SPRING 2007SCDS

Inquire. Create. Nurture.»

KineticsSEATTLE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL MAGAZINE

Sports at SCDSSportsmanship, Teamwork and FUN!

INSIDETHISISSUE:

PAGE 1SPRING 2007

Take a moment to think of some of the legendary coaches of the last century. Like theNotre Dame football coach Knute Rockne, whosaid, “Show me a good and gracious loser andI’ll show you a failure.” Or Green Bay Packer’scoach Vince Lombardi who said, “Winningisn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

Well, as great as they were, neither Rockne norLombardi would last a day in the SCDS Wildcatssports program. Led by Athletic DirectorChuck Lintz, the SCDS athletics program has aunique approach to sports that considers awide range of skill levels; a strong emphasis onfun; and, an approach to competition that isbased on growth rather than statistics.

Sports at SCDS

continued »

“We want toexpose kids tosports as partof a life-long

learningprocess.”

chuck linz, scds athletic

director

Sportsmanship,Teamwork and FUN!

PAGE 2 Kinetics

at SCDS(CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE)

“We want to expose kids to sports as part of a life-long learningprocess,” said Lintz. “And, we want our program to be fun andcompetitive so that students will sign up and play.” As a result ofthis student-centered philosophy, participation on SCDS teams inany given season includes more than one-third of the studentbody (see next page). From the perspective of 7th-grade student Grace Noah, who plays both basketball and UltimateFrisbee for SCDS, the philosophy works.

“I like to play sports at SCDS to be with my friends,” she said.“It’s great to get the exercise and still be able to enjoy yourselfwith your friends.”

“The sports program has grown and grown,” says PE teacherand coach Shiloh Ratcliffe. “It has really become an importantpart of the school in the last few years and we are excited thatkids want to come out for teams and play.”

Both Lintz and Ratcliffe agree that the teams accommodate awide-range of skills, even at the more competitive levels ingrades 6-8. “But we have a good situation where the skilled players can help the less-skilled players learn and they bring upthe level of play for everyone,” says Lintz.

According to 7th-grade athlete Jordan Spencer, the high qualityof coaching draws him to the sports programs. “The coaches areawesome. They really know what they’re doing and they make ita good time.” Spencer said he enjoyed the guidance of veteranbasketball coach Denny Russell during the season. “He could beintense, but he knows the game, and that’s fun.”

For students who are less experienced, Ratcliffe points out that asupporting Physical Education curriculum taught during the dayincreases student confidence and promotes more participation.

“I have seen lots of students in class whose skills improve in PEand then they have the confidence to try out for a sport.”

And the numbers show that just as many girls play sports as boys.Recently, a lunch table full of Middle School girls was quick topoint out that anyone can play at SCDS. Why? “Because it’s fun!”

“The coachesare awesome.They reallyknow whatthey’re doingand they makeit a good time.”jordan spencer,7th-grade athlete

Athletics

Getting a good stretch in PE.

Sixth Grade players controlling the soccer ball.

Campus

PAGE 4 Kinetics

CHECK OUT WHAT’S BEENHAPPENING AROUND CAMPUS!

Strategic Plan Cycles AroundSchools have many cycles. There is the vacation cycle of summer,winter, and spring breaks. There is the Winterim cycle of eightFridays of frozen fun. There’s even a cycle for lunches that starts at 10:45 a.m. and ends at 12:45 p.m. But every five years, there is a less obvious cycle called strategic planning which guides the school forward. Determining what will be accomplished is a long and thorough process that is driven by the strategic planning committee, a subcommittee of the Board of Trustees. The last strategic plan centered on attracting talented faculty, inquiry-basedlearning, and the new Middle School construction and facilityimprovements. As those benchmarks near completion, it is time to look ahead once more.

Trustee and Parent Joan Morse is leading the job of creatingthe next road map for the school. Together with her commit-tee, faculty, staff, parents, and students are being asked theiropinions about the future goals for SCDS. They have conduct-ed one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and written surveysto gather the information they need to determine these broadinitiatives and priorities for SCDS.

“Our strategic planning efforts are focused on taking a snap-shot of how we are doing today, looking ahead to where weare going, and articulating the priorities toward getting there,”said Morse. “The resulting plan will be strategic in nature, willlook at broad initiatives, and will give us operational plans.”

The number of items included in each plan varies from schoolto school, but it expected that this plan will contain 3-6 items,and Morse says they hope to have completed their work bythe end of 2007.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE

MORE INFORMATION

ABOUT THE STRATEGIC

PLANNING PROCESS,

PLEASE CONTACT THE

SCHOOL: 206-284-6220.

PAGE 6 Kinetics

people & placesClagett Shares Her Peace Corps Experience in Nigeria with 8th Grade

Barb Claggett sharing her storiesof Nigeria with 8th grade students.

Middle School Science teacherEllie Peterson.

Petersen Wins Science AwardSCDS Middle School Science Teacher Ellie Peterson was recentlynamed one of four winners of the Amgen Award for ScienceTeaching Excellence from Washington State. SCDS parents Al and Mina Jiwani nominated Peterson for the award. Amgen is abiotechnology company that created this award to recognize scienceteachers who are elevating the level of science literacy through creativity in the classroom. She received a $5,000 cash award, andSCDS received a $5,000 gift for development of the SCDS scienceprogram. A special awards dinner was held in May. Ms. Petersen has been a teacher for six years and is completing her fourth yearteaching 6th- and 7th-grade science at SCDS.

“SCDS is proud to support all teachers and staff in their ongoingprofessional growth,” said Head of School Michael Murphy. “ElliePeterson is the latest example of a faculty member being recognizedfor her love and passion for teaching and learning.”

Director Barb Clagett has arrived for a two-year commitment withthe Peace Corps. Her task is to teach four subjects, all in English, the only language that her students have in common in this formerBritish colony. Six days a week, she teaches 6th-8th grade boysEnglish, literature, West African history, and math in this rural, government-run boarding school. Families pay a small fee to sendtheir sons to this secondary school; village girls’ education stopsafter 5th grade.

Clagett lives in a prefabricated, Western-style house that is a source of fascination for her students. Electricity from the school’s generator lights up the house; kerosene supplies the fuel for thesmall refrigerator and stove in the kitchen. Boys at the school live in crowded dorm rooms on bunks often lacking mattresses.

Back home in their villages, they live in compounds with small houses or “obis” built close together. Each household is led by a man who may keep several wives and their children in separateobis within the compound.

At night in the bush, there is no entertainment for the boys but each other, and so songs, story-telling, and homemade drama productions are the main events.

There’s a monkey story to tell, but time’s up, so that will have towait. A few more windows have opened up in 8th-grade minds, and they are avid for more — about other cultures, other times.

The 8th-grade class sits rapt withattention. They have just read “TheWrestling Match” by Buchi Emechetaabout an orphaned boy growing up inpost-civil war Nigeria, and they areassembled to hear first hand aboutlife in that country…

It is the bush country of Nigeria in 1964,and civil war is about to shake the land. Inthis tumultuous time, Interim Admissions

PAGE 7SPRING 2007

of 4.5 out of 5 ranked her in the top 20 percent of the 89total speakers at the conference, and in the top third ofspeakers in the Elementary Schools track. Allison will presenton a similar topic at the Pacific Northwest Association ofIndependent Schools Advancement Conference atSemiahmoo in June. We are proud of Allison’s professionalaccomplishments and how she has represented SCDS in thenational arena of Alumni Relations!

ALLISON (DOYLE) BASS ’91, Assistant Directorof Development, was invited to present at the 37th annualcollaborative conference between the Council for theAdvancement and Support of Education and the NationalAssociation for Independent Schools which offers continuing education to fundraising professionals. Allison’stopic was Alumni Relations at Elementary Schools, and thepositive feedback about her session she received from herpeers earned her the distinction of Faculty Star. Her rating

Dr. JoAnn Sims Retires After 30 YearsVeteran 3rd-grade teacher Dr.JoAnn Sims recently announcedher retirement from SCDS andshe will complete her 30-yeartenure at the school in June.

Hired by SCDS founding headLucile Beckman, Dr. Sims wasinstrumental in firmly establishingthe school during its formativeyears. She has positively influ-enced the school’s curriculum for three decades, particularly inthe area of social studies. And,she has been a long-standingadvocate for gifted educationand serves on the board of theWashington Association ofEducators of the Talented andGifted. As an adjunct professor,

she has taught gifted education to graduate studentsat Seattle University for many years. Dr. Sims was also a leader in the SCDS Winterim Program during its early years and has remained a robust supporter andparticipant through the years.

“My husband has been retired for two years,” she said. “We have purchased seven acres in theWillamette Valley and construction has begun on ournew residence ... We are beginning to move in to anew community and into a new stage in our livestogether ... When I reflect on my career with SCDS andits contributions to my own children and to me, thosecontributions are endless. I have been proud to be apart of this community ... and appreciate my talentedand professional colleagues.”

Dr. Sims was formally honored and celebrated at anassembly and reception this May, but hopes to stay intouch with the school in the years to come.

Welcome Joan Hudson!This March, SCDS welcomed our new Director ofDevelopment Joan Hudson to campus. Bringing a wealth of experience and a wonderful personal energy,Ms. Hudson spent her first week learning about theschool and visiting classes. But since then, she has beenbusy with many development initiatives at SCDS.

Ms. Hudson comes to us most recently from the March of Dimes. As executive director for the Greater PugetSound Division, she was responsible for a yearly fundrais-ing budget of $1.5 million. In addition, she managed marketing, multiple events, scores of volunteers, andplayed an active public-speaking role in the community.

Ms. Hudson also has independent school experience,having served as Admission and Development Director at University Child Development School in the late 1990’s.

Ms. Hudson joins Assistant Director of DevelopmentAllison Bass in the newly remodeled Nob Hill House.

“I have beenproud to be a

part of thiscommunity”

dr. joann sims

New SCDS Director of Development Joan Hudson.

PAGE 10 Kinetics

classnotesCINDY PEYSER ’83 married RossSafronoff in 2006. They live in St. Louis,Missouri, during the school year, and inSeattle during the summer. Cindy continues to be involved with the civilengineering software company, Pizer,Inc., in Seattle.

LISA NARODICK COLTON ’89and JasonColton’sdaughterMeira (pronouncedMEE-rah) LilyColton wasborn March 2.She joins bigbrother Eli,who is almost

three years old, and they live inCharlottesville, Virginia.

K. THOR JENSEN ’90 writes, “I justreleased my first graphic novel, “RedEye, Black Eye," in January and it isavailable for purchase fromAmazon.com. Although it has pictures,please don't buy it for your childrenbecause it also has many cuss words,some of which they probably haven’theard yet. I live in New York City withmy wife, and am busily slaving away onmy next book, which is aboutCommunism, sort of.”

SARAH LEUNG ’90 and David WilsonwelcomedZachary LeungWilson into theworld onMarch 8;everyone isexhausted andsleep-deprivedbut healthyand thrilled!

EMILY (CAPLAN) REED ’96graduated from Harvard in 2004, andwas married in July, 2006 to BrendanReed (Harvard, class of 2003). She iscurrently living in Madison, Wisconsin,and completing her Masters in ArtHistory at the University of Chicago.

ZAHLEN ’96,XTEHN ’97, VEHRO ’99,AND ROHRE ’01TITCOMB,along with

sister Qxhna continue to operate and develop their Ultimate apparelcompany, Five Ultimate, based inSeattle. They handle the manufacturing,marketing, accounting, and sales of all sorts of Ultimate gear. For moreinformation, visit www.FiveUltimate.com.The Titcombs attribute their skill andenjoyment of Ultimate Frisbee to theirearly exposure from Mary Lowry atSCDS.

CORIE GEBALLE ’98 graduated thisspring from Stanford University with anM.Ed. with a specialty in bilingual education. She was inspired by the cre-ative teaching she received during heryears as a student at SCDS to pursue acareer in education, and looks forwardto sharing the joy of learning with herstudents, in both Spanish and English!

ROBIN STEWART ’98 wrote recently a message of appreciation in responseto the last issue of Kinetics, “It is per-petually amazing how time flies, that mykindergarten buddies graduated fromSCDS last year, and many of the friendsI remember as 4th and 5th graders arenow in college! But more than this, I amreminded of the deep role SCDS hasplayed in forming who I am and what Ido. Programming on an Apple II withthe Logo “turtle” in Lisa Lewis’ class in2nd grade, and video-taping interestingpeople and places on campus in 4thgrade were just a few of my enjoyableearly experiences with technology.

Fifteen years later, as a senior in college,I earned reknown on the WilliamsCollege campus for my full-scale music video. Last summer, I received ascholarship to attend Apple’s WorldwideDeveloper Conference, where I put thefinishing touches on my own Macintoshsoftware application. And now, afterseveral semesters teaching program-ming to elementary school students(using a more recent version of Logo

than what I learned on!), I find myself inthe computer science Ph.D. program at M.I.T. — the very institution whereLogo was invented and developed! I hope to spend my career making computers more fun and more useful for everyday tasks. Thanks, SCDS!”

NICK BAYNE ’99 made a pre-graduation visit to Seattle and stopped by the SCDS campus. He just completed a BFA in Acting fromUniversity of Utah, and will be pursuing acting full-time in eitherSeattle, Los Angeles, or New York.

EVAN HALL ’99 graduated with highest honors, Phi Beta Kappa andSigma Xi (honoring juniors and seniorswith outstanding aptitude in science asdemonstrated by participation inresearch), from Pomona College. He was also awarded a prestigiousDowning Scholarship, which covers allhis travel, living, and tuition expenses tostudy for one year at Downing College,Cambridge. Prior to his year abroad,Evan will spend the upcoming summerat Hogue Hospital in Newport Beachdoing clinical work, and plans to go onto medical school.

CHRISTOPHER LANTERMAN ’99will be working in Chicago for theSusquehanna International TradingGroup after graduating fromWashington University’s Olin School of Business.

JONATHAN LANTERMAN ’99graduated from the Olin School ofBusiness at Washington University, andwill stay in St. Louis to work for theaccounting firm, BKD.

SARAH GOLDBLATT ’00 received anMFA in Acting June 1at Cal State LongBeach. She appearedin 11 plays with theCalifornia RepertoryCompany and taughtfive semesters of

undergraduate Introduction to Acting.Sarah earned Phi Beta Kappa and a BAcum laude in Drama at the University ofWashington in 2003.

PAGE 11SPRING 2007

SHARE YOUR STORIES! SCDS wants to hear from our alums! If you have news or updates to share aboutyourself or a former SCDS student, please contact Allison Bass at allisonbass@seattlecountryday.org orcall 206-691-2620. We are also collecting items for the SCDS archives. Often requested are yearbooks,videotapes of school drama productions (thought to have been sold at the SCDS auctions?). If you havecopies to loan or donate, call Allison Bass.

SUSANNAH BAYNE ’02 is a studentat the San Francisco Art Institute. Sherecently exhibited an installation as partof a juried selection at the Diego RiveraGallery in San Francisco. Photos of herwork are available on her website,www.zanabayne.com

AMY WOODRUFF ’04 was appointedto the College Board Advisory Panel onStudent Concerns (APSC). The CollegeBoard is a non-profit association found-ed in 1900 to connect students with col-lege opportunities and prepare them forcollege success, including offering theSAT and AP tests. The APSC is com-posed of 16 students who serve a three-year term spanning their junior and sen-ior years of high school and freshmanyear of college. Amy was selected,along with four others, to share studentperspectives with the staff and commit-tees of the College Board, as well aswith admissions officers, financial aiddirectors, and education administratorsfrom colleges across the country. Inaddition to giving voice to a diversity ofstudent issues, Amy will travel to threeAnnual meetings, in San Diego and NewYork City, with lodging and transporta-tion funded by the College Board.

OWEN WURZBACHER ’05 was profiled in the Seattle PI this Spring as a swimming All-Star for his accomplish-ments on the Lakeside swim team andat the state tournament. He has setschool records in both the 100 BreastStroke and 200 Medley Relay, and as asophomore, is already in the all-timetop-5 for five other events. He hopes toswim at junior nationals this summer.

ALU

MN

I PR

OFI

LE’99

JonathanLoeffler

In his third year at Whitman College, Jonathan is majoring in geology.Though he admits, “I always had a deep curiosity of all things geographical,”he tributes Mary Lowry for nurturing his interests in her Social Studies class-room, as well as on the field as an Ultimate Frisbee coach. Mountaineering,an activity he began with his family, was further cultivated in SCDS’s NordicProgram with teacher David Pippin. Jonathan credits some of these earlyexperiences as inspiring what he calls “Geopoetry: a working knowledge ofthe Earth’s landforms and processes that informs my sense of place anddeepens my relationship to my environment. There is more than a little ofthe humanities in geology, and I enjoy creating thick verbal deposits of geologic writing.”

After nine years of Winterim at SCDS, Jonathan attend The Bush School, andcompeted in Nordic racing for four years before racing freshman year forWhitman in the toughest racing circuit in the States. Though he no longerraces competitively, he keeps his edge on the slopes as an instructor andfrequent explorer of the backcountry, but only when he’s not on the field!Jonathan first started playing Ultimate with Ms. Lowry in 1995, and shecoached his juniors team, MoHo, to the 2000 National Championship. NowJonathan is the captain of Whitman’s Ultimate team, and he played recentlywith Spencer Wallis ’99 at the National Championships in Florida. In addition, Jonathan is a rock climbing instructor at Whitman, and climbed the southern range of New Zealand on a geology exchange last Spring.

Jonathan has a year before graduation, so it’s too early to tell which of hisinterests will pull most strongly, but he definitely sees all his current activitiesplaying a role. In 2002, he traveled in China, and has studied Mandarin fortwo years at Whitman. He says, “I would like to have a strong command ofand familiarity with Chinese languages, cultures, and landscapes for futureambitions to live, teach, and research Earth Science, ideally in China.”

“Starved coastlines, hanging tributaries, rootlessmountains, drowned rivers, and stream piracy”are just some of the things Jonathan began discovering while a student at SCDS.

“Glacial UltimateFrisbee” illustrates the convergence ofJonathan’s desire totest himself and hisprofound fascinationwith the natural world.

Shiloh Ratcliffe at anUltimate FrisbeeTournament

An SCDS Faculty Interview inthe Tradition of Marcel Proust

Interview

IF YOU HAD ONE WISH, WHAT WOULD ITBE? That my family and I would befinancially secure for life.

IF YOU COULD NAME A NEW COUNTRY,WHAT WOULD YOU CALL IT? Manataka

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOSTIMPORTANT MANMADE THING? The camera.

WHO IS YOUR FAVORITE AMERICANPRESIDENT? John F. Kennedy

IF YOU COULD CHANGE YOUR NAME,WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IT TO? I love my first name, Shiloh, but maybe I would change my last name toJolie-Pitt!

WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOUWERE 13-YEARS OLD? A marine biologist

WHO DO YOU ADMIRE? Anyone whocan hold their breath for more than five minutes.

IF YOU COULD LIVE AS AN ANIMAL,WHAT WOULD IT BE? An Amur leopard.It would be crazy to know that youwere only one of 34 left in the world.

WHAT IS THE BEST THING A STUDENTEVER TAUGHT YOU? As a PE teacher, I shouldn’t assume that students knowhow to stop running.

IF YOU COULD CHOOSE ANOTHER JOB BESIDES TEACHING, WHAT WOULDIT BE? Owning a doggy day care.

WHAT IS THE HARDEST THING YOU HAVE EVER DONE? Climbing Mt. Adams in one day.

WHO IS THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON ON YOUR LIFE? My high-school language arts and dramateacher, Ms. Lucking.

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BESTTRANSPORTATION FOR LONG DISTANCETRAVEL? Within the country, a truck,pulling an Air Stream Trailer.Overseas... an enormous sailboat.

WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE GREATEST LIVING AMERICAN? My grandpa Stan.

IF YOU COULD MEET ANYONE, LIVING OR DEAD, WHO WOULD IT BE?Benjamin Franklin

WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MOSTIMPORTANT THING TO LEARN ABOUT AFRIEND? Their favorite type of shoes.

IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPER-POWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Cure cancer.

PAGE 12 Kinetics

In this issue, we interviewShiloh Ratcliffe, Physical

Education teacher for the 4th-8th grades.

Ms. Ratcliffe has been at SCDS for the last five

years. She did her under-graduate work at WesternWashington University’s

excellent physical educationprogram and worked in

Bellingham Public Schoolsbefore joining SCDS.

French philosopherand writer MarcelProust was known forhis witty answers to a series of intriguingquestions, now known as the ProustQuestionnaire. Tolearn more about ourteachers in a uniqueway, the SCDS 8th-grade class took onthe challenge of creating its own setof interview questionsto be put to one ofthe faculty members.

SCDS

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SPRING 2007»

SEATTLE COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL MAGAZINE

KineticsInquire. Create. Nurture.

Kinetics MagazineKinesis comes from the Greek

word for motion, and “kinetics”is used in the vernacular to

describe mechanics associatedwith the forces that cause

motions of bodies. At SCDS,we’re all about energy and active learning. Every day,

SCDS teachers engage students’minds and bodies through

inquiry-based teaching. Kinetics is our school magazine,

and the name reflects both our mission and the creativity

within our classrooms. We hopeyou enjoy this issue and feel the palpable buzz of SCDS

within these pages!

The Wildcat, SCDS’s Athletics Mascot, was born in 2006. The Seagull logo, oftreferred to as “Fighting Dove” for athletic purposes, was abandoned in 2001, andfor nearly five years, students were left to their own will and creativity to determineteam names. In an effort to unify our school and bring a greater focus to athleticsboth on campus and among our peer schools, we decided to develop a school-wide mascot, engaging students, faculty, alumni, and parents in an intensiveprocess of nomination, discussion, and deliberation.

A nine-member committee with representatives from each school division was convened to review suggestions and develop a slate, from which anyone could casta ballot for the final mascot selection. Based on the criteria that a mascot presentsan identifiable image for an institution, endures for generations, and provides afoundation for marketing and communications, the semifinalists were: Explorers,Seagulls, Sockeyes, and Wildcats. Wildcats won with more than 50% of votes, andremaining ballots split evenly among the three other options.

The Wildcat was unveiled as the new mascot at the auction on May 12, 2006, whena special Raise-the-Paddle element was included to dedicate funds to the AthleticsProgram. More than $57,000 was raised specifically for athletics – breaking all previous records by almost 30% and indicating tremendous support within ourcommunity for taking sports to the next level. Within these pages, discover someof the enhancements we’ve already implemented to further SCDS’s athletic goals,and how our students benefit from a thoughtful, viable program.

A NewSchoolMascotis Born