Far too often Heads of Schools spend much of their time putting out fires and communicating difficult decisions. I

feel particularly blessed that I get to spend most of my time working with the faculty and administration to plan and implement programs that enhance the experience of our stu-dents. It was a distinct pleasure to be able to share so much good news about the School at the recent State of the School evening and to showcase our students.

As stated in the recent tuition letter, the School Committee and administration are committed to providing the best edu-cation at the most affordable price possible. Through increas-ing productivity and efficiency, we have been able to hold the tuition flat next year, even while bringing many exciting enhancements to our already strong program. Beyond Tech-nology, Robotics, Music Together, Instrumental Music, Dance, and Mandarin Chinese were among the many new and engag-ing programs on display at State of the School.

By any standard, St. John’s has accomplished a great deal in a very short time. The key to great schools is preserving what is strong and essential, while innovating to meet the needs of

students as they prepare for the next level of education and ultimately the workplace. I was proud to document our stu-dents’ success in high school and college matriculation. Our students compete well for coveted spots and then perform at a high level beyond the classroom. From medicine to busi-ness, from television to the Broadway stage, and from ballet to the NFL, our alumni pursue their dreams with passion and commitment. We encourage our students to aim high, and they do so enthusiastically.

The School will not stand still but rather will continue to refine programs to make every student’s experience as engaging and rewarding as possible. I look forward to continuing to share good news with you. n

Have You Heard The Good News?by Dr. Michael Pratt, Head of School

CARDINAL VOL. 6 • WINTER 2015the

“ASHES TO GO”by Fr. John, Vicar

A new St. John’s tradition is our all-school Holy Eucharist service with baptisms each November. Though it runs

a little longer than our usual liturgy, I’m always amazed at how attentive our students are to both the words and ac-tions in the service. The sacramental climax is when the priest touches the person’s forehead with water and bap-tizes in the name of the Holy Trinity. But for me, the most moving moment is making the sign of the cross on the newly-baptized’s forehead and saying, “You are sealed by the Holy Spirit in baptism and marked as Christ’s own forever.” Which brings me to our plans for Ash Wednesday on Feb. 18. All are welcome at our services at 7 a.m. and 9:15 a.m., noon, and 7 p.m. But if you would like your “ashes to go,” Mrs. Patti and I (and possibly Mother Martha, depending on how we divide up duties) will be waiting for you at the ECC and back lot drop-offs. Just stop and roll your window down, and we’ll impose ashes -- making the same sign of

the cross on your forehead as during Holy Baptism — and say a few sacramental words. It will take less than ten seconds. Then get ready for people to tell you all day that you’re got something on your forehead!

If you have any questions about Ash Wednesday, or if anyone in your family is interested in being baptized at St. John’s School next November, please drop me a line at revjht@msn.com or call (714) 319-4421. n

ACADEMICS/PROGRAM

Thank you to everyone who attended the State of the School dinner and meeting. We send a special thank

you to our amazing volunteers, Nikki Trueman and April

Zahr, for transforming the gym and organizing the beautiful dinner!

The evening was full of positive energy as parents got a sneak peek at all the wonderful things that happen in the classrooms every day, and Dr. Pratt explained the progress of our exciting new STEAM programs. Our handbell choir, dance, and Mandarin Chinese students also put on impressive performances, showcasing what they have learned this year. If you missed this event, contact us at announcements@stjohns-es.org for a video copy of the pre-sentation. Please be sure to check out our Mandarin Chinese students’ performance on our YouTube page! n

STATE OF THE SCHOOL

T he Robotics Club attended their first competition on January 30,

taking on Challenge Highrise at the Ladera Ranch VEX IQ Tournament. Building on lessons from their ro-botics class on gear ratios and mech-anisms, the students were given in-struction on center of gravity, lifting mechanisms, Clawbot builds, drive trains, and motors. They then formed four teams to begin work. Each team received a VEX IQ robotics kit with instructions for building a Clawbot and was tasked with building their robot without any assistance.

As the competition approached, the students worked after school and even took their robots home to tin-ker with them over the weekend. The students collaborated through the engineering process, designing, testing, and rebuilding their robots until they felt their robot was com-petition ready. Since only three of our teams were allowed to compete, a small in-class tournament was held to determine which teams would ad-

vance to competition. Everyone was extremely supportive of each other, and all teams did an outstanding job at the Ladera Ranch tournament. The enthusiasm from the crowd was electric, and the teams were able to learn from observing other robots in the competition.

St. John’s represented well, with one robot qualifying for the final round and finishing in 5th place overall. The students who attended the competi-tion were Nick Turner, Cody Stokes, Max Yashar, Sonali Madisetti, Chiara Thommarson, Brock Beamish, Wil-liam Belmont, Zaid Boukai, Trevor Camp, Davey Pearson, John Rydell, Riley Walters, and Jack Wojcik. Stu-dents who helped build robots but were unable to attend include Mea-gan Speirs, Emma Dickerson, Jake Taylor, and Kareem Amer. Thank you to all of our junior engineers who represented our school and sincere thanks to Mrs. Hardy for preparing the teams for their very first robotics competition! n

Robotics Club Competition

Each year, St. John’s students participate in dynamic learn-ing experiences outside of the classroom. Events such as

Pioneer Day and Walk Through California invite visiting edu-cational programs to our campus. Our 2nd and 4th grade stu-dents are transported to a time and a place where they have the opportunity to step into historic roles and a way of life far different from what they experience today. Our 4th Grade students had the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of historic California with a field trip to Mission San Juan Cap-istrano. The highlight of the day was when the children were able to make their own adobe bricks, using some of the same ingredients the Native Americans would have used.

Our 8th Grade class had a very meaningful experience as they traveled to Los Angeles to visit the Simon Wiesenthal Muse-um of Tolerance. The students participated in a three hour tour that exposed them to the atrocities of prejudice and

discrimination historically and today. They were led back in time to become witnesses to events in Nazi-dominated Eu-rope during World War II and heard unforgettable stories of courage and sacrifice of Holocaust victims and survivors. It was a moving experience for our 8th Grade students and certainly trip they will never forget. n

LEARNING OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

This winter, St. John’s after-school program is bigger and more diverse than ever! Several new programs were introduced, with classes beginning

in January. Something has been cooking in the kitchen on Mondays as Culi-nary Kids offers students in Kindergarten-5th Grade an opportunity to learn, hands-on, about food safety, preparation, and nutrition. Crossfit Kids chal-lenges 1st-5th grade students to take on the WOD (workout of the day), pair-ing activity with fitness and fun. Each class combines creative ways to keep children engaged and entertained, while creating a broad athletic foundation.

Two classes specifically geared toward our ECC students have also joined the after-school lineup is Webby Dance and Soccer Shots. Our youngest stu-dents are learning the foundations of dance and soccer while also building character, coordination, balance, memory, and self-confidence!

In addition to our new classes, Golf Squad began its second session of classes led by PGA professionals and the STEM-based program, Bricks 4 Kidz�, in-�, in-, in-troduced a new unit called Gadgets and Gizmos. Other favorite classes are also back including Oil Painting, Sewing, Arts & Crafts, and Academic Chess.

After-school is heating up at St. John’s! n

Sneak Peek Day

S t. John’s first annual Sneak Peek Day was a success. PK - 4th Grade spent the morn-

ing in next year’s classrooms, and 5th Grade students experienced a full day in the life of a Middle Schooler. The teachers enjoyed meet-ing their future students and giving them a preview of the wonderful things in store for them next year.

Our 5th Grade students had the pleasure of enjoying an entire day as a Middle Divi-sion student, walking through an abbrevi-ated schedule with their 6th Grade buddies who so graciously showed them the ropes. The students were able to spend time in academic classes and experience our new enrichment classes: Mandarin Chinese, Ro-botics, Computer Coding, Performing Arts, Band, Choir, Dance and even Road to High School. The experience gave students expo-sure to the variety of offerings in the Middle Division so that they will be better informed when the time comes to choose their classes for next year. n

New After-School Classes

Thank you to all of you who have already contributed to this year’s Annual Fund! Currently, we are at 50%

parent participation. If you have not already given, we ask that you consider how your family can help us reach our goal of 100% participation. Our School Committee, PTF, faculty, and staff are totally committed and have 100% participation. Please join us as we work to achieve our goal of completing the 2014-15 Annual Fund with a strong finish!

As part of our annual Phone a Friend campaign, our vol-unteers will be reaching out on February 25 to all fami-lies who have not yet participated to ask for your help. Families who give prior to that date will be helping to make our call list shorter and our participation higher. Thank you in advance for your support!

Give online at www.stjohns-es.org/giving or bring a check to any School office marked “Annual Fund.” n

ANNUAL FUND

Masquerade Ball Saturday March 28 • 5:30 • St. Regis Monarch Beach

DID YOU KNOW?Annual Fund Fast Facts

ST. JOHN’S GALASA

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Join us for an elegant evening of mystery and intrigue at St. John’s Gala – Masquerade Ball. You won’t want to miss the silent and live auctions, entertainment, dinner, dancing, and St. John’s fellowship at our biggest event of the year!

We need the participation of our entire community to secure the donations and volunteer support we need to make this event a success! Remember, all proceeds directly benefit the students of St. John’s through academic and co-curricular program enhancements.

If you have questions, or would like to get involved, contact Jacki Abdi at jackabdi@gmail.com or Kellie Pendergest in the Advancement Office at (949) 858-5144 ext. 248. Donations form, sponsor information, RSVP, and more at www.stjohns-es.org/gala.

w Annual Fund provides us with our margin of excellence. Funds raised through the Annual Fund help to continually en-hance the superior education experience our students enjoy. All funds are applied to the current fiscal year. Annual Fund offers support for professional development for our teachers, field studies to enhance and reinforce classroom learning, up-grades and replacement to keep up with the latest in technology – luxuries which many schools charge a premium above tuition or have eliminated altogether. Our children deserve every ad-vantage in education as they move forward in this increasingly competitive world. This year, you can direct your donation to the category of your choice, or select “where the School needs it most” to empower St. John’s leadership to respond to new ideas, new opportunities, and address the most pressing needs as they arise.

w Participation is important. Foundations and corporate giving programs are more likely to support the School with grant funding if parent participation is high. Last year our parent participation was just over 60% -- most independent schools of our size average 90-100% participation. We can do better!

w Independent Schools depend on Annual Giving. Unlike public or even Catholic parish schools, we are an independent school that receives no financial assistance apart from tuition. The Annual Fund makes it possible to keep tuition increases in check while still advancing the educational program each year.

To read more about the Annual Fund, or to give online, visit www.stjohns-es.org/annualfund!

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2014-15 DONOR LIST

Anonymous(31) The Aase Family Anna Abele Ruth & Rafael Acosta Susan and Tony Adame Scott Adams and Kathy Graham Scott Adams/Kathy Graham Family Trust Maureen Alva Andrew and Kristina Amante Applied Medical Toby Ellen Armstrong Shauna Atchley Chas. and Caren Aufhammer Imad & Ola Banna Jace and Shelby Barbin Monica Barnum Joseph and Maria Barrera The Basford Family Erin Beranek Frank and Doreen Bernard The Biddiscombe Family Jenny Bochenek The Bonhall Family Jeremy and Brandy Born The Boutros Family Mr. and Mrs. Bassem Boutros The Boyd Family The Breaux Family Ann Buccola Karyn Buky The Burch Family The Buser Family Gregg and Cindy Campbell Capital Group Co Charitable Foundation The Carder Family The Cassaday Family Alberto Castro and Claudia Barragan-Castro Cervantes Family Laura Dai Jim and Stephanie Chiate Shelley Chretin Melissa Christian Anthony & Sharon Christopher RC and Melissa Cisakowski Georgia Clark Clerc Family Debby Cole Mr. and Mrs. Comeau Lawrence and Ann Cooke Sue Corbett Costanzo Family Celia Coulter Austen Courter Bill and Priscilla Courter Kent and Teppi Crandall Helen, Jonathan, Alden & Brooke Cressy Jim and Gwen Croce Pete & Patty Cyr Phil & Kandi deCarion

Dell Computers Greg and Janice Dennis The Dickerson Family Jeff and Cindy Dill Ninette Dimock The Doyle Family Cynthia A. Drennan The Echtenkamp Family The Eckstein Family Lisa Edwards Steve and Anna Ehrlich The Elia Family The Elliott Family The Elniski Family Engle Family Mr. and Mrs. Frank Escalante The Flynn Family Gerry & Suzanne Flynn Bill and Carol Foudy The Freeman Family Nancy Freese Heidi Fries Dawn Gallis The Gardarian Family GE Foundation Matching Gifts Program Connie Girolamo Jeffrey & Katherine Granito The Greenhalgh Family Ed Dryden and Ann Marie Griffith-Dryden Libby Grogan Sheryll Grogan Robert & Jennifer Grumet Sharri Guerrero The Guida Family The Hageman Family The Hagle Family Nick & Vicki Hanna Elizabeth Sue Hardy Phil, Meryl and Evan Hashimoto Heath and Natasha Hawker Kathleen Hawkins Dan and Monica Haydt Mette Haydt The Hemphill Family Jack & Susan Hogan Mr. and Mrs. Hopshtein Anthony and Gillian Howcroft Bob & Jayne Jacobson The Janis Family Lou and Jane Janis The Jara Family The Craig Johnson Family Julie Johnson Rachel Jones Joy & Matt Kemmerle Robby and Carolina Khalek Jim & Gerda Kilgore Paul & Angela Kim Chris and Angie Knierim

The Koch Family Erin Kolk Meagan Kraszewski Kim & Mark Krouse Sanjeev & Rhonda Kumar Gina L’amour Shane and Soyoun Lansing Tammy Leara Chris Leavell Dirksen and April Lehman The Leisegang Family Tracy LeSage Lynne Lillard Mr. and Mrs. Michael Long The Lukowski Family The Lutterloh Family Crystal Huang and Sarah Ma The Madisetti Family The Magruder Family Yvonne Maselli Roel Florentino Mathnasium of RSM Kelly McGovern The McNamee Family The McPartland Family Paul & Martha McShane Bill Mecklenburg and Christine Condino-Mecklenburg Fil and Len Medina The Meixner Family The Mendoza Family Eric & Wendy Miller and family Mr. and Mrs. Matthew and Yvette Miller Michael and Karen Murdock Lynne Murphy Vickie and Don Nickles Nouri Family Hillary Olson Mr. and Mrs. John O’Malley Pam Orr The O’Toole Family Pacheco Family Srini Pagidyala and Nan Singh Raj Patel Maria & Dave Pearson Scott & Patti Peebles Tom & Jodie Pellerin Patrick & Kellie Pendergest The Perucci Family Ann Petersen The Pilkerton Family Su Plamondon Joe and Doris Pospichal Mary Pradzinski Michael Pratt and Susan Key Yvonne Priore The Pupil Family Cindy Putman The Ramezani Family John & Lisa Rydell Brian and Jill Sampson

Lauren Sanders The Sarachman Family Janine Scalleat The Scharf Family Lydia and Dan Schimmelpfenig Katie Scott Melissa Sexton Malina Shuy Catherine Sjostedt Geoffrey & Nicole Small J and Sandy Spencer Patty and Steve Stoecker Daniele Struppa and Lisa Sparks The Sullivan Family The Svinth Family The Tan Family Amy Yi St. John’s Episcopal Church Kathleen A. Taylor Mark and Tricia Teitelman Robert & Liz Terry The Thiessen Family The Timmons Family Pete & Deborah Todd Stacey & Dave Tourtlotte Townsend Family Megan Trexler Min and Peter Trist Bruce and Donna Tucker Greg and Darlene Tucker UBS/Paine Webber Kathy Urell Kimberly Valenzuela Michael and Debbie Vaughn Todd & Joan Vernon Rajdeep Family Sheri Wade John and Pennie Walley Paul & Michelle Walters Mr. and Mrs. Brock Ward Kathy Weber Kathy Wegner-Kwok Susan Welton Linda Wendt The Wenk Family The Whitley Family The Wong Family Steve and Karen Woodson Sabrina Jing Ed and Janie Yasher The Yellen Family Arch & Janet Young Travis Youtsey and Juliana Presley The Yurkovich Family Melissa Zakhar

*List reflects donations made as of January 31, 2015. Please check for your name and contact the Advancement Office at (949) 858-5144 ext. 228 if you notice any errors so that we may correct our records for future publication.

ST. JOHN’S COMMUNITY

UPCOMING EVENTS

Grandparents Day

A n annual tradition at St. John’s, Grandparents Day is a day set aside

to celebrate the grandparents and spe-cial friends in our lives. This November, nearly 300 guests visited our campus and enjoyed classroom activities, per-formances, photographs, snacks, and a Grand Book Fair. We are so grateful for all the love and wisdom shared by our guests on this special day! n

Operation Help a Hero

At St. John’s, Christmas is a time for giving back. In

December, St. John’s hosted approximately 40 Marines from Camp Pendleton for a memorable morning on cam-pus as the culmination of Operation Christmas Spirit. The Marines enjoyed a spe-cial Chapel service, story time, and games on the play-ground with our students. St. John’s students, faculty, and staff adopted 15 Marine families and 40 single Marines, providing gifts, cards of support, and care packages to help make their Christmas extra special. We are so grateful for all those that serve our country! n

Father-Daughter Dance

This year’s St. John’s Father-Daughter Dance was certainly an evening to remember!

A dedicated group of incredible volunteers led by Chair Jenelle Harmon-Vallone trans-formed the Gym into the perfect setting for the dance’s theme: A Night in Paris! n

w February 19Taste of Tuscany7:00 p.m., Rancho Capistrano WineryBring a bottle of wine for our Gala Wine Wall and enjoy an evening un-der the stars!

w March 5STEAM DayParents are invited to join us for our STEAM build day and see our student engineers at work.

w March 4, 11, 18Gala WednesdaysVisit us in the Courtyard after school for exciting activities each week!

w March 28St. John’s Gala – Masquerade Ball5:30 p.m., St. Regis Monarch BeachGrab your mask and join us for the biggest event of the year.

w April 23-245th-8th Grade Musical - Bye Bye BirdieSave the date for our annual school musical.

Performances April  23  &  24  6:00  p.m.

sign up online:    www.creativekidsplayhouse.com

DADDY & ME DAY

St. John’s Early Childhood Center hosted its annual Daddy and Me Day with a patriotic twist this year. Students and their dads donned their

red, white, and blue attire while participating in a variety of Olympic-themed activities. A huge thank you to the room parents who helped organize the day and to all of the dads who took time out of their busy schedules to spend the morning with us! n

UPCOMING EVENTS Congratulations to our budding art-ists who had an impressive show-

ing in two recent contests, Celebrating Art and The Rancho Santa Margarita “Celebrating Family and Friends” New Year’s Eve Celebration.

At the Rancho Santa Margarita “Cele-brating Family and Friends” New Year’s Eve celebration, Mady Vallone took home 1st Place, and Daniel Gigauri re-ceived 3rd in the K-2 grade category! Alyssa Gardarian also received 1st place in the 3-5th grade category for her oil painting depicted at the right.

The following students’ art will also be published in the Celebrating Art Anthology, a nationwide publication: Nikki Borges, Mackenzie Busch, Justin Butler, Kohl Cassady, Alyssa Gardarian, Daniel Gigauri, Alex Greenhalgh, Em-ily Grimm, Danica Haydt, Kian Honar-var, Caden Jones, Jade Kahl, Campbell Layfield, Ben Leisegang, Anjali Madis-etti, Cora McGovern, Lila Miller, Landon

Pacheco, Claire Patterson, Ava Scharf, Mackensey Speirs, Angelina Tao, Mad-die Tourtlotte, and Emma Trueman.

We are so proud of our students’ accom-plishments! n

ART AWARDS

Winter Sports Wrap Up

The winter sports season was another success for our student athletes. The boys’ and girls’ lacrosse and boys’ basketball programs have been participating in many competitive games this season. Our Boys’ 7/8 basketball team made it to the consolation championship of the Mater Dei Tournament, losing to a skilled St. Jeanne’s team by just 4 points. We also had an impressive show-ing at the 23rd Annual St. John’s Boys’ “A” Tournament where our team made it to the championship game. Thank you to all the fans who packed our gym with Car-dinal spirit! We look forward to the spring sports season with co-ed Soccer, Track, and Boys’ Volleyball. Coaches are still needed for Soccer and Volleyball. Contact Bryan Winn if you are interested in getting involved! n30382 Via Con Dios • Rancho Santa Margarita, CA • 92688

You are cordially invited to attend

STEAM  DAY  2015  Thursday, March 5

8:00 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Parents are welcome to join us for all or a portion of the day’s activities. Students will participate in team-based STEAM projects throughout the day by grade level, culminating in a Closing Ceremony assembly. Please refer to the back for full details.

PROUD TO BE A CARDINAL

Great learning communities support the interests and

pursuits of their students both in and out of the classroom. St. John’s School with its dedi-cated faculty and administra-tors continually challenges and evaluates students to ensure they reach their full potential.

One such student, striving for excellence, is 6th Grader Christopher Cyr who re-cently enrolled in the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth Talent Search. After tak-ing the Spatial Test Battery and

the School and College Ability Test normed for 9th Graders, his scores of 99th percentile in math and 87th percentile in verbal for 9th Graders qualified him to receive high honors for placing among the top 30% of participants in the interna-tional search. Chris has been invited to an award ceremony this spring in recognition of the qualifying students.

In December, Chris committed 3-4 hours each Saturday to a Lego Robotics team which participated in the first Lego League Robotics Competition. His team came in second place in the regional event and advanced to the State com-petition where the team was challenged to program a robot to maneuver an obstacle course and write and perform an accompanying skit for the judges. The assigned topic was How to Better Engage Kids in Education. As the project man-ager, Chris and his team designed their presentation around using Minecraft to educate students about the California gold rush. The St. John’s community celebrates and nur-tures Chris’ broad and unique talents as he strives to suc-ceed in and out of the classroom.

Eighth Grade student Jake Taylor is an athlete whose sheer love for the sport of rowing has him excelling beyond his years. Rowing, often referred to as Crew in the United States, is a demanding club sport offered at only a select few high schools. After a single lesson at Newport Aquatic Center (NAC), Jake was hooked! Jake committed to a strenuous summer of intense training and, as a result, was the only 8th Grader to the NAC team.

After a full day of school at St. John’s, Jake has dry land and water training Monday-Friday from 3:30-6:00 p.m. and with additional Saturday practices when preparing for a regatta. As if that wasn’t strenuous enough, after each practice Jake and his teammates must clean and stow the racing shells be-fore calling it a day. An 8-man racing shell (boat) made of car-bon fiber is 60’ long and weighs approximately 200 lbs. with sweep oars measuring 12’ long and sculling oars coming in at 8’ long. Jake burns 3,000-5,000 calories at each practice. Daily practice takes place in Newport, which makes for quite a commute for this athlete and his supportive parents!

The incredible dedication is paying off. Jake has been in four regattas to date, placing 4th and 2nd with two 1st place fin-ishes. “There’s nothing better than being on the water,” says Jake who has his eye on sweeping Regionals in Sacramento this May 2-3 and heading to Nationals next year as a varsity mem-ber. St. John’s will be rooting for Jake with every stroke! n

ST. JOHN’S SUPERSTARS

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: ALUMNI UPDATEBJ Thompson ‘02

Fascinated with the world-changing advancements in research and innovations in science and engineering, BJ Thompson began dreaming of going to the Massachusetts Institute

of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, MA when he was in 5th Grade at St. John’s Episcopal School. BJ pursued his dream throughout his middle and high school years by taking chal-lenging courses, graduating from Santa Margarita Catholic High School in 2006 as an Inter-national Baccalaureate Full Diploma student. BJ received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering from MIT in June 2010 and then went on to pursue his graduate studies at MIT. He completed his thesis on standalone capacitively coupled oc-cupancy sensors and received his Masters of Engineering in Electrical Engineering in Feb-ruary 2013. BJ now works for Apple Computer as a hardware engineer. n

Do you have a St. John’s superstar? Let us know at announcements@stjohns-es.org.