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SUNDAY LETTER February 12, 2017
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A MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
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Working at Our Cultural Competency
This past week, Mr. Cardozie Jones, our Diversity and Inclusion Consultant, created a space in which faculty and middle school students were challenged to define race and discuss the role it plays inside and outside of our school community, (he worked with upper school students last spring). In "Becoming Critically Conscious Educators," faculty explored how societal narratives influence our perspectives about race and what that looks like in everyday life, education, the media, etc. In the middle school presentation, "Brave Spaces," students were asked to define race and organically led an insightful discussion, which included one student's definition of race as a "social construct." In both workshops, Mr. Jones encouraged participants to share their experiences, confront biases, and discuss how they can create positive change in the community by questioning existing societal narratives that work against acceptance and inclusiveness.
Why not talk with your middle schooler about those conversations this week!
Moving forward, we want to continue nurturing an environment in which faculty and students become ever more comfortable and confident to take risks in discussing social norms, race and privilege, and how we can play our parts as agents for constructive institutional and social development. The work was supported in part, by this year's Annual Fund donations.
Peter McCormack
Head of School
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Wednesday, February 15 | 6:30-7:00 p.m.
Theatre I and II students will perform Jonathan Rand's "Check Please: Take Three" for One Act Night. The play is a series of vignettes about the trials and tribulations of blind dating. For many of the students, this will be their Husky debut on stage.
Friday, February 17 - Monday, February 20
No School / Offices Closed
Tuesday, February 28 | 5:00 p.m.
Middle School Spelling Bee
Thursday, March 2 | 1:30 - 2:30 p.m.
 Upper School Spring Musical: The Addams Family
THE ADDAMS FAMILY features an original story, and it's every father's nightmare. Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family. A man her parents have never met. And if that weren't upsetting enough, she confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he's never done before - keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday's "normal" boyfriend and his parents. Come meet the family. We'll leave the lights off for you.
Purchase Tickets Here.
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 Let the CIF Playoffs Begin!
Congratulations to the Varsity Boys' and Girls' Basketball teams who both won their senior night game on Thursday to remain
undefeated and win their league championships! The first round of playoff games will be Wednesday for the boys and Thursday for the girls. Check the
RHP & Ren website
for opponents, locations and times.
Middle School Basketball - no games this week
The following spring sports for Upper School begin practice on Monday, February 13:
- Upper School
- Varsity baseball
- Varsity softball
- Track and Field
- Co-Ed Golf
- Co-Ed Tennis
- Co-Ed Swimming
- Equestrian
Middle school spring sports do not start until Mid-March.
SAILING
Did you know that Rolling Hills Prep & Renaissance have a Sailing Team? Did you know that you don't have to be an expert sailor to join? All it takes is a desire to learn and have fun. See Heidi Morris or Brian Knigin to learn more.
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Senior Speech: JuYoung Whang
Now, there should be no doubt that I had made a great mistake in 11th grade, but this is not the important part. The important part is what I learned from this experience. To some people, my mistake just seems like a stupid mistake that wasted an entire year.
Yes, it is true, and I admit it, but this is one of the most precious experiences I ever had. It has helped me know about myself more, and it also shows me the example that what happens when I just decide to lose my tension. Based on this experience, I will never make that same mistake in my future.
Senior Speech: Kellen Hirayama
...My father expressed how proud he was of me. He told me how hard it can be to put one's ego to the side and address our mistakes. And to be honest, this conversation meant more to me than being praised for missing only one word on my spelling test.
...I have learned a lot from my father. Although he roasts me every day for my dumb moments, clothing choices, music taste, and lack of knowledge, he has taught me the ability to laugh at myself and accept my flaws.
Vote for RHP or Ren as Best of the Beach 2017!
It's that time of year again, The Easy Reader's BEST OF THE BEACH voting is open now! Last year, Rolling Hills Prep was voted as the BEST PRIVATE SCHOOL! We hope that you will vote again this year for Rolling Hills Prep or Renaissance School and help us get the word out to the community about our amazing schools!
It only takes a few minutes to cast your vote. Please note that you can only vote 1x per IP address. Voting ends on February 19.
2017 Scholastic Art Awards
This month, The Alliance for Young Artists and Writers recognized a number of RHP and Renaissance art students for their excellence in photography, drawing, design and illustration in the 2017 Scholastic Art and Writings competition. The non-profit organization works to identify and recognize teens with outstanding artistic talent by bringing their works to national attention through the Scholastic Art Awards.
Each year, the Alliance works with local arts organizations throughout the nation to recognize youth in their local community. The submissions by the students were judged by their technical skills, original ideas, and their ability to represent their personal vision. The committee reviewed over 300,000 submissions to the competition and 85,000 were recognized at the regional level with the top 2,500 going on to earn national recognition.
2016-2017 Scholastic Art Awards Recipients are as follows:
Golden Key: Alexis Finnie-Jenkins's piece "MasK" will go on to compete nationally.
Silver Key: Bria Booth in design, Devyn Collins in photography, Isabel Martin-Horvath in photography, Susana Padilla in drawing, Cade Morris in drawing, Sky Wang in art portfolio, Kelly Yuan in drawing.
Honorable Mention: Devyn Collins in photography, Alexis Finnie-Jenkins in drawing, Isabel Martin-Horvath in photography, Susana Padilla in drawing, Arin Ponce in photography and design, Hanna Soroush in photography, Leah Taylor in photography, Jack Waller in photography, Kelly Yuan in drawing and art portfolio.
Renaissance School WASC Visit a Huge Success!
Three years ago when the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) team gave us their final report and a six-year accreditation with a one day interim visit, they described Renaissance School as "the Bentley of schools." This week, on February 8, the two returning team members gave us several commendations and recommendations for continuing to the school program. At the end of the meeting, Peter inquired as to our status, and they replied readily, "Yes, you are still a Bentley." It took a lot of hard work and effort to get to the positive review and I thank the entire Husky community for your continued dedication, passion, and support in making Renaissance what it is today, and what it will be tomorrow.
Auction Items Needed for the Totally Awesome Gala
Calling
ALL Huskies! We need your help procuring LIVE and Silent Auction items for this year's Totally Awesome Gala.
Ask your friends, family and/or community to support our schools.
Click here to find further instructions, suggested items, a solicitation letter and donor form. If you have any questions please feel free to contact Jill Notch at
[email protected] or, (310) 791-1101 x109. And don't forget to save the date!
Senior Internship Opportunities Needed
All Rolling Hills Prep and Renaissance School seniors serve a two-week unpaid internship immediately prior to their graduation. This year's senior internship happens from May 22 to June 2. In the past, students have worked at Providence Hospital, USC, Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department, and various businesses and non-profit organizations.
If you are able to help acquaint a resourceful and bright senior with the demands of the working world by offering an internship, please email Gayle Taylor at
[email protected].
 RHP and Ren Families Connected Update
Take a look at the most recent South Bay Families Connected Newsletter. Topics in this month's SBFC Parent e-newsletter include announcement of new Speaker Series parent events, bullying and inclusiveness, mindful parenting at home, and promising new substance use prevention findings out of Iceland.
Click here to read more.
Calling all early birds: We are so excited to be hosting Galileo and their messy, bold, and all-around awesome innovation camps at our campus again this summer! Sign up now (by February 28th) for Camp Galileo or Galileo Summer Quest and save $25 on every week of gritty, glorious camp. Learn more:
www.galileo-camps.com/earlybird.
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Friday, February 3, middle school students were off to Redondo Beach to visit the Sea Lab; a hands-on science center dedicated to marine conservation and education programs.
Thank you to all of you who support these incredible Boccuzzi Bus science field trips. These hands-on experiences are invaluable in inspiring our students to engage with the scientific community.
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Saturday, February 4, Four students: Taylor Wallace '21, Jasmine Macklin '20, Chance Baer '19 and Mike Wu '17 performed with the CAIS Honor Choir, Band and Orchestra.
After only 24 hours of the first meeting, each ensemble performed a concert at Viewpoint School in Calabasas and received instruction from some of music's most well-known conductors.
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The Winter Formal "Out of this World" was a huge success with a record number of students in attendance.
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Middle school students utilized a
unique studying technique for their science studies.
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Sheltered English students shared their monster projects! Students had to create their own creature, a la Frankenstein, and write a one to two page story.
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10th grade chemistry students used hands-on experiments to see the real-world effects of chemical polarity.
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Thursday, our students once again astonished us with their incredible talents at the second Coffee House of the year. From ballet to garage band, each performance showcased the hard work and creativity that was necessary to put on such fantastic show. More importantly than talent alone, each student embodied a confidence on stage that few young people possess that will most certainly aid in their success in college life and beyond.
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Students in the Photography I Studio Lighting course completed a project
this week that ties in to the 10th grade reading of Frankenstein and discussions of the sublime. Students gradually transform an object from beautiful to sublime and photograph it in the studio.
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