November 1, 2005

Dear Friends,

I have been thinking a lot lately about the issue of academic rigor.

In addition to its being a key element of our Bay School philosophy, it has been much in the news, ranging from hand-wringing about national assessment scores to a thoughtful debate about honors courses and advanced placement. Unfortunately, as with so many things, it is much easier to say what academic rigor is not than what it is.

It is not measured in time spent, in quantity of material briefly absorbed. Courses in calculus for fifth graders or Aeschylus in seventh are romantic and showy, but necessarily are geared to the maturity of the learners, and may or may not be rigorous accordingly. There is very little carry over from general academic rigor to standardized test scores. In short, it is very difficult to quantify; its fruits come in later life.

Here are a few suggestions of how we might recognize a rigorous course or lesson:

1. The tasks are engaging but difficult. They should lead students into the greatest depth possible within the academic discipline. (For example, as a schoolboy I was asked not only to write accurate Latin prose, but to write as Cicero would have written it, in long complex sentences and elegant, metrically composed sentence endings.)
2. Teachers find the tasks delightful themselves. Their delight is infectious.
3. “Deliverables”, papers, tests, presentations, are accurate and elegant, and delivered punctually. They show careful research, thoughtful analysis, and inventive thinking.
4. At the end of each class, preferably, and at the end of each unit, definitely, teachers and students have a sense that something important has happened, and take pride in the achievement. This may take the form of some deeper understanding of the real world outside the classroom or some deeper commitment to the real world of academia.

Marrying these concepts to the vagaries of adolescent interest and the attention span of the teen age brain is quite a trick. Too difficult is a turn off; too easy creates distrust for the process. I am proud of our faculty’s continued and careful attention to building a program of substantial rigor in a humane and kindly context.

You can count on my keeping these issues on the front burner as we build the specifics of the junior and senior electives and continue to revise our freshman and sophomore core program. As ever, suggestions and comments are welcome.

All best wishes,

Fr. Malcolm

The Meaning of a New “C” Phrase

I’ve spent the past 16 years of my life teaching in independent schools that consider themselves to be prestigious competitive college prep schools. Each of their mission statements proclaimed their individuality and uniqueness and singled out the differences that distinguished them from their competitors. As distinctive as they were, one similarity that seemingly appeared in each school’s mission statement was the use of one or both of the following words: “competitive and challenging”, and indeed they were!

Arguably the biggest competition amongst and within these independent schools did not take place on the mud-covered fields of their stadiums, nor did it take place behind the closed doors of their well-structured classrooms.

This mighty skirmish occurred in a place that gave each student that well deserved home court advantage, the bedroom. That’s right, it was the battle of the homework assignments, and it appeared that the championship always went to the school, academic division, or teacher, whose students bragged (and moaned) relentlessly about the number of hours that they had spent in their rooms preparing for tests, completing assignments, and reading chapters of literature that would keep them up well into the wee hours of the morning. After all, this is what they signed up for, a good school with a rigorous and challenging curriculum that would give students that competitive edge over their peers, and surely guarantee them entrance into one of those prestigious universities whose mission statement and school philosophy also included the big “C” - challenging and competitive.

I must admit that even I had become a homework cheerleader.
Encouraged by my fellow department members, we had a reputation to uphold. I would assign an hour’s worth of homework every night. Why? Because they said so, because the other departments did, because that’s what the parents expected, because that’s what makes you a “good” school, a “good” teacher, right? Well, let’s see. 5 hours of homework coupled with about 3 1/2hours of class work per week, or 2 hours of homework coupled with roughly 5 1/2 hours of class work. You do the math!

When I arrived to teach at The Bay School more than a year ago, I was not surprised that they had chosen to implement the big “C” into their mission statement. I quickly learned that The Bay School would indeed have a challenging curriculum to deal with the equally challenging issues of today’s society, and, like all schools, hoped that their students would gain that competitive edge that will allow them to be successful in their endeavors.

However, there was an extra twist to The Bay School mission statement and philosophy that I didn’t understand, “Careful Stewardship of Time”.

The Bay School wasn’t looking for the home court advantage, nor were they looking for the homework advantage. According to their philosophy the big showdown should take place during the school day in the classroom under the vigilant eyes of teachers who would closely observe, guide, instruct and evaluate the progress of each individual student between the hours of 8:15 am and 3:30pm, not 8:15pm and 3:30am.

Hey, wait a minute - isn’t that when we all do our best learning and our most productive work, when we’re alert and engaged?

As an effective teacher, if I spend 80 minutes in class with a student four days a week what need is there to send him or her home with another hour’s worth of work every night? One major assignment per week with short follow-up assignments or reviews has proven to be more productive, more effective, and more valuable in terms of teaching and learning. During our eighty minutes of class we are able to complete and fully discuss a lesson as well as begin our longer assignments which may require research, brainstorming, or just some teacher guidance. It also allows me to personally observe and evaluate how a student works independently and if his/her technique is both effective and time efficient; something that can not be done behind closed doors in his/her bedroom. As for the simple problem above, mathematically they’re both roughly the same but the outcome is different. One produces a massive amount of paper work for both students and faculty alike with very little enjoyment or fulfillment in the process; the other, an enormous amount of accomplishment and success in terms of learning, teaching, and receiving pleasure from practice. After one full year of teaching at The Bay School I am now an advocate for the new “C” phrase, Careful Stewardship of Time.

Shellie Banks teaches Spanish and French at The Bay School

Encouraging a Thoughtful, Student Driven Process

One of the great benefits of beginning the college counseling process in a new school is that engagement becomes a prerequisite. Without the blueprint of a five or fifty year enrollment list, each student’s search becomes more personal and very intentional. It is not always an advantage to have well-grooved paths to follow; sometimes students can sleepwalk along those routes and not give full attention to just what impact their choices will have on their growth and happiness, or to the opportunities that might lie along less traveled trails. The particular advantage we have in beginning our college process at The Bay School is that our families have all made a courageous choice to believe in the people and the mission of a brand new school. We’re working to honor that spirit and our mission as we design our college admission process.

In a school community that emphasizes depth, reflectiveness, the pursuit of excellence, and student engagement, we are building a college counseling program that reflects our values and urges students to do thoughtful research with the best resources available when considering their postgraduate plans. We will encourage each of our students to take the driver’s seat, with thoughtful support from our college office and from his or her family. At the heart of each student’s search will be the questions, what are my passions? What are my interests? How do I hope these next four years will shape the person I want to become?

Beginning with informal individual meetings scheduled during the winter of this academic year, our sophomores will have a chance to begin to reflect on the path they want to take following graduation. In the near term, these meetings will also inform the courses they choose for their junior year 2006-2007. Later in the spring, students and their families will connect to The Bay School college office through the industry-leading Web based resource Tcci-Naviance. A more formal process will begin during the second trimester of their junior year.

The junior year program involves four basic phases: reflective writing aimed at self-discovery; learning about the resources available to find colleges and universities which fit student interests, talents, and needs; teaching students to accurately assess how their particular credentials will be evaluated at different institutions; and developing a balanced, thoroughly researched visit list. Bay School students will examine the details of the college admissions process understanding that college is one important step along a much greater journey, and will be encouraged to consider the process within the greater context of their lives.

We will kick off the junior program with a “college weekend,” in which we plan to include a panel of college admission officers, parent and student case study work in mock-admission committees with the college representatives, and a presentation of The Bay School college program. We have already had enthusiastic responses from the college world about participating in this event. Our use of Naviance will allow students, their parents, and the college office to work in concert, and we will be meeting individually with each student in addition to frequent small group meetings. Students will also each have practice writing a personal statement and will complete both a UC and Common Application.

Peter Olrich meeting with his advisory group.

The senior year program, as we currently envision it, will be much more task-oriented, but will also continue to reflect back on the values that are guiding the process while it is underway. Students will finalize their lists and pull together the myriad details of the application process including teacher recommendations, standardized testing scores, financial aid documents, and NCAA Clearinghouse protocols. We’ll work along a timeline that will allow students to do a thoughtful, thorough job on their own essays and applications. Multiple individual meetings and weekly group meetings will keep the class of 2008 both on task and informed, and hopefully will help to keep everyone poised, too.

Beginning college counseling at The Bay School is a unique opportunity to create a culture of clarity and thoughtfulness around what is too often a process clouded and impeded by anxiety and misinformation. Resonating with our mission, the school is committed to providing the best resources available and the most thoughtfully devised process it can to allow students to emerge feeling prepared, empowered, and gratified. In a community where our students are continually asked to lead, to reflect, and to engage, our students will be well prepared to meet the challenges of deciding where they want to go next.

Please contact Peter Olrich, Bay School College Counselor, at polrich@bayschoolsf.org with any questions.

“We value the richness of difference and diversity” Bay School Precept

At the beginning of each academic year, early in the fall, members of the freshman class are asked to write a poem entitled ”Where I Am From”. These poems currently grace the walls just inside the main entrance and reflect our students’ freedom to bring their whole selves to school. The poems were created in a very short period of time in response to a number of prompts asking students to include: items that would be found in your childhood home, phrases your parents said, favorite places you have gone, names of relatives, names of foods served at family gatherings, and images from family celebrations. Freshmen then created these poems as patchworks of meaningful images. Each poem is a wonderful personal testament to the richness of difference and diversity as it is experienced at The Bay School.

Click to read: Class of 2009 "Where I Am From" poems.

Life Lessons in the Gym and on the Field

As the fall competitive sports season comes to a close we can now look back and begin to reflect on many important experiences and personal lessons our student-athletes have learned about themselves and their teammates out on the playing fields.

20 years from now our athletes will not remember the score of the game, but rather, what they learned and what had personal meaning for them. They will recall that in order to experience team success they must first make personal commitments, and persevere through many challenging times in order to achieve personal and team growth. It is during those challenging moments that our student athletes make a choice of whether or not to make a commitment to excel. These choices are being made.

Cross Country Team — Fall 2005	Boy's JV Soccer Team — Fall 2005

It is evident that life lessons are being learned through the stories of two of our Bay School student-athletes. Sarah Baron and Jay Arellano have been kind enough to share what Bay School athletics means to them…

Sarah Baron – Girls’ Volleyball, Class of 2008

I am not one of the girls who grew up playing competitive sports. I was hardly involved in sports before 8th grade, when I started playing basketball, but since then sports have become very important to me. That is why I had so much trouble accepting that I didn’t make the JV volleyball team, as a sophomore, at The Bay School.

Fortunately, there were other girls on the Frosh/Soph team who were in my position as well. The three of us were frustrated about not making the JV team. I was thinking about not playing, but I knew it would look bad and wanted to be on a team. Our first practice was not pleasant. I left angry to be on a team with inexperienced freshman.

I thought this Frosh/ Soph volleyball team would be one of the worst experiences of my life. But even by the third practice the players on my team began to improve faster than I could have even dreamed. Our team spirit was really boosted when we won the first game of our season.

Not making the JV team is still a sore spot for me, But if I could go back I wouldn’t want to trade the girls on my team, my coach, or my experiences on the Frosh/Soph team this year for anything. The team has become a kind of family, as teams should be. The girls on my team have improved so much, and have taught me to be patient when they are late to practice, get distracted or forget their knee pads. Two have even tried to help me with my over hand serving. My co-captain, Anna, is always there to talk to about frustration or happiness with the team. But most of all, our coach has comforted me, stayed with me after practice countless times until I can finally leave on a good note, and given me more of his time, energy, and advice than I could have ever asked for.

Thank you to all my teammates and Coach Glass.

Jay “Caliente” Arellano – Team Captain, Boys Soccer, Class of 2008

The past year being a part of The Bay School athletics program has been an experience I’ll never forget. The program has brought a sense of family and community, not just for me, but for the entire school. Even though the program was small the first year to still pretty small this year, it has given me and my teammates a sense of strength and power - and still, the baseball team, soccer teams, basketball teams, and cross-country teams aren’t afraid to go against schools that are much larger and experienced. Our school has the “guts” and strength to be able to believe in our teams. We’ve made a major improvement this past year. Our teams have won games, learned from mistakes, but most importantly, they are are coming together to build a strong foundation for the athletics program.

I’ve played soccer all of my life and it’s my family’s favorite game. I play the right forward position and I love the excitement and speed. This season I was elected team captain. It’s not easy having sophomores and freshmen together. I see myself as a teacher, and I try to lead by example. I keep telling my teammates to keep their heads up. We try to learn from our mistakes and be patient.

Remember, we are the beginning as well as the future. Together step by step we are growing. So, as I say best, “KEEP IT CALIENTE”

Actor Peter Grier Visits The Bay School

Students in Drama I were recently treated to a visit from Canadian Peter Grier, a professional actor, who was in San Francisco while performing in the American Conservatory Theater production of the internationally acclaimed play The Overcoat during August and September.

Prior to Peter’s visit, students had studied the theory and practice behind Alexander Technique, Grotowski, and Laban Analysis, as part of a class unit studying movement. The idea that movement (and no words) could effectively communicate a story came alive for Bay School drama students when Peter led them in an improvised piece set to music by Shostakovich. And, to top it all off, Peter amplified his excellent contribution to our classroom with complimentary tickets for the whole class to see one of the final performances of The Overcoat at ACT.

Katherine Riley, Drama Teacher

Read a review of Peter Grier’s visit by drama student Krista Seiwart-Vassallo

From the Stacks

Claire Escobosa, Acting Librarian
Katherine Riley, Book Group Coordinator

The second book group session is currently underway. From now through November 15th, Bay School students are reading a book they have chosen, and they come together weekly to discuss it in small groups. The 17 titles selected this session represent a broad range - from fantasy (A Wizard of Earth Sea by Ursula Le Guin), to modern fiction (The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger), to classics (Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury).

As we had hoped, students are responding enthusiastically to the book group program; In fact, 80% of the books chosen this month were suggested by our freshmen and sophmores. The library buzzed with energy as they gathered around the signup area discussing their choices, browsing titles that others had suggested, and garnering support for their choice from fellow readers.

In other library news
Rachel Shaw, Bay School Librarian, is on maternity leave, preparing for the arrival of her baby – our first Bay School “Baby Breaker” due on Halloween.

In Rachel’s absence, Katherine Riley, Bay School Drama teacher, will be coordinating the book group program. Please contact Katherine at: Kriley@bayschoolsf.org with any book group related questions or suggestions.

From Claire Escobosa, Acting Librarian:
I am currently studying for my master degree in Library Science at San Jose State University concentrating on coursework emphasizing reference services. My experience working in libraries during the last five years has ranged from public to law to corporate libraries but none of it prepared me to work in a library as beautiful as this one!

Please contact me at: cescobosa@bayschoolsf.org