Editor’s Note

Editor: Monica Case ’90 Chief Marketing Officer: Christy Salcido Assistant Head of School for External Affairs: Maureen M. Nash Creative Director and Photography: Bill Youngblood Art Direction and Design: Dog Ear Design Additional Photography: Louis Felix, A.J. Hernandez ’04 Head of School: Mark McKee

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2022-23

Jill Schecter, Board Chair Michelle Bradway, Board Vice  Chair, Co-Chair, Advancement Kafi Blumenfield, Board Vice Chair Michael Murphy, Secretary Lisa Austin, Vice Chair, Committee  on Trustees Judy Gawlik Brown, Vice Chair,  Finance Myra Chen Mary Conlin, Chair, Committee  on Trustees Carolyn DeFanti* Tim Fish, Chair, Strategic Futures Robert Flachs Dirk Gates Ron Gillyard, Chair, Diversity,  Equity, Inclusion Task Force

Will Go, M.D., Ph.D., Vice Chair,  Strategic Futures John Heubusch, Chair, Finance Tran Ho, M.D.* Peggy Jones, Chair, Building  and Grounds Andy Kieffer* Jon Merriman* John Nadolenco Pam Shriver Sarah Spano ’05, Co-Chair,  Advancement Brian Wynn ’85 David ZeBrack, Vice Chair,  Building and Grounds

* New Trustee 2022-23

The Viewpoint Magazine is published by the Viewpoint Educational Foundation. Every effort is made to avoid errors, misspellings, and omissions. If, however, an error comes to your attention, please accept our apologies and notify us. Viewpoint School admits students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, its admission policies, scholarships, and athletic or other School-administered programs. Viewpoint School 23620 Mulholland Highway Calabasas, CA 91302-2060 www.viewpoint.org

Viewpoint magazine received the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, Circle of Excellence Grand Gold CASE Winner in 2019, the CASE District VII Grand Gold Winner in 2019, and the CASE District VII Gold Award in 2017 and 2018. SUMMER 2022

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1 Graduation Selfie 2 Table of Contents 3 Editor’s Note 4 Letter from the Head of School

LOVE OF LEARNING

6 A Conversation – Where Education

Changes Lives 16 Download – Lara Conklin

IN OUR CANYON

17 Commemorate. Educate. Celebrate. 20 The Big Photo – 30+ Years at Viewpoint 22 Enduring Commitment – Recognizing

Longtime Faculty & Staff 23 Laurie Montgomery Retires 24 Tribute to Cathy Adleman and Lynne Knebel

WORLD READY

25 College Counseling

CREATIVE MINDS

27 Arts Are Essential 28 Morning Musicians 30 Spotlight on a Student Musician,

Grayson Pollard ’22 31 Kristin Herkstroeter –ASTA Orchestra

Director of the Year Award 32 The Return of Arts Fest 34 Live Theater is Back!

Cinderella and The Descendants 36 TK Performs The Little Red Hen and a New Viewpoint Tradition Begins 37 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards 38 Fine Arts of the Year Awards 42 Film Accolades 43 Madeleine Case ’22 Named Presidential

Scholar in the Arts

TEAMWORK

44 Spring Athletics 46 Coach and Athlete Profiles:

Coach Brendan Smith & Jack Conlin ’22 48 College Bound Athletes 49 Athletic Stats

CELEBRATE!

50 Class of 2022 Graduates 52 Awards List 54 Matriculation List – Class of 2022 56 Eighth Grade Promotion

FORWARD TOGETHER

58 Behind the Scenes at the Jubilee 60 60th Annual Diamond Jubilee

OUR ALUMNI

62 Conversation with Alumni A.J.

Hernandez ’04 and Alison Corneau ’97 in the Breezeway 64 New York Alumni Event and

Alumni Day 2022 65 Class Notes 67 Endnote – Bianca Richmond ’22

Gratitude.

ON SATURDAY, JUNE 11, I watched as my daughter and 114 of her fellow classmates in the Class of 2022 graduated from Viewpoint. Madeleine began at the School in Kindergarten, so I have known many of these students for thirteen years. I have loved watching them learn and grow and become extraordinary young people who are so ready and eager to meet the world outside of our beautiful canyon. As we were mingling with the crowd of families, friends, and faculty after the ceremony, my daughter was greeted by two of her Kindergarten teachers with hugs and encouraging words, “We have been watching you all of these years, and are so proud of you.” Both of them also had sent cards. This meant the world to her. Just knowing that she had been thought of so many years later by these two wonderful educators was symbolic of her entire experience at Viewpoint. She was always seen, known, and cared for. To have my daughter educated in such an environment, secure within the warm embrace of this community, has been a gift for which I will always be grateful. I know this feeling was shared by many of my fellow parents on that very hot, but joyful Saturday. Even braving the sunshine – in compliance with COVID best practices – we were all thrilled to be together to celebrate the graduates and their many accomplishments. All of the speakers that day referenced the challenges of the last few years and spoke of resilience. And it is true that these times have demanded a lot of everyone. In his remarks to the seniors, Head of School Mark McKee also spoke of the profound sense of gratitude he had seen expressed by these students. They were grateful to be together each day in the classroom and at sporting events and couldn’t wait to cheer each other on. They embraced every senior school tradition and wore their pink –the color for the Class of 2022 – with pride. Not a moment of their senior year was taken for granted. Viewpoint was their home and they were savoring their time at school together. In addition to celebrating our seniors, in this issue, we also are recognizing the 15 faculty and staff members who have worked at Viewpoint for 30 years or more, including Cathy Adelman, Head of Primary School, who just completed her 45th school year. When asked what made them stay all of the years, they all said it was the people. At Viewpoint, each of them had made lifelong friendships that enriched their lives, and their commitment to the School was an expression of their gratitude for this community that had become their family. During the pandemic, one of the biggest losses was the opportunity to hear live music. For me, one of the best parts of returning to school was hearing the jazz students rehearsing in the ECOLET outside my office window each morning before school. As I started my day to Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five,” during those 45-degree mornings I couldn’t help but be impressed by the dedication that got them out of a warm bed to play in their cold outdoor classroom. You can read more about these committed young musicians in the article “Morning Music,” but once again it is easy to see their early morning practices as an expression of gratitude – for the creative outlet, for the break from academic work, for the pure joy of playing together. As we conclude our celebration of the School’s 60th anniversary year and our 60 years of enduring values – love, honor, excellence, imagination, optimism – let us all be grateful to be a part of this extraordinary community, where the love of learning and our love for one another bind us together in a shared purpose to create exceptional graduates who are ready for their exciting futures beyond Viewpoint.

Monica Case ’90

Mission, Vision, Values

OUR MISSION To create exceptional readiness for extraordinary futures by cultivating the critical skill set, courageous mindset, and resilient identity of each individual Viewpoint student.

OUR VISION A school where tradition connects us and innovation propels us A community where families value unity in diversity A world where education changes lives

OUR VALUES Love Honor Excellence Imagination Optimism