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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THE PEGASUS SCHOOL
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.
