The Hamlin School 2016–2017 Annual Report 2016−2017 ADMINISTR ATION Brandi Morandi HONORARY MEMBERS Chris Nelson Wanda M
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The Hamlin School 2016–2017 Annual Report 2016−2017 ADMINISTR ATION Brandi Morandi HONORARY MEMBERS Chris Nelson Wanda M. Holland Greene, Head of School Charles Crocker III Raj Patel (Treasurer) Lisa Lau Aquino ‘81, Director of Admissions Paul Renne Boris Putanec Cristina Casacuberta, Director of Finance Jessica Spaly and Operations Nina Stanford 2016−2017 ALUMNAE BOARD Nisa Frank, Lower School Division Head Derek Thompson Rose Helm, Middle School Division Head Kasey Byrnes Wayne ‘88, President Abigail Turin Willow Hagge, Director of Extended Day Caroline Hayward Brinckerhoff ‘97, Molly Wadhwani and Co-curricular Programs Annual Fund Co-Chair Brooks Walker Mark Picketts, Director of Program Innovation Mariam Missaghi Cline ‘97, Steven Walske (Chair) and Professional Development Annual Fund Co-Chair Lindy Yurich ‘83 Lauren Thornhill, Executive Director of Christine Miller Droessler ‘96 Institutional Advancement Nicole Matchett Ganot ‘98 EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS Jessica Zimmerman Graf ‘87 Jamie Wong Larson ‘98 Cristina Casacuberta 2016−2017 BOARD OF TRUSTEES Leslie Yan Meier ‘92 Wanda M. Holland Greene Monica Brown Andrews ‘84 Charlotte Milan ‘89 Lauren Thornhill Julie Parker Benello Rachel Ricucci ‘98 Kasey Byrnes Wayne ‘88 (Alumnae Board President) Allison Bennington Rebecca Saroyan Robbins ‘82 Andrea Zola (Parents Association President) Allison Bhusri Heather Schuman ‘93 Shelby Bonnie (Vice Chair) Marissa Seto ‘05 Sam Bradley (Secretary) EMERITUS MEMBERS Samantha Seto ‘03 Shannon Cadile ‘89 Richard Achuck Catherine Moller Spaulding ‘86 Heidi Castelein Warren H. Clark Candace Chin Yu ‘96 David Chung Delia Fleishhacker Ehrlich ‘48 † Jean-Pierre (JP) Conte William R. Hearst III Robert Devens, Jr. Donna Goodheart Krupp ‘34 & ‘38 John Fernandes Barry Lipman Loraine Wooloomes Fulmer ‘52 James J. Ludwig Jane Gaito Janet Busse Meyer ‘41 † Hope Jarvis ‘85 (Vice Chair) Cathryn Schember Nanci Kauffman R. David Schmaier Amanda Michael † Deceased The Hamlin School Mission and Creed With a history of excellence that dates back to 1863, The Hamlin School in San Francisco is the oldest non-sectarian school for girls in the western United States, serving 400 students throughout the Bay Area. OUR MISSION The Hamlin School educates girls to meet the challenges of their time and inspires them to become extraordinary thinkers and innovators, courageous leaders, and women of integrity. OUR COMMUNITY We are a vibrant, inclusive community where diversity of thought and experience is respected and viewed as essential to excellence. We welcome and benefit from the perspectives of people who differ in culture, ethnicity, family structure, financial capability, learning style, physical ability, race, religion, and sexual orientation. At Hamlin, myriad voices speak and are heard; active engagement of all is expected and important for the strength of the School community. Our shared values bind us together. Our interdependence and our individual differences are worthy of celebration. OUR CREED Compassion | Courage | Honesty | Respect | Responsibility From the Chair of the Board of Trustees Dear Hamlin Community, 2016-2017 marked another year of excellence at Hamlin, and I was honored to be a part of it as I began my first year as Board Chair. In this role I continue the critical work of our incredible previous Board Chair, Anne Pedrero, and those before her in advancing the mission and goals of our school. It has been a privilege to work alongside Head of School Wanda M. Holland Greene over the last year. I have known Wanda for nearly 20 years, and as she wraps up her ninth year as Head of School and embarks upon her tenth, our school’s leadership is as strong as ever. Sarah Dix Hamlin would be proud to see today's place of learning that bears her name! Hamlin’s mission is to "educate girls to meet the challenges of their time and inspire them to become extraordinary thinkers and innovators, courageous leaders and women of integrity,” and that serves as the compass for our work as a Board. Our primary goals in the 2016-2017 school year were driven by our “Be Extraordinary” Strategic Plan, and I am proud of the work we have accomplished in supporting Wanda and her staff in advancing Hamlin’s mission and delivering on our program for the future; in maintaining the financial strength of the school; and in continuing to grow a vibrant and inclusive community at Hamlin. Another important area of achievement to point out is the Board’s renewed commitment to academic and ethical excellence through employing, maintaining, and fairly compensating gifted, high quality educators. In 2016-2017 the Board (in conjunction with the Hamlin administrative team) conducted a thorough examination of regional independent school compensation schedules to ensure we were at or above the level of our peer schools. We went through the results role by role and made adjustments where necessary in order to continue to attract and maintain the highest caliber of teaching faculty and staff available. I look forward to another year of excellence in 2017-2018. On behalf of our Board of Trustees, thank you for your commitment to Hamlin. Sincerely, Steve Walske Chair, 2016-17 Board of Trustees leadership and service to the Hamlin community; we wish you both the best From the Head of School as you continue on to your next adventures, and we know we’ll still benefit Dear Hamlin Community, from your love for the school. Finally, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to Alison & Jim Haljun P’24 & P’26 and Mahika & Sanjay Shamdasani P’21 for their Over the past nine years, you have leadership of the Annual Fund. We achieved 100 percent parent participation undoubtedly heard me say that one of for the fourth consecutive year, and our overall total reached an incredible $1.5 the many great legacies left to us by our million. We could not have done it without you! What a dynamic team you were. school’s founder, Sarah Dix Hamlin, is the audacious notion of educating girls Program highlights of the year included robust learning experiences inside our to meet the challenges of their time. It is vibrant corridors and classrooms; from the in-depth study of textiles and the not enough to simply provide girls with design and creation of visual art in Kindergarten to another fantastic panoply knowledge, as Sarah believed then and I of Influential Women in History in Grade 4, Lower School girls of all ages were believe now; rather, we must equip them definitely rising and shining! In the Middle School, we bid farewell to Ms. Helm with the necessary tools and skills to (new head of school at The John Thomas Dye School in Bel Air, CA) and spent address the most pressing needs of their the year engrossed in conversations about the electoral college and presidential day and age. At Hamlin, we teach girls elections, women’s roles in classic and modern literature, app designs for social to rise to challenges, not shy away from change, “three-act” mathematics problems, experiments in space as a part of them; to be honest and to speak their NASA’s Cubes in Space program, and so much more. The Class of 2017, my first truth, even when it is not the easy or to shepherd from Kindergarten through Grade 8, closed the busy and joyful popular thing to do; and to greet each day with the light of the Hamlin Creed school year with a fantastic production of the Grade 8 musical Beauty and the (Compassion - Courage - Honesty - Respect - Responsibility) in their hearts. Beast. Our teachers were learners too, many of them participating in a new These powerful ideas were the inspiration behind my choice of the 2016-17 mode of performance evaluation that involves deep engagement in action school year's theme: “Rise and Shine.” research projects; thoughtful practitioners in both divisions of the school investigated essential questions about the quality of teaching and learning at Our school shines because of our incredible community, from the visionary Hamlin. Some of the research topics included homework load and adolescent leadership of Sarah Dix Hamlin to the future leaders now studying within the health, effective pedagogy and practice for introverted learners, the role of walls of Hamlin and beyond. I am deeply grateful to the entire community for reflection and assessment in art classes, and determining and documenting the carrying on Miss Hamlin’s legacy with such clear purpose, enthusiasm, and scope and sequence for K-8 computer science. Each day I am inspired by our love. This Annual Report is a compilation of that gratitude – thank you for community of learners and the respect that we all have for each other. I look making 2016-2017 another successful year for our girls and our school! to the future with great confidence and optimism because of the people with whom I work each day and because of the many people from Hamlin’s past who I would like to extend a special thank you to the Board of Trustees for its hard are the foundation of our success. work and dedication throughout the year. We welcomed a new Board Chair this year, Steve Walske P’18, whom I have known since 1997 when our paths crossed Thank you, one and all, for making 2016-2017 a shining example of what makes at The Park School in Brookline, MA. We also bid a fond farewell at the end of Hamlin so special! the year to Parents Association President Andrea Zola P’19 & P‘22 and Alumnae Board President Kasey Wayne ‘88 & P’23. Andrea finished her second and final With Affection and Appreciation, year as President of the Parents Association with a record-breaking PA donation to the school, and Kasey’s love for Hamlin, commitment to doing all things well, and passion for girls' education led to several exciting developments in Wanda M.