Friday Notes 4/12/2024

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Friday Notes I April 12, 2024

Dear Foothill Families,

High-functioning boards of trustees are essential to a school’s success over time.The work of a trustee requires a steadfast commitment to the school’s mission and principles of good practice in order for him or her to hold the school successfully “in trust” for future generations.The main priorities of Foothill’s board members are the same for all independent schools. They are:

To approve and safeguard the school’s mission and set the direction and vision for the school
To hire the Head to guide the school; to evaluate his or her performance and support his or her efforts to realize the Board’s vision
To plan strategically and secure the long-term financial sustainability of the school through fiscal management and fundraising

Boards continually seek to renew and strengthen themselves as members depart and new members are welcomed. Our Governance Committee has completed the interview process for new trustee candidates and has received the vote of the full Board to recommend the following slate of trustee candidates for approval at our Annual Meeting on May 14 at 8:30a.m. in the Randall Lewis Family Auditorium. As part of the process, we ask candidates to share their background, and why they want to serve on Foothill’s Board, and we are proud to share excerpts of their responses below.

PETER FEDORKA, M.D.

Peter is Director of the Bariatric Surgery Program at Kaiser. Certified by the American Board of Surgery and American Board of Obesity Medicine, Dr. Fedorka also chairs the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Committee, and holds fellowships with the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Dr. Fedorka’s interest in joining the Board is grounded in his belief in Foothill’s mission as a safe and inclusive community, and his desire to help the school sustain its mission well into the future. A strong foundation in academics, support for individual needs, and the emphasis on character and leadership cultivation are some of the priorities of the student experience that Dr. Fedorka aims to support in his work on the Board. Dr. Fedorka has contributed to numerous publications and presentations in the field of bariatrics. His family is active in volunteering time and resources to ensure Foothill is successful in providing all students an excellent education.

ERIC LAU

Eric has a strong passion for navigating ambiguous situations and formulating clear strategies and plans to solve problems that create value for everyone involved. His background is in technology, entrepreneurship, and management consulting.

He is currently the Head of Product at AWS Labs, a technology product focused on interactive learning and education of how to deploy cloud solutions across industries for AWS customers. Eric’s work has provided opportunities to advise startups and businesses, and also serve on nonprofit boards such as FEAST, an Los Angeles-based company focused on addressing wellness and food equity, and the UCLA Anderson Easton Technology Center on technology and leadership curriculum and strategic direction at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

EDDIE SAA

Eddie has nearly 20 years of experience in commercial real estate and is co-Founder & Managing Director of Ethos Tenant Company, a commercial real estate firm based in Washington, D.C. Eddie’s skillset will be much-needed on the Foothill Board, as we look to our future and the need for developing strategic business partnerships and transforming campus facilities. Eddie honed his skills of collaboration, vision and planning, and successful negotiations over his career working with diverse groups of business leaders. “Ultimately,” as Eddie explained to the Governance Committee, “I’m interested in this opportunity to create a meaningful impact that supports FCDS’s mission and core values.”

TAMARA VENIT-SHELTON

Tamara is the product of a K-12 education in a SoCal independent school, so the academic rigor and individual attention Foothill students experience are familiar. Tamara has expressed an eagerness to bring her experience as an educator and academic leader to Foothill’s Board, helping to ensure it remains a valuable educational asset in Claremont and the wider Inland Empire community.

Tamara is Professor of History and Chair of the History Department at Claremont McKenna College. Prior to joining the faculty at CMC, Tamara served as Assistant Professor of History at Reed College. A prolific writer, lecturer, and contributor, Tamara’s recent books include Herbs and Roots: A History of Chinese Medicine in the American Medical Marketplace (2019), and A Squatter’s Republic: Land and the Politics of Monopoly in California (2013), winner of the 2020 Phi Alpha Theta Best Subsequent Book Award. In addition to her teaching and scholarly work, Tamara is Chair of the History Department and the Chair of the Faculty Steering Committee for the Presidential Initiative on Anti-Racism at CMC. In addition to managing budgets and personnel, Tamara’s responsibilities include working toward shared institutional commitments, especially in the area of policies designed to cultivate a diverse and inclusive community for faculty, staff, and students.

We hope to see you at the Annual Meeting on May 14.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Mike Silva

Head of School

Falcon News

THIS WEEK!

It is here! You can feel the excitement in the air, as we head into auciton week. We can't wait to show you all the amazing auction items!

IMPORTANT DATES:

RIGHT NOW

Even if you aren't going to the Gala, make sure to visit FalconAir.GiveSmart.com and register to participate. That way you can bid, and you can get texts with all the late breaking news and added items! Registering is free!

Guess what? Participating in our online auction is open to family and friends! If a grandparent or family member wishes to joing, please direct them to FalconAir.GiveSmart.com so they can register.

If you have a ticket to the Gala event, you are automatically registered, and you will begin getting text messages on Monday.

Monday, 4/15

Prepare for Take-off! Silent Auction Sneak Peek!

The auction portal opens for viewing so you can view the dozens of items and plan your winning strategy! Consider talking to friends -- you might be able to buy an item together, or sign up for instant buy experiences with your child's best friend. This is also a good time to become familiar with the GiveSmart app so you can bid quickly when the competition gets going.

Wednesday 4/17 7:00p.m.

Lift-off: Silent Auction Opens for Bidding

There is an important speed factor here: Instant buy items (popular teacher experiences) are llimited -- they are first-come, first-served. They sell out VERY quickly! Avoid disappointment and buy yours right away! Bidding on silent auction items will continue until 7:00pm on the night of the Gala. You can mark items you are interested in too. The app will notify you when you've been outbid. Keep checking your phone for the next couple of days. If you are going to the event you will get text messages throughout the week with reminders and helpful information, such as parking.

Saturday, April 20 5:30p.m.

Gala Night -- FalconAir Flight 1954 is in the air!

Here's how the night goes:

5:30p.m. at Cal Aero Aviation Country Club: food, drinks and fun!

7:00p.m. SHARP Silent Auction closes for everyone including those online and those at the live event.

7:30p.m. LIVE Auction for those at the Gala begins, led by our professional auctioneer. Premier Items up for grabs include Librarian for the Day, Disney's 21 Royal, VIP Garner Holt Tour, that amazing Taylor Swift signed guitar, and MORE. You can only win if you are in the room! We will also be raising money here continued gym and auditorium improvements.

8:30p.m. - 10:00p.m. Dessert, DJ and dancing!

Questions? Please email Gabrielle Singh, Director of Advancement at gsingh@foothillcds.org.

The Future's So Bright We Gotta Wear Shades

Solar Eclipse

Thanks to our super cool NASA grade glasses, our students got to catch the solar eclipse on Monday. Even Determine got to join the fun. Watch the video (1min) to see how it looked on campus. Sound up!

Spelling Bee Champs in Grades 3 - 5

The 3rd - 5th grade Spelling Bee was buzzing on Wednesday, April 3. After many rounds, we awarded a First Place tie to

Evelyn A. (3rd) and Hagan H. (5th) .

In the championship rounds, our fantastic Lower School spellers were challenged with words beyond their grade levels. Congratulations to all our spellers!

Auction Tips

Starting on Monday, if you are receiving texts to your cell phone, you are registered! If you are logging in from your computer, you may be required to enter your GiveSmart username and password. If you do not remember, just click on "forgot username or password".
Start viewing items on Monday, and start bidding on Wednesday!
Select the item you wish to bid on and you will be prompted to enter your credit card number. If you win, your card will be charged at the end of the night on Saturday, April 20.
You can view the items by Categories, such as Class Baskets, Teacher Experiences, Premier Items, Available for Purchase (Instant Buys, no bidding needed), or Make a Donation (Fund a Need).
If you get outbid, you will get a text message notification. Your credit card will not be charged until bidding has closed and you are the winner!

If you have any questions at all, we are here for you! Just email Gabrielle Singh, Director of Advancement at gsingh@foothillcds.org. If you are attending the event, we will have lots of volunteers to assist you and answer questions.

4th Grade Studies Baskets at the Benton

Last Friday, 4th grade took a rainy walk to the Benton Museum of Art at Pomona College, where they visited the current exhibition of Native American art, Cahuilla Basket Weavers and their Legacies.

Discover Element Families with 8th Graders!

The Class of 2024 science class is currently immersed in the intricate layout of the periodic table. Through a card sort activity, they're diligently investigating the rationale behind grouping elements into distinct families (columns). The card activity allows students to view important attributes of atoms of selected elements and familiarize themselves with atom diagrams. Using the atomic structure models on the cards, students discover that the column of the Periodic Table (chemical family) in which the element is placed is related to the element's number of outer shell electrons.

Capitol Students 4th Grade Heads to Sacramento

What a whirlwind day! Caught a flight, went to the capitol building, panned for gold, visited some vintage trains at the museum, all before boarding the plane to come back home. There couldn't have been more learning packed into this day!

SUMMER WEBSITE

Sharing Our Stories: Foothill Families

International Days 2024

This week, Emma B. (4th) teaches us about the fascinating art of mask-changing in Sichuan Opera. Performers must change their masks in the blink of an eye and they breathe fire! Turn your sound up to enjoy this one! Over the Winter holidays, we asked families to tell us something about their cultural traditions. These videos were so inspiring that we thought we would bring them out of the classroom and to our whole community, via Friday Notes. Look for a new video each week!

Save the Date: Rising Class Meetings in May

It does seem crazy, but it is true! It is time to think about next school year. For all the scoop from your new teaching team, you'll want to attend a Rising Class meeting on Zoom. More info to come, but save the date for your new (fall 2024) grade:

Kindergarten 5/22/24 4:00p.m.
1st Grade 5/8/24 4:00p.m.
2nd Grade 5/9/2024 4:00p.m.
3rd Grade 5/14/24 4:00p.m.
4th Grade 5/15/24 4:00p.m.
5th Grade 5/16/24 4:00p.m.
6th Grade 5/22/24 5:00p.m.
7th Grade 5/23/24 5:00p.m.
8th Grade 5/15/24 5:00p.m.

Upper School ERB Tests Begin Next Week

On Thursday, Mr. Silva gave a presentation on the standardized tests taken by Foothill students in grades 3-8. These tests from the Educational Records Bureau (ERB), are taken each spring. Mr. Silva shared that Foothill students compare very positively against national independent schools. When a single class is followed from grades 3 -8, the improvement is quite sharp and by 8th grade the group is placing above the Pasadena schools as they enter high school.

While ERB tests are just one tool Foothill uses to evaluate our students and the school's curriculum as a whole, it is validating to see that our program works when students stay with us throughout the years.

This week, students in grades 6 - 8 will begin their testing. If your student is in those grades, please make sure they are well-rested, eat a good breakfast, and attend school every day.

Save the Date: Foothill Forum

Thursday, May 2

We hope you will join us for a discussion led by Dr. Margari Hill. Margari Hill is the co-founder and Executive Director of Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC), a human rights education organization. She is also a freelance writer published in How We Fight White Supremacy (2018) Time, Huffington Post, and Al Jazeera English.

She earned her master’s degree in History of the Middle East and Islamic Africa from Stanford University in 2006. Her research includes transformations in Islamic education, colonial surveillance in Northern Nigeria, anti-colonial resistance among West Africans in Sudan during the early 20th century, interethnic relations in Muslim communities, anti-bias K-12 education, and the criminalization of Black Muslims. She is on the Advisory Council of Islam, Social Justice & Interreligious Engagement Program at the Union Theological Seminary.

For her work, she has received numerous awards including the Council of American Islamic Relation’s (CAIR) 2020 Muslim of the Year award, Khadija bint Khuwaylid Relief Foundation Lifetime Humanitarian award in 2019, the Big Heart Award in 2017, and MPAC’s 2015 Change Maker Award. She has given talks and lectures in various universities and community centers throughout the country.