April 6 , 2009

Dear Friends,

Life is always good. Sometimes it is really good.

Item:  Excellent enrollment numbers for the class of 2013.

Item:  More important, a class full of talented, diverse, interesting, and delightful young people. Welcome to you all.

Item:  Continued excellent news on college placement. Full report next month, but looking very good.

Item:  Completion of the search for Peter Olrich's successor. Details below. I am thrilled.

We are surrounded in the media, and indeed among our friends and family, with so much fearful news, it is wonderful to be part of a school that is growing, booming, full of laughter.

Does this mean that we have no financial concerns? Of course we do. Until we reach the magic enrollment of three hundred plus, probably in 2011-12, we will remain highly dependent on gifts and friendly financing if we are to continue to prosper. For many of us, it is a greater stretch than it was twelve months ago to provide that support. That said, we went looking for a site during the trough of the post dot-com bubble and were successful. I have no doubt of our ability to be successful again.

I wish you all a happy and blessed Easter and Passover-and a joyful spring break.

All best wishes,

Fr. Malcolm

Wired for Poetry

Poetry is an art form that started a long time ago. It is still an elder among the creative arts. We can also say that the essentials of poetry overlap significantly with the basic ways the human brain learns. According to our modern and blossoming neurobiological understandings, the human brain is a natural poetry machine. I can't help but recall the time my three-year-old nephew held up high a peeled banana at breakfast and exclaimed, "Look, the moon."

In July 2005, after the Bay School's first academic year, faculty members attended a summer conference called "Teaching to the Teenage Brain." Ever since, notes from that week have informed my work with students. According to the conference leader, Gesner Geyer, an enriched learning environment matches teaching practice to the nature of how the brain learns. Recently, I have come to understand how well humans are wired for poetry. Geyer's summary of recent scientific knowledge proposes that, fundamentally, the brain learns in six ways:

By associating (linking, connecting) new information to existing knowledge
By shaping those associations into patterns
By making meaning (e.g., from these patterns)
      through emotions (that work as relevance detectors)
      through the body
      mostly beneath the level of awareness

As just one example of alignment between poetry and the brain, consider metaphor, a basic building block of poetry. Through metaphor, we associate something unknown, unfamiliar or puzzling (like love or separation) with something our brain knows (like the scent of a rose or the stacked stones of a wall).

This year's sections of the Poetry course focused on three essentials: sound, imagery and metaphor. Through both reading and writing poems, students regularly circled back to each element in order to build an understanding of its special potential. They read poems from the ancient Near East and Far East, from medieval Europe and from the modern Americas. They wrote in meter and free verse. They analyzed published poems and reflected on their own original compositions. Each student was responsible for leading a class about a poet of his or her choosing. In these sessions, classmates learned about subjects such as World War Two's effect on Tadeusz Rozewicz (Poland), modern industrialization's impact on Wordsworth's Lyrical Ballads (England) and the playful criticism of Billy Collins (United States).

As a final project, both sections of the course produced a book for the Bay School library. These books contain separate chapters from each student. The first half of each chapter contains two published poems and that student's analysis of how these two poems "talk" to each other. In the chapter's second half, each student includes an original poem, as well as an essay explaining plans, discoveries and final reflections from the process. The samples below come from the class presentations and the book chapters. As always, it has been a pleasure working with the students, as they study and create poetry.

Wang Wei - Chinese Tang Dynasty Poet – by Peter Nowell '09

The Chinese poet Wang Wei lived during the Tang dynasty (618 - 907 C.E.)  and was famous for his Buddhist-inspired quatrains depicting nature. The poet was also an accomplished statesman, painter (he founded an entire school of Chinese painting), and a musician. Wang Wei played a 5000 year old instrument called the guqin, or instrument of the sages, and while teaching my class I played several traditional guqin songs. Wang Wei spent most of the second half of his life at his southern estate in Jiangxi province. While teaching the class, I poured everybody a special green tea from this province. After going over Wang Wei's worldview and writing style, we wrote our own poems in his style. I wanted to provide 30 minutes that felt true to the essence of Wang Wei's poetry.

Original Poem by Katie Yeilding, '10

Things I've Noticed

I've spent my whole life looking at the ground,
Looking at my feet.
Walking
Seeing one foot in front of the other and the street
Counting lines in the pavement
3,647 lines
I lost count once.

I've seen yellow line after yellow line whiz by the car,
Looking at the cement
Driving
Counting cracks in the freeway
20,647 cracks
I lost count of how many times I've lost count.

I'll notice bugs,
A trampled Chinese takeout flyer
A sewer grate, splinters, cigarettes, playing cards
I've spent my whole life
Head down
Staring at the ground.

I looked up today.

I saw a rip in the sky.
A tiny one, a single line of bright white surrounded by sunset
It was beautiful.

I saw light
Breaking through the trees in a pattern soft as silk
It was beautiful.

I saw you
Looking back at me for the first time today
You had the biggest smile on
It was beautiful.

Katie Yeilding (January 2009; revised March 2009)

Reflection

When I wrote this poem, I wanted to express how once in my life I was only walking through and seeing day after day my feet and pollution against sidewalks or yellow lines on roads. But then I wanted to show that by doing a simple action such as looking up I started to see beautiful aspects of my life that were there all along. I wrote this poem because literally I only walked or rode in the car only looking at the ground and I still find myself becoming hypnotized by seeing line after line fly by in the car. This poem, though, represents a shift in my perception of the things I thought I had been seeing everyday. By looking up, I saw and noticed things I normally would not have.

Original Poem by John Tompkins '09

Nature, My Love

San Francisco - City by the bay
Joined at the hip by its brother & sister; Marin & Oakland
Deep blue water separates the three; splitting loved ones
     and friends
The water also adds a dimension of beauty to a green &
     gray environment
The purr of cars come & go; leaving only the sound of
     wind and feet scraping the ground as we continue
     to ignore the beauty of man vs. nature
Red brick & stone is spread through the landscape;
     atop every single building
That is the view from above; but what is under our
     feet is a different world; a utopia of nature!
Rodents & bugs make nests to dwell in
If we could stroll into the gopher's hole, I'm sure
     we could dwell in a gopher's soul!
Under our feet ancient roots spread & grow for miles & miles
What once was a pine cone is now a mighty tree
These roots could probably tell more stories than any
     human can; they contain more, history than all
     the books put together

I see beauty; the sun shines off gold-drenched
     locks and I see beauty
Mother Nature's hips and curves entrance me and take me;
     hers are the lips I want to kiss
Right now her voice is silent, but lord do I know that it
     can boom!
She can have the sweet tender touch of a mother,
     but hell hath no fury like a woman
     scorned!
Even though her skin can change from smooth to rough
     in a matter of seconds; I still want to taste it
To run my lips over her skin is a desire only a
     madman has; a dream than can only be dreamt by a child
She is my desire; but to her I am nothing
I am nothing in love.

–John Tompkins

Reflection

Teaching Mandarin at Bay

On March 13th-15th the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) Institute held the Chinese Education Conference 2009 - Preparing Educators for a Global Future. Chinese language educators and administrators from all over the world gathered together in San Francisco to share the latest information in program development, teaching methodologies, and technology. As part of their program, CAIS arranged school visits to select San Francisco schools offering 4-year Mandarin Chinese programs. Bay was among those selected. On Friday March 13th, 9 Mandarin teachers (including 3 from an international high school in Indonesia) visited Bay for 2 hours to observe a Mandarin class, speak with students in the Mandarin program, and hear an overview of the school's language program. Robin Workman and Shellie Banks presented Bay's program and facilitated a round-table discussion covering language acquisition, approaches to teaching Mandarin to non-heritage speakers, integrating language and cultural studies into academic programs, and resources for teaching Mandarin.

The Mandarin program at the Bay School focuses on providing students with a working understanding of the language, a foundational vocabulary and character recognition skills to prepare students for intermediate-level study at the college level. While Bay's program aims to develop all 4 skill sets–listening, speaking, reading and writing–we tend to emphasize listening and speaking in the foundational years. In levels 1-3 students learn to describe their personal profile and interests and basic survival skills such as asking for directions, bargaining and traveling within Chinese-speaking countries. In this vein, students are taught to recognize both simplified and traditional characters. Moreover, they are exposed to a variety of regional accents and speaking styles. In the upper levels, students read a range of authentic materials, including Chinese poetry, short stories, jokes, songs and excerpts from classical texts that build an important cultural context. By the time students complete 4 years of Mandarin they should be proficient in the language and theoretically able to engage in simple communication with native speakers in Chinese-speaking countries. While most students place directly into Mandarin upon arrival at Bay, over the past couple of years, several juniors and seniors have opted to take Mandarin as a second language.

In 2004 Robin Workman and Shellie Banks joined the Bay School faculty in its founding year to develop and build the foreign language program; Robin's job was to create, from scratch, a four-year Mandarin program and Shellie's was to establish the French and Spanish curriculum. Both agreed that collaboration would be essential if the school was to build a cohesive program; therefore, from the very beginning they worked closely together visiting each other's classes and offering feedback and suggestions.

After a few weeks of observing the Mandarin classes it was clear to Shellie that in spite of her many years of teaching French and Spanish, Mandarin brought new meaning to the word "foreign" in foreign language. Pinyin (a system of phonetic notation and transliteration to roman script) for Mandarin, tone marks, radicals and stroke order are just a few of the unfamiliar terms that Robin introduced to her students. And, to make matters even more complicated, this language came in 2 flavors, traditional and simplified. After 1 year Shellie realized that she needed and wanted to formally study the language; so she proceeded to enroll in an introductory Mandarin course at City College. She also began working with Robin as an assistant in her Mandarin 1 class. This allowed her to try learning techniques that she thought would be helpful for Western learners who had no exposure to Asian languages.

Shellie soon became increasingly interested in learning even more about the language, the culture and the pedagogy of teaching Mandarin. She attended Chinese conferences for teachers and continued studying Mandarin until she had completed four semesters. Her interest in Mandarin and other Asian languages has now compelled her to move to Asia to live in the Philippines where she will be teaching French and Spanish at the International School of Manila beginning in the fall. Manila is less than 2 hours away from mainland China and Taipei and about 2 1/2 hours away from Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Malaysia; giving her the opportunity to learn and practice the language and to directly experience the cultures. We will miss her.

The 2009 Bay Hoops Showdown - A Come From Behind Student Victory
By Daniel Rathman, Sports Staff Writer for the Tufts Daily and Bay School Alumnus '08

"I can't believe you beat us again", said Athletic Director Steve Glass, repeatedly, to the student standouts after their second consecutive victory over the faculty in the 2009 Bay Hoops Showdown. Just hours earlier, he had vowed revenge on the Breakers' 40-24 rout the previous year, promising to dominate the boards and dunk all over the students.

The start of the game was eerily similar to last year's, with the faculty drawing first blood on a lay-up by Coach Glass, and the students quickly responding with a three-pointer by Mark Yost. A few possessions later, Coach Glass set a beautiful screen for Sam Gallop, who nailed a two-point jumper to give the faculty back the lead at 6-4. The students then pulled ahead 7-6, but the contest would become sharply one-sided over the ensuing minutes, as the Breakers went cold and the teachers caught fire.

Led by three consecutive buckets by JV coach Pete Overfelt and a pair of short-range jumpers by Scott Bell and Tony Pickering, the faculty finished the first period on a 15-0 run. A quarter of the way in, the Breakers--struggling to overcome their size disadvantage and find open looks on the offensive end--were tripled-up by their teachers 21-7.

Much to the Breakers' chagrin, the faculty picked up in the second quarter where they left off in the first. A quick basket by Coach Overfelt, accounting for two of his faculty-high 16, followed by another from Darrick Broudy, gave the teachers an unbelievable 19 unanswered points.

But, with eight minutes remaining before halftime and the damage now at 25-7, the students finally found an opening. Though the faculty continued to dominate in the paint, they were shaky defensively on the perimeter, and Kelsey MacLeod exposed the weakness with a majestic trey to snap the run. She added another from the exact same spot two possessions later, finishing the game with those six points, and catalyzing a 10-0 comeback spurt for the Breakers. A two-point buzzer-beater from Allison Szeto pulled the students to within eight, as the first half concluded with the tally at faculty 34, students 26. 

Ninety fleeting seconds later, the teams returned to the court after what might have been the shortest halftime in basketball history. The students were instructed by Coach Larry Minnich to build off of their second-quarter success, while the faculty hoped to ward-off fatigue and maintain their lead. Though they were able to hang in there for most of the third quarter, the teachers soon began to tire, and the Breakers exploited their newfound opportunities masterfully.

The game's fourth stanza proved pivotal in that respect. Though aggressive defense by Colin Williams and tremendous all-out effort from Dennis Hartzell kept the faculty in the game for the first few minutes, the Breakers' energy was eventually too much for their teachers to overcome. The notoriously gun-shy David Kornhauser finally showed the shooting prowess he kept hidden during his four seasons at Bay, draining four consecutive treys, and leading an 18-4 outburst that also included long-range swishes from Lawrence Khuu and the game's top scorer, Mark Yost (18 points). The faculty's height advantage near the basket and on the boards was neutralized by the Breakers' sharp-shooting from beyond the arc, and the tiring teachers simply didn't have the energy to adjust.

The late run left the faculty reeling, and the students needed just one more knockout blow to finish off a roller-coaster victory. They got it while ahead 53-45 with the clock ticking down, when Stephen "Tower" Meier put the only blemish on Pete Overfelt's otherwise spotless game, blocking the JV coach's shot attempt from behind. That pack-job drew a roar from the crowd, as Amelia Mostovoy recovered the ball and went coast-to-coast for the students' final basket. A stunned Coach Overfelt could only shake his head, as the game slipped away despite his 14-point, 12-rebound performance-the first double-double in faculty-student Game history.

As the last sixty seconds ran off the clock, the faculty struggled to get open looks against a suddenly more physical Breakers' defense. The students emerged with their second consecutive victory, topping their teachers in come-from-behind fashion by a final score of 55 to 51.

MVP for the Students: David Kornhauser (14 Points, 4 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 1 Steal)
MVP for the Faculty: Coach Pete Overfelt (16 Points, 12 Rebounds, 3 Assists, 3 Steals)

Little Shop of Horrors Onstage at Bay

Superbly directed by Bay Drama teacher Katherine Riley, the cast included: Danny Rice, Brianna Gill, Benjy Wachter, Jake Haigh, Jesse Barlow, Katie Yeilding, Alyssa Muck, Nina de Puy Kamp, Willa Sweeney, Hannah Woolley and Lucius Fernald.

Live music was performed by Bay School students:
Daniel Baker, Jake Holtzman, Robin Brandon, Alex Knoll and Christian Brown.

Production Crew:
Lloyd Murphy, Jessi Peck, Bar Smith, Molly Elizalde, Zoe Pressman and Kathryn Hobart

Musical Direction by Colin Williams and Linda Liebschutz

The Bay School Outdoor Club
By Larisa Collins '09

When I first arrived at the Bay School last year I immediately joined the Outing Club. Being a transfer student from Ireland in my junior year, the club gave me the opportunity to build a great core group of friends with whom I really felt connected. It helped me transition into the Bay School environment, as well as into living in California.

The Outing Club became an official club in 2005, the second year of the school's history. Many students wanted a club that would organize activities to take them out of the city and into the outdoors. All Bay students are welcome to join the club, regardless of previous outdoor experience. And, any student may participate in a trip even if they are not a club member. Math teacher Andy Shaw, and Katherine Riley, drama and philosophy teacher, are the Outing Club's primary faculty advisors.

So far this school year we have gone backpacking in Yosemite and sea-kayaking at Tomales Bay, we have volunteered at the Sierra Club, backpacked at Pt. Reyes, and gone on a snowshoeing trip at Donner Pass in the Sierras. In addition, the Outing Club hosted three Intersession trips during the last week in March: backpacking in Death Valley, backpacking along the Lost Coast, and a Wilderness First Aid (WFA) training course that included backpacking at Pt. Reyes. Future trips will include a rock-climbing trip in the Pinnacles, white-water rafting on the American River, and a possible backpacking trip for seniors after graduation. Students are responsible for most of the planning and organization.

One of my favorite trips this year was our backpacking trip to Yosemite. Andy, Katherine, seven other students and I spent Labor Day weekend backpacking in to the Chain Lakes. The two-night trip was a great way to reconnect with friends and get focused for the school year. One of my fondest memories of this trip was the second night when all the students decided to sleep outside under the stars next to one of the lakes, while the teachers were inside a tent. However, we were unaware that the temperature would drop so rapidly. Although my night was spent huddled in my sleeping bag in a pile with my friends, it was perfect! I made some new friendships through freezing in the middle of nowhere.

Another great trip was the sea-kayaking trip at Tomales Bay. We decided to go sea-kayaking instead of canoeing this year. This trip really attracted underclassmen who often don't participate in outdoor adventures. The group paddled around different coves throughout the Bay, and we learned a lot about the sea life. We frolicked in the sand and splashed each other with water. It was the perfect way to get ready for the upcoming winter months.

Members of the Outing Club Say:

"The trips are really fun because you get to know other people who you didn't really know before. I also really enjoy how the trips give us a downtime from school life."
–Tesia Hirsch, '11

"Last year at the end of the Death Valley trip we were camping on a ledge facing almost directly east. I woke up early to see a gorgeous sunrise. I began to see people starting to stir. Instead of jumping up or talking, we all sat in silence watching the sunrise for about fifteen minutes."
–Andy Shaw, Outing Club Advisor

"I think the Outing Club is a good way to bond with teachers and with peers. I love mealtimes on the trips because everyone sits around the campfire chatting. As we walk/hike, I love the conversations that pop up. My first trip was the most memorable because I had never thought I would ever do a trip like this. Not only are these trips great to meet new people, they also give you personal skills. I believe everyone can truly experience the great outdoors and gain something from it; not just the outdoors, but the place we all came from."
–Brianna Gill, '09

"The Outing Club gives me the experience of looking at the world through a new lens unimaginable to me before I joined. I now am able to leave the city and be with myself and friends in nature. In the wilderness you have to rely on your backpacking group to get home safely. It is a new way of looking at our precepts and being mindful of others."
–Danny Rice, '09

Announcing Dorothy Jones as Bay's New Director of College Counseling

The Bay School is pleased to announce the appointment of Dorothy Jones as director of college counseling effective in July. Dorothy will succeed Peter Olrich, Bay's founding director of college counseling, who will be returning to the East Coast with his family in June to direct the college counseling program at Brooks School outside Boston. Concluding a three-month search that attracted applications from more than fifty candidates from across the country, Dorothy Jones has accepted Father Malcolm's offer to head the Bay School college counseling office. "Over nearly two decades in college admissions work, Dorothy has demonstrated extraordinary energy, integrity, managerial skill, and commitment to kids and families. She is deeply and widely respected among college counselors and college admissions officers. And best of all, she really gets it about what makes the Bay School someplace special" comments Dennis Hartzell, Bay School assistant head.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join the community at Bay" says Dorothy. "I look forward to working with students and their parents as they navigate a wonderful journey of self discovery." Dorothy Jones received her B.S. in Industrial/Organization Psychology from St. Mary's College (Moraga) in 1989. During this time, she also served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserves, based here in the Presidio. After three years as a marketing representative for IBM, Dorothy returned to St. Mary's to begin seventeen-year tenure in the Admissions Office, rising to dean of admissions in 2000 and serving in that capacity since then. Along the way, she also earned a M.A. in Educational Psychology from her alma mater.

Dorothy has been a presenter at numerous NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) and WACAC (Western Association for College Admissions Counseling) conferences and has served as a member of College Board since 1992. Dorothy and her husband, Anthony, have two young children and live in Alameda. We look forward to welcoming her to Bay.

3rd Trimester Book Bridge - Reading Aloud

Each week on Monday, Book Bridge, a unique reading program at Bay sets aside time and space for all students to enjoy fun reading-related activities. The time is most often used for silent reading and book group discussions by students who have chosen individual books that are of interest to them. This trimester we have something new–our first trimester-long read-aloud. About twenty students have signed up to listen to me read the young adult classic titled The Pigman, by Paul Zindel. There is nothing like being read to, as sophomore Cindy Dzib remarks: "I learn best when I can hear text read out loud. The way that Rachel emphasizes words helps me to understand the story much better." Although the novel was written in 1968, the dialogue and teenage perspective of the characters are surprisingly relevant today.

It is exciting to see the program evolve. Seniors have taken an increasingly active role in Book Bridge by monitoring the independent reading rooms and leading discussion groups. Please review the list of books below that Bay students are currently enjoying and read along with us!

JOIN THE FUN. RESERVE YOUR SPOT. GET YOUR DANCING SHOES READY.
Bay Splash April, 18th at 5-11pm
A night not to be missed
Send in your RSVP today.

Fetch your fedora and shades and get ready for an evening of outrageous fun beginning at 5pm at the silent auction on campus. With your "Bay Blue" cocktail in hand you'll be able to bid on a fantastic selection of events, escapes, and items. Following the cocktail hour, the celebration moves nearby to the Herbst International Exhibition Hall in the Presidio for a delicious down- home dinner, boogie woogie dancing, and a live auction hosted by noted broadcast journalist Jan Yanehiro.

Plan to enjoy an enticing night of sultry music and sensational blues swing featuring San Francisco's hot upstart blues band, the Jelly Roll Souls, and rhythmic dancing by the Swing or Nothing! Dancers.

Come ready to bid on a fabulous selection of hosted events such as:

• Mexican Fiesta and Dinner at the Baers on November 14, 2009
• Private Tour of the Mozart Auto Museum and Wine Tasting on October 23, 2009
• An Architectural Dream: A Behind the Scenes Tour of the Academy of Sciences on June 4, 2009
• Children's Book Author and Illustrator Luncheon on May 7, 2009
• Spring Bounty: Luncheon & Cooking Class on May 12, 2009
• An Evening of Blackjack and Blues for 50 people on September 26, 2009

For more information about Bay Splash and how you can support our school, contact Janette Englert, jenglert@bayschoolsf.org or go to the Bay School Web site, http://www.bayschoolsf.org and click on the Bay Splash link.

Bay Honors

Karen Hellyer, Digital Media teacher, presented a seventy-five minute workshop at the regional meeting of the California Association of Independent Schools (CAIS) titled "Digital Photography: State of the Eye" on March 9th. More than thirty teachers, coaches, and development staff from a variety CAIS accredited schools attended. The workshop gave examples, tips, criteria and resources to help teachers incorporate the use of photography and video into their curriculums. Here's a link to Karen's resource page: http://www.peonqueen.com/cais09/.

Mary Ann Rodgers, Spanish teacher and Bay School drama director was recently awarded a 2008 Outstanding Performance Award by the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle for her role as the director of the Ross Valley Players' production of The Cocktail Hour. Mary Ann will officially receive her award at a gala cocktail party for the award winners to be held at the A.C.T. Columbia Room on May 4th. See the official announcement at: http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/.
Congratulations Mary Ann!

Bay School music teacher Colin Williams recorded his second commercial CD in February.

April Events Calendar