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SFP PEer MEntors Launch
Griffin Story Hour

The Peer Mentors are a group of eighteen 10th-12th grade Prep students who provide peer-based support for Prep students throughout the year. They work under the guidance of School Counselor Amy Reich. As Prep's semester of remote learning began, the peer mentors gathered to ask how they could serve their community in this new context. 
The result of their inquiry is the newly released Griffin Story Hour. The first episode features readings of nine classic children's stories, including The Sneetches, Thank You Bear, and Chicken Little, read by Emma Lawrence '20, Sophia Koolpe '20, Fisher Hirsch '22, Piper Old '20, Nina Lyons '25, Math Teacher Joey Reich, Director of Technology John Utsey, and Amy Reich. Go to the new Stories at Santa Fe Prep YouTube page to see the first epsidode, and stay tuned for the second episode, which will be released this Friday. 
The Peer Mentors hope this project will serve children in the Prep community and the broader Santa Fe community. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and parents are all invited to participate. If you're interested, contact Amy Reich or record and upload your video here

DANNY MAAS RUN DURING THE PANDEMIC

2020 would have been Prep's 40th annual Danny Maas Run. Prep Middle Schoolers participate in this run every year to fundraise for children with cancer. Formerly known as the Terry Fox Run, in 2016, the run was rededicated to Prep alumnus Danny Maas '87 who beat his own odds to become a world class runner. 
This year's run was cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic, but Danny's brother Brendan didn't want to let a year go by without a run. He and his children, Sasha (8), Liza (6), and Anya (1), organized their own run near their home in California on April 18. Brendan and Sasha have travelled to New Mexico to participate in the run at Rancho de las Gologndrinas for the past two years.
Sasha has run his age each year and was training hard for his 8-mile run this year. He beat his goal, running an impressive 10 miles! Liza ran 6 miles ,and little Anya ran 1. (Sasha and Liza are pictured above.) Together they raised more than $11,000!
The money raised will help 6-year old Kyla, who is being treated for acute lymphocytic leukemia at UNM Chidren's Hospital. 

Thanks to our Maintenance Team!

A quiet campus has given our maintenance team the opportunity to get a lot of work done over the past two months. They have restained the library portal, seeded the field, done major work in the gardens, and repainted rooms across the campus. We're so grateful for all the work they've done and can't wait to enjoy it when we're all back together in the fall. Huge thanks to Melesio Gonzales, Eduardo Beltran, Gabriel Chacón, Jake Cisneros, Joseph Gonzalez, Mauricio Jaime-Andrade, John Montoya, and Alfredo Pichardo-Rodriguez.

BREAKTHROuGH PROFILE

Briza Soto Vazquez is a Breakthrough 7th grader, and like all of us, her life changed drastically overnight when the Coronavirus pandemic began. These days, Briza’s schedule consists of online learning with El Camino Real Academy, virtual NDI dance classes each afternoon, and hanging out with her brother, Erik, a Davis Scholar and Breakthrough alumnus finishing up his first year of college from home. Adaptive and optimistic, Briza continues to have a sunny outlook on the situation. She keeps busy at home, cherishes the moments with her family, and looks forward to her second summer at Breakthrough.
Briza had always known she wanted to follow in her brother's footsteps by being in Breakthrough. From the start, she recognized the importance of leadership in the program. She hopes to teach the Breakthrough Way to future BT students.  Briza's ability to adapt with humor and grace are admirable, and we look forward to seeing the future she creates for herself.

YEARBOOK ADAPTS to REMOTE LEARNING

Coronavirus restrictions have led Santa Fe Prep to creatively adapt many of our end-of-year traditions. Our wonderful yearbook team, led by advisor Alex Peña and editors Susannah Murray '20 and Tucker Hastings '20, have done an amazing job creating a yearbook that adapts to and recognizes this unusual quarter. They've added new pages that cover the Coronavirus pandemic, remote learning, and activities students and faculty are doing at home. The printing schedule has been delayed because of plant shutdowns, but we are hoping to see the yearbook this summer.
The team is grateful for the extra time to complete the book, and this experience has also made them appreciate their pre-Coronavirus process. Susannah said she's "learned a lot about how important it is to work on collaborative projects in person. Even though the yearbook can physically come togehter completely online, the creative process is so different (and so much more difficult) without face-to-face communication." We're thankful for all your extra work, yearbook team, and we can't wait to see the book when it's ready!

MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS

In Dan Murray's 8th-grade Global Studies class, students are exploring sustainability issues, including climate change, environment, pandemics, food, and energy. In one lesson, students looked at the problem of food waste in the United States.They journaled and had group discussions on the topic, then drew or found images that represented the issues they discussed (one example above left).

7th-grade students are getting a lot of time in nature these days. In Sarah Stark's English class, they were assigned to to have an "in-depth" nature experience and then write an essay about it. This was after reading Animal Dialogues, by Craig Childs, and discussing his encounters with animals in nature. 

In Robin Koval's science class, the 7th graders have been monitoring plants in their home environments and journaling about them. Ms. Koval's class raised about 50 trout this year that were set to be released in the Pecos River on May 4. Due to the school closure, the trout were released early. Luckily, students were able to watch a video of the release and reflect on the experience (one journal entry from Andrea Voinescu '25 pictured above right).

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES

AND SHARING GRATITUDE

While our teachers are working very hard to support students during this time, we know that there are many in our community who are unable to meet their basic needs due to the COVID-19 crisis. We invite you to join us in supporting three local organizations that are addressing immediate and urgent needs of our community. Please consider making a gift if you are able, and splitting your gift between our Annual Fund – which supports our students – and The Food Depot, Interfaith Community Shelter, or Communities in Schools.

Every gift you make through June 30, 2020 can be split between support for our students and these organizations. All donations are tax-deductible. Thank you to all of our Griffin friends and families!

LOGGING MILES FOr THE CLASS OF 2020

In honor of the Class of 2020, faculty and staff are participating in a fitness challenge: 2,020 for 2020. Starting May 1, faculty and staff began logging their miles from running, hiking, walking, and cycling to collectively reach 2,020 miles by Prep's originally-scheduled May 29 Commencement celebration. Go Blue Griffins!

REMINDER: SORA

One silver lining of the stay-at-home order is extra time to read! All Prep students now have access to Sora, a free app where students can check out ebooks and audiobooks. Students, refer to your email for more info, and contact Director of Library Services Catherine McKenzie with any questions. 

I-NATURALIST UPDATE

Prep's iNaturalist project is in full swing, with over 260 observations representing more than 90 species. Special highlights include observations by alumna Amber Fayerberg '02, who lives with her family in New Zealand; it's great to see octopi and sea stars amid our native birds and lizards! 
Check out our project here. Email science teacher Lindsey Reader if you'd like to be added to the project. We'd love to see your ants, plants, birds, and octopi!

ZOOM HELP for SENIORS

The Boomer Tech TAP group is ending the year with a series of online tech workshops geared towards seniors:

May 6, 1:30 pm
Robo Calls – Avoiding Frauds and Scams
May 13, 1:30 pm 
Podcasts – Radio on Demand
May 20, 1:30 pm
Zoom – Learn how to make a family Zoom call
May 22, 2:00 pm
Ordering Groceries Online

Anyone may join these workshops, but you must register in advance.
Click here to download details and registration information.

EMPTY BOWLS FOR FOOD dEPOT

The Empty Bowls TAP works throughout the school year creating ceramic bowls to sell at the Spring Rummage Sale, which could not happen this year. The group had already raised $250 at Winter Arts Night and unanimously decided at their final meeting to give an additional donation to The Food Depot during this challenging time, raising the total to $350. Each dollar provides four meals, so that's 1500 meals! We're so proud of these generous artists!

GRIFFIN SHOUTOUTS

Cassiana Serna '24 has been keeping busy at home sewing and selling face masks. She's donating $5 of each $10 mask to the Santa Fe Dreamers Project. We're proud of your great work, Cassi, and grateful that you're keeping us safe and stylish!
Language Department Chair Anna Westen was scheduled to run the Denver Colfax Marathon in May. When the race was cancelled, she and a friend decided to keep training and run a marathon on their own. On April 25, they started their run at 4:30 am at the Randall Davey Audobon Center. Anna described the first miles this way: "The streets were empty and it felt surreal and truly magical to run in the brisk, pre-dawn quiet accompanied only by the sound of our breath and the gentle breeze that brought with it scents of piñon and blooming lavender flowers."
To reach 26.2 miles, Ms. Westen got a full tour of Santa Fe, finishing out past the Downs and National Guard. Congratulations, Anna, and thanks for inspiring us inside and outside the classroom!
Last week, the New Mexico Activities Association (NMAA) published an article about our very own Hayden Colfax '20. Hayden won 1st place at the State Championship meet for 100m hurdles her first three years in high school. With the meet cancelled this year, she won't have a "4-peat", but Hayden is working out at home so she's prepared to hit the college track at Williams in the fall. 
Prep alumna Olivia Cicci '13 has been honored as the Small College Assistant Coach of the Year by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Cicci just finished her first season with the UT Dallas women's basketball program. She was an accomplished player here at Prep and at Austin College, where she earned her BA in 2017 and MA in 2018. Read more about Olivia here.

THRIVING WITH NATURE WEBINAR

The Prep community is invited to a webinar on May 21, hosted by the Nature Conservancy, about how time spent in nature makes us happier, healthier, and more creative. Click here for more infomration and to register. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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