Day Four of EDTs, and we’re hoofing it down from Pine Mountain Lodge (where there has not been a lodge since the 19th century)–windy and cold, but last night, we were warmed, belly and heart, by hot uber-stuffed quesadillas for supper and rousing campfire singing. Our team of troopers (Julia, Ben, David, Carrie, Faith, Sydney, Michael […]
This past week in my AP US government and politics class, we each wrote a political article, about any subject conceivably related to government or our political system. We spent a few class days and homework nights perfecting our articles until our teacher posted them on our class blog. But, the most exciting part was […]
“Write what’s in front of you,” Natalie Goldberg advises in Writing Down the Bones, a book I use selected chapters from in my English IV Honors class. And on a day when I’m still trying to imagine the unimaginable–backpack bombs detonating in a crowd gathered to cheer runners and celebrate some April sunshine in Boston–I […]
Confirmed: my strong sense of school-as-home in terms of shared values. The proof: two recent events, neither unusual at CdeP, but both, I think, worthy of pen-to-paper. First, an email from a freshman to the whole School, this past Saturday night: Swiss army knife found near Upper School after the pig roast. Has a large […]
We get mocked in Southern California for our lack of seasons but those of us on Thacher’s campus this week know that while the change in seasons isn’t dramatic, there is such a thing as spring, and we all know it’s here. The mercury is rising, the California poppies are dancing, and even the Oak […]
On the day before Thanksgiving I met up with Thacher students at Stoney Point in San Fernando Valley for an mid-vacation impromptu bouldering session. It was a great opportunity to climb with a couple of my current students, such as Alex ’13 and Jackson ’14, as well as to catch up with alumni Katie CdeP […]
As part of the Environmental Action Committee (EAC), Shravan Rajasekaran, Tae Jung Kim, and I are working to revive the production of biodiesel fuel here on campus. We successfully brewed a test batch of about three gallons of fuel and are currently working to maintain the existing equipment by replacing gaskets, hoses, and installing proper safety […]
On Wednesday I returned home from leading a 6-day 105 mile mountain bike trip through the Los Padres National Forest with 5 students and an alumnus of the Thacher School (it was part of our bi-annual week-long camping trips) in which we rode from Sisar Canyon in Ojai to Romero Canyon in Santa Barbara. A […]
Kids need three things: to be known, to be loved, and to be held to a high standard. This is the message Mr. Mulligan often shares with families visiting Thacher for the first (or second, or third) time. His wisdom is offered as an example of how our school understands teenagers and what they need […]
We didn’t have the chance to ski in the backcountry as much as we would have liked this winter due to the lower than average rainfall/snowfall in Southern California. However, Mother Nature seems to have been making up for it recently with some particularly heavy storms. The irony is that we have had to cancel […]