| Snapshot from The Ridge |
Each week, Pacific Ridge School invites you to enjoy a spontaneous view of school life.  Students from Chinese 1 class perform a lion dance during
Community Life period to celebrate the Chinese New year. . |
Bulletin Board
|
Thank You!
The holidays are far behind us, but faculty and staff are still warmed by the generous holiday spirit that Pacific Ridge families extended. Thank you for your kind and thoughtful gifts and gift cards, which brought big smiles, new holiday reads, and wider waistlines. Wishing you health and happiness in the new year!
2012/13 Academic Calendar Available
The 2012/13 academic calendar is now available. Go to the "News & Events" drop-down menu on the website, click on "Calendar," and click on the link in the yellow box on the right-hand side. You can also download next year's academic calendar from the school portal - the link is under "School Information" on the right-hand side.
Jazz/Rock Ensemble To Perform Benefit On Friday, 1/27
The Jazz/Rock Ensemble will perform at La Costa Coffee Roasting in Carlsbad this Friday, January 27th. The concert will benefit Banding Together, an organization that provides musical scholarships and general musical assistance to kids with special needs. Come by and support a great cause!
Date: Friday, January 27th
Time: 6:30-8:30
Place: La Costa Coffee Roasting, 6965 El Camino Real, Suite 208, Carlsbad (In Von's Shopping Center)
Reminders:
Applications for both Middle and Upper School are due on February 1st. Please contact Monique Velde, Admissions Assistant, with any last-minute questions: mvelde@pacificridge.org.
Middle School Funbird Friday is on January 27th. Students will enjoy music and games, including card games, board games, and age-appropriate, multi-player video games. The festivities will include friendly game tournaments with both yummy and spirit point prizes. Light snacks and beverages will be served.
Date: Friday, February 27th
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Place: East Reading Room
Upper School Mid-Winter Dance is on January 28th. The theme is Cities Around the World. Tickets are $10/person and can be purchased during lunch in Upper Town Square. Buy those tickets early - they will go up to $15/person at the door!
Date: Saturday, February 28th
Time: 7-10 p.m.
Place: Commons
Opportunity to See Billy Collins at Dove Library
Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States, will speak at Dove Library in Carlsbad on February 9th. Parents are encouraged to attend the poetry reading, and to get a taste of what Pacific Ridge students experience earlier in the day when Mr. Collins performs a poetry reading on campus. A number of English classes are also currently engaged in Mr. Collins' Poetry 180 program, which includes starting each class with a student reading of a poem. Enjoy the chance to share in some great poetry!
Date: Thursday, February 9th
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Carlsbad City Library, 1775 Dove Lane
Admission is free, but seating is limited and on a first come, first served basis. For more information, go to the event website. |
New & Noteworthy
|
Lisa Bloom, international journalist and author of Think: Straight Talk for Women to Stay Smart in a Dumbed-Down World, visited campus on Wednesday, January 18th. She addressed the entire Upper School during Community Life period, and took questions from a smaller group of female students who had read her book beforehand. Ms. Bloom also visited with students in Writing for Publications and in Ethical Thinking classes, and spoke with students after school. Throughout the day, she emphasized the importance of being an engaged, active, thinking person in a society that tends to distract people, and particularly women, from critical issues and critical thinking. Thank you to Ms. Bloom for spending time with our students!  Ms. Bloom addresses students.
During Middle School Community Life period on January 18th, engineer Raymond O'Neill and his colleague, physicist Alex Nagy, gave an interactive presentation on issues in modern physics. Mr. O'Neill and Dr. Nagy, who are both employees of General Atomics, spoke about their work there and then provided a number of demonstrations that highlighted different elements of study in their jobs: magnetism, electricity, plasma, and liquid nitrogen. The demonstrations, at times dramatic, were a big hit with students. "Our overall purpose was to interest kids in science and engineering," said Mr. O'Neill. "We wanted them to see the excitement of scientific study." Thank you, Mr. O'Neill and Dr. Nagy, for your fun and very engaging visit! Mr. O'Neill looks on while Dr. Nagy inflates a glove with liquid nitrogen.
|
| Curricular Adventures |
Students Visit Seabreeze Organic FarmOn Thursday, January 19th, AP Environmental Science students visited Seabreeze Organic Farm in San Diego, where they toured the farm and learned about organic farming practices and how a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model works. They also sampled some of the farm's produce, visited with the farm's goats, chickens, and ducks, and went for a nature hike in the preserve behind the farm. The group enjoyed lunch together before heading back to campus. Getting to know the animals
Mural Project Conceptualizes "The Arts"
Honors Visual Arts students are in the midst of a mural project that will be displayed in the hallway of the C building, nicknamed the "Arts Building" because it houses art classrooms. The theme is "The Arts," and students spent two weeks thinking about the interrelatedness of artistic forms first through sketching, looking at the space that will house the mural, making collages, and then comparing notes to see what concepts appeared commonly among their different thought pieces. They also spent a day learning about the history of murals, where they talked about the art form both historically and stylistically, and took a close look at artists such as Diego Rivera and Thomas Hart Benton. The group settled on the idea that the arts are all interconnected; the creative process may yield different forms and expressions, but they are all personal expression of a shared process of creativity. Students are now working in groups on 5 separate panels, each 5 feet tall and 4 feet wide, that they will connect to make a 5' x 20' mural.  Honors Visual Arts students work on "The Arts" mural. A taste of what is to come
|
| Service Learning in the Field |
On Friday, January 20th, Girls Volleyball Coach Aly Dahl participated in a StoryShips session, during which she shared her own 9/11 story. In September 2011, when Ms. Dahl was a student at Fairleigh Dickinson University, she enjoyed a visit from her best friend since 5th grade, Deora Bodley. On September 11th, Ms. Dahl drove Ms. Bodley to the airport so that Ms. Bodley could make flight 93, headed to San Francisco. Ms. Dahl has not shared the story of her friend's death openly until this year, after she attended the Flight 93 National Memorial dedication and 10-year anniversary ceremony in Shanksville, Pennsylvania last September. Said Dahl, "It took me a long time to be able to talk about it."
Ms. Dahl tells her story to a rapt audience.
StoryShips develops face-to-face relationships with members of school, local, and elderly communities to learn about others' lives, preserve personal histories, and instill the importance of storytelling. Listen. Learn. Share.
. |
Sports on the Ridge
|
Athletic Department Transitioning to Spring Sports
The Athletic Department is preparing its transition to spring sports, and anticipating with excitement the opening of the new Pacific Ridge Athletic Center in May. Pacific Ridge will officially bid farewell to Colt Place, the school's sports venue since September 2010, on March 1st. While the Athletic Center is being completed, Middle School Girls Basketball teams will practice at the Bressi Ranch Boys and Girls Club and play games at Stagecoach park. The Golf and Tennis teams will practice at El Camino Country Club.
CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) sports officially begin February 18th-21st, and will include the following Upper School teams: Boys Lacrosse, Girls Lacrosse, Boys Tennis, Coed Golf. The Athletic Department is also starting a developmental track program this year. Middle School teams, which include Coed Tennis, Boys and Girls Lacrosse, and Girls Basketball, will hold evaluations after Mid-Winter Break. For up-to-date practice and game schedules, be sure to check out highschoolsports.net. The Athletic Department held a student interest meeting for the Upper School on Tuesday, January 24th, and has distributed a survey to Middle School students - ask the young athlete in your family about his or her sport of interest!
Girls Varsity Soccer Senior Recognition Day on 2/9
The Girls Varsity Soccer team will celebrate Senior Recognition Day before the team's final home game vs. Tri-City Christian on Thursday, February 9th. The game starts at 3:30, and the ceremony will take place right after the game. Come out and support our seniors!
Scores
Boys Varsity Basketball01/20/12 Tri-City Christian Schools Away 47 83 L
Boys Junior Varsity Basketball
01/20/12 Tri-City Christian Schools Away 19 62 L
Boys MS− A Basketball
01/18/12 Tri-City Christian Schools Away 29 45 L
Boys MS− B Basketball
01/18/12 Tri-City Christian Schools Away 20 29 L
Girls Varsity Basketball
01/18/12 Santa Fe Christian Schools Away 23 67 L
01/20/12 Tri-City Christian Schools Away 29 48 L
Boys Varsity Soccer
01/19/12 Army Navy Academy Home 8 0 W
Boys MS− A Soccer
01/18/12 Rancho Santa Fe MS Home 3 0 W
Boys MS− B Soccer
01/20/12 Cancelled− vs. Coronado Home
Girls Varsity Soccer
01/19/12 Classical Academy High Away 4 1 W
Girls Junior Varsity Soccer
01/17/12 Francis W. Parker School Away 1 5 L
Girls MS− A Soccer
01/17/12 Horizon Prep Away 5 1 W
01/18/12 Rancho Santa Fe MS Home 2 0 W
Girls MS− B Soccer
01/17/12 Horizon Prep Away 2 2 T
01/20/12 Cancelled− vs. Coronado Home
|
Parents Association News
|
Reminders:
The WeCare consortium of San Diego schools, which includes Pacific Ridge School, presents clinical psychologist Dr. Lisa Boesky. An expert on child, teen, and adult behavior, Dr. Boesky has written When to Worry and has been interviewed by Anderson Cooper, Bill O'Reilly, correspondents from CNN and Fox News, and more. Dr. Boesky has two speaking engagements:Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Time: 6:30 p.m.; 7 p.m. program
Place: Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School, 3630 Afton Road, San Diego, 92123
Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Time: 8:30 a.m. social; 9 a.m. program
Place: La Jolla Country Day School, 9490 Genessee Avenue, La Jolla, 92037
|
College and Beyond
|
Reminders:
Freshman College Counseling Night on February 2nd
Ninth graders and their parents should plan to attend Freshman College Counseling Night, where they will be introduced to college counseling at Pacific Ridge School. Families will receive their College Coaster handbooks, as well as learn about Naviance-Family Connections, the college counseling online communication, research, and college application resource. Please contact Ruth Foresman with any questions: rforesman@pacificridge.org.
Date: Thursday, February 2nd
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: East Reading Room
|
|
In a community that fosters academic excellence, ethical responsibility, and global engagement, Pacific Ridge School prepares students for college and a purposeful life.
|
|
|
|
|  |
January 27th
Middle School
Funbird Friday
6-8 p.m.
Jazz/Rock Ensemble Benefit for Banding Together @ La Costa Coffee Roasting
6:30-8:30 p.m.
January 28th
Upper School Mid-Winter Dance
7-10 p.m.
February 1st
Middle and Upper School Applications Due
February 2nd
Freshman College Counseling Night
East Reading Room
7 p.m.
February 4th
Middle School
Science Olympiad
@ Rancho Bernardo High School
8 a.m.
February 9th
Former Poet Laureate
Billy Collins at
Dove Library
7 p.m.
February 13th-20th
No School
Mid-Winter Break
School resumes on February 21st
February 18th
Upper School
Science Olympiad @ Del Norte High School
8 a.m.
February 24th
School Musical,
Singin' in the Rain
@ Star Theatre in Oceanside
7:30 p.m.
February 25th
School Musical, Singing' in the Rain
@ Star Theatre in Oceanside
2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
|
|
|
A View from The Ridge 
