July/August 2009From the Head of School

Every June after our graduation I attend one or more annual conferences, sometimes held in odd and interesting places. This year the Country Day School Heads Association met on the campus of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, and two speakers there gave me food for thought, ideas and principles that I’d like to share. We heard from former Maine Governor Angus King and Joan Benoit Samuelson, the winner of the first Olympic marathon for women in 1984 (who, 25 years later on an open morning run, left every Olympic hopeful among us miles behind within 15 minutes).

As we have our 5 Cs, Samuelson has her 4 Ps: patience, persistence, passion, and perspiration. When she told us that each of us must ‘run our own race,’ I thought of my mantra to students, “define success in your own terms.” She believes whoever wants it the most (the 4 Ps at work) will win by her own definition of ‘win.’

Governor King, a born storyteller, is a distinguished historian and a favorite visiting professor at Bowdoin. After a spellbinding talk about Civil War hero John Chamberlain (a native of Maine), he shared advice from his Leaders and Leadership course. While he has more points/lessons than Castilleja and Samuelson combined, a total of ten, I can’t think of any that I would omit. Can you?

• Establish a vision, because, if you leave port without a destination, you will never get there.

• Build and test your team. Good people give you honest feedback. Surround yourself with smart people who have diverse views and who will differ with you.

• Be persistent. Every leadership role has challenges. Churchill said, “Success is going from failure to failure with enthusiasm.”

• Do your homework, because you cannot delegate thinking and preparation.

• Listen, connect with people, and ask questions. Don’t just accept what you have been told. Develop understanding and empathy.

• Bank trust. Earn trust by interacting because every minute you are either banking or withdrawing trust. Be consistent.

• Communicate confidence. Don’t spread uncertainty.

• Be clear, decisive, and optimistic. A “failure is not an option” attitude filters through an organization.

• Be flexible and creative. Being non-conventional--thinking differently--is a necessity.

• Be a person of character. Be comfortable with and internalize honesty, integrity, principles, honor, purpose, and dedication.

(continued on page 2)

Graduation and Promotion 2009

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Casti Kudos

Grace Chen ’11 was awarded a National Gold Medal in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards for her essay, “What I Am.” Scholastic received more than 140,000 manuscripts and artistic entries, and 1,000 people will receive recognition at the national level with a Gold or Silver Medal. She will receive her medal in a ceremony in New York City at Carnegie Hall. This year, Elie Weisel will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony. For more information visit: http://www.artandwriting.org.

Amy Klivans ’09 was awarded a $200,000, merit-based Army ROTC Scholarship to cover the cost of her college tuition, room, board and living expenses for four years. After college, Amy will either accept a commission to serve on Active Duty in the Army or serve on Reserve in the Army Reserve or the National Guard.

Mattie Wheeler ’09 was awarded a $2,500 National Merit Scholarship. She was one of approximately 2,000 winners nationwide, chosen from among 15,000 Finalists in the 2009 National Merit Scholarship program, based on academic record, standardized test scores, leadership activities, essays, and recommendations.

Two students were recognized for the paintings they submitted to the Palo Alto Women’s Club arts competition. Caitlin Moyles ’10 received the first place award and Mariel Freyre ’11 received an Honorable Mention. Caitlin’s painting went on to the State competition where it won an Honorable Mention.

The Castilleja Varsity Swim Team was the winner of the 2009 Spring Season Scholastic Championship Team Award in the girls swimming and diving category. The award, given by the Central Coast Section (CCS) of the California Interscholastic Federation, recognizes the varsity team from each sport with the highest collective grade point average.

Sixth Grade Math-letes rose to new heights in the 2009 worldwide Math Olympiad. With 3400 teams participating, our first team won the Highest Achievement Award, which is awarded

to the top 10% of teams worldwide. Right next to them was our second team, recognized with a Certificate of High Achievement, awarded to the next highest 10% of teams. In the individual categories, competing against 20,000 sixth graders, the following girls won top awards:

Top 2%: Audrey Flower

Top 10%: Abby Alter, Anneliese Gallagher, Karina Gunadi, Austin Jacobs, Kathleen Kenealy, Isabel Lapuerta, Izzy Lyseggen, Dani Mitchell, Nicki Mitchell, Alexandra Myers, Maya Nagaraj, and Alex Zafran.

Sixth grade math-letes pose in front of the Middle School

Kelly Lougheed ’09 was awarded the Marian McNamara Award from the California Classical Association-North to pursue the study of classical languages at the university level. This is the second consecutive year that a graduating Castilleja student has won this award.

Sonali Mehta ’11 was elected to the California Junior Classical League (CJCL) Board position of Historian for 2009-2010. This is the third consecutive year that a Castilleja student has been elected to the nine-member CJCL board which is comprised of students from schools throughout California.

Letter from Head (continued from page 1)

K�ing’s points are substantiated in Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset, The New Psychology of Success, the faculty’s summer reading. The Stanford professor’s premise is that there are two ways of approaching life, which she calls mindsets: a fixed mindset with which we assume our personal qualities of intelligence, personality, and character are set in stone within us, and a growth mindset with which we cultivate and develop basic and desired personal qualities.

Dweck asserts that praising children’s intelligence and talents per se harms their motivation and ultimately their performance

because it implies that they must be perfect. However, she says, praising their effort, persistence, strategies, and eventual accomplishments enhances their motivation, confidence, and performance. Why? Because it allows the possibility of falling short—failing—and then learning from that experience.

Dweck sums up the growth mindset with a saying from the 1960s: “Becoming is better than being.”

I find a consistent message and compelling motivation in Dweck’s two paths, Samuelson’s 4 Ps, Castilleja’s 5 Cs, and King’s 10 points for all of us —parents, educators, and students—as we start the school year.

2009 Class Day Award Winners

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Thirteen members of the senior class were inducted into Castilleja’s Cum Laude Society on May 14, in recognition of their academic achievement. Members of the faculty joined Joan Lonergan and Cissy Lewis to honor the girls at a luncheon. Cum Laude members from the Class of 2009 are: Hanna Burch, Adrienne Dreyfus, Amy Lanctot, Annie Leask, Arienne Malekmadani, Katie McGee, Evie Pless, Anna Powell, Laura Sisson, Xanthia Tucker, Rebecca Wang, Mattie Wheeler, and Janelle Wolak.

ASB Officers Fall 2009

Distinguished Teaching Awards: John Klopacz and Ryanne Saddler

Distinguished Staff Awards: Vince Dailey and Sherie Graysmark

Visual and Performing Arts Awards: Drama Award: Angie Moore ’09

Choral Music: Anna Powell ’09 and Parisa Zamanian ’09

Musical Theater: Julia Bard ’09

Visual Arts Award: Laura Sisson ’09 and Elke Teichmann ’09

Dance Award: Kennedy Flanders ’09

Elyce Melmon Creative Writing Award: Kelly Lougheed ‘09

Chinese Award: Audrey Loke ’09

English Award: Laura Sisson ’09 and Xanthia Tucker ’09

French Award: Arienne Malekmadani ’09

Spanish Award: Camila McHugh ’11 and Hanna Burch ’09

Latin Award: Kelly Lougheed ’09

History Award: Amy Klivans ’09 and Janelle Wolak ’09

Math Award: Ida Hempel ’10

Science Award: Amy Lanctot ’09

Women Learning Award: Sammy Rao ’10 and Ari Yulo ’10

Women Leading Award: Bridget Meaney ’10

Alice Lynn Armstrong-Winkel ’52 Middle School Athlete of the Year: Claire Klausner ’13

Cecilia Burchfeld Krogstad ’64 Upper School Athlete of the Year: Ericka von Kaeppler ’09

John H. Roberts III Memorial Sportsmanship Award: Laura Martinez ’09

Scholar Athlete of the Year: Adrienne Dreyfus ’09

Alumnae Association Leadership Award: Angie Moore ’09

Middle School Citizenship Awards: Sixth Grade: Kathleen Kenealy ’15

Seventh Grade: Julia Chang ’14 and Claudia Puga ’14

Eighth Grade: Eela Nagaraj ’13

Peggy Booth Award: Lindsey Wang ’12

Margarita Espinosa Award: Grace Chen ’11

Spirit of ’76 Award: Natalie Morin ’10

Middle School Community Service Award: Charlotte Biffar ’13

Frances Cook Arrillaga Upper School Community Service Award:Shelley Kind ’09

Salutatorian: Xanthia Tucker ’09

Valedictorian: Amy Lanctot ’09

Castilleja Award: Xanthia Tucker ’09

Cum Laude Lunch

Student Body PresidentSimone Polanen ’10

President of JudicialMegan Conn ’10

Secretary/TreasurerSammy Albanese ’10

Social Activities CoordinatorSammy Levison ’10

Athletics CoordinatorKalena Giessler ’10

Fine Arts CoordinatorMegan McClain ’10

Oro (gold medal):

Ruby Moreno (Level III) Pauline Ryan (Level III)Camille Zubizarreta (Level III)Ari Yulo (Level V)Camila McHugh (Level VI)

Plata (silver medal):

Lauren Johnston (Level I)Jamie Kotcher (Level I)Petra Carlos-Arzate (Level II)Gaby Castro (Level II)Sara Holston (Level II)Roshan Malekmadani (Level II)Fiona Maloney-McCrystle (Level II)Sanjana Rao (Level II)Julia Vais (Level II)Nina Vaswani (Level II)Paulette Wolak (Level II)Lauren Barbaran (Level III)Ines Lizaur (Level III)Shreya Ramachandran (Level III)Griselda Carlos-Arzate (Level IV)Grace Chen (Level IV)Megan Conn (Level IV)Arienne Malekmadani (Level V)Angie Moore (Level V)

National Spanish Exam 2009Recognition

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National Spanish, Latin, and Mythology Exam Awards

National Latin Exam 2009 Recognition

Carter Stubbs Drake Goad Book Award: (six consecutive gold medals)

Xanthia Tucker ’09 (Latin VI)

Gold Medal:Nicole La Fetra ’12 (Latin I)Sonali Mehta ’11 (Latin IV)Sydney Molano ’13 (Latin II)Em Pedersen ’14 (Latin I)Xanthia Tucker ’09 (Latin VI)Anna Winham ’10 (Latin III)

Silver Medal:

Kate Champion ’11 (Latin II)Cassidy Jensen ’14 (Latin I)Hayley Korman ’14(Latin I)Teresa Krause ’13 (Latin II)Catherine Rosch ’12 (Latin III)Jackie Summers ’11 (Latin II)

Magna Cum Laude:

Kayla Bien ’09 (Latin III)Katie Blunt ’13 (Latin II)Sam Cecil ’11 (Latin IV)Sammy Levison ’10 (Latin III)Allie May ’10 (Latin III)Emily Scharff ’13 (Latin II)Caroline Wheeler ’14 (Latin I)

Cum Laude:

Helena Abbott ’13 (Latin II)Kendall Levison ’13 (Latin II)Kelly Lougheed ’09 (Latin VI)Amy Rosch ’12 (Latin III)Sarah Shore ’12 (Latin III)

Outstanding Achievement Ribbon: (Introduction to Latin)

Cameron Hill ’15Maya Nagaraj ’15 (Perfect Paper)

Achievement Certificate: (Introduction to Latin)

Anneliese Gallagher ’15Nicole Mitchell ’15 Alexandra Myers ’15 Maddie Tarr ’15

Bronce (bronze medal):

Austin Jacobs (Level I)Maia Adar (Level I)Ayesha Bajwa (Level I)Laura Hagenah (Level I)Jacqueline Maloney (Level I)Norma Rodriguez (Level I)Charlotte Biffar (Level II)Maya Khatri (Level II)Jessica Matthys (Level II)Alejandra Ortiz (Level II)Briana Rossman (Level II)Brianna Seals (Level II)Claire Fraisl (Level III)Paula Orrego (Level III)Sarah Rosston (Level III)Kirsten Urrutia (Level III)Dani Ryu (Level IV)Abby Thornburg (Level IV)Crystal Ghosh (Level V)Leila Milki (Level V)Nicole Sanjines (Level V)Hanna Burch (Level VI)Laura Martinez (Level VI)

French Awards 2009

Section Nationally Name

01A 10th Izzy Pelosi ’14 01A 9th Carly King ’1401A 4th Eva Borgwardt ’141B 5th Ravenna Patel ’12 2A 9th Eela Nagaraj ’132A 7th Lainie Caswell ’13 2A 6th Camila McHugh ’112A 3rd Charlotte Geaghan-Breiner ’11 3A 10th Emily Mosbacher ’124A 7th Rachel Skokowski ’11 5A 10th Sonali Jasuja ’10 5A 10th Taisa Goodnature ’10 5A 6th Maya Mathur ’09 5A 5th Simone Polanen ’10

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National Mythology Exam 2009 Recognition

Sixth Grade Latin StudentsThe Athena Gold Award (perfect paper):

Abigail Alter ’15

Silver Medal:

Kris Auyeung ’15 Sima Biondi ’15 Alexa Blasnek ’15 Lianne Blodgett ’15 Anna Caltabiano ’15 Kathleen Kenealy ’15 Katherine Ketsdever ’15 Clare Maloney–McCrystle ’15 Julia McKay ’15 Maya Nagaraj ’15 Natalie Sadlak ’15 Chloe Sales ’15 Clare Tandy ’15 Jessica Zubizarreta ’15

Bronze Medal:

Jane Choi ’15 Katie Chess ’15 Isabel Lapuerta ’15 Dani Mitchell ’15 Alexandra Myers ’15 Teni Amos ’15 Karina Gunadi ’15 Wings Yeung ’15

Latin Students (Grades 7-11):The Athena Gold Award (perfect paper):

Kendall Levison ’13 (Latin II)

Silver Medal:

Kate Champion ’11 (Latin II)Maya Nagaraj ’15 (Latin IA)Clare Tandy ’15 (Latin IA)

Bronze Medal:

Charlotte Geaghan-Breiner ’11 (Latin III)Cassidy Jensen ’14 (Latin IB)Katey Laubscher ’14 (Latin IB)Kelly Lougheed ’09 (Latin VI AP)Catherine Rosch ’12 (Latin III)Xanthia Tucker ’09 (Latin VI AP)Caroline Wheeler ’14 (Latin IB)

Sports Honors from the 2008-2009 Season

Soccer – CCS Scholastic ChampionEmily Mosbacher – 1st TeamMira Ahmad – 2nd Team

Golf – WBAL Champion Brenna Nelsen – MVPSarah Debs – 1st TeamNicola Schulze – 1st TeamAmy Klivans – Honorable Mention

Basketball Ericka von Kaeppler – 1st TeamEve Zelinger – 1st TeamNatasha von Kaeppler – 2nd TeamTayo Amos – Honorable Mention

Cross CountryRachel Skokowski – 1st TeamJennie Christensen – 2nd TeamClaire O’Malley – Honorable MentionLaura Swenson – Honorable Mention

Water PoloKat Booher – 1st TeamEvan Cranston – 1st Team

LacrosseMichelle Kwong – Honorable Mention

Tennis Molly Bolten – 1st TeamVirginia Harris – 1st TeamBridget Meaney – 2nd TeamDiane Rodden – 2nd TeamNoelle Schoettle – 2nd TeamCaitlin Moyles – Honorable Mention

Volleyball – NORCAL & State ChampionsTaylor Docter – 2nd TeamAdrienne Dreyfus – Honorable MentionMorgan Jones – Honorable MentionErin McLaughlin – Honorable Mention

Softball – WBAL Co-Champion Sammy Albanese – MVPAnnie Cardinal – 1st Team Ginna Freehling – 2nd TeamAryana Yee – 2nd TeamTobi Amos – Honorable MentionAmy Klivans – Honorable Mention

Swimming – CCS Scholastic ChampionKat Booher – 1st Team Skylar Dorosin – 1st TeamMattie Wheeler – 1st Team

Track and FieldLibby Cooper – 1st Team

It was a great year for Casti athletics! This year Castilleja was honored with the West Bay Athletic League (WBAL) Girls Commissioner’s Cup for the seventh year in a row, two teams won league championships, and one team brought home Norcal and State titles. In addition, the following students were honored for their outstanding athletic accomplishments with places on the WBAL All-League teams:

Water Polo Team

Volleyball Team

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Each year, Castilleja students undertake grade-level service projects at a variety of organizations in the local community. Together they contribute hundreds of hours working with children at Ravenswood Development Center, building houses with Rebuilding Together, spending time with seniors at Lytton Gardens, and serving meals at the Ecumenical Hunger Program. Here the 14 members of the Community Service Council (CSC) reflect on their experiences during the past year.

“We really enjoyed participating in several community service projects this year! We had the pleasure of visiting the senior citizens at Lytton Gardens a few times during the year. It was

exciting to socialize with the residents

and help them. At Thanksgiving we made them all cards and visited them again at a holiday event. Working with the senior citizens made us feel like we had accomplished something and we were eager to keep volunteering at Lytton Gardens. We also got to visit Stevenson House, another local nursing home, and put on a dance, drama and music performance. We also participated in many school activities such as raising money to build a school in Africa and donating canned food. Community service has been a blast this year and we appreciate Ms. Tobey who put forth a lot of time and work to organize these events.” Sixth grade CSC members Tess Batchelder and Suzie Emery-Sphar

“At the beginning of this year, we set a goal to get the Class of 2014 more excited about community service and set a good example as community service committee members. We got off to a great start with our first project, Penny Wars. We were thrilled to start our class project, working at Ecumenical Hunger Program (EHP), on World Hunger Day. The first EHP was so much fun! Eleven people went and we helped organize the warehouse, bag

carrots and potatoes, and hand out lots of food. Seeing all of the people lined up to get food made an impact on everyone who participated. Our EHP groups got bigger each time we went and in March, 15 students volunteered—one of the biggest groups ever from Castilleja! The people at EHP had a big impact on us. One day we ran out of rice with only one more man left in the line. The woman before him, who had gotten the last bag, immediately said that he could have half of what we gave her; even though she needed it, she wanted him to have some, too. I hope that we have helped our class help the community and that they will keep going to EHP, even when opportunities to go are not organized by Castilleja.“ Seventh grade CSC members Laura Hagenah and Gaelin Bernstein

“This year, the Class of 2013 volunteered each month at the Ravenswood Preschool in East Palo Alto. We had the opportunity to assist in the classrooms as teacher's aides and work with pre-schoolers in the after-school program. The pre-school students absolutely loved every moment the Castilleja students spent with them drawing, reading stories, and playing. Each one of us came away with great memories and with a deep appreciation for the teachers at Ravenswood, as well as discovery of how much fun it is to interact with these lively kids.” Eighth grade CSC members Charlotte Biffar and Natalie Sherer

“Throughout the year, the ninth grade participated in many different community service activities. During Global Week, we split into four groups and traveled to different sites in East Palo Alto to help with an environmental, basic needs, health, or education project. For our class community service project, we helped serve food at a church to homeless people living

Tess Batchelder ’15 and Suzie Emery-Sphar’15

Natalie Sherer ’13 and Charlotte Biffar ’13

Gaelin Bernstein ’14 and Laura Hagenah’14

Community Service 2008-2009

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nearby—many of our peers were excited at the idea of helping others, and many decided to spend their Saturday morning in this manner. After our shift was over, most of the girls were surprised that they had had such an enjoyable

experience and managed to help people in need at the same time.” Ninth grade CSC members Nicole Crawford and Christine Herrmann

“The sophomore's class project this year was Rebuilding Together. Nearly a third of the class participated in this fun-filled day in which students painted and repaired Bay Area homes of those in need. The sophomores have

also played a large role in bringing four Global Action Days to Castilleja, through the Global Citizen Corps. These days were World Food Day, World AIDS Day, Global Climate Change Day and a Campaign for Global Education. We were glad to do our part to raise awareness of and take action to confront these relevant poverty-related issues.” Tenth grade CSC members Frankie Allegra and Camila McHugh

“This year, juniors participated in a variety of local community service projects, while expanding their global horizons through their trip to China. The junior class project was Habitat for Humanity, in which over half the class participated. On two weekends in March, juniors worked on a site in Redwood City to prepare it for low-income families. Juniors helped produce Arts with a Heart, worked on outside

community service projects such as My New Red Shoes, Art in Action, and Rebuilding Together and started EPACS Club, tutoring at East Palo Alto Charter School. The 2008-2009 school year has been successful and we hope to continue along this path as seniors, leading the school even after Mrs. Tobey’s retirement. We’ll miss you next year, Mrs. Tobey!” Eleventh grade CSC members Laura and Anna Swenson

“Community service clubs headed by seniors have done well this year. STAND has raised awareness, done major advocacy, and hosted several fundraising campaigns. Catering for Cancer Research has continued to raise funds for the Palo Alto Breast Health Project and leaders have taught classes for beginning bakers. The Blood Drive was successful, and the class felt good about their contribution. Seniors have continued in many individual service projects and have explored new ones. Our time at Castilleja has instilled in us an understanding about the importance of community service and we have been educated about

prevalent issues. The class is definitely going to continue reaching out in their college communities, as well as in the global community.“ Twelfth grade CSC members Shelley Kind and Virginia Harris

Nicole Crawford ’12 and Christine Herrmann ’12

Frankie Allegra ’11 and Camila McHugh ’11

Laura Swenson ’10 and Anna Swenson ’10

Virginia Harris ’09 and Shelley Kind ’09

CS Council Members Reflect on the Year

Advanced French Seminar students had an opportunity to immerse themselves in the language and culture of France when they spent the day at La Perouse, the French international school in San Francisco. The girls met some La Perouse students on the bus to the city and, after brief introductions, the conversations quickly moved to classes, social life, and pop culture.

The first class of the day was, appropriately, French, and the girls listened to two students give oral presentations about a French poem in preparation for the BAC, the French equivalent of a high school exit exam and SAT combo. After a short

break in the Upperclass Lounge, complete with music, donuts, and foosball, the girls moved on to a two-hour block of History and an examination of the French political system. After an off-campus lunch, which is common for La Perouse Students, the girls sat in on a philosophy class and a lecture on Hobbes and Locke, well known names from C&C, A.P. U.S. History, and A.P. European History classes. The day wrapped up with an assembly that introduced students to the particulars of the French university system, which features different tracks depending on your interests, since many La Perouse students are interested in attending college in France. By the end of the day, the girls had made new friends and parted with promises to find each other on Facebook.

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Festival of Antiquities

On May 22, the sixth grade class brought together what they had learned during their year-long, interdisciplinary study of ancient civilizations during the annual Festival of Antiquities.

The girls, in full costume, marched in the procession around the Circle. Students were sorted into small groups and rotated through classroom activities representative of tasks that would have been commonplace in ancient Chinese, Egyptian, Greek, Hebrew and Indian cultures. Later in the day, they moved into the Chapel Theater for an arts performance highlighting songs and dances from each culture and then back outside for a mini Olympiad.

Special thanks to the entire sixth grade faculty, Marcia Blanchette ’74, Bear Capron, Georgi Shea, Iris Fraser, Joke Van der Hulst, and Gloria McKay (parent volunteer coordinator) who helped to make the day so much fun for the girls. Lending invaluable support was a team of enthusiastic parent volunteers including: Desola Amos, Anne Barry, Reena Bhargava, Nancy Biffar, Rachelle Bin, Mary Beth Blasnek, Anita Chan, Stacey Chess, Susie Fishman, Rebecca Fox, Mary Greenwood, Lilyana Gunadi Allison Jacobs, Adriana Juarez, Katherine Ketsdever, Siobhan Korman, Helga Landauer, Brad Milliken, Sara Mitchell, Marie Pavlidis, Christine Phan, Marita Vargas, Marina van Bloomestein , Kathleen Tandy, Virginia Yau, and Jennifer Yen.

Fishman, Rebecca Fox, Mary Greenwood, Lilyana Gunadi

French Immersion C’était Fantastique!

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Science Around the Circle

More than 75 parents gathered in the Chapel Theater on May 27, to attend “Defining STEM Education for Girls in the 21st Century”, a hands-on seminar with Professor Glenn Ellis and members of the Castilleja Science and Mathematics Departments. An associate professor of engineering at Smith College, Dr. Ellis’ research focuses on gender issues in engineering education and on bringing engineering into the K-12 curriculum. After hearing Dr. Ellis’ remarks on new directions in learning, girls’ education and STEM, parents broke into small groups to work with Casti faculty members in hands-on sessions including, “Exploring Infinity” and “Electricity Visualized.” In addition to speaking with parents, Dr. Ellis spent a day on campus visiting science and math classes and working with faculty members.

Defining STEM Education for Girls Dr. Alex Apffel P’13, a

Senior Research Scientist at Agilent Laboratories Molecular Technology Laboratory, focuses on the intersection of analytical biochemistry and the study of complex adaptive systems. In April, as part of the Science Brown Bag lunch series, he visited Castilleja to talk to students about the latest advances in molecular biology including the application of novel approaches in analytical biochemistry, separations science, microfluidics and mass spectrometry to Systems Biology. In addition to his work in the lab, Dr. Apffel serves as Agilent’s Business Network Liaison to the Santa Fe Institute, a multidisciplinary research and education center focused on complex systems and emerging sciences, and has served as editor of the Retention Times, the quarterly newsletter of the California Separation Science Society.

The Science Brown Bag Series brings leading scientists, doctors, engineers, and others to campus throughout the year to engage the students in small group discussions about their work and to enhance their classroom experience.

Science Brown Bag

MS Science Explo

Students show off their poster projects

Anne Li ’14 and Asees Waraich ’14

Natasha Lilani ’13 and Deja Price ’13

Sarah Dawes ’13 and Hannah Gropper ’13 Lianne Blodgett ’15, Megan Colford ’15, and Tina Yau ’15

On May 28, Middle School parents attended the annual Middle School Science Explo, where students showed off their science, technology and engineering skills! This year there were over 50 different exhibits and experiments on display including one focused on the “Effects of Oil Spills on Plants” and another examining the “Wonders of the Greenhouse Effect”.

Dr. Glenn Ellis leads a STEM seminar with parents

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FAQ: Changes to Student Store Accounts

Beginning in August, the Student Store will change to an automated debit system for all store and other school activity charges. Answers to some of the frequently asked questions about this change are below:

How will the debit system work?At the start of the year, you will be able to allocate a sum of money to your daughter’s Student Store account. Her Castilleja ID card will have a bar code on the back, which will be scanned at the store when she purchases an item or makes a charge to her account and that amount will be deducted from the account.

What can be charged on the card?Currently the card can be used for supplies from the Student Store, van rides to and from the train, club and class sweatshirts, and First Aid cards. We expect to add more items during the year.

Can I control how much is in my daughter’s account and track her spending?Yes. You make the decision of how much to put into the account and you can view a daily account of all charges and remaining balance.

If I have more than one daughter at school, will they share a single account?No, each student will have her own account.

How much should I plan to put on the account each month?The amount you allocate to your daughter’s account is up to you. Typically students spend about $100-$125 in the first month, getting school and locker supplies, sweatshirts, etc. Subsequent monthly charges run about $40-$60 for Middle School students and $25-$40 for Upper School students.

Will I still receive a bill? No, however you will receive an email notification if the account balance drops below $10. You can choose to replenish the account at any time.

How can I pay for the account?When you set up your account, you will be able to assign a credit card or checking account as the account’s payment method.

Look for more information in the mail this summer and on CastiNet.

As you gear up for the next school year, be award of the tax write-offs that are available for your work on behalf of Castilleja.

• Sponsoring a party or special event. If you host a party to raise funds for the school, party-related expenses are deductible.

• Use of property. If you offer the School rent-free use of your property there is no deduction for the rent, but other costs like utilities and out-of-pocket expenses, can be written off.

• Driving expenses. If you keep detailed expense records, volunteers can deduct the costs of driving for charitable work, including standard mileage rates, parking fees, and tolls.

• Other unreimbursed expenses. In addition to the above, there are hundreds of other expenses that can be legally deducted. Remember to keep detailed records of all of your unreimbursed expenses as you work on behalf of Castilleja.

* From Ideas & Perspectives, Independent School Management

Tax Breaks for VolunteersSoon CastiNet will transform into a Parent Portal! We

wanted to let you know about some of the changes you can expect when the new school year begins:

- Individual Passwords- Customizable landing page- Dedicated space for important school announcements- Access to grades, attendance records, and comment cards- Subscription based RSS feeds- Updated grade level pages- Access to important documents, forms, and resources- Customizable calendars- The addition of Naviance (web-based service for College Counselling) and Family Access (web-based service from the Registrar's Office)

Want to learn more? We'll offer a 20-minute intro to the Parent Portal session after class meetings on the first day of school (8/27) and again on Back to School Night (9/15).

Look for information on the location of these sessions when you come to campus.

Parent Portal Update

For the most up-to-date events including all athletic events, go to http://www.castilleja.org/public/calendar/calendar.html

July/August 2009

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Dates are subject to change; please check with the website for updates

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First Day of School

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Independence Day