 |
 |
|||||||||||||
 |
:: monthly news from The Bay School of San Francisco - November 2007 | |||||||||||||
|
In this issue: Letter from Head of School Academics Bay School Community News & Events Print Version (PDF) |
 |
|||||||||||||
Letter from Head of School  Head of School, Malcolm Manson |
November 5, 2007 Dear Friends, I was asked at a parent meeting last week, "How does the school that has grown differ from the original vision?" An excellent question. The first and easy answer is "not much." Much of what we envisaged—students, faculty, program, facilities, community—are not only on target, but have developed more quickly than we could have dared to hope. Furthermore, we are beginning to see hopeful signs in such things as athletic and performance facilities. Our pedagogy will be vindicated in the short run, we believe, in the performance of our first classes in college. Our long term goal, wise leaders for 2040, will take a little longer to assess. On the differing side, perhaps in our vast enthusiasm for what we were building, we underestimated the not unreasonable skepticism among parents about a new and untried institution; we underestimated the time it would take for eighth-graders to realize that we are cool. While it is way too early to tell, early signs suggest that this skepticism is abating, to say the least. More interesting and more exciting is the challenge posed by technology, one of the pillars of our mission. In its first iteration, it meant having computers in the school and tech literate teachers. Becoming a laptop school seemed a huge leap, accompanied by digital media and advanced programming classes. We now realize that these merely scratch the surface of computer technology, let alone addressing such areas as engineering, digital arts, and biotechnology. We have made a start in defining our goals and broadening our understanding. We have added three new members to the team in Terry Gomes, Eugene Mizusawa, and Edward Chen. We have received two six figure gifts as seed money for an expanded program, and will be seeking further funding from the tech community. Expect to hear from us in more comprehensive detail as the vision unfolds. Meanwhile, back on earth, I am delighted with the way the school year is progressing. It is a joy to come to work each day. All best wishes, |
|||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||
Academics
Karen Hellyer
Studio and Digital Arts Teacher |
Multiple Literacies – Integrating Digital and Visual Arts at Bay As an artist and teacher who has been making connections between studio and digital art since my undergraduate days in the early 1980's, I’ve had many opportunities to share these developments within the education profession. What excites me about teaching at Bay is that The Arts are recognized and valued as being an essential part of a dynamic school curriculum that teaches multiple literacies. 
Elliot Eisner, a leading art education scholar, defines literacy as "the ability to decode or encode meaning in any of the social forms through which meaning is conveyed." Cultures not only depend on media to convey meaning through a multitude of sensory modalities, they pay "big bucks" to make it happen effectively. We see this in advertising, movies, magazines, billboards, cell phones, and websites, etc. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then it certainly is a worthwhile investment to take the time to learn what makes imaging so powerful. Visual arts courses at the Bay School introduce students to the process of seeing, encouraging them to understand the visual world in which they live by becoming mindful and aware of spatial relationships, proportions, lighting, representation, depth perception, linear and atmospheric perspective, and composition, to name a few. Students are shown some very concrete approaches towards interpreting the subtle details in their environment. They gain skills in stabilizing the ephemeral and fleeting nature of space and time. This stabilization gives them the opportunity to revisit and modify perceptions in their work, much like the editing process in a written language. In fact, the act of creating an image can be much more cognitive than affective, resulting in a series of complex decisions to be made about how parts fit together to create a harmonious whole. 
In Drawing 1a for example, we generally work from three types of subjects; still life, landscape, and portraiture. I occasionally use projected images in the art room. One reason is that it helps students by providing a contained, rectangular composition to work from that is similar to the shape of their drawing pads. Another reason is that by using my camera, scanner, laptop, the Internet, and Photoshop, I am better able to prepare and uniquely illustrate key concepts. For example, when observing spatial relationships and proportions, one way these can be illustrated is to look at how shapes and contrasting edges create lines. Noticing where those edges are and looking at the shape of space around them helps one to see it more accurately. Another concept I teach is value. Value is an element of design that has to do with the quality and range of darkness and light. When representing color using black charcoal, students initially struggle with how to achieve this. To help, I create an example by taking a close-up photo of the plant we are drawing.
Another way to illustrate value is using the histogram window in Photoshop. In order to see the value range a student uses in a drawing, I will photograph it, open it in Photoshop, and open the histogram window. This feature shows a bar graph representing 256 shades of gray, from black to white. If there is equal distribution of shades, from black to white, the student is employing the full range of value. This usually helps the image to look like it has more depth. If the image is low in contrast, I can make adjustments to it in Photoshop to show the student how the drawing would look differently. Then they can go back to the initial drawing and make those adjustments. 
These are just a few examples of how integrating technology and art can create innovative opportunities towards teaching and learning. Whether it's traditional studio or digital art, the student artist still discovers how to understand and work within the realm of a visual language. My hope is that they engage in authentic and meaningful experiences that help them grow intellectually and passionately, with improved abilities to communicate in a multitude of languages. Karen's Links: Personal site: www.peonqueen.com and www.peonqueen.com/ArtSpace Ten Lessons the Arts Teach: http://www.naea-reston.org/tenlessons.html Art Junction: Hosted by my mentor Craig Roland: http://www.artjunction.org/ Artcyclopedia: http://www.artcyclopedia.com |
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
The Bay School Community
|
Coming Together at the Bay School Table "For me life is given meaning and beauty by the daily ritual of the table—a ritual that can express tradition, character, sustainability, and diversity. These are some of the values that I learned almost unconsciously at my family table as a child. But what beliefs and values do today's children learn at the table? And at whose table do they dine?" Alice Waters. Transforming Education through a School Lunch Curriculum. As the days grow shorter, harvest season is underway and Thanksgiving approaches, it is indeed a time to come together in celebration and appreciation of the bounty that we share. Bounty expresses itself in many ways; one shining example being the food program that nourishes the bodies and minds of students, teachers, and staff members every day at Bay. The food that we share also involves a number of other important dimensions. It supports relationships--connecting us to each other through the daily ritual of 'breaking bread' together, and it connects us to the broader community and to our planet through supporting local farmers and producers who are engaged in sustainable agriculture while respecting and caring for the environment and the conservation of global resources. 
The Bay School's commitment to eating healthfully began even before the school opened and is articulated in the school's precepts as valuing a "clear mind and healthy, strong body" and "valuing the earth our home". It has been realized through our partnership with Acre Gourmet, a local catering and restaurant group whose Real School Lunch Program has grown from the Bay School model. Each day, members of the Acre staff prepare delicious home-cooked meals from scratch in our campus kitchen. The produce they use is almost entirely sourced from within a 150-mile radius of San Francisco, purchased directly from farmers. Many of the vegetables and herbs come from Acre’s own farm in Healdsburg. Bay School menus feature ingredients when they are 'in season', and Acre uses organic foods grown in well-balanced soils free of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, as well as serving humanely raised grass-fed meat and free-range poultry that is free of hormones and antibiotics. There is something tasty for everyone, vegetarians and vegans too. The food program is ever mindful of our impact on the environment. Leftovers are transformed into delicious soups and salads. What little scraps remain are composted to keep organic waste out of the landfills and instead returned to the soil to contribute to the health of our food system. Locally sourced food decreases carbon emissions by reducing the number of miles, and thus the amount of fuel, required to deliver food to our plates. Eating healthfully is an education in itself. At Bay students are actively involved and learn a lot in the process. They are encouraged to offer menu requests, and thus learn about the availability and seasonality of produce. Weekly menus vary and include items from a range of different cultures—encouraging students to try something new and exposing them to different tastes and combinations. The childhood years are an important time to establish wholesome eating habits and promote a healthy lifestyle that will hopefully last for a lifetime. It's a subject about which we all have much to learn. 
For more information about Acre Gourmet’s Real Lunch Program visit: www.acregourmet.com/realschoollunch/index.html If you are interested in finding out about how to bring home some of the same fresh fruits and vegetables that your student eats at Bay, click on the links below to investigate local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs: CSAs are a great way to receive a sampling of what is fresh right now, delivered to your doorstep or brought to a pick-up location nearby. CSAs support local farmers by allowing them to sell direct within a small delivery radius.
|
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
News & Events 
|
The Upcoming Fall Play – Noises Off
This backstage comedy, a hit on Broadway, will keep you in absolute stitches throughout its three whirlwind acts. Bay School actors taking on the challenge of two roles each are: Annie Obermeyer, Brianna Gill, Jesse Barlow, Danny Rice, Camille Lendormy, Luke Kiehn-Thilman, while the role of director is played by Fred Concklin, the stage manager by Benjy Wachter, and the director’s assistant by Maddy Engelfried. 
Technical support is provided by Jessi Peck, James Salazar, and Meg Millhouse, among others. Everyone is invited to attend one of our three performances in the Great Room Theater at the Bay School on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, November 8, 9, and 10. Curtain time is 7pm. Admission is free, but please do reserve seats by emailing: tickets@bayschoolsf.org. |
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Paula Plessas Bay School Dance Teacher |
Taylor 2 Dance Company Visits the Bay School It is said that there are only a handful of art forms that are indigenous to America: jazz, rock'n'roll, and modern dance. On Wednesday, October 3rd, the Bay School community was treated to one of the most celebrated modern dance companies of our time, the Taylor 2 Dance Company. Modern dance choreographer Paul Taylor has been creating dances for over a half-century and has continually pushed the envelope in the craftsmanship, themes, and content of his work. In 1993, Paul Taylor created the Taylor 2 touring company, a group of six dancers, to perform his repertory pieces around the world in communities large and small, unhindered by economic or technical limitations. Students were exposed to the company for the entire day beginning in the morning dance elective class where they had opportunities to ask the dancers direct questions, and found that each dancer had a unique personal story to tell about becoming a member of the Taylor 2 troupe. The students also turned the tables and proudly performed their tap dances for the company members! 
In the afternoon, the entire Bay School community caravanned to the Cowell Theater at Fort Mason where we witnessed the performance of three Paul Taylor classics, Aureole, 3 Epitaphs, and Esplanade. Each dance was entirely different from one another and they left students wondering how one person could choreograph such diverse work and how 6 dancers could keep up and perform each one with such grace, ease, and energy. The afternoon ended with a wonderful master class taught by former Taylor 2 dancer, Tom Patrick. Students, parents, and members of the faculty filled the drama/dance room on the lower level as we attempted to move like a Taylor dancer. As a group, (especially the large number of boys who attended), we realized how difficult it was to contort and move our bodies to create the images we watched. The experience left us all with a new-found respect for how easy the dancers make it appear on stage. The Taylor 2 visit was another monumental moment at Bay. One hopes that it has sparked an awareness and interest in our students—motivating them to venture out to see future dance performances, or better yet, to take a dance class!
Photographs by Siamack Sioshansi (father of Cameron, Class of 2008) Paula Plessas |
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Rachel Shaw Librarian |
From the Stacks – Library News Introducing Book Bridge – Student Reading Program Freshmen, sophomores and junior transfers read and discussed Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston during October. This book has special significance to our school because General De Witt, the officer who signed the internment order that imprisoned Japanese Americans during the Second World War, had his office on the 2nd floor of 35 Keyes Avenue when it served as the headquarters of the U.S. Army during the war. Freshmen will be choosing their own books and groups for November. 
Comments about Book Bridge from Bay School Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors Sarah Geisse – "I like being able to read a book that is not for school because I don’t really have extra time to read during the week." Reading: This Book Will Save Your Life by A.M. Homes Juliet Evans – "I usually don’t have a lot of time to read, so having an actual allotted time during the school day is nice." Reading: Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman Andrew Haag – "It’s the only time in my week when I have time to read non-school books. It’s relaxing." Reading: The Mystery of 2012: Predictions, Prophecies, & Possibilities by Gregg Braden , |
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Ana Bayat Spanish V Teacher |
Spanish V - Opening Windows through Language Spanish V this year began with the study of the cinema of Pedro Almodóvar, exploring such universal themes as friendship, understanding, forgiveness, love, loss, death, separation, and parenthood, amongst many others. The class will soon move on to Latin American contemporary films such as The Motorcycle Diaries (chronicling the life of Ché Guevarra as a student of medicine before the Cuban revolution), and María Llena de Gracias Eres, which forcefully depicts the serious problem of drug trafficking from Colombia. 
Alongside our film studies, we are currently reading Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s Doce Cuentos Peregrinos, a collection of short stories that further reinforces the class framework in striving to "open windows" to a world in which human beings share more in common than we are lead to believe in our daily lives. The combination of literature and film results in challenging and engaging discussions, analytical writing, and projects of a very high standard in the Spanish language: essays comparing A Streetcar Named Desire, All About Eve and Todo Sobre mi Madre, for instance, interweaving Spanish and American classics, are a very good example of the maturity with which such materials are being analyzed by all seven students in this class. Ana Bayat
Bay Honors
Owen Swift Collins Eddy, Son of Matt Eddy, Bay School Academic Dean, and Sarah Pelmas Welcome to Bay! |
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Events Calendar |
November 2007 Events Calendar
|
|||||||||||||
| © 2007 The Bay School of San Francisco |
View the Slide show of the Taylor 2 Dance Performance