News

Finals, which present students an opportunity think about and deepen their understanding of how they learn, make up the last four days of the first semester. Having completed their exams, students are now on break until the first week of January. Have a great break and happy holidays!

Drew's finals schedule—two finals per day, the first at 8:30 a.m. and the second at noon—allows students ample time to unwind and prepare in their own ways. Approaches range from quiet individual study to group preparation to casual socializing and ping pong.

9th-graders in Amelia Stewart's Theater Workshop class present two-person scenes in front of their invited family members for their final. The scenes dealt with varying forms of interpersonal conflict.

Congratulations to Drew alumnus Danny Schnair '07, who performed last week on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" alongside his band, Frenship.

Students in Cara Cummins' Brain Games elective use rulers, their fast-twitch muscles, and the kinematics equations to determine their reaction times. The Brain Games elective engages the brain through a variety of methods, including metacognition, and activities such as logic puzzles, optical illusions, inkblot tests, pattern recognition exercises, and sudokus in order to learn basic neurobiology and neural pathways to understand the process of thinking.

A handful of 12th-graders visit the 9th grade Health and Wellness elective to discuss their Drew careers and give tips for success in all aspects of Drew, ranging from academic to social.

Students in Burke Green's Physics Honors class tackle a handful of finals prep exercises and questions that synthesize a semester's worth of concepts and lab work—particularly around projectile motion.

Students in Dr. Selene Zander's Spanish 3 Honors manage the stress of preparing and seize the opportunity to demonstrate what they've learned this semester in graded conversations with Dr. Zander.

Students in Jean-Paul Ouellette's AP Calculus AB class work through finals prep packets in advance of next week's final exam with the help of each other and Mr. O himself.

Drew students and faculty present an evening with three distinct expressions of creativity during the Gallery Walk, MakerSpace demonstration, and Winter Concert.

View the entire concert here.

Students in Anders Fairbanks' Precalculus class work together with their classmates and Mr. Fairbanks to complete a series of problems based on graphing exponential functions.

Drew students welcome their grandparents and family friends to campus for the morning before Thanksgiving break begins. Visitors are treated to a breakfast reception, a look inside Drew's programs, classroom visits with their hosts, and an assembly during which each visitor is introduced and offered the opportunity to say a few words of gratitude and advice.

10th-graders in Taylor Martin's English 2 class break into small groups to discuss three Pablo Neruda poems: The Fisherman, The Poet's Obligation, and Too Many Names. Students identified each poem's theme and five elements therein that communicated the theme before analyzing the structure and searching for similarities and differences among the three poems.

Students in Ali Blum's Drawing & Design class utilize a variety of media to create self-portraits and other pieces.

9th-graders in Maren Anderson's Biology class test for the presence of monosaccharides, polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, and an unknown substance during a macromolecules lab.

Students in Amanda Papanikolas' Spanish 2 class explore the use of reflexive verbs.

Students in Judy Butterfield's Gardening and California Food Systems elective walk to a nearby garden to work together and create a salad.

Congratulations to the Boys Varsity Soccer team, who defeated Making Waves Academy 3-2 in overtime to win the CIF NCS D2 Championship!

The Dragons entered the playoffs as the #3 seed and defeated Oakland Military Institute and Athenian before knocking off the #1 seed Making Waves.

A tight game the whole way, the Dragons took an early 1-0 lead when Sam L. scored on a header assisted by Gabe F-W 30 minutes into the first half. 

Making Waves tied it up 1-1 right before the half ended and went up 2-1 shortly into the second half.

The Dragons answered almost immediately when Jack S. scored on a free kick. The score remained tied through the rest of the second half.

The Boys Varsity Soccer team will play for the NCS Division 2 championship on Saturday, November 12, at 7 p.m. at Salesian High School in Richmond.

The Dragons entered the playoffs as the #3 seed and have defeated Oakland Military Institute and Athenian to advance to the finals against Making Waves.

Admission fees: $10 General Admission (adults), $5 Special (seniors, students, and children with adults). Purchase tickets online. You are encouraged to download the app so you can scan in at the admissions gate.

Go Dragons!

Students in Jen Solomon's Honors Anatomy & Physiology course explore how skeletal and muscular systems work together by dissecting a chicken wing

9th-graders in Judy Butterfield's English 1 class deepen their analysis of text as they bring Shakespeare to life through costumed performances of scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Students in Caitlin Jackson's Mandarin I class are assigned Chinese names, then tasked with determining the translation and meaning of the name.

Drew students present the fall play, "The Disappearance of Daniel Hand," directed by Amelia Stewart.

The Boys Varsity Soccer team won its first NCS playoff game 2-0 and advanced to the next round, where they will play Athenian on Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 5 p.m., at Kezar Stadium.

Admission fees: $10 General Admission (adults), $5 Special (seniors, students, and children with adults).


See the tournament bracket here.

Saturday, November 5, 4 p.m., versus OMI at Kezar Stadium.

Admission fees: $10 General Admission (adults), $5 Special (seniors, students, and children with adults).

Go Dragons!

Students in Cara Cummins' Botany & Herbology elective put finishing touches on small succulent arrangements and drink and share teas they created.

Students in Dr. Jon Herzenberg's Psychology class discuss and analyze four elements within the topic of child psychology: stages of growth, nature vs. nurture, maturation and Piaget, and emotional development.

Students in Cara Cummins' Biology class explore a twist on the classic Diet Coke and Mentos experiment: what happens when the Mentos are coated in hydrophobic NeverWet?

The annual Halloween costume contest in the courtyard features a myriad of creative approaches.

Students in Maria Lopez-Larios' Spanish 1 class listen to and understand the meaning of "La Bamba" before reviewing how to write and say numbers in a series of exercises—including sharing fictional phone numbers of famous people.

Students in Dr. Luis Fernandez's Anatomy and Physiology class explore the integumentary system by exploring the reactions of their bodies to a variety of stimuli.

Students in Jin Feiszli's Graphic Design class hone designs created in Adobe Illustrator to be cut out using the laser cutter in the MakerSpace to create a variety of physical items, including jewelry.

Congratulations to the Boys Varsity Soccer team, who enter the playoffs as the #2 seed in the BCL-Central League after their outstanding 11-2-3 season!

Drew will host #3/#6 seed on Thursday, Oct. 27, at 4 p.m. at Beach Chalet.

9th-graders in Anders Fairbanks' Algebra 1 class carefully review their homework assignment on domain and range before moving into an activity meant to solidify their understanding of linear and exponential functions.

Students in James Garrison's Digital Composing class record the sound of pens and pencils hitting a variety of surfaces, load those sound files into a shared folder, and then digitally sample the sounds to create beats and rhythm tracks.

Students in Jen Solomon's Historical Astronomy elective explore the fundamental properties of lenses by beginning to build refractor telescopes.

Students in Morgan Benz's French 1 class work collaboratively on different ways to phrase questions.

Students in Maren Anderson's Marine Science class view and document a series of plankton slides.

Students in Free Gary's Recreational Basketball Experiential Elective visit the Hamilton Recreation Center each week to play at a variety of intensity levels depending on the students' preferences.

Students in Judy Butterfield's English 3 class analyze and discuss passages of Toni Morrison's "Beloved," exploring themes and dissecting the use of the supernatural and surreal in the passages. Ultimately, students crafted argumentative sentences that responded to this prompt: Why might Morrison use the supernatural/surreal in a book about slavery and its legacy (the real and historical?).

Students in Mario Guttierez's Spanish 1 class explore the differing applications for days of the week, culminating in a "lightning round" utilizing white boards to display answers.

The Drew Boys Varsity Soccer team continued its historic season last week with two wins. The Dragons beat Pescadero 8-1 and Waldorf 5-1 to improve their league record to 9-0-3.

The team is in 2nd place in league with four matches against Stuart Hall, Urban, SF Waldorf, and Lick-Wilmerding remaining in league play. The Dragons are 12-0-4 overall and are currently ranked 2nd in the Fall North Coast Section Division II Rankings on Maxpreps.

The team has scored 51 goals while only surrendering 14. The Defense continues to lock up opponents each match.

We hope to see you out at one of the final matches of the regular season. This team is primed to make a run at the postseason!

Students in Cameron Lee's Chemistry Honors class explore the concept of density in a lab featuring food coloring and sugar water. Students were evaluated on their accuracy, safety, and mastery of the concepts involved in the lab.

11th-graders in Evan Schnair' English 2 course, in the process of writing, make time to give and receive feedback from classmates before continuing to revise and improve based on the suggestions of classmates and Mr. Schnair.

Students in the Recreational Badminton Experiential Elective take the short walk to the Russian Center of San Francisco's gym to play badminton at their desired level of intensity with teachers Julian Islas and Chiron Mukherjee.

9th-graders in Daniel Philpot's World History 1 class delve into Confucianism with a reading, discussion, and opportunity to create a strategically structured brief essay to answer the question, "To what extent should a person follow the will of his or her parents?"

Students in Ali Blum's Printmaking class continue their artistic journeys.

Students in Dr. Grace Leslie-Waksman's Modern U.S. History Through Media course examine the role of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the civil rights movement in the early 1960s.

Students in Marian Ferrara's AP Statistics class create box plots of the top 100 career batting averages of Major League Baseball players as of the end of the 2012 season.

To kick off Banned Books Week, a national event that celebrates the freedom to read, Drew hosts a six-hour HOWL during which students, faculty, and staff take to the courtyard to read aloud from books that have been banned from schools and libraries across the country. "We hope HOWL will spark conversations about censorship issues and that these conversations will continue during additional Banned Books Week activities at Drew," says Librarian Laura Mauler.

Students in Maren Anderson's Marine Bio class partner with the 5Gyres Institute, who works to educate and research about plastics pollution in the ocean. Students use the random quadrant sampling technique to collect data on microplastics on Ocean Beach, adding to the three-year data set that 5Gyres has worked to collect in order to better understand how plastics are entering and exiting our oceans along the coast of California. Students also worked with 5Gyres Ambassador and artist Maya Weeks who creates temporary installations using ocean and beach trash in order to bring awareness to the issues we have with pollution.

Students in Cara Cummins' Physics class collect and interpret data in the classroom in order to estimate how high bouncy balls will bounce when dropped from the third floor breezeway—before finding out the real way.

The fall season is off to a great start for the Drew Dragons. Hear from the team captains about how the season is shaping up:

Students in Amanda Papanikolas' Spanish 4 Honors class are joined by Head of School David Frankenberg in the midst of shadowing 11th-grader Margeaux.

9th-graders in Maren Anderson's Biology class explore the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data through a lab involving blind tasting of a variety of chips about which students give, record, and analyze both types of data.

11th-graders in Elijah Colby's English 3 class analyze and discuss a variety of elements and themes of Emerson's "Nature" and Melville's "Bartleby, The Scrivener."

Students in Burke Greene's Intro to Engineering Class utilize the new MakerSpace on the third floor to design and build candy scoopers that utilize linkages, hydraulics, and more. True to MakerSpace projects, no two approaches to the work look quite the same.

Students in Dr. Selene Zander's French 2 class work with a partner to piece together missing information on a half-completed worksheet focusing on the weekend pursuits of fictional Mireille and the Girard family.

Students in Robert Nelson's World History 2 class discuss the 12th-century renaissance and the context surrounding the creation of the Magna Carta.

Students in Dr. Luis Fernandez's Chemistry class explore four methods for separating mixtures: distillation, filtration, centrifugation, and paper chromatography.

Activist/artist/ printmaker Juan R. Fuentes visits Ali Blum's Printmaking class to discuss his techniques, history, experiences, inspiration, and philosophies.

9th-graders in Judy Butterfield's English 1 class collaborate on a presentation covering Haitian history to give context to their current reading assignment, a collection of short stories involving Haiti called "Krik? Krak!"

Students gather in the courtyard to peruse and sign up for the variety of student clubs, which range from a capella singing to paintballing to gender and sexuality awareness.

Students in Amanda Papanikolas' Spanish 2 class conjugate verbs using the future tense and infinitives in a simple conversational  activity.

Students in Burke Green's Introduction to Engineering class utilize the new maker space on the third floor to design and engineer mouse trap cars intended to run as far as possible using the spring mechanism of a mouse trap for propulsion.

Students in James Garrison's AP Music Theory class work on conducting while sight reading, and using solfege.

Students in Julian Islas' Geometry class delve into right triangles, the Pythagorean Theorem, linear equations, and slope intercept form.

9th-graders in Cara Cummins' Biology class start the year applying the scientific method to self-created experiments using the classic combination of baking soda and vinegar. Students determine their process in groups, agree on how they will take data, and refine their understanding of the scientific method in action.

Students in Caitlin Jackson's Mandarin I class dive immediately into vocabulary, pronunciation, and the nuances of the language while introducing themselves to the class.

Students in Dr. Caterina Meyers' Evolution, Genetics, and Ecology class open their class session with a discussion about effective note-taking strategies before delving into the three domains in biology: bacteria, archaea, and eukarya.

The 2016-2017 academic school year begins with an energetic all-school assembly featuring a welcome message from new Head of School David Frankenberg, a brief speech from student council president Sarah '17, the first events in a battle of the classes, and a closing message from Dean of Students Demond Walker. Students then transitioned to a modified schedule for their first class sessions of the school year.

Drew students ease into the 2016-2017 school year with grade level orientations and retreats facilitated by Drew faculty. 9th graders, new to Drew, benefit in addition from the presence of student mentors who help facilitate orientations and retreats while demystifying the day-to-day of Drew School.

Alexander Massialas '12, already a silver medalist in the Rio Olympics, added a bronze medal as a member of the U.S. Men's Foil team.

Read about Alexander and the team on the Team USA website.

A handful of students in the Class of 2017 gather at Drew two weeks ahead of the start of school to work closely with College Counselors Melissa Martin and Elisabeth Franco, along with Drew alumna and West Coast Regional Director of Admissions at Drew University Elena Wong, on college essays.

Participants review the purpose of the college essay, the writing prompts, and most importantly, take advantage of ample writing and editing time.

Congratulations to Drew alumnus Alexander Massialas '12 for winning the silver medal in men's fencing at the Rio Olympics! Alex is the first U.S. Olympic individual men's fencing medal winner since 1984, and the first silver medal winner since 1932!

Science teacher Jen Solomon spent the summer as a fellow with Genentech through Ignited, a Silicon Valley nonprofit that connects business leaders and scientists with teachers to transform STEM education. Solomon, who will bring elements of her work into the classroom this school year, was one of five winners chosen by the program for her research poster.

"Through my Ignited fellowship at Genentech, I was trained on ELISAs (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assays)," says Solomon. "I completed a robustness study for an ELISA assay that is used to detect the impurity Protein A."

"As part of the fellowship I also have to design and complete and Education Transfer Plan (ETP)," continues Solomon, "that brings what I learned to my classroom. This year Drew's Anatomy & Physiology Honors students will do an ELISA lab to diagnose who has a fictitious infectious disease and then dive into a case study that uses ELISAs and other biotechnology applications to understand the 2014 Ebola outbreak."

Visit the blog maintained by the students who traveled to China this summer.

Double bass players ranging in age from sixth-graders to retirees gather at Drew School for the annual Golden Gate Bass Camp. Students work in partnership with renowned musicians. 

Congratulations to our Girls' Varsity Soccer Team for beating Bay School 1-0 to win the CIFNCS Championship game on Saturday! The Dragons finished the season 23-0-2! 

Join us on Friday, May 20 for a modern dress production of Macbeth by Tessa N. '16 and Charlie L. '16 for their Senior Project. 

In this modern dress production of Macbeth, the sexes of the characters are switched - Macbeth is played by a woman as a woman and Lady Macbeth is played by a man as a man. No cross dressing. No "pants roles." The show has also been reduced to about an hour with intermission. Doors open at 6:40 for a 7:00pm performance in the theater at Drew. Admission is free, no tickets required. 

"Fall in love with the problem. Do not fall in love with the solution." This was the message conveyed to Drew students from the 280 Day keynote speaker, Alyssa Ravasio of HipCamp. Students spent time with  entrepreneurs who focus on social justice, environmental conservation, identity formation, and global citizenship issues. This year, over 36 organizations partnered with Drew to inspire, engage, and encourage students to be passionate about their world, and to ignite that passion into action.

For me, it doesn’t work to suggest that the school year is racing to a close. As this year concludes, my career wraps up. Together with the seniors, I anticipate our June 2 commencement with excitement and anxiety. Thrilled with Drew-inspired growth and daunted by the wonderful opportunities from which each of us will choose going forward. The students and I savor these last few weeks together. 

A sell-out crowd of nearly 350 current and past parents, alumni, current and former faculty, trustees, and friends of the school gathered on Saturday, April 16 to celebrate Sam's 25 years of leadership at Drew. Guest were treated to refreshments in the tented courtyard as well as a photo booth and a memory walk room with a timeline highlighting Drew milestones over the past 25 years.

Congratulations to our Girls Varsity Soccer team on their BCL-Central Semi-Final win 3-1 over Convent yesterday! The victory moves them into the Championship match against Bay School tomorrow at 5:30pm at Kezar Stadium. Let's show our support! See you there for an exciting match! 

Dress up for Spirit Week!

• Monday, April 25th → Snow Day
• Tuesday, April 26th → Music Day
• There will be a karaoke celebration on the courtyard 
  
• Dress as favorite musician
• Wednesday, April 27th → Wacky/Mix-Match
• Thursday, April 28th  → Throwback Thursday
• Music in the courtyard
• Friday, April 29th → 280 Day (College Shirts for Seniors)

From now until the end of May, you can get $15 off your purchase of $75 or more of Drew Gear using coupon code: WELCOME 

Buy Drew Gear

Join us on Thursday, April 21 from 5:30 - 7:30pm at Drew for a night of visual arts and interactive activities fun for all ages including robot building, photo portraits, and a graffiti wall!

On Friday, February 26, nearly the entire faculty and staff attended the National Association of Independent Schools' (NAIS) annual conference, held at Moscone West. Over five thousand Heads, administrators, faculty and staff from across the country attended this event, attending a range of general sessions, keynote speakers and workshops. From the first sessions at 8:00am through the closing session with the Google Education evangelist, Jamie Casap, the Drew team had a full day of professional growth. 

Join us on Saturday, April 16 from 4:00-8:00pm at Drew to celebrate Sam Cuddeback's 25 years of leadership. (This event is not for current students.) 

RSVP by April 1, 2016 
www.drewschool.org/celebrate
Questions? 415.430.3772 or lauren@drewschool.org 

THE EVENT IS SOLD OUT!

Click here to donate.

The world's longest running musical comes to Drew! The Fantasticks by Schmidt and Jones is a funny and romantic musical about a boy, a girl, and the parents who try to keep them apart. Come see a timeless fable of love that's nostalgic and universal at the same time. Performances are March 17, 18 & 19 at 7:00pm in the Cuddeback Wing Theater at Drew. Admission is free, no tickets required. 

We are excited to announce that online registration for the 2016 Drew Summer Program courses is now available. Please click here to learn more about the program and our course offerings. Click here to register for the course of your choice. If you have any questions, please consult our FAQ or email Dr. Livie at ianlivie@drewschool.org.

"Winter Wonderland," this year's formal is taking place THIS Friday. Tickets are for sale all week long during lunch. They are $30 for singles, $50 for couples. If you are in need of financial assistance, just send an email to Mr. Free (geoffgary@drewschool.org) and arrangements will be made.

The 2016 Writers Festival committee is excited to announce an evening of poetry, performance, and conversation with Marc Bamuthi Joseph on Monday, February 29. The keynote evening event places three Drew students (Cora T.-S. '16, Leah D. '17, and Charlie L. '16) in conversation with Marc Bamuthi Joseph. As a collaborative team, Cora, Leah and Charlie will develop, plan, and lead the keynote evening event. Learn more about Writers Festival.

Join us on Friday, January 29 for our annual Fringe Festival, a collaborative arts performance featuring music, improv, drama, dance and film.The show will begin at 7:00pm in the theater, doors open at 6:30pm, no tickets are required. 

For the past five years, Drew has participated in the Teach With Africa Educator Exchange, hosting one or two young educators from South Africa. Educators in the program visit Bay Area schools for a three week intensive program where they visit classes, lesson plan with Bay Area teachers, and work on an inquiry based research project. Drew is very excited to host another Educator in March and we are looking for a Drew family to host our Educator! 

Please contact Maren Anderson (marenanderson@drewschool.org) if you're interested in learning more about becoming a host!