the
VOLUME 36
ISSUE 2
A new s le tte r o f the B la c k P ine C irc le Sc ho o l
2 0 2 7 Se ve nth Stre e t B e rke le y C A 9471 0
w w w . b lac kpine c irc le . o rg
Can You Spell Chrysanthemum?
Empathy and BPC’s 2014-15 Theme Considerate, Consider It
by John Carlstroem, Head of School
Remember when your parents asked
you to finish the food on your plate
because they wanted you to “think
about the poor starving kids in
(insert far-off country here)”? Well,
maybe they were really trying to
activate your empathy muscles.
We’ve long known that empathy and
altruism seem to be uniquely human
attributes (although primatologist
Frans DeWaal begs to differ). What
we’re finding out now, is that there
is a neurological and cognitive
advantage involved in being in
empathic environments.
stretched out on this theme: We’ve
read Seeds of Empathy, became
more deeply invested in Responsive
Classroom practice (including their
Origins program), and, recently,
we’ve been studying some of the
important scientific data that’s
surfacing about the benefits of
being considerate.
What does this mean for schools?
How has this changed and shaped
how we do things at Black Pine Circle
School?
At the start of this academic year,
our annual theme was front and
center — Considerate, Consider It.
The goal of our theme has been
to shine a light on the relationship
between kindness and questioning.
How do we suspend judgment and
instead employ curiosity?
As a community of educators we’ve
The studies around empathy, and
what scientists and policy wonks
are calling “non-cognitive skills” in
schools, are important and sobering.
A 2011 study commissioned by
the National Center for Education
Statistics and Bureau of Justice
Statistics found that 28% of
American students in grades 6-8 felt
teased, bullied, or picked on. This
high percentage of anxious students
translated to mental and physical
health issues as well as significant
learning issues in the classroom. As
a reaction to this study and others
like it, the education community has
been busy creating programs that
support social-emotional learning as
a critical part of K-8 curriculum. Many
of us remember middle school the
same way, with the requisite hassles,
and we ramp ourselves into the “it
helps toughen you up” mindset....
but just imagine if the teasing hadn’t
been there. Your life might have
actually been qualitatively better,
not just easier.
It’s not just education experts looking
at this new reality around the impact
of high empathy communities.
During this past decade, Nobel Prizewinning economist James Heckman
(University of Chicago) has been
looking closely at how poverty,
education, and being in a supportive,
empathic community intersect.
His findings strongly suggest that
having abilities in non-cognitive
learning (e.g. empathy and altruistic
skills) can help predict a higher
level of personal and professional
Continued on page 8
The Circular Two
“Pura Vida!”
by Patrick Nelligan, Head of Upper School
IN THIS
ISSUE
Can You Spell Chrysanthemum?. . . . . . . . . . 1
“Pura Vida!”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
First Grade’s Compliments Jar . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Partnering for a Common Cause . . . . . . . . . 4
Helping George Mark Children’s House . . . . 5
Bill Shea’s Herculean Effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Diversity Conference at Head-Royce . . . . . 7
Researching Our Unsung Heroes . . . . . . . . 8
Qurious about the Q Lab? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Q Lab Top Ten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sixth Grade Odes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Alumni Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
First Grade I Am Poems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Art Exhibit 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Acknowledgements:
Lesley Jones, Editor
Anastasia Garrison, Design
“Pura Vida!” That is the national slogan, greeting, and more or less the
essence of life in Costa Rica. It translates many ways (somewhat akin to the
Hawaiian Shaka) and, no matter the context, Pura Vida conveys the positive
message that that life is good. Costa Rica is indeed a warm and welcoming
country where the pace of life is relaxing and the atmosphere is calm.
In April of this year, roughly half of Black Pine Circle School’s eighth
grade class journeyed to Costa Rica for two weeks of immersion in the
language, culture, and awe-inspiring surroundings of this region of Central
America. Upper school Spanish teacher, Catalina Lacy, was the trip leader.
Her meticulous organization and her strong leadership remain central to
the great success of this program. Fifth grade teaching assistant, Micaela
Garcia, joined Catalina, as she has for the last six years that Black Pine Circle
School has offered this opportunity to students. Both Catalina and Micaela
are native Spanish speakers and together their ability to navigate and serve
as diplomats and troop leaders made the job of chaperone #3 (me) quite
simple. I was fortunate to join the group and take it all in for the first ten
days. Eighth grade parent Sally Horner (both a doctor and fluent in Spanish)
joined the group for the last seven days of the trip.
We spent the first week of the journey in the small town of Santa Elena, a
village nestled inland, up in the mountains and at the foot of an expansive
cloud forest of Monteverde. Santa Elena is mild, temperate, and continuously
breezy. A quiet destination for naturalists and tourists and young students,
Santa Elena is also an ideal location for the Centro Panamericano de Idiomas
(CPI). CPI is the language school where our students passed a good portion
of their days, working in small groups with instructors in Spanish-only
classrooms. Translations, short stories, songs, and dances were all a part
of the daily lessons. Students were given a 20-minute break each day, at
which point they sprinted to the foosball and ping pong tables, sat in the
courtyards, and lazed in the sun alongside the fountains in the beautiful
gardens.
In the evenings, students took to the sidewalks and quiet streets to walk
home through the town and spend the night with their homestay families.
The occasion to talk and eat dinner with a Costa Rican family was perhaps
the most enriching experience for our students as they shared their own
stories and listened to those of their host families. Many of the host families
had young children of their own. The homes were a most natural setting in
which students were compelled to think on their feet and speak in Spanish.
Learning to graciously call for more or less of the portions of rice and beans
at dinner remained a challenge for everyone. As did striving to understand
the nuance of the evening television programs running in the background in
many hosts’ living rooms, be they romantic dramas, game shows, or regional
soccer games. We all spent a fair amount of time discussing the music,
television, and general environment of the host families. These lifestyles were
certainly distinct in many ways from those of our own Bay Area households,
and we all grew tremendously through this cultural shift.
When not at home or in class, there were many opportunities for students
to see and enjoy much of what Santa Elena has to offer. Mornings and
afternoons were filled with outings unique and special to this very region of
Costa Rica. On a visit to the cloud forest, a number of us were fortunate to
The Circular Three
spot a quetzal, a beautifully exotic
bird, which lives in the forests of
South America, and is a threatened
species which cannot survive in
captivity. Later that week, during a
night hike in the forest, the group
sighted a sloth, a tarantula, and a
number of scorpions and fireflies.
Scorpions glow under the ray of an
ultraviolet light and, as such, they
are frighteningly easy to locate in
the dark. Some students reported
that they were also easy to see in
the bathroom of their host family
under normal lighting conditions!
At one point in the week, we visited
a local farm and worked in the fields
clearing stumps of old coffee plants,
spreading manure, and separating
coffee beans from their shells. At the
end of the day, all of the students
climbed up an enormous guava tree
on the fringe of the crop fields and
soon after took a photo alongside a
plant that had been planted by the
previous eighth grade class of BPC
to visit the farm.
There
were
numerous
daily
adventures
and
experiences
including dance class, cooking class,
and horseback riding. Ziplining
through the cloud forest was a
highlight for many. After traveling
to the summit of a mountain
by gondola, we traipsed up the
many steps of steel platforms and
descended at high speed through
the forest canopy, lush green trees
below and cloudy skies above.
For the second week of the journey,
the group traveled to Potrero, a
small town on the western coast of
Costa Rica. Again, students were
engaged daily in Spanish classes
and they enjoyed the beach, surf
lessons, and other new adventures.
During much of this two-week trip,
students were granted the freedom
and independence to explore the
towns, walk the avenues, shop at
the local merchants, and gaze upon
the countryside of Costa Rica. There
were several fortuitous moments.
At one bus stop, the group spotted
a pair of macaws up in a tree above
a café. In a curious act of mischief,
the macaws actually tossed mangos
down upon us as we looked up to
observe them. At another stop,
students participated in a friendly
scavenger hunt for the prices of a
rather large list of obscure goods
typed up by Señora Lacy (did you
know that “tiquisque” is a vegetable
and “ligas” are rubber bands?).
With a budget of ten U.S. dollars,
students competed to buy the
greatest amount of listed goods
that they could find.
These two weeks in a Spanishspeaking country 4,000 miles
south of Berkeley were full of new
discoveries and numerous “firsts”
for our students. And while we
have since returned to algebra and
Socratic Seminars, Maker Faires and
two square, the memories and the
lessons that the students learned
in Costa Rica will likely last forever,
as will their deep understanding of
Pura Vida!
Upcoming Events
June
Last day of school, June 4
School offices close for the summer, July 2
September
First day of school, September 2
The Circular Four
First Grade’s Compliments Jar
by Leila Sinclaire, First Grade Head Teacher & Lesley Jones, Director of
Communications & Special Events
Daily life in first grade is full of little
successes; too often we don’t stop
and acknowledge them. In order
to formally recognize the ways
we show consideration for one
another—our nod to the theme
Considerate, Consider it—we’ve
introduced the Compliments Jar.
During the week, whenever they
are moved to do so, first graders
write anonymous compliments
about their peers on strips of
paper, which they then add to the
jar. Rather than general comments
such as “You’re nice” or “You’re my
friend,” we encourage students to
write more specific compliments:
“You smiled at me when I was
feeling sad,” or “When I had no one
to play with, you asked me to join
in the game.”
A few times per week, we have a
Closing Circle. We gather on the
rug during the last half-hour of the
school day and discuss an array
of social-emotional issues. Having
compliments from the Compliments
Jar read out loud has become
an eagerly awaited addition to
Closing Circle. It is beautiful to
see students beam when a peer
records a moment of kindness and
makes it public. If a student has
not received a compliment in a
while, this triggers a conversation
among the class about what kind
of considerate actions might help
earn an appreciative comment.
In the Lower School, each school
day begins with Morning Meeting,
part of the Responsive Classroom
approach. Aside from being a
chance for the children to greet
one another, it helps foster each
child’s sense of belonging to
the community, and provides
opportunities for students to
develop their voice through
sharing, taking risks, practicing
giving respectful attention, turntaking, and listening. Likewise,
this Closing Circle activity—
sharing compliments from the
Compliments Jar—helps promote
empathy and enhances each child’s
sense of importance to the group.
Partnering
for a
Common
Cause
by Cheryl Sumsion & Carwai Seto,
6A Advisors
This year, each upper school
advisory was tasked with finding
a community service project
that would be meaningful and
interesting for them to pursue.
6A’s two advisory groups began
by brainstorming ideas and
doing research to determine the
feasibility of their ideas. One of
the themes that emerged was
taking on a project that involved
children. Ben Sommer shared
that his father, Ken, works at the
George Mark Children’s House.
Once the students talked with
Ken, our two advisory groups
were excited to partner to
educate the BPC community
about the organization and to
raise funds for the facility. George
Mark Children’s House is a unique
medical facility and hospice
for children, designed to serve
kids with life-limiting illnesses
and their families in a home-like
setting in the San Leandro Hills.
As advisors, it was our goal to
discuss the work of this facility
with care and thoughtfulness.
We took a field trip to see the
facility and to develop a greater
understanding of the services
that they provide for the patients
and their families. Our students
came back inspired and fired up
to take action: they prepared a
video and a presentation to share
at upper school town hall.
They wanted to make their
bake sale fundraiser visually
meaningful. Inspired by words
and images they had collected
The Circular Five
Why We Chose to Help
George Mark Children’s House
by Aaron Johnson & Jack McDermott, 6A
We, the students of 6A, chose
George Mark Children’s House for
our community service project
and received a hands-on tour of
the building. We chose George
Mark Children’s House because we
wanted to help a small organization
get its name out and become
recognized for what they are doing.
The house provides three types of
quality medical care for children
who have life-limiting illnesses:
Transitional Care: The staff helps
the kids go from a hospital to
regular life. They also train the
parents to be able to take care of
their sick kids.
Respite Care: When a family wants
to have a break from the hard
work of taking care of a sick child
and maybe go to Disneyland, the
people at George Mark will take
care of the kid for a weekend or a
week.
place for the
kids to spend their days. There
are eight rooms for the patients,
each with an age-appropriate
themed mural such as a beach or
pirate ship. There is a game room,
sensory room, water therapy, and
a dining room. George Mark is also
designed to support the families of
the patients, too. There are rooms
for families to stay and activities for
siblings and other family members.
This is a very unique and special
place for these sick kids and their
families.
End of Life Care: This type of care
is for kids who will likely die soon
so that they can die in a calm, safe
environment.
George Mark is not like a busy
hospital. It allows 24/7 visiting hours
and provides a quiet, peaceful George Mark Children’s House
does not charge its patients
anything, but it still needs money
to be able to keep helping people.
It needs 4 million dollars a year, so
we decided to organize and hold
a bake sale and raffle at the Art
Exhibit Opening/Project Night to
raise money for George Mark.
View photos of our visit to the
George Mark Children’s House
HERE.
from their impressions of George Mark House, they decided to create, in baked goods, a brownie fountain and
cookie garden with words inscribed on each cookie, to represent the beautiful garden of rocks carved with the
names of children who received care there. In Rice Krispie squares, they represented the tile wall we saw to
memorialize the characters of children who had passed through their doors. And since there were words and ideas
left over, a cupcake crossword was born. For the raffle, students designed and made George Mark t-shirts.
This group of sixth graders impressed us with their ambition for informing and helping others. Their bake sale and
raffle raised $779.76, and then a 6A student offered to make an additional donation to raise the total to an even
$800. Thank you for your support of this project. It was born out of the interest and passions of the group and we
are proud of what they were able to accomplish.
If you still want to donate to George Mark Children’s House, you can do so HERE. Every dollar makes a difference.
The Circular Six
Bill Shea’s Herculean Effort
by Lesley Jones, Director of Communications & Special Events
When not working
hard
at
BPC,
Director of Finance
& Operations Bill
Shea
devotes
much of his time
to giving back to
his
community.
He is one of
twenty Rotarians
in the city of
Hercules
where
he lives. Rotary is an international
service organization with about 1.2
million members worldwide in 167
countries. In 1987, Rotary made it a
goal to eradicate polio from the face
of the globe and, today, only three
countries in the world—Nigeria,
Pakistan and Afghanistan—have not
stopped its transmission.
At the local level, Rotarians give
back to their community through
a variety of service projects, which
includes raising money for different
causes. When Bill Shea joined the
Hercules Rotary Club in 2011, he
was one of just ten members, but
he has played an instrumental role
in doubling that membership. The
club’s mission is to benefit youth
and youth programs in the city
of Hercules.
An avid runner, Bill wanted
to introduce a 4th of July
5K or 10K running race in
Hercules as a way to not
only bring his community
together in a shared
endeavor, but for fun. He
began in February of 2014 by
approaching civic leaders and
the Chief of Police and was told
that he could have his run—as long
as he also agreed to put on a parade
and festival for the city! (Hercules
had a tradition of a 4th July Parade,
but it was eliminated in 2009 due to
the spring progressed,
the Rotarians, led by
Bill, managed to raise
$10k in corporate and
local sponsorship.
the city’s serious budget crisis.)
With zero dollars and no sponsors,
Bill agreed to take on the challenge:
he needed to find a race director, a
timing company, establish a route
for the parade, and organize a
festival in Refugio Valley Park with
food booths, information booths,
vendors, and a music stage. No
small feat. With just nine other
Rotary members to turn to for help,
Bill needed to cast the net wide and
call on other business owners in the
community to step up. He began
hosting twice-weekly planning
sessions at his home and as many as
45 people would attend. Encouraged
by enthusiasm for the event—the 5K
run, the parade, and the festival—
which had now been named
Celebrate Hercules, he
began approaching local
merchants to sponsor
the run and the festival.
Almost every night
he
found
himself
speaking to a local
group or organization
to drum up interest
and participation. A logo
design for the event was
donated by an El Sobrante
businessman, which doubled as
the logo on the race shirts for
the Hercules Dynamite Run. All
sponsors were guaranteed their
name on the back of the t-shirts. As
A website was developed,
Hercules4thofJuly.com,
where local businesses
and
organizations
could go to download
applications
for
participating in the parade or having
a booth at the festival. The theme
of honoring veterans was chosen
for the 2014 festival and the grand
marshal was a 91 year-old veteran
who rode in the parade in a World
War II restored army jeep.
On July 2, 2014, there were just 280
runners registered, but between
July 3 & the morning of the run,
an additional 120 signed up for a
400-strong participation in the
inaugural run. With 62 parade
entrants, 45 vendors in the park,
and 150 volunteers, the festival
was shaping up to be a muchanticipated event. On the day,
between 4,000 and 5,000 people
attended, lingering in the park well
beyond the length of the festival
and a testament to the event’s
overall success.
Nine thousand dollars was raised—
six thousand of which was given
back to the community to help
support various youth programs,
the citizen’s police academy, and a
senior center, and three thousand
of which has been used to seed
the 2nd annual Celebrate Hercules
festival. This year, as well as the 5K
run, a mile walk, and kids’ ¼-mile
run have been added. As of May 1,
50 runners have already registered
to run, whereas on the same date
last year only 21 runners had signed
up. Bill has a goal of 700 runners for
The Circular Seven
The theme of this year’s event is honoring our
heroes—and Bill’s determination and effort to serve
his community by making this event happen is nothing
short of heroic. The idea that Celebrate Hercules will
become the city’s signature event is already taking hold.
this 4th of July run. A contest was held for the Hercules
Dynamite Run logo design and a 15 year-old student
from Hercules High School was the winner. The festival
committee plans to honor her with a surprise visit to
her school’s assembly this month. Already this year’s
run, parade, and festival are being promoted with street
banners, which were hung ahead of the city’s annual
cleanup day. To date, ten thousand dollars has been
pledged in sponsorship donations, including a $500
bike from a local bike vendor that will be raffled off.
Bill’s goal is for Celebrate Hercules to raise $15k this
July 4th.
BPC Students Attend a Diversity
Conference at Head-Royce School
by Rafi Wirtschafter, 8th Grade
On April 3, the Friday before spring break, members of BPC’s upper school
student Diversity Club and Black Student Union (BSU) attended a studentled middle school Diversity Leadership Conference at Head-Royce.
Middle school students from various independent schools were
present and they participated in workshops led by Head-Royce
students on subjects related to diversity: race/ethnicity, body image,
gender/sexuality, learning differences, and socio-economic status.
BPC seventh grader, Miles, said he “learned about microaggressions
and [he] felt like [he] could speak freely.” Ella, another seventh grader,
who took the gender and sexuality class, said, “I didn’t know there are
people who are my age and transgender. I hadn’t thought about that.”
Mia, in seventh grade, learned a lot from her classes and said, “I enjoyed the
seminar about body image because it gave me a better idea of how other people
perceive body image.” Sixth graders, James and Daniel, said that they “could talk about things [they] couldn’t talk
about at school.” In the Black Student Union and Diversity Club, we strive to talk about these issues and help the
school improve in the ways that it can.
BPC’s Black Student Union (BSU) meets every Thursday and BSU’s faculty sponsors are Jerry Kennedy, Nanci
Armstrong, Chris Chun, and Kira Del Mar. BSU students connect with each other, share experiences, discuss the world
around them, and give each other advice. The student Diversity Club meets every Friday and is sponsored by Chris
Chun and Kira Del Mar. Students in the Diversity Club discuss issues related to social justice and inclusivity, both in
the BPC community and in the world at large. One initiative of the group this year was to make a gender-neutral
bathroom in the Upper School and introduce it during town hall. They are currently working on another project for
educating their peers.
The Circular Eight
Fifth Grade’s Civil War Soldier Project:
Researching Our Unsung Heroes
by Lesley Jones, Director of Communications & Special Events & Maureen Ray, Fifth Grade Head Teacher
As the school year draws to a close,
the fifth grade is engaged in a very
meaningful history research project
using primary source documents to
find out about unknown Civil War
soldiers and their stories.
Conservators have been scanning
thousands of rapidly disintegrating
military records into an archive
on Fold3 (affiliated with Ancestry.
com) along with the stories,
photos, and personal documents of
the men and women who served in
the Civil War, as well as numerous
other wars. The Fold3 name comes
from a traditional flag folding
ceremony in which the third fold is
made in honor and remembrance
of veterans who served in defense
of their country and to maintain
peace throughout the world.
Original records at Fold3 are
helping our students discover and
share stories about these everyday
heroes—the forgotten soldiers, and
the families who supported them.
The students are accessing the
Civil War soldiers’ records largely
through the widow’s pension files.
As much of the handwriting is
very hard to decipher, students
are using their detective skills
as well as Google searches of
unfamiliar words to make sense
of the documents. Miles Fleisher
has discovered John Sanders of
Salem, Massachusetts who was the
Captain of the 15th Regiment of the
Massachusetts Sharpshooters. Ava
Pearson has uncovered a soldier
named Chocolate King. She’s
excited about the project because
they are “reporting about someone
unknown, recognizing the ordinary
people who made a difference, not
just the big shots.”
Fifth grade head teacher Maureen
Ray was made aware of these
primary source documents through
Dr. Carol Reardon last summer
at a National Endowment for the
Humanities funded workshop at
Gettysburg College. She believes
that the students are drawn to
this process of discovery because
they feel that it is worthwhile,
that they are making a difference
by sharing their findings: “This
project is different from our earlier
history investigations because the
information they are reading is
newly available to the public. They
are engaging in research as true
historians. They feel that they are
part of something important, and
they are truly invested in telling the
stories of these nearly forgotten
individuals.”
Each fifth grader is preparing
an in-depth report about their
soldier along with a slideshow
presentation to be shared with their
classmates during the penultimate
week of the school year. For many
students, their soldier’s story will
be coming to light for the very first
time since their wife’s death. The
students hope to make a book of
these stories to share not only with
each other, but with local veterans’
groups. It will be available in our
library as well.
Chrysanthemum continued from page 1
success. At McGill University, studies with lab mice are
showing that mammals that receive attentive grooming
and/or touch-comforting from a parent mouse (dam)
enjoy a more biologically healthy—or successful—
mouse existence. The opposite is also true, that even in
mice there is such thing as “failure to thrive” syndrome,
where the animals die from a lack of attentive nurturing.
In a local connection, researcher Dr. Nadine Burke
Harris opened a clinic in Bayview-Hunters Point and has
been looking at how stress and fear can affect young
minds. Burke’s research demonstrates that when a child
has had four or more adverse childhood experiences
their odds of having a learning challenge or behavior
problem in school is 32 times higher than a student
with zero fear/stress-noted adverse experiences.
Psychologists have long used the term “secure
attachment” (comforting a child through difficult
times) as a non-cognitive learning essential for human
development. So, how can teachers create secure
attachments with their students?
Emotional safety in a classroom is paramount. A
classroom where a student can be correct, incorrect,
or off-base, is a non-negotiable. By the time kids have
been at BPC for a couple of years, they have become
comfortable agreeing, disagreeing, and developing a
point of view. As most of us can attest, that’s a pretty
rare skill, even in our adult world. How wonderful it is,
that this is at the heart of a BPC education.
The empathic approach a co-worker, a mentor, a
partner, or specifically a teacher brings to a relationship
has deep bio-neurological impact. When someone says,
“How’s your mom doing? I know it’s been a tough time
with her surgery,” what they are communicating to a
student (or colleague) is that, this is
a safe place, I am a community member
who is here to help, not harm you,
and I care about you even if
you can’t spell chrysanthemum.
The Circular Nine
Qurious about the Q Lab?
by John Ormsby, Director of Development
Following more than a year of intensive planning and fundraising, BPC is beginning construction on the Q Lab and
related renovations in June 2015. The ceremonial groundbreaking is scheduled for Thursday, June 4 at 9:45 am,
immediately following the all-school promotion ceremony on the upper school yard. All are invited to attend.
The new building, located where the upper school wooden deck is currently, will feature two classrooms: upstairs
a natural/life sciences/wet lab space, and downstairs a more hands-on tinker/maker space. The new building will
connect with the existing 6th St. building, which will be undergoing
renovations to make it more functional, safe, and attractive.
Construction will be phased. During summer 2015, upgrades will be
made to the 6th Street building and initial site preparation (foundation,
utility connections, etc.) will be done for the Q lab itself. During the 20152016 school year, the 6th Street building will be in full use. Work will
continue on the Q Lab during this time, but will be structured to minimize
disruptions to students. The building is expected to be completed in fall
2016.
For the past year, a committee of approximately 12 parents has been
meeting with current BPC families to ask for their support. To date, the
BPC community has responded with over $1 million toward this project.
The school has set a goal of $2 million in cash and in-kind donations to
pay for construction, equipment, and furnishings. Every member of the
BPC community is being asked to contribute. Additionally, the school is
seeking grant funding from at least two area foundations.
Alum parent Karl Golden and current parent Erin Gillett are the architects on the project. Karl designed the Founders’
Building, which houses our library and 4th and 5th grade classrooms on the lower school campus. Elmer Construction
has been selected to build the Q Lab. The company made vital renovations to the FAD many years ago and built the
Founders’ Building.
Once complete, the Q Lab will be used by every student K-8 at BPC, and it will be made available to the larger
community when possible. It will be a wonderful, needed addition to our growing school, and underscore its welldeserved reputation for excellence in science.
Let the fanfare begin!
The Circular Ten
THE Q LAB TOP TEN
1. The Q Lab is a visual exclamation point on BPC’s commitment to Socratic inquiry.
2. The Q Lab is a critical component of BPC’s campus-wide master plan for increasing and improving
student facilities for the Lower and Upper Schools.
3. The Q Lab has been percolating for years. Many parents, faculty, and the BPC administration have
been working behind the scenes to get us here.
4. The Q Lab will raise BPC’s public profile (like our Science for the Greater Good series and our recent
appearances on NPR).
5. The Q Lab will be used by all students, K through 8th grade.
6. The Q Lab will increase classroom space by 6,000 (new) square feet at BPC.
7. The Q Lab will be completed and ready for use by September of 2016.
8. The Q Lab is being designed by the same architects and builders who carried out the FAD remodel,
and who created the 4th/5th classrooms and library building.
9. The Q Lab estimated cost is approximately 1.6 million in capital dollars (and $400,000 in in-kind
donations).
10. $1,100,000 has been committed from BPC families already! Help us reach our goal!
Have You Seen the 5-Minute Film about the Q Lab? Click HERE
Want to Learn More about the Construction Phases? Click HERE
Art Exhibit 2015
To View the Art Exhibit
Video Tour, Click HERE
The Circular Eleven
Sixth Grade
Odes
Everyday, lost and found
One is never like the other
Pencil shavings, annoying but exotic
A perfect curve with an uneven center
Eraser leftovers, small objects on paper
Just as useful as the shavings
Mechanical pencils, lead breaking like pretzels
And the shirt clips, useful but brittle
Red, blue, and black pens galore
All of them are on the floor
Ode to
All of these things, lost and
forgotten
Forgotten
We use them so much
Writing Remnants
But forget them
a place where I
so easily
by Enzo Nelligan, 6B
can think,
Ode to
Silence
by Opal Minor, 6A
Quiet
Shh,
Me, sitting here trying to write
Chairs squeaking, kids whispering,
What I need is…
Noiselessness:
a place where dreams grow,
where I can really perfect this Ode
a time when the world seems to be at rest
where my mind can wander,
The rusty smell of
take a walk.
cigarette ends and unkempt
Silence
dogs.
Rows of woman draped head to toe in cloth
and hijabs,
an ocean of linen
eyes piercing through like rocks.
Men stand at their booths
yelling at tourists
to purchase babooch and scarves.
Trash-strewn streets
littered with crumbs and scraps of leather.
Mountains of spices a spectrum of color.
Ode to
Children running through the streets,
baskets of bread balanced on their heads.
Morocco
Cats battle over the smallest of meals,
by Abe Chabon, 6A
the victors crawl slowly away.
The desert is an empty room
without walls,
still with many corners to explore.
The Atlas Mountains reign tall above the fields below,
the brow and crest
scattered with Berber villages.
The cities wrapped in great walls locking out
modern culture
and keeping the old beliefs in.
Morocco
The Circular Twelve
“Be the Change
You Want to See in the World”
Alumni Profile
KELSEY JAMES-KAVANAUGH, CLASS OF 2006
My eighth grade year was the first year Mr. Carlstroem was the
head of school at BPC and I still remember the speech he gave
at his first assembly. After showing the upper school students
how we could all remember his name through the motions of
driving a car, the letter L, and strumming an air guitar (a very
humorous sight to say the least!), he told us that he wanted us
all to “be the change we wanted to see in the world”.
That phrase, I believe, captures what an education from BPC is
all about. At BPC you are encouraged to have big dreams and
to turn them into a reality. As a student, you are encouraged to be
creative and well-rounded rather than to be forced to choose between math, English, science, and the arts. Teachers,
and even your fellow peers, challenged and pushed you to be your best self, and I am grateful to have been a part of
it. I can honestly say that my 4th-8th grade education help instill in me the desire to have a positive impact on the
world and to not just be a face in the crowd.
From a young age, I knew I wanted to work with animals as my profession. As I grew up, that dream began to take
shape and I eventually settled on wanting to work with wildlife in the conservation world. My inspiration for doing
so was based on a phrase I chose to print in bold, golden glitter letters on my college graduation cap: ‘Be a voice for
those without one.” So, having the opportunity to return to Africa for a two-month internship with Lion Encounter,
an organization under the umbrella group ALERT (African Lion and Environmental Research Trust), to work with
lions was truly a dream come true. Lion Encounter and ALERT’s ultimate goal is to release prides of lions, through
their four stage program, into areas of Africa where lions have been historically found. Days were long, starting at
5:30 am and ending after 8:00 pm, and full of laborious tasks, including enclosure cleaning and meat prep. But I
loved every minute of it because I was making a difference in the lives of the lions and, ultimately, the fate of their
species.
I chose to work in Africa because I believe it is on the front line of the battle being waged to help save the majestic
wildlife that also call Earth home. It is a never-ending battle but it is not one without hope. I always like to stress that
while humans are the problem we are also the solution. As a species, we have the greatest influence on this planet
and it is our duty to make a conscious effort to ensure we keep it healthy and happy for the generations of people
and animals to come. And so I, like Mr. Carlstroem did during his first assembly, encourage us all to make a difference
and “be the change we want to see in the world.”
Kelsey James-Kavanaugh graduated from U.C. Davis in June 2014 with a B.S. in wildlife, fish and conservation biology.
She is currently exploring her options in wildlife conservation in both graduate school and the career world.
The Circular Thirteen
First Grade I Am Poems
I am sneaky
Like a fox.
I am complicated
Like a puzzle.
I am wild
Like a wolf.
I am soothing
Like lip balm.
I am a cat and melty
Like chocolate.
I am refreshing apples and strawberries.
I am fragrant flowers
And a pool of cool water.
by Sarah Countryman
I am a cookie
Surrounded by friends.
I’m a husky running
Like the wind,
I’m an owl
Watching my friends.
I’m an otter dancing.
I’m a friend waiting to jump out of a box.
I’m a locket on my friend’s neck.
I’m a flying squirrel
Going to my friend.
I’m a whale breaking through ice
To get to my friend.
by Alexandra Becker
I am a lion
Watching my prey.
I am a shark that’s hunting,
A snake that’s slithering in the jungle,
A bird that’s peace and love,
A lizard that’s hunting insects
A fish that’s hunting food.
by Rohail Khan
The Circular Fourteen
Art Exhibit 2015
To View the Art Exhibit Video Tour, Click HERE
“Tropical Rainforests
of the World”