January 2014 Ridge Report

The Ridge

ReportJanuary 2014

Make a memorable, lasting resolution

Do you have a New Year’s resolution? When I was

growing up, in an era long before the Internet and

power windows in cars (yes, you actually had to hand wind

them up and down, kids), making a resolution in the New

Year was an annual tradition. Many times the resolution

revolved around diet, but I am guessing that was residual

guilt from two weeks of gluttony. Occasionally, the resolution

was actually a useful way of reversing a bad personal trend or

recommitting to something that you knew would be good for

you in the end. Perhaps I travel in cretin circles, but I hear

little of resolutions these days.

I think the practice has some merit. For students, the first

semester is practically history, so there is a chance to

chart a better course for the second half of the year. What are

the two or three things that would help you have a better

second semester? Take an honest assessment of the work you

have done so far and simply ask, “What can I do better?”

Chances are you know the answers, and these can be your

resolutions. Then simply remind yourself from time to time

about this recommitment, and in the end, you have your A+

from Sr. O’Dea. It really is that simple.

As parents, ask yourself what things you do to model a

healthy, integrated life. You know as well as I do that

your children hear about one tenth of what you say — and

from that remember one third — but they certainly

remember the majority of your actions. Is there a way to

make a change that says to your daughter, “If you remember

one thing about me, let it be this: __________.” Maybe think

about what lesson you wish you had learned earlier in life

that would have made a difference.

Have some fun with the resolution and make it one

that you’ll remember beyond February.

HappyNewYear!

Mark Pierotti Head of School

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Recently we were gifted with a snow day, the first of the

season. We anticipated it with great hope as we tracked

multiple weather reports. On the afternoon of Thursday,

Dec. 19, when Mark, confident the storm actually was

coming, announced school would be cancelled the

following day, squeals of joy could be heard from each

building (and likely from most parents as well). My

thoughts then turned to the Parent Association, members

of which had painstakingly prepared our traditional

end-of-term celebratory luncheon honoring faculty and

staff. That would now be cancelled. The hoped-for event

would not happen. My shoulders sank in disappointment

as I joined in the discussion about what to do with the

perishables already purchased. Parents, in their optimism

and foresight had already prepared for the inevitable and

packaged up, a day early, the bounty of homemade cookies

to be given to faculty and staff members as Christmas gifts.

Once we had solved the immediate problems caused by

cancellation of the luncheon, my mind turned once again to

the gift of a snow day. If you were a student, the day was

about sleep. If you were a parent, you sighed relief over not

having to rush everyone out the door after the quick bagel

or smoothie was shoveled into the proper mouths. If you

were a teacher, you realized there were adjustments to make

and messages to deliver so that tests and grades could be

accommodated. Then the quiet that brings an all’s-right-

with-the-world smile set in.

Snow, quiet, hot tea, a good book and more opportunity

for family and friends. Ah, how frivolous, how necessary!

Maybe some of us did things that weren’t so Norman

Rockwellesque. Maybe we cleaned the house a little more,

finished up Christmas shopping or squeezed in an extra

errand. Regardless of how you spent the time, the

unexpected slow day brought on by a snow day was so very

welcome. And it wasn’t just any snow day; it was a special

day because it heralded the beginning of Christmas break.

With it, we entered the rest of the holidays with a little extra

rest, a bit more readiness and perhaps more gratitude for

the little things, like the gift of time.

Regina Mooney, Ph.D. Director of Institutional Advancement

The Gift of Time

I am Jessica Secan, the ninth- and 10th-grade coordinator ([email protected]). I have been teaching since 2004 and have been at Forest Ridge since 2011. I was originally hired to run the dance program and teach a few PE classes. Now I have

stepped in as PE department chair and the coordinator for the ninth and 10th grades. I have been interested in school leadership for a number of years, earning a master’s degree in educational leadership and completing a principal program in 2011. The day-to-day changes, ups and downs, and skills learned through relationships within a broad school community are challenging and exciting. My hope is to successfully support students as they navigate the first two years of high school.

I am Chris Pesce, math department chair and 11th- and 12th- grade coordinator ([email protected]). I have been teaching math since 2002, and I came to Forest Ridge in 2005. I’m excited to have this opportunity to help Forest Ridge

reach every student and to assist students as they complete their journeys through the high school program as juniors and seniors.

Whatdoesagrade-levelcoordinatordo?

The job description is new and still changing, but our focus is on students. We facilitate communication between students and faculty, keep an eye on the big picture, check in with individual students, help students satisfy their academic requirements, and try to keep the workload from getting too far out of balance. Meeting weekly with Alicia Ballé, our dean of faculty, we serve as the point people on issues affecting each grade level and, ultimately, each student.

Like a catcher behind the plate in a baseball game, we are doing our jobs best when we can see all the players positioned correctly, and we deliver the ball (or help students deliver it) where it needs to go. A student may arrive at our door with concerns about her homework load, multiple tests on one day, or problems with the posting of assignments on Veracross. We might not have easy answers for her, but we do walk her through what her next steps might be. Did she talk to her teacher? Did she talk to her advisor? How can we help? Faculty members may arrive with concerns about a student or a group of students. What kind of intervention or discussion might be helpful? We will get that ball rolling.

High School:

As we gather information and implement and revise processes, we are constantly working to be

effective links between students and faculty. We are always ready to serve as contacts for parents

whenever we can be helpful. Let us know what you think! We are committed to our students.

They are bright, thoughtful, courageous and, most definitely, the voices of our future.

The RidgeReport 3

Meet the grade-level coordinators

The first semester is almost at a close, and we’ve wrapped up the holiday season. As we begin the new year, we’d like to share with you a little bit about ourselves and the roles we play as the new grade-level coordinators in the high school at Forest Ridge.

4 The RidgeReport

Forest Ridge Middle School educates inclusive, ethical, innovative and globally minded leaders who seek justice through service to others.” This overarching middle school goal envelops our foundational Goals and Criteria for Sacred Heart Schools in the United States, our growth-oriented mindset, our middle school philosophy and our greatest hopes for our students. Although this goal reaches across departments, the middle school social studies department hears the call to educate global leaders in a unique way. In developmentally appropriate ways throughout our middle school program, students in social studies become aware of what is going on in the world, identify their own culture and values, come to understand the value of diverse perspectives and experiences, witness human progress throughout history and reflect upon their own role and influence in the world.

Through an exploration of American and world history, students witness the growth of civilizations and the development of the foundations of democracy and the ideals of justice. They become familiar with human successes and failures and learn that society’s norms have not always been the way students experience them now. They come to understand the values, the diversity and the contributions of cultures from around the world. Students are encouraged to think critically to make connections to broader themes that build upon prior years’ content to deepen their understanding. The values of liberty, equality and justice emphasized in fifth grade’s exploration of American history are carried with them as students learn about the role of girls in ancient China in sixth grade, about apartheid and the Millennium Development Goals in seventh grade, and about the Native American and Japanese-American experience in Washington state during their eighth-grade year.

Of course, history is in the making right now, and a structured study of current events in seventh and eighth grade allows students to gain background knowledge and context of world events as they grow to become informed citizens. Students read and discuss articles from a variety of sources and perspectives to focus on global events that have both a direct impact and a ripple effect on people and cultures. Inviting the girls to explore the news provides them with an opportunity to gain confidence in reading nonfiction and to make connections between what they are learning about in class and what is happening in the world as they begin to develop their own ideas, opinions and perspectives about global events.

As students begin to identify their own beliefs and perspectives, they organically formulate questions that challenge perspectives and open themselves to hearing the truth of others’ stories and worldviews. This type of curriculum allows girls to identify their role and responsibility to be active citizens of our global community.

Julie Shultz and Jenny McGovern Middle School Faculty

“Forest Ridge makes sure to teach their students about

world issues and religions so that they are aware of

what is going on in the world. By understanding the

difficult things going on, we, the students, dream of

changing that someday and making the world better.”

—Eighth-grade student

Educating Tomorrow’s Leaders

In social studies and throughout the middle school

program, students are challenged to see their ability

to bring change to their communities. Whether in

their family or in the local or global communities,

they recognize their power to be a positive force for

change in the world.

Middle School Social Studies:

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During the week of Dec. 9 – 13, more than a dozen members of our adult community participated in a Busy Person’s Retreat. A Busy Person’s Retreat is designed to encourage participants to take moments of retreat in their everyday lives. During the retreat, participants met for an opening prayer service on Monday and a closing prayer service on Friday as well as for 20 minutes of daily morning prayer. They also met for 30 minutes each day, one-on-one, with spiritual companions. The retreat leaders and companions were Jane O’Shaughnessy, RSCJ, and Kathy McGrath, RSCJ. Sr. O’Shaughnessy travels around the country offering Busy Person Retreats to Sacred Heart schools. Sr. McGrath serves at the RSCJ retreat center in San Diego.

Although it might not be possible for each of us to go away on retreat on a regular basis, there are ways we can integrate moments of retreat into our daily lives. As we begin a new year, consider trying one or two of these suggestions:

• Take 20 minutes of each day for personal prayer. Consider taking this time during your commute. Most days, I commute by myself. Recently, I have challenged myself to drive without the radio on. This quiet time has afforded me an opportunity to hear the small voice inside, the voice of God, in my life. As I find myself reaching for the radio, I pause to remind myself that inner peace is really what I’m looking for, and I won’t find it listening to the traffic report!

• Spend five minutes before you go to sleep recalling moments of gratitude in your day: a conversation that went better than expected, a smile from a co-worker, an opportunity to connect with a friend over the phone.

• Stop by the Sacred Heart Chapel and sit in silence for few minutes. The Chapel is always open!

• Find a friend who shares your spiritual values to chat with. Encourage one another. Set up a weekly time to meet to share how God is working in your lives or what is happening in your prayer life.

As the Busy Person’s Retreat came to an end, everyone found themselves challenged to keep the spirit of the retreat alive. I hope to make this retreat an annual event and possibly offer the opportunity to parents and alumnae in our community!

HappyNewYear!

A retreat for busy people!

Tanya Lange Campus Minister

Forest Ridge offers students many opportunities for retreat throughout the course of their time in school. Faculty and staff members gather for retreat at the beginning of each school year. Others choose to go on individual or group retreats on their own time for spiritual renewal. Retreats are typically events that people sign up for and retreat from their usual schedules and surroundings for a time, long or short, of prayer and reflection.” A number of Forest Ridge faculty and staff went on retreat last month, and you probably didn’t even notice.

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Women as Global Leaders:When the students lead

Kisha X. Palmer Director of Women As Global Leaders

I am struck this January by the true, radical nature of our school embracing Women as Global Leaders as a lens, a value and a dynamic descriptor, one that changes as we change, one that expands and flexes according to a changing global landscape. And I am inspired by the student-led elements of Women as Global Leaders.

In November, the 7th- and 8th-graders attended the “RACE: Are We So Different?” exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. They engaged in facilitated discussions about the origins of racial categorization in the United States, its impacts on our American culture and society, and what the social justice opportunities are for us as we engage in the world as leaders. The anticipation of these conversations made some members of the adult community nervous: What are the students going to say? How will they feel? Should we really be talking about the color of our skins and what that means in our society today? As adults, are we capable of owning our individual experiences of race in this country without putting our own baggage on the students? These questions and others were voiced among faculty and staff members as we prepared for the days of conversation pre- and post-exhibit.

“I don’t think we should anticipate too much,” I offered in one of our last prep meetings in mid- November. “This is about identifying, validating and finding ways to be empowered to see race in the U.S. for what it is and to get students and adults to actively work to dismantle the policies and practices that keep our U.S. culture in disparate environments often marked by race.”

The two days of conversation were a reminder to me that sometimes our own adult preconceptions about leadership and what students can and cannot handle is a fiction borne of our own compounded fears and anxieties. The students were asked to identify the differences between individual racism and structural and institutional racism, as well as to identify strategies of advocacy and change. I was humbled and inspired by the conversations that happened among us as a community of students, faculty and facilitators. The students were brave and outspoken, and when they were uncomfortable, they voiced their discomfort and continued engaging. If these students will one day lead U.S. or global policies and practices, I thought, I will follow.

In the high school, the student leaders of Peace and Reconciliation have brought a new dimension to the class. Seniors Maggie Coit, Haley Griese, Sydney Spencer, Mackenzie Strafford and Jessica Tran have brought elements of curriculum and experience design to new levels of relevance. Their willingness to offer feedback on what they have learned in the class and their perspectives and input on team dynamics, group management and communication are making Peace and Reconciliation a new and deeper experience this year. I am excited for the learning they will facilitate when we are in Israel Feb. 13 – 22, 2014. Their comfort with the physical landscape as well as their understanding of the class’ group dynamics are going to lead the group of Forest Ridge and Atherton students and faculty to a higher level of engagement with diplomacy and cross-cultural understanding.

As I look ahead to 2014, I am probably most excited by possibilities created by the faculty and students who went out of their comfort zones to attend the NAIS People of Color Conference in Washington, D.C., in December. This was our largest group ever, and the message we sent to our other schools was undeniable: We are committed to growing our understanding of what inclusion and cultural literacy mean as we sustain ourselves and expand our global community. Every year we send a large delegation of students and a smaller handful of faculty and staff. This year’s team of 11 adults, including Shana Abner, Alicia Balle, Gary Banker, Paula Birchman, Janet Burns, Brian Esguerra, Patrick Kuster, Mark Pierotti, Brigida Swanson, Rebecca Wilson and I, went to support what alumnae from Forest Ridge have been requesting for years: a more inclusive community.

January is one of my

favorite times of year.

I am filled with a

sense of possibility

and excitement for

opportunities to

renew commitments

and journeys. As

2014 begins, I feel

firmly rooted in an

understanding of

what Women as

Global Leaders

means for me

personally and how

that understanding

will help form the

next level of global

leadership

development within

our community.

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Thank you to everyone who attended the Nov. 7 State of the School address. Mark Pierotti discussed the progress on plans for the new building project and indicated that the feasibility study would soon be completed. He also brought us up to date on our Women as Global Leaders Program, reporting on the exploratory trip to the Dominican Republic for the global health component. Perhaps most exciting is the decision to make a travel experience an option for every student sometime in her career at Forest Ridge. Mark presented graphs on the financial health of the school, which is important as we conduct a campaign feasibility study. For details, check out the video, which is available on the Forest Ridge portal (you must log in first).

Our Dec. 5 Parent Association meeting was well attended. High School Athletic Director Kim Eng helped us to better understand the balancing act student-athletes face. Susan Meier and Terri Nix updated us on all things Auction.

(Feb. 7 at the Westin in Bellevue. Get your tickets to share in the fun!) Rosanne Tomich explained her role as Forest Ridge’s international admissions coordinator. We thank all of the parents and faculty who attended the meeting, and we look forward to seeing you at our Feb. 6 PA meeting in the Ackerley Conference rooms, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m.

We kicked off December with a coffee get-together honoring the grade-level parent reps. We commend them for their continual efforts to build community within their classes. We were sad that the Faculty and Staff Christmas Luncheon the PA hosts each year to honor the faculty and staff, which was scheduled for Friday, Dec. 20, was cancelled due to snow. Luckily, we anticipated inclement weather and were able to distribute gift packages of homemade holiday cookies baked lovingly by parent volunteers to everyone on Thursday afternoon before the snowstorm.

Friday night Ski Bus: Continues until Feb. 14. (No ski bus Feb. 7.)

Jan. 13: APPLE Brunch for faculty and staff hosted by the eighth- grade class.

Jan. 31: High School Father/Daughter Laser Tag, chaired by 10th-grade parent Roopa Pai.

Feb. 6: PA General Meeting, 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. Ackerley Conference rooms. This meeting (and all PA meetings) are open to all FR parents.

Feb. 7: FR Auction at the Westin Hotel in downtown Bellevue.

Feb. 10 – 14: Love your Library Week, chaired by 6th-grade parent Melissa Hoff.

Happy New Year from the Parent Association!

We hope you had a restful and memorable holiday break with your loved ones. It always seems to go by too quickly. With January comes colder weather and prayers from students for a snow day.

The following PA-sponsored, noteworthy community events are coming up in January and February.

As always, thank you to the many parent volunteers who make these events successful. If you have any questions regarding the Parent Association or are interested in sharing your time and talents with us, please let us know!

Parent Association Co-PresidentsMolly McConkey [email protected] Satagopan [email protected]

Molly McConkey and Roopa Satagopan Parent Association Co-Presidents

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