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News January 13, 2012 MLK Jr. Architect Speaks To SFS Students Bonnie Fisher and Boris Dramov are Principals in ROMA Design Group, a San Francisco-based architectural and landscape design firm, and are renowned for creating livable urban spaces. In 2000, they won the international design contest to create the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, which opened in Washington DC this past fall. The design builds on the landscape tradition of recent memorials and heightens our awareness of the unique qualities and symbolic relationships of the Capital Mall. The design is inspired by Dr. King Is poetic use of language and powerful metaphorical references to the American landscape. The memorial commemorates Dr. King’s contributions to the broadening of the meaning of democracy in America and seeks to engage visitors in the continued pursuit of positive social change and higher levels of achievement related to human rights and civil liberties. ROMA Design Group generously donated their original presentation boards for the Memorial to The San Francisco School.
August 1, 2011 SFS Middle Schoolers bring the sound of music to Salzburg's International Orff Conference Seventeen Middle Schoolers and their music teachers from The San Francisco School performed at the 50th Anniversary of the International Orff Institute in July in Salzburg, Austria! Our students were the only youth group attending the conference of music teachers and Orff Schlwerk enthusiasts from around the world, and the only group from the U.S. invited to perform. And, congratulations to SFS music teacher Sofia Lopez-Ibor who received a special Lifetime Achievement Award from the Institute at the conference. Enjoy this slide show of photos from the SFS trip. Select the photo or link to start.
May 6, 2011SFS Grandparents Michael and Kitty Dukakis share optimism for future at Grandparents and Special Friends Day The School was honored to welcome Michael and Kitty Dukakis at our 2011 Grandparents and Special Friends Day May 6. Michael is the former three-term Governor of Massachusetts and the Democratic nominee for the Presidency in 1988. Michael and Kitty are also grandparents of two SFS students. Michael and Kitty spoke to a packed room of visitorson the topic of Growing Leaders in a Democratic Society. We're proud to present their inspiring talk: On Thursday, Michael participated in an 8th grade class discussion in a 'Socratic Seminar' format. The class took on the very present and meaningful topic of Osama Bin Laden's death. It was an intense, dynamic and rich conversation that found a balance between the students experience spending a majority of their lives in the 'Bin Laden' age and Michael's depth of understanding around the complexities and history of the Middle East. Near the conclusion of the conversation, Michael made a strong plea to the students to think about what they could do to make a significant difference in this world. He stressed that they could make a real impact. His words were heart-felt about his own story as a child of immigrants, and his deep held belief that nothing should stop our youth in the pursuit of their dreams. January 7 , 2011 On Friday, January 7th, the school was proud to welcome the Yale a capella group, Shades, to campus. The group includes Andres Fuentes-Afflick ’05, who is currently a sophomore at Yale. Read more about Andres in the summer 2009 edition of the Gaven Street Gazette (page 7). Thank you to the group and to Andres for an amazing performance enjoyed by our students!
December 3 , 2010 This week, the school has had the honor of hosting five Tibetan Monks visiting from Drepung Loseling Phukhang Monastery in India. They are touring the U.S. this month to “touch people with universal compassion.” On Wednesday the monks performed a 2500 year old ceremony during which they blessed our school. The monks were introduced by 3rd grade Head Teacher Laura Burges, who was honored for her Buddhist practice in a Lay Entrustment Ceremony in 2009. For three days the monks used the space in the school’s Activity Room to construct an intricately designed Sand Mandala. The Sand Mandala has become one of the emblems associated with Tibet, constructed with the motivation of bringing about world peace. At the closing ceremony the monks sweep the Sand Mandala away, symbolizing the key concept of Impermanence – that all phenomena have a beginning, middle, and end.
November 9 , 2010 Congratulations to four SFS runners who placed in the top 10 of their respective divisions and represented the school in a medal ceremony and also a big congrats to our 7th and 8th Grade Varsity team which claimed the SFAL Boys' Varsity Team Championship!! November 3 , 2010 While the school’s activity room was a polling station on Tuesday, November 2nd, on the 3rd it became World Series Central. To celebrate the Giants World Series victory, the school hosted a black & orange day and gathered together to play music, watch the parade and celebrate our civic pride! Go Giants!
October 20 , 2010 On October 20, 2010, numerous faculty, staff and students at The San Francisco School wore purple to celebrate Spirit Day. This day, first created by teenager Brittany McMillan a few weeks ago, honors the LGBT youth who recently took their lives due to consistent bullying. The SFS community donned purple hearts also to show the hundreds of thousands of LGBT youth that face daily discrimination daily that we support them and will not tolerate harassment of any kind at school. Purple symbolizes 'spirit' on the rainbow flag, a symbol for LGBT Pride that was created by Gilbert Baker in 1978. The San Francisco School has a long history of encouraging all students to bring their whole selves to school. We are proud to celebrate Spirit Day and are committed to safer schools for all!
October 20 , 2010 Special thanks to our Elementary Art Teacher, Karen Goodkin and the rest of the art department for hosting over 40 art teachers from various Bay Area Independent Schools. It is always exciting to have so many educators on our campus. There morning visit included an interdiscplinary music/ art exchange, a tour of the school and a lively conversation. Teachers walked away with a greater understanding and appreciation of what makes The San Francisco School so unique. September 1, 2010 On September 1st, 270 students arrived on campus to begin the school year. The 45th year started in the traditional manner with teachers welcoming the students in song (see photo) and 'gonging in the new year' which officially marks the start of school. This tradition, which has been a part of the school for several decades, features the youngest 1st grader and oldest 8th grader banging a gong three times.
Listen to this powerful hour of radio as SFS 6th graders share their Perspectives on Forum with Michal Krasny. The students discuss topics ranging from divorce to cancer to middle school clicks. As one listener noted on the KQED site after the show, “Thank you to the students for sharing. I appreciate how the students were able to speak so truthfully about their feelings. Each essay communicated strong feelings and subjects very concisely. I was immediately drawn into your perspectives. Your voices are strong- keep up the good work!” See more on Perspectives here.
In late February, the 5th Grade Class performed at the 2010 National Association of Independent School Conference held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Every member of the class performed in front of an audience of more than 4,000 educators and school administrators from around the country. Enjoy this impressive performance!
Several months ago, San Francisco public radio station KQED and itsPerspectives editor Mark Trautwein received a package containing 31 Perspectives, the work of a sixth grade Humanities class at The San Francisco School. The Perspectives impressed him; many were deeply personal and revealed the struggle of young people starting to form their own opinions of the world. Trautwein has worked with the teacher of the class, Ruth Corley, to present the pieces as web-exclusive Perspectives. Learn more and listen here. On Monday, February 1st, the school took part in a statewide jump roping event - in an attempt to set a new world record! The SF Chronicle covered the story. Read it here.
Entered into the San Francisco Ballet's "Magical Memories Nutcracker Video" competition. Project by the 7th Grade at the San Francisco School, with original animation and movement by the students, inspired by SF Momo exhibit "William Kentridge: 5 Themes." Music by Tchaikovsky and Monty Norman, arranged by music teacher James Harding and performed by the students.
The San Francisco School has recently been invited to perform at the National Association of Independent School Conference, which will be held in San Francisco at the Moscone Center from February 24-26, 2010. This conference brings together more than 3,000 educational leaders from independent schools around the world. We are honored and excited to be highlighted in "When Learning Comes Naturally," a documentary that focuses on schools that have developed strong programs to introduce children to the natural world and encourage them—through play, classroom activities, exploration, and their own creative work—to make a lasting connection to the environment. The San Francisco School is one of only four schools featured in this PBS nationally televised program. Locally, the documentary premiered at The Academy of Sciences and the Brower Environmental Center in Berkeley. In addition, the film aired on KQED in October. Below is a clip of the film: If you are interested in buying a copy of the documentary, you can learn more here.
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The first annual Vanguard Conference took place in November, 2008 at the Head Royce School in Oakland. This day-long conference brought African-American Boys enrolled in SF Bay Area Independent Schools (grades 6 – 12) together to network and strengthen their resolve to be successful. The workshop was put on by African-American men, including Steve Morris, our Head of School and Dallas Glenn, 7th Grade Humanities Teacher, who are all educators. The conference was attended by four of our middle school students and two of our alumni. Here's a 12-minute video from the event:
September 16, 2008 Before Coastal Clean-Up on Saturday, September 20th, the SFS community will gather at Candlestick Point Park to celebrate Maggie Weis’s 20th anniversary at the school. The celebration begins at 8:30 a.m. and continues as parents, students and faculty participate in the annual Coastal Clean-Up Day starting at 9 a.m. Come by to congratulate Maggie and stay to clean up our coastline. We hope to see you there! Directions (pdf) September 8, 2008 The San Francisco School is proud to announce that it has joined SPEAK, a recently formed coalition of San Francisco K-8 Schools that have joined together to enhance parent education. The first speaker event is Wednesday, November 19 at 9 a.m. at the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, 245 Valencia St. in San Francisco.
May 10, 2008 At the May 7 SFS Town Meeting, Student Council Co-President DeeDee Pearce introduced Cindy Sheehan to the fourth through eighth graders. Cindy is mostly known as a peace activist who began her work after her son, Casey, was killed in the Iraq war in 2004.
download MP3 file Cindy’s most renowned action was camping out near President Bush’s vacation ranch in Texas, waiting for him to come explain to her what noble cause her son and other soldiers had died for. She officially ended her anti-war activism career in 2007. In July of 2007, Sheehan announced her intention to challenge Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a congressional election as an independent because Pelosi didn’t introduce articles of impeachment against President Bush. The focus of Ms. Sheehan’s speech was not as much about the stance that she took against the war, or about her attempt to become Congresswoman. Instead, she spoke about how to turn one’s emotion into action. When 7th Grader Harry Sherman asked how to have an impact when people from San Francisco are usually discounted for their views, Cindy offered some very practical advice to our students. Cindy replied that students should first figure out what they are passionate about. Once they find their passion, they should educate themselves fully on the topic. Finally, she recommended they pursue their cause with abandon -- not letting anything get in their way. Cindy additionally suggested that our students work for noble causes which include social justice and peace. Thank you to the Assistant Head for the Lower School, Maggie Weis, for bringing Cindy to our community.
Each year, as an effort to raise funds for the many events that the graduating class does, SFS holds a yard sale. Your donated items are greatly appreciated and may be tax-deductible. Items should be clean and working. We cannot accept computers or monitors. Laptops are okay. Please label items with a suggested price. Stick a piece of tape with the amount written on it on the item. Or fill a bag with same-priced items and put the item price on the bag. We can also price things at the sale. Unsold items will be brought to Community Thrift, Goodwill and the SF Public Library. Bring your donations to: December 4-5th, 2007 Please join us on for a special Book Signing and Tea Party on December 4th from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in the Activity Room as we celebrate three San Francisco School authors and a film maker: SFS parents Leslie Crawford, Josie Iselin, Andrea Gosline and Melissa Peabody. Profits from book and DVD sales will benefit the school's new neighborhood library, The Portola Branch.
The Board's unanimous decision followed the enthusiastic recommendation of the Search Committee which cited the close alignment between The San Francisco School's mission, values, and strategic goals and Steve Morris' personal strengths, skills, vision, and experience. Much beloved in his community by students, educators, administrators, and families, Steve brings both roots and wings to the position of Head of School. As one staff member stated: "It is hard to imagine a candidate more suitable to The San Francisco School at this time - seasoned and groomed enough to know who we are, yet fresh, energetic and open-minded enough to chart his own course while staying true to the values of SFS." In his letter to the Search Committee, Steve alluded to his personal story that illustrates how, thanks to the educational and community resources he received as a student in an independent school, he was able to transcend challenges and go on to become the first member of his family to obtain a college and a graduate degree. Steve understands that today's children face their own challenges in a world that is increasingly competitive and too often fractured by lack of understanding and mutual support. He feels it is imperative that students graduate with a combination of both academic skills and strong character traits in order to succeed in the world and to contribute to it. Mike Diamonti, Head of University High School, highlights Steve's: "strength in motivating and bringing together a group of strong personalities and opinions to achieve a common objective." Diamonti adds, "children are his passion, equity is his passion." Of The San Francisco School, Steve says: "SFS is a proven leader in music and arts education. We are also known to take great pride in educating our students on social justice and equity issues. These facts should always remain. SFS now must develop an equally strong reputation for its academics. All of this can be achieved while maintaining a compelling, engaging learning environment." That Steve has worked closely with and been mentored by Terry Edeli over the past three years adds to his depth of experience as Assistant Head of The San Francisco School, as an English Teacher, Advisor, and Coach at both University High School and Sewickly Academy, as Dean of Multicultural Programs at University High School, as Program Officer of Summerbridge National, and Executive Director of Summerbridge Pittsburgh. Steve's dedication to his family, especially his wife Beth Goya and their two sons, Rowan and Mason, speaks profoundly to our emphasis on family at SFS. Our appointment of Steve Morris concludes an exhaustive national search assisted by independent school consultant Roger Bass of Resource Group 175. The thirteen-member S arch Committee, comprised of current and former trustees, parents, alumnae parents, and faculty, was assisted by student, parent, and faculty advisory committees. The San Francisco School e community's spirited participation energized and informed the entire process. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we thank all those who worked so diligently to help us successfully complete that most important responsibility of the Board - the selection of our new Head of School. Please join us in welcoming Steve Morris as incoming Head of The San Francisco School. Sincerely, Matt Plut Tamara Hicks Terry Gamble Boyer
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