Pacific Ridge alumni and their families are invited to the Annual Alumni Family Reception, January 6th from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Dinner and dessert will be provided. Please RSVP to Nisa Conway at 760-448-9883 or nconway@pacificridge.org by December 30th.

Admissions Open House on January 9th

Families interested in Pacific Ridge School are encouraged to visit the Open House scheduled for Saturday, January 9th, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., with presentations followed by campus tours. To RSVP, please contact Admissions Assistant Tiffany Murphy at 760-448-9841, or tmurphy@pacificridge.org. Click here for more information about the application process.

Heading to High School Event on January 12th

Parents of current 8th graders are invited to an evening event to learn more about their children's upcoming transition to high school. Topics will include "Preparing for a Purposeful Life," "Activities, Service Learning and Athletics," and "Curriculum and College Guidance." Students will have an opportunity later in January to attend upper school classes and talk with students about the high school experience at Pacific Ridge.

Date: Tuesday, January 12th

Time: 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

Place: Mullady Hall

9th-Grade Muse Project Reception on January 13th

Families of 9th graders are invited to a special showing of their children's personal mythology projects in a museum setting.

The projects, inspired by students' own experiences as well as their reading of Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, use modern means of storytelling such as contemporary art, documentary film and social media.

Date: Wednesday, January 13th

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Place: Mullady Hall

Abbott/Ibis Day of Science & Engineering

Interested in a career as a scientist or an engineer? Upper school students are invited to a special program at Ibis Biosciences on January 18th, where they can learn about medical technologies being developed, participate in hands-on demonstrations and speak with scientists and engineers about how they prepared for their careers. For more information, click here. To reserve your spot, please RSVP to Rangarajan Sampath at rangsamp@gmail.com by Wednesday, January 13th.

Date: Monday, January 18th

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Place: Ibis Biosciences, 2251 Faraday Avenue, Carlsbad

Hosts Needed for Harkness Institute Student Exchange

Four Upper School exchange students from the Harkness Institute in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, will be spending two weeks at Pacific Ridge School in January. We are currently seeking host families for a female student and two male students from January 17th through January 30th. Ideal placement is a 1:1, same gender homestay. The Harkness Institute students will attend Pacific Ridge classes all day. Host families are expected to provide all meals and transportation to and from school. If you are interested in hosting or have questions about the process, please email Justin Symington at jsymington@pacificridge.org.

Save the Date for All Shook Up

Before you make plans for your February vacation, make note of Pacific Ridge's 8th annual musical production! Show dates for All Shook Up are Friday, February 5th and Saturday, February 6th. Performance times are 7:30 p.m., with an additional matinee at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. You won't want to miss this energetic musical comedy featuring Elvis Presley's greatest hits. Inspired by Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, the show takes place in 1955, and tells the story of a small town upended by a surprise visit from a guitar-playing stranger who believes in the magic of romance and the power of rock & roll. Tickets go on sale in January.

Educational Insights

Please click here to read science teacher Todd Burckin's blog post: "Curricular Creativity is Alive and Well at Pacific Ridge."

New & Noteworthy

Robotics Teams in Control at FTC Tournament

On Saturday December 12th, Pacific Ridge's Upper School Robotics teams, the Ridgebots and the Pyrobots, traveled to Escondido for the first of four league matches in the FIRST Tech Challenge season. This year's game, "FIRST Res-Q," requires robots to climb a mountain to rescue climbers, clear debris, and activate a signal. The Ridgebots were undefeated in the tournament's six matches and earned a maximum of 12 qualifying points toward the league championships in February. The Pyrobots overcame a series of mechanical issues to win a majority of their qualifying points and four out of their six matches. Congratulations to both teams on a very successful first match!

Teachers Present at World Languages Conference

Last month, Pacific Ridge language teachers Mrs. Brady, Mrs. Shrivistava, Mrs. Chu, and Mr. Stella presented at the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Convention and World Languages Expo in downtown San Diego. The group taught a session entitled "Keeping Students Engaged: Instructional Strategies for Elementary, Middle School, and High School Levels." They discussed teaching approaches that are engaging and student-centered, and encourage students to use their language skills in authentic, meaningful contexts. The annual ACTFL conference attracts more than 6,000 language educators from around the U.S. and the world.

Curricular Adventures

Colloquium Showcases Excellence in Student Work

At Community Life on December 10th, students and faculty were treated to presentations of exceptional student work. Middle and Upper School students, nominated by their teachers for their creativity, strong understanding, thorough execution and attention to detail presented projects from a variety of disciplines. Two 7th-grade Life Science students demonstrated interactive dichotomous key projects, AP photography students explained the themes of their ongoing portfolios, a senior student recited poetry, two AP United States History students read fictional letters between John and Abigail Adams, and a Modern World History student presented a film condensing hundreds of years of history into a short photo and video montage.

500 Years in 3 Minutes by Matthew Cheung '18

Service Learning In The Field

Head Start Thanks You for Your Gift of Love

This week, students in the Middle School Head Start and Upper School Building Blocks service learning groups gathered up armfuls of donated toys and delivered them to shiny-eyed preschoolers at two Head Start locations in Carlsbad. Over 200 presents were donated by members of the Pacific Ridge community through the Head Start Holiday Gift Drive. The children, families and staff of Head Start would like to thank you for making this a joyful holiday to remember.

Service Learning Students Donate Second Round of Bikes to Educational Enrichment Systems

As part of their Leadership rotation, 9th-grade Service Learning students work in small groups to design and assemble balance bikes for preschoolers. Last week, students personally delivered five completed bikes to children at Richland Elementary School, an Education Enrichment Systems (EES) school in San Marcos. In October, a group of freshman donated five bikes to EES's David and Jillian Gilmour Early Education Campus in Vista.

Parents Association

A Note of Appreciation

From the Opening Day Parent Coffee to Gingerbread Breakfast, with Fall Fest, used uniform sales and many great club events in between, the first few months of school are filled with parent-supported events. The success of these events would not be possible without Pacific Ridge's amazing volunteers and supportive community. The Parents Association would like to say thank you to all Pacific Ridge families and to wish you a wonderful holiday season.

10th-Grade Parent Party on January 10th

Calling all 10th-Grade parents. Please save Sunday, January 10th from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m., for an enjoyable evening with other parents of 10th grade students. Evites will be sent out a few weeks before the event, but please hold the date.

Senior Parent Grade-Level Party Slated for January 17th

The Senior Parent Grade-Level Party will take place on Sunday, January 17th. The evening will offer an opportunity for 12th-grade parents to socialize after the holiday break. Evites will be sent a few weeks before the event and will include additional details.

Book Club Meeting on January 25th

The Pacific Ridge Parents' Book Club will meet on Monday, January 25th. The Club will discuss Fates and Furies, by Lauren Groff. All Pacific Ridge parents are welcome to attend. We hope to see you there!

Date: Monday, January 25th

Time: 7:00 p.m.

Location: Pacific Ridge School Library

Support Pacific Ridge When You Shop and Dine

As the gift giving & entertaining season approaches, we want to remind you of three great ways to help support Pacific Ridge at no additional cost to you!

Amazon Smile

Amazon Smile, a service provided for Amazon Prime members, will donate 0.5% of all purchases to Pacific Ridge! Just go to smile.amazon.com instead of the regular Amazon homepage and register Pacific Ridge as your nominated charity. Then, shop as you normally would.

Target Red Card

Save money while helping raise funds for Pacific Ridge when you use your Red Card. Simply designate Pacific Ridge when you enroll through the Take Charge of Education program. The Pacific Ridge School ID number is 147996.

e-Scrip

Sign up for eScrip, and start earning money for Pacific Ridge by having a percentage of your purchase dollars donated to the school! Over 700 online and storefront merchants partner with eScrip, including Von's, Seaside Market, Amazon, and more. When you register your credit or debit card with eScrip, please designate Pacific Ridge School under "Group Selection," or use our Group ID number: 500017582. If you are a business owner, please also consider registering your company credit card.

Sports on the Ridge

Coach Dawson Voted Girls Varsity Tennis "Coach of the Year"

Pacific Ridge Coach Jennifer Dawson was recently named California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Girls Varsity Tennis Coach of the Year. The award, voted on by a group of league and CIF representatives, punctuates a memorable season for Firebird Girls Varsity Tennis. In October, the team won its first CIF Championship following an incredible playoff run and a perfect division record. Congratulations, Coach!

Coach Dawson (far right) celebrates the CIF Championship

with student manager Erica Chien, sophomore Allison Wood

and Assistant Coach Nan Ingersoll

Home Games, December 21st through January 9th

Schedules are subject to change. Please check Schedulestar

regularly for the most accurate information.

12/28/15

11:00 a.m. - Girls Varsity Basketball vs. Sage Hill (TCCS Holiday Tournament)

12:30 p.m. - Boys Varsity Basketball vs. Desert Christian (TCCS Holiday Tournament)

12/29/15

Boys Varsity Basketball in TCCS Holiday Tournament (time and opponent TBD)

1/5/16

3:30 p.m. Boys Varsity Soccer vs. Vista High School

5:00 p.m. Boys Varsity Basketball vs. Guajome Park Academy (Firebird Classic)

1/6/16

6:30 p.m. - Boys Varsity Basketball vs. Hilltop High School (Firebird Classic)

1/7/15

3:30 p.m. - Girls Varsity Soccer vs. Tri-City Christian Schools

6:30 p.m. - Boys Varsity Basketball vs. San Pasqual Academy (Firebird Classic)

1/8/16

Boys Varsity Basketball in the Firebird Classic (opponent and time TBD)

1/9/16

Boys Varsity Basketball in the Firebird Classic (opponent and time TBD)

Scores:

Boys Varsity Basketball

12/8/15 Escondido Adventist Academy 44 38 W

12/11/15 Classical Academy High 56 47 W

Boys Junior Varsity Basketball

12/8/15 Escondido Adventist Academy 48 14 W

12/11/15 Classical Academy High 42 62 L

Boys Middle School 'A' Basketball

12/9/15 Army & Navy Academy 37 19 W

Boys Middle School 'B' Basketball

12/9/15 Santa Fe Christian School 36 27 W

Boys JV 'B' Basketball

12/12/15 La Jolla Country Day 21 25 L

Girls Varsity Basketball

12/7/15 San Ysidro High School 36 55 L

12/8/15 Escondido Adventist Academy 19 50 L

12/9/15 San Dieguito Academy 13 44 L

12/11/15 Classical Academy High 28 30 L

Girls Junior Varsity Basketball

12/7/15 San Ysidro High School 10 59 L

12/9/15 San Dieguito Academy 14 36 L

Boys Varsity Soccer

12/8/15 Oceanside High School 0 4 L

Boys Junior Varsity Soccer

12/8/15 Oceanside High School 0 12 L

Boys Middle School 'A' Soccer

12/10/15 San Diego Jewish Academy 7 1 W

Boys Middle School 'B' Soccer

12/11/15 Santa Fe Christian Schools 0 3 L

Girls Varsity Soccer

12/8/15 Mt. Carmel High School 0 4 L

12/10/15 San Diego Christian 1 1 T

Girls Middle School 'A' Soccer

12/10/15 San Diego Jewish Academy 6 0 W

Girls Middle School 'B' Soccer

12/11/15 Santa Fe Christian Schools 3 0 W

Beyond The Ridge

Save The Date for Sophomore College Night: January 7th

Sophomores and their Parents are encouraged to attend Sophomore College Night on Thursday, January 7th, from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. at the Dove Library Auditorium. A reminder will follow after Winter Break.

Faculty & Staff News

Congratulations to School Psychologist Veronica Gorgueiro and her husband, Danny, on the arrival of their third child, Demi Rose Gorgueiro on December 14th. Demi weighed 7 lbs., 3 ounces, and measured 18 1/2 inches. Mother and daughter are both doing well, and the whole family is enjoying getting to know her.

In a community that fosters academic excellence, ethical responsibility, and global engagement, Pacific Ridge School prepares students for college and a purposeful life.

Pacific Ridge School | www.pacificridge.org

December 18th

Half Day

Gingerbread Breakfast

December 21st - January 3rd

NO SCHOOL

Winter Break

January 6th

Alumni Reception

6 - 8 p.m.

January 7th

Sophomore College Night

6:30 p.m.

January 9th

Admissions Open House

1 - 4 p.m.

January 10th

10th-Grade Parent Party

5 p.m.

January 12th

Heading to High School

6:30 p.m.

January 13th

9th-Grade Muse Project Museum

5:30 p.m.

January 17th

12th-Grade Parent Party

Time TBD

January 25th

Parent Book Club

7 p.m.

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