Of Note 2011-12
PCDS Community Life & Accomplishments

Middle School students find fun and satisfaction in growing herbs and vegetables as part of a gardening elective.
Read the article.

The 65 members of the PCDS eighth-grade class celebrated their commencement on Wednesday, May 30, in a ceremony attended by parents, faculty, and friends. Each member of the class received a certificate to commemorate their completion of Middle School at PCDS. Eighth-grade students Iya Agha and Mala Bansal acted as emcees, presiding over the ceremony at Camelback Bible Church, across the street from PCDS.

After a welcome by Mort Dukehart, Head of Middle School, eighth-grader Stephanie Kay performed on the piano, followed by other musical performances by Jillian Gilburne, Freya Irani, Elle Miraglia, and Natalie Prieb, also members of the class. The student speakers, chosen by their classmates, this year were Anita Sheih, Tara Dugel, and Jason Greenfield.

This year brought a new tradition to the commencement ceremony, the presentation of the Middle School Award. According to Mr. Dukehart, this honor is given to the student who best exemplifies the philosophy of the PCDS Middle School. This year, Jason Greenfield received the award, and five students received Certificates of Merit: Tara Dugel, Sam Garvin, Jillian Gilburne, Oliver Marsden, and Anita Sheih.

Graduating senior Nic Meyer (shown at right with his parents) has ended his high school athletic career with the state’s top honor. This week he was named the Arizona Interscholastic Association’s Student of the Year, chosen from among all Arizona high school boys who play sports. Nic also was a finalist for the 1-3A Scholar Athlete Award. He was honored at the AIA Champions Awards Luncheon at the University of Phoenix Stadium on Monday. Every year, the AIA recognizes outstanding Arizona high school students, teachers, coaches, officials, administrators, and schools for “outstanding achievements, on and off the field, and exemplifying trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.” At PCDS, Nic played varsity soccer, baseball, and basketball, and was a member of this year’s state championship basketball team.

“Nic Meyer is more than deserving of this award,” said PCDS Director of Athletics and varsity basketball coach, Shane Lewis, who attended the awards luncheon. “He is a high-character kid with a great amount of athleticism and one of the most coachable student-athletes I’ve ever coached.” Nic will attend Amherst College in Massachusetts in the fall.

Ben Murphy '09, a junior at Pomona College majoring in geology and physics, was named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar for Excellence in Education, one of only two Arizona recipients of this prestigious award. Approximately 300 college sophomores and juniors nationwide receive the scholarship award annually. The scholarship award program was established in 1986 to honor former Arizona senator Barry Goldwater. Its goal is to provide scholarships (up to $7,500 per year) to talented college students who intend to pursue careers in the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering. According to the Goldwater Scholarship website, Ben’s career goals are to conduct research in geophysics or non-seismic earthquake phenomena and teach at the university level.

U.S. Lacrosse announced earlier this month that Phoenix Country Day School girls’ lacrosse coach Shannon Nolan has been chosen one of 16 high school coaches who will lead the eight teams at the 2012 Champion All-American Showcase, a U.S. Lacrosse high school all-star event featuring nearly 200 of the nation's top players.

U.S. Lacrosse fielded a large pool of applicants from coaches around the country. The girls' coaches submitted applications to a national women's game selection committee, which then made final selections. Ms. Nolan will coach Team Freedom during the all-star event, July 22-24, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World in Florida. The championship game will be streamed on ESPN3.com.

The Zaki Gordon Institute for Independent Filmmaking in Sedona has named PCDS junior Scott Minard the Institute's "Emerging Filmmaker" for 2012. Through a national competition, this annual award is given to a student in grades 7-12 who demonstrates excellence and creativity in storytelling in a motion picture. Scott's entry, The Epic of Bob, was produced as a class project in the Upper School's Art of Digital Video course this semester. In addition to winning an HD digital video camera, Scott will be honored at the Institute's yearly film festival during the Memorial Day weekend in Sedona.

Incoming freshman Benjamin Lee won first place in the Arizona State Science and Engineering Fair in the category of Medicine and Health Sciences for his project titled, "Use of Soil Bacteriophages to Prevent Bacterial Contamination in Meat." In addition, he won first place, Junior Division, in the Society for Technical Communication's Technical Report Writing Competition. Benjamin also won both of these awards at the 2011 Arizona State Science and Engineering Fair. He will be joining the PCDS Class of 2016 in August for the 2012-13 school year.

Assistant Head of School and Director of Advancement James Calleroz White (pictured left) was awarded his doctoral degree earlier this month from Arizona State University. Dr. Calleroz White earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in the DELTA program. DELTA is an acronym for Doctorate in Education, Leadership, Teaching, and Administration.

Heather Arguello (pictured right), fourth-grade teacher, received a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration and Supervision, also from Arizona State University. She graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA. Mrs. Arguello received a great surprise at the ceremony when she spotted six of her students sitting in the stands cheering for her.

The girls’ tennis team beat Miami 5-3 last weekend to successfully defend its Division III state championship and win its third state title in four years. But for a 1-point loss in the 2010 finals, the team would have captured four titles in four consecutive years. Earlier, seniors Leah Stofko and Nicole Bassoff, last year's state doubles champions in Division III, retained their title with a victory over Tucson Pusch Ridge Christian. PCDS tennis is coached by Jerry Keever.

The PCDS golf team, coached by Bob Hendrickson, won the 2012 Region Championship and heads into the state tournament this Friday and Saturday in Prescott. Freshman Morgan Gonzales was the individual medalist with a final round score of 65. She finished 8 under par for the 2-day match, shooting a course record at Coyote Lakes Golf Course.

Upper School English teacher Sarah Driscoll has been named the 2012 recipient of the Hemingway Foundation and Society's William P. Corrigan Fellowship Award for the study of Hemingway and Cuba. With the award money, she will travel to Princeton University to study the relationship between Ernest Hemingway and Walter Houk, through Houk’s recently donated personal collection.

According to Ms. Driscoll, Houk and Hemingway met while Houk was working at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba before the Castro years. Ms. Driscoll, who has been in touch with Houk, says she is “thrilled beyond belief to have the opportunity to study these original papers – boating materials, charts/sea logs, nautical maps, and music collections, as well as a stash of memorabilia, that currently resides at Princeton.” She says much of the material was first made available in Cuba and then made its way to the U.S. Ms. Driscoll will conduct her research at the Hemingway Collection in July.

Visit the recent feature story for a more in-depth look at Ben's work.

Senior Ben Mattinson was honored last week with one of the highest individual awards given by FIRST -- a national organization founded to inspire students’ interest and participation in science and technology – for his work on an eye-tracking system that allows people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to use eye movements to control a computer cursor to type and access the Internet. The EyeWriterB 2.1 is an improved version of an eye-tracking system. Ben received the FIRST Future Innovator Award at the opening ceremonies of the FIRST Robotics World Championships, receiving a standing ovation from the more than 10,000 FIRST supporters in the Edward Jones Football Dome in St. Louis, Missouri.

According to FIRST, "This award recognizes creativity in effectively solving a real-world, complex problem through the invention of a unique solution beyond the requirements of the FIRST competition season and events." The award is sponsored by the Abbott Fund and was presented by Jamey Jacobs (pictured with Ben), vice president and general manager of Abbott Vascular. Competition for the award was open to over 50,000 students from the 2,343 teams in 12 countries competing in the 2012 FIRST Robotics Competition. As the recipient of the FIRST Future Innovator Award, Ben receives a trip to meet with ONSET Ventures, a venture capitalist firm in Menlo Park, California, for a real-world experience discussing his invention and possible business applications.

Ninety percent of Phoenix Country Day School students who completed the recent National Latin Exam received awards for their high achievement. This year, 78 PCDS Latin students (grades 7-12) joined over 150,000 students from across the United States and 13 countries to participate in this competitive exam. Students who score well earn medals, certificates of achievement, and in some cases, scholarships. According to PCDS Latin teacher Robin Anderson, on average, 30 percent of students worldwide who complete the exam receive an award. The 90 percent achievement rate was a new high for PCDS. Of the 78 students who completed the test, 70 earned awards, with 30 students earning the highest award possible for his or her respective test. Besides Ms. Anderson, PCDS Latin teachers are Stephani Stephens and Rebecca Bernhardt.

PCDS ninth-grader Kyle Kinnie (at right in photo) finished among the final four contestants at the 2012 Arizona EGUMPP Grammar Bowl, winning a $5,000 scholarship to the college or university of his choice. Approximately 500 eighth- and ninth-graders from around the state participated in the contest, with 23 competing in the April 21st finals at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

Kyle’s high scores on a series of tests (both online and written) at the district and state level qualified him for the finals, which was a live, on-stage contest. After an hour and forty minutes and eleven rounds of intense competition, Kyle made it to the championship round before being eliminated in a Jeopardy-style, quick-response game with buzzers.

Kyle gives much of the credit for his successful showing to longtime PCDS freshman English teacher, Becky Allison. “Dr. Allison helped me a lot with understanding some of the finer points of grammar that I needed to know for the competition,” Kyle said. “A year with Dr. Allison and several months of Grammar Bowl [practice] have made me appreciate this area of our language much more than when I first walked in to her class in August.” Kyle would like to see more PCDS eighth- and ninth-graders participate in the Grammar Bowl, but admits it’s a lot of work. “Many hours of studying, reviewing, and practicing went into answering complex sentence-structure questions in five seconds or less during the championship rounds. It is certainly not a job for the faint of heart or mind.”

Last month, when the PCDS contingent headed to Chengdu, China for a spring break cultural visit, they brought with them a goodwill gift for our partner school, the Chengdu Experimental Foreign Languages School. The group, consisting of 12 Upper School students, Mandarin teacher Mark Corliss, Middle School librarian Chris Palmer, and Director Of International Programs Lee Buettner, presented Headmaster Wen Ruizheng and Assistant Principal Shen Xin with a painting by US art teacher Michael Pesselato. Here are Ms. Buettner’s comments at the formal presentation ceremony:

Thank you, Mr. Wen and Ms. Shen, for your wonderful hospitality. We are very excited to be here. It is especially heart-warming for me to return after nearly seven years and to be reunited with some of your teachers who taught at our school and became our friends. Many of us also stay connected with some of your students who are now studying at universities in the U.S. Since friendship is the message we bring today, we would like to present you with a gift that honors the friendship between our schools: a painting by Michael Pesselato, head of our Visual Arts Department, who taught at your school last year. The Eagle, the symbol of both the United States and Phoenix Country Day School, represents strength and endurance. Our gift to you symbolizes that we look forward to many more years of a strong, enduring friendship between our two schools.

The Phoenix Country Day School Alumni Association this week announced that Leora Romney ’82 and John Schupbach ’06 have been named the Outstanding Alumna and Alumnus of the Year. Each year, the Alumni Association honors an individual who has distinguished himself or herself in community service, professional achievement, or service to PCDS. Nominations are solicited from the entire alumni body, and a committee comprised of members of the Alumni Board and the School’s administration selects the honoree(s) each year. The two outstanding alumni chosen this year will be honored at the Annual Alumni Party on Saturday evening, May 5.

Leora Romney ’82 studied history and evolutionary science at the University of Arizona and then received a Master’s degree in journalism from the University of California at Berkeley. As a staff writer at the Los Angeles Times for over twenty years, Leora has covered pressing social issues such as California’s troubled mental health system. Her work as a journalist has always shown a deep concern for the plight of others. Most recently, she covered the volatile Occupy Oakland protests and the subsequent police response. As an authority on the issue, she was featured on National Public Radio's Talk of the Nation and asked to appear on MSNBC. Says fellow alumna Liz O’Brien ’81, “Lee is brave, brilliant and chooses to use her gifts to give disenfranchised citizens a voice.”

John Schupbach ’06 graduated in May 2010 with honors from Washington University in St. Louis, receiving a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering while also completing the pre-med track. What began as a plan to gain a global perspective on medicine before applying to medical school in June has turned into a labor of love as John volunteers in the urban slum of Faridabad, India, with the Squalor to Scholar Program. This charitable organization helps to provide at-risk children who exhibit high potential with educational opportunities that would be otherwise beyond their grasp. John’s work is helping to bring care, literacy, and hope to this impoverished area. John is also a pilot, EMT, photographer, and writer; read his blog at johnschupbach.wordpress.com.

Dr. Eduardo Caro, Upper School Spanish teacher, has published an English-language analysis of the award-winning 2010 Colombian film Los Colores de la Montaña in the current issue of Chasqui: Revista de Literatura Latinoamericana. The publication is an academic journal devoted exclusively to Latin American literature.

Los Colores de la Montaña, directed by Carlos César Arbeláez, is the type of unusual film that is Dr. Caro’s favorite. “I like stories that don’t follow a linear storyline,” he said, “with an open-ended plot that leaves the viewer a lot of room for interpretation.” He went on to describe his article on the film as “an in-depth analysis that touches upon issues of language, including meta-film language, while at the same time, using postmodern film theories, discusses socio-cultural issues.” He explained that the influence of film on socio-cultural issues in Latin American countries has risen sharply in the last two decades, and has become especially important in academia.

Dr. Caro, a native of Colombia, began his interest in film/literary criticism while working on his Master’s degree in Latin American Literature and Culture at the University of Arkansas. He said that whenever possible, he uses film in his PCDS classes to show students various aspects of Latin American culture and to more fully engage students in the classroom. Dr. Caro is currently working on a book proposal with a colleague at Southwestern University in Texas on the changing focus on explicit violence in Colombian film and its effect on various social issues in that country.

PCDS ninth-grader Kyle Kinnie has qualified to compete in the finals of the 2012 Arizona EGUMPP Grammar Bowl, open to eighth- and ninth-graders throughout the state. Kyle’s high scores on a series of lessons and a qualifying test made him eligible for the finals, which is a live, on-stage competition at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix on Saturday, April 14. The grand prize is a trip to Washington, D.C.

PCDS graduate Christine Stockslager, ’11, has been awarded the Faculty Choice Award for Excellence in Spanish at Texas Christian University. This is an annual award from the university’s Department of Spanish and Hispanic Studies for overall excellence in Spanish.

The Upper School robotics team, Blue Tide, was honored with the Innovation in Control Award (sponsored by Rockwell Automation) at the 2012 FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) Arizona Regional held March 23-24 at Hamilton High School in Chandler. The team won the award for its inventive use of an ultrasonic sensor to measure distances. In the competition, Blue Tide finished 8th out of 50 teams from four countries, including Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States.

To participate in the competition, all teams had six weeks to build their robot. This year’s challenge, called Rebound Rumble, had teams working together to drive their robots to shoot basketballs into hoops during several short matches. Blue Tide fought tough matches throughout the competition and was finally eliminated in the semifinals by a team that included last year's Arizona champions and a championship team from Toronto, Canada. According to team member James Hobin, a senior, the quarterfinals brought a cliffhanger the students won’t soon forget.

“We had won the first match [of a best of three] but one of the robots on our team broke down,” Hobin said. “We helped them out as much as we could, using our one timeout to delay while our electrical team worked on their robot, but they still weren't working going in to the second match. We had to face the other team with only two robots to their three. With 20 seconds left, we were down by 17 points so we had to pull off a dangerous and difficult two-robot balance on a seesaw. We successfully balanced with only seconds remaining, netting us 20 points and a spot in the semifinals.”

In addition to the team’s success, senior Avery Silverman was awarded the Steve Sanghi Scholarship, a $16,000 prize awarded to an outstanding FIRST participant who intends to pursue a college degree in science, technology, engineering, or math. Sanghi, a former PCDS parent, is president and CEO of Microchip Technology, the organizing sponsor of the FRC Arizona Regional.

Three PCDS Policy Debate teams, comprised of seniors Eric Showers and Frea Mehta, senior Jehan Bista and junior Nitya Agrawal, and freshmen Sabrina Whitfill and Fallon Leyba, won the state championship in their division (schools with fewer than 1000 students) at a Speech and Debate tournament held last weekend in Winslow, Arizona. This is the eighth consecutive year (and 10th out of the last 11 years) that a PCDS team has won the state tournament. For Eric it is a fourth state title, and the second state title for Frea, Jehan, and Nitya.

According to debate coach Matt Guthrie, our students accomplished a feat that had never been achieved by a PCDS debate team. “Not only did our three teams win every single debate throughout the tournament, but they managed to win every single judge's ballot.” Mr. Guthrie explained that certain debates are judged by panels of three judges and our students won each of those ballots. PCDS competed against teams from around the state, from neighboring Veritas Prep to River Valley High School, just outside Bullhead City.

Sophomores Chelsea Wu and Flavia Pajaro-van de Stadt (pictured left to right), both violinists, have been selected by audition to play in the 2012 All-State Festival of Performance Orchestra. The All-State Festival, sponsored by the Arizona Band and Orchestra Directors Association (ABODA), will take place April 26-28 at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

PCDS's own Chris Eriksen, longtime 5th-grade teacher, is part of a stellar list of vocalists who will appear in An Evening with Rodgers and Hammerstein, presented by The Phoenix Symphony and Phoenix Theatre. The two arts organizations are partnering for the second time to create an original production designed to showcase the talents of both groups. With Phoenix Symphony Music Director Michael Christie at the helm, the orchestra and singers will perform some of the most beloved music in American musical theatre, from such shows as Carousel, Cinderella, The King and I, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music. Performances are Friday, March 30 through Sunday, April 1. For more information, visit www.phoenixsymphony.org.

Senior AJ Hess (pictured right), who helped lead the boys’ varsity basketball team to its first state championship in the school’s 50-year history, has been named Small Schools Player of the Year by The Arizona Republic. AJ also was named to the 2011-12 All-Arizona Boys Basketball team, one of only five players chosen statewide. According to the article announcing the award, AJ’s “selfless play, his ability to play anywhere from the point to the post was crucial in Phoenix Country Day’s history-making 31-win season.”

AJ also was the unanimous choice for Division IV Player of the Year by the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association. He and co-captain Nate Nearhood (pictured left) will play in the Senior All-Star Game at Mesa Community College in May. During the season, AJ averaged 19.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He became the school’s all-time leading scorer with more than 1800 career points. Nate became the 2nd all-time scorer with 1300 career points. Other player honors from The Arizona Republic included Division IV First Team for both AJ and Nate, and Honorable Mention to senior Nic Meyer and junior Alex Sylvester.

Also honored by The Arizona Republic was varsity coach Shane Lewis (pictured right), named Small Schools Coach of the Year. Coach Lewis led the team to a 31-5 record and the Division IV state championship in his third season. He also was awarded Division IV Coach of the Year by the Arizona Basketball Coaches Association. He and his coaching staff of Sean Newland and Steve Ramer will coach a team in the Senior All-Star Game in May.

Three PCDS seniors have been named candidates in the United States Presidential Scholars Program. Nicole Bassoff, Lauren Chanen, and Tianna Sheih (pictured left to right) are among approximately 3,000 candidates nationwide who have been chosen based on having scored exceptionally well on the SAT or ACT. Nearly 3.2 million graduating seniors were eligible for consideration. While there is an arts component to the Presidential Scholars Program, the majority of Scholars are selected based on broad academic achievement.

As the selection process continues, candidates submit further materials for consideration, including essays, self-assessments, and school transcripts. From the initial group, 500 semifinalists will be chosen. In April, up to 141 seniors will be named U.S. Presidential Scholars, one of the highest honors for high school students. In 2011, PCDS senior Keshav Amla, now attending Cal Tech, became the first PCDS student to be named a Presidential Scholar. Click here to read his story and more about this prestigious program.

Lower School students were honored for the fourth year in a row for their entries in the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra's Paint to Music Competition. The annual contest, presented in partnership with Young Arts Arizona, encourages students from around the Valley to create art work inspired by particular pieces of music or themes. The theme of this year’s competition, part of the symphony’s Arizona Centennial celebrations, was “Happy Birthday, Arizona!” and students’ work was inspired by Arizona landscapes.

The PCDS student-artists in grades 2, 3, and 4 saw their winning artwork displayed before the Symphony for the Schools concerts that their classes attended last week. Phoenix-area students had submitted more than 600 pieces of art, and, based on adjudicators’ recommendations, the top 67 pieces were chosen for display at the concerts. Winners are (front row): Elsa Jackson, Sabrina Bailey, and Renat Robinson, grade 2; (back row): Greta Bindley, grade 3; and Gige Neck, Brierly Wand, and Alexandra Ashner, grade 4. Brendan Zuieback, grade 4, is not pictured. All are students of LS art teacher Michelle Gurnee.

In addition to featuring the artwork at the concerts, Young Arts Arizona will take the winning artwork on tour. The “Music in the Arts 2012” exhibit kicks off on April 6 with a special gallery opening at Young Arts’ Purple Space Gallery. Sabrina Bailey’s work will hang for one year in the offices of The Phoenix Symphony.

Since November, senior Kevin Heath and juniors Micah Travis and Garron Rodgers (pictured left to right) have spent most of their Saturdays at Arizona State University working with Ph.D. students in ASU's School of Arts, Media + Engineering to create a technology/art installation at the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art (SMoCA). The exhibit opened February 10 and runs until April 23.

The pieces are varied and quite original, beginning with the photographic “average PCDS student.” Using the individual school photos of an entire class, Garron lined up the eyes and faces of each student and created three image averages of the fourth grade, eighth grade, and twelfth grade (pictured right). For another art piece, Garron, Micah, and Kevin used a Microsoft XBox 360 Kinect to scan their faces and then print a 3D model using a ceramic printer (pictured below). Also using Xbox, they danced in front of the sensor for ten seconds and created artwork from tracking their hands, feet, and heads.

For another piece in the exhibit, the three students took about 100 photos of each student in the class, and used them to create 3D models of each one. Besides using specialized computer software, Garron, Micah, and Kevin also had the opportunity to use unique equipment such as a laser cutter, ceramic printer, and a GigaPan camera, which takes photos in gigapixels or tetrapixels. The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art is located inside the Scottsdale Center for the Arts at 7374 E. Second Street. For more information, visit www.smoca.org.

Thirteen PCDS seniors have been named Finalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program. All were named Semifinalists last fall. The program is an academic competition for recognition and scholarships for high school students across the country. The students, who represent 22 percent of the PCDS senior class, are: Nicole Bassoff, Jehan Bista, Lauren Chanen, Kevin Heath, James Hobin, Rohit Kothur, Benjamin Mattinson, Leah Motzkin, Alexa Roeper, Rachel Rummel, Joseph Schornak, Eric Showers, and Avery Silverman. All Finalists will be considered for National Merit Scholarships, to be announced later this spring. To see photos of the PCDS Finalists and learn more about the National Merit Scholarship Program, read the September 2011 article.

Junior Pauline Shongov (pictured right) received two Honorable Mention awards for her writing in the National Scholastic Art and Writing Contest. Her two stories –“The Caulfield Clockmaker” and “Yew and I: Trapped in a Wood Box of Mine”– were chosen for the honors among more than 200 submissions sent by Arizona students in grades 7-12. Earlier this month, Pauline’s artwork received both Gold Key and Honorable Mention awards in the same contest.

Freya Irani (pictured left), an eighth-grader, received a second place award in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Classical auditions, Junior High Division. Students participated from all over Arizona. In November 2011, she received an Honorable Mention award in the Musical Theater NATS auditions, Junior High Division. Freya began taking voice lessons this school year after moving to Phoenix, but has been singing in her school choir since elementary school.

The varsity boys’ basketball team captured the AIA Division IV, Section I championship on Thursday night, only the second time in school history that a PCDS boys’ team has won the crown at that level. Their dominating 53-29 win over Yuma Catholic came after wins over Phoenix Christian (50-34) and Canyon State (50-45). The #2 seeded Eagles will advance to the Division IV state playoffs next week, Feb. 17-18, at Tim’s Toyota Center in Prescott. The day and time of their first round game has yet to be announced, so watch for details in The Latest next week or find us on Facebook at facebook.com/phoenixcountry day. If you're already on Facebook, just search Phoenix Country Day School.
Photo by Scott Minard '13.

Congratulations to all of our Middle School teams for a fantastic Mountain Valley Athletic League tourney day last Friday. New champions are the 5/6 boys’ basketball team (pictured bottom left), under Coach Amp Lee, and the 5/6 girls’ soccer team (pictured bottom right), under Coach Jenn Hallas. Finishing in the runner-up slots were our 7/8 boys’ basketball team (Coach David Cureton) and our 7/8 girls’ soccer team (Coach Jenn Hallas). In addition, the 6/7/8 softball team (pictured right) won the Great Hearts League championship, under coach Diane Jessen.

Seventh-grader Grace Tuton, an award-winning equestrian, recently completed two weeks of showing at HITS (Horse Shows In the Sun) in Thermal, CA. She showed in the green pony division on a small pony named Wicklyn's Blue Scarab (pictured), owned by Patricia Beary. She won Reserve Champion, qualifying the pony for the green division at the National Pony Finals in Lexington, KY, this summer. At the 2012 Pony Finals, Grace plans to compete on her own pony, Nicodemus, whom she qualified in the rated pony division last summer. Earlier this year, riding Nicodemus, Grace was awarded the Pat Bemis Perpetual Trophy for the Champion Children’s Pony Hunter of the Year.

In coming weeks, Grace will return to Thermal to compete in the hunter ring on her horse, Promenade, and another horse, FYI, owned by Jeffrey Tolson. In March, Grace will compete at Westworld in the CEP Horse Shows, riding Promenade, FYI, Nicodemus, and possibly Wicklyn's Blue Scarab.

Junior Pauline Shongov won both Gold Key and Honorable Mention awards at the regional level in the National Scholastic Art and Writing Contest. Her Gold Key artwork, The Skeleton (pictured left), will go on to the national competition. The contest, sponsored by Scholastic and the nonprofit Alliance for Young Artists & Writers in New York City, is in its 89th year. It is the nation's longest-running, most prestigious scholarship and recognition program for student achievement in the visual and literary arts.

Four Upper School string students have been chosen to participate in the Arizona Music Educators Association regional music festival. They will also participate in the All-State auditions following the regional festival. They are: freshman Wynston Hamann (cellist); sophomores Flavia Pajaro-van de stadt and Chelsea Wu (first violins); and senior Tianna Sheih (first violin). According to Maurine Fleming, PCDS strings teacher, hundreds of musicians auditioned in the western region. Congratulations to Ms. Fleming and her students!

Junior Maddie Stern is playing the Narrator in the Valley Youth Theatre production of Charlotte's Web running Feb. 3-19. Maddie played Lucy in last year’s PCDS production of You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown. Besides the performance this weekend, the theater will stage a farm-style petting zoo between the first and second shows on Saturday, February 4. Visit vyt.com for tickets and information.

The Phoenix Chorale, featuring our own Middle and Upper School choir teacher, Ryan Garrison, recently released its latest CD, Northern Lights: Choral Music of Ola Gjeilo, in Europe. The album, the first-ever recording of choral works by this young Norwegian composer, may be pre-ordered on amazon.com and iTunes ahead of a February 28 U.S. release. According to Mr. Garrison, after just one week of pre-sale, the CD has made the top 20 on Amazon's Classical Billboard. You’ll find more information about the CD at www.phoenixchorale.org.

By Rae Aaron ’15

Not long after the start of the New Year, PCDS received a special visit from Bill Gregory, a former astronaut venerated for his hard work and contributions to NASA. Mr. Gregory discussed his training, jobs, and experiences as a pilot and astronaut, while referring to photos he displayed from his missions. During his morning presentation in the gym, Mr. Gregory engaged the audience by occasionally tossing in his sense of humor, and had such a fascinating story to match every photo that it was possible to imagine the events were occurring right then. Having logged more than 5,000 hours of aircraft flight time and 400 hours of flight time in space, Mr. Gregory was an erudite model to the young students. Through not only his interpretation of his career, but through the story of his life, he inspired students to pursue high goals and enjoy every moment in the process.

By James Hobin, Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations, Blue Tide Robotics

The crazy-busy build season has started for Blue Tide Robotics! The team attended the Arizona kickoff ceremony and has begun daily intensive meetings to plan, design, and build a robot for this year's competition, “Rebound Rumble.” Rebound Rumble is a variant of basketball played with eight hoops and six robots. The hoops are at different heights, ranging from about level with a short table to higher than a basketball hoop. You can see a video of the game at http://www.youtube.com/user/FRCTeamsGlobal.

Blue Tide Robotics started in 2008 with eight students, but in three years the number has tripled to 24, 20 of whom attended the kickoff ceremony. Amy Aube is this year’s team president, and parents Rob Mattinson and Mark Schornak serve as primary mentors for the team. Upper School students are welcome to join Blue Tide Robotics for meetings in the Hormel Arts Center from 3:15-6:00 pm, Monday through Thursday, 2:20-8:00 pm on Fridays, and 10:00 am-8:00 pm on Saturdays. No experience is required, and students do not need to attend every day.

The robot must be designed and built by February 18, when the team will compete in a scrimmage at ASU's Polytechnic Campus. The team will then compete in the Arizona regional competition at Hamilton High School, March 22-24. Fifty teams—most from Arizona, but also from New Mexico, Canada, Mexico, and even Brazil—have registered for the regional competition.

FIRST, which holds the competition, is the leading sponsor of high school robotics, with more than 2,400 teams competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition every year. To learn more about Blue Tide, visit http://www.pcdsrobotics.org.

By Rae Aaron ’15

Whispers throughout the gym waned after Middle and Upper School students congregated, and all eyes drifted to junior Dalia Grado, a member of the PCDS Student Diversity Leadership Advisory Council. As she took her place at the microphone to set the tone for the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assembly during community time on Monday January 9, all were eager to have a break from class, but unaware of the excitement and learning ahead.

Ernesto Bracamontes, from the Nonviolence Training Institute, was the next speaker to rise. Diving into his speech, Mr. Bracamontes shared a story about himself that was very relevant to the theme of the assembly and Dr. King’s day. PCDS Diversity Coordinator and art teacher Melanie Sainz then introduced a talented and enthusiastic group from Faith Celebration Ministries, led by Krystylle Richardson (at right in photo). As Ms. Richardson began her routine, she immediately interested the crowd with her strong voice and brightly colored choir robe. As activities progressed, the engaged student body took part in an interactive timeline of Dr. King's life and accomplishments by accompanying Ms. Richardson and her band in a catchy song.

Through her use of mime-style movement, Ms. Richardson dramatized Dr. King's impetus and desires as his famous speech played in the background. She also called on students who had an idea of what they wanted to pursue in their lives, while creating a picture of the significance of Dr. King's speech in students' minds. As a surprise, the Upper School cheerleading team was invited to join Ms. Richardson on the gym floor for a fun dance routine before Mr. Phillips, Head of the Upper School, closed the assembly. It seemed that everyone at the assembly took away something positive, thoughts to carry with them as they honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his special day on Monday.

Alana Francis-Crow (pictured right) won the 2012 PCDS Spelling Bee with the winning word of “apothecary.” Twenty-one students in grades 4-8 competed in the bee on Tuesday. Runner-up was seventh-grader Aaron Ossias (pictured left). Both students will compete in the Regional Spelling Bee on February 17 against contestants from Deer Valley, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, and Fountain Hills.

In the two weeks leading up to winter break, PCDS seventh-graders collected 1,000 pounds of dog and cat food for the Empty Bowl Pet Food Pantry. The non-profit organization’s mission is to distribute free pet food to those in need, so pets don’t go hungry or become abandoned.

Seventh-grade teacher Desiree Ong explained, “Empty Bowl Pet Food Pantry serves pets in the same way that food banks serve people. When families can no longer afford food for their cats and dogs, rather than turn them over to the Humane Society, the Pet Food Pantry supports families in need of meals for their furry friends.”

According to Ms. Ong, the grade’s leading collectors were Shelby McDermott, who brought in 375 pounds of food, Amy Bedeir, with 222 pounds, and Mallory Klinger, with 72 pounds. On the last day before the break, the seventh grade worked together to bag the food in small portions for distribution to struggling families. For more information, visit emptybowlpetfoodpantry.org.

Third-grader Greta Bindley (pictured left) won first place in the kindergarten-grade 5 category in the Vessels of Hope art contest. Michelle Gurnee, Lower School art teacher, entered several pieces by her first- and third-grade students in the competition. Judges were professional ceramic artists and professors of ceramics from ASU.

Greta’s winning ceramic piece will be on display for the next year at the Cancer Treatment Center of America as part of the Creative Arts in Healing program. McKinley Paltzik, first grade, won a second place award. Honorable Mention went to Miles Sabeeh, first grade, and Andrew Conomos, Darwin Harriss, and Claudia Sheridan, all in third grade. Second place in the high school category went to Mira Bansal, tenth grade. Middle and Upper School art teacher Melanie Sainz was also recognized, in the Adult category, and received a third place award.

The young artists and their families were invited to attend a showing and reception at Marjon Ceramics in Phoenix last Friday, where the contest winners were announced. According to Ms. Gurnee, who brought 55 student pieces to show at the event, “It was a special gathering, and time for everyone to see the beautiful work created by all of the students who had their pieces at the reception.”

Ninth-grader Mariel Sokolov (pictured right), a baritone saxophone player, has been selected by audition for Young Sounds of Arizona. Young Sounds is made up of forty students, ranging in age from 14-19, from schools in the greater Phoenix area. Young Sounds features two big bands and a jazz combo. The bands’ first performance will be in February at the ASU Kerr Cultural Center in Scottsdale.

Middle School LEGO Robotics traveled to the Boys and Girls Club of North Scottsdale recently to compete at the regional level. The team won an award for a creative presentation on how produce was shipped. Coach Jill Niemczura says: “We had a great season of learning how to program, research, and become a true team.”

Scott Tom, Assistant Art Director with Laika, a stop-motion animation production company in Portland, OR, visited PCDS to speak with sixth-grade students earlier this week. He spent a day as Artist-in-Residence to kick off the sixth grade art classes’ unit on animation filmmaking with art teacher Melanie Sainz. Students will be using animation to create public service announcements that address social and environmental issues.

Mr. Tom worked on the 2009 animated feature Coraline, the first stop-motion feature to be conceived and photographed in stereoscopic 3D. He brought with him to show PCDS students two of the mechanical puppets actually used in the production of the film. Students were fascinated by the intricate detail on the puppets, from their small, painted faces to their tiny, handmade clothing. Mr. Tom also shared video and photos that explained the stop-motion animation process, from design concept through sculpting and painting to the actual animation. He said the entire process took about two years.

After speaking about Coraline and answering many thoughtful questions from students, Mr. Tom talked about the film he is currently working on. ParaNorman, scheduled for an August 2012 release, is about an outcast boy who uses his unusual talent to save his town. Mr. Tom closed his presentation by showing students the new trailer for the upcoming film. Later in the day, about 25 students stopped by the MS art room for an informal Q & A session with Mr. Tom. On a personal note: Mr. Tom is the son of Trudy Tom, PCDS Employee Resources Officer.

PCDS debaters made a great showing at the Winter Trophy tournament at River Valley High School (located between Needles, CA and Bullhead City, AZ) December 3-4. In policy debate, the PCDS team of Eric Showers and Jehan Bista shared first place with another PCDS team, senior Frea Mehta and freshman Kyle Kinnie. Kyle was competing on the varsity level for the first time.

In Novice Lincoln-Douglas debate, junior Derek Chan took third place. Debate coach Matt Guthrie said Derek’s finish was particularly noteworthy as Derek entered Lincoln-Douglas –an individual, rather than a 2-person team debate – at the last minute. The tournament ended on an especially high note: At the concluding awards ceremony, PCDS team members persuaded all the competing schools to join them in singing “Happy Birthday” to Mr. Guthrie.

Danielle Lee, who has never lost a race in her four-year high school career, has been named Girls Swimmer of the Year by the Arizona Republic. Since beginning to compete in her freshman year, Danielle has won eight individual state titles and holds seven individual PCDS records (50, 100, 200, 500 freestyle; 100 backstroke; 100 butterfly, 200 individual medley). She also holds Division I records in the 100 backstroke, 100 freestyle, and 200 freestyle. PCDS swim coach Mike Maczuga, quoted in the Arizona Republic, attributes Danielle’s success to hard work, saying that she always showed a lot of talent, but “when she started to put the work into it, she took it to another level.” A four-time All-American, Danielle will attend Harvard University in fall 2012.

Fifth-grader Ariana Sokolov’s essay was one of 100 chosen for publication in a booklet called Voices of Afterschool: An Arizona Centennial Writing Project. Ariana entered the contest, sponsored by the Arizona Center for Afterschool Excellence, as a member of Girl Scout Troop 275. She was further honored by being asked to read her essay at the 2011 Spotlight on Afterschool: Awards of Excellence Luncheon at the Arizona Biltmore Resort in November.

PCDS students make a difference with their dedication to service, on campus and in the community.
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By Rae Aaron ’15

Just as the sun left an orange glow to fade over the endless horizon in the darkening evening sky, the Red Rocks Music Concert performers left beautiful notes to linger in the air of Dorrance Auditorium after the Blue and Gold Weekend performance on Saturday October 22. The talented group, from Phoenix and Virginia, consisted of Moshe Bukshpan, David Ehrlich, Jan Simiz, Theresa Ehrlich, and PCDS strings teacher, Maurine Fleming.

Spending busy days working with students gave Ms. Fleming a unique perspective on the importance of such concerts. “Our lives have become so full of constant motion, and I think it’s very important to go to these performances where you allow your mind within yourself to reach a different place,” she said. “Children are used to going to sporting events, and movies, but we’re not used to being still and listening.”

The variety of instruments, including strings and a piano, expressed different moods with each movement. Upper School students read introductions about each composer, giving the audience some knowledge about each piece. Reflecting on the concert, audience member and PCDS fourth-grader Aari Sivakumar said, “The music is inspirational. I really enjoy listening to the violin, because it’s not as low as the other instruments.” Said Zohara Spector, a second-grader at Pardes School, “The music makes me feel happy.” She said she hopes to play her violin in a symphony someday.

The evening ended with coffee and dessert outside. It seemed that every audience member, regardless of age, enjoyed this classical music performance.

Nineteen PCDS students attended the Arizona Junior State of America (JSA) Mock Congress in Phoenix on October 29-30. Included were seniors Lauren Chanen, Megan Lehrer, and Alexander Garner; juniors Breana Roberts, Derek Chan, April Curci, Dominique Clancy, Mona Shahid, Whitney Fahnbulleh, Jordan Cohen, Emma Pappas, Steven Yuan, Jon Fernandes, and Henry Roden; sophomores Gabby Schacknai, Andrew Garner, Alex Swanson, Veronika Levintov; and freshman Lily Dashevsky. Breana, April, and Lauren also represent PCDS on the Arizona State Board of JSA.

Out of approximately thirty proposed bills, only two passed both Houses of Congress, and both were written by PCDS students. April Curci and Andrew Garner passed a law regulating labeling foods in restaurants, and Lauren Chanen and Derek Chan proposed a bill on the morning-after birth control pill. Several other delegates wrote bills that passed their respective house but failed to win ratification.

According to JSA faculty advisor and History and Social Sciences Department Chair Dave Martin, PCDS students distinguished themselves at this conference of 200 students from Arizona and New Mexico. “They successfully defeated legislation, negotiated compromises, and essentially came to know first hand the difficulty of negotiating legislation,” he said. Megan Lehrer (pictured at right) was named best speaker in the House of Representatives, winning a gavel for her efforts.

Congratulations to the 5/6 and 7/8 Boys’ Flag Football teams, both championship winners in the Mountain Valley Athletic League. The 5/6 team defeated Tesseract 25-6. The 7/8 team defeated Rancho Greenway 31-6. Both teams are coached by Sean Newland and Patrick McHonett.

The PCDS Girls’ Swim team took first place at the 1A-3A Invitational swim meet held at PCDS last Saturday. The boys’ team finished fifth. Next up, the Division II state meet at Skyline Aquatic Center in Mesa this weekend. Swim is coached by Mike Maczuga.

Six PCDS students have been selected by audition for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Western Regional Honor Choir to be held in Reno, Nevada, from February 29 through March 3, 2012. More than 11,000 students from Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah auditioned. Junior Chris Puglisi was selected for the High School Men's Honor Choir, one of only 100 singers chosen out of over 1,800 who auditioned. Junior Melissa Greenberg was named to the High School Women's Honor Choir, one of 100 singers chosen out of more than 3,000 auditioners. Named to the Junior High Women's Honor Choir were eighth-graders Jillian Gilburne, Freya Irani, Elle Miraglia, and Natalie Prieb. More than 5,000 singers auditioned for this group and 150 were selected.

Julia Ivanova ’08 was among 66 students recently inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at Arizona State University. Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 by students at the college of William and Mary to honor outstanding students in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

Olympian Greg Louganis inspired divers from across the Valley at his three-day camp at PCDS.
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Seven PCDS seniors have been named Commended Students in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program. About 34,000 Commended Students throughout the U.S. are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2012 competition for National Merit Scholarships, these students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2012 competition by taking the 2010 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. The Commended Students are: Alessandra Dagirmanjian, Frea Mehta, Nicholas Meyer, Tianna Sheih, Zoe Simon, JB Stockslager, and Catherine Swett.

Jess Sherman (pictured at right), eighth grade, won a blue ribbon for first place at the Arizona State Fair for her molasses cookies. This is her eighth year entering baked or canned goods in the State Fair competition.

Seventh-grader Annalise Bracher, a violinist, has been accepted by audition into Division I of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. The Division I full symphony orchestra is the most advanced group in the program. MYS is dedicated to professional orchestral training for students. This is Annalise's fourth year playing in the MYS youth orchestras.

Aaron Bracher, third grade, has been accepted by audition into the entry level Division IV of the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. This is Aaron's first year with MYS. The group’s first concert is Nov 2 at the Mesa Arts Center. For more information about MYS, visit www.azmys.org.

Upper School Spanish teacher Eduardo Caro was a presenter at the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association Annual Convention earlier this month in Scottsdale. He chaired a session and presented a paper on Spanish American Literature, a postmodern analysis of Gabriel Garcia Márquez’s most recent novel Memoria de mis putas tristes. At a session on New Spanish and Latin American Cinema, Dr. Caro presented a second paper, a socio-cultural analysis of the film Los Colores de la Montaña. The film was recently chosen to represent Colombia in the foreign-language film Oscar race. To learn more about the Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association, visit www.rmmla.org.

Eighth-grader Freya Irani, a new student at PCDS this year, won a photo contest in the neighborhood newspaper Arcadia News. The photo, a night scene of London, appears on page three of the October 2011 issue.

Upper School history teacher Bobby Mirzaie served as a Master Teacher at the Beginning Teacher Institute for the Independent Schools Association of the Southwest, held in Dallas, TX in September. At the two-day conference, six master teachers led or facilitated workshops on such topics as creating lesson plans, utilizing current learning strategies, motivating students, classroom management, incorporating technology in teaching, and assessing student learning. Ninety-six new teachers attended the conference. Mr. Mirzaie has been invited to serve at the institute again in 2012.

Phoenix Country Day School received the I Care Corps Partnership Award from the Creighton Elementary School District for its efforts in supporting the Larry C. Kennedy School. For the past several years, PCDS has encouraged its families to support Kennedy School through Arizona tax credit donations raising thousands of dollars. The school has used the funds for after-school tutoring and enrichment programs.

At the 21st Annual ariZoni Theatre Awards for Excellence in September, junior Bransen Gates (pictured at left) was honored as Best Actor in a Major Role in a Youth Musical for his role as the Tin Man in The Wiz at Greasepaint Youth Theatre. He bested nine other nominees for the award.

Junior Colton Siddle earned his multi-engine pilot’s license this summer and is currently working on his instrument ratings. He plans to have his commercial pilot’s license by summer 2012.

In May 2011, after the devastating Japan earthquake, sophomore exchange student Karen Lin and Tiana Sheih (now a senior, pictured at right) created a fundraiser that reflected the unique culture of Japan. The girls met daily to teach Upper School students how to fold paper cranes and string them together. The Japanese refer to the crane as the bird of happiness. Each string of cranes sold for $2, raising $400 that was sent to the Red Cross to help earthquake victims.

Senior Lauren Chanen recently attended the Advantage Testing Foundation's third annual all-girls math contest at MIT in Cambridge, MA. Nearly 300 girls from middle and high schools across the U.S. and Canada competed for cash prizes. The test consists of 20 short-answer geometry, algebra, and trigonometry problems, which students must complete within 150 minutes. They may not use calculators, graph paper, rulers, or any other aids during the test. To be eligible for this competition, students must earn a qualifying score on the American Mathematics Competition exam, which PCDS administers to its advanced math students each February. The AMC exam is the first in a series of competitions that determines who qualifies for the U.S. team for the International Mathematical Olympiad.

The Rex L. Allison Chair for Excellence in Teaching, named for one of the School’s founders and given annually, was awarded to Lower School art teacher Michelle Gurnee (pictured above) at a faculty/staff assembly at the end of the 2010-11 school year. In addition, Upper School English teacher Andrea Decker (pictured below) received the Olin Chair, presented every three years to an outstanding English teacher.

In presenting the award to Ms. Gurnee, Interim Head of School Lee Pierson praised the art teacher’s “exceptional creativity, flexibility, and enthusiasm in shaping an outstanding Lower School art program. Michelle lives and breathes art,” he said, “bringing a sense of creativity to everything she touches.”

Ms. Decker, a published writer, was commended by Dr. Pierson for bringing words to life in her classroom, “as well as curiosity, respect, creativity, thinking, good work, goodwill, and good humor.” He praised her ability to “instill in each and every one of her students a love of literature, reading, writing, discovery, and creating.”

The Upper School’s Blue Tide Robotics team shares its knowledge with Project Excellence students.
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Artist and illustrator Sebastien Millon ’00 visited the Creating Characters art class last week, part of the after-school Eagles' Wings art program. The students, in first through third grade, had the opportunity to learn and create with a professional artist whose whimsical work served as a natural inspiration for the Creating Characters concept. LS art teacher Michelle Gurnee put the names of animals in a basket and the students chose an animal and had to characterize its image. The class viewed Mr. Millon’s art before beginning their own work. Their final project was an animal character tower that is currently displayed outside the LS art room.

Sebastien Millon’s work can currently be seen on display at Hava Java at 32nd St. & Camelback. As one of ten “Emerging Designers,” he will present his clothing line at Phoenix Fashion Week, October 5-8.

Thirteen members of the Class of 2012 have been named Semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
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The Upper School Robotics team, Blue Tide, teamed up for the first time with PCDS Project Excellence for a five-week course on robotics this past summer. Project Excellence is the signature community outreach program of PCDS. Its mission is to enrich, engage, and empower first-generation students (the first in their families to prepare for higher education) from local underserved public schools and partnering organizations, by inviting them to the PCDS campus for academic enrichment during the summer and weekend workshops during the school year.

Senior Ben Mattinson, the first student-elected president of the robotics team, taught the course under the supervision of Upper School science teacher Mike Swingler, also a PCDS Project Excellence teacher. Assisting them were three Blue Tide team members ― Amy Aube, Stephen Marquis, and Chris Mattinson. The 12 students in the class, in grades 9-11, worked in teams of two so that all could have a hands-on experience building and programming a robot using a small robot kit called the Boe-Bot. At the annual Open House, on the final day of classes, two teams had the opportunity to demonstrate their robots to parents and friends of Project Excellence. Their performance was a definite crowd pleaser.

For more information on the PCDS Blue Tide Robotics team, visit http://www.pcdsrobotics.org.

A PCDS senior spends two weeks in Himeji as a Youth Ambassador with the Phoenix Sister Cities program.
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Congratulations to the staff of the 50th Celebration edition of The Phoenician, our school yearbook, awarded a 2011 Gallery of Excellence Award by Walsworth Publishing. The award, one of only three given for the western region, honors the yearbook staff and advisors for their dedication to producing a high-quality publication. Yearbooks in the Gallery of Excellence are used nationwide by Walsworth representatives as examples of the highest quality production. Yearbook staff included Shannon Manley ’11, Editor-in-Chief; layout and text editors Lauren Chanen (now a senior), and Garron Rodgers (now a junior); and photography editor Kirea Mazzolini ’11. Junior staff: Nicole Bassoff, Melanie Cohen, Rachael Franks, Sara Goldsworthy, Megan Lehrer, Alison Loretta, Breana Roberts, Bryeson Rodgers, Philip Rody, Leah Stofko, and Tom Wall. Advisors were Sandy Theis ’06 and Jenny Treadway.
Pictured are Walsworth representative Dale Thompson, Garron Rodgers, and Lauren Chanen.

Junior Selena Jacquez participated for the second year in a row in the AGUILA Youth Leadership Institute. She attended the organization’s fourth Annual Summer Leadership Symposium, “Designing Arizona’s Tomorrow – Today” at Arizona State University’s downtown Phoenix campus in July. AGUILA is a leadership program for Arizona’s Latino students that focuses on the importance of education.

Senior Avery Silverman participated in the SciTech summer research program for rising high school seniors at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. He was one of only twelve U.S. students chosen to participate out of 40 from eight different countries. Avery conducted research in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, completing a project titled "A Biologically Inspired Biped Robot Walker." He and his research partner were awarded first place for oral presentation.

Michael Young ’11 was named one of ten national Kohl’s Cares Scholarship Program winners. He will receive $10,000 in college scholarships from the retail corporation to honor his outstanding volunteer work. While in Middle School at PCDS, Michael founded the Swing Fore Kids Golf Classic to benefit Phoenix Children’s Hospital’s Animal Assisted Therapy Program. The annual golf tournament has since raised more than $250,000 to benefit PCH. Michael was chosen from more than 37,000 youth volunteers nationally. A member of the PCDS Class of 2011, Michael now attends the University of California, Berkeley.

Junior Bransen Gates has been honored with a National Youth Arts Award as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical for his performance as the Tin Man in The Wiz at Greasepaint Youtheatre. He will be honored at an August 21 ceremony at the Herberger Theatre Center. For the same role, Bransen has been nominated for an AriZoni Theatre Award of Excellence, the Valley’s version of the Tony Award, in the category Best Actor in a Lead Role, Youth Musical. The 21st annual awards ceremony is September 19.

After playing the title role in Pippin at the Tempe Performing Arts Center earlier this month, Bransen is now appearing in Valley Youth Theatre’s production of Hairspray at the Herberger Theatre Center through August 28.

A group of climbers that included two PCDS parents and one student, and was led by former PCDS physical education teacher Kevin Cherilla, reached the 19,340-foot summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in the early morning of July 5. Lower School parent Brian Robinson, along with MS/US parent Jim Humphrey and his son, junior Tyler Humphrey (pictured), reached the summit in the dark with the temperature around zero degrees accompanied by high winds.