December 13, 2007

Dear Friends,

Last month, I reported that I was asked a question about the difference, if any, between the school we envisioned and the one we have created. Last Friday I was asked an even more direct question: what does the Bay School brag about?

My immediate, somewhat nettled and rather supercilious response was that we do not brag. We are who we are, are thoroughly proud of it, and enjoy showing it off. But bragging? No.

Later reflection revealed that I was in clear violation of the first precept, "We are careful truth-tellers." I brag about the school all the time, its dreams, its programs, its staff, faculty, students and families. I brag about morning meeting, about the sports teams, the extra-ordinary curriculum, the college counseling program, the generosity of donors. Most of all I brag about Bay School people and the community of kindness and hope they have created.

The issue is a delicate one. Vast enthusiasm for our joint enterprise is one of our great strengths. Wherever I go, I meet people unconnected with the school who remark upon the universally positive feelings they get from parents, from the students, from teachers and administrators at our sister schools. I am honored and delighted that we are so well received.

At the same time, this month's plea is for thoughtful and loving humility. Our purpose for our students is not that they conquer the world–although some of them look as if they might–but that they become wise, kind, skillful and knowledgeable adults. Our aim as an institution is not to be at the top of some illusory league table, but to take our place as an important contributor to our community, providing the sort of entrepreneurial nudge to the more established schools which only a start-up can provide. We are here first of all to serve, our students, their families, our community. If we are recognized for excellence in that service, so much the better. (And, of course, such recognition will gladden the hearts of the admission department.)

So–a New Year's resolution for me: put more energy into being present in serving young people and less into talking about it. Don't brag. Really.

A happy and blessed winter break to you all!
Fr. Malcolm

Considering the Problem of Evil
By Katherine Riley, Philosophy and Drama Teacher

During the fall trimester, nine intrepid seniors and one junior at Bay took a sojourn through The Problem of Evil, one of five new upper-level Philosophy and World Religions electives being offered during the 2007-2008 academic year.

I was not much older than our students are now when I was first introduced to this aspect of religion and philosophy as part of my Theology major at Georgetown University. The life-changing perspective that my professor and the 'thinkers' whom we read offered was something that I dearly hoped to bring to my students when I set out to plan this new course. One of the most exciting things for me in the process was re-visiting a familiar topic through a Bay School lens alongside Bay juniors and seniors who are already well-versed and comfortable with examining ethical questions and in deeply exploring topics that involve science and human nature.

The overall objective of the course was to consider the roles and responsibilities of individuals in their societies through focusing on the central question of what constitutes evil and why it exists. The course invited inquiry into the existence and nature of "evil" in the world and examined the myriad ways in which men and women have experienced, defined, processed, and attempted to come to terms with the many different forms of evil that are encountered in life. We considered evil from two perspectives: 1) moral, which refers to specific actions by particular individuals and groups; and, 2) natural, which refers to a whole host of "bad things", ranging from disease to natural disasters, that so often happen to "good people." We investigated both theoretical and practical interpretations regarding the sources of evil, and the possibility of creative response.

Our course materials included a variety of resources in which issues and situations involving evil are explored: film, literature, drama, scientific research, religious reflection, and more. For their final project of the trimester students were asked to create a multimedia presentation, and to give an oral presentation to the class, elucidating what they had learned through addressing the following four questions:

• How, to date, have you learned what it means to live a "good" life?
• Why, if we have the capacity to enjoy life "with fullness like no other creature" do we often falter?
• Why does evil exist at all in the world?
• So now what? What will you do about it?

Student projects ranged from PowerPoint presentations to poetry, and from an illustrated children's story to a film–covering a wide variety of subjects including coming to terms with the evil consequences of natural disasters, how religious beliefs and doctrine provide context for human understanding of death, and evaluating evil from a scientific perspective.

View "Evil-The Real Inconvenient Truth" by Cameron Sioshansi (MP4 File - 7.4 MB)
Download "The Problem of Evil" by Victoria Holt (PowerPoint Presentation - 3.9 MB)
Download "Analysis of Evil from a Scientific Perspective" by Max Pochebyt (PowerPoint Presentation - 1.0 MB)

The Bay School Community
Morning Meeting

Building, being, and fostering a close sense of community within a school seems on many levels to be intangible. Yet at Bay, from the very first day, it has been and will continue to be deeply intentional. Closeness is built through students working hand-in-hand with each other and their teachers building relationships in small classes, in weekly advisory group meetings where intimate discussions invite sharing of individual points of view, and at daily all-school morning meetings when we begin our day together by sharing a short "quiet time" meditation followed by a talk given by a student, member of the faculty, outside guest, or head of school Father Malcolm. It's a time to clear our minds, focus, and come together.

Morning Meetings - Community Reflection
By Teah Strozer, Bay School Chaplain

Imagine with me for a moment; waking up, lying in bed listening to the sounds of morning, feeling the change in light, the chill of the morning air just before the sun appears. You could feel the silence welcoming you into the dawn, into the coming activity of the day. It would be safe, it would be nurturing, it would be a deep acceptance of things as they have come to be before you begin the incessant reach for something better.

We begin each day at the Bay School, together in this way at morning meeting. Certainly, each period of silence in which we sit together and simply 'be' is not necessarily as peaceful as what we can imagine. But the very permission we give each other to sit in silence together opens the possibility of deep healing, of relaxation, and perhaps a taste of spiritual insight.

The most important part of morning meeting is that we do it at all. We gather together in intimate silence to allow each of us time to be ourselves completely–without judgment, without needing to fix anything. Our teenagers are learning that there is a safe place within themselves they can go to in the midst of this tumultuous and often anxious life. This is a gift. They may never get up and cheer meditation, but 95% of them value this time and this way to begin their day.

Besides being a time and place of relaxation and insight for individual students, sitting silently together each day has a binding influence on our community as a whole. It is an intimate activity we are all doing together. Whether we know it or not, it has an influence on how we behave with each other throughout the day.

Morning meetings begin our days with a special tone, a tone that says we value paying attention to what is important in life. Following quiet time we often talk about our school precepts which are the ethical reflections our community holds as its values. We do this to create a common vocabulary so that when issues arise we have a way of talking about them in a context we have already explored together. The precepts are also prompts that students can use in their daily lives to reflect on their behavior and its consequences, both positive and negative.

Several days each week we give our students a stage on which to talk about what is important to them–perhaps an academic project, something they are involved in outside of school, or their perspectives and experiences related to the precepts. Members of the faculty and staff frequently share their experiences and passions. We also talk about and appreciate the many ways in which people worship and we invite guest speakers to talk about their rituals. These are special times during which the great diversity of our school community is given a voice.

Read summaries of recent Bay School morning meetings (PDF File)

Bay Students and Teachers Attend People of Color Conference

During the last week of November three Bay School students, Kelsey Ross, Tahirih Skolnik and Krysta Seiwert-Vassallo, accompanied by faculty members Ana Bayat and Ellen Greenblatt, traveled to Boston to represent Bay at the national Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) and People of Color Conference (PoCC) organized by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS). The PoCC, now in its 20th year, aims to provide people of color in independent schools "a sanctuary and a 'voice', a means for support and networking, and a chance to celebrate their roles and contributions in independent schools."

PoCC workshops offer educators opportunities for leadership, professional, and personal development training as well as the chance to network and engage in meaningful dialogue with their peers. While at the conference, Bay foreign language teacher Ana Bayat was a facilitator for the international affinity group with about 70 participants. SDLC is a multi-racial, multicultural gathering of student leaders in grades 9-12 from around the country who focus on self reflection, and dialogue with the aim of developing effective cross-cultural communication and leadership skills–exploring concepts and themes to promote equity and justice in their schools.

Following is a reflection written by Bay student, Krysta Seiwert-Vassallo,
describing impressions of her first Student Diversity Leadership Conference:

My first time at the SDLC, held in Boston, Massachusetts this year from November 29th-December 1st was an amazing experience. The students who attended with me from Bay were Kelsey Ross and Tahirih Skolnik. This was Kelsey's third year attending SDLC, and Tahirih's second, so as the 'newbie' in the group, initially I felt overwhelmed, intimidated, and unsure of what to expect. As I walked into the main hall where the opening ceremony was being held, my feelings took off full throttle. I looked around, bewildered at the number of young adults and adults there. Later I was reassured when Liz Fernandez, a co-chair of POCC , announced that there were 2,000 students attending from 250 independent schools across the U.S. and there was one school that traveled all the way from India! At first, we were divided into groups of shapes and colors. I went to my group of about 80 other students from different schools and immediately felt confident and safe that I could voice my opinions without consequences. Everyone I met was open-minded, welcoming, and eager to learn about diversity. Next we went to our affinity groups, which are groups that are created by how you define/identify yourself. There were seven groups: Asian/Asian Americans, Black/African Americans, First Nation/Indigenous/Native Americans, International Participants, Latino/Hispanic Americans, White/Caucasian/European Americans, and Multi-racial. After that we were divided into regional groups so my peers and I went to Northern California.

Throughout the conference I learned so much about the different types of diversity and what it really means to be diverse. The core principles that were the main outliners for my educational expansion were: socio-economics, gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. There is a lot of diversity within these topics, as you can probably imagine. But before this conference I associated the word diversity with race and ethnicity alone. Now however when I hear the word diversity, my associations are much broader. Some of the main problems that students identified were vague questions such as "what are you?" and "where are you from?" Most would respond I am a girl/guy, or a junior, senior, and I am from San Francisco. People that I met and talked with said this was one of the most frustrating questions, so they agreed that a better question would be, "what is your ethnicity?" or "what is your heritage?"

Leaving this conference I take with me new friends that in a matter of 48 hours have become some of my closest companions. I take new knowledge, tools, and opinions about the diversity within our independent schools and our world. I have a stronger feeling of what diversity means. Through this experience I have discovered the potential and power we all hold as young adults in this world, the diversity that each one of us holds core to our cultures and communities which contributes to the cultures of our world. "The Time is Now: Emerging from Our Past as We Shape Our Future" the theme of the 2007 Boston POCC.

Noises Off On Stage

Well, it certainly lived up to its reputation. Noises Off left the Bay School audience doubled-up laughing during its two performances on the Great Room stage on November 9th and 10th. A play within a play, Noises Off represents the best of the English 'bedroom farce', challenging its nine actors just to keep things straight-six of them played double roles!

Written by British playwright Michael Frayn in 1982, the term 'noises-off' refers to sounds that are meant to be heard from behind stage. His play turns the table on traditional staging and moves from the front of the stage to back stage in alternating acts. Act one is set at the dress rehearsal, act two portrays a matinee performance one month later as seen from back stage, and the final act depicts a final-run performance near the end of the 10 week run. The story, if you can call it a story, reveals a fifth-rate acting troupe trying to pull off a series of undercover (literally) liaisons-for the most part failing hilariously.

"Noises Off is a glorious opportunity to watch seven slamming doors, one breaking window, 10 trips up and down stairs and 17 false entrances, while listening to 73 flubbed lines, 46 miscues, one dramatic highlight, 22 double entendres, six regular entendres and a million laughs-all while trying to find a missing plate of sardines." A Curtain Off Review. Get the picture?

View the Slide show of the Bay production of Noises Off

Standing applause goes to Bay School actors:

Annie Obermeyer, Brianna Gill, Jesse Barlow, Danny Rice, Camille Lendormy, Luke Kiehn-Thilman, Fred Concklin, Benjy Wachter, and Maddy Engelfried.

Directed by Katherine Riley. Technical support provided by Jessi Peck, James Salazar, and Meg Millhouse among others.

Fall Athletic Highlights

The Bay School wrapped up another exciting fall sports season with our girls' varsity volleyball team earning a spot in the BCL-Central Championship game. Although victory eluded us, the girls finished with an outstanding overall record of 16-8 for the season and finished in second place. Senior Cecily Scherschligt and junior Kayla Shapiro were both honored by being placed on the 2nd-team all-conference roster, and Chrissy Gee and Jaime Weber both earned spots on the 1st-team all-conference roster. Congratulations to our girls' varsity team and their coach Jim Scrivano for another outstanding season!

The girls' JV volleyball team had twelve enthusiastic girls who improved throughout the season to finish with an overall record of 8 wins and 7 losses. Coach Glass and Coach Wang were extremely pleased with the girls' commitment and work ethic which lead to a positive and fun experience for everyone involved.

The boys' varsity soccer team experienced several injuries early in their season which affected the team's overall record. However, despite these setbacks, the team stuck together and steadily improved. They continued to persevere, and barely missed qualifying for the playoffs. Despite the team difficulties, three of our players were honored by being placed on the all-conference team. Blake Lawrence and David Rodriguez were voted 2nd-team all-conference, and Matt Baron was voted 1st-team all-conference. Coaches Hannibal, Pickering, and Stevens were proud of the team's ability to always put forth their best effort and for never giving up.

The Bay boys' JV soccer team was known for its scrappy play and "never say die" attitude. Despite having only twelve boys on the team, what they lacked in numbers they made up for in spirit! Anyone who saw them compete was inspired by how hard they played and their commitment to doing their best during every match.

The Bay School cross-country team finished up its second year of league competition with a group of 18 determined young runners. As a group, their times went down steadily throughout the season, with our top two runners finishing 3rd and 5th at the BCL-West frosh-soph league championship. Coach Hamilton was extremely proud of the team's willingness to put forth their best effort in an extremely competitive league. We look forward to building upon this year's experience by ramping up the commitment level and competitive goals of the program next year.

Our fall sailing team quickly realized that when you're first learning to sail small boats there's a lot of capsizing–especially in San Francisco Bay! However, the new sailors picked it up quickly with the support of the more experienced sailors and the great coaches at the St. Francis Yacht Club. Two Bay boats went to the "Pumpkin" Regatta at the Encinal Yacht Club and finished solidly in the middle of the fleet. The oil spill caused a reschedule of the Appleton Regatta until the spring and resulted in some lost sailing days, but the sailors used their time constructively to help organize their gear and ready the boats. Several Bay School sailors are continuing to sail through the winter to prepare for upcoming regattas. The fall season was wet, sometimes wild, and mostly fun.

While the girl's golf team was not able to repeat its undefeated season of 2006, our girls did shoot some very respectable scores. They had nice victories over Lincoln of San Jose and Convent of the Sacred Heart. The team managed to get through some nasty weather in our league tournament with both Sarah Geisse and Emma Kaufman becoming the first Bay girl golfers to qualify to play in the North Coast Section finals. Cara Vennari and Maylin Khuu provided the senior leadership that helped make us successful. 2007 proved to be a very good year for the Bay Girl's golf team.

Pescadero Hoop Dreams Tournament

Basketball season is now well underway. One of the highlights of last year's varsity basketball season was our strong showing at the Pescadero Hoop Dreams Basketball Tournament. Once again, last weekend, our boys' and girls' varsity teams traveled to Pescadero to compete in the tournament, and again this year our teams did extremely well. Our girls' varsity won back-to-back games and earned a spot in the championship game. We lost in the championship to a strong, experienced Point Arena team, but were extremely proud to bring home the 2nd place trophy.

The boys also had a great tournament–winning two out of three games and a 3rd place trophy. Two of our seniors, Kelly Wyatt and Kaneja Muganda were honored by being placed on the all-tournament teams. We are even more excited to announce that once again, we were recognized by the basketball referees by being awarded the sportsmanship trophy for the tournament. Congratulations to Coach Minnich and his girls and Coach Hartzell and his boys for representing the Bay School with such class!

Steve Glass, Athletic Director
Stephanie Hamilton, Assistant Athletic Director

Grandparents and Friends Visit Bay

Friday, November 16th marked the second annual Bay School Grandparents and Friends Day and the campus was bustling with activity. More than a hundred visitors began their morning visit by meeting with head of school Malcolm Manson who briefed them about the school's founding and growth as well as outlining the academic program and extra-curricular activities. From there, grandparents and friends joined the entire school community for a lively student Arts Review. They were treated to music and dance performances that had everyone's feet tapping to an energetic beat. Following the review, visitors had an opportunity to attend classes with their students to get a first-hand feel for the classroom experience as well as meet members of the Bay School faculty. The morning visit ended by sharing lunch with the school community–enjoying an organic home-cooked meal that is a Bay School trademark. A great time was had by all!

Filmmaker Nina Paley Screens Her New Film at Bay

On Monday, December 3rd the entire school was in for a rare treat as New York filmmaker Nina Paley visited campus to hold a pre-release screening of her new animated feature film titled Sita Sings the Blues, inspired by the classic Indian poem the Ramayana.

Written between the 10th and 5th centuries B.C., the Ramayana tells the story of Sita, an Indian goddess separated from her beloved husband Lord Rama, and includes many other characters as well who are fundamental to the cultural consciousness of India. What makes this re-telling so unique and captivating is the way in which animator Paley intertwines the classical storyline with an autobiographical account of her own-all set to a musical score of the 1920's jazz vocals of Annette Hanshaw. Sita Sings the Blues was designed, animated, written, and directed by Nina Paley over the course of five years on her home computer. Nina teaches at Parsons School of Design in New York City and is a long-time friend and colleague of Bay School Art teacher Karen Hillyer.

View the Web site and a trailer of Sita Sings the Blues.

Bay Honors

Congratulations to the following members of the Bay School community for their recent achievements and accolades:

Bill Brown, Shellie Banks, and Dave Wang, key members of the Bay School's founding faculty, were recently recognized by head of school, Malcolm Manson, for having earned the designation of Master Teacher, the highest position and honor that a member of the faculty can achieve. The award culminates a lengthy process of self-study and re-invention, including both peer review and student input. In addition to having long careers and extensive teaching experience (Bill has taught for 30 years, Shellie for 30 years, and Dave for 26 years) they continue to be passionate about their disciplines, and inspired by working closely with their fellow teachers in the role of mentors as well as with their students. We salute them!

Daniel Rathman, Bay School senior, has recently been recognized in a press article for his avocation as a baseball commentator and blogger. A hard-core SF Giants baseball fan, Daniel caught the bug in 1998 and one day hopes to launch a career in professional sports journalism or work for a baseball statistics agency.

Read the article about Daniel.

View Daniel's Blog at: www.mvn.com/mlb-source/rathman.

Mary Ann Rogers, Bay School Spanish teacher, has a passion for the theater that she describes as "my other life". She is directing the Ross Valley Players production of A.R. Gurney's play The Cocktail Hour which will be opening in January, scheduled to run for five weeks. For information visit: www.rossvalleyplayers.com/the-cocktail-hour. In the spring she will be directing Kiss Me Kate for the Contra Costa Community Theater in El Cerrito, and then in the summer will be acting along with husband, Malcolm, and daughter Thea (Bay School Class of 2010) in a production of Much Ado About Nothing in Mill Valley.

December 2007/January 2008 Events Calendar