Page 3 - Priorities 7

From the Headmaster
Our 40th Anniversary year, now coming to an end, has been both exciting and rejuvenating. The Priory community had many opportunities to reflect on the 1,450 years of Benedictine history in education and the 40 years of Woodside Priory history. Our monastery and school was the first offshoot of that large, sturdy Benedictine family tree to take root in Northern California. We are still going strong!
Looking to fall 1998, I will surely miss the professional dedication and expertise - not to mention the dazzling smile - that has been resident in the upstairs corner office of Founders Hall for the past three years. Deborah Whalen, Academic Dean, is leaving the Priory to join her husband in Texas. They have sustained a long-distance relationship since last summer and while one never wants to lose a colleague as respected and beloved as Deborah, we share their happiness in being reunited at last.
Deborah brought to the Priory invaluable knowledge of contemporary curriculum and current research in learning theory. She led our faculty in reorienting teaching to cross subject boundaries, accomplish multiple goals and stress thinking skills. At the same time, she has worked with the faculty in developing new teaching methods that better support students’ individual learning preferences.
Her attitude of collegiality almost defines the term “learning community.”
We are indeed fortunate to find a new Academic Dean with equally intriguing credentials. Holly Thompson is currently Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Stanford and is also the mother of 8th grader Hobie Thompson. Holly is a graduate of Radcliffe/Harvard University and has a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Stanford. She taught at Harvard, Phillips Academy (a highly regarded boarding school in Andover, Mass.) and at Harvard-Westlake in Southern California. She has been a frequent presenter at our annual college planning nights and is well acquainted with our campus.
One of our goals for the immediate future is to develop more individual support and challenging projects for our most advanced students. Holly’s experience is tailor-made for this task.
The Residence Hall faculty has also changed. John McGarry will be leaving after five years at the Priory to return to family and friends on the East Coast. He leaves behind a tradition of vigorous, outdoor recreation blended with academic support for the boys in the dorms. I think it speaks well for John’s work that our Valedictorian this year, a dorm student, said
that some of his happiest times and best friendships grew from dorm life.
Our new Director of Residential Life, Kathy Immel, has been a member of the Social Studies faculty for many years. She moved onto the campus with her family last year to take the post of Director in the Junior Dorm. As a mother of three, she is enjoying the challenge of also being mother to 40!
Other changes coming in fall 1998: The Middle School sports program is booming and needs its own Athletic Director. Doug Sargent, an active coach as well as math and computer science teacher, will fill this new post.
In Fine Arts, we expect to have the beginnings of an information technology center (see pages 9-13). In Spanish, first year students will master video-editing equipment while learning vocabulary and grammar. Our use of technology continues to expand into new areas, thanks in part to some very talented students who delight in seeing how these tools can enrich Priory life. Keep checking the school web site -http://www.woodsidepriory.com.
Many new additions are planned.
We are looking ahead with renewed optimism; a strategic plan and a master plan are being developed and you can expect we will not stand still. By our 45th anniversary, we hope to have some new buildings on the campus, a larger endowment to augment our educational needs and a student community that continues to “demonstrate a love of learning, a vision of life and a love of God.” Continue with us on this journey that our local newspaper recently termed “an American miracle.”
May God bless you and your loved ones.
Tim Molak Headmaster
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Holly Thompson, new Academic Dean, was most recently with Stanford University’s Office of Admissions.