Head football coach John Morrison was named among the 2014-15 Model Coach Award winners by the CIF State Office.

Now in its 14th year, the CIF Model Coach Award program is designed to recognize coaches who have served as positive role models in their schools and communities, and who have exhibited the traits apparent in the 16 principles of Pursuing Victory with Honor_sm.

"Both parents and staff have tremendous respect for Coach Morrison and what he has achieved at Francis Parker School in his years of coaching. He has taught the young men at Francis Parker how to work and play hard while supporting their teammates at all times. He has constructed a family within the larger family of the Parker community. His code of behavior on the field demonstrates the highest ideals of Francis Parker and the CIF. Morrison models behavior of leadership, responsibility, caring and good citizenship," the CIF announcement noted.

Now in his 18^th year at Parker, Morrison has accumulated a 144-58-2 record earning three CIF San Diego Section Championships and seven Coastal Conference Championships. He led the Parker Lancers to a 10-1 record in 2013 to capture the Coastal League Championship. Morrison has been a head coach for 27 years at the high school level.

Nominated through the local CIF Section office, Morrison is being recognized among a dozen winners who will receive an award and be honored at their sport's State Championship or at an event of the recipient's choosing.

A model coach demonstrates and teaches the six core ethical values: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and good citizenship (the "Six Pillars of Character"). The CIF believes that the highest potential of sports is achieved when teachers/coaches consciously Teach, Enforce, Advocate and Model (T.E.A.M.) these values and are committed to the ideal of Pursuing Victory with Honor_sm.

"There is more to education based athletics than just winning and losing. We honor and recognize those coaches who teach student-athletes not only the skills needed to excel, but also those who are dedicated to teaching them the values of Pursuing Victory with Honor_sm and the Six Pillars of Character," said CIF Executive Director Roger L. Blake.

Parker's drama students will perform a number from "Chicago – The Musical" and compete at the Ben Vereen Awards on Sunday, April 26.

The performance is part of a scholarship competition established by the legendary stage and screen actor Ben Vereen  who visited Parker earlier this month to announce the nomination of the show for Best Musical Production. 

In addition, two Chicago cast members, Caroline Lezny and Ruby Ross, will compete against San Diego's finest high school performers for Best Actress. The girls will also participate in a master class with Vereen prior to the competition.

Winners of the San Diego competition will move on to the Southwest Regional competition in Tucson in May. The students selected as Best Actor and Best Actress in Tucson will continue to The National High School Musical Theater Awards® (The ‘Jimmy Awards’®) on in New York in June where the grand prize will be a $10,000 college scholarship.

Parker community members are invited to purchase deeply discounted tickets for the Awards show online using the code: FRANCISPARKERHS. Discount tickets are available for $9 per student and $14 per adult through Ticketmaster https://oss.ticketmaster.com/aps/bsd/EN/buy/details/sbva51sd

Tickets are also available for a pre-show VIP reception hosted by Vereen.

The School's performing arts program has an opportunity to earn a rebate of $5 per ticket sold up to a maximum of $1,000 if a minimum of 100 tickets are purchased using the Parker discount code. 

Ben Vereen Awards - San Diego Competition

Sunday, April 26 at 5 pm

Balboa Theatre, 868 4th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101

Middle School musicians in Grade 8 will perform both a classical and contemporary repertoire at the Forum Music Festival at Fullerton College on May 1.

Mrs. Roudebush's Middle School Orchestra students and a group of Mr. Gonzales' classical guitar ensemble musicians will participate in adjudicated performances.

At the festival, students do not compete against other schools. Instead, they test their skills against national standards for musicality, tone, technique, intonation among other qualities.  

Students will receive a CD recording of their performance along with written and recorded comments by a pair nationally known adjudicators.

Artworks from Francis Parker School Grade 2 students who joyously imagined the connections between art and music were selected for an exhibition at the San Diego Museum of Art this spring.

A museum jury selected the four pieces among 700 submissions from students in kindergarten to Grade 12 countywide. Of those, 300 were picked for the exhibit, “Young Art 2015: Visualizing Music.”

The students’ art exhibit will be displayed alongside the museum’s permanent collection from April 11 to May 26, The exhibit is keyed to the museum’s fall show, “The Art of Music.”

An audio guide narrated by the artists and student-led tours will be among the family-friendly activities to offered by the museum during the Young Art exhibit.

The San Diego Museum of Art is located on The Prado in Balboa Park. The Young Art program is the museum’s oldest educational initiative, launched some 80 years ago.

Parker's exceptionally supportive community is part of what makes our school so special. Perhaps nowhere is that more apparent than through our parents who make a difference through their volunteer work – often years after their children have graduated.

Parker’s Upper School Science Olympiad Teams provide ample examples. Among them:

• Michael Jester, father of John, Jamie and Julie, all of whom have now graduated from Caltech. Michael has coached students in model plane flying events, Bottle Rocket and Bridge Building for almost 20 years. The students he works with always medal at the regional competitions and, when invited to state competitions, his
  students win there, too.
  
• Shantanu and Krishna Roy Bose, parents of alumnus Ayesha and senior Anoushka, both coach tirelessly. This past season they tutored students in Mission Possible, Air Trajectory, Astronomy, Experimental Design and Forensics. Their competitors have also won many medals at regional and state competitions.
  
• Doug Stow, father of Dylan and Parker, still coaches our students in Dynamic Planet, Remote Sensing and Geologic Mapping years after his own children graduated from Parker.
  
  
• John Nugent, father of Jessica and Jennifer, who coaches current students in the It’s About Time, Wind Power and MagLev events.

Among the parents of current students making priceless contributions are Loreen Collins, Deidre MacKenna, Andrew McCulloch and Betsy Lillie, all of who have spent countess hours with members of the team, resulting in many medals.

“Without our parents’ desire to coach, and to keep coaching even after their children graduate, our program would not be what it is today and we would not be competitive even at the regional level,” said Rose Hanscom, Parker’s Science Olympiad Coordinator. “Their help is invaluable. My team and I appreciate it so much.”

From Barnard College to Willamette University, graduates from Parker's Class of 2015 are headed to some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the world, including several UC Berkeley, Stanford, USC and several Ivy League campuses.

In all, 2015 graduates are going to 75 different colleges and universities in 25 states, Washington, D.C., and three foreign countries. A remarkable 86 percent of the 127 members of the Class of 2015 were admitted to at least one “Most Competitive” or “Highly Competitive” college as listed by Barron’s.

On the beautiful Saturday afternoon of May 30, some 2000 family and friends gathered to witness and celebrate as the Class of 2015 received their diplomas marking the successful culmination of their Parker academic careers.

“I am so honored to be standing here before you today to celebrate the wonderful achievements of the class of 2015 and to look forward into our bright futures,” valedictorian Olivia Gosh told those at Commencement. “While Parker gave us the tools to do some pretty incredible things it’s up to us to find the motivation to use them,” she said.

Keynote speaker Meb Keflezighi, who fled his war-torn African homeland and became a three-time Olympian and winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon, picked up on that theme during his address. 

“How does one achieve what others may consider impossible or improbable. You have to believe in what you are doing. You have to surround yourself with positive and knowledgeable people. You have to keep working harder and smarter.”

Keflezighi congratulated the graduates on dedicated their lives to learning. “My parents always told me and my siblings that education is the key to life,” he said.

Rising junior Hershey Suri is doing what she can to save lives. She's been named Student of the Year by the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s San Diego/Hawaii chapter for her efforts.

Hershey, who just turned 16, recently earned the honor after donating more than $10,000 to the nonprofit through a series of spring fundraisers. The money was part of some $400,000 raised by the San Diego/Hawaii chapter and $4 million raised in a nationwide campaign.

“You don’t really get that many opportunities to make a difference, and this allowed me an opportunity to do something for my community,” Hershey said.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. Hershey heard about the San Diego/Hawaii chapter’s new Student of the Year program through Parker shortly after it was launched.

“I did some research into where the money goes, who the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society benefits and it was something that connected with me,” said Hershey, who lost a great aunt to lymphoma about a decade ago and whose best friend’s brother died of neuroblastoma a short time later.

Hershey had never organized a fundraiser before. Still, the teen set a goal of raising $3,500 for the organization within a 10-week window. She surpassed that amount within a few weeks. She raised $4,000 alone by setting collection jars in every room of her former elementary school, Solana Highlands, where classes were rewarded with Popsicles for collecting $50, pizzas for collecting $100 and a Popsicle-and-pizza party for collecting $150.

Hershey also collected about $750 from her Sikh temple in Poway and a cousin raised about $1,000 at his Sikh temple in Orange County.

“I still can’t believe I was able to raise that much money in that period of time,” Hershey said.

She’s setting her sights higher next year.

“It was a lot of fun and it was for a great cause,” Hershey said. “I’m definitely looking forward to doing this again.”

Traveling to Maryland for National History Day competition in June, Parker students took top honors and stood out among the 3,000 participants.

Judged by historians and educators against the work of students nationwide, half of the Parker entries were recognized as division finalists in their respective categories.

Neusha Kharrati finished as a Junior Division Finalist in the Individual Website category for her work, Benazir Bhutto: The Only Female Prime Minister of a Muslim Country.

The quartet of Isaac Gray, Daniel Leibowitz, Ben Sachrison and Connor Smith finished as Senior Finalists in the Group Website category for their work, A Unique Position: Reagan, Gorbachev, and the End of the Cold War.

Other Parker students who took part in the national competition from June 14-18 were Ruby Ross (Pragmatism, Patience, and Luck: Elizabeth I’s Successful Rule; Senior Individual Website) and Anoushka Bose (The Captain: Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his Silent Legacy; Senior Individual Website).

“This is a very competitive national program that Parker students have done well in for years. Preparation is led by the volunteer efforts of several Parker parents and the incredible work of history teacher Mary Ong-Dean and department chair Cherie Redelings,” said Marilyn Tobin, a Parker parent volunteer who also serves as chief financial officer at the Foundation for National History Day San Diego County.

Approximately 600,000 students across the country take part in the National History Day program by starting in the classroom and entering competitions at the local, regional and state levels.

For competition, students research historic documents and artifacts, conduct oral histories, search the Internet and libraries for information on their topic, and travel to historic sites. They present their work in a variety of ways, including museum-type exhibits, video documentaries, websites, original performances, or traditional research papers.

More than 35,000 students from California took part in this year’s program, which had the theme of Leadership and Legacy in History.

Varsity Girls Volleyball is prepped and hoping to extend their hold on the championship for the fourth consecutive year.

Aidan Fay, Class of 2017, showed off his summer invention—a full-scale simulation cockpit of a Cessna 172—at the Maker Faire San Diego in Balboa Park. Click here to read the story in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Lancer teams are enjoying a winning fall season earning top rank berths in several sports. Parker scholar-athletes have put fresh shine on Parker Pride!

Girls Tennis 

Following a successful fall campaign (8-6) our Girls’ Tennis team were seeded #1 into the CIF Division 1 Team Championships and won the first round game against Vista on October 27, at the San Diego Tennis and Racquet Club.   

Girls Golf

The team captured the Coastal League title after finishing the season with a 6-0 record. 

The Lancers advanced to the CIF team championships play-in round where they will play El Camino on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at Riverwalk. A victory would advance the Lancers to the Championship round on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at Mission Trails Golf Course. 

Cross Country

Both the boys and girls teams are ranked #1 in Division V. On October 23, the Lancers travelled to the prestigious Mt. Sac Invitational. In the boys Division 5 race the Lancers finished in fifth place out of 25 teams. The girls’ team also finished in fifth place in a field of 15 schools. 

The Lancers will be running at Tecolote Shores on Thursday, Oct. 29 in the second Coastal League meet.

Girls Volleyball

Currently ranked #6 in San Diego County, the girls volleyball team boosted their record to 5-1 in the Coastal League and 16-8 overall after their two wins last week. 

The Lancers will be back in action on Thursday, Oct. 29 against La Jolla Country Day at 5:15 pm.

Sand Volleyball

On Monday, Oct. 19, the Lancers defeated Coronado 3-0. The team is now playing in the top individual pairs championship, which host the top doubles teams in San Diego County.

Surf

Our team represented Parker at the Scholastic Surf Series in Mission Beach on Sunday, Oct. 25. Parker won first place in the individual Womens Shortboard division.

Football

Battling some tough competition, our scholar-athletes showed great poise and stamina. Following a well deserved bye last week, the Lancers will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 30 against Bishops. Game time is 7 pm on Lauer Field.

Congratulations to Upper School student Brooke Seay (Class of 2019) for winning the San Diego Section high school girls golf championship. Click here to read the whole story in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Four Lancer varsity athletes committed to play college sports by signing National Letters of Intent at the San Diego Hall of Champions on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Congratulations to the members of the Class of 2016 who will carry their Parker pride to the next level.

Sien Gallop signed with the University of the Pacific to play volleyball.

Tim Harrison signed with Rice University to play basketball.

Haydan Hastings signed with Gonzaga University to play baseball.

Jennifer Wineholt signed with University of Virginia to play volleyball.

From left to right: Haydan Hastings, Jennifer Wineholt, Tim Harrison and Sien Gallop

Francis Parker School's award-winning art history and social studies teacher, Cherie Redelings is sharing her expertise and lesson plans online – the result of field study she completed in Europe on stories of American World War II heroes.

Redelings is helping to transform the way history is taught by playing a pivotal role in developing a newly released digital resource that includes 21 lesson plans from American teachers who took the trip of a lifetime this summer to investigate the stories of fallen World War II heroes who are buried overseas.

The Parker History Department Chair was the only teacher from California -- and one of just 18 middle and high school teachers nationwide –to take part in the Understanding Sacrifice program that involved National History Day, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. The website, www.ABMCeducation.org, went live on Veterans Day.

Redelings, did her field study in England, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium. She designed two lesson plans, each based on a soldier she researched: U.S. Army 2^nd Lt. Gordon Chamberlain of San Diego; and U.S. Army Capt. Walter Huchthausen of St. Paul, Minnesota. One of the plans, Design a Battle Monument, has students researching Lt. Chamberlain’s service and and designing a battle monument based on his sacrifice.

“The American Battle Monuments Commission program was one the most exciting and meaningful opportunities in my career,” said Redelings. “Through my research I uncovered the war diary of 2nd Lieutenant Chamberlain, and read his day by day experiences. When I visited the sites in Europe, I walked in his footsteps, quite literally! I can't wait to bring these experiences to AP Art History students at Francis Parker. They, too, will research the career of a WW2 soldier, then study and design a battle monument in keeping with the styles of the post-WW2 era."

Lt. Chamberlain was a glider pilot who flew infantrymen and equipment behind enemy lines, including during D-Day. In February 1945, Chamberlain was assigned to Operation Varsity, a mission that involved crossing the Rhine River into Germany and included 906 gliders, the largest fleet in the war. It ended up being the costliest in terms of airborne casualties. Eighty-eight pilots lost their lives, including Chamberlain, who was killed by enemy fire. He was buried the following month in Margraten, Holland, in the site that would become the Netherlands American Cemetery.

“Students will learn about Gordon Chamberlain’s career as a glider pilot and Operation Varsity, the military action in which he perished,” states Redeling’s lesson overview. “Students will then examine Chamberlain’s grave marker and several other art works at the Netherlands American Cemetery through visual images and text. After evaluating the style, purpose, and meaning of these art works, they will design their own memorial to commemorate Chamberlain and the soldiers who perished in the crossing of the Rhine. Art History students will have the ability to compare and contrast World War II war memorials with other historical war memorials.”

Redelings’ second lesson plan is titled, Saving Art during Wartime: A Monument Man’s Mission.

Commission (MFAA) for frontline work in Germany. The MFAA eventually grew to include over 300 men and women from 13 countries. In recent years, this group has been called the "Monuments Men" in books, television, and movies. Many of them, like Huchthausen, had worked as artists, architects, museum curators, or educators before the war. Their role was to protect cultural treasures endangered by the war and to collect artifacts displaced by the war. Some MFAA officers, like Huchthausen, took part in battle preparations, supplying Allied pilots with locations of important monuments, so pilots could target alternate sites. When warfare damaged cultural treasures, MFAA officers moved into the area with frontline troops to assess damage and make repairs.

Huchthausen was killed by German machine gun fire while driving to recover an important cultural artifact. Huchthausen is buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery at Margraten.

“Students will understand and evaluate the purpose of the Monuments, Fine Art, and Archives Commission during World War II,” states a lesson overview. “They will investigate the career of the only U.S. member of the MFAA killed in action, Walter J. Huchthausen. Students will consider multiple viewpoints in the modern controversy over returning artworks removed from their original site during World War II.”

Organizers of the project praised the effort that went into the lesson plans.

“National History Day is constantly looking for new opportunities to connect students with the past,” said National History Day Executive Director Dr. Cathy Gorn. “We are fortunate to have this opportunity to work with the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media at George Mason University to help the ABMC develop a website for Understanding Sacrifice that illuminates the service, experiences and sacrifice of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen during World War II in Northern Europe.”

• Brooke Trossen is Conference Champion.
• Max Baez took 2nd place and is Conference Runner of the Year.
• Ted Sullivan is JV Boys Conference Champion.
• Sidney Kuebris took 2nd in the JV Girls Conference race.

Two Parker seniors Anoushka Bose and Cameron Burnett both earned the highest possible ACT Composite score of 36. On average, less than one-tenth of 1 percent of students who take the ACT earns a perfect score.

The test consists of tests in English, mathematics, reading and science. Exceptional scores of 36 provide colleges with evidence of a student’s readiness for the academic rigors that lie ahead.

Students received letters from the ACT chief executive officer recognizing this exceptional achievement. “Your achievement on the ACT is significant and rare," wrote Janet Godwin. While test scores are just one multiple criteria that most colleges consider when making admission decisions, your exceptional ACT Composite score should prove helpful as you pursue your education and career goals.”

The ACT test scores are accepted by all major US colleges and are used when considering a student for admission.

Francis Parker School student Meghana Reddy, Grade 11, is one of just 10 global visionaries recognized for outstanding community service by the South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW).

Competing with adults around the world, she is the first high school student named a recipient of the SXSW Dewey Winburne Community Service Award. Meghana is founder and president of the non-profit, Limbs with Love that provides life-changing prosthetics she creates using 3D printing technology to people from California to China.

“You’re never too young to make a difference,” Meghana said. “But I feel really humbled in receiving this award. There are some amazing people being honored, including a Ph.D. candidate and a gentleman working on a peace initiative between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Meghana will receive the award in February at the 2-16 South by Southwest® Interactive Festival in Austin. Read more here.

Cross Country

Our Boys and Girls cross-country teams both won both Coastal league and CIF Division 5 (D5) titles. This is the first time since 1984 that both our girls and boys won the CIF championship in the same year. At the CIF state meet, our girls came in third in D5. Brooke Trossen won the Coastal league and San Diego CIF D5 titles. Sophia Gamboa came in third in both the league and CIF meets.

Max Baez came in second in the Coastal league meet to help lead the Lancers to the title. One week later, he came back with a vengeance and won the CIF D5 race by 32 seconds over the rest of the field. Tanner Penrose came in fifth in league and eighth in CIF.

Football

Lancer football struggled on the scoreboard, but always represented our school well. They battled valiantly and persevered through a difficult season. It is easy when things are going well, but the mark of the true champion is how they handle adversity.

Offensively, the Lancers were led by quarterback, Ben Krongard who threw for 513 yards and 5 touchdowns (TDs). On the ground, Bryce Neels carried the ball 102 times for 514 yards and 3 TDs. The leading receiver was Sterling Hayes who averaged 18.3 yards per catch and had 3 TDs.

On defense, Cam Miller led the team in tackles with 49. Bryce Neels had 40 tackles and 2 interceptions.

Girls Volleyball

Our girls team finished the season with a 19-10 overall record and were ranked number 40 in the state. The Lancers lost in the CIF open division quarterfinals to eventual champion Torrey Pines. All season, the Lancers were led by senior setter Jenn Wineholt and outside hitter Sien Gallop. Leading the teams in digs was libero, Nicole Magbanua. The Lancers had nine seniors, some who were major contributors on three state championship teams. Six talented underclassmen will carry the torch next year.

Golf

Our golf team won the Coastal League championship. Freshman Brooke Seay was the Coastal League and CIF Champion. In the CIF meet, she finished five strokes ahead of her nearest competitor. Brooke was honored as the Union Tribune Athlete of the Month for November.

Tennis

Girls tennis team advanced to the CIF Division 1 championships, where they lost a very close match to Westview. The Lancers were led by the doubles team of Mati Thomas/Olia Javidi who won the Coastal League doubles title and made it to the CIF Quarterfinals.

Boys Sand Volleyball

Our sand team lost in the county championship to La Jolla, the eventual champion. Reece Salmons and Cameron Burnett played outstanding volleyball all season long, ultimately losing in the county championship match. David Barrett and Adam Gordon finished in the top ten.

Middle School student Kenan P., Class of 2022, was featured in the February issue of San Diego Family Magazine.

In his article What Running Has Taught Me, Kenan wrote about discovering his passion for running and what it taught him about goal setting, perseverance and confidence.

Click here to read the whole article.

Members of the W.A.R.Lords (Team 2485) took their robot Odin on a field trip to The Gillispie School in La Jolla recently. The Parker Upper School students held a "show and tell" for students in Kindergarten through Grade 5. The visit was covered in the The Gillispie Sun school newsletter. To read the whole story click here.