7 - Jfk.edu.mx

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SPRING
SPRING
2011
2011
VOL. 1 NO. 7 ·
nov 2010
VISION
To facilitate the balanced
development of our students;
with commitment and respect
for the local community and
a multicultural world.
Mirtha Stappung M.Ed., MA
GENERAL DIRECTOR
Charles Weiss M.Ed., MA
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT
Debra Cortney MA
PRE–SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Mark Dunn M.Ed., MA
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Tara Fitzgerald Ed. Admin., MS
Farewell
Mr. Chuck!
MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Adrian Leece MA, BSc, FRMtS
HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL
Arturo Bustamante
ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR
ASOMEX
GUADALAJARA
C.P. Josefina Morgan
M. Admon. y Finanzas
FINANCIAL DIRECTOR
Lic. Roberto Loyola Vera; Act. Maria
del Mar Sánchez Rull; Ing. Ángel de
Lope Friedeberg; Lic. Maria Antonieta
Cuellar Minguet; Arq. Rodolfo Vega
Fricke; Arq. Mathew Schmidt Covo;
C.P. Benito Adolfo Tagle Jiménez.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Lic. Mónica Duarte Balcárcel
EDITOR IN CHIEF AND
CHAIR OF THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Mónica Duarte, Patricia Muller, Jaen
Ocadiz, Karla Ríos, Mirtha Stappung,
Charles Weiss, Editorial Committee.
WRITERS
Leonor Cortina
PROOFREADING AND TRANSLATION
Héctor Muñoz · sextosentido
DESIGN
Karla Ríos, Víctor Ortega, Asbed Levi
F E AT U R
E
PHOTOGRAPHY
ALUMNI CONTACT
Mónica Duarte
mduarte@jfk .edu.mx
ADVERTISING SALES
Rocío Ramírez
Tel. (442) 218 0075 ext. 1010
rramí[email protected]
Library
Media
Center
S T O RY
The
Heart
Of Jfk
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Letter fr
om
The Gene
ra
Director l
KeTher
mess
Have something to say
FromQuerétaro
to the Middle East
BRUNO RODRÍGUEZ
RICARDO URQUIZA
ENRIQUE FAUSTO
The cover story of this issue features an interview with a successful writer and film maker
who attended the JFK and comments upon his
time here. We are quite proud of him and his
achievements that include Academy Awards,
and his character which we see so well in this
interview by Mónica Duarte our editor in chief.
Our school vision is to facilitate the balanced
development of our students; with commitment and respect for the local community and
a multicultural world. We hear from him of his
respect for Mexico (he is planning a movie that
takes place in Guanajuato) and his easy adaptation to the multicultural world of New York.
Another article features an interview with Mr.
Weiss, who has worked tirelessly to help ensure
that this is a quality school. His work with our
AdvancED certification agency and our staff
and parent community has led to continued
accreditation. This is only the most recent
example of his fine work.
Mr. Weiss has worked as a Teacher, Principal
and Assistant Director in his many years of
service to JFK. His retirement from the school
brings many memories to our faculty and staff
of his hard work, dedication, creativity. We all
wish him the best in his future work as a consultant to schools and to follow his dreams.
We hear from many alumni and others about
their interest in the JFK Times as a way to keep
in touch with the school. Thank you for your
comments and support and enjoy this most
recent edition.
Times
Message
from our
General
Director
Mirtha and Chuck enjoying the mexican
culture.
Mirtha Stappung
M.Ed., MA
General Director
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OUTSTANDING ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENTS BY OUR FACULTY OR STUDENTS
Time To
Celebrate!
By Mirtha Stappung
This
accreditation
also allows
us to deliver
an American
diploma and
American
transcript
to our
students.
We Celebrate our Recent Re-Accreditation
as an American School
Our community recently participated in our
accreditation process with advanced, sacs⁄casi.
Yearly update reports are delivered to the organization and every five years teams of educators
visit each member school. This was our year for a
visit. This is also a year to celebrate their findings!
The five member visiting team that was here in
March was led by professionals from inside and
outside of Mexico. During their review, over a
period of three days, the team conducted interviews with a wide range of school stakeholders,
reviewed school documents and student performance data, and made professional observations
to determine the degree to which the school meets
standards for accreditation.
The Visiting Committee Is Coming They were here to determine that what we say
JFK was busy with great activity, getting ready of ourselves in reports to them can be found in
for the visit. Everyone was involved. Everyone practice here at the school. They were also here to
provide recommendations and requirements for
heard about standards, indicators and School
future improvement.
improvement.
We always hear about sacs advanced and how
we really value their international accreditation. As an international school, this has many
positive implications for us.
The accreditation process is designed to help
high quality educational institutions like ours
boost their ongoing performance efforts for
the benefit of our students. This accreditation
also allows us to deliver an American diploma
and American transcript to our students. These
benefits help students enroll in other highquality schools around the world and use their
American school diploma in the college and
university application process.
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SACS ADVANCED
ACCREDITATION TEST
Jonh F Kennedy School
Name
Location
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Jurica, Querétaro. México.
Grades
K 1 trough HS.
Age
47 years
As the global leader in advancing
education excellence through
accreditation and school improvement,
AdvancED brings together more than
100 years of experience and the
expertise of the two largest US-based
accreditation agencies —the North
Central Association Commission on
Accreditation and School Improvement
(NCA CASI), and the Southern
Association of Colleges and Schools
Council on Accreditation and School
Improvement (SACS CASI).
Comments
Their conclusion
included many
positive comments
about the school
and very high
ratings about what
we do. They were
quite impressed.
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Teamwork And Collaboration
We are very proud of our staff, their hard work and commitment to our students. We are also proud of the families that
trust us with their children’s education and who share the
responsibility for developing our next generation of leaders.
The team presented their findings to the community. They
were impressed with the participation of families, students,
teachers and staff in the school. It is through combined
efforts of so many that the evaluation went so well. They
talked about the strength of our well prepared administrators
who are able to lead their school sections with a high level
of competence. They determined that the school is highly
functional —the highest rating, which is above and beyond
what is expected of schools, in four of the seven categories. In
the other three they found us to be operational. That is to say
that the school has no outstanding deficiencies in any of its
standards of quality. The community should be rightly proud
of these outcomes and know that the reputation of this school
is very high within the small group of less than 150 schools
in all of Latin America and the Caribbean with accreditation
from this agency.
There Is Always Room To Advance
Who Did They Speak To?
They interviewed 197 people while here, along with making a
detailed study of our reports to them.
Their conclusion included many positive comments about
the school and very high ratings about what we do. They were
quite impressed. They were able to find two areas that we will
advance; having to do with alignment of our curriculum and an
increased attention to the content of our professional development activities. Their suggestions for improvement will be very
helpful for student learning in the future.
We Are A Great School
External validation of what we do and how we do it, was a professional way of celebrating our accomplishments of the past
five years.
This certification is important. The reputations of schools
with this accreditation are recognized around the world for
having good educational programs. Accreditation matters to us
because our students deserve the highest level of educational
excellence possible. We know that students coming from advanced accredited schools to JFK have received a high quality
education from their last school. Parents can confidently make
informed decisions about their children’s education, knowing
their child’s school has a reputation of excellence.
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We always use their observations to support
school improvement.
We, along with advanced, insist on a relentless pursuit of excellence. This ethic of excellence ensures that our school receives rich
benefits from accreditation and these school
visits.
The visiting
that
committee saw year
this
our theme for eally fits
r
THE JFK SPIRIT
Revisiting a
Traditional JFK Event
The
Ker
mess
The Kennedy Kermess has been an opportunity to
have fun, come together, and even showcase our
entrepreneurial spirit for close to 30 years. This
yearly event allows us to have a bite of food, a look,
a laugh, and for a short time, a blast, while we lend
a hand to projects that matter to our school and our
community. And even if we are proud to say that
ours is one of the finest Kermesses in the city, this
year we decided to give this event a boost.
The challenge: making it as fun as possible
Increasing our attendance, and a providing
activities for a wider range of ages, were our most
immediate goals… but simply making it as fun as
we could was the real challenge this year.
As always, when we ask our community for
support, everybody responds with creativity,
readiness and loads of enthusiasm. The result:
the most well attended, special and memorable
Kermesse we have had in years! To make a long
story short, attendance rose 50% from last year!
To makehaort,
long storyces rose
attendanm last
50% ferao r!
y
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How did we
achieve this?
For starters, we studied the location of every attraction and activity to make sure it was placed in
the most appropriate space. But the real secret to
increased participation was offering something
for everybody. Parents, alumni and students of
all ages had something to look forward to.
Our sports activities were also a winner with
alumni coming back to our school to have fun
with their teachers from the past and old friends.
Families donated wonderful gifts for our Tómbola. This raffle was a tradition that we brought
back this year and it served as a great fundraising event.
Our High School students attended several entertainment booths this year and attracted many
students to their booths to try their luck with
the ring toss and many other games of chance
for the younger ones. They also organized the
parking lot and a car wash service. All funds
were donated to our Annual
Campaign.
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Talent Show and
Band Performances
But when we asked around, the most memorable moments were the Talent Show and the
Middle and High School Band performances.
They performed on a new stage area that used
the plaza and stairs in front of the new Middle
School as the concert area.
As always, we want to thank parents, students, staff and all of our sponsors for making
the Kermess a really fun opportunity for the
JFK community to be together.
This Kermess has raised the bar as to what
we can accomplish as a community… and how
much fun we are able to have while doing it.
The challenge is up for next year… we will be
expecting your invaluable support, and attendance, to make it happen once again.
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THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY
From
Querétaro
to the
Middle East
By: Jaen Ocadiz
I’d always known that I wanted to go to university outside Querétaro, preferably in a foreign
country but if not in Mexico City at the least
and I encountered an opportunity that will
really do the trick. By September of this year
I will be living in my new home: Sama Tower,
the high-rise building that houses New York
University students. Sound like Manhattan
to you? Not quite. Sama Tower is located in
downtown Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
nyu Abu Dhabi first contacted me through
Erika Lastra, the High School counselor.
I showed my interest in the university by
sending a research project proposal regarding
Masdar City —an ecologically planned and
sustainable urban development under construction in Abu Dhabi— in which, as an engineer, I would determine what could be imitated
in other developments around the world,
namely in developing countries. As a result,
the university invited me to Candidate
Weekend, a prerequisite for admission in
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Alonso Oca
d
Class of iz
'11
er
Sama Tow i
Abu Dhab
We know
that we are
privileged to
study in a
school such
as ours, but
we do not
realize just
how much.
which prospective students are evaluated
by the admission committee in order to determine if they are “nyu material”, if you will.
The country impressed me. It's infrastructure
is first-class; the city is clean and well planned
and it displays amazing skyscrapers, and it
is surrounded by a beautiful ocean of sand,
a magnificent place for reflection and contemplation. Furthermore, the country is keen on diversifying and moving away from an oil-based
economy into a more balanced one, and has
very ambitious plans, including the construction of a Louvre museum, a Guggenheim museum, and opening a campus of the Sorbonne
University. But what most inspired awe in me
was the university. The campus is very small,
and there is only one class as of now, but it is
the most diverse student body in the world.
There is no single place where most students
come from, everybody is a minority. There are
people from Brazil, Mexico, China, the United
Kingdom, Ethiopia, the U.S, the uae, India,
Qatar… you name it. The community is therefore very closely integrated, like a big international family. Plus, the small size of the student
body puts the professors at the students’ reach,
which is often not the case in big universities
where the students cannot interact with the
faculty, but rather have to limit themselves to
listen to the professor’s lecture. Another asset
of the university is the students’ mobility: they
have the option of taking semesters overseas
in all regions of the world, thus becoming true
global citizens.
Speaking of global citizenship, I must say
that the John F. Kennedy was instrumental in
my mindset of embracing diversity. We know
that we are privileged to study in a school such
as ours, but we do not realize just how much.
English, the world’s lingua franca, is hard
wired into our brains, dramatically increasing
our possibility of communicating with others
NYU Abu Dhabi awarded Jaen
an unprecedented amount
of financial aid, surpassing
$80,000 usd/year in the form
of scholarships and grants,
not as loans, so the best part
of this is that he will be debt
free when he graduates!
worldwide. Also, we have the good fortune
of having people from all over the world as
our peers. I don’t think that I would be as openminded and globally conscious if it weren’t for
the school I am part of, and I am thankful for
that. The fact that nyu was able to contact me
through the school is a proof that the school
is as global as it claims to be.
And what do I expect of my years at nyu
Abu Dhabi? The list is endless, because so
are the possibilities. I expect to learn at least
a new language, perhaps even two. I expect to
travel and become aware of the challenges that
the world has to overcome. I expect to use the
resources the university has to offer to create
sustainable non-profit engineering projects to
benefit the poorest regions. I expect to contribute to the growth of the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East. The world’s urban
population has reached unprecedented levels
and will continue to increase, and we cannot
continue to build cities the way we have until
now if we wish to live in a healthy manner in a
healthy planet. After learning everything I can
at nyu and from Abu Dhabi itself, I expect the
building of eco-cities to be my contribution to
tomorrow’s world.
With an
acceptance
rate of
under 2%,
NYU Abu
Dhabi is
one of the
most
selective
undergraduate institutions in
the world.
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A FOCUS ON OUR STAFF
Chuck Weiss
"I have seen
the school
grow and
mature over
these years
from a good
second
language
school,
to one of
the top
American
schools in
all of Latin
America
and the
Caribbean"
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Charles Weiss is a name the Kennedy community will always remember. A man that has left
a mark in many hearts; a blue eyed man with a
certain likeness to Santa Claus who… not being
him (apparently)…will always be loved and surrounded by children, giving and getting hugs.
His motto: Life is good.
We share with our readers this brief profile
of Mr. Weiss. He has been the Kennedy’s Assistant Director for the last eight years; Carlos
Blanco (the name Weiss is Blanco in German),
as he signs on occasion, will retire from our
school after a successful professional career.
We hope that he will continue working in education, he has a lot to share.
Our best wishes for the next stage in your life
Mr. Weiss. We love you and we will miss you!
It seems that my life experiences led me to
the John F. Kennedy School. Besides degrees
in Elementary Education, a Specialist’s Degree
in Early Childhood Education, an Honorary
Degree for Special Service to the Profession,
and two Master’s degrees, I was able to participate in extensive studies of educational issues
in my position as a member of the Professional
Standards Branch of the Committee of Credentials of the California Commission on Teacher
Licensing. I was also able to participate in important studies in the Education Department
of Sonoma State University, California, in Zen
Buddhism.
I have a degree in Anthropology which
helped me prepare for my work here. One of
my professors is one the last six living indigenous Coastal Miwok and another one continues studies with the peoples of Papantla.
They taught me a love for Mexico, for the many
México’s.
After 22 years in California schools, including
work as a Teacher, Elementary School Principal
and Superintendent of Schools, I took the opportunity to come to the JFK School.
I thought I would spend just one year here, but
was absolutely delighted with the students and
their families and decided to stay. It was the
best decision in my professional career.
I have worked for 17 years in this school. First
as a fourth grade teacher, then as the Director
of the Pre-school, and then finishing my career
as one of the overall leaders of JFK.
After having been in the field of Education
for the past 39 years I have a good perspective
on the elements found in a quality school. This
is a quality school; it does a great job of educating students from México and from around the
world. I have seen the school grow and mature
over these years from a good second language
school, to one of the top American schools in
all of Latin America and the Caribbean.
I was fortunate to have developed a great
working relationship with Mirtha Stappung
M.Ed., MA, the General Director of the school.
She was the English Language Coordinator
of the Elementary School when I first arrived.
We then developed further connections as she
became Elementary School Principal and I, the
Director of the Pre-school. When she became
the General Director it became obvious that I
would be a good Assistant Superintendent to
help with school improvement efforts.
My personal accomplishments in this school
are inextricably linked to the collaborative efforts of so many. Born a twin, I know the power
of working together. Fortunately there are great
teachers, administrators and community members here who know how to join together in
their efforts. I have great satisfaction in knowing that the school, over the years, has become
officially recognized, within their category, by
all John F. Kennedy School employees, as one
of the top 20 places to work in all of Mexico
– A Great Place to Work ®.
Our graduates are now entering the top
universities and colleges in Mexico and around
the world. JFK graduates are being given the
opportunity to enter top schools with an average of $1,000,000USD in scholarships being
"Born
a twin,
I know
the power
of working
together.
Fortunately there
are great
teachers,
administrators
and
community
members
here who
know how
to join
together
in their
efforts"
offered to them each year.
I am proud to have been a part of school
improvement efforts that have led to these
outcomes. These extraordinary achievements
of our graduates are a result of their preparation from Pre-school through the High School,
following our Vision, Mission and Model of
Education. Qualified and talented teachers,
good administrators, a satisfied support staff,
and collaborative families have all joined together to make these things happen.
I want to thank the community for giving
me an opportunity to work over the years as a
guest of your country. Your graciousness, love
and support have nurtured me and given me
strength.
Lastly, I am now in the process of applying
for Mexican citizenship. I soon hope to be a
proud American Mexican. The grand Kennedy
community has allowed me to join them and
now I hope to become a full member of the
wider Mexican community.
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SPORTS
PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR OUR MODEL OF EDUCATION
ASOMEX
GUADALAJARA
A Tournament Where Our Jaguar’s
Spirit Lead Our Teams to Victory
As you know, the Kennedy has been striving
to make basketball an attractive option for our
students. Becoming a venue for future lideip
tournaments has been part of this effort, but
preparing our students to succeed in this sport
has been the main goal.
The Asomex Basketball tournament, held
recently in Guadalajara, gave our teams for the
10-11 category an opportunity to show in competition the hard work they had been investing to
raise the competitive profile of our school in this
sport. Boys and girls teams, made the Spirit of
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the Jaguar roar by winning a hard fought
battle for first and third place, respectively.
These great results are, as coaches Yanin
Rubio and Zahit Méndez agree, a veritable
team effort which included, not only the hard
work and commitment of the team members
themselves, but the solid support of parents
and our coaching staff.
The boy’s team had participated many times
in this kind of event, never placing better than
fifth place, while the girl’s team had not attended an asomex tournament before. It took
Not only
was there a
strong
presence
from our
coaches, but
it is hard to
remember a
time when
almost all
families
were in
place to
cheer and
support
their kids.
a three year effort for both teams to boost their
competitive edge.
This year’s tournament brought the additional
pressure of having to remain at the hotel when
they were not competing. As Coach Sergio Colin
points out, “this tournament was held not only
in the gym, but at the hotel as well. Our couches
had the challenge of keeping discipline and
high spirits of the group at all times, creating
fun and well organized games and activities.
We even had the privilege of listening to one of
our girls play the piano during an evening.”
Our great Kennedy spirit rose to this challenge. Not only was there a strong presence
from our coaches, but it is hard to remember
a time when almost all families were in place
to cheer and support their kids. As they themselves will tell you through a special page posted in Facebook to share all these good moments,
the asomex tournament in Guadalajara was
an experience to be remembered; it will have a
lasting impact in our school, since more of our
students now want to join our teams to celebrate
sports, life and friendship on a basketball court.
t of this
en
m
ve
ie
h
ac
t
an
rt
po
im
t
“The mos
of identity;
e
ns
se
a
g
in
ar
sh
as
w
ce
experien
n girl’s
ee
w
et
b
ce
en
er
ff
di
no
as
w
there
all part of the
e
er
w
e
w
;
es
ili
m
fa
’s
oy
b
and
Kennedy team.”
Coach Yanin Rubio.
“Spending time together brought
team members, parents and coaches
closer and, as a result, a stronger
bond was born within the teams.”
Merino Busch Family
ion’s trophy,
“Beyond winning the category’s Champ
alities
I recall the moments when we all set form
s´;
aside and cried together `let’s go Jaguar
Now I have to ask, Are You a Jaguar?
Eileen Suástegui Dahdah
(Mother of Marcelo García Suástegui)
WHAT ARE WE UP TO?
The donations we
received will
help us get
closer to this
year’s Annual
Campaign
goal, which
is to build a
basketball
court
O
n April 10th the Kennedy community
had the great experience of launching
an event which will certainly become
one more of our cherished traditions. Parents,
students, teachers, staff, alumni and friends
gathered to celebrate life, health and family
by running or walking together in our First
JFK Race; We Run Together.
We had many categories and distance
options such as 1K, 3K, 5K and 10K, because
we wanted to include the whole family. The
great success of the event clearly shows that
we value every opportunity that brings us
together in a positive way.
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At the
word
“go”,
a virtual
river
of red
t-shirts
flooded
the side
rode of
Paseo
de la
República
Participants showed up bright an early at
the Urban Center plaza just outside Jurica.
An unexpected 998 runners subscribed to the
event… a surprisingly high number for our first
attempt at such an activity.
Excitement mounted as the crowd loudly
shouted the countdown that signaled the
departure time for each category. At the word
“go”, a virtual river of red t-shirts flooded the
side road of Paseo de la República, inaugurating a new race course that will surely become
a favorite venue in Querétaro for events such
as this. In the competitive spirit that drives us
to our best effort, participants from ages 4 to 70
shared the experience of running.
This unprecedented coming together of the
community was made possible thanks to the
numerous members of our school community
who works so hard to make it a reality. A group
of more than 15 volunteers spent a generous
amount of time organizing the event. Another
70 helped to deliver water, cheer the runners
on and give medals to the participants. Our
school’s staff provided the support and organizational skills necessary to make everything
go smoothly. Our sponsors provided generous
support for the event. We were all part of a
beautiful and inspirational race that brought
us all together and left everyone with a wonderful set of memories for the future.
The funds that we gained from this event will
help us get closer to this year’s Annual Campaign goal, which is to build a new basketball
court. This race and other community events
are geared towards building an even stronger
community. We are united, and it shows!
17
18
19
FEAT
UR
E
T
20
STO
RY
•
Library
Media
Center,
The Heart
of JFK
he library media
center is the
heart of JFK.
Located in the center of
our campus the lmc is
always very happy and
excited
to welcome students,
staff and parents. We
are for sure very glad
when alumni pay us a
visit here too.
Hours of operation during the school day are
from 7:00 – 5:00 and on Fridays until 3:00 p.m.
It has a wide and spacious entrance where continuous art expositions are displayed for the
entire JFK community to enjoy and appreciate.
Since 2004 when the lmc opened its doors,
we have strived to keep growing and, to date,
many comfy couches. Each day more than 425
students, parents and teachers visit the media
center to check out books, research information and check Edline among other things. Our
annual book fair brings grandparents, aunts,
uncles, parents, teachers, students and alumni
together as they enjoy looking at new titles,
purchasing a few favorite books and sharing
time together while taking part in hands on
literacy projects.
we are proud to say that
it houses 24,555 books,
that 2,880 books are
checked out on average
each month, and that we
have 367 DVD’s to offer.
A proud showcase
for our ideas,
efforts and accomplishments
Students and teachers
request work, projects, art pieces and trophies
to be displayed around the lmc and a sense of
pride and accomplishment permeates the facility. During the early morning hours you can see
students reading, doing homework, photocopying materials, printing documents, and meeting with friends while relaxing on one of our
A spaced design to suit
each section’s needs
There are different areas designated for the
four sections of the school. Preschool teachers
bring their students weekly to read and check
out books from our cozy preschool library –
equipped with preschool sized chairs and reading tables for our students. The elementary
section of the media center has a reading area
where teachers enjoy sitting back in our comfy
rocking chair to read stories while students sit
on the rug and couches listening attentively.
Once a week, elementary students come to
check out books, learn research skills, and read
silently. Our Middle and High School students’
visit the media center often with their teachers
and independently. The main focus for our secondary students in the media center is to work
on their research skills and ensure they know
where to find appropriate reference materials
for reports, projects, essays and presentations.
At all grade levels, our media center staff offers
book talks throughout the month with the
goal to encourage and increase independent
reading among our students. Teachers work in
collaboration with media center staff at times
to choose specific genres for the book talks in
order to support their academic program.
Since 2004
when the
LMC opened
its doors,
we have
strived to
keep growing and, to
date, we are
proud to
say that it
houses
out on
average
each
month,
and that
we have
367
DVD’s
to offer.
24,555
2,880
books, that
books are
checked
21
The best tools to foster learning
We would lik
e to thank al
l our commu
ty for your su
nipport in donat
ing books for
the Bookilom
eter last Frid
ay, April 8th.
Laying these
donated book
s end to end,
we reached a
length of 421
meters with
a total of 1,51
0 books! Boo
k
s that don´t
fit in our libr
ary will be don
ated to INEA
and Escuela
Juan Pablo II
.
he library er
t
media cen
erful
is a wond and
e
place to b ou to
y
we invite out a
k
come chec d read
n
book, sit a child,
with your to see
or stop by many
one of the ons
i
art exhibit
T
22
on display t the
throughou are
year. We py
p
always ha JFK
to see our
y
communit d
n
members a o help
t
are eager eracy
it
promote l logy in
o
and techn e can.
w
any way
The Media Center offers a wireless environment where JFK community members can
enjoy working from their own laptops or other
electronic devices. As technology evolves, the
media center progresses along with it. Our
facility houses a smart board for all teachers in
the school to use as an additional technological resource; computers are available on both
levels of the media center for teachers and
students to use for academic purposes. A video
conference room has been recently inaugurated for students to have video conferences
with other schools in the world and for online
teacher training. Printing (black and color),
scanning and photocopying are available at
all times as part of the media center’s services.
ebsco and World book online
are digital research tools that
are offered to enhance the academic programs of the school.
These tools can be accessed by
students and teachers at home
or in school after requesting
site access codes from the lmc
staff. For teachers the lmc has
a wide variety of professional
development resources such
as: books, audio, and video
materials. The staff in the lmc
support life long learning of
our faculty and staff by providing ongoing trainings in the
use of different software.
As technology evolves,
the media
center progresses
along with it.
Our facility
houses a
smart board
for all teachers in the
school to use
as an additional technological
resource
s
Sh
He fing
s
sting the spell.
his open hand towards her, ca
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at her body, sensing something h ppening to her.
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r
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She stumbles backwes out of the darknferssanbethicin.d her.
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questions and shared with excitement some of his memories,
among them, having made his
o ul d
.
mil
comf
orted
, an
db
e gi n
s
first movie at the Kennedy.
Andrés Heinz is a sensitive,
y
pan
Nina
s
KS
p
cordially answered all my
co m
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ainly
s
m in
s
.
Screen Writter
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kind, talented and successful
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Andrés
joy that interviewing An-
cessful movie Black Swan had
threa
d, et
e promised to f
O
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eature
NINA (C NT’D) -Plus h
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r in
ERICA -He cert
wanted to share with her the
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N
.I
ribbon
,
Stappung, our Director. I
drés Heinz had caused in me.
the
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by Mónica Duarte • Editor in Chief
an end, I hung
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NINA -I’m jus
Andres Heinz • Class 1988’
Screen writer and author of Black Swan
shares with us his journey to success
view came to
laces a POACHED EGG and a QUARTERan, ERICA, p
n older wom
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hen the inter-
4
- MORNING
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Nina sits at the table
f DANCER REDITS:
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She tries to escape, twirling aw
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w
ina
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Li
The
man. A proud JFK alumni.
We would like the JFK community to
know more about how you went from
our school to NYU; graduating with
the highest honors. Can you tell us a
little bit about this journey and about
the things that helped you achieve
this degree of success?
After my John F. Kennedy school
years, we moved back to northern California around the San Francisco Bay
area. I finished my high school years
there and spent a lot of time working
in the theater and doing photography.
It was during that time that I really
focused on what it is I truly wanted to
do with my life.
I always loved the movies as a kid.
Growing up I even thought I wanted
to be an actor. But being able to work
in the theater had taught me all kinds
of different aspects of putting a production together; such as lighting and
choreography and writing.
My goal changed to become a movie
director and so I looked up what were
the best universities to achieve that.
The two best ones are really UCLA
and NYU. Living in California, I went
to UCLA as an undergraduate while I
took a lot of advanced writing courses
in NYU and really focused on trying
to become a film director. After two
years in UCLA I decided to go to New
York University, which really had a
very strong Film Directing Program.
That’s where I spent two years making
short films.
To answer your question, I believe it
was through friends that I got where
I am now; people you meet at the
university are the ones that provide
you later in life with all kinds of
professional opportunities. The friendships that I made at NYU were very
important, not only professionally but
creatively. Meeting people that you
identify with; that you can work with,
25
that give you ideas and are able to share experiences, was very important and very fruitful
in later years to my writing.
What was your motivation to go to NYU and
as the place to fulfill your dreams?
The motivation is always to achieve your
dreams, basically. And my dreams, since I was
a little kid were the
movies. I wanted to
go to the best school
possible: NYU. And
New York City is also
an experience in itself.
Just living in New
York City provides you
with all kinds of opportunities. People from
all over the world converge there. Everybody
is there to complete
their dreams. It’s a very
competitive place but
it really allows you to
tap into your potential
and to go as high as
you can go.
... persistence is
actually
the key.
Because, in
this business people
will constantly tell
you “no”
26
We know that the
script for the movie
Black Swan was based
on your story “The
understudy”. What was it like to see it transformed into an award winning movie with
such incredible actors as Natalie Portman?
It was an incredible experience. Like I said, it
was a dream come true. Making movies is a
very precarious thing, you know? It is a work
of art that can go wrong at any moment in
a sense that there are some many pieces. I
believe the most important piece is actually
the screen play because without the screen
play you can’t have all these other pieces. The
actors, director, the costumes, the music… they
are all there to bring the screen play to live.
From my point of view, I got extremely lucky
that we had such an incredible and talented
crew around us, an incredible director; the actress obviously, that really brought Nina to life.
Yousisreatellnty tohamvae ktoe byeour
per ms come true.
drea
I wrote Nina almost ten years ago. It was one
of my first screen plays. For me to see Nina
actually on screen and with an audience was a
very emotional moment, because on set, everything is broken up, in the sense that you show
up every day and you only see little snippets
happening… little moments … and hours and
hours of just waiting around… and to actually
see it on screen was...
As you can imagine
it was the culmination of many years
and my entire dream
coming true. And to
win at the Oscars was
beyond anybodies
dreams. That, in itself,
is being able to have
written that and get to
that level, it’s a great
honor!
What was your biggest challenge in this
project?
The thing about movies is that there are
multiple challenges…
there’s always a challenge. The biggest
challenge at first is
to find a story that’s
going to keep you interested, for as long as it
takes to write. So that in itself is a challenge, of
course that making it work… making it come
to life is another challenge. And then come
many other challenges: trying to sell it to a
producer, getting a director and the actors
together. Then there’s obviously the challenge
of getting the money to shoot it. So, I can’t
pinpoint exactly ONE challenge. In a sense,
ALL of it is a very big challenge.
You really have to be persistent to make your
dreams come true.
Yes, persistence is actually the key. Because,
in this business people will constantly tell you
“no”… mostly, they will tell you “no” and it’s
very rare to get the “yes”. It just takes a lot of
British Academy of Film and Television
Arts. Black Swan was nominated for
Best Original Screenplay. London,
February, 2011
To get a
moment
like that is
incredible.
LA Film School Q&A session and
screening of Black Swan. December, 2010
Black Swan Press Conference at the Pantages
Theatre with Mila Kunis, Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and
Benjamin Millepied. Los Angeles, November, 2010
persistence to be able to get that one “yes” that talking about the movie, engaged in the movie,
can transform not only the script, but your life asking questions, telling other people they
as a writer.
should see it. To get a moment like that is
incredible.
After this one, I’m sure you will get a lot more
of “yeses” than “noes”.
Did you identify with a specific character or
Yes, it does help, for sure. Once you get your
element in the story?
first movie, and especially with the success that Well, it may sound a bit strange, but I identify
we’ve had, it certainly helps… people will be
in a sense with the heroin, Nina. I mean, even if
interested in your upcoming work, and in that she undergoes a kind of a nightmare spiral into
sense it’s a great blessing to have.
madness, which fortunately I haven’t done…
yet! But in terms of her ambition, in terms
What was your biggest satisfaction with this of her wanting to achieve creative success,
project?
it relates to the efforts I’ve made to express
The biggest satisfaction, without a doubt, is the myself… and I think that is what the people that
way audiences around the world are reacting
work in this business are after.
to the movie. And in a way is a very surprising
result for us, in the sense that when we made
Thinking that this also will be read by JFK
the movie and when I wrote it, we imagined a
students, how did your years in the Kennedy
much more “smallish” audience for the movie. School help you get to where you are?
We never imagined that it would be such a
Well, I guess, in several ways. I mean, I think,
massive hit. That is a huge satisfaction; to be
one thing about the Kennedy was, my friends
able to reach so many people. So many people and I wanting to succeed. It was accepted to
27
27
POSGRADO ANÁHUAC
Todas nuestras maestrías son presenciales
con los mejores docentes de la Anáhuac México Norte
Class photo
Alta Dirección Finanzas Derecho Corporativo
Psicopedagogía Administración Pública
La primera pelicula que Andres filmo con estudiantes del JFK.
Para la clase de ingles de Jerry Scanlon. Titulada “Why Martians?”
In seventh grade I filmed my first
movie at JFK as a part of a school
project with my English class
do well in school. And so, in that sense, the
support there creates something that, when I
was older, it was a little bit easier for me to be
successful in school. This allowed me more
opportunities, like being able to go to top universities. But beyond that, my first play was at
the Kennedy. I remember very well performing
my first play there. In seventh grade I filmed
my first movie at JFK as a part of a school project with my English class. We filmed a short
film using super 8. We shot it with a bunch of
my friends from school. We just watched it the
other day! That was my first experience writing and shooting a movie, at JFK School. So,
there’s a direct link, for sure.
Can you promise us that you will visit the
Kennedy School when you’re here?
Yes, of course.
Andrés, is there anything else that you would
like to share with the Kennedy School community?
I would like to say thank you for your support.
Not just now, but when I was growing up. The
friendships that I formed there have been very
important to me. The experience there was
very formative.
Any advice to the future movie makers of the
Kennedy School?
Just in general, I think that it’s important to
This will motivate quite a few students, I
follow your dreams. And that a lot of them are
promise you.
possible with a lot of hard work and persistence. It’s important to do what you love, beAre you planning any projects related to
cause when you do what you love, it no longer
México?
becomes work. It becomes a passion. So, that
Yes. I wrote a screen play that takes place in Guana- would be my advice.
juato. We are right now casting it. We are hoping to
shoot by the end of the year. It’s a psychological hor- It’s been wonderful talking with you, Andrés. I
ror movie which takes place in México. We’re still
really appreciate your time and your willingworking in the casting and the financing, but that’s ness to share with us.
my next project as a writer and a director.
28
28
ó
ó
Class
WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW?
LDERÓN
JAVIER ·CcA
la ss o f 19 89
MUSICIAN
Notes
Santia
go Faus
BULL
FIGH
to
TER
Santiag
o Faust
o made
Januar
his deb
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ut as “n
2007. H
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h
as sinc
career
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e lead a
fightin
María d
g
very su
in
e Quer
P
la
z
ca
s, such
étaro, J
Puebla
as Sant
uriquil
, El Cen
a
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,
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tal Lore
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in Torr
nzo Ga
eón, La
rza de
Plaza d
Monum
Monte
e Toros
enrrey, La
México
Manue
Monum
, and sh
l Gonzá
e
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tal
a
r
lez "Mo
ing car
Pérez "E
tel with
ntoyita
l Canelo
"
a
nd Luis
”. He is
on Jun
Manue
now in
e 13th h
l
Spain w
e gave
Ondara
a great
here,
, Alican
p
e
r
forman
te.
ce in
er in the “Vive
as a guitar play
I participated
i along with:
ibute for Cerat
Latino 2011” tr
o - Caifanes
and Sabo Rom
Alfonso Andre
- Cafe Tacvba
Quique Rangel
anitos Verdes
Marciano - En
ro
as Del Dr Cereb
Abulon - Victim
ioleta
Hugo - Azul V
int
Cecilia Toussa
a Ciega
ez - La Gusan
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G
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Danie
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and Vampiro Federico Fong
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Paco Huidobr
Lupita
Lino Nava - La
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La Barranca, Sa
Alex Otaola scualito Rey
Luca - San Pa
Seahorse
Denise - Hello
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8
I played
e
h
t
songs in
e
g
main sta
of
in front
30,000
people!
curain
Javier García Las
Javier Guerreroi
Saxchil Gargar a
Juan José River
MUSICIANS
ciation
Homeowners Asso
On March 31 the
d on
Opera Gala inspire
of Jurica hosted an
ar
oz t
of Wolfgang A. M
the music and life
d Kenijose de la Torre an
with soprano Mar
as lead
er García Lascurain
nedy alumni Javi
ent of Aserrero Vicepresid
pianist. Javier Gu
e of the
mni as well, was on
sociation, and alu
ded the
event which inclu
organizers of this
s of XX,
xchil Gargari, Clas
participation of Sa
dent.
ra, a 12th grade stu
and Juan José Rive
30
31
REUNIONS
& SNAPSHOTS
‘05
Reunion Class
Photo 1
Also on December, Rodrigo Maycotte’s visit
(now residing in Dallas, TX) gave Class ’05,
represented here by Daniel Alvarez, Antonio
Herrera, Andres Huerta, Ricardo Torres, a great
opportunity to gather at “El Costeñito”, have a
laugh and remember old times.
Photo 2
On December 16th Class ’05 gathered to
celebrate Christmas in a dinner attended by
Daniel Alvarez, Antonio Herrera, Juan Pablo
Tolentino, Bruno Rodriguez, Walter Castellanos, Roberto Garcia y Andres Huerta, among
others.
‘81
Reunion Class
Photo 1
Left to right. Susana Sánchez, Luz Calzada,
Salvador Malagón, Juan Pablo Huber, Roberto
Ruíz, Guillermo Calzada, Gabriela Ruíz, José
Guerrero and José Mellado’s arm.
32
33
‘85
Reunion Class
‘81
Reunion Class
This is the story of a
since they were young,group that used to sing
they graduated
Elementary School in from
1978.
In Middle School they
we
studied better on the re athletes and
graduated from Mid grass... until they
dle School in 1981...
This happened 30 year
s ago!
To celebrate it we will
meet on May 28 this
year!
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35
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