The Ridge Report for October 2012

The Ridge

ReportIt’s ‘Stoptober’ at Forest Ridge

October 2012

Welcome to October or, as it has become customary in England of late to call it, Stoptober! Twitter is all ablaze with hashtags celebrating this month as the time to stop smoking, a worthy cause and certainly one no one can credibly criticize. If you are a smoker or have someone in your life who is, give him or her a call or text or tweet and encourage them to join the movement.

Stoptober is a concept easily employed for setting a path to stopping habits that require some time and discipline to leave behind. While smoking might not be your issue, perhaps there is some other bad habit or vice you just need an excuse to stop. Let Stoptober be your encouragement.

This year the faculty and staff are beginning the serious work of our SHCOG Action Plan. (You can read about that process and our plan in past Ridge Reports.) The first step was examining our communication habits as a community. This goes far beyond PostIT and the Ridge Report. We are looking at our personal communication habits and seeing how we can strengthen them in order to better communicate as an entire organization. We are using a book, “The Five Keys to Mindful Communication”, penned by a Sacred Heart graduate, Susan Gillis Chapman, to walk us through this reflection and action period. Stay tuned for updates on our work.

Perhaps Melanie Guste, RSCJ, summed up the focus of our work together best when she left us with these words at the end of our Faculty and Staff Retreat at the end of August —

“Strive to use the language of resolution in your interactions. When you ...

Encourage ........................... you give the gift of interest Paraphrase ......................... you give the gift of essence Reflect feeling .................... you give the gift of discernment of emotion Reframe .............................. you give the gift of appreciative view Test reality .......................... you give the gift of questioning unrealistic outlooks Probe ................................... you give the gift of asking open-ended questions Summarize ......................... you give the gift of exactitude Validate ............................... you give the gift of acknowledgement.”

We are letting Stoptober work for us. We hope it does for you, too.

Mark Pierotti Head of School

2 The Ridge Report

At the strategic center of the high school experience at Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart is the belief that every high school student in her own individualistic way is learning to become a global leader. With 207 girls in our care, we know there are at least that many ways that leadership can manifest. And each student’s global leadership profile will change and evolve; it will change this week, this month and this year and in the many years ahead, following high school.

However, while we anticipate and welcome these developmental and cognitive changes, what is central to the high school experience at Forest Ridge endures. The core of a Sacred Heart education, the values articulated in the Goals & Criteria, will always remain. And, now, at this point in the high school’s strategic development and visioning, three initiatives, borne of the Women as Global Leaders program, have evolved into the cornerstone of the high school experience. They are: Peace and Reconciliation, Resources and Sustainability, and Global Health.

When we in the high school speak of global awareness what we mean is being together in a respectful way; when we reference global leadership, what we speak to are the common fundamentals that are part of each student’s HS experience: how we engage ourselves, how we work as a team, how we establish direct and indirect connections across cultures and across subject areas.

In a recent conversation with a longtime Forest Ridge family, I was reminded that these programs have been part of the Forest Ridge experience for many years, at least for the past eight to 10 years. They have manifested themselves in a variety of experiences, ranging from service and cultural experiences in South Africa (with Habitat for Humanity) and India (in partnership with PATH) and the Computers for Uganda program (in partnership with other local schools).

However, and this needs to be very clear, these leadership outcomes were not dependent on those trips, nor did they require students to have a specific passion or aptitude. Instead, the actual learning came from consistently applying the common fundamentals of being engaged and being together in a respectful way. The learning that inspires leadership comes from being open to others’ experiences; to learn that ambiguity is not something to fear but rather to recognize that great learning and solutions can stem from it. In the end, what inspires leadership is resilience.

On a very concrete level, in 9th-grade, for instance, there is the 9th-grade retreat and ropes course; the day requires a stepping out of one’s comfort zone, a being with one another in a less predictable environment. At times we forget how much mental, physical and emotional energy such changes take, especially for adolescents.

Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable can also be associated with the two-night trip in 10th-grade. Winter camping, albeit in a lovely cabin, is a stretch for many girls; at Forest Ridge High School we find it an important piece of getting to know yourself and learning how to be with others. For the moment, classroom teaching is suspended, and

leadership lessons are cleverly built into fun activities in the snow; for the long haul, they transfer into the classroom and broaden the students’ sense of what it means to be in community, to work and function as a member of a team. Interestingly, more and more colleges and universities not only look for these experiences, but also require them of their incoming freshmen. A similar case can be made for Service Day. Shoveling mulch for five hours on behalf of Earth Corps may not be someone’s idea of fun, but it is how we can restore an ecosystem; such work contributes to resilience, teaches teamwork, makes everyone — student and adult — comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Somewhere in the admissions journey to FR, families have a discussion about Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart being the right fit for a girl. The question of fit is enormously important in a place where the strategic center is as compelling as our three-pronged strategic vision. Not embracing the vision through participation means missing out on an essential component of Sacred Heart education.

After all, Forest Ridge High School is a place where a student can choreograph and perform a dance whose inspiration came from the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission she learned about in history class; it is a place where a young woman who is a storyteller at heart has the opportunity to listen to others’ viewpoints and cultural differences and makes those gifts part of her career choice, perhaps around women and global health.

Our 11th-grade students will, as always, attend the Kairos retreat this year; those days ask of the juniors a different level of commitment and resilience: It is an introspective time; it is based on their understanding of family of origin, community, expectations of self and others. It is mostly silent, and it is powerful in its silence. It is a time many seniors and alumnae look back on as one of the most memorable moments during their years at Forest Ridge High School.

By the time a senior prepares for her 12th-grade retreat, she knows that no matter what type of learner she is, no matter what curricular strand she has chosen or what aptitudes she has, she brings gifts unique to her and her alone. Those gifts and talents can have a direct and indirect, positive and lasting effect on peace and reconciliation; on sustainability; on resources, local and otherwise; on health, local health issues, national health issues and global health issues. She can make a difference.

She also understands that many of the individuals dedicating their lives to issues of global health and sustainability are not necessarily scientists. If she is liberal arts centered and passionate about women’s issues, she may have discovered the value of storytelling.

In other words, by the time she accepts her diploma, this senior will have experienced how peace and reconciliation, global health, and resources and sustainability are talked about, discussed, and interpreted through a variety of means. Most importantly, she may know how she, a child of the Sacred Heart, can be a unique and positive presence locally, nationally or globally. She is resilient, and she is on her unique journey.

Dr. Carola D. Wittmann Director of the High School

tPeaceSustainability

The many facets of the High School experience

ReconciliationResources Global Health

The Ridge Report 3

Janet Erskine Stuart, a Religious of the Sacred Heart who helped to shape the mission of Sacred Heart education through her writing and leadership in the early 1900s, wrote:

Self-control is so vital to the conduct of life that no price is too great for the habit; it is so indispensable that no kind of duty can be well done without it, and no action is too small in which to practice it. It is a vain expectation to hope that self-control and unselfishness will come forth at command in a crisis, when they have not been practiced in the small occurrences of daily life. The rare crises of life reveal us to ourselves, but we are made in the small victories or defeats of every day.

Indeed, no action is too small in which to practice self-control; however, this discipline cannot be practiced without first gaining some level of self-awareness. This month, Julie Metzger, a pediatric nurse, writer and educator, presented to the middle school faculty on the topic of female adolescent development and identified three tasks for girls in middle school: developing community, competence and self-control. I believe that one of the most valuable keys to learning is teaching students about themselves. As you can imagine, the concept of self-awareness is a relatively new one for middle school girls. Often a girl can clearly articulate what others are doing and how she is affected by their behavior. However, to turn this concept around and ask a girl to explore her own thoughts and actions and how they affect her as a learner in the classroom is revolutionary, and it starts girls along the path of self-advocacy.

This year, I am visiting each grade level’s Advisory groups and discussing specific strategies for gaining awareness and advocacy in the classroom. We often overlook the fact that we each have learning differences. No two students are alike, and one person often has multiple learning styles. Debbie McLaughlin, our high school learning specialist, wisely uses the phrase cognitive diversity, and I have adopted the phrase as well. In my Advisory presentations and in my individual work with students, I will guide students through the various learning styles and give them specific strategies for identifying their own learning styles. Once a student can identify her learning style(s), she will set individual goals, both long- and short-term, for using targeted study strategies in order to leverage her strengths and manage limitations. Please ask your daughter to share with you what she has discovered about her learning style and how you can help her to formulate study strategies to support her style and growth.

My goal as the learning specialist in the Middle School is to inspire confident, self-aware, growth-oriented, lifelong learners and provide the support and framework necessary to achieve this goal. I recognize that each girl reaches this goal in a variety of ways and levels, and it is my privilege to coach and cheer her on. By creating an atmosphere of growth-oriented, cognitive diversity, I want to celebrate the richness of gifts each girl has to offer. The entire middle school faculty is committed to providing the support to accommodate each girl in her learning style and promoting the cognitive diversity of every learner entrusted to our care.

Cognitive Diversity

in the Middle School

at Forest RidgeCrissy Stemkowski

Middle School Learning Specialist

4 The Ridge Report

Forest Ridge instilled in me the desire to set and reach my goals, to always stay open to learning something new; and it helped me build a foundation on which my relationship with God has been built. I was challenged, guided and nurtured by exceptional faculty and staff. I was also introduced to a community that I would take with me into college, on my wedding day, through the birth of my children and during all of the other important stages of my life.

In 2007, when I joined the Board of Trustees and renewed my relationship with the school, I was quickly reminded of all the reasons Forest Ridge had stayed in my heart over the years. Not the least of these was the fact that eight of the faculty and staff who were here when I attended still work on campus. Just seeing their faces warmed my heart. Although I had been away from the community for a number of years, it felt unmistakably like home. Beyond the familiar faces, the spirit of the community as I remembered it was as alive as ever. I found myself surrounded by board members who shared my passion for the school.

It was inspiring to be back at a place that had given me so much: a great education and a voice. I hoped to be able to give something back.

As a board member, I got to know the school in a different way. I learned about governance, fiscal responsibility and what keeps a school like ours thriving. I also had the chance to work with others towards the common goal of moving Forest Ridge to the next level, some parts of which were actualized during my tenure on the board. I have seen the visions for both the boarding program and the Women as Global Leaders initiative be realized and evolve from important programs to part of the fabric of the school.

In July, when I stepped on campus in my new role as an employee, that familiar feeling of community greeted me once again. Everyone I bumped into was warm and welcoming — as always. Over the past few months, I have been so grateful for the community that surrounds me. I have met some great parents, motivated students, exceptional faculty and staff and loyal alumnae. I look forward to meeting and getting to know as many members of this community as possible.

When I look at my Forest Ridge journey, I realize it has really come full circle. Over the past 20 years I have been a student, alumna, board member and, now, employee. All in the place that taught me what a real community should be. I am so proud to say I am a part of the Forest Ridge community and always will be.

As I reflect on my longstanding relationship with Forest Ridge, what resonates most is the sense of community I felt when I first stepped on campus in September 1990. I instantly felt that I was an important part of something much bigger than me as an individual. As a ninth-grade student, I was both excited and skeptical about attending an all-girls school. Little did I know the experience I would have over the next four years would, for the most part, shape the woman I would become.

Relationships Come Full Circle

Shana Abner ’94 Director of

High School Admission

ForeST ridge:

The Ridge Report 5

In the few months I’ve been at Forest Ridge I’ve been impressed with the outright enthusiasm the girls and their families demonstrate for the School and our mission. Already parents have taken hold of the Auction planning, and the foot traffic in and out of the 100 Building is picking up. The Alumnae Reunion is just around the corner, and the excitement of seeing old friends is growing.

Touched by the drive, dedication and determination of our girls, we created a theme for our Annual Fund that seems so very appropriate. “She’s Unstoppable!” At first glance you might think I’m stating the obvious. At another level, though, I am pointing out the example that each of our girls manifests in her own way. She’s bright, motivated. She’s making friends. She’s learning and articulating, with a strong voice, what she has learned. She’s well on her way in her preparation for that next step in life, whether it be entry into high school or applying to college. And we can be confident in what Forest Ridge School of the Sacred Heart does to get our girls ready. With self-assurance, discernment, the ability to take risks and the support of a strong community our students embrace the forward motion that picks up speed as they progress here. Indeed they are unstoppable.

So the question for us becomes, “How can we strengthen our support for them as they accept each new challenge, become more comfortable with new learning and integrate what they know? How do we under-write their emerging sound judgment and ability draw astute conclusions? In a world that needs our best thinking and the courage to plow forward with new out-of-the-box ideas, why wouldn’t we want to do everything we can to fuel our girls’ fires, increase their stamina and stretch their ambitions?

Support of our students now is an investment in the future of the School. Not only will they become women who take on the pressing issues of our time, they will become alumnae who will recall the gift that Forest Ridge was to them. Down the road, we trust they will take on the new role of helping care for the School that cared for and still cares for them. With their parents and sister alumnae, they are our future. They will make possible the gift of a Forest Ridge education to other girls.

A few days ago I witnessed the signature event of Frosh Daze, a weeklong welcome seniors extend to freshmen in the form of fun bonding opportunities between the two classes. On Hat Day, when seniors present hats (usually goofy and often outrageous) they’ve handmade for their freshmen, the connection the students will share throughout the year is made visible. In that silly, fun unifying event, I saw the creativity, generosity, respect and laughter so indicative of the Forest Ridge community I recently have embraced. When it comes to living the values of the Sacred Heart community and the mission of Forest Ridge, these girls are truly Unstoppable. And because of that very fact, who are we to let anything stop them? So please don’t let anything stop you from making a generous contribution to the Forest Ridge Annual Fund.

Regina Mooney, Ph.D. Director of Institutional Advancement

unstoppable!She’S

PleaSe helP keeP her that way

6 The Ridge Report

AlaskaWomen as Global Leaders – Resources and Sustainability:

The Arctic Circle is wild, with an endless horizon; it is quiet in spite of itself. The meadows in June are filled with Arctic lupine, blueberries and the mottled remnants of shorn porcupine caribou antlers. The soft breeze is broken only by the sound of mosquitoes. This is the world John Fenoli, Nui Nishida and I stepped into this past June when we went to scope the second of our three experiential leadership opportunities in the Women as Global Leaders program. The three of us were unprepared for the majesty of the natural landscape and the simultaneous recognition of the vulnerability of Mother Earth as civilization and industry move forward in this new millennium. Our new Gwich’in friends in Arctic Village, Alaska, showed us the wild willows that have grown in the past 10 years due to a dramatic increase in temperature. The blueberries are early, the eagles are confused, the caribou are disoriented. For a people who have subsisted off the land for centuries, this is an uncertain time.

The Resources and Sustainability class in the high school will give students the opportunity to explore the impact of global warming, the necessity of resource management and an opportunity to see and experience firsthand the frontier state of Alaska, which is currently at the center of our national environmental conversation. As we launch this leadership program with the first group of students, we are looking forward to their input and feedback as we build partnerships in Washington and Alaska in which the students can leverage their experience and their interests into independent projects.

Meanwhile, Peace and Reconciliation, now in its third year, continues to grow. We are excited to be partnering with Sacred Heart Schools (of Atherton, Calif.) as well as Stuart Hall School of the Sacred Heart (of San Francisco) in this experience. This is the year when we challenge ourselves to dig deeper into the leadership skills of facilitation, diplomacy, nonviolent communication and peacebuilding. This year’s class will also engage in online discussions with their peers at our partner Sacred Heart schools as well as with schools in Canada and Jordan around the issues of conflict, terrorism and peacebuilding. Last, but not least, the curriculum development of Peace and Reconciliation is in a stage of true interdisciplinary collaboration among members of our faculty, as middle school history teacher David Fierce, campus minister Tanya Lange and high school English teachers Connor Geraghty and Inga Aesoph scale the curriculum to a dynamic integration of history, religion, humanities and leadership training.

Students in both classes will begin blogging in October and January, respectively. Updates to these blogs will be advertised in Post IT and in future issues of the Ridge Report.

Kisha Palmer Director,Women As Global Leaders

The Parent Association has adopted two new technology platforms this year. All email communication from the grade-level Parent Representatives will be sent from their new email addresses: [email protected] (where x is the last digit in your daughter’s graduation year). This will ensure a more secure environment for our parents. In addition, when a parent changes an email address on the Forest Ridge portal, the new address will be updated automatically for the Parent Association. Please check your junk mail and add this email address to your safe list. 

Second, the Parent Association has adopted a new software platform – The School Volunteer - that makes it very easy for parents to sign up to volunteer throughout the year. It will reside on the Forest Ridge website’s community portal under “Click Here to Volunteer.” Contact Julie McElroy at [email protected] with questions. Once again, please check your junk mail and add the following email address to your safe list: [email protected].

The Parent Association is excited to have access to the Forest Ridge email system. Thank you, Forest Ridge! Directory and email information will now be updated automatically as changes are made to the Forest Ridge database. We are equally excited to have The School Volunteer platform up and running. It is user friendly and more secure than the Google Docs we used in previous years.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to our Technology Coordinator, Teri Pollastro. She worked very hard to transition us seamlessly from Gmail to the Forest Ridge email system while simultaneously implementing The School Volunteer platform. Teri spent many hours researching various volunteer platforms and worked closely with the Forest Ridge staff to find the best fit for our volunteer needs. She worked tirelessly during the summer months inputting the many volunteer sign-up lists for PA and school events. Teri continues to maintain the system and provide support, which includes training our parent representatives and event chairs. Thank you, Teri, for a job well done — we could not have accomplished this without your efforts!

FoR the PARent ASSocIAtIon

Ann Rillera and Luann Desautel Parent Association Co-Presidents

If you have any questions or problems with email from the Parent Association or the new volunteer software, please contact Teri Pollastro at [email protected].

The Ridge Report 7

New Technology Platforms

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