A View From The Ridge

Weekly E-Newsletter

February 5, 2105

In This Issue

Bulletin Board

New & Noteworthy

Educational Insights

Curricular Adventures

Service Learning In The Field

Parents Association

Sports on the Ridge

Class Notes

Snapshot from the Ridge

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

A Final Goodbye: Slices of the C Building are lifted by crane and removed from campus. The buildings will live on as the founding facilities for Crean Lutheran High School in Irvine.

Bulletin Board

NO SCHOOL February 9th through 16th

School will be closed for the Mid-Winter break. Classes will resume on Tuesday, February 17th.

Next E-Newsletter on February 19th

Have a safe and relaxing vacation!

Upper School Musical, Pippin, Opens Tonight!

Don't miss your opportunity to see Pacific Ridge's production of Pippin! The show runs through Saturday at Oceanside's Star Theatre, and a limited number of tickets are still available. Performances are Thursday through Saturday, February 5th - 7th at 7:30 p.m., with an additional matinee at 2:00 p.m. on the 7th.

The scene is being set for an amazing production!

Curriculum Night on March 4th

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 Tim Betzala at tbetzala@pacificridge.org.

Date: Wednesday, March 4th

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Place: East Reading Room

Benjamin Zander to Speak and Perform at Pacific Ridge

On Tuesday evening, March 10th, the Pacific Ridge community will welcome Benjamin Zander to our Carlsbad campus. Mr. Zander, founder and conductor of the Boston Philharmonic, is known around the world as a charismatic conductor and an inspirational speaker on leadership, combining both in his radiant performances. Visit www.pacificridge.org/zander to reserve your tickets. Please note that students will see the presentation earlier in the day.

Date: Tuesday, March 10th

Time: 6:30 p.m., to accommodate off-site parking; presentation begins promptly at 7:00 p.m.

Place: Athletic Center

Tickets: Free; reservations required

Parent Reception: Pacific Ridge parents are invited to arrive on campus as early as 6:00 p.m., for a pre-event reception. Email invitations with more information will be sent soon.

New & Noteworthy

Pacific Ridge Community Celebrates New Buildings

On February 2nd, the Pacific Ridge community celebrated the opening of the new Middle School/Administration building and Arts & Technology Center. Students, faculty, parents and community representatives, including Carlsbad Mayor Pro Tem Keith Blackburn, were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. Mr. Blackburn, Dr. Ogle, student council president Christian Potter and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Jay Lichter, gave remarks about the tremendous growth of the campus and expressed appreciation for the generosity, patience and vision of the Pacific Ridge community. The celebration was punctuated with enthusiastic performances by the cast of the Upper School musical, the Pacific Ridge Jazz Rock Ensemble, service learning group Notes of Hope and the Pacific Ridge Vocal Ensemble.

The cast of Pippin kicked off the celebration with a spirited performance of "Join Us" on the steps of the new Arts & Technology Center.

An appropriately STEAM-centric delivery of the ribbon-cutting scissors, compliments of the Upper School Robotics team

One...two...snip! The Arts & Technology Center is officially open for creativity and innovation!

Pacific Ridge Says Goodbye to New Friends From China

There were hugs, tears and promises to stay in touch as a group of visiting exchange students from Pacific Ridge's sister school, Shanghai Shidong, prepared to return to China earlier this week. Twenty-six Pacific Ridge families helped host the 35 students during their six-day visit. While in San Diego, the Chinese students had the opportunity to attend classes and school social events, and visit city attractions including Old Town, Legoland and the beach. The students' final night in San Diego ended with a Chinese New Year celebration and farewell dinner at a local Chinese restaurant.

Visiting students join classes to learn, make friends and have fun.

Exchange students pose for one last picture with their Pacific Ridge host families and friends after an amazing week.

Educational Insights

Click here to read Dr. Ogle's remarks from the Building Celebration and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony on February 2nd.

Curricular Adventures

Scenes From Shakespeare

On January 28th, 17 students participated in Pacific Ridge School's 5th annual Shakespeare Monologues competition. Ben DeSoto Mayor earned first place for his portrayal of Cassius from Julius Caesar. Ollie McLymonds was named Runner-Up for his depiction of Macbeth's Porter. Claire St. Marie and Cosmo Cothran-Bray tied for third place with their performances of Lady Macbeth from Macbeth and Iago from Othello, respectively. Ben, with Ollie serving as his alternate, will go on to represent Pacific Ridge at the English-Speaking Union's 30th annual Shakespeare Competition on February 24th. Congratulations to all students who participated in this year's competition.

Senior Ben DeSoto Mayor performs his winning monologue from Julius Caesar.

The Battle of the Bee

Middle Schoolers spent their past two Community Life sessions cheering on competitors in the school's annual Spelling Bee. Thirty students competed in the first round, with nine moving on to the second round. After advancing to the final pairing, 7th graders Alex Pentakalos and Shivam Desai spelled their way through 45 minutes and a complete booklet of spelling competition words, prompting a quick search for a dictionary so the battle could continue. In the end, Alex came away with the victory. With Shivam serving as his alternate, Alex will represent Pacific Ridge in the county-wide San Diego Spelling Bee at the Hall of Champions on March 19th. Congratulations to Alex, Shivam and all the Middle School participants.

Lovely letters: Students spell their way through the preliminary round.

After exhausting the Bee's list of words, the finalists wait patiently while a dictionary is procured.

AP Biology and AP Literature Explore The Walking Dead

Last week, students in AP Biology and AP Literature joined forces to bring new life to the subject of the undead. Biology students recently completed a unit on viruses, while literature students have been examining the graphic novel genre (specifically, the Walking Dead graphic novel series). Dr. Burckin and Dr. Rosenwong took full advantage of the integration potential of the two units, team-teaching one another's classes before bringing all students together for a joint class. Together, the group laid out the ground rules for the Walking Dead universe, and discussed the rules of biology in relation to popular zombie tropes including reanimation, metabolic reactions, evolution, lack of reproduction and response to stimuli. AP Literature students can incorporate formal science into essays they will write on the topic.

Using clips from "The Walking Dead" television show to make a point about the biological integrity of zombie portrayals

Service Learning In The Field

Service Learning Groups Reviewed by Panels and Peers

On January 30th, all 25 Upper School Service Learning groups presented their mission statements, activities and future goals to panels made up of Pacific Ridge faculty and staff. The panel review process encourages self-assessment and gives students a chance to receive feedback from members of the school community. Last week's round of presentations also served as a recruiting tool: ninth-grade students were in attendance to assess which groups they're most interest in joining. The groups used video, trivia games, even live musical performance to keep their audience engaged and informed. Panel members agreed that Pacific Ridge students continue to impress with their commitment to service both locally and globally.

Alternative Energy Sources group members demonstrate how they create biodiesel fuel that can then be used to power generators for school events.

Parents Association

Parents Association General Meeting RESCHEDULED

Please note, February's Parents Association General Meeting is being rescheduled to a later date! The main goal of this meeting is to share data and reflections on the Freedom from Chemical Dependency (FCD) survey recently taken by students in grades 8-12. The meeting will take place in late March, with the exact date and time to be published shortly. For more information about the FCD, please visit: www.fcd.org.

Walking Club on February 23rd

Come join the PRS Parents Association for our next morning walk. This is a great opportunity to socialize and exercise.

Date: Friday, January 23rd

Time: 8:30 a.m.

Meet Location: TBD

Sports on the Ridge

Upper School Home Games, Week of February 9th & 16th:

Be a Firebird Fan! Home game times for the upcoming week are listed below. Schedules are subject to change, so please check Schedulestar regularly for accurate information.

2/10/15

4:00 p.m. Boys JV Basketball vs. Calvin Christian

5:30 p.m. Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Calvin Christian

7:00 p.m. Boys Varsity Basketball vs. Calvin Christian

2/11/15

3:30 p.m. Girls Varsity Soccer vs. Horizon Christian School

2/18/15

3:30 p.m. Girls Varsity Soccer vs. Francis Parker

2/20/15

3:30 p.m. Boys Varsity Soccer vs. Escondido Charter

5:30 p.m. Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Francis Parker

7:00 p.m. Boys Varsity Basketball vs. Maranatha Christian

Scores:

Boys Varsity Basketball

1/27/15 San Diego Jewish Academy 57 39 W

1/30/15 Escondido Charter 48 27 W

Boys Junior Varsity Basketball

1/27/15 San Diego Jewish Academy 51 26 W

1/30/15 Escondido Charter 49 38 W

Boys Junior Varsity 'B' Basketball

1/28/15 High Tech High 19 22 L

1/31/15 The Bishop's School 16 56 L

Boys Middle School 'A' Basketball

1/27/15 Maranatha Christian 43 36 W

1/28/15 San Elijo Middle School 48 67 L

1/29/15 Tri-City Christian Schools 25 63 L

Boys Middle School 'B' Basketball

1/27/15 Maranatha Christian 30 33 L

1/28/15 San Elijo Middle School 7 27 L

1/29/15 Tri-City Christian Schools 12 30 L

Girls Varsity Basketball

1/26/15 Castle Park High School 16 58 L

1/30/15 Foothills Christian High School 44 45 L

Boys Varsity Soccer

1/28/15 Escondido Charter 2 2 T

1/30/15 The Bishop's School 1 4 L

Boys Junior Varsity Soccer

1/28/15 Escondido Charter 2 1 W

Boys Middle School 'A' Soccer

1/27/15 San Diego Jewish Academy 0 1 L

1/28/15 Army Navy Academy 5 0 W

1/29/15 Maranatha Christian 8 0 W

Boys Middle School 'B' Soccer

1/29/15 Santa Fe Christian Schools 5 2 W

Girls Varsity Soccer

1/28/15 Escondido Charter 2 0 W

1/30/15 The Bishop's School 0 3 L

Girls Middle School 'A' Soccer

1/27/15 San Diego Jewish Academy 5 0 W

1/29/15 Maranatha Christian 9 0 W

Girls Middle School 'B' Soccer

1/29/15 Santa Fe Christian Schools 3 3 T

Class Notes

Josh Kahn '15 Honored For Service, Leadership

Congratulations to senior Josh Kahn, who was recently presented with the Peter Chortek Teen Leadership Award by the San Diego Jewish Community Foundation. The award, based on the Jewish value of tikkun olam, or "repairing the world", is given annually to three local students who inspire others through a volunteer service project that displays their initiative, passion and positive spirit. Josh was recognized for his work with Hands of Peace, a nonprofit that brings together Israeli, Palestinian, and American teenagers to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Josh played a critical role in helping to bring the Hands of Peace program to Pacific Ridge last summer.

Collage by Kelly Cortes '15 Selected for Youth Art Month

Congratulations to senior Kelly Cortes, whose digital photo collage was selected for the Youth Art Month 2015 exhibition sponsored by the San Diego Art Institute. Kelly's piece, "Me and Myself" will be on display at the Rose Gallery at Francis Parker Upper School through March 22nd.

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

February 5th & 6th

Pippin

7:30 p.m.

Star Theatre

February 7th

Pippin

2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m.

Star Theatre

February 9th-16th

NO SCHOOL

Mid-Winter break

February 23rd

Parents Association Walking Club

8:30 a.m.

March 4th

Curriculum Night for Sophomores, Juniors and Families

6:30 p.m.

March 10th

An Evening with Benjamin Zander

6:30 p.m.

Quick Links

Pacific Ridge Homepage

My Pacific Ridge