focuses on acquisitions and life sciences real estate at LPC West, the west coast arm of Lincoln Property Company, a nationwide real estate company.

Prior to the Wharton School, Kim graduated from Harvard and helped launch a biotech-focused hedge fund, EcoR1 Capital. She then worked in business development at one of the hedge fund's portfolio companies, where the company was able to partner with Allergan for $50M upfront and over $2B in potential commercial and regulatory milestones. Kim was a contestant on the most recent season of the Emmy-winning CBS

show, Survivor, which aired last fall.

She works in LA, is an advocate for wilderness conservation and gender equality, and spends her free time skiing and playing Settlers of Catan.

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Sareen Tchekmedyian ’07 is in the national touring cast of Broadway’s musical Anastasia. She understudies the role of Odette and also covers seven different ensemble dancers in that show. Tchekmedyian is a classically trained ballet dancer who has performed with the Sarasota Ballet and Houston Ballet II.

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

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Jason Brandt ’09 moved from Georgia to Stamford, Connecticut to work as a full-stack data engineer for the World Wrestling Entertainment Corporation.

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Sarah Groux ’10 founded her own social media marketing and management business called Innate Social. Groux has made a tremendous impact with many businesses, such as Disney’s Star Wars brand, Shot X, and others using social media. Her agency experience has broadened to food and beverages, and restaurants and hospitality, but Groux is open to working in any industry.

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Sue-Ling Choquette ’11 began work at VICO this past October as a project coordinator and executive assistant for Brian Cullen, who is the president and CEO at VICO and the chair of the Pegasus Board of Trustees.

Choquette supports market research of project leads and opportunities.

She also manages VICO’s customer relationship management software by reviewing and updating it with city council agendas and meeting

Lauren Lilly '15 in her freshman dorm room at Oregon University.

Alex Christiano '15 at New York University.

minutes concerning the projects in development. In addition, Choquette supports Cullen with administrative tasks, like accounting and calendar scheduling, and organizing files and folders in Google Drive. It has been exciting for Choquette to learn about the infrastructure industry.

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Cameron Hamidi ’12 is completing his third year at Cornell University in New York. Hamidi majors in computer science and has developed two cell phone apps. Hamidi completed a paid internship last summer as a programmer. Aside from English, he is

L-R Danika McKee '15, Lauryn Lilly '15, Elena Plumb '15 and Linda Cullen '15 last spring at the Mater Dei Senior Musical.

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ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

Andrew Smith '15 at the 2019 US Youth Rowing National Championship.

L-R: Maya Jaffe '15, Daniel Fishman '15, Alex Desbans '15 and Josh Cheadle '15 at the Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner, hosted by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce.

and one female athlete will be selected Sports Scholar of the Year.

Suh has won 40 face-offs over twoplus seasons at St. John's University. In the classroom, Suh maintains a 3.968 GPA in working towards a combined BS/MBA in Finance; is enrolled in the Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society since 2018; has been a member of the BIG EAST AllAcademic Team throughout his time at the university; and was appointed to the Dean's List in 2016-2017 and 2017–2018.

Nicole Weber '15 was recruited as an athlete for Berkeley’s NCAA Division 1 Women’s Rowing team.

fluent in Japanese and Spanish. Hamidi can also converse in Korean, Farsi, Africans, and French.

Erik Suh ’12 plays lacrosse at St. John’s University in New York City and has been named one of ten semifinalists for the prestigious Arthur Ashe Jr. Male Athlete of the Year. The award,

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established by Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine, honors minority scholar-athletes who excel in their athletic pursuits, maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5, are at least a sophomore academically, and have been active on their campuses or in their communities. Of the 1,000 scholar athletes nominated, one male

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Alex Christiano ’15 is a freshman at New York University (NYU) in Greenwich Village, Lower Manhattan. He is majoring in politics and Spanish and hopes to work within global food politics. Christiano was recently featured in an article in the Washington Square News for his love of cooking.

As an avid chef, Christiano enjoys cooking often in his dorm and

ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

experiments with any ingredients on hand. Christiano began posting recipes on Instagram that provided tips and tricks for simple meals for college students, especially those who lived in the dorms. You can follow Christiano @christianocooks.

Lauren Lilly ’15 graduated from Mater Dei during the spring of 2019 and is now a freshman at Oregon University. She is majoring in political science with a long-term plan to attend law school. Lilly joined the sorority Gamma Phi Beta and was appointed as the sorority's community service chair.

When she's not studying, Lilly enjoys going to the university's incredible recreation center and attends football and basketball games.

Sydney Little ’15 began attending Rice University in Houston last August after graduating from Corona del Mar High School last June. Little is excited to become familiar with the new city.

She is grateful to Pegasus teachers (Mrs. Wilder, Mr. Swiger) for instilling in her a love of language and history, which she plans to study.

Andrew Smith ’15 and his teammates at Newport Aquatic Center in Newport Beach won the gold medal last June at the 2019 US Youth Rowing National Championship in Sarasota, Florida.

Not only did his 8-man lightweight rowing boat team win the national championship, they also set a new time record for the course in the event.

Smith, a Sage Hill School alumnus, attends Colgate University in New York.

Nicole Weber ’15 is a freshman at the University of California, Berkeley.

After attending rowing camps at UCLA, Stanford and Cal Berkeley, she was recruited as an athlete for Berkeley’s NCAA Division 1 Women’s Rowing team.

Sierra Green '16 at the Student Enhancement in Earth and Space Science internship at NASA last summer.

She discovered the sport of rowing following 13 years of pre-professional ballet training, which included merit scholarships to elite ballet programs at the Kirov Academy of Washington, DC, Houston Ballet, Pacific Northwest

Ballet in Seattle and the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center in NYC. The transition to rowing allowed her to pivot her strong physical and technical skills to this demanding and exciting team sport.

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ALUMNI CONNECTIONS

Lauren Sognefest ’18 won her sixth consecutive International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation PanKids title.

Recently, at the Head of the American regatta, Weber rowed in the winning boat as part of Cal’s Freshman Eight team at Gold River, CA. She is enjoying campus life and the rigorous academics provided by Berkeley’s College of Natural Resources.

Maya Jaffe ’15, Daniel Fishman ’15, Alex Desbans ’15 and Josh Cheadle ’15 were four of the five students nominated for academic awards at the 58th Annual Scholarship Awards Dinner, hosted by the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce. The yearly event honors academic excellence and community service from students who attend the three high schools in Newport Beach — Corona del Mar (CDM), Newport Harbor and Sage Hill School. Students from these high schools were honored for their high scholastic achievements and community involvement. Local

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businesses are also provided with the opportunity to show their support of their academic efforts.

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Sierra Green ’16 was selected for the prestigious and extremely competitive Student Enhancement in Earth and Space Science (SEES) summer internship at NASA last summer. Out of 600 applicants, she was offered one of the 54 internship positions available.

Green traveled to The University of Texas at UT’s Center for Space Research and worked with scientists and engineers to conduct authentic research from data received from NASA’s earth observing satellites. She also designed Mars habitats, lunar exploration and analyzed images from the International Space Station. Green conducted hands-on activities, field investigations, attended presentations by NASA scientists and engineers, and worked on various NASA

missions. Sierra will attend MIT in the fall, 2020.

Miya and Hana Stauss ’16 launched the first coding club at Sage Hill School, OC Coders club. The Stauss twins had an initial membership of 85+ students. The club has developed a 4-week free coding curriculum for four sessions throughout the year. Topics of study include Python, Java and Javascript—all taught by UCI graduates. In addition, OC Coders hosted two free Hour of Code events at Sage and had over 100 fourth- through eighth-grade students attend. The Stauss twins pursue OC Coders because they want to inspire students of all ages to try coding. In 2018, OC Coders hosted an “Hour of Code Faculty” event, during which the students gave coding lessons to the teachers and staff at Sage. The Stauss sisters believe coding is the language of the future and their goal is to provide

Honoring Nancy Conklin

Darius Shayansmith ’15, John Bush ’15, Nick Karahalios ’15 and Michael Sherlock ’15 celebrated their Sage Hill graduation. These four have been friends since first grade, played four years of football, and graduated from Sage Hill together. Bush and Karahalios now attend Texas Christian University.

Shayansmith and Sherlock attend Southern Methodist University.

free opportunities to all students, including the community at large.

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Molly Joyce ’17 is enjoying her junior year at Corona Del Mar High School. She was recently featured in the Daily Pilot for her incredible accomplishments in volleyball.

Robby Keilch ’17 attends Mater Dei High School and enjoys being on the golf team. Last spring, Keilch played in a PGA U.S. Open qualifier at Oak Creek Golf Course and shot nine under par with a final score of 61, a new course record.

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Lauren Sognefest ’18 is a sophomore at University High School in Irvine. She has recently been selected to be a member of the Irvine CubeSat team, which is composed of students from six local high schools. The Irvine CubeSat STEM Program's main objective is to assemble, test and launch a nano-satellite into low Earth orbit. The Program, with support from many supporters, including NASA, has successfully launched two CubeSats and is anticipating its third launch during the first quarter of 2020. Sognefest also continues to train and compete in Brazilian jiu jitsu at the Art of Jiu Jitsu. In February 2019, she won her sixth consecutive International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation PanKids title and has recently been promoted to blue belt. Sognefest will compete in the juvenile division in the United States and internationally for the next two years.

Serving the families, faculty and staff at Pegasus has been an extraordinary gift to me personally.

Watching the School grow from about 100 students to more than 570 means that this world has the opportunity to be served by capable, compassionate leaders in the future.

The Pegasus community is very special, not only for our students, but for their families as well. Our school is fortunate to have a unique team, whose focus is building the community at Pegasus. In this spirit, it is bittersweet to share the news of an upcoming retirement of one of our beloved Pegasus family members, Nancy Conklin, Director of Admission.

We are truly grateful for Nancy’s leadership in admission, recruiting many wonderful students and families. She began her journey at Pegasus in 1991 as a third-grade teaching assistant then soon became the first (and only) director of admission in the school’s history. Her sincere devotion to Pegasus for nearly 30 years has made an invaluable impact on our community.

Although Nancy will be closing this chapter at Pegasus, she will remain a part of our community as a volunteer alumni ambassador. Her children, Sarah and Elizabeth, graduated in 2001 and her granddaughter, Elizabeth Bowles ’25, attends Pegasus.

Pegasus Pegasus Magazine Magazine Spring Spring 2020 2020

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Mark Your Calendar!

Middle School Spring Show May 14 Lower School Spring Show June 3 Last Day of School Graduation June 11 Camp Pegasus June 22–July 31

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