What`s Brewing? - Live Oak School

What’s Brewing?
Here in the old Hills Brothers Coffee Factory
Live Oak School
Spring 2016
Spring 2016
W HAT’ S B R E W I N G AT L IVE O A K
Curriculum Spotlights: Second Grade Designers
3
Seventh Grade Environmental Stewards
4
First Grade Book Editors
5
Kindergarten Ecologists
6
Fifth Grade Service Work
7
Staff Spotlight: Scott MacBean
8
what’s brewing at Live Oak
CONTENTS
What’s
Brewing?
From the Head of School
A S A P R O G R E S S I V E S C H O O L , Live Oak has always taken cues from the community
outside our school to inform the lessons and goals for student learning inside our classrooms.
Our curriculum is shaped by the local and global context in which our students live in
order to prepare them to be full and active participants in their lives beyond Live Oak.
By knowing the people, places, and events that define a community, our students develop
responsibility, appreciate diversity, and realize their potential to contribute to their community.
In Live Oak’s Diamond Street location, students met regularly with the seniors who
gathered at the center in the school’s basement. They wrote poetry, swapped stories, created
art, and authored books. And now, after 15 years in our ever expanding campus in Potrero
Hill, we have new partnerships that ensure Live Oak students grow to be active citizens
with the passions, skills, and understandings to be changemakers.
10
In this issue of What’s Brewing, you’ll learn about two new projects with our neighbors at
the California College of the Arts. Two other stories share the ways in which our community
connections are enriching our students’ environmental education. Our long-standing
relationship with St. Gregory’s Food Pantry is featured as well. These are just several of
the many experiences that Live Oak students have in the “classrooms” outside our walls.
Alumni Changemaker Award
11
The museums, Muni buses, parks, playgrounds, theaters, and landmarks of San Francisco
and the Bay Area provide many opportunities for our students to pursue questions and
inspire curiosity. Out in the world, our students learn from historians, artists, economists,
politicians, mathematicians, scientists, athletes, authors, entrepreneurs, docents, and drivers.
Alumni News
12
Founder Spotlight: Dan Humphrey
AL UM NI NE W S Live Oak School
Mission
In the “real world” and in the company of role
models, our students gain a perspective on their
promise and a sense of possibility for their future.
They find the motivation and inspiration to learn.
Live Oak School supports the potential and promise of
each student. We provide a strong academic foundation,
develop personal confidence and the ability to collaborate
with others, inspire students to act with compassion and
integrity, and nurture a passion for learning to last a lifetime.
Lani Ackerman is the recipient of this year’s Alumni
Changemaker Award. Her story is evidence of the
impact of an educational program that prioritizes
the values of equity, advocacy, and engagement.
With Lani’s model, and the alumni Changemakers who have been honored in the past, we see our
graduates matching their passions with the needs of others to improve their communities and the
experiences of those who live in them.
As the school year comes to a close, it is time for us to say our good byes to Scott MacBean. Scott has
served as Live Oak’s Director of Operations for nine years. His retirement in June will mark the end
of his time at Live Oak, but hardly the end of his impact on Live Oak. Read on to find the “countless”
ways Scott has contributed to our school community.
I hope the stories from our school help you to appreciate the power of connection and inspire you
to pursue your potential in the community you call home.
Warmly,
Live Oak Values
n
A rich curriculum that provides access and challenge for
every student, supporting deep thinking, self-expression,
and new perspectives.
n
An inclusive school community that explores and
appreciates the differences that define us as individuals.
n
Empathy in our personal relationships to encourage
responsibility and integrity in our actions.
n
Joy and humor—In this, we find the willingness to learn
from mistakes, the desire to take healthy risks, and the
curiosity of childhood.
Vision
To know a child well is Live Oak School’s vision and the
responsibility of the entire Live Oak community—faculty,
parents, and the students themselves.
Virginia Paik, Head of School
CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHTS:
LIVE OAK AND THE COMMUNITY
Second Grade Designers
I
N E A R LY A P R I L , students from the California College
of the Arts (CCA) visited Live Oak’s second grade class to
collaborate on designs for an “ideal playground.” Our second
graders contributed their experiences and creative ideas while
CCA students contributed their problem solving skills and
design acumen. Together they learned about collaboration, city
planning, and the essential elements of play.
The project began with CCA students seeking answers to
their research questions by observing children on the playground:
What are the most common games played outdoors? How many
kids play on the swings? Do children have more fun on the monkey
bars or the slide? This research was the starting point to launch
the collaboration between Live Oak and CCA. Once recess was
over, our second graders headed back to the classroom where
they broke out into groups led by the CCA students.
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WHAT’S BREWING? Spring 2016
Once in smaller groups, our children were prompted with
one major question, “what would your ideal playground look
like?” Right away the students minds began to race, some felt
that a giant tree with a shady spot was crucial while others
dreamt of a new basketball court or more space to run. They
came up with ideas for a zip line, bumper cars, a petting zoo,
and a life-size Monopoly board.
Next, the children were given clay,
paper, and colored pencils to depict
their ideal playground. Throughout this
time, CCA students continued to observe
the kids while recording their ideas. After
the second graders were finished with
their sculptures and drawings, CCA
returned to their campus to begin the
process of creating four versions of an
ideal playground from the information
they gathered.
Two weeks later, CCA returned to
Live Oak’s second grade and presented
their plans. Each of the four designs
incorporated our students’ creative ideas.
Of the four playgrounds, the two were in
Jackson Park, one envisioned a rooftop
playground, and the other was a redesign
of our current courtyard. Our kids were enthusiastic to see
their ideas come to life.
The interaction between CCA design students and Live Oak
second graders was a vivid example of how collaboration can lead
to the enhancement of learning for all involved. The CCA students
used the ideas of our students to enhance their design projects,
while our second graders were able to observe the process by
which their ideas were incorporated into a concrete plan. n
T
Seventh Grade Environmental Stewards
H I S Y E A R , L I V E Oak seventh graders
joined forces with the San Francisco Recreation
and Parks Department to volunteer as part
of their Youth Stewardship Program (YSP).
The YSP is an opportunity for students in second through
twelfth grades to participate in environmental education
and service-learning trips in San Francisco. Live Oak
seventh graders are based out of Glen Canyon and will
have completed five service-learning trips by the end of
the year. The goal of YSP is to help students develop an
understanding of their role in developing and maintaining
a healthy and vibrant community.
The seventh grade class ventures over to Glen Canyon
once a month. They spend the day learning about the
environment and the local flora and fauna and they
remove invasive species of plants that have grown along
the trails. Students also learn
about the local community and
Seventh graders
the history of the neighborhood.
learn lessons of
By participating with other people
on a community project, our
life and environstudents come to see that their
mental science
actions make a difference.
as they work
Outside our walls and in
with the plants
nature, our students are exposed
and animals of
to new environments and they
meet new people. They learn
Glen Canyon.
lessons of life and environmental
science as they work with the
plants and animals of Glen Canyon. They also learn lessons
about civic engagement and activism as they hear the
stories of those whose passion for nature drives their work.
Live Oak’s collaboration with the Youth Stewardship
Program is truly reciprocal. While our students are
providing a wonderful service to the community, they
are also becoming more connected to and invested
in San Francisco. By developing their critical-thinking,
collaboration, and communication skills our students are
reaching a deeper understanding of themselves and the
world in which they live. n
4
I S A B RO W N , current sixth grade parent, illustrator, and
professor, is teaching a course at the California College of
the Arts (CCA) titled, “Writing and Illustrating the Picture
Book.” At the beginning of the spring semester, Lisa joined
forces with our librarians Jenny and Melissa and brought
fifteen of her CCA students to the Live Oak library.
During this visit, Lisa’s students learned the criteria that Jenny and
Melissa use in developing our picture book collection. The students then
had the opportunity to ask questions, walk around our library, and pick
. . . the CCA (California College of the Arts) students
returned to Live Oak and read their stories to our
first grade students, who proved to be a positive
and receptive audience.
out different books to read. After this first encounter, Lisa and her
students returned to their campus and began writing and illustrating
their own picture books, keeping in mind the recommendations made
during their visit to Live Oak.
At the end of the semester, the CCA students returned to read
their stories to our first grade students, who proved to be a positive
and receptive audience. The partnership allowed both Live Oak and
CCA students to contribute to one another’s learning process. We are
grateful to be part of an active and engaged community in which we
share in these mutually beneficial relationships. n
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WHAT’S BREWING? Spring 2016
CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHTS
L
First Grade Book Editors
Kindergarten Ecologists
A
LU M N U S H O WA R D “H O W I E” K A H A N
( ’ 9 1) has a passion for the environment and
he is dedicated to nurturing the ecologists of
tomorrow. Recently, Howie returned to Live
Oak to share his environmental science
curriculum with our kindergartners and to gather feedback
for his teaching practice. Howie’s goal is to take the curriculum
and implement it at schools on Native American reservations
as part of his current role at the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
Howie’s original plan was to teach lessons on eight
different subjects; air, animals, climate change, ecosystems,
energy, food, waste, and water. When Howie met with the
kindergarten teaching team, they helped him refine his plan
and narrow the focus of his lessons to water. The kindergarten
teachers used Howie’s expertise to highlight what was already
part of the kindergarten curriculum. With a new strategy in
hand, Howie began to rewrite his lessons to focus on water,
water pollution, water erosion, and pH levels.
For Howie this was an exciting experience, being able
to work with young students learning about environmental
issues gave him a great starting place for his teaching practice.
As part of the lessons brought into the classroom, Howie
presented engaging visual aids and first hand stories of his
work in the field.
The kindergarten classes took Howie’s updated curriculum
and grade appropriate lessons and implemented them over
a series of eight meetings. The curriculum allowed our
kindergartners to learn about water in new and exciting ways,
while at the same time enabling Howie to fine-tune his teaching
practice before implementing it on a larger scale. n
Howie returned to
Live Oak to share his
environmental science
curriculum with our
kindergartners and to
gather feedback for his
own teaching practice.
6
CURRICULUM SPOTLIGHTS
Fifth Grade Service Work
S
T. G R E G O RY ’ S F O O D PA N T RY opens its doors every Friday to many
volunteers from the San Francisco community, including Live Oak’s fifth
graders. The Food Pantry’s goal is “to increase access to food for hungry
people, and empower them to help each other.” Our students are invited
to help St. Gregory’s fulfill their mission by volunteering weekly to distribute groceries.
All those who visit the food pantry have access to completely free food, ranging
from fresh fruits and vegetables to bread and dry goods.
The fifth graders wear a number of hats during their time at the Food Pantry. One
week, a student may be serving as a greeter, giving a cheery hello to those who enter the
doors. Other weeks, they learn to stock shelves or to sort trash and recycling. In addition
to practical lessons, they also learn a great deal about kindness during their service. Live
Oak students develop a sense of purpose through their work, which enables them to
appreciate the importance of serving the community in which they live.
The culminating event of the fifth grade service at the Food Pantry is a gratitude
The partnership with St. Gregory’s Food Pantry is one of the many ways in which Live Oak students are learning outside our walls.
At the beginning of each school year, the Food Pantry Founder and Director, Sara
Miles, comes to Live Oak and speaks with the fifth grade class before their service begins.
Sara briefs our students on the mission of the food bank and talks with them about the
roles they will assume in serving at St. Gregory’s.
Sara’s lessons introduce our students to the many stories of the clients of the Food Pantry. She helps them to appreciate the underlying causes of food insecurity in the City. During
the first weeks of school, the fifth grade students are excited to serve in the food pantry but
often nervous about interacting with people they don’t know. This unease quickly fades as
students come to know the other Food Pantry volunteers as well as the food bank clients.
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WHAT’S BREWING? Spring 2016
concert. Throughout the spring, the students work with Live Oak’s music teachers
to prepare a performance for the many volunteers at the Food Pantry. In this way,
our students say thank you for the opportunity to work together.
The partnership with St. Gregory’s Food Pantry is one of the many ways in which
Live Oak students are learning outside our walls. It allows the children to come to
a greater understanding of their own privilege as well as to develop meaningful and
mutually beneficial relationships with members of our community. These reciprocal
relationships help educate civic-minded students who are well versed in, and prepared
to take on, complicated problems that exist in our community. n
Thank You, Scott,
for the Countless Ways you Have Served Live Oak School
234,900 car doors opened at drop off
Scott MacBean
has been
Live Oak’s
Director of
Operations
for 9 years
2007-2016
120 minutes spent unfreezing toilets clogged by Halloween dry ice
Number of times Scott’s been disappointed there were no
Number of times Scott said he was going
sweet treats at meetings: every other time
to retire: 468 or once a week for nine years
4 offices Scott occupied
staff spotlight
Scott put the school first every day, six days a week, for nine years: 2,808 times
3 jaywalkers reprimanded every day
Number of times he’s refused
requests for random personal financial advice: 0
A construction project every year but one = 8
63 finance committee meetings
9 audits, budgets, and Groves scavenger hunts
Endowment dollars: 2,204,777
8
Eighth Annual Potrero Hill Peace March
Eighth Grade Poverty Project
Blowing bubbles on Holly Day
Exciting things have been happening at Live Oak
Making friends in Groves
Futsal
9
Grandparents and Special Friends Day
Students learned to play new sports
Drop Everything and Read Day
FOUNDER SPOTLIGHT
Founder Dan Humphrey
W
by establishing a
During his tenure, Dan facilitated
hospice for AIDS
Live Oak’s move from San Fernando
equity and social justice,
patients next door to
Way to the Castro. At the time,
Dan Humphrey has
Live Oak. Little was
suitable locations for schools were
dedicated his life’s work
known about AIDS
not easy to find. Dan felt the
to education. Dan was a
at the time and there
building on Diamond Street, owned
teacher, the Head of Live Oak School, and
was great concern
by the Most Holy Redeemer Catholic
he is currently an education policy researcher.
about how the
Church, seemed like the perfect
In recent years, Dan’s work has focused
disease was spread,
space. Father Cuchulain Moriarity
on researching teacher development, urban
so Live Oak staff and
was the pastor of the church at the
education, and education reform in order
parents set to work to
time but he was not an easy man to
to improve the public education system.
educate the Live Oak
pin down. The Father
Dan spent the past 22 years as
community.
spent much of his
a researcher and then Director
. . . his commitDuring that time,
time in El Salvador
at the Center for Education
ment to educathere was a senior
standing with
Policy at SRI (formerly Stanford
the rebels against
Research Institute), but his
tion blossomed
the Salvadoran
commitment to education
decades ago in
government. Dan
blossomed decades ago in
the halls of Live
believed Live
the halls of Live Oak School.
Oak’s philosophy
From 1980-1988 Dan
Oak School.
and commitment
Humphrey was Head of
to equity in the
School at Live Oak. His most
community would align with Father
lasting legacies at Live Oak are the practice
Moriarty’s values and that Live Oak
of teaching math using manipulatives to
would be a good fit for the space.
give children concrete examples of math
After six months, Dan was granted
concepts, helping Mary Ann Chin Ng and
an audience with Father Moriarity
Tom Murray become extraordinary teachers,
and through a mutual commitment
and hiring John (Michaud) Gaudino. A
to community and equity (and a
very young John worked in the after school
shared passion for the work of the
program when Dan came to Live Oak and
Irish poet Seamus Heaney), Live
Dan immediately recognized John’s potential
Dan with his wife Robin and their grandchildren
and promise as a teacher. John describes
Oak found a home in the Castro.
community center downstairs from Live Oak.
Shortly after Live Oak’s move to the
Dan as “...one of the best bosses I’ve ever
Dan remembers “Seniors and children were
Castro, the AIDS epidemic devastated the
had. Dan really listened to people and made
neighborhood. Most Holy Redeemer responded largely isolated from each other, so we believed
things equitable.“
I T H A F O C U S on
having a school and a senior center sharing a
building was a great opportunity. We needed
a person to work every day to make that
connection happen.” After receiving several
small grants, Live Oak had an integrated
senior-student program led by a program
coordinator and parent volunteers.
After leaving Live Oak, Dan went on
to earn his Ed.D. from the Teachers College,
Columbia University. Since completing his
higher education, Dan has been working
on state and federal education policy
research. He has studied and written widely
on alternative teacher certification, teacher
professional development, peer review, and
teacher evaluation. Currently, Dan works
as an independent consultant, conducting
a variety of program evaluations, and working with other researchers to examine the
implementation of California’s new school
funding system, the Local Control Funding
Formula, which allocates extra resources
to school districts serving high numbers
of low-income, English-language learners,
and foster youth.
Dan is a native San Franciscan. He is
married to Robin Michel and they have five
grandchildren. Dan’s stepson, Colin O’Malley,
is an alum of Live Oak, and lives with his
family in Brooklyn, New York.
We thank Dan for his lasting legacy at
Live Oak and for his impact on our state and
national public education policies. May Dan
never fail to fulfill his desire to learn something
new every single day. n
10
alumni changemaker award
Alumni Changemaker:
Lani Ackerman (’00)
Lani Ackerman attended Live Oak School for nine
years, from 1991 to 2000. Her love for school began
in John (Michaud) Gaudino’s kindergarten class. Live
Oak is still important to Lani. She recalls Live Oak as
“… a sweet school, with smart teachers. Live Oak is
the reason I still am, and always will be, a student.”
took her first trip to South America in 2007 to study
in Quito, Ecuador. Even before coming home to the
United States, Lani knew she would return to South
America. After graduation, Lani went back to Ecuador
to live and work in Quito. Her first job was with an
Ecolodge owned by an indigenous community, in
the Amazon. Lani said it was an interesting job but
she was unfulfilled “I missed academic life. I missed
anthropology and reading and thinking.”
“Live Oak gave me confidence that I could make a change in the world.
I was convinced I would do something good.”
Lani with her husband Marcos
E
AC H Y E A R , one alumna or alumnus is
selected to receive the Live Oak Alumni
Changemaker Award. The honor goes
to alumni who model empathy and
responsibility, demonstrate the capacity to create
change in the community, and inspire action in
others. This year’s Alumni Changemaker Award
winner is Lani Ackerman from the class of 2000.
Lani is being honored for her work with Columbian
refugees. She has been selected as the 2016 Alumni
Changemaker by a panel of alumni students, faculty
and staff, and founders.
We receive a number of award nominations
for candidates who are making significant changes
within their communities. Thank you alumni, for
inspiring us with your leadership.
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WHAT’S BREWING? Spring 2016
Early on, Lani was taught she had something
In Quito, Lani entered FLACSO Ecuador, an
to contribute to the world and she could make a
international graduate school, to pursue a master’s
difference “Live Oak gave me the confidence to
degree with a focus on political anthropology. She
know I could make change.” Lani remembers a talk
is interested in studying the social problems that
John Gaudino gave about discriminatory language
arise as a result of people having to migrate from
and the importance of words. All of the teachers
one country to another and the unequal power
taught what it means to discriminate.
One of Lani’s classes studied racism and
its connection to the Yugoslavian–Bosnian
war. “We were always being encouraged
to think about equality,” Lani explains.
Trips to Mexico with Lani’s family
exposed her to different cultures “I loved
getting to see how other people lived. I
had learned enough Spanish at Live Oak
to be able to translate on these vacations.
It was eye opening to know that I could
help my family communicate.”
Lani went to high school at Lowell
and then on to Tufts University for college.
At Tufts, Lani majored in Spanish and
Lani at Camp Swig with her best friend Laura Bannett
took many anthropology classes. She
ALUMNI NEWS
relations that are a part of migration bureaucracy.
For her thesis, Lani studied the experiences of
people from many differnt countries who migrated
to Ecuador, and their struggles to obtain residency
visas. As part of this study, she evaluated the
experiences of government employees working
in the visa processing offices. The findings were
published in 2014 and presented to the National
Assembly of Ecuador to inform their debate over a
new immigration policy. Lani is currently completing
coursework for her PhD at the University of Illinois
and will be returning to Ecuador this summer
to continue her current research on Columbian
refugees and their experiences with migration
bureaucracy in Ecuador.
While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Lani
met Marcos. A native of Quito, Marcos taught and
practiced Yoga and was a singer in the Ecuadorian
metal band, Likaon. The two were married in the
summer of 2009. Marcos is currently an art restorer
and art conservationist working at the University
of Illinois. While in Ecuador, Lani and Marcos take
advantage of the opportunities to travel to the
beach, backpack, and explore the Amazon.
At Live Oak, Lani’s experience was that if she
contributed in some way to society, it made a
difference “Live Oak gave me the confidence to
believe that I could make a change in the world.
I was convinced I could do something good.”
We are convinced she will do many good things.
Congratulations Lani, on being selected as Live
Oak’s 2016 Alumni Changemaker. We wish you
luck with your research and hope your mission to
improve the experience of immigrants in South
America has long lasting and wide spread effects. n
Stremlau
Thorsten (’70s)
I went to Live Oak in the
‘70s—it was a very small
school, but it really made a
big difference in my life. The
teachers were excellent, we
had great activities, and I will
never forget the learning and
social environment the school
provided me.
Live Oak School helped
me tremendously. I was a
German diplomat’s son and at the time, my English was not
very good. I had a lot of problems in other schools before Live
Oak. Political correctness and tolerance were not very prevalent
in elementary schools in the ‘70s and I was bullied and called
a Nazi nearly everywhere I went.
But when I came to Live Oak, the students and faculty
made me feel welcome and really helped me adjust to life
in the US, especially having moved there from Paraguay.
We published a great short stories book (which I still have
somewhere) called “Acorn Stories” and we spent a night on
the C.A. Thayer—a boat in the Ship Museum in San Francisco
harbor. Sadly, we moved to the Dominican Republic when I
was in 4th Grade, which is another story. I am now a very successful director at a large international
technology company and still travelling the world. I fondly
remember my days at Live Oak.
Meagan
Cunningham (’80)
I graduated from Live Oak in
1980 and went on to middle
school at Herbert Hoover,
high school at School of the
Arts, Drew, and then on to
study at the Lee Strasberg
Theatre and Film Institute in Los
Angeles. I live in San Francisco
and work as an on-camera
and voice-over actress. My
first ventures onto the stage took place at Live Oak in roles
such as Oscar the Grouch and the Lion in the Wiz. The warm
reception I received from the small school’s tight-knit and
supportive community helped to launch a life-long passion.
Malaika O’Rourke (’89)
I have very fond memories
of my time at Live Oak.
The school was an inclusive
and nurturing environment
with caring teachers and
parents. My group of friends
stayed close for years after we
left. I am currently a CPA living
in Seattle with my young son.
I hope that Live Oak
continues to nurture and
encourage children.
(continued)
Please get in touch with us via Facebook (Live Oak SF Alumni) or
LinkedIn (Live Oak School), and let us know what you have been doing.
12
ALUMNI NEWS
(continued form page 12)
Simon Scotting (’90)
I attended Live Oak School
from 1985 - 1990 (K-5).
I studied philosophy and
played rugby at San Diego
State University before studying business at the University
of Sydney. After business
school, I worked at a foreign
currency brokerage in San
Francisco and then followed
my girlfriend (now my wife)
to Moscow where I set up Shoreline, a financial advisory
company working with newly affluent Russian investors.
Last month, we moved to London with our sons Charlie,
3.5 years old, and Phillip, 1.5 years old.
Last year I started running and finished 7 marathons,
2 half-marathons, and 1 ultra marathon. This year I
am running various marathons and “shorter” ultra marathons as I train for Cotswold Century, my first 100 mile
ultra marathon.
Anyone interested in following my training and races
can find me on Strava: www.strava.com/athletes/2247941
Suzanna Mizell (’94)
I graduated from Holy Names
University in Oakland with
a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal
Performance in 2002. Since
then, I have been singing
opera professionally. I ran the
opera program at Holy Names
University alongside the great
Monroe Kanouse for the better
part of a decade. I also taught
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WHAT’S BREWING? Spring 2016
voice, choir, and piano from elementary through graduate
levels both privately and at many different public and
private schools.
In 2012, my husband and I moved from the San Francisco
Bay Area up to the greater Seattle Area in Washington.
I tend to travel quite a bit as a performer and it brings
me home to California frequently. I am currently in California
singing the role of Madama Butterfly, in Madama Butterfly by
Puccini, with a wonderful new company in Visalia called the
Arts Consortium.
In the fall of 2016, I will finally start a long awaited
master’s degree program at the University of Washington’s
School of Music.
Leana Napoles (’02)
I attended Occidental College
(’10), majored in Diplomacy
and World Affairs, with a
Minor in Spanish. One
month after graduating from
college, I began service as
an HIV/AIDS U.S. Peace
Corps volunteer in Guayaquil,
Ecuador with the Municipality
of Guayaquil. My primary
project was testing patients
for HIV/AIDS in small
community clinics. After returning to the U.S., I attended a
formal pre-health professions post-baccalaureate program
at San Francisco State University. I am currently in the process
of applying to medical school and working as a research
assistant to an orthopedic surgeon in San Francisco. Corey Mickels (’03)
I am currently a first year law
student at USF Law pursuing a
Juris Doctorate and will graduate
as part of the Class of 2018. I
graduated from San Francisco
State University with a Bachelor’s
degree in Political Science in 2015.
I plan to use my legal education to volunteer at legal aids.
This summer, I will be interning at
Bayview Hunters Point Community
Legal. I currently tutor high school students and hope to continue
that work while pursuing my law degree.
Wooram Jung (’03)
I attended Epsom College
in England for high school
and went on to earn a BSc
in Biomedical Sciences from
University College London
and an MSc in Nanotechnology
and Regenerative Medicine
as well. In 2015, I studied in
the Health Careers Program
as part of Harvard Extension.
I am currently working at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute as
a Research Assistant to improve transitions of care and quality
of life for patients undergoing bone marrow transplantation
(BMT). In order to continue and expand my involvement in
improving healthcare delivery and patient-centered care, I will
be applying to medical school in the upcoming year. My hopes
for the future are to change the medical culture from within;
actively trying to regain some of the lost humanity that so
Please get in touch with us via Facebook (Live Oak SF Alumni) or
LinkedIn (Live Oak School), and let us know what you have been doing.
THANK YOU
W E G R AT E F U L LY AC K N O W L E D G E the parents,
many of us feel in the modern patient-physician relationship.
Moreover, I hope to expand my community outreach further
developing my interest in the Medical Humanities.
Noah Shaw (’06)
After attending Live Oak
from kindergarten through
eighth grade, I went to Lowell
High School and played on
the varsity football and track
teams. I studied Mechanical
Engineering at Northwestern
University and was a member
of Chi Psi Fraternity and several
engineering organizations. After
graduation, I came back to the
West Coast to work for Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle,
Washington, and I am now happily moving back to the Bay
Area to work at Uber in SF Operations. I’m looking forward
to getting involved in the community again!
Kerwin Ferrette (’09)
Without going to Live Oak,
I’m fairly certain I would not
be the person that I am today.
Coming in before my first grade
year, I had no idea that I would
be so welcomed and included
in a community immediately.
The care and attentiveness that
I received at a young age has
helped me become the person
I am today, where I am well
recognized among my peers for having such a warm heart.
I am currently a junior at Xavier University in Cincinnati,
Ohio and I am majoring in sport management, with a minor
in business. Eventually, I have aspirations of going to a law or
graduate program, and getting an advanced degree in either
sport administration or sport law. While I was in high school, I
would stop by Live Oak to check in with faculty members who
made a lasting impression on my development as an individual.
The wonderful faculty, accompanied by the aforementioned
community of acceptance, creates an environment like no other,
and I am truly grateful I was able to attend Live Oak School.
Zach Brenner (’12)
Currently, I am a senior at The
Bay School of San Francisco, and
plan to attend Tulane University
in New Orleans this Fall. Following my graduation from Live Oak
in 2012, I started to recognize
my true identity and realize my
passions. At Bay, I took classes in
Climate Change and they had a
huge impact on me. In college,
I plan on further pursuing my
interest in environmental activism. After discovering my love
for basketball as a freshman, I played on the school team all
four years. The time I spent playing sports helped me to build
relationships with the other players and to discover my own
masculine identity. Realizing that the concept of masculinity,
although not often discussed, is important in all young men’s
lives, I decided to start helping adolescent boys explore what
masculinity means to them and the implications of their gender in society. Alongside the leader of the Everfoward Club,
Ashanti Branch, I co-led a four-hour “Taking Off the Mask”
workshop for the Live Oak School middle school students to
help do just that. It was a unique and rewarding experience
to give back to the Live Oak community. n
trustees, grandparents, past parents, alumni, foundations,
friends and faculty and staff who support Live Oak School.
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the
information contained in this magazine. Please accept our
sincere apologies if we have made any errors or omissions
and bring them to the attention of the Development
Office at (415) 861-8840.
GIVING AT LIVE OAK SCHOOL
Live Oak Fund
Our annual fundraiser supports an exceptional
curriculum and rich educational experiences. Each year,
we ask for 100% participation by families, faculty, staff,
and trustees. You can direct your gifts to support:
Unrestricted Funds
Adjusted Tuition Program
Teacher Salaries
Learning Trips and Travel
Professional Development
Technology Access Project
Extracurriculars/
Athletics/Drama
Library
Live Oak School Endowment
Endowment gifts ensure the fiscal strength of Live Oak
in the decades to come. Rather than being spent directly,
donations are invested to generate income in perpetuity.
You can direct your gifts to support:
Unrestricted Funds
Named Funds
Ways to Give
Gifts of Cash
Matching Gifts
Major Gifts
Holly Horton Scholarship Fund
Professional Development Fund
Planned Giving
Stock and Property
Gifts In-Kind
Live Oak Appreciates Your Interest and Support
To learn more about giving opportunities, please
contact the Development Office at (415) 861-8840.
Design: Elaine Kwong Design; Photography: Brittany Olenczak and Kim Pabilonia
Hills Brothers Coffee can: © Tom Gill
Hills Brothers Coffee building: Massimo Zanetti Beverage Company
14
12
Spring 2016
What’s
Brewing?
W H AT ’S IN S ID E
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Curriculum Spotlights
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Staff Spotlight
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Founder Spotlight
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Alumni Changemaker Award
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Alumni News
Live Oak School
1555 Mariposa Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
415.861.8840
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