Last night five faculty members and two inquisitive students headed over the hill to Santa Barbara to attend a concert at the beautifully remodeled Santa Barbara Bowl. The occasion: a Day of the Dead event, featuring three Hispanic bands — Las Cafeteras, Ozomatli (featuring Raúl Pacheco, Class of 1986), and Cafe Tacuba. We arrived, and […]
I guess it’s official. The group we referred to last spring as the “rising seniors” are now firmly rooted in their official senior shoes. The prefect meetings are becoming routine, the new classes are starting to feel old hat, and, the icing on the cake… The Senior Exhibition process has begun. We started things off […]
Before…
What a difference a coat of paint makes! Casey, Auden, and I headed down this bright and sunny Saturday morning to Ojai’s Community Assistance Program office (CAP is a division of HELP of Ojai). Our mission: paint their kitchen/storage room as part of their plan to convert the space and give it more professional look and feel. We arrived at around 9:00, got a tour of the facility and learned about some of the wonderful programs that office runs to support low-income and homeless residents of Ojai. The tour ended in the kitchen/storage room we were going to paint; once there, we set to work. Our first task was to prep the room, which entailed moving shelves, laying out tarps, and prepping the walls. (Who knew Auden could spackle like nobody’s business?) Soon, we tackled the walls and roof (Casey is a mad-woman with a paint roller!), and soon enough we transformed the mis-matched walls and white spackle spots into a far more inviting space. Our conversation was lively and spirits were high. The hours flew by, and by 12:30 we had pretty much wrapped up the process. We left, paint-speckled and a bit weary, but feeling very accomplished. A job well done! 
So, the photo’s not that great, but the content of it is worth its weight in gold. This is what I found when I walked into my classroom this morning. Not so impressive, you say. But, what it represents is the hard work of some community minded seniors (Lane, Bea, Rachel, Cooper, Olivia, and […]
It was a beautiful Sunday morning here in Ventura County, and eight young Thacher students (Reade, Brooke, Nick, Hannah, Olivia, Maya, Andrew, and Sydney) joined Mrs. Schryver and me at Kiddie Beach in Ventura to help with the Ventura County Best Day Foundation’s Beach Day for special needs kids. We packed into the Suburbans at […]
One of the hats I have worn for the past 13 years is Head of the Community Service Program at Thacher. I enjoy the work because it allows me to form strong bonds with members of the Ojai community, to interact with students of all grade levels (many of whom I don’t teach), and to […]
Last weekend, squeezed in somehow between camping trip preparation meetings, Spring Sing, and the last coffee house of the year, I managed to grab a few hours, a Suburban, and seven eager sophomores for a quick trip to Los Angeles to take in some culture. Our destination: my friend, Thacher classmate, and advisee’s father Johannes […]
In a school as steeped in traditions as Thacher, it’s a rare occurrence to be part of any event that hasn’t been going on for years, decades, and, in some cases like Gymkhanas, even a century. So, having the chance to participate (and organize) today’s first ever Thacher Community Service Day was quite a treat. […]
Back in the saddle… After a well-deserved two week respite from the hustle and bustle that characterizes Thacher life, we have jumped in to Spring Trimester with gusto. One of the big things on my plate, planning Thacher’s first ever Community Service Day with the student CommServe Heads — Nu, Gracie, and JinAh. We’re working […]
At 7:45 am last Saturday (Dec. 8), I found myself in my car heading downtown with four intrepid senior girls in tow. Nu, Laney, Amy, and Gracie had all given a most precious gift to the Ojai Community — a gift of their time and energy — to support families in need. Fueled by holiday […]