Eighth graders experienced a day of global engagement on January 31st.  First, they attended a concert by the San Diego Symphony entitled "A Musical Journey Around the Globe."  At the concert, students enjoyed South American, Indonesian, African, American, British, and Spanish music.  They were well-prepared to appreciate the concert, as fellow students in eighth-grade music class had taught their peers about the pieces beforehand.  After the concert, students toured Chicano Park in Barrio Logan, and met two local artist currently restoring the park murals.  Students also learned about the 1970 protest and occupation of the area that ultimately led to the creation of the park, giving them an opportunity to reflect on the trimester question, "How do forces influence change?"

 

Students take in the murals at Chicano Park.  

On February 7th, author and Pacific Ridge parent Christopher Reich visited Genre Studies, an Upper School writing class.  To prepare, students read a short story by Ernest Hemingway, "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," and also excerpts from two very different pieces that reflect on writing: Annie Lamott's Bird by Bird and Ernest Hemingway on Writing. Students spent half of the class discussing the short story and the other half reviewing the advice they had learned from these two authors.  They also gained a third perspective from Mr. Reich, who spoke about his experience writing espionage thrillers.  One of his main insights: though he, Lamott, and Hemingway have vastly different approaches, they do share a disciplined commitment to the writing process.  Thank you, Mr. Reich, for sharing your insights with students!

9th-grade students recently experienced their first Faith to Face live video conference with students at Bal Bharati, a high school outside of New Delhi, India.  Three separate groups participated over the course of three days, with an expert moderator from Face to Faith guiding each discussion.  After introducing themselves, students asked and answered questions about their respective schools, then described holidays that were important in their communities.  Students on both sides were excited to talk about both secular and religious holidays, and the conversation provided a great starting point from which to pursue future discussions about faith and secular experiences.  The overall goal of Face to Faith is to open up dialogue between young people from around the world about how religion and faith operates in their lives and in their communities, with the hope of moving beyond stereotypes and assumptions about spiritual belief and gaining a sense of the meaningful role that faith plays in people's lives.

Teacher Allegra Molineaux, who organized the video conferences, was very pleased with the inaugural discussion, and looks forward to more Face to Faith interactions in the coming months: "As we progress further with the curriculum, we'll get to talk about deeper issues relating to the place of faith, and non-belief, in societies."