Thursday, April 4, 2013, started out like a normal day for me.  I woke up early, fed the cats and made coffee for Barbara and me.  Later, after doing my chores, I drove to La Bou on Howe Ave. to meet my aunts, Kay and Alice, for coffee and a croissant.  My brother John was there too on that day.  After one hour and one half of chit chatting, we headed off in different directions.
Then, when I arrived home, I received a cryptic text from my brother, which brought darkness to an otherwise sun shiny day:  “Denis Tomassetti killed last night in auto accident.”  I texted John back immediately saying, “no way”, but sadly it was true.  Minutes later, I contacted our mutual friend Tom Hart to confirm John’s text.  In a broken voice, Tom said, “yes, it is true; Denis was killed last night on the way home from work.”
This shows how fleeting life can be.  Here one minute, gone the next.
I have known Denis Tomassetti pretty much all my life.  He entered the world in the year I moved to Janey Way, 1952.  He was part of a bunch of kids we called the younger Janey Way boys:  Denis, the three Johns (Tomassetti, Relles and Ducray) Rick Thomsen and Tom Hart.  I remember watching them play Senior Little League baseball games on the field behind our house where St. Francis High School now stands.  I watched and thought, “these little guys have sure grown up, and they are good.”
Years later, after we all came back from serving in the military, I attended some rock concerts (the thing he really loved to do) with Denis.  I recall seeing the Kinks at Sacramento State College and Bob Dylan at Cal Expo.  We always had a great time.  He had an encyclopedic knowledge of contemporary music as well as an incredible sense of humor.  Going places with Denis, was always fun.
We played golf together too:  Denis, Tom Hart, my dad and I.  Dad took golf seriously and was known to hurl a club after a bad shot, but not with Denis in the foursome.  Denis would have needled him too much for that. Again, we always had a lot of fun.
More recently (over the last decade) Denis enlisted me to play with him and Tom Hart in an annual POW (prisoners of wives) golf tournament.  He and Tom usually picked me up at my home on Friday afternoon, and then we drove up the hill to Lake Tahoe.  It made for a great weekend:  golf, gambling, a few beers and good friends.  Who could ask for more?
Denis won’t be playing with us this year in the POW Tournament.  All of his POW friends will miss him dearly.  Now, the great fun I had over the years with my dear friend Denis is just another heart-felt Janey Way Memory.

Kathy Carlisle art photo Original art courtesy, Ara Brancamp // Photo courtesy St. Francis High School, Johnathan V. Comer

With 2,000 handmade origami cranes, tributes of art and testimony and the powerful sounds of Taiko drums, hundreds of mourners from the St. Francis High School and Sacramento arts communities celebrated the life of the late Kathryn M. Carlisle on Saturday, Dec. 15. A memorial service for students and faculty was also held on Monday, Dec. 10.

Known to her friends as Kathy, she was a much-beloved teacher at St. Francis. She died while taking photographs for a school project on the railroad tracks across the street from the high school on Dec. 8. Carlisle was taking images of an oncoming train, when she was struck from behind by a second train. She was 52.

It is possible Carlisle was taking the photos for an upcoming project on the Holocaust. She was in discussions just days before with Holocaust survivors about the trains that took Jews and other “undesirables” to the death camps. Carlisle was passionate about using art to promote issues of social justice.

At the Celebration of Life Ceremony, Liz Irga, Central Valley Holocaust Education Network, said the last time she spoke with Carlisle, they talked about the trains. “The trains that took people to the (death) camps. And we spoke about the people who ran those trains. I will always wonder if it was that conversation that led to her being there on those tracks,” Irga said.

Kathy Carlisle taught visual arts and digital photography at St. Francis High School. She was struck and killed by a train on Dec. 8.

Every year since her arrival at St. Francis in 2008, she taught a unit on the Shoah — the Holocaust. She was deeply committed to the Central Valley Holocaust Education Network. Her students interviewed survivors of that horror, then created works that embodied the lives of those people in a contemporary way, speaking to today’s generations.

The exhibits won many awards, including a scholarship for Carlisle to study the Holocaust at the 2012 Memorial Library Summer Seminar on Holocaust Education.

Carlisle grew up in Detroit during the 1960s. As a young girl, she saw tanks going down the streets of her city. As an adult, she dedicated her life – and her gifts in the arts and in teaching – to shining light on the darkest things in life. She wanted to use her artistic gifts, especially, to bring issues of justice to the forefront.

As a teenager, she would spend afternoons at the Detroit Institute of Art, studying artists. At age 16, she was accepted into a summer art program at the prestigious Parsons School of Design in New York City. She was educated at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago before earning a B.A. in Arts Education and later an M.A. in Drawing and Ceramic Sculpture from CSUS.

Carlisle began teaching at Sacramento High School as an artist in residence, where she developed a cross-cultural art curriculum. Through a grant from the Neighborhood Arts Program of SMAC, she also worked with pediatric oncology patients from the UC Davis Medical Center.

Carlisle also had a great love of Japanese drumming and culture, and was an original member of the Sacramento Taiko Dan. Founding members of Taiko Dan re-assembled to perform at her Celebration of Life service.

Carlisle was known for her huge heart, eclectic style, and sharp sense of humor. She was passionate about gatherings with family and friends, and empowering students to learn through art.

This passion for life was shared and returned by her many friends and family – and especially by the students, staff and faculty at St. Francis High School. In the wake of her passing, the school did something remarkable: all final exams for the semester were cancelled. Instead, the school community members gathered to console one another. Students created works of art in Carlisle’s memory, using her favorite colors: pink and orange.

At the Celebration of Life, Kendall Spector, a junior at St. Francis and teacher’s assistant to Carlisle relayed a message from her to family and friends: “Mrs. Carlisle always told us, ‘I can hardly wait for each of you girls to graduate, so I can see the amazing things you will do in the world. Each of you is full of color, and the world needs you. Because the world is gray, it needs the color you will bring to it.’”

Margo Reid Brown, president, St. Francis High School, said Carlisle was a “unique, colorful and passionate part” of each of their lives.

“Forever, we will be grateful for her presence in our lives. As a community of faith, we know Kathy was our gift…We trust in the Lord to lift our sister Kathy to everlasting life with Him,” Reid Brown said.

Carlisle is survived by her husband Steven Jarvis, her children Will, Bianca, and Violet, who is a freshman at St. Francis; and her mother, Sandy Carlisle of Brighton, Michigan.
A scholarship fund has been established. The Kathy Carlisle Scholarship will be awarded annually to a current student at St. Francis High School who demonstrates a passion and commitment to the arts that were so much a part of Carlisle’s life. Donations can be made via the St. Francis High School website at www.stfrancishs.org.

In the musical INTO THE WOODS the final lyric is sung by Cinderella “…. I Wish…”  The idea of the possibility of a wish being fulfilled is a central theme of this provocative musical. 
Sondheim and Lapine take recognizable fairy tales and intertwine them into a journey of discovery. Some of it is very good and some of it is very bad! Jack’s Mother wishes her son were not a fool, Cinderella wishes to go to the festival,  The Baker’s Wife wishes she might have a child, Jack wishes his cow would give some milk and Rapunzel wishes to see the world.
 The music and story masterfully explore the consequences and responsibilities attached to each wish.  Ultimately there are no clear answers just a few glimmers along the path.  
The orchestra members, cast and crew are girls from St. Francis High School and guys representing high schools in the Sacramento area.
St. Francis High School is excited to present this extraordinary musical opening with a Gala performance Nov. 8.  INTO THE WOODS runs for two weekends closing on Nov. 17. 
Special outreach performances are scheduled for area schools on November 13.  Tickets are $10 for children and $15 for adults for the matinee and most evenings. Performance times and tickets are available online at www.ticketyguys.com/stfrancis. Tickets are sold online and at the door.

Performance datesPerformance dates

Nov. 8, 7:30 p.m.: Gala performance, $25 per seat with delicious sweets and spirits during intermission

Nov. 9, 10, 16, 17: 7:30 p.m.  $15 adults, $10 under 19

Nov. 10, 1:30 p.m. matinee   $15 adults, $10 under 19

Into The Woods Trailer for St Francis High School on YouTube

In the musical INTO THE WOODS the final lyric is sung by Cinderella “…. I Wish…”  The idea of the possibility of a wish being fulfilled is a central theme of this provocative musical.  Sondheim and Lapine take recognizable fairy tales and intertwine them into a journey of discovery. Some of it is very good and some of it is very bad! Jack’s Mother wishes her son were not a fool, Cinderella wishes to go to the festival,  The Baker’s Wife wishes she might have a child, Jack wishes his cow would give some milk and Rapunzel wishes to see the world.

The music and story masterfully explore the consequences and responsibilities attached to each wish.  Ultimately there are no clear answers just a few glimmers along the path.

The orchestra members, cast and crew are girls from St. Francis High School and guys representing high schools in the Sacramento area.

St. Francis High School is excited to present this extraordinary musical opening with a Gala performance November 8.  INTO THE WOODS runs for two weekends closing on November 17.  Special outreach performances are scheduled for area schools on November 13.    Tickets are $10 for children and $15 for adults for the matinee and most evenings. Performance times and tickets are available online at www.ticketyguys.com/stfrancis . Tickets are sold online and at the door.

Calendar

Nov 8, 7:30pm
Gala   $25.00 per seat with delicious sweets and spirits during intermission

Nov 9, 10, 16, 17 7:30pm
$15 adults, $10 under 19

Nov 10, 1:30pm matinee
$15 adults, $10 under 19

Margo Reid Brown knows a few things about St. Francis High School.
She graduated from the school in 1981 after spending time as junior class president, student body president and a member of the varsity tennis team.
Now Brown has decided to come back to St. Francis, but this time as president, taking over the reins from Marion Bishop, who retired earlier this year.
Brown, who was appointed president by Bishop Jaime Soto of the Diocese of Sacramento on Feb. 1, officially took over the position July 1.
“I’m honored to have the opportunity to be at St. Francis and help grow and contribute to that enriching environment that I so benefited from having been here,” Brown said. “And if what I have as far as gifts and talents that are bestowed upon me from God that I can share with the girls that are coming to St. Francis, I’m honored to be able to do that.”

Call it a come back
When presented with the opportunity, Brown said as an alumnus she was drawn to become president of St. Francis to help the school continue its growth in the community and ability to create an “academically excellent environment” for the girls that attend.
“Just seeing the contribution that graduates from St. Francis make to the community in Sacramento made me want to come back here and help lead St. Francis through the next growth opportunity,” she said.
Brown said the obvious change to the school she noticed from the time she was last on campus was its physical plan, which has grown to accommodate a growth in the number of students.
“When I was here, we had about 575 students and there were 125 in my graduating class,” she said. “My older daughter is a senior here at St. Francis and when she started as a freshman, there were 300 in her class and I think there’s still about 275. The size of the school has grown tremendously – we built a brand new gym, there’s a fine arts center and theater, and the athletic fields have changed.”
However, Brown says the spirit of St. Francis and opportunities students have “to grow and to blossom in an enriching environment” hasn’t changed.
“That has been the hallmark of what St. Francis does for the young women in this environment for more than 70 years – that’s what’s exciting to come back to,” she said.

Born and raised
Brown was born and raised in Sacramento. After graduating from St. Francis, she left the area to attend the University of Southern California, from which she graduated in 1985.
She then moved to the east coast to work in Washington, D.C. for five years, after which she moved back to California.
Brown’s past work experience includes a number of both professional and volunteer positions with nonprofits.
She was appointed by both the Wilson and Schwarzenegger administrations to serve in the Governors’ Capitol Office staff, and subsequently as Agency Executive leading the Administration’s initiatives on Waste Diversion & Recycling programs.
She was also director of the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle).
“My background is leading mission-based organizations, fundraising, community involvement, and that’s really the role of the president,” Brown said.
Now Brown calls East Sacramento home and lives with her husband and two daughters, both of whom attend St. Francis.
Her sister and brother are also currently raising families in East Sacramento as well, and Brown says she has a few nieces in the area that will be attending St. Francis in a few years.
Brown is also very active in the community outside of her school. A past president of the Junior League of Sacramento, she currently sits on the Board of Directors for Keep California Beautiful and the California Product Stewardship Council.
What has been taking up most of Brown’s free time, however, is her involvement with Team in Training. She and her daughter, Carolina, are in training for the Disneyland Half Marathon over Labor Day weekend. The marathon will help raise funds for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
“There have been members of our community who have been diagnosed with blood cancers and we’re running in honor of several of the people we know,” she said.

Moving forward
Now as president of St. Francis, Brown says her experience at various nonprofits and government agencies have given her the skills to make her a good fit for this position.
As president, Brown says her role is to provide fiscal oversight for the school, including budgeting, finance and facilities management, as well as business aspects such as admissions and marketing. She is also responsible for the spiritual ministry on campus.
Brown is already looking at plans for growth and improvement at the school as it continues to grow in student enrollment, which Brown says is at 1,100 right now.
“We have some capitol improvements that we’re looking at that we’re going to be developing over the next decade or so,” she said. “We’re looking at technology in the classroom, we’re looking at how we’re preparing girls to be admitted to the college of their dreams.”
And Brown says she is hoping to help St. Francis continue to grow and continue to be a “vibrant community” of girls that goes on and changes the world.
“The opportunity to be a part of that and help grow St. Francis over the next decade is truly a gift and I’m so much looking forward to the opportunity of really rising to the expectations that the community has for the potential of the girls here,” she said.

corrie@valcomnews.com

St. Francis High School junior Bianca Quirz had no idea she loved photography until she had the opportunity to take a class this past school year.
She says Kathy Carlisle – the school’s visual arts instructor for photography, painting and sculpture – was her inspiration.
“(Carlisle) encouraged me to get out there and try it, and I fell in love with it,” Quirz said. “She’s just so full of energy and when she comes into the classroom, I’m awake and ready to work. That’s one of the classes that’s my favorite and when I come to school I just look forward to that class.”

The student
As one of her project’s in Carlisle’s photography class, Quirz was asked to create a photograph that conveyed the emotions and personal stories of a survivor or someone who had perished during the Holocaust. The Holocaust, although it affected American citizens or those who ultimately became American citizens, is not generally considered a period in American history – rather, European history.
“I was really surprised, I wouldn’t expect that in a photography class,” Quirz said. “I was actually learning about it in my history class, so I thought it would be a great opportunity to capture certain emotions in photos.”
Her photo is called “Hands of the Innocent” and is a photo of a pair of hands that uses double exposure and color shifting.
“It’s a very simple photograph, but very jarring and provoking,” Quirz said.
Quirz says the concept behind her photo was the children during the Holocaust.
“They were so innocent and to be able to see something so painful and just horrific at the time, especially in the concentration camps,” she said. “So that’s what I was going for, that was my inspiration.”
She also feels that by creating art on such an event, she’s helping to teach younger generations about what happened to help ensure it never happens again.
“I just want people to feel the emotion they felt back then,” Quirz said.

The teacher
So why select such a dark topic as the Holocaust as the basis for a student art project?
Carlisle says it all began with her upbringing in Detroit during the 1960s.
“Social justice issues were a part of my upbringing, and really, as an artist, I have always sought to determine how art could play a role in that,” she said.
When joining the faculty at St. Francis High School more than four years ago, Carlisle found that Catholic social teachings were integrated into the entire curriculum, including art. During her first year on campus, she developed a unit for both the visual and performing arts where they would focus on the Holocaust for one semester.
“I’ve taught it every year and for me it’s just a really compelling way to help students understand how those issues of racism and genocide actually apply to their lives today,” she said.
Additionally, by selecting an historic event, students need to work on their research skills to develop their “artist’s statement,” that is the basis of their work.
Part of the assignment was for the students to research and use personal narratives from Holocaust survivors, or from those who perished, and then use a visual symbol or metaphor to represent that person’s life or some aspect of that person’s story.
“The challenge for them is, of course, we’re not able to travel back in time,” Carlisle said. “They’re having to make a symbol in their contemporary life that somehow embodies what their interpretation is of that person’s life. It’s honestly a pretty complex and challenging assignment and I think they were pretty masterful – they did a great job. They worked really well with their art elements and principles, and all the benchmarks that they needed in their state standards. And of course, for me it’s really important to see that young people are able to understand the social context of art making and what art can do to help the world understand what these issues are.”

Sharing with others
All the students’ photography was placed in a collection called “The Holocaust: Illuminated Memory,” which Carlisle says, thanks to support from community members, has received quite a bit of interest.
For example, the collection was shown this year at Yom Ha’Shoah memorial and KOH Library and Cultural Center, both in Sacramento.
The students’ work can also be viewed on a blog Carlisle put together for the project at stfrancisholocaustphotography.blogspot.com.
The collection was also exhibited at St. Patrick’s Academy in Sacramento, where some of Carlisle’s students took things a step further by developing an education lesson to present to seventh graders at St. Patrick’s.
“They talked to those students about their work, their photographs and then they did a drawing exercise with them about the Holocaust,” Carlisle said. “It gave them an opportunity in another context to understand how viewers could take their work in. (To) then try to convey that lesson to other students was pretty impressive.”
Quirz says she loved seeing her work on display.
“It was actually very exciting for me because I’ve never had work put out for an art show or anything like that,” she said. “It’s a very interesting experience to go around and then all of a sudden wow, my work’s right there.”
And in April 2013, the student collection has been invited to show at The Quarter Gallery at the Regis Center for the Arts at the University of Minnesota.
“That’s a pretty high honor for high school students to have a university show – the girls are really excited about it,” Carlisle said.
However, the students are not the only ones receiving honors.
Carlisle herself is one of 26 fellowship awardees of the 2012 Memorial Library Summer Seminar on Holocaust Education. In early July, Carlisle flew out to New York City to teachers and civic organization leaders to learn new methods and approaches for teaching the Holocaust with the goal of fostering an agenda for social justice in their classrooms and communities.
Through her fellowship, Carlisle is hoping to improve the quality and depth of how she teaches the Holocaust in the classroom to help improve her students’ understanding of the event.
“I also really want to increase the integrity and the creative responsibility or integrity that I see that is inherent in working with the Holocaust – I want to build the breadth as well as the depth of what I bring to the classroom,” she said. “I know after this fellowship that I will come back a completely renewed scholar of the Holocaust.”

Corrie@valcomnews.com

On Thursday, May 3, St. Francis High School students, faculty and staff met outside to celebrate the completion of the school’s new solar installation. The $1.2 million project includes 1,316 solar panels placed on the rooftops of seven campus buildings and will reportedly produce 30.6 percent of the school’s current electricity requirements – saving St. Francis $1 million over the next 25 years.

Kelly Brothers was master of ceremonies. Father David Suwalsky, S.J., president of Jesuit High School, blessed the panels. Paul Lau spoke on behalf of SMUD.

A bright idea

According to Sharon Tobar, director of finance for St. Francis High School, the idea for the solar project began several years ago when administrators began planning for future construction projects.

“It was just a natural outflow from that to say…if we’re doing a modernization project, should there be a solar or renewable energy component,” she explained.

The solar project officially began in the fall of 2008 and took about three years to complete, as the construction phase was completed in April.

The system was made possible through a federal grant, a SMUD incentive and financing, Tobar said.

Power up

The installed system is a 309.3 KW Photovoltaic (PV) System that is expected to generate 426,595 KWH of electricity annually.

According to Tobar, St. Francis’ solar system is tied into the SMUD grid, so the electricity it generates is delivered directly into SMUD’s grid. Then a meter installed on the solar system records how much power it generates, which is then applied toward a rebate the school receives for whatever energy they use from SMUD.

“Every energy that is produced by these solar panels they won’t have to buy from SMUD, so that will save them a lot of money throughout the year on operation costs,” explained Lau, assistant general manager of Power Supply & Grid Operations for SMUD.

Lau added the amount of energy the St. Francis’ solar project produces helps SMUD to get closer to its goal of producing 125 megawatts of solar energy as part of the California Solar Initiative and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Million Solar Roofs Program, which has the goal of creating 3,000 megawatts of new, solar-produced electricity by 2016.

“Every megawatt our customers put on helps us get closer to that 125 megawatts goal,” Lau said. “SMUD is actually on its way to hit its 125 megawatt goal, so it’s a win-win for both the customer and SMUD.”

A light on learning

In addition to helping St. Francis with its electricity bills, the new solar project has also added to the school’s curriculum.

Tobar said the solar installation has a software-based monitoring system that faculty and students can  access by logging in to a Website, allowing them to see how much energy is being generated and how the system is performing.

“The information that they get from the monitoring system, they can incorporate any of that information into the curriculum and use it any way they want to,” Tobar added.

Additionally, school has a weather station, so Tobar said teachers can tie the performance of the system to the weather statistics.

A bright future

Looking toward the future, Tobar said it is very important for St. Francis to take the initiative to install a solar project like this, as they are modeling what they believe for the students.

“And it’s important to the students, because they hear about fossil fuels, non-renewables, depleting resources, and carbon footprints – they’re very aware of the environment they live in and the diminishing resources (and) this is what they want to see us do,” she added.

Lau agreed, “When you put it in the school environment like that, it helps the future leaders to think about energy in a different way. The more we can educate the next generation and just people in general I think it helps the community and helps the utility.”

corrie@valcomnews.com

After 11 years of service, St. Francis High School’s first-ever president, Marion Bishop, will retire on May 31, leaving behind a legacy that includes a capital campaign, technology, campus ministry, and a growth spurt in student population.

The ‘President-Principal Model’

TWO BISHOPS. St. Francis High School President Marion Bishop, left, with Sacramento Bishop Jaime Soto on the campus of St. Francis High School. She will retire from the diocesan high school at the end of the month. / Photo courtesy of St. Francis High School

In 2001 Bishop, who at the time was working in the Catholic Schools Department for the Diocese of Sacramento, was appointed president of St. Francis High School to bring the president-principal model to St. Francis that other Catholic schools in the area were already using. This model calls for a principal to handle the academics of the school and a president to handle the business side of the school, including fund raising.

“Research had indicated that a when a high school reaches an enrollment of 600 or more students that it really becomes impossible for a single administrator to take care of all the academic concerns of the campus, as well as all the business,” Bishop recalled. “St. Francis was at the threshold of that 600 students and it was time to move in to this new model. I just happened to be first in line to be hired to implement the new model.”

St. Francis’ current principal, Patrick O’Neill (who has been principal for three years and was assistant principal for two years before that), said the president-principal model that Bishop initiated was instrumental in the growth of St. Francis’ student body from 600 to now 1,100 students. Having this model allows him to effectively concentrate on the academics of the school, while having a compatriot handling the business side.

“Marion and I have clicked from Day One,” O’Neill said. “We see things the same way and she’s been outstanding to work for.”

Making improvements

As part of her role as president, Bishop played an integral role in the improvements made to the St. Francis campus over the years. For instance, when she first arrived in 2001, the school was beginning the first phase of a capital campaign to expand the campus.

HONORED BOARD MEMBER. As President of St. Francis High School, Marion Bishop worked closely with Sacramento Bishop Jamie Soto and the Board of St. Francis High School. Board members acknowledge her pivotal role in the expansion of the school campus. / Photo courtesy, St. Francis High School

“I was really privileged not only to be part of that capital campaign to raise monies to improve the campus and expand it, but also I oriented the expansion itself,” Bishop said. For example, she played a pivotal role in the development of the school’s current Performing Arts Center and gymnasium.

Throughout her 11 years Bishop continued to make improvements to St. Francis.

“She listened to the student body and what was going on in the education world, and then would be strategic in trying to weave that into the direction of the school, whether it be technology, safety or the green movement,” explained Shannon Terwedo, past St. Francis High School Board member whose daughter graduated from the school in 2007.

Past Board member Helen Pierson – whose two daughters graduated from St. Francis in 2000 and she herself graduated from the school in 1974 – said Bishop always had St. Francis’ best interest in mind in all the decisions she made and that she was someone who could see what was important for the school.

“It’s a challenge to have an all-girl high school and keep it running – a lot of different schools have had to go different ways and unfortunately some even had to close,” Pierson explained. “St. Francis has been very fortunate because of the leadership that has enabled it to stay above the water and keep itself as a place where young ladies want to go. It’s a great school and she’s been at the helm for many years and I think it’s because of that.”

Having faith

FAITH is one of the Four Pillars at St. Francis High School. Under Marion Bishop's leadership, student class retreats grew and developed. / Photo courtesy, St. Francis High School

One area Bishop focused on building upon during her tenure at St. Francis was in the school’s Campus Ministry Department.

“Under Marion’s leadership, she’s put a lot of work, emphasis and resources into building up our program so we have more of a holistic approach to ministry, to where it’s not just prayers and retreats, but also service and faith community life,” explained Director of Campus Ministry Linda Norman.

As part of the Campus Ministry Department, Bishop said one of her proudest accomplishments is the establishment of an integrated retreat program where each year’s class has their own retreat, culminating with a senior retreat (called Kairos) their final year.

“This for many of our girls is a life-changing four-day student-lead retreat experience,” Bishop explained. “It has been the single-most item that our graduating seniors comment on as their most significant moment at St. Francis, and so I’m very proud of that because I think it speaks to the whole person, the whole student, and what she’s taking with her when she leaves here. That’s one program I’m very, very proud of.”

Additionally, Bishop began a mother-daughter retreat program in 2003, which Terwedo attended with her daughter. Terwedo recalled Bishop attending this retreat and talking to the mothers and daughters about her own experiences.

“She shared her personal journey with her daughter and as a daughter herself – the good, the bad, the challenges of dealing with a daughter in in the teenage years,” she recalled. “She just took off the mantle of being president and put on the mantle of being a woman that was both a daughter and a mother.”

‘A huge heart’

Now on the eve of her retirement, Bishop is excited for the Disney cruise she, her husband of 42 years, and family will be taking, and then occupying her time with gardening, playing and praying.

“I do feel like I have another life in me somewhere,” she said. “I still feel very young although I’m at retirement age. I feel like there’s something else there and I’ve been praying a lot about what that is and how it’s going to express itself.”

FAITH, FAMILY, FRIENDS AND FUN. Capital campaigns and fundraisers are hard work, but St. Francis President Marion Bishop always led the way with a faithful and encouraging heart. / Photo courtesy, St. Francis High School

Although she is looking forward to her retirement, Bishop said she will greatly miss the students and staff at St. Francis and that she hopes the school continues to grow and prepare the young women that attend to serve the greater community.

“When I came here, I hoped that I would really bring the school ‘heart’ and I think that I have done that and I’m very proud of that,” Bishop said. “I think the school has a huge heart and it shows itself in many, many ways.”

corrie@valcomnews.com

“A dynamically gifted person.” “She’s been my mentor for 10 years.” “An impressive lady.” “A remarkable woman.” “Kay is St. Francis.”

These are just a few of the myriad of comments by staff and alumni of St. Francis High School about Kay Gaines, who will be retiring from the school after 43 years on March 31.

“I think it’s a good time to retire – I have my health, I have my energy, so I want to move while I can still re-engage,” Gaines said about her upcoming retirement and move to Lewiston, Idaho at the end of March so she can be closer to her sister’s family, as well as her two grown sons and two 3½ year old granddaughters currently living in Colorado.

“It will be very difficult to leave my life-long friends in Sacramento, but I’ll carry wonderful memories with me,” Gaines said in a letter emailed out to St. Francis High School supporters in February. “I have good health, lots of energy and a loving family, so I’m very fortunate.”

Where it all Began

Gaines began her St. Francis High School career at literally the very beginning of 1969 – she came in to interview for a part-time social studies teacher position on Jan. 2 and started the very next day. Gaines worked part-time from 1969 to 1973, then became full-time from 1974 to 1984, and later the Social Studies Department chair from the mid-70s until 1985.

Rosemarie Bertini, a 1972 graduate of St. Francis who came back in 1997 to become an Italian instructor for the school, recalls Gaines’ reputation as teaching difficult, serious classes.

“When you’re a kid at that age, you’re just going to do anything you can to not put yourself in that position, but when we got to senior year there was no way around it – Civics was Mrs. Gaines,” Bertini said. “And I just thought, ‘Am I going to live to see the end,’ because I knew it was a lot of work!”

Reflecting on her student experience, Bertini said that although at a young age taking a class from Gaines might have been something a student would want to avoid, Gaines knew it was something her students could do. And Gaines would do what she could to keep them on track.

“In the end we were so full of accomplishment – when you left that class, you’d truly learned something and in addition you had this confidence in it,” Bertini added.

Gaines herself admits she was a really tough teacher.

“I think that students can reach very high levels if you ask them to – they can learn skills, improve their own academic knowledge,” she added. “We did a lot of writing in my history classes because that skill you’ll take with you for the rest of your life.”

St. Francis Theology Department Chair Rick Norman recalls beginning his own career at the school in 1977 when Gaines was the chair of the Social Studies Department. He said her long career has allowed her to have a real grasp of the history and vision of St. Francis as she’s managed of number of transitions the school has gone through, from changes in campus location, buildings, administration and enrollment.

“She’s had to weather all the transitions and she’s been just incredibly graceful at guiding that school academically and administratively, and supporting just so many programs at the school,” Norman said.

Also during her time as a teacher, Gaines taught the first advanced placement (AP) U.S. history course St. Francis, which is a course high school students can take for college credit. According to St. Francis AP Literature teacher Rich Weldon, the AP program Gaines started then has grown. He said of the two English AP courses the school offers, over 100 students take the junior year course, while between 60 to 80 students take the senior year course.

“The AP programs, not just in English but in other departments, have really flourished under her because she just believes they could do it and it didn’t matter if it was math or chemistry – it was kind of like move over boys, here come the girls,” Weldon said.

Nora Wehrenberg Anderson, 1983 alumna, recalls her first interaction with Gaines in August 1981 in her AP U.S. history class.

“Lucky for me, I learned so much more,” she said in a note she recently wrote to Gaines to wish her well on her retirement. “I learned how to think critically, to write well, and about how positive role models are all around us – people like you!”

Leaving a Legacy

Gaines continued to support the AP program at St. Francis as she made the move to assistant principal in 1985, followed by becoming principal in 1998. Gaines then decided to retire from the principal position in 2004 to take on her current role as director of special projects.

Gaines said her current role is a “catch-all” phrase that covers a wide variety of unrelated things, a good portion of which are connected to the school’s academic teams, many of which Gaines started during her career, including the Mock Trial, Model United Nations, and Academic Decathlon, and others she also coached, such as the school’s Robotics Team.

St. Francis Director of Admission Moira O’Brien said Gaines is the reason why they have academic teams at the school. Although Gaines ran them herself for a while, she then found staff to take on each team and stick with them.

“We were the first all-girl school to ever go to the national championship in robotics, our speech team wins so many prizes,” O’Brien explained. “It’s all Kay’s energy, she built them, and they are so successful and the girls love it.”

And Norman said the building of these academic teams is what is bringing students to St. Francis today.

“For the first time we interviewed the incoming freshmen – many students now are coming to the school for academic teams,” he said. “She was the one that really got all that rolling.”

For 2010 graduate Amy Bush, being part of the St. Francis Debate Team is what she recalls most from her time at the school.

“Participating in debate meant a lot to me because I had spent eight years in speech therapy prior to coming to St. Francis,” she recalled in a written note to Gaines. “To have St. Francis welcome me and make me feel that they were proud of me is something that has inspired me beyond measure, and still continues to.”

Another program Gaines began and currently oversees is an exchange program with a sister school in Japan. The program with Nakamura Gakuen Girls High School in Fukuoka, Japan has been ongoing for 15 years now.

St. Francis 2001 graduate Jayme Hennessy recalls the exchange program and the impact it had on her education.

“That was really neat because we were able to experience a global perspective with girls our own age from another country,” she recalled. “That was really something I remember a lot – especially as a high school student, it was pretty great.”

Saying Goodbye

With the eve of her retirement upon her, Gaines reflects back on her experience at St. Francis and a comment a colleague she had taught with for 35 years said to her one morning that while driving to school one morning, he realized he had never gone to work a day in his life.

“And I said, ‘Yup, I feel exactly the same’,” Gaines recalled. “I’ve never gone to work a day in my life. In 43 years I just came to play, and I think a lot of people here feel that way. We work really hard, we work really long hours because we wear so many hats, but it’s just such a rewarding experience.”

That constant drive has Gaines already making plans for her retirement, including involvement with the church, League of Women Voters, and schools in the area, as well as taking technology courses at the local community college.

“I don’t intend to sit,” she laughed.

When asked what she has learned the most from her experience at St. Francis, Gaines said one thing was that she grew in her own faith as a Catholic, which has become an integral part of who she is. And she also learned respect.

“Respect for my colleagues, respect for the kids and their parents,” she added.

Gaines said what she will miss the most is the community.

“This is truly a family, truly a community – people really do care about each other,” she said. “I will miss living in a truly faith-based community where it just happens so naturally and people just celebrate together and pray together.”

And her parting words for her St. Francis family? Be creative, be adventurous, and love each other.

“I’ve just had the best career that I could ever possibly have desired and in the best place,” Gaines said. “I’ve been blessed for sure.”

It is unusual to see groups of teenage boys walking around the campus of St. Francis High School, an all-girls school, but on Saturday, Feb. 18, they outnumbered the girls.

NOT WEIRDOS AND GEEKS, the St. Francis Fembots hosted the FIRST Robotics Practice Day for high school robotics teams throughout the region. Teams came from as far away as the East Bay Area. Robotics students are highly desirable candidates at colleges and universities nationwide. / Photo courtesy, Stuart King

The St. Francis High School Fembots hosted a “Practice Day” for the FIRST Robotics Competition known as FRC. FIRST is a non-profit group and the acronym means, ‘For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology’. FIRST was founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway Human Transporter. Twelve countries, four provinces and 49 states support the 2,343 FIRST robotic teams. They have over 3,000 sponsors and nearly $14 million in scholarships.

January kits

FRC sends each team a robot kit the first week of January. The teams are given specific instructions on the robot’s capabilities. Each team has six weeks to design and build the robot. At the end of the six weeks, the robots are packaged up and the teams are not allowed to work on them or use them until the competitions begin. Having a practice run to test out the robots right before they are boxed up allows the students to make fixes and adjustments to the robot. Teams came from all over northern California to test their robots at St. Francis.

Having fun while learning

The Fembots explain on their website this multinational non-profit organization encourages and inspires young minds to study and have fun with science, math, engineering and technology.

Elbert Lin and Ankit Shah, both from the Fremont Unified School District helped prepare and program the robot from Team 2489.

“I noticed the robot booth when I was in the eighth grade,” said Shah. “That’s when I got hooked carting the 120 pound beast around.”

Shah who is now a sophomore in high school is the lead designer for the robot he and fellow classmates built. He designed most of this years’ robots chassis ball manipulation. His team has four days left to complete the finishing touches on their robot.

“This weekend at St. Francis gives us the opportunity to see how the robot is working out,” Shah said. “Now is the time to make any necessary changes. On Tuesday we have to box it up until our first competition the end of March.”

This is the first year Brian Dodson, a teacher at St. Francis, is involved with the Fembots, the all-girl robotic team. They are one of the few all-girl robotics teams in the nation. Dodson said the Fembots have participated in FRC for 12 seasons. They attend three regional competitions, Sacramento, Central Valley and Silicon Valley. This year, some 20 teams participated on practice day.

Fembot member Liz Arikawa, a junior at St. Francis said this is her second year participating. She enjoys the social aspect of it, handling public relations and working on the website.

Not all geeks

“It’s more than science and technology,” Arikawa said. “We are not all geeks and weirdos. It’s a lot of fun and everyone is so nice. It’s a great experience.”

Teri Benart is the Senior Mentor for FIRST in northern California. She said the most coveted award for these kids is the Chairman’s Award.

“It is a guaranteed ride to the championships,” Benart said. “Regardless of what the student does on the field, the award is based on how that student builds sustainability, the student’s business plan and how the student communicates first out in the community, and how the student shows gracious professionalism. That is what drives these kids to a different behavior than what you see in normal sports.”

Janet McKinley has been volunteering at St. Francis for six years. She said hosting ‘Practice Day’ is an amazing accomplishment for the Fembots. The girls build the whole field, so students can get a feel of what the competition will be like.

Bumpy field tests machines

“The robots have to stay balanced because the field has bumps,” McKinley said. “The first 15-20 seconds the robots run autonomously on their own. During that time the students can adjust it so the robot changes course.”

Jacob Clark belongs to Team 3598 and lives in the Parkway area. He is a junior at the School of Engineering and Sciences. His part involved designing the robot. This is his second season. Clark joined FRC because there wasn’t a lot to do after school. His friends encouraged him to join and said it was fun.

“I am captain of the design team. As the designer you have to stay ahead of what is being built because the end product may wind up being a little different than what was originally anticipated,” Clark said. “It is really challenging, at times it hits you like a freight train.”

Lucas Sherman, a freshman at Jim Elliot Christian School in Lodi is part of Team 1662. His dad, Mike Sherman, said his son has learned plenty after joining the team. Head coach and mentor for eight years, Tom Brey said this is the one thing on campus that everyone can become a pro.

College bound kids

“Because of robotics, kids get into colleges they couldn’t normally get into,” Brey said. “One of my previous team captains is in graduate school and the Navy is paying for it. Many of my students are accepted to University of the Pacific, Cal Poly and other good schools.”

Brey’s team is headed to Tel Aviv next week to compete against teams from Bosnia, Israel and other Arab countries. He said there is no war going on at these meets.

Ryan Neal is co-captain of team 1662 this year. He said he has always been involved in engineering.

“I decided to expand upon my learning,” Neal said. “The biggest thing I learned from this is how important it is to work well with others.”

Neal plans to attend University of the Pacific and study mechanical engineering.

As Team 1662’s robot fell over during the first practice session, no one seemed too worried. They all just went to work on making adjustments and reprogramming the robot so it would glide over the bumps the next time out. All thanks to the St. Francis Fembots and their Practice Day for all the FRC teams.