Sophomore Katy Wiita had a fabulous synchronized swimming season for the MAC club with a 16th place finish in figures, a fourth place finish in duet, and a fourth place finish in the team 16-17 competition at the US Age Group Championships in Gainesville, Florida. Katy and her duet partner also swam with the Arizona AquaStarts at the international US Open finishing eighth in the junior duet category. At the same competition, Katy finished 11th among Americans in the figure competition. Katy’s synchronized swimming sister Elli Wiita, 7th grade, spent a week in Colorado Springs at the Olympic Training Center competing in phase II of the 11-12 national team trials. Elli was named to the 11-12 national team for USA synchronized swimming qualifying with the second highest score.

 

Sophomore Devin Ellis won gold in scratch bowling (ages 12 – 14) at the State Games of Oregon, which qualifies him for the 2011State Games of America. State Games of America was established in 1986 to further the ideals of the Olympic spirit through amateur athletic competitions across the United States.

 

Congratulations and thank you to Catlin Gabel parents for your support of last year's Annual Fund, and thank you in advance for your support this year. Last year more than 80 percent of parents made Annual Fund a priority and helped us reach our goal during an especially challenging economic year, one in which many top independent schools failed to meet their Annual Fund goals by 10-15 percent. Way to go, parents!

 

Upper School English teacher Nichole Tassoni was chosen to attend a seminar on Dante in Italy sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. She took part in a six-week summer study of Dante’s Commedia in an NEH seminar based in Siena. The high school teachers in the seminar explored Dante’s world by visiting cultural and artistic sites important to Dante and his poem in cities that include Florence, Rome, Orvieto, San Gimignano, Ravenna, and Assisi.

 

The U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board awarded Cindy Beals, Upper School math teacher, a Fulbright Teacher Exchange grant to teach in Turkey. She left the U.S. in August for her yearlong stay in Turkey. Cindy is one of approximately 60 U.S. teachers who will participate, one of only five teachers from the Pacific Northwest, and the only teacher going to Turkey.

Paul Monheimer, 7th grade world cultures teacher, was awarded a Distinguished Fulbright Award in Teaching from the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to conduct research in Israel. Paul plans to spend the spring semester in Israel researching and creating meaningful virtual exchanges, using graphic software to overcome language barriers. He will work with Israeli teachers, students, and teacher colleges.

 

Upper School teacher Lauren Reggero-Toledano has been awarded a grant by the American Immigration Council for her project, “The Hispanic Presence in Oregon During the Great Depression and Today.” The project is collaboration with the Miracle Theatre/Teatro Milagro and her Spanish V students at Catlin Gabel. The students will record interviews with Hispanic Oregonians, collect vintage photos, and construct a bilingual interactive, multimedia presentation of their work. The presentation will complement Miracle Theatre’s fall production of Canta y no llores.

 

Middle and Upper School drama teacher Deirdre Atkinson performed in Portland Theatre Works’ workshop of a new script by local playwright Andrew Wardenarr, Live, from Douglas. Deirdre also performed in Portland Center Stage’s JAW festival in The Missing Pieces and Lost Boy.

 

Groundskeeper and bus driver Elysia Lindfield was a KATU Channel 2 News Everyday Hero for her work with WomenStrength self-defense and self-empowerment classes. She has taught for 10 years at the program, which is endorsed by the Portland Police, and helped develop the curriculum and pilot the GirlStrength program for middle school-aged girls.

 

Catlin Gabel was one of several sponsors of the International Storyline Conference held at Portland State University in August. Educators from around the globe explored differentiated instruction and integrated, constructivist learning through the Storyline method. Rebecca Plaskitt, 4th grade teacher, who is a Storyline consultant, helped plan the conference.

 

Lower and Middle school counselors Kristin Ogard and Jonathan Weedman, Upper School math teacher Kathy Sloan, 6th grade language arts teacher Carter Latendresse, and IT director Richard Kassissieh joined a team of 12 runners to complete the 212-mile Cascade Lakes Relay from Diamond Lake to Bend.

 

Catlin Gabel has been selected by Oregon Business magazine as one of the 100 best nonprofits to work for in Oregon. The letter from the magazine said, “It’s a remarkable feat considering that more than 200 nonprofits participated and 6,700 employees completed the survey. We congratulate you and your staff for fostering an outstanding workplace. The rankings were based on the confidential input of employees who answered 60 questions about workplace satisfaction with respect to benefits, management, trust, work environment, and development. The survey was voluntary and free of charge, and independently calculated by research partners Davis, Hibbitts and Midghall.”