Pegasus Magazine- Fall 2012

ISSUE 4 / FALL 2012THE PEGASUS SCHOOL

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MISSION STATEMENT

The Pegasus School is dedicated to academic excellence and to the development of lifelong learners who are confident, caring, and courageous.

COMMUNITY VALUES

Our students learn best, and develop the skills they need to pursue their dreams, in a community that is:

• Diverse, collaborative, and vibrant

• Serious about academic life

• Rich in opportunities

• Nurturing of the gifted student

• Engaged in the world outside the school

PORTRAIT OF A GRADUATE

• Academically Confident

• Well Balanced

• Critical Thinker

• Exceptional Communicator

• Collaborative Leader

• Responsible Citizen

• Environmentally Conscious

• Technologically Adept

• Economically Astute

• Versed in the Arts

• Globally Aware

PEGASUS STUDENTS love to learn, to be challenged, and to work hard; they are bright and motivated; they are joyful; they grow in both intellect and empathy.

PEGASUS TEACHERS love to teach; they are flexible, creative, collaborative, and innovative; they foster each student’s individual gifts and passions; they educate the mind and the heart.

PEGASUS PARENTS value education; they work closely with the school in a partnership based on thoughtful communication and mutual respect.

2 THE PEGASUS SCHOOL

Fall 2012

www.thepegasusschool.org

EDITORIAL BOARD

Nancy Conklin, Director of Admission

Rick Davitt, Photographer

Sue Harrison, Director of Advancement

Karla Joyce, Writer

Shalini Mattina, Assoc. Director of Advancement,

Marketing

Nancy Wilder, Middle School English Teacher

John Zurn, Head of School

WRITERS

Karla Joyce

Angel Waters, Assoc. Director of Advancement,

Programs & Events

John Zurn

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Trish Anastos

Nancy Fries

Julie King

Marrie Stone

Nancy Wilder

ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN

Shalini Mattina

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Rick Davitt

PRINTING

Orange County Printing

Photo courtesy of Cheryl Laven

Pegasus Magazine is published twice yearly by the Office of Advancement at The Pegasus School. It is archived at thepegasusschool.org/about/publications

We welcome your feedback! Please address queries and comments to Shalini Mattina [email protected]

Table of Contents

ALUMNI

FEATURES 18 Jim Conti and the Crossover Academy

24 Action to Internalization

PEGASUS NOW 5 Head’s Message

6 At the Heart of

8 Student Spotlight

10 Program: Middle School Writing

12 Faculty Focus

14 Program: Girl Scouting

35 Supporting Our Mission

36 Calendar

28 Those Who Soar

30 Alumni Connections

PEGASUS MAGAZINE FALL 2012 3


HEAD’S MESSAGE

When I was young, the superstar students were said to learn like sponges

—absorbing facts, knowledge, and information at a far greater pace and

frequency than their peers. Exams were heavy on information recall;

strategies for organizing information filled books and agendas; college

applications requested class lists and grades; and job interviews focused on resume experience. Of course, there were those teachers

who also took it as their task to teach more than just the facts, but the educational norm was to ask: How can Johnny be more...like a

sponge.

Then came technology. In sixty seconds, students today can generate more information than they could ever possibly hope to

digest. Moreover, the information is spotty...some of it true, much of it biased and misleading, more of it irrelevant, and all of it

overwhelming. Educators today are faced with the daunting task of thinking less about students absorbing information and more

about teaching students how to use this information.

Which brings us back to those teachers who taught us more than just the facts. Most of us were blessed with at least one teacher who

moved us beyond the textbook; one teacher who shared with us rationale and reason for the knowledge they imparted; one teacher

who challenged and inspired us to give meaning to information through action.

Great teachers and great programs move students to action. In this issue of the Pegasus Magazine, you will see Jim Conti exposing

his students to life-long global connections; Nancy Wilder challenging her students to tell their own stories; our Girl Scout troops

mining the power of doing by challenging girls to “go for the gold”; and Julie King extolling the leadership qualities of former student,

Maggie Pietsch. But it is the first-person accounts of alumni Kevin Kassel and Alisa Bhakta, as well as fourth grader, Rigel Broeren,

that really make the point, that life is what we do with our education.

Ultimately, it is what our children do with a Pegasus education that matters. Through outstanding teaching and dynamic programs,

we seek to inspire students to move thoughts into words and words into action.

John Zurn

Head of School


Action

Moving

toStudents

At the Heart of Pegasusby Karla Joyce

You may vaguely recognize Sabrina Aguilar. If you visited the Festival of

the Arts in Laguna Beach last summer and paused before her self-portrait of a ballerina, so expertly rendered at age seven, you saw her. Or, you may own a Disney princess sleeping bag. Her face graces the packaging, as well as Target billboards and Marshalls print ads. Or, you may have simply heard her unrestrained laugh echoing through Pegasus. Sabrina Aguilar is At The Heart of Pegasus because she is just inches below the surface of fame, a master in the making...hyperbole, for sure, but it suits her. When it was suggested, by the “driver” in the house, that she cease modeling, Sabrina was outraged: “But

mom, I need to get my career going!” When asked what she’s good at, it’s whatever she did last. “I do archery,” she explained after one lesson. The fact is she is good at art. Selection into one of the country’s most famous festivals is a powerful affirmation. But Sabrina does what she does regardless of acclaim. Give her a dollop of ketchup and a sturdy fry and she’ll give you a portrait. Got a feather? She’ll dip it in mud. Et voila! All manner of arts dominate her play, from illustrating menus for “Porgy’s Café” to testing new, “cleaner” mediums like faux watercolor (markers and a wet brush). Her parents ascribe to the 10,000-hour theory of mastery and watch with fascination it play out in their daughter.

But they foster her gift, too. They send her to art teacher, Nancy Reese, after school. They allow Sharpies in the house. And, they keep up.

The Art of Play (Pegasus Second Grader: Sabrina Aguilar)

It is important to note that Leslie Seidner is “Chair” of the Board of

Trustees now, but the list of titles that has followed her name during her tenure as a Pegasus parent is extensive. She was a room parent, of course; Teacher Appreciation Week head honcho, VP-

this and VP-that and, inevitably; PTO President. She wrinkles her forehead before responding to the question, Why so much? Then answers, simply: “Because they asked me.” Leslie laughs freely and then launches into a rousing summary of her personal vision, one closely aligned with the founding of the school and its original leader, Laura Hathaway. She is profoundly interested in the education of children, particularly the type of instruction that instills competence, confidence and heart. She was raised on these values and her life is now steeped in non-profit dedication and get-it-done capability. Her sister shares the formula; she created the Gold Arrow Camp to enrich the lives of

children through a supportive community. And the Seidner children are primed to follow her footsteps. Oldest daughter Madeleine, 21, works for Operation Smile, a charity dedicated to fixing facial deformities in children. Leslie is an attorney by trade, but it is the combination of her experiences, dedication and attitude (“It’s not the years in your life, it’s the life in your years!”) that make her so… effective. She is a zumba enthusiast, a tender parent, and a focused manager. At the heart of every decision she makes lies the question: “If your organization were gone tomorrow, would it be missed?” When it comes to Pegasus she says, unequivocally, “Yes.”

A Living-Breathing Mission Statement (Chair, Board of Trustees: Leslie Seidner)


Albert Einstein said: “I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.” Such sentiment runs rampant through The Pegasus School and is apparent in the dynamic stories quietly unfolding around campus. “At the Heart of Pegasus” highlights members of the Pegasus Community who exude — yes — talent, but who also follow day-in, day-out an avid and idiosyncratic interest. It is the core of gifted learning, and we like to celebrate it.

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The spirit of Laura Hathaway is alive and thriving in every classroom

at The Pegasus School. It is the underpinning of the school’s mission and is evoked liberally in discussion. And, it is captured in an award bestowed upon one graduate each year for his or her soaring achievement. It is also, strangely, walking through the campus rose garden in a Reyn Spooner shirt. Pierre Hathaway’s role in this community spans the gamut from dear friend to guest speaker, card-trick enthusiast to breezy man of mystery. But he is, in fact, our founder’s husband and adoring champion to this day. His passenger-seat station during the first twenty-five years of Pegasus demanded involvement, with the history of this school so knitted into his private life

that its memory rests just below the surface, stories spilling from his lips with emotion. Yet to suggest Pierre Hathaway was merely an accessory in the development of today’s Pegasus is unfair. He designed the school’s first financial system, hoisted his share of desks during pressing expansions, and photographed the evolution of a legacy. He attended every program and graduation and braved, by his wife’s side, her tougher decisions. And he remains involved. Last year, he took a popular fifth grade unit on financial markets to a higher level by arranging access to software that allowed students to research and track stocks. It is this kind of generosity with his time and knowledge that truly defines Pierre Hathaway. Whether it is with

Pegasus lore, financial expertise or that inescapable deck of cards that sits so readily in his back pocket, Pierre is there. Sharing. Caring. Performing magic.

Keeping the Magic Alive(Pegasus Legend, Pierre Hathaway)

With all eyes rightly aimed at our student body and its eclectic mix

of personality and intellect, it is easy to miss those grown-ups in the parking lot. Look closely, however, and an impressive array of professionals (a.k.a. Pegasus parents) comes into focus. Among them — for the past 20 years — is Karen Hurst, RN.

Karen didn’t hang her shingle at The Pegasus School until 2009, but a quintessential-nurse quality (think, tender-meets-grit) had exposed her for years. The Hurst family arrived at Pegasus in 1993 when eldest daughter, Jenny, started kindergarten. Four boys followed suit, and the family officially graduated last year.

(The name Hurst is surely chiseled into brick in some corner of campus. This family, like only a few others, represents the history of The Pegasus School and its commitment to an unambiguous ideal.) Karen honed her nursing skills in a Washington D.C. hospital’s infectious-disease intensive care unit years ago. But it is the combination of nursing and parenting experience that informs her

practice today. She considers one of the greater assets of the ICU nurse to be the ability to “talk people off the ledge” when they are, by circumstance, afraid. Ironically, the same asset applies at Pegasus. As The Pegasus School’s RN, she carries out her formal responsibilities — to provide nursing care, to educate students and parents, and to perform administrative duties — with aplomb. But it is her gentle invitation to take a chair that makes her so effective. (That ledge can look very high to a six-year-old.) “Kids just need a minute, sometimes,” she explains. A quick glance into her office on any given day suggests that parents need one, too.

Dispensing Compassion, Without a Prescription(School Nurse: Karen Hurst)


Karla Joyce is a Pegasus parent and contributing writer for the Pegasus Magazine. Contact: [email protected]

As Sweet as a Peach. by Julie King

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT

Pietsch ’13Maggie


by Karla Joyce

Fifth grade marks the conclusion of The Pegasus School’s

lower school experience and heralds the transition to

middle school. That is a tremendous change going on for

the students and everyone around them! One thing that doesn’t

change is exemplary character. Children, as well as adults, can

recognize positive characteristics. Children are naturally drawn

to others who are pleasant to be around and who bring a positive

attitude to every endeavor. It is really saying something when

fellow students and faculty recognize a particular student as a

role model for positive character.

The John Sullivan Character Award is presented each year

to the fifth grade student who exemplifies the characteristics

of kindness and positive leadership. Jake Laven was the award’s

inaugural recipient, and last year’s winner is every bit as worthy.

The selection process involves the entire fifth grade student

body and lower school faculty. Students vote for the peer whom

they feel best exemplifies the characteristics of kindness and

positive leadership. The student with the most votes is then

presented to the lower school faculty for approval.

I contacted John Sullivan, former Lower School Head, to

ask about his thoughts regarding the award, which is named

in his honor. “I’m humbled to think that Pegasus will continue

awarding this.” He said the recipient of the award is “an effective

leader, someone who brings out the best in the people around

him or her. They help people recognize and feel good about their

strengths and everything else becomes just a little bit easier. A

good leader makes sunshine, not storm clouds.”

When the faculty met to discuss the nominees for last year’s

award, the sun was shining indeed. The response at the faculty

meeting was an immediate smile and unanimous thumbs-up

when the student selection was announced.

Smiling is something for which last year’s recipient is well

known. The recipient of the 2012 John Sullivan Character Award

is none other than the always-smiling Maggie Pietsch. With her

sparkling eyes and infectious smile, Maggie has the power to put

everyone around her at ease. Maggie is a “peach” of a gal, but she

can be compared more accurately to the whole orchard! She has

the whole package.

Her academic achievements are commendable. Maggie’s

strong work ethic, in conjunction with her keen intellect,

demonstrates what success looks like. Maggie’s classmates

recognize that she takes her role as a student seriously and

appreciates the opportunities afforded her at Pegasus.

Maggie’s academic career at Pegasus began in kindergarten.

For second grade, the entire Pietsch family moved to Hawaii,

but they returned the following year. When Maggie attended

third grade with Elaine Sarkin, she brightened each day with

her smile. Sarkin reflects, “Maggie is one of the most positive,

self motivated, and hard working students I have ever had the

pleasure of teaching. (The truth, I swear) She was consistently

positive, appreciative, and gave her best every single day.”

For fourth grade, I had the pleasure of being Maggie’s

homeroom teacher. Responsibility and respect are two character

traits that have always been a cornerstone in my classroom.

Maggie epitomized these traits throughout fourth grade in both

her academic endeavors and with her social interactions. Pre-


adolescence is often overshadowed by the challenging teenage

years. Maggie always had a way of helping to smooth over

ruffled feelings when other children were upset; she paved the

way for kids to avoid conflicts and make-up. She never expected

attention or a reward for doing what was right; rather, it just

was her nature. Obviously, her peers appreciate her behavior,

too, as they demonstrated with their votes for this award.

In fifth grade, Mrs. Vermeeren was greeted each math class

with Maggie’s gorgeous smile and can-do attitude. “Maggie

is an exceptional young lady. She’s a true, natural leader. Her

classmates and teachers readily recognize Maggie’s unassuming,

natural kindness, and leadership abilities. The term ‘natural

leader’ really applies to Maggie. She doesn’t demand attention;

rather, others gravitate toward her. She is just an authentic, well-

rounded, conscientious, thoughtful, and refreshingly delightful

young lady.”

Ms. Brady had the pleasure of being Maggie’s fifth grade

homeroom and humanities teacher. “Maggie was always eager

and ready to take on new challenges. She consistently set a

positive tone, which was infectious. She was a wonderful role

model for her classmates, and this natural leadership ability is

very rare. Her character strengths are readily apparent to all the

adults around her, but when you see other children naturally

drawn to another student this way, it is really exceptional.”

I called Mrs. Pietsch, and it was easy to see where Maggie

gets her character strengths. Mrs. Pietsch said Maggie was

quite embarrassed and humbled by the entire award experience.

“She really didn’t understand why she was being singled out

because she wasn’t doing anything special.” That is exactly what

makes this young lady so special. The 2012 recipient of the John

Sullivan Character Award is a positive role model and a true joy

to know. Maggie Pietsch is a natural “peach” of a gal!

The term ‘natural leader’ really applies

to Maggie. She doesn’t demand attention; rather, others gravitate toward her...

Julie King is a fourth grade teacher. Contact: [email protected]

When in doubt, start vomiting words • I kind of affect my own education with my commas • I’ve always thought adverbs sound good with nouns:

happily street, swiftly • mallard • At first, I thought The King’s Speech was about Elvis • Is it the Den of Scholars only when you’re in it . . . kind of like Air

Force One? • I am Hamlet; hear me roar • Thoughts to words • Regarding the use of be verbs: I discovered the great appositive, and my troubles went

away • I am going to get shanked by my mom • Isn’t it shunk? • Is Hamlet the main character in Hamlet? • I think I’m burning calories from taking this

test • Regarding Shakespeare dress-up day: I’ve got dibs on Cupid • I learned that my old man is getting too old for basketball. He can’t move like he

used to • Ice cream always tastes better at school • Is it OK if I quote God as a primary source? • Ohio is really underrated • MLA makes your paper

look so good. It looks like it could be in a museum • Dude, I am so smart when I actually try • Words to actions • My vocab. book is my best friend. In

fact, it’s my only friend • I read the book aloud with a Norwegian accent. It really helps me remember what I read • I like Writing Workshop. It’s soothing.

• I learned a life lesson yesterday. The library is open to middle schoolers, and your number does not expire • Literature—there’s nothing better to get

worked up about—except for true love • This weekend I went to the MLA website to see if I could find any grammatical errors. I couldn’t find any


PROGRAM


UnfoldsSTORYThe

by Nancy Wilder

My fATheR fRequeNTly Told Me that with

privilege comes responsibility. As an eighth grade

English teacher, I am well aware of both. Because

Pegasus students begin eighth grade with a remarkable

storehouse of language skills, I have the privilege of applying

the proverbial buttercream frosting to the carefully baked cake.

What happens in my classroom (affectionately known as the

Den of Scholars) holds both challenges and joy.

When I give eighth graders the assignment to write their life

stories in fifty words (an assignment that dr. laura hathaway

gave the Pegasus faculty in 2008), the outcome always amazes

me. Madeline D’Amico writes of anticipation and hope:

“My life is something waiting to happen. Book, a few pages turned. 13 water droplets in a glass. A masterpiece beginning to be drawn. One note of a hit song. The first meeting in a forever lasting friendship. Nothing much has happened yet. When it does, it will be fantastic.”

Jamie Ostmann uses metaphor to describe the mystery,

frustration, and optimism of her life:

“I am a shadow. Sometimes I lead, sometimes I follow. I am not quite myself, yet not quite another. No one acknowledges me for the person I am. But one day, this will all change. I will become someone of my own. I will silently slip from shadow to

sun.”Finally, Darius Lam offers admonition:

“Success is measured not by the money made or profits earned, but by the lives you changed and the lessons learned. In the end, when you fall asleep at night, you’ll sleep in peace, knowing you’ve done something right. When your time is done, you’ll leave a legacy for everyone.”

everyone has a story. In September, my classroom fills with

young people who carry their own stories as they travel along

unique paths. Some paths are difficult to navigate, while others

seem rather level. Although my scholars and I occupy the same

space for forty-five minutes each day, we each have a story that

illustrates the same universal themes: love and loss, hope and

fear, faith and disappointment. As we listen to others’ stories,

we have opportunities to explore our own stories as we find and

strengthen our voices within a community of acceptance.

[ ExPloring WorldviEW ]

In English class, we explore the idea of worldview primarily

through the study of literature. When students begin eighth

grade, not many have heard of worldview. During discussions,

however, they soon realize that worldview dwells in every book,

short story, song, poem, and play.

In 2009, I assigned The Last Lecture as summer reading for

incoming eighth graders. With the help of co-author Jeffrey

Zaslow, Randy Pausch, a terminally ill cancer patient, recounts

personal anecdotes to illustrate his priorities: spending time

with family, achieving his childhood dreams, and helping others

achieve their dreams. This engaging book allows the students

to explore Pausch’s worldview as his story unfolds. As the year

begins, we discuss Pausch’s mortality. Invariably, the students

consider their lives and their legacy as Pausch’s story inspires

reflection on the value of each day and of our legacy.

In contrast to Pausch, who values people more than

possessions, Kino, the protagonist in Steinbeck’s The Pearl, values

the precious pearl more than his family. The consequences of

Kino’s choices devastate his family and disturb Steinbeck’s

readers. More worldview analysis opportunities await the

students as they read A Separate Peace, To Kill a Mockingbird,

and Hamlet. Literature provides the powerful opportunity to

experience people’s lives from a safe distance. In listening to the

characters’ voices in fiction and nonfiction, we somehow hear

our own voice more clearly and think about own experience

more deeply.


PEGASUS MAGAZINE FALL 2012 11PEGASUS MAGAZINE FALL 2012 11

[ Embracing tHE tEcHnicalitiEs: n2ssWtsW and activE vErbs ]

As we strengthen our voices, the writing process calls us to

consider some technicalities. Part of this discipline includes

varying sentence structure and limiting be verbs. In classroom

jargon: N2SSWTSW (No Two Sentences Start with the Same

Word) and one be verb per paragraph. These small changes

improve writing dramatically. Are there exceptions? Certainly.

Can writers use passive voice effectively? Absolutely. To vary

beginning words in sentences, students use ten sentence

patterns they began to study in sixth grade.

Reducing the number of be verbs challenges many a young

scholar. They employ many strategies. For example, look at these

two sentences: Pausch was born in Baltimore in 1960. He was a professor

of computer science at Carnegie Mellon. A scholar may combine

the sentences with an introductory participial phrase: Born in

Baltimore in 1960, Pausch taught computer science at Carnegie Mellon.

Using this technique eliminated two be verbs. Celebrate good

times!

[ valuing ProcEss ]

Clearly, good writers are good revisers. Isaac Bashevis Singer, a

gifted writer, commented, “The wastebasket is a writer’s best

friend.” ernest hemingway claimed to have rewritten the final

page to A Farewell to Arms nearly forty times. Engaging in the

tender process of revision requires the patience and precision of

a word surgeon. Reading the paper aloud helps tremendously

because it engages the brain in a different process than reading

silently. Clearly, revision produces a better product as writers

find better words and rearrange sentences.

[ End rEsult ]

When students graduate from Pegasus, they enter high school

with excellent writing skills. Playing a role in that process is

both a privilege and responsibility.

nancy Wilder is an eighth grade English teacher. Contact: [email protected]



AverageJust Your

Not

Joeby Marrie Stone

FACULTY FOCUS

JOSEPH “JOE” WILLIAMSON faced a daunting

task when he came to The Pegasus School last

year. The third Middle School Director in as

many years was charged with building the strongest

academic program in southern California, along with

trying to reclaim a leadership role over faculty who

had been forced to lead themselves the last several

years. Williamson didn’t have the luxury of time on

his side. He moved away from his wife, his hometown

of Palo Alto, and his position at St. Matthew’s

Episcopal Day School in San Mateo to undertake the

challenge offered by head of school, John Zurn.

His impact has been transformative: a revamped

grading system that’s delighting Pegasus parents, a

unified faculty who appreciate Joe’s open-door policy,

and an infectious enthusiasm for school spirit. “No

matter how irrational our plans, Mr. Williamson

takes time to listen,” says Social Studies teacher

James Swiger. Christine Bridges, Middle School

Athletics and Activities Director, adds, “What’s more,

he didn’t change what was already working, and

the class flags are a fun way to build school spirit.”

That ability to address the immediate problems and

maintain the program’s strengths is making Joe a

popular leader. He agreed to share what it takes.

on Humor.. The name “Joe Williamson” seems

synonymous with “sense of humor.” Among faculty,

administrators and parents alike, when asked their impressions,

they will tell you Williamson is a funny guy.

Social Studies teacher James Conti says, “The combination

of the stories and the sense of humor leaves you feeling at ease,

even when the situation may be a bit tense or tricky. To me, it is

important that people in leadership roles are easy to talk to.”

That articulate sense of humor

and vast body of experience are

serving Williamson well in his

new role.

on middlE scHool.. Williamson admits that sixth grade

was the worst year of his life. “Junior

high was just awful. And the majority

of parents I talk to identify that

period as the worst years of their own

lives.” The reasons are both biological

and social. “The brain shifts gears in

middle school,” Williamson claims

(citing a National Geographic study), “from a mature infant brain

to an immature adult brain. Middle schoolers are forced to fit a

mold, to conform, and that’s not how they’re built.” Centuries

ago, 12-year-olds were moving out to start their own families.

There’s a biological shift that motivates them to push away.

So why return to the scene of his own angst? “A nun at

Sacred Heart School told me I had a calling as an educator. I’d say

it was more of an urge. But nonetheless.” Williamson admits it

takes a unique personality to handle middle schoolers. The pool

of teachers to draw from is small, but that segment is motivated

and committed to this age group.

When asked what Pegasus offers students that he didn’t

have as a kid, Williamson points to differentiating instruction

in the Pegasus curriculum. “Teachers adapt their curriculum to

fit the students and their individual learning style. That hasn’t

been the case in my past experience, but Pegasus has a handle on

that better than most.”

on ParEnting. Joe and his wife, Ellen, have two

children. Rebecca, 25, who graduated from the university of

Oregon, and Joseph the IV, 22, is attending the University of

Montana. Ellen, the former Director of Admissions at Mercy

High School Burlingame in northern California, joined Pegasus

this year as a librarian assistant.

Did Williamson model his own father’s parenting in raising

his children? “Oh no!” he laughs. “Not at all!” Williamson’s

father was a career journalist. “Give the man a telephone and 15

minutes and he could find out anything. Anything.” he was a

teenage boy’s nightmare. “He knew everything I was up to.”

“My dad thought I was a slacker,” admits Williamson. “He

gave his son the choice between the Navy or a Jesuit education.

Because there were no women in the Navy, I chose Jesuit school.”

“My advice to you as a parent?

Go home and look up the location of

the nearest driving school. Pin it to

your wall. Parents have no business

teaching their children how to drive.”

on rolE modEls. Like

every leader, there are forerunners

in Williamson’s past who inform

him. During his youth, Williamson

was influenced by Mr. laRoy, both

his geometry teacher and basketball

coach. laRoy was a young former

Marine Corps captain who had just

returned from Vietnam where he led a rifle company. That

bravery and leadership became a backdrop for Williamson’s

view on the world. “Most people wouldn’t see similarities if you

put us side-by-side, but laRoy was influential beyond those

years.”

Williamson’s other hero is Seattle Seahawks’ coach Pete

Carroll. “He has very high expectations for his players, but

gives them what they need to meet them.” Is there anyone else

influencing Williamson? “Comedian and singer Tom lehrer,” he

says with a laugh. “Go home and watch him on YouTube. That’s a

funny guy.”

on HimsElf. Williamson’s humor is matched by his

modesty. He describes himself as “vanilla ice cream in a plain

cone..” Hobbies? “I have an infantile love of World War II

movies,” he says. “The cheesier the better. I like the Hollywood

stylized versions with a John Wayne gloss.” He’s also a bicyclist

and oarsman, an indoor regatta enthusiast, a participant in

C.R.A.S.h.-B Regattas (“Charles River All Star has-Beens”), and

a lover of Jon Krakauer’s writing.

Weakness? “Hershey bars with almonds,” he says, but

quickly adds, “Don’t write that down!”

marrie stone is the Director of Public Affairs and co-host of “Writers on Writing” at KUCI, 88.9 FM and the mother of Haley Rovner (’15). Contact: [email protected]


Teachers adapt their

curriculum to fit the students and their individual learning style...Pegasus has a handle on that better than most.

Currently a sophomore at Harvard

University, Julia ostmann admittedly

indulged her love of books and creative

writing (and a strong desire to work

with underserved youth) when crafting

her Gold project. “Writing is a tool of

empowerment,” she says. “Your voice

matters. What you think counts.” During

her freshman year at Orange County

School of the Arts (OCSA), she began

developing a creative writing workshop

for primary grade students in Santa Ana.

The planning and execution of the

project took over a year and yielded

two initiatives: the “Young Writer’s

Workshop” for third through fifth

graders at a local elementary school

in Santa Ana, and “Community Arts

Outreach,” a class taught at OCSA by

Ostmann and a faculty member. Both

components of the program remain in

existence today, meeting the Girl Scout

goal of sustainability in the community.

And the ripple effect of the program

continues: today, the UCI Writing

Project plays an active role, as well as a

local public library. As Ostmann points

out, her project helps her to “put a face

on community service. It was less about

helping people and more about learning

from people, interacting with them and

feeling the connection.”

Gold and Silver Award projects are

intended to be sustainable. rebecca

gillenwater designed and built a rolling

book cart that endured many laps at a

Santa Ana school and continues to deliver

books to ESL students and families today.

About her community service work,

she remarks: “It made me feel so good

to do that work and be involved with

those people.” Gillenwater’s troop also

emphasized travel to Europe, Central

America, and within the United States.

She credits her scouting experience with

much growth, teaching her “skills that I

could not have learned anywhere else.”

Apparently, scouting ran in the family.

Big sister, caitlin gillenwater, created a

six-week summer art program for young

JULIA OSTMANN ’07Gold Award

Hathaway Award Recipient

REBECCA GILLENWATER ’05Silver Award

CAITLIN GILLENWATER ’03Gold Award

PROGRAM


Most people know a Girl Scout by her iconic uniform and, with only a smattering of sashes and badge-filled vests dotting our campus, might assume

Pegasus has few. Times have changed. The uniform is optional. In fact, there are over 130 registered Girl Scouts within the Pegasus student body.

That is nearly half of our female population! Even more impressively, a substantial percentage of Pegasus Girl Scouts complete and receive the

organization’s equivalent to the Boy Scout Eagle: a Silver and a Gold Award, reached by only 5.4% of Scouts nationwide and must be earned in high school.

Since “progression” is a key strategy to develop the girls’ skill sets, they are also able to earn a Bronze Award during fourth through sixth grades and the

Silver Award during their middle school years.

Earning an award is no small task; it requires creativity, timeline development, resource planning, budgeting, and many meetings with adult leaders. In an age

of rigorous academic requirement, identifying the motivator for these Scouts can be difficult. While the Gold Award itself is accepted as a distinction on any

college application, more often than not a young girl’s motivation lies in her values. What is important to her? What does she care about? By asking herself these

questions, she steps into the chain of thoughts-words-action that expands both her world and the world around her.

Following are a few examples.

by Trish Anastos

Girl Scouts at Pegasus Go for the Gold

DiscoverConnect

Girl Scout Gold Award recipient, Julia Ostmann, assists underserved youth through the UCI Writing Project

children at a neighborhood student

center. She developed the curriculum,

designed projects, procured materials,

and personally taught. This experience

gave her many skills she uses today in her

job as an Emergency Medical Technician

in New Hampshire. Gillenwater’s

commitment to helping others through

community service continues to be a

major part of her life. She is a volunteer

firefighter in her spare time.

She summed up her scouting

experience, in its effects: “Compared to

my friends, I am more confident about

taking on big projects and have the skills

to be self-sufficient.”

SILVER AND GOLD COMMUNITY

SERVICE AWARDS are the pinnacle

of the Girl Scout experience and

honor those girls who embody the

organization’s mission: “To build girls of

courage, confidence, and character who make

the world a better place.” But scouts who

participate at any level benefit from

involvement. Pegasus seventh grade

Troop 871 scouts recently challenged

themselves to a 50-foot high ropes course

in the San Gabriel Mountains. Nataly

ShayanSmith was one of the first to find

proper foot placement on the one-inch

cable and proudly admitted, “I started

coaching the other girls.” It was a lesson

in courage and encouragement. Lori

Miskell, co-leader of Troop 871, also

challenged herself to cross the rope at 50-

feet up and remarked, “I strongly believe

that I am a better person and better

woman because of my involvement in Girl

Scouting these past six years.”

The Girl Scout organization also

emphasizes “progression” of learning and

personal responsibility. Pegasus parent,

business owner, and Pegasus substitute

teacher, Lindy Thurell, recently received

her “45 year Pin” from Girl Scouts of

America. She served in many roles,

including troop leader for 33 years.

Indeed, times have changed. We

no longer identify Girl Scouts by their

uniforms. Instead, we see passionate,

compassionate and proactive young

women who are learning how to live

meaningful lives. We see the courage, the

confidence, and the character that Girl

Scouts throughout the world hold dear.

And in these stories of scouts who have

completed extraordinary Silver and Gold

projects, we see leaders.

trish anastos is a Pegasus parent with three children and a Girl Scout leader. She is an Executive Coach focused on leadership development and emotional intelligence. Contact: [email protected]


GOLD*Ayana Bobrownicki ’05

Christina Brookes – former studentJoanna Brookes – former student

Caitlin Gillenwater ’03Alexandra Hsu ’03Julia Ostmann ’07

Catherine Patel ’09Rachel Phillips ’10

(see page 32 for details on Rachel’s project)

SILVERLyssa Aruda – former Pegasus student

Jessaca Brandt ’07Victoria Davidson ’07

Rebecca Gillenwater ’05Natalie Hiles ’07

Meghan McLaughlin ’07

*All earned Silver

PEGASUS ALUMNI WHO HAVE EARNED SILVER AND GOLD AWARDS

We appologize if a name was not included in the above list. It is based on information submitted to our Alumni Association.


A Watershed Momentby Karla JoyceWhen Education Meets Inspiration (and Things Change)

THIS FALL, PEGASUS GIRL SCOUT TROOP #818 CANVASSED A MILE-LONG STRETCH OF THE SANTA ANA

RIVERBED WITH TRASH BAGS AND RUBBER GLOVES (and representatives from the Huntington Beach Surfrider

Foundation and Orange County’s Department of Public Works) for good reason. It was dirty. The cleanup was the

natural outgrowth of a Girl Scout goal to foster leadership within the community. But it was also the synthesis of

Pegasus’ fifth-grade curriculum, a year of first-hand exposure to the effects of refuse in our ocean, and a summer

of advocacy.

The Pegasus School in Huntington Beach sits

along the bank of the Santa Ana Watershed,

a stone’s throw from the coastline. The land

strip behind Tyler field is the homestretch of a 150-mile

catchment that gathers surface water from the Santa Ana

River, lakes, streams, reservoirs, and wetlands from Big

Bear through three major southern California counties.

This last mile into the ocean is, essentially, the drain.

The proximity is not lost on Pegasus Science teacher,

Jamie Kunze. each year, her fifth graders tackle in-depth

study on the science of watersheds, culminating with the

Ocean Institute’s Annual Watershed Conference in Dana

Point. At the same time, fifth-graders reach a pivotal

stage in the Environmental Sustainability module that

has been woven into their curriculum since kindergarten

by Pam Conti. At this juncture, Conti introduces the

relationship between plastic pollution and ocean gyres,

those naturally occurring circular currents that draw

surface debris downward to the ocean floor. She partners

with the Algalita Marine Research Institute in long

Beach to help drive her point home: “No matter where

you are standing, the ocean starts at your feet!”

Last year, the girls in Troop #818 took note. They

could see the problem firsthand: a dead computer monitor,

a blue bike, and plastic-bag clouds collecting in grass

tufts on the floor of the channel. (Conti had been denied


requests to clean the portion of the riverbed behind Pegasus; it

was too dangerous, said city, county, state and federal regulators.)

That same year the troop adopted a sea lion, dedicating proceeds

from cookie sales to pay for rehabilitation after a pollution-

triggered injury. They became concerned about the effect of litter

on marine animals and felt an urgency to stop its brisk drift to

sea. In no time, they devised a plan.

If portions of interstate can be adopted for maintenance

by organizations and individuals, so too should riverbeds!

Troop #818 became determined to adopt the critical segment

of watershed that lies adjacent to Pegasus, so close to sea. With

the help of troop leader and Pegasus parent, Liz Plumb, the girls

found an ally in the OC Public Works Department and learned

that the Walt Disney Company was in the development stage

of an Adopt-a-River pilot program. It was good news, but not

enough to rest.

Last spring, the scouts started a letter-writing campaign

directed at the OC Board of Supervisors to get approval to

clean up the river and expedite formation of the Adopt-a-River

program. Chairman John Moorlach’s office was inundated with

eloquent pleas from Pegasus fifth-graders to gain access to the

riverbed.

And it worked, in part. The girls were granted approval

for the cleanup. On October 26, 2012, a group of educators,

scientists and volunteers joined the scouts of Troop #818 at the

Talbert Avenue overpass of the Santa Ana River. The Surfrider

Foundation presented the girls with facts and riveting photos of

the effects of plastic bags in our ocean. Pam Conti, Jamie Kunze

and staff member Laurie Hammond pitched in, collecting golf

balls, a baby crib, and the myriad versions of plastic that find their

way to sea every day. Representatives from oC Public Works

were there, too, shuttling the participants and their bagged trash

all the way back to Pegasus.

It was gratifying moment. A cycle of knowledge-begets-

inspiration-begets-action had been completed. The girls learned

that the power to act is well in their grasp, if they choose to

do so. Meanwhile, the Adopt-a-River program grows closer

to fruition. And when this happens, The Pegasus School in

huntington Beach will be the first organization to step forward.

Dear Mr. Moorlach...

The following excerpts are taken from a few of the letters of Girl Scout Troop #818 to John M. Moorlach, Chairman, Orange County Board of Supervisors.

If we stopped the trash from

flowing into the ocean, we

could help save aquatic animals...

Our school has discussed a plan that

involved a filter that will catch the

trash prior to entering the ocean. Our

troop would implement a plan to

help prevent trash from entering the

river and, by extension, the ocean.

– Isabelle Meegan

We all had the idea of

putting up a sign that

everyone sees that might keep

people from polluting and littering

along the river. We would love to do

that and hope to continue to clean

up the river for a long time to come.

– Elena Plumb

Our reasons for wanting to

adopt the river are: to protect

the wild plants and animals that are

native to the area behind our school;

to protect the endangered birds

living nearby, as well as all sea life...

– Nicole Weber

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by Karla Joyce

Jim ContiCrossover

Academyand the

CHANGING LIVES ONE LETTER AT A TIME

There is long-held consensus that

a “Pegasus Education” instills

in its graduates a fluency for

public speaking. The communication of

ideas, the presentation of research and

synthesis of discovery, in front of faculty

and peers, is an important component of

the Pegasus curriculum. It is on display

in classrooms from Pre-K through eighth

grade. Moreover, producing “exceptional

communicators” is a stated goal of the

school’s portrait of a graduate.

While it is easy to understand the

value of teaching communication skills

in an academic setting, it is connecting

that skill to a student’s life outside of the

classroom that is truly transformative.

But how, exactly, does that skill manifest

in life? Is it simply the ability to face a

crowd and speak clearly? (If so, is that

essential?) Is it effective writing? Is it

persuading others to take action?

Jim Conti finds the answer in

the effects of a strong training in

communication, placing the skill itself

inextricably within a chain of traits

that make life matter. It is grand and

massively inspiring, yet accessible…

like Conti, himself. Communication

remains academic without follow-up,

and what follows the easy flow of words

is purposeful action. (More than mere

involvement, this is the deliberate effort

to affect constructive change and impact

others.)

The concept brings to mind the

maxim most-often credited to Mahatma

Gandhi:

“Your beliefs become your thoughts,

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions,

Your actions become your habits,

Your habits become your values,

Your values become your destiny.”


It is the job of any eighth-grade

teacher to integrate academic

skills with maturing minds to

prepare students for high school.

Jim Conti, Pegasus Middle School

social studies teacher and

award-winning debate coach,

sets his goals even higher. The

partnership he has created

between the The Pegasus School

in Orange County, California,

and the Crossover International

Academy in Ghana challenges

his students to think critically (and

globally), to research, and to

articulate. But it goes beyond that.

With this alliance, Conti gives his

students the tools they need to

translate their Pegasus education

into life.

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Conti’s consistent development of

video conferencing and interactive

online programs to bring global issues

to Pegasus students — with the goal of

increasing engagement, opening minds, and in the

case of Crossover, bettering lives — is Gandhi-

esque in its principled pragmatism. For

Conti, opening the door to Ghana was as

natural as taking a single step.

PEn Pal nEWsA year ago, Conti found himself

searching the Internet for tools to

enhance the international component of

his Social Studies curriculum. He paused

at a site called Pen Pal News. “I liked

the idea of what pen pals purport to do,

but after the initial interaction you often

don’t have much.” He bookmarked it and

moved on to a Global Education Online

Conference that was in-progress and

“really cool.”

“While I was there,” Conti

continued, “I could see other people

who were listening with me. I noticed

a ‘Dave’ from Crossover International

Academy in Ghana, and — it was just

really cool — so I started a conversation.”

(In Conti vernacular, good things happen

when you follow that-which-is-cool.) After

a lengthy online chat, Conti remembered

Pen Pal News and invited Dave Lee and

his Crossover students to partner with

Pegasus. “There was a real connection

between us from the beginning,”

admitted Conti. (A mere three months

later, Conti would describe Lee as “my

personal hero and an exceptional human

being.”)

In the spring of 2012, Pegasus eighth

graders were paired with the Ghanaian

children from Crossover, students

ranging in age from six to mid-teens.

“While the kids were sending out those

first, get-to-know emails, dave and I were

talking about the questions each of us

might pose,” Conti explained. “It was

super easy to find common ground,” he

added with enthusiasm.

Conti, whose lesson plan at the time

was incorporating our national debate

over the economic and environmental

impact of varying energy sources, lobbed

the first question to the pen pals:

“Should countries continue to pursue

hydroelectric power as a source of energy

in the future? Why or why not?”

He prepped the Pegasus kids with

a unit on damming and asked them to


With their newfound access to the Internet, they are not just talking

about their own problems with intelligent people, they are entering into the world. And they feel really good about that.

PEN PAL NEWS is an online

educational platform, founded by

Michael Bernstein, which connects

teachers and students in over 50

countries. The curriculum for the

International Session focuses on global

current events about topics ranging

from technology to government to

the environment. Once classes are

matched, students are assigned pen

pals. They complete six short weekly

assignments, which are designed

to spearhead classroom discussions

energized by different perspectives.

investigate the pros and cons, give a

cost-benefit analysis of hydroelectric

power and envisage its trickle-forward

effects on mankind. Conti deliberately

withheld the fact that Crossover was

situated at the base of the Akosombo

Dam on the bank of Lake Volta, and

flooding had wiped out the school in

the past. Thus they began their online

dialogues.

Both groups shot out missives

that revealed thoughtful deliberation,

but the African students’ opinions

were clearly shaped by experience. In

chilling testimony they shared with their

American friends the human costs of

damming. Conti immediately recognized

the “power” that was occurring in his

classroom. “The level of thinking that

this generated in my students was

amazing. The sophistication of their

understanding and ability to weigh real-

life consequences so far removed from

their own lives, for kids this age…it was

just really cool.”

And the connection had just begun.

Words to actionThe second question, posed by Lee, was:

“How do you think technology affects the

Third World?”

Before Pegasus students could break

into groups to discuss, a .jpeg arrived

from Ghana that once again catapulted

the subject into reality. In the image, the

students from Crossover were standing

in a line behind a folding table, while a

single student composed a response to

her Pegasus pen pal on the school’s only

laptop. The other classmates waited

patiently, their own words at the ready.

It was the first image they had received

from Ghana, and it shocked even Conti.

He’d been reading the correspondence

from both camps and saw deep dialogues

unfolding, so early in the relationship.

The picture said so much. With his

students, he wondered: How do they

speak English so well? How are they so

articulate? How is it that they are doing

all this with so few resources and one old

computer?

The leap to action took few words.

“I realized he was telling me look, our

Toshiba, it’s not working very well. And

I said to him, hey, if we get you another

laptop would that be helpful? And he said

yes.”

Conti and his class brainstormed. He

knew many Pegasus families upgraded

their laptops as technologies evolved. A

number of students had old equipment

that sat idle at home, and they happily

donated. As Conti told it, the story

unfolded like an action adventure.

“Then — and this is so Pegasus— Billy

Paivine ’12, a super tech-savvy kid,

came in at lunch a bunch of times. He

had a lot of others helping him, and

they reformatted every one of those

hard drives to get them ready.”

But they still had to ship them to

Ghana. Mulling the options for low-

cost transit, Conti wrote this to Lee:

“People are people no matter where you

live. The difference between my students and

yours are opportunities. But, we are learning

that your students seem happy, they are

smart, and they have positive attitudes.

For us, those ideas are important.”

It was Entrepreneur Day at Pegasus,

which helped drive the point home.

Traditionally, profits from fourth and

fifth grade businesses go to a given

charity that the students choose. The

email revealed his intentions:

“I am going to a meeting in a few minutes.

If it goes well, which is my expectation, I think

we may be able to provide at least a little better

educational opportunities for you.”

He was right. Enterprising Pegasus

students dedicated their profits to pay for

the shipping of seven laptop computers,

educational materials, and soccer balls

to the Crossover Academy. “With

their newfound access to the Internet,”

Conti explained, “they are not just

talking about their own problems with

intelligent people, they are entering into

the world. And they feel really good about

that.”

Lee agreed:

“Within the shortest possible time you

have transformed Crossover International

Academy. Now there is life, there is joy, there is

self-awareness. We love you Jim, and the Great

Pegasus.”

A teacher like Conti doesn’t stop

with a pat on the back. His brain moves


“From the above tabulation, it

is evident that the benefits far

outweigh the cost. And with the

devastating effect of smog, I will

advise governments and leaders

around the world to consider using

dams to solve the energy and clean

water need of their people.”

From Prince, pen pal of Randon Davitt ’12

“I, for the most part, agree with you.

But I think the environmental costs

are the biggest concern. Nowadays,

too many people underestimate

the importance of having a stable

environment. Right now, humanity

is playing a game of chance by

wiping out entire species and

hoping that they weren’t necessary

for the ecosystem to keep on

going. The energy and agriculture

benefits, on the other hand, are

huge..”From Randon Davitt

Equippingfor a


swiftly from words to action to habit. “It’s

tremendous what they’re doing at school,

but let’s give them something that can

make them money. The ability to make

money. That is sustainability.” One of the

things Ghana is known for — besides

gold — is Kente cloth. It is an intricately

woven fiber with a strong African

identity used for a variety of products. “So

I’m thinking, let’s do some import-export,

right? We have at our own market —

Entrepreneur Day — right here at school.”

It’s a step, the start of a habit, and

another link in the chain of life.

addEndumBy the time of this printing, Conti and his current

crop of eighth graders will have completed a

special six-week series of Pen Pal News, called the

Red-Blue debate. This cycle paired middle and

high school classrooms from Red States and Blue

States across the country to discuss important

election-year issues. Based on the success of

his Crossover experience, Conti included the

Ghanaian elections into the mix, and dubbed

his dialogue a Red-Blue-Gold debate on issues

ranging from the economy, health care, and

energy, to immigration and education.

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The Children of Crossover

According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF),

more than 200,000 children work as slaves in West and Central Africa. Ghanaians around Lake Volta estimate that the number of slave children on the lake is in the thousands. Dave Lee, a Togolese refugee living in Ghana, founded the Crossover International Academy in Akosombo to house and educate former slave children who have been rescued yet remain orphaned by their circumstances. Lake Volta was created in 1965 with the construction of the Akosombo Dam, which provides electricity for much of the nation. When the lake was formed, the terrain under it was flooded. Fishermen on the lake set nets from primitive, wooden canoes, and the nets frequently get caught on the trees that still exist underwater. To survive economically, the fishermen need cheap labor. They find it in children, some as young as six years old, who spend their days bailing water out of the boat and diving into the lake to free nets. All have been abducted from their families or sold by poverty-stricken parents. Many of these children have no memory or connection to their village. The Crossover Academy, with the

help of funding by UNICEF and the tireless dedication of Lee, its founder, provides more than a home or primary education. It is the lost family, the forgotten village, and the singular identity of all who reside there. When UNICEF withdrew funding, opting instead to reintegrate these children (and Lee) on a one-time deal into homes around the world, Lee balked. Integration was not guaranteed; some kids would be left behind. Instead, Lee remained with his devoted flock, a father figure to misplaced children and an inspiration to many more. Today, The Crossover Academy inches toward sustainability. Utilizing the fertile blessings of their geography, they grow and prepare their own food, harvest fish, and maximize donations large and small. It is no small task. And yet the students of Crossover are able to express themselves, in English, with startling clarity and insight. They are animated learners and boldly appreciative, and they are fueled by hope. It is the result of efforts by many, to be sure, but without the ideas of one man, without his ability to communicate those ideas to garner support, without his constant drive forward to expand his school, Crossover would not exist. And without the Crossover Academy, our world would be lacking.

From Amewugah, pen pal of Ethan Dixon

“Ethan, my dear, I’m glad for the

good encouragement. When I read

it to the whole class they applauded.

I love it. You sound mature, so I

went back to the photo and looked

you long in the eyes.”


“First off, no dream is too big, especially in a growing nation such as Ghana. Things may seem impossible, but there is always a way for a good cause to become reality.”

From Ethan Dixon ’12

“After the havoc done to us at Crossover by Lake Volta, I feel very reluctant to consider a single benefit. Imagine our lands flooded, our root lost, our heritage gone… In short I say the benefits are variable, but the cost is static. I therefore reject the idea of using dams as tools to solve energy and fresh water needs in Ghana. It can be some other country.”

From Kpoh, pen pal of Emma Robertson ’12

From Ablorni, pen pal of Matin Eshaghi ’12

“We love learning English and

spending more time to write it

better than our friends. That is why

we were impressed about Sam Nitz’s

excellent performance and some of

us claim we can take such a prize

with ease.

From Ablorni, pen pal of Matin Eshaghi

Pegasus Students and their

Ghanaian Pen Pals

“Three Biggest Benefits of Large Dams are 1) clean source of energy, 2) abundant fresh water for domestic use and 3) easy access to the hinterland. The three biggest costs are: 1) hard currency, 2) lives of workers and 3) natural habitats of both humans and animals.”


by Marrie Stone

InternalizationACTION to

The Global Classroom’s Impact on Individual Students

IT’S eASIeR To Be A GloBAl CITIZeN IN The 21ST CeNTuRy ThAN IT WAS 20 oR 30 yeARS AGo. Skype, email, cell phones, not to mention Expedia make connecting easier, faster, and more economical than

ever before. If the world hasn’t gotten smaller, it has certainly become more accessible. Still, it’s not always clear what to do with

this accessibility. How best to maximize our resources and leverage our ability to interact with other cultures and individuals.

Despite our rapidly changing world, two basic truths remain: (1) notwithstanding differences in geography, resources, and

obstacles, the human experience is universal; and (2) people (particularly Pegasus students) are eager to help their global neighbors.

Knowing how to help, what needs to be done, and how a single student in Huntington Beach can make a difference to someone across

the world, that’s the challenge.

In the essays that follow, Pegasus students and alumni share, in their own words and from their own experiences, the ways their

actions made a difference. They took what they learned in class, on campus, and in their homes and applied those lessons in poignant

and moving ways across the globe. More important, they each internalized those encounters in life-shaping ways. Kevin Kassel ’09

didn’t simply vacation in the Galapagos Islands. he found a community in need of clean water and provided a filtration system that

will sustain 500 people every day, for five years. alisa bhakta ’12 no longer thinks vaguely of “poor kids from Africa.” She thinks

of Mary, her friend, from Ghana. Tanzania isn’t a nebulous place on the other side of the world map for rigel broeren. It’s where

he taught the Hokey Pokey to a group of fourth graders. These students have shown the power of empathy and the importance of

compassion. One thing is evident from each of these essays—these students will never see the world the same way again.

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It seems like an eternity ago that Mr. Conti introduced pen pals to my Social Studies class. He explained

that these pen pals go to a school called the Crossover Academy, in Ghana, and they had been taken into the school as refugees of a huge flood that demolished their every last possession. Pity washed over me as I digested what Mr. Conti had said. Quickly, I wrote my first letter to Mary, my pen pal, and I patiently awaited her response. I could never have predicted the intensity, passion, and emotion that Mary’s letters would bring into my life.

On March 10, 2012, I received the first

reply from Mary. That one letter changed my views about life and my purpose; it put everything into perspective. The first line said it all: “Hi, Sister Alisa. I’m really proud to know you and I feel important to read you wrote that ‘I love you’; it is a sentence nobody uses for me. Thank you.” Waves of emotion washed over me. I stared at the screen in shock. I love you. (Three words that I have taken for granted my entire life had never even been said to Mary.) How does it feel to never hear somebody say I love you? I never knew until Mary shared her life with me. Tears filled my eyes — and still do — as I came to understand what our relationship meant to her, and now means to me. Our emails are more than text in a Word document: they are a hand to help us, a connection that will guide us through life. These letters remind me about how fortunate I am, and, because of my blessings, I can make a difference in the global community. Our

first concrete contribution was to collect old laptops and other computers and send them to Crossover to use in their classrooms. Before we sent the computers, Mary and all of the other students shared one slow computer, and they waited in line to compose their emails. Now, they have many more computers and can access technology much more easily. What started out as a simple idea turned into the long-running relationship between Mary and me. A simple idea resulted in action: new computers for all. One idea yielded so much. So many lives (ours and theirs) were reshaped. Now, instead of pity, I am filled with hope for the children of Crossover Academy, and I want to do more to help them and others. Seven months later, Mary and I still email regularly and keep each other updated on news going on in our countries and in our lives. We have become the best of friends, as we help each other to navigate the ups and downs that life presents us even though we live thousands of miles apart.


How does it feel to have nobody

to say I love you? I never knew until Mary shared her life with me.

REFLECTION FROM ALISA BHAKTA ’12

My family went to Tanzania, Africa, this summer. Tanzania is home to the Serengeti,

Ngorongoro Crater, and Mt. Kilimanjaro. We went on safari, and we saw lions everyday which was great! Also, we visited a village and a school. We decided we wanted to contribute to the school on our visit. We did it through our travel company’s non-profit foundation. They purchased the supplies for the students with our money, and when we went to the school, we delivered the supplies as a surprise. We visited Taloma Primary School, which is a public school of about 650 students. The school got less than $700 in 2011 from the government. It consists of several single story buildings. The school has no electricity. The buildings have windows, but some were broken or missing window panes. They cook

the students’ lunch in two very large cauldrons on open fires. Every day they have corn and beans. We visited the fourth grade classroom, which was the classroom that we were donating books to. The classroom had clay walls, cracked clay floors and a tin roof. The room was full of long wooden desks with three students at each desk. There were 60 students in one classroom with one teacher and zero books.

Students walk to school on their own, and some walk up to three miles each way. The students come to school at 7:30 in the morning and leave at 4:00 in the afternoon. They are responsible for cleaning the classrooms every morning because the school can’t afford a janitor. The students also take care of the grounds. After their chores, they

go to classes. They study math, English, geography, social studies and Kswahili, which is their common language. The students learn problems off the chalkboard, and most of them do not have any books. The students sing a lot as part of their lessons, and they sang for us. Before we surprised the class, we got to talk with them and teach them a song — the Hokey Pokey. The children were very excited to get textbooks and notebooks for the first time in their lives. I felt great handing out the books. I was surprised that they were excited to be using grammar books. They immediately opened the text books and began to read with great enthusiasm. The students were extremely interested in learning, much like the students at Pegasus.

The students were extremely

interested in learning, much like the students at Pegasus.


REFLECTION FROM RIGEL BROEREN, Fourth Grade

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With a love for anything that has to do with the ocean, I knew that my passion for surfing

and the water could lead to something much larger. Though there was no grand plan unfolding, my third grade teacher, Mrs. Elaine Sarkin, made a huge impact on me. The rainforest project taught me how crucial it is to conserve the environment. Family explorations to the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica, Vietnam, and Thailand brought me face to face with the rainforests. That’s when it all came to life. My interest in the rainforest and water grew with every experience. With the seeds of change planted deep in my being by Pegasus and expanded by adventure travel, rainforest conservation and clean water have become an important part of my life today. Last year, I was fortunate enough to take some water filters to the Galapagos Islands when I went to teach English and promote water awareness. I brought five water filters that provided 500 people with purified drinking water every day for up to five years. The people of the Galapagos were extremely grateful to the point that when I went to shake a school principal’s hand, Ihe instead greeted me with a hug. It was moments like these that showed me how powerful it is to make a difference. Although we may have given the Galapagos a small gift, what I gained

in return was far more rewarding. Once home, I knew there must be a way to get more people involved in promoting water awareness.

When I went last year on a tour of the Hurley facility in Huntington Beach, I made a fortunate connection with one of the executives, the VP of Social Activism, Ben Edwards, and we talked about my ideas to expand their clean water project. He liked my idea of involving high school students by creating a club. This meeting led to follow up meetings at Hurley, the Newport-Mesa School District and at Corona del Mar High School, and the creation of the first ever student-run water club now known as H2O Club at the high school. We signed up 70 students at the school’s club fair, more than any other club at CDM. I did not expect so many people to sign up and without the help of my brother Ryan Kassel ’12 and

several of my teammates from the CDM surf team, I would have been overwhelmed by the positive response. Did you know that 1 out of every 6 people in the world DO NOT have clean drinking water? That is why the H2O Club mission is to promote water conservation and expand efforts to bring water filters to developing world countries. To help ensure the club’s longevity, my brother Ryan will serve as vice president and will continue running the club after I graduate. I plan to partner with the Red Cross, Doctors without Borders, and local surf teams to help distribute water filters across the world. At $50 per filter, fundraising efforts such as selling reusable water canteens and bringing celebrity guest speakers, such as professional surfer Rob Machado, to schools are a few fun ways to raise this money. To date, we have distributed 50 water filters that will bring clean water to 5,000 people for five years. But we’re not stopping here. This inspiration grew from a simple idea that has become a reality. These efforts make a life-changing impact for people around the world who need clean drinking water, something we tend to take for granted. My experience at Pegasus shaped my passion for the environment and the idea that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.

REFLECTION FROM KEVIN KASSEL ’09


These efforts make a life-changing

impact for people around the world who need clean drinking water, something we tend to take for granted.


If she could have, leigh Hagestad

’07 would have ridden a quidditch

stick straight from Pegasus to

hogwarts, the fictional School of

Witchcraft and Wizardry featured in

the Harry Potter series. “I literally wanted

to BE Hermione,” she said, “and going to

boarding school seemed like a reasonable

step toward that metamorphosis.” Now a

sophomore at Stanford University, Leigh

thrived as a muggle at St. Paul’s, the New

Hampshire boarding school from which

she graduated in 2011.

caitlin cain ’09 had no illusions when she applied to Cate

School in Carpinteria, near Santa Barbara. Always independent

and self-motivated, she had her heart set on going Cate but just

had to convince her mom, Terri.

In contrast, charles giannini ’07, whose father and brother

went to boarding school, broke with family tradition to attend

Newport Harbor High. After his freshman year, he transferred

to deerfield Academy in Massachusetts seeking more academic

rigor and “a perspective on an entirely different lifestyle and

culture.”

Pegasus sends a few graduates off to boarding school nearly

every year, and the reasons are as varied as those of Leigh,

Caitlin, and Charles. Regardless of where they go and why,

our graduates concur on one key point: Pegasus prepares them

well for America’s elite prep schools. Based on the high rate of

acceptance of our eighth graders, admissions officers clearly

consider Pegasus students well prepared.

“I remember being immensely nervous...terrified that I

wouldn’t be able to handle the workload or pace of an ‘elite prep

school,’” Leigh said. “As it turned out, coming from Pegasus

made for a pretty seamless transition.”

“I was taught everything at Pegasus,” said Charles, now a

sophomore at Georgetown University. “How to think (not just

learn), speak in public, write, read, do math...the list goes on.”

Caitlin’s brother ryan cain ’12, now a

freshman at Cate, already sees his Pegasus

education making a difference. “My

study habits, practices, organization and

time management surpass many of my

classmates,” Ryan said.

But it takes more than academic

preparation to fare well at boarding

school. Charles emphasized that one of the

most valuable ways Pegasus prepared him

was socially. “Pegasus taught me how to

build meaningful and lasting friendships

with students and teachers with ease,” he said. This skill is

crucial when living away from home, he said, because “for the

first time you need to rely on a support network which wasn’t

constructed genetically.”

Leaving their support network may not faze some students,

but what about their parents? The inevitable question asked

of boarding school parents is, “How could you send your child

away?”

“The reality was that letting Leigh go to boarding school was

the least selfish thing I could do,” said Merry hagestad, leigh’s

mom. “It is excruciatingly difficult to give up the tiny window

of watching your child grow up, those precious years you will

never get back, so many special memories that you will NOT be

building together.”

“At first, I thought, ‘never!’” said Terri Cain, who came

around to the idea after researching schools, visiting Cate, and

seeing how well-suited her daughter was to that environment.

“It’s a huge sacrifice. But I always tried to do the best for my

kids, things like sending them to Pegasus. I thought, I’m not

going to stop now, even if it meant giving up my daughter.”

Terri adjusted to Caitlin being away from home enough that

this year she happily sent Ryan, who is loving it. “I miss home a

lot in my day-to-day life here,” Ryan said, “but it is not drastic.

I am constantly busy and the community here is so welcoming

and comforting I already feel I am in a family community.”

Those who Soar

by Nancy FriesThe Boarding School Experience...

Charles Giannini ’07

Although being away from home was difficult at times

for Charles, he found a side benefit. “What I didn’t expect is

how it in many ways made my relationship with (my family)

significantly stronger. Whenever I did spend time with them, I

felt like I connected in a way that I never had before.”

Attending boarding school in California can ease the

separation. Caitlin and Ryan are just a few hours’ drive from

home, rather than a cross-country flight. “I don’t think I would

have been able to handle that,” Terri said. Similarly, christopher

Jusuf ’07 and his brother anthony ’10 chose the Webb School,

about an hour away in Claremont, enabling their parents Hilda

and Justian to attend their sporting events and see them every

weekend or two.

But Charles was set on heading East. “Geography was not a

factor; culture was, however,” he said. “Furthermore, there are

certain New England boarding schools which are regarded as

academically the best schools in the country. If I was going to go

away, I wanted it to be to one of those schools.”

“One thing that’s a little different about schools back

East,” Leigh said, “is the age and establishment of many of

the schools — especially when it comes to college placement.

These prep schools tend to have very cozy relationships with

a lot of colleges. Our college placement (at St. Paul’s) is pretty

remarkable. But I think that a lot of that has to do with the

stress and importance that (St. Paul’s) places on achievement,

grades, scores, and college acceptance letters.”

Leigh emphasized academics and college acceptance

shouldn’t be a student’s primary reason for going to boarding

school. First and foremost, she said, “The kid has to want to go….

I’ve seen a lot of kids head into boarding schools with lukewarm

feelings, and a year or two later they wind up packing up and

heading home.” And they should be prepared for an experience

that extends well beyond academics.

“A lot of what I gained from St. Paul’s has absolutely

nothing to do with school at all,” Leigh said. “It has to do with

the people I met — the teachers who guided me, coached me,

supported me, and served as mentors and second parents; the

kids who came from every nook and cranny of the country and

from different patches of the planet. It has to do with living with

your friends and peers - and every slice of excitement, laughter,

drama, pain, insecurity, and personal growth that comes out

of that. It’s about learning to deal with people...It’s about

independence….It’s about making responsible decisions that will

contribute to who you turn into.”

Leigh describes what most young people experience when

they go away to college, yet it all happens four years sooner.

Most boarding schools cost well over $40,000, for tuition, room

and board—a factor for many families weighing their options.

The majority of Pegasus graduates opt for local high schools—

both public and private—and go on to very fine colleges. yet it’s

clear that boarding school offers a rich environment to continue

the personal and academic growth that begins here at Pegasus.

“As hard as it may seem,” Terri said, “if you have a child who

is really interested, at least explore it with them, be open to it,

because it’s the best opportunity you can give them.”


Leigh Hagestad ’07

Caitlin ’09 and Ryan ’12 Cain

nancy gelston fries is a freelance writer and the mother of Ian ’10, a junior at Sage Hill School, and Eric ’14. Contact: [email protected]

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1993chris rakunas delivered 20,000 pounds

of medical supplies to Haiti, a country

that is still healing from a 7.0 earthquake

that left over one million people homeless

and killed over fifty thousand.

Rakunus attended university of

California, Berkeley then earned his

masters of business administration

at University of Southern California’s

Marshall School of Business. In 2010

Rakunus was the chief operating officer

of lehigh Regional Medical Center. one

evening directly after the earthquake,

he was asked by his boss to meet with

the press announcing that the hospital

will be collecting supplies to be sent

to earthquake victims. To his surprise,

after his NBC interview, he was then

asked to assist with the coordination

and delivering of the supplies in Haiti.

Knowing this “ask” was not a request,

but an order, Rakunus prepared for an

experience that ultimately changed the

lives of hundreds, if not thousands of

survivors.

Tears for the Mountain is Chris’ story

of “delivering hope after the earthquake

in Haiti”. Published this year, Chris

discusses the triumphs and heartbreaks

of his trip. Available through Amazon

and Barnes and Noble, a portion of the

proceeds of this book is donated to the

New Life Children’s Home in Port-au-

Prince, Haiti.

Rakunus’ second book, The 8th Doll

was released in September and can be

purchased on Amazon.

1999brandon carr, an attorney with Valle

Makoff LLP, is featured in the fall issue

of UC Hastings College of Law magazine.

Brandon earned his juris doctor with

honors, from the University of California,

Hastings College of Law in 2011.

2003Haley Young, a graduate of Duke

University’s Fuqua School of Business,

is pursuing her master’s in education at

Harvard University.

miranda Young, a recent graduate

of Duke University’s Fuqua School of

Business, is now at fuqua as a Research

Associate. Miranda and the Associate

Dean are spearheading the maintenance

of AACSB accreditation process, which,

although quite a large task, is extremely

interesting because she researches and

writes/reports on about pretty much

every single aspect of the school.

2004This year Claremont McKenna College

awarded nine Fulbright scholarships

and two of the recipients are past

Pegasus students. The Fulbright

Program is an international educational

exchange program sponsored by the U.S.

government, and is designed to “increase

mutual understanding between the

people of the United States and the people

of other countries.”

alex Heiney, a government major,

received a Fulbright scholarship to teach

English in the sovereign state of Georgia.

Outside the classroom, Heiney plans to

initiate a program to teach Georgians

land navigation skills. In college, he

served as editor-in-chief of the Claremont

Port Side, as a Harrison Fellow at the

Salvatori Center, and as the S3 in charge

of operations and training for the RoTC

Golden Lions Battalion. Following his

ALUMNI CONNECTIONSby Angel Waters

Chris Rakunas ’93 released his new book, Tears for the Mountain

Congratulations to Chad Bailey ’95, his wife Megan, and brother Colby on the newest addition to the Bailey family, baby Bridget.

Michelle Shepard ’99 wed Dave Kiger on August 12 at the Incline Village Golf Course, Lake Tahoe. Michelle is doing her pediatric residency at Denver Children’s Hospital.


Fulbright year, Alex will begin training in

field artillery to fulfill his commission as a

2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

Joseph Puishys became an Ensign in

the United States Navy after receiving

his diploma and commission from

Vice Admiral Michael H. Miller

Superintendent of the Naval Academy

in May. He completed his studies in

Mechanical Engineering and was in the

top 10 percent of his class. He is currently

doing research and working on his

masters at University of Maryland before

continuing on to nuclear power school

where he will serve on a submarine.

Heather siegel, past Pegasus student,

received a Fulbright award to Belgium

where she will teach English at the

University of Antwerp. She is a Seaver

Leadership Scholar majoring in French

and government, and she is currently the

assistant student manager at the Rose

Institute of State and Local Government

as well as a head writing consultant at the

Center for Writing and Public Discourse.

She discovered her passion for Belgium

(especially its chocolate and waffles) last

summer when she interned at the U.S.

Mission to NATO in Brussels. Heather

hopes to find opportunities to continue

practicing her French, which she honed

while studying at the Sorbonne in Paris

and while writing her 100-page thesis in

French. But she is also looking forward

to the challenge of learning Dutch. In

the August 15 edition of The Wall Street

Journal: California’s Boom Masks State’s

Uneven Recovery, Heather reported on the

unemployment rate of California.

Kendra Eaton, a graduate of Southern

Methodist University, earned a bachelor’s

degree in economics with a minor in

financial applications. She recently

returned to California working at

LoanDepot as a loan consultant.

2006melody Hernandez is majoring in music

at New York University and has taken her

career to new heights. She is writing new

music and working on a video scheduled

for a December release date. Her EP can

be purchased through iTunes under

Melody Noel, and she has a website that

announces her performance dates and

release of new music. Visit Melody at

www.melodynoelmusic.com or

www.facebook.com/melodynoelmusic.

2007colin shaffer graduated with honors

from St. Margaret’s Episcopal School and

earned several recognition awards. In

addition to holding student office all four

years, he received multiple recognition

awards highlighted by the Principal’s

Trophy given to the one student who

overall exemplifies the all-around

expectations of students and their service

to the community. It is the highest voted

on award (determined by the faculty),

and Colin was recognized at a formal

award banquet. As well as delivering the

senior speech he also received a State of

California Award for CIF and academic

honors. To be recognized he had to

achieve academic excellence as well as be

selected to an all CIf first team which he

was for soccer.

During his freshman year at Carnegie

Mellon University, Colin continued with

academic excellence as he was recognized

on the Dean’s honor list and achieved a

4.0 GPA. He is double majoring in Ethics,

History, Public Policy and Business. Colin

is also a member of the varsity soccer team

and, over the course of the year, worked

his way from the freshman development

team to being a starting mid-fielder and a

member of the traveling team. He has also

continued his involvement in community

service through participation in the local

restoration of parks and his on-going

work with the Fellowship of Christian

Athletes.

Colin Shaffer ’07 is majoring in English at Carnegie Mellon University.

Melody Hernandez ’06 visited the Pegasus campus to share her new ventures with Angel Waters.

Heather Siegel ’04 will be teaching English at the University of Antwerp in Belgium.


Now in his sophomore year, Colin

continues his all-around excellence.

“We as a family know that the foundation

built at Pegasus has created the overall

environment that has allowed for his continued

growth, success at St. Margaret’s and now at

Carnegie Mellon”. ~ David Shaffer

2008alayna lewis is happily working

hard on her schoolwork as a freshman

at University of Southern California.

Her strong bond with her roommate is

helping her get used to college life. Her

newest writing class is both challenging

and stimulating. She credits Ms. Wilder

and her Sage Hill School English teacher

for her abilities in writing. Regardless

of her academic success, she is loving

the level of independence she has at

college and is managing her social and

academic life quite well. In addition to

her challenging classes, Alayna is on the

La Crosse team.

2009casey brecher was named Mater Dei

High School’s October student of the

month.

max davitt, Sage Hill School senior,

became a semi-finalist for the 58th

Annual National Merit Scholarship

Program.

Joujou nguyen, past Pegasus student,

joined the members of the Peninsula

Community Church in Operation

Healthy Africa a couple of years ago.

The non-profit organization is dedicated

to providing medical aid to rural

communities in war-torn countries

throughout Africa. While in Africa,

Nguyen assisted in organizing a clinic

where people could come and seek

attention and treatment. Over a short

period of time over 5,500 patients were

seen. Since then, he has remained an

active volunteer, raising money and

traveling oversees to lend his help. In

October Nguyen used his unique musical

talents to hold a benefit piano recital at

the Southwest Conservatory of Music

to raise funds. The donations are still

coming in, but to date he has raised

$5,200.

Nguyen is a senior at Oxford

Academy and is in the process of looking

into universities for the fall, and at the

top of his list is University of Chicago.

2010rachel Phillips, an inspiration for

those who know her, organized a “life-

changing” event for her Girl Scout Gold

Award project. Held at the Huntington

Beach Senior Center, Rachel produced a

Prom for special needs students. Twenty

eight students from Westminster, Edison

and Fountain Valley High Schools

danced the night away at an evening

they’ll always remember. Rachel had the

help of twenty six volunteers and seven

chaperones to make this night a success.

Covered by the Orange County register,

photos can be viewed at www.ocregister.

com/news/students-354130-prom-special.

html.

2012madeline Hebert, a freshman at Mater

Dei High School, has settled into high

school life. She is enjoying all the

students—meeting others from all over

the county. Madeline has already realized

that Pegasus prepared her for high school

as she is able to organize herself, use

forward planning and manage her school

work while at the same time play JV

tennis. Madeline is one of five freshman

girls who made the JV team this year.


angel Waters is the Pegasus Associate Director of Advancement, Programs and Events. She oversees the Spring Benefit, Alumni Association and Grandparents’ Association.

Griffin Vrabeck ’12 and Gordon Strelow ’11 attend Sage Hill School. The two alumni were recently spotted on the sidelines at a Thunder football game.

Class of 2008 alumni, Kent Willet, Zachary Friedman, Cole Blower, and Steve Michaelsen represent their colleges.

Alayna Lewis ’08 is a freshman at the University of Southern California.


2012 Wings of Honor Award recipient, Nicolas Jaber ’08, with coach Charles Tyler

Wings of awardHonor



Announcing

Providing you with an opportunity to grow your connections within our community

The Pegasus School’s Alumni Mentor and Career Network

ALUMNI VISIT

https://thepegasusschool-csm.symplicity.com/students

PARENTS VISIT

https://thepegasusschool-csm.symplicity.com/employers

QUESTIoNS?

Please contact Angel Waters, Alumni Director at

[email protected] or 714.964.1224, ext. 1119.

SEEKa professional or academic mentor

BECoMEa mentor for our alumni by offering professional or academic guidance

FIND resources to help you with your career path

PoSTyour resume for potential employers to search

SEARCH for jobs or internships

RESEARCH employers

NONPROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

HUNT. BEACH, CA

PERMIT NO. 42119692 Lexington LaneHuntington Beach, CA 92646www.thepegasusschool.org

FSC logo

December 19

Grades 1–5 Winter Concert

December 20

Grades Pre-K – K Winter Concert

December 21

Grandparents’ Day

December 24 – January 4

Winter Recess

February 18-22

Intercession Recess

March 15

Totally Awesome 80s

Spring Benefit

March 22

International Earth Day

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Pegasus Magazine- Fall 2012

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