Alumni News
CG named U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon School – read the story and watch TV news clip
Scroll down to watch KGW-TV news story featuring Catlin Gabel
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, together with White House Council on Environmental Quality chair Nancy Sutley and Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson, announced today that Catlin Gabel School, in Portland, Oregon, is among 78 schools named U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools. Oregon is among 29 states and D.C. with schools receiving the first-ever awards.
Four schools in Oregon received the award. In addition to Catlin Gabel, Portland’s Sunnyside Environmental School, Willamina Elementary School, and Gladstone High School were honored.
Catlin Gabel’s focus on sustainability extends from the classroom to its grounds and facilities. The school has had an aim since 2007 of generating zero waste, and every year has brought new initiatives—including a school garden and extensive composting—that has brought it closer to that goal.
“Science and environmental education play a central role in providing children with a well-rounded education that prepares them for the jobs of the future,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “Green Ribbon Schools demonstrate compelling examples of the ways schools can expand their coursework while also helping children build real world skill sets, cut school costs, and provide healthy learning environments.”
U.S. Department of Education Green Ribbon Schools is a federal recognition program that opened in September 2011. Honored schools exercise a comprehensive approach to creating “green” environments through reducing environmental impact, promoting health, and ensuring a high-quality environmental and outdoor education to prepare students with the 21st-century skills and sustainability concepts needed in the growing global economy.
The 78 awarded schools were named winners of this one-year recognition from among nearly 100 nominees submitted by 30 state education agencies, the District of Columbia and the Bureau of Indian Education. More than 350 schools completed applications to their state education agencies. Among the list of winners are 66 public schools including 8 charters, and 12 private schools composed of 43 elementary, 31 middle and 26 high schools with around 50 percent representing high poverty schools.
Chris Skrapits selected assistant coach of the year
The Oregon Athletic Coaches Association has selected eighth grade science teacher and ace cross-country coach Chris Skrapits as the assistant coach of the year in Oregon for all sports categories in the 3A classification.
PE teacher and coach John Hamilton submitted this nomination:
Chris came to Catlin Gabel in 1996. He had been a cross-country runner during high school and college. Not long after starting to work on our campus he connected with me to see if he could participate in our team workouts. He became a frequent participant in many of our on campus sessions, and eventually began to join us for trail runs.
In 2004 we lost our assistant coach, and invited Chris to become an official part of our program. He was more than ready, and eagerly accepted the offer. Having him become a permanent member of our [coaching] staff has proved to be a huge boost to the program on many levels. He helps me organize the overview of the full season training schedule. He in charge of all our team warm-up drills prior to all training and racing sessions. This means his voice is the only one that the racers hear as they enter the chute on race day. He has continued to be an active participant in most of our training sessions and leads all the abdominal work at the end of each training session. I will ask him to step out of a session when I need his help with timing, or watching for form and tactical adjustments we might want to make. The entire team loves the energy, enthusiasm, knowledge, experience, and the joy he brings to the team.
During the eight years Chris has been with the team we have grown from 24 participants to 38, a 55% increase. More than 14% of Upper School students are on the cross-country team. During Chris’ tenure as assistant coach, the program has achieved a level of success that we had never before experienced. The team won seven out of eight district titles. Racing in Eugene at LCC, the Catlin Gabel team has finished in the top two for consecutive years, runners-up four times, and state champions four times.
Collins Foundation awards $200,000 for Creative Arts Center
We are proud to announce that the Collins Foundation grant of $200,000 brings the total raised for the Middle and Upper School arts building to $4.27 million, or 62 percent of our total $6.9 million goal.
“The community support for this project is exhilarating,” said Lark Palma. “As one of the premier foundations in Oregon, the Collins Foundation’s endorsement of our quest to provide an innovative hub for creativity is most gratifying.”
The school must raise $1.25 million more to reach the magic 80 percent mark when we can break ground.
Stay tuned!
Dan Griffiths selected to lead Upper School
I am thrilled to announce that Daniel Griffiths, PhD, is our next head of the Upper School. Dan, who is currently the US assistant head and dean of students, was selected with my full support and the unanimous support of the search committee.
Since joining the Catlin Gabel faculty as a science teacher in 2007, Dan has emerged as a skilled and visionary leader, energetic advocate for students, persuasive public speaker, innovative teacher, and superb colleague.
Dan stood out among a stellar pool of candidates from across the nation for the position of Upper School head. His Cambridge and Oxford training in behavioral science and education align with his natural leadership skills to make him a first-rate observer and evidence-based decision-maker. He is the right person to lead the Upper School.
“I am overwhelmed by the support I’ve received from this community of great families, students, and colleagues,” said Dan. “I am excited by the challenge of implementing the new US schedule, nurturing the Knight Family Scholars Program and other innovations, and demonstrating the excellence of the Upper School. I look forward to working with faculty, students, parents, and alumni in my new role.”
Please join me in congratulating Dan and thanking the search committee members: Kate Grant, Barbara Ostos, Lauren Reggero-Toledano, Bob Sauer, Peter Shulman, Tony Stocks, and Miranda Wellman.
Best,
Lark
Tuition on the Track photo gallery
The inaugural Tuition on the Track walkathon for financial aid was a huge success by every measure. Students of all ages, faculty-staff, alumni, and parents came together to walk, run, skip, talk, laugh, boogie, and pledge donations in support of our school. We surpassed the $25,000 goal with donations still coming in. Once calculations are complete, we'll share the final total.
Thank you, sponsors: Twist Frozen Yogurt Lounge, the Portland Knee Clinic, Lamer Edwards Interiors, James E. John Construction, Sports Medicine Oregon, Frito Lay, and Hotlips Pizza.
Thank you, organizing committee and all seniors, for giving us the gift of your can-do spirit, sense of fun, and deep commitment to Catlin Gabel. We have no doubt you started a tradition!
If you were inspired by this incredible community event, please make a direct gift to Tuition on the Track. All gifts made to the walkathon support the Annual Fund designated to financial aid.
Tuition on the Track triumphs
The inaugural Tuition on the Track walkathon for financial aid was a huge success by every measure. Students of all ages, faculty-staff, alumni, and parents came together to walk, run, skip, talk, laugh, boogie, and pledge donations in support of our school. We surpassed the $25,000 goal with donations still coming in. Once calculations are complete, we'll share the final total.
Thank you, sponsors: Twist Frozen Yogurt Lounge, the Portland Knee Clinic, Lamer Edwards Interiors, James E. John Construction, Sports Medicine Oregon, Frito Lay, and Hotlips Pizza.
Thank you, organizing committee and all seniors, for giving us the gift of your can-do spirit, sense of fun, and deep commitment to Catlin Gabel. We have no doubt you started a tradition!
If you were inspired by this incredible community event, please make a direct gift to Tuition on the Track. All gifts made to the walkathon support the Annual Fund designated to financial aid.
This letter from the event organizers reflects the enthusiasm everyone felt.
Dearest Class of 2012,
Wow. Tuition on the Track was absolutely amazing. And we couldn¹t have done it without you. Before adding in food profits, sponsors, per-lap pledges, and Twist's donations, and we will keep you posted with the numbers as they come, we are already above our goal of $25,000!!! So, the biggest THANK YOU goes out to all of you. Thank you thank you thank you. Everyone participated, everyone did their jobs perfectly, and we had FABULOUS SPIRIT. We could not be more pleased with how this event was run and how everything came to be.
It does need to be said, though, that many of you stood out for your extraordinary work during this process. For some, it was jumping off the stairs and running laps with firsties, punching holes or serving food for hours, or creating age-appropriate music options during your busy lives. But Tuition on the Track simply could not have taken place without the diligence and dedication of the core committee. Together, Lauren, Logan, Jared, Cydney, Taylor, Qiddist, Lizzie, Grant, Sarah, and Julianne have worked since last spring on logo designs, logistical organization, middle and lower school communications, food, activities, sponsors, setup, and incredible moral support, among other jobs. This crew is absolutely phenomenal.
Thank you hole punchers, thank you food team, thank you attendance, thank you music, thank you jazz band, thank you dance club, thank you captains, thank you committee members, thank you set up and clean up crew, thank you track and field trip participants, thank you ALL!!!!! It was a fantastic day (with SUNNNNN) and we hope all of you had some fun out there.... Especially with our firstees. Pretty special and memorable day!!
Also, thank you to all who have pledged!
Again, we are so so sooo impressed and we wanted to say that we have a pretty darn special class.
If you have any additional comments or questions, let us know.
Oh my goodness, we cannot say thank you enough!
Love
Kate and Brooke
Freshman Violeta Alvarez chairing citywide youth summit against violence
Freshman Violeta Alvarez is chairing the 2012 citywide youth summit against violence on April 21. She and her sister, junior Perla Alvarez, are active members of the Multnomah Youth Commission, which advises the county and city of Portland on issues that impact the lives of young people.
The first part of the summit is for youth only to caucus, build community, and consider youth driven policy recommendations. Invited elected officials and community leaders are welcome between 2:15 and 3:45 p.m. to listen to youth’s stories of violence and engage young people in dialogue about how youth and adults can take steps to reduce violence in the community.
The goals of the summit are to:
Provide resources for youth to deal with violence they experienced and/ or currently experience in their lives
Inform policy makers with the experiences youth face regarding violence and provide potential policy recommendations to be considered
Educate youth and adults about Our Bill of Rights: Children and Youth and the importance of its implementation into all decision making arenas in the community
Bring diverse youth from across the region together to share ideas and experiences regarding violence and build a youth movement for social change
CatlinSpeak named best online high school newspaper
The Upper School newspaper, CatlinSpeak, finished in first place in the best website category for the 2012 Edward R. Murrow High School Journalism Awards Competition. Junior Fiona Noonan won 3rd place in the best column category.
Each year, the competition recognizes the best student journalists at high schools in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Alaska. This year the committee received dozens of entries from high schools across the region. Washington State University sponsors the competition.
Robotics team qualifies for world championship
The Flaming Chickens robotics team won both the field competition and the top honor, the Chairman's Award, at regionals in Oklahoma City. They will compete for the international title in St. Louis April 26–28. The video below is part of that Chairman's submission.
Experiential week photo gallery
First through 12th graders spent one rainy, snowy, sunny week in March exploring a range of subjects and places. Catlin Gabel was on the go from learning to knit, sail, and sew to sailing, hiking, urban adventuring, and solving mysteries!
Photos provided by trip leaders and chaperones. Thanks!
Click on any photo to enlarge image and start the slide show.
Alumna comedy writer Megan Amram '06 lauded in New Yorker
Giving Back
From the Winter 2011-12 Caller
Richard Anthony Fordyce ’86 was born May 23, 1968, in Portland. He entered Catlin Gabel in 7th grade and joined the Portland Youth Philharmonic Symphony as a first violinist. At Catlin Gabel he excelled in theater, arts, music, and science, graduating in 1986 as a National Merit Scholar. In 1990 he graduated from Brown University, magna cum laude, as a member of Phi Beta Kappa, with departmental honors. Rick received his JD in 1998 from the University of Texas School of Law at Austin, where he was a member of the Texas International Law Journal and a recipient of the Robert S. Strauss Endowed Presidential Scholarship in Law. Rick served as intern in 1996 for the 4th Court of Appeals in San Antonio, Texas. He began his practice as an attorney with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, where he specialized in commercial litigation and appeals. He participated in trials and performed extensive research and writing, including numerous legal articles. His friends and family admired his amazing brilliance, great courage, strength, and infectious enthusiasm for life. A gifted musician who loved all kinds of music, Rick played many instruments and performed and composed in diverse styles. His passion for music and encyclopedic knowledge led to a huge vinyl library and CD collection. (Photo at right: Rick Fordyce '86 & Adam Furchner '86)
On Boxing Day, December 26, 2011, Rick died after a two-year battle with cancer. His wife, Emily Stewart Fordyce, and his parents, Nancy Ann and Donald Fordyce, survive him. In mid December Rick asked to have his memorial service at Catlin Gabel, with four classmates chosen by him to plan his service. On January 7, classmates, friends, former teachers, and family filled the Cabell Center Theater, remembering him as a gentle man with a brilliant mind. His delightfully whimsical humor and the sense of joy and wonder with which he greeted each moment were gifts he shared with all. His generosity of spirit surrounded all with warmth and kindness—he would point out what was so wonderful about any given moment and hold it up for all to see.
A Grove in Your Pocket
From the Winter 2011-12 Caller
These bamboo cases, made by hand in Portland, feature laser-etched designs on beautifully finished pieces, glowing with natural oils. The designs range from trees, to sea creatures, to Yellow Submarines, to abstractions. People are nuts about them.
An Indie Bookstore at the Heart of its Community
From the Winter 2011-12 Caller
For 25 years, Brad Smith ’73 was thoroughly engaged in his position as manager of the Community Food Co-Op in Bellingham, Washington. During a time when the worlds of natural foods and organic agriculture grew exponentially, Brad saw this member-owned business grow just as quickly. He had loved the intimacy and personal sense of accomplishment of the co-op’s early years, but that grew harder to attain when the staff expanded five-fold.
Alumni News, Winter 2011-12
From the Winter 2011-12 Caller
A Resiliency Builder: Peter Chaille ’98 and his Tatoosh School
This issue of the Caller highlights resiliency, and we explore how it manifests in our alumni. Peter Chaille ’98 is lighting up the world with purpose as a Catlin Gabel “alumniary” (luminary alumnus!). Peter has drawn upon his experience as a student in outdoor education at Catlin Gabel to establish the Tatoosh School, which creates transformative learning experiences through field-based instruction and exploration. The school is part of a growing network of people and institutions committed to education and community in southeast Alaska. Tatoosh students earn college credits in ecology and policy during their six weeks taking part in an expedition, sea kayaking, camping in the backcountry, and exploring Alaska. They learn about the landscape of the Inside Passage, from why totem poles are carved to how a mountainside of timber was cut, and what the mountain looks like now. Peter says that participants forge lasting friendships, gain leadership skills to build on, and leave charting new adventures. We are proud of Peter!Your School. Your History. Your Lifelong Community.
LET CREATIVITY BLOOM!
Lauren Dully '91, alumni and community relations program director
Susie Greenebaum '05, alumni board president
Where Resiliency is Tested
From the Winter 2011-12 Caller
By Nadine Fiedler
MURPHY PFOHMAN ’08
U.S. Military Academy, West Point
Murphy Pfohman made a decision in her senior year that set her apart from her peers and on the road to an extreme of rigorous training and a changed life. She applied to— and was accepted by—the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. There she has been tested to her limits, and has discovered great reserves of resiliency and strength.RUPERT DALLAS ’97
Former U.S. Marine Corps
Gabel prepared me to be a critical thinker, to rely on my reason and intellect. Being well educated was a gift, and I was happy to take it with me through my experience in the Marines,” he says.SANSARAE PICKETT ’01
Lieutenant, U.S. Navy
Sansarae Pickett went straight from Catlin Gabel to the U.S. Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island, then attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. Her first tour was on the USS Whidbey Island, where she learned the foundations of naval leadership. After deploying to the Mediterranean, she was promoted to Surface Warfare Officer, having mastered, among many topics, seamanship skills and knowledge of weaponry and equipment on warfare ships.Nadine Fiedler is the editor of the Caller and Catlin Gabel's director of publications and public relations.
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