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:: monthly news from The Bay School of San Francisco - October 2004 |
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In this issue: Building The Bay School Community News & Events: |
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Letter from Head of School
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Dear Friends, Our opening month has been truly happy, almost seamless administratively, productive academically, and purposeful as we define our school culture. Thanks to all whose hard work and courage has made this happen. My personal official contact with the students happens every day at morning meeting, when we meet to meditate together, to reflect on some ethical or spiritual issue, to sing together, and to do the business of the community. We have used this time to date thinking in two domains-the High Holidays and our ethical precepts. We celebrated the former with songs and readings and a highly amateurish blast of the French horn-no rams being available; the latter has been a combination of readings, poetry, and personal statements from faculty-often with a running commentary from the chaplain or me. Once a week we read the precepts through. Our first focus was on truth telling, our second on kind speech, and our third about appropriate boundaries in respect to relationships as well as material things. Teachers have been following up on these issues in their classes through the curriculum as appropriate. We try our best to be direct without being preachy, to couch our examples in the students' daily living. As time goes on, Teah, our chaplain, and I expect to speak less and to have teachers and students speak more. I am proud of the many ways in which our school is different - our curricular emphases, our extra-ordinary faculty, and our wonderful students. But I believe I am proudest of all that the centrality of ethics and spirituality-an emphasis which was highly controversial during the school's founding-has begun so smoothly and been received so well. If we can graduate two thousand people over the next decades who are truth-tellers, who are awake in the Buddhist sense, whose integrity and compassion are embedded in their bones, we will have done a good thing. I know that we can; I pray that we will. All best wishes as we settle down to the daily ness of the school year. Father Malcolm |
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Building a Strong Community |
Establishing a closely knit Bay School community began on the very first day of school on August 27th when our founding freshman class of 62 students joined the faculty and staff for orientation launching our inaugural year. As each school day begins with an all-school meeting, our community comes together - sharing meaningful quiet time in reflection, discussion, and celebration of the school's mission, and the many life issues and events of the day in the world surrounding us.
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Advisory Groups Community building at The Bay School is intentionally encouraged on many levels and in many different contexts. Small group activities enable students and their teachers to build relationships through a wide variety of shared experiences both inside and outside of the classroom. Advisory groups are made up of five or six students and a member of the faculty/staff serving as their advisor and meet together several times each week to talk, share lunch, work on projects, and go on outings. In addition to the close relationships that are established between students in their advisory groups, advisors also become an important connection between the school, each student, and their families. Advisory groups have spent the month of September engaged in a writing project titled "Where I'm From." Students came to know both each other and themselves better through exercises leading up to the writing of autobiographical poems highlighting significant events, relationships, and life experiences through the use of imagery. The project also served to honor and increase awareness of the diversity that characterizes The Bay School community. Following are four examples of an impressively imaginative and powerful body of student work. |
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Student Poems |
Where I'm From I'm from Amagansett Square where my parents met, And Georgia Beach where they met summer after summer. I'm from Buenos Aires where my father was transferred, The red smocks with elephants I loved to wear. I'm from New York City where my relatives live, The contests with my sisters- Who can push the most buttons on the elevators? I'm from New Jersey, the Garden State, I was from New Jersey, But I've left one thing behind Alex Heimann |
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Who I Am I am soccer games every Saturday I am "I love you more than the moon and the stars" every night I am Papa a la Huancaina I am walking to school with Abuela I am The Jungle Book and Silly Wim I am Razzmatazz and Anita Anna Ortiz-Aragon |
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I'm from? I'm from fifty minutes away From a rare town I'm from a town where neighbors complain Everybody from my town goes to church I'm from a town where minivan moms A town with a country club Fred Concklin |
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I'm from the. I'm from the glistening white shine of the snow atop the ski mountain I'm from the lively spirits of my two dogs I'm from "never give up," and, "give it one more shot" I'm from the top of the half-pipe, on top of the mainline chairlift I'm from the depths of an imagination By John Duhamel |
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Bay School Book Groups Bay School community book groups have already become a wonderful school tradition. Each month the entire school community comes together to read a book purely for enjoyment. During September students, faculty, and staff read the 2003 Whitbread Book of The Year titled The Curious Incident of the Dog in The Night-Time, a novel written by British author, Mark Haddon. The book tells the improbable story of an autistic boy named Christopher who, while knowing all of the countries of the world, their capitals, and every prime number up to 7,057, had immense difficulty in understanding human emotions and in relating to other people, two common symptoms of autism. Students met in their advisory groups for discussions focused on autism, (also considering disabilities in general), that were followed by an all-school assembly on September 16th featuring speaker Michelle Ficcaglia, coordinator at the UCSF Autism Clinic. The clinic specializes in the diagnosis of autism in children and counsels parents and school districts to design appropriate educational programs and strategies. Students enthusiastically participated by asking important questions and by sharing their own personal experiences. In October students, faculty, and staff members have each chosen to read a book from a list of ten books selected by Bay School librarian Rachel Shaw in conjunction with the faculty: A Lesson Before Dying, Bee Season, Ender's Game, Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Adventure, Fast food Nation, Girl Interrupted, Meditation: the Cool Way to Calm, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Seabiscuit, and Tales of the City. Group discussions will begin during advisory period on October 14th. |
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Clubs and Activities Our students have jumped right in and taken a real lead in founding a number of clubs and committees organizing school activities. In addition to the old favorites - yearbook and social events, (the first ever Bay School dance is being scheduled as a Halloween celebration - more info to come), thanks to the leadership of Physics and Engineering teacher, Tom Henning, The Bay School is about to launch an ROV Team.
What is an ROV? Tom explains that it is a Remotely Operated Vehicle. And, while many devices can fall under this broad category such as remote control airplanes or even the Pathfinder rover on Mars, this term is usually applied to tethered, underwater vehicles that are used for exploration of the oceans. The ROVs that Team Bay School will construct will have propellers driven by electric motors, a video camera, and perhaps a mechanical arm with a gripping 'hand.' Why an ROV Team? For the past three years, the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center and the Marine Technology Society have sponsored a national design competition for high school and college students. Among the co-sponsors are NASA, the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Scripps and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institutes, and more than sixty corporations. The Bay School ROV will first enter the Monterey Bay regional competition in May 2005, hoping to qualify for entry to the national competition held in June. An ROV team offers an excellent opportunity for Bay School students to apply their scientific knowledge to a simple engineering problem. They will work with electric motors, video cameras, computers, and solve many challenging mechanical problems. The project is also directly supportive of our school mission to educate students about the positive use of technology in a social context. We may well even be the first San Francisco high school to enter the competition! As of this week student interest in the ROV Team is running high. So far, twenty students have signed up to join the team, (ten girls and ten boys), and the first team meeting is scheduled on Thursday of this week. The ROV Team will need lots of support from the entire Bay School community, parents and families included. More news to follow. For more information please visit: Marine Advanced Technology Center - ROV Competition |
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Academic Program Report
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It is difficult to describe, using only words, the sense of excitement, wonder, and hard work that has prevailed in the halls of "BAY" these first few weeks. What is happening in classes is certainly best experienced, thus, I would like to share some snapshots of what we have seen, done, and heard during the first month of our school year. Students in writing workshop are reading on-line articles from the Science section of The New York Times and other sources in preparation for group projects focused on understanding the international debates on global climate change and stem cell research. In Science classes, as part of the study of the laws of motion - specifically projectile motion - physics students have built and launched rockets powered by compressed air and water. If you are a student in Mandarin I, you can now read and respond to the following: Math 1 students recently collected their own resting pulse rates in order to plot the data, analyze its variability, and make predictions of how the plot would change if pulse rates were measured again after exercise. This was a little difficult for those two students who could not find their pulses.. All students, in their Humanities courses, have designed and illustrated a personal road map depicting ten significant events in their lives. Following this assignment, students and teachers held an on-line discussion, making connections between the creation/analysis of visual art and the fundamental purposes of the course itself. Students enrolled in the Digital Media workshop are in the midst of turning their personal road maps into Flash and Power Point presentations. Estudiantes en Espaņol are researching and reporting on major figures in the Mexican Revolution, in addition to learning the states of Mexico and Central America. This will culminate in a dramatic re-enactment of significant events throughout the Revolution. The Digital Photography class took a field trip to the Presidio Pet Cemetery located nearby to take advantage of the rich visual imagery and historic qualities of that intriguing site. Students have also delivered multi-media presentations on major photographers of the 20th Century, and have each taken over 200 original photographs thus far. In Drama, students are writing and preparing to perform their own monologues. They can be observed in all corners of the school, in all manners of costume. Laughter is abundant. And, very importantly, in addition to enjoying themselves, students are beginning to adjust to high school life and study by assuming increased personal responsibility, becoming stronger self-advocates, becoming better stewards of their own time, and learning to work hard. It is incredibly exciting for all of us on the faculty to watch as our students begin to grow into their new roles at our new school. |
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Bay School Athletics in Action |
It's official! The Bay School of San Francisco really does have an athletic program and it's in full swing. Throughout the Presidio and the city, the public is wondering, "Where did all these people sporting "BAY" on their t-shirts come from?" These pioneering athletes and coaches are currently competing in girls' volleyball, boys' soccer, and coed cross-country. The volleyball team has a roster of sixteen enthusiastic girls who are improving with every practice and every game. The soccer team has fifteen boys that are determined to give The Bay School its first ever victory. The cross-country team is off and running with one girl and three boys. What they lack in numbers they make up for in spirit. All the coaches are raving about their respective teams.
The Bay School's physical education activities program is off to a great start as well. We value healthy bodies as well as healthy minds, and therefore consider after school physical activities as an integral part of a Bay School education. Participation in these physical activities helps to encourage the development of self- motivated and self-disciplined students who develop healthy attitudes and lifestyles. After school physical activities meet four days a week and during the first trimester include yoga, martial arts, and weight training/fitness. The activities classes are taught and supervised by Bay School teachers and coaches. Each trimester the students will have the opportunity to choose from a variety of activities including anything from cycling, to sailing. |
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News & Events
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On October 23d Steve will be inducted into the San Francisco State University Athletic Hall of Fame. Steve has received this outstanding honor in recognition of his many career achievements in professional baseball as both a player and coach for the Atlanta Braves, his success as a college player, and his many accomplishments while coaching on the college, high school, middle and elementary school levels. The founding of The Bay School athletic program represents the next big score for this exceptional athlete. Congratulations Steve! P.S. The original copy of this valuable collector's card is currently on display at The Bay School of San Francisco. |
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Bay School Library News – From Rachel Shaw, Librarian Library Donations The library stacks here at 682 Schofield Road are rapidly filling with a broad and interesting collection of books and research materials. In addition, we warmly welcome donations from members of our Bay School family and others. Books covering a wide range of subjects are welcome. All books not chosen for our collection will be donated to public libraries or given to Goodwill. Each book donated to The Bay School collection will have a bookplate inserted to acknowledge the donor's name and affiliation. Please note that the library appreciates the donation of books that are in good or nearly new condition not containing highlighting or text markings. Books most desired are works of contemporary and classic fiction, popular non-fiction, (especially award-winners), art books, and books on CD. The library is not able to accept donations of textbooks, computer books, encyclopedias, or magazines. Please contact Rachel Shaw with questions at: rshaw@bayschoolsf.org |
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Building 35 Keyes Avenue – Campus Update We've recently received news worth celebrating from the Board Site Committee and construction project managers - work on our permanent campus at 35 Keyes Avenue is currently well on schedule for a planned opening in summer '05 and, the final contract pricing has come in slightly below original estimates. Demolition work is now complete and primary structural/reinforcing work is due to be completed in the next week or so. The most impressive change apparent when touring the building recently is the expansive two storey space that has been opened up surrounding the main staircase inside of the student entrance at the north end of Keyes Avenue. Light now fills the dramatic staircase and spreads throughout the main public areas on the ground floor.
Assuming that construction continues to progress on schedule, we are hoping to begin weekly scheduled tours of the permanent campus building site for interested members of The Bay School community in January 2005. Please contact Erin Lapping, Assistant to Head of School, for more information at: Elapping@bayschoolsf.org. |
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Mark Your Calendars – Important October Dates Friday, October 8th - No School, Faculty Work Day. |
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| © 2004 The Bay School of San Francisco |
Three Bay School Cheers for Athletic Director, Steve Glass!
