| WINTERTIME! Welcome Back and Happy 2015! How about this snow? Wondering if school is delayed or canceled in the coming blustery days? Rest assured we get the word out via the Prep website, Facebook, broadcast email, and new this year, via text. Keep you posted!
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| Financial Aid Night: How to Pay for College $$$?
Upper School parents, please join the former Director of Financial Aid at Denver University, now Dean of Admissions/Financial Aid at St. Olaf's College, Minnesota, Chris George, for an informative evening about the financial aid process on Thursday, January 15th, from 5:30pm to 6:45pm in the Prep Founders' Room. Applying for merit and need-based aid is a complicated process, and we urge parents to get an overview as soon as possible. Knowing what information colleges are using to determine need-based and merit aid, as well as what key questions to ask during the search process to determine good financial fits, are both critically important. We want all Prep families to feel prepared. Parents of ninth and tenth graders, it is not too early--hope to see you there!
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| Raising Kids in a Cyber World
Please join us this Thursday, January 15th at 5:30 pm in the Prep Auditorium for a special program for parents, followed by Q&A.
Cynthia C. Fulreader, MA, Director of Santa Fe Counseling & Consulting, will talk about the cyber climate that our kids are living in today; the upsides and the downs, and how we as educators and parents can help them to navigate safely and wisely.
In addition to providing Family Therapy and Parenting Education over the past 30 years, Cynthia consults with area schools and community agencies, teaches Family Therapy at Southwestern College, and has directed child and adolescent programs in both Connecticut and New Mexico. As a parent herself, she understands our parental angst, as well as the negative impact that teens can have on one another in the cyber world.
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| Clean Out Your Closets--Rummage Sale is April 11! When the spring cleaning bug hits, that means the Santa Fe Prep Rummage Sale is near and it’s time to gather your clean, unbroken items for the sale—all proceeds benefit Tuition Assistance and Breakthrough Santa Fe. There will be many drop-off times the week of the sale in April, but if you have things to donate now, there is still room in the library basement for storage. If you have large furniture you’d like to donate, please contact Rummage Sale Chair Jill Gerber at 505.670.9724 to arrange a pick up. We will also have an on-line sign up next month for volunteers. Thank you!
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| Prep is a small school populated by well-intentioned parents, faculty, and students. When we're concerned about how someone in the school is faring--personally, academically, general health--we typically respond well, rallying support and resources.
One challenge, for us as for a small town, can come when the concern is not grounded in fact, when "news" that is closer to rumor can fly fast if not true. While the intention may be to "be helpful," the effect can actually be just the opposite. Though rare, these instances can be hurtful.
We actually have a rumor protocol within the school that guides when and how we will follow up with a student or family about concerns. My counsel, as we balance expressions of genuine care for each other with the potential for injury by passing on less-than-accurate information, is to bring any concerns to someone in a position to act upon them: the advisor, our School Counselor Mikahla Beutler, Head of Middle School Chris Chakeres, Head of Upper School Suzie Matthews, or me.
And thank you for continuing to care.
- Jim Leonard, Head of School
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| Generating Impact: Prep Beyond 50
The year 2014 ended well with many generous donations coming from parents, grandparents, alumni, their parents, and other people in the community who have absolutely no connection with Prep but just LOVE what our campaign is supporting. We’ve raised $11,000,000 for our Sustaining Fund, Tuition Assistance, Breakthrough Santa Fe Endowment, Sun Mountain Field and Classroom Renovations and we will be working this spring to raise the $3,000,000 more we need. Should fundraising go well, then we’ll renovate our Middle School classrooms in summer 2015 and the Upper School the following summer.
If you have not had a chance to support our 50th Anniversary Campaign, then please call 505.795.7526 or email Advancement Director Kézha Hatier-Riess; click here to learn more. We send a big thank you to all who have donated to this campaign so far!
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Meet Ashley and Vanessa Juarez!
When Vanessa, now a 10th grader at Tierra Encantada Charter School, was in 6th grade, she joined
to be challenged academically. She had always liked school, but was sometimes bored with the pace of her classes. A few years later, her little sister Ashley, now in 7th grade at the same school, followed in her footsteps. But after having spent time at Breakthrough, both sisters agree that Breakthrough is about more than just academics.
Ashley attributes her new-found openness to her experience last summer in the program. "Before I was shy and wouldn't talk to many people, but now I'm more outgoing and better at working in groups." She says this change has helped her at school to make new friends and to ask for help when she needs it.
Vanessa is also grateful to Breakthrough for broadening her perspective. "Breakthrough made me motivated to participate in other programs like Healthcare Explorations and Somos Un Pueblo Unido. I feel like I should reach out and be involved in my community because of Breakthrough." We have no doubt that the Juarez sisters will continue to take their Breakthrough experiences into the wider world with them, and that we will all benefit as a result.
- Talia Winokur, Executive Director, Breakthrough Santa Fe
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MULTICULTURAL LIFE AT PREP
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| People of Color Conference and Student Diversity
In early December, Prep sent two faculty (Leslie Hale and Claire Romero) and four students (Noah Duran ‘18, Jared Lucero ‘16, Jaelene Tapia ‘17, and Jasmine Alvarado ‘17) to a very important conference sponsored by the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS): the People of Color Conference for adult educators and the Student Diversity Leadership Conference for students.This conference provides education on some of the issues faculty and students of color grapple with in independent schools. Claire shares, "Leslie and I participated in jaw dropping sessions led by Michael Eric Dyson, Dr. Derald Wing Sue, and Jose Antonio Vargas." Recognizing the Work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
Exploring Diversity and Social Justice Next Wednesday, January 21st, Santa Fe Prep students will participate in a mini-conference that addresses topics such as poverty, hunger, social activism, gender diversity, health care, environmental justice, and more. The Upper School will attend two sessions of the nine offered in the morning and have classes in the afternoon. The Middle School will attend their own mini-conference in the afternoon. If you have questions about this special program, please contact Director of Multicultural Life Claire Romero at 505.982.3249 or via email at cromero@sfprep.org.
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The Swim and Dive Team had another solid meet at the Horseman Invite this past weekend! The Boys placed 5th and the Girls placed 9th. Every year, the Horseman is a tough meet considering our recent return from winter break, cold and flu season along with the first week of school. The team competed well and will continue to work on starts, turns and stroke work!
The Girls Basketball Team has lost a couple of matches recently in some close games, but are looking forward to traveling to the Cuba Invitational Tournament later this week. The Boys Basketball Team recently lost a nail-biter to the fourth ranked Tucumcari Rattlers this last Saturday with a 2-point loss in overtime. Hopefully, home court will be kinder to them as they host Estancia HS on Saturday, January 17th at 7:00 pm. After a thorough search process, we are proud to announce that Mark Bixby and Johnathan Toya will be the next head coaches for the Santa Fe Prep Baseball Team. We are excited about the energy and passion that these new coaches will bring to the team. Schedules are in the process of being finalized and will be found (along with all sports schedules) on our new website calendar. Santa Fe High Senior Hewitt Farr, who plays on the Blue Griffin Lacrosse Team, signed a national letter of intent to Brevard College, North Carolina last month. Brevard College is in Division II with a burgeoning LAX program. This opportunity is a dream come true for Hewitt, who had wanted to play collegiate level LAX. Playing in New Mexico, where LAX is not as prevalent a sport as other parts of the country, Hewitt did not expect to receive college level lacrosse exposure. The Blue Griffins win at the State Championship last spring might have been a key factor in helping our boys garner attention. Congratulations, Hewitt! Click here to read the article from the Santa Fe New Mexican.
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Sides Brothers Honored For Their Contribution To Prep's Soccer Program
The Brothers Sides were honored at a school assembly on Monday, January 12th. Since the 2007 season, the Sides Brothers have collectively played in 169 varsity soccer games for Prep. The results? 95 wins, 3 ties, one District Championship, two State Championship Finals and one State Championship.
McCall '11, Graham '13 and Griffin '15 have been captains on and off the field. Each in his individual way earned the respect of opponents and team members. They are exemplars of Prep student athletes and have made an outstanding contribution to the success of the boys' soccer program over the last seven seasons. McCall has played for Colorado College, Graham plays at Occidental College, and Griffin will play for Pitzer, where he matriculates next fall.
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| Berlin based silkscreen artist Carl Smith ’90 and Santa Fe painter Jesse Wood ’90 will showcase collaborative and individual works in a weekend exhibition, "Back to the Present." The show's Opening Reception is this Friday, January 16th, 6:00-10:00 pm at 505 Cerrillos Rd, Suite A104 (next to Marble Brewery, near Ohoris and Talin Market) and will feature Tim Jag dj-ing rare vinyl and Loop Rider live from Berlin! The show runs January 16th-18th.
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- Wed, February 4th:
PA Meeting, 8:15 am
- Fri, February 20th:
Parent Drop-In Day
- Thurs, February 26th:
Out Of Our Minds, 5:00 pm - Fri, February 27th &
Sat, February 28th:
US Play, DROOD, 7:30 pm - Sun, March 1st:
US Play, DROOD, 2:00 pm
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| What Would We Do Without Our
Boosters? The SFP Athletic Booster Club would like to thank everyone who participated, contributed and attended the Annual Booster Bombay on December 5th. The event was a huge success, a fun evening was had by all, and over $50,000 was raised to support the SFP Athletic Department. We couldn’t have done it without our donors, ticket buyers, volunteers, guests and support from the whole SFP community.Thank you!
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| County Spelling Bee Winners! Congratulations Ulysses Yarbrough '20 and Alex Mazur '20 who participated in the annual Santa Fe County Spelling Bee, sponsored by Santa Fe Public Schools on Saturday. Around 55 students from 27 public, private and charter schools took part in this event, where Ulysses placed 3rd and Alex placed 8th. Ulysses will move on to the State Spelling Bee in Albuquerque on March 21st. The winner of that contest advances to compete in the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., in May. Go Uly!
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| Congratulations,
Tove Shere!
Tove recently competed in the national Cyclocross National Championships in Austin, Texas. Overcoming many obstacles, Tove returned to Santa Fe as a National Champion in her age-group. Congratulations to our beloved Blue Griffin Coach.
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| Microaggression
The term microaggression is used by Columbia professor Derald Wing Sue to describe “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color, gender diverse people, and women.”
Microaggressions hurt and impact students in many ways, including a negative impact on academic performance. We will be discussing these and related topics as a community. Contact Claire Romero for more information.
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Spread The Word! Please help us spread the good word about Prep and encourage your friends and community members to come visit! We are happy to schedule a visit day or a tour for prospective students and parents.The Admissions Application and Tuition Assistance Deadline is Monday, February 23rd.
Admissions Math Assessment Tests will be held on January 10th, 31st, February 7th and 21st, from 11:00am to noon. We will meet in the Administration Foyer at 10:45am and the tests will begin promptly at 11:00am.
For more information, please contact Director of Admissions Michael Multari at 505.795.7512, or Associate Director of Admissions Mary Little at 505.795.7518.
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| Girl Up Movie Night Rescheduled The club's featured movie, "Water," has been rescheduled for next Tuesday, January 20th at 6:00 pm in the Founders' Room. Admission is free, but the club will be selling refreshments as a fundraiser. "Water," written and directed by Deepa Mehta, explores the lives of widows at an ashram in Indian in 1938. Click here to view the movie trailer. We hope you will join us for this event!
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| Prep Uniforms
Around The World Four years ago, while Jean “Parka” Kithil, long-time Prep teacher and coach, was sorting through old uniforms, she thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could find something meaningful to do with these?” And then it came to her. Every year, we have hundreds of artists from other countries in Santa Fe for the International Folk Art Market. Perhaps there was a connection to be made. And there was!Each year at the Market's New Artist Workshop, Parka and Prep Archivist Steve Machen present to the artists the idea of taking uniforms to their home country. The program’s reputation has grown through word of mouth among the artists; many uniforms are given away each year to different countries. Last summer uniforms were distributed to Botswana, the Dominican Republic, Kenya, Kyrgystan, Mexico, Morocco, Phillipines, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
The picture featured above is of students at Tobwe Primary School, Zimbabwe donning our LAX uniforms.
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| Darkroom Fun With Don Students in Don Usner's Darkroom
Photography Class are having fun exploring the camera obscura at the Meem. A camera obscura (Latin: "dark chamber") is an optical device that led to the advent of photography and the camera. The device consists of a box or room (in this case, a room) with a hole in one side. Light from an external scene passes through the hole and strikes a surface inside, where it is reproduced upside-down.
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