Good Day,
And a happy spring to all! On Tuesday, students return from spring break and it will be a fun, fast, and mad dash to the finish of the year.
I look forward to welcoming everyone back to campus and hearing myriad exciting stories from Interim trips all over the country and the world. From the photos I've seen and the accounts I've heard thus far, their adventures in learning were impactful and filled with lifelong memories. You'll read about the Cartagena Interim in this post.
Our school on the prairie continues to make its global mark. Five of our students are currently on Round Square exchanges in Argentina, Peru, South Africa, and Australia. Our Global Scholars are finishing up their impressive, scholarly capstone projects which you'll find below. You'll read about Theater Director Hollie Marine's travels to Broadway and London to further her knowledge of Shakespeare and musical productions, thanks to the Ballantine Grant. And alumnus Morgan Smith '56 submitted a fascinating essay and photos featuring women in the Mexican asylum he volunteers at each month.
Progress on the campaign continues and we now stand just $2 million from our goal of $25 million raised in support of students and faculty through the completion of Phase 1 of our Master Plan. We are grateful for the support received to date from our generous alumni, parents, and friends of the School—THANK YOU. Please do not hesitate to be in touch with me directly should you have questions about and interest in the Campaign. The Annual Fund continues to climb towards its $1.3 million goal, and your support is critical to reaching this important milestone. If you have yet to do so, please consider making a gift. It is greatly appreciated!
I hope to see you at Reunion June 1-3 as the Fountain Valley family comes together to celebrate this wonderful School and community. If you have yet to make your plans, please do so as space is filling up quickly this year. We are fortunate for the second year in a row to have the weekend underwritten from generous donors who believe in the power of bringing as many alumni and families back to campus for the annual “Party on the Prairie!”
The next two months will move swiftly as the school year will come to a close with the celebration of the Class of 2018 on May 26th followed by Reunion Weekend June 1-3. When there is much good underway, time passes quickly, and that is certainly the case for us this year!
Take care, be well, and see you soon.
Best,
Will
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Cartagena’s Revival Through the Eyes of the Interim Experience
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Once overrun with the anarchy of pirates and drug wars, Cartagena is now a city of exciting rebirth. A group of curious and compassionate Fountain Valley students, led by Languages Faculty Nathan Eberhart and Director of Global Education Lauren Kelley, partnered with Cartagena students and community leaders to delve into pressing world and societal issues. When they weren’t rolling up their sleeves to break down tangled global topics, they had fun hitting the beach, snorkeling, swimming in phosphorescence and taking in the historic architecture.
Click here
for travel excerpts and photos from the trip’s blog and faculty leaders:
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Registration for Alumni Weekend is Open!
And it's underwritten again this year, meaning your registration fees are covered. You must register in advance to have your fee underwritten.
Register here now!
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Global Scholar Capstone Projects 2018
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This year, 11 seniors have gone beyond the requirements of the traditional curriculum to earn the Global Scholar Diploma. This is the sixth class at Fountain Valley to develop an international perspective through a curriculum and set of experiences that focus on global understanding. Each of these students completes a capstone project, a semester of independent, scholarly work with an international focus. Through these projects, students demonstrate the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to grasp the nature of global interdependence and pursue education and careers in the international arena. Students present their capstones to the FVS community in May. Following are a few examples, and you can find the full list of capstone projects
here
.
- Mass Incarceration: An Investigation into the Twentieth Century Growth of the Penal System; New York City as a Case Study (Lloyd Chinn)
- El Salvadorian Gangs and United States Immigration: An Investigation into the Factors Driving the Instability of a Nation, the Crossing of Borders, and the Seeking of Asylum (Kendall Weiskopf)
- The Venezuelan Crisis: An Investigation into the Historical and Contemporary Causes of a Collapsed State with an Examination into the Future for the Faltering Country (Nate Ashby)
- Rural Microgeneration: The Feasibility and Impact of Sustainable Energy Production in Agrarian Communities; Case Studies in Germany, Ghana, and Fountain Valley School (JT Winston)
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Friends, YOU are Fountain Valley’s most powerful marketers!
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We’re still accepting applications for the 2018-19 school year! If you know of a student who would benefit from the distinctive FVS education and experience, please let them know about us—and we about them! We're happy to send our
viewbook
or reach out with a call. Email
admissions@fvs.edu
or call
(719) 391.5251
. Thank you.
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Danes Climb to the Top and Take States
Fountain Valley School of Colorado boys and girls varsity and boys JV teams are all climbing state champions at the 10th Annual Colorado High School Climbing League State Finals. The girls JV team was barely edged out, and took second place.
For eight seniors, with tears in their eyes and hearts full to bursting, it was the culmination of their careers in the FVS climbing program, and for a lucky few, a time to savor four great years. For many freshmen and sophomores, it was a possible coming-of-age moment, a chance to launch themselves onto the state stage with excellent finishes in the JV competition. For the program, it confirmed once again that FVS produces top athletes who constantly support their climbing partners and work together to put all of our teams on the map of Colorado high school climbing. Read head coach Dr. Gilbert's full account and see more photos
here
.
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Ballantine Grant Sends FVS Theater Director to Broadway and Shakespeare's Homeland
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by Hollie Marine
As a recipient of a Ballantine Grant, this summer I traveled to New York City, London and Stratford-upon-Avon, England, in search of a deeper understanding of both musicals and Shakespeare’s works.
I had two goals in mind for this trip. The first was to learn to teach Shakespeare in my classroom with the same excitement I felt sitting in the seats at Stratford-upon-Avon. The second goal was to bring a new and fully loaded tool belt of lighting, choreography and moments to the FVS winter musical this year.
Read Marine's full account
here
.
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Invisible Women
by Morgan Smith '56
For more than seven years, Morgan Smith ’56 has traveled to towns along the Mexican border at least once a month to help those in need. Here is his most recent account, an essay with photos about women patients at the asylum, how they have suffered and yet, in many cases, are able to help others.
On February 23, 2011, a burly man dressed in black picked me up in El Paso, Texas, and drove me across the border to Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, and Visión en Acción, the mental asylum he had founded more than 20 years earlier. This was Pastor José Antonio Galván, ex-addict himself as well as deportee. Even though I had been—and continue to be—documenting and working with a number of humanitarian organizations in Juárez, what I saw at Visión en Acción that day was so extraordinary that I have visited at least once a month ever since.
Read Smith's full essay with photos
here
.
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Mark Your Calendars for May 1, FVS Giving Day! Stay tuned.
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FVS Wunderkind Artists!
The works of 12 FVS artists were shown at this year’s Wunderkind, a juried art exhibition—now in its 19th year—open to all juniors and seniors in the Pikes Peak region. Take a look at the work of FVS’s wunderkinds
here
.
Fox by Nhat Dang '18
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Upcoming Events
- Tuesday, May 1: FVS Giving Day. Mark your calendars!
- Saturday, May 26: 88th Commencement Exercises, 10:00 a.m. Live streaming on the FVS YouTube channel
- Friday, June 1-Sunday, June 3: Alumni Weekend
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