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Published for alumni, families and friends of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton<br />
<strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2008</strong>
State of the <strong>Heart</strong><br />
From the Director of <strong>Schools</strong><br />
State of the <strong>Heart</strong><br />
Dear <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Alumni and Friends,<br />
A former parent wrote me a note that<br />
concluded by saying “do not rest on your<br />
laurels.” This statement is an excellent<br />
piece of advice and one I plan to follow<br />
during my tenure as Director of <strong>Schools</strong>.<br />
I believe St. Madeline Sophie and all the<br />
Religious of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> never rested<br />
on their laurels for a minute and I intend<br />
to do the same.<br />
One of my goals as Director is to work hard to ensure <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> is forward thinking in its<br />
spirituality, academics, fine arts programs, and athletics. One document that will assist all of us in this<br />
endeavor is our most recently completed Strategic Plan, which is designed to be a living document to<br />
guide the <strong>Schools</strong> to the year 2013. Drafted under the leadership of Mindy Rogers, Chair of the Board of<br />
Trustees, this plan identifies seven areas as priorities for the <strong>Schools</strong>: Academics, Formation to Mission,<br />
Education of the Whole Child, Diversity and Multiculturalism, Community, Campus Environment, and<br />
“<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> is in an exciting<br />
time in its history and to be part of<br />
this wonderful institution with its rich<br />
heritage is a reminder to us not to rest<br />
on our laurels.”<br />
To celebrate 100% participation of the 7th grade families in the<br />
Annual Fund, the 7th grade class was treated by Rich Dioli to a pizza<br />
party and an afternoon of bowling.<br />
Finance and Governance. These areas will<br />
serve as the foundation within which we<br />
will create new programs and improve<br />
existing programs to further the School’s<br />
mission.<br />
In addition to finishing the Strategic<br />
Plan, during the first semester of this<br />
year many achievements were made in<br />
numerous areas for the future success of<br />
the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> including the following: James Everitt, who served this year as interim Principal,<br />
was officially appointed Principal of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep in November (See page 18). The search for a new<br />
Principal at St. Joseph’s began with an appointment to be made in the spring. As of the writing of this<br />
letter, the seventh grade families reached 100% participation in the Annual Fund. Each year, through<br />
the generosity of our families, our Annual Fund is becoming stronger with more classes reaching a higher<br />
percentage of participation. This is truly a wonderful acknowledgement of all of the good work the school<br />
is doing to deliver an excellent education.<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> is in an exciting time in its history and to be part of this wonderful institution<br />
with its rich heritage is a reminder to us not to rest on our laurels.
Contents<br />
<strong>Heart</strong> of the Matter <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2008</strong><br />
Richard A. Dioli<br />
Director of <strong>Schools</strong><br />
M’Lis Berry (SJSH ’77, SHP ’81)<br />
Director of Development<br />
Dawna Houston<br />
Director of Communications<br />
Wendy Mangiantini (SHP ’80)<br />
Alumni Relations Coordinator<br />
Kelly Miller (SJSH ’92, SHP ’96)<br />
Alumni Relations Coordinator<br />
Trustees<br />
Mindy Rogers, Chair<br />
Mona Bailey, Maude Brezinski (SH Norotan<br />
’72), Roberta Campbell, Mike Child,<br />
John Cogan, Barbara Dawson, RSCJ,<br />
John Etchemendy, Ann Barry Giurlani<br />
(SHP ’62), Marritje Greene, Tim Haley,<br />
Fredric Harman, Anne Holloway<br />
(SH Newton ’73), Mike Homer; Ron<br />
Johnson, Stephanie Lane,<br />
Mark Larwood;,Manny Maceda,<br />
Steve Meisel, William H. Muller, SJ,<br />
Kenneth Olivier, Steve Rudolph,<br />
Sue Sutherland, Michael Wishart,<br />
Trustee Emeriti:<br />
Robert Glockner, John Hunter<br />
We welcome your comments,<br />
questions, or suggestions.<br />
Contact Dawna Houston, Director of<br />
Communications at 650-473-4004 or<br />
dhouston@shschools.org.<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton is a<br />
Roman Catholic, independent school<br />
founded by the Society of the <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> of Jesus (RSCJ) in 1898. Our<br />
mission is to educate the whole child to be<br />
a leader who loves God and serves others.<br />
The <strong>Heart</strong> of the Matter magazine is<br />
published bi-annually,<br />
in February and July.<br />
The diverse opinions expressed in<br />
<strong>Heart</strong> of the Matter do not necessarily<br />
represent the official policy of<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton.<br />
<strong>Heart</strong> Features<br />
faculty and staff follow in the footsteps of rcsjs 4<br />
Faculty member Connie Solari gives the history of how the<br />
ESCJs, Educators of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> of Jesus, got started.<br />
Multiculturalism & Diversity 6<br />
Dora Arredondo-Marron shares her plans for Equity,<br />
Justice and Multicultural Education at SHS.<br />
In honor of St. Madeleine Sophie 7<br />
Dan Greenleaf and Genevieve Varga are honored with<br />
the St.Madeleine Sophie Award.<br />
<strong>Heart</strong> Spotlights<br />
Spirit of Mater Awards 10<br />
Three alumni received this special award based on<br />
their exemplary work benefitting the lives of others.<br />
Memories of College of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Menlo 14<br />
Sister Connie Welch looks back to when she was an<br />
undergraduate at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>.<br />
James Everitt Named Principal of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep 18<br />
After serving five months as Interim Principal,<br />
James Everitt takes on his role permanently.<br />
Noteworthy<br />
School News 2 Alumni Class Notes 20<br />
Athletics 8 Alumni Events 30<br />
Visit us at www.shschools.org
Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt visits with<br />
Kindergarten through 3rd grade students<br />
On Thursday, November 29, Frank McCourt met with students at St. Joseph’s<br />
School of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> to share his new book, Angela and the Baby Jesus,<br />
which was just recently published for both children and adults. Set in Limerick<br />
at the turn of the century, Angela and the Baby Jesus is the story about his mother<br />
Angela as a six-year-old who is so concerned that the infant Jesus figurine in<br />
the Christmas display at church is cold in his scant<br />
loincloth, that she steals him to take home to her<br />
warm bed.<br />
Frank McCourt, is a retired English teacher who<br />
was born to Irish immigrants in New York during the<br />
Depression and raised in Ireland. He is best-known for<br />
his book Angela’s Ashes, for which he won the Pulitzer<br />
Prize for Biography.<br />
His visit was made possible through our<br />
community partnership with Kepler’s Bookstore in<br />
Menlo Park.<br />
Frank McCourt signed copies of his book<br />
for the students and faculty members<br />
after he spoke in the Foley Center on<br />
November 29. He is pictured here with<br />
3rd grader Julia Basnage.<br />
<strong>Heart</strong> of the Campus<br />
<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8<br />
SJSH participates in<br />
FLL Robotic Tournament<br />
On Saturday, December 15, St. Joseph’s Robotic Team participated in<br />
the FLL Robotics Tournament held at Valley Christian School. Over 14 teams<br />
competed in this annual competition and as a rookie team with a late start, we<br />
did very well scoring over 135 points and completing 5 missions.<br />
The competition requires the students to build and program a robot to<br />
complete various missions. This year’s theme of Alternative Energy required the<br />
students to research a building and look at ways to make it more eco-friendly.<br />
The team which is comprised of students in grades four through eight met weekly<br />
to prepare for this competition under the supervision of Technology Coordinator<br />
and Media Specialist Jennifer Buonafede.<br />
3rd grader Daniel Begovich uses the Active Board to<br />
drag and match state capitals to the abbreviated<br />
form.<br />
Boards are “live” at St. Joseph’s<br />
4th grader Graham Hendrick, 8th grader<br />
Vincent DeZutti and 6th grader Matthew<br />
Jacobs look on as a judge determines<br />
their score during the FLL Robotics<br />
Tournament.<br />
St Joseph’s is using some of the latest technology thanks to the<br />
generosity of participants in the Annual Fund. Students in both the<br />
Middle and Lower school now have access to several Active Boards.<br />
These interactive white boards allow students and teachers to interact<br />
with Web pages, text, and graphics. Lessons in all subject areas<br />
come to life as students can be seen dragging large coins and bills<br />
to learn about money, using handheld “ActiveVotes” for immediate<br />
individual assessment, moving planets around the solar system, and<br />
interacting and manipulating angles. We currently have three Active<br />
Boards in the Lower School and three in the Middle School. If you<br />
would like to hear more about these boards and how they are being<br />
utilized in the classroom, you can contact Jennifer Buonafede at<br />
jbuonafede@shschools.org.
Seniors Inducted into the<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Society<br />
by Jesus Ramos, SHP Faculty<br />
Founded in 1998 as a testimony to the<br />
belief of the importance of community and,<br />
specifically, the relationship we have with<br />
each other and with God, the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
Society is a senior service organization that<br />
offers students the opportunity for spiritual<br />
growth, quiet service to the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
community, and a deeper understanding<br />
of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> history and tradition.<br />
Specifically, the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Society provides on-campus<br />
support for the Admissions, Alumni and Development offices<br />
and Campus Ministry. In this capacity, <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Society<br />
members act as student guides at a variety of school functions<br />
throughout the year. They are frequently called to service<br />
when immediate community needs arise. In addition, the<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Society maintains an ongoing commitment to,<br />
and relationship with, the retired religious of the Oakwood<br />
community, the retirement community on campus for the<br />
Religious of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> of Jesus.<br />
On Sunday, September 9, forty-four seniors were inducted<br />
into the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Society as part of the Oakwood<br />
community’s weekly Sunday Mass celebration. Central to the<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Society experience is the relationship between<br />
the Oakwood residents and the students. In this capacity,<br />
the spirit is at work between old and young, student and<br />
On September 9, 44 seniors were inducted into the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Society as part of the<br />
Oakwood community’s weekly Sunday Mass celebration.<br />
teacher as friendships develop and are often continued, long<br />
after graduation has come and gone. The willingness of both<br />
students and Oakwood residents to enter into a relationship<br />
and spend time with each other learning, growing, and taking<br />
one another on, one day at a time, is inspiring, affirming, and<br />
in itself, a most visceral prayer that celebrates God’s gift of life<br />
to us.<br />
On this day these students pledged their time, talents<br />
and service to the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Community in the great<br />
tradition of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> with prayer and thanksgiving.<br />
We celebrated their spirit and willingness to serve, which is<br />
so representative of the best of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> tradition.<br />
On behalf of the Oakwood and <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
communities here in Atherton, we thank these students and<br />
the Oakwood residents for their commitment, trust, faith<br />
and willingness to build community as a Christian value in<br />
such a privileged way.<br />
Rebuilding New Orleans<br />
by Elizabeth Pierson SHP ’08<br />
“I had to force myself to hold back tears as we walked around<br />
the yard of the once beautiful red and white house. Its beauty is<br />
slowly returning.”<br />
Over a year ago, a group of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> volunteers<br />
worked through filth and rain to “gut” this very house,<br />
only to be told that it would most likely be demolished.<br />
We discovered on our return visit this past January that our<br />
efforts proved to be worthwhile; the house had signs of a new<br />
heating and electrical system, and new windows, doors, and<br />
roof. While still empty, the house showed promise.<br />
This quaint house epitomizes New Orleans: while still<br />
appallingly empty, compassionate people are bringing it<br />
hope. This is was what our inspired group of fifteen <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> students and<br />
three adults set off<br />
to do during this<br />
p a s t C h r i s t m a s<br />
break–to restore<br />
h o p e : n a i l b y<br />
nail, wall by wall,<br />
piece by piece.<br />
Senior Sandy Navarro is using a skill saw to trim<br />
a section of the sub floor with Molly Johnston<br />
(SHP ’08) is observing at a safe distance.<br />
This trip was a <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> service immersion trip<br />
sponsored by the Service Learning Department. Although<br />
Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast more than two years<br />
ago, there still is a need for help as much now as there was<br />
when the hurricane first hit.<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r
Faculty and staff follow in the<br />
footsteps of St. Madeleine Sophie<br />
by Connie Solari, SHP Faculty<br />
Almost three years ago, seventeen <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> educators<br />
gathered in a classroom in the SHS Main Building for an<br />
ad-hoc protest rally. Our concern: the proposed rewording,<br />
at the national level, of the criteria portion of the Goals<br />
and Criteria of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Education.<br />
It was the kind of moment that spawns exhausted<br />
clichés like “every cloud has a silver lining” or “it’s always<br />
darkest before the dawn.” But in truth, that moment--<br />
when many of us felt that the language guaranteeing our<br />
ability to deliver an authentic <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education was<br />
in danger of slipping away--gave birth to a group that now<br />
numbers almost 130 adults on our campus. This group<br />
is the ESCJs, or Educators of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> of Jesus,<br />
a spin on the term RSCJ, Religieuse du Sacre Coeur de<br />
Jesus. The RSCJ are the society of religious who founded<br />
our schools over 200 years ago in France, under the<br />
charismatic leadership of St. Madeleine Sophie Barat.<br />
“In fact, the future of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
education rests with the adults<br />
connected with its schools.”<br />
It took only one email to attract seventeen people to<br />
the first meeting. And at the end of that meeting, we<br />
realized that something rather magical had happened: a<br />
collective recognition of the depth and strength of each<br />
person’s personal commitment to the philosophy of <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> education. The following week, we met at Oakwood<br />
with other faculty and staff members, the Director of<br />
<strong>Schools</strong>, and several RSCJs who were interested in “the<br />
movement.” By the end of the year, our concerns about<br />
the modifications to the Goals and Criteria—echoed by<br />
others in the Network—were heard, and the wording was<br />
readjusted to safeguard the mission.<br />
Since then, the ESCJ group has grown to include<br />
teachers and staff from every school and department on<br />
campus. Our mission statement is “to affirm our school<br />
As part of their trip, the ESCJs visited St. Thibault Church in<br />
Joigny, St. Madeleine Sophie’s parish church and where she was<br />
baptized.<br />
community in its adherence to the mission of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
education, and to help us to learn more about the charism<br />
and heritage of the Religious of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> of Jesus.”<br />
From the very beginning, we have worked closely<br />
with RSCJs locally, nationally, and internationally to<br />
enhance our understanding of the spiritual and historical<br />
foundations of a <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education. Several RSCJs<br />
have come to Atherton to speak to us on <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
spirituality. ESCJs participated in an RSCJ-led retreat in<br />
May of 2006. Seventeen ESCJs traveled to Joigny, France<br />
(the birthplace of St. Madeleine Sophie) for a retreat<br />
during Easter Week of 2007; participants also traveled to<br />
Amiens, site of the first school, and Paris, where vestiges of<br />
our history remain.<br />
Members receive periodic distributions of prayers,<br />
poems, letters, speeches, and other readings designed<br />
to enhance their understanding and provoke reflection<br />
and meditation. Small groups have traveled to Stanford,<br />
Burlingame, and San Francisco for programs connected to<br />
RSCJ spirituality. RSCJs and ESCJs have gathered during<br />
Advent and Lent for informal soup suppers marking these<br />
liturgical seasons. ESCJs have been key organizers of the<br />
last three January Faculty and Staff Retreats, and they<br />
provide monthly seminars on various topics of interest to<br />
the nuns at Oakwood.<br />
<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
Even in her lifetime, St. Madeleine<br />
Sophie recognized the need to adjust<br />
with the times in order to keep the<br />
Society and its schools alive. She had<br />
a remarkable ability to adapt and to<br />
withstand social revolutions in France,<br />
power struggles within the Catholic<br />
church, and the exponential expansion<br />
of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> schools over the course<br />
of her 65-year leadership.<br />
Dwindling numbers of Religious in<br />
the schools today means that we must<br />
adapt once again. In fact, the future<br />
of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education rests with<br />
the adults connected with its schools.<br />
The Network of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong><br />
in the United States has responded to<br />
this situation with the recent creation<br />
of the Network Formation to Mission<br />
Committee, a small group of adults<br />
(lay and religious) from all over the<br />
U.S. who are working in every <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> school to catalogue and make<br />
accessible resources, share best “<strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong>” practice, and gather adults<br />
together in ways that will ensure the<br />
<strong>Schools</strong>’ future.<br />
As a member of this Board, it has<br />
been my great pleasure to witness<br />
what happened (and what contines to<br />
happen!) on our campus.<br />
For more information about the group, visit<br />
the ESCJ website at www.shschools.org.<br />
One stop on the April 2007 trip was to St.<br />
Madeleine Sophie’s house which is located<br />
in Joigny, France.<br />
Connecting with<br />
Other Generations<br />
The 3rd Annual <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong><br />
Grandparents/Special Person Day was<br />
held on Conway Court on September<br />
23, 2007. Over 260 family members<br />
spanning over three generations attended,<br />
many of whom are SHS alums. Many<br />
family members participated in the<br />
celebration of the Mass in the Campbell Center for the<br />
Performing Arts including Laura Pitchford (SJSH ’73,<br />
SHP ’77) and her son Rooney (SHP ’11), as well as the<br />
Hinson family: Louis and Daisy Pang, Laurie Lamb<br />
(SJSH ’75, SHP ’79), and Mary (SJSH ’72, SHP ’76)<br />
Jim, Ally (SJSH ’11), and Nicholas Hinson (SJSH ’13),<br />
who read the Petitions. The Offertory gifts were presented<br />
by Anne and Bernie Cotter, Greg Cattermole (SJSH ’70)<br />
and his son Mikey (SHP ’09). A buffet brunch was served<br />
on Conway Court after Mass.<br />
This event is a great opportunity for the students to<br />
share their school and our beautiful campus with their<br />
grandparents and special guests, many of whom are<br />
from out of town. Next year’s Grandparents’ Day will<br />
be during Thanksgiving week: Monday, November 24,<br />
<strong>2008</strong> for students at St. Joseph’s and Tuesday, November<br />
25, <strong>2008</strong> for students at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep so be sure to<br />
mark your calendar!<br />
Claire Duesdieker (SJSH ’07, SHP ’11)<br />
enjoying brunch with her grandmother<br />
Barbara Braunreiter (Lone<br />
Mountain ’49).<br />
Hunter Horsley (SHP ’09) is pictured with his<br />
grandparents Paul and Fornia Horsley.<br />
Mary Pang Hinson (SJSH ’72, SHP ’76) with three generations of her<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> family: (left to right) Louis Pang, Mary with her son Nick<br />
(SJSH 2013) and daughter Allyson (SJSH 2011), Daisy Pang, and Laurie<br />
Lamb (SJSH ’75) with her baby daughter Malia.<br />
w<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r
Committed to Diversity<br />
& Multiculturalism<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> is fortunate to have Dora<br />
Arredondo-Marron serving as its new Director<br />
of the Office of Equity, Justice and Multicultural<br />
Education (EJME). The Editor sat down with Dora<br />
to ask her about her office and her goals for <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>.<br />
Welcome to the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Community, Dora.<br />
Can you please explain what EJME does and how it<br />
enhances our community<br />
EJME compliments the mission of the school by<br />
focusing on the inclusion of everybody. How we do<br />
that is we work with faculty and students and then I<br />
advise the administration on issues of justice, equity<br />
and multicultural education. As a school, our mission is<br />
to educate the whole child and we want that child to go<br />
out and be a leader. We want these children to grow into<br />
adults who lead with their heart and mind and we want<br />
them to know that it is their responsibility to keep equity<br />
and justice at the forefront of how they influence the<br />
world.<br />
The Board of Directors of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> have<br />
made a commitment to help support issues of access for<br />
all. The main issues that the EJME Office focuses on are:<br />
• Socioeconomic diversity<br />
• Gender balance<br />
• Racial diversity<br />
• Access to all to community activities<br />
Primarily the Office of EJME facilitates this by helping<br />
families who want a quality Catholic education for their<br />
child and would not be able to provide it without help.<br />
I hope that the entire community knows that the EJME<br />
Office is here for everyone. Sometimes the perception is<br />
that the EJME Office only helps one group of students,<br />
but the reality is that this office is open and inclusive to<br />
all.<br />
Building a multicultural experience on campus<br />
enhances our community in many ways. First and<br />
foremost, it supports our schools mission of having an<br />
inclusive community. And specifically we benefit through<br />
having more diversity in how we problem-solve, and<br />
Dora Arredondo-Marron meets with a family in her office, which<br />
is located on the third floor of the Main Building.<br />
through sharing different perspectives, with a common<br />
goal of having a peaceful community.<br />
In action in the classroom, the students are encouraged<br />
by their teachers to explore issues of justice and equity<br />
and find issues and student service projects that they are<br />
passionate about. After learning about these issues of<br />
equity and justice, the students will become leaders who<br />
are impelled to action (SHS Goal III). This makes <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> a better place to be and the school benefits us by<br />
having the mission of our school come true!<br />
What EJME programs exist currently at SJSH and at<br />
SHP Are they the same or different on each side of<br />
campus<br />
The programs that support the entire <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
community are the Task Force on EJME, the SEED<br />
(Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) group,<br />
ongoing professional development workshops, and the<br />
Big Eight Book Club. There are parallel programs for<br />
each division on campus. I provide more coaching and<br />
support for the families in the elementary grades as the<br />
child is transitioning to middle school and experiencing<br />
adolescence. On the other side of campus, there are<br />
student clubs that are very specific to high school. The<br />
EJME Office runs the Multicultural Club and the Student<br />
of Color and Allies Club.<br />
Something new to this office is having a representation<br />
from St. Joseph’s (Alison Trujillo) and SHP (Corie Tyson)<br />
that come together weekly as we talk about students,<br />
upcoming issues and workshops. Last October we<br />
<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
attended a diversity conference with several schools in the<br />
Bay Area and it was very helpful.<br />
What specific initiatives do you hope to bring to fruition at<br />
SHS in the next few years<br />
First, we need to create a three year action plan which will<br />
consist of measurable outcomes of our work. Secondly, I<br />
hope to recruit administrators, faculty, staff and students<br />
from a variety of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds.<br />
Currently I travel by myself and with the Admissions Office<br />
to different schools and I encourage students to apply and<br />
visit our school. I spend a lot of time making sure that each<br />
student and their family is a good match for our school. And<br />
last but not least, this year I am implementing professional<br />
development workshops seminars and events that will focus<br />
on teaching various subjects and multicultural education best<br />
I<br />
n September, the St. Madeleine<br />
Sophie Award for the 2007-08 school<br />
as awarded to two dedicated employees.<br />
This award honors individuals in the<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> community who<br />
have made a sustained and significant<br />
contribution to the <strong>Schools</strong> and<br />
embody the Goals and Criteria.<br />
Genevieve Varga started at <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> in 1975 as the Registrar<br />
for <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep when her<br />
son Michael was just a toddler. Sr.<br />
Nancy Morris (RSCJ) was Director of<br />
<strong>Schools</strong> and Joan Azzopardi was the<br />
Principal. She began her 33rd year<br />
of service to <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong><br />
last September. In 1977 Genevieve<br />
assumed the position of Registrar<br />
and Administrative Assistant to the<br />
Principal, which she still holds today.<br />
Not only does this position require<br />
that you be organized and efficient,<br />
but as Connie Solari said, “Her office<br />
is a place where people know they can<br />
go for information, sympathy, help<br />
of all kinds, and frequently a good<br />
laugh.” Donna Gilboa said, “I admire<br />
her competence and energy and her<br />
In Honor of<br />
St. Madeleine Sophie<br />
genuine love for her<br />
job. Genevieve is the<br />
‘still center’ of <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong>; we couldn’t<br />
function without her.<br />
She embodies the<br />
true spirit of <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong>.” Genevieve is the proud parent<br />
of two sons, Michael (SJSH ’88, SHP<br />
’92) and Jason (SJSH ’91, SHP ’95).<br />
Both unanimously agreed that their<br />
mom is devoted to her job and believes<br />
in the spirit of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
education.<br />
Dan Greenleaf began working<br />
at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> 21 years ago as a<br />
groundskeeper. In 1988, Dan became<br />
Head of Maintenance and Grounds, a<br />
position that he held until the mid-90s.<br />
That job, which got bigger with each<br />
passing year, was finally split into two,<br />
with Dan assuming the role of Head of<br />
the Grounds Department, the role he<br />
holds today. Members of his crew say<br />
that he is a great guy, a great boss, very<br />
understanding, hard working, a good<br />
friend, aand someone who is always<br />
there when you need him. As fellow<br />
Director of <strong>Schools</strong> Rich Dioli is pictured here with St. Madeleine<br />
Sophie Award winners Genevieve Varga and Dan Greenleaf.<br />
colleague and friend, Ken Thompson,<br />
said, “The gentle and tender, but also<br />
very present care of the gardener is<br />
evident in Dan’s relationships with his<br />
crew.” In addition, Dan has worked<br />
with many student athletes on both<br />
sides of the campus. He has coached<br />
basketball and flag football at St.<br />
Joseph’s, as well as girls’ basketball,<br />
softball and football at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
Prep. He also has accompanied students<br />
on trips to Taos and Yosemite and<br />
participated in various <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
theater productions. He teaches kids<br />
by example and with kind words. Dan’s<br />
wife Diane also works at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
and he has three children, Kelsey (SHP<br />
’04), Melissa (SHP ’06), and Shane<br />
(SHP ’09).<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r
St. Joseph’s and <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep<br />
share one mascot<br />
The new Strategic Plan (<strong>2008</strong>-2013) approved by<br />
the Board of Trustees this past November highlights<br />
as one of its goals, the building of community. As<br />
most parents and any child of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
already know, this is one of five Goals and Criteria<br />
that bind all <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> around the<br />
world. In this Strategic Plan, one of the ways the<br />
goal is being pursued is by “strengthening the<br />
bonds among the School’s division and building<br />
relationships among all members of our community<br />
as ‘One School.’ With that goal in mind, the Senior<br />
Administrative Council voted this past summer to<br />
move to one shared mascot and logo across all three<br />
of the school’s divisions. The consensus was to keep<br />
the Prep’s mascot of a gator but to design a new<br />
mascot that would be new to all divisions. The new<br />
mascot is pictured above.<br />
of play during their season. Congratulations to<br />
the players and coaches (and of course supportive<br />
parents and fans) in the following varsity programs:<br />
Both our Boys and Girls Varsity Cross Country<br />
squads placed third in the prestigious year end<br />
Central Coast Section meet and advanced for the<br />
second year in a row to the Division V state cross<br />
country meet over Thanksgiving weekend.<br />
For the second year in a row, our Varsity Football<br />
team was the co-champion of the Bay Football<br />
League. This season we made our initial trip to the<br />
North Coast Section playoffs and were defeated<br />
by Ferndale High School. We are all excited about<br />
our move to the Ocean Division of the Peninsula<br />
Athletic League (and into the Central Coast Section<br />
with the rest of our athletic programs) next season.<br />
Our Boys Varsity Soccer team made it back to the<br />
Central Coast Section finals for the second year<br />
in a row. Although we did not repeat as Section<br />
champions this year (losing a great match in the<br />
finals), it was a true testament to the team and the<br />
coaches getting back to the finals after losing many<br />
senior starters from the previous season.<br />
Our Girls Varsity Tennis team advanced to the<br />
CCS quarter finals in spite of losing our number<br />
one player to a season-ending injury toward the<br />
latter part of the league season. This close knit team<br />
pulled together to place farther into the post season<br />
than anyone expected.<br />
Our Girls Varsity Volleyball team advanced to the<br />
CCS quarter finals before losing to eventual section<br />
and Nor Cal Champion Mt. Madonna. This team<br />
Fall Athletics Review for SHP<br />
Athletics<br />
The fall athletic season at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep was<br />
unprecedented with regards to the level of collective<br />
accomplishments by all of our varsity teams. It was<br />
the first time in our school’s history that each of our<br />
varsity squads successfully extended their respective<br />
seasons to Section play as a result of the high level<br />
Congratulations to the girls’ water polo<br />
team, pictured at right who were CCS<br />
Division II Champions this past fall.<br />
<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
g r a d u a t e s o n l y t w o<br />
seniors and should be a<br />
force next season as well.<br />
Our Boys and Girls<br />
Varsity Water Polo teams<br />
both won WCAL league<br />
and playoff championships on their way to winning<br />
Central Coast Section Division II championships.<br />
When you combine these achievements with the<br />
unparalleled success both teams had in national level<br />
tournaments this season, no other school in northern<br />
California had more collective success in both girls<br />
and boys water polo programs than <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
Prep…quite a memorable, and fantastic season!<br />
New Field House Dedication<br />
Pictured left is Paul Rudolph (SHP<br />
’09)<br />
On Friday, September 21, the students at <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> Prep gathered in the stands of the Field House<br />
for a blessing. The dedication, which included a<br />
short reading, petitions, and splashing of holy water,<br />
was lead by Father Tom Moran. The dedication was<br />
followed by gouté and<br />
a win for the Varsity<br />
Football team.<br />
T h e s t u d e n t s<br />
f r o m S t . J o s e p h’s<br />
celebrated their own<br />
special dedication on<br />
Saturday, September<br />
29 during their flag<br />
football season. Mr.<br />
Mi k e Mu r p h y, t h e<br />
interim principal at St.<br />
Joseph’s, presided.<br />
The Field House is<br />
used year round by the<br />
Football team, and boys and girls<br />
Soccer and Lacrosse teams. It<br />
also is the new location for Head<br />
Football Coach Pete Lavorato,<br />
Director of Tennis Jeff Arons and<br />
Varsity Tennis Coach Losaline<br />
Mafileo. Also within the Field House are storage<br />
facilities for the athletic department and on top of<br />
the building are bleachers which seat approximately<br />
1100 people.<br />
Jersey Retired<br />
for Christy<br />
Galvin<br />
On Thursday,<br />
Sept 6, the class of<br />
1997 gathered to<br />
remember Christy<br />
Galvin’s life and Erin Moix Grieb (SHP ’97)<br />
remembered Christy at the<br />
her dominance on ceremony.<br />
the volleyball court.<br />
Christy was an outstanding student and athlete<br />
and was loved by all. She died on July 4, 2005.<br />
The Athletic Department, along with the Alumni<br />
Association and the class of 1997 retired her #9<br />
jersey.<br />
A graduate of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep, she led her team<br />
to state volleyball titles in 1996 and 1997. Galvin<br />
received her bachelor’s degree in International<br />
Studies from UNC Charlotte in December of 2001.<br />
She was a four-year starter and letter winner for the<br />
49ers from 1997-2000. Galvin’s standout four-year<br />
career as an outside hitter put her near the top of the<br />
school’s all-time charts in a variety of categories. She<br />
is the all-time leader in attack attempts, and as one of<br />
the program’s best two-way players, still ranks third<br />
in both kills (1,564) and digs (1,261). A remarkably<br />
consistent player, Galvin played in 471 of a possible<br />
479 games at UNC.<br />
Father Tom Moran presided<br />
over the opening and the<br />
blessing of the new field<br />
house.<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r
<strong>Heart</strong> spotlights<br />
Spirit of Mater Award recipients: Sr. Irene Cullen (SHP ’56), Melissa Pritchard (SHP ’66),<br />
and Jonny Dorsey (SJSH ’99, SHP ’03) in the lobby of the Campbell Center for the<br />
Performing Arts. The artwork on display behind them is borrowed from the Anderson<br />
Collection.<br />
10<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
Spirit of Mater Awards<br />
I<br />
n October, <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> alumni were invited back to<br />
campus to celebrate a special Feast of Mater. The theme of<br />
the day incorporated the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> idea that each of us<br />
can make a difference in the lives of others, one person at a<br />
time. The special day included a Mass, alumni lectures and<br />
a luncheon. Three alumni were chosen by the Alumni Board<br />
to receive special awards that were conferred based on their<br />
exemplary work benefitting the lives of others. The three<br />
awardees were Melissa Pritchard (SHP ’66), Jonny Dorsey<br />
(SJSH ’99, SHP ’03), and Sr. Irene Cullen (SHP ’57).<br />
After attending Mass together in the chapel, the awardees<br />
each spoke to the audience of alumni, parents, RSCJ and<br />
faculty about their charities. The keynote speaker, Melissa<br />
Pritchard, gave a very moving speech about her work for the<br />
Daywalka Foundation and how the experience has changed<br />
her life in profound ways.<br />
Jonny Dorsey gave an emotionally charged speech about<br />
his FACE AIDS organization and his work in Africa with<br />
refugees. He spoke about his belief<br />
that “if every life is truly equal in<br />
God’s eyes, then we should really<br />
be doing more to help children in<br />
African nations ravaged by AIDS,<br />
wars and poverty.” Many were<br />
touched by his sincerity and by<br />
his very personal first-hand stories<br />
of the people that he has met in<br />
local hospitals and refugee camps<br />
in Africa.<br />
Sr. Irene Cullen explained the<br />
150 year history of the RSCJ African mission work and her<br />
current work at a school in the Kenya/Uganda Province.<br />
Her position as the U.S. Director for the Society helps the<br />
school with its mission to educate over 500 female students<br />
who would be without an education otherwise and therefore<br />
marginalized by society. Through Irene’s efforts, <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> in the U.S. and their alumnae/i are making a<br />
difference at our sister school by helping build dormitories,<br />
water systems and providing student scholarships.<br />
All three speeches inspired everyone and had the whole<br />
room talking about how each of us is called to reach out to<br />
those less fortunate and to make a difference in our world.<br />
As God worked through [Mater] Mary’s life, we are called to<br />
follow that example and be the hands and feet of God’s love<br />
through our lives.<br />
Below are excerpts from the Feast of Mater keynote<br />
speech delivered by Melissa Pritchard (SHP ’66):<br />
“Today’s Feast of Mater is dedicated to the idea of making<br />
a difference, one person at a time, and to the miracle of one<br />
person’s actions inspiring and waking up the holy spirit of<br />
selflessness in others.<br />
One of the first lessons the world tried to teach me was<br />
that of humility. As an adolescent, I was extremely shy, and<br />
famous persons fascinated me, particularly great artists, saints<br />
and those whom history called heroes. What made certain<br />
individuals stand out, be called great, whether by talent or<br />
by deed Ability, yes, discipline, to be sure, a bit of luck or<br />
destiny perhaps, but there were other qualities common<br />
to the men and women I most deeply admired. Humility,<br />
visionary courage, and an active surrender to something<br />
greater than themselves, be it called Yahweh, Christ, Atman,<br />
Allah, Buddha, Gaia, Isis, Creation or Great Mystery, some<br />
As God worked through [Mater] Mary’s<br />
life, we are called to follow that example<br />
and be the hands and feet of God’s love<br />
through our lives.<br />
fiery faith that gave these individuals the courage to act<br />
beyond the smaller circumference of their individual lives,<br />
the will to listen to the greater voice within them rather<br />
than the cautionary voices of those around them. Above all,<br />
the humility to know that whatever genius or uncommon<br />
goodness might issue from them, arose from what Reverend<br />
Mother deLescure called the “Invisible and Essential In All.”<br />
Genius, saintliness, heroism – are gifts, in essence, from God.<br />
The <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> nuns and other faculty who were here<br />
at the same time as I, a gawky, bookish, uncourageous but<br />
dreamy child, fostered and embodied humility. Within the<br />
classrooms and gardens, the chapel, alcoves and library of<br />
what was then called the Convent, I not only found my<br />
religious faith, I was given room to secretly cherish my ideals<br />
and dreams. My spirit, respected and nurtured, stayed alive<br />
and questing for truth. I am honored to return today, decades<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 11
Joan Terry (SHP ’61), (center) is pictured here with Sr.<br />
Carmen Parrilla (left) and Sr. Ida Rinne.<br />
Ann Carey (SJSH ’71, SHP ’75) and Sheila<br />
Giannini Ruprecht (SHP ’63) with Alex Lucas<br />
Ertola (SJSH ’72, SHP ’76).<br />
Lyn Jason Cobb (SHE ’65, SHP ’69),<br />
and Lisa Geserick (SHP ’69)<br />
“When I was a student here at<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>, a close friend, Mariko<br />
Takahashi, now a nun in Belgium,<br />
gave me a holy card which I still<br />
have today. Though our paths are<br />
different, it says, our goal is still<br />
the same. To surrender one’s self, to<br />
hope for the courage to say yes, is to<br />
glimpse the truth illumined in Saint<br />
Teresa of Avila’s magnificent prayer:<br />
Christ has no body now but yours,<br />
No hands, no feet on earth but yours.<br />
Yours are the eyes through which He<br />
looks with compassion on this world.<br />
Christ has no body now on earth but<br />
yours.”<br />
later, to pay public tribute and to give open thanks<br />
to a school, a faculty and a religious order whose<br />
own brave mission was to educate and protect the<br />
minds and spirits of young girls.<br />
In the spring of 2005, I was sitting in a creative<br />
writing faculty meeting at Arizona State University.<br />
One of our faculty asked – is anyone interested<br />
in going to India to work with sex slaves<br />
Everyone reared back in a kind of shock, someone<br />
murmured, ‘that sounds dangerous,’ and though I<br />
didn’t say a word, every cell in me, every fiber, or<br />
more accurately, my soul, said ‘Yes.’<br />
That single decision, that ‘yes,’ to the unknown,<br />
changed my life. Within ten hours of landing in<br />
Calcutta, I was walking, at night, with my guide<br />
Bishan, a twenty-four year old graduate of Calcutta<br />
University, through one of the worst slums in<br />
the world and into the<br />
narrow, winding alleyways<br />
of a working class brothel.<br />
Kalighat was nothing like<br />
my fears, my stereotypes or<br />
even my limited knowledge<br />
had imagined. Bishan<br />
seemed to know everyone,<br />
a n d c h i l d r e n s w i r l e d<br />
around me, like children<br />
everywhere, curious and<br />
spirited. During my ten<br />
days in Calcutta, I taught<br />
a workshop for around<br />
twenty young Kalam poets,<br />
visited shelter homes and<br />
toured Nirmal Hriday<br />
(Pure <strong>Heart</strong>,) the first home<br />
Mother Teresa established<br />
for the dying and the<br />
destitute. I met the nun in charge, a woman I am<br />
convinced is a saint, a woman so selfless and holy,<br />
so radiant with love, that had she looked at me,<br />
asked me to stay on at Nirmal Hriday, I would<br />
not be here today. I met Indian women, attorneys<br />
and doctors who had given up affluent marriages,<br />
traditional caste status and social approval, to help<br />
the women of Kalighat attain legal status, receive<br />
proper medical treatment, and provide education<br />
and a safe place to sleep at night for their children,<br />
so they would not be trapped in a hopeless life<br />
ending, as the lives of more than 80% of these<br />
trafficked women did, by dying, before the age of<br />
thirty, of HIV/Aids or other preventable diseases.<br />
I met unsung heroes, witnessed lives of selflessness,<br />
saw the difference between the ego’s satisfaction,<br />
the self ’s thirst for recognition, and the more<br />
enduring joy of using one’s gifts and talents for the<br />
benefit of uplifting others. Something in me woke<br />
up in the presence of these individuals, woke up<br />
as I walked through the narrow, foul alleyways of<br />
Kalighat, shyly smiled at by girls stolen from their<br />
villages, forced into a brutal life from which there<br />
was no escape. Most of Kalighat’s prostitutes are<br />
mothers, and like most mothers, they adore their<br />
children.<br />
I came home from that first trip to Calcutta<br />
in early 2006, determined to build a link between<br />
our creative writing program and Kalam. One year<br />
later, in January, 2007, I returned with five MFA<br />
students, and this summer two graduate students<br />
worked, fully funded by ASU, with Kalam and<br />
New Light.<br />
In the past year, I have felt that same intuitive<br />
pull to begin an outreach program with Phoenix<br />
Children’s Hospital, and for two or more years, I<br />
had dreamed of making documentary films but<br />
12<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
had no idea how to begin. One evening in 2006, because of a<br />
magazine article I had published two years before on the Lost<br />
Boys of Sudan, I was invited to a reception for the new director<br />
of the Lost Boys Center in Phoenix and met a young filmmaker<br />
struggling to develop a story about one of these exceptional<br />
young men. Today we have developed our script, and have the<br />
support of an experienced producer to help us raise funding<br />
to fly to the Dinka village of Ajak in southern Sudan, to film<br />
William Mawin’s reunion with his family, and to help build a<br />
school and a medical clinic for others handicapped by war like<br />
himself.<br />
The time and energy I have given to these projects could, and<br />
some would say, should have gone into writing another book of<br />
fiction. I could rest on well-earned laurels, I could lead an easier<br />
life. But I cannot resist this “call of the soul,” and though it often<br />
exhausts me and worries friends and family, I cannot disobey<br />
this call to surrender the smaller self, to answer the soul’s call to<br />
service. Too many heroes exist to show the way, and too many<br />
surprises and miracles validate one’s path once one responds. This<br />
adventure of the soul is a high and ultimately joyful one.<br />
Once one steps off the illusory path of safety, the path of<br />
contentment and ease and even fear, to follow the divine or some<br />
might say mad call to service, one joins a holy stream of fellow<br />
travelers, many leading the way, some walking alongside and<br />
others eager to catch up. Blessed travelers like Sr. Irene Cullen,<br />
Jonny Dorsey, all of you here today.”<br />
March<br />
20 Holy Thursday Easter Holiday begins.<br />
School closed March 20-24.<br />
April<br />
5 It’s Showtime! Auction dinner<br />
If you wish to attend, donate an item, or<br />
volunteer for the event, contact Diane Brugos at<br />
(650) 473-4088 or dbrugos@shschools.org.<br />
May<br />
Spring/Summer <strong>2008</strong><br />
Calendar<br />
For additional information,<br />
go to www.shschools.org<br />
2 Director’s Club Cocktail Party<br />
This party is for donors who have joined the<br />
Director’s Club ($2500+) during the 2007-<strong>2008</strong><br />
Annual Fund Campaign. To join the Director’s<br />
Club or to learn more, contact Lauren Whittam at<br />
(650) 473-4054 or lwhittam@shschools.org.<br />
9 Mad Hatter Luncheon Noon, Conway Court<br />
If you are interested in attending or would like<br />
more information, contact Nancy Tarantino at<br />
(650) 473-4089 or ntarantino@shschools.org.<br />
26 Memorial Day School closed.<br />
June<br />
5 SHP Pinning Ceremony, 5 p.m., Chapel<br />
If you are an alumnus/a and are interested in<br />
attending, please contact the Alumni office at<br />
650.454.8394.<br />
SHP Graduation 6 p.m., Softball Field<br />
7 SJSH Graduation 10 a.m., Robinson Court<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 13
Memories of College of the<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Menlo<br />
Sister Connie Welch looks back to<br />
her college days at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
Sister Connie Welch recently passed away at the age of 99, and not only was she the oldest RSCJ living<br />
in retirement at Oakwood, she was our last graduate of the College of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Menlo, a<br />
four-year college that was offered on our campus in the early 20th century. Today, most alumni don’t<br />
remember or may not even be aware that at one time our campus offered a four year college degree<br />
through Stanford University. For many years, <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton (then known as Convent<br />
of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Menlo) was a closed and cloistered campus. The nuns and the students rarely left<br />
the gates unless school had ended, and then only the “day” students left. The students and the nuns led a<br />
very structured and disciplined life, and one of the only reasons the teaching nuns were allowed to leave<br />
campus was to improve their education. Many of the RSCJ left campus to attend Stanford. When Sister<br />
Connie Welch attended classes at Stanford, she recalled “my habit created a lot of attention for me on<br />
the Stanford campus.” The professors understood that it was difficult for the cloistered nuns to attend<br />
Stanford so they began to come to campus to teach the nuns.<br />
The relationship between the Stanford professors and the nuns was especially close in the case of Dr.<br />
Aurelio M. Espinosa and the RSCJ. Professor Espinosa came to Stanford in 1910 as a linguistics expert,<br />
the Chair of the Spanish Department and a Catholic. At this time it was very desirable to extend your<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education. For the next several years, young women took several courses on the <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> campus taught by Stanford professors as part of a fifth year of high school dedicated to study in<br />
Today, most alumni don’t remember or<br />
may not even be aware that at one time<br />
our campus offered a four year college<br />
degree through Stanford University.<br />
a particular field of interest. It was from this<br />
popular and growing program known as the<br />
“Superior Class,” that the idea of a women’s<br />
college was pursued.<br />
By 1920, the RSCJ along with Professor<br />
Espinosa, began earnest discussions with<br />
Stanford University regarding starting a four year<br />
college for women at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>. The nuns<br />
and the conservative Catholic Professor believed<br />
that there wasn’t an appropriate college in the Bay Area for a young educated Catholic woman. When<br />
word came back with approval from the president of Stanford, an arrangement was made that women<br />
could remain at the Convent of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> for their studies and receive a degree from Stanford.<br />
In 1921 the College of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> obtained its official charter and classes began with nine<br />
academic departments under the direction of Mother Guerin, offering an AA degree and a four-year<br />
degree. Sister Connie Welch was a college student along with Dr. Espinosa’s daughter Marguerita<br />
Espinosa, who later became the head of Castilleja School. According to her memoires reflecting on her<br />
time in college at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>, Margarita said, “In the fall of 1921, I first entered Menlo as a member of<br />
the 4th academic class. I was in the first graduating class of the College of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>. There were<br />
five of us in the class: Evelyn Fox, Harriet McCormick, Mary Kay Conroy, Adelia Leet and me. All three<br />
of my years at Menlo were happy and productive ones, though very different from life today. Some of<br />
our activities included playing cricket, cooking in a little cottage in the garden (later this became an art<br />
14<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> college<br />
girls relaxing on the<br />
Main Building east<br />
lawn after a long<br />
day of studying.<br />
“They knew we were cloistered<br />
nuns, so they helped us add<br />
college classes to our curriculum.”<br />
classroom in the 70s and 80s), splendid congés, gouté in the<br />
courtyard, primes, visits from our families on Sunday, café<br />
au lait at breakfast, and much study. Bedtime was early, but<br />
it was possible to communicate far into the night with next<br />
door neighbors with Morse code.”<br />
The college girls attended school in the Main Building<br />
along with other girls from ages three to eighteen. They<br />
created their own social life, but it was difficult since Menlo<br />
Park was very isolated at the time. The college girls lived on<br />
the third floor and because so many of the girls had friends<br />
in sororities at other universities, they decided to form their<br />
own which they named the “Theta Thirda Flora’s.”<br />
Sister Welch, who attended her first two years of college<br />
at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>, fondly remembered that “[college] was<br />
wonderful. The Stanford professors came over and gave their<br />
services to us. They knew we were cloistered nuns and they<br />
helped us add college classes to our curriculum.”<br />
Sister Mary “Be” Mardel (SHP ’35, SFCW ’39)<br />
remembers that the “college was very small because many<br />
women did not go to college in those days. It was very<br />
isolated and was not much bigger than twenty to thirty<br />
students at a time.”<br />
After a while it became obvious that the college needed<br />
its own home without a primary or secondary school<br />
attached, and needed to be in a location that would attract<br />
more students. Since San Francisco did not have a Catholic<br />
college for women, it was an obvious choice of location. At<br />
the time, the beloved Reverend Mother Rosalie Hill was<br />
Vicar of the Western Vicariate of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> order,<br />
charged with building, designing and/or creating <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> schools, including finding a new location for College<br />
of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Menlo. Sr. Welch was assigned to be<br />
Reverend Mother’s driver for her scouting trips to San<br />
Francisco and remembered taking her up and down all of the<br />
hills in San Francisco which frightened the Reverend Mother.<br />
When she saw the site of Lone Mountain, she knew she had<br />
found the right location and she negotiated with the San<br />
Francisco Archdiocese and Archbishop Hanna (who was very<br />
supportive of the college) to purchase the land.<br />
The Right Reverend Monsignor Joseph M. Gleason<br />
moved with the college from Menlo Park to San Francisco<br />
along with his important library of over 40,000 volumes<br />
that formed the cornerstone of the library for the College.<br />
From 1930 until 1932 when Lone Mountain construction<br />
was completed, the college operated out of 2040 Broadway<br />
in San Francisco. In 1932, the campus for the San Francisco<br />
College for Women was opened, and in 1978, it became a<br />
part of the University of San Francisco.<br />
In 1937, Sister Welch returned to live on our campus<br />
after taking her final vows. She earned a Masters and PhD<br />
from Stanford and later became Mistress of Studies (today<br />
known as Academic Dean) serving in this position for the<br />
Western Province until 1963. She is also well remembered<br />
by her students as the caretaker of the three Great Danes<br />
that served as the school’s mascots and security force.<br />
Sister Connie Welch passed away shortly after she was interviewed<br />
for this article. She entered <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> as a freshman in 1921 and<br />
graduated in 1925. She continued her studies<br />
at the College of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Menlo<br />
and graduated in 1929. She later completed<br />
a Master’s and PhD at Stanford. She joined<br />
the RSCJs in 1929, took her first vows in 1932<br />
and began teaching at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> that<br />
same year until 1963. She was much loved<br />
by her students. In addition, she served as the<br />
Vicariate Mistress of Studies for the Western Province. When she left<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> in 1963, she went to teach at the College for Women<br />
in San Francisco, now University of San Francisco (USF) until 1978,<br />
at which time she moved back to Atherton to retire at Oakwood.<br />
She continued to work after she retired, teaching underprivileged<br />
children how to read. In 1987, she celebrated her Golden Jubilee for<br />
her 50 years as an RSCJ. In 2007 she was moved briefly to Our Lady<br />
of Fatima in Saratoga, CA, a full-care nursing facility, where she died<br />
peacefully, on January 1, <strong>2008</strong>.<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 15
Long Lasting Friendships<br />
Friends Max Etchemendy (SHP<br />
’02), Tommy Nourse (SJSH ’98,<br />
SHP ’02), Stephanie Lee (SHP<br />
’02) and Amarnath Santhanam<br />
(SHP ’02) in front of the Main<br />
Building.<br />
G<br />
raduation from high school can strain<br />
some of the best friendships, but in the case<br />
of four members from the class of 2002<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep, theirs has survived and<br />
is growing into something deeper as they<br />
share a house together in East Palo Alto.<br />
For Tommy Nourse (SJSH ’98, SHP ’02),<br />
Amarnath Santhanam (SHP ’02), Max<br />
Etchemendy (SHP ’02) and Stephanie Lee<br />
(SHP ’02), maintaining their connection was<br />
easy, natural and something that was never in<br />
question. According to Tommy Nourse, “It<br />
just sort of happened. We always maintained<br />
our high school friendships.” Stephanie Lee<br />
observed, “I never knew it was so unusual<br />
until I talked to some of my friends in<br />
college, who told me they had not kept in<br />
touch with anyone from high school.”<br />
The roommates all recall the class of 2002<br />
as being “pretty close” but they also know<br />
that the bonds that they shared were truly<br />
formed through their shared classes at SHP.<br />
When asked how they managed to keep<br />
in touch through the years while attending<br />
different colleges, Max explained, “There<br />
were six or seven of us who decided to<br />
purchase a domain name our senior year. We<br />
created and designed our own web page and<br />
we’ve used it ever since.” Amarnath adds that,<br />
“Additional friends in the group include Peter<br />
Robinett (SHP ’02) and Jeremy Wong (SJSH<br />
’98, SHP ’02). Peter is living in Amsterdam,<br />
working in Web consulting and Jeremy<br />
is living in graduate housing at Stanford<br />
where he is pursuing a master’s in electrical<br />
engineering.”<br />
The roommates all recall the class of<br />
2002 as being “pretty close” but they also<br />
know that the bonds that they shared were<br />
truly formed through their shared classes<br />
at SHP. Tommy recalls some of the fun<br />
shared memories that can still bring all four<br />
housemates to laughter. “We made up pet<br />
names for all our teachers and one of the best<br />
was for Ms. Ann Tornabene (SHP ’92). We<br />
called her Comrade Tornabenski all year and<br />
we even bought her a Ushanka hat to wear.”<br />
The four recall sharing AP Physics,<br />
Biology Honors, Trigonometry Honors,<br />
and AP English together. Stephanie recalls,<br />
16<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
“Because we had many of the same<br />
classes, and there were fifteen in our<br />
class, we got to know each other really<br />
well.”<br />
“We shared a penchant for Nerf<br />
guns in our SHP Physics classroom,”<br />
smiles Tommy as Max and Stephanie<br />
interject that, “We have upgraded to<br />
Airsoft Pellet guns now.”<br />
The four roommates also remember<br />
the quality of their <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
education, “SHP had a strong science<br />
program. My AP calculus class prepared<br />
me well for M.I.T. The same with my<br />
physics class,” recalls Stephanie Lee.<br />
All remember Dr. Letteer’s and Mr.<br />
Thompson’s math and science classes<br />
with shared appreciation.<br />
Amarnath has fond memories of<br />
Mr. Thompson who helped inspire<br />
him to become a math teacher. “Mr.<br />
Thompson was one of my favorite<br />
teachers and I had him for 2-1/2 years<br />
of math at SHP. He has been my role<br />
model and inspiration in becoming<br />
a math teacher too. I also remember<br />
singing in the a cappella group with<br />
Mr. Thompson, the ‘Singing Guys’. It<br />
was a lot of fun and I went onto join<br />
another a cappella group at Williams<br />
College. I sill remember all of the songs<br />
we learned in the ‘Singing Guys’ and<br />
I come back for all of the concerts<br />
whenever I can.”<br />
Today, Tommy Nourse can be found<br />
at Google where he works as a software<br />
engineer. In the evenings when he is<br />
not taking classes at Google’s Carnegie-<br />
Mellon University for his Masters in<br />
Software Engineering, he can be found<br />
playing his bass or hanging out with<br />
girlfriend Sarah Bacon (SHP ’02).<br />
Having graduated with honors<br />
from Stanford University with a B.A.<br />
Philosophy and a B.S. in Symbolic<br />
Systems, Max Etchemendy can be<br />
found working at start-up Coghead,<br />
Inc., a web-based application delivery<br />
service where he works in marketing<br />
a n d a p p l i c a t i o n e n g i n e e r i n g .<br />
He also continues to work with<br />
professors in the Stanford philosophy<br />
department, producing translations<br />
of, and commentaries on, the medieval<br />
philosopher Richard Rufus of Cornwall.<br />
After SHP, Amarnath studied math<br />
and economics at Williams College in<br />
Massachusetts. Today he works as a<br />
private tutor in math and science, and<br />
has some SHP students as clients. He<br />
also continues to follow technology<br />
trends.<br />
After graduating from M.I.T.<br />
Stephanie was first employed by<br />
Lockheed Martin, and then switched<br />
gears to work for Zazzle, a customized<br />
merchandise firm. In her spare time<br />
she has been investigating graduate<br />
programs.<br />
A s t h e i n t e r v i e w e n d e d , t h e<br />
foursome set off for the Morey building<br />
where they hoped to bump into<br />
someone who might remember them<br />
and let them drop into a class or two.<br />
The Alumni Office promises to check<br />
back on these interesting housemates<br />
and friends and see what the future<br />
holds for them.<br />
H<br />
ead south on Skyline Boulevard<br />
from Highway 84 and you will find a<br />
small unassuming sign pointing you<br />
down the hill towards Yerba Buena<br />
Nursery. Head down the two mile<br />
private road and you travel into the<br />
country and into the past. At the end<br />
of the road, you will see an old barn<br />
with welcoming scarecrows displayed<br />
to greet you. Park on the dirt lot and<br />
travel down a lush path, past a 100 year<br />
old farmhouse and you will find Kathy<br />
Goleta Crane (SHE ’69, SHP ’73)<br />
working in the garden or behind a desk<br />
in the tractor shed-turned gift shop.<br />
Kathy bought the nursery 13 years<br />
ago from a 95 year old woman who<br />
Exploring California Natives<br />
was looking to retire. She was quick<br />
to see the possibilities in the area as<br />
well as appreciate the importance of<br />
the nursery in the education of native<br />
plant species and California wildlife.<br />
In 2005, her project became known as<br />
“the world’s most beautiful native plant<br />
nursery.” Not only does she cultivate<br />
all the plants and sell them, but every<br />
plant which she sells is a product of<br />
her property. Kathy and her small<br />
staff gather seeds from her plants,<br />
sew them and cultivate them in their<br />
natural environment instead of modern<br />
greenhouses, making them more hearty.<br />
She works out of old buildings with<br />
what could be considered antiquated<br />
Kathy Goleta Crane (SHE ’69, SHP ’73)<br />
working in her garden.<br />
methods of hand raking and weeding<br />
and chemical-free insect removal.<br />
Continue further down the path and<br />
you will encounter a beautiful, wild,<br />
native plant demonstration garden.<br />
Each plant she sells is permanently and<br />
prominently displayed in this garden,<br />
(continued on p.19)<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 17
James Everitt named Principal<br />
of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep<br />
“James embodies<br />
what it means to be<br />
an educator of the<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>. He listens<br />
without distraction, he<br />
holds the needs of the<br />
whole child at the center<br />
of every conversation<br />
and he clearly shows in<br />
his words and actions<br />
that he cares about each<br />
and every one of us.”<br />
–an SHS faculty member<br />
18<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8<br />
In November 2007, James Everitt was named Principal of <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> Prep by Director of <strong>Schools</strong> Rich Dioli. after serving as Interim<br />
Principal since July 2007. He replaced Mr. Dioli, who had served<br />
as Principal of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep for fourteen years and assumed<br />
the role of Director of <strong>Schools</strong> in July 2007. Although a nationwide<br />
search took place to find a permanent principal for <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
Prep, the clear consensus among all constituency groups who took<br />
part in the search process including parents, faculty, staff, students,<br />
and trustees, was that there was no need to search any further<br />
than our own execeptional Interim Principal, Mr. James Everitt.<br />
According to Mr. Dioli, “James possesses a strong vision for <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> Prep that includes a deep understanding of curriculum design<br />
and implementation. He has a strong commitment to progressive<br />
education and believes that <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep is at the threshold of<br />
offering a world class, global education that speaks to the needs of<br />
our time. His knowledge of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education and his ability<br />
to work so well with students, colleagues, parents, trustees and the<br />
administration have convinced me that he is a perfect choice for<br />
Principal.”<br />
In a letter to the current families at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>, Mr. Dioli wrote<br />
the following, “One of the key strengths that James will bring to<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep is a vision and an educational philosophy that is<br />
rooted in the Goals and Criteria of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education. He is<br />
an extremely rare individual who not only is familiar with both the<br />
breadth and depth of <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education but understands the<br />
charism and goals of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> community and its Formation<br />
to Mission. He also understands the rigor of the academics at <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> Prep and wants to enhance the curriculum with a strong<br />
interdisciplinary approach.”<br />
James first came on board at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton in<br />
August of 2001 serving in numerous roles at SHS including Religious<br />
Studies instructor, Department Head of Religious Studies, Personal<br />
Counselor, Freshman Academic Advisor, Director of the Office of<br />
Mission Formation, and Director of the Office of Equity, Justice<br />
and Multicultural Education. Regardless of the positions he has held<br />
here, what he has enjoyed most about his experience at SHS is his<br />
relationship with his colleagues and the students.<br />
According to one SHP faculty member, “James Everitt possesses<br />
a unique combination of loving kindness along with firmness and<br />
commitment to doing what is right. He is a deeply spiritual person to<br />
whom others are drawn for his warmth, guidance and acceptance. As<br />
a leader, James’ creative vision for the future holds great promise for<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>.”<br />
Before coming to <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton, James worked<br />
at our sister school in Houston, Texas, the Duchesne Academy of
Seniors Jade Fields, Shannon Hamilton, and<br />
Molly Dickinson in conversation with Mr.<br />
Everitt.<br />
the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>, as an instructor<br />
and coordinator of Service Learning.<br />
He loved his time at Duchesne and<br />
attributes his commitment and passion<br />
for a <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education to his<br />
experience there, and in particular was<br />
influenced by an RCSJ by the name of<br />
Sister Sharon Karam who served as a<br />
mentor to him. Before that he worked<br />
as a youth minister and taught religion<br />
to middle school students at St. Cecelia’s<br />
Church, also in Houston. He also<br />
worked briefly in a private counseling<br />
practice outside of the church after<br />
he finished his Masters degree. That<br />
experience was a strong indicator for<br />
him that he was best suited for a faithbased<br />
environment.<br />
James grew up in Houston, Texas,<br />
the youngest of three children. He<br />
was raised Catholic and was most<br />
strongly influenced by his mother,<br />
whose own life was devoted to serving<br />
others, particularly at the Catholic<br />
Worker House in Houston, which<br />
provided hospitality and shelter for<br />
poor immigrants and refugees from El<br />
Salvador & Central America. James<br />
spent much of his childhood serving<br />
with his mother at the Catholic Worker<br />
House and St. Vincent de Paul which<br />
gave him first-hand experience about<br />
social justice related to the poor.<br />
James always knew from a young age<br />
that he wanted to be a teacher and for<br />
him, in particular, Catholic education is<br />
his passion. According to James, “I value<br />
Catholic education because it challenges<br />
students to think about themselves in<br />
relationship to others and to a God<br />
who loves each person deeply. Catholic<br />
“As a leader, James’<br />
creative vision for<br />
the future holds great<br />
promise for <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong>.”<br />
education calls forth in students the very<br />
best in what it means to be human.”<br />
Virginia Boesen, religious studies<br />
teacher and Retreat Coordinator at<br />
SHP, knew James when he first started<br />
working with youth in Houston over<br />
fifteen years ago. They first met working<br />
at a summer retreat for high school<br />
students. They became friends and have<br />
had the pleasure of working together<br />
ever since, in Houston and now at<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>. It was through Virginia<br />
that James heard about a position at<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton over<br />
six years ago.She remembers that his<br />
gifts for working with youth were as<br />
remarkable then as they are now and<br />
that he has always been a man of great<br />
faith and integrity, not to mention<br />
he has a great sense of humor. James<br />
dressed in a variety of costumes for<br />
school events still comes to her mind-<br />
Henry VIII complete with tights is one<br />
of her personal favorites.<br />
What James hopes to accomplish<br />
in his role as Principal is that when<br />
students leave school they know that<br />
God loves them. He also hopes that<br />
they will have a new respect for what<br />
it means to be Catholic and to think<br />
critically about how the church can be a<br />
part of their adult lives. Each day James<br />
reminds himself to try and see God in<br />
each one of his students.<br />
James earned his BA in Theology from Saint<br />
Mary’s University and his MEd in Educational<br />
Psychology from the University of Houston.<br />
He is currently pursuing his doctorate in<br />
Educational Leadersip at the University of<br />
San Francisco (USF). The date he is looking<br />
forward to most is the completion of this<br />
program in May 2009.<br />
(Continued from pg. 17)<br />
so that the customers can see what<br />
the little seedling they take home will<br />
look like as a mature plant. The path<br />
leads you through a Redwood grove<br />
with a natural pond, past wild rose<br />
bushes, and native Aspen, Oak, and<br />
Buckeye trees. Pass a field of springflowering<br />
wildflowers where the scent<br />
of sage fills the air, and a year-round<br />
stream babbles in the distance and<br />
the only other sound is from acorns<br />
falling from trees. Kathy likes to feel<br />
enveloped by nature and enjoy her<br />
surroundings, and it seems she found<br />
the perfect place for her.<br />
She remembers her time at <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> fondly, especially the beauty of<br />
the campus. She found “beauty of the<br />
campus to be inspiring and enjoyed<br />
the oak trees and being outside with<br />
the birds.” She describes <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
as a “cocoon of nature in the middle<br />
of civilization” and her life out in the<br />
country today aptly reflects that same<br />
idea.<br />
Her ties to the campus are still<br />
strong. Kathy is quick to point out<br />
the picture of Mater behind the<br />
desk in the gift shop, she has regular<br />
visits from Sister Nancy Lassotovitch<br />
(SHP ’45, Lone Mountain ’49, and<br />
former SHP teacher), and she has<br />
also donated plants to the nuns at<br />
Oakwood. It is apparent that the<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> culture and the teachings<br />
of Mater have made an impact in her<br />
life.<br />
Metal work and garden art, much<br />
of which Kathy has made herself,<br />
appear throughout the grounds.<br />
Big signs with quotes hint at her<br />
personality. A large sign near the<br />
gift shop displays a Hindu poem by<br />
Rabindranath Tagore. It reads: “I slept<br />
and dreamed that life was joy. I awoke<br />
and saw that life was duty. I acted<br />
and behold: duty was joy.”<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 19
Class Notes<br />
Stay Connected!<br />
Submit class notes to the Alumni<br />
office by contacting<br />
Alumni@shschools.org or<br />
(650) 454-8394.<br />
1930s<br />
Patricia Malone Rardin (SHE ’33,<br />
SHP ’37) loves living in retirement<br />
in St. Helena. Patricia has many<br />
wonderful memories of the school and<br />
of her classmate Sister Yvonne Pometti.<br />
She says that “in 1931 there were only<br />
30 students in our school and everyone<br />
knew each other very well. It was like<br />
a family.” She occasionally sees Mary<br />
Strub Crowe (SHP ’35) who lives in<br />
San Marino, California.<br />
1940s<br />
Daphne Dibble Greene (SHE ’44,<br />
SHP ’48) has wonderful memories<br />
of the years living in the Main<br />
Building. She remembers fondly<br />
her role as “Petite Marie” during a<br />
special Procession on the Feast of<br />
Mater celebrations. She remembers<br />
the nuns really “going all out” on the<br />
celebrations. “All the students from<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Elementary, Middle<br />
school and High School carried rose<br />
petals and marched up and down the<br />
hall.” Daphne had lunch recently<br />
Class of 1957 gather at the Main Building<br />
for their 50th Reunion.<br />
with Sister Helen Costello and they<br />
had fun sharing many memories.<br />
1950s<br />
Peter Kramer (SJSH ’53) spoke to<br />
us from his home in Cupertino and<br />
has wonderful memories of his short<br />
time at St. Joseph’s. He still sees Mike<br />
Demeter (SJSH ’53) and others at<br />
reunions. He is so thankful for his<br />
education and the chance to attend<br />
Bellarmine with all the boys from his<br />
St. Joseph’s class. He really enjoyed<br />
Santa Clara University too! He is busy<br />
enjoying his grandchildren now.<br />
Francia Jackson Ala (SHP ’54) wrote<br />
from Guatemala where she is the<br />
International Coordinator and Program<br />
Director for Los Cimientos Alliance.<br />
The Alliance is working to improve the<br />
lives of Mayan youth through education<br />
and leadership-oriented programs<br />
that focus on environmental<br />
conservation and sustainable<br />
development. You can email<br />
Francia about her work at<br />
kaslemmandala7@yahoo.com.<br />
Members of the Class of 1966 SHP with Spirit<br />
of Mater Award winner, Melissa Pritchard.<br />
Los Angeles. Think “Chinatown” meets<br />
“True Confessions.”<br />
1960s<br />
SAVE THE DATE!<br />
The class of 1966 is celebrating<br />
their 60th birthdays with a joint<br />
party on March 20.<br />
For more information:<br />
Contact Dede at<br />
demmchugh@sbcglobal.net<br />
Sr. Nancy Morris poses with the class of 1962<br />
to celebrate their 45th reunion<br />
Class of 1967 gathered to celebrate in the Main<br />
Building for their 40th reunion.<br />
Patty Burke (SHP ’57)<br />
wrote that her husband<br />
Dennis’ novel Clerical Affairs<br />
has been published. The book<br />
is an intriguing mystery set in<br />
Lorraine Podesta Johnson (SHP ’61) visited<br />
with Sr. Costello at Oakwood.<br />
20<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
Class of 1977 reunion photo.<br />
1970s<br />
Michele Moran Hillberg (SHP ’76)<br />
donated her old uniform to the<br />
Archives this fall. It was her winter<br />
uniform that she wore from 1972-1976<br />
and is displayed in the Alumni Office.<br />
The current students come by and are<br />
amazed by the official looking blazer<br />
and how short the skirts were in the<br />
1970’s! Michele is a current parent at<br />
the school where her daughter Melissa<br />
(SHP ’09) is a junior.<br />
Sharon Kugler (SHP ’77) is pictured above<br />
with her family at her daughter Emily<br />
Kugler’s wedding and includes Emily’s new<br />
husband Bill, Sharon’s husband Duane and<br />
her youngest daughter Zoe.<br />
The Class of 1977 Reunion was a<br />
great success! Marty Hayes traveled<br />
the furthest for the celebration which<br />
was chaired by Laura Daschbach<br />
Pitchford. Donna Gilboa attended the<br />
event but had to leave before the group<br />
picture was taken. Fun Fact: Lauren<br />
Grey Koenig, Valerie Dewey Soltau,<br />
Mary Miller Bohannon and Laura<br />
Daschbach Pitchford all have kids<br />
attending <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> and Lauren and<br />
Laura have kids in Connie Solari’s and<br />
Donna Gilboa’s classes! Charlotte Lee-<br />
Andersen has a fifteen-year-old son and<br />
although she is not currently working,<br />
she spends a lot of time driving the<br />
101 and 280 freeways for school,<br />
crew practice and boy scout meetings.<br />
Denise Murphy is an active California<br />
Bar member who has taken some time<br />
off to raise her three children. She is<br />
living in Saratoga and is involved in the<br />
School Board, her local Parish Council<br />
and coaches the “Odyssey of the Mind”<br />
4th and 5th grade team. The team was<br />
the California State Champions in<br />
2007. Cathy Hogan Burgner is living<br />
in Newport Beach with her husband<br />
Dan and her four children. She works<br />
as an educational consultant and is the<br />
owner and founder of “Steps Ahead<br />
College Advisment” in Newport Beach.<br />
Debbie Turner, Sharon Kugler and<br />
Sue Folger sent their best wishes to<br />
everyone even though they could not<br />
attend the reunion.<br />
1980s<br />
SJSH Class of 1982 gathered on<br />
campus after Thanksgiving to celebrate<br />
their 25th reunion. Former Principal<br />
Ann McGowan, RSCJ greeted Dan<br />
Beltramo, Matt Blauvelt, Tina<br />
Rooke Jones, Rich MacDonell, Andi<br />
Vartanian Dehne, Olivia Main Ward,<br />
Kerry Thomas Kingham, Mike Wyatt<br />
and Winston Wood. Dan Beltramo is<br />
living in San Francisco with his lovely<br />
bride Laura. His favorite memories<br />
include “playing football at recess.”<br />
He is busy with a new start-up, VIZU,<br />
an online market research company.<br />
Winston Wood was out from Chicago<br />
where he works as a budget manager<br />
for HSCB in the banking industry.<br />
He is married to Dawn and they have<br />
two children. His favorite memory<br />
was “seeing Marco and Sean in kilts<br />
for the 8th grade play.” The group was<br />
entertained thoroughly watching a<br />
video tape of their class play, Brigadoon.<br />
Rich MacDonell who played the lead<br />
was on hand for the party from his<br />
home in Bend, Oregon where he lives<br />
with his wife and two daughters. He<br />
is a physician in private practice when<br />
he is not skiing, biking or fly fishing.<br />
His favorite memory was “when my<br />
sister Suzanne came to St. Joseph’s and<br />
became my religion teacher, and when<br />
I threw paper in Madame Ra’s class and<br />
finally confessed to it.” Olivia Main<br />
Have you named<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
in your will or trust<br />
You can leave a lasting legacy to<br />
benefit future SHS students by naming<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> as a beneficiary<br />
in any of your estate planning.<br />
Whether it be in your will, a charitable<br />
trust, or life insurance policy, your<br />
legacy gift from your estate can help<br />
make a promise that <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
will always be here.<br />
If you already have named<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> as a beneficiary<br />
in any of your estate planning,<br />
please let us know, so that we<br />
can recognize your giving in the<br />
Tower Circle Society<br />
For more information, contact M’Lis<br />
Berry, Director of Development, at (650)<br />
473-4002 or mberry@shschools.org.<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 21
Class Notes<br />
“Because I received a powerful<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education, I choose to<br />
give to the Annual Fund each year<br />
with the hope that an incredibly<br />
deserving faculty member or<br />
student will be on campus today<br />
because of that gift. It may not be<br />
a big gift, but every gift ensures the<br />
healthy future of our school.”<br />
—Peter Coleman SHP ’88<br />
Have you sent your gift yet<br />
Ward is now the Senior Manager of<br />
Finance & Operations at International<br />
Process Solutions, located in San Carlos,<br />
CA. The company provides equipment<br />
focused GMP support for the biotech,<br />
pharmaceutical and medical device<br />
industries. The services include on-site<br />
calibration, maintenance, document<br />
generation and validation. Her brother,<br />
Thomas Main (who attended St.<br />
Joseph’s ’78) is President and one of<br />
the founders of the company. Olivia<br />
remembers that she “loved being in first<br />
grade and having an eighth grade buddy<br />
that you could sit with during the<br />
novena. Novena time was always very<br />
Members of the class of 1982, Ellen Glockner<br />
Eder, Becky Draeger Peters, Karen Lee<br />
Eskelsen and Kelley Fertal Hazelman,<br />
enjoying their 25th reunion.<br />
Above: Kelly Stokes Allegretti<br />
and Legia Rillos Oswald at<br />
the SHP Class of 1982 reunion.<br />
Right: SHP Class of 1982<br />
special because we would have guest<br />
speakers and we would learn lessons<br />
about giving.” Olivia lives locally with<br />
her five year old daughter and works for<br />
her brother’s engineering company. Paul<br />
Wythes could not join the reunion but<br />
sent this note: “I left St. Josephs after the<br />
6th grade for Menlo. I went to college<br />
at Bucknell University and have been<br />
living mostly in San Francisco since<br />
then. I got married to Mai Mai Tsai in<br />
2003. We have two kids – Alexandra<br />
who is 3 years old and Thomas who<br />
just turned 8 months old. We’re living<br />
in the Marina in San Francisco and<br />
love it. I’ve been working at Barclays<br />
Global Investors for the past 2.5 years.<br />
Although I didn’t stay at St. Josephs<br />
through the 8th grade, I still have great<br />
memories of Mrs. Ziebron introducing<br />
us to Lord of the Rings, track meets down<br />
in San Jose, Mrs. Evans’ science class,<br />
detention in the library and having fun<br />
running around with everyone from our<br />
class.” Dominique Bissell Skandalakis<br />
or “Nicky,” as we knew her, moved to<br />
Greece two years ago and lives on the<br />
island of Crete. She is in the midst of<br />
opening her own chocolate shop, which<br />
should be up and running by end of<br />
September 2007. She is married and<br />
has a son. David Dowley writes that<br />
he is married to Molly and they have<br />
Jennifer Barrick Clerico (SJSH ’82) with<br />
husband Larry and youngest son Anthony.<br />
a daughter named Ella. He says that if<br />
anyone finds themselves visiting the<br />
Washington, DC area, he would love to<br />
catch up with them. Jennifer Barrick<br />
Clerico writes that she has a husband<br />
(Larry), a son named Anthony, and<br />
two daughters—Olivia and Isabella.<br />
She is still living in St. Louis, Missouri.<br />
Matthew Fry (SJSH ’82) with wife Caitlyn<br />
and their kids.<br />
22<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
The Changing Face of<br />
the Alumni Board<br />
by Leana Giannini (SHP ’75)<br />
Alumni Board President<br />
The <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong> Alumni Board of today has a<br />
much different face then a few years ago. We invite you to<br />
take a another look at who we are and what we do.<br />
The SHS Alumni Board was first established in the 70’s,<br />
and currently has 32 board members representing the classes<br />
of 1962 through 2003. The Board continues to plan reunions<br />
and traditional events, but the range of events have evolved<br />
into a richer, deeper alumni program. These events are geared<br />
to encourage our diverse alumni to remain an integral part<br />
of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> community and remain engaged in the<br />
educational mission. When our alumni return to campus and<br />
we have a chance to see SHS through their eyes, it is always<br />
interesting that although much on our <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> campus<br />
has changed, so much remains the same.<br />
Our Alumni Board is committed to its mission to<br />
represent over 5,000 alumni from both St. Joseph’s and<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep (formerly Convent of the <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
<strong>Heart</strong> Menlo). From organizing<br />
“friend-raising events” such as<br />
movie premiers, Spirit of Mater<br />
celebrations, Gingerbread<br />
House decorating, Young<br />
Alumni sports competitions<br />
and the Christmas Party, to<br />
“fundraising activities” that<br />
support our school for the next<br />
generation, the board of today<br />
is very vital.<br />
This year in addition to<br />
the Young Alumni games, the<br />
Spirit of Mater Alumni Awards,<br />
Leana Giannini (SHP ’75)<br />
Alumni Board President<br />
Reunions, and Young Alumni Christmas Party, we will launch<br />
a new on-line community to keep our alumni in touch. Know<br />
that your board will continue to find interesting events to<br />
connect you back to your <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> community. If you<br />
would like to get involved, please consider becoming a class<br />
representative (or agent) or volunteering for a committee that<br />
supports alumni events.<br />
Please join us at our next alumni board meeting on<br />
March 27, <strong>2008</strong> at 6:30 p.m. in the Otto Library.<br />
Mathew Fry has moved to Singapore<br />
and wrote that “My wife Caitlin<br />
(whom I met in college at Cornell) and<br />
I have three children, Alison, Eliza, and<br />
Walter. Since graduating from business<br />
school at UC Berkeley in 1999, I have<br />
worked for Starwood Hotels & Resorts<br />
in acquisitions and development. We<br />
moved to Singapore about 3 1/2 years<br />
ago with Starwood from Stamford, CT<br />
where we were for five years and I now<br />
oversee development for Starwood’s<br />
luxury brands (W and St. Regis) for<br />
all of Asia Pacific. Life in Singapore<br />
has been great…Well, that’s about<br />
it. I wish I could be there. I still have<br />
so many great memories from St.<br />
Joseph’s. It was a pretty idyllic place to<br />
go to school.” Mike Wyatt is living in<br />
Atherton, one block from St. Joe’s. He<br />
has been married to Gretchen (they<br />
met at Stanford) for 13 years and have<br />
three kids–two boys Andrew (8) and<br />
Morgan (5), and daughter Amy (3). He<br />
has been working at Morgan Stanley<br />
for 13 years, and is now responsible for<br />
a group advising technology companies<br />
on Mergers & Acquisitions. Tina<br />
Rooke Jones is living in Menlo Park<br />
David Galaraza SJSH ‘82 with his daughter<br />
at Oakwood.<br />
with her husband, Warren, and their<br />
two children, Austin and Sophia. She is<br />
the Corporate Vice President of Global<br />
Human Resources at Cadence Design<br />
Systems, Inc. Christine Kendrick lives<br />
in San Francisco and is an attorney for<br />
Morgan Stanley.<br />
Sandra Lorenz Frojelin (SHP ’85)<br />
has been a registered nurse for 11<br />
years and currently is working at<br />
Sequoia Hosiptal in the Emergency<br />
Department, as well as a nursing skills<br />
and clinical instructor for the SFSU<br />
School of Nursing. She has been married<br />
for 12 years and has two sons, ages 6<br />
and 3.<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 23
Class Notes<br />
Christopher MacDonald’s (SHP ’89)<br />
children.<br />
1990s<br />
Mark C. Reynolds<br />
(SJSH ’88, SHP<br />
’92) wrote that<br />
his son, Cameron<br />
Daehn Reynolds,<br />
was born on May<br />
31 and shares the<br />
same birthday as his mother, Nikki.<br />
He joins his big sister, Caitlynn, in<br />
the Reynolds household, living in San<br />
Carlos, CA.<br />
Pilar Bardina Frank (SHP ’92) is<br />
living in Woodside with her husband<br />
Frank and her four-year-old daughter<br />
Catherine. She is in private practice as<br />
an educational specialist and she works<br />
with children with mild to moderate<br />
special needs.<br />
Chris Hatton (SHP ’93) and his<br />
wife Tera Palmer, own and operate<br />
the Salmon River Outpost (www.<br />
salmonriveroutpost.com) in Somes<br />
Bar, a small general store in Northern<br />
California. He was recently elected<br />
to the board of directors of the Mid-<br />
Klamath Watershed Council (www.<br />
mkwc.org), and envisions a dam-free<br />
Klamath river before he is too old to go<br />
fishing.<br />
Christos Melas (SJSH ’89) married<br />
Nicole Nyhan in June 2007. The<br />
ceremony was at the Greek Orthodox<br />
Church in Belmont with the reception<br />
at Mountain Terrace in Woodside.<br />
Chris is a realtor working for Coldwell<br />
Banker in San Carlos and the couple<br />
lives in Redwood City with their two<br />
puppies.<br />
Chris Melas (SJSH ’89) with his bride.<br />
Ian Kemmer (SHP ’94) and his<br />
wife Elisa welcomed their first baby,<br />
Brandon, in September 2007.<br />
Rebecca Nicosia Swain (SHP<br />
’94) married James Edward Swain<br />
on October 12, 2006 and is living<br />
in Mountain View, CA. They are<br />
expecting their first child in early <strong>2008</strong>.<br />
Jennifer Feyling (SJSH ’91, SHP<br />
’95) recently opened a women’s shoe<br />
boutique in San Carlos, called Souliers.<br />
She is also working for North American<br />
Title Company as an account manager.<br />
Bobby Yen (SJSH ’92) with his niece.<br />
Bobby Yen (SJSH ’92) is currently a<br />
Video Game Programmer at Just Games<br />
Interactive Entertaining, where he just<br />
completed work on Mortal Kombat<br />
Armageddon for the Nintendo Wii. He<br />
wrote to tell us that he served in Iraq<br />
from November 2003 to November<br />
2004 as a Broadcast Journalist for the<br />
US Army in the Mosul and Baghdad<br />
regions. He currently works with<br />
IAVA, a non-profit organization that is<br />
a veterans’ health care advocate. Bobby<br />
lives in West Hollywood and also<br />
appeared on the “Steve-o Show” on the<br />
USA Network in October.<br />
Evan Aydelott (SHP ’96) is working<br />
at Yahoo! in San Francisco. He often<br />
gets together with SHP friends in the<br />
Marina.<br />
Michelle Chadoir Klosterman (SHP<br />
’96) recently moved back to the Bay<br />
Area with her husband. They are living<br />
in San Francisco and she is working at<br />
UCSF Children’s Hospital.<br />
Phillip Maskiewicz (SHP ’96)<br />
completed a degree in Molecular<br />
Biology at Santa Clara in the summer<br />
of 2006. He is currently working<br />
for Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. as a<br />
Development office in the Condo<br />
Development in San Francisco.<br />
24<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
Sean Day (SHP ’97) is currently a<br />
producer at FSN Bay Area in San<br />
Francisco and helped organize the class<br />
of 1997 ten year reunion.<br />
Maria Ferrari (SJSH ’93, SHP ’97)<br />
is currently writing for the CBS series<br />
“How I Met Your Mother,” which<br />
stars Neil Patrick Harris and Alyson<br />
Hannigan.<br />
Catherine Ham (SJSH ’93, SHP<br />
’97) was married to Adam Houck in<br />
2006 and they live with their puppy in<br />
Richmond, Virginia. Catherine is now<br />
working in real estate after several years<br />
in the advertising agency business.<br />
Brian and Mary Simonson Heffernan (SHP<br />
‘96) with their daughter Francie.<br />
Megan Heckman (SHP ’97) is<br />
working as a nanny in Los Altos for<br />
three lovely boys.<br />
Kyleanne Hunter (SHP ’97) is a Captain<br />
in the United States Marine Corps. She just<br />
returned from Operation Iraqi Freedom<br />
as a pilot in the AH-1W Super Cobra<br />
gunship. In February she will leave for<br />
Afghanistan to continue offensive combat<br />
operations as a close air support pilot.<br />
Kelley Laudermilch (SJSH ’95, SHP ’99) and Zach Holderman (SHP ’98) united several<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> alumni at their wedding, including: (from left) 3rd Niko Castaillac (SHP<br />
’98),4th Dane Holderman (SHP ’00), 5th Eric James (SHP ’98), 6th Greg Laudermilch (SJSH<br />
’91), 7th Job Gregory (SHP ’98), 2nd from right - Suzi Le Beau (SHP ’99).<br />
Jenny Pope (SHP ’97) is working as a<br />
Land Use Consultant.<br />
Jeremy Clark (SHP ’97) became<br />
engaged in December to Stephanie<br />
Lewerenz.<br />
Anna-Marie Filippi (SJSH ’93, SHP<br />
’97) was inducted into the YWCA<br />
(Young Women’s Christian Association)<br />
of New York City, Academy of<br />
Women Leaders. Filippi is a sales<br />
manager within Carrier’s National<br />
and Strategic Accounts group and is<br />
based in Manhattan. Filippi is active<br />
in several philanthropic organizations<br />
including the Junior League, where<br />
she participated in College Track,<br />
a program to aid disadvantaged<br />
minority students with the college<br />
application process, and Friends of<br />
Coler-Goldwater, an organization that<br />
focuses on quadriplegic and respiratordependent<br />
patients.<br />
Lesley Scott Pollom (SJSH ’93, SHP<br />
’97) has been married to Mike Pollom<br />
for three happy years. She is working<br />
for Tim Kennedy Design as an Interior<br />
Designer in San Francisco. They live in<br />
Redwood City and are expecting their<br />
first child in April.<br />
Julia Williamson Gnegel (SHP ’97)<br />
married Steffen Gnegel in Squaw<br />
Valley, Tahoe on June 23, 2007. She<br />
is teaching kindergarten in Sunnyvale,<br />
and living in Palo Alto. She is happy<br />
to be back on the Peninsula after many<br />
years abroad.<br />
Mary Morey (SJSH ’95) is working at<br />
Stanford Hospital in the surgery department<br />
as part of her training to become a<br />
Physician’s Assistant. She recently joined the<br />
Alumni Board.<br />
Julie Williamson Gnegal (SHP ’97) with her<br />
new husband.<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 25
Class Notes<br />
Molly Keil (SJSH ’95, SHP ’99) with her wedding<br />
party from left to right: Erica Andrews (SHP<br />
’98), Christina McNamee (SHP ’99), Molly,<br />
Jerylyn Andrews (SHP ’01), Julien Guillot (SHP<br />
’00), Liam Twomey (SHP ’00).<br />
Matthew Keck (SJSH ’95, SHP ’99)<br />
came back to campus and spoke at<br />
St Joseph’s to the 7th and 8th grade<br />
students about Body Image and the<br />
Media on December 10, in the Foley<br />
Center for Life Skills. Matt is a Marriage<br />
and Family Therapist Intern, who has a<br />
private practice in San Mateo. He has<br />
a Master’s degree in Psychology and<br />
specializes in eating disorders, sports<br />
psychology and affluence psychology.<br />
Molly Keil (SJSH ’95, SHP ’99)<br />
married Ian Whiteman on January<br />
27, 2007 at Ralston Hall in Belmont.<br />
Her brother, Matt (SHP ’94) walked<br />
her down the aisle. Molly works as a<br />
Project Manager at VMware and lives in<br />
Belmont.<br />
Maria-Nicole Lujan (SJSH ’95, SHP<br />
’99) was married in April to Jake<br />
Lehmkuhl, her USC college sweetheart.<br />
They are living in Corona del Mar where<br />
Maria-Nicole is working as a public<br />
relations specialist.<br />
Taress Reyering (SHP ’99) has been<br />
enrolled in a Master’s Program under<br />
the auspices of UNC with coursework<br />
at Sciences Po in Paris and received<br />
a degree in Contemporary European<br />
Studies this Spring. She currently works<br />
at Stanford University as a Project<br />
Coordinator in the Development of<br />
Project Management.<br />
ALUMNI GAMES 2007<br />
On November 23, over 150 alumni and families gathered at SHS to<br />
participate in the annual Alumni Games. Water Polo, as it always is<br />
each year, was a huge success, boasting the highest attendance in both<br />
players and spectators. Both the Girls and Boys Varsity teams were<br />
in the water, competing against the alumni. It was quite a match to<br />
watch the CCS Champions of 2001 take on the CCS Champions of<br />
2007.<br />
Soccer players from prior years<br />
met with former coach, Len Renery<br />
for some fun on the field. Spanning<br />
the biggest age range were those<br />
who participated in basketball with<br />
alumni from 1995 to 2007.<br />
Top right: Former soccer players at SHS take a trip down memory<br />
lane looking at old photos with fomer Coach Len Renery. Above:<br />
Ian Bausback (SHP ’05), who plays water polo at UCSD, takes on<br />
a member of this year’s SHP team. Right: CCS Champions from<br />
2001 take on the CCS champions from 2007.<br />
26<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
Karla Gurley (SHP ’00) in South Africa.<br />
2000s<br />
Jennifer E. Bond (SHP ’00) graduated<br />
from Johns Hopkins School of Nursing<br />
and is working as a Registered Nurse<br />
at the University of Virginia Children’s<br />
Hospital<br />
Joe Brady (SHP ’00) graduated from<br />
Santa Clara University where he<br />
studied Religion and Theater.<br />
Karla Gurley (SHP ’00) spent time<br />
this summer in South Africa on a<br />
Worship Experience where she visited<br />
Cape Town and Johannesburg. She<br />
spent time in Juvenile Detention<br />
Centers, Children’s Hospitals, schools,<br />
youth ministry services. She spent<br />
considerable time in a foster home,<br />
called Villa of Hope, with orphaned<br />
and abused children, as well as those<br />
who have contracted the HIV/AIDS<br />
virus. She presented on the topics of<br />
abstinence and drug abuse, as well as<br />
tutored and helped in every way at the<br />
Villa of Hope.<br />
Gavin Heslet (SHP ’00) graduated<br />
from USC film School in 2004. He<br />
is a production Designer for the Sci<br />
Fi channel and is starting his own<br />
production company with a college<br />
roommate. He currently lives in LA.<br />
Joshua Jackson (SHP ’00) has recently<br />
joined the ad sales staff at MTV<br />
Networks in Santa Monica, and loves<br />
living by the ocean in Hermosa Beach.<br />
Look him up next time you’re in<br />
southern California; he’s always happy<br />
to get together with SHP friends.<br />
Jeremy Law (SHP ’00) is earning a<br />
PhD in Applied Condensed Matter<br />
Physics at UCSD.<br />
Julia Riechert (SHP ’00) graduated<br />
from UC Hastings law school and<br />
passed the California Bar Exam in<br />
November 2007. She is working at<br />
Orrick in the Employment Group.<br />
Liam Twomey (SHP ’00) married Julie<br />
Dater and recently graduated from a<br />
California Police Academy. The couple<br />
are now living in Boise, ID. Liam is the<br />
head of manufacturing and shipping at<br />
Gemini Technologies (www.gemtech.<br />
com). If any alumni are in the area,<br />
send an e-mail tbtwomey@msn.com<br />
and he will show you around.<br />
Rebecca Zigterman (SJSH ’96, SHP<br />
’00) is working for Stanford University<br />
as a lawyer in the Student Housing<br />
department.<br />
Bryan Hermannsson (SHP ’01) works at<br />
UCSF in the Radiology Department.<br />
Nicole Kaukas (SHP ’01) is in her<br />
last year at USD Law School and is<br />
interning with the San Diego District<br />
Attorney’s office.<br />
Camille Konopnicki (SJSH ’97, SHP<br />
’01) is a graduate student in the<br />
Chemistry Department at UCSD. This<br />
fall she attended her first conference in<br />
North Carolina for the Superfund Basic<br />
Research Program. She presented a<br />
poster paper on using a human reporter<br />
gene system assay to test complex<br />
environmental toxicant mixtures along<br />
the U.S.-Mexico border.<br />
Christina Belen (SHP ’02) graduated<br />
form University of the Pacific with a BS<br />
in Biology and then from Golden Gate<br />
University with an MBA.<br />
Karen Casperson (SHP ’02) studied<br />
Philosophy and Psychology at UC<br />
Santa Cruz and graduated with a B.S.<br />
She plans on traveling in <strong>2008</strong>.<br />
If you order just two fewer<br />
Financial aid for deserving students,<br />
lattes a month or twenty-<br />
Retaining and recruiting top faculty,<br />
four fewer a year, you could<br />
Technology advancement, Books,<br />
help fill the gap in the yearly<br />
Subscriptions to periodicals, Fieldtrips,<br />
operating budget of <strong>Sacred</strong><br />
Bulb-a-thon, Campus security, Aquatics<br />
<strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>.<br />
No big deal, right<br />
Have you sent your gift to<br />
the Annual Fund yet<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 27
Class Notes<br />
Julia Hack-Davie (SHP ’02) is working<br />
at Village Enterprise, a microfinance and<br />
non-profit outfit in San Carlos, where<br />
she concentrates on microfinance and<br />
development with an East African focus.<br />
She enjoys traveling to Tanzania in<br />
Uganda to help the native populations.<br />
Jeffrey Jackson (SHP ’02) graduated<br />
from Occidental College in May 2006<br />
with a B.A. in Diplomacy and World<br />
Affairs. In the fall of 2007 he attended<br />
“Oxy at the UN”, where he interned at<br />
the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.<br />
He is now in Canberra, Australia at the<br />
Australian National University working<br />
towards a Master’s in International<br />
Relations and continuing his research of<br />
the US-Australian relationship.<br />
Kate Lumsden (SHP ’02) is a yoga<br />
instructor in San Francisco.<br />
Allison Riechert (SHP ’02) is in her<br />
second year at UC Hastings Law School<br />
in San Francisco. She will be interning<br />
at Orrick in Menlo Park this summer<br />
and upon graduation, she hopes to<br />
practice employment law.<br />
Bjorn Vaerst (SHP ’02) is living in<br />
Sweden and working as a day trader and<br />
managing a night club.<br />
All from the class of 2003, Bennett<br />
Englehardt, Melissa Miranda, and Blair<br />
Adornato at the Young Alum Holiday Party.<br />
Blair Adornato (SHP ’03) will teach<br />
English in Honduras beginning in<br />
January <strong>2008</strong>.<br />
Mimi Bartel (SJSH ’99, SHP ’03)<br />
earned a BA in Art from Reed College<br />
in May 2007, with a thesis entitled:<br />
“The 1960’s American Body through<br />
Sculptural Movement and Static Dance:<br />
The Work of George Segal, Allan<br />
Kaprow, and Yvonne Rainer.”<br />
Meghan Beattie (SHP ’03) writes us from<br />
Dallas, Texas to say she graduated this year<br />
from Southern Methodist University in<br />
Dallas, TX with a BA for dual majors in<br />
Corporate Communications and Public<br />
Affairs and Sociology. After internships<br />
ranging from Stanford’s Cantor Museum,<br />
Samsung Wireless and Texas Instruments,<br />
she was offered a position in July at<br />
GolinHarris, a Public Relations agency.<br />
Meghan remembers her experience at<br />
SHP, “To this day I still say those were the<br />
most memorable years of my life, and to<br />
quote Mr. Dioli, SHP remains the ‘2nd<br />
Happiest Place on Earth’.”<br />
Nate Chambers (SHP ’03) is the<br />
Community Relations Manager at<br />
doostang.com in Palo Alto.<br />
Jeannie Campbell-Urban (SHP ’03)<br />
graduated Cum Laude from Princeton<br />
in June 2007 with a degree in politics<br />
and certificates in Spanish and Latin<br />
American Studies. She was a 4-year<br />
member of the swimming team and is<br />
spending a year as a paralegal for the<br />
DA’s office in New York City.<br />
Michael Frederick (SHP ’03) earned<br />
a BA in Religion from Reed College<br />
in May 2007, with a thesis titled:<br />
“Quotation Marks and the Study of<br />
Hinduism.”<br />
Bridget Geibel on her honeymoon.<br />
Alicia Kemmer (SHP ’03) is working<br />
in the Business Office at the Pacific<br />
Athletic Club while working on a degree<br />
in Art History. She is currently on the<br />
SHS Alumni Board.<br />
Brad Mead (SHP ’03) graduated from<br />
the University of Washington in May<br />
07. He is working in an advertising<br />
firm.<br />
Anthony Masia (SJSH ’99, SHP ’03)<br />
graduated from Texas Christian University<br />
and is working as a paralegal in Redwood<br />
City.<br />
Aziz Sayigh (SHP ’03) graduated from<br />
Dartmouth College and is working in<br />
Management Consulting in Boston.<br />
Zoë Swenson-Graham (SHP ’03) graduated<br />
from USC in May and is moving to London<br />
in <strong>2008</strong> to pursue theater.<br />
Liz Wood (SHP ’03) graduated from<br />
UC Berkeley and is doing freelance<br />
web design while applying to graduate<br />
schools.<br />
Taryn Zigterman (SJSH ’99, SHP ’03)<br />
graduated form UCSB where she studied<br />
Architecture and Art History and is now<br />
working on a graduate degree at UCLA<br />
in Interior Design.<br />
28<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
Dan Brady (SHP ’04) will graduate<br />
from Bowden University in the spring<br />
of <strong>2008</strong> as a double major in Religion<br />
and Government. He just returned<br />
from Burma, where he was interning in<br />
the political office of the U.S. Embassy.<br />
Christine Geibel (SHP ’04) graduated<br />
from Loyola University in Chicago in<br />
Dec 2007 with a B.S. in Anthropology<br />
and a B.A. in History.<br />
Mark Lee (SHP ’04) is a senior at<br />
UC Santa Barbara studying Computer<br />
Engineering.<br />
Andrew Moiseff (SHP ’04) is a Senior<br />
at Whitman College majoring in<br />
Geology and minoring in Religion.<br />
Emily Reagan (SHP ’04) is a senior<br />
at Rice University in Houston and<br />
loves every minute of it. She enjoys<br />
club Lacrosse, volunteering, and<br />
interviewing high school seniors as part<br />
of the admissions process. She recently<br />
saw SHP college counselor Julie Ball<br />
when she visited campus. Last year<br />
Emily studied abroad at the University<br />
of Bristol in England in what ended<br />
up being a fantastic year: traveling,<br />
playing rugby for the university, and<br />
learning about a new culture. Emily<br />
says, “I look back with fondness at<br />
my time at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>. I was lucky<br />
to go there; the education is fantastic.<br />
I found myself more than prepared for<br />
university.”<br />
Narsai Tailo (SJSH ’00, SHP ’04)<br />
is a senior at Santa Clara University<br />
studying finance.<br />
Katie Murphy (SHP ’05) writes to say<br />
she is a junior at F. W. Olin College of<br />
Engineering in Needham, MA (suburb<br />
of Boston). It is an innovative, specialized<br />
engineering college with only 300 students<br />
so she studies at Wellesley, Babson,<br />
Brandeis in humanities and business. She<br />
is majoring in Mechanical Engineering<br />
and also working on creative writing<br />
projects for her humanities electives. Last<br />
summer she worked with a toy inventor<br />
at a toy development company in the Bay<br />
Area, and it was great experience.<br />
Hudson Smythe (SHP ’05) is an<br />
Economics/Geography major and<br />
starting tailback at Dartmouth College.<br />
He led all running backs in rushing<br />
yards and led the team in touchdowns<br />
scored. He has his first start against<br />
Harvard on October 28, 2006, in his<br />
first year of eligibility. He credits the<br />
outstanding coaching staff at SHP for<br />
preparing him for the demands of a<br />
highly competitive football program.<br />
Edie Campbell-Urban (SHP ’06)<br />
completed her freshman year at UC<br />
Davis, played club water polo, and<br />
pledged Pi Beta Phi sorority.<br />
Kevin McFarland (SHP ’07) visited Mrs.<br />
Intersimone’s Literature in Cinema class,<br />
to share his passion for film with current<br />
students. He spent an hour discussing the<br />
cinema tics in scenes from “Paths of Glory,”<br />
“Kill Bill Vol. I,” “American Beauty,” and<br />
“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.”<br />
The students loved him and what he chose<br />
to share with them!<br />
Charlotte Meyer Dean (SJSH ’05) is a<br />
student at St. Paul’s School in New Hampshire,<br />
and is currently attending the School Year<br />
Abroad program in Viterbo, Italy. She will<br />
become immersed in the Italian language<br />
and culture but will<br />
focus her studies on<br />
Ancient History, Latin<br />
and Greek. Charlotte<br />
enjoys boarding school<br />
and is thrilled to be<br />
spending her junior<br />
year in Europe.<br />
5x5<br />
Make your mark on <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>!<br />
Your participation in the Annual Fund shows how much you<br />
value your <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education. By participating in the 5 x 5<br />
program, you join other alums who have committed to donating<br />
$5 for five consecutive years.<br />
Your gift, no matter the size, helps ensure that other students will<br />
receive the same opportunities and experiences that you did.<br />
For more information contact the Alumni Office<br />
at 650-454-8394.<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 29
Alumni Events<br />
Events<br />
Gingerbread houses become<br />
annual tradition at St. Joseph’s<br />
On December 8, alumni from <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> came<br />
together with families from St. Joseph’s to provide<br />
some Christmas cheer as a fundraiser for the Kate<br />
Basile de Blois Alumni Schlarship Fund. 150 freshly<br />
baked gingerbread houses filled Speiker Pavilion and<br />
an equal number of children and their parents busily<br />
decorated during an amazing morning. Christmas<br />
carols set the tone while the Alumni Board elves<br />
delivered buckets of icing and bowl after bowl of<br />
candy. Once the houses were decorated, they were<br />
taken home for families to enjoy.<br />
This festive annual event is now a firm tradition<br />
on both the Alumni and St. Joseph’s calendars.<br />
Watch for details in the Summer issue of <strong>Heart</strong> of<br />
the Matter for plans for Christmas <strong>2008</strong>.<br />
30<br />
H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
1 2 3<br />
1<br />
4<br />
5<br />
6<br />
Young Alums gather over the holidays<br />
On December 20, over 100 alumni from the SHP classes of<br />
1995-2003 and SJSH 1991-1999 gathered at the Old Pro in<br />
Palo Alto for the annual Young Alumni Holiday Party. A great<br />
time was had by all, where many people connected with old<br />
friends.<br />
Pictured here are: 1. Julia Riechert (SHP ’00), Julia Hack-<br />
Davie (SHP ’02), and Allison Riechert (SHP ’02); 2. Alexis<br />
Beckman (SHP ’96) with husband Ricardo Maldonado (SHP<br />
’96); 3. Nicole Kukas (SHP ’01), Bridget Geibel (SHP ’01) and<br />
Christine Geibel (SHP ’04); 4. Jackie Reiter (SJSH ’95), Amanda<br />
Carson (SJSH ’95). Jennifer Feyling (SJSH ’91, SHP ’95) and<br />
Kelly Miller (SHP ’96); 5. Jeremy Clark (SHP ’97), his fiancée<br />
Stephanie Lewenrz, and Jason Varga (SJSH ’91, SHP ’95):<br />
6. Melissa Miranda (SHP ’03) Libby Hook (SHP ’03), Jenny<br />
Miller (SJSH ’99, SHP ’03), and Bennett Engelhardt (SHP ’03);<br />
7. Jennifer Judson (SHP ’01), Laurie Cronin (SJSH ’97, SHP<br />
’01), Claire Pomeroy (SJSH ’97, SHP ’01), Alexandra Castaillac<br />
(SHP ’01), and Hannah Scherzer (SHP ’01).<br />
7<br />
7<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 31
In Memoriam<br />
We ask for your prayers for the families and friends of our community who have passed away.<br />
St. Joseph’s Alumni<br />
Jim Rapley (SJSH ’18) died on Aug 31, 2007 at the age of<br />
105. A third generation rancher, he started his first herd of<br />
cattle on Skyline when he was 15. In the 1930’s he purchased<br />
the family ranch from his parents and ran cattle on Langley<br />
Hill for 55 years. He liked to share his stories of the area, from<br />
run-ins with grizzly bears in La Honda, the 1906 earthquake,<br />
and unmarked graves, to driving stagecoaches and herding<br />
cattle. In 2000 his house burned down, causing him to move<br />
into a retirement home in Redwood City. He is survived by<br />
his wife, Anne, and one sister, Pauline Murphy (SJSH ’27).<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep Alumni<br />
Alice Marie “Sis” Whelan Lussier (SHP ’42) died on<br />
December 3, 2007 at her home in Menlo Park. She was born<br />
into a family of California pioneers and spent her summers<br />
in Yosemite. She remembered Theodore Roosevelt, John<br />
Muir, and Howard Taft visiting her grandparents during her<br />
summer visits. She was also a busy volunteer in the Menlo<br />
Park area and had strong ties to the Peninsula Volunteers,<br />
Woodside Auxiliary, Oakwood Auxiliary, and the Children<br />
of Mary. She was a loving mother and wife and is survived<br />
by five of her six children, 18 grandchildren and 13 greatgrandchildren.<br />
She will be missed by several members of our<br />
community including her brothers Dr. Harry Whelan (SJSH<br />
’35), Joseph Whelan (SJSH ’40), her daughter Christine Dyer<br />
(SJSH faculty and SHE ’63, SHP ’67), her grandchildren<br />
Alison (SHP ’01) and David Dyer (SJSH ’89).<br />
Rebecca “Becky” D. Rimbach (SHP ’59) died on April 6,<br />
2007. Becky earned a Masters and a PhD from Stanford and<br />
San Jose State University. Her expertise in psychology involved<br />
individual and group counseling as well as hypnotherapy and<br />
crisis intervention. She is remembered for her compassion and<br />
support of others.<br />
Leslie Malloy Price (SHP ’66) died unexpectedly on August<br />
24, 2007 while on vacation in Rome with her husband. After<br />
boarding at <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>, Leslie went to CSU, Sacramento<br />
and received a teaching credential from UC Davis. While at<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong>, she formed many close friendships and was a<br />
gifted athlete. Known for her wisdom and sense of humor, her<br />
friends will miss her for her deep compassion for others.<br />
Annie Regan Townsend (SHP ’74) died suddenly in<br />
January in Grand Junction, Colorado. The youngest of<br />
seven children, Annie will be missed by her husband Eric,<br />
her children Ryan and Kate, her mother Naomi Regan, her<br />
siblings Bill (SJSH ’53) and John Regan (SJSH ’54), Muffy<br />
Regan Bui (SJSH ’67), Janet Regan Difu (SJSH ’64), and her<br />
two grandchildren and four step-grandchildren. She had a<br />
passion for teaching and in addition to home schooling her<br />
children, she taught learning disabled children for many years.<br />
Her classmates remember that Annie was quick to praise<br />
and encourage others. She had a great sense of humor, was<br />
friendly, outgoing and loved to laugh.<br />
Janie Thompson Kirimichiu (SHP ’63) passed away in July<br />
2007 after suffering a massive heart attack. She was living in<br />
Culver City, Florida at the time of her death. A mother of<br />
three, she is survived by her husband George.<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Former Staff<br />
Edward J. Benedict died June 27, 2007. He served as<br />
Principal of St. Joseph’s from 1971-76. A Connecticut native,<br />
he loved the outdoors as well as the cultural events that San<br />
Francisco had to offer. He is survived by his wife Yvonne. (See<br />
photo p.33)<br />
John J. Ribera died on September 25, 2007. He served SHS<br />
for seven years as the business manager and was instrumental<br />
in designing and installing the original SJSH track and field<br />
facility built in the 70s. He is remembered by coworkers as a<br />
kind and patient man. He is survived by his wife of 54 years,<br />
Shirley, and sons, Ernest, James, William, and John Ribera;<br />
daughters, Theresa M. Belliardo, Carol Ann Nordine, Marilyn<br />
Cacho and Nancy Saraiva and 21 grandchildren.<br />
Current <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Community<br />
For the family of Jane Walsh, (wife of Bill Walsh), mother<br />
of Tara Walsh Arnold (SJSH ’83, SHP ’87) and Suzi<br />
Walsh Tinsley (SJSH ’79), grandmother of Patrick<br />
(SJSH ’13), Riley (SJSH ’15), Kevin (SJSH ’17),<br />
Brian (SJSH ’19), Megan (SJSH ’21), Sean, and Molly<br />
Tinsley.<br />
For the family of Stephen Vidovich, uncle to Gay Abuel-<br />
Saud (SHP ’75), great uncle to Sonia, Sophia, Sonja, Sarah,<br />
and Zach Abuel-Saud.<br />
For the family of William Nicholson, father-in-law to<br />
Cindra Nicholson (SHP ’72) and grandfather to Kelly<br />
(SJSH ’02, SHP ’06) and Stephanie Nicholson (SJSH<br />
’05, SHP ’09)<br />
For the family of Holly McCrary, wife of Karl McCrary,<br />
SJSH faculty member.<br />
For the family of John Uebel, brother to Barbara<br />
Intersimone, SHP faculty member.<br />
Oakwood Community<br />
Susan Campbell R.S.C.J., longtime eductor at Convent of<br />
the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Broadway.<br />
32 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8
Stella Dyer is remembered<br />
for her long term service<br />
Before multitasking was a word in the lexicon, Stella Dyer<br />
defined it for St. Joseph’s. She was secretary to the principal, front<br />
office receptionist, late slip writer, school nurse, and faculty party<br />
organizer from 1961 until her retirement in 1991. After taking the<br />
job of secretary for Sr. Virginia McCarthy in 1961, she became the<br />
“face” of St. Joseph’s and set the tone for the school along with the<br />
principals she served.<br />
Stella made St. Joseph’s a welcoming home for the faculty, staff<br />
,and children each day. She is remembered as being a person that<br />
was always gracious, tactful and quick-witted. She had a lovely<br />
English accent and welcomed everyone to the office. She was<br />
particularly kind to the students who did not feel well. Whenever<br />
there was a problem, Stella in her wise way, would solve whatever it<br />
was so that the principal could continue to work undisturbed.<br />
While Mrs. Dyer served under five Principals (Sr. Virginia<br />
McCarthy, Sr. Mary Helen Pirsch, Sr. Kathleen Vizzard, Fr. Ed<br />
Benedict and Sr. Ann McGowan), her great relationship and long<br />
standing tenure under Sr. McGowan is still remembered today.<br />
Sr. McGowan says, “She made us all better principals with her<br />
guidance, wisdom and support. She was a treasure because she was<br />
a person of great discretion and could be trusted in all matters. I<br />
remember on particularly difficult days, she would open her home<br />
after school to faculty members to come over and wind down. She<br />
was like a mother to everyone and her home was like our second<br />
home.”<br />
n September 2007, the St. Joseph’s community was saddened by<br />
the sudden death of friend and former principal John O. Miller.<br />
SJSH Principal Mike Murphy shared his memories of working with<br />
John:<br />
“I had the privilege of working with John Miller for seven years<br />
at St. Joseph’s. He was both a great friend and a wonderful mentor.<br />
John taught me many things, but the most important thing he<br />
showed me is that it’s the people in our lives who give real meaning<br />
to everything we do. As a teacher and coach, he cared deeply<br />
and passionately about each and every one of the young people<br />
whose lives he touched. As principal, he showed all of us the true<br />
meaning of leadership, empathy, kindness, compassion. Finally, as<br />
a friend, he was funny, caring, loyal and someone that you could<br />
always count on. Those of us fortunate enough to know John were<br />
changed by him, made better by him.<br />
John loved the Red Sox, hated the Yankees, and was never<br />
shy in expressing his opinions about, well, anything. Yet John<br />
Stella Dyer is pictured above with the principals she served with:<br />
Ed Benedict, Mary Helen Pirsch, Stella, Sr. Ann McGowan, and Sr.<br />
Virginia McCarthy.<br />
Stella and her husband Cyril raised four children: Hilary, Janet,<br />
Susan and Nicholas, who all attended St. Joseph’s. Her daughters<br />
went on to attend <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> Prep. As a matter of fact, Stella<br />
began as a volunteer at St. Joseph’s well before she started working<br />
for the school.<br />
Today, Janet Dyer Wildey (SJSH ’65, SHP ’69) works in the St.<br />
Joseph’s Preschool office as an Administrative Assistant and carries<br />
on her mother’s wonderful legacy at St. Joseph’s. The next time you<br />
see her, you can thank her for sharing her mother with our school<br />
for thirty wonderful years.<br />
Stella Dyer died on July 31, 2007 surrounded by her family. She was<br />
preceded in death by her husband Cyril Dyer. She is survived by her<br />
four children Janet Dyer Wildey (SJSH ’65, SHP ’69), Hilary O’Brien<br />
(SHP ’67), Susan Carey (SJSH ’65, SHP ’69), and Nicholas Dyer (SJSH<br />
’70), and grandchildren: Nicholas Carey (SJSH ’92), Andrew Carey<br />
(SJSH ’91), Julia Reid (SJSH ’85, SHP ’89), and Suzanne Wildey (SJSH<br />
’89, SHP ’93).<br />
John Owen Miller remembered as former Principal at St. Joseph’s<br />
I<br />
always did it with a grin and a laugh,<br />
never taking himself or anything else too<br />
seriously. He found an incredible joy in<br />
life and loved a good joke, especially if<br />
it was on him. Every year at St. Joe’s he<br />
hiked Half Dome with his 8th graders,<br />
but his favorite Yosemite memory was how one night he tried to<br />
scare bears away from the campsite, only to have them charge in his<br />
direction, forcing him to take refuge in his car. He couldn’t tell this<br />
story without cracking up himself and everyone around him. John<br />
was just a great guy and a wonderful man.”<br />
John O. Miller died suddenly September 11, 2007 while<br />
playing basketball. He was a former principal and coach<br />
at St. Joseph’s; he served as principal from 1993-2001. Most<br />
recently he was a coach at Woodside Priory School and taught<br />
Business Management at USF. John is survived by his children Josh<br />
(SJSH ’03) and Jenny Miller (SJSH ’99, SHP ’03) and his partner Pamela<br />
Hayes (Director of <strong>Schools</strong> of the <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> San Francisco).<br />
Wi n t e r 2 0 0 8 H e a r t o f t h e M a t t e r 33
Now accepting nominations for the Saint<br />
Madeleine Sophie Award<br />
The Saint Madeleine Sophie Award honors members of our community who<br />
embody the Goals of a <strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> education in their exceptional service to<br />
the <strong>Schools</strong>. We are seeking nominations from the entire SHS community.<br />
The person(s) honored are selected by a committee which includes the senior<br />
administrative team and the Chair of the Board of Trustees. The recipients<br />
will be honored at a reception on September 10, <strong>2008</strong> and at the Mass of the<br />
Holy Spirit, our first all-school liturgy of the school year on September 11,<br />
<strong>2008</strong>. In addition, the recipient will be a VIP guest at various SHS events<br />
throughout the year and featured in our alumni magazine, The <strong>Heart</strong> of the<br />
Matter (see page 7).<br />
Please take a few minutes to suggest a candidate for this award and<br />
include the following information:<br />
Nominee:<br />
Accomplishments and specific service embodying the Goals and Criteria:<br />
Submitted by:<br />
Deadline for nomination is June 15, <strong>2008</strong>. All forms and questions can be<br />
directed to Nancy Tarantino at ntarantino@shschools.org or 650-473-4089.<br />
Going green! <strong>Heart</strong> of the Matter is now printed on recycled paper<br />
which contains 30 percent post-consumer waste. In addition, more than 30<br />
percent of the ink comes from agriculturally-based, renewable sources.<br />
Previous St. Madeleine SophiE<br />
Award Recipients:<br />
2000<br />
Mae-Jeanne McGanney, Trustee Emeritus<br />
Isabel Peterson, SHP Faculty, retired<br />
Sally Peterson, SJSH Faculty, retired<br />
Sr. Margaret Robinson, RSCJ<br />
2001<br />
Donna Gilboa, SHP Faculty<br />
Lorraine Horn, Past Board Chair<br />
Sr. Nancy Morris, RSCJ<br />
Joseph Zucca, SJSH Faculty<br />
2002<br />
Marilyn Luotto, SHS Faculty, Retired<br />
Sr. Joan McKenna, RSCJ<br />
Zenaida Melgoza, SHS Staff<br />
2003<br />
Sr. Helen Costello<br />
Robert Glockner, Trustee Emeritus<br />
Sr. Ann McGowan, RSCJ<br />
Janet Whitchurch, SHP Faculty<br />
2004<br />
William Neidig, Board of Trustees<br />
Shirley Connolly, Board of Trustees<br />
Sheila Peterson, Alumna<br />
Joan Eagleson, SJSH Faculty<br />
2005<br />
Lori Pickett, R.N., Oakwood Staff<br />
Sherlene Pjesky, SHS Staff, Retired<br />
Vinette Ramsay, SHP Parent<br />
2006<br />
Lauren Koenig, Alumna,<br />
FormerTrustee, Current Parent<br />
Connie Solari, SHP Faculty, Former Parent<br />
2007<br />
Genevieve Varga, SHP Staff, Former Parent<br />
Dan Greenleaf, SHS Staff, Former Parent<br />
<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong> <strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton<br />
150 Valparaiso Avenue • Atherton, CA 94027<br />
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<strong>Sacred</strong> <strong>Heart</strong><br />
<strong>Schools</strong>, Atherton<br />
Parents of Alumni:<br />
If this magazine is addressed to a son or daughter who no longer maintains a permanent address at your home, please send his or her new<br />
address to alumni@shschools.org.