The Bay School of San Francisco

Letter from the Head of School
Academics
Introducing the Bay Project Center
Welcoming Brad Niven
Young Makers Program
The Bay School Community
Intersession 2011 Highlights
Athletics
Spring Breakers News
News & Events
Bay Splash - Viva Italia
Poet Robert Pinsky visits Bay
Bay Day at the SF Giants
Hail the Class of 2011!
Bay Honors
May/June 2011 Events Calendar

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Timothy W. Johnson

May 25, 2011

Dear Friends,

Many of you have noticed that a construction fence has been erected around the wood-framed building at 3 Funston Avenue behind the main school building. I am very pleased to announce that renovation work began in April to transform the two-storey wood-framed building into a multi-use Bay School Project Center to be dedicated in early September at the start of the next academic year.

The Project Center will play a central role in realizing our commitment to offering students multiple opportunities to apply theory and knowledge to practice, tackling authentic, hands-on problems and challenges—a distinctive and core element of a Bay School education.

Throughout the curriculum from freshman to senior year, all Bay students are offered continuous interesting opportunities to explore, design, prototype, improve and persevere toward solving complex problems in all realms of study. The Center will import the emergent discipline of Design Thinking (DS), pioneered at Stanford, MIT and other universities. DS is a paradigm that requires students to develop their creative capacity to work as members of a team and to reframe their approach to problems, invoking the "think outside the box", "fail early and often" orientation.

The Freshman Seminar, a year-long multi-disciplinary freshman course beginning in the fall, will include a five-week introduction to DS. Subsequently, students will be able to choose from a sequence of Engineering Design courses structured to expand their design capabilities and instruct them in the proper and safe use of machinery in the machine and carpentry shops.

The new and sunny art studio on the second floor of the Center will augment our studio art facilities and enable the expansion of our fine arts program. In order to strengthen the relationship and interaction between the arts and engineering, the Senior Signature Project faculty will move to an office on the second floor of the building.

We are fortunate to announce that Brad Niven has been chosen to become the founding director of the Project Center. Brad, already a popular Senior Signature Project mentor at Bay and former advisor of our robotics program, is an experienced educator, an accomplished industrial designer and a professional jazz musician. You will be re-introduced to him below.

We are very excited about the possibilities that will develop as we enhance our capacity at the Project Center. We are extremely grateful to the generous donors who have made this Center possible, including the dozens of bidders at the recent Bay Splash celebration who contributed an important $60K to equip the center.

Graduation of our fourth senior class, the Class of 2011, is now less than a month away on June 10th. We share both their excitement as they look forward to college and the next big steps in their lives, as well as great pride in their hard work, many accomplishments, and their lasting contributions to our school. My best wishes to you all for a relaxing and inspiring summer.

Sincerely,

Tim Johnson

Read about Design Thinking

Introducing the Bay School Project Center

The Bay School's new Project Center located at 3 Funston Avenue, adjacent to the main classroom building, will provide dedicated engineering and design facilities to support the growth of the school's hands-on STEM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) as well as facilitate a growing interrelationship between engineering and the arts at Bay.

The 4,000 sq. ft. two-storey wood frame building was constructed in 1942 for use during World War II, serving as barracks for Army troops. A National Historic Landmark building, it will be fully rehabilitated, upgraded and modernized for school use, and will qualify for LEED certification from the United States Green Building Council.

CAD Design and Production Lab
The comprehensive renovation will create an open project lab on each floor. The ground floor will be equipped with a machine and carpentry shop that will offer opportunities for STEM projects. This studio will provide a facility for the design and fabrication of small-scale design/engineering projects. The upper floor will be equipped with various technologies to enable CAD design and production and will include a designated space for the school's robotics program. The upper floor will also contain a spacious, art studio bathed in natural light for sculpture and printmaking.

These new facilities will create extraordinary learning opportunities for Bay School students—enabling them to tackle a wide spectrum of problems and extend their passions from the classroom to a student-centered idea studio and shop. Barring any unanticipated construction delays, we hope that the building will be ready to occupy at the start of the new school year.

Brad Niven
Project Center Director

Welcoming Brad Niven, Director of the Bay School Project Center

Everyone at Bay is eagerly anticipating Brad Niven's return to school in his new position as the inaugural director of the new Project Center. Brad's association with Bay began way back in 2003, the year before the school was launched, when he constructed a detailed scale model of the permanent campus at 35 Keyes Avenue, exhibited during the first admission season to give students and parents a sense of what our future campus would be like. Then, during 2008-2009, Brad jumped on-board to serve as the coach/mentor of the Robotics Club program and led the student group to success at local and national Vex Robotics competitions. Brad also mentored-project based learning in the Senior Signature Project program.

Brad's experience and interests make him the ideal person to launch the Project Center and its programs. A versatile project director with significant expertise in design, manufacturing and product development in private industry as well as in education, Brad is also a professional pianist and has a love of electronic music and audio engineering. A true Renaissance man.

We met with Brad recently to ask about his vision for the Project Center and what he would like to contribute and achieve through the introduction of Design Thinking (DS) at Bay.

Q. How does your background working at a number of engineering, technology, and product design firms inform your teaching, and what will it offer your students?

Brad: "I hope my wide interests and range of experience can help prioritize what skills and methods should be taught. In private industry it has been frustrating for me to work with engineers, many straight out of universities, who hadn't the slightest idea how to form, cut or machine metal and their design work clearly reflected that. I can list, on one hand, the number of engineers I know who have the practical knowledge to make products and devices that reflect a deep understanding of material science, practical solutions, and efficient methodology to make things. People with that knowledge are the ones who make the most impact on people's lives and the companies they work for. My hope is that I can inspire and teach students early on about the rigors and rewards of such work. Those are the people who get hired, who lead companies, who create innovation, and who will drive the future."

Q. What has inspired you to return to the Bay School as the Project Center's first director?

Brad: "I share Tim's vision of having a Bay School education relate and directly connect learning to the world in which students live today and will live in the future. Understanding the nuts and bolts of the world from a design and engineering perspective can be essential to enabling one to change it for the better, rather than relying on others to do it for you. I want students to come away with a deeper understanding of what it takes to make things work, to make things that positively impact people's lives, and the methodology that helps to channel creativity to do so."

Q. In what ways do you envision that the new Bay School Project Center will expand Bay's design and engineering programs?

Brad: "The connection between creativity and the space in which people create is, to me, closely linked. There is a reason most design and engineering companies have wide-open, free-form spaces in which to work—because they are conducive to collaboration and creative thinking. Having design-centered projects under one roof will give students the space and facility to work together, to influence and inspire each other in ways very different from a more typical classroom environment.

The Project Center will be an open, reconfigurable and flexible space to accommodate a wide range of pursuits. We will have a machine shop with a milling machine, an engine lathe, saws and tools for metal, plastic and woodworking. We will offer multiple project-based design engineering courses and, as part of the Freshman Seminar program, students will be exposed early on to the wonders of building and designing. We will teach Vex Robotics, make mechanical devices, learn computer aided design software and much more. The curriculum will offer the chance for students to 'get their hands dirty', to learn the nuts and bolts of the world, and to come away with an understanding of why things work the way they do."

Learning Through Action - The Young Makers Program

Three Bay Sophomores are "Fired Up" about Engineering

The world's largest DIY "Do It Yourself" festival, the Maker Faire, came to the Bay Area on May 21-22, and several Bay School students prepared to light up the weekend audience of more than 75,000 people with a clever engineering project that they've dubbed Fire Jam. Sophomores Alex Jacobson, John Boyer and Sam Frank have worked with technical mentors over the past 6 months to design and build a music-synchronized pyrotechnic show combining instruments from the popular "Rock Band" music game with a flame-blasting candelabra that fires in sync to the music. The project idea was hatched in the Bay School Engineering Lab as part of the innovative Young Makers program, a new program sponsored by MAKE magazine, the Exploratorium, and Pixar to encourage do-it-yourself, hands-on student creativity and learning.

This year's Fire Jam project followed from the success of Project Saphira, a fire-breathing, animatronic dragon created by Bay student Alex Jacobson and Sam DeRose, a student at Branson School, for last year's Maker Faire. Both the Fire Jam and Saphira projects allowed students to explore a wide range of scientific and engineering concepts and put them into action to build functional projects. For the Fire Jam project, mentors Yoshi Seaver, Paul Novak and David Jacobson helped Alex, John and Sam take their interest in learning more about mechanical fabrication, computer programming and fire effects and craft them into a plan for a flame candelabra and another fire-inspired device called a Ruben's tube. Additional mentors, Shawn Neely and AJ Almaguer, consulted on the fire technology and machining needed to make the project happen. Throughout the endeavor, the students practiced project management, team communication and leadership skills, and they fine-tuned their public speaking capabilities as they demonstrated their project to thousands of inquisitive people at the Maker Faire.

As with most challenging projects, bringing a new idea to fruition is not without setbacks, and the team has experienced some. They've built several versions of a Ruben's tube, which is a fire tube that represents sound waves visually in the height of the flames coming out of it. None has sufficiently produced the flame reaction to the music that they were seeking. After experimenting with numerous variables, they've concluded that wind may be the factor that eliminated it from their exhibit at Maker Faire. The trial-and-error challenge has been inspiring, though, and has led them to learn more than if the project had worked as designed from the beginning. This is the essence of DIY learning, and the basis of the students' excitement for the Maker Faire. The Young Makers Group is an outstanding example of the "thinking outside the box" approach to hands-on learning that is at the core of the Bay School's philosophy and curriculum. We salute the group's efforts so far and look forward to the program expanding next year and beyond.

Read about Bay Young Makers featured on Edutopia

For more information see The Maker Faire Festival of Invention

Jumping Headfirst into Real-Life Learning - Intersession 2011

For students and faculty members alike, Intersession week is a favorite high point of the school year. Opportunities in 2011 included twenty courses that represented a broad range of interests and activities from arts offerings such as Latin Rhythms Journey which explored the Bay Area's rich variety of Latin dances, Figure Drawing, and Cyanotype Photography, to the computer technology course Minecraft in which students designed and built 3-dimensional tours of the Bay campus. Science and technology courses included Ikaros II, in which students built, launched and recovered a near-space balloon, and The Lifetime of a Muon—the study of subatomic particles having extremely high kinetic energies released from supernova explosions. In Couture du Jour, students learned the basics of apparel design and construction while in Ten Films You Gotta See Before Leaving High School students viewed and critiqued film classics along with Mick LaSalle, veteran SF Chronicle film critic. Five courses took students and their faculty guides off campus to visit organic farms, explore the Bay Area on day hikes, camp in the wilderness at the Los Padres National Forest and at Pt. Reyes, and learn to sail aboard a tall ship.

Intersession courses take students and teachers out of the classrooms and into the world of real-life learning. In the many different environments students come to see themselves, their peers, and their teachers differently. Their perspectives broaden as they open themselves to new adventures and challenges.

Here are two highlights of Intersession 2011

Adventure Aboard the Bill of Rights Tall Ship
By Nettie Kelly, Science Teacher and Trip Organizer

For the first time this year, students from the Bay School were offered a chance to spend their Intersession week aboard a tall ship. Why a tall ship? Tall ship experiences create a valuable opportunity for multi-faceted growth: students are given academic content that they immediately apply to their new surroundings of a ship at sea. They are confronted with an environment full of physical challenges that require problem solving and cooperative effort. While they build relationships and memories, their accomplishments on a variety of levels help to build a tremendous sense of confidence.

The twenty girls that signed aboard for this Intersession were rewarded with an amazing experience that went beyond their expectations. After driving to Oxnard, we sailed through the night on the Bill of Rights tall ship to Cat Harbor on Catalina Island. The girls stood watch, steered the boat, checked the bilges, did bow watch throughout the night and learned navigation to keep us on track to our destination. On Catalina Island, we snorkeled in a kelp bed, and took a strenuous hike to the top of a ridge. When we set sail again that evening, the weather prediction had changed to high wind warnings, and we were starting to feel the bumps and rolls of an uncomfortable trip. In the middle of the night, we made a course change and headed for Los Angeles.

The next day, we took advantage of the strong breeze and did some sailing in and around the port of Los Angeles. This was a great learning day, as students were able to work with the lines and really get a sense of the boat. The following day we did a similar sail, and then got the chance to sail on the Exy Johnson, a brigantine owned and operated by the Los Angeles Maritime Institute. This was a great way to end the trip as the girls were able to take the knowledge they had learned and see how it could be applied to a new boat.

Along the way, the students provided wonderful support to each other as they worked through seasickness, and learning the ropes. They spent their time learning sea chanteys with the crew, singing, talking, working as part of the crew, having the time to get to know each other on a different, much deeper level. They have all returned with a new sense of confidence, and a new sense of community.

"A transformational moment happened when I was at the helm on Wednesday night, the wind was up 30 knots and our plotted course was still towards our next destination, the Santa Cruz Islands. The boat was viciously rocking back and forth and crashing into the waves, but I decided to let go of all my fears and have fun-and I did. I felt liberated and free to enjoy the craziness of the wind and the waves."—Bay School Sailor

Ikaros II - A Flight into the Stratosphere

Led by research teacher Craig Butz and astrophysics instructor Richard Piccioni, thirteen student members of the Bay Space Club spent Intersession week 2011 designing and building their second space probe dubbed Ikaros II in preparation for launch on April 15th. Ikaros II was a follow-up to last year's Ikaros I space balloon which made a successful one-hour-twenty minute flight to an altitude of more than 75,000 feet and traveled up to 173 miles in the jet stream.

This year's goals for Ikaros II included penetrating further into the stratosphere and taking temperature and atmospheric pressure measurements in the layer of extremely thin air above the effects of the Earth's weather. The probe was designed to carry GPS tracking equipment and a video camera. The team also worked to develop a reliable easy-to-launch set-up that will facilitate the regular launch of student science experiments and collection of data related to climate issues.

The space balloon was launched from Morgan Territory Regional Park in eastern Contra Costa County in the early morning of April 15th and reached an altitude of 83,772 feet, higher than last year's flight. It was successfully recovered near Turlock in the Central Valley after a flight of approximately 60 miles. Onboard video and still cameras captured strikingly beautiful photographs of the curvature of the Earth from the stratosphere. Temperature and air pressure readings were recorded and analyzed. Mission accomplished!

Ikaros II Morning Meeting Presentation

Steve Glass
Athletic Director

Spring Breakers News

It has been one of the most successful Bay School sports years ever and we are currently at the tail end of our very busy spring sports team seasons. The beginning of the spring season was challenging due to rain, but all of our teams battled through the weather and are enjoying successful seasons. Some of our teams have already wrapped up their respective seasons, while varsity softball and baseball teams gear up for BCL- Central and BCL- West playoffs.

Our popular Breaker Bash spirit events continued throughout the spring season. Each team was celebrated at one of their spring games and the entire community was encouraged to attend and cheer for their team, enticed by barbeques and other types of festivities. Bay Breaker spirit and pride have never been greater! A HUGE thank you from the Athletic Department goes to Nancy Graalman and many other Bay parents for helping to organize these great events.

As the 2011 spring season is coming to a close, all members of the Bay School community are encouraged to attend the upcoming 2011 Bay Sports Night on Thursday, May 26th from 6-8pm on campus! Join our athletes, coaches, faculty/staff, and families in celebrating the many achievements and spirit of the 2010-2011 athletic year at Bay. Refreshments will be available from 6-6:30pm. The ceremony will begin at 6:30pm. Be sure to wear your Bay Blue!

Boys' Varsity Golf: The Breakers boys' varsity golf team wrapped up their season with an incredible overall record of 13-1 overall and 11-1 in league competition. Our golf team was comprised of 15 borderline fanatical golfers led once again by Coach Miles Chen. Our golfers finished in first place after league play and really wanted to bring home our first ever BCL West Championship, but unfortunately fell short in the league championship match. The good news is that everyone on this year's team will be back next year, when we will make a strong bid for that first-ever golf championship trophy.

Girls' Varsity Soccer: The girls varsity soccer team ended their season with a 11-8-1 overall and 10-2-1 in BCL- Central league play. Coaches Matt Hannibal, Will Goodson and the lady Breakers had a strong showing at the BCL Central playoffs with a 3-2 victory over Gateway High School. They advanced to play in the championship game against International H.S. and fell short in the BCL-Central game. Congratulations to the coaches and players.

Girls JV Soccer: The Girls JV soccer team finished their season last week. Coach Nic Fiszman was proud of the girls' commitment, heart, and determination this season. The JV girls had to battle through challenging weather and several injuries, but finished the season strong.

Girls Softball: Head girls' varsity softball coach Kevin Timpane remarks that our softball team is experiencing an up and down season this year with an overall record of 3 and 5 and 1-5 in the BCL West. Our squad has had to play on through six rainy games. Our pitching and hitting have improved this year anchored by our young catcher and the team is working very hard to improve its defense. Our girls are looking forward to the playoffs in mid May.

Varsity Baseball: The varsity baseball team is currently 8-4 overall and is 5-3 in the BCL Central. The team welcomed two new coaches and three talented freshmen this season. The coaches report that we have three great seniors who are leading by example. The combination of experience and young enthusiasm has our team demonstrating great promise. The team is rapidly improving and is showing signs of a great season.

Varsity Boys Volleyball: The boys' varsity volleyball team is currently playing in the Bay Area Conference playoffs. This is the 2nd season that our boys are competing at the league level. Coach Cecily Scherschligt is building the program and reports that the team is working hard to develop a strong squad for the future.

Varsity Boys' Tennis: Coach Bryan Richter is dedicated to developing a young, enthusiastic boys' tennis team at the varsity level. The boys have experienced a tough season with regard to wins and losses; however, the team remains positive and continues to improve every day. We know that our boys' tennis program has a very bright future.

GO BREAKERS!

Bay Splash 2011 Viva Italia - A Celebrazione to Remember

On April 30th, a magnificent night in the Presidio, 350 Bay School parents, members of the faculty and staff, and friends of the school came together for Viva Italia - An Evening of Dolce Vita! in celebration and support of our wonderful school.

From the Bellini's, to the luscious Italian wines, fabulous fare provided by caterers extraordinaire, Global Gourmet, and the gorgeous ambiance, guests were treated to a truly magical evening. It all happened right here...in the not-to-be-believed transformed space of the heart of the school—the Bay School Great Room. Under the twilight canopy, the evening was elegant, yet informal and inclusive—very much in the spirit of Bay.

The new format drew rave reviews, and the live and silent auctions featured a plethora of one-of-a-kind treasures and experiences...a number of them generously donated for the first time. The big winner of the night was Fund-a-Need, the proceeds of which will provide equipment for the new Bay Project Center. Generous bidders raised their paddles with great fanfare, and donated more than $60K, doubling the amount raised for Fund-a-Need last year.

An event like SPLASH could not happen without the tremendous collaboration and good will of our community. Nearly 100 volunteers gave of their time to ensure that all of the moving parts came together. True to form, members of the Bay School staff stepped up mightily, contributing many hours to make SPLASH the best it could be. And to the volunteer mavens who gave countless hours over many months to make the vision of Viva Italia a fabulous reality—Cheryl Harrison, Lesli Hobart, Alison Mattoon, Robin McMillan and Jane Vaughan— thank you for your tireless dedication to Bay. To all of our supporters and friends—thank you for making Viva Italia the best Bay SPLASH ever!

Robert Pinsky

An Evening with Robert Pinsky, U.S. Poet Laureate 1997-2000
Thursday, March 31, 2011

In his youth, Robert Pinsky played the saxophone and wanted to be a jazz musician. If it hadn't (as Pinsky himself puts it) been for a "deficiency of talent," his ambition to become a musician would have been realized. Instead, he "turned to words," becoming a distinguished poet and educator, and is known to collaborate with jazz musicians during his poetry readings from time to time.
Robert Pinsky visits Bay
On March 31st, the Bay School community was treated to a very special event—the opportunity to hear PInsky read a number of his iconic poems accompanied by Bay's own jazz music teacher extraordinaire, Colin Williams. Held on the eve of National Poetry Month, Pinsky's visit to Bay was met with tremendous response, perhaps best summed up by an English teacher from a peer school who attended as a guest and shared his experience in his blog: "Earlier this week, I heard Robert Pinsky give a reading of his poetry at the Bay School in San Francisco. It was, unquestionably, the best poetry reading I have ever seen, or perhaps I should say, heard. Standing before us, with neither notes nor a book in hand, accompanied by a young man with a standup bass, Mr. Pinsky performed his poetry to jazz for nearly one hour. I went home that night, so excited by his performance, and applied to his Summer Poetry Institute for Teachers at Boston University. I was accepted by dinnertime the next day."

During the course of his visit to Bay, Pinsky also spent an afternoon conducting a poetry workshop for students and faculty, and answering questions about his craft. As Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky became a public ambassador for poetry, founding the Favorite Poem Project, in which thousands of Americans—of varying backgrounds, ages, and from every state—shared their favorite poems. The anthology America's Favorite Poems, taught in classrooms across the country,is now in its 18th printing. The only US Poet Laureate to serve an unprecedented three terms, Robert Pinsky's poems exude democratic warmth and intimacy, speaking to the ordinary things of this world, and somehow making them seem extraordinary. His visit to Bay was indeed a gift to us all!

Anna Heidinger, Director of Development

Bay Day at the San Francisco Giants Game

Thanks to the efforts of the School Life Committee (and to the generous cooperation of the SF Giants organization) the entire Bay School community headed off to AT&T Park for a glorious afternoon of baseball on Thursday, May 12th. We ended classes at 11:30 that morning and 300+ students, members of the faculty and staff clambered onto buses and filled sections 334 and 335 along the left field line.
Bay Day at the Giants Game
With the sun glinting off McCovey Cove, and with temperatures hovering in the 70's, we joined an enthusiastic crowd cheering on Matt Cain through 7 innings of shut-out pitching. After a nervous stretch when the Arizona Diamondbacks pushed across a couple of runs, the world champion Giants closed out an entertaining 3-2 win. Truly spring has arrived! Go Giants!

Hail the Class of 2011

With graduation of the Class of 2011 now just three weeks away on June 10th, our thoughts turn to the extraordinary group of fifty-nine seniors that comprise the fourth and final Bay School founding class. They have been Bay School pioneers in the ultimate sense of the word, and they will leave a legacy of intellectual passion and accomplishment, creativity, inclusiveness, and commitment to their school that will serve as a powerful role model to all those who follow them as students at Bay.

Seniors in the Class of 2011 eagerly took on a leadership role in defining and forming the Student Leadership Committee (SLC) that serves as the guardian and voice for student interests in all aspects of school life. With the goal of boosting school spirit and encouraging across-grade relationships they launched the first annual Bay School Olympic Games during the 2010-2011 school year. To support fellow students with learning differences, they established a student-run tutoring program pairing themselves with underclassmen to provide academic support, and they launched the first-ever WHAM writing mentorship program. Deeply committed to fostering acceptance of diversity and inclusion within the school community, the seniors helped to found the Bay School UNITY Club that is dedicated to recognizing and affirming each of us as unique individuals while celebrating all that we share in common that brings us together.

The future shines bright for the Bay School Class of 2011. They will be attending forty-seven different highly-competitive colleges and universities throughout the country. The list includes six students who have chosen to attend University of California campuses and another sixteen students who will attend colleges and universities in the West including Stanford, USC, and the universities of Washington and Oregon. Colleges on the East Coast continue to attract many Bay seniors. In addition to popular colleges and universities in the Boston and New York areas, Bay students in the Class of 2011 will be attending Middlebury, Vassar, Smith College and the Boston Conservatory for the first time. Also for the first time, three seniors have chosen to enroll at the University of Chicago. Most importantly though, Bay seniors engaged in a very thoughtful college selection and application process that was founded on coming to a true understanding of themselves—their abilities, interests, and goals—that enabled them to choose wisely and well.

Hats Off to the Class of 2011!

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

Freshman Yelena Vayn earned an 8th place standing at the USA Dance National Ballroom Dancing Championship held in Baltimore from April 8-10. Yelena began ballroom dancing at the age of five and after more than nine years of dedication and training is ranked in the top ten dancers in her age group, Junior 2, nationally. Yelena says "I just love everything about it! The dancing of course, but also the training, the experiences of competition, the friends, and the sport in general." Congratulations, Yelena!

Freshman Rebecca King was recently awarded the prestigious A Better Chance Award for Excellence, given annually to select scholars in grades nine through twelve nationally to recognize academic distinction, contributions to their school communities, and demonstrated ability to achieve in a manner that is representative of the goals of A Better Chance and its member schools. "Since 1963, A Better Chance has been opening the door to educational opportunities for thousands of young people of color in this nation. Its mission is to increase substantially the number of well-educated young people of color who are capable of assuming positions of responsibility and leadership in American society. Its mission is carried out through the signature College Preparatory Schools Program ("CPSP"), which annually recruits, refers and supports about 500 A Better Chance Scholars at more than 300 of the nation's leading boarding, day and public schools." Read more about A Better Chance .

Darrick Broudy, Bay School Humanities, social studies and music teacher, recently completed a certificate program at the Berklee College of Music titled Music Creation using Reason. The three-course program focused on audio engineering and electronic music production using the software application called Reason. Darrick explains: "My goal for enrolling in the program was to strengthen my knowledge of electronic music production in order to facilitate my continued growth and development as an artist, as well as a teacher. Moreover, it was just rejuvenating to be a student again!"

Zeke Mostov, Bay School Class of 2014, earned a second place finish in the junior men's division (15 and 16 year-olds) at the Sea Otter Classic, one of the most competitive mountain and road bike events in the nation, held on April 16th in the Monterey area. The 2011 event welcomed nearly 10,000 professional and amateur cyclists. Biking is a real passion of Zeke's and his many competitive awards earned to date are proof of his skill, determination, and love of the sport. Go Zeke!

Dr. Richard Piccioni, Bay science teacher, has been selected to participate in the Exploratorium Leadership Institute for the next two years, serving as a mentor in the Teacher Leadership Program. The selection process included a visit to Richard's 9th-grade Chemistry class by two senior Exploratorium staff members. Richard's responsibilities will entail co-mentoring a number of new Bay Area science teachers during two intensive summer workshops and meeting with them periodically throughout the subsequent academic years.

Mary Ann Rodgers, Bay Spanish and drama teacher, is currently directing the Ross Valley Players' production of Rabbit Hole, the 2006 Broadway smash hit that won the Pulitzer Prize and was nominated as Best Play for the Theatre Guild's Tony Awards—"a contemporary drama filled with humor, hope and true humanity." The play runs through June 12th, and Mary Ann hopes to see many Bay School friends in the audience! Information and tickets

Congratulations go to Andy Shaw, former Bay mathematics teacher who will return to Bay as academic dean in the '11-'12 academic year, who graduated with a master's degree in Education Leadership from Columbia University's Teachers College on May 17th. Andy was a member of the year-long cohort program at the Klingenstein Center which focuses specifically on educating independent school leaders. We look forward to Andy's return to Bay!

May - June 2011 Events Calendar

Thursday, May 26	Bay Sports Night, 6-8pm on campus.
Friday, May 27	Field Day at Paul Goode Field in the Presidio, 11:30am-3:30pm.
Monday, May 30	Memorial Day Holiday, school closed.
Wednesday, June 1	Parent Volunteer Recognition Coffee at La Terrasse, 8-9:30am.
Thursday, June 2	Senior Signature Project Exhibition, 5-7pm on campus.
Monday, June 6	Faculty/Graduate Farewell Dinner, 5-6pm on campus. Students and faculty/staff only.
Wednesday, June 8	Last day of classes for seniors.
Thursday, June 9	Last day of classes for underclassmen. All-school talent show 2:30-4:15pm. Students/faculty/staff only.
Friday, June 10	Class of 2011 graduation ceremony at Herbst Theater, 10-11:30am. All students are required to attend. Graduation reception in the Green Room, 11:30am-1pm. Graduates and guests only.