| Snapshot from the Ridge | |
Each week, Pacific Ridge School invites you to enjoy a spontaneous view of school life.
Full Name, Residence, Country of Origin... Ninth-grade students and faculty fill out Visa applications for their end-of-year China trip.
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| Bulletin Board | |
NO SCHOOL February 9th through 18th
School will be closed for the Mid-Winter break. Classes will resume on Tuesday, February 19th.
Don't Miss Into The Woods!
Only a week remains before the opening night of Pacific Ridge School's 5th annual musical! Steven Sondheim's Into the Woods is a complex yet playful examination of the human heart, as represented by the interwoven storylines of several well-known Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Come explore the implications of "happily ever after" in this entertaining ensemble performance. To order tickets, please visit SeatYourself.
Dates: Thursday, February 7th through Saturday, February 9th
Times: 7:30 p.m., additional 2:00 p.m. matinee on February 9th.
Place: Star Theatre, 402 N. Coast Highway, Oceanside
Artwork by Connor DeMill '13
Support the Green Cup Challenge - Conserve Energy Use!
Pacific Ridge School is currently participating in the Green Cup Challenge, an initiative run by the Green Schools Alliance to reduce winter energy consumption. The challenge runs through February 13th. For details about Pacific Ridge's progress and how you can reduce your energy consumption, please click here.
Reminder: Teens for Jeans
The Teens for Jeans drive continues! Jeans in good condition can be donated through February 10th. Make a difference for a homeless teen, and help your child's class win a free Jeans Day at Pacific Ridge. Students can turn in jeans during Advisory, and parents can drop off jeans in either the A Building or Upper School lobby.
Reminder: Give the Gift of Mobility Through "Wheel Love"
 The Middle School Service Learning program is collecting used mobility devices to donate to disabled persons in Africa. The drive supports Champs Heart, a foundation that promotes independent living for disabled Nigerians. Used crutches, canes, walkers or wheelchairs can be dropped off in the Athletic Center lobby until February 8th. For more information, please visit the Champs Heart Project Nigeria webpage. Tax Receipts on Their Way: Thank You for Your Support! Tax receipts, which summarize each family's donation(s) to Pacific Ridge School during the 2012 calendar year, were sent in the U.S. mail this week. All Annual Fund and Breaking New Ground gifts made during 2012 are fully tax-deductible and will be reflected on the receipt. Please fee free to contact Emma Balina with any questions: ebalina@pacificridge.org or 760-448-9883. |
| New & Noteworthy | |
Middlebury Summer Day Academy at Pacific Ridge School!
M iddlebury Interactive Languages, the premier academic leader in world language instruction for K-12 students, is partnering with Pacific Ridge School to bring its Summer Day Academy to Southern California. From June 16th-29th, local area students entering grades 5 to 8 can enroll in a two-week intensive language program in Spanish, French or Mandarin Chinese. Introductory and intermediate levels of instruction will be offered by Pacific Ridge School world languages faculty trained in the Middlebury Immersion Method. Share the news with your friends and neighbors! For more information and to register, contact Middlebury Interactive Languages directly by clicking here.
Shakespeare Monologues: All the World's a Stage
On January 30th, 18 students participated in the finals of Pacific Ridge School's 4th annual Shakespeare Monologues competition. Uniformly strong performances resulted in a tie for first place: Annika Gullahorn's elegant portrayal of Queen Margaret in Act One, Scene Four of Henry VI (Part 3), and Margaret Zhao's quiet but intensely emotional performance as Hermione, in Act Three, Scene Two from A Winter's Tale. As a senior, Annika will go on to represent Pacific Ridge at the City Semi-Finals of the 2013 English-Speaking Union's Shakespeare Competition on February 24th. Third place went to Catherine Ames, for her spirited portrayal of Beatrice, in Act Two, Scene One of Much Ado About Nothing. Honorable mentions went to Eric Straw and Claire St. Marie. Thank you to our panel of judges, all part of the extended school community, for your support of the arts in San Diego and at Pacific Ridge School. Congratulations to all students who participated in this year's competition.
Dancers Impress in First School-Wide Concert
On January 24th, an audience of several hundred parents and students enjoyed Pacific Ridge School's first dance concert. A wide range of dance forms was represented, including jazz, hip hop, contemporary and musical theater. Dance teacher Wendy Moore was impressed by the effort put forth by all her students. She notes, "I am especially proud of how smoothly things ran backstage, how many students stepped into leadership positions on the spot, and how mature the dancers looked in their performances." The evening's finale featured a fun and energetic performance by the dance team and faculty dance troupe - including an impressive back flip by Coach Wheel! Congratulations to all our dancers for a job well done.
The Technology Itch: Parents Discuss Tips for Helping Students Manage Limitless Access to Information
On January 29th, parents attended two Harkness discussions about how young minds are developing and interpreting information as a result of technological changes. The group shared concerns about "techno-brain burnout," discussed the challenges of efficiently managing digital stimuli, and mused about the need for parents to model positive behavior in technology use to help children develop good habits. The Harkness's guiding presentation and additional resources are posted here. Notes and important takeaways from the discussions will be shared with parents in the coming weeks. Check your email!
Two more Technology Harkness discussions will take place on February 27th, focusing on preparing our students for a future in which they will need to adapt to rapidly changing technological conditions. The group will also address the use and management of technological tools to enhance teaching and learning. Interested in attending? Check your email for more information, or contact Pati Ruiz at pruiz@pacificridge.org. Date: Wednesday, February 27th
Times: 8:15 - 9:45 a.m., or 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Place: Library Learning Commons
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| Curricular Adventures | |
Juniors Have Goals, Will Travel
On January 28th, eight Pacific Ridge juniors presented detailed, self-designed travel project plans to a panel of judges, in hopes of receiving grants to help support their endeavors. The funds come from the Pacific Ridge Micro Grant Travel Program, and are contributed by local firms and businesses who endorse Pacific Ridge's focus on Global Engagement. Proposed projects include cultural research and story-sharing in Havana, Cuba; sociological field research in Iceland; teaching English in South Korea, and studying sustainable agricultural in the Chicago area. The judges, members of the Pacific Ridge Community, were uniformly impressed by the thorough and thoughtful approach the students are taking to developing their projects, and recommended funding for each.
2013 Travel Grant Applicants
Students Attend WorldLink Youth Town Meeting
On January 24th, 27 Pacific Ridge Upper School students attended the 16th annual WorldLink Youth Town Meeting in San Diego. Over 700 students from southern California and Baja Mexico gathered to learn about the power and influence of traditional and new media. Using examples from the Arab Spring, North Korea, Nepal, the United States and more, experts discussed how media use is empowering the millennial generation to effect social change on a large scale. The program, primarily organized and run by high school students, was presented by the Institute for Justice and Peace at the University of San Diego.
Global engagement and thoughts about creating a purposeful life are combined and explored at the WorldLink Youth Town Meeting. |
| Service Learning in the Field | |
Storyships Shares the Power of Storytelling
What's the point of sharing a story? The Upper School Service Learning group Storyships believes that storytelling is a powerful way for humans to connect, especially in today's age of abbreviated and superficial communication. To foster that personal connection, Storyships has undertaken several projects promoting the sharing of stories, from gathering the rich life stories of elder care facility residents, to arranging lunchtime storytelling for the Pacific Ridge community. At Fall Fest, the group introduced the "Situationist," a game in which Fall Fest attendees received cards prompting them to experience random situations. After following the prompts, the participants were asked to write down the stories of their adventures. The results? Creative, unexpected and fun.
Storyships is currently developing a new project which will involve sharing a documentary-style story with the community via a layered, multi-media package. Stay tuned!
Storytelling, Part 2: Be the Change
Inspired by the movie "Freedom Writers," the Be the Change club is also promoting story-telling within the Pacific Ridge student body by giving each Upper School student a composition book, personalized with an inspirational message created by friends, teachers and classmates. Each day this week, the club is announcing a writing prompt, which students can feel free to journal about in their books. At the end of the school year, interested students will be invited to share their personal stories with the Pacific Ridge community.
Have a story you want to tell?
Thank You from The G-Force Service Learning Group!
The Guatemala Group (G-Force) Upper School Service Learning group would like to thank the Pacific Ridge community for its generous donation of used clothing. The 154 items of clothing collected, including many especially requested pairs of pants and sweaters, will be shipped to the Fundación Albergue Hermano Pedro, in Antigua, Guatemala. The foundation supports a residential home for 80 mentally disabled children.
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| Parents Association News | |
Parent Walking Group
Date: Friday, February 1st
Time: 8:25 a.m.
Place: Rancho Santa Fe Library
Parent Book Club Meeting on February 25th
The Pacific Ridge Parent Book Club will hold its next meeting to discuss Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner. For more information or to be added to the Book Club mailing list, please email the Parents Association at parentsassociation@pacificridge.org. Date: Monday, February 25th
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Place: Pacific Ridge Library
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| Sports on the Ridge | |
Surf's Up
The Pacific Ridge Surf team performed well in an all-day contest at La Jolla Shores on Sunday, January 27th. While the team lost the morning team competition to Steel Canyon High School, several surfers placed well in the afternoon's individual events. Congratulations to the entire team and the following students:
Alex Hanlon - 2nd Place, Female Shortboard
Jake Smith - Quarter-finals, Male Shortboard
Bryan Benattou - Semi-finals, Male Shortboard
Reminder: Send in Those Middle School Sports Pictures!
We would like to include photos of our terrific Middle School athletes in the weekly e-newsletter. If you are a camera-toting parent and have pictures from games this season, please contact Abby Adams at aadams@pacificridge.org. Thank you for supporting our Middle School Firebirds!
Scores:
Girls Varsity Basketball
1/23/13 Guajome Park 36 19 W
Boys Middle School A Basketball
1/24/13 Horizon Prep 19 42 L
1/25/13 Santa Fe Christian Schools 27 63 L
Boys Middle School B Basketball
1/25/13 Santa Fe Christian Schools 31 21 W
Boys Middle School C Basketball
1/24/13 Horizon Prep 11 24 L
Boys Varsity Soccer
1/23/13 Santa Fe Christian Schools 2 2 T
1/25/13 Escondido Charter 2 1 W
Boys Junior Varsity Soccer
1/21/13 Classical Academy 3 0 W
Girls Varsity Soccer
1/23/13 Santa Fe Christian Schools 1 0 W
1/25/13 Horizon Christian Schools 1 4 L
Boys Middle School A Soccer
1/24/13 Army Navy Academy 8 0 W
Boys Middle School B Soccer
1/22/13 Christian 2 3 L
Girls Middle School B Soccer
1/22/13 Christian 0 1 L
1/25/13 La Jolla Country Day School 2 0 W
Girls Middle School C Soccer
1/24/13 Rancho Santa Fe Middle School 0 3 L
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| Beyond the Ridge | |
Juniors Full Steam Ahead in College Counseling
Pacific Ridge's college counselors are busy advising juniors and their families about graduation requirements, testing options, course selections, summer opportunities and college visits. If you have not made your appointment yet, please contact Ruth Foresman at rforesman@pacificridge.org.
Gap Year Fair on February 5th
Families interested in learning more about opportunities between high school and college: don't miss the San Diego Gap Year Fair being held at Francis Parker School on Tuesday, February 5th at 6:30 p.m. The event features reputable Gap Year organizations and gives students tools to learn more about options available to them. For more information, please visit the USA Gap Year Fairs website.
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| Faculty & Staff Snapshot |
Ruth Webster, After-School Monitor
Favorite Book: Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
Favorite Movie: Gone With the Wind
Favorite Sport to Play or Watch: Tennis!
Greatest Indulgence: A box of See's Candies Nuts and Chews
If You Make Her Breakfast: Eggs Benedict or a huge, foamy latte and pain chocolat
In Her Free Time: Watches way too much reality TV
Dream Vacation: Sitting on a tropical beach (Fiji, Bali and the Seychelles are all on her bucket list)
Home Town: Pacific Palisades, CA
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In a community that fosters academic excellence, ethical responsibility, and global engagement, Pacific Ridge School prepares students for college and a purposeful life.
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Schedule of Events
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February 1st
Parent Walking Group
8:25 a.m.
Rancho Santa Fe Library | |
February 7th
Into the Woods
Star Theater Oceanside
7:30 p.m.
February 8th
Into the Woods
Star Theatre Oceanside
7:30 p.m.
February 9th
Into the Woods
Star Theatre Oceanside
2 & 7:30 p.m.
February 9th -18th
NO SCHOOL
Mid-Winter Break
February 25th
Parent Book Club
7 p.m.
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A View From The Ridge
