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Pacific Ridge School DotsA View From The Ridge
Weekly E-Newsletter
October 16, 2014
In This Issue
Bulletin Board
Fall Fest News & Information
New & Noteworthy
Educational Insights
Curricular Adventures
Service Learning In The Field
Parents Association
Sports on the Ridge
Beyond the Ridge
New Faculty & Staff Snapshot
Snapshot from the Ridge

Each week, Pacific Ridge School invites you to enjoy a spontaneous view of school life.


Mrs. Mudaliar's advisory group offers a special thank-you treat to Lusardi Construction's hard-working staff.

Bulletin Board

Parent Harkness Series: Talking About The Elements of Our Mission Statement

Parents are invited to participate in a series of discussions about the Pacific Ridge mission statement. Join Dr. Ogle at the Harkness table to discuss "Academic Excellence," "Ethical Responsibility" and "Global Engagement." Check your email to sign up for the first Harkness topic: "Academic Excellence." The sign-up survey closes Friday, October 17th. 

 

Come See Our New Buildings!

Pacific Ridge parents are invited to tour the new Arts Center and Middle School with Dr. Ogle on Wednesday October 22nd. The tour will be followed by a brief presentation announcing this year's Annual Fund and an update on the Breaking Through Campaign. Light refreshments will be reserved. RSVP to events@pacificridge.org.

Date:  Wednesday October 22nd

NEW TIME: 5:45 p.m.

Place:   Meet in front of Mullady Hall

Parking:  On-campus parking available

   

Upcoming Middle and Upper School Social Events!
Middle School students: Middle School students are invited to an evening of ghoulish fun! The Halloween celebration will include snacks, movies, dancing and themed activities. School-appropriate costumes are encouraged. This event is free. 
Date: Saturday, October 25th
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Place: Middle School Commons

 

Upper School students: Upper School students are invited to a "PJ Movie Night." Students will vote on a movie, enjoy popcorn, candy, and food from Back Alley Grill, and play ping-pong and Wii games! This event is free. 
Date: Friday, October 24th
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
Place: Athletic Center 

 

 

Performing Arts Showcase on November 8th

Prepare to be impressed by Pacific Ridge's talented singers, actors, dancers and musicians at the Performing Arts Showcase on November 8th. Click here to reserve your seats. Tickets are going fast, so don't delay!

Date: Saturday, November 9th

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Place: AVO Playhouse, 303 Main Street, Vista

 

Admissions Applications Available 

Applications are now available for families interested in applying to Pacific Ridge for the 2015-2016 school year. The first Admissions Open House is on Saturday, November 15th, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., with presentations followed by campus tours. Interested in attending an Open House event? To RSVP, please contact Admissions Assistant Tiffany Murphy at 760-448-9841 or tmurphy@pacificridge.org. Click here for all Open House dates and more information about the application process.

 

Be a Parent Ambassador During Admissions Season

We are looking for parents of current students and alumni to help families learn about Pacific Ridge during admissions events. Come to a Parent Ambassador meeting on October 27th for an overview of the admissions process and to learn how you can be an important part of admissions events. Please contact Admissions Assistant Tiffany Murphy at 760-448-9841 or tmurphy@pacificridge.org.

Date: Monday, October 27th

Time: 8:00 - 9:30 a.m.

Place: Athletic Center Conference Room

 

Fall Fest News & Information

  

  

Fall Fest Is This Saturday, October 18th!

Come support student service learning groups and clubs while enjoying the biggest Pacific Ridge community event of the year! Fall Fest includes activities, entertainment and treats such as student musical performances, games, gift baskets, cake walk, face painting, the Parents Association bake sale, and more!
Date: Saturday, October 18th
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Place: Pacific Ridge campus
Parking: 2765 Loker Avenue (see map), shuttles provided

 

Fall Fest Volunteers Needed

Enthusiastic parent volunteers are always needed to help make Fall Fest a success. Please click here to see how you can lend a hand.

 

Win An On-Campus Parking Spot!

Don't miss your once-a-year opportunity to win an on-campus parking spot for you or your student driver for an entire trimester! Tickets for the opportunity drawing will be sold at Fall Fest. Those who cannot make it to Fall Fest or would like to purchase tickets in advance, may purchase tickets online via PayPal or pay by check. For details please visit the Parents Association tab on the Haiku School Information Hub.  

 

Model United Nations 5th Annual Fall Fest Car Wash 

Interested in parking on campus and having your car hand washed during Fall Fest? Pacific Ridge's Model United Nations club will be providing carwashes and reserved parking for $30, with proceeds subsidizing the cost of the club's out-of-town conferences. A limited number of spots are available! Pre-register today by emailing jkahn@pacificridge.org with your name, preferred time, and contact information.  

 

 

Getting Ready: Middle Schoolers make and decorate scarecrows for Fall Fest.

 

New & Noteworthy

 

Kibera Girls Soccer Academy Founder Pays a Visit

At Community Life on October 9th, Pacific Ridge welcomed Abdul Kassim, founder of the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA), in Nairobi, Kenya. KGSA partners with Pacific Ridge's Global Vantage service learning group to produce its award-winning global storytelling magazine. Mr. Kassim described how the poverty and lack of opportunity for girls in the slum of Kibera led him to first form a girl's soccer team, then the school, which educates 138 girls in grades 9-12. KGSA offers an array of academic, artistic and athletic programs for its students, including the journalism club that contributes to Global Vantage. Mr. Kassim noted that graduates of KGSA who worked on Global Vantage are now in college and are actively involved in supporting the community. "The program has given them a forum for building skills and getting their voices heard," he noted. KGSA is hoping to build a residential facility at the school. For more information, please click here.

 

Abdul Kassim advocates for empowerment through education. 

 

 

 Lunchtime at the Kibera Girls Soccer Academy

Educational Insights

Click here to read our most recent Faculty Blog: An interview with Theatre Director Alison Trattner, who accompanied nine Pacific Ridge student-actors to perform at the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer.
 
Curricular Adventures

 

Mobile Geometry: Balancing the Equation

Students in Ms. Matzen's, Mrs. Zerlaut's and Ms. DeHaven's Geometry classes recently learned how to find a triangle's four points of concurrency, and used a hands-on exercise to test their results. After calculating the orthocenter, circumcenter, incenter and centroid, students had to figure out which point would balance the triangle perfectly when suspended in midair. The results of the fun activity provided a decorative mobile that currently graces the classroom window.



Balancing Act: Students display their triangular trimmings.

Service Learning In The Field

 

Building Blocks Offers Friendship, Fun 

Students in Upper School service learning group Building Blocks regularly visit children in local early education programs, including HeadStart and Educational Enrichment Systems (EES). The students engage the kids with crafts, games, and projects designed to boost creativity and build confidence. According to one EES teacher, many of the children consider visits from their "big friends" the highlight of their week.

 

Getting creative with students at Educational Enrichment Systems  

 

Students Ensure Fall Fest Attendees "Think Green"  

 

The Middle School service learning Sustainability group helps prepare 

recycling, composting, and trash bins for use at Fall Fest.

 

Parents Association

 

Used Uniform Sale this Friday & Saturday

Do you need to replenish your uniform supply? Come to the Parents Association used uniform sale this Friday & Saturday.  Select items will be "buy one get one." It's not too late to donate gently used uniforms either - just bring them along when you come to shop. Funds from the sale are used to support Gingerbread Breakfast, Staff Appreciation Day and other Parents Association events.

Date: Friday, October 17th and Saturday, October 18th

Time: Fri.: 2:00 - 4:00 p.m., Sat.: 11:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Place: Athletic Center Lobby

Cost: $5 per item, cash or check only 

 

Parent Book Club Meeting On November 3rd

The Pacific Ridge Parent Book Club will meet to discuss Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Coast Trail, by Cheryl Strayed.  The Book Club is open to all Pacific Ridge parents and we hope to see you there. 

Date: Monday, November 3rd

Time: 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Place: Pacific Ridge library 

 

Parent Grade-Level Parties

If you have not received an evite for your grade-level party, please contact the Parents Association at parentsassociation@pacificridge.org.

11th Grade: Saturday, October 25th, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

8th Grade: Saturday, November 1st, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.

   

WeCare Presents Author Ashley Merryman

WeCare and the Pacific Ridge Parents Association present Ashley Merryman, author of the popular books Nurtureshock and Top Dog. Merryman will be giving two separate talks addressing the topics covered in each of her books on November 4th and 5th. The event is free and open to the San Diego community. 

 

Nurtureshock: New Thinking about Children

Date:  Tuesday, November 4th

Time:  6:30 p.m.

Place:  The Bishops School, La Jolla

 

Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing

Date:  Wednesday, November 5th

Time:  9:00 a.m.

Place:  Warren Walker School, Mission Valley 

 

Athletics 

Field Day/Firebird Spirit Day on October 24th

This year's Field Day promises to be bigger and better than ever! The event is filled with fun games encouraging friendly competition among the grades. Immediately following Field Day, students can fill up on food from the Back Alley Grill truck (athletics will pay for the first $500 of student orders!) before heading to the Athletic Center for two big Firebird volleyball games. Girls Varsity takes on Foothills Christian at 4:00 p.m., and Girls JV 'A' follows at 6:00 p.m. Upper School students can stick around after the games for popcorn and relaxation at "PJ Movie Night." 


Middle School Cross Country Runs to Washington, D.C.!
Middle School Cross Country athletes are more than one third of the way through a 3,240 mile mission! Students plotted the distance between Pacific Ridge and the nation's capitol, a destination 8th graders in American Studies learn quite a bit about. The student-athletes have been recording the number of miles covered during individual training, practices and meets to see how long it takes to cover the distance on foot. Currently, students have run enough miles to put them deep in the heart of Texas. Yee-Haw, Firebirds! 

1,264 miles down, 1,976 miles to go. Next Stop? New Orleans!

Home Games, Week of October 20th
Schedules are subject to change, so please check Schedulestar regularly for accurate information.

10/22/14
4:00 p.m. - Girls Varsity Volleyball vs. Horizon Christian School
6:00 p.m. - Girls JV 'A' Volleyball vs. Horizon Christian School

10/24/14
4:00 p.m. - Girls Varsity Volleyball vs. Foothills Christian 
6:00 p.m. - Girls JV 'A' Volleyball vs. Foothills Christian 



Scores:

Girls Varsity Volleyball
10/7/14 San Pasqual High School 3 1 W 

Girls JV 'A' Volleyball 
10/7/14 San Pasqual High School 0 2 L 

Girls JV 'B' Volleyball 
10/7/14 San Pasqual High School 1 2 L 

Girls Middle School 'A' Volleyball
10/6/14 Tri-City Christian 2 0 W

Girls Middle School 'B' Volleyball
10/6/14 Tri-City Christian 3 1 W 

Girls Middle School "Blue" Volleyball
10/9/14 Santa Fe Christian Schools 2 0 W 

 

Girls Middle School "White" Volleyball 
10/9/14 Santa Fe Christian Schools 0 2 L 

Girls Varsity Tennis
10/7/14 The Bishop's School 6 12 L

Coed Varsity Cross Country 
10/10/14 Saints Small School Invitational 
Tai Eubank - 2nd place, JV Boys
Will Glockner - 9th place, Varsity Boys
Lynnlee Duck-Reynolds - 12th place, Varsity Girls 

Coed Middle School Cross Country
10/8/14 South Coast Middle School League Meet 
Zyad El Alam - 2nd place
Leo Diaz - 3rd place
Megan Martindale - 1st place
Zoe Erturk - 3rd place

Boys 8th-Grade Flag Football
10/9/14 Maranatha Christian 28 7 W 

Coed 7th-Grade Flag Football
10/9/14 Maranatha Christian 25 19 W 

Beyond the Ridge

College Representatives Are On Their Way: 

Week of October 13th
Beloit College; Bucknell University; Connecticut College; Emmanuel College; Gettysburg College; Grand Canyon University; Grinnell College; High Point University; Indiana University at Bloomington; Johns Hopkins University; Lehigh University; Loyola Marymount University; Merrimack College; Salve Regina University; St. Edward's University; Texas Christian University; University of British Columbia; University of Denver; University of Southern California; Washington University in St. Louis

Week of October 20th
American University; Barnard College; Bennington College; California State University, Chico; Chapman University; College of Charleston; College of the Holy Cross; Davidson College; Duke University; Franklin College Switzerland; The Glasgow School of Art; Hobart and William Smith Colleges; Kalamazoo College; Lasell College; Lewis & Clark College; Louisiana State University; Loyola University Chicago; Loyola University New Orleans; Mills College; Pomona College; Providence College; Reed College; Santa Clara University; Sarah Lawrence College; Seattle University; Simmons College; University of Colorado at Boulder; University of Michigan; University of Notre Dame; University of Rochester; University of St. Andrews; Ursinus College; Wheaton College, MA; Western New England University 

Regional Programs:

Loyola Marymount University
Date: Sunday, October 19th
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Place: Loyola Marymount University Campus

Bucknell University
Date: Sunday, October 19th
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: Pacific Ridge East Reading Room

Washington University in St. Louis
Date: Sunday, October 19th
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: Hilton San Diego/Mission Valley

Duke University
Date: Tuesday, October 21st
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Place: Francis Parker Upper/Middle School

 New Faculty & Staff Snapshot 

 

 

David Emmerson, Chemistry 

 

Favorite, or most recent, book? Favorite: Lord of the Rings triology, by JR Tolkien; Recent: Wild, by Cheryl Strayed

Favorite movie? My Cousin Vinnie

Favorite sport, to play or watch? Soccer

Greatest indulgence? Organic gardening

If you make him breakfast? Eggs over easy, with rye toast, rosemary and saffron potatoes, and sauteed cherry tomatoes

In his free time? Out in nature, hiking, backpacking, looking for wild animals

Dream vacation? Hiking around the South Island of New Zealand for three months

Hometown? Brockport, NY, a small village on the Erie Canal in Western New York

 


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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.

Schedule of Events
Schedule of Event Calendar
October 17th
Used Uniform Sale
2 - 4 p.m.

October 18th

Fall Fest

   11 a.m. 

 

Used Uniform Sale

11 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

 

October 22nd

Parent Event

5:45 p.m.

 

October 24th

Field Day/Spirit Day

After School BBQ

 

Upper School Dance

7 p.m.

 

October 25th

11th Grade 

Parent Party

6 p.m.

 

Middle School Halloween Party

6 p.m.

 

November 1st

8th-Grade Parent Party

5:30 - 8: 30 p.m.

 

November 8th

Performing Arts Showcase

7:30 p.m.

 

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