Alumni News
Register for Alumni Weekend
Online registration for Alumni Weekend is closed. We still have space for you though so come to campus this weekend for the festivities.
If you have questions, please contact the alumni relations office at alumni@catlin.edu or 503-297-1894 ext. 363.
We look forward to seeing you on campus!
Gambol a grand success, gross revenue up 20%
Oh, What A Night it was!
The highlight of the April 2 auction at the Governor Hotel was a moving speech by Rachel Cohen ’90, who talked about being a Catlin Gabel "lifer." She spoke emotionally about how fortunate she was to attend Catlin Gabel thanks to financial aid. Rachel has spent the past 15 years working in international health and humanitarian aid, primarily with Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Rachel joined Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) as the Regional Executive Director of DNDi North America in January. A great video about Rachel was produced for the Gambol.
» Watch the brief video about Rachel Cohen '90
Thank you to all the bidders, donors, volunteers, and supporters who made the Gambol festive and fruitful. We are pleased to share with you that the Gambol grossed $415,000 – a 20 percent increase over last year – for faculty professional development and the nearly 200 students on financial aid. We'll know net figures in late April when we finish accounting for expenses.
» Photo galleries of the party and the warm-up slide show of students of all ages
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By giving to the Annual Fund, you ensure excellence:
- Academic distinction and the highest quality progressive education
- Dedicated professionals who are immersed in the art and craft of teaching
- Personalized attention, by which every child truly is the "unit of consideration" (Ruth Catlin, 1928)
- A beautiful green campus that invites lifelong learning
Great schools don't just happen. We make them so.
Please give online before June 30, 2011. Thank you!
Change & Tradition from Those Who Know it Well--Our Board Chairs
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
The chairs of Catlin Gabel’s board of trustees play a crucial role in advancing the school’s mission; they bring the strongest of commitments to their position. What have our current and some of our former board chairs accomplished, what do they remember most proudly, and what are their visions for the school?
Ruth Ann Laster, 1980–83
What’s one wish or dream you have for Catlin Gabel?I hope that the school always remembers its mission and focus. I am confident that it will remain a caring and creative environment. The school is remarkable because of its devotion to students and faculty. I am grateful that my own children were nurtured and educated so well at Catlin Gabel, and I wish the same for future generations.
What improvements have you seen in the school since your time on the board?
Overall, it seems more diverse. It’s terribly important to have students experience such diversity both within their own group and within the faculty.
What were the school’s most important fundraising goals at the time and how did you achieve them?
My recollection is that we aspired to keep the school on a sound footing as we prepared for the future—all resting on a commitment to excellence in substance and in spirit. I specifically remember the Rummage Sale: not only did it raise money, but it also brought the school together behind a common goal. One of my fondest memories is Sid Eaton collecting cans—he was ahead of his time. I think we all appreciated that raising money was important, but it was not an end in itself. Nevertheless, the board took fundraising very seriously.
Joey Day Pope ’54, 1988–90
What made you so committed?
My commitment to the school stems from its continuous adherence to the philosophy and mission articulated by Ruth Catlin in 1928, a statement that has held up through decades of scrutiny: a school where “each pupil is the unit of consideration” and which maintains “a liberal attitude towards ideas and fields of knowledge . . . in the search for truth and wisdom.”
What’s one wish or dream you have for Catlin Gabel?
My dream is that we continue to enroll both students who represent a cross-section of American life and those whom we used to term “children of promise” (not just the super bright, but those whose records and test scores upon entry may not portend the significant contributors they may be later in life).
Fletcher Chamberlin, 1990–93
What was your proudest board moment?That moment came before I was chair, when I was treasurer: placing Howard Vollum’s bequest into the endowment and not into buildings. If we had spent the funds on buildings we may not have set our foundation for the endowment. His bequest changed everything.
What’s one wish or dream you have for Catlin Gabel? To keep doing what you’re doing and innovate. My three children were taught to have opinions and learned how to express them. They were taught how to think critically whether in writing or orally. They are three very different kids, but all got a great core education. I loved the most recent Caller on writing. That kind of education is fascinating to see from a 1st grader to an upper schooler. Keep innovating!
What improvements have you seen in the school since your time on the board?
Lark Palma’s intense focus on educational innovation. It’s even more powerful that what it used to be. I admire it.
Peter Krainock, 2001–04
What’s your proudest board accomplishment?
I am very proud of the set of fiscal procedures we implemented that changed how we budgeted for deferred maintenance costs. This was a tough decision that had powerful long-term effects. Without deferred maintenance the school would have ended up fundraising for costs that are not attractive to prospects and donors. I’ve sat on too many boards to realize not enough institutions do this, and I’m proud Catlin Gabel is one that does. I’m pleased to know our deferred maintenance budgeting is alive and well.
What’s one wish or dream you have for Catlin Gabel?
I wish the school will continue to search for board members who have divergent points of view—not just those who think the same way. Push and pull is tremendous. We had that on the executive committee, and it worked quite well.
Dave Cannard ’76, 2004–06
What’s one wish or dream you have for Catlin Gabel?
I hope Catlin Gabel remains true to its mission and roots as an experiential and experimental school, and that it continues to increase its accessibility to a broad range of students with different points of view. I’m happy to have participated in many of the discussions that continue and are enhanced today.
What improvements have you seen in the school since your time on the board?
I sense an increased awareness of financial assistance and accessibility, and it seems the board’s really focused and taken it to heart. It’s tremendous. During an economically challenging time the board stepped up and found additional funds for financial assistance. I’m pleased the school’s kept Lark Palma on as the head for continuity, leadership stability, and long-term success.
What made you so committed?
I deeply appreciate what the school did for me way back when, and what I’ve witnessed in my two sons made me and keeps me committed. I have a deep-seated awe for the work of the faculty with each child, and the commitment from the grounds crew to the head of school. I wanted to help support that and help make Catlin Gabel more available for more people. It was easy for me to commit.
John Gilleland, current board chair
What improvements have you seen in the school since you joined the board? In my nine years on the board we have witnessed wonderful improvements in the Beehive, the Upper School library, our math and science buildings, the Dant House, and other facilities. Changes in our food service over the past several years have been great. We now have a bus commuter service, which was very much needed. Our curriculum continues to improve and evolve as it should to meet the demands of our shrinking world and expansion of a global economy. I see expansion in areas once not a part of our ongoing program becoming more integrated and expanded and highly successful, such as our outstanding robotics program. The dramatic growth in our financial assistance budget, while always in need of growing further, has been a blessing. Most know we increased our financial assistance budget by 44% over the past several years compared to 2007–08. The culture of the school regarding community involvement continues to evolve, with the volunteer efforts once devoted to Rummage now being expanded to a broader array of efforts. To speak in terms of our faculty and leadership, it is difficult to improve on excellence, but the best thing to know is we continue to attract top faculty and personnel when retirements or program changes occur. It has been a dramatic decade.
What wishes or dreams do you have for Catlin Gabel?
I dream that we continue to attract the financial resources to maintain our excellence in teaching and programs, which then makes Catlin Gabel the desired school for a diverse community of inspired families and students. I dream that we can match our programs with the related physical needs of our campus, including an Upper and Middle School creative arts building, an expansion of our robotics work areas, and beyond. I dream we will grow our endowment to a level that would support a vast expansion in our programs—a dramatic growth for the endowment fund.
The Preserver of Traditions
Mariah Stoll-Smith Reese '93 has kept alive her family legacy of performing Northwest Coast dances and stories
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
As a baby, Mariah Stoll-Smith Reese ’93 was carried around the fire in the ceremonial longhouse of her famed Lelooska family in the foothills of Mt. St. Helens. She
grew up dancing and watching her relatives perform living history in fantastically carved masks, seeing people she knew in everyday life transformed into characters such as Raven and Grandmother Loon as they shared and celebrated the cultural legacy of the Northwest Coast Kwakwaka’wakw Nation.
Mariah grew up surrounded by art. Her mother was a contemporary visual artist, and her father carved the traditional masks used in the family’s living history programs; she remembers cedar chips flying into her playpen in her father’s workshop. Her grandmother was famous for her carved wooden dolls depicting Native Americans, and she taught the art to Mariah. Art was in the air she breathed, and the family’s love of their traditions—and their commitment to educate others about those traditions—permeated everything.
She came to Catlin Gabel for high school, a long commute made easier by the many nights Mariah spent with her Portland grandparents. Their priority was working to make the world a better place. Their model, combined with her father’s family legacy of making, sharing, and educating, helped create the woman she is today—competent, intelligent, strong, and compassionate.
At Catlin Gabel Mariah became involved in multicultural issues and helped found SPEED (Students Promoting Ethnic Equality & Diversity). In her classes she learned to read deeply and have something to say—and be able to back it up. As a junior she first experienced the thrill and satisfaction of doing solid, complicated research. Mariah brought those skills to Fairhaven College at Western Washington University, where she designed her own major in Native American cultural preservation.
Her research training came into play when the family patriarch and storyteller, her uncle Chief Lelooska, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Mariah began a tireless campaign of recording everything she could to preserve the legacy he carried with him, combining this urgent work with her independent studies for college. Mariah was chosen as executive director of the Lelooska Foundation, buttressed by her family and her talents in communication and organization. When Chief Lelooska died, the family regrouped and carried on the foundation’s living history programs.
Her legacy of community service has played out in many ways, with Mariah leading fights to save her children’s school (she has a girl and a boy, aged 8 and 6, and a wonderfully supportive husband), and to maintain free access for locals to rivers and lakes when that was threatened. “All the skills I learned at Catlin Gabel came into play,” she says of these struggles, where she had to make her case to the public and the press. She has also pitched in to her tight-knit community by leading Girl Scouts and starting, with her husband, a children’s soccer program.Mariah’s advice to current CGS students: “Don’t take it for granted! When I look back at my life, I see how many things I was able to do because of what I learned at Catlin Gabel,” she says. “And having an opportunity to learn skills means having an opportunity to give back and make life better for people around you.”
Performance photo courtesy of the Lelooska Foundation
Community Warehouse Aided by CGS Volunteers
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
Some longtime Rummage volunteers have stepped in to help Community Warehouse, the NE Portland service organization run by Roz Nelson Babener ’68 that collects household items for families in need. After the last Rummage Sale they offered their skills to Roz, resulting in a volunteer-run garage sale area at the Warehouse location that raises funds for the organization. Roz and crew are now also collecting donations in a Westside dropoff location on SW Canyon Road. Household items that client families need are sent to the Warehouse, and other items will be sold in a rummage-type sale in November. The volunteer spirit abides!
Alumni News Winter 2010-11
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
ALUMNI BOARD LEADERSHIP 2010–11
The alumni board welcomed 13 new members this year. We are grateful for their commitment to serve our alumni community. The board is composed of people who attended Catlin Gabel or any of its predecessor schools, and whose affection for Catlin Gabel leads them to continue their involvement. Board terms are a minimum of two years, and members participate in a variety of events throughout the year. If you are interested in joining the alumni board or in other alumni volunteer opportunities, email the alumni relations office at alumni@catlin.edu.
Markus Hutchins ’02, president; Susie Greenebaum ’05, secretary and events chair; Adam Keefer ’98, immediate past president; Lauren Dully Hubbard ’91, alumni relations director; Len Carr ’75, faculty-staff liaison; Maril Davis ’90, Los Angeles representative; Katey Jessen Flack ’97; Brian Jones ’88; Debbie Ehrman Kaye ’73; Emilie Lavin ’96; and Duncan McDonnell ’99.
New Members
Portland: Anna Campbell ’96, Bill Crawford ’97, Drew Fletcher ’02, Owen Gabbert ’02, David Reich ’80. San Francisco representatives: Sarah Arzt ’02, Peter Bromka ’00. New York representatives: Alex Bellos ’02, Emily Carr Bellos ’02. Seattle representatives: Jim Bilbao ’79, Alan Cantlin ’95, John Chun ’87. Los Angeles representative: Nick Toren ’91.
ALUMNI WEEKEND JUNE 17–19
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Miss Catlin School All alumni are invited to attend. Honoring the classes of ’41, ’46, ’51, ’56, ’61, ’66, ’71, ’76, ’81, ’86, ’91, ’96, ’01, and ’06.
Friday, June 17
Annual alumni awards presentation with alumni associationhosted welcome back to campus dinner and lively music to follow in the Barn.
Saturday, June 18
Annual soccer game, retirement celebration for athletic director and coach Mike Davis with lunch in the Paddock, campus tours, family activities, challenge course, and class reunion parties.
Sunday, June 19
Brunch for all alumni in classes of 1941–61. Special anniversary celebration for classes of ’41, ’46, ’51, ’56, and ’61.
WE WANT YOUR NOTES
The class notes section of the Caller is one of the most popular with our alumni. We hear that it’s the first section alumni they read when their magazine arrives. Whether it’s a birth, a change of job or home, or just your thoughts on what the past year has been, a larger circle of folks really does want to share your passages with you! Visit www.catlin.edu/alumni to learn how submit a class note.
BABY PICTURES
Have you added an eagle to your nest? Send us an announcement and photo of your baby to alumni@catlin.edu and the alumni relations office will send your new babe a Catlin Gabel tee.
Markus Hutchins '02, alumni board presidentLauren Dully Hubbard '91, alumni and community relations program director
Alumni talk about coach Mike Davis, on his retirement
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
From Peter Gail ’96
"La Salle's not doing this. . . . " he bellowed out from atop the "hill" in his classic English accent. "OES isn't doing this . . . Catlin Gabel Savings and Loan. We put it in today and take it out on our opponent." These words usually showed themselves at the end of a training session, about two days before a big match. There he would stand staring down at us, our lungs screaming, quads burning, just waiting for the call—another gut buster up the 30-yard stretch that separated the upper and lower fields. I loved doing those hills for Mike Davis.
I remember the first time I saw Catlin Gabel play. I was 9 years old and my sister Annabel Toren ’89 was playing center midfield for the Catlin Gabel girls team in the annual jamboree. The boys varsity took the pitch after my sister's game, and I remember watching Roger Gantz ’89 dance through the midfield. He played with such vision, such strength, and connected pass after pass with his teammates. And on the sideline, orchestrating this beautiful brand of soccer, was this English fellow, calm and cool, a subtle comment here and there. "That's Mike Davis," someone told me on the sideline, "the coach of the boys varsity." I was hooked. I knew right there that I wanted to play for him someday.
Someone once described me and my Catlin Gabel teammates as "junkies for the game." This passion for soccer started early in my years at the school. In PE, if we were given the choice, we would opt for indoor soccer in the tennis courts. The small-sided atmosphere in there and consistent touches . . . that was huge for our confidence on the ball. I remember playing a version of soccer tennis with Mike against the wall in the gym, challenging each other to hit the Catlin Gabel tree. Or Tuesdays and Thursdays through the late spring and summer with current students and alums, getting together to knock the ball around. There was a soccer culture at Catlin Gabel, and it was rooted in an enjoyment of the game. Mike Davis was a huge part of that.
In high school, when 3:00 rolled around I was often on a jog from the Dant House to the gym; a quick change, and then a mad dash through the forest down to the pitch. Mike made things fun for us at practice, but serious at the same time. We were intensely competitive with each other, and Mike fostered this competition at every turn. I think he knew that if he could get us to battle against each other, some of the top players in the state, then we would be a step ahead of anyone who stepped on the field against us. This philosophy worked well, as during my four years at Catlin Gabel we were semi-finalists one year, and state champions the three others.
Under Mike we played the beautiful game. We would build out of the back when the game allowed for a measured attack, or if we were under pressure, another of Mike's famous phrases would pop into the head: "when in doubt, whack it out." And over the course of every season, our teams would improve. We were always playing our best soccer at the end of the year, a testament to Mike's ability to shape a team. In no place was this more evident than during my senior season in the state finals vs. Phoenix.
I checked back to the ball from my forward spot and received a perfect entry pass from our central midfielder Tyler Tibbs ’96. On the far side of the field was our winger, Peter Duyan ’96, streaking down the pitch. I drove a 40-yard ball to him in stride and he took his touch to the end line, only to serve an even better cross to the penalty spot. I laid out for a diving header to see the keeper deflect the shot to my striking partner, Andrew Crenshaw ’97, who buried the rebound. It was a beautiful sequence, and the kind of thing you saw the best teams under Mike Davis put together.
There were others like this, but probably none more famous than the brilliant one-touch sequence created during Catlin Gabel's first state championship with Roger Gantz ’89 and company. Before playoff games, we would watch the tape of that incredible play; nine one-touch passes from the back forward until the ball found the back of the net.
It wasn't always rosy with me and Mike, and for good reason. During one particular game my sophomore year, I had taken too many touches on the ball and Mike let me know about it from the sideline. "Keep it simple," he called out. I shouted back in a loud and sarcastic tone, "SORRY, Mike!" He wasted no time, calling out "sub ref" instantly. It was weeks before I would get back into the starting lineup, and that only happened because I trained harder than ever before. Mike was someone you didn't cross. He demanded respect. This was another reason he was able to get so much out of his players.
I still play soccer and coach soccer. It's a huge part of my life, but I just can't seem to get enough. In many ways, I still feel like that 16-year-old kid, the "junkie for the game" sprinting through the Catlin Gabel forest to get to those majestic fields below. And I owe this passion for the game, in many ways, to Mike Davis. He fostered a love of the game, and my development both as a soccer player and a young man. I wish to thank him for that.
From Roger Gantz ’89
Mike,
When you came to Catlin Gabel, you had the monumental task of taking over a job from a legendary figure of Oregon high school athletics. To say the least, this was no small job. Not only have you become one the most successful coaches in Oregon history, but you have created your own legend. More remarkable still, especially for us within the Catlin Gabel community, you were successful within the special ethos of the school.
After Catlin Gabel, I was very fortunate to carry on playing soccer. Both collegiately and professionally, playing in front of big crowds with and against some of the most recognizable names in the sport at the time. I can say, however, that our ’88 state championship overtime thriller against Woodburn was, without a doubt, my fondest soccer memory.
Thanks for that, Mike. And on behalf of all your players, thank you for fostering the best and purest sporting experiences in which we will ever participate.
Oogy, oogy, oogy, oy, oy, oy.
From Greg Bates ’96
Mike, or the Gaffer, was a huge influence in my life. When I was 14 my family and I made the decision to move to the Portland area so I could attend Catlin Gabel. Mike was a big factor in the decision.
Everyone in the soccer community knew he was a great coach; that his teams won. At that time Catlin Gabel and he had won several state championships in a row and had produced some great players. During my four years of playing for Mike, our teams won three state titles, and many of went to play in college. More importantly, we played good team soccer and had a great time doing it.
Unequivocally, I can say Mike was one of the great influences in my life. He was a fantastic coach and mentor. Mike brought out the best in his players. (Sadly, very few coaches actually do that.) Mike had a way of getting his teams to play as one, to make the last player on the team feel just as important as the MVP. The life lessons we learned running hills, playing keep away, of beating OES, stay with me today. For example, he taught us about hard work. Mike was fond of saying, as we ran yet another hill, "Put it in the bank and take it out on game day."
Mike will be missed. I trust Catlin Gabel will find another great coach. Mike cannot be replaced. He is one of a kind. All of us who had the privilege of playing for him and got to know him can attest to that. He was a great ambassador for the sport and for the school. I wish him all the best. Cheers, Gaffer.
Some Remarkable People Are Retiring
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
JOHN WISER
John Wiser has taught at Catlin Gabel for 40 years in history, English, theater, and science, and he also coached basketball and soccer. John is humble about his retirement: “People and institutions live, breathe, and go on. I don’t believe much in legacies, and so much of what I’ve done has been an act of faith. If it mattered, it will be in the occasional memory of the students and colleagues I had the pleasure to work with. What is important to me is that others realize that I did the best I could with what I have, and that I had enough respect for my students to set the bar high.”His colleagues are more willing to laud John. Science teacher Paul Dickinson had this to say: “This is truly the end of an era. John leaves a legacy of principles he clarified and championed for the benefit of us all. For one, he taught me the important concept of a student’s engagement with ideas, rather than just moving their eyes over the words as they try to complete their reading. Helping them realize the difference helps them to improve their skills as readers, their gathering of facts for knowledge of the subject, and their sophistication as literary analysts.
“John was one of the major producers of Catlin Gabel’s reputation as a school where students learn to write exceptionally well. He will be gone next year, wandering about Europe taking in many of the sites of the famous events in European history about which he taught for years, accompanied by his multilingual guide (and wife) Harriet. The skills he taught and his attitude toward intellectual endeavor will remain with many of us, young and old, his students.”
MIKE DAVIS
Mike Davis has become an unforgettable and beloved figure in his 24 years at Catlin Gabel as soccer coach, PE teacher, and athletic director. He came to the school with an extensive background in coaching and education, including a PhD in physical education, beginning in his native England and extending into local colleges and universities. His students speak best about the lasting effect he had on their lives:Roger Gantz ’89 wrote, “On behalf of all your players, thank you for fostering the best and purest sporting experiences in which we will ever participate.” Peter Gail ’96 says, “I still play and coach soccer. It’s a huge part of my life, but I just can’t seem to get enough. In many ways, I still feel like that 16-year-old kid, the ‘junkie for the game’ sprinting through the Catlin forest to get to those majestic fields below. And I owe this passion for the game, in many ways, to Mike Davis. He fostered a love of the game, and my development both as a soccer player and a young man. I wish to thank him for that.”
And Greg Bates ’96 wrote, “Unequivocally, I can say Mike was one of the great influences in my life. He was a fantastic coach and mentor. Mike brought out the best in his players. (Sadly, very few coaches actually do that.) Mike had a way of getting his teams to play as one, to make the last player on the team feel just as important as the MVP. The life lessons we learned running hills, playing keep away, of beating OES, stay with me today. Mike is one of a kind. Cheers, Gaffer.”
KATHY QUALMAN
Kathy Qualman, director of Catlin Gabel’s learning center, is retiring after 20 years at the school. Kathy has special thanks for one way Catlin Gabel provides for faculty-staff: “What has kept me up to date meeting the needs of today’s students has been my professional development education, particularly conferences on learning and the brain. I’ve learned from these how to explain to students what’s happening with their brain circuitry. Professional development keeps teachers on top of their game.”She wrote to her faculty-staff colleagues, “Thank you for the intellectual richness and joy that I have experienced with you these past 20 years. We have shared a precious vision of how children can be nurtured, challenged, and encouraged as they grow into capable active and moral citizens of the world. What a mission we are living. Some people retire from a joyless job. I am retiring from a joyful one.”
BETSY McCORMICK & SUE HENRY
Kindergarten teachers Betsy McCormick and Sue Henry are retiring, Betsy after 28 years and Sue after 17 years with Catlin Gabel. They sent a joint note about their transition: “We met when our sons were in the Middle School here at Catlin Gabel and we’ve taught together ever since. . . . . As we looked around on Grandparents’ Day, we realized that we were older than many of the grandparents, and that it truly was time to pass the kindergarten program on to a new generation of teachers.”Betsy McCormick came to Catlin Gabel, with experience teaching in public schools, when her youngest child was a kindergartner. “Five- and six-year-old children have such a wonderful perspective on life in general—their desire to make and be friends, understand their world, and spend part of each day with a sense of laughter and creativity has always inspired me,” she says. “I also feel blessed to have had my two sons be CGS lifers.”
Sue Henry taught kindergarten at several schools before starting at CGS. “An important reason I love teaching here is having the autonomy (which includes the challenge to ‘think out of the box’ and the vital collaboration of my colleagues) to design and implement a curriculum that supports the many ways young children develop and learn. Catlin Gabel is a school where children are given many gifts by caring teachers and staff, and I am so grateful that my youngest son, Travis ’95, was able to attend Catlin Gabel from the seventh grade until he graduated. The education he received helped him become the capable and caring adult he is today.”
EVIE WALTENBAUGH
Director of human resources Evie Waltenbaugh is retiring after 30 years at the school to travel with her husband and spend time with her family. Her positions have included Upper School administrative assistant, receptionist, and assistant to past headmaster Jim Scott. She was the school’s first dedicated human resources professional. “Catlin Gabel will always occupy a large place in my heart, the quality of education provided for my children, the wonderful colleagues I have had the privilege to know and work alongside, and a very special place to work,” she writes. “It has truly been a great journey!”
If you would like to make a gift in honor of any of these retirees, please call annual giving program director Sara Case at 503-297-1894 ext. 423.
Traditions Seen Through Two Seniors' Eyes
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
Passionate learning
By Sarah Lowenstein ’11
A childhood amidst the towering trees of the Fir Grove, forming stars during the sword dance, performing St. George, and traveling to the Pumpkin Patch with my 1st grade buddy represent some of the traditions at Catlin Gabel that encapsulate its atmosphere of experiential and passionate learning.As I reflect on my time at Catlin Gabel, a smile appears on my face. My soccer coach asked me this year, “Will you miss Catlin next year?” Without hesitation I responded, “Yes,” in a nostalgic, but optimistic tone. My most cherished memories of Catlin Gabel stem from the relationships I have fostered with my teachers and peers. The school’s unique aspects start with the individualized attention students receive, and the teachers’ devotion to the students. Catlin Gabel students develop a passion for learning beyond the grade.
Spending the majority of my life at Catlin Gabel, time didn’t pass like a routine. The traditions and community on campus makes every day at school irreplaceable. In kindergarten I sat on my knees in the Cabell Center, mesmerized, by the play St. George. This annual production became a highlight of the year, and by second grade I decided I wanted to be Queen William. Then in 8th grade my six-year aspiration became a reality as I paraded across the stage as Queen William. The traditions keep the community strong, and unite the classes involved. The values at Catlin Gabel help students evolve into intellectual, passionate, and ambitious individuals ready for new experiences with a smile.
Some aspects of Catlin Gabel will never change
By Kate Posner ’11
I began school at Catlin Gabel as a preschooler, so I have seen the school go through countless changes over the years. Moving through all the grade levels I saw 
changes in teachers, administrators, and students. Though not all of these changes were positive, they all had a profound effect on the school as a whole. When I first started attending, younger children waited for their parents to pick them up at the old Crossroads building. In its place now stands the Upper School library, one of many significant changes I have seen during my 14 years at this school. But some aspects of Catlin Gabel will never change. Upper School students will always memorize the school chapter, and it will be imprinted in their memories forever. The bonfire after the homecoming game will eternally be a source of excitement, and 1st graders will always tentatively step out into the Paddock to perform the Maypole dance at Spring Festival. The traditions of Catlin Gabel may evolve over time, and changes will continue to occur whether they are for the best or not— but we can all expect traditions to hold a special place in our community.
changes in teachers, administrators, and students. Though not all of these changes were positive, they all had a profound effect on the school as a whole. When I first started attending, younger children waited for their parents to pick them up at the old Crossroads building. In its place now stands the Upper School library, one of many significant changes I have seen during my 14 years at this school. But some aspects of Catlin Gabel will never change. Upper School students will always memorize the school chapter, and it will be imprinted in their memories forever. The bonfire after the homecoming game will eternally be a source of excitement, and 1st graders will always tentatively step out into the Paddock to perform the Maypole dance at Spring Festival. The traditions of Catlin Gabel may evolve over time, and changes will continue to occur whether they are for the best or not— but we can all expect traditions to hold a special place in our community.
What Does Tradition Mean at Catlin Gabel? Alumni Respond.
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
Jenn Stallard ’92
Ritual creates a sense of familiarity. The term “familiarity” is closely associated with “family,” so it’s not surprising that Catlin Gabel’s many traditions are what help create a sense of community and history—in other words, family. It was my home. I always loved the Blue vs. White team competition around the Rummage Sale—what a great way to promote school spirit and community, for a very good cause! I also thought the class trips (8th, 9th, 12th) were fun, not to mention
extremely valuable. My class (1992) was the first to take our 8th grade musical (Pirates of Penzance) on the road. I will never forget it! It would be an understatement to say I’m a creature of habit, and I’ve often wondered whether Catlin Gabel had a part in that. It may also be why I appreciated all the tradition as much as I did. After graduation, I attended a small private college and have generally lived in smaller towns that foster a sense of community and closeness.
Jim Bilbao ’79
Some of the ideas about why St. George is important:
* It’s fun. This works for everybody.
* It’s a charade. This works for the maturity of the kids.
* It’s easy: there’s no pretense of quality about the acting, sets, or costumes.
* The audience is easily satisfied.
* 8th graders get to try on acting in broad range of adult roles from mythic (Santa, George, devil, angel) to vocational (photographer, nurse, doctor).
* 8th graders get to touch real ethical issues, without any of the tough reading.
Jamie Bell ’92
I think Catlin-ites love a tradition because the school has tradition and ritual written all over it. I remember loathing the sophomore year position paper. We all knew it was coming, and we all knew how long it had to be, but once it was over it was sort of an accomplishment, and something that we could talk about later on to upcoming sophomores. Tradition also helps us as alumni reconnect with other students, past, present, and future. I can tell a 5th grader, a senior, or a 50-year-old that I was giant Blunderbore in St. George—those people will know what I am referring to. Traditions as I see them: writing the epic in iambic pentameter. I remember the Lower School awards assembly: I got the messiest desk award and the coveted “golden foot” award (was that its name?). Lower School Pet and Field day was a good one. Obvious ones are St. George, Rummage tonnage (student contest Blue vs White), Maypole, gingerbread men with the primary, Pumpkin Patch as a 1st and 12th grader. Random traditions: the Can Car (Sid Eaton started for Candowment), Scarlet letter day, Chaucer day, Corinthian day, playing foursquare, ringing the bell at Lower School recess, ordering lunch at the Barn, school dances in the Barn. The fact that we have places named the Barn, Toad Hall, Fir Grove, Zot Room, and Nutshell.
Debbie Kaye ’73
I believe that “the child as the unit of consideration” is one of the most important elements of our founders’ vision. It moves me still. Just how we act on that principle has changed as pedagogy, technology, and the culture have changed. Yet putting each child at the center of the reason Catlin Gabel offers its particular type of education has remained constant. Our alumni love ritual because it connects us to the community, over years and space. St. George and the Gilbert and Sullivan 
musical are classic examples of shared experience. In more recent years, the Elana Gold ’93 Memorial Environmental Restoration Project and the senior trip, whose purposes and activities are constant, fill the same role. Years later, alumni can and do recall how they participated and with whom, the games and fun and food, the camaraderie. Shared experience and ties that bind. We look back fondly, smoothing the difficult edges of fatigue and any frustration, recalling the overall experience, lessons, and skills learned and yes, carried forward into other elements of our lives. Lifelong learning through community effort. Fabulous!
Peter Bromka ’00
I think that Catlin Gabel people love rituals because they are the experiences through which we learn about the world. Plays teach us to have confidence. Rummage used to teach us how to reuse and recycle, how to see further value in an object. Epic papers, like the poet paper juniors used to have to write, teach us how to write. The 6th grade go-carts teach us about mechanical systems. Camping trips teach us how to be outdoorsy. When everyone in a community buys into an experience it becomes emotionally rewarding and cohesive. We feel a part of something and less exposed to failure, which is important when we’re trying something so new! I have not carried any of the specific traditions on in my life, but I point to those that I’ve mentioned as early examples of my confidence with public speaking, writing, mechanics, outdoorsmanship, and more. I also hold them closely as the events that taught me I could succeed at something new that I’d never tried before. That said, I believe the traditions can and should evolve. The Poet Paper died off while I was still in high school because the English teachers decided that it wasn’t the best way for us to learn how to tackle a large academic endeavor. C’est la vie. And, as someone who works in the world of design and creativity, I’m inspired by rituals that are intended for nothing more than pure fun and entertainment. It’s important to remember that life is worth laughing at, that it’s all right to laugh at ourselves and enjoy it.
Mason Kaye ’04
Initially, I remember being excited about go-carts due to the mythology surrounding the experience. Seeing the 6th graders driving them when I was in the Lower School was quite an experience. I was on a team with my two best friends at the time, Patrick Santa and Deni Ponganis. I’m not sure if this is still going on, but the amount of unsupervised use of power tools during that project was exhilarating. We played with the go-cart all summer.
Why We Need Our Traditions
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
By Tom Tucker '66
Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as a fiddler on the roof,” said Tevye in the musical of the same name. The strength inherent in tradition
lies in its power to bring us together to a common purpose. At Catlin Gabel we often laugh about the “instant” traditions we create, but a look at the ones that have survived over time are a testament to the values we hold close.
lies in its power to bring us together to a common purpose. At Catlin Gabel we often laugh about the “instant” traditions we create, but a look at the ones that have survived over time are a testament to the values we hold close.Community service in the Middle School formally arrived under Sara Normington’s leadership and Roy Parker’s support in 1988. The first efforts from the old Middle School were fledgling but enthusiastic. Kids chose whom they wanted to serve—young children, old folks, animals, work on campus—and adults signed up to fill the spots. For seven years George Thompson ’64 and I led groups of kids to the Regency Park care facility to sing songs and tell stories.
As time progressed, the service learning program, as it came to be called, switched to a C&C activity. With Carol Ponganis as my C&C partner, we took kids to several Headstart programs, Store-to-Door shopping for the elderly, the Children’s Book Bank, and our second round at the Blanchet House. A week ago Wednesday, a 7th grader and I chopped our way through nearly a bushel of potatoes, as our C&C-mates produced a tub of green salad and an equally large tub of fruit salad. Our efforts that morning helped feed 200 people in need of a meal. Working together with the men who live at the Blanchet House in a common and immediately discernible goal was satisfying for us all. The kids, I believe, now see people down on their luck or in recovery in a personal and newly informed light. Through giving we receive.
The mural-making aspect of woodshop arrived about the same time. In 1986 the woodshop was given a large number of redwood squares. The Upper School shop class used the squares to carve a mural depicting many aspects of our Oregon landscape, and it hung on the outside of the old Middle School until the building came down to make room for the new US library. It currently resides in the shop, its surfaces textured by years of wind, sun, and rain. Others have been installed on the outside of the Cabell Center, the Lower School, the US art room, and various nooks and crannies about the campus. Seventh graders have been capturing their own take on topics such as current culture, music, movies, and catastrophes in mural form since we have been in the “new” Middle School building. What they have made is art for all to see. Students can see, in a visual way, the steps traveled before and can imagine the steps yet to be taken. We learn from and contribute to our own history and place in the world.I have had the privilege of participating in one idiosyncratic tradition at Catlin Gabel, the productions of St. George and the Dragon and Gilbert and Sullivan operettas,
first as an observer of my older siblings and more actively as a student. For the past 25 years I have been involved as an arts team member, building sets, making props, writing lines, and generally trying to corral the creative process. I haven’t tired yet of watching, re-living, and enjoying the stories as re-interpreted by the current crop of 8th graders. I think their appreciation of contemporary life and culture as imprinted on the time-honored tale of good and evil in St. George is complemented by the more thorough exposure to humor, language, and lyric as captured by the astute eyes and ears of William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Some of the mores have changed, but the human foibles captured in song and story are as contemporary now as they were then.
first as an observer of my older siblings and more actively as a student. For the past 25 years I have been involved as an arts team member, building sets, making props, writing lines, and generally trying to corral the creative process. I haven’t tired yet of watching, re-living, and enjoying the stories as re-interpreted by the current crop of 8th graders. I think their appreciation of contemporary life and culture as imprinted on the time-honored tale of good and evil in St. George is complemented by the more thorough exposure to humor, language, and lyric as captured by the astute eyes and ears of William Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. Some of the mores have changed, but the human foibles captured in song and story are as contemporary now as they were then.St. George has been presented to our Catlin Gabel community for more than 60 years. It is a gift that has been told and re-told many times, always the same, yet always different for each student. The Gilbert and Sullivan musicals date back even further, and for the past twenty-some years they have gone on the road to the San Juan Islands, where students have performed for local communities, schools, and a retirement center. Our students’ hard work is shared with people who have come to appreciate it and who look forward to their visit. 
The production represents a complex process of trust, of rising to the occasion, and of growing maturity and responsibility. When I see former students I always ask them what roles they had and what they remember. They don’t always remember the specifics, but they are always able to reflect on the bonds created. And connections are what traditions are all about.
The production represents a complex process of trust, of rising to the occasion, and of growing maturity and responsibility. When I see former students I always ask them what roles they had and what they remember. They don’t always remember the specifics, but they are always able to reflect on the bonds created. And connections are what traditions are all about.Tom Tucker ’66 teaches Middle and Upper School woodshop.
What Has Changed in Teaching?
Catlin Gabel teachers reflect on their careers working with students
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
Why I Like Change
David Ellenberg, 8th grade history
In the minds of many humorists and some clever students, history is “just one damn thing after another.” As such, teaching this discipline involves the ongoing challenge of making coursework relevant. Perhaps this is most true with middle school students who are distinctly changeable in their approach to learning. When I began teaching in the 1980s, chalkboards and comp books were common; word processing and Google searches were not. We ordered educational films and 
showed them on 16-mm projectors. The vast array of web resources for locating film clips, most notably YouTube, was in the distant future.
showed them on 16-mm projectors. The vast array of web resources for locating film clips, most notably YouTube, was in the distant future.Today, a plethora of previously unimagined futures are at the ready. Revision of student writing is far more streamlined, any geographic location on the planet can be easily examined with current maps, and historic events can be quickly viewed and analyzed using newsreel footage or fine documentaries. Despite the unfortunate aspects of the Information Age such as full inboxes, phony websites, and endless digital distractions, for a history teacher the Internet Age is a godsend. The advent of the World Wide Web enables me to teach students in new ways about accessing credible information for research. When introducing topics, I use written, video, and musical sources accessed through my laptop. Students have online interactions that even the playing field for all, quiet and loquacious alike. Using shared documents for editing and revision eases group work.
In addition to what I share directly with students, web searches also allow me to access an array of sources when planning lessons. For example, I routinely keep pace with new graphic memoirs that might be used during a global studies unit. When students access world events through artwork and family histories, learning is sparked. These true-life tales combine well with more traditional texts and expand student knowledge and understanding.
New approaches to accessing teaching resources complement traditional classroom work. Reading, writing, analyzing, and public speaking will forever be part of student life. These timeless skills are enhanced when positive aspects of technology find their mark. When I ask students to memorize a portion of a John Kennedy speech, how wonderful that they can easily find the president’s address on the Kennedy Library website. Speaking effectively in front of peers is a lifelong skill in any day and age.
The Traditional and the New in Art
Laurie Carlyon-Ward, Upper School visual art
Technology has affected art education in all parts of the curriculum—music, theater, and visual arts. Our students are able to create projects on a professional level now that we couldn’t have imagined five to ten years ago. The internet has given students greater knowledge of living artists, and they are being influenced by artists from around the globe. There’s still a great deal of joy here in making things by hand, and we give our students a chance to know how technology works in the world that they’re inheriting.
Enrollment in visual art classes at Catlin Gabel has increased over the past few years as students and parents become aware of growth in occupations such as 
animation, graphic design, film, and photography. Our students graduate, if they choose, with working knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite. It is also a necessary part of college studies in many fields such as architecture, film production, and photojournalism.
animation, graphic design, film, and photography. Our students graduate, if they choose, with working knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite. It is also a necessary part of college studies in many fields such as architecture, film production, and photojournalism.In our visual art classes, we still teach from a traditional curriculum, which balances skills like observational drawing with new technology. Landscapes, life drawing, and portraits are popular subjects in media such as charcoal, watercolors, and acrylics. We explore new painting mediums, too. We use water-based oils, which have a nice feel and good colors—with no turpentine or noxious fumes.
The curriculum is more flexible now. We no longer have a drawing and painting prerequisite for the honors art seminar. We encourage students who take photography or one of the media arts to build a portfolio and take drawing and painting to balance out their arts foundation and have a wider range of artistic skills.
It’s been an incredible pleasure for me to teach drawing, painting, printmaking, and digital photography at Catlin Gabel for 26 years. After all these years, I’m glad I realized I could fill the Dant House with student art. We can now have student work up all year long, and everyone loves it.
Growing as a Teacher
Maggie Bendicksen, 5th grade
In the nine years I’ve been in Catlin Gabel’s Lower School, I have felt so lucky to work with creative, brilliant, and fabulously kooky colleagues. We constantly question and learn from each other, especially in the areas of brain research and how kids learn best, and it has made an enormous impact on my teaching.
I feel that now that I have the curriculum under my belt, I can focus more on each individual kid, hearing them and seeing them for the gifts they bring. I’ve become more playful, truly willing to not know the answer before I ask the question, willing to be wrong as I puzzle over an equation in front of the class, or marvel at a student-originated strategy that I had never thought of before.What I’ve learned from our learning specialist Sue Sacks and others, including 1st grade teacher Mimi Tang and Beginning School head Hannah Whitehead, is that the better we understand how different kinds of minds work, the better we can teach. Perhaps more important, though, we can help kids to know how they work best, how they can stretch in what we call the zone of proximal development (that space where work isn’t too easy, nor too hard, but just right) and ultimately advocate for themselves.
This fall, I was especially struck by how my 5th graders walked into the room already knowing what they needed to succeed. Their previous teachers had helped them know themselves so well. For instance, one of my boys knows he does best when he works and sits alone, another child wears noise-canceling earphones so she can focus, and another knows he needs to talk out his thinking before starting to work.
My teaching in math has changed, too. It’s no longer just in literacy and humanities where I can truly listen to students’ questions and their understanding of what will help them learn more. These days our best math workshops evolve from the kids’ theories, like Miriam and Nicolette’s partnership to find what makes equivalent fractions equivalent, or Macey’s burning question: “Is there something like a prime fraction? How could it exist?” There’s no better feeling as a teacher than when you see that intellectual energy buzz. It’s a privilege to work in a place where teachers are honored for saying, “You know what, Macey, I don’t know, but how do you think you can figure that out?”
Language Teaching Demands Evolution
Roberto Villa, Upper School Spanish
Language teachers have seen a significant evolution over the past few years. The advent of continually improving computing and technology tools have made it easier for to us to customize students’ learning based on their learning styles and differing abilities.
Some of us teaching Spanish no longer order printed books. We can get all the materials we need—grammar or literature— online, especially with what’s in the
public domain. We can also order online textbooks for half the price of a printed version, and they do what paper books can’t. They feature links to hear audio or watch videos, tutorials that give immediate feedback, and the flexibility for students to paste in their own work and proceed at their own rate. We’ve seen many students focus better with these online tools.
public domain. We can also order online textbooks for half the price of a printed version, and they do what paper books can’t. They feature links to hear audio or watch videos, tutorials that give immediate feedback, and the flexibility for students to paste in their own work and proceed at their own rate. We’ve seen many students focus better with these online tools.At the same time that technology evolved, serious work in brain research began to be published. For us in language, merging the two allows us to individualize as much as possible, especially given Catlin Gabel’s small classes.
For example, we’ve always talked about shopping for food. Previously we used classroom visuals and vocabulary lists, and students role-played in the classroom. Now we can go to Hispanic supermarkets on the web to learn about products and prices, and we can submit an order. We also tour local Hispanic markets, and the students complete a specific shopping activity we’ve set up beforehand. This suits our educational philosophy: we provide students with real, authentic, hands-on opportunities to reinforce what they’ve learned in class, and they can each learn in the way that suits them best.
We’ve benefited from the evolution and growth of the local Hispanic community, which has grown from 40,000 when I began teaching to 360,000 today. Students now have many opportunities to experience the Hispanic culture and language firsthand. If a language teacher can help students grasp the relationship between what they learn in class and the reality of the world, then students learn better.
Students are learning faster and more amply now. They’ve moved up a notch from our expectations 20 years ago. One result of all this has been that next year we’ll have the first sizable Spanish 6 class. More Catlin Gabel students than ever before now take two languages at once.
The arrival of new technological possibilities gives me energy and motivation. I’m grateful to Catlin Gabel for reminding all of us of Miss Catlin’s philosophy of the school as a laboratory, which spurs us to try new ways of teaching. We’ve come a long way from the first internet cable on campus.
A New Teaching Experience
Joanne Dreier, kindergarten
Over the past few years, we have been developing a new studio component to Catlin Gabel’s kindergarten program. This year is the first time I have had the opportunity and privilege to be the studio teacher as part of the kindergarten team, and my experiences are teaching me more about how to teach, even after many
years in the kindergarten classroom.
years in the kindergarten classroom.A set of questions to the children guide my work every day. How can we learn new things together? What can we do with materials? How can we organize them? What can we do with collections? How can we transform things? How can we see things in a new way?
As one example, students collected leaves, twigs, pods, seeds, pinecones, bark, moss, herbs, and more on autumn trips into the Fir Grove. They admired and handled the pieces over and over for many days, then used them as rich storytelling materials. A pinecone became a horse, twigs became bridges, and acorns became campfires. As materials continued to arrive, our containers could barely hold them all.
The conclusion of storytelling brought a time for individual close observations of a favorite piece of nature. Representations might begin with a drawing, but would then become a painting, clay piece, watercolor, or wire creation. Finally, several children created delicate sculptures that included the original piece of nature integrated with other objects found in proximity to it outdoors. The sensitivity and depth of relationship between the child and material as they are encouraged to work in this way can be breathtaking. The studio becomes silent, almost like a sanctuary of concentration and focus.
My role as a studio teacher is to enable and encourage the children to experience the many “languages” that are the domain of every young child. As the printed word in school can quickly become the most valued language, in kindergarten the child is welcome to use the vast array of materials that allow us to understand their important thinking. I create opportunities for them to pursue their own questions, and I encourage the natural collaboration that results from their explorations. Catlin Gabel’s Beginning School devotes itself to children and their experiences. As a result, I get to listen to all the stories and discoveries that our children eagerly share. What an enviable place to be!
PE and Sports Change, too
John Hamilton, Upper School coach and PE/ health teacher
Change hasn’t come only in the classroom, or from technology. Over the past 20 years we have seen many changes in the way we approach our coaching, 
teaching and mentoring in health, physical education, and athletics.
teaching and mentoring in health, physical education, and athletics.In the Beginning and Lower School we now have two PE specialists, which allows department members to focus more in their individual areas of expertise. Through a generous gift, our two specialists received training about core strength, and we were able to purchase the equipment to implement this new program. Our offerings for these young students now include a broader health curriculum.
Middle School health and PE has changed dramatically, promoting a healthier, more active life for our students. Class sizes, which have been reduced by half, meet every day. Upgraded facilities and higher-quality equipment allow a much more diverse range of activities. We encourage Middle School students to play on any of our numerous interscholastic teams. By the time students enter 9th grade, they have been exposed to a wide variety of activities and fitness options.
The Upper School has benefited from the addition of new sand-based soccer fields and an all-weather track facility. Gymnasium additions allow our teams to use their own locker rooms on game day. The upstairs classroom now hosts our health classes year round, and it has become a favorite site for department and team meetings. The weight room adds a new dimension to our curriculum and offers a great year-round training space for students, faculty, and staff. In addition to elective requirements, students must complete a lifetime fitness course and required health curriculum. In 9th grade we teach nutrition and human sexuality, and we teach sociology in the 10th grade.
Students show great support for our athletic program, and about half take an active role during the playing seasons. Over the course of the year we normally have 65- 70% of the student body participate on at least one of our athletic teams. Through the success we have achieved in the OSAA-sponsored state championship competitions over the years, Catlin Gabel has won the all-sports award for schools our size in nine of the last ten years.
Keeping Up with Technology
Bob Sauer, Upper School science
In my 27 years of science teaching I’ve seen amazing advances in technology used in the classroom. As I’ve worked to incorporate the good parts into my teaching, my students’ interest, involvement, enthusiasm, and learning have all increased. I strive to keep up with the advances, and the burgeoning, booming rate of development and my own expanding activities and responsibilities have made this effort increasingly challenging (but worth it!).
The greatest impact has been the rise of the personal computer. When I started teaching, my classroom had one dusty Radio Shack TRS 80 mounted on a square of particle board, with a cassette player for program and data storage, and 4 kilobytes of RAM. Within a few years I was excited to introduce an Apple IIe to my classroom. Collecting and analyzing data with computers has made laboratory work far more accurate, easy, and fun than it used to be. The more recent advent of laptops has facilitated the administration of my classes. I make syllabi, lab instructions, answers to homework, and practice tests all accessible online, making them easy for students to get, and difficult for them to lose. Originally I wrote my own grading programs in BASIC. More than once the custodian was shocked to find me still at school at 8 p.m., debugging the code. Now I use Excel spreadsheets that I can put together in far less time.
Another important development has occurred in projectors and smartboards. I started out showing 8 mm film loops of events like the Tacoma Narrows bridge collapse (resonance in action) and diffraction in ripple tanks. My first astronomy presentations were 35 mm film slides in a carousel projector. Now I assemble my digital photos along with graphics, highlights, and figures from the text in Powerpoint presentations for much more informative and instructive lessons.
I feel fortunate to have had my teaching career coincide with this blossoming of technology. I’ve been able to develop my strategies and abilities in instruction along with the expanding capabilities of technology. This synergy has kept my teaching fun and fruitful.
Building on the Basics
Mark Pritchard, Middle School music
I’ve always taught the basic components of music—composition, performance, and analysis—and will always teach them. But the way I teach now differs from how I was taught, mostly due to technological improvements in music equipment and software.
When I took composition classes in high school, I had to rely on my brain to “hear” all the parts of a composition. Technology has made composing much more immediate. Now 6th grade students can sit at the keyboard, use samples of many musical styles, hear immediately what they’ve composed, and make 
adjustments. The free music software GarageBand simplifies the technology to the point where kids without any musical experience can compose without being tech-savvy. Kids work at their own level in class, and they all can feel that they’ve accomplished something.
adjustments. The free music software GarageBand simplifies the technology to the point where kids without any musical experience can compose without being tech-savvy. Kids work at their own level in class, and they all can feel that they’ve accomplished something.We’ve been providing music for all five drama productions in the 7th grade for the past six years. Students learn about different styles and elements such as overture, underscore, scene change, fight scenes, and sound effects. Once their music is finished, we go watch the actors rehearse with their musical cues. It’s great to see our students’ reactions when they hear their own compositions supporting the scene on stage.
Today’s amplification, mixers, and microphones allow us to produce a variety of music cheaper, better, and more accessibly. It’s changed my teaching. The 8th graders listen to and learn about rock and roll, and they compose and perform pieces on keyboards. We move all this wonderfully portable equipment into the Middle School commons and perform a rock and roll concert of our own compositions.
Kids in 6th grade are ready to take the knowledge, heart, and dexterity they’ve gained in Lower School and apply it to technology in a new, creative way. I still love teaching live music in class. The addition of technology allows me to extend beyond what I could teach before and opens up new styles and ways of composing.
Listening is important in understanding styles. Performing is important in making the style your own. Composing gets you to think about how the instrumental parts make a whole. It all goes back to the basics of musical analysis, performing, and composition. These will never change.
What's Next? The Catlin Gabel Service Corps Begins!
A student and an alumnus talk about the joy of volunteering as a community
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
The Catlin Gabel Service Corps debuted in October with three community-wide days of working together for the greater good. The Service Corps emerged from our community process to figure out “What’s Next” after the Rummage Sale. As we examined what we would miss most about Rummage, we came to consensus around several essential ingredients for developing a new tradition: multigenerations working side by side and having fun together, serving the greater Portland community, student leadership, and demonstrating who we are at Catlin Gabel. The Service Corps 
was developed with these elements in mind. You can find out more on our website. Since those fall service days, the Service Corps has also gathered 50 boxes of books from our community for children at Bienestar, a migrant worker housing complex in Hillsboro where our students help with their Homework Club. More events and projects are in the works—and we encourage all our community members, past and present, to come and pitch in, work together, and have fun.
The Energy and Fun of Volunteering
By Qiddist Hammerly ’12
As a Catlin Gabel student, I’ve participated in many activities at the Oregon Food Bank. In Lower School, we collected food during the fall harvest festival. In 8th
grade, we participated in monthly service at the Food Bank, and in high school we often ask the students for food donations. These ordinary and expected contributions have made the Oregon Food Bank a familiar name to all Catlin Gabel students, yet I have never experienced it in the way I did with the Catlin Gabel Service Corps in November. As part of this year’s initiative to provide cross generational, community-building service opportunities, more than 75 students, parents, alumni, and faculty-staff joined together for a day of packing pasta— and it was anything but ordinary.
If one thing was exceptionally exciting about this service activity, it was the palpable energy of the kids. Eagerly running back and forth and lifting boxes almost bigger than themselves, the kids probably worked the hardest of anyone. For close to three hours, we packed boxes of various kinds of pasta in two-pound bags. At any given table, students, parents, teachers, and siblings worked side by side. Some kids eagerly scurried back and forth, providing each table with more empty boxes, and taking the full boxes to the growing tower of pasta.
The tangibility of our work made it appealing and rewarding for everyone; at the end of the day, we could look over and see just how many pounds we packed, and how many families we were feeding. One Lower School student checked the weight of each bag meticulously to make sure no one family would receive more food than another. Some of the adults, who seemed apprehensive about letting the kids handle tape guns and carry heavy boxes, grew impressed with their unfaltering persistence. Everyone joked and laughed while scooping bag after bag, and we even participated in some friendly competition, betting on whose table team could pack their boxes of pasta the fastest.
After we were done packing, we enjoyed a group lunch at McMenamin’s. It was only then that I realized how rare it is to see so many different Catlin Gabel constituencies in one place. I had the chance to catch up with one of my 1st grade teachers, make a new friend, and chat with parents. Enjoying lunch together wrapped up the day in the perfect way. Too often when we engage in service, we simply break off and return to our daily work without any processing or reflection. Having a relaxed meal together allowed everyone to reflect on the day, catch up, and enjoy each other’s company.
What made this day so successful was the connection we felt as we volunteered. We weren’t simply packing boxes of pasta: we were engaging with each other and observing the product of our work. I think this service experience provides a glimpse into the future possibilities of multigenerational service at Catlin Gabel, both on our own campus and in the greater community. Despite the occasionally excessive use of the word “community” in our, well, community, engaging in service as a community truly is a unique experience that exceeds the benefits of individual volunteerism. Looking back over my 12 years at the school, some of the memories that stand out most to me are the engaging service projects I participated in with my Catlin Gabel family. At the Food Bank that day I could clearly see in our students’ eyes that very same engagement and motivation.
Qiddist Hammerly is a junior at Catlin Gabel and a Malone Scholar. She has been involved for years in community service.
Connecting Through Tree-planting
By Markus Hutchins ’02
After the revelry of the previous night’s Homecoming victory (we defeated OES 2–0), I was excited to spend the day with fellow Eagles at the inaugural Catlin Gabel Service Corps outing to Mary Woodward Garden Wetlands. When we arrived, my parents and I were greeted by a warm cup of coffee and a big hug from Middle
School head Paul Andrichuk. We introduced ourselves to our fellow and future alumni, received our assignments, and then headed out into the wetlands.
School head Paul Andrichuk. We introduced ourselves to our fellow and future alumni, received our assignments, and then headed out into the wetlands.The tools were heavy but effective, and the task was hard but rewarding: removing non-native invasive plants and replacing them with native species and trees. Working alongside former teachers, parents, and current students was a pleasure, and providing our service to the greater community reminded me of the core values of Rummage. The clearing and planting activity was not limited to the Catlin Gabel community, so having the opportunity to work with others for the benefit of the great Portland ecology, knowing we represented one of our school’s core principles, was a positive experience and wonderfully rewarding.
Nostalgia was in attendance as well; while clearing ivy, a little girl shared her excitement about the 1st grade overnight. My own overnight trip was more than 19 years ago, yet I still remember my tentmates, where we camped, and the fun we had. Experiences outside the classroom are the fibers that shape Catlin Gabel. Similar moments and conversations always remind me how fortunate I am to have Catlin Gabel as the foundation of my education.
After the work was completed, our troop of volunteers piled back onto the school bus and shared lunch at a nearby restaurant. While relaxing and enjoying the sunny setting, I spoke with English teacher Art Leo and some parents of current students. We discussed Catlin Gabel, college admissions, sports, my career path, and a host of other topics. I found that sharing my own experience at the school, and its lasting impact on my life, was extremely rewarding. The parents seemed appreciative of the opportunity to speak in a relaxed forum. They asked many thought provoking questions, even some I later shared with fellow classmates. Crossgenerational discussions are unfortunately rare, but I hope that with the continuation and future growth of the Catlin Gabel Service Corps, these can occur on a more regular basis.
As I reflect on the day, I am thankful on multiple levels. Providing service to the community, interacting with current students and alumni, and sharing the experience with faculty and staff made for a true Catlin Gabel experience. I look forward to participating in many more Catlin Gabel Service Corps events in the future.
Markus Hutchins ’02 is the alumni board president and a member of the school’s board of trustees.
Catlin Gabel launches the Knight Family Scholars Program
A new program for the Upper School will bring talented students and an emphasis on experiential learning
From the Winter 2010-11 Caller
This past fall, Phil and Penny Knight honored Catlin Gabel with the largest gift in the school’s history—a multimillion- dollar contribution for the new endowed Knight Family Scholars Program. The Knight’s unprecedented generosity is a tremendous vote of confidence in our school from world leaders in philanthropy.“My goal is to honor the progressive ideals articulated by school founders Ruth Catlin and Priscilla Gabel—not by resting on our laurels, but by continuing to progress,” said head of school Lark Palma. “Phil and Penny Knight have given us the financial ability to try a new teaching and learning paradigm, see how it works, evaluate the program, and refine it over time. We have been given the opportunity to research, experiment, and stretch our wings in pursuit of improving education. We can be bold, like our students.
“The Knight Family Scholars Program will benefit all students through the innovations we pilot,” continued Lark. “The program also catapults Catlin Gabel’s visibility as one of the leading independent schools in the country, adds to our financial aid corpus, and will undoubtedly have a positive overall effect on admissions and on our ability to attract phenomenal student applicants. I could not be more delighted.”
“The Knight Family Scholars Program quite simply opens doors,” says Michael Heath, head of the Upper School. “It is a chance for us to grow as a school, to stretch our preconceptions of education and our assumptions about those we are educating. The scholars who attend Catlin Gabel every year will gain much from their opportunity, but I think we will learn as much from them, if not more.”
This Q&A by communications director Karen Katz ’74 with head of school Lark Palma explains more about this new program.
What is the Knight Family Scholars Program?
It is a pilot program for the Upper School faculty to explore a new model for high school education and attract outstanding new high school students. The gift funds an endowed faculty member to direct the program and teach in the Upper School. In the anticipated inaugural year, 2012–13, we hope to enroll about four Knight Family Scholars as fully integrated members of the Upper School student body who benefit from our exceptional curriculum. The Knight Family Scholars Program is similar in concept to the Rhodes Scholar program in terms of the caliber of students who will qualify.
It is a pilot program for the Upper School faculty to explore a new model for high school education and attract outstanding new high school students. The gift funds an endowed faculty member to direct the program and teach in the Upper School. In the anticipated inaugural year, 2012–13, we hope to enroll about four Knight Family Scholars as fully integrated members of the Upper School student body who benefit from our exceptional curriculum. The Knight Family Scholars Program is similar in concept to the Rhodes Scholar program in terms of the caliber of students who will qualify.
What is your vision for how this program will affect Catlin Gabel?
The current generation of students is far more sophisticated than previous generations. Their educational needs are evolving quickly. Educators must ask, what more can we do to prepare them? How can we ensure that they have a great liberal arts and sciences foundation for success in college, plus the experience and skills to thrive in a workforce and world that will change in ways we cannot imagine? Catlin Gabel teachers have envisioned a high school that is more real world, project based, experiential, and interdisciplinary—but limited resources have stymied our progress toward this goal. Now we can take some big steps in building on our curricular innovations and evolve more quickly. As a new Catlin Gabel faculty member, the Knight Family Scholars Program director will collaborate with our high school teachers and students to develop methods of teaching and learning that respond to the changing educational environment.
The current generation of students is far more sophisticated than previous generations. Their educational needs are evolving quickly. Educators must ask, what more can we do to prepare them? How can we ensure that they have a great liberal arts and sciences foundation for success in college, plus the experience and skills to thrive in a workforce and world that will change in ways we cannot imagine? Catlin Gabel teachers have envisioned a high school that is more real world, project based, experiential, and interdisciplinary—but limited resources have stymied our progress toward this goal. Now we can take some big steps in building on our curricular innovations and evolve more quickly. As a new Catlin Gabel faculty member, the Knight Family Scholars Program director will collaborate with our high school teachers and students to develop methods of teaching and learning that respond to the changing educational environment.
Where did the idea for the program originate?
The genesis for the program stems from the Imagine 2020 conference held in the spring of 2006. A lasting idea that emerged from the conference was to enrich Catlin Gabel’s educational offerings by taking advantage of what our great city and region have to offer— using Portland as a learning laboratory. Bringing students together with creative, analytical, medical, political, entrepreneurial, and science leaders would further our experiential and progressive education goals. The intent is to get our students “off the hill,” as one alumnus put it in 2006. Our global education and PLACE programs, and the urban studies class in the Upper School, also stem from the Imagine 2020 conference.
The genesis for the program stems from the Imagine 2020 conference held in the spring of 2006. A lasting idea that emerged from the conference was to enrich Catlin Gabel’s educational offerings by taking advantage of what our great city and region have to offer— using Portland as a learning laboratory. Bringing students together with creative, analytical, medical, political, entrepreneurial, and science leaders would further our experiential and progressive education goals. The intent is to get our students “off the hill,” as one alumnus put it in 2006. Our global education and PLACE programs, and the urban studies class in the Upper School, also stem from the Imagine 2020 conference.
How did this gift come about?
As I got to know Phil, our shared interest in improving education emerged as a vitally important theme. Phil and Penny Knight are long-range visionaries and Oregon’s most generous individual education philanthropists, which is humbling and exciting. We talked about Ruth Catlin’s vision of modeling for others and how, because of our relatively small size, our success, and our focus on progressive education, we are the ideal school for innovation. I described some of the seminal ideas that emerged from the Imagine 2020 conference and how hard our teachers work to implement those ideas.
As I got to know Phil, our shared interest in improving education emerged as a vitally important theme. Phil and Penny Knight are long-range visionaries and Oregon’s most generous individual education philanthropists, which is humbling and exciting. We talked about Ruth Catlin’s vision of modeling for others and how, because of our relatively small size, our success, and our focus on progressive education, we are the ideal school for innovation. I described some of the seminal ideas that emerged from the Imagine 2020 conference and how hard our teachers work to implement those ideas.
Can you give us an example of a program feature from Imagine 2020 that this gift allows us to implement?
The faculty and the program director will have the opportunity to advance the exchange of ideas in seminars taught by a network of community experts, including some of our talented and notable parents, alumni, and grandparents. The seminars, both on and off campus, will examine topics that emerge from the shared interests of the students and the director as they move through the program together. The seminars will also respond to the availability of influential mentors, speakers, and guest instructors. Upper School students, not just Knight Family Scholars, will be able to attend seminars. It is vitally important that this is open and inclusive, and that we prevent any kind of “us and them” dynamic. We also expect that as the program grows, it will include opportunities for the Knight Scholars to travel nationally and abroad for summer learning.
The faculty and the program director will have the opportunity to advance the exchange of ideas in seminars taught by a network of community experts, including some of our talented and notable parents, alumni, and grandparents. The seminars, both on and off campus, will examine topics that emerge from the shared interests of the students and the director as they move through the program together. The seminars will also respond to the availability of influential mentors, speakers, and guest instructors. Upper School students, not just Knight Family Scholars, will be able to attend seminars. It is vitally important that this is open and inclusive, and that we prevent any kind of “us and them” dynamic. We also expect that as the program grows, it will include opportunities for the Knight Scholars to travel nationally and abroad for summer learning.
How else does the program benefit current students?
The research is clear: high caliber students raise the level of learning for everyone. The positive peer effect is evident throughout our school. Students in our supportive, noncompetitive environment engage more deeply when their classmates are excited about the lab, discussion, problem solving, or literary analysis at hand. And, naturally, teachers are at their best when their students are highly engaged.
The research is clear: high caliber students raise the level of learning for everyone. The positive peer effect is evident throughout our school. Students in our supportive, noncompetitive environment engage more deeply when their classmates are excited about the lab, discussion, problem solving, or literary analysis at hand. And, naturally, teachers are at their best when their students are highly engaged.
What are the student qualifications for the program?
Prospective Knight Family Scholars Program parti
cipants will stand out in four key areas: academics, community service, athletics, and leadership. As Knight Scholars they will receive tuition assistance funded by the program’s endowment. The amount of assistance will depend on their families’ need. The program will attract well-rounded students who will inspire their peers, take advantage of everything Catlin Gabel has to offer, and go on to serve their communities.
Prospective Knight Family Scholars Program parti
cipants will stand out in four key areas: academics, community service, athletics, and leadership. As Knight Scholars they will receive tuition assistance funded by the program’s endowment. The amount of assistance will depend on their families’ need. The program will attract well-rounded students who will inspire their peers, take advantage of everything Catlin Gabel has to offer, and go on to serve their communities.Can current Catlin Gabel students apply for Knight scholarships?
Current and former Catlin Gabel students are ineligible to become Knight Scholars because one objective of the program is to attract new students and deepen our pool of admitted students. The Knight Scholars Program will raise the profile of our excellent Upper School and entice students who will be wonderful additions to our community.
Current and former Catlin Gabel students are ineligible to become Knight Scholars because one objective of the program is to attract new students and deepen our pool of admitted students. The Knight Scholars Program will raise the profile of our excellent Upper School and entice students who will be wonderful additions to our community.
Who determines who qualifies for the program?
The faculty, admission office, and a new program director will decide whom we accept.
The faculty, admission office, and a new program director will decide whom we accept.
Who is the Knight Family Scholars Program director and how is the position funded?
Typically, when donors make large gifts to institutions they fund a position to oversee the program. We will launch a national search for a Knight Family Scholars Program director to fully realize the vision of this program. The director will be Catlin Gabel’s first endowed faculty member. This turning point for Catlin Gabel could very well lead to additional endowed faculty positions.
Typically, when donors make large gifts to institutions they fund a position to oversee the program. We will launch a national search for a Knight Family Scholars Program director to fully realize the vision of this program. The director will be Catlin Gabel’s first endowed faculty member. This turning point for Catlin Gabel could very well lead to additional endowed faculty positions.
What are the director’s responsibilities?
First and foremost, the director will find the right students for the program. A big part of the job is outreach and making a wide range of communities aware of the program and our school. As the program spokesperson, the director will bolster the Knight Family Scholars Program and our overall admission program. The director will also lead the scholars’ seminar and teach other Upper School classes so he or she is fully integrated into our faculty. We will hire a dynamic educator who becomes a vital member of our school community.
First and foremost, the director will find the right students for the program. A big part of the job is outreach and making a wide range of communities aware of the program and our school. As the program spokesperson, the director will bolster the Knight Family Scholars Program and our overall admission program. The director will also lead the scholars’ seminar and teach other Upper School classes so he or she is fully integrated into our faculty. We will hire a dynamic educator who becomes a vital member of our school community.
How will this historic gift change the school?
When we laid out strategic directions in 2003, one of our top three goals was to strengthen our identity and visibility in the community. We set out to identify and attract qualified, informed, and diverse applicants and to increase our applicant pool, particularly in the Upper School. The Knight Family Scholars Program will move us quickly and decisively towards these goals.
When we laid out strategic directions in 2003, one of our top three goals was to strengthen our identity and visibility in the community. We set out to identify and attract qualified, informed, and diverse applicants and to increase our applicant pool, particularly in the Upper School. The Knight Family Scholars Program will move us quickly and decisively towards these goals.
Has Catlin Gabel ever received a gift of this magnitude?
In 1987, the school received a $3.6 million bequest from the estate of Howard Vollum that allowed Catlin Gabel to establish an endowment fund. His foresight and generosity moved the school beyond a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.
In 1987, the school received a $3.6 million bequest from the estate of Howard Vollum that allowed Catlin Gabel to establish an endowment fund. His foresight and generosity moved the school beyond a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.
What other benefits does the Knights’ gift offer?
The Knight Family Scholars Program raises our visibility as one of the leading independent schools in the country. On a purely financial and pragmatic level, the program releases financial aid dollars for students in all divisions. On a more philosophical and curricular level, the Knight Family Scholars Program will stretch us to take some risks about how we teach. All Catlin Gabel students will benefit from the innovations we pilot through the program. On a grander scale, my dream is to model innovations that can benefit students nationwide. We cannot underestimate the value of raising our profile, too. What’s good for Catlin Gabel’s reputation is good for Catlin Gabel’s students and teachers. As far as fundraising goes, this is the tip of the iceberg for all programs and needs of the school. I know Phil and Penny Knight’s generosity and confidence in Catlin Gabel will inspire others to give. In fact, two other donors are planning to contribute to this program. We anticipate a positive overall effect on admissions and on our ability to attract phenomenal student applicants. Some great young people, who perhaps don’t qualify as Knight Family Scholars, will still apply to our Upper School when they learn about Catlin Gabel’s curriculum, meet our faculty and students, and hear about our generous financial assistance program.
The Knight Family Scholars Program raises our visibility as one of the leading independent schools in the country. On a purely financial and pragmatic level, the program releases financial aid dollars for students in all divisions. On a more philosophical and curricular level, the Knight Family Scholars Program will stretch us to take some risks about how we teach. All Catlin Gabel students will benefit from the innovations we pilot through the program. On a grander scale, my dream is to model innovations that can benefit students nationwide. We cannot underestimate the value of raising our profile, too. What’s good for Catlin Gabel’s reputation is good for Catlin Gabel’s students and teachers. As far as fundraising goes, this is the tip of the iceberg for all programs and needs of the school. I know Phil and Penny Knight’s generosity and confidence in Catlin Gabel will inspire others to give. In fact, two other donors are planning to contribute to this program. We anticipate a positive overall effect on admissions and on our ability to attract phenomenal student applicants. Some great young people, who perhaps don’t qualify as Knight Family Scholars, will still apply to our Upper School when they learn about Catlin Gabel’s curriculum, meet our faculty and students, and hear about our generous financial assistance program.
Is this Phil and Penny Knight’s first gift to Catlin Gabel?
In the past three years, the Knights have quietly and generously funded other immediate needs that I identified. They were instrumental in our ability to provide financial aid for families who have struggled through the recession. I am so honored that they have put their trust in me and in Catlin Gabel.
In the past three years, the Knights have quietly and generously funded other immediate needs that I identified. They were instrumental in our ability to provide financial aid for families who have struggled through the recession. I am so honored that they have put their trust in me and in Catlin Gabel.
Kevin Ellis '10 & Yale Fan '10 meet with Obama during Intel visit
Hillsboro Argus article, February '11
Bienestar honors Catlin Gabel with Community Partner of the Year award
Upper School head Michael Heath accepted the award given for Catlin Gabel's support of Bienestar, a nonprofit community development corporation serving migrant families in the Hillsboro area. Catlin Gabel students serve as volunteer tutors, have made donations of clothing and household items, and the entire school recently held a book drive that collected more than 3,000 books for Bienestar children. Former teacher Mark Lawton and Spanish teacher Roberto Villa were honored for their three years of support and dedication to the partnership between Catlin Gabel and Bienestar.
Read the Oregonian article.
Flaming Chickens robotics team competing at regionals
March 25 and 26, Memorial Coliseum
The Oregon Regional FIRST Robotics competition engages high school teams from around the northwest in a competition that's a blend of rock concert, sporting event, and science fair. Catlin Gabel's Upper School robotics team, 1540 the "Flaming Chickens" will compete along with 60 other high school teams. Each team spends six weeks designing and building 120-pound robots for the competition. Catlin Gabel's robot is completely student designed, programmed, and built by students.
This is our homecoming, senior night and rivalry game all rolled into one! If you're there, be sure to come down to the pit to say hello, we always love visits from our supporters!
Admission is free and open to all.
» Watch the action via webcast
Upper School Jazz Band opens for Portland rockers "Search Party"
Fundraiser for Catlin Gabel's Jazz Band
Rock trio Search Party is recording a concert CD and Catlin Gabel's own Jazz Band is the opening act!
Don't miss this night of rockin' good music sponsored by Slipknot Productions.
Friday, April 22
7:30 pm. (doors open at 7 p.m.)
Cabell Center Theater
Advance tickets $5 (available through division offices)
Tickets at the door $10
Proceeds benefit the Catlin Gabel Jazz Band
Check out the video of Search Party in concert. Scroll down to sample their CD.
Audio:
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