WEBB Magazine Feature: Webb Today

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academic partnerships Webb sits at the crossroads—a wild campus nestled in the idyllic foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, yet within reach of top colleges and universities, the second largest city in the United States, and some of the most exciting companies, start-ups, arts institutions and non-profits in the world. This geography provides the ultimate opportunity for students to experience the dynamic partnerships we believe are essential for a world-class, 21st century education.

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ebb’s unique, one-of-a-kind academic partnerships equip students for college, career, and a global citizenship by offering additional unmatched learning opportunities beyond on the constraints of campus. There is even a position and person devoted to this important initiative: Suzi Linsley, PhD, director of experiential learning.

“We’re focused on relationship building, and always asking ourselves, ‘how might students benefit from this experience?’ ” she says.

A major goal of The Centennial Strategic Plan is to build relationships and support student interests in programs not available on campus. Two of Webb’s earliest partnerships were collaborations between the science department and the University of California, Riverside and Keck Graduate Institute.

Science teacher and department chair Lisa Blomberg worked to establish the connection between Webb and the Neil A. Campbell Science Learning Lab at the University of California, Riverside.

Teaming up with Susan Wessler, PhD, distinguished professor of genetics, department of botany and plant sciences at UCR, Blomberg was able to present her students with a one-day lab experience at UCR that would have taken several class periods at Webb.

“We started working with UCR about five years ago,” explains Blomberg. “We were exploring possible partnerships with local research institutions and met the principle investigator, Dr. Wessler, and the education director, Jim Burnette, PhD, of the school’s Dynamic Genome Program. One of their goals is to reach students in high school or younger to promote interest in STEM, and so it was a natural fit. Both of them are committed to teaching biology to undergraduates through authentic research experiences, a model that we want to emulate in our science program. Working with them, we have access to materials and methodologies they use in their research and in their biology courses.”

Through a parent connection, Blomberg was also able to collaborate with Daniel O’Leary, PhD, P’15, an organic chemist and the Carnegie Professor of Chemistry and chair of the chemistry department at Pomona College, which resulted in Webb students pairing up with Pomona College students to study in the professor’s upper-level spectroscopy class.

Today, there are 14 field study opportunity at local colleges, and several of these came about thanks to the collaborative efforts of Webb teachers and Webb parents.

Zachary Dodds, PhD, P ’17, ‘19, is the Leonhard-JohnsonRae Professor of Computer Science at nearby Harvey Mudd College, an undergraduate science and engineering school.

He got involved four years ago after discussing with Webb staff the difficulties of teaching computer science at the high school level. The pilot program began with a class offered at Webb. Dodds explains that Webb’s block schedule opens up opportunities for Webb students to attend lectures at Harvey Mudd and to participate in lab work at the college. And when schedules don’t overlap, Dodds drives up to Webb to present a replacement lecture.

“All of these experiences have added to how I understand computer science,” says Reddy. “I had been self-taught before taking the class, and when I was stuck on a problem, I had no idea what to do. When I was taking the class at Harvey Mudd, I had access to many people who could help me and seeing college students having the same issues that I had helped validate the difficulty of the problem.”

“Webb students are outstanding,” says Dodds. “Their experience is commensurate with the Harvey Mudd College students. It’s a good fit, neither too easy nor too hard.”

Dodds reports that of his original group of students, three are still doing computational work.

And last year, two Webb students, Teja Reddy ’20 and Kush Arya ’18, took the class and continued on for a second semester. The pair worked on independent projects over the summer one of which was to build an AI system to play an online game.

“I show their work to all my students to illustrate the possibilities of things you can do,” says Dodds.

Arya is now tutoring Webb students who are taking the class this year. He and Reddy host labs for students to help them with their homework assignments.

Director of Teaching and Learning Resources Mark Dzula, PhD, is working on an official memoranda of understanding with Honnold Mudd Library of the Claremont Colleges.

Though students have used the library’s resources in the past, the new MOU means to offer Webb students even more.

The colleges’ library collections include more than 2 million items, access to articles in more than 133,000 print and electronic periodicals, and thousands of print, manuscript, digitized and born-digital primary sources.

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todayacademic partnerships

“Our students benefit tremendously from using their library.

“I subscribe to postings from places such as the National

We take Advanced Studies students to perform research. The

Consortium for East Asia, which is a wonderful organization with

amount of apt resources available at the library is inspiring

whom I have attended a couple summer conferences, the USC

as well as the atmosphere the Claremont Colleges maintain,”

Korea Studies Institute, Indiana University East Asian Studies

says Dzula. “We tend to use the library when students perform

Center, the Stanford Program on International and Cross-Cultural

independent research projects. Their classroom experience

Education, Soypaper.com, LACMA, USC’s Pacific Asia Museum—

helps to prime their sensibilities, hone their research questions,

basically every clearinghouse for cultural opportunities that I can

and instill a sense of readiness to explore the large collection.”

get my hands on,” she explains. “In the past, I’ve taken classes

Dzula also made a connection for humanities teacher Michelle Gerken, introducing her to Wallace Meyer, PhD, director of the Bernard Field Station and associate professor of biology at Pomona College. Through her collaboration with Meyer, Gerken has been able to take her class to The Claremont College’s Bernard Field Station, an 86-acre habitat that is populated by coastal sage scrub, Riversidian alluvial fan scrub, live oak forest and grassland. Gerken’s students learn about native California plants, their importance to the ecosystem, fire ecology, sustainability and more.

“They’re learning plant identification and the difference between a drought tolerant and native landscape,” says Gerken. The class hopes to employ its knowledge by creating a small native garden on campus.

While neighboring colleges and universities provide access to higher education resources, the nearby cultural institutions provide invaluable encounters that enrich many different classrooms.

Wendy Maxon, PhD, teaches history at Webb and says that fieldtrips are fun, experiential and help boost understanding of subject matter.

to museums, photo exhibits at private foundations, movies, statues and to see talks from well-known cultural figures like Eddie Huang (American author, chef, restaurateur and inspiration for the television series, Fresh Off the Boat).

“Going to see a live performance speaks to shared experiences and social connection,” Silva elaborates. “It teaches problem solving and how to pay attention to detail.

It also provides storytelling, healing and a way to use a different part of our brains—it’s just really a good illustration of living a life with music.”

After live musical performances, students are encouraged to discuss their impressions and ask questions. Silva says they often have lively discussions following these events with students inquiring about theoretical details and asking, “how do they do that?”

There are so many opportunities within driving distance of Webb, that Director of Experiential Learning, Suzi Linsley has developed a database through which teachers can answer the question

Maxon elaborates further that field trips lend depth and resonance to what students study.

“what is a compelling field study for my class?” Linsley can easily

In the arts, a field trip doesn’t just help students acquire skills, it helps them appreciate the breadth of human accomplishments—from painting to sculpture to music.

the list, including several outdoor adventures.

Director of Instrumental Music Linda Silva has been taking her students to Disney Hall for the past six years.

“I wanted to make sure our students were experiencing live professional music and we happen to have the best in the country here in our backyard, so to speak: a Frank Gehry-designed building (Disney Hall) with a worldclass orchestra (diverse no less) and Gustavo Dudamel, an international conductor,” she says.

A few years ago, the students heard the Los Angeles Philharmonic perform Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition while they were working on the same repertoire.

help them plan it. As of now, there are 70 potential outings on

Humanities teacher Greg Gerken teaches a class entitled Literature and Leadership in the Wilderness. With the

experiential educational model, Gerken can “go out and have expeditions.” His class reads Thoreau’s Walden, and Into the Wild, a 1996 non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer.

Just as Chris McCandless, the subject of the book, did in Into

the Wild, Gerken takes his students hiking on portions of the Pacific Crest Trail. Once, in front of a waterfall, they stopped to read selections from Desert Solitaire: A Season in the

Wilderness, an autobiographical work by Edward Abbey. And they’ve also explored works by British polar explorer Ernest Shackleton. In addition to learning about literature, Gerken says the outdoor experiences help students gain expertise in camping, navigational skills, communication, leadership and building character.

Cultural field trips, scientific exploration and the exposure to new places, people and environments offer the student body an important opportunity to add measurable depth to their education.

“We have vans,” says Linsley, “and we’re not afraid to use them!”

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todaythe chapel program It is a place. It is a program.

It is a tradition.

As most people know, the Vivian Webb Chapel was built by hand—by Thompson Webb, students,

High on the Hill:

A sanctuary for all faiths and cultures, for truth and meaning

and faculty of Webb School of California. Today, it is still very much a place with a hands-on spirit.

High on a hill, yet accessible to all, it is the central hub for life together at school.

On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, the students of Vivian Webb School gather there; on Wednesdays and Fridays, the students of Webb School of California assemble; on Sunday, the entire boarding community comes together.

Weekday chapels feature Webb seniors and faculty and the seminal “chapel talk”; and on Sundays, before formal dinner, the boarding community congregates to hear from a special speaker.

Entering the chapel, visitors are often struck by the simple dignity of the space, which can be appreciated in quiet reflection and in the joyfulness of gathering. Its interior accommodates both familiarity—the space, filled with the liveliness of teenagers, and faculty and staff—and meaningful history—the handmade adobe bricks, carved mahogany doors (by sculptor Alec Miller) and stained-glass windows crafted by artists such as Millard Sheets and James Hubbell.

Director of Student Life Rick Duque oversees the Chapel Council, the student group (with six students from each school) that organizes and leads Webb’s nondenominational chapel programs and services. Duque believes that the chapel program enhances students’ intellectual and personal growth by helping them reinforce a moral basis for decision making.

“For 20 minutes, they walk away from their textbooks and learn about something outside of the classroom,” he explains.

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todaythe chapel program Chen said that he feels there is a “soulfulness” about the building. And in honor of the reverence the building evokes, the Chapel Council has introduced a multi-faith gobo (a stencil or template placed in front of a light source to control the shape of the emitted light) that projects the image of a dove composed of symbols from all major faiths and religions.

Sunday chapel provides an opportunity for students from

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both schools to assemble, dressed in school uniform, to hear

hether the chapel talks are delivered by peers, alumni or a special guest, the messages students hear “broaden their perspectives on life,” says Duque. “It makes us more open-minded and better listeners.”

Senior chapel talks range in subject matter, but a common thread is the opportunity to share a personal story with the community and to thank teachers and peers for their support throughout a student’s years at Webb.

The philosophy of chapel at Webb has less to do with a particular religion, than with an inspirational exploration that is part of a student’s intellectual and personal growth.

Every senior is invited to present a chapel talk; though no one is required to give one, it is considered an honor and privilege to do so.

Charlie Chen ’19 is a member of the Chapel Council. He describes the chapel as a place designated for something special and spoke of the empathy most everyone feels for the speaker.

“When I see a senior give her chapel talk, I reflect on how much personal growth she’s had—to see her speak with a generous spirit about her love of friends or family, to express gratitude—I see our mission come to fruition,” says Vivian Webb School Dean of Students Sarah Lantz.

“As a student steps up to the podium to present his chapel talk, you can see the gravity of it on his face. When they talk about what Webb and their family means to them, it collides in a powerful moment,” explains Webb School of California Dean of Students Ben Farrell.

“We share this experience with other seniors. Often, my classmates talk about things we’ve never talked about before—things I didn’t know about them, even after all these years together,” he says.

“We have boys opening-up and sharing their feelings,” says Duque. “They’re toning down the image of having a ‘tough persona,’ telling their peers, ‘we have problems and we can open-up and talk about those.’”

In describing the chapel as a “thoughtful, reflective, open community-based space,” Farrell says that student speakers very often express feelings that are meaningful for the whole group.

“Sometimes, when a student is speaking about something personal or deeply emotional, it is also helpful to everyone else,” he says. “In a way, it shows, that you shouldn’t ever feel alone at Webb.”

from a faculty member, school alumnus, or other inspiring speaker. There is also a musical performance to highlight school musicians. The Chapel Council helps plan for speakers from within and outside of the Webb community. Sunday chapel provides a platform for speakers to share experiences that invite and challenge students to learn more and open themselves up to new and different knowledge.

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n Veteran’s Day 2018, alumni who work with the FBI (Lauren Taflinger ’11), the NSA (Robert Downie ’72), and the United States Air Force (Kelly Dualan ’11) spoke of their service to the country and how they transitioned from Webb to their current positions.

“After Sunday chapel, we always have students who stay behind to ask questions,” explains Linda Wu ’19 a member of the Chapel Council. “Our community is trained to want to know more.”

In the past two years, the Chapel Council has also introduced the “This I Believe” program, which opens up the podium to faculty and students who aren’t seniors to share inspiring words.

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Dr. Don Lofgren, director of the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology, spoke about was it was like to grow up in the Los Angeles basin during the 1950s and 1960s, touching upon topics such as the assassination of Robert Kennedy (in the Ambassador Hotel in downtown L.A.) and watching his friends go off to fight in Vietnam.

“Here’s someone they see every day on campus in the role of a museum director and science teacher and he has lived through all these things. It was like he was having a conversation with the students and they got to see him in a new perspective,” says Lantz.

“Guest speakers share such different experiences,” adds Chen, “For example, G. Gabrielle Starr shared her experience as an African-American educator and her rise to the president of Pomona College.”

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nother speaker was Dr. Steve Gerali, the founder of the non-profit café, Sanctuary Coffee. The café serves coffee, tea and treats, but it’s also an interdenominational Christian non-profit that donates its profits to select charities in Southern California.

“That’s an incredible business model and it was great for the students to hear from someone like that,” says Farrell.

When Rahmi Mowjood ’90, a member of The Webb Schools Board of Trustees, participated in the equivalent of today’s Chapel Council, the group called itself the “Faith Gang.”

“The chapel was (and is) the central hub of the school, and yet its presence could be taken in many ways. Whatever faith you ascribed yourself to, the chapel was always more about being a representation of citizenship, comradery and centering your moral compass,” he says. “It may have been built from a Christian perspective, but Thompson Webb never meant it to be an edifice for a particular religion. It was the Greek tenets that he endorsed—most importantly, doing the right thing.”

Farrell describes the chapel as a reflective, safe space, “we open it up to students when world events present a need for students to talk, vent or process.”

In many ways, the Chapel talk is also a way for seniors to start to say goodbye to Webb.

“For the students who speak, it’s a way of passing something on … a legacy. At Webb, their teachers and friends are their family, and this is often a student’s way of bringing closure to that,” says Farrell.

Chapel talks, through the telling of stories and the sharing of insights, raise the community up, and present the opportunity for students and faculty to recognize what it means to be part of a common humanity.

“We have students from all over the world at Webb,” says Wu. “Through Chapel, we learn to respect our different viewpoints. Every senior has come from a different place and to be able to share that is incredible. We wouldn’t be able to do that if it wasn’t such a welcoming place.”

The chapel program at Webb is both stimulating and comforting. It makes students’ lives richer and their education deeper. Often, when prospective students are touring the campus, they are excited to learn about the Chapel Program.

“I’ve had 8th graders tell me, ‘it would be so great to hear from my peers, my classmates,’” says Duque. “I always think, yes, that’s what our chapel is about. We share experiences, vulnerabilities, strengths. We’re building community.”

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todaythe visual arts

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embers of the visual arts faculty are practicing artists and arts educators who regularly show their work, a tradition that reaches back to the earliest years of the school. Since the beginning, artists/ teachers in the Los Angeles basin have made their presence felt on the Webb campus, notably, the multi-talented and internationally renowned Millard Sheets, noted sculptor Alec Miller (who carved the pews in the Vivian Webb Chapel), and long-time arts educator and artist Blair Maff ris.

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Today, Webb’s visual arts curriculum includes a wide range of classes where students are encouraged to explore different mediums and methods of creative expression. At the foundation of the curriculum are skill development, creative thinking and understanding of the historical and cultural context of the arts. Webb’s commitment includes a two-year arts requirement for all students.

And, according to Director of Studies Tracy Miller, PhD, there’s no one better to teach the curriculum than educators who are also exploring their craft.

“We’ve brought in a great group of working artists and educators,” says Miller. “Their presence provides a lovely mix of pedagogy and practice.”

Jackie Leishman joined the program after teaching at several institutions, including Utah Valley University and the Claremont Colleges. She holds a BA from the University of Georgia and an MFA in photography from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

T WEBB STUDENTS ARE TAUGHT BY TEACHERS WHO PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACH— working authors leading English classes.

from PhD scientists in the science department to

Originally trained as a photographer, Leishman also works in collage utilizing both traditional and non-traditional materials, including fragments of old projects. Her work has been exhibited in shows throughout Utah and California.

Leishman teaches two sections of Advanced Art and she also has 10 Honors Art students embedded in the two classes.

“We study the visual language of form-lines, composition, color and perspective. We investigate the importance of our materials and how different materials can and often do communicate varying ideas. We explore ideas of translation from aural language to visual language. We learn to ask great questions and then do the hard work of exploring them,” Leishman explains.

Typical activities in her classes include drawing and discussion, reading and art theory. Students are expected to keep a sketchbook filled with ideas—either written or drawn, as well as incorporating ideas and inspiration from magazines or found objects.

Leishman said that the notebooks give her a way to “figure out how students see and think a lot faster than just by seeing what they produce for an assignment.”

Michelle Munguia ’20 is a student in Leishman’s class and has been studying how to simplify a landscape using black and white paper—usually only focusing on the 2 most important lines in a landscape.

“I also work with wire, lights, charcoal and more. Apart from studying the over-simplification of a landscape, I am also fascinated by threedimensionality and movement in art,” Munguia says. “Ms. Leishman has really helped me push my work and taught me to be comfortable with having a unique artistic style and approach to art, all while showing me that a line can change a work.”

Drawing by: Emily Li ’20

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todaythe visual arts Despite the digital mien, there is an emphasis on drawing and illustration. Horejsi said students practice drawing for 15 minutes each class period, but most of the work is completed on computers with sophisticated software that working professionals typically use.

“Our students are not afraid to start exploring. They’ve been raised with computers,” she says Horejsi also appreciates the resources available to Webb student artists.

“We have licenses for the full Adobe® suite and printers that can print poster-size work,” she explained.

Most fine arts faculty members are practicing artists who instruct in their own areas of expertise as well as create their own work throughout the school year. Practicing their art while teaching it, faculty members cultivate a community of creation within the art room at Webb.

Meg Horejsi is an illustrator and graphic designer in addition to her work as a member of the fine arts faculty. Her previous experience includes teaching in the Compton Unified School District through the non-profit Teach for America program. She holds a BA from University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MA from Loyola Marymount University. She sells her work through an online store at www.meganhillustrations.com.

Horejsi helps students explore the media arts by “front-loading” the basics. By the end of the school year, each student will have developed their own project and completed several mini-projects.

Students study digital illustration and animation in the first year of the program, and virtual and augmented reality and gig design in the second year. Horejsi says that students work on minor projects to understand the basics of digital media and complete the larger project to explore their creativity.

In the digital arts, students work through complex visual problems, and ultimately, learn how to manipulate various media in a compelling and personally meaningful manner.

“Our students are learning to think sideways—figuring-out how to become comfortable jumping into a program, using independent thinking to realize a special effect,” Horejsi says. “We speak about our work as an artist would—emphasizing the message behind it in a thoughtful and meaningful way. Being able to create and analyze images is a critical skill set that’s universally applicable.” In the digital media arts, where students are learning to trouble-shoot and problem solve, there are several critical thinking skills put into play.

Willy Martinez has taken art for three years and describes making art as “my outlet for thinking and discovery.”

Although he harbors no aspirations of becoming an “artist,” Martinez says that taking art classes allows him to discover who he is as an artist and as a person.

“I think in every artist’s process and piece, a part of them is engrained in it. Art has allowed me to become more understanding of the person I am.”

All students find their way into the program through ART AB, the introductory course, which is designed to acquaint students with the processes, materials and techniques for creating works of art. According to Art AB teacher Ardina Greco, students in Art AB work in the following mediums: paper sculpture, pencil drawing, portrait painting, printing, book-binding and clay. Greco holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an EdM from Columbia University. She has worked as a curriculum developer, as a freelance educator and researcher at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego and as a freelance educator at the San Diego Museum of Art.

For example, Annie Wu ’19 is inspired by her own curiosity.

She is currently working on a series where she fuses Disney princesses with a dystopian environment.

“My teacher, Ms. Leishman, helped me a lot in pushing my piece further, by creating color and body structure studies,” she explains.

“To create art work is really about how curious and intrigued you are about your work,” Leishman says. “This is quite an analogy to studying at Webb. Sometimes it’s easy to want to stop, because the process seems to take forever, or because you simply haven’t mastered the skill. But art is just about taking your time and not worrying about the end goal.

Instead, I think about the color studies and my ‘attempts’ at drawing rainy day street lights. It wasn’t perfect, but I enjoyed the ride. We learned in class that sometimes art doesn’t end up the way you imagined in your head, and that is completely okay.”

In a school known for rigorous academics, Greco believes that students can also enjoy the type of rigor that creative activities provide.

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“I often hear from my students that they love the days when they

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have art. They love having the opportunity to spend time with a

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material or technique, to explore it openly, slowly, without the

Patrick Donez ’21

pressures of finding a specific outcome,” says Greco. “In art, students discover possibilities and limitations on their own and the discoveries can vary from student to student. Students are given a space to be active, be mindful, take risks, to analyze, make connections, persist through problems, set personal goals, and apply and integrate knowledge.”

Colin Kidwell ’19

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todaymuseum

ALF

News from the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology at The Webb Schools

museum at webb

Contributing to Scientific Knowledge— Webb Students and Museum Staff In October 2018, five Webb seniors, four museum staff and science faculty member Tara Lepore attended the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP) meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a conference attended by over 1,400 paleontologists.

Fossil preparator Jared Heuck (left) and Yvonne Kan ’22 work on a Triceratops bone (humerus) in the museum after-school class.

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he Webb students made two poster presentations (both coauthored by Dr. Andy Farke, the museum’s Augustyn Family Curator of Paleontology) and were often mistaken for university level graduate students because no one expected to see high school students presenting research at an international paleontology conference. The study by Cathy Yan ’19 and Juliana Base ’19 was focused on the ear anatomy of Hyaenodon, an extinct dog-like animal; Yufei Liu ’19 and Olivia Vazquez ’19 presented their reconstruction of the keratinous beak in duckbilled dinosaurs; the fifth Webb student, Ben Martinez ’19, had already presented his research project at an earlier regional conference in Utah. Providing the opportunity for Webb students to make important contributions to scientific knowledge is a major aspect of the museum’s mission, and attending the SVP conference was an unforgettable educational experience.

Professional conference presentations for a secondary school student are extremely uncommon, but business as usual at The Webb Schools, where the dynamic academic program includes Advanced Studies in Paleontology (ASIP), a course where students work with museum staff on original research projects. The results have been spectacular: Webb students have co-authored 38 research papers since 2002, and a record number of students (25) are currently working on projects in ASIP, ensuring that additional research contributions will soon be forthcoming.

The roots of the museum’s research program go deep, as museum founder Dr. Raymond M. Alf published 11 research papers during his long career at Webb that spanned six decades. Alf’s museum was the lower level of the Jackson Library, where hundreds of specimens collected on peccary trips were exhibited and stored. In those early days, Webb did not offer a paleontology research class, but Alf encouraged a few students to study specimens in their free time and then enter their work in national science competitions. The results were excellent. In the Westinghouse Science Talent Search of America, Dwight Taylor ’49 finished first out of over 16,000 entrants in 1949, and in the 1950s, Patrick Muffler ’54 and David Fleischhacker ’55 were national finalists; Webb had the best record of any school west of the Mississippi in the Westinghouse competition at that time. A decade later, Dan

Dr Andy Farke, Yufei Liu ’19 and Olivia Vazquez ’19 with their poster at the SVP meeting in Albuquerque.

Fisher ’67, who specifically attended Webb because of Alf’s paleontology program, was a national awardee in the Ford Future Scientists of America competition. Muffler, Taylor and Fisher became paleontologists or geologists, as did Malcolm McKenna ’48 and David Webb ’53, who were also inspired by Dr. Alf. Of these five exceptional scientists, only Taylor formally published a research paper based on his Webb activities; in it Taylor described several new snail species from Barstow, naming one Helminthoglypta alfi in honor of Dr. Alf. The current research program for Webb students started soon after the Alf Museum achieved national accreditation in 1998, the only museum on a high school campus in the United States ever to receive that honor. The growth of the student research program was fueled by a gift in 1999 from the Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation (whose president is John Rogers ’59) that doubled the museum’s endowment, providing the financial foundation for the student research program. About a decade later, a major gift by Gretchen Augustyn and her family endowed the Augustyn Family Curator of Paleontology, solidifying the permanence of the research program. By this time, the museum had two paleontologists (Dr. Farke and Museum Director Dr. Don Lofgren) working with Webb students, and the result was a great increase in the number of papers published with student coauthors. Also, gifts by Andrea and Blake Brown ’68 funded the renovation of the fossil prep lab and established the Lofgren Research Lab, so Webb students now had state-ofthe-art facilities in which to do their work.

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Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology

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Current student projects are usually based on recently discovered specimens, but a few are focused on fossils found decades ago by Dr. Alf and Webb students. For example, Jayden Chiu ’20 and Ian Igleheart ’20 are analyzing circular structures evident on dozens of specimens collected in the 1950s and 1960s from the 1.2 billion-year-old Bass Formation within the Grand Canyon. These impressions are 3-5 cm in diameter and were thought by Alf to represent jellyfishlike animals. Alf’s hypothesis was not well received by the scientific community because, if correct, it would have extended the fossil record of animal life back an additional 500 million years, from 600 million to over 1 billion! However, it does appear that the fossils represent some type of algal life form, and this needs to be brought to the attention of the scientific community, now more than 60 years after the specimens were fi rst discovered.

at The Webb Schools

So why are The Webb Schools the only secondary school in the world with a renowned paleontology research program?

• Webb attracts students who are excited to partake in unusual and challenging educational opportunities, like ASIP. • Webb has its own nationally accredited paleontology museum, something very few colleges or universities can boast.

(l-r), Cecilia Li ’20, Emily Arias ’20, Andrea Phung ’20, and Jacob Weigand ’20, with the massive algal structure found on the VWS 9th Grade Peccary Trip in 2016.

Projects based on more recently collected specimens include study of:

• The Alf Museum has four full-time paleontologists whose duties include significant time working with Webb students; a fifth paleontologist, Tara Lepore, teaches science at Webb.

With a world-class museum, an accomplished staff and exceptional students, Webb has all the right stuff, and the result is a world-renowned center for paleontological research where Webb students play a large role.

• the brain endocast of a 32 million-year-old saber-toothed cat by Nathan Paik ’19;

Museum Preparation Specialist Arrives

• carnivorous dinosaur teeth from Utah by Winona Dodds ’19;

Jared Heuck became the Alf Museum’s first-ever full-time fossil preparator in the summer of 2018. Jared is originally from Southern California but studied paleontology at Montana State University (Bozeman), where he volunteered at the Museum of the Rockies (MOR) preparing fossils. During summers, Jared joined MOR crews and helped on various field projects, such as excavations at the famous Egg Mountain site where dinosaur egg nests are preserved. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Jared worked as a petroleum geologist for three years until he moved back to California to pursue a Master’s degree. Soon thereafter, Jared volunteered at the Alf Museum, preparing fossils from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (Utah). Within a few months, Jared was hired as a part-time fossil preparator while he completed his coursework and taught classes at California State University-Fullerton. Recently, a three-year grant from the David B. Jones Foundation allowed the museum to hire Jared full-time, a tenure that began in early July. That summer, Jared participated in the excavation of the Cripe Site in southern Utah. Currently, he is reorganizing and equipping the fossil preparation lab so more Webb students can be involved in the museum after-school class. In this unique afterschool activity, Jared instructs students on how to prepare the priceless specimens found on peccary trips and mentors them in various aspects of geology and paleontology.

• skull bones of a duckbilled (hadrosaur) dinosaur from Utah by Ben Chai ’19; • a rare juvenile femur (thigh bone) of a hadrosaur by Eunice Yip ’19; • 35 million-year-old snakes, lizards and mammals from Pipestone Springs, Montana, by Izzy Gerard ’19, Catherine Wu ’19, Aspen Helgeson ’20, Gabe Hong ’20, Ping Fong ’20, Jill Ji ’20 and Emily Li ’20; • a large crust-like algal structure from the Barstow Formation

by Jacob Weigand ’20, Emily Arias ’20, Cecilia Li ’20 and Andrea Phung ’20; • 40 million-year-old mammals from the Gravelly Range and Sage Creek Basin of southwest Montana by Liam Gerken ’20, Frank Hu ’20, and Jonathan Becker ’20 (J. Bibbens ’18, B. Kong ’18 and A. Tarakji ’18 also worked on this project).

More recently, the addition of two more paleontologists to the Alf Museum staff, Collections Manager & Outreach Coordinator Gabe Santos in 2015, and Fossil Preparation Specialist Jared Heuck in 2018, gave additional support to the museum’s research program. Santos developed volunteer opportunities for Webb students to curate specimens as part

Ian Igleheart ’20 (left) and Jayden Chiu ’20 with a Bass Formation specimen collected by Ray Alf and Webb students about 60 years ago. These circular impressions were thought by Alf to represent a jellyfish-like animal.

of the effort to have all the museum’s fossils properly stored and documented. Also, Farke and Santos led a concerted effort to publicize the museum’s collections so researchers worldwide know that the specimens were available for study.

In addition, the activities of Farke and Santos in professional paleontological organizations greatly increased the scientific reputation of the museum on both a national and international level. Researchers now visit Webb from all over the world to study the Alf Museum collections, which are constantly growing because of the peccary trips. Although having just arrived, Jared Heuck has already made an impact on the research program because he works daily with Webb students in the fossil preparation lab (see related story).

Raymond Alf Biography Available Soon Dr. Raymond Alf, perhaps the greatest educator in the history of The Webb Schools, was incredibly dedicated to teaching and coaching and lived on campus for nearly 70 years. Alf’s life was vibrant and unbounded.

He was born in China to missionary parents, and then became a nationally ranked collegiate sprinter, a renowned paleontologist who won a multitude of teaching awards, an inspirational motivator to generations of Webb students, and a man who founded the only paleontology museum on the planet that involves high school students in all aspects of its operations. To tell his story and honor his legacy, Museum Director Don Lofgren and former Museum Assistant Jennifer Liu ’05 (recently appointed as director of parent relations and special events for The Webb Schools) worked for two years (with Eric B. Williams, Alf Family Archivist) to complete, Moment of Time, the Life of Raymond Alf and the History of the Peccary Society. The book is a defi nitive treatment of Alf’s life and the history of the museum that bears his name. It has 15 chapters, 352 pages and over 200 photos, and a copy is available to anyone who donates $100 or more to the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology. The book should be in print about the time you read this.

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Fall / Winter Athletics Success The fall season was one of Webb’s strongest in years. It closed out with three league championships: WSC cross country (5th consecutive), VWS cross country (4th consecutive) and VWS volleyball (the first in Vivian Webb history). Webb also posted a strong 7-3 record in WSC football, finishing third in league play. VWS golf ended the season with a second place in the league.

As we make our way deep into the winter season, we find VWS soccer undefeated and threatening to get into the CIF record books for the most goals scored / fewest allowed. All other teams are currently in the hunt for post-season qualification.

VWS FALL AWARDS CROSS COUNTRY: Runner of the Year: Lily Miller ’21/ All League 1st Team: Anne Lofgren ’19, Alice Hou ’20, Scout Zischke ’22, Amelie Cook ’20 / All League 2nd Team: Carol Kang ’21, Mary Davis ’19.

TENNIS: All League 1st Team: Emily Schoffman ’19, Jenna Zhao ’20, Jenna Hawkes ’21.

VOLLEYBALL: Player of the Year: Chiara Filart ’21, All

League 1st Team: Lydia Toy ’20, Savanna Cespedes ’22, Michelle Munguia ’20 / All League 2nd Team: Brigid Corbin ’19, Malika Neogi ’20/ All League Honorable Mention: Emily Arias ’20.

GOLF: All League Honorable Mention: Ashley Munguia ’21, Yvonne Kan ’22.

WSC FALL AWARDS CROSS COUNTRY: All League 1st Team: Frank

Hu ’20, Michael Martinez ’21, Dean Woelfle ’21, JD O’Donnell ’20, Orion Lavin-Marz ’20, Luke Raus ’20, Nick Theobald ’22 / All League 2nd Team: Jonathan Maschler ’21.

FOOTBALL: Player of the Year: Nick Johnson ’19, All

League 1st Team: Chris Haliburton ’20, Simon Dawson ’19, JJ Cunningham ’19, Matt Martinez ’19 / All League 2nd Team: Indiana Viramontes ’21, Chris Nance ’21, Willie Martinez ’19, Alex Cardenas ’20 / All League Honorable Mention: Ryan Bridges ’20.

WATER POLO: League MVP: Eddie Moreira ’19 / All

League 1st Team: Max Fargo ’21, Robert Torrance ’19 / All League 2nd Team: Kevin Kang ’19, Malachi Cassel ’20 / All League Honorable Mention: Nathan Paik ’19, Gabriel Hong ’20.

WINTER 2019 SEASON: VWS: Water Polo, Basketball, Soccer / WSC: Basketball, Soccer, Wrestling and VWS/WSC Triathlon.

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D

Head’s Reception for Leadership Donors

D ONOR P ROF IL E

oug Myles

Doug Myles served as a trustee of The Webb Schools for seven years, 1986-1993, and then as a trustee of The Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology for 24 years, 1994-2018, retiring on the occasion of his 90th birthday.

Upon his retirement from board service, Doug and his wife Ann made a gift that will forever change the Alf Museum.

In addition to a generous $100,000 cash gift to the museum endowment, Doug and Ann established the Myles Family Museum Fund. They did so with a testamentary gift designation from Doug’s Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The future value of that gift will be over one-third of the museum’s $3 million endowment goal.

He identified that IRA funds inherited by heirs are subject to personal income tax, but if given to charity directly they avoid all such taxation. He and Ann have made one of the largest ever gifts to the museum and will have a permanent place in securing its future.

This endowed gift will not only alleviate annual budget concerns by producing a steady and reliable revenue stream—it will ensure the museum is able to recruit and retain a world-class staff, maintain state-

Members of our Head’s Circle, Leadership Society, Pacesetter’s Club and the T&V Society truly embrace The Webb Schools and our mission.

Their continued support is vital to our success and provides resources to the schools that otherwise would not be available. Their generous donations make a tremendous impact on our everyday operations.

We are indebted to all our donors who help make Webb a truly special place. Thank you for supporting The Webb Schools.

of-the-art facilities and underwrite groundbreaking student research.

Their son David Myles ’80 is a current trustee of the schools and their son-in-law Page Thibodeaux is a current trustee of the museum. The mark this family has made on the Webb community is indelible.

Join us as we Webb 24/7 for Giving Day On April 25-26, from noon to noon, The Webb Schools will be celebrating our second annual Giving Day. Last year alumni, parents and friends from all over the world came together for 24 hours to support our students and faculty. We hope you will join us again by making a gift and showing us how you Webb 24/7.

Receive your copy of the Raymond Alf biography!

Relive your memories or learn about the incredible life of Ray Alf for the fi rst time.

Moment of Time, the Life of Raymond Alf & the History of the Peccary Society, written by Dr. Don Lofgren and Jenn Liu ’05, includes fi rst-person interviews with alumni and Ray’s family members, as well as primary source material and rarely seen photos of Ray, the museum and The Webb Schools campus through the ages.

Donors who make a gift of $100 or more designated to the Alf Museum will receive a copy of the biography.

Give today at webb.org/giving or contact Angie Pfeiffer, director of The Webb Fund, at giving@webb.org or (909) 482-5288.

Report of Schools Highlights of the 2017-18 year are featured in The Report of Schools, which is available online or in print.

In this edition, you will read about Webb’s many distinctive programs that our donors made possible last year and will continue in the months and years ahead. Gifts last year supported a wide variety of priorities: The Webb Fund, endowment including fi nancial aid, faculty support and annual campus improvement, and capital projects.