The Willows Voice Sprint 2018-2019

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reach ng Every Corner

Middle School Debate Team Seeing Both Sides of An Issue www.thewillows.org

Reach Back in History to Strengthen the Present

Middle School Latin

THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

reach 1 Message from Lisa Rosenstein

Head of School Reach for the Stars

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The Library A Hub of Learning at The Willows CHALLENGING ACADEMICS IN BALANCE

6 Bee-Bots & Blue-Bots & Hex Bugs,

Oh My!

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Reach Out For A Woodworking Tool

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Reaching Across Disciplines Kindergarten Animal Kingdom!

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Debating to Reach an Understanding Middle School Debate Team

12 Reaching 1000’s of Students,

Educators & Families RULER/The Willows Collaboration

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Reaching Your Beautiful Potential Transformational STEAM Project

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Ideas@TheWillows Reaching Out to Share

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How Far Can We Reach?

Big Ideas Build Dreams

20 Reaching Back in History to Strengthen

the Present Latin and the Study of the Ancient Civilizations

22 Space & Satellite Exploration in 4th

We believe passionately in developing students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills. We are committed to a rigorous academic program founded on the progressive principles of experiential learning and thematic instruction.

The Willows takes a balanced approach to this process, placing equal emphasis on challenging academics and social-emotional wellbeing. Our developmentally structured curriculum allows each child to fulfill his or her intellectual, creative, physical, and social-emotional potential. Our integrated approach equips students to become lifelong learners who are able to question,

Grade

discover, and make connections in an

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Innovations Within Reach

environment where it is safe to take intellectual

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Reaching Across The Globe Connecting Learning, Cultures & Community

and creative risks. Willows students come to

26 The First Willows International

Service Learning Trip Nicaragua

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Grandparent Happenings

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Alumni Music News

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Alumni Happenings

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Alumni in Brief

understand the most important lesson of all: as a learner, anything is possible.

The Willows Online WEBSITE: www.thewillows.org TWITTER: @WillowsSchool INSTAGRAM: WillowsCommSchool FACEBOOK: The Willows Community School WISDOM OF THE WILLOWS BLOG: thewillowsblog.wordpress.com/

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MESSAGE FROM LISA ROSENSTEIN, HEAD OF SCHOOL

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each for the stars

Reach out Reach within Reach back Reach across Reach into Our students reach in some direction every day in an effort to reach their full potential. Our teachers reach in many different directions in order to reach their students, inspiring them to love learning, think deeply, and strive to be their best selves. Our community reaches out to each other to build interpersonal relationships that create our unique school environment and culture that embraces all our students.

Lisa Rosenstein Head of School The Willows Community School

“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.”

–Confusius

As a school, we all continuously reach out and within to forge strong relationships and an exemplary academic and social emotional learning environment. We reach beyond our own walls to build real-world connections locally and globally.

We help students reach their full potential by listening and valuing student-driven ideas, sparking passion and inquiry, and encouraging caring, creativity, and collaboration.

Our experiential curriculum is designed to reach each student and each learning style.

As a balanced, progressive school, we want our students to achieve a balance in their lives—accomplishments in academics, the arts, athletics, and extracurricular activities are balanced with life skills, service learning, engaged citizenship, and civic responsibility. We emphasize the development of social emotional skills hand-in-hand with academic skills using the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence RULER approach.

In this issue, you will see that our students and our community have reached new heights with…

• Our newly created Middle School Debate Team • The depth of our Latin and Classical Studies Program • The scientific study by our Lower School of the cycle of the life of a caterpillar • Global connections by our students with students in India and Africa to explore literature and more • The first Willows International Trip to Nicaragua We want our students to be ambitious, to dream, to strive, to give, to grow and . . . to always reach for the stars which are most certainly within their grasp.

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

THE LIBRARY – REACHING EVERY CORNER OF OUR CAMPUS

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A Hub of Learning at The Willows earning is not a solitary process at The Willows, and our Library is an excellent example of this.

A vibrant, 21st century environment located at the heart of our campus, the Library is a hub for collaboration and cross-disciplinary learning. Intellectually and architecturally open, the library is a spacious environment where students, teachers, and library staff share, question, listen, and learn from one another.

No, shhh, quiet down, here! With glass doors opened to our yard, the library has an inviting, bustling atmosphere with students of all ages checking out books, reading on sofas, researching on lap tops, or listening to a story in the book corner. “The beauty of our library is its dynamic, fluid quality” says Lisa Rosenstein, Head of School. “It allows quiet individual exploration, as well as small and large group discourse and sharing. Everyone feels connected–a true community of learners.”

With 26,000+ resources including digital and print books, playaways (iPod style digital books), Tablets, iPads, iPods, Mac minis, audiobooks, DVD’s, E-books with check-outs to the student digital devices, a wide range of

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databases, teacher resources, and streaming services, our library most definitely has it all.

Still, students and faculty can reach for an inspiring storybook, an enthralling novel, or the latest informative, non-fiction book. And there, to help all our students, faculty, and staff is our Director of Library Services Cathy Leverkus, who has been the very soul of our library program for 20+ years. Cathy works closely with Terri Baird, Director of Teaching and Learning, and all our teachers to diligently connect the library to the classroom with pertinent and engaging resources to complement the curriculum. Cathy, assisted by Stephanie Vahedi, Library Assistant, teaches ongoing library classes to all grades throughout the year.

INSTILLING A ZEST FOR LITERACY & LIFE

The library program is the intersection of source literacy, media literacy, and information literacy. The curriculum also focuses on teaching critical research and strong research methods, to enable students to judge the credibility of news and information.

Our library also links the School to our Los Angeles and national communities. Each year,

only thing “Tyouhe absolutely

have to know, is the location of the library.

”

—Albert Einstein

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

I have always imagined that Paradise “will be a kind of library.”

-JORGE LUIS BORGES

Our Library-Reaching Out to Address Current Events & Topics Promoting Diversity in Literature and Media Cathy has presented “Diversity in Literature and Media” to our faculty and staff to accentuate the teaching of inclusion and social justice and help faculty to identify the guiding questions that will lead students to value individuality, better understand that each person is a unique individual, and promote empathy and compassion. In addition, ideas and tools are presented to encourage children to read outside their own cultural and economic background.

Teaching News Literacy Skills Students also receive instruction in library classes to help them identify reliable news and information sources and detect “fake news” online and on social media. Cathy offers media literacy strategies to help students critically question and analyze the influx of digital information.

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Inquiry-Based Learning in the Library Our Director of Library Services assists teachers in developing an inquiry-driven learning environment to set the stage for using primary sources and subjects.

Speaking to Events & Issues in Real-Time The library is always a vital resource for dealing with news as it happens offering sources, articles, and books that deal with topics in current news providing up-to-date information on events, crises, tragedies, and parenting information. For example, with the forest fire tragedies in California, to offset the bleak and negative news, Cathy compiled a list of positive news sites to combat the news fatigue that children and parents were feeling featuring the New York Times “The Week in Good News” and a TED Talk on positive news “How to Watch the News and Get Inspired” by Daryn Kagan.

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visiting authors, speakers, librarians, and educators from across the United States come together to exchange ideas, and gain innovative educational best practices. For example, Members of the American Independent School Librarians (AISL) met at The Willows Community School for their Summer Institute Critical Literacies: Empowering Learners in Your Library. Librarians explored the intersections between source literacy, media literacy, information literacy, and the library program. The Institute included workshops and discussions designed to help members effectively structure library instruction and collaborate with campus partners to give students the tools and skills to be independent, critical researchers. Willows Alumni Parent and Founder and professor at CSUN (California State University at Northridge) Bobbie Eisenstock, Ph.D. presented a workshop entitled Breaking News: Read Between the Lines, News Literacy Skills for the Digital Age. Colleagues from all grade level divisions participated! Bobbie then shared her workshop with our Board of Trustees and faculty.

Cathy often presents at various organizations including the California School Library Association Annual Conference, AISL conferences, and the Independent School Library Exchange (ISLE), often teaming up with Terri Baird, Director of Teaching and Learning, to share knowledge through presentations titled, Harvest the Possibilities: Connect. Collaborate. Grow and Administration, Teacher, and Librarian Collaboration.

“

The most important thing is that people read . . . -Neil Gaiman

”

The Willows is deeply committed to the core values of multi-culturalism, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and to enhance inclusivity, Cathy often brings in diverse authors such as Jason Reynolds and Sharon Draper. A panel of notable Young Adult authors, Michelle Gagnon, C.B. Lee, and Madeleine Roux, discussed diversity in literature with Middle School students. Our 8th grade read The Hate U Give and discussed the book with a panel including LAPD detective Nate Blue, fifth grade teacher Hassani Scott, and alumni parent Lewis Dix, who shared their personal stories and answered questions.

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VISUAL ART, LIBRARY, & RULER UNITE IN DISPLAY AT CHILDREN’S BOOK WORLD

During library classes, our 5th grade students created posters of their favorite books. Students discussed the emotions of a main character, and then photographed each other expressing one emotion the character portrayed in the book. Students used RULER, the acclaimed Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning that helps schools integrate emotional intelligence and curriculum.

In this project, students illustrated their understanding of the Feeling Words curriculum and the Mood Meter, two RULER Anchor Tools, which they have been learning about and using in daily life.

They used color filters in Photoshop to represent the color of the emotion.

The posters were then displayed at Children’s Book World.

Libraries are no longer “simply archives of books,

but rather centers of learning that combine many different types of resources and experiences to broaden the human experience.”

CATHY LEVERKUS, DIRECTOR OF LIBRARY SERVICES

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

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BEE-BOTS & BLUE-BOTS & HEX BUGS, OH MY!

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Our youngest students in Kindergarten begin their adventure in computer programming and coding with a variety of robots designed for young children.

They learn about measurement, problemsolving, counting, estimation, and collaboration as they work with these tech tools independently or with a friend.

“We want all of our students to see themselves as makers, designers, and doers. This is a very intentional part of our curriculum that builds innovative, deep thinking,” says Lisa Rosenstein, Head of School. “Even our very youngest students are engaging in hands-on problem solving when they program these robots.”

First, students are introduced to Bee-Bots, an exciting robot that is colorful, easy to operate, and perfect for teaching pre-programming and sequencing.

Children discover quickly how the Bee-Bot moves by exploring and testing buttons and becoming familiar with the operational vocabulary–forward, backwards; turn left, right, and clear.

Then, students determine how to move a Bee-Bot through our hallways. DK and Kindergarten students learn

directionality skills as well as build memory as they command the Bee-Bots.

Students program their Bee-Bots using the directional keys (up to 40 commands possible) then start Bee-Bots blinking and beeping along their way on their creative and often complex path.

As they use the Bee-Bot, students are inspired to enter even more creative and complex command sequences.

Blue-Bots are Bee-Bots with a built-in Bluetooth connection so that students may connect them to a laptop or tablet, create on-screen programs, and use a remote control to command the Blue-Bot. Hexbugs are not members of the insect family! They are micro robotic creatures that are actually vibrating robots without a “brain.” They use the physics of vibration to propel forward and explore their environment quickly navigating through mazes. Kindergarteners act as the Hexbugs’ brains and design mazes for the Hexbug to navigate. By carefully and thoughtfully manipulating

the Hexbug, a student moves it through the maze without getting stuck or vibrating through the maze walls.

First grade students study insects in science. After making observations of real, live insects first graders are able to apply their observational skills to Hexbugs and predict how the Hexbugs would work based on what they have learned about insects. Before using the Hexbugs, students answered questions such as: How would the Hexbugs work on different surfaces?

Can it crawl or move on bubble wrap?

Can it go uphill? Can it go through PVC pipe? Students then conducted experiments with the Hexbugs using bubble wrap, PVC pipe, and more. They also recorded data for later analysis.

The use of all these tech tools requires critical thinking, problem solving, fine motor dexterity, spatial thinking, trial and error, and creativity, as well as patience, cooperation, and sharing.

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

REACH OUT FOR A WOODWORKING TOOL Faculty Professional Development with Culver City’s ReDiscover Center Leads Back to the Classroom

Our faculty participated in a unique professional development experience learning tool safety and best practices for woodworking projects with representatives from the ReDiscover Center (http://rediscovercenter.org/). Our teachers are now prepared to assist in student construction projects across campus.

Inspired by these workshops, our Middle School designLab underwent a transformation adding a permanent woodworking center complete with mounted power tools and safety equipment to be used with teacher supervision.

Doug Klier, Middle School Dean, and Phil Lee, Kindergarten teacher, who was already proficient in woodworking and the use of power tools, collaborated to bring woodworking to our classroom curriculum throughout the school.

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REACHING ACROSS DISCIPLINES

KINDERGARTEN ANIMAL KINGDOM! The Kindergarten Animal Unit is experiential learning and academics at its best. The ultimate goal of this study is that each child will understand how to research a topic and learn facts about animals. Along the way, students discover incredible new information as they are immersed in a cross-disciplinary study using geography, technology, visual art, and more.

Each student selects and researches an animal in books, auditory encyclopedias, classroom discussions, videos, class projects, imaginary play, and more. The class studies the animal kingdom, the major animal classifications, and specific attributes of mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and fish. A class trip to see Noah’s Ark at the Skirball Center offers inspiration for animals and habitats. Students discover the habitat of their animal and where these habitats exist around the globe, then mark the areas where their animal may live on a world map. Next, they illustrate their animal’s habitat, and use Animation-ish, an application on their laptops, to illustrate their animal in its natural habitat.

Through a hands-on approach, children learn facts about their animal including the animal’s diet, defense from predators, habitat, and classification, and create a book report on their animal. The classes learn the difference between carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores and illustrate this information in a watercolor illustration. Focusing on predator and prey, students use colored pencils to illustrate their animal, its predator, and its prey and create a food chain pop-up format. Even at recess, children are playing a “predator and prey” tag game.

One of the very special aspects of this unit is the parent involvement.

Parents are part of a maker project creating the animal. They help their child shape, tape, and papier maché the animal. Then, in maker class, students paint and accessorize their animal and place it in large student-created habitats made from recycled materials.

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

DEBATING TO

REACH AN understanding MIDDLE SCHOOL DEBATE TEAM SEEING BOTH SIDES OF AN ISSUE

There is no debate–our Middle School Debate Team is off to a fantastic start!

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Part of The Willows Mission states that we challenge “our students to uncover meaning and significance in the world around them and to become capable, confident individuals who demonstrate character, engagement, and a joyful passion for creative inquiry.” Our Middle School Debate Team is fulfilling this mission.

Open to all the Middle School, the Debate Team was piloted with 7th and 8th grade students, who worked diligently researching topics, generating strategies, organizing, practicing, and learning from their participation in debates with other schools. Students meet extra hours two-weeks prior to tournaments, participate in two-hour mock debates, and hold scrimmages with other schools.

Students are required to research both sides of a topic and approach it with a creative angle. “No matter what they

Two alumni, Garrett Davis ‘18 and Graydon Schulze-Kalt ’18, now respectively at Windward School and Harvard-Westlake, attended a debate camp and first brought the idea of a Willows Debate Team to 7th grade teacher Steve Futterman in 2017. The result: creating a student-generated Debate Team Elective Class, joining a debate league, and preparing to debate.

feel, students have to support the side of the issue they are assigned,” says Steve Futterman. “Their job is to see both sides of the issue and make the argument. They must argue respectfully and intelligently.”

Topics have included: benefits of cyber currency, increasing aid to Rohingya refugees, schools eliminating letter grades, and whether people should own reptiles, to name a few.

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“THEIR JOB IS TO SEE BOTH SIDES OF THE ISSUE AND MAKE THE ARGUMENT. THEY MUST ARGUE RESPECTFULLY AND INTELLIGENTLY.” Steve Futterman // Middle School Teacher and Debate Team Coach

“The expectations were very high for our Debate Team,” Steve Futterman points out. “I really wanted the Debate Team

to be what the students wanted and went into it with the idea that it would be fun and see how it went. The student growth has been amazing. “ Middle School Teachers have seen impressive development in the students on the Debate Team, ranging from student confidence and poise to deeper critical thinking skills to improvement in the structure of essays and supporting ideas.

The Debate Team offers leadership opportunities to students in three person teams and helps students develop intellectually, going beyond improved public speaking skills. Students learn to speak eloquently and passionately about a topic while fitting their points into a three-minute time constraint. They master shyness while growing as individuals and part of a very collaborative team.

“We want our students to find their passions and their voices–to develop and express their opinions,” says Lisa Rosenstein, Head of School. “However, we also want them to be empathetic and understanding–to see the other perspective. Debate is a great training ground for this!”

Our debaters have had outstanding results placing in tournaments both as teams and as individual speakers. They have taken home trophies, but the rewards to The Willows educational programming have been immense with this addition to our curriculum and student development.

8thGradeDebateTeam MembersConductMockDebate for2ndGradeStudents In keeping with our Buddy Program philosophy, 8th Grade Students on our Debate Team, led by their coach Steve Futterman, worked with our 2nd grade students to help them understand the power of persuasion. The 8th graders held a mock debate to inspire the younger students who were embarking on their Persuasive Writing projects – part of our Writing Workshop Curriculum.

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

Reaching 1000’s of Students, Educators & Families The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence RULER Collaboration with The Willows

TT

he Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and The Willows are collaborating to bring RULER, the Center’s evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning (SEL) to the West Coast.

In May 2018, the collaboration was launched with the first West Coast RULER Institute, Creating Emotionally Intelligent Schools training, which was made possible by the generous donations from Ellen Bronfman Hauptman and Andrew Hauptman and The Hauptman Family Foundation and The Simms/Mann Family Foundation. Marc Brackett, Ph.D, Director, and Dena Simmons, Ed.D, Assistant Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence along with Yale trainers and our RULER Team of Willows faculty master teachers conducted the highly interactive two-day Institute. This joint project was the first of a multi-year initiative; our second RULER Institute took place in February 2019. In addition, the first West Coast RULER Implementation Conference for previously trained schools was held in February 2019.

Our RULER team under the leadership of Director of Student Life Christina Kim, was selected to encompass all grades from Lower Elementary, Upper Elementary, and Middle School in order to best forward RULER teacher training and classroom integration. Members of the RULER team are Jen Doyle, 3rd and 4th grade Loop teacher; Steve Futterman, 7th grade teacher; Bobby Hamm, 6th

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grade teacher; Andrea Passarella, Kindergarten and Middle School Photography Teacher; and Brent Weiss, Kindergarten Teacher.

MAY 2018 RULER INSTITUTE KICKS OFF THE RULER/WILLOWS COLLABORATION One hundred educators from 22 schools–charter, public, independent, and parochial–our maximum capacity, from Los Angeles, Southern and Northern California, Washington State and Oregon convened at The Willows for the training. These educators and administrators returned to their schools eager to implement the RULER approach.

parochial, charter, and public schools throughout California, Ohio, and British Columbia, Canada, participating. Then on February 8, the first West Coast RULER Implementation Conference for previously RULER trained schools was held with 23 schools and 95 attendees from Oregon, Washington state, Canada, Arizona, and throughout California; many of the schools from our first training returned to The Willows. This conference was an opportunity for all the schools integrating RULER into their school life to share information, thoughts, and plans with colleagues.

Through these events we are reaching and enhancing the lives of thousands of students, educators, and families.

A few samples of responses to the RULER trainings:

“ We walked away feeling so inspired not only by the program, but especially by your staff and even your students. We were so impressed by how you are implementing RULER into all aspects of your school, especially the Classrooms . . . You gave us so many wonderful ideas and your teachers were absolutely AMAZING.” –California Middle School Counselor

FEBRUARY 2019 RULER INSTITUTE & RULER IMPLEMENTATION CONFERENCE Our second RULER Institute was held on February 6 & 7 with 70 educators and administrators from 19 independent,

“ It’s clear that you have not just adopted the RULER program, but it has become so deeply integrated with the mission and learning environment at Willows that they are nearly indistinguishable.”

–Independent School Director

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” Thanks again for your excellent model in rolling out RULER.” –Los Angeles Charter School Parent “ Our first RULER west coast conference at The Willows was a tremendous success. Over 100 educators from dozens of schools showed their commitment to Social Emotional Learning and children’s healthy emotional development!” –Marc Brackett, Ph.D., Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence The Willows continues its role as a RULER Flagship School and serves as a year-round resource to train, support, and inspire schools to enhance the social and emotional lives of children and their families.

MIDDLE SCHOOL ROBOTICS TEAM WINS

FIRST PLACE LEAGUE PROJECT AWARD

RULER Integration – Students, Families, Faculty, Staff – Our Entire Community A RULER Family Charter Workshop was held with Marc Brackett, Ph.D., Director, and Dena Simmons, Ed.D., Assistant Director, Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.

Marc and Dena assisted by Christina Kim, Director of Student Life, and our RULER Team, conducted an interactive workshop with Willows families on the RULER Anchor Tool, the Charter. Families worked together to create their own family charter to state how they want to feel and be treated within their home. The Families worked as a unit to create their own Charter, a written agreement that describes how you want to feel at home, what you can do to create those feelings, and how you agree to handle conflict. The Charter helps establish a positive emotional home climate.

RULER STRATEGIES INCORPORATED INTO SOLUTION Congrats to our Middle School Robotics Team who attended the FIRST LEGO League Qualifying Tournament on November 10, 2018, and won a first place Project Award for their research project that incorporated RULER strategies into an innovative solution, creating an application for combating depression in astronauts. The team earned advancement to the Los Angeles Region Championship! A Willows first! They earned a spot based on performance in all judging categories–project, robot design, core values, and robot game.

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

Reaching Your Beautiful Potential:

Caterpillars & Chrysalises Transformational 14 STEAM Project

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Transformational artwork emerged in our Lower School STEAM Studio/Art Room as our Elementary Art Teacher Kristy Acero developed an art project in conjunction with Lower School science units. Kristy inspired her students by bringing caterpillars and chrysalises from our organic garden into the classroom for close, in-depth observation.

During classes a document camera was used to give students rich, close-up images to observe. In addition, a time-lapse video of a monarch butterfly eclosion, emergence from the pupal case, was created so students were able to observe metamorphosis in action!

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

IDEAS@ THE WILLOWS

Learning in Action

Reaching Out to Share

Ideas@The Willows is a collaborative community generating and exchanging ideas to enhance the knowledge of parents, expand the vision of educators, engage life-long learners, enlighten our community, and enrich the classroom experience. Our speaker events,

workshops, film screenings, panels, partnerships, mentoring, research, and inquiry are intentionally designed to continue the education and empower the growth of great minds.

OUR ACCLAIMED SPEAKER SERIES, WORKSHOPS, FILMSCREENINGS, STUDENT AND PARENT EDUCATION EVENTS

Dr. Michael Gurian, Co-founder of the Gurian Institute and New York Times bestselling author of 28 books including The Wonder of Boys and The Wonder of Girls, spoke to our parent and extended Los Angeles community on The Minds of Boys and Girls: A Brain-Based Approach, followed by Part 2–Protecting the Emotional Lives of Boys and Girls. Dr. Gurian, who has pioneered efforts to bring neurobiology and brain research into homes and schools, explored the differences in learning styles, behaviors, and interests of boys and girls offering strategies to raise happy, successful, and emotionally fulfilled children. Several Willows teachers attended the Gurian Institute in San Diego during Summer 2018.

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Jason Reynolds, a New York Times bestselling author, a Newbery Award Honoree, and a National Book Award Honoree, spoke at our Parent Breakfast. An NAACP Image Award Winner and the recipient of multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Jason writes novels and poetry for young adult and middle school audiences. His numerous books include When I Was the Greatest, Boy in the Black Suit, All American Boys (cowritten with Brendan Kiely), As Brave as You, For Every One, the Track series (Ghost, Patina, Sunny, and Lu), and Long Way Down, “So, I’m a writer. And when I say I’m a writer, I mean it in the same way a professional ball player calls himself an athlete. I practice every day and do the best I can to be better at this writing thing, while hopefully bringing some cool stories to the world. The stories are kinda like my slam dunks. Except, I’m dunking words.” www.jasonwritesbooks.com

Story Musgrave, who was a NASA astronaut for over 30 years and flew on six spaceflights, shared his story and accomplishments with our 2nd to 5th grade students and middle schoolers. Story, who was a U.S. Marine aircraft electrician and engine mechanic, holds seven graduate degrees in math, computers, chemistry, medicine, physiology, literature, and psychology, as well as 20 honorary doctorates. He was also a part-time trauma surgeon. During his career as an astronaut, he performed the first shuttle spacewalk on Challenger’s first flight, was a pilot on an astronomy mission, conducted two classified DOD missions, was the lead spacewalker on the Hubble Telescope repair mission, and on his last flight, he operated an electronic chip manufacturing satellite on Columbia.

Storytelling Phenomenon–The Moth led by Micaela Blei, Ph.D., Moth Director of Education and Community Programs, who presented Storytelling for Empathy and Engagement–An Innovative Strategy for Child Development– brought its magic to our Los Angeles community and conducted a Willows faculty workshop. Focusing on the art and craft of storytelling and how personal narrative performance and the crafting of stories can create a powerful context in which to explore together the emotional and critical work of learning and life, the Moth inspired all of us to share stories with families, friends, or students.

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LAPD K-9 Willow Part of the proceeds from our annual Jog-a-thon went towards the purchase of a police dog, appropriately named Willow, for the Los Angeles Police Department K-9 Division. LAPD police officers brought Willow to meet our students and demonstrate how they train and utilize police dogs.

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Dena Simmons, Ed.D. Lifelong Activist, Educator, & Assistant Director of Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence spoke on Leveraging Emotional Intelligence and Culturally Responsive Practices.

“ We want to thank The Willows Community School staff, faculty and students for your gift of K9 Willow who will be protecting the streets. We are thankful for you!

– K9-Fund LAPD K9

Beth Sussman, Juilliard-trained, classical pianist, performed for the Lower School, demonstrating how the expression of a piece of music can change depending on how it is played.

New York Times bestselling authors Meg Wolitzer and Holly Goldberg Sloan visited The Willows to chat with 3rd–6th grade students about their new book To Night Owl from Dogfish.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, the documentary that takes an intimate look at Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers of the beloved television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood), the creative genius who inspired generations of children with compassion and limitless imagination, was screened at The Willows followed by Willows teachers in conversation with parents led by Brian Tousey, 8th grade core and film teacher.

Designer and author Jennifer George, the granddaughter of inventor and engineer Rube Goldberg, spoke with our students at an All School Assembly about Rube Goldberg’s life, career, and his iconic inventions, that our students often emulate in maker classes.

Jennifer Senior, The New York Times Book Critic, award-winning journalist, and bestselling author of All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood, offered inspiration and reassurance to parents and educators from across Los Angeles as she spoke on how children reshape our lives. She offered help and advice on how parents can deal with the anxiety and stress of parenthood.

The Willows partnered with the Geffen Academy at UCLA to bring Maryanne Wolf, Director, Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice, UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies and Chapman University Presidential Fellow to The Willows for her talk, The Young Reading Brain in a Digital World.

What They are Saying About The Willows!

The Willows presentation at the POCC Conference, Going Deeper with Difficult Conversations, “garnered praise as a necessary and enriching workshop” from the conference attendees. POCC People of Color Conference “Good morning! My husband and I happened to be on the flight from DC yesterday with students from your school and we just wanted to let you know how impressed we were with them! They were so well behaved but it was their interaction with each other that impressed us the most. There seemed to be genuine support and camaraderie between them, it was refreshing to see such positive interaction and that is why I am writing you this message. Please let your students know that their respect for each other did not go unnoticed and it made our day.” We are very proud of our 8th grade students and all our students for the respect, cooperation, and understanding they show to each other and the world! Message from a Passenger on the flight to Washington D.C. with our 8th grade students

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

HOW FAR CAN WE REACH? Capital Campaign Reaching Our Vision Fulfilling Our Dreams

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Just as we want all our students to reach their full potential, we want our campus, our environment, and our educational program to reach its full potential and fully realize our vision.

We think BIG! Always considering how to best offer an extraordinary experience for our students, we continually reflect on and enhance our environment and program to achieve this goal. Part of this big thinking is securing our vision for the future.

Our Big Ideas, Build Dreams Campaign and Master Plan are enabling us to do exactly this.

Our first step was the purchase of our properties (Willows 4 & Willows 7) to secure our footprint.

Our next step will be the creation of our Multi-Purpose Field on the site of Willows 7.

With the future reimagining of Willows 6, we will take great strides in the realization of our vision and dreams for a campus of the future and a state-of-the-art environment that educates the innovators, contributors, and leaders of tomorrow.

Well-equipped facilities and classroom environments do help students reach their dreams and potential. Our teachers and students deserve the very best campus, classrooms, and curriculum – our Big Ideas, Build Dreams Campaign will make this happen!

Even our youngest students THINK BIG! And GIVE BIG! A group of students in Jen Doyle and Marissa Weiss’ 2017-2018 class were creating comic books in their free time and joined their individual comic books into a comic book company.

Thinking with a community spirit, they decided that their company’s goal would be raising money to contribute to the capital campaign for our multi-purpose field. Next, they decided to sell copies of their comic books at Willows events such as Poetry Night and Spring Concert. The comic book company discussed their idea with Terri Baird, Director of Teaching and Learning, and obtained her permission for their sales efforts. Then, they presented their idea to Lisa Rosenstein, Head of School and members of our Board of Trustees. After gaining approval, the company took action and set up a stand at events. The outcome? A fantastic $308 contribution to our field.

Following their passion for comic books, these students exemplified the very best kind of philanthropy–working hard and creatively to help achieve a goal and benefit others! Their Big Ideas are Building a Willows dream!

We are immensely grateful for all our donors of every age–YOU make dreams come true and help us reach our goals.

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Campus site plan:

WARNER DRIVE

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6

Gymnasium & Theatre

Purchased in 2016

(Music, Performing Arts) Leased in 2003 // Purchased in 2017

2 Middle School

Warner Drive Additional Parking

Leased in 1998 // Purchased in 2009

Purchased in 2009 // Completed in 2013

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7

5 Dedicated Sports Courts &

(Library Media Center, designLab)

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Big Ideas Build Dreams

Lower Elementary

Upper Elementary

Purchased in 2016

(Music, Performing Arts)

(makerLabs, STEAM2Lab)

Leased in 1994//Purchased in 2009

Leased in 2000 // 30 yr. lease + options

HIGUERA STREET

Examples of student created comic book pages:

“ I was just starting to get into comic books and creating characters when my friend Max said, ‘let’s make a company.’ We created a company and were excited about the new field, so we decided to use our earnings for the field. We sold more than $300 worth of comics and kept the money in a safe until we gave it to the field. It feels good to know that we earned some money to make the field happen.”

MACEO M., 4TH GRADE STUDENT

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

Latin and the Study of the Ancient Civilizations of Rome and Greece Speak to Today

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All Willows Middle School students from 6th through 8th grade study Latin, and many develop a passion for Latin and the classics that highlights its relevance in our modern society. Our two Latin teachers, Kyle Smith-Laird and J.R. Lebert, are emphatic about their own passions for Latin and its relevance today.

“I love teaching sixth grade Latin,” says J.R. “Regardless of their background in math, science, art, Core, or anything else, sixth grade Latin allows all students in the grade a fresh and equal start at shaping a three-year journey through history and language.”

“I love teaching this beautiful, complex, foreign language.

Latin opened my eyes to Roman history, filled with everything mythology offered: intrigue, love, epic battles, spectacular heroism, and glorious failures,” says Kyle. “My high school teachers inspired me to be the best in class, in the Latin Club, and in life, I can only hope to balance the scales a bit by doing the same things in my classroom. I get a rush of joy and fulfillment when students give me that oh! of understanding, like my teachers use to do.”

speaking other languages think differently. This allows students to have perspective, empathy, and understanding of others without being judgmental or overly critical.”

How does a dead language speak to the present?

Latin is not the native language of any culture now, but it is alive and flourishing in many other ways. Kyle points out that, “Since Latin is a dead language, Middle School students do not have the added pressure of speaking a language. Also, I feel that in today’s world, it is paramount that students understand that other societies have different, customs, traditions, and laws, continues Kyle. “Latin helps students understand that people

• Familiarizes students with Roman and Greek civilizations.

So, Why Latin? Latin . . .

• Provides students with word roots that make up over 60% of our language; imagine a pizza without a crust, and that would be English without any Latin roots. (For English words with more than two syllables, this percentage jumps up to 90%)

• Teaches students to think differently, logically, and critically • Helps students develop analytical thinking and problem solving • Encourages excellent study habits • R esults in higher test scores (Students who do well in Latin regularly earn higher scores on the verbal sections of standardized tests than students of Spanish, French, Mandarin, or other languages)

• B uilds vocabulary and language skills and helps students master English and the knowledge of English grammar based in Latin

•O ffers an excellent basis for becoming multilingual and learning a Romance language The Romans provided us with the foundation of our government, laws, literature, language, and arts, many of which still use Latin terms (alibi, exeunt, quid pro quo, etc.)

• Fosters an appreciation of the Roman empire which has had a lasting effect on Western civilization and democracy

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In this digital age how can students benefit from the study of Latin and the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome?

Don’t think from this list that Latin is a dull, boring subject at The Willows. Kyle and J.R. take a very creative approach to Latin and the classics with hands-on projects that are integrated strategically with the Latin curriculum. “Our students have the opportunity to express their own creativity in Latin,” Kyle says. “We approach our study of Latin with imagination. Students learn by creating their own Roman villa, crafting a political campaign poster in Latin using green screen technology, or even making a video of a story as an extension of the language and cultural material.”

Latin students use an online book, replete with supplementary exercises, a vocabulary tester, and additional help; the book follows a single, exciting narrative thread all the way through the two books that students read. In addition, classes play games such as Kahoot and Grammar Camp to teach, reinforce, and practice language skills in a fun, competitive, and creative environment.

For those students who want even more Latin studies, another incredible aspect of the Willows Latin program is the opportunity to be a part of The Willows Junior Classical League (JCL) team.

JCL is a nationwide organization that hosts competitions at conventions where students compete in a wide range of events such as Certamen, a Jeopardy like test of classical history and culture, athletic events, the arts, speech, and debate.

“The JCL elective offers leadership roles to students and prepares them to attend Latin conventions, where they compete in a variety of events,” relates Kyle. “Our JCL group of students was also the first team to bring home a trophy for The Willows in 2000.”

Each year a group of our Middle School students attend the California JCL Convention, held each spring, to compete and engage in social activities. Thirty-seven Middle School students

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attended the 2018 CAJCL and met with great success. The Willows placed third overall for large middle schools in the state.

Many of our students received first place awards. Anav O., a 6th grade student, was awarded the Top Academic Prize for Middle School Level 1 students, first overall on the Middle School Level 1 Classical Art test, first overall on the MS Level 1 Mottoes, Quotes, and Abbreviations test, and was one of a three-member team, along with Ben B. and Naomi B., that won the MS Level 1 Certamen tournament. Other first place winners included Naomi B. Black Pencil Drawing; Ben S. – MS Level 2 Daily Life Test: Atticus R-K, Digital Scrapbook and our Middle School volleyball and soccer teams took first place.

Latin at The Willows is certainly not a “dead” subject but an academically challenging, deeply creative, inspirational study of language and history, that is alive, lively, and thriving in our Middle School.

Middle School Latin Teacher Kyle SmithLaird Publishes Books of Short Stories Fabulae mirabiles or Strange Stories & fabulae mirabiliores, or Stranger Stories Kyle Smith-Laird is the published author of two sets of supplemental stories published by the North American Cambridge Classics Project. The Cambridge Latin Course is used by 75% of the Latin programs in North America.

“These stories, written for the 5th edition, explore different story lines, give further female representation with Eumachia, a Pompeian merchant, and offer teachers new alternatives for reading, practice, and testing,” says Kyle. “With engaging new plot lines, all the stories come with reading comprehension questions, and every Stage is represented.”

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

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Space & Satellite Exploration in the 4th Grade Our fourth-grade students are monitoring the International Space Station . . . from their classrooms! Through the ISS Above Program, created by Liam Kennedy, a special Raspberry Pi-enabled device connects the 4th grade classrooms’ TV to the International Space Station and monitors the location of the space station. Through real time photos and videos directly to the classroom, students learn how far away the Space Station is and how long it takes for it to make one trip around the earth. Students also watched the launch of SpaceX live via ISS Above. Our fourth grade teachers report that in support of their year-long study of outer space, students love to look and see exactly when the ISS will be passing over us.

Classes have welcomed guest speaker Liam Kennedy, the creator of ISS, twice to answer questions and present information about the development of the program, outer space, and the Space Station.

“Being inspire d by st interna udents tional s ’ exc p ace sta ISS Ab tion. Th itement for th ove in t e w e Willo o class showe ws just d up w rooms in it and the stalled hs answer studen s) abou uch exquisite t s Liam K t q a u ll estions of this.” ennedy // Intern (and ation al Spac

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e Statio

n Abov

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Innovations

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WITHIN REACH

Exploring Circuitry with Scribble Bots First graders explored simple circuitry concepts through building “scribble bots” out of plastic cups, tape, motors and a battery. After learning how to complete a circuit between the battery and the motor, they secured both to the cup and let their robots start drawing, powered by vibrations from the motors!

Kodo Kids Integrated in our STEAM2 Curriculum With the addition of Magnetic Walls in our Lower School atrium and the Middle School designLab, and an assortment of ramps, rings, cups, and more tools– imaginative, open-ended learning is limitless. Students in the Middle School and Lower School work in developmentally appropriate ways to move a marble through a maze successfully and imaginatively. Middle School students engage in complex and challenging team design problems.

Skills learned? Physics, engineering, design thinking, and of course, collaboration. Our faculty underwent professional development with a Kodo Kids trainer and practiced designing and testing simple engineering challenges and discussing the potential classroom applications.

BattleBots & Glowforge Pro 3D Printer Visiting Maker Expert and founder of Innovation Catalyst Institute

Sound Booth added to the Electronic Music Room A new sound booth was added to the Electronic Music Room so music teachers may record students live without also capturing the sounds of other students and ambient noises in the building. The installation of the sound booth adds a sophistication to the live audio of student-created compositions using software like GarageBand and Logic in Electronic Music Classes.

(http://www.innovationcatalystinstitute.org/)

Jean Kaneko offered our students a unique, challenging skill building experience creating BattleBots, robot-fighting remote-controlled armed and armored machines, using our new Glowforge Pro 3D laser cutter to fabricate parts for the BattleBots. At the same time, Jean provided teachers with valuable professional development.

Since then, third grade students assisted by their maker teacher used the Glowforge to create a gift for their teacher and 8th graders used it to create mouse-trap cars. The momentum is strong!

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

Reaching Across the Globe

Connecting Learning, Cultures & Community ong ago, Alexander Hamilton, a Founding Father of the United States and American statesman, encouraged Americans to “Learn to think continentally.� Those words ring true today in our globally connected society. We are finding that the more we interact with other cultures reaching out across the globe, the greater the benefit to our students and the more we discover about our world, our community, and ourselves. Building bridges of understanding extends our community and empowers both our program and our students. In this spirit, we bring the world in through our doors to enrich our student learning with our extensive Cultural Programming, visiting artists, authors, and educators. We also strive to open our doors to the wide world around us to increase our knowledge and foster peace and understanding between cultures.

Taking advantage of digital opportunities in the past two years, our Middle School students have engaged with nations across the globe through

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Level-Up Village, an organization dedicated to globalizing classrooms and collaboration among students around the world by pioneering global STEAM courses.

The Willows & Ekalavya School in India A Web Design Collaboration and Cross-Cultural Experience Our first venture with Level Up Village occurred when a group of Middle School students collaborated with students in India at the Ekalavya School, which serves children living in the slums of Hyderabad, India. Our

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Middle School students were paired with students at the Ekalavya School to study global climate change and use CSS, JavaScript, and HTML to co-design websites exploring alternative power sources.

The students exchanged videos, explored each other’s culture, and together created a website focusing on solutions to global climate change. “This course was almost like a web 2.0 collaboration, this generation’s version of pen pals, only with video exchange and website collaboration instead of handwritten letters,” explains Wendy Amster, Willows Dean of Educational Technology and Middle School Teacher of this course. “Students discovered just how powerful communicating with people from other cultures and experiences can be.”

Willows students also delved deeply into Indian culture, economy, and arts by researching and producing muti-media presentations and projects based on areas of personal interest. These projects included a realistic fiction story, a handmade bamboo Bansuri, a website about Indian freedom fighters, a research project on India’s economy, and paintings inspired by Indian traditions, gods, and fashion.

This interdisciplinary and inter-continental experience helped our students gain empathy, develop communication and presentational skills, and increase their scientific knowledge of climate change and renewable and non-renewable energy sources as well as building their technology and programming skills.

Ghana and Zimbabwe 6th Grade Collaboration on Lois Lowry’s The Giver Encouraged by this initial experience with India, Willows Middle School teachers investigated other, potentially lengthier, course offerings and selected a unique partnership with classrooms in Ghana and Zimbabwe in Africa for a study of Lois Lowry’s The Giver, which 6th graders already read in their Core classes each year.

One of the main components of the Level Up partnership is student-created videos that are shared by students in one classroom with another classroom in a different country. So, the first task for The Willows 6th graders, who were paired with students in classrooms in Ghana and Zimbabwe, was the creation of short videos introducing themselves to each other.

Next, they read The Giver over the course of

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approximately five weeks as students traded videos on various topics, including utopias, dystopias, and methods for solving specific problems related to one’s community. Teachers made use of blocks of time in their weekly schedules specifically devoted to technology integration for video creation and navigational support of the online Student Portal used to submit videos and access materials for the students’ collaborations.

Some unique teachable moments arose as Zimbabwe found itself in the middle of a military coup, which gave our teachers the opportunity to compare our government and culture with Zimbabwe. Our students also observed cultural differences while reviewing videos, as well as seeing that their partner classrooms were dealing with technological challenges.

Teachers and students treated the videos similarly to traditional writing assignments, using revision notes and teacher feedback to make their messages clearer before sending them off to their partners in Africa. One of the unexpected gifts this project offered was that, through reviewing their students’ videos, teachers were able to learn so much about them, in a way that doesn’t normally happen in the typical school environment.

Students creating the videos for an authentic audience were given the opportunity to express themselves in a new way. Sixth grade teacher Liz Ganem said that “Going into parent conferences after this project, I felt like I knew some kids better than I ever have before.”

Both of these unique experiences enabled students to unite their interests in a deeper learning experience,” continues Wendy. “They developed a real appreciation for Indian and African culture and people while interacting with their counterparts in pursuit of a common goal.”

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

E XTE N D A HAN D & H E LP

The First Willows International Service Learning Trip Middle School Students & Chaperones in Nicaragua

During Spring Break 2018, 24 Middle School students and 5 Willows administration and faculty chaperones ventured to Nicaragua for our First International Service Learning Trip.

The Willows partnered with the ME to WE Organization and EF Tours to create this incredible venture. The group visited Managua and Granada, Nicaragua, learning about the ecosystem, the culture, and the people of Nicaragua.

The main service project of this trip was helping a school which lacked basic nutritional needs and a cafeteria.

Students helped dig holes for the foundation of a cafeteria for the school while also working in the school’s garden.

They also explored the Nicaraguan community of San Diego as a student writes in the Nicaragua Trip Student Blog: “We proceeded to the only clean water source in the San Diego community and saw a local woman getting one of the twelve buckets of water each woman typically carries each day. When we tried it ourselves, we were astonished to discover the laborious process of getting something that we all need and take for granted. Dogs and a pig surrounded the well begging for food and a chance in the shade.”

Students visited the Ingenio Montelelimar Sugar Cane Plantation, Café Las Flores coffee farm, a ceramics workshop in Granada, and a hammock factory. They took a boat tour around Lake Nicaragua, visited the active volcano Masaya, and the cloud forest on the top of Mombacho Volcano learning much about the ecosysterm of Nicaragua.

The International Trip gave these 24 Willows students a transformative experience – as well as their chaperones.

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HELPING THE AMOS CLINIC BUILD TECH LITERACY During the first half of the trip, The Willows group stayed at the Amos Clinic in Managua. The health clinic was founded by an American couple, who are both doctors, and whose goal is to train the local people to provide basic health care in their villages. The couple and their two high school sons also started a computer lab to provide basic tech literacy to the locals. To support their efforts, The Willows collected any type of working used cell phones, smart phones, or tablets to donate to the Amos Clinic Computer Lab.

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THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

Grandparent Happenings East Coast Grandparent & Alumni Event Dee and Chuck Clayman, Willows grandparents of Olivia and Alexandra, hosted our first Willows grandparents, alumni, and alumni grandparent event on the east coast. Grandparents, alumni, alumni parents, and alumni grandparents gathered for brunch in New York City with Lisa Rosenstein, Head of School; Doug Klier, Middle School Dean; and Lisa Lee, Director of Constituent Relations.

Top left corner: Cheryl Checchetto-Michaud and Milan Michaud ‘14 Top right corner: Megan Lee ’10, Doug Klier, Luke Dortch ’10 and Leah More ‘10 Middle left: Doug Klier, Lee Greenwald, and Lenore Guggenheim Middle right: Ellen Hauptman, Chuck Clayman, Lee Greenwald, Lisa Rosenstein, Desiree Layne, and Joni Greenspan Bottom: Megan Lee ’10, Lisa Rosenstein, Leah More ’10, Doug Klier, Milan Michaud ’14 and Tess Murdoch ‘03

Alumni Music News!

Noah Reitman ‘99 is the Assistant Principal Bass with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. His Bio at the VSO states, “Born in Los Angeles, California, Noah Reitman discovered classical music and the double bass in middle school. He was drawn to the warmth and expressive potential of the big string sound.” Noah was a music major at the University of Michigan, holds a Master’s degree from Indiana University, and a Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music.

Lila Hauptman ’15, a Crossroads Senior who will be attending Yale University, has released a debut EP (6 track collection) under the name Lila Drew. Locket (side one) was released worldwide, and the video for her new single take it back premiered on VMagazine (https://vmagazine.com/article/premiere-lila-drew-releases-take-it-back/). Her single faded/2am features acclaimed American rapper GoldLink. Her video for nothing/ seconds premiered on Fader (https://www.thefader.com/2019/05/30/lila-drew-nothingseconds-video?utm_source=tftw.) Lila’s EP is streaming on all major music services (Apple Music, Spotify, etc.) and also on her website liladrew.com.

Annie Schindel ‘13 is busy singing and songwriting and appeared on the new NBC-TV show Songland, where three of America’s producers search for the next songwriting hit-maker! The show premiered in May 2019. Annie also recently performed at The Willows Scholars’ and Visioniaries’ Dinner at the Home of Lisa and Larry Rosenstein.

Stella Josefsberg ’15 is being mentored by Greg Spero, who has worked with Halsey. Check out her songs Boy Crazy and We’ll See on Apple Music. https://itunes.apple.com/th/album/well-see/1458271393?i=1458271394&fbclid=IwAR25r-10HP3Um6TEbtAqKm6Ve8dokzmV4vGaApLFPciDzwU7PPd27wXq_20

Jonah Feingold ‘12 has been playing guitar on tour throughout Europe and Australia with an emerging new artist named King Princess.

Noah Morayniss ‘07 collaborated with his step-cousin Shagabond on a new EP, Everything All at Once, which explores the life-cycle of a relationship. He recently had an article on CBC-Music (www.cbcmusic.ca) about his new EP.

Audrey Rose Young ‘09 performed in Cleopatra, an immersive, new pop musical at the Chelsea Music Hall in New York City. Instead of a band, the music is mixed live each night by a DJ.

THE WILLOWS spring 2018-2019

Alumni Happenings To reach a port, we must sail - sail, not tie at anchor - sail, not drift. —Franklin D Roosevelt

Alumni at Willows Events!

Alumni Class of 2014 High School Reunion Alumni from the Class of 2014 and their families returned to The Willows campus to celebrate their accomplishments and high school graduations with our faculty and administration.

Alumni Class of 2015 High School Reunion Alumni from the Class of 2015 and their families returned to The Willows campus to celebrate their accomplishments and high school graduations with our faculty and administration.

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Alumni Happenings

The Willows 3rd Annual Professional & Networking Panel for Alumni

This expert panel of alumni parents and current parents helped our alumni reach their goals and start on new career paths. It was an amazing opportunity for our alumni to hear from our accomplished panel: Carly de Castro, Owner/ Co-Founder, Pressed Juicery; : Rasheea Hall, Vice President, Broadcast Standards and Practices, Fox Broadcasting Company; Bruce Horwitz, Lime Studios, LLC and Owner of Tasting Kitchen; Matt Katz, Founder and CEO, Verifi, Inc.; Jason Monkarsh, CEO Organic Mixology; Erwin More, Talent Manager, More/ Medavoy Management; Tim Shey, former Head of Scripted Original Programming, You Tube/Google; and Ari Swiller, Co-Founder/Partner/Project Development, Renewable Resources Group, Inc.

The Willows 4th Annual Professional & Networking Panel for Alumni

This inspiring panel included: Jason Adler, Director of The Cronos Group and the Founder and Managing Member of Gotham Green Partners, LLC (“Gotham Green”); Thanda Belker, Executive Vice President, Pay Television, U.S. Distribution for Sony Pictures Television; Laura DeNardo ’99 Ph.D, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Jeffrey Ford, Film Editor credits include Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame; David Hinkes, software engineer at Google; Jamaal Layne, Sr. Brand Activation Manager at Sonos, Inc.; David Solomon, Partner at The Agency; Martha Swiller, Acting President & Chief Executive at Planned Parenthood Los Angeles; Jeff Unger, President and CEO of eMinutes.

Alumni 21+ Happy Hour Alumni and Faculty gathered to reconnect at the annual Alumni Happy Hour at The Phoenix, owned by Kelian Suaya ‘06.

The Willows Alumni-8th Grade Buddy Program The new Willows Buddy Program was launched in May 2019. Our 8th grade students were matched with alumni representing the different high schools in the Los Angeles area. Our alumni offered advice about the transition and will become a friendly face to connect with on their high school campus next year.

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The Willows Class of 2014 and 2015 College Acceptances Congratulations to the alumni from the classes of 2014 and 2015 on their acceptances to the following colleges and universities.

Alumni In Brief

The Willows Class of 2014 College Acceptances

Boston University Chapman University Colgate University Cornell University DuPaul University Emerson College Harvard University Howard University Indiana University Kenyon College Loyola Marymount University New School Northwestern University New York University Oberlin College Oregon University Southern Methodist University Stanford University Syracuse University Tulane University University of California, Berkeley University of California, Los Angeles University of California, San Diego University of Vermont University of Southern California Washington University Wellesley College Wesleyan University University of Wisconsin

Addi Lee ‘17 a sophomore at The Archer School for Girls, participated in an interview for International Woman’s Day for #Builtbygirls entitled I Won’t Feel Like an Imposter. Addi interviewed Moj Mahada, the CEO and founder of Beautycon. (wwwlbuiltbygirls.com)

Jeremy Fassler ‘04 published an article on Vulture on the 2019 Academy Awards, Every Other Oscar Winner for Animated Short Subject, Ranked. (https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/every-oscar-winner-for-animated-short-subject-ranked.html)

Anna Sophia Lotman ’16 a junior at Crossroads School, published an article entitled Teen: The Sexual Harassment Checklist We Shouldn’t Ever Need.

Alexa Cline Mumy ‘04 and Seth Mumy ‘04 had a baby girl, Presley Jane. Alexa and Seth met at The Willows in Middle School!

Charlotte Fassler ‘05 is a partner in a new agency, Similar But Different, (https://www.similarbutdifferent.us/) and directed a commercial spot for Land O’Lakes entitled, “Work Together.” (https://www.ispot.tv/ad/dRhf/land-olakes-work-together)

Wallace Ludel ‘05 after studying art and poetry, has combined his talents and now works as an art critic. (https://www.wallaceludel.com) He recently has had reviews in Artforum. (https://www.artforum.com/ contributor/wallace-ludel)

The Willows Class of 2015

Bard College Berklee School of Music at the Boston Conservatory Brandeis University Brown university Carlton College Colby College Columbia University Dartmouth College Dickinson College Emerson College George Washington University Kenyon College Loyola Marymount University New York University Oberlin College Reed College Rochester College Sarah Lawrence College Stevens Institute of Technology Tufts University Tulane University University of Southern California University of Tennessee Washington University Wesleyan University Wheaton College Yale University

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Lauren Donzis ‘18 is in a Netflix Original Series No Good Nick.

Lauren is a series regular in Netflix’s No Good Nick. No Good Nick, which is appropriate for 3rd grade and up, follows the exploits of 13-year old Nick, who cons her way into the Thompson family (Lauren plays 13-year old Molly Thompson) with the ulterior motive of seeking revenge.

Hannah Franklin ‘15, a senior at the Orange County School of the Arts, recently was awarded their Artist of the Year for Theater.

Hannah also earned merit recognition in the 2019 National YoungArts Foundation competition and won first place in 2018 in the August Wilson Monologue Regional Competition.

Alumni In Brief Christina Quarles ‘99’s work was featured in the Made in LA show at the Hammer Museum last summer 2018. Her paintings of ambiguous bodies in abstracted environments are what Christina calls “emphasizing dislocation over location.” Christina holds an MFA in painting and printmaking from Yale University. (https://hammer.ucla.edu/exhibitions/2018/made-in-la-2018/christina-quarles/)

Richard Vishnevsky ‘04 is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and has opened his own practice with the Coastline Wellness Group in Marina Del Rey. He received his Master of Marriage and Family Therapy from USC, and a BA in psychology from UCLA, and now works with children, adolescents, adults, families, groups, and couples.

Kelian Suaya ‘06 is the owner of two popular bar/restaurants in Los Angeles, The Phoenix and Paloma Hollywood. (Photo here is of Lily Solomon ’06, Henry Monkarsh ’10, and Kelian during our Willows Alumni Social at The Phoenix).

Hannah Escobar ‘07 has launched her own line of swim wear and lingerie called Covert Behavior (www.covertbehavior.com).

Henry Monkarsh ‘10 was awarded the Newcomb-Tulane’s Edward Ambrose Bechtel Medal for Co-curricular Achievement from Tulane University upon graduation.

Ryan Tabb ‘11 and Khalil Muhammad ‘11 summited Mount Whitney together with alumni parent, John Tabb.

Amelia Goldstein ‘11 is a Financial Product Analyst at Bloomberg LP. Lauren Jacks ‘02 welcomed a son, Julian Jax Seeff.

Elizabeth Yale Marsh ’00 had a son, Miles Jay Marsh.

For more alumni news visit Willows Alumni Online www.thewillows.org/Alumni-News Facebook: www.facebook.com/willows.alum Instagram: willowsalumni

The Willows Class of 2018 |2019 Secondary School Acceptances We are proud to share the success of our eighth graders during the secondary school admissions process.

Congratulations to the Class of 2018 and 2019 for their acceptances to the finest, most competitive schools in Los Angeles area and beyond.

The Willows Class of 2019 Secondary School Acceptances

Archer School for Girls Brentwood School Buckley School Campbell Hall Cate School Crespi Carmelite High School Crossroads School Culver City High School Dunn School Episcopal School of Los Angeles Geffen Academy at UCLA Harvard-Westlake School Hamilton Music Academy Hawaii Prep School Los Angeles County High School for the Arts Loyola High School Marlborough School Marymount High School Milken Community High School New Roads School Notre Dame High School Oakwood School Pacifica Christian School Sequoyah School Stevenson School St. Monica Catholic High School Viewpoint School Vistamar School Waverly School Wildwood School Windward School The Willows Class of 2018 Secondary School Acceptances

Archer School for Girls Areté Preparatory Academy Brentwood School Buckley School Campbell Hall Crespi Carmelite High School Crossroads School Culver City High School Geffen Academy at UCLA Harvard-Westlake School Loyola High School Marymount High School Milken Community School New Roads School Notre Dame High School Oakwood School Pacifica Christian High School Polytechnic School Sierra Canyon School Tree Academy Viewpoint School Vistamar School Westridge School Wildwood School Windward School

PRESORTED FIRST CLASS MAIL U.S. POSTAGE

PAI D LOS ANGELES, CA PERMIT NO.

Celebrating 24 Years of Innovation & Excellence

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Let a joy keep you. Reach out your hands and take it when it runs by.”

–Carl Sandburg