the
VOLUME 37
ISSUE 1
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
Michael J. Fox, Socrates, and Homo Habilis
Walk into a Bar...
by John Carlstroem, Head of School
Pop culture fans were thrilled this past October 21st when
celebrations took place honoring the 25th anniversary of
the Back To The Future movie trilogy, with its predictions
for the (future) year 2015, including Skype-esque bigscreen tv communications, news drones, hands-free video
games, and even Google Glass video glasses. We don’t yet
have real hoverboards, but prototypes are now emerging.
Anyway, the coverage got me thinking about the phrase
“back to the future.”
In schools, everything old is new again, and everything
new is old. Many education experts have likened the
newish-2014−2015 Common Core Standards’ emphasis
on deeper meaning and student voice to the core ideas in
Socratic education (oldish—about 2500 years old!).
Education is an unusual discipline in that it is something
everyone has experienced at some point and, yet, it is often
considered “completely broken” by those who analyze
what works and what doesn’t. We read articles two or
three times a year about test scores, the achievement gap,
and dropout rates.
As many teachers will attest, there are very few people who
do not have opinions on the topic of learning. Regardless
of knowledge or expertise, most everyone wants to talk
about what they would do to fix education in America. I
often think about my brother, the physician, and how he
rarely has to manage the “why don’t you just….” conjecture
that educators receive so often. It’s rare for someone to
say to him, “If the convolutions on the occipital lobe look
funky, perhaps you just need to enter through the temporal
lobe in order to reach the medulla oblongata more easily.”
So let’s talk about some elements in the educational
firmament that haven’t changed much (and shouldn’t)
since old Socrates was tripping over his toga on a hot
summer day in the Agora. These are things we know work!
Let’s celebrate and amplify these critical ideas.
We talk about these as BPC’s key mission tenets. Many
of you have heard me describe them as an equation,
capitalizing on our reputation as a school that loves and
excels in mathematics:
Curiosity + Community + Inquiry = Voice.
Even prior to Socrates and our other European “thinker’
touchstones, the above mentioned skills and values must
have been critical for survival. These are in fact evolutionary
traits that have survived through time.
Homo habilis, two million years ago, needed to be curious
(I’ve often wondered how she figured out oysters would
taste good?). She needed to take care of her community,
travelling together in family bands over large territories to
find resources. She needed to attempt, through trial and
error, how to make tools for butchering animals (inquiry)
and she had to develop her method of expression through
the use of the Broca center in the brain, which is much less
developed in earlier fossil relatives (voice).
This issue of Black Pine Circle School’s Circular is
thematically centered on how these four pillars of our
Continued on page 10
The Circular Two
CURIOSITY
A Tale of Two Teachers
by Diana Warren, Head of Lower School
IN THIS
ISSUE
Michael J. Fox, Socrates, and Homo
Habilis Walk into a Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
A Tale of Two Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
On Cultural Competency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
A Place Called Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The Q Lab Rises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Debate as a Way of Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
A Quinceañera Comes to BPC . . . . . . . . . 11
Alumni Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Tales from the Second Grade . . . . . . . . . 14
Fun Facts about New Teachers . . . . . . . . 15
Acknowledgements:
Lesley Jones, Editor
Anastasia Garrison, Design
Every school year starts with a rush and the pace usually doesn’t slow until
the winter months. In the latter part of October, another element is added
to the hustle and bustle of the annual school experience: school tours. Tours
are conducted for those families interested in possibly attending BPC the
following school year. After each tour, division heads, the admissions director,
and the head of school sit together to answer questions and extol the virtues
of our lovely community. We are often asked what makes this school special
or what sets us apart from other schools, and my unflinching response is the
faculty. In my twenty plus years as an educator working with several different
staffs in various arenas, I can honestly say the lower school faculty is the best
I’ve ever worked with. Among our immensely talented team are two teachers,
though different in many ways, who are very similar in their approach to
teaching: energetic, inquisitive, and passionate.
Believe it or not, Romina Ronquillo, our kindergarten head teacher, is now the
senior member of our lower school faculty, having taught for 16 years here at
BPC, nine of those in kindergarten. Diane Wirtschafter, our fourth grade head
teacher is, however, the senior member in terms of the total time she’s taught:
30 years. I recently sat down to hear their thoughts on being an educator and
a few of the differences between when they first started teaching and now.
Both of you have been teaching for a while
now, so how do you renew yourself each
year to gear up for another cohort of
students?
RR: Well, I definitely have to stay healthy. I eat
an apple a day, drink plenty of water, and I start
taking a supplement at the beginning of every year
to boost my immune system daily. I have to also
find time for myself, so I take a dance class every
Saturday. Additionally, I make sure I bring something
new to the curriculum each year because that keeps
it exciting for me; not totally reinventing the wheel but
bringing something that keeps me going.
DW: It’s one of the things I love most about teaching, I get a whole new
group of students and I really get to hone my craft as a teacher. With that
in mind, every summer I look for new materials to enhance my curriculum,
I read professional books, and I attend teacher workshops. I start the year
excited to meet the new group of students and teach using new techniques
and materials. I also love to travel with family, especially to New York to visit
extended family, and sometimes we are fortunate enough to travel to more
far away places that we haven’t been to before.
Romina, you’ve been teaching for 16 years, tell me
how those early years as a teacher differ from the
present.
There’s more emphasis now on differentiation than when I started. In fact
I’ve gone to a number of workshops around this topic as a way to offer
The Circular Three
differentiation in all aspects of my teaching. Also,
now the students are expected to learn how to read
in kindergarten; whereas, when I started teaching
kindergarten, students were learning their ABCs, word
sounds, phonics, and phonemic awareness, but they’re
doing that more now in the preschools, so it seems like
the curriculum in 1st grade, when I was first starting, is
now the curriculum in kindergarten.
Romina has noticed this trend for the last seven years,
and she recognizes it puts pressure on her and, to some
extent, on the students. She does feel that the goal
of having children read by the end of kindergarten is
attainable depending on the skill level, early assessment,
and developmental growth of the individual child. What’s
essential to all of this working is a balanced literacy
program that combines phonemic awareness, guided
reading, read alouds, and shared reading.
Diane, what major changes have you
seen since you started teaching?
There are two main things that immediately come to
mind that are different in education now: personal
computers and the huge change in math education.
When I started teaching, I didn’t have a single computer
in my classroom, no one did, and I didn’t even know the
Internet existed. Once I got computers in my classroom,
I was an early adopter of something called Logo
Computer Language for Teaching Math. It was much like
the coding we use now. Computers have also changed
how we can teach writing with Google Docs. This allows
me to give immediate feedback so students can make
changes without crossing out and using arrows and
carets and literally cutting and pasting. Students write
better, and I’m much more free to give comments
without writing in the sides of margins.
Math education has made tremendous progress. When
I began teaching, math manipulatives existed but they
weren’t mainstream, so teachers would search very hard
for materials that would support teaching math concepts,
to concretize mathematics. Now, with
research in math education and
how children learn, educators
have worked together to
figure out how children use
manipulatives to solve math
problems, how to model, and
ultimately transition from
concrete to the abstract. And,
with the Common Core as a
guide, there’s a growing market
of math texts and programs,
like the ones we use, and math
programs are popping up all over
the country that emphasize developing mathematical
concepts and reasoning.
Romina, in visiting your classroom,
I’m impressed with the way you
differentiate instruction across the
curriculum. Can you tell me more about
this?
In my credential program, they didn’t really teach us
about differentiated instruction, so when I first began
teaching it was not a big part of my curriculum. Then
I realized from experience in the classroom, and as I
grew as an educator, that it’s very important that you
differentiate because every student is unique and learns
in different ways. When I moved from teaching third
grade to kindergarten, it was really an eye-opener for
me because then I saw a wider gap in abilities among my
students, and that’s when the use of differentiation really
crystallized for me. I had to think about how to structure
my classroom to meet the needs of all my students.
While differentiation wasn’t discussed in my credential
program, Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences was,
and it really guided me in the ways I think about my
students’ learning styles. Differentiation requires a lot
of work but it’s worth it for the development of the
students.
Continued on page 4
Upcoming EvEnts
January
State of the School with Head of School John Carlstroem, Tuesday, January 26, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
February
Parent Education Event—Technology: Promise, Peril, & Practicalities, Thursday, February 4, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Science Fair Night, Thursday, February 11, 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Parent/Staff Talent Extravaganza, Sunday, February 28, 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm
The Circular Four
CURIOSITY, Continued from page 3
this warm-up to the rest of the lesson, which usually
builds from the string.
Tell me about an instance where you
planned, prepared, and executed
differentiated instruction and you felt
like it was spot on for your students.
How do you embed formative
assessment and quality instruction
simultaneously?
It was a lesson on phonics I recently did. I have in my
classroom what we call ‘pebble’, ‘rock’, and ‘boulder’. The
pebble represents something easy, the rock represents
the medium range, and the boulder represents something
that’s more difficult or challenging. In this particular
exercise we were studying phonemic awareness with
the beginning sounds of words, and I devised three
different lessons to meet each of these objectives. At
this point, students are pretty adept at recognizing their
individual levels of development and they will pick, with
my guidance, a pebble, rock, or boulder activity. The
lesson worked well for the students. However, there were
a couple of students who wanted to try the boulder, and
even though I knew they weren’t quite there, I let them
try it and the students acknowledged, “Ms. Ronquillo,
this is too hard.” It was important for me to allow them
to attempt the work because I didn’t want to crush their
enthusiasm for trying something more challenging.
Diane, I’m impressed with the way
you comfortably and seamlessly
deliver your math lessons, even though
we’ve only recently adopted Bridges
Mathematics (Bridges) and Contexts
for Learning Mathematics (CLM).
How has the lower school approach to
mathematics resonated with you?
I am so happy with this! I love our math programs. It’s
really a dream come true for me. In my early years of
teaching, I was involved in working with educators from
all over Minnesota in developing research-informed
math lessons and assessments for the standards for
mathematics in Minnesota, and I was focused on creating
and finding context-rich and concept-based materials for
teaching math, but now I have Bridges and CLM and those
are both written by the kind of teachers I was working
with in Minnesota—researchers who were dedicated to
leading children to deep mathematical thinking while
the kids are constructing their understanding of math.
CLM units of study are very rich investigations in real
context, which give children time to explore. Years ago,
it was more about arithmetic.
Teachers need to spend a great deal of time preparing
these math lessons, but Bridges gives comprehensive
step-by-step guidelines with sample conversations to
help teachers understand how students might respond
or think when they see a particular problem. I often start
a math lesson with a string: a series of math problems
with answers that build on each other, then move from
RR: This would be like my best day: I’d have a minilesson, a math conference, and a small group activity.
And, while all of this is going on, I’m noting the work of
the students—assessing their development and they are
totally unaware of me writing about them.
DW: I think formative assessment is part of quality
instruction, so I’m presenting ideas and providing the kids
experiences to learn from. Then, continually, throughout
a presentation, when they’re doing a lesson, working in
groups, or working independently, other teachers and I
are walking around the room listening in on how kids
are interacting and what they’re understanding, helping
them, and giving prompts to move them to a higher
level. It’s always a give and take, I’m saying something
or providing an activity and as I see how they’re doing it,
I give feedback and think about what I can do with the
next lesson to move them along.
I’d like you both to describe an
example of when you implemented a
new instructional strategy. How did
you learn the strategy? Describe the
timeframe between the time you were
introduced to this new idea and its
implementation?
DW: When I first went to the Responsive Classroom
(RC) workshop, I just couldn’t wait to come back and use
it with students. Unfortunately, it was at the beginning of
the summer but, fortunately, I have a child at home and
he was my guinea pig, so I got a lot of practice in learning
the RC language. So, first I attended the workshop, then
I read the books The Power of Our Words and The First
Six Weeks of School, so that at the beginning of the
school year, I was ready to launch morning meetings,
establish quiet time and, most importantly, use positive,
productive language to help kids take the locus of control
for their own learning.
Responsive Classroom is a professional development
workshop that all the lower school teachers have attended
over the past three years, and Diane and Romina have
attended both RC I and RC II.
RR: I went to Lucy Calkins Reader’s Workshop, and I
learned a new strategy to help children keep their books
organized and eliminate the confusion about which
books were previously read, and I implemented the idea
as soon as I returned from the workshop. I also realized
that Reader’s Workshop emphasizes that balanced
literacy is important for any child to develop as a strong
The Circular Five
reader. The whole idea behind Reader’s Workshop is to
get kids to enjoy reading, so there’s a big push in reading
authentic texts, which is why the kids get to choose the
books they read.
perspective on homework and simply understanding
what kids lives are like outside of school.
What would you like people to know
about you as a person beyond your work
(Both Diane and Romina attended this professional as an educator?
development workshop in October 2015.)
What have you read or studied recently
that led to a change in your classroom?
DW: Well, as Romina mentioned, earlier this year
I attended the Lucy Calkins Reader’s Workshop
conference. I was really inspired by the research they
shared and the kinds of lessons they’ve developed that
help create strong readers. Right away, I began combing
their website, looking at the materials we were given at
the conference, and began implementing some of the
ideas immediately. And, it’s been very gratifying.
RR: Responsive Classroom really led to a change in
my classroom. The management part of it and just the
environment in the classroom is very different since
I started RC. The big thing I wanted to implement this
year, because I didn’t do it the first couple of years, is
Closing Circle. Previously, I was only doing closing story,
but I started Closing Circle this year and it is just such a
wonderful way to end the day. Kids don’t know they’re
doing a reflection but they are, and it’s a powerful moment
to see and hear what children say is their favorite part of
the day and what they learned. Sometimes we just sing
songs about friendship and hold hands. Also, it leaves
me and the kids with the feeling of being satisfied and
the desire to want to come back to school.
In what ways are you different as an
instructor now than you were in the
early years of your teaching?
RR: (laughing) I know I’m better because I’m older
and wiser, I understand a lot more about the dynamics
in a classroom, and the way I implement classroom
management has really improved. Also, I think the
biggest change is that I’m stronger emotionally and
mentally. When I first started teaching I was very young,
so I was very vulnerable emotionally and dealing with
parents and making mistakes was very scary for me—I
just wanted to please everybody. But, I realized as I
matured that I had to be strong and get over the idea of
pleasing everybody. I just can’t be fearful. I do what I do
and I do it with integrity.
DW: (laughing) More experienced. (long contemplative
pause) I’m able to strike a good balance between being
an authority figure and being open to students’ ideas.
And, a lot of that is thanks to RC. I’m much more patient
than I used to be. Being a mother of three different
children with different learning styles has changed my
RR: I love to dance; it’s my other passion besides teaching,
and I would love to learn to dance flamenco. I was born
and raised in the Philippines, and I moved here when I
was 15 and a sophomore in high school. It was a difficult
move for me, but I began to assimilate fairly quickly. I
am a spiritual person who is always grateful for what I
have. Red is my favorite color, because it’s passionate
and vibrant and I think that’s me.
DW: I’m very involved in the Jewish community, and
sometimes that involves singing and text study. I come
from a musical family and I have a musical family. I grew
up with jazz standards that my father used to perform as
a club date musician (Artie Schon and his Saxophone). My
brother is a very talented keyboard player, so he would
accompany me and I would sing jazz standards and
pop music. My family, while sitting in synagogue would
always sing harmony, and now I have my own musical
family of singers and musicians. I support the musical
interests of my children, and I go to a lot of theater. I
love taking long walks in interesting neighborhoods and
in parks, too.
What are your hopes and dreams for
your students?
RR: I want them to be kind, compassionate, and
empathetic. I want them to develop a genuine love for
the process of learning and discovering new things. And,
I want them to feel a sense of belonging in my class
every day.
DW: That they will always love learning and think
critically.
Would you rather be teaching in the days you first
became a teacher or now?
RR: Now, because I think there are more resources
available for teachers to be more successful in the
classroom.
DW: Now, for sure; I think we’ve come a long way. I
think we’re finally, as a society, allowing educators
to determine what is being taught and how it’s being
taught based on research. Not textbook companies,
not testing companies; we’re really getting to the point
where it’s about educators using our years of experience
and research to figure out what’s best for kids.
Two different personalities, two terrific educators!
The Circular Six
COMMUNITY
On Cultural Competency
Chris Chun, 8th Grade English Teacher, Talks with Lesley Jones, Director of Communications
What is cultural competency? And how
has this changed since you’ve been in
teaching?
It’s the skill of working effectively with different cultures
and building a community that increases inclusion of
different cultures, not exclusion. It’s about being willing
to become more aware of one’s own privileges and
biases while navigating differences. The term used to
be multicultural education, and then teaching tolerance,
but now cultural competency and inclusivity are the key
terms. Those were all good and useful steps, but I like
where we are now.
How is it different from & similar to
other diversity-related work faculty
have been engaged in at BPC?
The celebratory cultural events, such as potlucks, are
fun and useful for building community, but it’s just as
important to come together to talk about the day-today experiences of different groups at BPC. With this in
mind, John Carlstroem brought in outside professionals
to do teacher training in past years, but he has shifted the
focus to supporting teachers at BPC who are interested
in doing the work with their colleagues. Specifically,
Carwai Seto (upper school math teacher), Mickie Garcia
(fifth grade teaching assistant), Isaac Pasternack (fourth
grade teaching assistant), and Maureen Ray (fifth grade
head teacher) have taken on leadership roles recently.
This year, teachers have engaged in workshops and
Socratic discussions to explore issues around cultural
competency, and have learned inclusive language and
practices in the classroom. We’ve also examined where
we are on our personal journeys with regard to this
work, and roleplayed difficult conversations. This is
ongoing work at BPC: John Carlstroem, Diana Warren,
and Patrick Nelligan support faculty by providing time
and funds for professional development in issues around
diversity, inclusivity, and cultural competency.
Can you tell us more about what
interested the faculty leadership group
in this work?
I can’t speak for the other
teachers who are taking a
leadership role in this work,
but I grew up in a rural town in
Maryland, so I have always been aware
of my differences. As an adult, I started to understand
not only my differences, but the elements of my identity
that granted me privileges. Upon entering the world of
independent schools at BPC twelve years ago, I realized
that this was a community that wanted and needed to
grow in this area. The Black Lives Matter and Occupy
movements have definitely brought these issues to the
forefront—for students, families, and teachers.
Our students are interested in the world around them.
However, it is hard talking about issues around race or
class because we haven’t had a lot of practice. Students
and adults at Black Pine Circle find it easier to talk
about other issues, such as gender, sexual orientation,
or trans rights. The faculty leaders, through their own
different journeys, recognize that the adults in the
BPC community have obligations to their students to
model talking about the difficult topics. Avoiding these
discussions is more harmful in the long run for everyone.
What impact do you hope this work will
have on our community?
I hope that members of the community—students,
families, teachers, admin and other faculty—find that
this difficult work is worth it. I hope everyone will be
more willing to have these conversations, and know that
we’ll mess up, but we’ll lean into discomfort and we’ll
keep trying to get better. We owe it to ourselves, our
community, and our future.
What have you learned from the work
so far?
I’ve learned that this is hard work. I’ve learned that it’s
still hard to accept when I’ve made mistakes, and it’s
hard to do all of this with grace. It’s hard to mess up and
have to try again. But, you know what? Being a teacher
means trying to be worthy of one’s students. So, it’s
worth it in order to help BPC grow into the community it
promises to be for all its constituents.
The Circular Seven
A Place Called Home
by Stephanie Colker, Second Grade Head Teacher
Home. Where things are simple, smells are familiar and
peace is current. The heady smell of chronic wet weather,
the lull of traffic sounds, the sensation inside my rain
boots. That’s how I felt at home in London. At home, I
wasn’t vulnerable, I knew my way around, I had my people,
I had a clear path forward. Freedom and possibility were
in the palm of my hand, yet I was away from the people
that held it all together: my family. Through the years,
they had all moved away to find comfort in California,
while I was commuting more than an hour across the
bustling city and wading through daily rain puddles. It
was the right time, I convinced myself. If I didn’t move
that summer, I never would. I gave away decades of
belongings and random gadgets I’d accumulated (garlic
press, anyone?) and embarked with two suitcases and
my tennis racket to Berkeley, California.
Moving halfway across the world has opened my eyes
and shaken me up, and it hasn’t always been easy. I was
far beyond the comfort that once hemmed me in. Each
new experience was daunting. I didn’t know the streets,
which way to turn, the secret parking spots. Everywhere
I went someone parroted my accent and confidently
asked me if I knew their friend in London. A creature of
routine, I was utterly lost.
As I made my way to my new classroom there was
immediately a sense of relief and comfort. The colorful
walls were familiar and the sounds of eager, happy
children echoed the same sounds of my past. My
colleagues were overwhelmingly welcoming, the children
found my accent endearing and layered joyful notes on
my desk. As I watched them slowly settle into their new
classroom, with a new teacher and new routines, it was
clear that their vulnerability matched mine.
I felt like I was in high school again, the new girl in
school trying to find
her place, yet as I
watched and taught
the children, I realized
they were me, just a
few decades behind.
Their openness to new
ideas, to making new
friends and adapting to
scenarios they hadn’t experienced before, was inspiring.
I was guiding the children to face daunting new tasks,
yet I was struggling with my own inner child to find my
familiarity outside the classroom.
It was a few months into my move to California when
I became aware of how the openness of the children
was influencing my own development. Friendships were
forming with people who were open to making a new seat
at their table. My vulnerability became something that I
embraced. My state of mind was my home: wherever I
went, there I was, faced with just me, my freedom and
my possibilities.
My environment has changed but I haven’t, not
fundamentally—my home is inside me, where I don’t
avoid questions or risks, or fear vulnerability. It is a
life that I have always lived, honestly, deeply and with
intention.
Home. Here in Berkeley, California. Where things are
simple, smells are familiar and peace is current. Tree
lined streets, my purple bike, weekend farmers’ market,
half burnt candles. I can empathize with my students’
fears and challenges, yet the advice and insight I share
with them is to be true to themselves. I tell them that
asking for help and offering it connects us as human
beings, brings us home.
COMMUNITY, Continued from page 6
for longer, meets once a week and (weekly assembly) on the history
Can you tell us about the
Black Student Union & the discusses current events related to and persistence of racism. Later, the
issues of social justice. Both groups Diversity Club presented on cultural
Diversity Club?
The upper school Black Student
Union (BSU) meets twice a week
and students discuss current events
and issues that come up at school.
The BSU was inaugurated last year
as the Black Lives Matter movement
became more prominent--many
black students recognized the need
to come together and meet in a
safe space as an affinity group. The
Diversity Club, which has been around
attended a middle-school conference
on diversity at Head Royce last year.
Seeing a conference run by students
their own age inspired them to take
action on campus.
Last year, the Diversity Club
spearheaded the initiative to create
a gender-neutral restroom on the
upper school campus. Recently, two
seventh grade members of the BSU
gave a presentation at a town hall
appropriation in Halloween costumes
during town hall, and followed up
with a lesson plan that they created.
This lesson plan was integrated into
the advisory curriculum at all grade
levels in the Upper School. Both
groups are primarily student-led, and
I am honored to be with them while
they do this work for themselves and
for the community.
The Circular Eight
INQUIRY
The Q Lab Rises
by John Ormsby, Director of Development
If you’ve been on the upper school
campus recently, you’ve surely
noticed the new two-story building
rising proudly where the wooden
deck once stood. When complete,
the Q Lab will be BPC’s hub for
science, making, and experiential
learning. The first floor will be an
engineering/maker space, and the
upstairs will house a traditional
natural sciences “wet lab.” Every
student, K–8, will use the facility.
Construction is on schedule,
with the opening planned for the
beginning of the school year next
fall. To learn more visit:
http://www.qlab.info/
Our school is currently in the midst
of a capital campaign to pay for
construction. We have raised $1.2
million thus far. Our campaign
goal is $2 million. Approximately
one third of BPC families have
donated thus far. Leading the
fundraising effort has been the
Capital Campaign Committee, cochaired by three tireless volunteer
advocates for our school. Here
is who they are and why they
are giving their time and financial
support to make this project a reality:
Peter Wong
Peter is a
member
of the BPC
Board of
Directors. He
is the chief
operating
officer of
TruTag
Technologies,
an advanced
materials technology start-up
based in Hawaii and Emeryville.
Peter and his wife, Yoona, have
two children at BPC, Jackson (7th)
and Daniel (3rd). As a family they
like to travel, ski, shoot nerf guns,
watch Cal sports, and eat.
“I am excited about the Q Lab
because it provides our kids, and
those who will come after them,
a great space to experiment, to
be curious, and to ask questions.
I know students and faculty are
excited and curious about what
possibilities the Q Lab will bring.
I am grateful that my kids are part
of such a fantastic educational
environment, this is why I agreed
to co-chair this committee, and
why I am so passionate about
our school, its mission and
priorities.”
Randi Lee
Randi is
a former
member of
the BPC’s
Board of
Directors.
She
and her
husband Mike
sent their
two children
to BPC from K–8. Olivia (Class of
2012) and Connor (Class of 2014)
are currently students at Head
Royce. Randi leads corporate
strategy at Research Now, a global
leader in digital data collection
to power analytics and insights.
Randi and Mike enjoy escaping
with their family to Sea Ranch
whenever they can get away from
their active lives.
“I’m so passionate about the Q
Lab because it is the realization of
long sought community needs as
identified in BPC’s Strategic and
Master Plans. It’s the next step in the
transformation of our thoughtful,
aspirational school. My kids aren’t
benefitting directly, but we are
happy to give back to the school
that gave us so much. Our gift also
honors the investments families
made before us. It is our legacy to
this special place.”
Adrienne LaPierre
Adrienne is a member of
BPC’s Board of Directors.
Her daughter Delia
(7th) has been
at BPC since
kindergarten.
Adrienne is the
owner of Iris
Environmental,
a small
environmental
consulting firm
based in Oakland. Her
company utilizes science every
day to solve environmental
problems. When not attending
Delia’s soccer games, or running
through the Berkeley Hills,
Adrienne and her family enjoy
laughing with family and friends,
making strange concoctions in the
kitchen, and eating chocolate.
“I am thrilled to be a part of the
team helping to make the Q lab
possible. We chose BPC because of
its steadfast commitment to inquirybased learning, something that
distinguishes our school from others
in the Bay Area. The Q Lab is a wise
investment in our mission and in
the future of science education. We
need our kids to be curious about
the world and equipped to make a
difference. The Q Lab further kindles
the sparks of discovery that are so
wonderfully common at our school.
I am eager to do whatever I can to
help bring the Q Lab to life.”
The Circular Nine
$1.2 million so far!
We are grateful to our generous contributors to the
Campaign for the Q Lab: A Space for Science & Inquiry
These commitments were made by Black Pine Circle School’s board members, alumni families,
grandparents, parents, and friends before December 1, 2015.
Please join us!
Gifts of $125,000 or more
Gifts of $5,000 or more
Mary Paci & the Furlong family
Eric Sullivan & Teri Steele
Anonymous
Lauren Brown Adams
Nilgun & Alper Atamturk
Lissa Franklin & John Ormsby
The Goettings, Restoration Design
Group
Susan Huang & Ron Soltz
Sharmin Khajavi & Farshid Moussavi
Victoria Lloyd-Masters & Jordan Brand
Vickie Ma & Patrick Meggyesy
Andra Marziano
Chris & Jana Oliver
Eva Nogales & Howard Padmore
Bojana & Michael Parman
Tracey Rogers & Mark Pearlman
Bill Press & Elana Auerbach
Kathleen Tierney & Steve Rothman
Cathleen & Jeff Schulte
Lewis Segall & Molly Dinneen
Bill Shea & Dee Lopez
Evan & Amy Specter
Shirleko Dai & Wayne Spevak
Naomi Torres & Holly Gold
Mei Wang & Peidong Yang
Bin Yu & Ke-Ning Shen
Gifts of $50,000 or more
Wendy Buffett & Joel Kreisberg
Laura & Brett Hazlett
Sarah Kupferberg & Sydney Temple
Randi & Mike Lee
Gifts of $25,000 or more
Anonymous (1)
Nam Do & Marc Countryman
Kim Kapoor & Adrian Cooper
Adrienne LaPierre
Shalini & Austin Sharp
Steve & Laura Wolff
Peter & Yoona Wong
Gifts of $15,000 or more
Danielle & Ted Bluey
The Burdman Family
Ingileif Hallgrimsdottir & Lior Pachter
David Halligan & Simone Hoelck
Alexis & Eddy Kleinhans
Mark Johnson & Jane Wellenkamp
Nisha Mody & Evan Schulz
Bonnie Roditti
Natasha Stillman & John Carlstroem
Gary & Greta Wong
Karen Zukor & Joel Fajans
Gifts of $10,000 or more
Anonymous (1)
Christopher Becker & Chia-Lin
Simmons Becker
Levi Brown & Family
Andrew Blau & Heather Imboden
Daniel Francis & Elizabeth Lake
Maria Giudice & Scott Allen
The Hughes Family
Sara & Jim Knight
Jacqueline Leventhal
Carol S. Mimura, Hannah M. Thorner
& Jeremy Thorner
Jil & Patrick Nelligan
Gifts up to $5,000
Sarah & Douglas Abt
Matthew Barmack & Catherine Wolfram
Claudia Belcher & Robert Tjian
Luka Biagioli
Theodore Bluey
Karen & Oscar Brand
Bretall Family Fund
Christopher Cherney & Natasha Bell
Cort Cooper & Barbara Smith
Debbie Crandall & Karl Fleischman
Marc Derewetzky & Jennifer Kawar
Daniel Emerling & Halle Brown
Dan Feinberg & Holly Scheider
Jana Good & Bruce Goldberg
Lesley Jones & Thomas Yeadaker
Nancy Kehoe
Shannon Jackson & Michael Korcuska
Amita & Ashish Kheterpal
David Kim & Hyun Jin Cho
Her family & friends
In loving memory of Janet LaPierre
Christine Ma & Jeremy Reiter
Cindy Ma
Victoria Mancuso & Rebecca Jackson
Linda Mehren & Roger Lambert
Alessandra Nardi & Claudio Pinello
Eric & MaryAnn Pearson
Elliot Pearlman
Rachel & John Pound
Erik & Paula Price
Katherine Rendahl & Donald Rio
John W. Ryan & Tram Tran
Karen & Uri Sarid
Michael & Andria Sassi
Lee Safran & Nicholas Wellington
Leigh Salvo
HaiYing Song & Robert Ritchie
Emily & Luther Strayer
Mabel Torres
Sophie Volpp & Matthew Franklin
Jen & Matt Werner
Kellie Whittaker & William Fisher
Daniel Wong
Jin Young
Fang Zhou & Ping Zhang
Corporate Matching Gifts
Some of these gifts were enhanced
by matching funds from a donor’s
employer. Your company may also be
able to help you increase the value of
your personal gift.
Apple Matching Gifts Program
Autodesk
Black Rock
Cādence
Charles Schwab
Chevron
Google, Inc.
Iris Environmental
Pixar
Research Now
Salesforce.com
Wells Fargo
The Circular Ten
VOICE
Debate as a Way of Life
by Sasha Johnson, Seventh Grade Debate & Rhetoric Teacher
Debate. It’s a term that is charged for many people. It usually brings up
some type of emotion. Perhaps it’s an exciting thrill for some; for others,
a more stressful experience. The word debate can also trigger notions
of particular occasions; some might immediately recall famous scholarly
debates, like Chomsky-Foucault, the Presidential Debates, or the more
homegrown debates that each of us has amidst our family dramas.
Regardless of what perception one has about debates, they are all
welcomed and contested in the new seventh grade Rhetoric and Debate
class.
When creating the curriculum for the course, I was intentional about how
the class would address both students’ preconceptions of debate while
simultaneously creating a constructive space to foster their debate skills. I
envisioned a safe space for students to dialogue with themselves while having
their perspectives interact with others and the larger world around them. The
core desire for this class was for students to discover that debate isn’t something
that happens occasionally or spontaneously; it’s not an event, or a course, or a club.
Debate is a way of life.
For some students, this is the first time they are metacognitively reflecting about their debate skills. Several students
told me before our class’s first debate, “I’m nervous because I’ve never debated before.” I responded, “Well, perhaps
not formally, perhaps not scheduled in advance, but I will bet that you have debated in your life before, numerous
times.” For most students, arguing for one’s position can come easily in their daily life. Yet, when it’s time to debate
in a more formal setting, some students assume they don’t have any debate skills. In this class, students come to
understand that regardless of the classification of debate, whether informal or formal, they possess skills that can
be utilized and practiced in any debate scenario.
In our Rhetoric and Debate class, students learn to think about where their personal position might be on a given
topic and respond to demands to defend that position. Students collaborate with peers to collectively develop
strong arguments with evidence. Furthermore, they anticipate what the opposing side will argue so they have
a strong rebuttal to prove their side is the stronger position. In some cases, students will reconsider their initial
position after listening to an alternative perspective.
Over the past few months, our class has witnessed students articulating ideas, defending positions and carefully
listening to alternative positions. Students are harnessing their prior debate expertise, finding their identity as
academic speakers and reflecting on their development. Students have truly embodied this year’s school theme, “To
find yourself, think for yourself” as they are deconstructing the world around them to build it, and themselves, anew.
MICHAEL J. FOX, SOCRATES, AND HOMO HABILIS, Continued from front page
mission continue to resonate and drive our school
forward pedagogically.
In the pages attached, you’ll read about the CURIOSITY
of our teachers and how they “chase inspiration and new
practices” through remarkable professional development
opportunities and their years of experience in the
classroom. You’ll learn more about how the students
and faculty are working together to assess, study, and
continuously improve BPC’s cultural competency, moving
us towards a perennially stronger COMMUNITY. We’ll also
be rolling out more detail on our decade-defining Q Lab
project and how our science and engineering curriculum
will be informed by BPC’s commitment to teaching
students the process of authentic INQUIRY. Never to be
overlooked, we’re shining a light on our newest course
that encourages VOICE at BPC with the introduction of a
seventh grade debate and rhetoric class. This is the first
year we’ve officially offered this course, and it is a sibling
of our courses in drama, philosophy, humanities, and, of
course, all Socratic Seminars. Homo habilis would be
proud.
So, jump into your metaphorical DeLorean, take a seat
next to Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd (Doc
Brown), and join us in a trip, back to the future!
The Circular Eleven
A Quinceañera Comes to BPC
by Lesley Jones, Director of Communications and Catalina Lacy,
Sixth & Eighth Grade Spanish Teacher
Just before Thanksgiving, Senora Lacy’s eighth grade Spanish class completed
a month-long project-based learning unit: planning a Quinceañera. Quinceañera
is a combination of the Spanish words quince meaning “fifteen” and años
meaning “years”. This celebration traditionally marks a girl’s coming of age
and the Quinceañera is considered a person who is ready to assume family
and social responsibilities. The Quinceañera celebration often is a lavish party
that may include a live band, a feast, a choreographed waltz performed by the
Quinceañera and her court, and many guests.
Planning for a Quinceañera may take anywhere from six months to two years.
The party is a big affair often lasting six or more hours. Traditionally, there are
up to 15 male relatives and/or friends, and 14 female friends called damas and
chambelanes (representing the previous 14 years of her life) who dance with
the Quinceañera. The Quinceañera may also change from flats into high-heeled
shoes to represent becoming a young woman.
The students of 8A learned that there is much to coordinate and organize,
including the invitations, a location for the event, food, music and entertainment,
flowers, speeches, and a program. Senora Lacy brought in two guests teachers
to teach the Quinceañera waltz and other traditional Mexican dances. Similarly,
in Mexico, you would hire a teacher to teach the Quinceañera dances.
The project was designed not only to enhance Spanish comprehension and
vocabulary, but also to develop an awareness of cultural differences. It included
both an oral and Google Slides presentation with a partner, and it culminated
with the party itself--a performance of understanding--on November 20.
The students began the party by performing a number of different dances on
the field, including the waltz, a cumbia, a line dance, and a traditional Mexican
dance that has its roots in early indigenous ceremonies--all enjoyed by the
visiting kindergarten class. Then they moved to the Spanish classroom for live
music played by members of 8A, speeches from students’ playing the role of
the Quinceañera’s father and godfather, and a feast of pizza, green salad, fruit,
cake, drinks, and more. The event was live streamed so the eighth grade parents
could watch the celebrations.
“It was fun to learn about how Quinceañera’s are put together and to really
experience this Hispanic cultural tradition.” Talia Benioff-White
“I liked learning the ribbon dance taught by Senora Lacy’s sister.” Ella Rosenthal
“It improved my knowledge of the Hispanic culture and showed me how hard
it is to plan an event!” Toby Burack
Photo courtesy of Oakland Tribune
The Circular Twelve
Alumni Profiles
Recent Graduates, Elazar Sontag
& Lorena Paras (Class of 2012),
Talk with Lesley Jones, Director of
Communications, about Writing &
Publishing a Book
Elazar Sontag: Co-Author
of Flavors of Oakland, a
Narrative Cookbook
Flavors of Oakland is a narrative
cookbook that tells the story of 20
local cooks, each representing a
different ethnicity and neighborhood
in Oakland. The cookbook includes
recipes for dishes from Sri Lankan
crab curry to Tibetan blue-cheese
soup, and the cooks profiled range in
age from teenagers to grandmothers.
It is, Ku and Sontag explain, a portrait
of the city they love, one that is far
more diverse than what is depicted in
typical Oakland-focused cookbooks
and stories.
What sparked your interest
in writing Flavors of
Oakland?
Really the whole project came from
my love for Oakland. I moved from
Berkeley to Oakland about two
years ago and it was a huge change
in my life. I loved, loved, loved,
Oakland. I started to notice small
things about the city that seemed
really special and important to me.
I had recently met Anya and she
shared my energized and genuine
love for the city. We began to talk
about maybe doing a small blog or
some kind of little printed magazine
zine sort of piece that would pay
homage to Oakland neighborhoods
and their residents in some way. We
ended up raising money through
an online crowdfunding campaign
so we could cook with people
that could not necessarily afford
ingredients. We raised vastly more
money than we had expected so we
decided to write a book… of course
it was not nearly enough money to
write a book but at the time it felt
huge. We proceeded to traverse
the city, meeting with people from
various cultures and backgrounds.
We watched them cook a dish they
had loved when they were little, and
then we sat for a meal together—and
while we ate, we talked. We heard
stories of upheaval, loss, migration,
and the daily rituals of cooking
that linked their old lives with the
new. The product of these dinner
conversations and cooking lessons
is Flavors of Oakland: A Cookbook in
20 Stories.
What cooking experience do
you have?
I have been cooking with my
older brother since I was seven or
eight. When I started high school
I started staging at Duende, a
Basque restaurant in downtown
Oakland. I trained under Chef Paul
Canales. After Duende, I also trained
at Pizzaiolo under Chefs Charlie
Hallowell and Julya Shin. After I
ended those stints to focus on the
book, I got a job at the Berkeley
farmers market working for Riverdog
Farm.
How was it collaborating
with Anya?
It was amazing. Anya is great to
work with. We are both motivated
and love the project, but this love
came through in very different ways
for the two of us. We both started as
complete amateurs. Anya had been
doing portrait photography for a long
time and was very accomplished but
had never done food photography.
I had been cooking for a long time
but had never transcribed someone
else’s recipe before or had to write
about people in such a deeply
intimate manner. We grew into our
roles but also had to learn skills
we had never expected would be
necessary. Anya became a financial
expert and I focused my energy on
pitching the project to food blogs,
local papers, and bookstores. By
now we have found a great balance
between business partnership and
friendship.
Is food an important part of
your life?
Food is huge. Everything I do is food.
What’s your favorite recipe
in the book?
It really depends on my mood. All
the recipes are fantastic. The Tibetan
blue cheese soup with pan fried and
steamed bread is amazing. So is the
fried catfish. So is the gnocchi, so
The Circular Thirteen
is… everything. These recipes are all
great.
What steps are you taking to
get the book published?
We are self-publishing. It is important
to us that we maintain full artistic
control of this project and it is not
compromised by the financial plans
of big publishers. We turned down
several publishers because they
would have taken control of design
and pricing. We want to sell the
book for a low price so anyone can
buy it and we want to stay true to
the beautiful design Kerry Tremain,
our wonderful designer created.
We raised $15,000 in pre-orders
through an online crowdfunding
campaign. The funds will cover
printing costs and help pay for our
final event where locals can come to
enjoy live music, delicious food, and
community.
and capable than I ever had
before. The school improved
my general confidence. I had
to work hard at everything I
did so I started trying to do
better just to feel confident
about the integrity of my
work. Mr. G kicked my butt.
You should show him what I’ve
done!
Lorena Paras: The
Beachcomber’s Guide to
Fossils in Capitola
What sparked your
interest in writing about
fossils in Capitola?
I had to do a lot more fact checking
than I thought. And I not only had
to fact check the scientific data but
also the historical information. I owe
a lot to the Academy of Sciences and
Frank Perry for helping me.
We networked with the Mayor of
Oakland who was kind enough to
support us and write a lovely forward
for the book.
Is writing an important part
of your life?
I think writing is pretty important to
me. I’ve never been really into fiction
writing, but I definitely value being
able to write well.
We connected with Oakland and
Berkeley based bookstores that
are interested in selling Flavors of
Oakland and hosting book signing
events.
What steps did you have
to make to get the book
published?
Do you see yourself working
in the food/restaurant
industry?
I see myself working in the food
industry for a long time to come.
Restaurants are not where I want
to be right now. I am enjoying the
community building aspects of food
and I plan to continue doing projects
like this one.
In what ways did your
time at BPC influence the
student/person you are
today?
BPC gave me a chance to really push
myself as a student. A big part of my
experience at Black Pine Circle was
the performing arts program. I had
never done a play before, and despite
being scared pantsless before our
performance I felt more in control
How much scientific fact
checking did you have to
do?
I’ve always been interested in fossils
and I also love the ocean. Capitola
is only a few hours away and very
accessible for people who aren’t
professional paleontologists. The
beach there is beautiful and the
whole area is super interesting
geologically. Also there’s a killer
pizza place.
When did you begin writing
the book?
This book actually started as a
project at BPC for MasterWorks, so I
started it in eighth grade.
I had to edit. A lot. I also had to
learn to take criticism that ultimately
made it a better product.
In what ways did your
time at BPC influence the
student/person you are
today?
It definitely made me aware of the
privilege I have in terms of getting a
good education, because Black Pine
Circle is academically a really good
school. Also having gone there for
nine years, I made some very close
friends and I’m really thankful for
that.
The Circular Fourteen
Tales from
the Second Grade
Amy and the Haunted House
by Sarah Countryman, Second Grade
First Grade
Paintings
A girl bought a house at the end of town. Her name was Amy.
But the house had a problem. The house was….haunted! But Amy
wasn’t just an ordinary girl, she was a witch and she knew how
to catch a ghost!
Zoom! She caught a ghost and put the ghost in a pot. “Oh good,”
she said, “I hope there are more ghosts.” And there were. She
caught all the ghosts in the house and put them in the washing
machine and hung them out to dry. Some of them made good
curtains. One of them made a good tablecloth. Amy was tired.
She knew what to do with the last ghost. And then she went to
bed.
A Fairy Tale
by Boris Nezbolin, Second Grade
There lived a girl and a red harvester ant. They were friends.
They lived together in a mansion in the middle of the ocean. The
mansion sat on a deserted island where the waters were crystal
clear. They played together day and night, running all over the
island collecting shells and finding sea turtles and sea stars and
sometimes they would swim in the water with the dolphins.
One day when they were happily swimming with the dolphins,
they saw a shark in the distance. They knew they could be in
trouble. When the shark approached, the ant and the girl rushed
back to the shore. There they saw that the dolphins, the shells
and the sea turtles had all disappeared. All of a sudden, the ant
had an idea. He would start making a potion to put into the sea
that would make the shark go far, far away into a different galaxy.
The potion consisted of any spit, rocks and sand. The little girl
poured the potion into the sea and as expected the shark went
flying out of the water like a rocket into another galaxy.
The girl saw all the sea animals return and there were even more
than there used to be and the waters were even more crystal
clear. They all lived happily ever after.
Extraterrestre
por Matea Manuzon, Second Grade
Mi extraterrestre se llama Marzo. Él tiene dos bocas, cuatro ojos, dos lenguas, cuatro
orejas, seis pelos y dos narices. Tiene una camiseta verde y azul. Es del planeta
Marte. Es el color anaranjado. Le gustan caracoles y montañas.
The Circular Fifteen
O
t
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u
r
o
b
N
A
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w
s
t
c
Fa c u
a
F
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F
Di d You Know ?
I ri s Haa s-Bi el
U pp e r S chool Teachi ng Assistant
G e r ry B ran n e r
S tephanie Pi p e r
Upp e r S ch ool P . E . Te ach e r
“I love hiking and have hiked the
Sierras, the Rockies, the Cascades,
the Andes, and the Alps. I would love
to hike through Asia, and climb
Mt. Kilimanjaro one day.”
“I love doing odd workouts.
A 100 lb chain around my neck
is one of the things I love!
And at least once a month
I like to get a pedicure
and foot rub with
SUPER HOT water.”
S e v e nth G ra de E ng li sh Teach e r
“I am a stand up comedian.”
Kri s te n Z i mm e r
Fi rst G rade Head Te ache r
Lau ren Wagne r
Lowe r S ch ool S ci enc e S p e ci ali st
Rebe cca L au
Se c ond G ra de Teachi n g As si s ta nt
“Two years ago I did a service
learning program in Chilamate,
Costa Rica. I stayed with a family,
took Spanish lessons, and spent time
in two schools while also building a
community center.”
J ona th a n
C oh e n
S e v enth &
Ei g h th S ci enc e
Teache r
“I built a
mandolin and
a dulcimer.”
“I grew up on a retired farm
homestead in North Carolina where
my family kept a menagerie. We
had cats, dogs, birds (cockatiels,
parakeets, love birds), guinea pigs,
hamsters, mice, fish, ferrets, rabbits,
sugar gliders, and chickens. When
our cockatiels had babies, my fifth
grade teacher adopted a baby
cockatiel named Gizmo, and he
became our class pet.”
“I love boats and everything nautical.
I have lived in San Francisco
by Ocean Beach my entire life
and I love looking at the
historic ships at the wharf.
My dream is to live on a houseboat
but, for now, I’ll settle for building
model boats out of popsicle sticks.”
HALLWAY ART
HALLWAY ART
HALLWAY ART
HALLWAY ART
HALLWAY ART
HALLWAY ART
HALLWAY ART
HALLWAY ART
MASKS BY THE SIXTH GRADE
2027 7th Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
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