| Snapshot from the Ridge | |
Each week, Pacific Ridge School invites you to enjoy a spontaneous view of school life.
On the move! Workers relocate the gardening shed to prepare for campus construction.
|
| Bulletin Board |
NO SCHOOL March 31 - April 6th
Spring Break
 Curriculum Night on March 19th
Current sophomores and juniors, along with their parents, are invited to hear faculty discuss course offerings and students reflect on their experiences crafting junior and senior class schedules. Questions? Contact Scott Mattoon at smattoon@pacificridge.org.
Date: Wednesday, March 19th
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: East Reading Room
Middle and Upper School Social Events on March 21st
Middle School students are invited to participate in the Neon Dance on March 21st. Along with great music, students can enjoy a photo booth and tasty snacks. Tickets are $5 each, with proceeds benefitting the New Haven Night Shelter service learning group.
Date: Friday, March 21st
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Place: Middle School Commons
Upper School students are welcome to an evening of fun and games in the athletic center on March 21st. Tacos and other refreshments will be provided. No tickets necessary!
Date: Friday, March 21st
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Place: Athletic Center
 Blood Drive on March 25th
Sign up to be a donor at Pacific Ridge's final blood drive of the school year. To make your appointment, visit the San Diego Blood Bank, select "Donate Blood," click on "Appointments" and enter our sponsor code: PARS. Take the first step to save a life. Be a blood donor.
Date: Tuesday, March 25th
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Place: Athletic Center
Subscribe to Global Vantage!
Issue 8 of Pacific Ridge's Global Vantage magazine is now available! Readers may purchase a $50 subscription online to receive all three of this year's issues by mail. As a thank you, subscribers will receive a Global Vantage t-shirt along with issue 8. This beautiful 56-page magazine features the theme of Solitude, and includes information about Global Vantage's latest social action project, raising money for scholarship students in El Salvador. Support the work of the Global Vantage service learning group by purchasing a subscription or picking up a copy in the lobby of Mullady Hall or the A building.
Interested in Hiring an Intern?
Pacific Ridge School is seeking opportunities for juniors and seniors who desire an internship experience during the year-end trip period, as well as summer internships for both our students and college-age alumni. If you or your company are interested in hiring a Pacific Ridge School student or graduate for an internship or any kind of summer job, please contact Emma Balina, Manager of Alumni Relations, at 760-448-9883, or ebalina@pacificridge.org. The Alumni office would like to provide a database of opportunities for students and graduates to gain summer employment or experience. Ms. Balina will be happy to discuss the details of the program with you.
Reminder: Changes to Drop-off and Pick-up Procedures
Parents, please remember the changes to drop-off and pick-up procedures in place during construction. For details, please read Mr. Bray's letter in the announcements section of the Haiku School Information Page. Arriving at school a few minutes early will help you avoid any last-minute lines.
|
| New & Noteworthy |
Officially Amazing! Pacific Ridge Breaks World Record
On Friday, February 28th, 504 Pacific Ridge students and faculty set a world record for the largest African dance, the "Pata Pata," during groundbreaking festivities for the new Middle School building and Arts Center. The South African dance, taught to most 7th graders as part of their Arts Wheel rotation, was made famous by songstress and anti-Apartheid activist Miriam Makeba. The Pacific Ridge community rehearsed the dance together twice last week in anticipation of the record-breaking attempt. A Guinness World Records® official was on hand to adjudicate the effort and certify the record. Congratulations to all who participated!
To see a video from the festive event, please click here.
Dr. Ogle welcomes the participants.
504 dancers put their best foot forward.
Students sing along with the music.
Guinness World Records® official Philip Robertson announces the achievement.
French Students Share Joie de Vivre with Pacific Ridge
Between February 19th and March 1st, Pacific Ridge hosted 19 high school students and two teachers from Lycée Victor Duruy in Paris. The French students stayed with Pacific Ridge host families, spent several days attending classes and toured numerous sites around southern California to learn more about the area's culture, history and ecology. In May, a number of Pacific Ridge students will reconnect with their new friends at Lycée Victor Duruy during their global trip to France. A big thank you goes to the Pacific Ridge host families, who went out of their way to make the visiting students feel welcome.
Bienvenue! French friends gather at a potluck welcome dinner.
|
| Curricular Adventures | |
Music in the Park: Middle School Orchestra Performs
On Saturday, March 1st, Pacific Ridge's Middle School Orchestra participated in the Music in the Parks Festival in Anaheim. Student choral, orchestral and band ensembles participated in the event, which takes place annually at venues across the United States. At the festival, student groups perform in the morning, then spend the afternoon together at an amusement park. Led by Pacific Ridge music teacher Steve Morell, the Middle School students performed varied pieces by Mahler, Pat Metheny and the pop/rock group Fun, then managed to dodge the afternoon's rainstorms while enjoying Disneyland!
French Students Share Perspectives in the Classroom
Pacific Ridge students in French 3 and 4 spent several recent class periods engaging with the visiting students from Lycée Victor Duruy. In French 4, the American and French students conducted personal interviews as part of a cross-cultural study the class is conducting. The students who will be traveling to France on their global trip will continue the research in May with more interviews at Lycée Victor Duruy. In French 3, several informative Harkness sessions were conducted on a topic both timely and relevant to the San Diego and French communities: immigration.
|
| Service Learning in the Field | |
Students Attend Junior Achievement Pitch Fest
On Monday, March 3rd, several students from Pacific Ridge's service learning program attended the Junior Achievement Pitch Fest conference in Point Loma. The gathering allows student entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to Junior Achievement volunteers and business people in order to practice launching their own student-run businesses. Students representing the Hands of Peace and Global School Connection service learning groups participated, bringing a non-profit perspective to the student conference.
|
| Parents Association |
Next Parent Book Club on April 28th
Title: The Lowland, by Jhumpa Lahiri
Date: Monday, April 28th
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Library Learning Commons
|
| Sports on the Ridge |
Upper School Winter Sports Celebration on March 12th
Families of Upper School winter sports athletes are invited to the end-of-season Sports Celebration on Wednesday, March 12th. The event will feature a slide show, awards ceremony and breakout sessions for individual team awards and dessert. Dinner will not be served.
Date: Wednesday, March 12th
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Place: East Reading Room
Upper School Home Games, Week of March 10th:
3/11/14
3:00 p.m. - Girls Varsity Lacrosse v. Serra High School
4:45 p.m. - Girls JV Lacrosse v. Serra High School
Scores:
Boys Varsity Basketball
2/26/14 High Tech High (CIF Quarterfinal) 33 40 L
Girls Varsity Basketball
2/25/14 High Tech High (CIF Quarterfinal) 46 26 W
2/28/14 Liberty Charter (CIF Semifinal) 46 51 L
Boys Varsity Soccer
2/26/14 Santana High School (CIF Playoff) 5 2 W
3/01/14 Eastlake High School (CIF Quarterfinal) 0 2 L
Girls Varsity Soccer
2/25/14 Fallbrook High School (CIF Playoff) 2 1 W
2/28/14 Helix High School (CIF Quarterfinal) 1 2 L
Boys Varsity Tennis
2/27/14 San Dieguito Academy 14 4 W
|
| Beyond the Ridge |
NCAA Night on March 26th Students grades 8-12 and their families are invited to an informative and interactive panel discussion about NCAA recruiting and how the high school student-athlete can prepare for the recruitment process. Panelists will include current seniors who have signed National Letters of Intent to compete in college, their parents, a college coach, Pacific Ridge coaches and College Guidance. The program will cover NCAA contact rules and timelines, athletics questionnaires and recruiting sites, as well as tips for developing an athlete profile to communicate to coaches. This discussion-based program will leave plenty of time for Q&A. Date: Wednesday, March 26th
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Place: East Reading Room
|
| Class Notes |
Seniors Celebrate 100-Day Countdown Until Graduation
On Tuesday, March 4th, members of the Class of 2014 joined faculty members in the West Reading Room for a celebratory dinner marking 100 days until Commencement. Seniors and teachers acknowledged the bonds of respect and friendship they've developed over the years, during time spent in the classroom, on the playing field, during service learning work and on global adventures. The evening was capped by a fun "then and now" slide show juxtaposing baby pictures with portraits of each senior. The Class of 2014 will join the ranks of Pacific Ridge alumni at Commencement on June 12th.
|
| Alumni News |
Alumnus Dances With University Ballet of Chicago Chris Chen '13 recently performed the role of Gringoire in the University Ballet of Chicago's production of La Esmerelda. Chris, a freshman at the University of Chicago, joined the University Ballet, a student-run organization at the university that offers classes and performing opportunities, including full-length productions each year. Based on Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris, La Esmerelda tells a tale of class politics among gypsies, clergy and nobility in late 15th-century Paris.
|
| North County Happenings | |
Pacific Ridge Families Invited to Run A Mile!
Come join the North County community on March 16th for the inaugural Encinitas Mile. Co-founded by former Pacific Ridge Assistant Cross-Country Coach Dan Seidel, the race features 8 heats for runners of all ages and abilities - even one for runners with dogs! Proceeds from this family-friendly event support Coastal German Shepherd Rescue of San Diego and the MEB Foundation. For more information and to register, go to EncinitasMile.com. Date: Sunday, March 16th
Time: Heats from 8:00 - 10:00 a.m.
Place: Vulcan Avenue, downtown Encinitas
|
In a community that fosters academic excellence, ethical responsibility, and global engagement, Pacific Ridge School prepares students for college and a purposeful life.
|
|
|
|
|
Schedule of Events
|  | |
March 12th
Upper School Winter Sports Celebration
6-8 p.m.
March 21st
Upper School Social Event
6-9 p.m.
Middle School Dance
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
March 26th
NCAA Night
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
March 31st-April 6th
NO SCHOOL
Spring Break
April 28th
Parent Book Group
7 p.m.
|
|
|
A View From The Ridge
