The Brentwood-Castilleja Garden Partnership was recently recognized as a recipient of the Nickels for Non-Profit Award, starting April 15 and lasting through June 9. Stop by the Whole Foods in Palo Alto, with your reusable bags, to show your support!
Casti 6th graders, Dr. Chau, Dr. Thornburg "made" the case for women in science and thought outside the box when they participated in this ABC News segment about women's engagement in science, engineering and this weekend's Maker Faire!
The Central Coast Section recently announced the recipients of the 2013 Spring Season Scholastic Championship Teams and Castilleja grabbed top honors across the board.
Under the leadership of Surya B. '13, yesterday Casti held a fundraiser for the United States Wolf Refuge. Through generous purchases of jewelry and t-shirts, as well as donations from the community, the girls raised over $200. These funds will be used to expand wolf enclosures and to help pay for medical treatments. As a special treat, during lunch students had the opportunity to meet the head of the Wolf Refuge and two wolf ambassadors, Kasa and Takoda. Students lavished them with attention and love, and were sad to say good-bye to their new lupine friends. The Wolf Refuge may have found a few new volunteers! Thanks to everyone for supporting the wolves!
Let out your inner singer (or chef...or audience member) and join Casti sophomores on the Circle from 5:30-7:30pm on Saturday night, May 11 for an Open Mic/Potluck Dinner to support the Day Workers Center in Mountain View. $5 donation and food to share are suggested. Friends and family are welcome to attend (and perform!)
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's water polo team had nine student-athletes earn All-Academic Awards from the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches, it was announced Tuesday. Additionally, the Bison ranked 15th nationally among water polo teams in cumulative team grade-point average with a combined 3.14.
Student-athletes were recognized in three levels: 3.20 to 3.40 GPA (Excellent), 3.41 to 3.70 GPA (Superior) and 3.71 to 4.0 GPA (Outstanding). Bucknell had two players recognized in the Outstanding category, two landed on the Superior list and five more were cited with positions on the Excellent ledger.
Hallie Kennan, who led the team with 55 assists in 2012, and Becca Shopiro, who totaled 17 goals, 16 assists and drew 24 ejections, were the two Bison to earn Outstanding recognition.
In the pool, Bucknell posted a 15-24 record this past spring. The Bison faced 14 ranked foes and finished in eighth place at the Eastern Championship.
Allison Marston Danner '89 was appointed to the Santa Clara County Superior Court by California Governor Jerry Brown on May 18 and will be sworn in later this week. She brings to the bench extensive experience as a prosecutor having served as an assistant U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of California Criminal Division. She joins the bench at a critical time as the justice system faces budget cuts that could erode the quality of representation the public receives. "It is important to fund our system. Not just as a financial investment. It has importance for us as a society," Danner said. Justice relies on quality, whether through prosecutors, defense attorneys or judges.
Bill Chamberlain of the U.S. Wolf Refuge came to campus and spoke to Castilleja students about everything wolf. From their genetic evolution, to the historic range of wolves, to conservation and rescue efforts, the girls learned about the importance of these powerful animals to the earth's ecosystem. A highlight of the day was the chance for students to meet two of the rescued animals. Alumna Madison Brown-Moffitt ’10 introduced the wolves to the girls and helped them learn more about their unique stories of survival. The visit fit well with the conservation efforts of current students, many of whom raised money this semester to support the Wolf Refuge’s mission.
Beautiful weather only heightened the spirits of the Class of 2012 at the annual Alumnae Induction Luncheon celebrating the seniors’ transition to official alumnae status. Head of School Nanci Kauffman, Director of Alumnae Relations Maggie Ely Pringle '71, and outgoing Alumnae Association Executive Committee President Lindsay Austin Louie '98, and numerous faculty and staff were on all on hand to welcome the girls to the Alumnae Association! The Class of 2012 reps Jane Larkins and Shreya Ramachandran were announced. Jane and Shreya are charged with keeping their classmates up to date with school information and keeping up on what they are doing after Casti!
The luncheon also celebrated the newest Honorary Alumnae (HA), faculty and staff who have completed 10 years of service at Castilleja. This year, nine people were awarded HA status: Chris Blair (US Head), Mid Fuller (Assistant to Middle School Head), Bryan Hoard (Athletics), Margaret Lane (History), Georgi Shea (VPA), Christy Story (History), Brydie Sullivan (English), Steve Taffee (Head's Office) and Holly Thompson (English).
Castilleja grad Jane Alexander '08 wrapped up a solid career at Harvard where she was the starting shortstop on the Crimson softball team for all four years.
She was named a Division I softball Academic All-American (third team; first team District 1), Harvard's Female Breakout Athlete of the Year, Ivy League Co-Player of the Year, and Harvard softball's Most Valuable Offensive Player of the Year and Most Valuable Defensive Player of the Year.
She finished the season batting .408 and leading the team in average, slugging, on-base percentage, and triples, and second in extra base hits, total bases, stolen bases, and double plays.
Harvard competed in an NCAA regional finals this year, eliminating No. 23 Texas Tech and Maryland before losing to No. 16 Washington -- the first time a Harvard softball team has ever advanced that far in the NCAA tournament.
Harvard won the Ivy League championship in Alexander's junior and senior seasons.
Senior shortstop Jane Alexander of the Harvard softball team has been named to the Capital One 2012 Academic All-America Division I softball team, the organization announced Thursday. Alexander is the only player from the Ivy League to earn the accolade, and one of just three players from a Northeast school.
The Palo Alto, Calif., native earned a spot on the Academic All-America third team after receiving Academic All-District first team honors earlier this year. She boasts a 3.49 grade-point average as a psychology concentrator at Harvard.
Alexander, the Ivy League Co-Player of the Year, saved her breakout year for her senior season. The top hitter on the league’s top offensive team, she led the Ivy League with 60 hits on the year and also tied for the top mark in total bases (90), while placing second in runs scored (32), tied for first in doubles (13) and first in triples (4). She started every game this season at shortstop and led the Crimson to a berth in the NCAA regional final for the first time in school history.
Northwestern softball began the week with a 6-1 loss to No. 25 DePaul Wednesday. It was a momentum-stopping loss since the Wildcats had won three of their last four games, and as the team’s ninth loss of the season to a ranked opponent, it was a painful reminder the program is not yet an elite one.
Then came a beacon of hope: a three-game set in East Lansing against the Michigan State Spartans, who are more or less the Charlotte Bobcats of Big Ten softball. The Spartans were 0-17 in the Big Ten coming into the weekend, and they proved to be just the cure for Northwestern’s inconsistent play.
Freshman first baseman Amy Letourneau had seven RBIs (runs batted in) in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader, leading Northwestern’s offensive explosion. The Wildcats capitalized on steady hitting and Michigan State’s errors to take an 8-0 lead after two innings. Letourneau then piled on a grand slam in the third, which put the game out of the Spartans' reach.
The offensive barrage gave sophomore pitcher Sammy Albanese plenty of wiggle room, which she didn't need. In her ninth start of the year, Albanese dominated, only allowing one run on two hits in the game’s five innings (NCAA softball games end after five innings if one team is up by eight or more runs).
In the second game of the double-dip, Letourneau took to the mound as the starting pitcher and picked up right where Albanese left off. She allowed only one run and four hits in seven innings, giving Northwestern a 5-1 victory.
In the first inning of Sunday’s game, sophomore third baseman Marisa Bast connected for the team’s second grand slam of the weekend. The Wildcats then added two runs in the third and another two in the fourth to once again invoke the mercy rule in their 8-0, five-inning win.
Junior Meghan Lambert won her tenth game of the season and continued Northwestern’s weekend of powerful pitching. She gave up two runs in her shutout victory, and the Wildcats only allowed eight hits in their three wins.
Northwestern has a winning record (11-10) in the Big Ten for the first time since the end of the 2010 season. They are now seventh in the conference. However, they may owe some of their offensive prowess this weekend to the Spartans’ horrendous pitching. Michigan State has an earned run average (ERA) of 6.47, the worst in the Big Ten. Indiana, the second lowest, is almost two runs better at 4.59.
Regular season play will wrap up during next weekend’s home stand against Illinois.
Cranston helped lead the Brown women's water polo team (19-14) to the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division Championship game last weekend at Bucknell. Cranston combined for 33 saves, which includes six in 3.5 quarters in an 11-3 win over Mercyhurst, a career-high 17 in a 7-6 win over Harvard, and followed it with 10 in a 9-8 loss to Princeton in the championship. She currently ranks sixth in the nation in save percentage and second in saves.
Through the tireless work of the Dance Production Workshop Class and the cast and crew, the 2012 Arts with a Heart shows raised close to $15,000 for charity! With a theme of "Operation Gratitude," the proceeds are all going to support America's troops through four organizations: USO, San Mateo Blue Star Moms, Army Civil Affairs Battalion 445, and Operation Gratitude. Today Major Laura Miller (Castilleja Class of '98) came to campus to accept the donation on behalf of Army Civil Affairs Battalion 445 and to personally thank the girls for their support.
Seeing redshirt senior pole vaulter Tori Anthony '07 completely healthy is like seeing snow in Los Angeles.
Whether it is by misfortune or something more, saying Anthony has struggled to stay healthy on the track would be a vast understatement.
Anthony, now in her fifth year at UCLA, hopes this is the year she can avoid the injuries and other health hazards that have served as a bothersome roadblock over the past four years.
From stress fractures in her back to recurring hamstring problems, Anthony’s laundry list of injuries is long and lengthy.
“With hamstring injuries it’s so hard to know when to come back and when you’re at 100 percent again. If you pole vault on a hurt hamstring you’re going to pull it again, and I did,” Anthony said, recalling her frustrations during her sophomore season.
Anthony’s past encounters with certain injuries still cause her current discomfort if not managed properly; precautions to prevent future or repeated injury are now a part of her everyday life.
“Half of the training that I do is all preventative for injury,” Anthony said. “I do a lot of work for my back; if I stop doing that for more than a week I can feel it get progressively worse.”
It’s a mystery as to how Anthony’s body is still in one piece, let alone able to be pole vaulted over bars 14 feet off the ground. She has not been kind to her body, or maybe it’s the other way around.
Regardless, Anthony’s history of putting her body at risk began long before her days as a pole vaulter; her extensive run as a gymnast before switching to track could be an explanation for her current injury problems.
“I was a gymnast for 10 years before becoming a pole vaulter, so that definitely set my body back,” Anthony said. “Gymnastics is almost as tough on your body as pole vaulting is.”
Whatever the origin or reason for Anthony’s frequent time off the track, it’s not something she has handled poorly or had to face alone.
The women’s track coaching staff has obviously not relished watching one of its best athletes suffer through injury on a yearly basis, but the encouragement and belief has never ceased to exist in the coaches’ minds.
“I just try to talk to her about staying confident because it’s easy for you to lose your confidence,” women’s track coach Jeanette Bolden said. “I tell her that she still has it, and I let her know that the team is behind her. She hasn’t been letting up at all.”
The encouragement from her team and coaches has helped Anthony stay positive even through her injuries, and her attitude has been noticed by her jumps coach, Anthony Curran.
“She doesn’t whine when she has injuries. She just tries to figure out what we can do to overcome them,” Curran said.
It would have been understandable had the coaches and trainers lost faith in Anthony’s ability after four straight years of unfulfilled potential and missed opportunities at possible greatness.
However, anyone who knows Anthony would say she deserves every chance she gets to prove herself free of the injury bug that has plagued her throughout her whole UCLA career. Her fifth year could be the charm, and if that’s the case, Anthony’s competition has a lot to worry about.
This season, Anthony has been flying high and injury-free, setting her highest marks since she began her time at UCLA.
With the support of her team and the benefit of a healthy body, Anthony is in a position to do something special at the NCAA Indoor Championships taking place in about two weeks.
“If I have a good meet I could easily be in the top three, and if the stars align I can take home the win,” Anthony said about the championship.
“If you put me in a national meet against the best in the country, I wouldn’t bet against myself.”
By LEONARDO VILLALOBOS Daily Bruin February 28, 2012
Watch Tori Anthony '07 set the national pole vault record at 14'1" her senior year at Castilleja...
Under the leadership of Surya B. '13, yesterday Casti held a fundraiser for the United States Wolf Refuge. Through generous purchases of jewelry and t-shirts, as well as donations from the community, the girls raised over $200. These funds will be used to expand wolf enclosures and to help pay for medical treatments. As a special treat, during lunch students had the opportunity to meet the head of the Wolf Refuge and two wolf ambassadors, Kasa and Takoda. Students lavished them with attention and love, and were sad to say good-bye to their new lupine friends. The Wolf Refuge may have found a few new volunteers! Thanks to everyone for supporting the wolves!
Congratulations to Anna C. '15, who recently appeared on theMarie Showon the Hallmark Channel to discuss her new novel,All That Is Red! Written during the summer between eighth and ninth grade, the book delves into the power of emotions.Amazondescribes the novel as a "journey through the human condition": "Could you choose between feeling pain and not feeling anything, ever again? A girl is caught in a world where this choice is fiercely contested. In the cross-fire between the Red and White empires, the feeling and the unfeeling, each bent on the other's destruction, the girl must choose between emotion and oblivion, joining the ranks with the Reds as they fight to resist the Whites, but all the while struggling with her own desperate ambivalence." Amazon also sings Anna's praises: "Unsettling, engaging and surprisingly erudite,All That Is Redis a remarkably assured debut from an ascending literary star." Great job, Anna!
Catapults, slings, conveyer belts, and trebuchets! That’s what it takes to meet the Tech Museum of Innovation’s annual Tech Challenge. This year, the "Magic Duo" (seventh graders Kaitlin R. and Zoë S.) and the "Galactic Girls" (seventh graders Georgia L., Katie M., and Ria S.) devoted countless hours over seven months to investigating, designing, and building a mechanism for packaging and launching a raw egg (simulating a container of delicate equipment) several feet in the air so that it landed on a target platform without breaking (simulating an asteroid where the equipment needed to be deposited). The Magic Duo designed and built a life-sized wooden catapult, while the Galactic Girls designed and build a trebuchet. They also developed a packaging solution that protected the raw egg flawlessly! The Tech Challenge provided an opportunity for these Middle School students to apply real-world techniques to solve an engineering problem. Congratulations to the Magic Duo and the Galactic Girls for their hard work, perseverance, and creativity!
Yesterday during lunch Casti was treated to a live performance on the Circle by Soosan Firooz, the first female Afghan rapper! A talented musician, she is also a dedicated voice for women's rights and political consciousness in Afghanistan, truly Standing Up and Speaking Out for women's rights. Amidst government threats against herself and her family, Soosan remains courageous and keeps singing-- hoping to be an inspiration to others to do the same. Over the past few days Soosan also performed at TEDx, was featured on MTV's "Rebel with a Cause," and received the Feminist Majority Foundation's Global Women's Rights Award in Palo Alto. To learn more of her amazing story, check out this video!
Curious about how Scratch has been integrated into the Middle School curriculum? Want to learn about some of the fun projects in which the girls have participated this year? Click here to read a recent interview Computer Science teacher Ann Greyson gave to ScratchEd, a growing online community of educators working with the visual programming language. The best endorsement of a job well done? On a recent survey, students gave extremely positive feedback, stating that they wanted to use more of Scratch across the curriculum.
French II students "visited" Burkina Faso via Sarah Tkach's presentation on the West African country. Ms. Tkach shared her experience studying abroad and interning in avillage libraryin Burkina Faso through a program run bySanta Clara Universityin conjunction with her professors' non-profit,Friends of African Village Libraries. The students enjoyed the chance to experience this Francophone country with all their senses: tasting peanuts and dried mangoes, listening to the music of balafons and drums, watching video clips of dances and city streets, touching beautiful printed pagnes (fabric skirts), and seeing pictures of life in the capital city, Ouagadougou, and in villages. The students gained a new understanding of the Francophone world, and a few adventurous girls were ready to grab their passports and fly over to see Burkina Faso for themselves!
On Tuesday the Castilleja Margarita Espinosa Library hosted Bay Area author and artist Gene Luen Yang. Gene is best known for his 2006 book,American Born Chinese, which was the first graphic novel to be a finalist for a National Book Award, and the first graphic novel to win the American Library Association's Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature. While on campus Gene offered four different programs, ranging from a conversation about comics as a medium with the Design and Sculpture students, to a class on drawing and painting, to a discussion of modern East Asia, to a workshop with the seventh graders about creating short stories. For more information on Gene and his work visit hisofficial site, or read these articles inWiredand theSan Francisco Chronicle.
It is not every day that one can hear Castilleja students calling each other Madam Chair, Honorable, or Congresswoman. However, in order to help sophomore American Political System students achieve a deeper understanding of the legislative branch, the past two Extended Opportunity Periods (EOPs) have been dedicated to creating a mock Congress.
To begin with, each “House” member authored a bill that contained a potential change in the areas of Castilleja’s scheduling, curriculum, or environmental friendliness. In smaller committees, the girls selected several bills from each category that would be debated and voted on during the EOP period. Some key issues included double-sided printing, reusable water bottles, and sports performance option requirements.
After the members of the “House” had debated, voted, and posted their opinions of the bills on the “Castilleja Congressional Caucus” blogging website, the bills were sent to the “Senate” for approval and further amendments. The EOP that took place on April 3rd included much excitement as the Senate argued over bills and amendments. There was even a filibuster during which Harry Potter was read in order to delay voting.
Now that the House and the Senate have agreed upon three bills, the bills will be sent to the Executive Branch. Nanci Kauffman (the “President”) will have 10 days to veto or sign the bills. Last year, Mrs. Kauffman instated the Class of 2014’s bill that resulted in the purchase and installment of new landfill, recycle, and compost bins around campus. Hopefully this year’s mock Congress will be able to have a similar impact on the school; however, whatever the outcome of the bills, Castilleja sophomores have benefitted from the unique chance to be part of a Congress and see how changes are made in this country.
Under the leadership of Surya B. '13, yesterday Casti held a fundraiser for the United States Wolf Refuge. Through generous purchases of jewelry and t-shirts, as well as donations from the community, the girls raised over $200. These funds will be used to expand wolf enclosures and to help pay for medical treatments. As a special treat, during lunch students had the opportunity to meet the head of the Wolf Refuge and two wolf ambassadors, Kasa and Takoda. Students lavished them with attention and love, and were sad to say good-bye to their new lupine friends. The Wolf Refuge may have found a few new volunteers! Thanks to everyone for supporting the wolves!
French II students "visited" Burkina Faso via Sarah Tkach's presentation on the West African country. Ms. Tkach shared her experience studying abroad and interning in avillage libraryin Burkina Faso through a program run bySanta Clara Universityin conjunction with her professors' non-profit,Friends of African Village Libraries. The students enjoyed the chance to experience this Francophone country with all their senses: tasting peanuts and dried mangoes, listening to the music of balafons and drums, watching video clips of dances and city streets, touching beautiful printed pagnes (fabric skirts), and seeing pictures of life in the capital city, Ouagadougou, and in villages. The students gained a new understanding of the Francophone world, and a few adventurous girls were ready to grab their passports and fly over to see Burkina Faso for themselves!
Yesterday during lunch Casti was treated to a live performance on the Circle by Soosan Firooz, the first female Afghan rapper! A talented musician, she is also a dedicated voice for women's rights and political consciousness in Afghanistan, truly Standing Up and Speaking Out for women's rights. Amidst government threats against herself and her family, Soosan remains courageous and keeps singing-- hoping to be an inspiration to others to do the same. Over the past few days Soosan also performed at TEDx, was featured on MTV's "Rebel with a Cause," and received the Feminist Majority Foundation's Global Women's Rights Award in Palo Alto. To learn more of her amazing story, check out this video!
To celebrate Earth Day, the Green Team hosted a series of fun and informative activities over the lunch hour. To whet people's appetite (both literally and figuratively), the Team provided a sampling of eco-friendly recipes for students to taste, from no-bake desserts to a bike-powered smoothie station! While noshing, students had a chance to check out some green gadgets, the products from the Green Team Extended Opportunity Period workshops (like solar panel robots and reused place mats), a Casti-colored red Tesla, and the energy bike that Green Team members made. To conclude festivities Ms. Shanks' design class put on a special "trashion" fashion show featuring creative costumes constructed from recycled materials. The show was presented at View360 this year, where the dresses were praised by Project Runway judge Nina Garcia. Also, in the evening the Green Team hosted a showing of King Corn, the 2007 documentary describing how the increasing production of corn has affected American society. By the end of the day everyone had a great deal of food for thought about the environment and how they could get involved!
