Welcome to Founder’s Day, a yearly opportunity to reconnect with the rich history of Castilleja School. Today, we recognize the Castilleja gifts we’ve inherited for safekeeping, and we celebrate the legacy left behind for us by our founder, Mary Ishbel Lockey. Hello sixth graders. Welcome to your first Founder’s Day. Can you hear all right back there? Seniors, congratulations on your special Founder’s Day. I must admit we’ve gotten used to seeing you out of uniform, so it’s great to see you in your dress whites with your red ties! Our guests today include some very important people in our lives, and in the life of the school. And so I would like ask all of you -- students, faculty and staff – to join me in welcoming the mothers and the special guests of the classes of 2012 thru 2018. Thank you. And now… Founder’s Day would not be complete without a few insights into our history, and especially into the life of our founder. A Stanford University graduate and a former English teacher at Palo Alto High School, Mary Lockey first opened Castilleja School in 1907. Three years later, she had the insight to purchase this property, where we are seated today, and where the school still stands. Ambitious and ahead of her times, Mary Lockey set Castilleja on a course to define educational excellence for girls. 60 years later, in celebration of the last of her 30 years as Castilleja’s Head of School, Margarita Espinosa described, in this 1970 edition of the Castilleja Alumnae Magazine, all the ways she had proudly preserved, during her own tenure, the many important Castilleja traditions established by Ms. Lockey. In the same issue, she also wrote an intriguing article titled “Castilleja Innovations” — a description of the Castilleja “firsts” that took place during her last year as Head. Listen carefully. How different do these “Castilleja Innovations” sound from what we might describe as “innovative” today? 2 • On November 14th, requested and arranged by the students, was Castilleja’s first ever “inquiry day” – a day of workshops and speakers, focused on the issues of the Vietnam War • Another first -- a series of six senior seminars in anthropology and sociology, in preparation for choosing courses as college freshman. • And in 1970 Castilleja held the first joint discussion with the Student Council of Ravenswood High School in East Palo Alto, to discuss potential solutions to common local problems. • That was the year the Volunteer Bureau of Santa Clara County held a recruitment day on campus, so students could sign up for summer work at the VA Hospital, at camps for specials needs students, and with other service organizations • An Assembly featured the Chairman of the California Advisory Commission on the Status of Women, who spoke about new challenges for women • And on April 21, 1970, initiated and led by students, Castilleja held a full-scale conference on problems of the environment, called “Anti-Doomsday.” Speaker and workshop topics included: Do Cars Have a Future? South San Francisco Bay — Airport or Wildlife Refuge? and Should we Ban DDT? • The Lower School put on a short play entitled “Operation Litterbug” and then performed it at nearby Ohlone School. • Castilleja hosted the 4th annual meeting of the American History Symposium, an essay competition for outstanding history students from public and private Bay Area schools • And for the Moms -- Castilleja hosted a series of contemporary literature seminars for women in the community, where they debated the values of 21st century society. Why these innovations? What did Miss Espinosa aim to achieve? These “new and exciting approaches at Castilleja are making even more vital and relevant to the girls the traditionally sound education which the school offers.” 3 In 1907, in 1970, and even today, in 2012, learning is made relevant by the pursuit of meaning and purpose. Through their leadership and foresight, Miss Lockey and Miss Espinosa established a course for Castilleja that remains relevant today. Together they planted the seeds of Castilleja and nourished the school’s early roots. And so it is in recognition of Mary Lockey’s yearly tradition of planting a tree on Arbor Day, that on each Founder’s Day we now plant a new tree here on campus. You are all welcome to join us this afternoon as today’s student speakers help plant a new dogwood tree – we’ll meet in the parking lot of the Administration Building at 2:30. In addition to planting a tree, each year we also honor the legacy of our Founders by reflecting on our past and deepening our commitments to the future. Therefore, in a just a few minutes, three seniors, selected by their classmates, will speak to you about their own personal Castilleja histories, as well as their best hopes and dreams for our shared future. But before they do, we have a just a few more special recognitions. First, I would like to personally thank the entire parent body for your extraordinary support this year. Each and every one of you has made a unique contribution to the school, enhancing the Castilleja experience for all. At the heart of this vibrant parent community is the CSA, led this year by President Doreen Nelsen, who cannot be here today. It has been a privilege to partner with Doreen and her Vice President, Amy Hsieh, and I personally thank them both for inspiring such community-wide engagement. Thanks to each and every one of you for joining us today, and especially to our speakers, for sharing with us your experiences and insights. At this time, I would also like to say a special thank you to Kalyani Comal, Tamhien Le, Sarah Brug, Rachel Schwabb, Karen Hohner, and Lisa Ansilio for their tireless efforts in assembling the senior quilt, a gift to the school from the senior class. 4 And last but certainly not least, please join me in thanking Marsha Abbott, Sherie Graysmark, Dan Chapman, and the entire Advancement, Food Services, and Maintenance teams for their individual and collective efforts to make this a beautiful, delicious, and uplifting day for all of us. Good afternoon. .