RED & GOLD THE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE of CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
INSIDE: COMMON GROUNDING: How CSB Inspired Alumni To Be Teachers Page 6 UNDERSTANDING ACROSS DIFFERENCES: Mr. Mullen’s Social Justice Class Page 14 FORGING FRIENDSHIPS: How Kindergarten Families Bonded In Unusual Times Page 17
OPENING DOORS, OPENING MINDS
AT-A-GLANCE
We at Cathedral School for Boys devote each day to the spirited dialogue, dynamic lessons, and intentional character building that guide each young boy to engage in the way that best fits him, while he simultaneously develops empathy and respect for the world around him. Because Cathedral is raising the bar on raising boys.
Prospective Students: inquiries from
265 STUDENTS
59 PRESCHOOLS
53 MIDDLE SCHOOLS
LIKES ON INSTAGRAM (on 98 posts) 9207
477 PROSPECTIVE FAMILIES VIEWED OUR VIRTUAL TOUR
24% OF STUDENTS
96% OF FAMILIES
contributed to the Cathedral School fund
Receive Adjustable Tuition
AVERAGE AT GRANT (& % OF TUITION COVERED) | $29,171.48 (75.62%)
41 DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOLS APPLIED TO
22 in a class of 38 DIFFERENT HIGH SCHOOLS ATTENDING
21% OF STUDENTS (8)
attending boarding school
High School Matriculation
4.1 APPLICATIONS PER STUDENT
16 , 038 FOOT BUMPS
39 , 609 MORNING TEMPERATURE SCREENINGS
ZERO CONFIRMED POSITIVE TEST RESULTS (1660 Covid Tests administered)
42 ZOOM CHAPELS
$ 1 , 225 TRIVIA PRIZE MONEY AWARDED TO CHARITY
8 CSB TRIVIA NIGHTS 75 families in attendance via Zoom
92% OF FAMILIES ATTENDED ZOOM TOWN HALL
MESSAGE from the Head of School
DEAR CATHEDRAL SCHOOL COMMUNITY: Time travel is a fairly common cinematic motif, and I was recently reminded of how often such travel places the protagonist in an academic setting. (Children of the ’80s may recall this phenomenon in Back to the Future !) The somewhat unsettling reality of these scenes,
however, is that the classrooms depicted all look the same, regardless of the epoch, regardless of era. Invariably, each classroom is arranged in the rather industrial configuration of individual desks in rows. Cinematic technology has evolved. Our appreciation of the classroom experience has not. We now occupy a phase in educational history when the way we teach and the settings in which we teach must evolve in order to prepare students for a more modern and complex world. Classrooms and schools need to look and feel more like the world in which we live if we are going to prepare our students for that world. The recent renovation and campus addition project at Cathedral School for Boys is designed to do just that. Driven largely by input from teachers and emerging instructional methodology, our new classrooms look and feel much different than their predecessors. The classrooms are larger, and the furniture is mobile, an arrangement that gives teachers much more instructional flexibility than they had previously. This configuration provides a more innovative and adaptable academic space. Each classroom opens into the new learning commons areas, which teachers will use to augment and enhance the arrangement in the classroom. Of course, the modernization of our curriculum not only includes how we teach. It also includes what we teach. Recent additions of Engineering, Lower School Spanish, and Coding represent just a few examples of how Cathedral’s academic program is evolving to reflect our understanding of the education our boys need to be successful in the modern world.
With this backdrop in mind, we hope this edition of the Red&Gold gives you a glimpse into the type of modern and rigorous academic programming that we now offer. In addition, we hope that circumstances will allow you to visit us soon to witness Cathedral School in action.
Very truly yours,
Burns Jones Head of School
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RED & GOLD THE COMMUNITY MAGAZINE of CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS
RED&GOLD TEAM EDITOR Matt Thier ’00 COPY EDITORS Megan Pickett Wyman, Harrison Wilkes, Yvonne Blaxter PHOTOGRAPHY Matt Thier ’00 Nano Visser COVER PHOTO Matt Thier ’00 DESIGN: Jenna Del Vigna ON THE COVER: LEFT to RIGHT: Burns Jones, Kate Juergens, and Chad Harlow on Jones Street before our first day of in-person learning.
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OUR MISSION
IN THIS ISSUE
1 Message from the Head of School 3 Creatively Combating COVID 4 What’s Happening... 6 Common Grounding 10 On Beyond Classroom 14 Understanding Across Differences 16 CSB and the Seed of Science 17 Kindergarten Families Forging Bonds
20 Graduation 26 Alumni Week 27 Alumni Week Spotlight: David Forbes on CSB’s Early Days
To provide an excellent education for boys at the elementary level. To attract a diverse student body of strong academic potential.
31 Alumni News 35 In Memoriam 36 Moving In, Up, and On 44 Faculty News 45 Trivia Night
To provide a school committed to intellectual inquiry and rigor, centered in the Episcopal tradition, respectful of and welcoming to people of all religious traditions and beliefs. To develop social responsibility through exemplary programs of outreach and service. To create a community bonded by open-heartedness, hope, compassion, and concern.
Cathedral School for Boys, a department of Grace Cathedral, is accredited by the California Association of Independent Schools, and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools and the National Association of Episcopal Schools. As an institution with 501(c)(3) non-profit status, it relies on the generosity of individual and community support and an active Parents Association to fund its annual operating and capital needs. If you’d like to make a gift to the School or would like more information on how you can make a difference in the lives of the School and our boys, please contact Yvonne Blaxter, Director of Development at blaxter@cathedralschool.net. All gifts to the School are fully tax-deductible as allowed by law. CATHEDRAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS 1275 Sacramento Street, San Francisco, CA 94108 (415) 771-6600 www.cathedralschool.net
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Creatively Combating COVID With life at School looking different due to health guidelines and protocols, our students and teachers found creative ways to use our campus.
Upper School lunch took place on the Plaza and Cathedral steps.
Art classes made ample use of the garden off Sacramento Street.
Our classroom space expanded to fill the entire block! Whether it was on the sidewalk, on the terrace, or in the Plaza, there was almost no place our boys didn’t learn.
The Plaza became one of our recess spaces.
PE went on as usual, with an increased emphasis on individual skill work.
For performances, the Labyrinth took the place of Gresham Hall.
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WHAT’S HAPPENING
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SCHOOL EVENTS 2020–2021
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1. SEPTEMBER 2, 2020, First Day of (Virtual) Classes! While the first day of the school year looked very different this year, our students still were excited and ready for classes to begin! 2. OCTOBER 2020,, Students Return To Campus After receiving permission from the City to reopen our campus, we welcomed our students back over the course of the month. 3. OCTOBER 30, 2020, CSB Celebrates Halloween Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! The student body got in on the Halloween festivities, with boys (and teachers!) dressing up for the holiday. 4. NOVEMBER 11, 2020, CSB Celebrates Diwali The entire school celebrated the Hindu festival of lights, with students creating their own diyas and drawing rangoli on the Cathedral plaza. 5. NOVEMBER 13, 2020, First Responder Nelse Frankel Talks with the Lower School The week before Christmas break marked our first Spirit Week of the year, with days celebrating the Red and Gold teams, favorite hobbies, and the ever-popular pajama day! 7. FEBRUARY 12, 2021, Ringing In Chinese New Year Reverend Stanger helped us celebrate Chinese New Year with a festive greeting in the morning drop-off line. 8. FEBRUARY 24, 2021, Movie Night at Fort Mason Our Parents Association organized a sold-out movie night at Fort Mason, where the School community gathered to watch How to Train Your Dragon . 9. MAY 2021,, Spring Spirit Week 1st Grade mom and UCSF nurse Nelse Frankel Zoomed into the Lower School classrooms to talk and answer questions about her work on the front lines of the pandemic. 6. DECEMBER 14-18, 2020, Winter Spirit Week Our Spring Spirit Week was a big hit, as boys and teachers alike dressed up in their best pajamas, sports gear, and wacky clothing to celebrate the coming end of the school year! 10. JUNE 2, 2021, Pre-Demolition Wall Painting! We took advantage of the summer construction project to paint murals on the walls that were set to be demolished. 11. JUNE 3, 2021, Kindergarten Chapel By the last week of school, health regulations allowed us to use the Cathedral for gatherings, giving our Kindergarteners their first taste of an in-person Chapel. 12. JUNE 4, 2021, 4th Grade Graduation Our 4th graders celebrated the end of their Lower School experience with a special ceremony inside Grace Cathedral. 13. JUNE 7, 2021, 8th Grade Shirt Signing Marking the last day of wearing uniforms, the 8th graders signed each other’s blue shirts. 14. JUNE 7, 2021, 8th Grade-Faculty Basketball Game Later that day, the 8th graders played the faculty on the roof in the annual basketball game, which was live-streamed to the entire school community.
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COMMON GROUNDING THE IMPACT OF A CATHEDRAL EDUCATION ON ALUMNI TEACHERS IN THEIR OWN CLASSROOMS AND STUDENTS’ LIVES
BY MEGAN PICKETT WYMAN (Thorne ’23)
Early teaching days for Peter Getz
Ross Dillon engaging young imaginations
Whether academic stars or struggling students, many of us can remember vividly that one teacher who made all the difference. For CSB alums who found their career path leading them into a classroom, the life lessons instilled in them during their formative years at Cathedral School for Boys—and the teachers who profoundly influenced them—have had ripple effects in their own careers.
A world history teacher at Santa Catalina School in Monterey, California, Ross Dillon ’00 is the consummate life-long student, having traveled the world, taught in myriad schools from New England to Singapore after graduating from Bennington College with a combined BA/ Masters degree in teaching, and read both Western and Eastern classics to better inform his students and bring the humanity of history to life. “It makes me a better history teacher,” he says of his global outlook. “It’s nice when I can incorporate my experiences in the classroom and share stories of travel.”
Ross packs his lesson plans with primary sources and hands-on activities (for example, making stone tools while studying the Stone Age or building structures when studying ancient archi- tecture) so that his students can experience the livelihood of another culture in another era. “I think there is an intrinsic interest in how people live and live differently, how the world ended up this way rather accidentally,” he says of his middle school students. “I get the most reward out of teaching world history because it requires students to step outside of themselves. It’s the best venue for developing empathy and
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understanding. Students are trying to make meaning, and history helps them do that.” Such passion for inspiring curiosity was exactly what Ross experienced as a CSB student in the 1990s. In fact, Ross plays a James Burke video series, “Connections” (1979) for his students every year, material that former CSB history teacher Mr. Korn used to play when Ross was a student. “He very accidentally got me interested in history,” Ross recalls. “I was blown away by the video: It traced the history of Mesopotamia through a series of inventions and accidents that led up to the invention of atomic weaponry. That lodged in the back of my brain.” Ironically, English was his favorite class at the time, and teacher Anne Roberts was one of a handful of faculty members who had a tremendous impact on Ross. “She was one of those people who would ask the question and not be afraid of the silence, which is something I’ve now incorporated into my own teaching,” he says. “It’s one of those things which seems obvious, but there are teachers who leave no hang time between questions. If you wait, it gives kids time to process.” Beyond academics, Ross serves as an advisor to students at Santa Catalina, a role he appreciates for the insight it allows him into his students’ lives. A self-described “C-average” student, Ross faced challenges as a young boy, but was profoundly impacted by CSB teacher Robert Kerman. “He was that person I could always look to; I felt like he was looking out for me. That made a huge difference,” he says. “Throughout my career, I’ve tried to identify those students who need someone to watch out for them. Being someone who listens, gives advice when needed, there’s something powerful when a student says, ‘you’re kind of the father I didn’t have’. That’s the whole part of teaching: You’re not just getting them to understand content or skills. You are a huge part of their development as a kid, from their moral compass to everything else.” For some CSB alums who went into teaching, like Peter Getz who attended Cathedral from 1957 to 1959, the path and plan were not quite as clear as Ross’s. A series of academic struggles that included flunking out of one of Texas’s preem- inent pre-med schools landed him a job as a teacher’s aide at his father’s parish church, St. Luke’s Episcopal, where Peter assisted six kindergarten classes—not exactly a career move on his radar. Although the paychecks were lean and he moved on to subsequent jobs in retail management, Peter eventually completed his degree at Incarnate Word College in San Antonio, Texas. “I took to teaching like a duck to water,” he recalls, making the Dean’s List and completing his courses in half the time required for the degree and teaching certifi- cation before he was hired to teach third grade at St. Luke’s, the same Episcopal school where he had first gotten the bug to teach. During that year, Reverend Christopher Jones, the school’s headmaster, who would later influence and inspire
TEACHING INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM: Peter Getz’s career has spanned decades
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Peter to continue teaching, became ill. The responsibility to lead chapel services fell to a young Peter. “I always anticipated religion class with Canon David Forbes,” Peter recalls of his early memories at CSB. “He was a calm and peaceful presence that I wanted to emulate.” And emulate he did, following the completion of his Masters at Trinity University’s School of Education where earned his M.Ed and was named a Master Scholar. Peter often cited books of Old Testament and New Testament stories that he kept in his library decades after he left CSB whenever he taught religion to students at both Advent Episcopal and Holy Comforter Episcopal schools where he was headmaster. “As Headmaster, I felt I should follow David’s example and be the one to teach those classes.” Along with David Forbes, the patient teaching styles of choral master Richard Purvis and former teachers TK Dyer and Paul Pierson resonated with Peter as a young student that he later applied to his own teaching philosophy: “When possible, reduce restrictions and let students be individuals; encourage students to delve into their passions; and create an environment where students respect one another,” he says. “I was diagnosed with ADD in my late sixties; during my time at CSB I struggled to memorize things,” he recalls. “When we were working on multiplication tables I could not remember 7x8 when I was sent to the chalkboard to show my work. I wrote 7 x 7 = 49 + 7 = 56. I thought Mrs. Dyer would die. But she survived and so did I. Mr. Pierson also gave us great freedom when we got our work done. Several of the boys were into writing scripts and putting on skits. We were allowed to make a rudimentary set and performed a skit for the whole school in the crypt. We were encouraged to be creative.”
Ross Dillon’s world travels (top) inform his lessons in the classroom (bottom).
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Will’s time at CSB helped lead to his current career in the classroom.
Such care for the students and allowance of individual expression stayed with Peter through his own career. “As a classroom teacher, I attended soccer games when my students invited me,” he recalls. “I kept one boy from being expelled when I caught him breaking a rule. I advised another to quit school, take the GED, and go to college before he got expelled. We were not created to be cookie-cutter copies of each other even though we have to struggle under a common set of rules.” Individual expression among the students continues to be central to Cathedral’s ethos. Alum William (Will) C rawford ’0 3 has drawn on this philosophy in his own classrooms, first teaching English in China before enrolling in the Bay Area Teacher Training Institute (BATTI) to complete his Masters and California teaching credential while working at Chinese American International School, and more recently as a middle school math teacher at San Francisco Day School. “It is endlessly fascinating what motivates people to learn a subject and what activities help the knowledge stick,” Will says. At Cathedral “classrooms were established as safe places to share ideas, make mistakes, and explore different aspects of yourself. We were encouraged to learn from each other and our personal and ancestral experience.” In particular, Will fondly recalls specific teachers and lessons that prepared him for high school and as a teacher in his own
right. “My favorite teachers were those who I could tell were having fun while teaching. I remember sharing free writes and writing poetry with Ms. Roberts, measuring the angles of hills with Mr. Fox, a U.S. immigration project with Mr. Mundy, the energy and laughter of Ms. Hilbrich Sheppard, and maintaining positive energy with Mr. Glass,” he reflects. “I left Cathedral interested in many subjects and felt excited about the oppor- tunities that come from learning. [As a teacher] I make sure that I enjoy and am interested in what we are doing before subjecting the kids to it.” Much like his fellow alums Ross and Peter, Will has adopted Cathedral’s practice of expanded learning beyond the confines of a textbook or curriculum plan. “Cathedral puts an emphasis on applying knowledge through projects and creative applica- tions,” he explains. “I entered high school feeling that we were not learning the subjects for the sake of learning them, but that there was greater meaning to what we were studying and joy in the learning process itself. “I feel fortunate to have had an education that encouraged deep thinking and the inherent joy of working through challenging problems,” Will continues. “Teaching to me is a celebration of learning. It is challenging, rewarding, inspiring, and fulfilling. I wake up excited to go to work and sleep well at the end of the day.”
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Mr. V playing guitar with his daughter Maddie.
ON BEYOND CLASSROOM FORBES MASTER TEACHER CHAIR MICHAEL VIETMEIER’S CIRCUITOUS JOURNEY TO TEACHING BY MEGAN PICKETT WYMAN (Thorne ’23) Last summer, following three exhausting months of surreal socially-distanced learning, the doldrums of stay-at-home banality were just settling in when my rising sixth grader received a surprise invitation to catch up over Zoom with the incomparable Mr. Vietmeier.
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Michael’s journey has been a circuitous one, punctuated along the way with signs from the universe that he was meant to teach. Born in Texas to conser- vative parents, Michael moved to Lodi, California at the age of 8 after the family lived in Japan and Portland, Oregon. His father nurtured a passion for music, frequently taking him to jazz concerts and the symphony; even the family’s record collection was kept in Michael’s bedroom. But by the time he got to high school, Michael had no clear direction for his future. “I literally had no idea what I wanted to do,” he reflects. “I went to the local junior college and barely went to classes. I was so disinterested in school, I ended up dropping out after a year. It was not for me, but I didn’t know what was for me.” What followed could be anthem lyrics: He quit his job, sold his car, stuffed his belongings into a backpack and hitch- hiked up and down the West Coast following the Grateful Dead, much to the chagrin of his parents. Somewhere along the jagged coastline of Fort Bragg, Michael had an “a-ha” moment: “I realized I was responsible for this freedom I now had, but with that respon- sibility are consequences for what you do,” he says. “At that moment, I came to peace with myself.” Living on his own by 19, Michael supported himself with all manner of jobs, from construction and retail to working in the Del Monte cannery and sorting recycling as a sanitation company “Yard Rat”, teaching himself guitar in his downtime. But it was an unsustainable existence, and with renewed desire Michael decided to return to school, trusting the universe to guide him once again. “I did a strange thing,” he recalls. “I went down to the local public library, closed my eyes and ran a finger over the junior college catalogue.” His finger landed on College of the Siskiyous in Weed, California where he spent a year before deciding to return to
THIS WAS NO ACADEMIC LESSON OR GALA COUNT-ME-IN, but rather a personal check-in that quickly evolved from technical banter about bass guitars to a short history of rock bands and a little homework: a “must-listen” playlist that would later serve as the soundtrack to our morning carpool sprint up California Avenue when on-campus learning resumed. Thanks to “Mr. V” (as he is widely and affectionately known), my son cultivated an appreciation for classic bands, from the Pixies to the Ramones, and my son’s smile said it all: he had a connection with his teacher that extended far beyond the classroom. This should come as no surprise to anyone who has been taught or coached by Mr. V. Relationship-building and deep connectivity have always fueled Michael, both during his tenure at Cathedral, and long before there was a spark of inspi- ration to teach. “I love teaching these boys, it is such a blessing,” he says. “The amount of joy they have given me is overwhelming.” Michael’s profound love and care for the boys and his colleagues is just one part of why he was awarded Cathedral’s first-ever Forbes Master Teacher Chair in June 2020. Established by a group of alumni, the Chair is designed to recognize Cathedral’s outstanding teachers. Staff, alumni, and current parents nominate teachers who demon- strate excellence in teaching, an abiding commitment to the students, are widely respected within the School, express an ongoing commitment to profes- sional growth, and “model the highest standards in every respect,” as noted in the School’s Statement of Philosophy. For Michael, this honor was nothing short of humbling. “I was not a born educator, so to have all the struggles happen in my life and receive this honor was incredible,” he says. “It was never something I looked for; it’s not why you teach.”
Lodi to attend Delta Junior College. He resumed work at the cannery, earning enough money to transfer to Chico State. There he turned to German, a language he had studied since middle school, still unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. Only during his final weeks before graduating did the “a-ha” moment strike again, when Michael had to prepare and present a final project; a short lecture (about the history of soccer, of course) in German for local high schoolers. “I LOVED it like I hadn’t loved something before,” he says. “Teaching kids, answering questions, engaging in discus- sions, something clicked. I thought, ’This is it, I know what I want to do!’” Despite a dearth of German teaching positions in California, Michael perse- vered, sitting for a demanding test to be credentialed, which he failed by a single point. “I was devastated,” he says. “I thought I had finally figured out what I want to do and by one point, I failed it.” Failing that test turned out to be one of the greatest things to happen to him. “You fall down seven times, and stand up eight, and I had hit rock bottom,” he says. At the suggestion of a friend, Michael started substitute teaching in the public school system outside of Chico. With no training and little guidance, Michael jumped into the deep end, first in special ed, then 2nd grade, and later 6th grade. “The learning curve was straight up, and the universe gave me the nudge of encouragement to keep going.”
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“TEACHING KIDS, ANSWERING QUESTIONS, ENGAGING IN DISCUSSIONS, SOMETHING CLICKED. I THOUGHT, ‘THIS IS IT, I KNOW WHAT I WANT TO DO!’”
After scouting Chico for teaching positions, Michael and his then-wife moved to the Bay Area where he built his resume substitute-teaching and learning on the job in schools from Los Gatos to San Jose, Saratoga to Sacramento. Each opportunity only reinforced what the universe was telling him, and he enrolled at SFSU to earn his teaching creden- tials. He landed a job at Garfield Charter School in Redwood City, and such was his dedication, he spent those early years mining public libraries to cull discarded books for his classroom library and calling companies like Oracle for pen and paper donations to stock his classroom. While living in Redwood City, the seeds of his future connection to Cathedral germinated when he befriended a neighbor whose wife was the sister
of former CSB headmaster Michael Ferreboeuf. Cathedral was hiring, and while Michael knew nothing about private schools in the city—let alone anything about the Cathedral School for Boys—he took a chance, interviewed, and was hired the next day to teach 5th grade. “Looking back, all those jobs—from working in the garbage yard to waiting tables to hustling for whatever—made me a better teacher,” he reflects. “They helped me with my perspective of life, and how to connect with different people.” The learning continues: As part of the honor of the Chair, Michael received a one-time stipend to his salary, which he used to purchase a scooter to get himself to school, and a professional development stipend. But with no oppor- tunities to be had during the pandemic,
Michael plans to attend the Wildwood Diversity Workshops next summer in Los Angeles. “I’m always looking for ways to find those lenses and perspectives that I do not see, ways to incorporate that into the curriculum and engage kids,” he says. “I reinvent my curriculum every year, so I hope to keep making it richer.” continues to grow. “I can’t express my gratitude to the School for what they’ve done for me as a person and a profes- sional,” he says. “The support, kindness, love, caring, and growth they’ve provided, there are no words to adequately express how grateful I am for ending up in this place.” As he prepares for his 18th year at Cathedral, Michael’s passion for connection and relationships only
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MASTER TEACHER AWARD Presented to Sean Breen During this year’s graduation celebration, the Forbes Master Teacher Chair was awarded to Cathedral’s music and performing arts teacher, Sean Breen. Below are the remarks that Head of School Jones gave while presenting the award:
additional funding for professional devel- opment. Following in the footsteps of last year’s recipient, Michael Vietmeier, it was clear that this year’s recipient would have very big shoes to fill. And yet, everyone at Cathedral School for Boys recognizes true artistry at work when they see it. This year’s recipient is usually the first to arrive on campus in the morning and often the last to leave. And while it would be easy for a teacher of this caliber and sophistication to rely upon experience, this year’s recipient possesses an innate and enviable tendency to ask of himself how he can improve in service to the boys of Cathedral School. Our recipient’s professionalism, sacrifice, and leadership were never better displayed than in this year. After decades of teaching music, and along the way writing virtually every
school performance conducted at the school over the last 30 years, he eagerly volunteered to teach math when student cohorting responsibilities required us to find a new teacher, and he spent much of last summer preparing for this assignment. And in typical fashion, this teacher was innovative, research-based, thorough, and effective in his approach. Boys, chances are that at some point, you will find yourself walking down the street or strolling in the park and a catchy tune, though one that you might not quite place, comes to mind, and you begin to whistle or break out into song. And when this happens, remember Sean Breen, and all that he has done for you. I can’t think of a finer recipient for the Forbes Master Teacher Chair than Sean Breen.
THE FORBES MASTER TEACHER CHAIR was established at Cathedral School for Boys by our alumni as a way of recognizing our outstanding faculty and honoring our founding Headmaster. More specifically, the Forbes Chair is designed to recognize those teachers who demonstrate excellence in teaching, display an abiding commitment to the School’s students, express an ongoing commitment to personal and profes- sional growth, and are recognized within our community for, in the words of our Statement of Philosophy, “modeling the highest standards in every respect.” There are multiple nominees sent to the school each year by our community, and those nominees are taken to a committee which selects the award winner. The recipient receives a generous stipend and
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UNDERSTANDING ACROSS DIFFERENCES Climate change, Standing Rock, and the gender pay gap. These are just some of the topics discussed in CSB’s inaugural Social Justice class which explores both historic and present- day social struggles. With recent incidents such as the George Floyd case and violence toward Pacific Island-Asian Americans fresh in everyone’s mind, the class offered a timely opportunity for students to make sense of the weighty and often emotionally charged topics surrounding them. BY GARRICK RAMIREZ (Felix ’23)
“What’s so beautiful about kids is their ability to develop empathy across differences,” notes Aaron Mullen, Cathedral’s Director of Inclusion and Student Life who is leading the course. How does he define social justice? “It depends on the day,” Mullen says half-jokingly, before adding, “Basically, it’s the notion that people are treated with fairness.” The idea for the class grew out of a lunchtime gathering that Mullen helped facilitate over the past nine years. Dubbed “Perspectives,” the drop-in, roundtable gathering offered
When considering topics such as identity, Mullen says that kids have questions but need a framework and skills to engage in civil discourse. “There’s a fear of saying the wrong thing that can hinder the ultimate goal of deepening one’s understanding. We’re here to develop compassion, not consensus,” he says. The course’s framework was inspired by the Freedom School Curriculum that was first developed within the schools that sprouted up during the 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi.
In addition to academic skills, the curriculum includes tenets such as students must know their history, curriculum should be linked to student experience, a school should be an agent of social change, and questions should be open-ended. “It was more like a conversation than a class,” says Lucian Tann, a eighth-
“WHAT’S SO BEAUTIFUL ABOUT KIDS IS THEIR ABILITY TO DEVELOP EMPATHY ACROSS DIFFERENCES...”
students a chance to voice whatever was on their minds, from homework to world events. To foster a free and open discussion, the staff facilitators ensured that the usual student- teacher power dynamics were
checked at the door. “The power of kids’ experiences is best expressed outside of the top-down approach of a traditional classroom structure,” explains Mullen. Classmates agree. “It’s a very tight community, and we feel very comfortable talking with our teachers and each other,” says Adriel Jair Oyagata Cushcagua, one of the participants in the Social Justice class. “It’s important to have a place to express yourself.”
grade student who appreciated the lively discussions among his classmates. He and his fellow students learned about numerous social movements including the Chicano farm labor struggle, protests against police brutality, and the Me Too movement. The boys also explored the concept of intersectionality, and how, for example, an immigrant woman of color might have a different set of experiences than a US-born man of color. And, when studying events such as the Japanese internment
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camps of World War II, students discovered how discrimination impacts groups of people and not just individuals. “We talked about current and past events,” says Adriel. “Past events are especially important to see the roots of current problems.” One of the class’ culminating activities was to address a contemporary social challenge. After analyzing the current reality, the boys were asked to envision their desired reality and identify the gaps between the two. Finally, they were asked
ones developing our boys,” says Mullen. Accompanying the written profiles will be photographs taken by board member M ichele B ell. The hope is that these photographic profiles will hang within the school’s entrance, greeting students and visitors. “The soul of the School is the people, and we’ll show that through powerful visuals,” says Mullen. How does Mullen measure the class’ success? “My hope is that the boys can discover a profound level of perspective-taking,”
to consider how they might be involved in helping close those gaps. Mullen says that the level of discourse and student work sometimes surprised him. “I had no idea how capable they could be,” he says. “The boys were so thoughtful and articulate, you would think this was a graduate level course.”
he says. “Instead of either/or or right and wrong, I want the boys to envision a ‘yes, and’ approach,” Mullen explains. “We’re not here to change values or how you feel. That’s not the CSB model. Instead, we’re here to add to your existing outlook.” “We just want to be more mindful of the people around us,” offers
“IT’S A VERY TIGHT COMMUNITY, AND WE FEEL VERY COMFORTABLE TALKING WITH OUR TEACHERS AND EACH OTHER”
Students are also developing an ambitious project inspired by Humans of New York. Borrowing a page from the hugely popular photo-blog that profiled the lives of regular New Yorkers, students will highlight CSB staff members. “We wanted to bring dimension to all of our surrounding community members, and it made sense to start with the faculty, the
Lucian. “During class, I didn’t always agree with my peers, but their experiences are different than mine, and understanding that is incredibly important.” Looking toward the future, Adriel shares, “I feel hopeful because there’s always a solution to every problem. We’re all in it together.”
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CSB AND THE SEED OF SCIENCE BY CHARLES POST ’02
science found me, and Ms. Ryan and Ms. Murphy made it exciting and fun. I learned about Mendel’s peas and punnett squares, the water cycle and wonders of physiology while reading Into Thin Air . I learned about trees and conservation, and why Julia Butterfly was so adamant about saving the redwoods under threat from “progress” at any cost. Those lessons and experiences planted a seed that would shape my life in fantastic ways. Settled and at home at CSB, and with my curiosity piqued, 8th grade came in the blink of an eye. For my final semester, I embarked on an elective semester, one shaped by the theme of environmental studies. We learned about coastal plants and animals, why exotic species like ice plant should be replaced with native species, and had a small hand in the early days of restoration at Crissy Field. I’ll never forget helping plant a coastal lupine near the base of a giant cypress tree on the south edge of the would-be tidal lagoon. I often return to
that site when I visit home as a bit of a pilgrimage to where it all started, the very place and plant that marked the first day of a lifetime spent interacting with and studying the natural world. After earning a Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s degree in Ecology from U.C. Berkeley, being recognized as a National Fellow at the Explorers Club, partici- pating in research projects across North America spanning groups from frogs and insects to fishes and trees, I look back on my time at CSB with joy and the deepest gratitude for everyone who offered a hand and word of encouragement. My love for science, fascination with the natural world, and acute appreciation for the bonds of community, both human and ecological, would not be what they are today without CSB. And in honor of CSB, I proudly wore my 8th grade tie on my wedding day. It now sits in my closet ready and waiting for the next jacket and button-up-worthy gathering.
THERE’S NO WAY OF KNOWING WHEN YOUR LIFE WILL CHANGE FOREVER, when a particular experience will catch your gaze and pull you down a path you never knew existed, one with the potential to set your tack to a new wind and fill your sails. When I look back on my 32 years of life, there’s a clear delineation between life before and after CSB. As a 5th grade transfer student with a passion for nature and not a single friend or acquaintance in my class, I found myself welcomed with an embrace and enthusiasm I’ll never forget. I was surrounded by wonderful, kind, passionate humans from a diversity of backgrounds and cultures. Mr. Tacke, Mr. Mundy, Ms. Floyd, and Mr. Fox, Mr. Ferrebouef, Ms. Roberts and Mr. Breen, and Father Sawyer, Ms. O’Connor and Ms. Hilbrich, Mr. Korn and so many others made me feel immediately part of something special. Supported on all sides, my curiosity was allowed to bloom and lead the way. Soon,
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KINDERGARTEN FAMILIES FORGING
BONDS BY DON SUNG (Jackson ’23, Gavin ’29)
Hope was but a timid friend; She sat without the grated den EMILY BRONTË
I think that was one of the funny things, only ever seeing someone on Zoom and then trying to figure out who they were in real life behind a mask,” says Louise Carroll Conner. “I erred on the side of caution and introduced myself over and over again.” Julian Chang joked that “if and when we didn’t have to wear masks, we might not recognize each other!” Julian also noted that hiking in the wilderness of Marin was a popular activity for parents and boys to bond. “It was a joy to see our sons discover sticks, gophers, egrets, hawks, and other natural wonders. They had no problem running four miles along the trails. At the end of the hike, with the setting sun bathing the children with golden light, we realized that what they—and we—really discovered was the treasure of friendship.”
IN EARLY JUNE 2020, AT THE HEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC UNCERTAINTY AND SOMBER NATIONAL MOOD, Tara Boland and the class liaisons for the incoming Kindergarten class hosted the first parent event on Zoom. It was an ice-breaker game called “Two Truths & One Lie” which served to bond the parents together, due to everyone’s evident honesty and commitment. In retrospect, that evening set the tone for the CSB Kindergarten class for the rest of the year—finding creative ways to forge a communal bond while allowing the boys to grow together unaffected by the fog of anxiety. Early on, several committed parents organized twice-weekly soccer practices (compliant with health ordinances) that gave the parents their first non-virtual opportunity to meet in person. “I had some idea how to identify parents wearing masks.
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“THE TIGHT BONDS WE AS PARENTS CREATED DURING SOCCER PRACTICES, PARK PLAYDATES, BIRTHDAY PARTIES, AND BEACH DAYS CONTINUED INTO THOSE WEEKS AWAY FROM SCHOOL TO BRING JOY TO OUR BOYS’ DAYS.”
Jared Narvid, who organized some of the earliest outdoor meet-ups, says, “a major theme has been finding old and new ways of being outside.” Jar ed organized bike races and outdoor Halloween and birthday events, and even found ways for boys to “help” wash his car (no word on whether they were compen- sated). John-Austin Saviano ’88 summarized what many felt throughout the year: “We’ve been in awe of and incredibly grateful for the efforts of so many of the fellow parents who have led on soccer and other activities for the boys.” For some, social gaming such as Roblox and Minecraft provided an additional avenue for the boys to socialize—playing collab- oratively while talking to each other on FaceTime: “They were just chatting away, pretty happy about the situation. Even if our role was little more than setting up the FaceTime call, the image came to mind of parents and kids sort of stumbling our
way through to something that I’d chalk up as a Covid success,” says Kyle Forster. The Class of 2029 was certainly on a “try-hard mode” (video gaming term, according to my son) when it came to in-person birthday celebrations as things began to open up. In April 2021, Bodhi Shah ’29 celebrated his birthday with the entire class at a park. Bodhi’s parents and grandmother were busy serving exquisitely prepared (individually wrapped) corn dogs, falafel and chicken shawarma sandwiches, making everyone feel as though things may be getting back to normal—even as we were ready to disperse in case we unwittingly exceeded some unknown quota for outdoor gathering. The class came together again for the birthday celebration of Joshua Burns ’29 on a rainy day, and Louise Conner noted that “I was really very impressed that everyone rallied for that birthday and stayed
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even in all the rain! I think it was a sign that we were really ready to go above and beyond as a group to still be together and support each other’s boys.” In June 2021, exactly one year after the first Zoom ice-breaker, the entire class met at the family winery of Michelle and Michael Hanna ’94 to celebrate the birthdays of three boys in the class together. In the beautiful Napa sun, many parents commented on how close they felt to each other. Someone commented that it felt like a beautiful ending— certainly not for all our uncertainties but for an amazing year for the boys that no one could have envisioned a year before. Very early on in the school year, parents created a WhatsApp text group to communicate, leading to numerous spontaneous playdates and parent meet-ups. Laurie Burns notes, “lunch breaks and SeeSaw sessions were met with a flurry on the parent text chain finding the closest parks for the kids to climb trees and share jokes with each other . T he tight bonds we as parents created during soccer practices, park playdates, birthday parties, and beach days continued into those weeks away from school to bring joy to our boys’ days.”
Re-reading these archived WhatsApp messages today, I was struck by the timeline of all the things that happened in one short year (remember “AQI”?). But mostly, I was moved by the discrete stages of the collective emotional journey we took together. Uncertainty coalesces to a feeling of cautious optimism and growing hope—there is a progression of photos, recipes, jokes, and discussions about school and summer camps—trending asymptotically toward normalcy. And a lot of emojis. On December 31, 2020, Jared, a doctor, posted a picture of himself receiving the vaccine with a big smile and thumbs-up. Among the many responses, the laughing/crying emoji felt especially resonant and poignant. Maybe these messages will someday be rediscovered by the boys in the class in the digital warehouse as a kind of time capsule and a cache of mini love letters from their parents from the pandemic year. A sense of commitment, optimism and gratitude pervades, along with vulnerability, resilience and creativity. And that, hopefully, will be the lasting legacy of this extraordinary year.
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GRADUATION
CLASS of 2021
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COMMENCEMENT: JUNE 10, 2021 As the graduating class looks toward the future, here are some words of wisdom that were shared with the entire school community.
TRUMAN NOONEY, Class of 2021
Members of the CSB faculty, staff and student body, families, friends, and class- mates. My name is Truman Nooney, and I am a proud member of the CSB Class of 2021. It is such an honor to address you today. Every year, as we gather together in Grace Cathedral to send another group of boys off to high school, you hear from a graduating 8th grader. Most of them talk about how CSB has prepared them well for high school and beyond, and in the case of our class that is certainly true. CSB is a school that has given us so much more than learning to read and write. We may not have always appreciated it, but those Lower School chapels, religion class, learning how to tie a tie, and all those other things that we thought were annoying at the time, taught us valuable skills that will come in handy later in life. A major reason that we are so well- prepared is the absolutely amazing teachers we have had throughout our years at CSB. It all started with M rs. Juer gens in Kindergarten, using songs, cooking, and pretty much anything else that seemed like fun to teach us to read, write, and do basic math. Even in later years, we didn’t just get boring worksheets and lectures. Creating our own civilization in 6th grade history, learning math through fantasy basketball, explaining the science behind Iron Man in science this year. Our teachers really made learning fun. I know that we will thrive in high school because of how well our teachers taught us. So on behalf of all of my classmates, thank you to every teacher who has helped us along the way.
And when it comes to thanks, I want to be sure to include our families. In our early years, we had all the usual reasons to say thanks. They often drove us to and from school, to sports practices, to those early-morning choir rehearsals, and they dutifully came and watched every perfor- mance from Peter Rabbit to the Odyssey . But when they signed up for parenting, I don’t think any of them could have predicted we would be spending the end of our 7th grade year and the beginning of 8th at home. I’m sure it tested their patience having to deal with us all day, not to mention that feeding us is quite a task. But more about the pandemic later. For now I want to say thank you to our families for the incredible support they have shown us throughout the years. But as grateful as we all are for the adults around us, what I would really like to talk about today is what makes our class special. Each class has its own person- ality and stories, and when it comes to our class, I think our defining trait is our spirit. From our earliest days at CSB, we seemed to have a fire inside. It showed up as early as kindergarten. That entire year,
we would divide ourselves into the red and gold teams and try to outperform each other. It all culminated in field day, when the red team pushed through and emerged victorious. But the gold team didn’t despair. They came back stronger the next year and won. I think that really shows the essence of our class. We don’t take no for an answer. We keep going until we succeed. That same spirit showed up in the fifth grade basketball B team, which I was on. We lost the very first game of the season to our rivals, Stuart Hall. But we didn’t let that discourage us. Instead, we worked hard to improve, and at the end of the season we beat Stuart Hall in the finals and won the league. For those of you who were on the A team that year, winning is when you end the game with a higher score than the opposing team. But seriously, that game was just one example of the many times that the Class of ’21 spirit shone through. Throughout the years our class kept burning bright, and when we got new classmates in Upper School, they made us even better. We embraced them in every way...they joined choir, our sports
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teams and became our good friends, and we even elected one of the newer students as our student body president. That’s the kind of school CSB is, and that’s the kind of class that we have. We have a fierce spirit, but we are kind and welcoming too. Now, to address the elephant in the room: COVID 19. Our class had faced some hardships before —like when Chef Judge changed the recipe for the mac-n- cheese—but nothing like the pandemic. Unfortunately, the pandemic made it so that we missed out on some CSB tradi- tions. Of course we were disappointed not to go on our language trips and our final Outdoor Ed. Those were tradi- tions that classes before us treasured,
and we were really looking forward to that bonding time. But even though we missed some amazing opportunities, our class was never bitter, and we managed to find ways to bond even with all the separation caused by COVID. We could have used COVID as an excuse to stop trying. We could have blamed the pandemic and checked out for the entire second semester, but we did not. We persevered, and continued to give our full effort for the entirety of the year. We didn’t let the pandemic push us down or define us; instead we pushed through. We also kept our competitive spirit. Whether it was competing for different bands in P.E. class, or playing a game of capture the flag between our two classes, we kept trying. I believe that if we are
remembered for one thing it will be our hard work and perseverance. Now, for the fun part. Since you chose me to give this speech today, I get to act older and wiser than I really am and end with some advice to all of you. As you go throughout high school and the rest of your life, keep that spirit that we have all found in this class. You will face struggles; you won’t always get what you want; and sometimes you’ll fail, but don’t give up. Remember your CSB class, and how we stayed strong together even through COVID. Thank you to my fellow classmates and to CSB. I’ll miss you all, but I’m sure we’ll all go on to do great things in high school and in life. Thank you.
JOSHUA MERRITT, Assistant Athletic Director
Good morning, Beautiful People! For those of you who I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting yet, my name is Joshua Merritt, or as the 8th grade squad calls me, Coach Merritt or, as most of you heard on Monday, “D3 Athlete.” Before I begin, I’d like to say thank you to the 8th graders for selecting me to deliver their 8th grade commencement speech. Believe me when I say I know you have a number of amazing educators you could have selected, so I am truly honored to be standing here preparing to impart some words of wisdom upon you. Now, in typical coach fashion—because let’s face it, what coach doesn’t like giving a speech?—I will do my best to make sure you don’t regret selecting me when this is over. First, I’d like to start by saying, “we made it!” Or, to quote the great DaBaby, “Let’s gooooooo!” But seriously, just let that sink in for a second. We made it. It wasn’t always pretty and it for sure wasn’t always fun, but we made it. And not only did we make it, we crushed it this year! And for those of you who might be wondering about what I’m referring to exactly, let me quickly walk you through the year. We started with distance learning, which was great. The 8th graders showed up strong! We were able to engage in stimu- lating conversations around race and gender, with one of our
most rich discussions centering around the topic of manhood. We also began exploring a variety of ways to move and what it means to be a healthy adult, starting with ensuring that we take care of our mental health first. Now, don’t get me wrong, we had our hiccups, like the random moment when someone forgot they were unmuted and blurted out, “I need your love!” Or the moment when I started explaining the directions to an activity only to finish and hear... “Coach, you were frozen, do you mind repeating what you said?” All that aside, the year started off extremely well. Then came the return to campus. I don’t know if you can tell, but I just rolled my eyes, and I don’t roll my eyes very often. But let me explain why this eye roll is necessary. The return was met with full on 8th grade “I demand my respect!” energy. I’m talking chants about how we shouldn’t be back, thoughts of petitions being signed to go back to distance learning and literally the first five to ten mins of every day
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