Presidio Hill School Weekly News

September 19, 2003

From the director:

Tomorrow, we will all gather together in Golden Gate Park for our annual welcome-back-to-school potluck. I don’t know when this tradition started for PHS, but do know that the term “potluck” to describe a communal meal to which everyone contributes dates back to 1592, so we are certainly part of a long, delicious tradition. I have always loved the “potluck mentality” at PHS, and think it is an apt metaphor for the way we approach work in general and community-building specifically. We are a pull-up-your-socks, get-involved kind of place, where everyone is expected to do his or her part to make the whole thing chug along. People have different amounts of time and different talents, so the contributions vary widely. That, too, is a positive part of our culture.

The concept of each person contributing a piece to create some larger whole is a rich and common theme in many cultures, and I’m sure that each of us has experienced the satisfaction that one derives from working together to achieve something bigger than ourselves. People all over the world bring food to others in times of joy and sorrow. Stone Soup is one popular story that illustrates beautifully what a village can accomplish when everyone contributes something, even when it seems that no one has anything. Habitat for Humanity is an example of many people working together to build houses in record time. I used to work at a boarding school on a farm in Vermont where 40 students working for just 15 minutes each morning before breakfast cleaned every classroom, bathroom, and public space and also fed every animal. Students here and at other schools do joint art projects, sing in choruses, complete service learning projects, and work together in many other ways for the common good. Saturday is Beach Clean-up Day, when hundreds of people clean California beaches (which should happen every day!). This kind of shared work is a value we celebrate at PHS, and I am always delighted that our parents can model active community service for their children simply by bringing something to a school potluck.

The re-opening of the gorgeous Conservatory of Flowers is also tomorrow, so parking for our Fall Gathering will be tight. Thanks in advance to Laura Rattay-Maloney for being the chief organizer, Susan Byrd for being her understudy, and Gail Gabiati (via her brother) for the donation of hundreds of delicious Aidell sausages. Metropolis Bakery also bakes and donates special rolls just for PHS. And thanks to each of you for bringing food, lugging tables or grills, cleaning up, organizing games, remembering nametags, chatting with a new family, keeping an eye on your children, recycling, and everything else you have done or will do. It is the combination of every part, great and small, that makes the event a success. See you there! Carey

From the deans:

Today marks my second month in California, and my adjustment to the west coast has been slow. There are days when I find myself complaining about the wacky and unpredictable weather of San Francisco. Colleagues quickly remind me that the days of digging myself out of 5 – 10 feet of snow in Connecticut are a thing of the past. I then turn my thoughts to the 100 degree temperatures in my Lake Merritt neighborhood of Oakland and smile. This is something that I can learn to appreciate.

Today also marks my second full week at PHS. The first few weeks of school have been exciting, somewhat challenging, and rewarding. The middle school welcomed 29 new sixth and 3 new seventh graders into the PHS community on September 2 with the ‘New Student Orientation’ followed by the ‘New and Host Family Potluck.’ Students and teachers spent the day engaged in bonding and community building activities. Members of the eighth grade class volunteered to lead tours and share their middle school experience. In what I am told is typical PHS style, our parents provided us at the potluck with an array of tantalizing dishes and delectable desserts.

On day two, our first official day of school, seventy middle school students entered the building. Understanding that students and teachers would differ somewhat on what needed to be accomplished on this day, the middle school team set out to create a first day schedule that would meet everyone’s needs. With mini lesson plans and student handbooks, the staff of science, humanities, math, and language teachers eagerly welcomed students into their classes. Students appeared to be engaged in the learning process and excited about being back at PHS. It appeared that we had succeeded in organizing a first day that provided students with the opportunity to become oriented to the academic program, to meet with advisors and fellow classmates, and equally important, to choose lockers.

For me, the first day of school brought with it all the anxiety of being a new student. As I prepared for my section meetings with each grade, I began thinking “will they like me?” and “will I fit in?” My fears soon dissipated as I remembered that these were some of the same students who interviewed me during the hiring process. I knew well their expectations for the middle school dean; they would hold me to the same high standards to which their teachers and I would hold them. Of course I’d fit in. When the first day of school came to a close, the anxiety subsided and I breathed a sigh of relief. As I began to reflect on the day’s events I realized that I had survived my first day of school.

Karen Amaker, Middle School Dean

Curriculum Spotlight - Adam Piandes, Middle School Math

From the after-school director

This is my third year teaching eighth grade math at PHS, and this class is the first group I’ve taught for three straight years. We’ve started the year with some review: working with variables in equations, identifying expressions, using the different math properties, and factoring. We are quickly moving through these particular subject matters and will soon be ready to be challenged with new material. Along with this review work, the eighth grade has successfully completed a mini-project called “How Big is Barbie?” In this lab, students were asked to measure various dimensions of a male and female doll’s body and scale them proportionally to average human measurements. Once these calculations were completed, students analyzed and described the enlargements and explored the commercial and social implications of the design of the dolls.

The seventh grade recently completed their mini-project called “The Selling of America.” The students were asked to give each state a cost, either 1,2,3 or 4 dollars per square mile. Give each value a color. For example, $1 states are red, $2 states are blue, etc. Color their maps so that no states with the same colors touch one another. Add up the total cost of their country and make that their selling price. The goal was to arrange the states so that the total cost was as low as it could possibly be. This project required the application of a range of knowledge and skills, and the students did a great job.

I am also teaching half of the sixth grade class and Jono is teaching the other half. Jono is new to our school and adds a tremendous amount of experience to both the math and science departments. It has been great working with him thus far. In sixth grade, we have spent the first few weeks getting to know one another and have been discussing topics such as expressions and equations, variables, and order of operations. I’ve been impressed with the students’ ability to handle these subject matters and have been extremely pleased with their enthusiasm and attentiveness.

Adam Piandes

After School enrichment classes began with a bang this week. I have seen kids completely engaged in the moviemaking class and come back from drama with huge smiles on their faces. We still have spaces in a few of our classes and I would like to encourage you and you kids to consider signing up!

We are opening up the Cartooning and Claymation class to all ages. Kids invent a story, draw and sculpt characters, and bring their story to life for the camera. The class meets on Mondays from 4:15-5:00 p.m. We are also hoping to have a few more people sign up for cooking with Erica Levy, a former after-school teacher. This class is geared towards K-3rd graders and meets on Thursdays from 3:30-5:00. Last but not least, we would like to encourage all ages to try Rhythm Madness and the Musical Heartbeat on Fridays from 3:30-4:30. In this class your child will explore music of the world and find his or her own rhythm through movement, voice and experimentation. Just call me, drop me an e-maul, or stop by to sign up or get more information.

If your child is interested in starting individual guitar or piano lessons, you are in luck! There are 2 available spots with the guitar teacher Joe on Monday from 4:00-4:30 and 5:30-6:00. Kevin the piano teacher has one spot left at the 5:15 time slot on Mondays. Call for more information and costs.

Finally, look for after-school billing statements in the mail. You will be able to tell how many pre-purchased hours you have used and if you need to get more soon.

Have a great weekend,

Deborah Holley

From the Office of Multi-cultural Programs
and Services

Many parents and community members have expressed interest in this year’s Diversity Committee. This is great news! I want you to know that this summer, I worked in close collaboration with members of the board and last year’s diversity committee to construct a bipartite committee system to address diversity and multicultural issues at PHS. We now have a new structure in place.

Instead of one Diversity Committee, there will be two: the Board Diversity Committee & the Parent Diversity Committee.

The Board Diversity Committee (chaired by board members) deals exclusively with PHS policy issues (i.e. identify school policies relating to inclusion, communicate with other board committees regarding inclusion issues, assess tuition philosophy, update the diversity report, provide board professional development, etc.).

The Parent Diversity Committee (supported by Mohammed) will focus exclusively on community issues (i.e. community building and education, events and assemblies, family/student support and retention, admissions outreach, etc.).

Look closely at these committee descriptions, explore your heart, deeply consider your expertise and time, and decide which committee works best for you. If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Mohammed Soriano-Bilal

From the library

It has been my pleasure to work with all of your children over the past two weeks. In my brand new role as Librarian & Service Learning Coordinator, I am able to spend time with children in every grade, from Kindergarten through eighth grade, and this is a very big change for me; I taught 4th and 5th grade here at PHS for 13 years! Now, not only am I in a completely different working role, I am also a PHS parent for the first time; my son, Isam, is a member of the Kindergarten class.

I am pleased that so many of you have stopped by to check in on the ever-developing PHS Library and to wish me well. I appreciate your support and enthusiasm; many of you know that it has been my long-time dream to help create a “real library” at Presidio Hill School.

This summer I was lucky enough to travel to New York City. Elissa Guest, a former parent and the wonderful author of the Iris and Walter series for beginning readers, had alerted me to a wonderful book called Storied City. In this unique travel guide, I was provided with little walking tours around the New York City. Each walk highlighted events and authors and characters from children’s literature. There could not have been a better tour guide for me as I was about to transition into this job. I traveled through Central Park on a perfect day and visited several literary landmarks, such as sculptures of Hans Christian Anderson and Alice in Wonderland and the pool where Stuart Little sailed. I also signed the registry in the Children’s Branch Library – as an “official” visitor to the display of original stuffed animal companions on which the Winnie-the-Pooh stories were based. And of course, I peeked in at Eloise’s Plaza Hotel and walked through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where Claudia and her little brother Jamie hid in From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.

We are off to a good and promising start this school year. In this letter, I hope to share with you a little bit about the library, and in future communications, I will write about the Service Learning program.

I have been able to introduce the different sections of our library to each of the classes, have read aloud to nearly every student in the school, and will go with Lisa Spengler to the Presidio Branch Library next week to help the 7th grade with their research on the Caribbean.

Much of my focus at the beginning of this year has been on organizing and updating our Birthday Book program, which is one of the ways we keep our library very PHS-focused and add wonderful new books to our collection. Look for our Birthday Book bulletin board at the top of the main stairs in October!

If you haven’t dropped by the library in awhile, I invite you to do so. One great time for parents to peek in or sit down for a bit of quiet reading is the morning “Adults Only time,” which is Monday through Friday from 8:00 until 8:30 a.m. This is a time for PHS faculty and staff AND parents to sit and read the paper, sip on tea or coffee, or browse for books for their families to enjoy. Parents are welcome to check out materials, too!

Parents have often asked if they can donate books to the library. The answer is yes! However, if it’s more than just one or two books, I would appreciate a little advance notice. Also, because our library is limited in space, I have to work hard to keep the most relevant and useful materials available for our community. For this reason, if books are donated, and I don’t find them to be a good match for our current needs, I ship them off to Children’s Book Project, a wonderful local organization that helps make sure that kids without easy access to books get the resources they need.

Enclosed in this envelope you will find information about upcoming events at the San Francisco Public Libraries and about the Book Buddies program, in which adult volunteers read to children who are hospitalized. I hope you’ll take the time to read through this page; you may find something that sounds just right for you.

I hope your children share with you some of the stories we discover together this year, and please feel free to contact me with your suggestions for books and authors, both for adults and for children. There is one date I’d like you put on your calendar: Thursday, November 13th. This is the date for our PHS Library Book Fair at Books, Inc. in Laurel Village. There will be much more information in future Friday letters, but you can count on a fun time and a chance to get some of your holiday shopping out of the way.

A small request: please check in regularly with your children and ask them to return any library books they no longer need. Sending them back in the Friday envelope may work best for some kids, so checking with them on the weekend probably makes sense. Thanks.

Yours,
Lisa Jeli
Librarian
Service Learning Coordinator

The Friday Archive

Presidio Hill School | 3839 Washington St | San Francisco CA 94118
Voice: 415-751-9318 | Fax: 415-751-9334