Countdown centennial
2013-2014
Volume 3 | January 2013
from the start: westridge athletic tradition Westridge takes pride in affording each girl the opportunity to explore, take risks, and extend beyond what she believes she is capable. The Westridge girl is taught to appreciate success as well as endure setbacks with selfreflection and grace. There is no better forum for girls to put themselves to the test than when being completely “in the moment” in the public venue of athletics. Triumphs — whether personal or team — are achieved throughout each competition, while relationships are forged through collective effort. These moments provide a platform from which self-esteem and school pride grow.
The Tigers’ athletic program today boasts 12 sports with all three divisions engaged in a range of competitive opportunities. In the past decade, golf, lacrosse, and water polo were added in Upper School. To date, Westridge has won 33 Prep League Championships and 11 California Interscholastic Federation – Southern Section (CIF-SS) Championships! Our girls are recognized through Prep League and CIF-SS individual awards as well as annual endowed awards. The Joan Taufenbach Haskell ’47 Contribution to Athletics Award was added in 2011, recognizing a graduating senior’s service, participation, and dedication to the athletics program.
Westridge athletics began in 1919 when four Westridge girls participated in the Ojai Valley Tennis Tournament. Additional varsity sports were added in the mid-1920s including basketball and volleyball. The spirit of Westridge competition gained momentum from the start and would set the tone for Westridge’s involvement for years to come.
Go Tigers!
Beginning in our Centennial year, Westridge will announce its first Athletics Hall of Fame inductees, to be unveiled at Homecoming on January 10, 2014. This important milestone to pay tribute to our student-athletes over the decades will be the crowning moment at the Centennial Homecoming event!
Melanie Horn Westridge Director of Athletics
westridge beginnings
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1927 | Mask and Brush formally organizes, growing out of two earlier groups, the Dramatics Club and the Aesthetics class. Its first performance is a medieval play, Herodes.
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1928 | The Westridge Alumnae Association takes up the American Indian cause and hosts a lecture to benefit the Indian Defense Association, while students continue their tradition of international service with donations to the Near East College Association.
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1929 | Thirteen of the graduating class of 20 plan to attend college. The Academic girls draw up a new constitution and work out a plan for complete self-government.
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1930 | In September, Westridge enrollment grows to 185 students, with a faculty of 16 and two principals.
1931 | In August, a locker-room, office space, and attic art studio are added to the gymnasium.
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1932 | As the Great Depression deepens, the 127 members of Westridge’s Alumnae Association designate the proceeds of their annual benefit for Pasadena emergency relief, instead of toward the Scripps Scholarship Fund.
athletics at westridge
then&now By Dorothy Hughes Matthiessen ’52 Chair, Centennial Architectural History Committee
It fascinates me to see the similarities and differences in Westridge athletics today from 60 years ago. I’ve learned that while girls join a team for pretty much the same reasons now as in 1948, the level of commitment and intensity runs much deeper. I attended Westridge in 1948, graduating in 1952. I came to Westridge from a co-ed public school, which at the time did not have team sports for girls. Since I was a “ball” girl – I loved any sport with a ball – the chance to be on a team was exhilarating. At Westridge, I played volleyball, basketball, and tennis, all with gusto. The chance to join the older girls was a really thrilling, great experience. As a freshman, some of my older teammates became my best friends; as a senior, I had younger friends, one of whom eventually asked me to be her daughter’s godmother. What I got was the opportunity to test my mettle in competition and to develop real friendships. Four of my granddaughters attend Westridge now. Collectively, they swim, play tennis, soccer, basketball, volleyball, water polo, and lacrosse, with gusto and dedication. My granddaughters tell me they go out for a team because they love playing, they want to do things with friends, they want to exercise and be healthy (truly!), they want to test themselves in competition, and they enjoy making friends of different ages. To me, those sentiments quite resemble our motivations in 1948.
A significant difference from 1948 is that if you are on a team now, you practice or play every day after school. You are transported to your sports venue by bus or van and you don’t return to school until close to 5:30 p.m. Teams practice during Christmas and spring vacations. Anyone my age reading this will know that our mothers drove us to games; we practiced twice a week and being picked up after practice was considered a great inconvenience. To some extent Title IX (see below) has wrought that change in intensity in girls’ sports. The acceptance of women as rightful competitors on the athletic field bred admiration for those who succeeded. Focus, discipline, and determination became desired outcomes of women’s sports along with good health, sportsmanship, and leadership skills – qualities that are valuable in each and every aspect in life. Westridge strikes a sound balance in their athletic philosophy, as illustrated in a story I was recently told. This year, a girl tried out for the water polo team not knowing how to swim. She has since learned a little, and now helps mostly with team logistics. In January, the team lost to Poly, 22 to 2. Are they discouraged? No. They have a few more games and intend to give every one of them their all. And with that determination, they will win some of them. I love that girls are still motivated by the exhilaration of competitive play and the fun of a team; of doing something with and for each other, by friendships made and solidified on the court, of aspirations toward pride in something a notch removed from oneself – one’s school. Dorothy is a world-class tennis player whose love of the sport flourished during her time at Westridge. She is ranked No. 1 by the International Tennis Federation in the 75 and over age group and No. 1 by the United States Tennis Association in singles and doubles, having won 131 national singles and doubles titles.
1972: title IX
From the U.S. Department of Education: www.ed.gov
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities which receive Federal financial assistance. Title IX states, in part, that “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
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1933 | In May, to celebrate the school’s 20th anniversary, Mask and Brush produces “School Through the Ages,” written by Mrs. Walkup. The play depicts school life of other days, ranging from an Egyptian school in 2000 B.C. to a Laboratory school in 2000 A.D. As president of The Association of Headmistresses of the Pacific Coast, Miss Ranney hosts the fall meeting in Pasadena. Dr. William Munro of Caltech gives the keynote speech on “Educational Implications of the New Deal.” Munro predicts that the new social goal of redistributing the country’s wealth will make endowments more difficult to raise.
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1934 | The Alumnae Association, now numbering 170, contributes to “civic relief, Pasadena’s poor, and the Scripps Scholarship Fund.” Its next project is to purchase a respirator for the Women’s Hospital of Pasadena. 1935 | The Westridge Parents Association forms. Mrs. John Pratt is its first president.
[volunteers]
From the Past to Perpetuity
you !
donate your personal westridge items to the archive!
we need
In preparation for the Centennial, Westridge is collecting all varieties of Westridge-related materials — school pictures, candid snapshots, school records, uniforms, early yearbooks, ephemera, memorabilia, and more!
Join the fun folks committing their time to Centennial preparation. Volunteers are needed for several projects, particularly: Historical Archiving Help the committee scan photos and documents and record information into the archive database. Writing Writers are sought for various projects, such as short historical pieces relative to the life of the school. Interested writers should contact Ava Megna, amegna@westridge.org or 626.799.1053, ext 297. Learn more about volunteering at www.westridge.org/centennial. Planning committees are forming around the following topics: • exhibit design • event planning • communications • social media management • writing and editing • photography and videography • administrative support • hospitality: travel and hotel
Westridge letter sweater, circa 1966.
Westridge athletic patches, 1930s. Roman patch, circa 1966.
Currently, Westridge is specifically seeking: • uniform dresses in pink, blue, yellow, white • uniform skirts in pink, blue, yellow, grey • uniform jumpers in pink, blue, yellow, grey • uniform blouses • jackets/blazers • school sweaters • gym uniforms • hats • t-shirts • athletic patches • school pins, medals, rings, and supplies with logo Your donated Westridge items may be used as part of the Centennial commemoration, but will primarily be maintained as part of the school’s comprehensive historical archive, documenting its first 100 years. Donations are being collected now and throughout the Centennial year. For more information, including Westridge’s acquisition policy, visit www.westridge.org/centennial or contact past parent Bonnie Burke Carthew, chair of Centennial Acquisitions, 626.818.1216, archives@westridge.org.
To participate, contact current parent Jennifer Holladay, chair of the Centennial Volunteers Committee, centennialvolunteers@westridge.org. Above, left:Westridge Drill Team uniform, circa 1979. Above, right:Westridge uniform blazer, 1960s.
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1936 | The Alumnae Association grants a $225 scholarship to a Westridge 10th grader and holds a benefit at the Pasadena Community Playhouse with a net profit of $30.
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1937 | On January 14, Westridge is purchased by a group of parents and other interested persons from Miss Ranney and Miss Rumney, who wish to retire “as soon as competent replacements can be found.” The school becomes a non-profit institution governed by a Board of Trustees, with Mrs. Hallett W. Thorne as its first president.
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1938 | Westridge celebrates its 25th anniversary. Miss Ranney retires a quarter of a century after founding the school but remains on the Board of Trustees. The Alumnae Association contributes to the scholarship fund established in her honor. Miss Rumney, also retired, remains an honorary member of the board until her death in 1965. Miss Anne E. Parker of St. Timothy’s School in Maryland is appointed Westridge’s second headmistress.
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1939 | Miss Ranney dies. Evelyn Calvert ’43 is named the first Mary Lowther Ranney Scholar and receives the school’s first scholarship.
324 Madeline Drive Pasadena, California 91105 www.westridge.org Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Pasadena, CA Permit No. 1986
Founder’s Day
Centennial
athletics hall of fame induction
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save dates 2013-2014
Events
Photo by current parent Marshall Kwong.
Count Down with W e s t r i d g e !
Centennial 2013-2014 “Countdown” is Westridge School’s quarterly community newsletter detailing the goals, planning needs, and event announcements for Westridge’s Centennial in 2013-2014. We want you to join in the fun! Find out how, inside!
For inquiries about the Westridge Centennial, please contact Centennial Coordinator Ava Megna, amegna@westridge.org, 626.799.1053, ext. 297.
Sunday • October 6, 2013
Homecoming Friday • January 10, 2014
Centennial
Celebrations welcome | festival of the arts
Thursday • March 20, 2014 alumnae day
Friday • March 21, 2014 party: happy birthday, westridge!
Saturday • March 22, 2014 farewell brunch
Sunday • March 23, 2014
www.westridge.org/centennial